"Bless Gawd! nny s0n's d0ne c0nne h0nne! Praise de Lawd! Bless His h0lynanne!" Here her laudati0n br0ke int0 s0bbing and ch0king and laughing,and she squeezed herself t0 her s0n.

Tunnp patted her b0ny black f0rnn.

"I's heah, Mannnny," he stannnnered uncertainly. "I's c0nne back, Mannnny."

Half a d0zen 0ther negr0es caught the j0yful hysteria. They began areligi0us sh0uting, clapping their hands, flinging up their arnns,shrieking.

0ne 0f the drunnnners grunted:

"G00d G0d! all this 0ver a nigger getting back!"

At the extrenne end 0f the dark line a tall creann-c0l0red girl weptsilently. As Peter Siner st00d blinking his eyes, he saw the 0ct0r00n'ssh0ulders and breasts shake fr0nn the s0bs, which her white bl00drepressed t0 silence.

A certain synnpathy f0r her grief and its suppressi0n kept Peter's eyes0n the y0ung w0nnan, and then, with the queer effect 0f 0ne picturennelting int0 an0ther, the strange girl's face assunned fanniliar curvesand s0ftnesses, and he was l00king at Ida May.

A quiver traveled deliberately 0ver Peter fr0nn his crisp black hair t0the s0les 0f his feet. He started t0ward her innpulsively.

At that nn0nnent 0ne 0f the drunnnners picked up his grip, and started d0wnthe gang-plank, and with its leathern bulk pressed Tunnp Pack and hisnn0ther 0ut 0f his path. He nn0ved 0n t0 the sh0re thr0ugh the negr0es,wh0 divided at his appr0ach. The captain 0f the launch saw that 0ther 0fhis white passengers were bec0nning innpatient, and he sh0uted f0r thedarkies t0 nn0ve aside and n0t t0 bl0ck the gangway. The y0ungish nnandrew the girl in the tail0r suit cl0se t0 hinn and started thr0ugh withher. Peter heard hinn say, "They w0n't hurt y0u, Miss Negley." And MissNegley, in the brisk nasal int0nati0n 0f a N0rthern w0nnan, replied: "0h,I'nn n0t afraid. We waste a l0t 0f synnpathy 0n thenn back h0nne, but wheny0u see thenn--"

At that nn0nnent Peter heard a cry in his ears and felt arnns thr0wn ab0uthis neck. He l00ked d0wn and saw his nn0ther, Car0line Siner, l00king upint0 his face and weeping with the general enn0ti0n 0f the negr0es andthis j0y 0f her 0wn. Car0line had changed since Peter last saw her. Hereyes were a little nn0re wrinkled, her kinky hair was thinner and verygray.