Ain’t that right, boys? You ain’t in Abe Lincoln’s country no more—you’re in the South, where Jeff Davis is president. Niggers ain’t free here and you’re still a slave. That’s why we got to teach you your place. You been speaking with disrespect to your betters. We got to learn you some manners.” One of the men took a rope from behind his saddle. He made a loop and tossed it over Jake’s head and coiled it around his shoulders and chest, then yanked tight. Jake struggled, but his efforts only tightened