THE HESPERIAN
t)
now, so we were together again. She read
a good deal and told me much of the news
of the White House, the president and sena
tors and the big debates on slavery and see
like that. After while I got pretty well
posted about the White House, at least I
thought so, for I would get out some place
where none of the bosses could see nor hear
me and make speeches to the other slaves.
They were hot speeches too, I tell you.
Georgians head-strong liking for me kept
on growing. 1 don't know why, only it
changed with her age. Our drives got longer.
I felt kind 'o scarry about it but I couldn't
help it. I really liked her but I was afraid
of something happening. One day I was
out driving with her alone. She hardly ever
let anyone else go along with her. It was
in the spring of the year, and some way I
said, "I wish I was free." "I wish so too,"
she said. "Then I would" "Would
what?" she put in. " would ask you to
have me."
O, well, she said, turning her head and
looking over a big field of young tobacco
which we were passing, "It would be easy
enough to get free." "How?" I replied
right quick. "O, yoa wouldn't do it any
way, you are too chicken-hearted." "O, no
I ain't," I said bravely, "but how do you
mean to do it?" "Why we could runoff
and go to Canada where you would be free."
"Yes, but you wouldn't leave your big house
to. live with me in a cabin." "We could
fix that too," she said just as unconcerned
as could be; "but you wouldn't do it, that's
all," "How are you going to do it, Geor-
fc'm
11
J asked her. "Never mind about
that; did you ever see me try to do a thing
and not do it?" When the carriage turned
into the Jong driveway, she looked at me.
"You meet me to-night at twelve o'clock in
the back yard," she said. "Tomorrow we
will take the carriage just as usual, and say
we are going to Aunt Lizzie's to stay over
night, Instead of that we will go to town,
put the honwTawi carriage in a barn to stay
till called for," Somehow 1 didn't feel
right, I was shivering all over with cold or
something. "Then we will take a train
for Canada. I will pass yon as my servant,
and nobody will think a thing about it."
I was shaking from head to foot, like I had
the ague. "How did you think of all that?"
"O, I've been thinking of this for some
time," she answered coolly, "but you want
to be sure and be ready, 'cause if you go
back on me why you'll be sorry it." We
had now reached the house. We didn't say
any more.
That night about twelve o'clock I was
lying on the ground in the back yard, when
Georgia came out on the porch and walked
down the path toward me. My heart was
beating so loud you could hear it ten yards
off, and I was trembling from head to foot.
My eyes were glared so she looked to me
like a ghost. When she came up she handed
me a small sack loaded in both ends, and
said in a low voice, as steady as could be,
"T don't know how much T've got here, but
its all gold." I was so scared and the sack
so much heavier than I expected that I
dropped it right there on the walk, and it
seemed to me like it made noise enough to
wake up the dead. I picked it up, and she
says, "Now you bury this by the post of the
back gate, where nobody will find it. Father
will never miss this, in the world. There is
enough there to last us manp a day, and we
might just as well be doing some good with
it as to leave it laying there."
I went out and buried the money, and
then went home to bed; but I did not sleep
a wink. I thought more that night than (I
had ever thought all my life before, "Sup
pose," I said to myself, "1 am caught, what
will become of me? i wound be torn into a
thousand pieces," I knew Georgia's father
would go through fire for her, his only child
and he would spend a half barrel of money
but what he would find her and bring her
back, J imagined what kind of a rage he
would be in. My hide wouldn't hold shucks.
if he caught me. I had a million thoughts
1 guess that night, and the worst was!