A Day To Pick Your Own Cotton Part 31

He looked up but didn't smile. I think he was getting very tired of seeing Katie all the time instead of her mother.

"Yes, Miss Clairborne, what is it?" he said curtly.

"Today is September twenty-ninth, I believe," said Katie.

"It is. In fact I have just been completing the foreclosure doc.u.ments right here. Since your mother persists in refusing to-"

Katie set down the bag of money on the desk with a loud clunk. Now even more heads turned.

"Would you please take one hundred fifty-three dollars of this," said Katie, "for the payoff of the loan, and deposit all but twenty dollars of the rest into our account?"

"Well ... I, uh, yes ... yes, of course," he said, fumbling for words as he rose from his chair. He pulled the bag across the desk, opened the top, and looked in. His eyes widened just like Katie's at what he saw.

"This is ... this is, of course, good news. Yes ... I will see to it, Miss Clairborne!"

He reached down to his desk, picked up some papers, then smiled at Katie. "It appears we will have no more need of these," he added, then ripped the papers in half. "I will process everything immediately. And you say you want twenty dollars in cash?"

"Yes," answered Katie. "We want to open a new account with it."

"I see. What kind of account?"

"Just a regular account, but in someone else's name."

"Ah, I see ... of course. And whose name would that be?"

"Miss Mary Ann Jukes," said Katie. "This is Miss Jukes with me," she said, nodding toward me. "She will now be your customer.-Mary Ann, I would like to introduce you to the manager of the bank, Mr. Taylor."

I reached out my hand. He looked at it as if he wasn't sure what to do with it. I don't know whether he'd ever shaken a colored person's hand before.

"Uh, I ... I am, uh-pleased to make your acquaintance, Miss, uh ... Miss Jukes," he said, hesitating a second, then limply shaking my hand and releasing it quickly.

"You will open the account, then?" said Katie.

"Yes ... yes, right away," said Mr. Taylor, picking up the money bag and walking toward the counter. I think he was relieved to get away from me!

Katie looked over at me and gave a little smile.

Yes, sir, I thought-she was growing up fast! She had just put a banker in his place who was probably the richest man in town.

When we walked out of the bank ten minutes later, we were both smiling. And I was holding a little booklet that had the words Mary Ann Jukes Mary Ann Jukes written across the top of it, and that inside on the first line said, written across the top of it, and that inside on the first line said, Sept 29, Deposit, $20 Sept 29, Deposit, $20.

I'd never been so proud of anything in my life! Now I felt rich!

HOME A AGAIN.

49.

WE WALKED BACK TO THE WAGONS.

"That was some pumpkins!" I whispered as we went. I could hardly keep myself from smiling. "Thank you so much, Katie," I said. "This bank account means so much to me!"

"You deserve it, Mayme. If it weren't for you, Mr. Taylor's bank would own Rosewood by tomorrow.-Now let's go home and pick some more cotton, so we can pay off the second loan too!"

"I think we should have a day or two for you to rest, Katie," I said. "Then we'll start in again."

"I'm too exhausted to argue!" laughed Katie.

Katie climbed up on the lead wagon, and I got up onto mine.

"Get'up!" said Katie, flicking the reins.

She lurched into motion and I followed. In the distance, in front of the livery stable, I saw Henry standing talking to Jeremiah. I couldn't hear them, but it looked like they were arguing.

Just then Henry glanced up and saw us down the street. He left Jeremiah and started walking toward us-taking big strides and moving faster than I'd ever seen him. Before Katie's wagon could turn the next corner, there he was blocking the street.

He walked right out in front of us. Katie had no choice but to rein in and stop. My horses stopped too.

"h.e.l.lo, Henry," said Katie as he walked forward.

"Aftah'noon, ladies," he said, looking us straight in the face, first at Katie, then over at me. "Looks ter me like you been a-workin' mighty hard."

"Uh ... we're picking the cotton, Henry," said Katie.

"Yes'm, I kin see dat, Miz Kathleen. Yo han's s...o...b.. some ruffed up. I've neber seen yo hands like dat afore, Miz Kathleen. Effen I din't know no better, dese ole eyes er mine'd say you's been a-pickin' dat cotton yo'sef."

Katie said nothing.

"Dat right, Miz Kathleen?"

"I've been helping some," she said.

"An' how be yo mama?"

"Uh ... fine."

Again he glanced from one of us to the other. He turned back and looked Katie in the eye even more intently.

"Is yo sho sho dere ain't nuthin' you gotter tell yo frien' Henry, Miz Kathleen?" he said. dere ain't nuthin' you gotter tell yo frien' Henry, Miz Kathleen?" he said.

"No ... nothing, Henry," answered Katie. "Good-bye."

She didn't wait for him to get out of the way but flicked the reins again. We bounced forward as he stepped aside and just stood there staring at us. Both of us were afraid to look back. We kept our eyes straight ahead until we'd turned a street and were on our way past Mrs. Hammond's.

But then she reined in and jumped down. I stopped my wagon behind hers while Katie ran into the store. She came out a minute later holding a small bag and jumped back on the wagon, and we continued on our way.

