IN OLE VIRGINIA
fixed it, and, mounting, rode off in the opposite
direction to that whence his invitation had
come. Charity, looking out of her door, inserted
into her diatribe against "all wuthless, drunken,
fool niggers" a pathetic parenthesis to the ef-
fect that "Ef Marster meet Marse Bob dis
miornin', de won' be a hide nor hyah left o' nyah
one on 'em; an' dat lamb over dyah, maybe, got
oystchers waitin' for him too!"
  Torm was so much impressed that he left
Charity and went out of doors.
  The Colonel rode down the plantation, his
great gray horse quivering with life in the bright
winter sunlight. He gave him the rein, and he
turned down a cross-road which led out of the
plantation into the main highway. Mechanically
he opened the gate and rode out. Before he
knew where he was he was through the wood,
and his horse had stopped at the next gate. It
was the gate of Bob's place. The house stood
out bright and plain among the yard trees; lines
of blue smoke curled up almost straight fromi
the chimneys; and he could see two or three ne-
groes running backward and forward between
the kitchen and the house. The sunlight glis-
tened on something in the hand of one of them,
and sent a ray of dazzling light all the way to
                    278