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“Amos, wait a minute, now—” Tom spoke slowly. “You’s sayin’ it bringin’ news but ain’t no talkin’, jes’ de clickin’?”

“Yassuh, Mr. Tom, like a great big cricket. Seem like to me somehow or ’nother de station agent be’s gittin’ words out’n dat,’til it stop. Den pretty soon he step outside an’ tell dem odder mens what-all was said.”

“Ain’t dese white folks sump’n?” exclaimed Matilda. “De Lawd do tell!” She beamed upon Amos almost as broadly as L’il Kizzy was.

Amos, obviously feeling much more at ease than before, elected now without any promoting to tell them of another wonder. “Mr. Tom, is you ever been in any dem railroad repair shops?”

Tom was privately deciding that he liked this young man who appeared to be, at last, his sister’s choice to jump the broom with; he had manners. He seemed sincere, solid.

“Naw, son, I ain’t,” Tom said. “Me an’ my wife used to drive by de Company Shops village, but I ain’t never been inside none de buildin’s.”

“Well suh, I’se took plenty meals on trays from de hotel to de mens in all twelve dem different shops, an’ I reckon de busies’ one de blacksmith shop. Dey be’s doin’ sich in dere as straightenin’ dem great big train axles what’s got bent, fixin’ all manners o’ other train troubles, an’ makin’ all kinds o’ parts dat keeps de trains runnin’. It’s cranes in dere big as logs, bolted to de ceilin’, an’ de reckon twelve, fifteen blacksmith’s each got a nigger helper swingin’ mauls an’ sledges bigger’n I ever seen. Dey got forges big enough to roas’ two, three whole cows in, an’ one dem nigger helpers tol’ me dey anvils weighs much as eight hundred pounds!”

“Whew!” whistled Tom, obviously much impressed.

“How much yo’ anvil weigh, Tom?” Irene asked.

“Right roun’ two hundred pounds, an’ ain’t ever’body could lif’ it.”

“Amos—” L’il Kizzy exclaimed, “you ain’t tol’ ’em nothin’ ’bout yo’ new hotel where you works!”

“Hol’ on, none o’ my hotel!” Amos widely grinned. “Sho’ whist it was! Dey takes in money han’ over fis’! Lawd! Well, ’magines y’all knows de hotel ain’t long built. Folks says some mens pretty hot under de collar ’cause de railroad president talked wid dem, but den picked Miss Nancy Hillard to manage it. She de one hired me, memberin’ me workin’ hard fo’ her fam’ly, growin’ up. Anyhow, de hotel got thirty rooms, wid six toilets out in de backyard. Folks pays a dollar a day fo’ room an’ washbowl an’ towel, long wid breakfas’, dinner, supper, an’ a settin’ chair on de front porch. Sometime I hears Miss Nancy jes’ acarryin’ on ’bout how mos’ de railroad workmens leaves her nice clean white sheets all grease an’ soot-streaked, but den she say well leas’ dey spends ever’thin’ dey makes, so deys he’pin’ de Company Shops village git better off!”

Again L’il Kizzy cued her Amos: “How ’bout y’all feedin’ dem trainloads o’ folks?”

Amos smiled. “Well, den’s ’bout busy as us ever gits! See, every day it be’s de two passenger trains, one runnin’ eas’, de odder wes’. Gittin’ to McLeansville or Hillsboro, ’pendin’ which way it gwine, de train’s conductor he telegraphs ’head to de hotel how many passengers an’ crew he got. An’ by time dat train git to our station, lemme tell y’all, Miss Nancy’s got all de stuff out on dem long tables hot an’ steamin’, an’ all us helpers jes’ rarin’ to go to feed dem folks! I means it be’s quail an’ hams, chickens, guineas, rabbit, beef; it’s all kinds o’ salads, an’ ’bout any vegetable you can name,’long wid a whole table nothin’ but desserts! De peoples piles off dat big ol’ train dat sets dere waitin’ twenty minutes to give ’em time to eat fo’ dey gits back on boa’d an’ it commence achuffin’ out an’ gone again!”

“De drummers, Amos!” cried L’il Kizzy, with everyone smiling at her pride.

“Yeah,” said Amos. “Dey’s de ones Miss Nancy purely love to have put up in de hotel! Sometime two, three ’em git off’n de same train, an’ me an’ ’nother nigger hurries up carryin’ ’head o’ ’em to de hotel dey suit bag an’ big heavy black web-strap cases what