Rodney, who was not at all used to this sort of thing, began to grow red in the face, but fortunately he did not hesitate an instant.
"I got on at Baton Rouge," he said.
"Is that place this side of Cairo?"
"No; it is the other side."
"Did you stop at Cairo on your way up?"
"The Able was there perhaps half an hour."
"Then I can see through some of it as plain as daylight," exclaimed Nels, straightening up on his nail keg and shaking his hand at Jeff. "He was at Cairo long enough to change his clothes, swap hosses and have his whiskers shaved off; but why he should have the cap'n of the Able set him ashore here at this landing, beats my time. Don't it your'n?" There were signs of excitement in the cabin, and Rodney felt the cold chills creeping over him. The wood-cutters were wofully ignorant, quite as open to reason as so many wooden men would have been, and if they suspected him of trying to play some trick upon them, Rodney could not imagine how he should go to work to set them right. He glanced at their scowling faces and told himself that he would not have been in greater danger if he had been a prisoner in the hands of the Yankees.
"I should like to know what you mean by this foolishness?" exclaimed
Rodney, growing excited in his turn.
"Mebbe you'll find that there aint no great foolishness about it before we've got through with you," answered Nels; and Rodney noticed that one of the wood-cutters moved his seat so as to get between him and the door.
"I shall know more about that after you have told me who and what you take me for," continued Rodney. "Do you think you ever saw me before?"