I doubt two girls, whatever the color of their skin, could have enjoyed a ride as much as Katie and I enjoyed that ride from Greens Crossing back to Rosewood. What a burden had been lifted from our shoulders! Rosewood was Katie's again! In spite of how tired we were, we were so happy. We had to remind ourselves several times to keep on our toes, especially when we came to the Oakwood junction, in case any men came riding along that we didn't want to see. But even that reminder couldn't dampen our spirits.

When we got back, Katie ran inside to tell Emma and Aleta.

"Is dey gwine take yer house, Miz Katie?" Emma asked, still with a worried expression on her face.

"No, Emma! We paid off the loan! It's still ours ... and we have money left over from the cotton!"

She gave both girls a big hug.

"Does dat mean we picked enough, Miz Katie?" asked Emma.

Katie laughed with delight. "Yes, Emma-we picked more than enough!"

"Enough for today," I added to what Katie had said. "But we've got to keep picking. There's still another loan."

"But it's not due for a long time," said Katie, "and we're not going to worry about it right now. Today we're all going to rest and take baths and fix something nice for supper. Look," she said, showing them the bag from the store, "I got some treats for us all in town!-and we're going to celebrate. Then maybe in a day or two we'll start picking the cotton again."

For the rest of the afternoon and evening, nothing could dampen Katie's enthusiasm. I'd never seen her so carefree and full of joy, and it was contagious. We all laughed and played together like we never had before.

When bedtime came and we were all bathed and wearing clean clothes, I don't think any of us wanted the day to end.

We were all sitting together in Katie's room. Emma was holding William, who was asleep. Aleta was sitting on the bed all snuggled up to Katie. I was in a chair across the room. I had told one story, and Katie had just finished reading us all another story from one of her books.

She closed it and the bedroom got quiet. I yawned and got up to go to the room she called my room that used to be one of her brother's.

"I don't want anyone to leave," said Katie dreamily. "I'm so happy right now, I want you all to stay with me all night."

Then she seemed to realize what she'd said. She perked up where she sat, awake again and eyes wide.

"And why not!" she said. "All of you, get your things-your blankets and pillows and dolls and come in here and we'll all sleep together for the night!"

"Can we really do that, Katie?" asked Aleta.

"It's my house," laughed Katie. "We can do anything I want! Emma, you and William can have my bed, and the rest of us will sleep on the floor!"

Aleta didn't need to be told twice. Excitedly she bounded off the bed to the corner across the room where she had been sleeping on an extra mattress we had put there for her.

"But I couldn't take yo bed, Miz Katie," said Emma. "Dat wouldn't be right."

"You are are going to take it, Emma," insisted Katie, already gathering blankets and pillows to make herself a bed on the floor while I hurried to my room and did the same. going to take it, Emma," insisted Katie, already gathering blankets and pillows to make herself a bed on the floor while I hurried to my room and did the same.

"What if William wakes you all up?"

"We won't mind," said Katie. "We're a family, Emma, and William is just as much a part of it as the rest of us."

Ten minutes later I turned the lantern down and crept under the blanket where I'd fixed a bed for myself on Katie's floor. All of us had one of Katie's dolls with us, and we kept talking and talking until it must have been past midnight. As tired as we were, I don't know how we could stay awake so long, but none of us wanted to go to sleep.

After a while we heard Aleta breathing deep and rhythmically and we knew she was asleep. Emma wasn't far behind and five minutes later she was sound asleep too.

Lying beside me, Katie rolled over and turned her face toward mine. I could just barely see the white glow from the moon coming in one of the windows reflecting off her face. Her eyelids were drooping, and I could tell she was nearly gone herself.

"I'm so happy," she whispered. "I wish it could stay this way forever."

I turned toward her and smiled.

She reached out and took my hand and clasped it tight, then sighed deeply and closed her eyes.

"I love you, Mayme," she said softly.

"Good night, Katie," I said. "I love you too."

A few seconds later she was asleep, her hand still in mine, and I followed soon behind her.

EPILOGUE.

A TALL, STEALTHY FIGURE CREPT AMONG THE TALL, STEALTHY FIGURE CREPT AMONG THE trees bordering a cultivated field of cotton, approximately half of which had recently been picked. trees bordering a cultivated field of cotton, approximately half of which had recently been picked.

He had ridden out from town after his own work was done, keeping out of sight and making his way closer on foot. And now in the light of the sinking sun, he shielded his eyes with his hand and tried to make sense out of what he saw.

The five workers busily engaged in harvesting what remained on the stalks were the object of the man's attention. What were they doing out here alone? Four of them were girls, one of them far too young to be doing a man's work. The fifth was a slender young man whose skin color and other physical characteristics bore an uncanny resemblance to his own.

"I been wonderin' where he been disappearin' dese las' few days," he said to himself as he watched. "Dat boy's been fibbin' ter me. An' I knew dere wuz a suspishus look in dat girl's eye too. She ain't been tellin' me da whole truf. Sumfin be goin' on roun' 'bout here. Sumfin dat don' mak much sense ter dese ole eyes er mine."

He continued to watch for a few minutes more, then turned and made his way back to where he had tied his horse.

"Me an' dat son er mine's gwine hab a man ter man talk 'bout a few things," he muttered as he went. "And den I's gwine t' pay me a visit ter Miz Kathleen Clairborne an' her young frien's. An' right soon! Matter fact, I jes' might go visit dem termorrow."

Watch for volume three of SHENANDOAH S SISTERS.

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