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diff --git a/17710-h/17710-h.htm b/17710-h/17710-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..9b666c6 --- /dev/null +++ b/17710-h/17710-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,14644 @@ +<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> +<html> +<head> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1"> +<title>The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Devil's Own, by Randall Parrish</title> +<style type="text/css"> +BODY { color: Black; + background: White; + margin-right: 10%; + margin-left: 10%; + font-size: medium; + font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; + text-align: justify } + +P {text-indent: 4% } + +P.noindent {text-indent: 0% } + +P.poem {text-indent: 0%; margin-left: 10%; font-size: small } + +P.letter {font-size: small } + + hr.full { width: 100%; + height: 5px; } + a:link { color:blue; + text-decoration:none; } + link { color:blue; + text-decoration:none; } + a:visited { color:blue; + text-decoration:none; } + a:hover { color:red; + text-decoration: underline; } + pre { font-size: 70%; } +</style> +</head> +<body> +<h1 align="center">The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Devil's Own, by Randall Parrish</h1> +<pre> +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at <a href = "http://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a></pre> +<p>Title: The Devil's Own</p> +<p> A Romance of the Black Hawk War</p> +<p>Author: Randall Parrish</p> +<p>Release Date: February 7, 2006 [eBook #17710]</p> +<p>Language: English</p> +<p>Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1</p> +<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE DEVIL'S OWN***</p> +<br><br><center><h3>E-text prepared by Al Haines</h3></center><br><br> +<hr class="full" noshade> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<A NAME="img-front"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG SRC="images/img-front.jpg" ALT=""Tell me--please," she begged. "Is the man dead?"" BORDER="2" WIDTH="416" HEIGHT="615"> +<H4> +[Frontispiece: "Tell me—please," she begged. "Is the man dead?"] +</H4> +</CENTER> + +<BR><BR> + +<H1 ALIGN="center"> +The Devil's Own +</H1> + +<H2 ALIGN="center"> +A Romance of the Black Hawk War +</H2> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +By RANDALL PARRISH +</H3> + +<BR><BR> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +AUTHOR OF +<BR><BR> +"Contraband," "When Wilderness Was King,"<BR> +"Beyond The Frontier," Etc. +</H4> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +With Frontispiece +<BR><BR> +By The Kinneys +</H4> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +A. L. BURT COMPANY +<BR><BR> +Publishers ————— New York +<BR><BR> +Published by arrangement with A. C. McCLURG & COMPANY +</H4> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H5 ALIGN="center"> +Copyright +<BR><BR> +A. C. McCLURG & CO. +<BR><BR> +1917 +<BR><BR><BR> +Published October, 1917 +<BR><BR><BR> +Copyrighted in Great Britain +<BR><BR><BR> +Printed in the United States +</H5> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H2 ALIGN="center"> +CONTENTS +</H2> + +<BR> + +<CENTER> + +<TABLE WIDTH="80%"> +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">CHAPTER</TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> </TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">I </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap01">At Old Fort Armstrong</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">II </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap02">On Furlough</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">III </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap03">History of the Beaucaires</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">IV </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap04">The End of the Game</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">V </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap05">Kirby Shows His Hand</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">VI </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap06">Into the Black Water</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">VII </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap07">Picking Up the Threads</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">VIII </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap08">I Decide My Duty</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">IX </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap09">The Home of Judge Beaucaire</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">X </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap10">A Girl at Bay</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XI </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap11">To Save a "Nigger"</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XII </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap12">We Capture a Keel-Boat</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XIII </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap13">Seeking the Underground</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XIV </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap14">The Dawn of Deeper Interest</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XV </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap15">The Cabin of Amos Shrunk</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XVI </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap16">The Trail of the Raiders</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XVII </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap17">We Face Disaster</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XVIII </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap18">The Loss of Rene</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XIX </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap19">On Board the _Adventurer_</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XX </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap20">The Story of Elsie dark</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXI </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap21">The Landing at Yellow Banks</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXII </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap22">My Friend, the Deputy Sheriff</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXIII </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap23">A New Job</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXIV </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap24">Kirby and I Meet</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXV </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap25">The Fugitives</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXVI </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap26">The Island in the Swamp</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXVII </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap27">We Choose Our Course</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXVIII </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap28">A Field of Massacre</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXIX </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap29">The Valley of the Bureau</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXX </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap30">We Accept a Refugee</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXXI </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap31">The Valley of the Shadow</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXXII </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap32">The Trail to Ottawa</A></TD> +</TR> + +</TABLE> +</CENTER> +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap01"></A> +<H1 ALIGN="center"> +The Devil's Own +</H1> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER I +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +AT OLD FORT ARMSTRONG +</H3> + +<P> +It was the early springtime, and my history tells me the year was 1832, +although now that seems so far away I almost hesitate to write the +date. It appears surprising that through the haze of all those +intervening years—intensely active years with me—I should now be able +to recall so clearly the scene of that far-off morning of my youth, and +depict in memory each minor detail. Yet, as you read on, and realize +yourself the stirring events resulting from that idle moment, you may +be able to comprehend the deep impression left upon my mind, which no +cycle of time could ever erase. +</P> + +<P> +I was barely twenty then, a strong, almost headstrong boy, and the far +wilderness was still very new to me, although for two years past I had +held army commission and been assigned to duty in frontier forts. Yet +never previously had I been stationed at quite so isolated an outpost +of civilization as was this combination of rock and log defense erected +at the southern extremity of Rock Island, fairly marooned amid the +sweep of the great river, with Indian-haunted land stretching for +leagues on every side. A mere handful of troops was quartered there, +technically two companies of infantry, yet numbering barely enough for +one; and this in spite of rumors daily drifting to us that the Sacs and +Foxes, with their main village just below, were already becoming +restless and warlike, inflamed by the slow approach of white settlers +into the valley of the Rock. Indeed, so short was the garrison of +officers, that the harassed commander had ventured to retain me for +field service, in spite of the fact that I was detailed to staff duty, +had borne dispatches up the Mississippi from General Gaines, and +expected to return again by the first boat. +</P> + +<P> +The morning was one of deep-blue sky and bright sunshine, the soft +spring air vocal with the song of birds. As soon as early drill ended +I had left the fort-enclosure, and sought a lonely perch on the great +rock above the mouth of the cave. It was a spot I loved. Below, +extended a magnificent vista of the river, fully a mile wide from shore +to shore, spreading out in a sheet of glittering silver, unbroken in +its vast sweep toward the sea except for a few small, willow-studded +islands a mile or two away, with here and there the black dot of an +Indian canoe gliding across the surface. I had been told of a fight +amid those islands in 1814, a desperate savage battle off the mouth of +the Rock, and the memory of this was in my mind as my eyes searched +those distant shores, silent now in their drapery of fresh green +foliage, yet appearing strangely desolate and forlorn, as they merged +into the gray tint of distance. Well I realized that they only served +to screen savage activity beyond, a covert amid which lurked danger and +death; for over there, in the near shadow of the Rock Valley, was where +Black Hawk, dissatisfied, revengeful, dwelt with his British band, +gathering swiftly about him the younger, fighting warriors of every +tribe his influence could reach. He had been at the fort but two days +before, a tall, straight, taciturn Indian; no chief by birth, yet a +born leader of men, defiant in speech, and insolent of demeanor in +spite of the presence also at the council of his people's true +representative, the silent, cautious Keokuk. +</P> + +<P> +Even with my small knowledge of such things it was plain enough to be +seen there existed deadly hatred between these two, and that Keokuk's +desire for peace with the whites alone postponed an outbreak. I knew +then but little of the cause. The Indian tongue was strange to me, and +the interpreter failed to make clear the under-lying motive, yet I +managed to gather that, in spite of treaty, Black Hawk refused to leave +his oldtime hunting grounds to the east of the river, and openly +threatened war. The commandant trusted Keokuk, with faith that his +peaceful counsels would prevail; but when Black Hawk angrily left the +chamber and my eyes followed him to his waiting canoe, my mind was +convinced that this was not destined to be the end—that only force of +arms would ever tame his savage spirit. +</P> + +<P> +This all came back to me in memory as I sat there, searching out that +distant shore line, and picturing in imagination the restless Indian +camp concealed from view beyond those tree-crowned bluffs. Already +tales reached us of encroaching settlers advancing along the valley, +and of savage, retaliating raids which could only terminate in armed +encounters. Already crops had been destroyed, and isolated cabins +fired, the work as yet of prowling, irresponsible bands, yet always +traced in their origin to Black Hawk's village. That Keokuk could +continue to control his people no longer seemed probable to me, for the +Hawk was evidently the stronger character of the two, possessed the +larger following, and made no attempt to conceal the depth of his +hatred for all things American. +</P> + +<P> +Now to my view all appeared peaceful enough—the silent, deserted +shores, the desolate sweep of the broad river, the green-crowned +bluffs, the quiet log fort behind me, its stockaded gates wide open, +with not even a sentry visible, a flag flapping idly at the summit of a +high pole, and down below where I sat a little river steamboat tied to +the wharf, a dingy stern-wheeler, with the word "Warrior" painted +across the pilot house. My eyes and thoughts turned that way +wonderingly. The boat had tied up the previous evening, having just +descended from Prairie du Chien, and, it was rumored at that time, +intended to depart down river for St. Louis at daybreak. Yet even now +I could perceive no sign of departure. There was but the thinnest +suggestion of smoke from the single stack, no loading, or unloading, +and the few members of the crew visible were idling on the wharf, or +grouped upon the forward deck, a nondescript bunch of river boatmen, +with an occasional black face among them, their voices reaching me, +every sentence punctuated by oaths. Above, either seated on deck +stools, or moving restlessly about, peering over the low rail at the +shore, were a few passengers, all men roughly dressed—miners from +Fevre River likely, with here and there perchance an adventurer from +farther above—impatient of delay. I was attracted to but two of any +interest. These were standing alone together near the stern, a +heavily-built man with white hair and beard, and a younger, rather +slender fellow, with clipped, black moustache. Both were unusually +well dressed, the latter exceedingly natty and fashionable in attire, +rather overly so I thought, while the former wore a long coat, and high +white stock. Involuntarily I had placed them in my mind as river +gamblers, but was still observing their movements with some curiosity, +when Captain Thockmorton crossed the gangplank and began ascending the +steep bluff. The path to be followed led directly past where I was +sitting, and, recognizing me, he stopped to exchange greetings. +</P> + +<P> +"What! have you finished your day's work already, Lieutenant?" he +exclaimed pleasantly. "Mine has only just begun." +</P> + +<P> +"So I observe. It was garrison talk last night that the <I>Warrior</I> was +to depart at daylight." +</P> + +<P> +"That was the plan. However, the <I>Wanderer</I> went north during the +night," he explained, "and brought mail from below, so we are being +held for the return letters. I am going up to the office now." +</P> + +<P> +My eyes returned to the scene below. +</P> + +<P> +"You have some passengers aboard." +</P> + +<P> +"A few; picked up several at the lead mines, besides those aboard from +Prairie du Chien. No soldiers this trip, though. They haven't men +enough at Fort Crawford to patrol the walls." +</P> + +<P> +"So I'm told; and only the merest handful here. Frankly, Captain, I do +not know what they can be thinking about down below, with this Indian +uprising threatened. The situation is more serious than they imagine. +In my judgment Black Hawk means to fight." +</P> + +<P> +"I fully agree with you," he replied soberly. "But Governor Clark is +the only one who senses the situation. However, I learned last night +from the commander of the <I>Wanderer</I> that troops were being gathered at +Jefferson Barracks. I'll probably get a load of them coming back. +What is your regiment, Knox?" +</P> + +<P> +"The Fifth Infantry." +</P> + +<P> +"The Fifth! Then you do not belong here?" +</P> + +<P> +"No; I came up with dispatches, but have not been permitted to return. +What troops are at Jefferson—did you learn?" +</P> + +<P> +"Mostly from the First, with two companies of the Sixth, Watson told +me; only about four hundred altogether. How many warriors has Black +Hawk?" +</P> + +<P> +"No one knows. They say his emissaries are circulating among the +Wyandottes and Potawatamies, and that he has received encouragement +from the Prophet which makes him bold." +</P> + +<P> +"The Prophet! Oh, you mean Wabokieshiek? I know that old devil, a +Winnebago; and if Black Hawk is in his hands he will not listen very +long even to White Beaver. General Atkinson passed through here +lately; what does he think?" +</P> + +<P> +I shook my head doubtfully. +</P> + +<P> +"No one can tell, Captain; at least none of the officers here seem in +his confidence. I have never met him, but I learn this: he trusts the +promises of Keokuk, and continues to hold parley. Under his orders a +council was held here three days since, which ended in a quarrel +between the two chiefs. However, there is a rumor that dispatches have +already been sent to Governors Clark and Reynolds suggesting a call for +volunteers, yet I cannot vouch for the truth of the tale." +</P> + +<P> +"White Beaver generally keeps his own counsel, yet he knows Indians, +and might trust me with his decision, for we are old friends. If you +can furnish me with a light, I'll start this pipe of mine going." +</P> + +<P> +I watched the weather-beaten face of the old riverman, as he puffed +away in evident satisfaction. I had chanced to meet him only twice +before, yet he was a well-known character between St. Louis and Prairie +du Chien; rough enough to be sure, from the very nature of his calling, +but generous and straightforward. +</P> + +<P> +"Evidently all of your passengers are not miners, Captain," I ventured, +for want of something better to say. "Those two standing there at the +stern, for instance." +</P> + +<P> +He turned and looked, shading his eyes, the smoking pipe in one hand. +</P> + +<P> +"No," he said, "that big man is Judge Beaucaire, from Missouri. He has +a plantation just above St. Louis, an old French grant. He went up +with me about a month ago—-my first trip this season—to look after +some investment on the Fevre, which I judge hasn't turned out very +well, and has been waiting to go back with me. Of course you know the +younger one." +</P> + +<P> +"Never saw him before." +</P> + +<P> +"Then you have never traveled much on the lower river. That's Joe +Kirby." +</P> + +<P> +"Joe Kirby?" +</P> + +<P> +"Certainly; you must have heard of him. First time I ever knew of his +drifting so far north, as there are not many pickings up here. Have +rather suspected he might be laying for Beaucaire, but the two haven't +touched a card coming down." +</P> + +<P> +"He is a gambler, then?" +</P> + +<P> +"A thoroughbred; works between St. Louis and New Orleans. I can't just +figure out yet what he is doing up here. I asked him flat out, but he +only laughed, and he isn't the sort of man you get very friendly with, +some say he has Indian blood in him, so I dropped it. He and the Judge +seem pretty thick, and they may be playing in their rooms." +</P> + +<P> +"Have you ever told the planter who the other man is?" +</P> + +<P> +"What, me, told him? Well, hardly; I've got troubles enough of my own. +Beaucaire is of age, I reckon, and they tell me he is some poker player +himself. The chances are he knows Kirby better than I do; besides I've +run this river too long to interfere with my passengers. See you again +before we leave; am going up now to have a talk with the Major." +</P> + +<P> +My eyes followed as he disappeared within the open gates, a squatty, +strongly-built figure, the blue smoke from his pipe circling in a cloud +above his head. Then I turned idly to gaze once again down the river, +and observe the groups loitering below. I felt but slight interest in +the conversation just exchanged, nor did the memory of it abide for +long in my mind. I had not been close enough to observe Beaucaire, or +glimpse his character, while the presence of a gambler on the boat was +no such novelty in those days as to chain my attention. Indeed, these +individuals were everywhere, a recognized institution, and, as +Thockmorton had intimated, the planter himself was fully conversant +with the game, and quite able to protect himself. Assuredly it was +none of my affair, and yet a certain curiosity caused me to observe the +movements of the two so long as they remained on deck. However, it was +but a short while before both retired to the cabin, and then my gaze +returned once more to the sullen sweep of water, while my thoughts +drifted far away. +</P> + +<P> +A soldier was within a few feet of me, and had spoken, before I was +even aware of his approach. +</P> + +<P> +"Lieutenant Knox." +</P> + +<P> +I looked about quickly, recognizing the major's orderly. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, Sanders, what is it?" +</P> + +<P> +"Major Bliss requests, sir, that you report at his office at once." +</P> + +<P> +"Very well. Is he with Captain Thockmorton?" +</P> + +<P> +"Not at present, sir; the captain has gone to the post-sutler's." +</P> + +<P> +Wondering what might be desired of me, yet with no conception of the +reality, I followed after the orderly through the stockade gate, and +across the small parade ground toward the more pretentious structure +occupied by the officers of the garrison. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap02"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER II +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +ON FURLOUGH +</H3> + + +<P> +A number of soldiers off duty were loitering in front of the barracks, +while a small group of officers occupied chairs on the log porch of +their quarters, enjoying the warmth of the sun. I greeted these as I +passed, conscious that their eyes followed me curiously as I approached +the closed door of the commandant's office. The sentry without brought +his rifle to a salute, but permitted my passage without challenge. A +voice within answered my knock, and I entered, closing the door behind +me. The room was familiar—plain, almost shabbily furnished, the walls +decorated only by the skins of wild beasts, and holding merely a few +rudely constructed chairs and a long pine table. Major Bliss glanced +up at my entrance, with deep-set eyes hidden beneath bushy-gray +eyebrows, his smooth-shaven face appearing almost youthful in contrast +to a wealth of gray hair. A veteran of the old war, and a strict +disciplinarian, inclined to be austere, his smile of welcome gave me +instantly a distinct feeling of relief. +</P> + +<P> +"How long have you been here at Armstrong, Lieutenant?" he questioned, +toying with an official-looking paper in his hands. +</P> + +<P> +"Only about three weeks, sir. I came north on the <I>Enterprise</I>, with +dispatches from General Gaines." +</P> + +<P> +"I remember; you belong to the Fifth, and, without orders, I promptly +dragooned you into garrison service." His eyes laughed. "Only sorry I +cannot hold you any longer." +</P> + +<P> +"I do not understand, sir." +</P> + +<P> +"Yet I presume you have learned that the <I>Wanderer</I> stopped here for an +hour last night on its way north to Prairie du Chien?" +</P> + +<P> +"Captain Thockmorton just informed me." +</P> + +<P> +"But you received no mail?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, sir; or, rather, I have not been at the office to inquire. Was +there mail for me?" +</P> + +<P> +"That I do not know; only I have received a communication relating to +you. It seems you have an application pending for a furlough." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, sir." +</P> + +<P> +"It is my pleasure to inform you that it has been granted—sixty days, +with permission to proceed east. There has been considerable delay +evidently in locating you." +</P> + +<P> +A sudden vision arose before me of my mother's face and of the old home +among the hills as I took the paper from his extended hands and glanced +at the printed and written lines. +</P> + +<P> +"The date is a month ago." +</P> + +<P> +"That need not trouble you, Knox. The furlough begins with this +delivery. However, as I shall require your services as far as St. +Louis, I shall date its acceptance from the time of your arrival there." +</P> + +<P> +"Which is very kind, sir." +</P> + +<P> +"Not at all. You have proven of considerable assistance here, and I +shall part from you with regret. I have letters for Governor Clark of +Missouri, and Governor Reynolds of Illinois; also one to General +Atkinson at Jefferson Barracks, detailing my views on the present +Indian situation. These are confidential, and I hesitate to entrust +them to the regular mail service. I had intended sending them down +river in charge of a non-commissioned officer, but shall now utilize +your services instead—that is, if you are willing to assume their +care?" +</P> + +<P> +"Very gladly, of course." +</P> + +<P> +"I thought as much. Each of these is to be delivered in person. +Captain Thockmorton informs me that he will be prepared to depart +within an hour. You can be ready in that time?" +</P> + +<P> +I smiled. +</P> + +<P> +"In much less. I have little with me but a field kit, sir. It will +not require long to pack that." +</P> + +<P> +"Then return here at the first whistle, and the letters will be ready +for you. That will be all now." +</P> + +<P> +I turned toward the door, but paused irresolutely. The major was +already bent over his task, and writing rapidly. +</P> + +<P> +"I beg your pardon, sir, but as I am still to remain on duty, I presume +I must travel in uniform?" +</P> + +<P> +He glanced up, his eyes quizzical, the pen still grasped in his fingers. +</P> + +<P> +"I could never quite understand the eagerness of young officers to get +into civilian clothing," he confessed reflectively. "Why, I haven't +even had a suit for ten years. However, I can see no necessity for +your proclaiming your identity on the trip down. Indeed, it may prove +the safer course, and technically I presume you may be considered as on +furlough. Travel as you please, Lieutenant, but I suggest it will be +well to wear the uniform of your rank when you deliver the letters. Is +that all?" +</P> + +<P> +"I think of nothing more." +</P> + +<P> +Fifteen minutes sufficed to gather together all my belongings, and +change from blue into gray, and, as I emerged from quarters, the +officers of the garrison flocked about me with words of congratulation +and innumerable questions. Universal envy of my good fortune was +evident, but this assumed no unpleasant form, although much was said to +express their belief in my early return. +</P> + +<P> +"Anyway, you are bound to wish you were back," exclaimed Hartley, the +senior captain, earnestly. "For we are going to be in the thick of it +here in less than a month, unless all signs fail. I was at that last +council, and I tell you that Sac devil means to fight." +</P> + +<P> +"You may be certain I shall be back if he does," I answered. "But the +Major seems to believe that peace is still possible." +</P> + +<P> +"No one really knows what he believes," insisted Hartley soberly. +"Those letters you carry south may contain the truth, but if I was in +command here we would never take the chances we do now. Look at those +stockade gates standing wide open, and only one sentry posted. Ye +gods! who would ever suppose we were just a handful of men in hostile +Indian territory." His voice increased in earnestness, his eyes +sweeping the group of faces. "I've been on this frontier for fourteen +years, and visited in Black Hawk's camp a dozen times. He's a British +Indian, and hates everything American. Ask Forsyth." +</P> + +<P> +"The Indian agent?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, he knows. He's already written Governor Reynolds, and I saw the +letter. His word is that Keokuk is powerless to hold back an +explosion; he and the Hawk are open enemies, and with the first advance +of settlers along the Rock River Valley this whole border is going to +be bathed in blood. And look what we've got to fight it with." +</P> + +<P> +"Thockmorton told me," I explained, "that Atkinson is preparing to send +in more troops; he expects to bring a load north with him on his next +trip." +</P> + +<P> +"From Jefferson?