m engyne of a man I ever see, 'pon my word,"
said the stranger.

"An' he's about the gentlest, womern hearted critter that ever drawed the
breath o' life," said Brimstead.

"If he don't look out 'Liph Biggs'll kill him--certain."

Samson spoke not more than a dozen words on his way back to New Salem.
Amazed and a little shocked by his own conduct, he sat thinking. After
all he had heard and seen, the threat of the young upstart had provoked
him beyond his power of endurance. Trained to the love of liberty and
justice, the sensitive mind of the New Englander had been hurt by the
story of the fugitives. Upon this hurt the young man had poured the
turpentine of haughty, imperial manners. In all the strange adventure it
seemed to him that he had felt the urge of God--in the letter of Lovejoy,
in the prayers of the negro woman and the minister, in his own wrath. The
more he thought of it the less inclined he was to reproach himself for
his violence. Slavery was a relic of ancient imperialism. It had no right
in free America. There could be no peace with it save for a little time.
He would write to his friends of what he had learned of the brutalities
of slavery. The Missourians would tell their friends of the lawless and
violent men of the North, who cared not a fig for the property rights of
a southerner. The stories would travel like fire in dry grass.

So, swiftly, the thoughts of men were being prepared for the great battle
lines of the future. Samson saw the peril of it.

As they rode along young Mr. Biggs took a flask half full of whisky from
his pocket and offered it to Samson. The latter refused this tender of
courtesy and the young man drank alone. He complained of pain and Samson
made a sling of his muffler and put it over the neck and arm of the
injured Biggs and drove with care to avoid jolting. For the first time
Samson took a careful and sympathetic look at him. He was a handsome
youth, about six feet tall, with dark eyes and hair and a small black
mustache and teeth very white and even.

In New Salem Samson took him to Dr. Allen's office and helped the doctor
in setting the broken bone. Then he went to Offut's store and found Abe
reading his law book and gave him an account of his adventure.

"I'm both glad and sorry," said Abe. "I'm glad that you licked the slaver
and got the negroes out of his reach. I reckon I'd have done the same if
I could. I'm sorry because it looks to me like the beginning of many