“Were you a slave, Juba?” asked Ernest.
“Yes, massa, I was a slave.”
“And how did you get here?”
“It was all along of the war. Ole massa he went to the war and got killed. Then young massa went, and he got killed, too. Then one day there came an officer—one of Abe Linkum’s officers—and he told us we were free and might go where we pleased.”
“Weren’t you glad to be free?” asked Ernest.
“No, honey, we didn’t know where to go nor what to do. We’d allus had some one to look after us, but now there wasn’t anybody.”
“Were you married, Juba?”
“Yes, but I don’t know whether my ole man is livin’ or not. He was sold down in Georgie to a cousin of ole massa.”
“Then he may be living yet?”
“Yes, honey.”