“They are—” Willis hesitated, “they are—funny pretties,” he finished.

“Dey ain’ nuthin’ funny ’bout er show nuff Jack-my-Lantern, I kin tell yer dat fur sartin an’ sho!” Her face assumed a grave expression, “and—take keer, boy, Kitty’ll spill hot greese on yer,” making a dive at Willis in time to save the cook from stumbling. “Come on out er dis hyah kitchen,—’tain’ no place fur chillun no how.”

“Mammy, less go over to Mary Van’s and get m’ Jack-my-Lantern,” coaxed Willis, as Phyllis directed the way toward the nursery.

“Nor, yer doan need hit tell dark. Jack-my-Lanterns doan come out ’cep’in’ at night. Leastways fokes doan see em.”

“Jack-my-Lanterns ain’t anything but big[Pg 59] old pumpkins, are they, Mammy Phyllis?” Mary Van asked to reassure herself.

[Pg 59]

“Dat dey is,” the old nurse’s expression grew fearful and cunning. “Dey’s de wuss sorter hants—dat’s whut dey is.”

This ended the contention of going to Mary Van’s.

“You memb’rs,” she began after an ominous silence, “ole man Gully’s hant, doan yer?”

“Old Langshan rooster, Mammy?” Willis whispered.

“Dat’s de ve’y hant—yas suh—ole lady Gully ain’t skeercely in her grave ’fo’ dat rooster hant start ter gwine down in de cellar—an’ peckin’ ’roun’ like he huntin’ fur sumthin’.

“Abe tell de boys he seen de ole man take er bag er gole down dar onct, an’ he ’speck[Pg 60] old Langshan know whar he berry hit—but howsumev’r dat is—one thing wus sho’—dat rooster peck in one cornder er dat celler, tell dem boys pis’n him.”

[Pg 60]

The children moved closer to Phyllis. “Mammy, did he come back in another rooster?”

“No, ma’m, he didn’t,—he say he nuv’r speck ter come back in no mo’ creeturs ter git pis’n’d ergin. ‘De nex’ time I comes back,’ sez he, ‘hit’s gwine be in sumthin’ nuth’r fokes can’t projick none er der dev’ment wid.’ Ahah,—an’ yer knows whut dat is, doan yer?”

Both little heads shook a trembling negative.

“Well, hit’s er Jack-my-lantern!” said Phyllis, and at her solemn statement the children looked aghast.

 Prev. P 17/106 next