"Offered a reward, did he? Say, about a hundred apiece. Course, he isn't foolish. More, was it?"
"Left some of his men, too? Course he did. And if they catch us you don't get the reward. That's what's in it for you."
"And where are you bound for now, Mr. Todd?"
"Canal," said Mr. Todd, seeming a little subdued.
"You're a clean guesser," grumbled Mr. Todd. "Cleanest I ever see. I was goin' to take it there myself."
"I see. Norfolk's blockaded. You're going to take a boat load by the Swamp Canal. Use your own mules, maybe. Good idea."
"Jemima!" said Mr. Todd, "you're a clean guesser."
The old negro sat on a barrel, looking down at me, so bent over that his solemn, wrinkled face, with its fringe of dusty grey beard, was near his knees. He gave a soft chuckle and motioned to the two men in front.
"Marse Tommy, he gettin' he min' wukkin'. Oomm! He studyin'! Don' git no fish 'way fom _him_. No-o-o!"
He began to hug his knees with pleasure at thinking how clever Mr. Todd was about to be; and so we were believing very earnestly, both of us, each in the greater brilliancy of his own hero.
"Dey's oodles an' oodles o' folks meek out dey play kiyi wi' Marse Tommy, an' hit tu'n out quar. I don' know, but hit peahs to me dey's pow'ful misfo'tu-nate."
Turpentine shook his head and chuckled again.
"Well," said Calhoun, "you're after that reward naturally."
"Oh!" said Mr. Todd, "'tain't likely I'd get it, no, other folks bein' smarte'n me."
"But suppose, being in trouble and seeing no other way out, we thought we might as well go to Norfolk with you and take our chances. Course, we'd try to slip you there. That would be our point. And your point would be to see we didn't."
"Jemima!" said Mr. Todd sarcastically. "Ain't you fixin' things pretty nice?"
"Well, course, I don't know that we could get clear of you any better than we could Cavarly's men. Likely we'd slip up either way. We take our chances. But how's your point? Why, if Cavarly's men catch sight of us, they grab us. Course, they want the reward. Give and take's the rule. We give you a chance at the reward, and take a chance to cut loose, sort of exchanging commodities. Now, that's square."
"My, my!" said Mr. Todd with bland admiration, "ain't it the beatenest thing, the way you go on makin' plans! Saves me a heap o' trouble. Ain't got a jackknife to trade for a mule, have ye? Jemima!"