"What need to tell you a story which can interest you so slightly? You are free, that ought to be sufficient for you."
"No, that is not sufficient; I am free, that is true, but how have I become so? That is what I do not know, and I have the right to ask of you."
"The story, I say again, has nothing that can interest you at all; still, as it may cause you to form a better opinion of the man to whom you belonged, I will not longer refuse to tell it to you; so listen."
Tranquil, after this opening, told in all their details the events that happened between himself and the slave dealer, and when he had finished, added—
"Well, are you satisfied now?"
"Yes," the Negro replied, who had listened to him with the most sustained attention. "I know that, next to God, I owe everything to you, and I will remember it; never will you have to remind me of the debt, under whatever circumstances we may meet."
"You owe me nothing, now that you are free; it is your duty to employ that liberty in the way a man of upright and honest heart should do."
"I will try not to prove myself unworthy of what God and you have done for me; I also thank John Davis sincerely for the good feeling that urged him to listen to your remonstrances; perhaps I may be able to requite him some day; and, if the opportunity offers, I shall not neglect it."
"Good! I like to hear you speak so, for it proves to me that I was not mistaken about you; and now what do you intend to do?"
"What advice do you give me?"