"That might be a trick of your own, you know. It's a devilish queer story."
"Pshaw! man, are you crazy? This thing has startled your conscience more than all the crimes of a lifetime. What has gotten into you, Vernon? I never knew you to moralize before."
"Look here, my boy, I can do almost anything; but I would not wrong a woman,—no, not a woman,—I am above that," said Vernon, with much emphasis.
"But, man, she is my slave—a quadroon."
"Property's property; but since I met the girl in the boat, I am half inclined to believe she is no quadroon. Maxwell, I had a sister once, and may my body be rent into a thousand pieces but I would tear out the heart of the man who would serve her as you do this girl. If she is your property, why, that alters the case."
"Certainly it does; so, end your sermon, and tell me how to gain possession of my property."
"We can storm the island."
"What! two of us?"
"I can get plenty of soldiers, if you will pay them."
"I will give a thousand dollars for her; and, if I get her again, by heavens, she shall not escape me! I will put a pair of ruffles on her wrists such as the dainty girl never got of her milliner. How many persons are on the island?"