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; they are concentrating there." +</P> + +<P> +"How many regulars are there?" +</P> + +<P> +"About four hundred from the First and Sixth regiments." +</P> + +<P> +He laughed scornfully. +</P> + +<P> +"I thought so. That means that Atkinson may send two or three hundred +men, half of them recruits, to be scattered between Madison, Armstrong +and Crawford. Say we are lucky enough to get a hundred or a hundred +and fifty of them stationed here. Why, man, there are five hundred +warriors in Black Hawk's camp at this minute, and that is only fifteen +miles away. Within ten days he could rally to him Kickapoos, +Potawatamies and Winnebagoes in sufficient force to crush us like an +eggshell. Why, Gaines ought to be here himself, with a thousand +regulars behind him." +</P> + +<P> +"Surely we can defend Armstrong," broke in a confident voice. "The +savages would have to attack in canoes." +</P> + +<P> +Hartley turned, and confronted the speaker. +</P> + +<P> +"In canoes!" he exclaimed. "Why, may I ask? With three hundred men +here in garrison, how many could we spare to patrol the island? Not a +corporal's guard, if we retained enough to prevent an open assault on +the fort. On any dark night they could land every warrior unknown to +us. The Hawk knows that." +</P> + +<P> +His voice had scarcely ceased when the boat whistle sounded hoarse from +the landing below. Grasping my kit I shook hands all around, and left +them, hastening across the parade to the office. Ten minutes later I +crossed the gangplank, and put foot for the first time on the deck of +the <I>Warrior</I>. Evidently the crew had been awaiting my arrival to push +off, for instantly the whistle shrieked again, and immediately after +the boat began to churn its way out into the river current, with bow +pointing down stream. Little groups of officers and enlisted men +gathered high up on the rocky headland to watch us getting under way, +and I lingered beside the rail, waving to them, as the struggling boat +swept down, constantly increasing its speed. Even when the last of +those black spots had vanished in the far distance, the flag on the +high staff remained clearly outlined against the sky, a symbol of +civilization in the midst of that vast savage wilderness. Thockmorton +leaned out from the open window of the pilot house and hailed me. +</P> + +<P> +"Put your dunnage in the third cabin, Knox—here, you, Sam, lay hold +and help." +</P> + +<P> +It was nothing to boast of, that third cabin, being a mere hole, +measuring possibly about four feet by seven, but sufficient for +sleeping quarters, and was reasonably clean. It failed, however, in +attractiveness sufficient to keep me below, and as soon as I had +deposited my bag and indulged in a somewhat captious scrutiny of the +bedding, I very willingly returned to the outside and clambered up a +steep ladder to the upper deck. +</P> + +<P> +The view from this point was a most attractive one. The little steamer +struggled forward through the swift, swirling water, keeping nearly in +the center of the broad stream, the white spray flung high by her +churning wheel and sparkling like diamonds in the sunshine. Lightly +loaded, a mere chip on the mighty current, she seemed to fly like a +bird, impelled not only by the force of her engines, but swept +irresistibly on by the grasp of the waters. We were already skirting +the willow-clad islands, green and dense with foliage to the river's +edge; and beyond these could gain tantalizing glimpses of the mouth of +the Rock, its waters gleaming like silver between grassy banks. The +opposite shore appeared dark and gloomy in comparison, with great +rock-crowned bluffs outlined against the sky, occasionally assuming +grotesque forms, which the boatmen pointed out as familiar landmarks. +</P> + +<P> +Once we narrowly escaped collision with a speeding Indian canoe, +containing two frightened occupants, so intent upon saving themselves +they never even glanced up until we had swept by. Thockmorton laughed +heartily at their desperate struggle in the swell, and several of the +crew ran to the stern to watch the little cockle-shell toss about in +the waves. It was when I turned also, the better to assure myself of +their safety, that I discovered Judge Beaucaire standing close beside +me at the low rail. Our eyes met inquiringly, and he bowed with all +the ceremony of the old school. +</P> + +<P> +"A new passenger on board, I think, sir," and his deep, resonant voice +left a pleasant impression. "You must have joined our company at Fort +Armstrong?" +</P> + +<P> +"Your supposition is correct," I answered, some peculiar constraint +preventing me from referring to my military rank. "My name is Knox, +and I have been about the island for a few weeks. I believe you are +Judge Beaucaire of Missouri?" +</P> + +<P> +He was a splendidly proportioned man, with deep chest, great breadth of +shoulders, and strong individual face, yet bearing unmistakable signs +of dissipation, together with numerous marks of both care and age. +</P> + +<P> +"I feel the honor of your recognition, sir," he said with dignity. +"Knox, I believe you said? Of the Knox family at Cape Girardeau, may I +inquire?" +</P> + +<P> +"No connection to my knowledge; my home was at Wheeling." +</P> + +<P> +"Ah! I have never been so far east; indeed the extent of my travels +along the beautiful Ohio has only been to the Falls. The Beaucaires +were originally from Louisiana." +</P> + +<P> +"You must have been among the earlier settlers of Missouri?" +</P> + +<P> +"Before the Americans came, sir," proudly. "My grandfather arrived at +Beaucaire Landing during the old French regime; but doubtless you know +all this?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, Judge," I answered, recognizing the egotism of the man, but +believing frankness to be the best policy. "This happens to be my +first trip on the upper river, and I merely chanced to know your name +because you had been pointed out to me by Captain Thockmorton. I +understood from him that you represented one of the oldest families in +that section." +</P> + +<P> +"There were but very few here before us," he answered, with undisguised +pride. "Mostly wilderness outcasts, <I>voyageurs</I>, <I>coureurs de bois</I>; +but my grandfather's grant of land was from the King. Alphonse de +Beaucaire, sir, was the trusted lieutenant of D'Iberville—a soldier, +and a gentleman." +</P> + +<P> +I bowed in acknowledgment the family arrogance of the man interesting +me deeply. So evident was this pride of ancestry that a sudden +suspicion flared into my mind that this might be all the man had +left—this memory of the past. +</P> + +<P> +"The history of those early days is not altogether familiar to me," I +admitted regretfully. "But surely D'Iberville must have ruled in +Louisiana more than one hundred years ago?" +</P> + +<P> +The Judge smiled. +</P> + +<P> +"Quite true. This grant of ours was practically his last official act. +Alphonse de Beaucaire took possession in 1712, one hundred and twenty +years ago, sir. I was myself born at Beaucaire, sixty-eight years ago." +</P> + +<P> +"I should have guessed you as ten years younger. And the estate still +remains in its original grant?" +</P> + +<P> +The smile of condescension deserted his eyes, and his thin lips pressed +tightly together. +</P> + +<P> +"I—I regret not; many of the later years have proven disastrous in the +extreme," he admitted, hesitatingly. "You will pardon me, sir, if I +decline to discuss misfortune. Ah, Monsieur Kirby! I have been +awaiting you. Have you met with this young man who came aboard at Fort +Armstrong? I—I am unable to recall the name." +</P> + +<P> +"Steven Knox." +</P> + +<P> +I felt the firm, strong grip of the other's hand, and looked straight +into his dark eyes. They were like a mask. While, indeed, they seemed +to smile in friendly greeting, they yet remained expressionless, and I +was glad when the gripping fingers released mine. The face into which +I looked was long, firm-jawed, slightly swarthy, a tightly-clipped +black moustache shadowing the upper lip. It was a reckless face, yet +appeared carved from marble. +</P> + +<P> +"Exceedingly pleased to meet you," he said carelessly. "Rather a dull +lot on board—miners, and such cattle. Bound for St. Louis?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes—and beyond." +</P> + +<P> +"Shall see more of you then. Well, Judge, how do you feel? Carver and +McAfee are waiting for us down below." +</P> + +<P> +The two disappeared together down the ladder, and I was again left +alone in my occupancy of the upper deck. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap03"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER III +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +HISTORY OF THE BEAUCAIRES +</H3> + + +<P> +The first two days and nights of the journey southward were devoid of +any special interest or adventure. The lonely river, wrapped in the +silence of the wilderness, brought to me many a picture of loveliness, +yet finally the monotony of it all left the mind drowsy with +repetition. Around each tree-crowned bend we swept, skirting shores so +similar as to scarcely enable us to realize our progress. In spite of +the fact that the staunch little <I>Warrior</I> was proceeding down stream, +progress was slow because of the unmarked channel, and the ever-present +danger of encountering snags. The intense darkness and fog of the +first night compelled tying up for several hours. The banks were low, +densely covered with shrubbery, and nothing broke the sameness of the +river scene, except the occasional sight of an Indian canoe skimming +across its surface. Towns there were none, and seldom even a sign of a +settlement greeted the eye on either shore. The only landings were +made at Yellow Banks, where there was a squalid group of log huts, and +Fort Madison, where I spent a pleasant hour with the officers of the +garrison. Occasionally the boat warped in against the bank to +replenish its exhausted supply of wood, the crew attacking the +surrounding trees with axes, while the wearied passengers exercised +their cramped limbs ashore. Once, with some hours at our disposal, we +organized a hunt, returning with a variety of wild game. But most of +the time I idled the hours away alone. +</P> + +<P> +No one aboard really attracted my companionship. The lead miners were +a rough set, boasting and quarrelsome, spending the greater part of +their time at the bar. They had several fights, in one of which a man +was seriously stabbed, so that he had to be left in care of the +post-surgeon at Madison. After the first day Kirby withdrew all +attention from me, and ceased in his endeavor to cultivate my +acquaintance, convinced of my disinclination to indulge in cards. This +I did not regret, although Beaucaire rather interested me, but, as the +gambler seldom permitted the Judge out of his sight, our intimacy grew +very slowly. Thockmorton, being his own pilot, seldom left the +wheelhouse, and consequently I passed many hours on the bench beside +him, gazing out on the wide expanse of river, and listening to his +reminiscences of early steam-boating days. He was an intelligent man, +with a fund of anecdote, acquainted with every landmark, every +whispered tale of the great stream from New Orleans to Prairie du +Chien. At one time or another he had met the famous characters along +the river banks, and through continual questioning I thus finally +became possessed of the story of the house of Beaucaire. +</P> + +<P> +In the main it contained no unusual features. Through the personal +influence of D'Iberville at Louis' court, Alphonse de Beaucaire had +originally received a royal grant of ten thousand acres of land +bordering the west bank of the Mississippi a few miles above St. Louis. +When his master returned to France leaving him unemployed, Beaucaire, +possessing ample means of his own, had preferred to remain in America. +In flatboats, propelled by <I>voyageurs</I>, and accompanied by a +considerable retinue of slaves, he, with his family, had ascended the +river, and finally settled on his princely estate. Here he erected +what, for those early days, was a stately mansion, and devoted himself +to cultivating the land. Twenty years later, when his death occurred, +he possessed the finest property along the upper river, was shipping +heavily to the New Orleans market, and was probably the most +influential man in all that section. His home was considered a palace, +always open to frontier hospitality, the number of his slaves had +increased, a large proportion of his land was utilized, and his name +was a familiar one the length of the river. +</P> + +<P> +His only son, Felipe, succeeded him, but was not so successful in +administration, seriously lacking in business judgment, and being +decidedly indolent by nature. Felipe married into one of the oldest +and most respectable families of St. Louis, and, as a result of that +union, had one son, Lucius, who grew up reckless of restraint, and +preferred to spend his time in New Orleans, rather than upon the +plantation. Lucius was a young man of twenty-six, unsettled in habits +when the father died, and, against his inclination, was compelled to +return to Missouri and assume control of the property. He found +matters in rather bad condition, and his was not at all the type of +mind to remedy them. Much of the land had been already irretrievably +lost through speculation, and, when his father's obligations had been +met, and his own gambling debts paid, the estate, once so princely and +magnificent, was reduced to barely five hundred acres, together with a +comparatively small amount of cash. This condition sufficed to sober +Lucius for a few years, and he married a Menard, of Cape Girardeau, of +excellent family but not great wealth, and earnestly endeavored to +rebuild his fortunes. Unfortunately his reform did not last. The evil +influences of the past soon proved too strong for one of his +temperament. A small town, redolent of all the vices of the river, +grew up about the Landing, while friends of other days sought his +hospitality. The plantation house became in time a rendezvous for all +the wild spirits of that neighborhood, and stories of fierce drinking +bouts and mad gambling were current in St. Louis. +</P> + +<P> +Common as such tales as these were in those early days of the West, I +still remained boy enough in heart to feel a fascination in +Thockmorton's narrative. Besides, there was at the time so little else +to occupy my mind that it inevitably drifted back to the same topic. +</P> + +<P> +"Have you ever been at Beaucaire, Captain?" I asked, eager for more +intimate details. +</P> + +<P> +"We always stop at the Landing, but I have only once been up the bluff +to where the house stands. It must have been a beautiful place in its +day; it is imposing even now, but showing signs of neglect and abuse. +The Judge was away from home—in St. Louis, I believe—the day of my +visit. He had sold me some timber, and I went out with the family +lawyer, a man named Haines living at the Landing, to look it over." +</P> + +<P> +"The house was closed?" +</P> + +<P> +"No; it is never closed. The housekeeper was there, and also the two +daughters." +</P> + +<P> +"Daughters?" +</P> + +<P> +"Certainly; hadn't I told you about them? Both girls are accepted as +his daughters; but, if all I have heard is true, one must be a +granddaughter." He paused reminiscently, his eyes on the river. "To +all appearances they are about of the same age, but differing rather +widely in looks and character. Both are attractive girls I judge, +although I only had a glimpse of them, and at the time knew nothing of +the difference in relationship. I naturally supposed them to be +sisters, until Haines and I got to talking about the matter on the way +back. Pshaw, Knox, you've got me gossiping like an old woman." +</P> + +<P> +I glanced aside at his face. +</P> + +<P> +"This, then, is not common river talk? the truth is not generally +known?" +</P> + +<P> +"No; I have never heard it mentioned elsewhere, nor have I previously +repeated the story. However, now that the suggestion has slipped out, +perhaps I had better go ahead and explain." He puffed at his pipe, and +I waited, seemingly intent on the scene without. The captain was a +minute or two in deciding how far he would venture. "Haines told me a +number of strange things about that family I had never heard before," +he admitted at last. "You see he has known them for years, and +attended to most of Beaucaire's legal business. I don't know why he +chanced to take me into his confidence, only he had been drinking some, +and, I reckon, was a bit lonely for companionship; then those two girls +interested me, and I asked quite a few questions about them. At first +Haines was close as a clam, but finally loosened up, and this is about +how the story runs, as he told it. It wasn't generally known, but it +seems that Lucius Beaucaire has been married twice—the first time to a +Creole girl in New Orleans when he was scarcely more than a boy. +Nobody now living probably knows what ever became of her, but likely +she died early; anyway she never came north, or has since been heard +from. The important part is that she gave birth to a son, who remained +in New Orleans, probably in her care, until he was fourteen or fifteen +years old. Then some occurrence, possibly his mother's death, caused +the Judge to send for the lad, whose name was Adelbert, and had him +brought to Missouri. All this happened before Haines settled at the +Landing, and previous to Beaucaire's second marriage to Mademoiselle +Menard. Bert, as the boy was called, grew up wild, and father and son +quarreled so continuously that finally, and before he was twenty, the +latter ran away, and has never been heard of since. All they ever +learned was that he drifted down the river on a flatboat." +</P> + +<P> +"And he never came back?" +</P> + +<P> +"Not even a letter. He simply disappeared, and no one knows to this +day whether he is alive or dead. At least if Judge Beaucaire ever +received any word from him he never confessed as much to Haines. +However, the boy left behind tangible evidence of his existence." +</P> + +<P> +"You mean—" +</P> + +<P> +"In the form of a child, born to a quadroon slave girl named Delia. +The mother, it seems, was able in some way to convince the Judge of the +child's parentage. All this happened shortly before Beaucaire's second +marriage, and previous to the time when Haines came to the Landing. +Exactly what occurred is not clear, or what explanation was made to the +bride. The affair must have cut Beaucaire's pride deeply, but he had +to face the conditions. It ended in his making the girl Delia his +housekeeper, while her child—the offspring of Adelbert Beaucaire—was +brought up as a daughter. A year or so later, the second wife gave +birth to a female child, and those two girls have grown up together +exactly as though they were sisters. Haines insists that neither of +them knows to this day otherwise." +</P> + +<P> +"But that would be simply impossible," I insisted. "The mother would +never permit." +</P> + +<P> +"The mother! which mother? The slave mother could gain nothing by +confession; and the Judge's wife died when her baby was less than two +years old. Delia practically mothered the both of them, and is still +in complete charge of the house." +</P> + +<P> +"You met her?" +</P> + +<P> +"She was pointed out to me—a gray-haired, dignified woman, so nearly +white as scarcely to be suspected of negro blood." +</P> + +<P> +"Yet still a slave?" +</P> + +<P> +"I cannot answer that. Haines himself did not know. If manumission +papers had ever been executed it was done early, before he took charge +of Beaucaire's legal affairs. The matter never came to his attention." +</P> + +<P> +"But surely he must at some time have discussed this with the Judge?" +</P> + +<P> +"No; at least not directly. Beaucaire is not a man to approach easily. +He is excessively proud, and possesses a fiery temper. Once, Haines +told me, he ventured a hint, but was rebuffed so fiercely as never to +make a second attempt. It was his opinion the Judge actually hated the +sight of his son's child, and only harbored her in the house because he +was compelled to do so. All Haines really knew about these conditions +had been told him secretly by an old negro slave, probably the only one +left on the estate knowing the facts." +</P> + +<P> +"But, Captain," I exclaimed, "do you realize what this might mean? If +Judge Beaucaire has not issued papers of freedom, this woman Delia is +still a slave." +</P> + +<P> +"Certainly." +</P> + +<P> +"And under the law her child was born into slavery?" +</P> + +<P> +"No doubt of that." +</P> + +<P> +"But the unspeakable horror of it—this young woman brought up as free, +educated and refined, suddenly to discover herself to be a negro under +the law, and a slave. Why, suppose Beaucaire should die, or lose his +property suddenly, she could be sold to the cotton fields, into bondage +to anyone who would pay the price for her." +</P> + +<P> +Thockmorton knocked the ashes out of his pipe. +</P> + +<P> +"Of course," he admitted slowly. "There is no question as to the law, +but I have little doubt but what Beaucaire has attended to this matter +long ago. If he dies, the papers will be found hidden away somewhere. +It is beyond conception that he could ever leave the girl to such a +fate." +</P> + +<P> +I shook my head, obsessed with a shadow of doubt. +</P> + +<P> +"A mistake men often make—the putting off to the last moment doing the +disagreeable task. How many, expecting to live, delay the making of a +will until too late. In this case I am unable to conceive why, if +Beaucaire has ever signed papers of freedom, for these two, the fact +remains unknown even to his lawyer. One fact is certain, nothing +bearing upon the case has been recorded, or Haines would know of it." +</P> + +<P> +"There is nothing on record, Haines assured himself as to that some +years ago. The fact is, Knox, that while I hope this provision has +been made, there remains a doubt in my mind. Beaucaire has traveled on +my boat several times, but he's an unsociable fellow; I don't like him; +he's not my kind. If he still harbors hatred toward that run-away +son—and to my notion he is exactly that sort—he will never feel any +too kindly toward Delia, or her child. If he has not freed them, that +will be the reason—no neglect, but a contemptible revenue." +</P> + +<P> +"What are the two girls named?" +</P> + +<P> +"Rene, and Eloise." +</P> + +<P> +"Which one is the daughter?" +</P> + +<P> +"Really, Lieutenant, I do not know. You see I was never introduced, +but merely gained a glimpse of them in the garden. I doubt if I would +recognize the one from the other now. You see all this story was told +me later." +</P> + +<P> +I sat there a long while, after he had gone below, the taciturn mate at +the wheel. The low, wooded shores swept past in changing panorama, yet +I could not divorce my mind from this perplexing problem. Totally +unknown to me as these two mysterious girls were, their strange story +fascinated my imagination. What possible tragedy lay before them in +the years? what horrible revelation to wrench them asunder? to change +in a single instant the quiet current of their lives? About them, +unseen as yet, lurked a grim specter, waiting only the opportunity to +grip them both in the fingers of disgrace, and make instant mock of all +their plans. In spite of every effort, every lurking hope, some way I +could not rid myself of the thought that Beaucaire—either through +sheer neglect, or some instinct of bitter hatred—had failed to meet +the requirements of his duty. Even as I sat there, struggling vainly +against this suspicion, the Judge himself came forth upon the lower +deck, and began pacing back and forth restlessly beside the rail. It +was a struggle for me not to join him; the impetuousity of youth urging +me even to brave his anger in my eagerness to ascertain the whole +truth. Yet I possessed sense enough, or discretion, to refrain, +realizing dimly that, not even in the remotest degree, had I any excuse +for such action. This was no affair of mine. Nor, indeed, would I +have found much opportunity for private conversation, for, only a +moment or two later, Kirby joined him, and the two remained together, +talking earnestly, until the gong called us all to supper. +</P> + +<P> +Across the long table, bare of cloth, the coarse food served in pewter +dishes, I was struck by the drawn, ghastly look in Beaucaire's face. +He had aged perceptibly in the last few hours, and during the meal +scarcely exchanged a word with anyone, eating silently, his eyes +downcast. Kirby, however, was the life of the company, and the miners +roared at his humorous stories, and anecdotes of adventure—while +outside it grew dark, and the little <I>Warrior</I> struggled cautiously +through the waters, seeking the channel in the gloom. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap04"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER IV +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE END OF THE GAME +</H3> + + +<P> +Unconscious that the stage had thus been set for a great life drama, a +drama in which, through strange circumstances, I was destined to play +my part, amid stirring scenes of Indian war, and in surroundings that +would test my courage and manhood to the utter-most; yet, although I +heard it not, the hour had already struck, and I stood on the brink of +a tragedy beyond my power to avert. +</P> + +<P> +I left the others still seated about the table, and returned alone to +the outer deck. I had no plans for the evening, and retain now only +slight recollection as to the happenings of the next few hours, which I +passed quietly smoking in the darkened pilot house, conversing +occasionally with Thockmorton, who clung to the wheel, carefully +guiding his struggling boat through the night-draped waters. The skill +with which he found passage through the enshrouding gloom, guided by +signs invisible to my eyes, aided only by a fellow busily casting a +lead line in the bows, and chanting the depth of water, was amazing. +Seemingly every flitting shadow brought its message, every faint +glimmer of starlight pointed the way to safety. +</P> + +<P> +It must have been nearly midnight before I finally wearied of this, and +decided to seek a few hours' rest below, descending the short ladder, +and walking forward along the open deck for one last glance ahead. +Some time the next day we were to be in St. Louis, and this expectation +served to brighten my thoughts. It was a dark night, but with a clear +sky, the myriad of stars overhead reflecting their lights along the +river surface, and bringing into bold relief the dense shadows of the +shores on either side. The boat, using barely enough power to afford +steering way, swept majestically down stream, borne by the force of the +current, which veered from bank to bank. We were moving scarcely +swifter than from eight to ten miles an hour, and the monotonous voice +of the man casting the lead line arose continuous through the brooding +silence. The only other perceptible sounds were the exhaust of the +steam pipes and the splash of running water. Thockmorton had told me +we were already approaching the mouth of the Illinois, and I lingered +against the rail, straining my eyes through the gloom hoping to gain a +distant glimpse of that beautiful stream. We were skirting the eastern +shore, the wooded bank rising almost as high as our smokestack, and +completely shutting off all view of the horizon. +</P> + +<P> +As I stood there, gripping the rail, half fearful lest we strike, the +furnace doors below were suddenly flung open for a fresh feeding of the +fire, and the red glare of the fire lit up the scene. Close in against +the shore nestled a flatboat, evidently tied up for the night, and I +had a swift glimpse as we shot by of a startled man waving his arms, +and behind him a wildly barking dog. An instant more and the vision +had vanished as quickly as it had appeared; even the dog's sharp bark +dying away in the distance. The furnace doors banged shut, and all was +again darkness and silence. +</P> + +<P> +I turned back along the deserted deck, only pausing a moment to glance +carelessly in through the front windows of the main cabin. The forward +portion was wrapped in darkness, and unoccupied, but beyond, toward the +rear of the long salon, a considerable group of men were gathered +closely about a small table, above which a swinging lamp burned +brightly, the rays of light illuminating the various faces. I +recognized several, and they were apparently a deeply interested group, +for, even at that distance, I could plainly note the excitement stamped +upon their countenances, and the nervousness with which they moved +about seeking clearer view. There were so many closely wedged together +as to obstruct my vision of what was occurring, yet I felt no doubt but +that they watched a game of cards; a desperate struggle of chance, +involving no small sum to account for such intense feeling on the part +of mere onlookers. Gambling was no novelty on the great river in those +days, gambling for high stakes, and surely no ordinary game, involving +a small sum, would ever arouse the depth of interest displayed by these +men. Some instinct told me that the chief players would be Kirby and +Beaucaire, and, with quickening pulse, I opened the cabin door and +entered. +</P> + +<P> +No one noted my approach, or so much as glanced up, the attention of +the crowd riveted upon the players. There were four holding cards—the +Judge, Kirby, Carver, and McAfee; but I judged at a glance that the +latter two were merely in the game as a pretense, the betting having +already gone far beyond the limit of their resources. Without a +thought as to the cards they held, my eyes sought the faces of the two +chief players, and then visioned the stakes displayed on the table +before them. McAfee and Carter were clearly enough out of it, their +cards still gripped in their fingers, as they leaned breathlessly +forward to observe more closely the play. The Judge sat upright, his +attitude strained, staring down at his hand, his face white, and eyes +burning feverishly. That he had been drinking heavily was evident, but +Kirby fronted him in apparent cold indifference, his feelings +completely masked, with the cards he held bunched in his hands, and +entirely concealed from view. No twitch of an eyelash, no quiver of a +muscle revealed his knowledge; his expressionless face might have been +carved out of stone. Between the two rested a stack of gold coin, a +roll of crushed bills, and a legal paper of some kind, the exact nature +of which I could not determine. I leaned forward, but could only +perceive that it bore the official stamp of some recording office—a +deed, perhaps, to some of the remaining acres of Beaucaire. It was +evident that a fortune already rested on that table, awaiting the flip +of a card. The silence, the breathless attention, convinced me that +the crisis had been reached—it was the Judge's move; he must cover the +last bet, or throw down his hand a loser. +</P> + +<P> +Perspiration beaded his forehead, and he crunched the cards savagely in +his hands. His glance swept past the crowd, as though he saw nothing +of their faces. +</P> + +<P> +"Another drink, Sam," he called, the voice trembling. He tossed down +the glass of liquor as though it were so much water, but made no other +effort to speak. You could hear the strained breathing of the men. +</P> + +<P> +"Well," said Kirby sneeringly, his cold gaze surveying his motionless +opponent. "You seem to be taking your time. Do you cover my bet?" +</P> + +<P> +Someone laughed nervously, and a voice sang out over my shoulder, "You +might as well go the whole hog, Judge. The niggers won't be no good +without the land ter work 'em on. Fling 'em into the pot—-they're as +good as money." +</P> + +<P> +Beaucaire looked up, red-eyed, into the impassive countenance opposite. +His lips twitched, yet managed to make words issue between them. +</P> + +<P> +"How about that, Kirby?" he asked hoarsely. "Will you accept a bill of +sale?" +</P> + +<P> +Kirby grinned, shuffling his hand carelessly. +</P> + +<P> +"Why not? 