of the sad news. I knew what made him smile. He was aware
that if we were fortunate we should reach our destination at five
o'clock the next morning, and this made it the more painful to
communicate what the officer had said; but, as there was no time to
lose, I went up to him and asked him how he felt. He said "Much
better," and that he thanked God we were getting on so nicely. I then
said we were not getting on quite so well as we had anticipated. He
anxiously and quickly asked what was the matter. I told him. He
started as if struck by lightning, and exclaimed, "Good Heavens!
William, is it possible that we are, after all, doomed to hopeless
bondage?" I could say nothing, my heart was too full to speak, for at
first I did not know what to do. However we knew it would never do to
turn back to the "City of Destruction," like Bunyan's Mistrust and
Timorous, because they saw lions in the narrow way after ascending the
hill Difficulty; but press on, like noble Christian and Hopeful, to the
great city in which dwelt a few "shining ones." So, after a few
moments, I did all I could to encourage my companion, and we stepped
out and made for the office; but how or where my master obtained
sufficient courage to face the tyrants who had power to blast all we
held dear, heaven only knows! Queen Elizabeth could not have been more
terror-stricken, on being forced to land at the traitors' gate leading
to the Tower, than we were on entering that office. We felt that our
very existence was at stake, and that we must either sink or swim.
But, as God was our present and mighty helper in this as well as in all
former trials, we were able to keep our heads up and press forwards.

On entering the room we found the principal man, to whom my master
said, "Do you wish to see me, sir?" "Yes," said this eagle-eyed
officer; and he added, "It is against our rules, sir, to allow any
person to take a slave out of Baltimore into Philadelphia, unless he
can satisfy us that he has a right to take him along." "Why is that?"
asked my master, with more firmness than could be expected. "Because,
sir," continued he, in a voice and manner that almost chilled our
blood, "if we should suffer any gentleman to take a slave past here
into Philadelphia; and should the gentleman with whom the slave might
be travelling turn out not to be his rightful owner; and should the
proper master come and prove that his slave escaped on our road, we
shall have