FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   70   71   72   73   74   75   76   77   78   79   80   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94  
95   96   97   98   99   100   101   102   103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   >>   >|  
his family to remain in such an out-of-the-way place, with such a gang of negroes about them, and no white people near.' 'No, massa, not in dese times; but de missus and de young lady ain't dar now.' 'Not there now? The Colonel said nothing to me about that. Are you sure?' 'Oh yas, massa; I seed 'em go off on de boat to Charles'n most two weeks ago. Dey don't mean to cum back till tings am more settled; dey'm 'fraid to stay dar.' 'I should think it wouldn't be safe for even the Colonel there, if a disturbance broke out among the slaves.' ''Twouldn't be safe den anywhar, sar; but de Cunnel am berry brave man. He'm better dan twenty of _his_ niggas.' 'Why better than twenty of _his_ niggers?' ''Cause dem ugly niggas am gin'rally cowards. De darky dat is quiet, 'spectful, and does his duty, am de brave sort; _dey'll_ fight, massa, till dey'm cut down.' We had here reached a turn in the road, and passing it, came suddenly upon a coach, attached to which were a pair of magnificent grays, driven by a darky in livery. 'Hallo dar!' said Scipio to the driver, as we came nearly abreast of the carriage. 'Am you Cunnel J----'s man?' 'Yas, I is dat,' replied the darky. At this moment a woolley head, which I recognized at once as that of the Colonel's man 'Jim,' was thrust out of the window of the vehicle. 'Hallo, Jim,' I said. 'How do you do? I'm glad to see you.' 'Lor bress me, massa K----, am dat you?' exclaimed the astonished negro, hastily opening the door, and coming to me. 'Whar _did_ you cum from? I'se mighty glad to see you;' at the same time giving my hand a hearty shaking. I must here say, in justice to the reputation of South Carolina, that no respectable Carolinian refuses to shake hands with a black man, unless--the black happens to be free. 'I thought I wouldn't wait for you,' I replied. 'But how did you expect to get on? the "runs" have swollen into rivers.' 'We got a "flat" made for dis one,--it's down dar by dis time,--de oders we tought we'd get ober sumhow.' BLACK FREEMASONRY. 'Jim, this is Scip,' I said, seeing that the darkies had taken no notice of each other. 'How d'ye do, Scipio?' said Jim, extending his hand to him. A look of singular intelligence passed over the faces of the two negroes as their hands met; it vanished in an instant, and was so slight that none but a close observer would have detected it, but some words that Scip had previously let drop put me on
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   70   71   72   73   74   75   76   77   78   79   80   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94  
95   96   97   98   99   100   101   102   103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

Colonel

 

niggas

 

twenty

 
wouldn
 
negroes
 

Cunnel

 
replied
 

Scipio

 

coming

 

opening


singular
 

observer

 

extending

 

hastily

 

giving

 
mighty
 

intelligence

 

vanished

 

vehicle

 
thrust

window

 
instant
 

slight

 

hearty

 

astonished

 

exclaimed

 

passed

 
justice
 

swollen

 

FREEMASONRY


expect

 

rivers

 

detected

 

sumhow

 

thought

 

previously

 

Carolina

 

reputation

 

tought

 

respectable


Carolinian

 

darkies

 

refuses

 

notice

 

shaking

 

suddenly

 
Charles
 

disturbance

 

settled

 

people