Cassie squeezed Blair's elbow tightly as they climbed the slight rise. The remembrance of the tragedy had made her eyes smart and her heart beat faster than normal. Whize, I walk uppa thiz rise of hill jus' 'bout ever' day. Whyme I panting wif hard breathin' like Old Man Blueford's bull calves when they see him a-comin' wif his peenchers and pliers, all gleeful at turning them into peaceful critters with nary no thoughts of heifers again.

And the way I'm tawkin' to thiz purty feller. Blair. Blair. Oh dammit, dammit, nowze I thawt I recernized somepin 'bout whut JimmyJoe wuz sayin 'bout a blue eyed young feller wif lots uv curly hay er, an' sparkerlers in hiz earz...he tole Mama wuncet in the barn affer shay woke him up affer wun of hiz fits...he dreamt of a man like thiz Blair, all purty and sweet smellin' and sittified from way off yonder in a lan' next ter a ho-shun that ain't gotted no end ter that water.

An' here's I am a tellin' stuff ov the past jus' like we'ze node each t'other all un hour lives. Fer sum ray sun, tellin' him thiz all ful bad thang makens me fail better.

"Cassie, would you like to finish telling me about your Mother? Wouldn't you like to get it told and then sort of get it out of your system then, before we reach your home?"

She nodded, blinking tears.

"Weel, az I sed, I runned in wif Miz Abbie and Doc Susan. Miz Abbie hollered out to the roof ov the howse, "Oh, my Lord, save us!"

Mama wuz a-laying thar in thuh bed whur Jimmy Joe hadda putten her, wif her hair all down and come unplaited, and sangin'.

I crawl led 'pon the kivvers and Doc, she spatted me on the rear, sayin', "Git offen thar, chile."

Mama looked up an' smiled sah funny-lak. Wuddunt nuttin' funny 'bout nuttin'. Miz Abbie, she tuk a-holt uv mah arm and maiden me gets off. She sed, "Susan, I'm a-fixin' tah taken thiz chile outter here whilst yew 'zamin' pore Gracie."

"Wull, Blair, I duddunt wanna leaf Mama, but Miz Abbie she's turrible mean and folkses sez she kin putten the evil eye on her ennermies. So she made me git up and go wif her. We wented 'roun' to the back of that howse and drew a bucket of water. Miz Abbie washened hurrin face and han's an' maiden me too. I wuz skeered and mad as a reddened hornitt at the same time. Yew ebber bin lak thatten, Blair? Skeered and shakin' wif angerin' at thuh same time?

Blair nodded. "Many times, when I've confronted the wrong person at the wrong...but now is not the time, please Cassie, uh, Cassie Dayzella, continue."

They reached the top of the rise and stopped. "Uh, Ize gotten to set mahse'f down furrin a minnit. Ize still a litter winded fum whopping Kinkade's ugly ass."

She stretched out on the brown pine needles under a huge pine tree, frowned, rolled over on her side, dug into the ground and snatched up several sharp-edged cones and flung them away down the hill. Cassie collapsed on her back, letting out a loud sigh.

Blair eased himself down onto the grassy carpet. Cassie eyed him with her excellent peripheral vision, shyly reached over and touched his hand, fingering lightly upon his knuckles. Blair took her hand in his, holding it in a gentle grip.

"Miz Abbie started askin' me kerwest shuns whattin happened in the howse ter my Mama. I bawled and squawled and tole her boutten Kinkade and his ugly red goober" (Cassie gulped, ya diddunt say that worrud in front'n menfolk whut wuzn't kin) "and how he maiden Mamma hurt an' blaid red down her laigs, and I runned an' foun' Jimmy Joe in his fit, and how I hitten his manroot wif muh skillet pan and JimmyJoe bellerin' fer me ta cum and get y'all to run up here an taken keer of Mama.

Fine lee I quieted my bawlin' an' she hugged me to her bosoms.

