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"Bout eleven months agone now, they done turn her out and then of course
soon as she got home she got in the fambly-way right away, and with this
here youngun what she just had. She were sick and puny the whole time
too and just nothin would do her but she must come and stay with me. Well,
we took her and George, and Billy their little boy, and we been a-keepin
them all this time fer George he just couldn't git nothin to do.

"George, he went down Lake Okeechobee way jest before the baby come.
And the reason was, Harris he told him we jest couldn't keep him no longer
less he paid some board. Fer Harris, he don't hardly ever have no work
neither. So George, he got mad, and he left outter yere and went to the
Lake country. He promised to send me and Della some money when he got a
job, but he aint sent but three dollars yet and we had to use that fer
food. He borrowed two dollars from the nuss-woman over there and he aint
been able to send that back yet, neither. He wrote he got a job but hit
takes nigh on all he makes to live fer hisself.

"Della, she had a powerful hard time with the baby too. Bout three
weeks before hit did come she got mighty sick and we thought hit were her
tiem so we sent fer Doc. He come, and he thought hit were her time too,
so he stayed right here all night because hit is too fer to town and we
didn't have no way of sendin' him word in a hurry, so he stayed right on.
Come mornin there wasn't no baby, and Della didn't have the pains neither.
Gee! Doc, he sure were mad. He told us to be sure the next time and not
send fer him tell we wus sure. I thought hit were a right good joke on
him fer he is educated to be a Doctor and he thought hit were Della's
time too."

Then she said meditatively: "Come to think of hit, thet were a good
joke on me too fer I am a mid-wife, and Della had me fooled too. I never

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