“Aunt Jinny, why do them Ravens talk jest like us?” Because it had seemed odd, hearing familiar accents and words coming from them. She wasn’t sure now what she had expected before they spoke, but it hadn’t been that.

“Because they is us, fool girl,” Jinny said a little crossly. “Up till Jackass Jackson got it inter his fool haid t’ Remove them Cherokee, most of ’em had farms like ourn, an’ shops an’ trades too, an’ went t’ school alongside our young’uns, and ever’thang y’all kin think of. Iffen y’all walked inter a Cherokee cabin wi’ yore eyes closed an’ opened ’em when nobody was around, y’all couldn’t’a told the difference.” She scowled. “Thet no-good trash Jackson reckoned he’d buy hisself some votes, I guess, by Removin’ ’em and givin’ their property t’ no-accounts.”

“It seems kinda strange they’s on’y th’ two or three of ’em,” she said, thinking out loud.

“Wall, I dunno ac’chully how many Cherokee is back there in the holler,” her aunt admitted. “I know I tol’ y’all it was on’y two or three, but I ain’t sure. On’y one who knew for sure was my Granpappy. I niver see nobody but the Ravens, so there could be a whole tribe livin’ quiet-like back thar. Come t’think ’bout it, there prolly is, or at least, a couple famblies. Holler’s big enough fer all of us. Ain’t no biznez of mine. Figger they’s at least one tribe Jackass Jackson didn’ cheat outa their land.”

It was very clear that, even though the Removal had been decades ago and Aunt Jinny could not possibly have firsthand knowledge of it, she had inherited a fearsome grudge against President Andrew Jackson along with her farm.

But . . . it kinder sounds like it’s justified.

“Me an’ Matt Holcroft oughta figger out how t’transfer th’ deed t’them one-a these days,” she finished. “But they ain’t no rush. Matt’s deedin’ his farm t’ Josh or Jacob, an’ my place’ll be a-goin’ t’ y’all, an’ neither one of y’all’s gonna mess with th’ Ravens.”

That astonishing statement surprised Anna so much that you could have knocked her over with a feather, and she tried to think of something else to ask about, now that she had—she hoped—gotten her aunt onto something other than whatever thing Jinny had wanted to bring up. Why give this place t’me, when she said she has brothers an’ sisters? she thought. And she was about to ask how many relatives she actually had, when Jinny shot her a sharp glance.

“And y’all ain’t gonna distract me none, missy,” she said. “They’s somethin’ I aim t’show y’all terday. ’Tis ’bout time y’all knowed about y’all’s real inheritance.”

Jinny made some odd gestures in the air. Odder still—a little scary in fact—her fingers left glowing golden trails in the air!

The sight held Anna paralyzed for a moment, and she could not believe her eyes. But what happened next made her yelp and jump on top of her stool, like a silly goose seeing a mouse.