lars on this if
necessary."

"As a matter of sentiment?"

"As a matter of sentiment."

Bladen considered. He was not averse to making five hundred dollars, but
he was decidedly averse to letting slip any chance to secure a larger
sum. It flashed in upon him that Murrell had uncovered the real purpose
of his visit to North Carolina; his interest in land had been merely a
subterfuge.

"Well?" said Murrell.

"I'll have to think your proposition over," said Bladen.

The immediate result of this conversation was that within twenty-four
hours a man driving two horses hitched to a light buggy arrived at
Scratch Hill in quest of Bob Yancy, whom he found at dinner and to
whom he delivered a letter. Mr. Yancy was profoundly impressed by the
attention, for holding the letter at arm's length, he said,

"Well, sir, I've lived nigh on to forty years, but I never got a piece
of writing befo'--never, sir. People, if they was close by, spoke to
me, if at a distance they hollered, but none of 'em ever wrote." After
gazing at the written characters with satisfaction Mr. Yancy made a
taper of the letter and lit his pipe, which he puffed meditatively.
"Sonny, when you grow up you must learn so you can send writings to yo'
Uncle Bob fo' him to light his pipe with."

"What was in the paper, Uncle Bob?" asked Hannibal.

"Writin'," said Mr. Yancy, and smoked.

"What did the writin' say, Uncle Bob?" insisted the boy.

"It was private," said Mr. Yancy, "very private."

"What's your answer?" demanded the stranger.

"That's private, too," said Mr. Yancy. "You tell him I'll be monstrous
glad to talk it over with him any time he fancies to come out here."

"He said something about some one I was to carry back with me," objected
the man.

"Who said that?" asked Mr. Yancy.

"Bladen did."

"How's a body to know who yore talking about unless you name him?" said
Yancy severely.

"Well, what am I to tell him?"

"It's a free country and I got no call to dictate. You-all can tell
him whatever you like." Further than this Mr. Yancy would not commit
himself, and the man went as he came.

The next day Yancy had occasion to visit Balaam's Cross Roads.
Ordinarily Hannibal would have gone with him, but he was engaged in
digging out a groundhog's hole with Oglethorpe Bellamy, grandson of
Uncle Sammy Bellamy, the patriarch of Scratch Hill. Mr. Yancy forbore to
interrupt this enterprise which he considered of some educational value,
since