Page 126 - Among the camps, or, Young people's stories of the war

people on the plantation said he Hid not have good sense ;
but they rarely ventured to say so twice to jack, jack said
he had more sense than any man on the place. At Jeast, he
idolized Jack,
At times the people commented on the white boy being
so much with the black ; but Jack's father said it was as

natural for them to run together as for two calves— a black
one and a white one— when they were turned out together ;
that he had played with Uncle Ralph, the butler, when they
were boys, and had taught the latter as much badness as

he had him.
So the two boys grew up together as 'Ja c k and Jake,11
forming a friendship which prevented either of them ever
knowing that Jake was a stave, and brought them up as
friends rather than as master and servant,
if there was any difference, the boys thought it was

rather In favor of Jake ; for Jack had to go to school, and sit
for some hours every morning ,L saying lessons” to his aunt,
and had to look out (sometimes) for his clothes, while Jake
just lounged around outside the schoolroom door; and could

do as he pleased, for he was sure to get jack’s suit as soon as
it had become too much worn for Jack,
The games they used to play were surprising. Jack
always knew of some interesting thing they could 11 make
'tence ” (that is, pretence) that they were doing. They

could be fishers and trappers, of course ; for there was the
creek winding down the meadow, in and out among the