not again interfere."

When, therefore, Vincent entered the house and began his complaint, he
found himself cut short.

"I have heard the story already, Vincent. Dan acted in gross
disobedience, and thoroughly deserved the punishment Jonas was about to
give him. The work of the estate cannot be carried on if such conduct is
to be tolerated; and once for all, I will permit no interference on your
part with Jonas. If you have any complaints to make, come to me and make
them; but you are not to interfere in any way with the overseer. As for
Dan, I have directed Jonas that the next time he gives cause for
complaint he is to go into the fields."

Vincent stood silent for a minute, then he said quietly:

"Very well, mother. Of course you can do as you like; but at any rate I
will not keep my mouth shut when I see that fellow ill-treating the
slaves. Such things were never done in my father's time, and I won't see
them done now. You said the other day you would get me a nomination to
West Point as soon as I was sixteen. I should be glad if you would do
so. By the time I have gone through the school, you will perhaps see
that I have been right about Jonas."

So saying, he turned and left the room and again joined his sisters in
the drawing room.

"I have just told mother that I will go to West Point, girls," he said.
"Father said more than once that he thought it was the best education I
could get in America."

"But I thought you had made up your mind that you would rather stop at
home, Vincent?"

"So I had, and so I would have done, but mother and I differ in
opinion. That fellow Jonas was going to flog Dan, and I stopped him this
morning, and mother takes his part against me. You know, I don't like
the way he goes on with the slaves. They are not half so merry and happy
as they used to be, and I don't like it. We shall have one of them
running away next, and that will be a nice thing on what used to be
considered one of the happiest plantations in Virginia. I can't make
mother out; I should have thought that she would have been the last
person in the world to have allowed the slaves to be harshly treated."

"I am sure we don't like Jonas any more than you do, Vincent; but you
see mamma has to depend upon him so much. No, I don't think she can like
it; but you can't have everything you like in a man, and I know she
thinks he is a very good overseer. I suppose she could get another?"

Vincent said he thought that