At a Girl's Mercy, or, The Fortunes of War — page 64: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

AT A GIRL’S MERCY. o3 nough “t I lov’ yo’, an’ spite o’ startin’ out ter git free—for we’d a-been mos’ ter ther States by now— I lef’ ther others ter go on ef they would, an’ kem back fer yo’. Will yo’ go now, Lola Richy? Iain’t a-goin’ ter take no foolin’ this time. I’sé tole yo’ ’t I lov’ yo’, an’ lov’ is fer life, an’ ef yo’ ain’t a-goin’ ter git *way—an’ we’s bofe free, yo’ an’ me, by rights —why, l’se ’*bout made up my min’ ter stay boun’, too. But yo’s got ter mak’ up yo’ min’ purty quick, fer I’se ter meet ther res’ of ’em in ha’f an hour, an’ I wants time ter git thar ’thout bein’ cotched. De sojers is mighty nigh ther creek, an’ I’se got ter be powerfu’ keerfu’ not ter hev ’em down on me like a pile 0’ hot cakes. What’ll yo’ do, Lola?’’ The warm red of the girl’s dark cheeks had faded, but there was a gleam in her eyes, and a line of sternness about her mouth, that boded well or ill for the eager suitor who would give up his chance of freedom for her sake. ‘‘T’se tole yo’, Mr. Brown, ’t I’d go—yo’ know ’t I’d go ina minnet ef ’t warn’t fer mammy—but I can’t hav’ my freedom ’thout mammy. She’s free as we, or oughter be, fer she wasn’t rightfully a slave, as yo’ know, an’ I can’t leave her. She’d giv’ her life fer us, if she could, an’ I can’t go ter ther States an’ be free an’ know ’t she’s lef’? down thar boun’. Ef she could go, I’d go in a minnet, Mr. Brown, an’ yo’ know ’t, but I can’t leave mammy.”’ ‘““Well, yo’ know she can’t go, Lola, fer we can’t git her ’thout bein’ cotched by the sojers, an’ worse of ’n ever. Ef we could git her, we’d git her, but we can’t, an’ ter stay boun’ yo’se’f ain’t a-goin’ ter mak’ her happ’r; ef she think so much 0’ yo’ ’s yo’ say, she’ll be powerfu’ glad ter hab yo’ go git free- dom ’way frum here, where a culled pusson ain’ no Eola niicel evevey <S (E(@) m