Roberts officer. Kill big slabe boy, and kill poor
ole Caesar; and dat drefful bad job, eh, sah?"

"Yes," said Murray, responding to the black's smile most heartily; "that
would be a dreadfully bad job, and no mistake."

"And no mistake, sah," cried the black, bringing to bear his natural
imitative faculty apparently with a feeling of intense enjoyment, and
repeating the expression, "And no mistake, sah. Ha, ha, ha, ha! Hallo!
'Top, 'top!" he added, in an excited whisper. "Caesar make too much
noise enough and tell Huggins man where we hide umself. Massa Murray
Frank eatum Caesar nut. Do um good and makum fight like sailor man."

"Yes, I'll eat it soon," replied Murray. "But you're right, Caesar; we
must wait till it is dark, for fear that my people should shoot us by
mistake."

"Yes, sah; dat be bad job and no mistake," whispered the black, bringing
in the fresh expression again. "What Massa Allen do widout Caesar?
Hey?"

"Mr Allen trusts you, then?" said Murray.

"Yes, sah. Massa Allen berry much trust Caesar. Massa Allen tell
Caesar he berry sorry he ebber trust Massa Huggin. Wish um nebber come
plantation. Caesar see big tear in Massa Allen eye, and make Caesar
berry sorry. Make um fink a deal. Massa Huggins kill poor black
niggah, sah, lots o' times. Massa Huggins got bad brudder come sometime
with ship schooner full o' slabes. Flog um and sell um. Make um die
sometime. Massa Huggins' brudder tell um bad sailor man. Talk like dis
way;" and the man as he knelt by Murray's side gave an exact imitation
of the keen Yankee skipper. "Say `Chuck um overboard,' sah." As the
black uttered the command he acted it, and added grimly: "`Chuck um
overboard to de shark?'" and added now a horrible bit of pantomime,
dashing and waving his arms about to represent the terrible fish gliding
over one another in a wild struggle to seize their prey.

"Don't! Don't!" whispered Murray, with a look of horror which proved
the realism of the black's word-painting and gesticulation.

"No, massa," whispered Caesar solemnly. "Um nebber chuck black niggah
overboard. But," he added, with a fierce look that was even ferocious,
"Caesar like chuck Massa Huggins overboard. Like see shark fish bite
all a pieces and eat um. So--so--so!"

As he uttered the last words with hideous emphasis he brought his
imitative faculty once more into action by laying bare his fine white
teeth, throwing his head from side to side, and