He was not more than six feet. It was Uncle Hughey that had made
him seem to tower. But in his eye, in his face, in his step, in
the whole man, there dominated a something potent to be felt, I
should think, by man or woman.

"The Judge sent me afteh you, seh," he now explained, in his
civil Southern voice; and he handed me a letter from my host. Had
I not witnessed his facetious performances with Uncle Hughey, I
should have judged him wholly ungifted with such powers. There
was nothing external about him but what seemed the signs of a
nature as grave as you could meet. But I had witnessed; and
therefore supposing that I knew him in spite of his appearance,
that I was, so to speak, in his secret and could give him a sort
of wink, I adopted at once a method of easiness. It was so
pleasant to be easy with a large stranger, who instead of
shooting at your heels had very civilly handed you a letter.

"You're from old Virginia, I take it?" I began.

He answered slowly, "Then you have taken it correct, seh."

A slight chill passed over my easiness, but I went cheerily on
with a further inquiry. "Find many oddities out here like Uncle
Hughey?"

"Yes, seh, there is a right smart of oddities around. They come
in on every train."

At this point I dropped my method of easiness.