Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III. Arrival of the waggon—Why Dio ran away—How to act for the best— Abolition of slavery—What Biddy O'Toole meant to do—Kathleen and Dio—Biddy's interview with the strangers—Dio's pursuers— A fortunate arrival—Teaching the black to read—Good words— An interrupted lesson—The alarm—Man-hunters—Every man's house his castle—Watching the strangers—An agreeable surprise —Mr. M'Dermont—My mother's apprehensions of danger—Our garrison increased. THE first thing I did the next morning on getting up was to hurry out to ascertain if Mr. Tidey and the negro had arrived, and was much disappointed to find that the waggon had not come back. Breakfast was over, and still it did not appear. My mother suggested that possibly the black was too weak to be removed. When I told my father of the two men we had fallen in with, in search of a runaway slave, he looked grave, remarking,— " Possibly the fellows on their return may have fallen in with the waggon, and if so, they have carried off it and its occupants." " I don't think Mr. Tidey would allow himself to be captured by only two men, or would surrender the black of whom he had taken charge," I remarked. " He is not likely to submit himself to be made prisoner,I grant, unless he should have been wounded, but possibly he may not have felt himself called on to fight for a stranger, should the men in search of the slave be able to prove that he belongs to them or their employer," answered my father. " However, I'll set out to try to ascertain what has happened ; saddle Swiftsure, Mike, while I get ready." As I was on my way to the field in which our horses grazed, I heard Dan shout out,— " Here comes the waggon, no necessity to get the horses." On running back to the hill on which Dan was standing, I saw the waggon comi...