," observed my father, "and our safest plan will be to
keep them outside until we ascertain their business. Let your mother
know, call Mr Tidey and Dan, and close the window-shutters as fast as
you can."

The latter order Biddy set about zealously executing, aided by Dan and
my mother, while my father and I, joined by Mr Tidey, stood at the
front door to receive our unwelcome guests.

"What brings you here?" asked my father; "I should have thought after
the way you behaved at your last visit that you would have been ashamed
to show your faces."

"That's neither here nor there, captain," answered one of the men; "we
have notice that you are hiding a runaway slave, and we have come to
demand him from you; if you don't give him up, you will learn that we
have the power to take him by force."

"No man shall enter my house unless I invite him," said my father
calmly, "as to taking any one out of my house by force, you can only do
that when you have conquered me. Whether you can conquer me or not is
to be seen."

The men were somewhat taken aback by this address, and began to ride up
and down in front of the house, casting doubtful glances at him and Mr
Tidey.

At last they once more pulled up, and one of them exclaimed, "Come,
captain, this won't do! I ask you whether or not you have a negro boy
anywhere about your premises? If you have, give him up without more
words. He belongs to Silas Bracher, who is not the man to allow his
property to be stolen from him."

"I have stolen no man's property," answered my father, "and as to
allowing strangers to come into my house, under any pretext whatever, I
don't intend to do it, so you have my answer. I'll give you corn for
your horses and food for yourselves, but over this threshold you don't
step with my good will."

"Then you don't deny having harboured the slave we are in search of?"
exclaimed one of the men. "Come, give him up, I say, or it will be the
worse for you!"

"I don't acknowledge having afforded shelter to a black, and I don't
deny having done so. I have a perfect right to receive any strangers
into my house who come to me in distress, and if they trust to me I'll
defend them with my life," said my father.

"Your life's not worth the snuff of a candle, then," answered the leader
of the party, one of Mr Bracher's principal overseers.

The men, retiring to a little distance, consulted together, but seeing
the muzzles of our rifles protruding from t