On he walked—on and on—east, and always forever east.
He reached the city of Richmond, the first big city he had ever seen. The wide streets—the sidewalks—the street-lamps entranced him. It was just like heaven. But he was hungry and penniless, and when he looked wistfully at a pile of cold fried chicken on a street-stand and asked the price of a drumstick, at the same time telling he had no money, he discovered he was not in heaven at all. He was called a lazy nigger and told to move on.
Later he made the discovery that a "nigger" is a colored person who has no money.
He pulled the piece of rope that served him for a belt a little tighter, and when no one was looking, crawled under a sidewalk and went to sleep, disturbed only by the trampling overhead.
When he awoke he saw he was near the dock, where a big ship pushed its bowsprit out over the street. Men were unloading bags and boxes from the boat. He ran down and asked the mate if he could help. "Yes!" was the gruff answer.
He got in line and went staggering under the heavy loads.
He was little, but strong, and best of all, willing, yet he reeled at the work.
"Have you had any breakfast? Yes, you liver-colored boy—you, I say, have you had your breakfast?"
"No, sir," said the boy; "and no supper last night nor dinner yesterday!"
"Well, I reckoned as much. Now you take this quarter and go over to that stand and buy you a drumstick, a cup of coffee and two fried cakes!"