en turn, with my left arm
sweeping the legs of one of my captors from under him; I left him nearly
standing on his head, and took to my heels. As soon as they could recover
they both took after me. We had to mount a fence. This I did most
successfully, and making across an open field towards another wood; one of
my captors being a long-legged man, was in advance of the other, and
consequently nearing me. We had a hill to rise, and during the ascent he
gained on me. Once more I thought of self-defence. I am trying to escape
peaceably, but this man is determined that I shall not.

My case was now desperate; and I took this desperate thought: "I will run
him a little farther from his coadjutor; I will then suddenly catch a
stone, and wound him in the breast." This was my fixed purpose, and I had
arrived near the point on the top of the hill, where I expected to do the
act, when to my surprise and dismay, I saw the other side of the hill was
not only all ploughed up, but we came suddenly upon a man ploughing, who
as suddenly left his plough and cut off my flight, by seizing me by the
collar, when at the same moment my pursuer seized my arms behind. Here I
was again in a sad fix. By this time the other pursuer had come up; I was
most savagely thrown down on the ploughed ground with my face downward,
the ploughman placed his knee upon my shoulders, one of my captors put his
upon my legs, while the other tied my arms behind me. I was then dragged
up, and marched off with kicks, punches and imprecations.

We got to the tavern at three o'clock. Here they again cooled down, and
made an appeal to me to make a disclosure. I saw that my attempt to escape
strengthened their belief that I was a fugitive. I said to them, "If you
will not put me in jail, I will now tell you where I am from." They
promised. "Well," said I, "a few weeks ago, I was sold from the eastern
shore to a slave-trader, who had a large gang, and set out for Georgia,
but when he got to a town in Virginia, he was taken sick, and died with
the small-pox. Several of his gang also died with, it, so that the people
in the town became alarmed, and did not wish the gang to remain among
them. No one claimed us, or wished to have anything to do with us; I left
the rest, and thought I would go somewhere and get work."

When I said this, it was evidently believed by those who were present, and
notwithstanding the unkind feeling that had existed, there was a murmur of
approbat