human
It is entirely different hyar, sah, the latter said,
gpt
You own all the land, then?
human
The syndicate does, yes, sah.
gpt
Then you must have some wealthy men among you?
human
No, sah, not one. The town was begun, sah, by the kindness of Colonel Egerius.
gpt
Colonel--he was, that is, he is--
human
He is not a negro, sah, the old man answered finishing the boy's embarrassed sentence for him with entire self-possession.
gpt
Colonel Egerius, sah, was a plantation owner, befo' the war. Ah was one o' his slaves, an' mos' o' the people in Bullertown are the children o' those born in the plantation quarters.
human
And he started the town?
gpt
Yas, sah, in a way. He fought with Lee, sah, an' my brother was his body-servant all through the war. When Lee surrendered, the Colonel came back to the old plantation. Some of the slaves had gone, but thar was quite a few left still. He called us to the big house an' tol' us to stay by the ol' place an' he would pay us wages. Some--Ah was not one o' them, though Ah see now they were right,--said the quarters were not fit to live in.
human
But I thought you said Colonel Egerius was a kind master? How could that be if the quarters were so bad?
gpt
No, sah, he said,
human
Ah should never call the old massa kind, he was fair an' ready to help a willin' worker. But his slaves was his slaves an' they had no rights. Thar wasn't any whippin' or any o' that sort o' thing, but it was work all day, f'om befo' daylight till afteh dark, an' we lived jes' anyhow.
gpt
How came he to start the town, then? queried Hamilton.
human
Your description of him doesn't sound as though he were a man who would do much for you.
gpt
It was jes' because o' that, Ah think, that he did, sah. He was just, sah. He said that while we were slaves we should be treated as slaves. Now that the negro was not a slave any mo', thar was no reason to make him live like one. He used to say the South was now pledged to help the nation instead o' the Confederacy, an' while he did not agree, he would live up to that pledge.
human
That seems as fair as anything could be.
gpt
Yas, sah, but it was easier to say that than to do it. Thar was no money in the place, the slaves hadn' had wages, an' yo' can't build houses without money, an' money was scarce afteh the war.
human
How in the wide world did you manage it?
gpt
As Ah was sayin', sah, it was Colonel Egerius' doin'. He got a surveyor from the town an' hunted over the plantation to fin' the best site fo' a village,--the surveyor's name was Buller.
human
That's where the town got its name, then?
gpt
Yas, sah, Ah jes' wanted it called Egerius, but the Colonel wouldn't hear of it. Then all o' the ol' slaves that wanted to stay by the place got together, an' the Colonel showed us how to make a sort o' syndicate. Then he sol' us the land jes' as low as it could be made, payment to be in labor on the plantation, so in a few years' work every man who wanted to stay reg'lar on the job got title to his lan' an' his house, an' took wages afteh that.
human
That was a wise move, said the boy after a moment's thought.
gpt
He sold his land at a fair price, got the money back that he put into buildings, established a regular supply of labor for his plantation, and at the same time fixed it all right for you.
human
Yas, sah, the old negro answered,
gpt
continued the preacher,
human
he added, opening the door into a small room,