'twon't be the first time I've played for niggers. They are +worth so much gold down the river. What have you got?" +</P> + +<P> +"I can't tell that offhand," sullenly. "About twenty field hands." +</P> + +<P> +"And house servants?" +</P> + +<P> +"Three or four." +</P> + +<P> +The gambler's lips set more tightly, a dull gleam creeping into his +eyes. +</P> + +<P> +"See here, Beaucaire," he hissed sharply. "This is my game and I play +square and never squeal. I know about what you've got, for I've looked +them over; thought we might get down to this sometime. I can make a +pretty fair guess as to what your niggers are worth. That's why I just +raised you ten thousand, and put up the money. Now, if you think this +is a bluff, call me." +</P> + +<P> +"What do you mean?" +</P> + +<P> +"That I will accept your niggers as covering my bet." +</P> + +<P> +"The field hands?" +</P> + +<P> +Kirby smiled broadly. +</P> + +<P> +"The whole bunch—field hands and house servants. Most of them are +old; I doubt if all together they will bring that amount, but I'll take +the risk. Throw in a blanket bill of sale, and we'll turn up our +cards. If you won't do that, the pile is mine as it stands." +</P> + +<P> +Beaucaire again wet his lips, staring at the uncovered cards in his +hands. He could not lose; with what he held no combination was +possible which could beat him. Yet, in spite of this knowledge, the +cold, sneering confidence of Kirby, brought with it a strange fear. +The man was a professional gambler. What gave him such recklessness? +Why should he be so eager to risk such a sum on an inferior hand? +McAfee, sitting next him, leaned over, managed to gain swift glimpse at +what he held, and eagerly whispered to him a word of encouragement. +The Judge straightened up in his chair, grasped a filled glass some one +had placed at his elbow, and gulped down the contents. The whispered +words, coupled with the fiery liquor, gave him fresh courage. +</P> + +<P> +"By God, Kirby! I'll do it!" he blurted out. "You can't bluff me on +the hand I've got. Give me a sheet of paper, somebody—yes, that will +do." +</P> + +<P> +He scrawled a half-dozen lines, fairly digging the pen into the sheet +in his fierce eagerness, and then signed the document, flinging the +paper across toward Kirby. +</P> + +<P> +"There, you blood-sucker," he cried insolently. "Is that all right? +Will that do?" +</P> + +<P> +The imperturbable gambler read it over slowly, carefully deciphering +each word, his thin lips tightly compressed. +</P> + +<P> +"You might add the words, 'This includes every chattel slave legally +belonging to me,'" he said grimly. +</P> + +<P> +"That is practically what I did say." +</P> + +<P> +"Then you can certainly have no objection to putting it in the exact +words I choose," calmly. "I intend to have what is coming to me if I +win, and I know the law." +</P> + +<P> +Beaucaire angrily wrote in the required extra line. +</P> + +<P> +"Now what?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"Let McAfee there sign it as a witness, and then toss it over into the +pile." He smiled, showing a line of white teeth beneath his moustache. +"Nice little pot, gentlemen—the Judge must hold some cards to take a +chance like that," the words uttered with a sneer. "Fours, at least, +or maybe he has had the luck to pick a straight flush." +</P> + +<P> +Beaucaire's face reddened, and his eyes grew hard. +</P> + +<P> +"That's my business," he said tersely. "Sign it, McAfee, and I'll call +this crowing cockerel. You young fool, I played poker before you were +born. There now, Kirby, I've covered your bet." +</P> + +<P> +"Perhaps you would prefer to raise it?" +</P> + +<P> +"You hell-hound—no! That is my limit, and you know it. Don't crawl +now, or do any more bluffing. Show your hand—I've called you." +</P> + +<P> +Kirby sat absolutely motionless, his cards lying face down upon the +table, the white fingers of one hand resting lightly upon them, the +other arm concealed. He never once removed his gaze from Beaucaire's +face, and his expression did not change, except for the almost +insulting sneer on his lips. The silence was profound, the deeply +interested men leaning forward, even holding their breath in intense +eagerness. Each realized that a fortune lay on the table; knew that +the old Judge had madly staked his all on the value of those five +unseen cards gripped in his fingers. Again, as though to bolster up +his shaken courage, he stared at the face of each, then lifted his +blood-shot eyes to the impassive face opposite. +</P> + +<P> +"Beaucaire drew two kayards," whispered an excited voice near me. +</P> + +<P> +"Hell! so did Kirby." replied another. "They're both of 'em old hands." +</P> + +<P> +The sharp exhaust of a distant steam pipe below punctuated the silence, +and several glanced about apprehensively. As this noise ceased +Beaucaire lost all control over his nerves. +</P> + +<P> +"Come on, play your hand," he demanded, "or I'll throw my cards in your +face." +</P> + +<P> +The insinuating sneer on Kirby's lips changed into the semblance of a +smile. Slowly, deliberately, never once glancing down at the face of +his cards, he turned them up one by one with his white fingers, his +challenging eyes on the Judge; but the others saw what was revealed—-a +ten spot, a knave, a queen, a king, and an ace. +</P> + +<P> +"Good God! a straight flush!" someone yelled excitedly. "Damned if I +ever saw one before!" +</P> + +<P> +For an instant Beaucaire never moved, never uttered a sound. He seemed +to doubt the evidence of his own eyes, and to have lost the power of +speech. Then from nerveless hands his own cards fell face downward, +still unrevealed, upon the table. The next moment he was on his feet, +the chair in which he had been seated flung crashing behind him on the +deck. +</P> + +<P> +"You thief!" he roared, "You dirty, low-down thief; I held four +aces—where did you get the fifth one?" +</P> + +<P> +Kirby did not so much as move, nor betray even by change of expression +his sense of the situation. Perhaps he anticipated just such an +explosion, and was fully prepared to meet it. One hand still rested +easily on the table, the other remaining hidden. +</P> + +<P> +"So you claim to have held four aces," he said coldly. "Where are +they?" +</P> + +<P> +McAfee swept the discarded hand face upward, and the crowd bending +forward to look saw four aces, and a king. +</P> + +<P> +"That was the Judge's hand," he declared soberly. "I saw it myself +before he called you, and told him to stay." +</P> + +<P> +Kirby laughed, an ugly laugh showing his white teeth. +</P> + +<P> +"The hell, you did? Thought you knew a good poker hand, I reckon. +Well, you see I knew a better one, and it strikes me I am the one to +ask questions," he sneered. "Look here, you men; I held one ace from +the shuffle. Now what I want to know is, where Beaucaire ever got his +four? Pleasant little trick of you two—only this time it failed to +work." +</P> + +<P> +Beaucaire uttered one mad oath, and I endeavored to grasp him, but +missed my clutch. The force of his lurching body as he sprang forward +upturned the table, the stakes jingling to the deck, but Kirby reached +his feet in time to avoid the shock. His hand which had been hidden +shot out suddenly, the fingers grasping a revolver, but he did not +fire. Before the Judge had gone half the distance, he stopped, reeled +suddenly, clutching at his throat, and plunged sideways. His body +struck the upturned table, and McAfee and I grasped him, lowering the +stricken man gently to the floor. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap05"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER V +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +KIRBY SHOWS HIS HAND +</H3> + + +<P> +That scene, with all its surroundings, remains indelibly impressed upon +my memory. It will never fade while I live. The long, narrow, dingy +cabin of the little <I>Warrior</I>, its forward end unlighted and in shadow, +the single swinging lamp, suspended to a blackened beam above where the +table had stood, barely revealing through its smoky chimney the after +portion showing a row of stateroom doors on either side, some standing +ajar, and that crowd of excited men surging about the fallen body of +Judge Beaucaire, unable as yet to fully realize the exact nature of +what had occurred, but conscious of impending tragedy. The air was +thick and stifling with tobacco smoke, redolent of the sickening fumes +of alcohol, and noisy with questioning voices, while above every other +sound might be distinguished the sharp pulsations of the laboring +engine just beneath our feet, the deck planks trembling to the +continuous throbbing. The overturned table and chairs, the motionless +body of the fallen man, with Kirby standing erect just beyond, his face +as clear-cut under the glare of light as a cameo, the revolver yet +glistening in his extended hand, all composed a picture not easily +forgotten. +</P> + +<P> +Still, this impression was only that of a brief instant. With the next +I was upon my knees, lifting the fallen head, and seeking eagerly to +discern some lingering evidence of life in the inert, body. There was +none, not so much as the faint flutter of a pulse, or suggestion of a +heart throb. The man was already dead before he fell, dead before he +struck the overturned table. Nothing any human effort might do would +help him now. My eyes lifting from the white, ghastly face encountered +those of McAfee, and, without the utterance of a word, I read the +miner's verdict, and arose again to my feet. +</P> + +<P> +"Judge Beaucaire is dead," I announced gravely. "Nothing more can be +done for him now." +</P> + +<P> +The pressing circle of men hemming us in fell back silently, +reverently, the sound of their voices sinking into a subdued murmur. +It had all occurred so suddenly, so unexpectedly, that even these +witnesses could scarcely grasp the truth. They were dazed, leaderless, +struggling to restrain themselves. As I stood there, almost +unconscious of their presence, still staring down at that upturned +face, now appearing manly and patrician in the strange dignity of its +death mask, a mad burst of anger swept me, a fierce yearning for +revenge—a feeling that this was no less a murder because Nature had +struck the blow. With hot words of reproach upon my lips I gazed +across toward where Kirby had been standing a moment before. The +gambler was no longer there—his place was vacant. +</P> + +<P> +"Where is Kirby?" I asked, incredulous of his sudden disappearance. +</P> + +<P> +For a moment no one answered; then a voice in the crowd croaked +hoarsely: +</P> + +<P> +"He just slipped out through that after door to the deck—him and Bill +Carver." +</P> + +<P> +"And the stakes?" +</P> + +<P> +Another answered in a thin, piping treble. +</P> + +<P> +"I reckon them two cusses took along the most ov it. Enyhow 'tain't +yere, 'cept maybe a few coins that rolled tinder the table. It wasn't +Joe Kirby who picked up the swag, fer I was a watchin' him, an' he +never onct let go ov his gun. Thet damn sneak Carver must a did it, +an' then the two ov 'em just sorter nat'rally faded away through that +door thar." +</P> + +<P> +McAfee swore through his black beard, the full truth swiftly dawning +upon him. +</P> + +<P> +"Hell!" he exploded. "So that's the way of it. Then them two wus in +cahoots frum the beginnin'. That's what I told the Jedge last night, +but he said he didn't give a whoop; thet he knew more poker than both +ov 'em put tergether. I tell yer them fellers stole that money, an' +they killed Beaucaire—" +</P> + +<P> +"Hold on a minute," I broke in, my mind cleared of its first passion, +and realizing the necessity of control. "Let's keep cool, and go slow. +While I believe McAfee is right, we are not going to bring the Judge +back to life by turning into a mob. There is no proof of cheating, and +Kirby has the law behind him. Let me talk to the captain about what +had best be done." +</P> + +<P> +"Who, Thockmorton?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; he'll know the better action for us to take. He's level-headed, +and an old friend of Beaucaire's." +</P> + +<P> +"I'm fer swingin' that damn gambler up, without askin' nobody," shouted +a fellow fiercely. "He's bin raisin' hell frum one end o' this river +ter the other fer ten years. A rope is whut he needs." +</P> + +<P> +"What good would that do in this case?" I questioned before anyone else +could chime in, "either to the dead man, or his family? That's what I +am thinking about, men. Suppose you strung him up, that money, the +plantation, and those slaves would still belong to him, or his heirs. +I'm for getting all these back, if there is any way of accomplishing +it. See here, men," I pleaded earnestly, "this affair doesn't +necessarily end here on board the <I>Warrior</I>, and if you were to kill +Kirby it wouldn't benefit matters any." +</P> + +<P> +"It would get rid ov a skunk." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, but he is only one of a hundred between here and New Orleans. +Look at the other side a minute. Beaucaire bet everything he +possessed—everything, land, niggers, and money. Kirby sneered him on +to it, and saw that he had the kind of a hand that would do the +business right. When the Judge died he didn't own enough to pay his +funeral expenses. Now see here; I happen to know that he left two +young daughters. Just stop, and think of them. We saw this game +played, and there isn't a man here who believes it was played on the +square—that two such hands were ever dealt, or drawn, in poker. We +can't prove that Kirby manipulated things to that end; not one of us +saw how he worked the trick. There is no chance to get him that way. +Then what is it we ought to do? Why I say, make the thief +disgorge—and hanging won't do the business." +</P> + +<P> +"Well then, what will?" +</P> + +<P> +"I confess I do not yet know. I want to talk with Thockmorton first. +He may know something." +</P> + +<P> +There was a moment's silence, then a suspicious voice, "Who the hell +are you? How do we know you ain't in on this yerself?" +</P> + +<P> +"Listen, men," and I fronted them, looking straight into their eyes. +"You have a right to ask that question, and I'll tell you who I am. I +am not here in uniform, but I am an officer of the United States Army. +Captain Thockmorton will vouch for that. I pledge you my word that +this affair does not end here. I never met any of these men until I +came on board the boat at Fort Armstrong, but I have letters with me +for Governor Clark of Missouri, and Governor Reynolds of Illinois. +Either man will accept my statement regarding this matter, and I +promise you that either Kirby and Carver will return the papers and +money before we reach St. Louis, or I'll swear out a warrant for their +arrest. If you boys will stay with me we'll scare it out of them for +the sake of those girls. What do you say?" +</P> + +<P> +No one spoke immediately, although there was a muttering of voices, +sounding antagonistic, and sprinkled with oaths. It was, indeed, a +poor time and place in which to appeal to the law, nor were these men +accustomed to the pleadings of mercy. I glanced across Beaucaire's +extended body, and caught the eyes of McAfee. The man lifted his hand. +</P> + +<P> +"The leftenant has got this thing sized up about proper," he said +gruffly. "He's an army officer all right, fer I saw him back thar on +the island, when we wus tied up at the dock. Now look yere, boys, I'm +fer hangin' both ov them cusses just as much as eny ov the rest ov +yer—a bit more, I reckon, fer they stripped me ov my pile; along with +Beaucaire, only I was easier ter strip—but, as the leftenant says, +that ain't the p'int now. What we want ter do is get back them bills +o' sale, so them two young women won't be left with nuthin' ter live +on. Let's make the fellers cough up furst, an' then, if we think best, +we kin hang 'em afterwards. It's my vote we let the leftenant tackle +the job—what do yer say?" +</P> + +<P> +The rise and fall of voices, although punctuated by oaths, and +indistinct in expression, seemed generally to signify assent. The +faces of the men, as they pushed and crowded about us, remained angry +and resentful. Clearly enough prompt action alone would carry the day. +</P> + +<P> +"Very well then, boys," I broke in sharply. "You agree to leave this +settlement with me. Then I'll go at it. Two or three of you pick up +the body, and carry it to Beaucaire's stateroom—forward there. The +rest of you better straighten up the cabin, while I go up and talk with +Thockmorton a moment. After that I may want a few of you to go along +when I hunt up Kirby. If he proves ugly we'll know how to handle him. +McAfee!" +</P> + +<P> +"I'm over here." +</P> + +<P> +"I was just going to say that you better stay here, and keep the +fellows all quiet in the cabin. We don't want our plan to leak out, +and it will be best to let Kirby and Carver think that everything is +all right; that nothing is going to be done." +</P> + +<P> +I waited while several of them gently picked up the body, and bore it +forward into the shadows. Others busied themselves in straightening +the overturned furniture, and gathered into a small pile those few +scattered coins which had fallen to the deck, and been overlooked by +the two gamblers in their eagerness to escape. No one attempted to +appropriate any of these. McAfee apparently knew most of the fellows +intimately, calling them by name, and seemed to be recognized as a +leader among them. This fact was encouraging, as to all appearance +they were a rough set, unaccustomed to law of any kind, and to be +controlled only by physical strength, and some one of their own sort. +In spite of my position and rank, I was far too young in appearance to +exercise much weight of authority over such border men, but fortunately +I possessed sufficient good sense to rely now in this emergency upon +the black-bearded McAfee, who served well. His voice, strongly +resembling a foghorn, arose in threat and expostulation unceasingly, +and the miners, who evidently knew him well, and perhaps had previously +tested the weight of his fist, were lamb-like and obedient to his +control. +</P> + +<P> +"They'll be quiet enough fer a while, leftenant," he managed to whisper +hoarsely to me. "But they is jest boys growed up, an' if eny one o' +them should really take a notion ter raise hell, all the cussin' I +might do wouldn't make no diffrance. Whatever yer aim at, better be +done right off, while I kin sorter keep 'em busy down yere; onct they +git loose on the deck the devil himself couldn't stop 'em frum startin' +a row." +</P> + +<P> +This advice was so good that I slipped instantly away, silently gained +the door, and, unobserved, emerged on to the deserted deck without. +The sudden change in environment sobered me, and caused me to pause and +seriously consider the importance of my mission. Through the thin +walls of the cabin the murmuring voices of those within became +indistinct, except as an occasional loudly spoken oath, or call, might +be distinguished. The struggling <I>Warrior</I> was close within the +looming shadows of the western shore, and seemed to be moving downward +more swiftly with the current, as though the controlling mind in the +darkened wheelhouse felt confident of clear water ahead. The decks +throbbed to the increased pulsation of the engine, and I could plainly +hear the continuous splash of the great stern wheel as it flung spray +high into the air. +</P> + +<P> +I paused a moment, hand gripping the rail, and eyes seeking vainly to +peer across the wide expanse of river, really fronting the situation +for the first time, and endeavoring to think out calmly some definite +course of action. Thus far, spurred only by necessity, and a sense of +obligation, I had merely been blindly grasping at the first suggestion +which had occurred to mind. The emergency had demanded action, rather +than reflection. But now, on cooler consideration, and alone, the +result I sought did not appear so apparent, nor so easily attained. +Hitherto, in the midst of the excitement occasioned by Beaucaire's +tragic death, my mind had grasped but one idea clearly—if I permitted +Kirby to be mobbed and killed by those enraged men, his death would +benefit no one; would remedy no wrong. That mad mob spirit must be +fought down, conquered. Yet now, when I had actually accomplished +this, what must be my next step? Nothing less potent than either fear, +or force, would ever make Kirby disgorge. Quite evidently the gambler +had deliberately set out to ruin the planter, to rob him of every +dollar. Even at the last moment he had coldly insisted on receiving a +bill of sale so worded as to leave no possible loophole. He demanded +all. The death of the Judge, of course, had not been contemplated, but +this in no way changed the result. That was an accident, yet, I +imagined, might not be altogether unwelcome, and I could not rid my +memory of that shining weapon in Kirby's hand, or the thought that he +would have used it had the need arose. Would he not then fight just as +fiercely to keep, as he had, to gain? Indeed, I had but one fact upon +which I might hope to base action—every watcher believed those cards +had been stacked, and that Beaucaire was robbed by means of a trick. +Yet, could this be proven? Would any one of those men actually swear +that he had seen a suspicious move? If not, then what was there left +me except a mere bluff? Absolutely nothing. +</P> + +<P> +Gambling was a recognized institution, with which even the law did not +interfere. Of course there were statutes in both Missouri and +Illinois, but no enforcement. Indeed the gambling fraternity was so +firmly intrenched, through wealth and influence, that no steamer +captain even, autocratic as he often was, would dare encroach on their +prerogatives. Interested as Thockmorton would be in serving +Beaucaire's dependents, and as much as he cordially disliked Kirby, all +I could rely upon from him in this emergency would be a certain moral +support, and possibly some valuable advice. He would never dare ally +himself openly, for the cost of such action would be too high. On the +other hand, from my knowledge of Kirby's desperate character, and +previous exploits, I seriously doubted the efficacy of threatening him +with lynch law. He would be far more liable to defy a mob than yield +to its demands. Yet memory of those two helpless girls—more +particularly that one over whose unconsciousness there hung the +possibility of slavery—urged me strongly to attempt even the +apparently impossible. I had it in my mind to fight the man personally +if, in no other way, I could attain my end; at least I would face him +with every power and authority I could bring to bear. +</P> + +<P> +With no other object in mind, and unarmed, never once dreaming of +attack, I advanced alone along the dark, narrow strip of deck, leading +toward the ladder which mounted to the wheelhouse. There were no +lights, and I was practically compelled to feel my way by keeping one +hand upon the rail. The steamer was sweeping around a great bend, and +a leadsman forward was calling the depth of water, his monotonous voice +chanting out strange river terms of guidance. I had reached the foot +of the ladder, my fingers blindly seeking the iron rungs in the gloom, +when a figure, vague, indistinct, suddenly emerged from some denser +shadow and confronted me. Indeed the earliest realization I had of any +other presence was a sharp pressure against my breast, and a low voice +breathing a menacing threat in my ear. +</P> + +<P> +"I advise you not to move, you young fool. This is a cocked pistol +tickling your ribs. Where were you going?" +</P> + +<P> +The black night veiled his face, but language and voice, an spite of +its low grumble, told me the speaker was Kirby. The very coldness of +his tone served to send a chill through me. +</P> + +<P> +"To have a word with Thockmorton," I answered, angered at my own fear, +and rendered reckless by that burst of passion. "What do you mean by +your threat? Haven't you robbed enough men already with cards without +resorting to a gun?" +</P> + +<P> +"This is no robbery," and I knew by the sharpness of his reply my words +had stung, "and it might be well for you to keep a civil tongue in your +head. I overheard what you said to those men in the cabin. So you are +going to take care of me, are you?" There was a touch of steel in the +low voice. "Now listen, you brainless meddler. Joe Kirby knows +exactly what he is doing when he plays any game. I had nothing to do +with Beaucaire's death, but those stakes are mine. I hold them, and I +will kill any man who dares to interfere with me." +</P> + +<P> +"You mean you refuse to return any of this property?" +</P> + +<P> +"Every cent, every nigger, every acre—that's my business. Beaucaire +was no child; he knew what he was betting, and he lost." +</P> + +<P> +"But," I insisted almost hopelessly, "perhaps you do not wholly +understand this matter—the entire situation. Judge Beaucaire risked +every penny he possessed in the world." +</P> + +<P> +"I suppose he did, but he expected to gain it all back again, with as +much more of mine." +</P> + +<P> +"That may be true, Kirby. I am not defending his action, but surely +this is no reason, now that he is dead, why you should not show some +degree of mercy to others totally innocent of any wrong. The man left +two daughters, both young girls, who will now be homeless and +penniless." +</P> + +<P> +He laughed, and the sound of that laugh was more cruel than the +accompanying words. +</P> + +<P> +"Two daughters!" he sneered. "According to my information that strains +the relationship a trifle, friend Knox—at least the late Judge never +took the trouble to acknowledge the fact. Permit me to correct your +statement. I happen to know more about Beaucaire's private affairs +than you do. He leaves one daughter only. I have never met the young +lady, but I understand from excellent authority that she possesses +independent means through the death some years ago of her mother. I +shall therefore not worry about her loss—and, indeed, she need meet +with none, for if she only prove equal to all I have heard I may yet be +induced to make her a proposition." +</P> + +<P> +"A proposition?" +</P> + +<P> +"To remain on the plantation as its mistress—plainly an offer of +marriage, if you please. Not such a bad idea, is it?" +</P> + +<P> +I stood speechless, held motionless only by the pressing muzzle of his +pistol, the cold-blooded villainy of the man striking me dumb. This +then had probably been his real purpose from the start. He had +followed Beaucaire deliberately with this final end in view—of ruining +him, and thus compelling the daughter to yield herself. He had egged +the man on, playing on the weakness of his nature, baiting him to +finally risk all on a game of chance, the real stake not the money on +the table, but the future of this young girl. +</P> + +<P> +"You—you have never seen her?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, but I have met those who have. She is reported to be beautiful, +and, better still, worth fifty thousand dollars." +</P> + +<P> +"And you actually mean that you propose now to force Judge Beaucaire's +daughter to marry you?" +</P> + +<P> +"Well hardly that, although I shall use whatever means I possess. I +intend to win her if I can, fair means, or foul." +</P> + +<P> +I drew a deep breath, comprehending now the full iniquity of his plot, +and bracing myself to fight it. +</P> + +<P> +"And what about the other girl, Kirby? for there is another girl." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," rather indifferently, "there is another." +</P> + +<P> +"Of course you know who she is?" +</P> + +<P> +"Certainly—a nigger, a white nigger; the supposed illegitimate +daughter of Adelbert Beaucaire, and a slave woman. There is no reason +why I should fret about her, is there? She is my property already by +law." He laughed again, the same ugly sneering laugh of triumph, "That +was why I was so particular about the wording of that bill of sale—I +would rather have her than the whole bunch of field hands." +</P> + +<P> +"You believe then the girl has never been freed—either she, or her +mother?" +</P> + +<P> +"Believe? I know. I tell you I never play any game with my eyes shut." +</P> + +<P> +"And you actually intend to—to hold her as a slave?" +</P> + +<P> +"Well, I'll look her over first before I decide—she would be worth a +pot full of money down the river." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap06"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER VI +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +INTO THE BLACK WATER +</H3> + + +<P> +The contemptuous, utterly indifferent manner in which he voiced his +villainous purpose, would have crazed any man. Perhaps he intended +that it should, although it was my belief that he merely expressed +himself naturally, and with no thought of consequences. The man was so +steeped in crime as to be ignorant of all sense of honor, all +conception of true manhood. But to me this utterance was the last +straw, breaking down every restraint, and leaving me hot, and furious +with anger. I forgot the muzzle of the pistol pressed against my side, +and the menacing threat in Kirby's low voice. The face of the man was +indistinct, a mere outline, but the swift impulse to strike at it was +irresistible, and I let him have the blow—a straight-arm jab to the +jaw. My clinched knuckles crunched against the flesh, and he reeled +back, kept from falling only by the support of the deckhouse. There +was no report of a weapon, no outcry, yet, before I could strike again, +I was suddenly gripped from behind by a pair of arms, which closed +about my throat like a vise, throttling me instantly into silent +helplessness. I struggled madly to break free, straining with all the +art of a wrestler, exerting every ounce of strength, but the grasp +which held me was unyielding, robbing me of breath, and defeating every +effort to call for help; Kirby, dazed yet by my sudden blow, and eager +to take a hand in the affray, struck me a cowardly blow in the face, +and swung his undischarged pistol to a level with my eyes. +</P> + +<P> +"Damn you!" he ejaculated, and for the first time his voice really +exhibited temper. "I'd kill you with this, but for the noise. No, by +God! there is a safer way than that to settle with you. Have you got +the skunk, Carver?" +</P> + +<P> +"You can bet I have, Joe. I kin choke the life out o' him—shall I?" +</P> + +<P> +"No; let up a bit—just enough so he can answer me first, I want to +find out what all this means. Now look here, Knox, you're an army +officer, are you?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," I managed to gasp, sobbing in an effort to catch breath, as the +iron fingers at my throat relaxed slightly. +</P> + +<P> +"Well then, what is all this to you? Why are you butting in on my +game? Was Beaucaire a friend of yours?" +</P> + +<P> +"I can hardly claim that," I admitted. "We never met until I came +aboard this steamer. All I am interested in is justice to others." +</P> + +<P> +"To others? Oh, I suppose you mean those girls—you know them then?" +</P> + +<P> +"I have never even seen them," I said, now speaking more easily. +"Thockmorton chanced to tell me about them yesterday, and their +condition appealed to me, just as it naturally would to any true man. +I thought probably you did not understand the situation, and hoped that +if I told you the truth you might respond." