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the face, for a minute, and her eyes lighted up and it made her powerful pretty.

I was a good deal astonished, but when I got my breath I asked her what the

paper was about, and she asked me if I had read it, and I said no, and she asked

me if I could read writing, and I told her "no, only coarse-hand," and then she

said the paper wara't anything but a book-mark to keep her place, and I might

go and play now. ssssssssss

I went off down to the river, studying over this thing, and pretty soon I

noticed that my nigger was following along behind. When we was out of sight

of the house, he looked back and around a second, and then comes a-running,

and says: ssssssssss

"Mars Jawge, if you'll come down into de swamp, I'll show you a whole

stack o' water-moccasins." ssssssssss

Thinks I, that's mighty curious; he said that yesterday. He oughter know

a body don't love water-moccasins enough to go around hunting for them. What

is he up to anyway? So I says -- ssssssssss

"All right, trot ahead."

I followed a half a mile, then he struck out over the swamp and waded

ankle deep as much as another half mile. We come to a little flat piece of land

which was dry and very thick with trees and bushes and vines, and he says --

"You shove right in dah, list a few steps, Mars Jawge, dah's whah dey is. I's

seed 'm befo', I don't k'yer to see 'em no mo'."

Then he slopped right along and went away, and pretty soon the trees hid

him. I poked into the place a-ways, and come to a little open patch as big as a

bedroom, all hung around with vines, and found a man laying there asleep -- and

by jings it was my old Jim! ssssssssss

I waked him up, and I reckoned -it was going to be a grand surprise to him to

see me again, but it warn't. He nearly cried, he was so glad, but he warn't

surprised. Said he swum along behind me, that night, and heard me yell every

time, but dasn't answer, because he didn't want nobody to pick him up, and take

him into slavery again. Says he -- ssssssssss

"I got hurt a little, en couldn't swim fas',' so I wuz a considable ways behine

you, towards de las'; when you landed I reck'ned I could ketch up wid you on de

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