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Past Master
Jeff Carter
This story previously appeared in Infinite Loop, edited by Larry Constantine, copyright 1993 by Miller Freeman Inc. Used by permission of the author.
Table of Contents
Story
About the Author
Past Master
When I first heard of Mr. Legion I was owned by Master Ballington. We heard that a man from up north had come to town and bought a plantation on the other side of the town. Ben, who usually drove into town, said he'd seen the man, and that he talked funny. We put that down to his being a Yankee. Ben also said he'd heard some of the other slaves say Mr. Legion had been seen down by the market checking on the next slave sale.
This set off a buzz of speculation in our quarters. If Mr. Legion was going to buy slaves, would any of us be sold to him? If so, would families be broken up? What kind of master would he be? On this last question there were two schools of thought. One held that a Northerner was accustomed to considering Negroes free men and would be a good master. The other held that Yankees who came south to own slaves were especially likely to be vicious: that those who traveled a long distance in order to own slaves made worse masters than those who had grown up accustomed to the idea. The proponents of this view pointed out that most of the slave owners in the area had been raised to own slaves by their slave-owning fathers, and most were not bad masters.
Master Ballington was not a bad master, if one is going to be a slave, which is not an occupation I would recommend, for the hours are long, the work is hard, and the pay is very low indeed. Master Ballington never beat a slave without reason, and never so much that he couldn't work the next day. Nevertheless, we whispered at night, and dreamed while we worked, of being free. I can't imagine how Mr. Nicholls' slaves felt, since he drank and beat them severely, often for no reason.
The talk about Mr. Legion soon died down as the novelty wore off, and things returned to normal on the plantation. Ben fell ill, and I was called on to take his place one day when Mrs. Ballington wanted to do some shopping in town. I was in the fields when Master Ballington called me. "Adam, come here. I want you to harness Debbie to the carriage and take Mrs. Ballington into town to the shops."
"Yessuh," I said. I know that sounds stereotyped, but such stereotypes have a basis, for I talked so then, not having had any schooling. I had seldom been in town, so I hurried to ready the carriage before he changed his mind. The roads were dry and firm, and we had an easy way to town.
At the shop I tied up the horse and walked Mrs. Ballington to the entrance. "Wait for me here, Adam," she said, and went in. Some barrels and boxes were stacked outside the shop on the walk, and on these were sitting several slaves waiting to be called.
"Wheah's Ben?" one of them asked.
"Him sick," I said. "Coughin' all the time now two, three days." They all agreed that was bad, and Ben was not likely to survive.
Occupied by the conversation, and not accustomed to being in town, I failed to notice a man coming up to the shop behind me. "Out of my way, nigra," he said, and poked me with his stick. I turned around and found myself face to face with Mr. Nicholls.
Mr. Nicholls was a sort of bogeyman to young slaves in the area, and my mother had often threatened to sell me to him if I didn't behave. So I was rooted with fear for a second before I could step back. "Scuze me--" I said, but I hadn't been fast enough for him.
"Damn you, I said out of my way!" he shouted, hitting me over the head with his stick. I should have stepped back, tried to ward off his blows, and waited for him to go inside, but I was not accustomed to being beaten for no reason. In short, I grew angry and pushed him away. He tripped over a box behind him and fell down. "You damned nigra, I'll see you hanged for this, by God Almighty I will!" he shouted as he got up. He called for the sheriff to come and take me away and hang me.
Mrs. Ballington came out of the shop then and rescued me. She told Mr. Nicholls that she needed me to take her home. "We'll hold him for you, never fear. Tomorrow my husband will call on you to arrange matters."
We got home as quickly as we'd got to town, much too quickly for me. I'd as soon have had to help the horse draw the carriage through deep mud in the rain if it would delay the time when I'd stand before Master Ballington. "You pushed Mr. Nicholls over, Adam?" he demanded in the quiet way he had when he was angry.
"Nosuh, I jus' pushed 'im away, but there's this box ahind 'im and he fall down."
"You should not have pushed him."
