Ned belonged to our family, but during one of our long visits at S---- he had married a girl on a neighboring place and on our return home had been left behind. A high price had been offered for the girl, considerable more than she was worth, but her master would not part with her, so Ned had staid on at S---- from year to year. I doubt if he would have been willing to remain had we not been there so often, for he was deeply and honestly attached to our family. He was a particularly shrewd and intelligent old negro, and I well knew that I could trust him to any extent. He would die rather than betray me or any secret information I might find necessary to entrust to him. His intelligence, quickness of wit and caution would likely enable him to get out of any ordinary danger or emergency that presented itself. To have him along would somewhat lessen my chances of escaping observation on the way, but he would add much to my disguise when among the Confederates. Few, if any, outside the two families knew but what he belonged to the S---- plantation. He had made several trips with my aunt and cousin during the past two years and had been with them at the Springs. I knew that Captain DeLacy would recognize him again and that it would seem quite proper to him, or any person whom we should meet, that he had accompanied his young mistress. I did justice to the dinner which Ned, with great pride in his exhibition of culinary skill, had ready for me when I went down. I then told him where I was going and for what. He was horror struck at first and went off into lamentations, bemoaning these troublous times and prophesying that I would never get there and back alive. But he gradually became used to the idea and was soon begging me to take him along. As I had already decided to do so, I was glad to have him get around to the proposition himself, and readily gave my consent. I gave him a minute account of all that had occurred since I left the Capital. I thought wise to do this in order to make him familiar with what he would be likely to meet with after we started, and I explained fully to him what I wanted to do, how I wanted to do it, and how I might have to do it, going into full details. I was much pleased at the correct grasp he seemed to get of the matter and felt I could dismiss all apprehension on his score. We were to go on horseback. If possible we were to keep together, but if necessary we were to separate at any time without any delay and neither was to pay any attention whatever to the safety of the other. I explained to him that, except when I was personating Salome, any display of concern on his part about me would only increase my danger, and that in case we unexpectedly fell in with any troops on the road, he must act as if I were a total stranger whom he had just met, unless he first heard me make a direct statement to the contrary.