Aleck laughed loudly.
“Na-sah! Dat’s er joke! I ain’t nuttin’ but er plain nigger—I wants peace, judge.”
“Evidently we need a new sheriff.”
“Dat’s what I tell ’em, sah, dis mornin’—en I des flings mysef on de ignance er de cote!”
Phil laughed aloud, and his father’s colourless eyes began to spit cold poison.
“About what time do you think your master, Colonel Cameron, will honour us with his presence?” he asked Aleck.
Again the sheriff bowed.
“He’s er comin’ right now, lak I tole yer—he’s er gemman, sah.”
Ben walked briskly into the room and confronted the Commissioner.
Without apparently noticing his presence, Stoneman said: