tch you in de house?"

"Come here quick, and take me on board," replied Marcy; and he
continued, as he stepped into the stern of the boat and picked up the
paddle he had provided for a steering oar: "What do you mean by trying
to desert me in this fashion; and was that you yelling a while ago?"

"Yes sar, Marse Mahcy, it was Julius done dat yellin', an' I done it
kase I aint want Cap'n Beardsley to cotch you in de house," answered the
boy, as he laid out his strength on the oars, and sent the boat swiftly
away from the bank.

"Are you sure that Beardsley was with those men?" asked Marcy earnestly.
"Think twice before you speak, or you may be the means of making me do
something that I shall be sorry for as long as I live."

"Julius don't need to think no two times 'fore he answer dat question.
De cap'n was dar, an' so was de oberseer. I know, kase de cap'n squoze
my arm till it blacker' n my skin. An' de oberseer 'low to take me to de
field in de mawnin'."

"If Beardsley had you by the arm how did you manage to get away from
him?" said Marcy, who had good reason for wishing to be sure of his
ground.

"Well, sar, moster, I buck him; dat's de way I got loose from de cap'n.
He scrooch down dis a way, so he kin look in de suller." said Julius,
bending forward until his back was nearly on a level with the gunwales
of the boat, "an' I whack him behine de ear, an' he drap so quick he
don't know what hit him. Dat's de troof, sure's you born."

Marcy did not doubt it, for if Beardsley had been foolish enough to
place himself in that position while Julius was within reach of him, the
black boy could have knocked him senseless without any trouble at all.
He was the acknowledged champion "bucker" of the neighborhood, and had
been known to do such things. The most pugnacious among the little
darkies would scream out in terror, and seek safety in flight, if Julius
raised one foot from the ground and hopped toward him on the other with
his head lowered threateningly, and there was not one among them with a
head hard enough to stand against him for a moment if Julius succeeded
in catching him by the ears. He could double up the strongest negro on
the plantation by butting him in the pit of the stomach, and he would do
it if one of them incurred his displeasure, even though he had to wait a
month to find his opportunity. And he told nothing but the truth when he
said that he had knocked Captain Beardsley down in that way. All he