Iola Leroy - Shadows Uplifted | Page 4

from yereing her. Oh, but we did hab a good time. Boy,
yer oughter been yere."
"And, Aunt Linda, what did you do?"
"Oh, honey, I war jis' ready to crack my sides larffin, jis' to see what a
long face Jinny puts on wen ole Miss is talkin', an' den to see dat face
wen missus' back is turned, why it's good as a circus. It's nuff to make a
horse larff."
"Why, Aunt Linda, you never saw a circus?"
"No, but I'se hearn tell ob dem, and I thinks dey mus' be mighty funny.

An' I know it's orful funny to see how straight Jinny's face looks wen
she's almos' ready to bust, while ole Miss is frettin' and fumin' 'bout
dem Yankees an' de war. But, somehow, Robby, I ralely b'lieves dat we
cullud folks is mixed up in dis fight. I seed it all in a vision. An' soon as
dey fired on dat fort, Uncle Dan'el says to me: 'Linda, we's gwine to git
our freedom.' An' I says: 'Wat makes you think so?" An' he says:
'Dey've fired on Fort Sumter, an' de Norf is boun' to whip.'"
"I hope so," said Robert. "I think that we have a heap of friends up
there."
"Well, I'm jis' gwine to keep on prayin' an' b'lievin'."
Just then the bell rang, and Robert, answering, found Mrs. Johnson
suffering from a severe headache, which he thought was occasioned by
her worrying over the late defeat of the Confederates. She sent him on
an errand, which he executed with his usual dispatch, and returned to
some work which he had to do in the kitchen. Robert was quite a
favorite with Aunt Linda, and they often had confidential chats
together.
"Bobby," she said, when he returned, "I thinks we ort ter hab a
prayer-meetin' putty soon."
"I am in for that. Where will you have it?"
"Lem me see. Las' Sunday we had it in Gibson's woods; Sunday 'fore
las', in de old cypress swamp; an' nex' Sunday we'el hab one in
McCullough's woods. Las' Sunday we had a good time. I war jis' chock
full an' runnin' ober. Aunt Milly's daughter's bin monin all summer, an'
she's jis' come throo. We had a powerful time. Eberythin' on dat groun'
was jis' alive. I tell yer, dere was a shout in de camp."
"Well, you had better look out, and not shout too much, and pray and
sing too loud, because, 'fore you know, the patrollers will be on your
track and break up your meetin' in a mighty big hurry, before you can
say 'Jack Robinson.'"

"Oh, we looks out for dat. We's got a nice big pot, dat got cracked las'
winter, but it will hole a lot o' water, an' we puts it whar we can tell it
eberything. We has our own good times. An' I want you to come
Sunday night an' tell all 'bout the good eggs, fish, and butter. Mark my
words, Bobby, we's all gwine to git free. I seed it all in a vision, as
plain as de nose on yer face."
"Well, I hope your vision will come out all right, and that the eggs will
keep and the butter be fresh till we have our next meetin'."
"Now, Bob, you sen' word to Uncle Dan'el, Tom Anderson, an' de rest
ob dem, to come to McCullough's woods nex' Sunday night. I want to
hab a sin-killin' an' debil-dribin' time. But, boy, you'd better git out er
yere. Ole Miss'll be down on yer like a scratch cat."
Although the slaves were denied unrestricted travel, and the holding of
meetings without the surveillance of a white man, yet they contrived to
meet by stealth and hold gatherings where they could mingle their
prayers and tears, and lay plans for escaping to the Union army.
Outwitting the vigilance of the patrollers and home guards, they
established these meetings miles apart, extending into several States.
Sometimes their hope of deliverance was cruelly blighted by hearing of
some adventurous soul who, having escaped to the Union army, had
been pursued and returned again to bondage. Yet hope survived all
these disasters which gathered around the fate of their unfortunate
brethren, who were remanded to slavery through the undiscerning folly
of those who were strengthening the hands which were dealing their
deadliest blows at the heart of the Nation. But slavery had cast such a
glamour over the Nation, and so warped the consciences of men, that
they failed to read aright the legible transcript of Divine retribution
which was written upon the shuddering earth, where the blood of God's
poor children had been as water freely spilled.

CHAPTER II.

CONTRABAND OF WAR.
A few evenings after this conversation between Robert and Linda, a