t toil
into the purse of any man. The thought itself vexed me, and the manner
in which Master Hugh received my wages, vexed me more than the original
wrong. Carefully counting the money and rolling it out, dollar by
dollar, he would look me in the face, as if he would search my heart as
well as my pocket, and reproachfully ask me, "_Is that all_?"--implying
that I had, perhaps, kept back part of my wages; or, if not so, the
demand was made, possibly, to make me feel, that, after all, I was
an "unprofitable servant." Draining me of the last cent of my hard
earnings, he would, however, occasionally--when I brought{252} home an
extra large sum--dole out to me a sixpence or a shilling, with a view,
perhaps, of kindling up my gratitude; but this practice had the opposite
effect--it was an admission of _my right to the whole sum_. The fact,
that he gave me any part of my wages, was proof that he suspected that
I had a right _to the whole of them_. I always felt uncomfortable, after
having received anything in this way, for I feared that the giving me
a few cents, might, possibly, ease his conscience, and make him feel
himself a pretty honorable robber, after all!

Held to a strict account, and kept under a close watch--the old
suspicion of my running away not having been entirely removed--escape
from slavery, even in Baltimore, was very difficult. The railroad from
Baltimore to Philadelphia was under regulations so stringent, that even
_free_ colored travelers were almost excluded. They must have _free_
papers; they must be measured and carefully examined, before they were
allowed to enter the cars; they only went in the day time, even when so
examined. The steamboats were under regulations equally stringent. All
the great turnpikes, leading northward, were beset with kidnappers, a
class of men who watched the newspapers for advertisements for runaway
slaves, making their living by the accursed reward of slave hunting.

My discontent grew upon me, and I was on the look-out for means of
escape. With money, I could easily have managed the matter, and,
therefore, I hit upon the plan of soliciting the privilege of hiring my
time. It is quite common, in Baltimore, to allow slaves this privilege,
and it is the practice, also, in New Orleans. A slave who is considered
trustworthy, can, by paying his master a definite sum regularly, at the
end of each week, dispose of his time as he likes. It so happened that I
was not in very good