w the thief and to wait until later, but the old negro began
quoting scripture as he put on another coat and heavy knit gloves. "De
Lawd say, 'Dey shall not steal', and de white folks is sho' to think I
tuk 'at mule off. Fuddermore, in de 'pistle ob de 'postle, Isaiah, he
say, 'Be a clean vessel ob de Lawd God', and I gonna find out de truf
and prove my position 'fore dese people. Dat low-down scallawag what
come here wid no 'nouncement ob his 'pearance is gwine suffer for dis
here axident. He nebber reckoned wid me". And with that Uncle Jake waded
into the deep snow and was last seen following the creek down through
the meadow as it meandered underneath an icy crust.

Several days passed and anxiety began to show on the faces of those at
home, but one morning Mammy Callie came to get breakfast with her face
aglow. After praying most of the night, she said "The good Lord has
given me a sho sign, for He done showed me a vision of a man up 'fore a
Jedge and den I see Jake wid a bucket of oats and dat mule was toggin'
behin' him".

His spirit was contagious and we lived in an atmosphere of expectancy
during the day and were not surprised when we heard shouts of joy and
praises to "de good Lawd" from Jake as he rode up on the old mule.

He had been unable to locate any tracks, but he had walked miles in the
cold and sneaked around the barns and in the chimney corners to
eavesdrop at the homes of those whom he suspected of being disloyal to
the Confederate cause. While hiding under a haystack late one afternoon,
he heard voices and he recognised his master's mule as it was sold by a
stranger with a decided northern brogue to the owner of the place on
which he was hiding. Uncle Jake almost shouted for joy, but he realised
he was on "alien" territory so he remained out of sight. When the mule
was fed and stabled, he skipped in under cover of darkness and led the
mule away. In the excitement of getting away he forgot that he had
crossed the county line, so no excuse was taken when the sheriff of that
county took him into custody. Uncle Jake was hailed into court the next
morning with the "owner" as witness against him.

"How old are you?" asked the judge in a stern manner.

"I's ol' enuf to know dat am de mule what belongs to Marster. I knows
him by his bray", answered the negro, as he looked over the crowd and
saw and felt no sympathy from any of them.

"You were caught with stolen goods out of your county and from all
a