Neb, in a word, had managed to get on board the ship before she hauled
out into the stream, and lay concealed among the water-casks, his
pockets crammed with ginger-bread and apples, until discovered by the
cook, in one of his journeys in quest of water. The food of the lad
had been gone twenty-four hours, and it is not probable the fellow
could have remained concealed much longer, had not this discovery
taken place. The instant he was on deck, Neb looked eagerly around to
ascertain how far the ship had got from the land, and, seeing nothing
but water on every side of him, he fairly grinned with delight. This
exasperated Mr. Marble, who thought it was adding insult to injury,
and he gave the lad a cuff on the ear that would have set a white
reeling. On Neb, however, this sharp blow produced no effect, falling
as it did on the impregnable part of his system.
"Oh! you're a nigger, be you?" exclaimed the mate, waxing warmer and
warmer, as he: fancied himself baffled by the other's powers of
endurance. "Take that, and let us see if you're full-blooded!"
A smart rap on the shin accompanying these words, Neb gave in on the
instant. He begged for mercy, and professed a readiness to tell all,
protesting he was not "a runaway nigger"--a term the mate used while
applying the kicks.
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