"'Dis yer stuff,' sez she, 'is monst'us pow'ful kin' er goopher. You
take dis home, en gin it ter de cook, ef you kin trus' her, en tell her
fer ter put it in yo' marster's soup de fus' cloudy day he hab okra soup
fer dinnah. Min' you follers de d'rections.'

"'It ain' gwineter p'isen 'im, is it?' ax' Solomon, gittin' kin' er
skeered; fer Solomon wuz a good man, en did n' want ter do nobody no
rale ha'm.

"'Oh, no,' sez ole Aun' Peggy, 'it's gwine ter do 'im good, but he'll
hab a monst'us bad dream fus'. A mont' fum now you come down heah en
lemme know how de goopher is wukkin'. Fer I ain' done much er dis kin'
er cunj'in' er late yeahs, en I has ter kinder keep track un it ter see
dat it doan 'complish no mo' d'n I 'lows fer it ter do. En I has ter be
kinder keerful 'bout cunj'in' w'ite folks; so be sho' en lemme know,
w'ateber you do, des w'at is gwine on roun' de plantation.'

"So Solomon say all right, en tuk de goopher mixtry up ter de big house
en gun it ter de cook, en tol' her fer ter put it in Mars Jeems's soup
de fus' cloudy day she hab okra soup fer dinnah. It happen' dat de ve'y
nex' day wuz a cloudy day, en so de cook made okra soup fer Mars Jeems's
dinnah, en put de powder Solomon gun her inter de soup, en made de soup
rale good, so Mars Jeems eat a whole lot of it en 'peared ter enjoy it.

"De nex' mawnin' Mars Jeems tol' de oberseah he wuz gwine 'way on some
bizness, en den he wuz gwine ter his yuther plantation, down in Robeson
County, en he did n' 'spec' he 'd be back fer a mont' er so.

"But,' sezee, 'I wants you ter run dis yer plantation fer all it's wuth.
Dese yer niggers is gittin' monst'us triflin' en lazy en keerless, en