nted me immediately; yes, Lizzy, said
I, tell master I'm coming. I bothered about the room long enough to give
colour to the impression that I had just finished dressing myself; I then
came and said, here I am, master, when he demanded of me, what were my
horses doing in the meadow? Here I put on an expression of such wonder and
surprise--looking first into the meadow and then at the stable door, and
to master's satisfaction, I seemed so completely confounded that my
deception took upon him the desired effect. Then I affected to roar right
out, crying, now master, you saw my horses all clean last night before I
went to bed, and now some of those negroes have turned them out so that I
should have them to clean over again: well, I declare! it's too bad, and I
roared and cried as I went towards the meadow to drive them up; but master
believing what I said, called me back and told me to call Mr. Cobb, and
when Mr. Cobb came master told him to blow the horn; when the horn was
blown, the negroes were to be seen coming from all parts of the
plantation, and forming around in front of the balcony. Master then came
out and said, now I saw this boy's horses clean last night and in the
stable, so now tell me which of you turned them out? Of course they all
denied it, then master ordered them all to go down into the meadow and
drive up the horses and clean them, me excepted; so they went and drove
them up and set to work and cleaned them. On Monday morning we all turned
out to work until breakfast, when the horn was blown, and we all repaired
to the house. Here master again demanded to know who turned the horses
loose, and when they all denied it, he tied them all up and gave them each
39 lashes. Not yet satisfied, but determined to have a confession, as was
always his custom on such occasions, he came to me and asked me which one
I had reason to suspect. My poor guilty heart already bleeding for the
suffering I had caused my fellow slaves, was now almost driven to
confession. What must I do, select another victim for further punishment,
or confess the truth and bear the consequence? My conscience now rebuked
me, like an armed man; but I happened to be one of those boys who, among
all even of my mother's children loved myself best, and therefore had no
disposition to satisfy my conscience at the expense of a very sore back,
so I very soon thought of Dick, a negro who, like Ishmael, had his hand
out against every man, and all our hands