A piece of cardboard, life-size, represented a big, grinning negro man. Both arms were folded across his chest and he was hugging a brand of cured meat called the Hallelujah Ham to his bosom while his great mouth was wide-spread in a toothsome grin of anticipation over its sugar-cured sweetness. Having served its purpose, this cardboard man had been tossed upon the trash heap to be carted away. Org and Little Bit beat the trash man to it and regarded it as a great possession.
They carried the thing to the corner of the street and set it up in the middle of the alley.
A negro woman passed, humming a tune. When she saw the big negro, she jumped to one side with loud bawl:
When she saw it was merely a cardboard standing up, she went laughing down the street.
“This is our lucky day, Little Bit,” Org chuckled. “We can have a heap of fun with this thing. There is plenty of fun scaring people if they don’t get mad and fight you afterwards.”
“Niggers don’t fight when dey is skeart,” Little Bit said. “Dey runs.”
“But we can’t play with this to-day,” Org said virtuously, recalling his recent Sunday-school instructions. “This is the Sabbath of the Lord and this big negro man ought to rest on this day. We’ll take him up to my house and lay him down in the stable so he can rest.”
“Restin’ time an’ Sonday shore sounds good to a nigger,” Little Bit giggled. “Even dis here paper pasteboard man is a-grinnin’.”
But this was not a day of rest at the Gaitskill home. They were arranging to give a great dinner that evening at which would be announced the engagement of Miss Virginia Gaitskill and Captain Kerley Kerlerac.
All day long Hopey Prophet, famous cook, was preparing that dinner, Dazzle Zenor was helping in the kitchen, Mustard Prophet was errand boy, Skeeter Butts was slipping in and out of Hopey’s cabin in the yard, seizing such opportunities as he could find to discuss with Mustard the return of the rabbit-foot.
Org was called in and impressively informed that his beautiful sister was engaged to Captain Kerlerac and the announcement would be made that evening; that he would not be permitted to be at the dinner because he had to be corrected seventeen times at an ordinary meal, and this occasion was so extraordinary that he was eliminated.