It was not long before Estralla followed her missy's example. But she
was wide awake when Captain Carleton came into the cabin.
As soon as he returned to the deck Estralla crawled out from her hiding-
place and looked about her.
"Wake up, Missy," she whispered leaning over Sylvia; and Sylvia sat up
quickly, with a little cry of astonishment.
"Don't you be skeered," said Estralla softly, "'cause I ain' gwine to
let you be carried off. I knows jes' how slaves are ketched. Yas'm, I
does. My mammy tole me. They gits folks in ships and carries 'em off an'
sells 'em to folks. An' I ain' gwine to let 'em have you, Missy." There
were tears in Estralla's eyes. She knew that her own brother had been
sold the previous year and taken to a plantation in Florida. She had
heard her mother say that she, Estralla, might be sold any time. She
knew that slavery was a dreadful thing.
"Where are they taking us?" questioned Sylvia, for she realized that the
vessel was moving swiftly through the water. She wondered why Captain
Carleton had gone away. Seeing Estralla there gave her a dreadful
certainty that what the little darky said might be true. Perhaps the
vessel might have others on board who were being taken off to be sold,
as Estralla declared.
"Yas, Missy. My mammy's tole me jes' how white folks gets black folks
fer slaves. Takes 'em away from their mammies, an' never lets 'em go
back. Yas!" And Estralla's big eyes grew round with terror.
"But I am a white girl, Estralla," said Sylvia.
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