I heared Doc kull us back inner thuh howse. Mama wuz a-layin thar still a-sangin':

Down in thuh vail lee
Vail lee so low
Hang yore haid over
Hear that wind a-blow
Hear that wind a-blow
Love, Hear that wind a-blow
Hang yore haid over
Hearin' that wind blow

I saintered over ter Mama and sawze a bloody rag a-layin' crumple-erred on the flow-er an' snatched it up a quick. Doc had a fit, and knocked it outter mah han' and somepin so uglee jus' rolled skitterin' on the flow-er. A little pace of bleedin' skin and black wirey hairs and roun' lak a leetle sack. I raiched down fer it, but Doc slapped me on top of mah haid, "Leaf it alone, girl gal."

Wellze, Blair, I haddunt nebber dun whut mose fokes toles me, so's I scramblerered fer it, and then I nude it wuz parton Kinkade.

Doc Susan grabs that rag outter mah hand and stiffens up hern back. "You is mose grown. So yer outten ter know whut thiz is. Thiz is the part under a man's root whuz makes hiz seed. Hazzen yore Mama tole you bout how babies iz made?"

I jerkened mah haid up and said rat purtly. "Yessum, when's I fust had my rosie flowers and she tole me why I wuz gonna bleed ever 30 daze. She sayed a huzbunder un his wife got all sited an' happy wif each t'other and touchened thay othern, and a man's pairt gotten hard soze he cud join hiz body wif his wife. And herze got all sof' and wetted ter hep him. And he rubbed inside her privatette openin' wif her fittin' horese'f ter him. And Mama sed it plez yored bofe male and female."

"Rosie flow'rs?" Doc Susan asked, looking grimly at Abbie. "Grace...a'mighty...chile, thiz bloody piece is whur Kinkade's seed wuz made whut goes outten his root to a wummanperson's womb ter maken a babe."

"How did it cum ter be dee tach-ett from hiz body?"

"Doc--"

And Blair, Jimmy Joe wuz stannnin' in the dore way, lookin' lak he'd fit a b'ar, hiz hanz wuz red and bleedin' an' his cloze all torrin ter shreddin's.

"James Joseph Ellison!" Doc cried. "Whur yew bin ter, and whut happened ter Kinkade?"

Jimmy Joe looked me up and down, Blair, 'fore he answered, "That...pace uv Kinkade yore a-holtin' twixt yore thumb an' pointin' fanger is wun of Kinkade's balls."

Abbie hollered, "God in the Heaven!" and puttin her fangers ober mah ears. I snatched them away and runned to Jimmy Joe and hugged him tight. He touched mah forehead wif his bloody han and give me a tard smile.

"I swore on Ellison blood Mama wud hev rayvinje, and I stood him afore her and putten the knife in hore hans and held on tight whilst she cutted it off his peter."

Boy, Blair, Doc Susan made the funniest face, sorta like stranglin' on a mouf ful ov grits whut's too dry, and shay wuz gonter gag. Abbie tsked tsked, and hepped her over to thah pail and gotten her a dipper ov water 'fore she choked.

Jimmy Joe went an' sat down along side Mama kissin' her on the chake and whusperin' low jus' fer her to hear him.

"What did he say to Grace, did you ever find out, Cassie?"

Cassie burst into tears, and sat up and began a rocking motion, cuddling herself with her arms protecting her stomach.

"He sed, 'I bay reed yore little un, Mama. I bay reed it unner them dafferdills up on Starry Hill, whur yew and Daddy went after yore weddin'. Where yew lay wif Daddy fer the firsted time...whut yew tole me I hed ter taken my own...but I cain't taken no female thar, but I wull taken my blue eyed man whun he comes fer me..."

A purty man wif blue eyes and darken curlze all twistened tergether and shiney sparklerers in his ears.

And Cassie Dayzella jerked up her red hair from out of her eyes, and looked, knowingly, into the beautiful face...of a blue-eyed man..."whun he comes fer me..."

Aw, oh, wuz Jimmy Joe in hiz right mind all along?

Part 6 has ended, the seventh still lurks in Susan's imagination for the right time to be written.