"Dey ain' all drap out yit, 'caze she ain'
loss all her inside purty yit."

"What's Major Peafowel doing?"

"He jes' stan'in' up dar watchin' dat fier
on Tinker, an' wushin' hit 'ud bu'n up Lilly
Dove's house."

Immediately the children became inter-
ested in watching the forest fire which en-
veloped a part of Tinker Knob.
"Did Lilly's house burn down*?" asked
Mary Van with feeling.
"Bu'n up er holy Ghos' bird's house?" ex-
claimed Phyllis. "Why, gal, dat's de bird
de Holy Ghos' sen's, an' exsen's 'pon, whin-
some v'r hit come down 'pon de earf ! Jes'

220



MISS LILLY DOVE

like Jay burds is Satan's burds, — fokes says
dey goes ter de Bad Place ev'y Friday night,
an' I 'speck dey sees er heap er fokes us' ter
live heah too."

"Mammy, I'm skeered God don't know
the mountain's on fire," said Willis anx-
iously.
"Go off, boy, de Lawd ain' needin' you ter
hope him 'ten' ter His biznes' — now ef dat
wus er Jay burd, hit wud er bin burnt clean
up, but bein's hit's er Holy Ghos' dove, dat
hope ole man Noah ter Ian' de Ark, de Lawd
ain' gwine let her swing er feath'r. Dis
hyah ain' de fus' time Lilly Dove put her
trus' in de Lawd. Dat hit 'tain't," as she
took from the floor the book of Robin Red-
breast, "an' dis hyah Cock Robin," placing
her finger on the picture, "is de ve'y man dat
start all de fracus."

221



BYPATHS IN DIXIE

"Didn't Robin like Lilly Dove?" Willis
left the window to look at the book.
