n was made up of seven coaches, which had been taking on negroes
at every station up the road as far as Paducah, and it happened that the
two little boys did not know a soul in their car.

But when they were nearing Woodstock, a little station not far from
Memphis, Sam Lamb, making a tour of the cars, came into their coach and
was promptly hailed by the children. When he recognized them, he burst
into such a roar of laughter that it caused all the other passengers to
turn around and look in their direction.

"What y' all gwine to do nex' I jes' wonder," he exclaimed. "Yo' ekals
ain't made dis side o' 'ternity. Lordee, Lordee," he gazed at
them admiringly, "you sho' is genoowine corn-fed, sterlin' silver,
all-woolan'-a-yard-wide, pure-leaf, Green-River Lollapaloosas. Does yo'
folks know 'bout yer? Lordee! What I axin' sech a fool question fer?
'Course dey don't. Come on, I gwine to take y' all off 'n dese cars
right here at dis Woodstock, an' we kin ketch de 'commodation back
home."

"But Sam," protested Billy, "We don't want to go back home. We wants to
go to Memphis."

"Hit don't matter what y' all wants," was the negro's reply, "y' all
gotta git right off. Dis-here 'scursion train don't leave Memphis twell
twelve o'clock tonight an' yuh see how slow she am runnin', and ev'y
no 'count nigger on her'll be full o' red eye. An' yo' folks is plumb
'stracted 'bout yer dis minute, I 'low. Come on. She am gittin' ready to
stop."

He grabbed the blackened hand of each, pushing Jimmy and pulling Billy,
and towed the reluctant little boys through the coach.

"Yuh sho' is sp'iled my fun," he growled as he hustled them across the
platform to the waitingroom. "Dis-here's de fus' 'scursion I been on
widout Sukey a-taggin' long in five year an' I aimed fo' to roll 'em
high; an' now, 'case o' ketchin' up wid y' all, I gotta go right back
home. Now y' all set jes' as straight as yer kin set on dis here bench,"
he admonished, "whilst I send a telegraph to Marse Jeems Garner. An'
don' yuh try to 'lope out on de flatform neider. Set whar I kin keep my
eye skinned on yuh, yuh little slipp'ry-ellum eels. Den I gwine to come
back an' wash yer, so y' all look like 'spectable white folks."

Miss Minerva came out of her front door looking for Billy at the same
time that Mrs. Garner appeared on her porch in search of Jimmy.

"William! You William!" called one woman.

"Jimmee-ee! O Jimmee-ee-ee!" called the other.

"Have you seen my n