dump," Eradicate explained. One of the colored man's duties was
to cart ashes away from Tom's various shops, and dump them in a
certain swampy lot. With an old ramshackle cart, and his mule,
Boomerang, Eradicate did this task to perfection.

"A man--what sort of a man?" asked Tom, always ready to be
suspicious of anything unusual.

"He were a queer man," went on the aged colored helper. "First
he stopped me an' asted me fo' a ride. He was a dressed-up
gen'man, too, an' I were suah s'prised at him wantin' t' set in
mah ole ash cart," said Eradicate. "But I done was polite t' him,
an' fixed a blanket so's he wouldn't git too dirty. Den he asted
me ef I didn't wuk fo' yo', Massa Tom, an' of course I says as
how I did. Den he asted me about de fire, an' how much damage it
done, an' how we put it out. An' he end up by sayin' he'd laik t'
buy mah mule, Boomerang, an' he wants t' come heah dis arternoon
an' talk t' me about it."

"He does, eh?" cried Tom. "What sort of a man was he, Rad?"

"Well, a gen'man sort ob man, Massa Tom. Stranger t' me. I
nebber seed him afo'. He suah was monstrous polite t' ole black
Eradicate, an' he gib me a half-dollar, too, jest fo' a little
ride. But I aint' gwine t' sell Boomerang, no indeedy, I ain't!"
and Eradicate shook his gray, kinky head decidedly.

"Ned, there may be something in this!" said Tom, in an excited
whisper to his chum. "I don't like the idea of a mysterious
stranger questioning Eradicate!"