"
"And where did you come from?--no, you needn't look back there again,--I
mean, where did you and the boat too come from?"
"Come from Mass' George Wingate's place, massa."
"Far from here?"
"Big way, massa."
"What brought you here? what did you come for?"
"If you please, massa, 'cause the Linkum sojers was yere, an' de big
guns, an' we yearde dat all our people's free when dey gets yere."
"Free! what'll such fellows as you do with freedom, hey?"
The two looked at their interrogator, then at one another, opened their
mouths as to speak, and shut them hopelessly,--unable to put into words
that which was struggling in their darkened brains,--and then with a
laugh, a laugh that sounded woefully like a sob, answered, "Dunno,
massa."
"What fools!" cried Jim, angrily; but the Captain, who was watching them
keenly, thought of a line he had once read, "There is a laughter sadder
than tears." "True enough,--poor devils!" he added to himself.
"Are you hungry?" Jim proceeded.
"I hope massa don't think we's come yere for to git suthin' to eat,"
said the smaller of the two, a little, thin, haggard-looking
fellow,--"we's no beggars. Some ob de darkies is, but we's not dem
kind,--Jim an' me,--we's willin' to work, ain't we, Jim?"
"Jim!" soliloquized Given,--"my name, hey? we'll take a squint at this
fellow."
The squint showed two impoverished-looking wretches, with a starved look
in their eyes, which he did not comprehend, and a starved look in their
faces and forms, which he did.
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