“Had you no warning of their approach?”

“Nothing; didn’t know dey war about till dey war among us.”

“What was the first thing you heard, Cato?  Give me the particulars so far as you can remember.”

“Hebens, golly!  I’ll neber forgit dat night if I lib a fousand years.  Wal, you see I and Big Mose had just gwane to bed and blowed de candle out——­”

“Had Miss Mary retired?”

“Yes—­she’d been gone a good while.  You see, me and Big Mose am generally de last niggers dat am up, specially myself.  I goes around for to see if de t’ings am all right about de house.  Wal, me and Mose had been around to see if eberyt’ing was right, and was coming back from de barn and got purty near de house, when Mose whispers, ’Cato, I see’d a man crawling on de ground back dar.  I didn’t say nuffin’ for fear ob scaring ob you.’  ‘Oh! git out,’ says I, ‘you’s skeart.’  But I felt a little oneasy myself, ’cause I kind ob fought I heern somefin’ when we was a little furder off.  I commenced for to walk fast, and Big Mose commenced for to walk fast, and afore we knowed it, we bofe was a canterin’, and when we come aginst de door, we’d like to ’ve busted it in, we was tearing along so fast.  We tumbled in ober each oder, and fastened dat door in a hurry you’d better beliebe.”

“Wal, we went to our room, and blowed out de candle and said our prayers and went to bed.  We hadn’t been laying dar long, when Big Mose turned ober toward me, and whispers, ’I tell you, Cato, dar am Inj’ines about de house.  ’Cause why I see’d one, and I had a dream last night dat a whole lot ob dem comes here in de night and killed all of us niggers and burnt Missis Mary!’ Hebens, golly!  Massa Canfield, I begun to turn white about de gills when I heerd him say dat.  I’d been shibering and shaking, and now I shook like de ager.  I told Big Mose to be still and go to sleep, ’cause it seemed to me if I went to sleep when t’ings looked bad, dey would be all right agin in de mornin’.  But, he wouldn’t be still and says, ’I tell you, Cato, dar am Injines crawlin’ around ob dis house dis very minute, ’cause I can hear dar knees and hands on de ground.’  I couldn’t make Big Mose keep quiet.  Bimeby, he says, ’Cato, let’s git up and be ready for ’em, for dey’re comin’.  I knows it, I ken feel it in my bones.  Let’s wake up Missis Mary and de niggers and fight ’em, for dey’ll be here afore morning, sure.’  Wal, dat nigger worrid me awful.  I told him I wouldn’t git up, but was going to sleep, and turned ober in bed, but I couldn’t keep my eyes shet.

“Bimeby, I heard Big Mose crawling soft-like out de bed.  He was trying to make no noise, so he wouldn’t wake me, finking I was asleep.  He stepped like a cat on de floor, and I listened to see what he was going to do.  I heerd him move around and den all was still.  ’What you doing, Mose?’ I axed.  ‘I’m going to say my prayers,’ he said, ’and it’s de last time too, ‘cause de Injines will soon be here.’  I didn’t try to stop him, for I felt so bad, I commenced saying mine in de bed.