"Yas, suh! Yas, suh!" replied the negro.
"Come on, then," said Noel. "I'm going in the same direction."
The colored man hesitated a moment, and then as he moved nearer he was convinced that he did not need to fear the young stranger and obediently joined him.
As soon as they had advanced beyond the point in the road which hid the little house from their sight, Noel turned to his companion and said, "What are you doing—leaving home at this time of night?"
"I don' lib dar," replied the negro promptly. "I b'long to Massa Frost."
"Where does he live?"
"Fo' or five miles up yonder," replied the negro, pointing ahead of him as he spoke.
"What are you doing down here, and what are you leaving at this time in the night for?"
"Is yo' all a Union sojer?" asked the negro abruptly.
"Do I look like it?"