, for de tellin' ob de troof. Ole Eph Darke may flog us
till dar ain't a bit o' skin left upon our bare backs. I'll take my
share ob de 'sponsibility, an a full half ob de noggin'. Yes, Bill,
I'se willin' to do dat. But let de troof be tole--de whole troof, an'
nuffin but de troof."

"Den it shall be did. Phoebe, you's a darlin'. Kiss me, ole gal. If
need be, we'll boaf die togedder."

And their two black faces come in contact, as also their bosoms; both
beating with a humanity that might shame whiter skins.

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE.

AN UNCEREMONIOUS SEARCH.

Arrested, Richard Darke is taken to jail. This not in Natchez, but a
place of less note; the Court-house town of the county, within the
limits of which lie the Darke and Armstrong plantations. He is there
consigned to the custody of Joe Harkness, jailer.

But few, who assisted at the arrest, accompany him to the place of
imprisonment; only the Deputy, and the brace of constables.

The sheriff himself, with the others, does not leave Ephraim Darke's
premises, till after having given them a thorough examination, in quest
of evidence against the accused.

This duty done, without regard to the sensibilities of the owner, who
follows them from room to room, now childishly crying--now frantically
cursing.

Alike disregarded are his tears and oaths.

The searchers have no sympathy for him in his hour of affliction. Some
even secretly rejoice at it.

Ephraim Darke is not a Southerner, _pur sang_; and, though without the
slightest taint of abolitionism--indeed the very opposite--he has always
been unpopular in the neighbourhood; alike detested by planter and "poor
white." Many of both have been his debtors, and felt his iron hand over
them, just as Archibald Armstrong.

Besides, some of these now around his house were present two days before
upon Armstrong's plantation; saw his establishment broken up, his goods
and chattels confiscated, his home made desolate.

Knowing by whom all this was done, with ill-concealed satisfaction, they
now behold the _arcana_ of Ephraim Darke's dwelling exposed to public
gaze; himself humiliated, far more than the man he made homeless.

With no more ceremony than was shown in making the arrest, do the
sheriff and party explore the paternal mansion of him arrested, rudely
ransacking it from cellar to garret; the outbuildings as well, even to
the grounds and garden.

Their search is but poorly rewarded. All they