Jerry’s relief and satisfaction were as apparent as his white teeth.
“Ah reckon dat’s a faih bargain, Mistah Bob. Leastways, Ah am agreeable. On’y,” and his face sobered again, “de ole man wif de sword he says: ‘Black boy, de mostest o’ dat gold is yo’s.’ Ah reckon he calklate Ah ain’t gwine to squandah it. But Ah’ll be faih. Ah’ll gib you some of it. But Ah cain’t give no half of it.”
“How much will I get?” asked Bob, with apparent eagerness.
“Oh, ’bout ten or twenty thousand dollahs,” answered Jerry indifferently.
“That’s fair enough,” concluded Bob. “It’s a go. But don’t tell Tom or the other boys. I’ll see that you go along. You can count on that. But you’ll have to pretend to be working for us.”
Bob and Jerry had now reached the former’s boarding house.
The colored boy hesitated, ran his hands in his pockets, and then said:
“Shorely, Mistah Bob, dat’ll be agreeable.” Then he lowered his voice: “Yo’ ain’t got no change ’bout yo’, is yo’, Mistah Bob? Ah done fergit to go to de bank to-day, an’ Ah needs a couple o’ dollahs.”
Without even a smile, Bob searched his pockets and found a single dollar.
“You can pay me back, Jerry,” he said soberly, “when we open the Black Pirate’s box. Good night, and don’t tell our secret.”