"Den dey come back wid Sally Alley. If eber dar was a scar't nigger on dat plantation, it was dat same yaller gal. An' she warn't saddle color no mo'; she was grayer in de face dan an ol' rat.
"Dey stan' her up befo' Mars' Colby, an' hes eyes look lak' dey was red--ya-as'm! 'Sally Alley,' he roar at her, 'whar de odder laig ob dis goose?'
"Sally Alley shake like a willer by de ribber, an' she blurt out: 'Mars' Colby! sho' 'nuff dar warn't no odder laig _on_ dat goose.'
"'Wha' dat?' say he, moughty savage. 'On'y _one_ laig on dis goose?'
"'Ya-as, suh--sho' 'nuff. Das de onliest laig it had,' says she.
"'What do yo' mean?' Mars' Colby cry. 'Yo' tell me my goose ain' hab but one laig?'
"'Ya-as, suh. Das hit. On'y one laig,' says dat scar't yaller gal, an' ter clinch it she added, '_All_ yo' geese dat a-ways, Mars' Colby. Dey all ain' got but one laig.'"
"Was it sure enough _so_, Uncle Rufus?" asked Tess, in awe.
"Yo' wait! yo' wait, chillen! I'se gittin' tuh dat," declared the old man, chuckling. "Co'se dat Sally Alley say dat, hysterical lak'. She was dat scar't. Mars' Colby scowl at her mo' awful.
"'I mak' yo' prove dat to me atter dinner,' he say, savage as he kin be. 'Yo'll tak' us all out dar an' show us my one-laiged geese. An' if it _ain't_ so, I'll send yo' to de fiel' oberseer.'
"De fiel' oberseer do de whippin' on dat plantation," whispered Uncle Rufus, "an' Sally Alley knowed wot dat meant."
"Oh, dear me!" cried tender-hearted Tess. "They didn't re'lly _beat_ her?"
"Don't try to get ahead of the story, Tess," said Agnes, but rather shakingly. "We'll all hear it together."
"Das it," said Uncle Rufus. "Jes' gib Unc' Rufus time an' he'll tell it all. Dat yaller gal sho' was in a fix. She don' know w'ich way to tu'n.
"Das dinner was a-gettin' nearer an' nearer to de en'. Mars' Colby do lak' he say den. He come out an' mak' Sally Alley show de one-laiged geese.
"'I has a po'erful min',' dat Sally gal say, 'ter go down dar an' chop er laig off'n ebery goose in de yard.'
"But she didn't hab no min' to do dat," pursued Uncle Rufus. "Naw'm. She didn't hab no min' for nottin', she was dat flabbergastuated.
"She t'ink she run erway; but she wouldn't git far befo' Mars' Colby be atter her wid de houn's. Dar ain't no place to run to, an' she ain't got no mammy, so she run tuh mine," said Uncle Rufus, shaking his head. "An' my mammy was a wise ol' woman. She done been bawn in de Colby famb'ly, an' she know Mars' Colby better dan he know he'self. Fiery as he was, she know dat if yo' kin mak' him laff, he'd fo'give a nigger 'most anyt'ing.