ve half-done it," cried Pete, who was wild with
excitement. "Pull away, and let's zhow 'em what West-country muscles
can do. Pull lad, pull, and keep me at it, or I zhall be getting up and
dancing zailor's hornpipe all over the boat, and without music. Music!
Who wants music? My heart's full of music and zinging of home again,
and I don't know what's come to my eyes. Master Nic, all this river,
and the trees, and fog rising on each zide through the trees, looks zo
beautiful that I must be dreaming. Zay, lad, do tell me I ra-ally am
awake."

"Yes, Pete, awake--wide awake; and I am feeling just the same. My
heart's beating with hope as it never beat before."

"Hooroar for Master Nic's heart!" cried the big fellow wildly. "Beat
away, good old heart, for we're going to do it, and it'll be just as
easy as kissing your hand."

"We mustn't be too sanguine."

"Oh yes, we must, lad. I don't know what being zangwing is, but if it's
anything to do with fancying we shall get away, I zay let's be as
zangwing as we can. None of your getting into the dumps and `shan't do
it' now. We're free, my lad--free; and I should just like to have a cut
at any one as zays we aren't. Zlaves, indeed! White zlaves! But I
knowed it couldn't last. You can't make a zlave of an Englishman,
Master Nic. You may call him one, and put irons on him, or shut him up
like zyder in a cask, and hammer the bung in; but zooner or later he'll
zend the bung out flying, or burst the hoops and scatter the staves. It
was only waiting our chance, and we've got it; and here we are rowing
down this here river in the boat, and they may hoe the old plantation
themselves. Zay, Master Nic."

"Yes, Pete."

"Don't it zeem strange what a differ a black skin makes in a man?"

"What do you mean--in the colour?"

"Nay-ay-ay-ay, lad! I mean 'bout being a zlave. Here's these niggers
brought here and made zlaves of, and they zettles down to it as
happy-go-lucky as can be. They don't zeem to mind. They eat and drink
all they can, and zleep as much as they can, and they do as little work
as they can. Why, I zometimes did three times as much hoeing as one o'
they in a day; and that aren't bragging."

"No, Pete; they took it very easy."

"I should just think they did, my lad; and then the way they'd laugh! I
never zee any one laugh as they could. I s'pose that's what makes their
mouths zo big and their teeth zo white. Gets 'em bleached by opening
thei