登陆注册
18991500000052

第52章

But before we started that morning we noticed a funny thing. We hadn't so much as spoke to any nigger, except our own nigger Sam, and he couldn't of told ALL the niggers in that town about the stuff to turn niggers white, even if he had set up all night to do it. But every last nigger we saw looked like he knowed something about us.

Even after we left town our nigger driver hailed two or three niggers in the road that acted that-a-way. It seemed like they was all awful polite to us. And yet they was different in their politeness than they was to them Georgia folks, which is their natcheral-born bosses--acted more familiar, some-how, as if they knowed we must be thinking about the same thing they was thinking about.

About half-way to Bairdstown we stopped at a place to get a drink of water. Seemingly the white folks was away fur the day, and an old nigger come up and talked to our driver while Sam and us was at the well.

I seen them cutting their eyes at us, whilst they was unchecking the hosses to let them drink too, and then I hearn the one that belonged there say:

"Is yo' SUAH dat hit air dem?"

"SUAH!" says the driver.

"How-come yo' so all-powerful SUAH about hit?"The driver pertended the harness needed some fixing, and they went around to the other side of the team and tinkered with one of the traces, a-talking to each other. I hearn the old nigger say, kind of wonderized:

"Is dey a-gwine dar NOW?"

Sam, he was pulling a bucket of water up out of the well fur us with a windlass. The doctor says to him:

"Sam, what does all this mean?"

Sam, he pertends he don't know what the doctor is talking about. But Doctor Kirby he finally pins him down. Sam hemmed and hawed considera-ble, making up his mind whether he better lie to us or not. Then, all of a sudden, he busted out into an awful fit of laughing, and like to of fell in the well. Seemingly he decided fur to tell us the truth.

From what Sam says that there bishop has been holding revival meetings in Big Bethel, which is a nigger church right on the edge of Bairdstown, and niggers fur miles around has been coming night after night, and some of them whooping her up daytimes too. And the bishop has worked himself up the last three or four nights to where he has been perdicting and prophesying, fur the spirit has hit the meeting hard.

What he has been prophesying, Sam says, is the coming of a Messiah fur the nigger race--a new Elishyah, he says, as will lead them from out'n their inequality and bring 'em up to white standards right on the spot. The whites has had their Messiah, the bishop says, but the niggers ain't never had none of their SPECIAL OWN yet.

And they needs one bad, and one is sure a-coming.

It seems the whites don't know yet jest what the bishop's been a-preaching. But every nigger fur miles on every side of Big Bethel is a-listening and a-looking fur signs and omens, and has been fur two, three days now. This here half-crazy bishop has got 'em worked up to where they is ready to believe anything, or do anything.

So the night before when the word got out in Cottonville that we had some scheme to make the niggers white, the niggers there took up with the idea that the doctor was mebby the feller the bishop had been prophesying about, and for a sign and a omen and a miracle of his grace and powers was going out to Big Bethel to turn 'em white.

Poor devils, they didn't see but what being turned white orter be a part of what they was to get from the coming of that there Messiah.

News spreads among niggers quicker than among whites. No one knows how they do it. But I've hearn tales about how when war times was there, they would frequent have the news of a big fight before the white folks' papers would. Soldiers has told me that in them there Philippine Islands we conquered from Spain, where they is so much nigger blood mixed up with other kinds in the islanders, this mysterious spreading around of news is jest the same. And jest since nine o'clock the night before, the news had spread fur miles around that Bishop Warren's Messiah was on his way, and was going fur to turn the bishop white to show his power and grace, and he had with him one he had turned part white, and that was Sam, and one he had turned clear white, and that was me.

And they was to be signs and wonders to behold at Big Bethel, with pillars of cloud and sounds of trumpets and fire squirting down from heaven, like it always use to be in them old Bible days, and them there niggers to be led singing and shouting and rejoicing into a land of milk and honey, forever-more, AMEN!

That's what Sam says they are looking fur, dozens and scores and hundreds of them niggers round about. Sam, he had lived in town five or six years, and he looked down on all these here ignoramus country niggers. So he busts out laugh-ing at first, and he pertends like he don't take no stock in any of it. Besides, he knowed well enough he wasn't spotted up by no Messiah, but it was the dope in the bottles done it. But as he told about them goings-on Sam got more and more interested and warmed up to it, and his voice went into a kind of a sing-song like he was prophesying himself.

And the other two niggers quit pertending to fool around the team and edged a little closeter, and a little closeter yet, with their mouths open and their heads a-nodding and the whites of their eyes a-rolling.

