s, but he neber got no
answer to dat letter, and s'posed that missy was either dead or gone
away. After he work dere for some months de idea came to Sam dat first
class hotel wasn't de best place in de world to look for black woman.
Den Sam went to warehouse and bought a lot of books and started to
peddle them trough de country. He walked thousands ob miles, and
altogether saw thousands ob black men, but nothing like Sally. Ebery
black woman he could he spoke to, and asked dem if dey knew her. It was
a curious ting dat no one did. Me did not find Sally, but me made a good
deal of money, and tree more years pass away at dis work. By dis time
me was nigh forty-five years old, as well as me could tell. Ebery few
months me go back to Philadelphia and search dere again.

"One day a woman, dressed bery plain, came up to me and said, 'I hab
been tole by my nurse dat you have been asking her if she had seen your
wife.' I s'pose I looked hopeful like for she said at once, 'Me know
nothing ob her, but I was interested about you. You are an escaped
slabe, are you not?'

"'Yes, ma'am,' me said. 'Dere is no law against me here.'

"'None at all,' she said. 'But I thought that you might, like me, be
interested in freeing slabes.'

"'Dat I am,' I said, 'dough I had neber thought much about it.'

"'You hab heard, p'raps,' she said, 'ob de underground railway.'

"'Yes, ma'am,' said I. 'Dat is de blessed 'stitution which smuggles
slaves across the frontier.'

"'Dat is it,' she said, 'and I belongs to it.'

"'Does you, missy?' me says. 'De Lord bless you.'

"'Now,' she said, 'we want two or three more earnest men, men not afraid
to risk deir libes, or what is worse deir freedom, to help deir follow
creatures. I thought that you, habing suffered so much yourself, might
be inclined to devote yourself to freeing oders from de horrors of
slabery.'

"'Sam is ready, ma'am,' me says, 'It may be dat de Lord neber intends me
see my Sally again, but if I can be de means ob helping to get oder men
to join deir wives I shall be content.'

"'Very well,' she said. 'Come into my house now and we will talk about
it.'

"Den she 'splained the whole business to me. Dere were, principally in
lonely places, in swamps and woods, but sometimes libing in villages and
towns in de south, people who had devoted deir libes to de carrying
out of de purposes ob de underground railway. For de most part dese led
libes differing no way from deir neighbors;