told him he was free. And it almost made me cry to see how grateful
he appeared for what I had done. I hope he has some good place to
stay in."

"No danger," said the overseer; "he has a good enough place for this
climate, and lives on the fat of the land, besides. I think some of my
negroes could go straight to him within the next two hours, but they
won't tell."

"And do they never run away, too?" asked Ralph.

"Yes; but I have generally got them back. Sometimes they are arrested by
the Spanish soldiers, if they venture out of the woods; and sometimes,
when they keep in their hiding-places, I track them out myself."

"And do you whip them when you get them back?"

"Of course I do; that teaches them better than to risk it again."

Somehow, Ralph did not like Mr. Osborne; for, besides that it was hard
to help associating him with the cruel office he occupied, there was a
something in him as an individual which repelled the boy's quick,
intuitive sympathies. Practically he might be better than most
overseers, but how could he be otherwise under a superior like Mr.
Arthur?

Ralph had brought in the parrots and paroquets that he had shot, for he
had not forgotten them on remounting his pony, and he now took off their
skins in a very artistic manner, leaving the beautiful plumage almost
unruffled, much to the delight of Camilla, who thanked him for his
thoughtfulness of her.

Upon the journey homeward, the two spotted ponies, keeping close
together, galloped, trotted or walked, according to the fancies of their
riders or the variations of the road, while the horses of the older
people jogged more steadily.

"I wonder," said Camilla, "if Jumbo will not often think of you? I know
he will, though--he cannot help it."

"I hope he will," said Ralph; "and I hope, too, that he will not suffer.
Your father does not seem at all anxious to get him back."

"Oh, no! papa does not care for his running away. He says that if the
revolution should succeed, the new government would free all the slaves,
and he is willing that this should be done. Somehow, he is a slaveholder
against his will."

"Do you like Mr. Osborne?" asked Ralph.

"Not very well. Papa has a high opinion of him as an overseer, but I do
think that even papa himself is not quite satisfied with all that was
done while we were away in the United States."

"The revolutionists appear to ruin a great many sugar plantations," said
Ralph. "Do you ever feel afraid