entered.

"I want you to witness a deed of sale of a slave," Mr. Renfrew said.
"Here are the particulars: 'Nathaniel Forster sells to Vincent Wingfield
his slave, Dinah Moore and her male infant, for the sum of fourteen
hundred dollars.' These are the parties. Forster, sign this receipt."

The man did so. The justice put his signature as witness to the
transaction, dropped into his pocket the fee of five dollars that the
lawyer handed to him, and without a word strolled out again.

"There, Dinah," Mr. Renfrew said, "Mr. Wingfield is now your master."

The girl ran forward, fell on her knees before Vincent, seized his hand
and kissed it, sobbing out her thanks as she did so.

"There, that will do, Dinah," the lawyer said, seeing that Vincent was
confused by her greeting. "I think you are a lucky girl, and have made a
good exchange for the Orangery instead of the Cedars. I don't suppose
you will find Mr. Wingfield a very hard master. What he is going to do
with you I am sure I don't know."

Vincent now went to the door and called in Dan and told him to take
Dinah to the Orangery, then mounting his horse he rode off home to
prepare his mother for the reception of his new purchase.

CHAPTER III.

AIDING A RUNAWAY.

"Well, you are an extraordinary boy, Vincent," Mrs. Wingfield said as
her son told her the story, while his sister burst into fits of laughter
at the idea of Vincent owning a female slave with a baby. "Why did you
not tell me that you wanted the money, instead of going to Mr. Renfrew?
I shall tell him I am very angry with him for letting you have it for
such a purpose."

"I was not sure whether you would let me have it, mother; and if you had
refused, and I had got it afterward from Mr. Renfrew, I should not have
liked to bring her home here."

"That would have been fun," Annie said. "Fancy Vincent's troubles with a
female slave on his hands and nowhere to put her. What would you have
done, Vincent?"

"I suppose I could have got a home for her somewhere," Vincent said
quietly. "I don't think there would have been any difficulty about that.
Still I am glad I didn't have to do so, and one slave more or less can
make no difference here."

"Not at all," Mrs. Wingfield said; "I dare say Chloe will find something
for her to do in the way of washing, and such other light work that she
is fit for about the house. It is not that, but it is years since a
slave was brought into the Orangery; never si