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, you did, did you? You must have figured me as being pretty soft. +Well, what do you think now?" +</P> + +<P> +His tone so completely ended my hope of compromise that I replied +hotly, "That you are a dirty, piratical cur. I may have doubted your +purpose at first, for I am not used to your kind, but this is so no +longer. You deliberately ruined and robbed Beaucaire, in order to gain +possession of these two girls. You have admitted as much." +</P> + +<P> +He laughed, in no way angered by my plain speech; indeed it almost +seemed as though he felt complimented. +</P> + +<P> +"Hardly admit, my friend, for that is not my style. I let others do +the guessing. What do you think of that, Carver? It seems we rank +rather high in the estimation of the young man." His eyes again +centered on me. "And you are really not acquainted with either of the +ladies?" +</P> + +<P> +"No." +</P> + +<P> +"I see; a self-appointed squire of dames; actuated merely by a romantic +desire to serve beauty in distress. Extremely interesting, my dear +boy. But, see here, Knox," and his tone changed to seriousness. "Let +the romance go, and talk sense a minute. You are not going to get very +far fighting me alone. You haven't even got the law with you. Even if +I cheated Beaucaire, which I do not for a moment admit, there is no +proof. The money is mine, and so is the land, and the niggers. You +can be ugly, of course, but you cannot overturn the facts. Now I don't +care a whoop in hell for that bunch of miners back there in the cabin. +If left alone they will forget all about this affair in an hour. It's +nothing to them, and they are no angels if it was. But, in a way, it +is different with you. I understand that, and also that you are in a +position where you might make me some trouble. People would listen to +what you had to say—and some of them might believe you. Now you +acknowledge that what has occurred is personally nothing to you; +Beaucaire was no special friend, and you don't even know the two +girls—all right then, drop the whole matter. I hold no grudge on +account of your striking me, and am even willing to share up with you +to avoid trouble." +</P> + +<P> +"And if I refuse?" +</P> + +<P> +"Then, of course, we shall be compelled to shut your mouth for you. +Self preservation is the first law." +</P> + +<P> +"Which simply means that you intend to go on, and yield nothing?" +</P> + +<P> +"That is about right. We'll hold tight to what we've got—hey, Carver?" +</P> + +<P> +"That's allers bin my way o' doin' business," chimed in the other +brutally. "An' we've sure got you, mister soldier man, where we kin +handle yer, I reckon." +</P> + +<P> +I looked about at them both, scarcely able to distinguish clearly even +their outlines in the dense gloom. The seriousness of my situation, +coupled with my helplessness, and inability to achieve the object +proposed, was very evident. These men were reckless, and determined, +unable to even grasp my point of view. It might, under these +circumstances, have been the part of wisdom to me to have sought some +means of compromise, but I was young and hot, fiery blood swept through +my veins. The words of Kirby stung me with their breath of insult—his +sneering, insolent offer to pay me to remain still. +</P> + +<P> +"You must rank me as one of your own kind," I burst forth. "Now you +listen to a plain word from me. If that was intended as an offer, I +refuse it. When I first left the cabin, and came here on deck, I +honestly believed I could talk with you, Kirby, appeal to your better +nature, and gain some consideration for those two girls. Now I know +better. From the start this has been the working out of a deliberately +planned plot. You, and your confederate, have coolly robbed Beaucaire, +and propose to get away with the spoils. Perhaps you will, but that +end will not be accomplished through any assistance of mine. At first +I only felt a slight interest in the affair, but from now on I am going +to fight you fellows with every weapon I possess." +</P> + +<P> +Kirby chuckled, apparently greatly amused. +</P> + +<P> +"Quite glad, I am sure, for the declaration of war. Fighting has +always agreed with me. Might I ask the nature of those weapons?" +</P> + +<P> +"That remains for you to discover," I ejaculated sharply, exasperated +by his evident contempt. "Carver, take your dirty hands off of me." +</P> + +<P> +In spite of the fact of their threat, the ready pistol pressing against +my ribs, the grip of Carver's fingers at my throat, I did not +anticipate any actual assault. That either would really dare injure me +seemed preposterous. Indeed my impression was, that Kirby felt such +indifference toward my attempt to block his plan, that he would permit +me to pass without opposition—certainly without the slightest resort +to violence. The action of the two was so swift, so concerted, as +though to some secret signal, that, almost before I realized their +purpose, they held me helplessly struggling, and had forced me back +against the low rail. Here I endeavored to break away, to shout an +alarm, but was already too late. Carver's hands closed remorselessly +on my throat, and, when I managed to strike out madly with one free +fist, the butt of Kirby's pistol descended on my head, so lacerating my +scalp the dripping blood blinded my eyes. The blow partially stunned +me, and I half fell, clutching at the rail, yet dimly conscious that +the two straining men were uplifting my useless body. Carver swearing +viciously as he helped to thrust me outward over the wooden bar. The +next instant I fell, the sneering cackle of Kirby's laugh of triumph +echoing in my ears until drowned in the splash as I struck the black +water below. +</P> + +<P> +I came back to the surface dazed and weakened, yet sufficiently +conscious to make an intelligent struggle for life. The over-hang of +the rapidly passing boat still concealed me from the observation of +those above on the deck, and the advantage of permitting them to +believe that the blow on my head had resulted in drowning, together +with the knowledge that I must swiftly get beyond the stroke of that +deadly wheel, flashed instantly through my brain. It was like a tonic, +reviving every energy. Waiting only to inhale one deep breath of air, +I plunged back once more into the depths, and swam strongly under +water. The effort proved successful, for when I again ventured to +emerge, gasping and exhausted, the little <I>Warrior</I> had swept past, and +become merely a shapeless outline, barely visible above the surface at +the river. Even if the two men had rushed to the stern, seeking thus +to ascertain what had happened to their victim, they could not have +detected my presence in that darkness, or determined whether or not I +had met death in the depths, or been crushed lifeless by those +revolving paddles. +</P> + +<P> +Slowly treading water, my lips held barely above the surface, I drew in +deep draughts of cool night air, my mind becoming more active as hope +returned. The blow I had received was a savage one, and pained dully, +but the cold water in which I had been immersed had caused the bleeding +to cease, and likewise revived all my faculties. The water was so icy, +still fed by the winter snow of the north, as to make me conscious of +chill, and awaken within me a fear of cramps. The steamer melted +swiftly away into nothingness, and the last indication of its presence +in the distance was the faint gleam of a stern light piercing the night +shadows. The very fact that no effort was made to stop was sufficient +proof that Thockmorton in the wheelhouse remained unconscious of what +had occurred on the deck below. My fate might never be discovered, or +suspected. I was alone, submerged in the great river, the stars +overhead alone piercing the night shadows. They seemed cold, and far +away, their dull glow barely sufficient to reveal the dim outline of +the western shore; and even this would have remained invisible except +for the trees lining the higher bank beyond, and silhouetted against +the slightly lighter background of sky. In the other direction all was +apparently water, a turbulent waste, and one glance deciding my action, +I quickly struck out, partially breasting the downward sweep of the +current, in a desperate struggle to attain land. +</P> + +<P> +I discovered this to be no easy task, as the swirl of the river bore +strongly toward the opposite shore, yet I had always been a powerful +swimmer, and although now seriously hampered by boots, and heavy, +sodden clothing, succeeded in making steady progress. A log swept by +me, white bursts of spray illuminating its sides, and I grappled it +gratefully, my fingers finding grip on the sodden bark. Using this for +partial support, and ceasing to battle so desperately against the +down-sweep of the current, I managed finally to work my way into an +eddy, struggling onward until my feet at last touched bottom at the end +of a low, out-cropping point of sand. This proved to be a mere spit, +but I waded ashore, water streaming from my clothing, conscious now of +such complete exhaustion that I sank instantly outstretched upon the +sand, gasping painfully for breath, every muscle and nerve throbbing. +</P> + +<P> +The night was intensely still, black, impenetrable. It seemed as +though no human being could inhabit that desolate region. I lifted my +head to listen for the slightest sound of life, and strained my eyes to +detect the distant glimmer of a light in any direction. Nothing +rewarded the effort. Yet surely along here on this long-settled west +bank of the Mississippi I could not be far removed from those of my +race, for I knew that all along this river shore were cultivated +plantations and little frontier towns irregularly served by passing +steamboats. We had not been far to the northward of St. Louis at +midnight, and Thockmorton confidently expected to tie up the <I>Warrior</I> +at the wharf before that city early the next morning. So, surely, +somewhere near at hand, concealed amid the gloom, would be discovered +the habitations of men—either the pretentious mansion of some +prosperous planter, or the humble huts of his black slaves. Could I +attain to either one I would be certain of welcome, for hospitality +without questioning was the code of the frontier. +</P> + +<P> +The night air increased in chilliness as the hours approached dawn, and +I shivered in my wet clothes, although this only served to arouse me +into immediate action. Realizing more than ever as I again attempted +to move my weakness and exhaustion from struggle, I succeeded in +gaining my feet, and stumbled forward along the narrow spit of sand, +until I attained a bank of firm earth, up which I crept painfully, +emerging at last upon a fairly level spot, softly carpeted with grass, +and surrounded by a grove of forest trees. The shadows here were +dense, but my feet encountered a depression in the soil, which I soon +identified as a rather well-defined path leading inland. Assured that +this must point the way to some door, as it was evidently no wild +animal trail, I felt my way forward cautiously, eager to attain +shelter, and the comfort of a fire. +</P> + +<P> +The grove was of limited extent, and, as I emerged from beneath its +shadow, I came suddenly to a patch of cultivated land, bisected by a +small stream, the path I was following leading along its bank. Holding +to this for guidance, within less than a hundred yards I came to the +house I was seeking, a small, log structure, overshadowed by a gigantic +oak, and standing isolated and alone. It appeared dark and silent, +although evidently inhabited, as an axe stood leaning against the jamb +of the door, while a variety of utensils were scattered about. +Believing the place to be occupied by a slave, or possibly some white +squatter, I advanced directly to the door, and called loudly to whoever +might be within. +</P> + +<P> +There was no response, and, believing the occupant asleep, I used the +axe handle, rapping sharply. Still no voice answered, although I felt +convinced of some movement inside, leading me to believe that the +sleeper had slipped from his bed and was approaching the door. Again I +rapped, this time with greater impatience over the delay, but not the +slightest sound rewarded the effort Shivering there in my wet clothes, +the stubborn obduracy of the fellow awakened my anger. +</P> + +<P> +"Open up, there," I called commandingly, "or else I'll take this axe +and break down your door." +</P> + +<P> +In the darkness I had been unobservant of a narrow slide in the upper +panel, but had scarcely uttered these words of threat when the flare of +a discharge almost in my very face fairly blinded me, and I fell +backward, aware of a burning sensation in one shoulder. The next +instant I lay outstretched on the ground, and it seemed to me that life +was fast ebbing from my body. Twice I endeavored vainly to rise, but +at the second attempt my brain reeled dizzily and I sank back +unconscious. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap07"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER VII +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +PICKING UP THE THREADS +</H3> + + +<P> +I turned my head slightly on the hard shuck pillow and gazed curiously +about. When my eyes had first opened all I could perceive was the +section of log wall against which I rested, but now, after painfully +turning over, the entire interior of the single-room cabin was +revealed. It was humble enough in all its appointments, the walls +quite bare, the few chairs fashioned from half-barrels, a packing box +for a table, and the narrow bed on which I lay constructed from +saplings lashed together, covered with a coarse ticking, packed with +straw. The floor was of hard, dry clay; a few live coals remained, +smoking in the open fireplace, while a number of garments, among them +to be recognized my own clothing, dangled from wooden pegs driven into +the chinks of the farther wall. I surveyed the entire circuit of the +room wonderingly, a vague memory of what had lately occurred returning +slowly to mind. To all appearances I was there alone, although close +beside me stood a low stool, supporting a tin basin partially filled +with water. As I moved I became conscious of a dull pain in my left +shoulder, which I also discovered to be tightly bandaged. It was late +in the day, for the rays of the sun streamed in through the single +window, and lay a pool of gold along the center of the floor. +</P> + +<P> +I presume it was not long, yet my thoughts were so busy it seemed as if +I must have been lying there undisturbed for some time, before the door +opened quietly, and I became aware of another occupant of the room. +Paying no attention to me he crossed to the fireplace, stirred the few +smouldering embers into flame, placing upon these some bits of dried +wood, and then idly watched as they caught fire. The newcomer was a +negro, gray-haired but still vigorous, evidently a powerful fellow +judging from his breadth of shoulder, and possessing a face denoting +considerable intelligence. Finally he straightened up and faced me, +his eyes widening with interest as he caught mine fastened upon him, +his thick lips instantly parting in a good-natured grin. +</P> + +<P> +"De good Lord be praised!" he ejaculated, in undisguised delight. "Is +yer really awake agin, honey? De docthar say he done thought ye'd cum +round by terday sure, sah. Enyhow I's almighty glad fer ter see yer +wid dem eyes open onct mor'—yas, sah, I sure am." +</P> + +<P> +"The doctor?" I questioned in surprise, my voice sounding strange and +far away. "Have I been here long?" +</P> + +<P> +"Goin' on 'bout ten days, sah. Yer was powerful bad hurt an' out o' +yer head, I reckon." +</P> + +<P> +"What was it that happened? Did some one shoot me?" +</P> + +<P> +The negro scratched his head, shuffling his bare feet uneasily on the +dirt floor. +</P> + +<P> +"Yas, sah, Mister Knox," he admitted with reluctance. "I's sure +powerful sorry, sah, but I was de boy whut plugged yer. Yer see, sah, +it done happened dis-a-way," and his black face registered genuine +distress. "Thar's a mean gang o' white folks 'round yere thet's took +it inter their heads ter lick every free nigger, an' when yer done come +up ter my door in de middle ob de night, a cussin', an' a-threatenin' +fer ter break in, I just nat'larly didn't wanter be licked, an'—an' so +I blazed away. I's powerful sorry 'bout it now, sah." +</P> + +<P> +"No doubt it was more my fault than yours. You are a free negro, then?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yas, sah. I done belong onct ter Colonul Silas Carlton, sah, but +afore he died, just because I done saved his boy frum drownin' in de +ribber, de ol' Colonul he set me free, an' give me a patch o' lan' ter +raise corn on." +</P> + +<P> +"What is your name?" +</P> + +<P> +"Pete, sah. Free Pete is whut mostly de white folks call me." He +laughed, white teeth showing and the whites of his eyes. "Yer see, +thar am a powerful lot o' Petes round 'bout yere, sah." +</P> + +<P> +I drew a deep breath, conscious of weakness as I endeavored to change +position. +</P> + +<P> +"All right, Pete; now I want to understand things clearly. You shot +me, supposing I was making an assault on you. Your bullet lodged in my +shoulder. What happened then?" +</P> + +<P> +"Well, after a while, sah, thar wan't no mor' noise, an' I reckoned I'd +either done hit yer er else ye'd run away. An' thar ye wus, sah, a +lyin' on yer back like ye wus ded. Just so soon as I saw ye, I know'd +as how ye never wus no nigger-hunter, but a stranger in des yere parts. +So I dragged ye inside de cabin, an' washed up yer hurts. But ye never +got no bettah, so I got skeered, an' went hoofin' it down fer de +docthar at Beaucaire Landin', sah, an' when he cum back along wid me he +dug the bullet outer yer shoulder, an' left som truck fer me ter giv' +yer. He's done been yere three times, sah." +</P> + +<P> +"From Beaucaire Landing—is that a town?" +</P> + +<P> +"A sorter a town, sah; 'bout four miles down ribber." +</P> + +<P> +The mentioning of this familiar word brought back instantly to my +darkened understanding all those main events leading up to my presence +in this neighborhood. Complete memory returned, every separate +incident sweeping through my brain—Kirby, Carver, the fateful game of +cards in the cabin of the <I>Warrior</I>, the sudden death of the Judge, the +mob anger I sought to curb, the struggle on deck, my being thrown +overboard, and the danger threatening the two innocent daughters of +Beaucaire. And I had actually been lying in this negro hut, burning up +with fever, helplessly delirious, for ten days. What had already +occurred in that space of time? What villainy had been concocted and +carried out? What more did the negro know?—something surely, for now +I remembered he had addressed me by name. +</P> + +<P> +"Now see here, Pete," I began earnestly. "How did you learn what my +name was?" +</P> + +<P> +"De docthar he foun' dat out, sah. I reckon' he thought maybe he ought +ter know; fearin' as how ye might die. He done looked through yer +pockets, sah, an' he took two papers whut he foun' dar away wid him. +He done tol' me as how yer wus an offercer in de army—a leftenant, er +sumthin'—an' thet dem papers ought fer ter be sint ter de Gov'ner et +onct. De las' time he wus yere he tol' me thet he wint down ter Saint +Louee hisself, an' done gif bof dem papers ter Gov'ner Clark. So yer +don't need worry none 'bout dem no mor'." +</P> + +<P> +I sank back onto the hard pillow, greatly relieved by this information. +The burden of official duty had been taken from me. I was now on +furlough, and free to act as I pleased. I suddenly became conscious +that I was hungry. I expressed this desire for food, and the negro +instantly busied himself over the fire. I watched his movements with +interest, although my thoughts quickly drifted to other matters. +</P> + +<P> +"Have you picked up any news lately from the Beaucaire plantation?" I +asked, at last. +</P> + +<P> +He twisted his head about at sound of my voice. +</P> + +<P> +"I heerd said dey done brought de body ob de ol' Jedge home, sah—he +died mighty sudden sumwhar up de ribber. Thet's 'bout all I know." +</P> + +<P> +"When was this?" +</P> + +<P> +"'Bout a week maybe mor'n dat ago. De <I>Warrior</I> brought de body down, +sah." +</P> + +<P> +"The <I>Warrior</I>? Did anyone go ashore with it?" +</P> + +<P> +"Pears like thar wus two men stopped off at de Landin'. I disremember +de names, but one ob 'em wus an ol' friend ob de Jedge's." +</P> + +<P> +I turned my head away silently, but only for a moment. The two men +were in all probability Kirby and his satellite, Carver. Evidently +they intended to lose no time. The accident, the period of my +unconsciousness, had left the villains ample opportunity in which to +carry out the details of their devilish plot. The silence had +convinced them of my death, leaving them nothing to fear, no opposition +to guard against. Doubtless the Beaucaire property was already legally +in Kirby's possession, and any possible chance I might have once had to +foil him in his nefarious purpose had now completely vanished. +</P> + +<P> +To be sure I had reasoned out no definite means whereby I could +circumvent his theft, except to take legal advice, confer with Governor +Clark, and warn those threatened girls of their danger. But now it was +too late even to do this. And yet it might not be. If Kirby and his +confederate believed that I was dead, were convinced that I had +perished beneath the waters of the river, they might feel safe in +taking time to strengthen their position; might delay final action, +hoping thus to make their case seem more plausible. If Kirby was +really serious in his intention of marrying Beaucaire's daughter he +would naturally hesitate immediately to acknowledge winning the +property at cards, and thus indirectly being the cause of her father's +death. He would be quite likely to keep this hidden from the girl for +a while, until he tried his luck at love. If love failed, then the +disclosure might be made to drive the young woman to him; a threat to +render her complacent. The negro evidently knew very little as to what +had occurred, merely the floating gossip of the slave quarters, and +some few things the doctor had mentioned. But there was a man living +at the Landing who would be informed as to all the facts. +</P> + +<P> +"I believe the Judge left two daughters, did he not?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yas, sah—mighty pretty gals dey am too." +</P> + +<P> +"And they still remain in possession of the house?" +</P> + +<P> +"I reckon dey do, sah. Pears like the dochtar sed sumthin' 'bout +treating one ob 'em—Miss Eloise—one time he wus ober yere. Sure, +deys dere all right." +</P> + +<P> +"Do you know a lawyer named Haines?" +</P> + +<P> +"Livin' down at de Landin'? Yas, sah." +</P> + +<P> +I lifted myself up in the bed, too deeply interested to lie still any +longer. +</P> + +<P> +"Now listen, Pete," I explained earnestly. "I've got sufficient money +to pay you well for all you do, and, just as soon as you get me +something to eat, I want you to go down to the Landing and bring Lawyer +Haines back here with you. Just tell him a sick white man wants to see +him at once, and not a word to anyone else. You might tell Haines this +is a private matter—you understand?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yas, sah," the whites of his eyes rolling. "He done know ol' Pete, +an' I'll sure bring him back yere." +</P> + +<P> +It was dark when they came, the fire alone lighting up the interior of +the dingy cabin with a fitful glow of red flame. I had managed to get +out of bed and partially dress myself feeling stronger, and in less +pain as I exercised my muscles. They found me seated before the +fireplace, indulging in a pot of fresh coffee. Haines was a small, +sandy-complexioned man, with a straggling beard and light blue eyes. +He appeared competent enough, a bundle of nervous energy, and yet there +was something about the fellow which instantly impressed me +unfavorably—probably his short, jerky manner of speech, and his +inability to look straight at you. +</P> + +<P> +"Pete has been telling me who you are, Lieutenant," he said, as we +shook hands, "and putting some other things together I can guess the +rest. You came south on the <I>Warrior</I>." +</P> + +<P> +"From Fort Armstrong—yes; who told you this?" +</P> + +<P> +"Captain Thockmorton. I saw him in St. Louis, and he seemed deeply +grieved by your sudden disappearance. No one on board was able to +explain what had occurred." +</P> + +<P> +"Yet there were two men on the boat who could have explained, if they +had cared to do so," I answered drily. "I mean Kirby and Carver; they +were the ones who threw me overboard." +</P> + +<P> +He dropped into a chair, his keen, ferret eyes on my face. +</P> + +<P> +"Kirby and Carver? They went ashore with the Judge's body at the +Landing. So there is a story back of all this," he exclaimed jerkily. +"Damn it, I thought as much. Was Beaucaire killed?" +</P> + +<P> +"No—not at least by any violence. No doubt the shock of his loss +hastened his death. Surely you must know that he risked all he +possessed on a game of cards and lost?" +</P> + +<P> +"Thockmorton knew something about it, and there were other rumors +floating about the Landing, but I have heard no details." +</P> + +<P> +"You did not see the two men, then?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, I was not at home, and they went on down the river the next day on +a keel-boat. You saw the play?" +</P> + +<P> +"I saw the last part of the game and was convinced, as all the others +present were, that the Judge was deliberately ruined for a purpose. I +believe it was all planned beforehand, but of this we have no tangible +proof." +</P> + +<P> +"His opponent was Joe Kirby?" +</P> + +<P> +"And a fellow named Carver, a mere hanger-on." +</P> + +<P> +Haines wet his lips, his eyes narrowing to mere slits, his professional +nature coming to the front. +</P> + +<P> +"First, let me ask you why you believe Beaucaire was cheated?" he +piped. "I know Joe Kirby, and consider him quite capable of such a +trick, but we shall need more than suspicion to circumvent his scheme." +</P> + +<P> +"I have every reason, Haines, to feel convinced that both Kirby and +Carver trailed Beaucaire up the river with the intention of plucking +him. Kirby practically confessed this to me, boastingly, afterwards. +All the way down he was bantering the Judge to play. That last night +he so manipulated the cards—or rather Carver did, for it was his +deal—as to deceive Beaucaire into firmly believing that he held an +absolutely unbeatable hand—he was dealt four aces and a king." +</P> + +<P> +The lawyer leaned forward, breathing heavily. +</P> + +<P> +"Four aces! Only one hand is better than that, and it would be +impossible to get such a hand out of one pack." +</P> + +<P> +"That is exactly true, Haines. I am no card player, but I do know that +much about the game. Yet Kirby took the pot with a straight flush. +Now, either he, or Carver, slipped an extra ace into the pack, or else +Beaucaire did. In my opinion the Judge had no chance to work such a +trick. And that's the case, as it stands." +</P> + +<P> +Haines jumped to his feet and began pacing the dirt floor excitedly, +his hands clasped behind his back. +</P> + +<P> +"By God, man!" he cried, pausing suddenly. "Even if he did have a +chance, the Judge never did it—never. He was a good sport, and always +played a straight game. You say he bet everything he had?" +</P> + +<P> +"To the last dollar—Kirby egged him on. Besides the money, a deed to +his land, and a bill of sale for his negroes were on the table." +</P> + +<P> +"The field hands, you mean?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, and the house servants. Kirby insisted that he write these +words, 'This includes every chattel slave legally belonging to me,' and +made Beaucaire sign it in that form." +</P> + +<P> +Haines' face was white, his eyes staring at me incredulously. +</P> + +<P> +"God help us, man! Do you know what that means?" he gasped. +</P> + +<P> +"I am almost afraid I do," I answered, yet startled by his manner. +"That was why I sent for you. Would that include his son's daughter?" +</P> + +<P> +He buried his face in his hands. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," he confessed brokenly. "To the best of my knowledge Rene +Beaucaire is a slave." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap08"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER VIII +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +I DECIDE MY DUTY +</H3> + + +<P> +The silence following this blunt statement was sickening. Up to that +moment, in spite of every fact brought to my knowledge, I had secretly +believed this condition of affairs impossible. Surely somewhere, +through some legal form, Judge Beaucaire had guarded the future safety +of this young woman, whom he had admitted into his household. Any +other conception seemed impossible, too monstrous, too preposterous for +consideration. But now the solemn words of the lawyer, his own legal +counselor, brought conviction, and for the moment all power of speech +deserted me. It was actually true then—the girl was a slave, a thing +belonging to Kirby. Nothing broke the stillness within the cabin, +except the sharp crackling of flames in the open fireplace, and the +heavy breathing of the negro. He was seated on the edge of the bed, +his black face showing a greenish tint, and revealing puzzled +amazement, with wide-opened eyes staring blankly at Haines, who stood +motionless before the fire. +</P> + +<P> +"Whut wus dat yer sed, Mister Haines?" he asked thickly. "You say as +how Missus Rene Beaucaire is a slave, sah? Pears like I don't just +rightfully understan'." +</P> + +<P> +"Still that is true, Pete," and the lawyer lifted his head and surveyed +us both. "She is the illegitimate daughter of Delia, Judge Beaucaire's +housekeeper; her father was Adelbert Beaucaire, the Judge's only son. +No one knows where he is, dead or alive." +</P> + +<P> +"De good Lord! An' de ol' Jedge never set her free?" +</P> + +<P> +The lawyer shook his head, words evidently failing him. +</P> + +<P> +"But are you absolutely certain of this?" I broke in impatiently. +"Have you searched the records?" +</P> + +<P> +"Not only searched them, Knox, but, before he left for the north on +this last trip, Beaucaire was in my office, and I practically forced +him to acknowledge the negligence. He even authorized me to draw up +the necessary papers for him to sign on his return—for both Delia and +the girl. They are in my desk now, unexecuted. There is no +mistake—Rene is legally a slave, together with her mother." +</P> + +<P> +"My God!" I exclaimed. "What an indictment of slavery. Could anyone +conceive a more horrible position! Here is a young girl, educated, +refined, of more than ordinary attractiveness Thockmorton tells me, +brought up amid every comfort, and led to believe herself the honored +daughter of the house, awakening in an instant to the fact that she is +a slave, with negro blood in her veins—a mere chattel, owned body and +soul by a gambler, won in a card game, and to be sold to the highest +bidder. Haines, I tell you Kirby knew all this." +</P> + +<P> +"Kirby knew? Why do you say that?" +</P> + +<P> +"He boasted of it. I thought little about what he said at the time, +but I believe now one of his main objects was to gain possession of +this girl. That would account for his insistence upon that peculiar +clause in the bill of sale—he either suspected, or had discovered +through some source, that Rene Beaucaire had never been set free. For +some reason he desired possession of both Beaucaire girls; they meant +more to him than either the money or the property. This card game gave +him one; the other—" +</P> + +<P> +"Eloise, you mean? Did the fellow threaten her?" +</P> + +<P> +"Here is what he said sneeringly, you can judge yourself what he meant, +'She's worth fifty thousand dollars by her mother's will, and I intend +to win her if I can, fair means or foul.'" +</P> + +<P> +Haines did not speak for some moments, his eyes on my face. Then he +paced back and forth across the floor, finally stopping before the fire. +</P> + +<P> +"This is as near hell as anything I ever knew," he said, "and so far as +I can see there is no legal way out of it. We are utterly helpless to +assist." +</P> + +<P> +"We are not," I answered hotly, "if we are men. There may be no legal +way in which we can beat this villain, but there is an illegal one, +unless we are already too late, and I propose to use it, whether you +join me or not." +</P> + +<P> +"You have a plan? What is it?" +</P> + +<P> +"The only one feasible. I thought of its possibility before on the +boat, when a suspicion of this situation first came to me. You are +sure the girls are still at the plantation house? that they know +nothing of this condition?" +</P> + +<P> +"I have reason to believe so. Delia was buying provisions at the +Landing yesterday; I talked with her a moment." +</P> + +<P> +"And you said that Kirby and Carver were only in town for one night, +leaving the next morning on a keel-boat for St. Louis. Probably they +did not visit the plantation at all, unless it was to scout around. My +idea is they were not quite ready to take possession; that they have +gone to St. Louis to file the papers, and will come back with officers +prepared to execute them. This means that we must work fast to get out +of their way." +</P> + +<P> +"What do you propose doing?" +</P> + +<P> +"Let me ask a question first. Is it true that Eloise Beaucaire is +heiress to fifty thousand dollars through her mother's estate?