know whar any ob yo' all was, an' it wan't no fun fo' dis nigger bein'
free dat away. I got out ter Independence, Missouri, an' was roustaboutin'
on de ribber, when a coupple ob men come along what wanted a cook to
trabbel wid 'em. I took de job, an' dat's what fetched me here ter Carson
City."

"But what caused your arrest?"

"A conjunction ob circumstances, Massa Jack; yes, sah, a conjunction ob
circumstances. I got playin' pokah ober in dat 'Red Light,' an' I was
doin' fine. I reckon I'd cleaned up mo'n a hundred dollars when I got
sleepy, an' started fo' camp. I'd most got dar w'en a bunch ob low white
trash jumped me. It made me mad, it did fo' a fact, an' I reckon I carved
some ob 'em up befo' I got away. Ennyhow, de marshal come down, took me
out ob de tent, an' fetched me here, an' I ben here ebber sence. I wan't
goin' ter let no low down white trash git all dat money."

"What became of the men you were working for?"

"I reckon dey went on, sah. Dey had 'portent business, an' wouldn't likely
wait 'roun' here jest ter help a nigger. Ain't ennybody ben here ter see
me, no-how, an' I 'spects I'se eradicated from dey mem'ry--I 'spects I
is."




Chapter V

The One Way