"Well, Henry," I said, taking my seat also on the box, "did you really
ever dig for money?"--as if I had never before heard him say anything
about it. The implied doubt would, I knew, make him all the more ready
to talk.

He replied promptly, with a grin of interest, "Yes, sah, cose I tried
money diggin'."

Then he paused as if to await an invitation to proceed. "Go on, Uncle
Henry," urged Jamesby.

Henry shifted his position, and, leaning upon his cane from another
angle, went on: "'Twas dis away. Once uponer time me an' John Gomus an'
John Flowers, we was round at Mr. Holmes' stables, right back of Mr.
Kidder's whey I uster keep my horse and kyart; dere was woods right dare
den, sah, an' a graveyard; an' I had a horse and kyart of my own. So one
evenin' an ole white 'oman come fum de Sound, an' she tole us that a
sperit had done tole her whey some money was buried; an' she wanted us
to come down dere and dig it up; she couldn't dig for it, but she
knowed whey 'twas--de sperit had tole her. So we got togedder and made a
club to go down--three of us. De place was on Wrightsville Sound, not
fur from Mr. Wright's place.

"De sign was, dat one read de Bible back'ards, and no one speak--all
hadter go by signs, an' dat'd keep de sperits fum pesterin' us. John
Gomus, he had de rod goin' roun', an' fonn' a place to stick it. I dunno
why he stick it whey he did. De rod pinted right down dere; and right
whey de rod pinted we digged. When we commence diggin', it was about
half-past eight o'clock, and we worked hard, sah. We digged a hole big
enough to set a small house in. John, he kep' bearin' on de rod, an' de