ject:

'Did you say the 'missus' had been down?'

'Yes, massa, de good missus come down jess so soon as she hard Phylly
war sold, an' wen she fine Ally war gwine too, she come ter see de ole
'ooman, she did, massa--and she try to comfut me. She say de good Lord
would fotch Ally back, and He hab, massa! Oh, He hab!'

'Well, Dinah, what shall we do with Ally? Do you want him to go to the
plantation?'

'Oh, yas, massa, I want de chile ter be wid 'ou. I'd _rudder_ he'd be
wid 'ou, massa; but massa'--and she spoke timidly, and with
hesitation--''ou knows ole massa promise ter sell Ally ter me--ter sell
'im ter me wen I'd a sabed up 'nuff ter buy 'im. An' will 'ou, massa,
will 'ou?'

'Yes, Dinah, of course I will,' said Preston.

'Oh! bress 'ou, massa; bress 'ou. It'm so good ob 'ou, _so_ good ob 'ou,
massa;' and she sobbed harder than before.

'How much have you saved up, aunty?'

'A hun'red and firteen, massa; an' dar's some more'n dat massa Blackwell
am ter gib fur de usin' on it. Massa Blackwell got it. How much shill I
pay fur Ally, massa?'

'Well, I don't know; the trader offered three hundred for him; you may
have him for half that.'

'How much 's dat, massa?'

'A hundred and fifty dollars.'

'He'm wuth more'n dat, massa Preston; ole massa say Ally wuth two
hun'red an' fifty or three hun'red ob any folks' money. He'm a likely
boy, massa.'

'Yes, I know that; I don't mean to undervalue him. I wouldn't sell him
to any one else for less than three hundred dollars.'

'Oh! tank 'ou, massa; it'm good ob 'ou; berry good ob 'ou, massa;' and
again her apron found the way to her eyes.

'Well,' said Preston, after a moment's thought, 'I think you'd better
take the boy now, aunty. I'm in some trouble, and I don't know how
things may turn with me; so you'd better take him now.'

'But I hain't money 'nuff now, massa.'

'Well, never mind; pay the rest when you can, but don't scrimp yourself
as you have, Dinah; I shan't care if you never pay it.'

The woman seemed bewildered, but said nothing. She evidently was
unaccustomed to Preston's mode of doing business. I mentioned to him
that he could not give a conveyance of the negro boy until the judgment
against him was cancelled.

'True,' he replied; 'I didn't think of that. Shall we attend to it now?'

'Yes, at once; further costs may accumulate if you delay.'

Preston told the negro woman to meet him by eleven o'clock, at the store
of the person who had charg