atisfied clearing of the throat which was usually the prelude to a
long story.

"Come now, Quashy," said Lawrence, with a laugh, "don't be too
long-winded, and don't exaggerate."

"Don't ex-what-gerate, massa?"

"Exaggerate."

"What's dat, massa?"

"Never mind, Quashy--go on."

With a genial and highly exaggerated smile, the negro proceeded:--

"Well, as I was agwine to say, I see dis man, Conrad ob de Mountains, on
de plains ob Proo. I's in de Proo camp at de time, attendin' on you's
fadder, an' de army ob Chili was in front ob us on de slopes ob de
hills, agwine to go in for a fight wid us. De sojers of Proo wasn't
bery keen for fightin'. I could see dat, but their gin'ral screwed 'em
up to de pint, an' dey was all ready, when all of a sudden, we sees a
pris'ner brought in by four sojers. Dey seem so 'fraid ob him dey
darn't touch him, tho' he was unarmed. Two walked behind him, an' two
walked in front ob 'im, all wid dere baynets pintin' at 'im, ready to
skewer 'im all round if he was try to run. But, poor chap, he walk wid
his head down, bery sad-like--nebber t'inkin' ob runnin'. So dey druv'
'im up to our gin'ral. I was in a crowd o' tall fellers, an' de
pris'ner had his back to me, so I not seed his face well. `Das Conrad
ob de Mountains dey've cotched,' says a feller near me. `Listen!' We
all listen'd so quiet you could hear a 'skito sneeze. `What's you'
name?' asks de gin'ral, ridin' close up to Conrad on his splendid
war-hoss--a child ob one ob de war-hosses as come ober wid Pizarro from
Spain. `My name's Pumpkin,' answers de pris'ner. `Das a lie!' says de
gin'ral. `No's not,' says Conrad, lookin' up, as I could see by de back
ob his head. `What side you b'longs to, raskil?' `To no side,
gin'ral.' `Whar you come fro'?' `Fro' de mountains, gin'r'l.' `Whar
you go to?' `Ober de mountains, gin'ral.' I could see by de way de
fedders in de gin'ral's hat shake dat he's gittin' in a wax at de cool
imprence ob de pris'ner, but he 'strain hisself, an' spoke sarkmustic.
`Senhor Pumpkin,' says he, `you are Conrad ob de Mountains,'--('cause he
guess who he was by dat time); `how you prepose to go ober de
mountains?' `Dis way!' says Conrad, an', nixt momint, up goes de
gin'ral's leg, down goes his head an' fedders on de ground, and Conrad
sits in de saddle afore you can wink. All round de baynets was charge,
but dey haul up jist in time not to skewer one anoder, for de horse
shotted out fro'