uncertain future with far stouter heart if he were out of my sight.
Firm in this resolve, I urged my horse to splash his reluctant way
through the shallows of the ford; and as our animals rose on the steep
bank of the western shore, we found ourselves at once in the midst of a
group of scattered buildings. It seemed quite a settlement in that dim
light, although the structures were all low and built of logs. The
largest and most centrally located of these was evidently the
homestead, as it had a rudely constructed porch in front, and a thin
cloud of smoke was drifting from its chimney. As I drew nearer, I
could perceive the reflection of a light streaming out through the open
doorway.

No one appeared in answer to our shouting,--not even a stray dog; and,
in despair of thus arousing the inhabitants, I flung my rein to Seth,
and, mounting the doorstep, peered within. As I did so, a shiny,
round, black face, with whitened eyes and huge red lips, seemed to
float directly toward me through the inner darkness. It was so
startling an apparition that I sprang back in such haste as nearly to
topple over backward from the steps. Heaven alone knows what I fancied
it might be; indeed, I had little enough time in which to guess, for I
had barely touched the ground,--my mind still filled with memories of
Seth's grotesque horrors,--when the whole figure emerged into view, and
I knew him instantly for a negro, though I had never before seen one of
his race. He was a dandified-looking fellow, wearing a stiff white
waistcoat fastened by gilded buttons, with a pair of short curly
mustaches, waxed straight out at the ends; and he stood there grinning
at me in a manner that showed all his gleaming teeth. Before I could
recover my wits enough to address him, I heard a voice from within the
house,--a soft, drawling voice, with a marked foreign accent clinging
to it.