He's worth a thousand dollars.'
"'Send for him,' said my father. 'I'll tell you when I see him.'
"So they brought him in. He was a big, strong boy, with powerful
shoulders, black as a chunk of coal, and had a look about him that made
you trust him at first sight. My father believed in him the moment
he saw him.
"'What did you run away for, Aleck?' he asked.
"The boy held his head down.
"'My mother died, Marster, an' I couldn't stay dar no mo'.'
"'I'll take him,' said my father; 'but on condition that the boy wants
to live with me.'
"This was another one of the old gentleman's notions. He wouldn't have a
negro on the place that he had to watch, nor one that wasn't happy.
"The driver opened his eyes and laughed; but my father meant what he
said, and the papers were made out on those terms. The boy was outside
in charge of the Sheriff while the papers were being drawn, and when
they were signed the driver brought him in and said:
"'He's your property, Judge.'
"'Aleck,' father said, 'you've heard?'
"'Yes, sah.
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