Page:Harris Dickson--Old Reliable in Africa.djvu/332

 with hanging head and sluggish step. Zack scarcely ooked at the fish before he blurted out: "Side, us ain't gwine away."

Said dropped his knife, dropped his fish, and dropped his jaw—"Effendi goes not?"

"No, us gwine to stay"—in a tone of forever and forever, which shattered the dreams that Said had dreamed, and the castles that Said had builded. For one stupid staring instant the Dongalawi squatted perfectly still; then he sprang to his feet, uplifted his arms, beat his breast, and called down imprecations of Allah upon the calamity which had befallen. Then Said remembered, and went back to cleaning his fish, with the sodden submission of Egypt's fellaheen.

Zack dropped doggedly upon one end of the bench and expanded his wrath, "Side, ef I could jes cuss as scanalous as what you kin, it sho would do me a heap o' good. Cause ef dat gin house had burnt up you couldn't ha' seed me an' Cunnel fer de dus', a flyin' down dat river. But dar's de gin house, an' us got to stay here ontil some ma' cotton gits ginned."

The scales flew from Said's fish, like shavings in a planer mill, until his master rose and stalked towards the quarters. Then Said leered after him with the murderous eye of hate at one who barred his way to riches.

During the early afternoon Zack appeared on