"You were disappointed, I take it, particularly in the conduct of the blacks?"
"Yes."
"Exactly. If negro Slavery in the South were to-day the beastly thing which you and Garrison have so long proclaimed, you could not have been disappointed. Had your illusion of abuse and cruelty been true the negroes would have risen to a man, put their masters to death, and burned their homes. Yet, not a black man has lifted his hand. There must be something wrong in your facts—"
Brown lifted his head solemnly.
"There can be nothing wrong in my faith, Colonel Lee. It comes from
God."
"I didn't say your faith, my friend. I said your facts—" He paused and picked up the pike.
"These unused pikes bear witness to your error. This is an ugly weapon,
Mr. Brown!"
"It was meant to kill."
"We found it in the hands of a negro."
"I wish to conceal nothing, sir—" The old man paused, lifted his stooped shoulders and drew a deep breath. "I armed fifty blacks with them and I had many more which I hoped to use."