"Nosuh, I shouldun. I knows I's bad. You goan beat me, Massuh?"
"You're likely to be hanged for this, Adam. I can't see that beating you will make it any better."
The next day Master Ballington came home from Mr. Nicholls' and told me that Mr. Nicholls was not going to have me hanged. Instead he wanted one hundred fifty dollars. "I haven't got the money, Adam," Master Ballington told me. "I'm going to have to sell you."
"Please, Massuh, doan sell me to Missuh Nicholls."
"I will not sell you to him if I can avoid it."
"What about Mandy an' Lizzie May?" These were my wife and infant daughter.
"I'll try not to split you up. But I'm not going to take less than market price for Mandy. If she won't fetch it with you, I'll keep her. Maybe we can get the buyer to let you visit."
I went back and told Mandy what he had said. She started crying, and the other women gathered around and started crying. We men couldn't take it, so we went out to the fields again. They seemed amazed that I'd laid the bogeyman out on his back and wasn't going to hang for it.
That evening Mr. Legion rode up on a big, reddish-brown horse and went in to talk to Master Ballington. The others started tormenting me immediately. "Lordy, lordy, he done seen his chance and took it," one of them said. "He goan get him a young buck slave fo' hunnert an' fiddy dollah and work it to death." I remembered the talk about Northern masters and started trembling. I held on to Mandy, who started crying.
Later Mr. Legion and Master Ballington came out of the house. They shook hands and Master Ballington thanked him several times before he mounted and rode away. Master Ballington had us called to see him.
"We are in luck. Mr. Legion has paid full market price for both of you, and agreed to take your daughter as well. You are to go with him on Monday."
Never has time passed as quickly for me as the rest of that week. In no time at all it was Sunday afternoon and we were packing our few things, wondering what life would be like as Mr. Legion's only slaves. We didn't sleep at all that night, but neither did some of our friends, who stayed up with us around a fire. I hope none of them suffered beatings the next day for sloppy work due to lack of sleep. Lizzie May slept the sound sleep of innocence.
The next morning we were standing in front of the house, wearing our best clothes. Mr. Legion drove up in a carriage. Master Ballington came out of the house and shook hands with him. "I take it these are the slaves," Mr. Legion said, pointing at us. "I would say I'm getting good value for my money. Put your things in the carriage," he told us.
"Adam is a good worker, strong but gentle," Master Ballington said. "You'll have no trouble with him. He would never have caused any trouble if Nicholls had not hit him."
"I understand," Mr. Legion said. "Can you drive a carriage?" he asked me.
"Yessuh."
"Then get up there and let's get home." He got in the back of the carriage while I helped Mandy up in front. I took the reins and drove off. Some of the men stood up in the fields and waved their hats at us. I didn't wave back, not knowing how Mr. Legion would react to such behavior and not daring to take the chance, but Ma
ndy waved back and Mr. Legion didn't say anything.
There had been some rain recently, and the carriage got stuck fording the river. I got out and helped the horse, pushing on the wheels. We were making progress, slowly but surely, and would eventually have got the carriage free. Mr. Legion stood up in the carriage and looked around, then jumped down and helped. "You doan need do that, Massuh Legion," I told him. "We get it out soon."
"It's no problem, Adam," he said. "The same thing happened on my way to Ballington's, so I'm used to it. Besides, it will be easier without my weight in the carriage. Since there's no one around to disapprove, I'd just as soon get it over with and get going again." I decided then that he would be a good master. I didn't realize how wrong I was.
When we got to his plantation he stood up in the carriage and looked around again. "You'll probably be the cook and housekeeper, Mandy," he said, "so why don't you take the child into the house and get to know the kitchen. I'll show Adam where things are in the stable." Mandy started off toward the house with Lizzie May.
"You doan need show me, Massuh," I said. "I find 'em all right."
"I'm sure you would, Adam, but I'd prefer to accompany you." He saw Mandy heading up the steps toward the house. "Mandy!" he called.
"Yes, Massuh?" she said, turning.
He looked around again. "I think you should use