I was sitting up with my father's body and would go down every
hour to see that everything was all right.
"'There's a man trying to get in at the front door,' she said. I got up
at once and went downstairs. I could see the outlines of a man's figure
moving in the darkness, but I could not distinguish the features.
"'Who is it?' I asked, throwing open the door and peering out.
"'It's me, Sammy--it's Aleck. Take me to my ole marster.'
"He came in and stood where the light fell full upon him. I hardly knew
him, he was so changed--much older and bent, and his clothes hung on
him in rags.
"I pointed to the parlor-door, and the old man went on tip-toe into the
room and stood looking at my father's dead face for a long time--the
body lay on a cot. Then he placed his hat on the floor and got down on
his knees. There was just light enough to see his figure black against
the white of the sheet that covered the cot. For some minutes he knelt
motionless, as if in prayer, though no sound escaped him.
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