Well, dearie, I use to make believe as 'ow we'd all get a charnce, all to ourselves, to pay what we owed.

Some people, I thought, runs away from the debt, an' some pays it in bad money, but, I ses to meself, if ever my charnce come, I'll pay it the very best I can.

Lawd, 'ow I 'ated everybody in those days.

It seemed like people was all rotten, an' as if all the churches an' all the cherities was the rottenest of all the lot.

Well, then, dearie, Elbert blew in.