'Beg pardon, Massa K——,' said the negro, bowing very low, 'but I wants to ax you one or two tings, ef you please, sar.'
'Well,' I replied, 'I'll answer any thing that I ought to.'
'Der yer tink, den, massa, dat dey'll git to fightin' at Charls'on?'
'Yes, judging by the tone of the Charleston papers you've read to-day, I think they will.'
'And der yer tink dat de rest ob de Souf will jine wid Souf Car'lina, if she go at it fust?'
'Yes, Jim, I'm inclined to think so.'
'I hard you say to massa, dat ef dey goes to war,'twill free all de niggers—der you raily b'lieve dat, sar?'
'You heard me say that; how did you hear it?' I exclaimed, in surprise.
'Why, sar, de front winder ob de carriage war down jess a crack, and I hard all you said.'
'Did you let it down on purpose?'