The Sins of the Father: A Romance of the South

by Thomas Dixon

  CHAPTER XX

  ANDY FIGHTS

  When Andy had recovered from his surprise at the violence of Norton'sparting advice his eye suddenly rested on the tray of untouched mintjuleps.

  A broad smile broke over his black countenance:

  "Fight it out! Fight it out!" he exclaimed with a quick movement toward thetable. "Yassah, I'm gwine do it, too, I is!"

  He paused before the array of filled glasses of the iced beverage, salutedsilently, and raised one high over his head to all imaginary friends whomight be present. His eye rested on the portrait of General Lee. He bowedand saluted again. Further on hung Stonewall Jackson. He lifted his glassto him, and last to Norton's grandfather in his blue and yellow colonialregimentals. He pressed the glass to his thirsty lips and waved the julep ajovial farewell with the palm of his left hand as he poured it gently butfirmly down to the last drop.

  He smacked his lips, drew a long breath and sighed:

  "Put ernuff er dat stuff inside er me, I kin fight er wil'cat! Yassah, an'I gwine do it. I gwine ter be rough wid her, too! Rough wid her, I is!"

  He seized another glass and drained half of it, drew himself up withdetermination, walked to the door leading to the hall toward the kitchenand called:

  "Miss Minerva!"

  Receiving no answer, he returned quickly to the tray and took anotherdrink:

  "Rough wid her--dat's de way--rough wid her!"

  He pulled his vest down with a vicious jerk, bravely took one step, paused,reached back, picked up his glass again, drained it, and walked to thedoor.

  "Miss Minerva!" he called loudly and fiercely.

  From the kitchen came the answer in tender tones:

  "Yas--honey!"

  Andy retreated hastily to the table and took another drink before the hugebut smiling figure appeared in the doorway.

  "Did my true love call?" she asked softly.

  Andy groaned, grasped a glass and quickly poured another drink of Dutchcourage down. "Yassam, Miss Minerva, I thought I hear yer out dar----"

  Minerva giggled as lightly as she could considering her two hundred andfifty pounds:

  "Yas, honey, hit's little me!"

  Andy had begun to feel the bracing effects of the two full glasses of mintjuleps. He put his hands in his pockets, walked with springing strides tothe other end of the room, returned and squared himself impressively beforeMinerva. Before he could speak his courage began to fail and he stuttered:

  "M-M-M-Miss Minerva!"

  The good-humored, shining black face was raised in sharp surprise:

  "What de matter wid you, man, er hoppin' roun' over de flo' lak er flea iner hot skillet?"

  Andy saw that the time had come when he must speak unless he meant to againignominiously surrender. He began boldly:

  "Miss Minerva! I got somethin' scandalous ter say ter you!"

  She glared at him, the whites of her eyes shining ominously, crossed theroom quickly and confronted Andy:

  "Don't yer dar' say nuttin' scandalizin' ter me, sah!"

  His eyes fell and he moved as if to retreat. She nudged him gently:

  "G'long, man, what is it?"

  He took courage:

  "I got ter 'fess ter you, m'am, dat I'se tangled up wid annuder 'oman!"

  The black face suddenly flashed with wrath, and her figure was electricwith battle. The very pores of her dusky skin seemed to radiate war.

  "Who bin tryin' ter steal you?" she cried. "Des sho' her ter me, an' we seewho's who!"

  Andy waved his hands in a conciliatory self-accusing gesture:

  "Yassam--yassam! But I make er fool outen myse'f about her--hit's MissCleo!"

  "Cleo!" Minerva gasped, staggering back until her form collided with thetable and rattled the glasses on the tray. At the sound of the tinklingglass, she turned, grasped a mint julep, and drank the whole of it at asingle effort.

  Andy, who had been working on a figure in the rug with the toe of his shoeduring his confession, looked up, saw that she had captured hisinspiration, and sprang back in alarm.

  Minerva paused but a moment for breath and rushed for him:

  "Dat yaller Jezebel!--tryin' ter fling er spell over you--but I gwine tersave ye, honey!"

  Andy retreated behind the lounge, his ample protector hot on his heels:

  "Yassam!" he cried, "but I don't want ter be saved!"

  Before he had finished the plea, she had pinned him in a corner and cut offretreat.

  "Of course yer don't!" she answered generously. "No po' sinner ever does.But don't yer fret, honey, I'se gwine ter save ye in spite er yosef! Yerneedn't ter kick, yer needn't ter scramble, now's de time ye needs me, anI'se gwine ter stan' by ye. Nuttin' kin shake me loose now!"

