inia would be entirely with him.
Vincent, therefore, was but little concerned for himself; but he doubted
greatly whether his interference had not done much more harm than good
to the slave and his wife, for upon them Andrew Jackson would vent his
fury. He rode direct to the stables instead of alighting as usual at the
door. Dan, who had been sitting in the veranda waiting for him, ran down
to the stables as he saw him coming.

"Give the horse to one of the others, Dan, I want to speak to you. Dan,"
he went on when he had walked with him a short distance from the
stables, "I suppose you know some of the hands on Jackson's plantation."

Dan grinned, for although there was not supposed to be any communication
between the slaves on the different estates, it was notorious that at
night they were in the habit of slipping out of their huts and visiting
each other.

"I know some ob dem, Marse Vincent. What you want ob dem? Bery bad
master, Marse Jackson. Wust master hereabout."

Vincent related what had happened, to Dan's intense delight.

"Now, Dan," he went on, "I am afraid that after my interference they
will treat that poor fellow and his wife worse than before. I want you
to find out for me what is going on at Jackson's. I do not know that I
can do anything, however badly they treat them; but I have been thinking
that if they ill-treat them very grossly, I will get together a party of
fifteen or twenty of my friends, and we will go in a body to Jackson's
and warn him that, if he behaves with cruelty to his slaves, we will
make it so hot for him that he will have to leave the State. I don't say
that we could do anything; but as we should represent most of the large
estates round here, I don't think old Jackson and his son would like
being sent to coventry. The feeling is very strong at present against
ill-treatment of the slaves. If these troubles lead to war, almost all
of us will go into the army, and we do not like the thought of the
possibility of troubles among the hands when the whites are all away."

"I will find out all about it for you to-night, sah. I don't suspect dat
dey will do nuffin to-day. Andrew Jackson too sick after dat knock
against de tump. He keep quiet a day or two."

"Well, Dan, you go over to-night and find out all about it. I expect I
had better have left things alone, but now I have interfered I shall go
on with it."

Mrs. Wingfield was much displeased when Vincent told her at dinner of