Fur my part, I never hearn such a lot of dern foolishness in all my life. But the doctor, he says nothing at all. He listens to Sam ranting and rolling out big words and raving, and only frowns. He climbs back into the buggy agin silent, and all the rest of the way to Bairdstown he set there with that scowl on his face. I guesses he was thinking now, the way things had shaped up, he wouldn't sell none of his stuff at all without he fell right in with the reception chance had planned fur him.

But if he did fall in with it, and pertend like he was a Messiah to them niggers, he could get all they had. He was mebby thinking how much ornerier that would make the hull scheme.

同类推荐
  • 佛说疗痔病经

    佛说疗痔病经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 滇略

    滇略

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 佛说一切法高王经

    佛说一切法高王经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 养生三要

    养生三要

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 西铭述解

    西铭述解

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
热门推荐
  • 圣皇四少:盛宠黑丫头

    圣皇四少:盛宠黑丫头

    他对她好,她以为他是她唯一的天使,直到他把她推上手术台,她才知道,他所有的温柔都只是为了别人。灰姑娘能够找到自己的白马王子,那么黑姑娘呢?她的白马王子又在哪里?
  • 提高灵活应变能力(学生综合素质提高手册)

    提高灵活应变能力(学生综合素质提高手册)

    青少年是祖国的未来和希望,培养综合素质高的接班人是我们教育的天职。当今社会,我们国家在现代化发展的道路上正面临着极大的机遇和巨大的挑战。要应对挑战就必须使未来的建设者们具备全面的素质;不但要有自然科学的知识,同时也必须掌握人文科学的知识。只有具备综合素质的人,才能称得上是合格的人才。一个民族的全体国民要想全面提高人文素质,就必须以提高综合素质为突破口。本选题是为青少年量身定做的综合素质提高自助读本。
  • 最强文明

    最强文明

    修真文明如何发展,是世界发展的最终方向吗?科技发展对于修真文明一无四处?41世纪哈京大学高材生穿越到修真大陆............
  • 陌路相逢

    陌路相逢

    本书收作者中、短篇小说5篇,讲述了一件件情感故事,希望能让读者们有所感悟。
  • 军火之王

    军火之王

    曾经叱咤风云的佣兵王者,变成小小的军火贩子,家族、部落、国家、铁血柔情、腥风血雨,且看他如何一步步成为让各国忌惮的国际军火商。
  • 如果这一生,从未嫁给你

    如果这一生,从未嫁给你

    “你以为他娶你,是因为爱你吗?”南瑜的婚姻从来就不是以爱为始,遭遇背叛后,对感情生出绝望的她嫁给他,不过是想找一个踏实的人,能平平淡淡的过完这一生。他是最柔情的丈夫,会在清晨起早准备早餐,会在床第间蜜语甜言,更会在她生病时,寸步不离的嘘寒问暖贴心照料。他亦是最残酷的刀斧手,可以在她生产后抢夺孩子而去,在她苦苦哀求将孩子还给她之时断然拒绝,甚至将她扫地出门,不留余地。她分不清哪个才是真实的他,抑或着两个都不是。失去婚姻,失去孩子,失去所有人的支持,她只存腹下伤痕,千疮百孔的身心。那年青山崖头,她望着湛蓝大海,许愿:“若有来生,愿你我永不相逢。”
  • 遗失古城

    遗失古城

    沙漠之下不知隐藏了多少的文明,无情的黄沙吞噬了多少的西域古国,楼兰辉煌的绝唱
  • 魔造苍生

    魔造苍生

    一个魔,却处处得道,八方来助。他的运气真的就这么好吗?一个人,却时时受阻,四面楚歌。他的人生难道就这么凄凉么?一颗心。却次次碎裂,一世沉沦。他的感情是否就这么脆弱呵?无数的宇宙,空间不断交战吞并,百家争鸣,万族林立,一个强者的崛起,不仅需要无尽的杀戮,还需要历遍轮回苦,尝尽苍生难,苏磊一个尝尽苦难,受尽折磨的少年,能否挣脱命运的枷锁,打破轮回的桎梏,冲破冲冲阻碍,站在众生之巅,创出属于自己的苍生之界。
  • 水魅莲:异世重生步步生莲

    水魅莲:异世重生步步生莲

    原是世家少主的她,一遭家族背叛,重生异世王爷,她步步为营,于皇族斗争中开辟盛世神话,在废材压力下脱变魔法全才!一妖出,万世惊,妖冶血红,半裸臂膀,当邪魅腹黑的始祖妖遭遇惊艳绝世的魔法全才,世界也为之振颤!
  • 效力篇

    效力篇

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。