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, I invested most of it." +</P> + +<P> +"In what?" +</P> + +<P> +"New Orleans property principally." +</P> + +<P> +"Then it is safe enough whatever happens. The only thing we can do is +this: Tell those girls and the mother the whole truth—tell them at +once, before Kirby can return, and then help them to get out of this +country. It is not necessary for Eloise to go, unless she desires to, +but there is no other safe course for Delia and Rene. They must reach +a northern state before Kirby can lay hands on them. Could Delia pass +for a white woman?" +</P> + +<P> +"Not in the South; still she could travel as Rene's maid. But I do not +believe it is possible for the two to escape in that way, Knox. +Understand I'd be willing to risk it if there were any show. How can +it be done? On the average at this time of year there isn't a +steamboat along here once a month. If we did get them onto a boat they +would have to travel straight south as far as the Ohio. Kirby wouldn't +be more than a day or two behind them, with friends on every boat on +the river. Illinois is no free state for fugitive slaves—they might +just as well be caught in Missouri as over there. There is not one +chance in a thousand that they make it." +</P> + +<P> +"And less than that, if they remain here for Kirby to get his hands +on," I retorted bitterly. "Now look here, Haines. I am going to carry +out this plan alone, if you will not back me in it. I am not talking +about steamboats; they could travel by night, and hide along shore +during the day. All they would need would be two negro oarsmen, +sufficient food, and a boat big enough to carry them safely. You have +small boats, surely?" +</P> + +<P> +"I got one, Massa Knox," burst out Pete eagerly. "She's down by de +mouth ob de creek, sah, an' she sure am a mighty good boat. We could +load her up right here, an' I'd be one ob de niggers fer ter take dem +ladies down ribber. I'se a free boy, an' nobody care whar I done go." +</P> + +<P> +These unexpected words heartened me, strengthened my own resolve, and I +obeyed the first impulse, instantly crossing the room and frankly +extending my hand to the surprised negro. +</P> + +<P> +"That sounds like a man, Pete," I exclaimed warmly. "Yes, of course I +mean it—shake hands. You are white enough for me, boy, and I do not +propose letting you do any more than I am willing to do. I'll go along +with you on this trip. I have sixty days furlough." +</P> + +<P> +I turned and faced the lawyer, my mind firmly settled on the scheme, +and determined upon carrying it out instantly. +</P> + +<P> +"And now, what about you, Haines?" I demanded. "Are you ready to help? +Come, man, surely this is not something we have any time to debate. +Kirby is liable to show up at any moment with full authority, and the +sheriff to back him. It is still early in the evening and we must work +tonight, if at all." +</P> + +<P> +"You haven't the strength for such a venture," he protested. +</P> + +<P> +"Haven't I?" and I laughed. "Oh, yes I have. I am young and this +wound is nothing. I may be a bit stiff in the shoulder for a few days, +but I can pull an oar with one hand. That never will stop me. Are you +with us?" +</P> + +<P> +He was slow in replying, and, as I eagerly watched his face, I could +almost comprehend the working of the lawyer mind. He saw and argued +every doubt, considered every danger. +</P> + +<P> +"In spirit, yes," he answered at last, "but not physically. I believe +under the circumstances you are justified, Knox. Perhaps I'd do the +same thing if I was in your place and had your youth behind me. But I +am a lawyer, fifty years old, and this is my home. If the story ever +got out that I took part in nigger stealing, that would be the end of +me in Missouri. As you say, you are a young man, and I reckon you were +not brought up in the South either. That makes a difference. You can +take the risk, but about all I can do will be to keep a quiet tongue in +my head. Nobody will ever learn what has happened through me—I'll +promise you that. But that is all I can promise." +</P> + +<P> +"Yet you acknowledge this is the only way? No legal course is open to +us?" +</P> + +<P> +"Absolutely none. If there was I should never consent to be a party to +this plan, or shield you in any way. Kirby has undoubtedly got the law +with him. We cannot establish fraud; the property actually belongs to +him—both mother and daughter are his slaves." +</P> + +<P> +"And how about the other girl—Eloise?" +</P> + +<P> +"He has no legal hold on her; she is a free white woman. He could only +hope to overcome her resistance by threats. The plantation is +irrevocably lost to the Beaucaires, but she possesses the power to defy +him because of her mother's property. If Kirby marries her, it will +only be through her consent." +</P> + +<P> +He picked up his hat from the table, and a stout stick he had brought +along with him, taking a step toward the door. +</P> + +<P> +"I might as well tell you I consider this a mad scheme," he paused to +add gravely, "and that it will probably fail. There is a possible +chance of success, I admit, and for that reason I permit you to go +ahead with it, and pledge myself to keep the secret. I was rather +intimately associated with Beaucaire for a number of years, and to see +his granddaughter sold into slavery, even if she does have a drop of +nigger blood in her veins, is more than I can stand, without giving her +a chance to get away. That is why I consent to abet a crime, and keep +still about it. But beyond that I'll not go. I am a southerner, Knox; +my father owned slaves. I believe in the system, and have always +upheld it. Nobody in Missouri hates a Black Abolitionist worse than I +do; if anyone had ever said I would help a nigger run away, I'd call +him a liar in a minute. Do you understand the position this damned +affair puts me into?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, I do, Haines," and I held out my hand to him, with fresh +cordiality. "It is uncommonly white of you to even go that far. On +the other hand I was brought up to despise slavery. I'll pledge you +this—for Pete here, as well as myself—that if we are caught, your +name shall never be mentioned. Have you any advice to give?" +</P> + +<P> +He paused uncertainly, his hand on the latch, the firelight flashing up +into his face. +</P> + +<P> +"Only this," he said slowly. "If I were you I'd never attempt to go +south. Below St. Louis boats are numerous, and you would be almost +certain to be discovered. If Kirby chases you—and I know him well +enough to be sure he will—he will naturally take it for granted that +you have headed for the Ohio. The very fact that the fugitives are +women would convince him of this. To my mind the one chance of your +getting away, lies to the north—up the Illinois." +</P> + +<P> +"That thought was in my mind also," I admitted, thoroughly satisfied +now that he was really friendly, and to be trusted. "I have been told +that the settlers north of that stream came mostly from New England—is +that true?" +</P> + +<P> +"To a large extent. We have reason to believe there is an underground +road in operation from the river to Canada, and many a runaway nigger +makes the trip every year. That ought to be your best course, but +there is no time now to put the women in the care of those men. Of +course I don't know who they are—perhaps Pete does?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, sah," protested the black quickly. "'Pears like I never heerd +tell 'bout dem. I'se a free nigger, sah." +</P> + +<P> +The lawyer's shrewd eyes twinkled. +</P> + +<P> +"And that is exactly why, you black rascal, I believe you really do +know. I reckon, Knox, he'll tell you what he wouldn't tell me. +Anyhow, good luck to you both, and good night." +</P> + +<P> +The door closed behind him, and the negro and I were alone. All at +once I realized the desperate nature of this adventure I had +undertaken, and its possible consequences. Haines' words had driven it +home to my mind, causing me to comprehend the viewpoint of this +neighborhood, the hatred men felt for a nigger-stealer, and what my +fate would be if once caught in the act. Yet the die was already cast; +I had pledged myself to action; was fully committed to the attempted +rescue of Rene Beaucaire, and no thought of any retreat once occurred +to me. I opened the door cautiously, glancing out into the night, to +thus assure myself we were alone, closed it again, and came back. The +negro still remained seated on the edge of the bed, digging his toes +into the hard earth of the floor. +</P> + +<P> +"Pete," I began earnestly. "You trust me, don't you? You do not +suspect me of being any slave-hunter?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, sah, Massa Knox, I ain't 'feared o' yer—yers one o' dem +down-easterners." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, not exactly that. I came from a slave state, but my family is +of New England blood and breeding. I am just as much your friend as +though you were white. Now you and I have got a hard job before us." +</P> + +<P> +"Yas, sah, we sure has." +</P> + +<P> +"And the first thing we have got to do, is to trust each other. Now I +am going to ask you a question—is that the best way for us to go, up +the Illinois?" +</P> + +<P> +He was slow to answer, evidently turning the whole matter over in his +mind. I waited impatiently, feeling the delay to be a serious loss of +time. +</P> + +<P> +"Well then, let me put this differently. Have you ever assisted any +slaves to run away from Missouri?" +</P> + +<P> +"Well, Massa Knox, I reckon thet maybe I knew'd 'bout som' gittin' +a-way—'pears like I did, sah." +</P> + +<P> +"And these escaped by way of the Illinois?" +</P> + +<P> +His dumb, almost pathetic eyes met mine pleadingly, but some expression +of my face served to yield him courage. +</P> + +<P> +"I—I reckon I—I don't know much 'bout all dis, Massa Knox," he +stammered doubtfully, his hands locking and unlocking nervously. "I—I +sure don'; an' fer de mattah o' dat, ther ain't nobody whut does, sah. +All I does know, fer sure, is dat if a nigger onct gets as fer as a +certain white man up de ribber, 'bout whar de mouth ob de Illinois is, +he's got a mighty good chance fer ter reach Canada. De next place whar +he's most likely ter stop is Beardstown, long wid som' sorter preacher +whut lives thar. An' thet's as fer as dey ever done tol' me, sah." +</P> + +<P> +"About this first white man—the one near the mouth of the Illinois—do +you know his name?" +</P> + +<P> +Pete rose to his feet, and crossed the room to where I stood, bending +down until his lips were close to my ear. His answer was spoken in a +thick whisper. +</P> + +<P> +"Massa Knox, I never did 'spect to say dis ter no white man, but it +seems I just nat'larly got fer ter tell yer. I done heerd thet man say +onct just whut yer did, thet a nigger wus just as much his frien' as +though he wus white—thet it wan't de skin nohow what counted, but de +heart. No, sah, I ain't feered fer ter tell yer, Massa Knox. He's got +a cabin hid way back in de bluffs, whar nobody don't go, 'cept dem who +know whar it is. I reckon he don't do nuthin' but hunt an' fish +nohow—leastways he don't raise no corn, nor truck fer ter sell. He's +a tall, lanky man, sah, sorter thin, with a long beard, an' his name +wus Amos Shrunk. I reckon maybe he's a Black Abolitionist, sah." +</P> + +<P> +"Quite likely, I should say. And you could take a boat from here to +his place?" +</P> + +<P> +"Sure, the darkest night yer ever see. Inter the mouth ob a crick, +'bout a hundred rods up de Illinois. Den thar's a path, a sorter path, +whut goes ter de cabin; but most genir'ly he's down thar waitin' et +night. Yer see dey never sure knows when som' nigger is goin' fer ter +git away—only mostly it's at night." +</P> + +<P> +This knowledge greatly simplified matters. If there was already in +operation an organized scheme by means of which fugitives from this +side of the great river were taken through to Canada, protected and +assisted along the way by the friends of freedom, then all we would be +required to do in this case would be to safely convey the unfortunate +Rene and her mother in Pete's boat up the river, and there turn them +over to the care of this Amos Shrunk. Undoubtedly he could be trusted +to see to it that they were promptly forwarded to others, fanatics like +himself, who would swiftly pass them along at night across the Illinois +prairies, until beyond all danger of pursuit. Hundreds, no doubt, had +traveled this route, and, once these two were in Shrunk's care our +responsibility would be over with. It was to me a vast relief to +realize this. The distance to the mouth of the Illinois could not be +far, surely not to exceed fifty miles as the river ran. It ought not +to prove difficult to baffle Kirby for that short distance, and then we +would be free to return, and no one could prove any charge against us. +Indeed it was my purpose to immediately proceed down the river on my +furlough, and probably it would never so much as be suspected that the +negro had been away. Ever since my boyhood I had listened to stories +concerning the operation of Underground Railroads by means of which +slaves were assisted to freedom, and now felt no hesitancy in confiding +these two women to the care of their operators. The only important +fact fronting us was that we must act quickly, before Kirby and his +aides, armed with legal authority, could return—this very night. +</P> + +<P> +"Pete," I said shortly, my tone unconsciously one of authority, "we +must be out of here before daylight, and safely hidden somewhere up the +river. The first thing to be done, and the hardest, is to explain to +those women the situation, and persuade them to accompany us. They may +not believe my story; that was why I was so anxious to have Haines go +to the house. They would have confidence in him. Do they know you?" +</P> + +<P> +"Lord love yer—ob course dey do. I'se knowed all ob 'em for a long +while, sah. Why when I furst don' see dem Beaucaire gals dey wus just +infants. Dey'll sure believe ol' Pete." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, we can only try our best. Have you any conveyance here?" +</P> + +<P> +"Any whut, sah?" +</P> + +<P> +"Any wheeled vehicle in which we can ride to Beaucaire, and by means of +which we can bring the women back? The distance is too far to walk." +</P> + +<P> +"I'se got a sorter khart, an' an ol' muel, sah. Dey's out yonder in de +bush." +</P> + +<P> +"Hitch them up at once, while I put a few things we may need in the +boat. Show me how to find it." +</P> + +<P> +He pointed out the path, with the directions necessary, and +disappeared, while I returned to the cabin, dragged a blanket from off +the bed, and filled it with whatever miscellaneous articles of food I +was able to discover about the place. My wound, now that I was busily +engaged, troubled me very little, and, gathering the four corners of +the blanket together, I easily transported this stock of provisions to +the river bank, and safely stowed them away in the boat found there. I +returned to discover the mule and cart ready, and a few moments later +we were creaking slowly along a gloomy wood road, jolting over the +stumps, with Pete walking beside the animal's head, whispering +encouragement into the flapping ear. The great adventure had begun. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap09"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER IX +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE HOME OF JUDGE BEAUCAIRE +</H3> + + +<P> +The road we followed appeared to be endless, and so rough that I soon +climbed down from my seat, an unplaned board, uncomfortable enough +under any conditions, in the swaying, bumping cart, and stumbled +blindly along behind, tripping over stumps in the darkness, and +wrenching my ankles painfully in deep ruts. Progress was slow, not +only because of the difficulties of the passage, but equally on account +of the obstinacy of the mule. Indeed, it required no small diplomacy +on the part of the negro to induce the animal to proceed at all, and +finally, despairing of the efficiency of words, he drew a club, +evidently reserved for such emergencies, from the interior of the cart, +and gave utterance to an ultimatum. Following this display of force +our advance became a trifle more rapid. +</P> + +<P> +I endeavored to think, to plan more definitely my course upon arriving +at the Beaucaire plantation, but discovered it quite impossible to +concentrate my mind upon anything. My entire attention had to be +riveted on the intricacies of the road, which wound in and out among +the bluffs, down one gully and up another, until I finally lost all +sense of direction, and merely stumbled on after the dark outlines of +the cart, through a black cave formed by the branches of over-arching +trees. +</P> + +<P> +It was considerably after ten o'clock when we emerged upon an open +plateau, and a glimmer of stars overhead revealed to me afar off the +silver thread of the great river. Even in that dim light I could trace +its winding course along the valley, and the view by daylight from this +point must have been a delight to the eye. Pete stopped the straining +mule, a feat not at all difficult of accomplishment, the animal's sides +rising and falling as he wheezed for breath, and came back to where I +stood, staring about at the dimly perceived objects in the foreground. +</P> + +<P> +"Out dar am de Beaucaire place," he announced, as soon as he could +distinguish my presence, waving his arm to indicate the direction. +"An' I reckon we bettah not ride no further, fer if Alick shud smell +corn, he'd nat'larly raise dis whol' neighborhood—he's got a powerful +voice, sah." +</P> + +<P> +"Equal to his appetite no doubt." +</P> + +<P> +"Yas, sah; that's mostly whut Alick am." +</P> + +<P> +"How far away is the house?" +</P> + +<P> +"Likely 'bout a hundred yards. Yer see dat light out yonder; well +dat's it, an' I reckon de ladies mus' be up yet, keepin' de lamp +burnin'. Here's de slave cabins 'long de edge ob de woods, but dey's +all dark. What's yer a goin' fer ter do now, Massa Knox?" +</P> + +<P> +I was conscious that my heart was beating rapidly, and that my mind was +anything but clear. The problem fronting me did not appear so easily +solved, now that I was fairly up against it, and yet there seemed only +one natural method of procedure. I must go at my unpleasant task +boldly, and in this case only the truth would serve. I was an officer +in the United States Army, and had in my pocket papers to prove my +identity. These would vouch for me as a gentleman, and yield me a +measure of authority. And this fact, once established, ought to give +me sufficient standing in the eyes of those girls to compel from them a +respectful hearing. I would tell the story exactly as I knew it, +concealing nothing, and adding no unnecessary word, outline my plan of +action, and then leave them to decide what they thought best to do. +This was the simple, sensible way, and I had implicit faith that they +would accept my statement, and believe my offer of assistance an honest +one. I could not perceive how they could do otherwise. Strange, +unbelievable as the situation was, proof was not lacking. Delia could +be compelled to acknowledge that Rene was her child—she would scarcely +dare deny this truth in face of my positive knowledge—and she, at +least, must know that Judge Beaucaire had never during his lifetime +given her her freedom. This fact could be established beyond question, +and then they must surely all comprehend the necessity of immediate +flight—that there remained no other possible means of escape from +hopeless slavery. Desperate as the chance appeared, it was the only +one. +</P> + +<P> +It was a disagreeable, heart-rending task which I had taken upon +myself, but it could be no longer avoided. It dawned upon me now with +more intense force than ever before the position in which I stood, and +I shrank from the ordeal. A perfect stranger, not even a chance +acquaintance of those directly involved in this tragedy, I would have +to drag out from the closet, where it had been hidden away for years, +this old Beaucaire skeleton, and rattle the dried bones of dishonor +before the horrified understanding of these two innocent, unsuspecting +girls. I knew nothing of their characters, or of how they would meet +such a revelation, and yet they must be made to see, and thoroughly +comprehend the situation; must be compelled to face the horror and +disgrace of their position, and aroused to action. I had little +thought then for the slave mother; doubtless she had been expecting +some such exposure for years, and was, at least, partially steeled to +meet it. But for the two girls, brought up as sisters, close +companions since infancy, having no previous suspicion of the dreadful +truth, this sudden revelation would be worse than death. Yet now +concealment would be no kindness; indeed, the tenderest mercy I could +show was to tell them in all frankness the whole miserable story of +crime and neglect; and then point out to them the only remaining means +of escape from the consequence of others' sins. +</P> + +<P> +These thoughts, definite and compelling, flashed through my mind as I +stood there in the darkness, vainly seeking to distinguish the distant +outlines of the great house, from one window alone of which the glow of +light streamed. In that moment of decision the conviction came to me +that I had best do this alone; that the presence of the negro would +hinder, rather than help the solution of the problem. I must appeal +directly to the intelligence, the courage, of those so deeply involved, +and trust my own personality to win their confidence. In this the +negro would be useless. +</P> + +<P> +"Pete," I said, measuring my words, my plan of action shaping itself +even as I spoke. "What lies in there between us and the house?" +</P> + +<P> +"A truck patch mostly, wid a fence 'round it. Den thar comes som' +flower beds." +</P> + +<P> +"No path?" +</P> + +<P> +"Well, I done reckon as how thar might be a sorter path, sah, but you'd +hardly find it in de dark. De bes' way'd be ter sorter feel 'long de +fence, 'til yer git sight o' de front porch." +</P> + +<P> +"All right, then. I am going to leave you here while I scout around. +Keep your eyes open, and have the mule ready to leave at any minute." +</P> + +<P> +"'Bout how lon' yer be gone, sah?" +</P> + +<P> +"I cannot tell you that. As short a time as possible. It may require +considerable explanation and urging to get those three women to trust +me. However, all you have to do is wait, and be sure that no one sees +you. If you should be needed for anything at the house, I'll get word +to you some way; and if I should send Delia and Rene out here alone, +without being able to come with them myself, load them into the cart at +once, and drive to the boat. I'll manage to join you somewhere, and +the important thing is to get them safely away. You understand all +this?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yas, sah; leastways I reckon I does. I'se ter take keer ob dem all, +an' let yer take keer o' yerself." +</P> + +<P> +"Exactly, because, you see, I haven't the slightest idea what I am +going to run up against. There may be others in the house, and I might +not dare to leave Miss Eloise behind alone without some protection. In +a way she is in almost as much danger as the others if she falls into +Kirby's hands. I shall endeavor to induce her to go to Haines at once." +</P> + +<P> +Following some impulse I shook hands with him, and then plunged into +the darkness, my only guidance at first that single ray of light +streaming through the unshaded window. The ground underfoot was +roughly irregular, cleared forest land evidently, as I occasionally +stumbled over an unremoved stump, although there was nothing to +seriously obstruct my passage until I reached the fence surrounding the +garden. By this time the outlines of the house were plainly visible +against the skyline beyond, and I realized that it was indeed quite a +mansion for that country, a great square frame structure, two full +stories in height, appearing black and deserted, except for that single +window through which the light continued to stream. While this window +was upon the lower floor, directly opposite where I stood, and no great +distance away, it was still sufficiently elevated above the ground, and +obscured by a small outside balcony, so as to afford me no glimpse +within. All I could distinguish clearly was the ceiling of what +appeared to be a rather large apartment. +</P> + +<P> +As I advanced cautiously along the fence, a low structure built of +rough rails, and thus approached more closely to the front of the main +building, other lights began to reveal themselves, enabling me to +perceive that the inner hallway was likewise illuminated, although not +brilliantly. These dim lights proved sufficient, however, to unable me +to trace the general form of the broad veranda in front, with its high +roof upheld by pillars of wood—doubtless giant forest trees—and also +the wide wooden steps leading down to a circling carriage drive. In +spite of previous descriptions I had scarcely anticipated encountering +so fine a home in this land which to me was wilderness. The contrast +of what life had undoubtedly been to its inmates, and what it would now +become through the medium of this unwelcome message I bore, struck me +with new force. My mission became instantly a hateful thing, yet I +only set my lips tighter, determined to end it as quickly as possible. +</P> + +<P> +By groping about with my feet I succeeded in discovering the path of +which Pete had spoken, and managed with difficulty to follow it slowly. +Winding in and out amid shrubbery, and what may have been reserved for +flower beds, this ended at a side door, which was locked. Discovering +this fact, and that it resisted all efforts at opening, I turned once +more toward the front, and advanced in that direction, securely hidden +by the dense shadow of the house. All about me was silence, not even +the sound of a voice or the flap of a wing breaking the intense +stillness of the night. I almost imagined I heard the murmur of the +distant river, but this was probably the night breeze sighing through +the tree branches. I came below the veranda, still in the deep shadow, +utterly unconscious of any other presence, when suddenly, from just +above me, and certainly not six feet distant, a man spoke gruffly, the +unexpected sound of his strange voice interrupted by the sharp grate of +a chair's leg on the porch floor, and a half-smothered yawn. +</P> + +<P> +"Say, Sheriff, how long are we all goin' ter set yere, do yer know? +This don't look much like Saint Louee afore daylight ter me." +</P> + +<P> +I stopped still, crouching low, my heart leaping into my throat, and +every nerve tingling. +</P> + +<P> +"No, it sure don't, Tim," replied another, and the fellow apparently +got down from off his perch on the porch rail. "Yer see Kirby is bound +he'll get hold o' them two missin' females furst, afore he'll let me +round up the niggers." +</P> + +<P> +"But yer told him yer wouldn't round the niggers up, an' stow 'em away +in the boat." +</P> + +<P> +"Not till I get service on the young lady. It wouldn't do no good." +</P> + +<P> +"Whut's the idee?" +</P> + +<P> +"Damned if I know exactly. All I know is whut I kin do accordin' ter +law, an' whut I can't. The papers is all straight 'nough, but they've +got ter be served afore we kin lay hands on a damned thing. The Jedge +tol' me fer ter do everything just as Kirby sed, an' I aim ter do it, +but just the same I got ter keep inside the law. I reckon thar's a +hitch sumwhar', but thet's none o' my business. Kirby is liberal +'nough with his money, an' I dunno as it makes much difference when we +strike the ol' town." +</P> + +<P> +"'Tain't so much that, Sheriff. I kin stan' it fer ter be up all +night, but Bill wus tellin' me we might hav' som' trouble down ter the +Landin' unless we finished up our job yere afore mornin'." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, I reckon not; whut was it Bill said?" +</P> + +<P> +"Quite a rigmarole frum furst ter last. Giv' me a light fer the pipe, +will yer?" +</P> + +<P> +There was a flare above me, and then darkness once more, and then the +slow drawl of the man's voice as he resumed. "Some feller by the name +ov McAdoo, down ter Saint Louee, who's just com' down frum the lead +mines, tol' him thet Joe Kirby got all this yere property in a game o' +kyards on the boat, an' thet it wan't no square game either. I didn't +git it all straight, I reckon, but accordin' ter the deal handed me +thar wus two dead men mixed up in the affair—Beaucaire, an' a young +army offercer. Seems ter me his name wus Knox." +</P> + +<P> +"I didn't hear that." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, enyhow, that's the way Bill told it. Beaucaire he naturally +fell dead—heart, er som'thin'—an' the other feller, this yere army +man, he went out on deck fer ter see Kirby, an' he never cum' back. +McAdoo sorter reckoned as how likely he wus slugged, an' throwed +overboard. An' then, on top' all that, we're sent up yere in the night +like a passel o' thieves ter take these niggers down ter Saint Louee. +What do yer make ov it, Jake?" +</P> + +<P> +"Wal," said the other slowly, his mouth evidently loaded with tobacco, +"I ain't never asked no questions since I wus made sheriff. I'm doin' +whut the court says. Hell! thar's trouble 'nough in this job without +my buttin' in on other people's business. But this is how it stacks up +ter me. Kirby's got the law on his side—no doubt 'bout that—but I +reckon as how he knows it wus a damn mean trick, and so he's sorter +skeered as ter how them fellers livin' down ter the Landin' might act. +Thar's a lawyer thar named Haines, as sharp as a steel trap, who tended +ter all the ol' Jedge's business, an' Joe he don't wanter run foul o' +him. Thet's why we tied up ter the shore below town, in the mouth o' +thet crick, an' then hed ter hoof it up yere in the dark. Of course we +got the law with us, but we wanter pull this job off an' not stir up no +fight—see?" +</P> + +<P> +"Sure," disgustedly. "I reckon I know all that; I heerd the Jedge tell +yer how we wus ter do the job. But why's Kirby in such a sweat ter git +all these niggers down ter Saint Louee?" +</P> + +<P> +"Ter sell 'em, an' git the cash. Onct they're outer the way there +won't be no row. He'll let the land yere lie idle fer a year or two, +an' by that time nobody'll care a whoop how he got it. But he's got +ter git rid o' them niggers right away." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, who the hell's goin' ter prevent? They're his'n, ain't they? +Thar ain't no Black Abolitionists 'round yere, I reckon. I never +know'd yer had ter run off your own niggers in the night, so's ter sell +'em down South. My Gawd, is this yere Mussury!" +</P> + +<P> +"Seems sorter queer ter me," admitted the sheriff, "but I did get a +little outer that feller Carver comin' up. He's a close-mouthed cuss, +an' didn't say much, but puttin' it with what yer just told me, I +reckon I kin sorter figger it out. Carver is som' sorter partner with +Kirby—a capper I reckon—an' enyhow he had a hand in that kayrd game. +'Tain't the niggers thet are makin' the trouble—leastways not the +black 'uns. Nobody's likely ter row over them. It seems that +Beaucaire kept a quadroon housekeeper, a slave, o' course, an' a while +back she giv' birth ter a child, the father o' the infant bein' Judge +Beaucaire's son. Then the son skipped out, an' ain't ever bin heard +frum since—dead most likely, fer all this wus twenty years ago. +'Course the child, which wus a girl, is as white as I am—maybe more +so. I ain't never set eyes on her, but Carver he says she's damn good +lookin'. Enyhow the Jedge he brought her up like his own daughter, +sent her ter school in Saint Louee, an' nobody 'round yere even +suspected she wus a nigger. I reckon she didn't know it herself." +</P> + +<P> +"The hell you say." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, but that ain't all o' it. I don't know how it happened—maybe he +forgot, er put it off too long, er aimed ter git revenge—but, it +seems, he never executed no paper freein' either her or her mother." +</P> + +<P> +"Yer mean the girl's still a slave?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yer bet! That's the law, ain't it?" +</P> + +<P> +"And Kirby knew about this?" +</P> + +<P> +"I reckon he did. I sorter judge, Tim, frum whut Carver sed, that he +wus more anxious fer ter git thet girl than all the rest o' the stuff; +an' it's her he wants ter git away frum yere on the dead quiet, afore +Haines er any o' them others down at the Landin' kin catch on." +</P> + +<P> +"They couldn't do nuthin'; if thar ain't no papers, then she's his, +accordin' ter law. I've seen that tried afore now." +</P> + +<P> +"Of course; but what's the use o' runnin' eny risk? A smart lawyer +like Haines could make a hell ov a lot o' trouble just the same, if he +took a notion. That's Kirby's idee—ter cum' up yere in a boat, +unbeknownst to enybody, tie up down thar at Saunders', an' run the +whole bunch o' niggers off in the night. Then it's done an' over with +afore the Landin' even wakes up. I reckon the Jedge told him that wus +the best way." +</P> + +<P> +There was a moment of silence, the first man evidently turning the +situation over in his mind. The sheriff bent across the rail, and spat +into the darkness below. +</P> + +<P> +"The joke of it all is," he continued, with a short laugh, as he +straightened up, "this didn't exactly work out 'cordin' ter schedule. +When we dropped in yere we rounded up the niggers all right, an' we got +the girl whar there's no chance fer her ter git away—" +</P> + +<P> +"Is that the one back in the house?" +</P> + +<P> +"I reckon so; leastways she tol' Kirby her name was Rene Beaucaire, an' +that's how it reads in the papers. But thar ain't no trace ov her +mother, ner ov the Jedge's daughter. They ain't in the house, ner the +nigger cabins. Whar the hell they've gone, I don't know, an' the girl +won't tell. Leaves me in a deuce ov a fix, fer I can't serve no papers +less we find the daughter. Her name's Eloise; she's the heir et law, +an' I ain't got no legal right fer ter take them niggers away till I +do. Looks ter me like they'd skipped out." +</P> + +<P> +"Maybe som'body blowed the whole thing." +</P> + +<P> +"I dunno who it wud be. Then whut did they leave thet girl behind fer? +She'd most likely be the furst ter run—thar's Kirby an' Carver, a +comin' now, an' they're alone; ain't got no trace ov 'em, I reckon." +</P> + +<P> +Where I crouched in the shadows I could gain no glimpse of the +approaching figures, but I heard the crunch of their boots on the +gravel of the driveway, and a moment later the sound of their feet as +they mounted the wooden steps. Kirby must have perceived the forms of +the other men as soon as he attained the porch level, and his naturally +disagreeable voice had a snarly ring. +</P> + +<P> +"That you, Donaldson? Have either of those women come back?" +</P> + +<P> +"No," and I thought the sheriff's answer was barely cordial. "We ain't +seen nobody. What did you learn down at the Landin'?" +</P> + +<P> +"Nothing," savagely. "Haven't found a damn trace, except that Haines +hasn't been home since before dark; some nigger came for him then. Is +that girl safe inside?" +</P> + +<P> +"Sure; just as you left her, but she won't talk. Tim tried her again, +but it's no use; she wudn't even answer him." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, by God! I'll find a way to make her open her mouth. She knows +where those two are hiding. They haven't had no time to get far away, +and I'll bring her to her senses before I am through. Come on, Carver; +I'll show the wench who's master here, if I have to lick her like a +common nigger." +</P> + +<P> +The front door opened, and closed, leaving the two without standing in +silence, the stillness between them finally broken by a muttered curse. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap10"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER X +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +A GIRL AT BAY +</H3> + + +<P> +I drew back hastily, but in silence, eager to get away before the +sheriff and his deputy should return to their seats by the porch rail. +My original plan of warning the women of the house of their peril was +blocked, completely overturned by the presence of these men. The +situation had thus been rendered more complicated, more difficult to +solve, and I could only act on impulse, or as guided by these new +conditions. Beyond all question, those I had hoped to serve were +already aware of their position—someone had reached them before +me—and two, at least, were already in hiding. Why the third, the one +most deeply involved, had failed to accompany the others, could not be +comprehended. The mystery only made my present task more difficult. +Could the others have fled and deliberately left her to her fate? Had +some mistake been made? or had some accident led to their absence, and +her falling into the inhuman clutches of Kirby? Why should Delia, the +slave, disappear in company with Eloise, the free, and leave her own +daughter Rene behind to face a situation more terrible than death? I +could not answer these questions; but, whatever the cause, the result +had been the complete overthrow of the gambler's carefully prepared +plans. Not that I believed he would hesitate for long, law or no law; +but Donaldson, the sheriff, refused to be a party to any openly illegal +act, and this would for the present tie the fellow's hands. Not until +Miss Eloise was found and duly served with the eviction papers would +Donaldson consent to take possession of a single slave. This might +still give me time for action. +</P> + +<P> +Kirby, angry and baffled, could rave and threaten; but to no end. +Whether this condition of affairs had been attained as a result of +legal advice, or through a mere accident, made no difference; the +present inability to reach the daughter of the Judge—the legal heiress +to his estate—completely blocked the conspiracy. Yet Kirby was not +the kind to surrender without a fight, and a desperate one; all that +was savagely brutal in the man had been aroused by this check. The +very sound of his voice indicated his intention—he proposed to drive, +with a whip if necessary, the helpless girl in his power to a full +confession. She was his slave, his chattel, and, under the influence +of ungoverned passion, he was capable of any degree of cruelty to +attain his end. I knew—seemed to realize—all this in an instant, and +as swiftly decided to risk life if need be in her defense. There was +at that moment no thought in my mind of her stain of negro blood; she +was not a slave to me, but merely a woman helpless and alone, fronting +dishonor and degradation. +</P> + +<P> +I slipped along in the shadow of the house, without definite plan of +action, but with a firm purpose to act. The side door I knew to be +securely locked, yet, first of all, it was essential that I attain to +the interior. But one means to this end occurred to me—the unshaded +window through which the glow of light continued to stream. I found I +could reach the edge of the balcony with extended fingers, and drew +myself slowly up, until I clung to the railing, with feet finding +precarious support on the outer rim. This was accomplished +noiselessly, and, from the vantage point thus obtained, I was enabled +to survey a large portion of the room. The illumination came from a +chandelier pendent from the center of the high ceiling, but only one +lamp had been lighted, and the apartment was so large that both ends +and sides remained in partial shadow. It might have been originally +intended as either a sitting room or library, for there were bookcases +against the walls, and a large writing table, holding books and writing +material, stood directly beneath the chandelier, while on the sofa in +one corner reposed a bit of women's sewing, where it had apparently +been hastily dropped. A fireplace, black and gloomy, evidently unused +for some time, yawned in a side wall, and above it hung a rifle and +powder horn. +</P> + +<P> +I clambered over the rail, assured by this first glance that the room +was empty, and succeeded in lifting the heavy sash a few inches without +any disturbing noise. Then it stuck, and, even as I ventured to exert +my strength to greater extent to force it upward, the single door +directly opposite, evidently leading into the hall, was flung violently +open, and I sank back out of view, yet instantly aware that the first +party to enter was Joe Kirby. +</P> + +<P> +Without venturing to lift my eyes to the level of the opening, I could +nevertheless imagine his movements, while the sound of his voice when +he spoke was as distinct as though I stood beside him. He strode +forward to the table, striking the wooden top angrily with his fist and +knocking something crashing to the floor. +</P> + +<P> +"You know where she is, don't you?" he asked, in the same threatening +tone he had used without. +</P> + +<P> +"Of course I do; didn't I help put her there?" It was Carver who +replied, standing in the open doorway. +</P> + +<P> +"Then bring the hussy in here. By God! I'll make the wench talk, if I +have to choke it out of her; she'll learn what it means to be a nigger." +</P> + +<P> +The door closed, and Kirby strode across to the fireplace, muttering to +himself, and stood there, an arm on the mantel, nervously stirring up +the dead ashes with one foot. Plainly enough the events of the night +had overcome all his boasted self-control, his gambler's coolness, and +the real underlying brutality of his nature demanded expression. He +yearned to crush, and hurt something—something that would cringe +before him. I ventured to raise my head cautiously, so as to gain a +glimpse of the man, and was surprised to note the change in his face. +It was as though he had removed a mask. Heretofore, always holding the +winning hand, and able to sneer at opposition, he had always in my +presence assumed an air of cold bravado, insolent and sarcastic; but +now, baffled in his plans, checkmated by a girl, and believing himself +unobserved, the gambler had given way to his true nature, both +expression and manner exhibiting a temper beyond control. +</P> + +<P> +I had but a moment in which to observe this new exhibit of the man's +personality, for almost immediately Carver flung the door of the room +open, and Kirby swung impatiently about to face the entrance. Except +for a possibility of thus attracting the attention of the newcomer, I +was in no special danger of being detected by those within. +Nevertheless I sank lower, with eyes barely above the edge of the sill, +eager to witness this meeting, and especially interested in gaining a +first view of their prisoner. Carver thrust her forward, but remained +himself blocking the doorway. I use the word thrust, for I noted the +grip of his hand on her arm, yet in truth she instantly stepped forward +herself, her bearing in no way devoid of pride and dignity, her head +held erect, her eyes fearlessly seeking the face of Kirby. Their +glances met, and she advanced to the table, the light of the swinging +lamp full upon her. The impression she made is with me yet. Hers was +a refined, patrician face, crowned by a wealth of dark hair. Indignant +eyes of hazel brown, shadowed by long lashes, brightened a face +whitened by intense emotion, and brought into agreeable contrast +flushed cheeks, and red, scornful lips. A dimpled chin, a round, full +throat, and the figure of young womanhood, slender and yet softly +curved, altogether formed a picture so entrancing as to never again +desert my imagination. With one bound my heart went out to her in +sympathy, in admiration, in full and complete surrender. Yet, even in +that instant, the knowledge of the truth, in all its unspeakable +horror, assailed me—this girl, this proud, beautiful girl, was a +slave; within her veins a cursed drop of negro blood stained her with +dishonor, made of her a chattel; and the sneering brute she faced was +by law her master. My hands clinched in the agony of the thought, the +knowledge of my own impotence. Yet all this was but the flash of an +instant. Before I could change posture, almost before I could draw +fresh breath, her voice, trembling slightly with an emotion she was +unable wholly to suppress, yet sounding clear as a bell, addressed the +man confronting her. +</P> + +<P> +"May I ask, sir, what this outrage means? I presume you are +responsible for the insolence of this fellow who brought me here?" +</P> + +<P> +Kirby laughed, but not altogether at ease. +</P> + +<P> +"Well, not altogether," he answered, "as his methods are entirely his +own. I merely told him to go after you." +</P> + +<P> +"For what purpose?" +</P> + +<P> +"So pretty a girl should not ask that. Carver, close the door, and +wait outside." +</P> + +<P> +I could mark the quick rise and fall of her bosom, And the look of fear +she was unable to disguise. Yet not a limb moved as the door closed, +nor did the glance of those brown eyes waver. +</P> + +<P> +"You are not the same man I met here before," she began doubtfully. +"He said he was connected with the sheriff's office. Who are you?" +</P> + +<P> +"My name is Kirby; the sheriff is here under my orders." +</P> + +<P> +"Kirby!—the—the gambler?" +</P> + +<P> +"Well I play cards occasionally, and you have probably heard of me +before. Even if you never had until tonight, it is pretty safe to bet +that you do now. Donaldson, or his man, told you, so there is no use +of my mincing matters any, nor of your pretence at ignorance." +</P> + +<P> +"I know," she admitted, "that you won this property at cards, and have +now come to take possession. Is that what you mean?" +</P> + +<P> +"That, at least, is part of it," and he took a step toward her, his +thin lips twisted into a smile. "But not all. Perhaps Donaldson +failed to tell you the rest, and left me to break the news. Well, it +won't hurt me any. Not only this plantation is mine, but every nigger +on it as well. You are Rene Beaucaire?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," she replied, slowly, almost under her breath, and hesitating +ever so slightly, "I am Rene Beaucaire." +</P> + +<P> +"And you don't know what that means, I suppose?" he insisted, savagely, +angered by her coolness. "Perhaps the sheriff did not explain this. +Yet, by God! I believe you do know. Someone spread the word before we +ever got up here—that damn lawyer Haines likely enough. That is why +the others have disappeared; why they have hidden themselves away. Who +was it?" +</P> + +<P> +"I cannot answer." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, I reckon you can. Why did they run off and leave you here?" +</P> + +<P> +"I cannot answer." +</P> + +<P> +"Damn you, stop that! Don't try any of your fine airs on me. Do you +know who and what you are?" +</P> + +<P> +She rested one hand on the table in support, and I could note the +nervous trembling of the fingers, yet her low voice remained strangely +firm. +</P> + +<P> +"I know," she said distinctly, "I am no longer a free white woman; I am +a negro, and a slave." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, so you know that, do you? Then you must also be aware that you +are my property. Perhaps it will be well for you to remember this in +answering my questions. Now tell me who informed you of all this?" +</P> + +<P> +"I cannot answer." +</P> + +<P> +"Cannot! You mean you will not. Well, young woman, I'll find means to +make you, for I have handled your kind before. Drop this dignity +business, and remember you are a slave, talking to your master. It +will be better for you, if you do. Where is Eloise Beaucaire?" +</P> + +<P> +"Why do you seek to find her? There is no slave blood in her veins." +</P> + +<P> +"To serve the necessary papers, of course." +</P> + +<P> +He spoke incautiously, urged on by his temper, and I marked how quickly +her face brightened at this intelligence. +</P> + +<P> +"To serve papers! They must be served then before—before you can take +possession? That is what I understood the sheriff to say." +</P> + +<P> +"Why, of course—the law requires that form." +</P> + +<P> +"Then I am not really your slave—yet?" her voice deepening with +earnestness and understanding. "Oh, so that is how it is—even if I am +a negro, I do not belong to you until those papers have been served. +If you touch me now you break the law. I may not be free, but I am +free from you. Good God! but I am glad to know that!" +</P> + +<P> +"And damn little good it is going to do you," he growled. "I was a +fool to let you know that; but just the same you are here in my power, +and I care mighty little what the law says. Sheriff, or no sheriff, my +beauty, you are going to St. Louis with me tonight; so I advise you to +keep a grip on that tongue of yours. Do you think I am going to be +foiled altogether by a technical point of law? Then, by God! you don't +know Joe Kirby. Possession is the main thing, and I have you where you +can't get away. You hear me?" +</P> + +<P> +She had not moved, although her form had straightened, and her hand no +longer rested on the table. Kirby had stepped close in front of her, +his eyes glowing with anger, his evident intention being to thus +frighten the girl into compliance with his wishes, but her eyes, +defiant and unafraid, looked him squarely in the face. +</P> + +<P> +"I certainly hear," she replied calmly. "Your voice is sufficiently +distinct. I am a slave, I suppose, and in your power; but I despise +you, hate you—and you are not going to take me to St. Louis tonight." +</P> + +<P> +"What can stop me?" +</P> + +<P> +"That I am not obliged to tell you, sir." +</P> + +<P> +"But what will prevent? The sheriff? Puh! a few dollars will take +care of him. The Judge is a friend of mine." +</P> + +<P> +"It is not the sheriff—nor the Judge; I place reliance on no friend of +yours." +</P> + +<P> +He grasped at her arm, but she stepped back quickly enough to avoid +contact, and the red lips were pressed together in a thin line of +determination. Kirby could not have seen what I did, or if he did see, +failed to attach the same significance to the action. Her hand had +suddenly disappeared within the folds of her skirt; but the angry man, +apparently blinded by the violence of his passion, his eagerness to +crush her spirit, thought only that she counted on outside aid for +deliverance. +</P> + +<P> +"You silly little fool," he snapped, his moustache bristling. "Why, +what could you do to stop me? I could break your neck with one hand. +So you imagine someone is going to save you. Well, who will it be? +Those yokels down at the Landing? Haines, the lawyer? You have a +surprise up your sleeve for me, I suppose! Hell! it makes me laugh; +but you might as well have your lesson now, as any other time. Come +here, you wench!" +</P> + +<P> +He caught her arm this time, brutally jerking her toward him, but as +instantly staggered backward, grasping at the table, the flash of anger +in his eyes changing to a look of startled surprise. A pistol was +leveled full in his face, the polished black barrel shining ominously +in the light of the overhead lamp. +</P> + +<P> +"Now perhaps you know what I mean," she said. "If you dare to touch me +I will kill you like a dog. That is no threat; it is true as God's +gospel," and the very tone of her voice carried conviction. "You say I +am a slave—your slave! That may be so, but you will never possess +me—never! Life means nothing to me any more, and I never expect to go +out of this house alive; I do not even care to. So I am not afraid of +you. Do you know why? Probably not, for men of your kind would be +unable to understand. It is because I would rather die than have your +dirty hand touch me—a thousand times rather. Do not drop your arms, +you low-lived cur, for you have never been nearer death in all your +miserable life than you are now. God knows I want to kill you; it is +the one desire of my heart at this moment to rid the earth of such a +beast. But I'll give you one chance—just one. Don't you dare call +out, or answer me. Do what I say. Now step back—back along the +table; that's it, a step at a time. Oh, I knew you were a cowardly +bully. Go on—yes, clear to that window; don't lower those hands an +inch until I say you may. I am a slave—yes, but I am also a +Beaucaire. Now reach behind you, and pull up the sash—pull it up +higher than that." +</P> + +<P> +Her eyes dilated with sudden astonishment and terror. She had caught +sight of me, emerging from the black shadow just behind her victim. +Kirby also perceived the quick change in the face fronting him, read +its expression of fright, and sought to twist his head so as to learn +the truth. Yet before he could accomplish this, or his lips could give +utterance to a sound, my hands closed on his throat, crushing him down +to the sill, and throttling him into silence between the vise of my +fingers. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap11"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XI +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +TO SAVE A "NIGGER" +</H3> + + +<P> +It proved to be a short, sharp struggle, from the first the advantage +altogether with me. Kirby, jerked from off his feet from behind, his +head forced down against the wooden sill, with throat gripped +remorselessly in my clutch, could give utterance to no outcry, nor +effectively exert his strength to break free. I throttled the very +breath out of him, knowing that I must conquer then and there, +silently, and with no thought of mercy. I was battling for her life, +and my own. This was no time for compassion, nor had I the slightest +wish to spare the man. With all the oldtime dislike in my heart, all +the hatred aroused by what I had overheard, I closed down on his +throat, rejoicing to see the purple of his flesh turn into a sickening +black, as he fought desperately for breath, and as he lost +consciousness, and ceased from struggle. I was conscious of a pang in +my wounded shoulder, yet it seemed to rob me of no strength, but only +added to my ferocity. The fellow rested limp in my hands. I believed +I had killed him, and the belief was a joy, as I tossed the helpless +body aside on the floor, and stepped through the open window into the +room. Dead! he was better off dead. +</P> + +<P> +I stood above him, staring down into the upturned face. It was +breathless, mottled, hideously ugly, to all appearances the face of a +dead man, but it brought to me no sense of remorse. The cur—"the +unspeakable cur." In my heart I hoped he was dead, and in a sudden +feeling of utter contempt, I struck the inert body with my foot. Then, +as my eyes lifted, they encountered those of the girl. She had drawn +back to the table, startled out of all reserve by this sudden +apparition, unable to comprehend. Doubt, questioning, fright found +expression in her face. The pistol yet remained clasped in her hand, +while she stared at me as though a ghost confronted her. +</P> + +<P> +"Who—who are you?" she managed to gasp, in a voice which barely +reached my ears. "My God! who—who sent you here?" +</P> + +<P> +"It must have been God," I answered, realizing instantly that I needed +to make all clear in a word. "I came only to help you, and was just in +time—no doubt God sent me." +</P> + +<P> +"To help me? You came here to help me? But how could that be? I—I +never saw you before—who are you?" +</P> + +<P> +I stood straight before her, my eyes meeting her own frankly. I had +forgotten the dead body at my feet, the incidents of struggle, the pain +of my own wound, comprehending only the supreme importance of +compelling her to grasp the truth. +</P> + +<P> +"There is no time now to explain all this, Miss Rene. You must accept +the bare facts—will you?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes—I—I suppose I must." +</P> + +<P> +"Then listen, for you must know that every moment we waste here in talk +only makes escape more difficult. I tell you the simple truth. I am +Steven Knox, an officer in the army. It chanced I was a passenger on +the boat when Judge Beaucaire lost his life. I witnessed the game of +cards this man won, and afterwards, when I protested, was attacked, and +flung overboard into the river by Kirby here, and that fellow who is +outside guarding the door. They believe me to be dead; but I managed +to reach shore, and was taken care of by a negro—'Free Pete' he calls +himself; do you know him?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes—oh, yes; he was one of the Carlton slaves." Her face brightened +slightly in its bewilderment. +</P> + +<P> +"Well, I knew enough of what was bound to occur to feel an interest, +and tonight he brought me here for the purpose of warning you—you, +your mother, and Eloise Beaucaire. He has his cart and mule out +yonder; we intended to transport you across the river, and thus start +you safely on the way to Canada." +</P> + +<P> +"Then," she said slowly, seeming to catch at her breath, her voice +trembling, "then it must be really true what these men say—Delia is my +mother? I—I am a slave?" +</P> + +<P> +"You did not really know. You were not warned by anyone before their +arrival?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, there was no warning. Did anyone in this neighborhood understand?" +</P> + +<P> +"Haines the lawyer did. He furnished me with much of the information I +possess. But I am the one puzzled now. If the truth was not known to +any of you, how does it happen the others are gone?" +</P> + +<P> +"So far as I am aware that is merely an accident. They walked over to +the old Carlton place early this evening; there is sickness in the +family, and they hoped to be of help. That is everything I know. They +were to return two hours ago, for I was here all alone, except for the +negroes in their quarters. I cannot conceive what has occurred—unless +they have learned in some way of the trouble here." +</P> + +<P> +"That must be the explanation; they have hidden themselves. And these +men told you why they came?" +</P> + +<P> +"The only one I saw at first did. He came in all alone and claimed to +be a deputy sheriff. I was terribly frightened at first, and did not +at all understand; but I questioned him and the man liked to talk. So +he told me all he knew. Perhaps I should have thought he was crazy, +only—only some things had occurred of late which led me to half +suspect the truth before. I—I wouldn't believe it then, but—but I +made him repeat everything he had heard. Horrible as it was, I—I +wanted to know all." +</P> + +<P> +"And you acknowledged to him that you were Rene Beaucaire?" +</P> + +<P> +Her dark eyes flashed up into my face questioningly. +</P> + +<P> +"Why—why, of course. I—I could not deny that, could I?" +</P> + +<P> +"Perhaps not; yet if none of them knew you, and you had claimed to be +Eloise, they would never have dared to hold you prisoner." +</P> + +<P> +"I never once thought of that; the only thing which occurred to me was +how I could best protect the others. My plan was to send them warning +in some way. Still, now I am very glad I said I was Rene." +</P> + +<P> +"Glad! why?" +</P> + +<P> +"Because it seems it is Eloise they must find to serve their papers on. +They dare not take away the slaves until this is done. As for me, I am +nothing—nothing but a slave myself; is that not true?" +</P> + +<P> +To look into her eyes, her face, and answer was a hard task, yet one I +saw no way to evade. