Sentence:  The duke he begun to abuse him for an old fool, and the king begun to <WSD>sass</WSD> back; and the minute they was fairly at it, I lit out, and shook the reefs out of my hind legs, and spun down the river road like a deer—for I see our chance; and I made up my mind that it would be a long day before they ever see me and Jim again. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  To talk, to talk back.