  She took a step toward him and he vainly tried to dodge. It was useless.She hurled her ample form straight on him and lifted her arms for agenerous embrace:

  "Lordy, man, dat make me lub yer er hundred times mo!"

  Andy made up his mind in a sudden burst of courage to fight for his life.If she once got those arms about him he was gone. He grasped them roughlyand stayed the onset:

  "Yassam!" he answered warningly. "But I got ter 'fess up ter you now dewhole truf. I bin er deceivin' you 'bout myself. I'se er bad nigger, MissMinerva, an' I hain't worthy ter be you' husban'!"

  "G'long, chile, I done know dat all de time!" she laughed.

  Andy walled his eyes at her uneasily, and she continued:

  "But I likes ter hear ye talk humble dat a way--hit's a good sign."

  He shook his head impatiently:

  "But ye don't know what I means!"

  "Why, of cose, I does!" she replied genially. "I always knowed dat I wuzhigh above ye. I'se black, but I'se pure ez de drivellin' snow. I alwaysknowed, honey, dat ye wern't my equal. But ye can't help dat. I'se er born'ristocrat. My mudder was er African princess. My grandmudder wuz erqueen--an' I'se er cook!"

  Andy stamped his foot with angry impatience;

  "Yassam--but ye git dat all wrong!"

  "Cose, you' Minerva understan's when ye comes along side er yo' true lovedat ye feels humble----"

  "Nobum! Nobum!" he broke in emphatically--"ye got dat all wrong--allwrong!" He paused, drew a chair to the table and motioned her to a seatopposite.

  "Des lemme tell ye now," he continued with determined kindness. "Ye see Igot ter 'fess de whole truf ter you. Tain't right ter fool ye."

  Minerva seated herself, complacently murmuring:

  "Yassah, dat's so, Brer Andy."

  He leaned over the table and looked at her a moment solemnly:

  "I gotter 'fess ter you now, Miss Minerva, dat I'se always bin a badnigger--what dey calls er pizen bad nigger--I'se er wife beater!"

  Minerva's eyes walled in amazement:

  "No?"

  "Yassam," he went on seriously. "When I wuz married afore I got de habit erbeatin' my wife!"

  "Beat her?"

  Andy shook his head dolefully:

  "Yassam. Hit's des lak I tell ye. I hates ter 'fess hit ter you, m'am, butI formed de habit, same ez drinkin' licker--I beat her! I des couldn't keepmy hands offen her. I beat her scandalous! I pay no tenshun to herhollerin!--huh!--de louder she holler, 'pears lak de harder I beat her!"

  "My, my, ain't dat terrible!" she gasped.

  "Yassam----"

  "Scandalous!"

  "Dat it is----"

  "Sinful!"

  "Jes so!" he agreed sorrowfully.

  "But man!" she cried ecstatically, "dat's what I calls er husband!"

  "Hey?"

  "Dat's de man fer me!"

  He looked at her in dismay, snatched the decanter, poured himself astraight drink of whiskey, gulped it down, leaned over the table andreturned to his task with renewed vigor:

  "But I kin see, m'am, dat yer don't know what I means! I didn't des switch'er wid er cowhide er de buggy whip! I got in er regular habit er lammin'her wid anything I git hold of--wid er axe handle or wid er fireshovel----"

  "Well, dat's all rig
ht," Minerva interrupted admiringly. "She had de samechance ez you! I takes my chances. What I wants is er husban'--a husban'dat's got de sand in his gizzard! Dat fust husban' er mine weren't no good'tall--nebber hit me in his life but once--slap me in de face one day, lakdat!"

  She gave a contemptuous imitation of the trivial blow with the palms of herhands.

  "An' what'd you do, m'am?" Andy asked with sudden suspicion.

  "Nuttin' 'tall!" she said with a smile. "I des laf, haul off, kinderplayful lak, an' knock 'im down wid de flatiron----"

  Andy leaped to his feet and walked around the table toward the door:

  "Wid de flatiron!" he repeated incredulously.

  "Didn't hit 'im hard!" Minerva laughed. "But he tumble on de flo' lak erten-pin in er bowlin' alley. I stan' dar waitin' fer 'im ter git up an'come ergin, an' what ye reckon he done?"

  "I dunno, m'am," Andy sighed, wiping the perspiration from his forehead.

  Minerva laughed joyously at the memory of the scene:

  "He jump up an' run des lak er turkey! He run all de way down town, an'bless God ef he didn't buy me a new calico dress an' fotch hit home ter me.He warn't no man at all! I wuz dat sorry fer 'im an' dat ershamed er him Icouldn't look 'im in de face ergin. I gits er divorce frum him----"

  She paused, rose, and looked at Andy with tender admiration:

  "But, Lordy, honey, you an' me's gwine ter have joyful times!"