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; I am afraid it is true." +</P> + +<P> +"And—and then Delia, the housekeeper, is actually my mother?" +</P> + +<P> +"That is the story, as it has reached me." +</P> + +<P> +She held tightly to the table for support, all the fresh color +deserting her face, but the lips were firmly set and her head remained +as proudly poised as ever above the round throat. Whatever might be +the stain of alien blood in her veins, she was still a Beaucaire. Her +eyes, filled with pain as they were, met mine unflinchingly. +</P> + +<P> +"And—and knowing all this, convinced of its truth—that—that I am +colored," she faltered, doubtfully. "You came here to help me?" +</P> + +<P> +"I did; that can make no difference now." +</P> + +<P> +"No difference! Why do you say that? Are you from the North, an +Abolitionist?" +</P> + +<P> +"No; at least I have never been called one or so thought of myself. I +have never believed in slavery, yet I was born in a southern state. In +this case I merely look upon you as a woman—as one of my own class. +It—it does not seem as though I could ever consider you in any other +way. You must believe this." +</P> + +<P> +"Believe it! Why you and I are caught in the same net. I am a slave +to be sold to the highest bidder; and you—you have killed a man to +save me. Even if I was willing to remain and face my fate, I could not +now, for that would mean you must suffer. And—and you have done this +for me." +</P> + +<P> +My eyes dropped to the upturned face of Kirby on which the rays of +light rested. The flesh was no longer black and horrid, yet remained +ghastly enough to increase my belief that the man was actually +dead—had perished under my hand. He was not a pleasant sight to +contemplate, flung as he had been in a shapeless heap, and the sight +brought home to me anew the necessity of escape before those others of +his party could learn what had occurred. +</P> + +<P> +"From whatever reason the deed was done," I said, steadying my voice, +"we must now face the consequences. As you say, it is true we both +alike have reason to fear the law if caught. Flight is our only +recourse. Will you go with me? Will you trust me?" +</P> + +<P> +"Go—go with you? Where?" +</P> + +<P> +"First across the river into Illinois; there is no possible safety +here. Once over yonder we shall, at least, have time in which to think +out the proper course, to plan what shall be best to do. In a way your +danger is even more serious than mine. I have not been seen—even +Kirby had no glimpse of my face—and might never be identified with the +death of this man. But you will become a fugitive slave and could be +hunted down anywhere this side of Canada." +</P> + +<P> +"Then being with me would add to your danger." +</P> + +<P> +"Whether it will or not counts nothing; I shall never let you go alone." +</P> + +<P> +She pressed the palms of both her hands against her forehead as though +in a motion of utter bewilderment. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, I cannot seem to realize," she exclaimed. "Everything is like a +dream to me—impossible in its horror. This situation, is so terrible; +it has come upon me so suddenly, I cannot decide, I cannot even +comprehend what my duty is. You urge me to go away with you—alone?" +</P> + +<P> +"I do; there is no other way left. You cannot remain here in the hands +of these men; the result of such a step is too terrible to even +contemplate. There are no means of determining where the others +are—Delia and Miss Eloise. Perhaps they have had warning and fled +already," I urged, desperately. +</P> + +<P> +Her eyes were staring down at Kirby's body. +</P> + +<P> +"Look, he—he is not dead," she sobbed, excitedly. "Did you see then, +one of his limbs moved, and—and why he is beginning to gasp for +breath." +</P> + +<P> +"All the more reason why we should decide at once. If the fellow +regains consciousness and lives, our danger will be all the greater." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, he would be merciless," her lips parted, her eyes eloquent of +disgust and horror as she suddenly lifted them to my face. "I—I must +not forget that I—I belong to him; I am his slave; he—he, that +hideous thing there, can do anything he wishes with me—the law says he +can." The indignant color mounted into her face. "He can sell me, or +use me, or rent me; I am his chattel. Good God! think of it! Why, I +am as white as he is, better educated, accustomed to every care, +brought up to believe myself rich and happy—and now I belong to him; +he owns me, body and soul." She paused suddenly, assailed by a new +thought, a fresh consideration. +</P> + +<P> +"Do you know the law?" +</P> + +<P> +"I am no expert; what is it you would ask?" +</P> + +<P> +"The truth of what they have told me. Is it so, is it the law that +these men can take possession of nothing here until after Eloise has +been found and their papers served upon her?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, I believe it is," I said. "She is the legal heiress of Judge +Beaucaire; the estate is hers by inheritance, as, I am told, there was +no will. All this property, including the slaves, would legally remain +in her possession until proper steps had been taken by others. Serving +of the papers would be necessary. There is no doubt as to +that—although, probably, after a certain length of time, the court +might presume her dead and take other action to settle the estate." +</P> + +<P> +"But not for several years?" +</P> + +<P> +"No; I think I have heard how many, but have forgotten." +</P> + +<P> +She drew a deep breath and stepped toward me, gazing straight into my +face. +</P> + +<P> +"I believe in you," she said firmly. "And I trust you. You look like +a real man. You tell me you serve in the army—an officer?" +</P> + +<P> +"A lieutenant of infantry." +</P> + +<P> +She held out her hand and my own closed over it, the firm, warm clasp +of her fingers sending a strange thrill through my whole body. An +instant she looked directly into my eyes, down into the very soul of +me, and what I read in the depths of her brown orbs could never find +expression in words. I have thought of it often since—that great, +dimly-lighted room, with the guard at the outer door; the inert, almost +lifeless body huddled on the floor beside us, and Rene Beaucaire, her +hand clasped in mine. +</P> + +<P> +"Lieutenant Knox," she said softly, yet with a note of confidence in +the low voice, "no woman was ever called upon to make a more important +choice than this. Although I am a slave, now I am free to choose. I +am going to trust you absolutely; there are reasons why I so decide +which I cannot explain at this time. I have not known you long enough +to venture that far. You must accept me just as I am—a runaway slave +and a negress, but also a woman. Can you pledge such as I your word of +honor—the word of a soldier and a gentleman?" +</P> + +<P> +"I pledge it to you, Rene Beaucaire," I answered soberly. +</P> + +<P> +"And I accept the pledge in all faith. From now on, whatever you say I +will do." +</P> + +<P> +I had but one immediate purpose in my mind—to escape from the house as +quickly as possible, to attain Pete's cart at the edge of the woods and +be several miles up the river, hidden away in some covert before +daylight, leaving no trail behind. The first part of this hasty +program would have to be carried out instantly, for any moment a +suspicion might cause Carver to throw open the door leading into the +hallway and expose our position. Kirby was already showing +unmistakable symptoms of recovery, while those other men idling on the +front porch might begin to wonder what was going on so long inside and +proceed to investigate. By this time they must be nervously anxious to +get away. Besides, it would prove decidedly to our advantage if I was +not seen or recognized. The very mystery, the bewilderment as to who +had so viciously attacked the gambler and then spirited away the girl, +would serve to facilitate our escape. Theories as to how it had been +accomplished would be endless and the pursuit delayed. +</P> + +<P> +I stooped and removed a pistol from Kirby's pocket, dropping it, +together with such ammunition as I could find, into one of my own. The +man by this time was breathing heavily, although his eyes remained +closed, and he still lay exactly as he had fallen. +</P> + +<P> +"Keep your own weapon," I commanded her. "Hide it away in your dress. +Now come with me." +</P> + +<P> +She obeyed, uttering no word of objection, and stepping after me +through the open window onto the narrow balcony without. I reached up +and drew down the shade, leaving us in comparative darkness. The night +was soundless and our eyes, straining to pierce the black void, were +unable to detect any movement. +</P> + +<P> +"You see nothing?" I whispered, touching her hand in encouragement. +"No evidence of a guard anywhere?" +</P> + +<P> +"No—the others must still be out in front waiting." +</P> + +<P> +"There were only the four of them then?" +</P> + +<P> +"So I understood. I was told they came up the river in a small +keel-boat, operated by an engine, and that they anticipated no +resistance. The engineer was left to watch the boat and be ready to +depart down stream at any moment." +</P> + +<P> +"Good; that leaves us a clear passage. Now I am going to drop to the +ground; it is not far below. Can you make it alone?" +</P> + +<P> +"I have done so many a time." +</P> + +<P> +We attained the solid earth almost together and in silence. +</P> + +<P> +"Now let me guide you," she suggested, as I hesitated. "I know every +inch of the way about here. Where is the negro waiting?" +</P> + +<P> +"At the edge of the wood where the wagon road ends, beyond the slave +quarters." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, I know; it will be safer for us to go around the garden." +</P> + +<P> +She flitted forward, sure-footed, confident, and I followed as rapidly +as possible through the darkness, barely keeping her dim figure in +sight. We skirted the rear fence, and then the blacker shadow of the +wood loomed up somber before us. Our feet stumbled over the ruts of a +road and I seemed to vaguely recognize the spot as familiar. Yes, away +off yonder was the distant gleam of the river reflecting the stars. +This must be the very place where Pete and I had parted, but—where had +the fellow gone? I caught at her sleeve, but as she paused and turned +about, could scarcely discern the outlines of her face in the gloom. +</P> + +<P> +"Here is where he was directed to wait," I explained, hurriedly. +"Before I left he had turned his mule around under this very tree. I +am sure I am not mistaken in the spot." +</P> + +<P> +"Yet he is not here, and there is no sign of him. You left no other +instructions except for him to remain until your return?" +</P> + +<P> +"I think not—oh; yes, I did tell him if you women came without me, he +was to drive you at once to the boat and leave me to follow the best +way I could. Do you suppose it possible the others reached here and he +has gone away with them?" +</P> + +<P> +I felt a consciousness that her eyes were upon me, that she was +endeavoring to gain a glimpse of my face. +</P> + +<P> +"No, I can hardly imagine that. I—I do not know what to think. When +I see you I believe all you say, but here in the darkness it is not the +same. You—you are not deceiving me?" +</P> + +<P> +"No; you must trust my word. This is unfortunate, but neither of us +could venture back now. There is a pledge between us." +</P> + +<P> +She stood silent and I strove by peering about to discover some marks +of guidance, only to learn the uselessness of the effort. Even a +slight advance brought no result, and it was with some difficulty I +even succeeded in locating her again in the darkness—indeed, only the +sound of her voice made me aware of her immediate presence. +</P> + +<P> +"The negro's boat is some distance away, is it not?" +</P> + +<P> +"Four miles, over the worst road I ever traveled." A sudden +remembrance swept into my mind, bringing with it inspiration. +</P> + +<P> +"Have you ever visited the mouth of Saunder's Creek? You have! How +far away is that from here?" +</P> + +<P> +"Not more than half a mile, it enters the river just below the Landing." +</P> + +<P> +"And, if I understood you rightly," I urged, eagerly, "you said that +these fellows left their keel-boat there; that it had been rigged up to +run by steam, and had no guard aboard except the engineer; you are sure +of this?" +</P> + +<P> +"That was what the man who talked to me first said—the deputy sheriff. +He boasted that they had the only keel-boat on the river equipped with +an engine and had come up from St. Louis in two hours. The Sheriff had +it fitted up to carry him back and forth between river towns. You—you +think we could use that?" +</P> + +<P> +"It seems to be all that is left us. I intend to make the effort, +anyway. You had better show me the road." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap12"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XII +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +WE CAPTURE A KEEL-BOAT +</H3> + + +<P> +I followed her closely, a mere shadow, as she silently led the way +along the edge of the wood and back of the negro quarters. The path +was narrow and apparently little used, extremely rough at first until +we finally came out upon what was seemingly a well-built road +descending to a lower level in the general direction of the river. The +girl, however, was sufficiently familiar with her surroundings to +advance rapidly even in the dark, and I managed to stumble blindly +along after her at a pace which kept her in sight, comprehending the +urgent need of haste. We crossed the front of the house, but at a +distance enabling us to gain no glimpse of the two men who guarded the +porch, or to even hear their voices. The only evidence of their +presence there still was the dim glow of a pipe. Here we were cautious +enough, slinking past in complete silence, watchful of where we placed +our feet; but once beyond this point of danger I joined her more +closely, and we continued down the sharp decline together side by side, +exchanging a few words in whispers as she attempted to describe to me +briefly the lay of the land about the mouth of the creek and where the +boat probably rested, awaiting the return of its owners. +</P> + +<P> +She made this sufficiently clear, answering my few questions promptly, +so that I easily visioned the scene and felt confident of being able to +safely approach the unsuspecting engineer and overcome any resistance +before he should realize the possibility of attack. I was obliged to +rely upon a guess at the time of night, yet surely it could not be long +after twelve and there must yet remain hours of darkness amply +sufficient for our purpose. With the boat once securely in our +possession, the engineer compelled to serve, for I had no skill in that +line, we could strike out directly for the opposite shore and creep +along in its shadows past the sleeping town at the Landing until we +attained the deserted waters above. By then we should practically be +beyond immediate pursuit. Even if Carver or the sheriff discovered +Kirby, any immediate chase by river would be impossible. Nothing was +available for their use except a few rowboats at the Landing; they +would know nothing as to whether we had gone up or down stream, while +the coming of the early daylight would surely permit us to discover +some place of concealment along the desolate Illinois shore. Desperate +as the attempt undoubtedly was, the situation, as I considered it in +all its details, brought me faith in our success and fresh +encouragement to make the effort. +</P> + +<P> +The distance was covered far more quickly than I had anticipated. The +road we followed was by now fairly visible beneath the faint +star-gleam, and once we were below the bluff the broad expanse of river +appeared at our left, a dim, flowing mystery, the opposite shore +invisible. To our strained eyes it seemed an endless flood of surging +water. Immediately about us, all remained dark and silent, the few +trees lining the summit of the overhanging bluff assuming grotesque +shapes, and occasionally startling us by their strange resemblance to +human beings. Not even the moaning of wind through the branches broke +the intense midnight stillness. I could feel her hand, grasping my +sleeve, tremble from nervous tension. +</P> + +<P> +"Saunder's Creek is just beyond that ridge—see," she whispered, +causing me to pause. "I mean the darker line in front. This road we +are on goes straight ahead, but we must turn off here in order to reach +the mouth where the boat lies." +</P> + +<P> +I stooped low, close to the earth, so as to better perceive any outline +against the sky, and, with one hand shadowing my eyes, stared earnestly +in the direction indicated. +</P> + +<P> +"It will be over there, then. Kneel down here beside me a moment. +There is a whisp of smoke yonder, curling up over the bank. I suppose +it will be safe enough for us to venture that far?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, unless the engineer has come ashore." +</P> + +<P> +"Is there any path?" +</P> + +<P> +"Not that I remember, but there are plenty of dead rushes along the +side of the bank. It will be safe enough to go where we can look over." +</P> + +<P> +We moved forward slowly, but this time I took the lead myself, bending +low, and feeling carefully for footing in the wiry grass. The bank was +not high, and once safely at its edge, we could peer out through the +thick growth of rushes with little fear of being observed from below. +The darkness, however, so shrouded everything, blending objects into +shapeless shadows, that it required several moments before I could +clearly determine the exact details. The mouth of the creek, a +good-sized stream, was only a few yards away, and the boat, rather a +larger craft than I had anticipated seeing, lay just off shore, with +stern to the bank, as though prepared for instant departure. It was +securely held in position by a rope, probably looped about a convenient +stump, and my eyes were finally able to trace the outlines of the wheel +by which it was propelled. Except for straggling rushes extending to +the edge of the water, the space between was vacant, yet sufficiently +mantled in darkness to enable one to creep forward unseen. +</P> + +<P> +At first glance I could distinguish no sign of the boatman left in +charge, but, even as I lay there, breathless and uncertain, he suddenly +revealed his presence by lighting a lantern in the stern. The +illumination was feeble enough, yet sufficient to expose to view the +small, unprotected engine aft, and also the fact that all forward of +the little cockpit in which it stood, the entire craft was decked over. +The fellow was busily engaged in overhauling the machinery, leaning far +forward, his body indistinct, the lantern swinging in one hand, with +entire attention devoted to his task. Occasionally, as he lifted his +head for some purpose, the dim radiance fell upon his face, revealing +the unmistakable countenance of a mulatto, a fellow of medium size, +broad of cheek with unusually full lips, and a fringe of whisker +turning gray. Somehow this revelation that he was a negro, and not a +white man, brought with it to me an additional confidence in success. +I inclined my head and whispered in the girl's ear: +</P> + +<P> +"You are not to move from here until I call. This is to be my part of +the work, handling that lad. I am going now." +</P> + +<P> +"He is colored, is he not, a slave?" +</P> + +<P> +"We can only guess as to that. But he does not look to me like a hard +proposition. If I can only reach the boat without being seen, the rest +will be easy. Now is the proper time, while he is busy tinkering with +the engine. You will stay here?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, of course; I—I could be of no help." +</P> + +<P> +She suddenly held out her hand, as though impelled to the action of +some swift impulse, and the warm pressure of her fingers meant more +than words. I could not see the expression on her face, yet knew the +slender body was trembling nervously. +</P> + +<P> +"Surely you are not afraid?" +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, no; it is not that—I—I am all unstrung. You must not think of +me, at all." +</P> + +<P> +This was far easier said than done, however, for she was more in my +mind as I crept forward than the indistinct figure below in the boat. +It was becoming a constant struggle already—indeed, had been from the +first—to hold her for what I actually knew her to be—negress, a +slave, desperately seeking to escape from her master. The soft, +refined voice, the choice use of language, the purity of her thought +and expression, the girlish face as I had seen it under the light, all +combined to continually blind me to the real truth. I could not even +force myself to act toward her from any standpoint other than that of +equality, or regard her as in any way removed from my most courteous +consideration. I think it was equally hard for her to adapt her +conduct to these new conditions. Accustomed all her life to respect, +to admiration, to the courtesy of men, she could not stoop to the +spirit of servitude. It was this effort to humble herself, to compel +remembrance, which caused her to speak of herself so often as a slave. +</P> + +<P> +These thoughts assailed, pursued me, as I crept cautiously down the +steep bank, concealed by the shadows of the rushes. Yet in reality I +remained intent enough upon my purpose. Although unable to wholly +banish all memory of the young girl just left behind, I still realized +the gravity of my task, and my eyes were watchful of the shrouded +figure I was silently approaching. I drew nearer inch by inch, +advancing so slowly, and snake-like, that not even the slightest sound +of movement aroused suspicion. Apparently the fellow was engaged in +oiling the machinery, for he had placed the lantern on deck, and held a +long-spouted can in his fingers. His back remained toward me as I drew +near the stern, and, consequently, I no longer had a glimpse of his +face. The wooden wheel of the boat, a clumsy appearing apparatus, +rested almost directly against the bank, where the water was evidently +deep enough to float the vessel, and the single rope holding it in +position was drawn taut from the pressure of the current. Waiting +until the man was compelled to bend lower over his work, utterly +unconscious of my presence, I straightened up, and, pistol in hand, +stepped upon the wooden beam supporting the wheel. He must have heard +this movement, for he lifted his head quickly, yet was even then too +late; already I had gained the after-deck, and my weapon was on a level +with his eyes. +</P> + +<P> +"Don't move, or cry out!" I commanded, sternly. "Obey orders and you +will not be hurt." +</P> + +<P> +He shrank away, sinking upon the bench, his face upturned so that the +light fell full upon it, for the instant too greatly surprised and +frightened to give utterance to a sound. His mouth hung open, and his +eyes stared at me. +</P> + +<P> +"Who—who wus yer? Whatcha want yere?" +</P> + +<P> +"I am asking questions, and you are answering them. Are you armed? +All right, then; hand it over. Now put out that light." +</P> + +<P> +He did exactly as I told him, moving as though paralyzed by fear, yet +unable to resist. +</P> + +<P> +"You are a negro—a slave?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yas, sah; Ah's Massa Donaldson's boy frum Saint Louee." +</P> + +<P> +"He is the sheriff?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yas, sah—yas, sah. Whar is Massa Donaldson? Yer ain't done bin sent +yere by him, I reckon. 'Pears like I never see yer afore." +</P> + +<P> +"No, but he is quite safe. What is your name?" +</P> + +<P> +"Sam, sah—just plain Sam." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, Sam, I understand you are an engineer. Now it happens that I +want to use this boat, and you are going to run it for me. Do you +understand I am going to sit down here on the edge of this cockpit, and +hold this loaded pistol just back of your ear. It might go off at any +minute, and surely will if you make a false move or attempt to foul the +engine. Any trick, and there is going to be a dead nigger overboard. +I know enough about engines to tell if you play fair—so don't take any +chances, boy." +</P> + +<P> +"Ah—Ah—reckon as how I was goin' fer ter run her all right, sah; +she's sum consid'ble contrary et times, sah, but Ah'll surely run her, +if thar's eny run in her, sah. Ah ain't carryin' 'bout bein' no +corpse." +</P> + +<P> +"I thought not; you'd rather be a free nigger, perhaps? Well, Sam, if +you will do this job all right for me tonight, I'll put you where the +sheriff will never see hide nor hair of you again—no, not yet; wait a +moment, there is another passenger." +</P> + +<P> +She came instantly in answer to my low call, and, through the gloom, +the startled negro watched her descend the bank, a mere moving shadow, +yet with the outlines of a woman. I half believe he thought her a +ghost, for I could hear him muttering inarticulately to himself. I +dared not remove my eyes from the fellow, afraid that his very excess +of fear might impel him to some reckless act, but I extended one hand +across the side of the boat to her assistance. +</P> + +<P> +"Take my hand, Rene," I said pleasantly to reassure her, "and come +aboard. Yes, everything is all right. I've just promised Sam here a +ticket for Canada." +</P> + +<P> +I helped her across into the cockpit and seated her on the bench, but +never venturing to remove my eyes from the negro. His actions, and +whatever I was able to observe of the expression of his face, only +served to convince me of his trustworthiness, yet I could take no +chances. +</P> + +<P> +"She's just a real, live woman, sah?" he managed to ejaculate, half in +doubt. "She sure ain't no ghost, sah?" +</P> + +<P> +"By no means, Sam; she is just as real as either you or I. Now listen, +boy—you know what will happen to you after this, if Donaldson ever +gets hold of you?" +</P> + +<P> +"I 'spects Ah does, sah. He'd just nat'larly skin dis nigger alive, Ah +reckon." +</P> + +<P> +"Very well, then; it is up to you to get away, and I take it that you +understand this river. Where is the main current along here?" +</P> + +<P> +"From de p'int yonder, over ter de east shore." +</P> + +<P> +"And the depth of water across from us? We are going to head up +stream." +</P> + +<P> +"Yas, sah; yer plannin' fer ter go nor'. Wal, sah, dars planty o' +watah fer dis yere boat right now, wid de spring floods. Nothin' fer +ter be a'feered of 'bout dat." +</P> + +<P> +"That is good news. Now, Sam, I am going to cut this line, and I want +you to steer straight across into the shadows of the Illinois shore. I +believe you are going to play square, but, for the present, I'm going +to take no chances with you. I am holding this pistol within a foot of +your head, and your life means nothing to me if you try any trick. +What is the speed of this boat up stream?" +</P> + +<P> +"'Bout ten mile an hour, sah." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, don't push her too hard at first, and run that engine as +noiselessly as possible. Are you ready? Yes—then I'll cut loose." +</P> + +<P> +I severed the line and we began to recede from the shore, cutting +diagonally across the decidedly swift current. Once beyond the +protection of the point the star-gleam revealed the sturdy rush of the +waters, occasionally flecked with bubbles of foam. Sam handled the +unwieldy craft with the skill of a practiced boatman and the laboring +engine made far less racket than I had anticipated. Ahead, nothing was +visible but the turbulent expanse of desolate water, the Illinois shore +being still too far away for the eye to perceive through the darkness. +Behind us the Missouri bluffs rose black, and fairly distinct against +the sky, but dimming constantly as the expanse of water widened to our +progress. Pistol in hand, and vigilant to every motion of the negro, +my eyes swept along that vague shore line, catching nowhere a spark of +light, nor any evidence that the steady chug of our engine had created +alarm. The churning wheel flung white spray into the air, which +glittered in the silver of the star-rays, and occasionally showered me +with moisture. At last the western shore imperceptibly merged into the +night shadows, and we were alone upon the mysterious bosom of the vast +stream, tossed about in the full sweep of the current, yet moving +steadily forward, and already safely beyond both sight and sound. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap13"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XIII +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +SEEKING THE UNDERGROUND +</H3> + + +<P> +Every moment of progress tended to increase my confidence in Sam's +loyalty. His every attention seemed riveted upon his work, and not +once did I observe his eyes turned backward for a glimpse of the +Missouri shore. The fellow plainly enough realized the situation—that +safety for himself depended on keeping beyond the reach of his master. +To this end he devoted every instant diligently to coaxing his engine +and a skillful guidance of the boat, never once permitting his head to +turn far enough to glance at me, although I could occasionally detect +his eyes wandering in the direction of the girl. +</P> + +<P> +She had not uttered a word, nor changed her posture since first +entering the boat, but remained just as I had seated her, one hand +grasping the edge of the cockpit, her gaze on the rushing waters ahead. +I could realize something of what must be passing through her mind—the +mingling of doubt and fear which assailed her in this strange +environment. Up until now she had been accorded no opportunity to +think, to consider the nature of her position; she had been compelled +to act wholly upon impulse and driven blindly to accept my suggestions. +And now, in this silence, the reaction had come, and she was already +questioning if she had done right. +</P> + +<P> +It was in my heart to speak to her, in effort to strengthen her faith, +but I hesitated, scarcely knowing what to say, deeply touched by the +pathetic droop of her figure, and, in truth, uncertain in my own mind +as to whether or not we had chosen the wiser course. All I dared do +was to silently reach out one hand, and rest it gently on those fingers +clasping the rail. She did not remove her hand from beneath mine, nor, +indeed, give the slightest evidence that she was even aware of my +action. By this time the eastern shore became dimly defined through +the black mist, and the downward sweep of the current no longer struck +in force against our bow. +</P> + +<P> +"Wus Ah ter turn nor', sah?" asked the negro, suddenly. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, up-stream, but keep in as close to the shore as you think safe. +There is no settlement along this bank, is there?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, sah; dar's jus' one cabin, 'bout a mile up-stream, but dar ain't +nobody livin' thar now. Whar yer all aim fer ter go?" +</P> + +<P> +I hesitated an instant before I answered, yet, almost as quickly, +decided that the whole truth would probably serve us best. The man +already had one reason to use his best endeavors; now I would bring +before him a second. +</P> + +<P> +"Just as far up the river before daylight as possible, Sam. Then I +hope to uncover some hiding place where we can lie concealed until it +is dark again. Do you know any such place?" +</P> + +<P> +He scratched his head, muttering something to himself; then turned half +about, exhibiting a line of ivories. +</P> + +<P> +"On de Illinois shore, sah? Le's see; thar's Rassuer Creek, 'bout +twenty mile up. 