"Yes, sah."
"Build a fire right here."
"Agin de big log dah, Mas' Sam?" pointing to the trunk of a great tree which had fallen in some earlier storm.
"No, build it right here. Sid, you and Bob Sharp go down into the canebrake there and get two or three dozen of the longest canes you can find."
"Green ones?" asked Bob.
"Green or dry, it doesn't matter in the least," answered Sam. "The rest of you boys go down into the swamp off there and cut a lot of the palmetes you find there,--this sort of thing," pointing to one of the plants which grew at his feet. "Get as many of them as you can, the more the better. The fire will be burning presently and will throw a light all around."
The boys were puzzled, but they hurried away to the work assigned them. Sam busied himself digging a trench on
