noon
Tell yer , dis whup , she 's got a daisy snapper on ` er , gran ` dad ! She 's wuth a dozen o ' deze heah white-boy _ w ` ips _ , she is ! '' The last thing Mose heard as Duke descended the levee that morning was the crack of the new whip ; and he said , as he filled his pipe , `` De idee o ' dat little tar-baby o ' mine fetchin ' me a Christmas-gif ' ! '' It was past noon when Duke got home again , bearing upon his shoulder , like a veritable little Santa Claus himself , a half-filled coffee-sack , the joint results of his service in the market and of the generosity of its autocrats . The latter had evidently measured their gratuities by the size of their beneficiary , as their gifts were very small . Still , as the little fellow emptied the sack upon the floor , they made quite a tempting display . There were oranges , apples , bananas , several of each ; a bunch of soup-greens , scraps of fresh meat -- evidently butchers ' `` trimmings '' -- odds and ends of vegetables ; while in the midst of the melee three live crabs struck out in as many directions for freedom .