"Missus dun tole us not to get de breckfust!"
"Well, you go right to work and get the breakfast, or I'll thrash h—l out of your black hides! Start right away!" At that I made for them with my club.
"Hole on! hole on, massa! we'll dun an' get de breckfust!"
They all sprang to work in good earnest. One of the niggers told me that the woman had locked up the meat. I started for the smoke-house door, with my club, to break it in, but the woman, who had been watching me, followed with the keys, and, when she saw that I was going in any way, begged of me to let her unlock the door. On inquiry of the niggers, I found that she had butter locked up in a cupboard. I told her to get out some butter, and she declared she hadn't got a bit in the house. I walked toward the cupboard, with my club raised, without saying any thing further, when she came running to the cupboard, with the keys in her hand, saying, "Don't break it! don't break it! I'll get it out! I'll get it out for you! Do give a body time!"
By dint of perseverance, using a good many threats and some motions, I succeeded in having the breakfast made ready; which, having been accomplished, the teamsters were called in to enjoy it. While the teamsters were eating, a squad of soldiers came through the yard, with about thirty geese that they had confiscated. The lady saw them, and came to me to plead for them.
"Now, don't let the men take those geese; don't! they are great favorites of mine, and I hate to part with them!"
I had noticed, a few minutes before, a large, close pen in one corner of the yard, filled with nice, fat turkeys, which one of the darkeys had told me were being fatted to send to the rebel officers. The boys had not yet discovered them.
"Boys, put down those geese; don't be packing geese from here to Bolivar! Throw them down!"
"Why, Bunker!" they exclaimed, "you said we might get any thing that we wanted!"
"Throw them down!"