Двенадцать лет рабства
Chapter 4
Itsfurniturewasastove,afewoldchairs,andalongtable,coveredwithpapers. Itwasawhite-washedroom,withoutanycarpetonthefloor,andseemedasortofoffice. Byoneofthewindows,Iremember,hungarustysword,whichattractedmyattention. Burch’strunkwasthere. Inobediencetohisorders,Itookholdofoneofitshandleswithmyunfetteredhand,whilehetakingholdoftheother,weproceededoutofthefrontdoorintothestreetinthesameorderaswehadleftthecell.
Itwasadarknight. Allwasquiet. Icouldseelights,orthereflectionofthem,overtowardsPennsylvaniaAvenue,buttherewasnoone,notevenastraggler,tobeseen. Iwasalmostresolvedtoattempttobreakaway. HadInotbeenhand-cuffedtheattemptwouldcertainlyhavebeenmade,whateverconsequencemighthavefollowed. Radburnwasintherear,carryingalargestick,andhurryingupthechildrenasfastasthelittleonescouldwalk. Sowepassed,hand-cuffedandinsilence,throughthestreetsofWashington—throughtheCapitalofanation,whosetheoryofgovernment,wearetold,restsonthefoundationofman’sinalienablerighttolife,liberty,andthepursuitofhappiness! Hail! Columbia,happyland,indeed!
Reachingthesteamboat,wewerequicklyhustledintothehold,amongbarrelsandboxesoffreight. Acoloredservantbroughtalight,thebellrung,andsoonthevesselstarteddownthePotomac,carryingusweknewnotwhere. ThebelltolledaswepassedthetombofWashington! Burch,nodoubt,withuncoveredhead,bowedreverentlybeforethesacredashesofthemanwhodevotedhisillustriouslifetothelibertyofhiscountry.
NoneofussleptthatnightbutRandallandlittleEmmy. ForthefirsttimeClemRaywaswhollyovercome. Tohimtheideaofgoingsouthwasterribleintheextreme.
