t'eat but not to tell nobody she was dar. She said she had been dar
widout nothin' t'eat for several days. She was skeered Marster might
whup her. She looked so thin and bad I thought she was gwine to die, so
I told Mammy. Her and Marster went and brung Anna to de 'ouse and fed
her. Dat pore chile was starved most to death. Marster kept her at home
for 3 weeks and fed her up good, den he carried her back and told dem
folkses what had hired her dat dey had better treat Anna good and see
dat she had plenty t'eat. Marster was drivin' a fast hoss dat day, but
bless your heart, Anna beat him back home dat day. She cried and tuk on
so, beggin' him not to take her back dar no more dat he told her she
could stay home. My other sister stayed on whar she was hired out 'til
de war was over and dey give us our freedom.

"Daddy had done hid all Old Marster's hosses when de yankees got to our
plantation. Two of de ridin' hosses was in de smokehouse and another
good trotter was in de hen 'ouse. Old Jake was a slave what warn't right
bright. He slep' in de kitchen, and he knowed whar Daddy had hid dem
hosses, but dat was all he knowed. Marster had give Daddy his money to
hide too, and he tuk some of de plasterin' off de wall in Marster's room
and put de box of money inside de wall. Den he fixed dat plasterin' back
so nice you couldn't tell it had ever been tore off. De night dem
yankees come, Daddy had gone out to de wuk 'ouse to git some pegs to fix
somepin (us didn't have no nails dem days). When de yankees rid up to de
kitchen door and found Old Jake right by hisself, dat pore old fool was
skeered so bad he jus' started right off babblin' 'bout two hosses in de
smoke'ouse and one in de hen 'ouse, but he was tremblin' so he couldn't
talk plain. Old Marster heared de fuss dey made and he come down to de
kitchen to see what was de matter. De yankees den ordered Marster to git
'em his hosses. Marster called Daddy and told him to git de hosses, but
Daddy, he played foolish lak and stalled 'round lak he didn't have good