"Come back! Are you a fool?" said Mr. Volrees angrily, his desire for information concerning his wife overcoming his scruples.
"My wife took me to be one and left me," said the Negro in a tone of mock humility.
Mr. Volrees looked up quickly to see whether he meant what he was saying or was making a thrust at him. The solemn face of the Negro was non-committal.
"Now, what do you know?" asked Mr. Volrees gruffly.
"I know where your wife is," said the Negro.
"How do you know that she is my wife?"
"I was the porter on the train that you and she began your bridal tour on," replied the Negro.
"How have you been able to trace her?"
"I was the porter on the train on which she first came to Almaville. She came into the section of the coach for Negroes, and she and a Negro girl created a scene."
"Go on!" almost shouted Volrees, now thoroughly aroused.