  Andy made a break for the door but she was too quick for him. With a swiftswinging movement, astonishing in its rapidity for her size, she threwherself on him and her arms encircled his neck:

  "I'se yo' woman an' you'se my man!" she cried with a finality that left hervictim without a ray of hope. He was muttering incoherent protests whenHelen's laughing voice came to his rescue:

  "Oho!" she cried, with finger uplifted in a teasing gesture.

  Minerva loosed her grip on Andy overwhelmed with embarrassment, while hecrouched behind her figure crying:

  "'Twa'n't me, Miss Helen--'twa'n't me!"

  Helen continued to laugh while Andy grasped the tray and beat a hastyretreat.

  Helen approached Minerva teasingly:

  "Why, Aunt Minerva!"

  The big, jovial black woman glanced at her:

  "G'way, chile--g'way frum here!"

  "Aunt Minerva, I wouldn't have thought such a thing of you!" Helen saiddemurely.

  Minerva broke into a jolly laugh and faced her tormentor:

  "Yassum, honey, I spec hit wuz all my fault. Love's such foolishness--yerknows how dat is yosef!"

  A look of rapture overspread Helen's face:

  "Such a sweet, wonderful foolishness, Aunt Minerva!"--she paused and hervoice was trembling when she added--"It makes us all akin, doesn't it?"

  "Yassam, an' I sho' is glad ter see you so happy!"

  "Oh, I'm too happy, Aunt Minerva, it frightens me"--she stopped, glanced atthe door, drew nearer and continued in low tones: "I've just left Tom outthere on the lawn, to ask you to do something for me."

  "Yassam."

  "I want you to tell the major our secret to-night. He'll be proud and happyin his victory and I want him to know at once."

  The black woman shook her head dubiously:

  "Tell him yosef, honey!"

  "But I'm afraid. The major frightens me. When I look into his deep eyes Ifeel that he has the power to crush the soul out of my body and that hewill do it if I make him very angry."

  "Dat's 'cause yer deceives him, child."

  "Please tell him for us, Aunt Minerva! Oh, you've been so good to me! Forthe past weeks I've been in heaven. It seems only a day instead of a monthsince he told me his love and then it seems I've lived through all eternitysince I first felt his arms about me. Sitting out there in the moonlight byhis side I forget that I'm on earth, forget that there's a pain or a secretin it. I'm just in heaven. I have to pinch myself to see if it's real"--shesmiled and pinched her arm--"I'm afraid I'll wake up and find it only adream!"

  "Well, yer better wake up just er minute an' tell de major--Mister Tom gotter have it out wid him."

  "Yes, I know, and that's what scares me. Won't you tell him for us rightaway? Get him in a good humor, make him laugh, say a good word for us andthen tell him. Tell him how useless it will be to oppose us. He can't holdout long against Tom, he loves him so."

  "Mr. Tom want me ter tell de major ter-night? He ax yer ter see me?"

  "No. He doesn't know what I came for. I just decided all of a sudden tocome. I want to surprise him. He is going to tell his father himselfto-night. But somehow I'm afraid, Aunt Minerva. I want you to help us. Youwill, won't you?"

  The black woman shook her head emphatically:

  "Nasah, I ain't gwine ter git mixed up in dis thing!"

  "Aunt Minerva!"

  "Nasah--I'se skeered!"

  "Ah, please?"

  "Nasah!"

  "Please----"

  "Na, na, na!"

  "Aunt Minerva----"

  "Na------"

  The girl's pleading eyes were resistless and the black lips smiled:

  "Cose I will, chile! Cose I will--I'll see 'im right away. I'll tell him deminute I lays my eyes on 'im."

  She turned to go and ran squarely into Norton as he strode into the room.She stopped and stammered:

  "Why--why--wuz yer lookin' fer me, major?"

  Norton gazed at her a moment and couldn't call his mind from its painfultrain of thought. He spoke finally with sharp accent:

  "No. I want to see Cleo."

  Helen slipped behind Minerva:

  "Stay and tell him now. I'll go."

  "No, better wait," was her low reply, as she watched Norton furtively. "Idon't like de way his eyes er spittin' fire."

  Norton turned to Minerva sharply:

  "Find Cleo and tell her I wish to see her immediately!"

  "Yassah--yassah!" Minerva answered, nervously, whispering to Helen: "Comeon, honey--git outen here--come on!"

  Helen followed mechanically, glancing timidly back over her shoulder atNorton's drawn face.