The kitchen was full of all his compeers, who had hurried and crowded
in, from the various cabins, to hear the termination of the day's
exploits. Now was Sam's hour of glory. The story of the day was
rehearsed, with all kinds of ornament and varnishing which might be
necessary to heighten its effect; for Sam, like some of our fashionable
dilettanti, never allowed a story to lose any of its gilding by passing
through his hands. Roars of laughter attended the narration, and were
taken up and prolonged by all the smaller fry, who were lying, in any
quantity, about on the floor, or perched in every corner. In the
height of the uproar and laughter, Sam, however, preserved an immovable
gravity, only from time to time rolling his eyes up, and giving his
auditors divers inexpressibly droll glances, without departing from the
sententious elevation of his oratory.

"Yer see, fellow-countrymen," said Sam, elevating a turkey's leg, with
energy, "yer see, now what dis yer chile 's up ter, for fendin' yer
all,--yes, all on yer. For him as tries to get one o' our people is as
good as tryin' to get all; yer see the principle 's de same,--dat ar's
clar. And any one o' these yer drivers that comes smelling round arter
any our people, why, he's got _me_ in his way; _I'm_ the feller he's got
to set in with,--I'm the feller for yer all to come to, bredren,--I'll
stand up for yer rights,--I'll fend 'em to the last breath!"

"Why, but Sam, yer telled me, only this mornin', that you'd help this
yer Mas'r to cotch Lizy; seems to me yer talk don't hang together," said
Andy.

"I tell you now, Andy," said Sam, with awful superiority, "don't yer
be a talkin' 'bout what yer don't know nothin' on; boys like you,