being challenged.

"I des walked right trou, honey. Course I wasn' no ways tryin' to 'tract
'tention; but kind'er waited for a chance when dere wasn' too man sogers
'round. It was easy, chillun, an' I'd bin out ob dis yere house long ago
huntin' for Silber Heels, ef it hadn' been dat I was tryin' to wait till
you done come."

Then Uncle 'Rasmus insisted on knowing how my mother had received the
news that we were bent on making a visit to York Town.

When Saul had told him all that had been said and done on the plantation
after his departure, the old negro suggested that we lounge around the
village, following the example of the curious visitors, lest some one
note the fact that we were apparently taking council together, and it
would not seem reasonable we would willingly remain with an old negro
shut up in such a wretched cabin, when there was so much to be seen on
the outside.

In view of all that occurred before this day was come to a close, it may
be well that I describe the hovel which we called old Mary's cabin, even
though there was nothing in or around it worthy of particular notice
under ordinary circumstances. The fact that later it served us much as a
citadel in the midst of our enemies, who were in turn surrounded by
their foes, renders it necessary I go into detail concerning it for the
better understanding of what happened later.

An ordinary hut built of logs, perhaps twenty feet square, with a door
made of puncheon planks, by which I mean planks that have been hewn out
of the log with an axe rather than cut by a saw, and two windows, in one
of which four panes of glass were broken, but both protected by shutters
which swung from the outside. The building consisted of one room on the
floor where the occupants were supposed to eat, sleep and live, while
above was a loft formed by the roof, and approached through a scuttle
situated directly opposite the door, at the rear of the hovel.

To gain access to this scuttle one was forced to climb a sort of ladder
which had been formed by nailing strips of wood against the logs, and,
as I learned before we were come to an end of using this cabin as a
place of refuge, it was by no means a simple task to ascend, even for
lads who were accustomed to swarming up trees, or shinning the slender
masts of our river craft.

The loft was, as I have said, formed by the roof, and its floor, like
the one below, was made of puncheon planks, yet not so closely laid
togeth