Then she went on: what about this? what about that? Said she knew Halle was no trouble, but shewanted to know if schoolteacher was handling the Pauls all right and Sixo.

　　"Yes, ma'am," I said. "Look like it.""Do they do what he tells them?""They don't need telling.""Good. That's a mercy. I should be back downstairs in a day or two. I just need more rest. Doctor'sdue back. Tomorrow, is it?" "You said features, ma'am?""What?""Features?""Umm. Like, a feature of summer is heat. A characteristic is a feature. A thing that's natural to athing.""Can you have more than one?""You can have quite a few. You know. Say a baby sucks its thumb. That's one, but it has otherstoo. Keep Billy away from Red Corn. Mr. Garner never let her calve every other year. Sethe, youhear me? Come away from that window and listen.""Yes, ma'am.""Ask my brother-in-law to come up after supper.""Yes, ma'am.""If you'd wash your hair you could get rid of that lice.""Ain't no lice in my head, ma'am.""Whatever it is, a good scrubbing is what it needs, not scratching.

　　Don't tell me we're out of soap.""No, ma'am.""All right now. I'm through. Talking makes me tired.""Yes, ma'am.""And thank you, Sethe.""Yes, ma'am."You was too little to remember the quarters. Your brothers slept under the window. Me, you andyour daddy slept by the wall. The night after I heard why schoolteacher measured me, I had troublesleeping. When Halle came in I asked him what he thought about schoolteacher. He said therewasn't nothing to think about. Said, He's white, ain't he? I said, But I mean is he like Mr. Garner?

　　"What you want to know, Sethe?""Him and her," I said, "they ain't like the whites I seen before. The ones in the big place I wasbefore I came here.""............