“Come, walk aside with me for a few minutes, and I will show you why,” said Mr. Berners, soothingly laying his hand on the farmer’s shoulder.
“Hands off, if you please! No! I don’t think as I will walk aside with you. You might do me a mischief.”
“Bosh! you are armed, and I am unarmed. How can I harm you? Come, and I will tell you something to your advantage,” coaxed Mr. Berners.
Partly urged by curiosity and partly by interest, Farmer Nye reluctantly consented to follow where Mr. Berners led him. When they had passed out of hearing of the negroes Mr. Berners stopped, and turned to his host, and said:
“You know who we are?”
“I know you are my new lodgers—that’s all I know about you.”
“Yet you must have observed something out of the common about our party?”
“Yes; I took notice as you and your wife must have been dreadful ’fraid of being robbed and murdered on your journey, when you kept two men to travel with you, and guard you all day long, and sleep outside of your doors like watch-dogs all night long. Which me and my darter made it out between us as you must have lots of money with you to make you so cautious. And which, if we had known you was going to be so mistrustful of us, we’d have seen you farther before we’d have took you in.”
“And so that is the way in which you accounted for matters and things that you couldn’t understand?”
“To be sure it was; and very natural too.”