They went to the shanty, which did duty as a barn; but Cuffy had concealed himself, and they could not find him. Deck called him by name several times; and if the ferryman was not extremely stupid, he could understand that neither his voice nor his speech was that of the troopers.
"Who's dar?" responded the negro, after a long delay.
"Come out here, and we will help you out of your trouble," added Deck.
"Who be you uns?" inquired Cuffy, which proved later to be his real surname.
"Whar dem sogers now?" asked the terrified ferryman.
"Den dey done gone to steal my boat!" groaned the negro, coming out of his hiding-place with a gun in his hand.
As the wanderers followed him out of the barn, they saw in the darkness that his head was thickly covered with white wool, and he must have been well along in years. He evidently kept his gun and ammunition in this out-building, for he had a powder-horn and shot-bag suspended from his shoulders.
"What are you going to do with that gun, Cuffy?" asked Deck, who was rather astonished to see him armed.
"I's gwine to shoot one of dose men if dey try to kill me, as dey done sworn dey would," replied the ferryman.
"Better not do anything of that kind, Cuffy," said Deck. "We will stand by you, and we can fire shots enough to kill the whole of them."
"Who be you uns, Mars'r?" asked the ferryman, gazing at them, and trying to make them out in the darkness.
"We are Union soldiers, just escaped from the enemy," answered Deck.
"Bress de Lo'd!" exclaimed the negro. "Dem men was Seceshers, and is gwine to steal my boat. It's all I have to make a little money for de contribution-box, and ef I lose it I'm done ruinged."
"Never mind the boat, Cuffy," continued Deck, as he led the way to the four horses; for he had seen the Southrons go off on foot, and knew they had not taken them. "Mount one of these animals, Ben."
He led out one of them, and put himself in the saddle, while the sergeant did the same with another.
"Can you ride a horse, Cuffy?" asked the lieutenant.
"Get one of the others, then. Can we get to the ferry on horseback?"
"For sartin, Mars'r; some folks goes down to de boat on hosses, and we swim 'em ober de riber," replied Cuffy, as he mounted the animal he had chosen. "My son comes ober dat way."