"Jake " "Dat me, Mass' Tom." "Have you heard the gun fire yet?" "Golly, no, Mass' Tom." "Then you must go up the hill at once and see whether the mail steamer has been signalled or not. She ought to have been in sight by now; for, she's been expected since early this morning, and we're all anxious about the news from England." "All right, Mass' Tom, me go for see, suah." "Look alive then, Jake, and lose no more time in starting. Let me just see how quickly you can get up to the Battery and back again; and mind, Jake, if the packet should be in, you can saddle my pony when you return for me to ride into town."