So I up an' tole dem, an' de sojer he says, 'Come, Jim, you've done quite enuff fur me, my boy.

If you're in danger now, be off with you fast as you can,--an' God reward you, for I never can, for all you've done for me.' "'No,' says Jim, 'Capen, ye needn't talk in dat way, for I'se not goin to budge widout you.

You got wounded fur me an' my people, an' now I'll stick by you an' face any thing fur you if it's Death hisself!' That's just what Jim said; an' de sojer he put his hand up to his face, an' I seed it tremble bad,--he was weak, you see,--an' some big tears cum out troo his fingers onto de back ob it.
"Den Jim says, 'Dis isn't a safe place for any on us, an' we'll have to take to our heels agen, an' so de sooner we's off de better.' So he did up some vittels,--all he had dere,--an' gave 'em to me to tote,--an' den before de Capen could sneeze he had him up on his back, an' we was off.
"It was pretty hard work I kin tell you, strong as Jim was, an' we'd have to stop an' rest putty ofen; an' den, Jim an' I, we'd tote him atween us on some boughs; an' den we had to lie by, some days, all day,--an' we trabbled putty slow, cause we'd lost our bearing an' was in a secesh country, we knowed,--an' we had nudin but berries an' sich to eat, an' got nigh starved.
"One night we cum onto half a dozen fellows skulkin' in de woods, an' at fust dey made fight, but d'rectly dey know'd we was friends, fur dey was some more Linkum sojers, an' dey'd lost dere way, or ruther, dey know'd where dey was, but dey didn't know how to git way from dere.

Dey was 'scaped pris'ners, dey told us; when I yearde where 'twas I know'd de way to de coast, an' said I'd show 'em de way if dey'd cum long wid us, so dey did; an' we got 'long all right till we got to de ribber up by Mass' Rhett's place." "Yes, I know where it is," said the Captain.
"Den what to do was de puzzle.

De country was all full ob secesh pickets, an' dere was de ribber, an' we had no boat,--so Jim, he says, 'I know what to do; fust I'll hide you yere,' an' he did all safe in de woods; 'an' den I'll git ye suthin to eat from de niggers round,' an' he did dat too, do he couldn't git much, for fear he'd be seen; an' den we, he and I, made some ropes out ob de tall grass like dat we'd ofen made fur mats, an' tied dem together wid some oder grass, an' stuck a board in, an' den made fur de Yankee camp, an' yere we is." "Yes," said the black man Jim, here,--breaking silence,--"we'll show you de way back if you kin go up in a boat dey can rest in, fur dey's most all clean done out, an' de capen's wound is awful bad yit." "This captain,--what's his name ?" inquired Coolidge.
"His name is here," said Jim, carefully drawing forth a paper from his rags,--"he has on dis some figgers an' a map of de country he took before he got wounded, an' some words he writ wid a bit of burnt stick just before we cum away,--an' he giv it to me, an' tole me to bring it to camp, fur fear something might happen to him while we was away." "My God!" cried Coolidge when he had opened the paper, and with hasty eyes scanned its contents, "it's Tom Russell; I know him well.