Roxy Hastings — page 102: what you’re looking at

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

ROXY HASTINGS, 93 When he was let out he said to Hess, with some show of triumph : “Tole you so, sah! He goin’ to have a Methodist minis- ter, sah, dis arternoon.” “Heis, hey? Well, I don’t care. He can have a Mor- mon if he wants to. It’sallthe same tome. Is it one of your color, Uncle Luke?” “No, sah. Mr. Jenks, or Mr. Brown, from Weldon. He’s stayin’ here, and I’m to git him if I can, ’cause he berry good man, and the levtenant wants some one dat can stay three or four hours wid him.” “Very well—very well. Go along. He can stay all night with him if he wants to, of course. They often do that. But he’ll be safely locked up while he’s in there. I can tell him that.” Lieutenant Lee and his friend Louis passed the interval of suspense in a great state of excitement, and in carefully reviewing their plans to see if anything had been over- looked. They could think of nothing, yet their hopes did not rise much above zero, and, as the hour of three ap- proached, their nervous anxiety became intense. Luke and his spiritual adviser were punctual to the hour, the latter walking beside the negro with slow and measured steps, with downcast eyes, and with a Bible and. hymn book under his left arm. “The time is short, as you say, Brother Luke,” he said, solemnly, as he came within hearing of the guard, “but, perhaps, not too short for the work of grace in the heart. Think of the thief on the cross, Brother Luke.” “T does, Brother Brown—I tinks o’ dat.” The door was unlocked without question, and the pseudo clergyman said before passing in: : “T shall probably want to pass the remainder of the after- noon with the unfortunate young man inside. Will there be any objection to this?” “No, sir.” “ And we do not want to be disturbed by other visitors.” “You shall not’be.” “ And we would like to have Brother Luke with us—at least, part of the time.” “Just as you like.” The party passed in, and half an hour later—about the time of changing guard—the two men outside heard Luke’s voice raised very high, singing: “The voice of free grace cries escape to the mountains ag “Hist, Luke!” said Alfred. “Don’t sing that.” GComichoo cS (e(0)