From the white landowners above him there had not been handed to him a chance to learn the meaning of loyalty, of sentiment, of tradition. Joy was as unknown to him as was despair. As a creature of the earth, he
endured, hearty, whole, seemingly indestructible, with no regrets and no hope. He asked easy, drawling
questions about me, his other son, his wife, and he laughed, amused, when I informed him of their destinies. I
forgave him, and pitied him as my eyes looked past him to the unpainted wooden shack,
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