The Conjure Woman - Charles W. Chesnutt (top novels of all time txt) 📗

“W’en Tenie see so many things happenin’ ter de tree, she ’cluded she’d ha’ ter turn Sandy ter sump’n e’se; en atter studyin’ de matter ober, en talkin’ wid Sandy one ebenin’, she made up her mine fer ter fix up a goopher mixtry w’at would turn herse’f en Sandy ter foxes, er sump’n, so dey could run away en go some’rs whar dey could be free en lib lack w’ite folks.

“But dey ain’ no tellin’ w’at’s gwine ter happen in dis worl’. Tenie had got de night sot fer her en Sandy ter run away, w’en dat ve’y day one er Mars Marrabo’s sons rid up ter de big house in his buggy, en say his wife wuz monst’us sick, en he want his mammy ter len’ ’im a ’oman fer ter nuss his wife. Tenie’s mistiss say sen’ Tenie; she wuz a good nuss. Young mars wuz in a tarrible hurry fer ter git back home. Tenie wuz washin’ at de big house dat day, en her mistiss say she should go right ’long wid her young marster. Tenie tried ter make some ’scuse fer ter git away en hide ’tel night, w’en she would have eve’ything fix’ up fer her en Sandy; she say she wanter go ter her cabin fer ter git her bonnet. Her mistiss say it doan matter ’bout de bonnet; her head-hankcher wuz good ernuff. Den Tenie say she wanter git her bes’ frock; her mistiss say no, she doan need no mo’ frock, en w’en dat one got dirty she could git a clean one whar she wuz gwine. So Tenie had ter git in de buggy en go ’long wid young Mars Dunkin ter his plantation, w’ich wuz mo’ d’n twenty mile away; en dey wa’n’t no chance er her seein’ Sandy no mo’ ’tel she come back home. De po’ gal felt monst’us bad ’bout de way things wuz gwine on, en she knowed Sandy mus’ be a wond’rin’ why she didn’ come en turn ’im back no mo’.

“W’iles Tenie wuz away nussin’ young Mars Dunkin’s wife, Mars Marrabo tuk a notion fer ter buil’ ’im a noo kitchen; en bein’ ez he had lots er timber on his place, he begun ter look ’roun’ fer a tree ter hab de lumber sawed out’n. En I dunno how it come to be so, but he happen fer ter hit on de ve’y tree w’at Sandy wuz turnt inter. Tenie wuz gone, en dey wa’n’t nobody ner nuffin fer ter watch de tree.

“De two men w’at cut de tree down say dey nebber had sech a time wid a tree befo’: dey axes would glansh off, en didn’ ’pear ter make no progress thoo de wood; en of all de creakin’, en shakin’, en wobblin’ you eber see, dat tree done it w’en it commence’ ter fall. It wuz de beatenis’ thing!

“W’en dey got de tree all trim’ up, dey chain it up ter a timber waggin, en start fer de sawmill. But dey had a hard time gittin’ de log dere: fus’ dey got stuck in de mud w’en dey wuz gwine crosst de swamp, en it wuz two er th’ee hours befo’ dey could git out. W’en dey start’ on ag’in, de chain kep’ a-comin’ loose, en dey had ter keep a-stoppin’ en a-stoppin’ fer ter hitch de log up ag’in. W’en dey commence’ ter climb de hill ter de sawmill, de log broke loose, en roll down de hill en in ’mongs’ de trees, en hit tuk nigh ’bout half a day mo’ ter git it haul’ up ter de sawmill.

“De nex’ mawnin’ atter de day de tree wuz haul’ ter de sawmill, Tenie come home. W’en she got back ter her cabin, de fus’ thing she done wuz ter run down ter de woods en see how Sandy wuz gittin’ on. W’en she seed de stump standin’ dere, wid de sap runnin’ out’n it, en de limbs layin’ scattered roun’, she nigh ’bout went out’n her min’. She run ter her cabin, en got her goopher mixtry, en den follered de track er de timber waggin ter de sawmill. She knowed Sandy couldn’ lib mo’ d’n a minute er so ef she turnt him back, fer he wuz all chop’ up so he’d ’a’ be’n bleedst ter die. But she wanted ter turn ’im back long ernuff fer ter ’splain ter ’im dat she hadn’ went off a-purpose, en lef’ ’im ter be chop’ down en sawed up. She didn’ want Sandy ter die wid no hard feelin’s to’ds her.

“De han’s at de sawmill had des got de big log on de kerridge, en wuz startin’ up de saw, w’en dey seed a ’oman runnin’ up de hill, all out er bref, cryin’ en gwine on des lack she wuz plumb ’stracted. It wuz Tenie; she come right inter de mill, en th’owed herse’f on de log, right in front er de saw, a-hollerin’ en cryin’ ter her Sandy ter fergib her, en not ter think hard er her, fer it wa’n’t no fault er hern. Den Tenie ’membered de tree didn’ hab no years, en she wuz gittin’ ready fer ter wuk her goopher mixtry so ez ter turn Sandy back, w’en de mill-hands kotch holt er her en tied her arms wid a rope, en fasten’ her to one er de posts in de sawmill; en den dey started de saw up ag’in, en cut de log up inter bo’ds en scantlin’s right befo’ her eyes. But it wuz mighty hard wuk; fer of all de sweekin’, en moanin’, en groanin’, dat log done it w’iles de saw wuz a-cuttin’ thoo it. De saw wuz one er dese yer ole-timey, up-en-down saws, en hit tuk longer dem days ter saw a log ’en it do now. Dey greased de saw, but dat didn’ stop de fuss; hit kep’ right on, tel fin’ly dey got de log all sawed