“Yass’m,” said Euonymus.  Robelia came nearer.

“My coach is now at a livery-stable in town, and I want a driver and a lady’s maid.”

“Yass’m.”

“I’d prefer free colored people.  They could come with me as far as they pleased, and I shouldn’t be responsible for their return.”

“Yass’m,” said Euonymus, edging away from Robelia’s nudge.

“Now, Euonymus, I judge by your being out here in the woods this time of day, idle, that you’re both free, you and your sister, h’m?”

“Ro’—­Robelia an’ me?  Eh, ye’—­yass’m, as you may say, in a manneh, yass’m.”

“She is your sister, is she not?”

“Yass’m,” clapped in Robelia, with a happy grin, and Euonymus quietly added: 

“Us full sisteh an’ brotheh—­in a manneh.”

“Umh’m.  Could you drive my coach, Euonymus?”

“What, me, mist’ess?  Why, eh, o’ co’se I kin drive some, but—­” The soft, honest eyes, seeking Robelia’s, betrayed a mental conflict.  I guessed there were more than two runaways, and that Euonymus was debating whether for Robelia’s sake to go with me and leave the others behind, or not.

“You kin drive de coach,” blurted the one-ideaed Robelia.  “You knows you kin.”

“No, mi’ss, takin’ all roads as dey come I ain’t no ways fitt’n’; no’m.”

“Well, daddy’s fitt’n’!” said the sun-bonnet.

Euonymus flinched, yet smilingly said: 

“Yass, da’s so, but I ain’t daddy, no mo’n you is.”

“Well, us kin go fetch him—­in th’ee shakes.”

Euonymus flinched again, yet showed generalship.  “Yass’m, us kin go ax daddy.”

I smiled.  “Let Robelia go and you stay here.”

Robelia waited on tiptoe.  “Go fetch him,” murmured Euonymus, “an’ make has’e.”

“Wait!  You’re a good boy, Euonymus, ain’t you?”

“I cayn’t say dat, mi’ss; but I’m glad ef you thinks so.”

“Y’ is good!” said Robelia.  “You knows you is!”

“Never mind,” I said; “do you belong to—­Zion?”

The dark face grew radiant.  “Yass’m, I does!”

“Euonymus, how many more of you-all are there besides daddy and mammy?”

The surprise was cruel.  The runaway’s eyes let out a gleam of alarm and then, as I lighted with kindness, filled with rapt wonder at my miraculous knowledge:  “Be’—­be’—­beside’—­beside’ d-daddy an’ m-mammy?  D’ain’t no mo’, m-mist’ess; no’m!”

“Yass’m,” put in Robelia, “da’s all; us fo’.”

“Just you four.  Euonymus, a bit ago I noticed on your sister’s ankles some white mud.”

“Yass’m.”  Another gleam of alarm and then a fine, awesome courage.  Robelia stared in panic.

“The nearest white mud—­marl—­in the State, Robelia, is forty miles south of here.”

“Is d’—­dat so, mist’ess?”

“Yes, and so you also are travellers, Euonymus.”

“Trav’—­y’—­yass’m, I—­I reckon you mought call us trav’luz, in a manneh, yass’m.”