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'Neber, massa; a darky neber tells on anoder. De Cunnel had a boy in dat swamp once, good many years. 'Is it possible? Did he come back? 'No, he died dar. Sum ob de hands found him dead one mornin' in de hut whar he lib'd, and dey buried him dar. 'Why did Sam run away? ''Cause de Oberseer flog him. He use him bery hard, massa. 'What had Sam done? 'Nuffin', massa. 'Then why was he flogged?
"Perkins shoot at en try ter kill Marse Scoville," she had whispered to her cronies, "en now he daid he spook comin' yere ter hant de oberseer. We neber hab no quiet nights till dat ar Perkins go way fer good." This rational explanation passed from lip to lip and was generally accepted. The coming night was looked forward to in deep apprehension, and by none more than by Perkins.
"No, no," exclaimed a chorus of voices, "but many's de time you've held off de blows wen de oberseer got too mean, an' cruelized us too much, wen Marse Robert war away. An' wen he got back, you made him settle de oberseer's hash." "Well, boys," said Uncle Daniel, with an air of mournful dignity, "I'se de same Uncle Dan'el I eber war. Ef any ob you wants to go, I habben't a word to say agin it.
Here I light a fire, and sit down, and, just as I 'spected, in two or tree hours five or six men come down to me. Dose were niggers who had run away from plantations. I tell dem my story, dey agree dat I did berry right in killing oberseer. Dey take me away to place where dey hab little huts and patches of yams. Two or tree days pass and no one come, so, we s'pose dat dey hab lost de scent.
De oberseers was white men workin' fer wages. "I was never whupped afte' I went to Marse Cassedy. Slaves was whupped when dey wouldn't work right. Sometimes dey was lazy. De oberseer blowed a horn every mornin' and de slaves knowed to git up, an' when dat horn blowed agin, dey knowed dey must go to de fiel'. Dey blowed de horn at dinner an' night. Afte' supper, we set 'bout an' sing an go places.
"Den I knew dat dat was no place for Sam, so I take my hoe and I run away as fast as I could. No one try to stop me. De oder niggers dance and sing when dey saw de oberseer fall dead. I ran all dat day up among de hills, skirting round de different plantations till I get quite into de wild part. Wheneber I came to stream I walk a long way in him till I get to tree hanging ober.
Ef'n dey hadn' raised me right, I might hab got in meaness en bin locked up half de time, but I ain't nebber bin 'rested, en I'se 'ferd ob de policemans. De fiel' slaves wuz whup'd in de fiel's by de oberseer en de Marster en Missis did hit at de house." "I tell you we had a hahd time. Mah Missis woulden' let dem sell me. I wuz a nuss en house gal.
Didn' I tell you dey was rich? No mam, dey wasn't po' when war was over. Dey had ever'thing. When de Yankees come, dey carried off all de meat in de smokehouse, an' de blanket an' quilts, an' every thing dey wanted, dey he'ped deyse'ves. None of de slaves went wid' em. "When Marse Cassedy come home he had de oberseer blow de horn 'bout ten o'clock and tol' 'em all dey was freed.
But de oberseer he done took it away from me, an' dat's de way you find out what sort of a man he is. No, missus; I don't steal. I always tell de troof." Marcy Gray did not ride to Nashville with any hope of meeting Aleck Webster that day, and consequently he was most agreeably surprised when he saw him standing on the steps of the post-office.
He gwine say, 'Run for it, niggah! Yaas, Lawd, I sholy gwine do what you say I gwine run to de very aidge of de yearth. "Oh, I fool you, Mister Oberseer Man! Oh, I fool you, my ole Marster! Cotch de mockin'bird co'tin' in de locus', Cotch de bullfrog gruntin' in de ma'sh, Cotch de black snake trabellin' 'long his road, But you ain' gwine see dis niggah enny mo'!
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