ashamed of his ugliness that she couldn't
bear to have white folks see him. Whenever
she caught him slipping away from the cabin,
she whipped him unmercifully, and told him
what dreadful things old Mr. d'Arnault would
do to him if he ever found him near the "Big
House." But the next time Samson had a
chance, he ran away again. If Miss d'Arnault
stopped practicing for a moment and went
toward the window, she saw this hideous little
pickaninny, dressed in an old piece of sacking,
standing in the open space between the holly-
hock rows, his body rocking automatically, his
blind face lifted to the sun and wearing an
expression of idiotic rapture. Often she was
tempted to tell Martha that the child must be
kept at home, but somehow the memory of
his foolish, happy face deterred her. She re-
membered that his sense of hearing was nearly
all he had, -- though it did not occur to her
that he might have more of it than other
children.

One day Samson was standing thus while
Miss Nellie was playing her lesson to her
music-master. The windows were open. He
heard them get up from the piano, talk a little
while, and then leave the room. He heard the

[[212]]

p211 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p212w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p213

v?