“Sar?” exclaimed Ben. “I didn’t see no preacher Hudson to-day, sar!”
“Why, wasn’t he out at the gate just now calling for you?”
“Mebbe so, sar,” replied Ben, rising and picking up his hat, “but I didn’t see him. Mebbe he’s dar now.”
“I don’t think he is,” said Don, to himself, “but it will not hurt you to go out and see; and in the meantime——”
Don put the key into his pocket as soon as Ben was out of sight, and lost no time in making his way to the barn. At the door he met the hostler.
“Time to lock up now, Mr. Don,” said the latter, “but I’se a little jubus ’bout dat barn, sar. Yes, sar, I’se a little jubus!”
“Well, then, go back to your quarters and I will lock the doors,” replied Don.
The hostler, glad to be relieved of so disagreeable a duty, turned and went off, and Don, after closing all the doors, and locking all except one, hurried into old Jordan’s room. It was the work of but a few minutes to put on the negro’s clothes and black his face and hands; and this being done, he seized a shovel, and stealing out of the barn, climbed the fence and ran across the potato-patch. About thirty yards from the fence he stopped, and crouching down close to the ground, waited to see what was going to happen. Presently he heard cautious footsteps, and a few seconds later two heads appeared above the top rail of the fence.
“There they are,” thought Don, his heart beating rapidly with excitement. “Now I’ll see if either of them has courage enough to come over the fence after they find out I am here.”
As these thoughts passed through Don’s mind he arose to his feet, and driving his shovel into the ground began throwing out the dirt so rapidly, that in a very short space of time he had dug a hole as large as a moderate workman would have been able to dig in ten minutes. He worked till the perspiration started out all over him, but kept his eyes fastened on the two heads, which could be seen plainly above the fence. He knew that the owners of the heads heard the sound of the shovel, and that they were listening to it and talking about it. They stood there at the fence so long that Don began to think they were too badly frightened to come any nearer.