'Tain't so awful big et the mouth, but I reckon we +mought pole up fer 'nough ter git outer sight. Ah spects you all knows +whut yer a headin' fer?" +</P> + +<P> +"To a certain extent—yes; but we had to decide on this action very +quickly, with no chance to plan it out. I am aiming at the mouth of +the Illinois." +</P> + +<P> +He glanced about at me again, vainly endeavoring to decipher my +expression in the gloom. +</P> + +<P> +"De Illinois ribber, boss; what yer hope fer ter find thar?" +</P> + +<P> +"A certain man I've heard about. Did you ever happen to hear a white +man mentioned who lives near there? His name is Amos Shrunk?" +</P> + +<P> +I could scarcely distinguish his eyes, but I could feel them. I +thought for a moment he would not answer. +</P> + +<P> +"Yer'l surely excuse me, sah," he said at last, humbly, his voice with +a note of pleading in it. "Ah's feelin' friendly 'nough, an' all dat, +sah, but still yer mus' 'member dat Ah's talkin' ter a perfict +stranger. If yer wud sure tell me furst just whut yer was aimin' at, +then maybe Ah'd know a heap mor'n Ah do now." +</P> + +<P> +"I guess you are right, Sam. I'll tell you the whole of it. I am +endeavoring to help this young woman to escape from those men back +yonder. You must know why they were there; no doubt you overhead them +talk coming up?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yas, sah; Massa Donaldson he was goin' up fer ter serve sum papers fer +Massa Kirby, so he cud run off de Beaucaire niggers. But dis yere +gal, she ain't no nigger—she's just a white pusson." +</P> + +<P> +"She is a slave under the law," I said, gravely, as she made no effort +to move, "and the man, Kirby, claims her." +</P> + +<P> +I could see his mouth fly open, but the surprise of this statement +halted his efforts at speech. +</P> + +<P> +"That explains the whole situation," I went on. "Now will you answer +me?" +</P> + +<P> +"'Bout dis yere Massa Shrunk?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes—you have heard of him before?" +</P> + +<P> +"Ah reckon as how maybe Ah has, sah. Mos' all de niggers down dis way +has bin tol' 'bout him—som'how dey has, sah." +</P> + +<P> +"So I thought. Well, do you know where he can be found?" +</P> + +<P> +"Not perzackly, sah. Ah ain't never onct bin thar, but Ah sorter seems +fer ter recollec' sum'thin' 'bout whar he mought be. Ah reckon maybe +Ah cud go thar, if Ah just hed to. Ah reckon if yer all held dat +pistol plum 'gainst mah hed, Ah'd mos' likely find dis Amos Shrunk. +Good Lord, sah!" and his voice sank to a whisper, "Ah just can't git +hol' o' all dis—Ah sure can't, sah—'bout her bein' a nigger." +</P> + +<P> +Rene turned about, lifting her face into the starlight. +</P> + +<P> +"Whether I am white or colored, Sam," she said, quietly, "can make +little difference to you now. I am a woman, and am asking your help. +I can trust you, can I not?" +</P> + +<P> +The negro on his knees stared at her, the whites of his eyes +conspicuous. Then suddenly he jerked off his old hat. +</P> + +<P> +"Ah 'spects yer kin, Missus," he pledged himself in a tone of +conviction which made my heart leap. "Ah's bin a slave-nigger fer +forty-five years, but just de same, Ah ain't never bin mean ter no +woman. Yas, sah, yer don't neither one ob yer eber need ter ask Sam no +mor'—he's a goin' thro' wid yer all ter de end—he sure am, Ma'm." +</P> + +<P> +Silence descended upon us, and I slipped the pistol back into my +pocket. Rene rested her cheek on her hand and gazed straight ahead +into the night. Her head seemed to droop, and I realized that her eyes +saw nothing except those scenes pictured by her thoughts. Sam busied +himself about his work, muttering occasionally under his breath, and +shaking his head as though struggling with some problem, but the few +words I caught were disconnected, yielding me no knowledge of what he +was trying to solve. The bow of the boat had been deflected to the +north, and was silently cleaving the sluggish downward trend of the +water, for we had passed out of the swifter current and were close in +to the eastern shore. The bank appeared low and unwooded, a mere black +line barely above the water level and I guessed that behind it +stretched uninhabitable marshes overflowed by the spring floods. +</P> + +<P> +As we fought our way up stream the boat gradually drew away, the low +shore fading from view as the negro sought deeper water, until finally +the craft was nearly in the center of the broad stream where the eye +could see only turbulent water sweeping past on every side. +Occasionally a log scraped along our side, dancing about amid foam, or +some grotesque branch, reaching out gaunt arms, swept by. The stars +overhead reflected their dim light from off the surface, rendering +everything more weird and desolate. The intense loneliness of the +scene seemed to clutch my soul. Far off to the left a few winking +lights appeared, barely perceptible, and I touched the negro, pointing +them out to him and whispering my question so as not to disturb the +motionless girl. +</P> + +<P> +"Is that the Landing over there?" +</P> + +<P> +"Ah certainly 'spects it must be, sah; dar ain't no other town directly +'round dese parts." +</P> + +<P> +"Then those lights higher up must be on the bluff at Beaucaire?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yas, sah; looks like de whol' house was lit up. I reckon things am +right lively up thar 'bout now." He chuckled to himself, smothering a +laugh. "It's sure goin' fer ter bother Massa Donaldson ter lose dis +nigger, sah, fer Ah's de only one he's got." +</P> + +<P> +The lights slowly faded away in the far distance, finally disappearing +altogether as we rounded a sharp bend in the river bank. The engine +increased its stroke, giving vent to louder chugging, and I could feel +the strain of the planks beneath us as we battled the current. This +new noise may have aroused her, for Rene lifted her head as though +suddenly startled and glanced about in my direction. +</P> + +<P> +"We have passed the village?" she asked, rather listlessly. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; it is already out of sight. From the number of lights burning I +imagine our escape has been discovered." +</P> + +<P> +"And what will they do?" an echo of dismay in her voice. +</P> + +<P> +All fear of any treachery on the part of the negro had completely +deserted me, and I slipped down from my perch on the edge of the +cockpit to a place on the bench at her side. She made no motion to +draw away, but her eyes were upon my face, as though seeking to read +the meaning of my sudden action. +</P> + +<P> +"We can talk better here," I explained. "The engine makes so much +noise." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; and—and somehow I—I feel more like trusting you when I am able +to see your face," she admitted frankly. "I am actually afraid to be +alone." +</P> + +<P> +"I have felt that this was true from the first. Indeed, I seriously +wonder at the trust you have reposed in me—a total stranger." +</P> + +<P> +"But—but how could I help it? Have I been unwomanly? I think I +scarcely know what I have done. I could very easily have told what was +right in the old days; but—but surely you understand—this was not to +be decided by those rules. I was no longer free. Do you mean that you +blame me for what has been done?" +</P> + +<P> +"Far from it. You have acted in the only way possible. To me you are +a wonderfully brave woman. I doubt if one in a thousand could have +faced the situation as well." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh I can hardly feel I have been that. It seems to me I have shown +myself strangely weak—permitting you to do exactly as you pleased with +me. Yet you do not understand; it has not been wholly my own peril +which caused me to surrender so easily." +</P> + +<P> +"But I think I do understand—it was partly a sacrifice for others." +</P> + +<P> +"In a way, yes, it was; but I cannot explain more fully, even to you, +now. Yet suppose I make this sacrifice, and it fails; suppose after +all they should fall into the hands of these men?" +</P> + +<P> +"I will not believe that," I protested, stoutly. "I feel convinced +they had warning—there is no other way in which to account for their +disappearance, their failure to return to the house. They must have +encountered Pete and gone away with him." +</P> + +<P> +"If I only knew that." +</P> + +<P> +"Perhaps we can assure ourselves; we can go ashore at his place up the +river, and if his boat is gone, there will be no longer any doubt. In +any case, it is clearly your duty to save yourself." +</P> + +<P> +"Do you really think so? It has seemed to me cowardly to run away." +</P> + +<P> +"But, Rene," I urged. "They were the ones who deserted first. If they +had warning of danger, they fled without a word to you—leaving you +alone in the hands of those men." +</P> + +<P> +"They—they, perhaps they failed to realize my peril. Oh you cannot +see this as I do," she faltered, endeavoring to conjure up some excuse. +"They may have thought they could serve me best in that way." +</P> + +<P> +I laughed, but not in any spirit of humor. +</P> + +<P> +"Hardly that, I imagine. Far more likely they fled suddenly in a panic +of fear, without pausing to think at all. Why, you were the very one +whose danger was the greatest; you were the one plunged into slavery." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes—yes; I had forgotten that. Never for a moment does it seem real +to me. I have to keep saying over and over again to myself, 'I am a +negro and a slave.'" +</P> + +<P> +"And so do I," I confessed, unthinkingly. "And even then, when I +remember you as I first saw you in that lighted room back yonder, it is +unbelievable." +</P> + +<P> +Her eyes fell from my face, her head drooping, as she stared over the +rail at the sullen rush of black water alongside. She remained silent +and motionless for so long that I felt impelled to speak again, yet +before I could decide what to say, her voice addressed me, although +with face still averted. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, it is indeed most difficult—for both of us," she acknowledged, +slowly. "We are in an extremely embarrassing position. You must not +think I fail to realize this. It would be comparatively easy for me to +choose my course but for that. I do not know why you serve me +thus—risking your very life and your professional future—but neither +of us must forget, not for a moment, that I am only a runaway slave. I +can only consent to go with you, Lieutenant Knox, if you promise me +this." +</P> + +<P> +I hesitated to make the pledge, to put it into binding words, my lips +pressed tightly together, my hands clinched. Feeling the rebuke of my +silence, she turned her head once more, and her questioning eyes again +sought my face in the star-gleam. +</P> + +<P> +"You must promise me," she insisted, firmly, although her sensitive +lips trembled as she gave utterance to the shameful words. "I am +nothing else. I am no white woman of your own race and class appealing +for protection. I cannot ask of you the courtesy a gentleman naturally +gives; I can only beg your mercy. I am a negress—you must not forget, +and you must not let me forget. If you will give me your word I shall +trust you, fully, completely. But it must be given. There is no other +way by which I can accept your protection; there can be no equality +between us—only an impassable barrier of race." +</P> + +<P> +"But I do not see this from the same viewpoint as you of the South." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh yes, you do. The viewpoint is not so dissimilar; not in the same +degree, perhaps, but no less truly. You believe in my right of +freedom; you will even fight for that right, but at the same time you +realize as I do, that the one drop of black blood in my veins is a bar +sinister, now and forever. It cannot be overcome; it must not be +forgotten. You will pledge me this?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes—I pledge you." +</P> + +<P> +"And, in spite of that drop of black blood, as long as we are together, +you will hold me a woman, worthy of respect and honor? Not a creature, +a chattel, a plaything?" +</P> + +<P> +"Will you accept my hand?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +"Then I will answer you, Rene Beaucaire," I said, soberly, "with all +frankness, black or white I am your friend, and never, through any word +or act of mine, shall you ever regret that friendship." +</P> + +<P> +Her wide-open eyes gazed straight at me. It seemed as if she would +never speak. Then I felt the tightening pressure of her hand, and her +head bent slowly forward as though in the instinct of prayer. +</P> + +<P> +"Thank God!" she whispered softly. "Now I can go with you." +</P> + +<P> +I waited breathless, conscious of the trembling of her body against +mine. Once again the bowed head was lifted, and this time a sparkle of +unshed tears were visible in the shadowed eyes. +</P> + +<P> +"You have not yet explained to me what we were to do? Your plans for +tomorrow?" +</P> + +<P> +"Because I scarcely have any," I replied, comprehending that now she +claimed partnership in this adventure. "This has all occurred so +suddenly, I have only acted upon impulse. No doubt those back at the +Landing will endeavor to pursue us; they may have discovered already +our means of escape and procured boats. My principal hope is that they +may take it for granted that we have chosen the easier way and gone +down stream. If so we shall gain so much more time to get beyond their +reach. Anyway we can easily out-distance any rowboat, and Sam tells me +there is nothing else to be had at the Landing." +</P> + +<P> +"But why have you chosen the northern route? Surely you had a reason?" +</P> + +<P> +"Certainly; it was to deceive them and get out of slave territory as +quickly as possible. There are friends in this direction and none in +the other. If we should endeavor to flee by way of the Ohio, we would +be compelled to run a thousand-mile gauntlet. There are slaves in +Illinois—it has never been declared a free state—but these are held +almost exclusively in the more southern counties. North of the river +the settlers are largely from New England, and the majority of them +hate slavery and are ready to assist any runaway to freedom." +</P> + +<P> +"But you have spoken of a man—Amos Shrunk—who is he?" +</P> + +<P> +"You have certainly heard rumors, at least, that there are regular +routes of escape from here to Canada?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; it has been discussed at the house. I have never clearly +understood, but I do know that slaves disappear and are never caught. +I was told white men helped them." +</P> + +<P> +"It is accomplished through organized effort by these men—Black +Abolitionists, as they are called—haters of slavery. They are banded +together in a secret society for this one purpose and have what they +call stations scattered all along at a certain distance apart—a +night's travel—from the Mississippi to the Canadian line, where the +fugitives are hidden and fed. The runaways are passed from one station +to the next under cover of darkness, and are seldom recaptured. A +station keeper, I am told, is only permitted to know a few miles of the +route, those he must cover—the system is perfect, and many are engaged +in it who are never even suspected." +</P> + +<P> +"And this man, is he one?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, a leader; he operates the most dangerous station of all. The +escaping slaves come to him first." +</P> + +<P> +"And he passes them on to the next man—do you know who?" +</P> + +<P> +"Only what little Pete told me; the second agent is supposed to be a +preacher in Beardstown." +</P> + +<P> +She asked no further questions, and after a moment turned away, resting +back against the edge of the cockpit with chin cupped in the hollow of +her hand. The profile of her face was clearly defined by the starlight +reflected by the river, and I found it hard to withdraw my eyes. A +movement by the negro attracted my attention. +</P> + +<P> +"There is a small creek about four miles above the Landing, Sam," I +said shortly. "Do you think you can find it?" +</P> + +<P> +"On de Missouri side, sah? Ah reckon Ah cud." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap14"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XIV +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE DAWN OF DEEPER INTEREST +</H3> + + +<P> +It tested his skill as a boatman to locate the exact spot sought amid +that gloom, yet he finally attained to it closely enough so I was able +to get ashore, wading nearly thigh deep in water and mud, but only to +learn that the boat, which I had provisioned earlier in the evening, +had disappeared from its moorings. No trace of it could be found in +the darkness, although I devoted several minutes to the search. To my +mind this was positive evidence that Pete had returned, accompanied by +the two frightened women, and that, finally despairing of my arrival, +had departed with them up the river. In all probability we would +overhaul the party before morning, certainly before they could attain +the mouth of the Illinois. Their heavy rowboat would be compelled to +creep along close in shore to escape the grasp of the current, while +our engine gave us every advantage. I made my way back to the +keel-boat with this information, and the laboring engine began to chug +even while I was briefly explaining the situation to Rene. She +listened almost wearily, asking but few questions, and both of us soon +lapsed into silence. A little later she had pillowed her head on her +arms and apparently had fallen asleep. +</P> + +<P> +I must have dozed, myself, as the hours passed, although hardly aware +of doing so. The soft, continuous chugging of the engine, the swash of +water alongside, the ceaseless sweep of the current, and the dark gloom +of the shadows through which we struggled, all combined to produce +drowsiness. I know my eyes were closed several times, and at last they +opened to a realization that gray, sickly dawn rested upon the river +surface. It was faint and dim, a promise more than a realization of +approaching day, yet already sufficient to afford me view of the shore +at our right, and to reveal the outlines of a sharp point of land ahead +jutting into the stream. The mist rising from off the water in +vaporous clouds obscured all else, rendering the scene weird and +unfamiliar. It was, indeed, a desolate view, the near-by land low, and +without verdure, in many places overflowed, and the river itself sullen +and angry. Only that distant point appeared clearly defined and real, +with the slowly brightening sky beyond. I endeavored to arouse myself +from stupor, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. Rene had changed her +posture, but still slumbered, with face completely concealed in her +arms; but Sam was wide awake, and turned toward me grinning at my first +movement. He had a broad, good-humored face, and a row of prominent +teeth, slightly shadowed by a very thin moustache. Instinctively, I +liked the fellow on sight—he appeared both intelligent and trustworthy. +</P> + +<P> +"Daylight, is it?" I said, speaking low so as not to awaken the girl. +"I must have been asleep." +</P> + +<P> +"Yas, sah; yer's bin a noddin' fer de las' hour. Ah wus 'bout ter stir +yer up, sah, fer Ah reckon as how we's mos' dar." +</P> + +<P> +"Most where?" staring about incredulously. "Oh, yes, Rassuer Creek. +Have we made that distance already?" +</P> + +<P> +Sam's teeth glittered in another expanding of his mouth. +</P> + +<P> +"Wal', we's bin a goin' et a mighty good gait, sah. She ain't done +fooled none on me all dis night," his hand laid lovingly on the engine. +"Nebber kicked up no row o' no kind—just chug, chug, chug right 'long. +'Pears like she sorter know'd dis nigger hed ter git away. Enyhow, we +bin movin' lon' now right smart fer 'bout four hours, an' Rassuer Creek +am just 'round dat p'int yonder—Ah's mighty sure ob dat, sah." +</P> + +<P> +He was right, but it was broad daylight when we reached there, the +eastern sky a glorious crimson, and the girl sitting up, staring at the +brilliant coloring as though it pictured to her the opening of a new +world. I was too busily engaged helping Sam at the wheel, for the +swirl of the current about the headland required all our strength to +combat it, and eagerly scanning the irregular shore line, to observe +her closely in the revealing light; yet I knew that she had studied us +both attentively from beneath her long lashes, before turning her head +away. +</P> + +<P> +Rounding the headland brought us immediately into a new country, the +river bank high and firm, a bank of rather vivid yellow clay, with +trees thickly covering the rising ground beyond. The passage of a few +hundred yards revealed the mouth of Rassuer Creek, a narrow but +sluggish stream, so crooked and encroached upon by the woods as to be +practically invisible from the center of the river. The water was not +deep, yet fortunately proved sufficiently so for our purpose, although +we were obliged to both pole and paddle the boat upward against the +slow current, and it required an hour of hard labor to place the craft +safely beyond the first bend where it might lie thoroughly concealed by +the intervening fringe of trees. Here we made fast to the bank. +</P> + +<P> +I assisted Rene ashore, and aided her to climb to a higher level, +carpeted with grass. The broad river was invisible, but we could look +directly down upon the boat, where Sam was already busily rummaging +through the lockers, in search of something to eat. He came ashore +presently bearing some corn pone, and a goodly portion of jerked beef. +Deciding it would be better not to attempt a fire, we divided this, and +made the best meal possible, meanwhile discussing the situation anew, +and planning what to do next. The negro, seated at one side alone upon +the grass, said little, beyond replying to my questions, yet scarcely +once removed his eyes from the girl's face. He seemed unable to grasp +the thought that she was actually of his race, a runaway slave, or +permit his tongue to utter any words of equality. Indeed, I could not +prevent my own glance from being constantly attracted in her direction, +also. Whatever had been her mental strain and anguish, the long hours +of the night had in no marked degree diminished her beauty. To me she +appeared even younger, and more attractive than in the dim glare of the +lamplight the evening before; and this in spite of a weariness in her +eyes, and the lassitude of her manner. She spoke but little, +compelling herself to eat, and assuming a cheerfulness I was sure she +was far from feeling. It was clearly evident her thoughts were +elsewhere, and finally the conviction came to me, that, more than all +else, she desired to be alone. My eyes sought the outlines of the boat +lying in the stream below. +</P> + +<P> +"What is there forward of the cockpit, Sam?" I questioned. "Beneath +the deck, I mean; there seem to be several portholes." +</P> + +<P> +"A cabin, sah; 'tain't so awful big, but Massa Donaldson he uster sleep +dar off an' on." +</P> + +<P> +"The young lady could rest there then?" +</P> + +<P> +"Sure she cud. 'Twas all fixed up fine afore we lef Saint Louee. +Ah'll show yer de way, Missus." +</P> + +<P> +She rose to her feet rather eagerly, and stood with one hand resting +against the trunk of a small tree. Her eyes met mine, and endeavored a +smile. +</P> + +<P> +"I thank you for thinking of that," she said gratefully. "I—I really +am tired, and—and it will be rest just to be alone. You—you do not +mind if I go?" +</P> + +<P> +"Certainly not. There is nothing for any of us to do, but just take +things easy until night." +</P> + +<P> +"And then we are to go on, up the river?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, unless, of course, something should occur during the day to +change our plan. Meanwhile Sam and I will take turns on guard, while +you can remain undisturbed." +</P> + +<P> +She gave me her hand simply, without so much as a thought of any social +difference between us, and I bowed low as I accepted it, equally +oblivious. Yet the realization came to her even as our fingers met, a +sudden dash of red flaming into her cheeks, and her eyes falling before +mine. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, I forgot!" she exclaimed, drawing away. "It is so hard to +remember." +</P> + +<P> +"I beg you not to try. I have but one aim—to serve you to the best of +my ability. Let me do it in my own way." +</P> + +<P> +"Your own way?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, the way of a gentleman, the way of a friend. You can look into +my face now by daylight. Please look; am I unworthy to be trusted?" +</P> + +<P> +She did not answer at once, or even seem to hear my question, yet +slowly her downcast eyes lifted, until she gazed frankly into my own. +Beneath the shading lashes they were wistful, pleading, yet steadfastly +brave. +</P> + +<P> +"I am at your mercy, Lieutenant Knox," she said quietly. "I must trust +you—and I do. Yes, you may serve me in your own way. We—we cannot +seem to play a part very well, either of us, so, perhaps, it will be +easier just to be natural." +</P> + +<P> +I watched the two as they went down the steep bank together, and Sam +helped her over the rail into the cockpit. The narrow entrance leading +into the cabin forward was to the right of the engine, and she +disappeared through the sliding door without so much as glancing upward +toward where I remained standing. The negro left the door open, and +returned slowly, clambering up the bank. +</P> + +<P> +"'Cuse me, sah," he said clumsily, as he paused before me, rubbing his +head, his eyes wandering below. "Did Ah hear right whut yer sed las' +night, 'bout how dat young woman was a nigger, a runaway frum Massa +Kirby? 'Pears like Ah don't just seem fer ter git dat right in my +head, sah." +</P> + +<P> +"That is the truth, Sam, although it appears quite as impossible to me +as to you. She is a natural lady, and worthy of all respect—a +beautiful girl, with no outward sign that she is not wholly white—yet +she has the blood of your race in her veins, and is legally a slave." +</P> + +<P> +"Lordy, an she nebber know'd it till just now?" +</P> + +<P> +"No; I can only wonder at her meeting the truth as she does. Perhaps I +had better tell you the story—it is very brief. She is the +illegitimate daughter of a son of the late Judge Beaucaire, and a slave +mother known as Delia, a quadroon woman. The boy disappeared years +ago, before she was born, and is probably dead, and she has been +brought up, and educated exactly as if she was the Judge's own child. +She has never known otherwise, until those men came to the house the +other night." +</P> + +<P> +"An'—an' de ol' Jedge, he nebber done set her free?" +</P> + +<P> +"No; nor the mother. I do not know why, only that it is a fact." +</P> + +<P> +"An' now she done b'long ter dis yere Massa Kirby?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, he won all the Beaucaire property, including the slaves, in a +poker game on the river, the night Beaucaire died." +</P> + +<P> +"Ah done heered all 'bout dat, sah. An' yer nebber know'd dis yere +girl afore et all?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, I never even saw her. I chanced to hear the story, and went to +the house to warn them, as no one else would. I was too late, and no +other course was left but to help her escape. That is the whole of it." +</P> + +<P> +He asked several other questions, but at last appeared satisfied, and +after that we discussed the guard duty of the day, both agreeing it +would not be safe for us to permit any possible pursuit to pass by us +up the river unseen. Sam professed himself as unwearied by the night's +work, and willing to stand the first watch; and my eyes followed his +movements as he scrambled across the intervening ravine, and +disappeared within a fringe of woods bordering the shore of the river. +Shortly after I lay down in the tree shade, and must have fallen asleep +almost immediately. I do not know what aroused me, but I immediately +sat upright, startled and instantly awake, the first object confronting +me being Sam on the crest of the opposite ridge, eagerly beckoning me +to join him. The moment he was assured of my coming, and without so +much as uttering a word of explanation, he vanished again into the +shadow of the woods. +</P> + +<P> +I crossed the ravine with reckless haste, clambering up the opposite +bank, and sixty feet beyond suddenly came into full view of the broad +expanse of water. Scarcely had I glimpsed this rolling flood, +sparkling under the sun's rays, when my gaze turned up stream, directed +by an excited gesture of the negro. Less than a mile away, its rapidly +revolving wheel churning the water into foam in ceaseless battle +against the current, was a steamboat. It was not a large craft, and so +dingy looking that, even at that distance, it appeared dull gray in +color. A number of moving figures were perceptible on the upper deck; +two smokestacks belched forth a vast quantity of black smoke, sweeping +in clouds along the water surface, and a large flag flapped +conspicuously against the sky. I stared at the apparition, scarcely +comprehending the reality of what I beheld. +</P> + +<P> +"Yer bettah stoop down more, sah," Sam urged. "Fer sum o' dem fellars +might see yer yit. Ah nebber heerd nuthin', ner saw no smoke till she +cum a puffin' 'round de end 'o dat p'int. Ah cudn't dare go fer yer +then, sah, fer fear dey'd see me, so Ah jus' nat'larly lay down yere, +an' watched her go by." +</P> + +<P> +"Is it a government boat?" +</P> + +<P> +"Ah reckon maybe; leastwise thar's a heap o' sojers aboard +her—reg'lars Ah reckon, fer dey's all in uniform. But everybody +aboard wan't sojers." +</P> + +<P> +"You know the steamer?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yas, sah. Ah's seed her afore dis down et Saint Louee. She uster run +down de ribber—she's de <I>John B. Glover</I>. She ain't no great shakes +ob a boat, sah." +</P> + +<P> +His eyes, which had been eagerly following the movements of the craft, +turned and glanced at me. +</P> + +<P> +"Now dey's goin' fer ter cross over, sah, so's ter keep de channel. Ah +don't reckon es how none o' dem men kin see back yere no more. Massa +Kirby he wus aboard dat steamer, sah." +</P> + +<P> +"Kirby! Are you sure about that, Sam?" +</P> + +<P> +"'Course Ah's sure. Didn't Ah see him just as plain as Ah see you +right now? He wus for-rad by de rail, near de pilot house, a watchin' +dis whole shore like a hawk. Dat sure wus Massa Kirby all right, but +dar wan't nobody else 'long wid him." +</P> + +<P> +"But what could he be doing there on a troop boat?" +</P> + +<P> +The negro scratched his head, momentarily puzzled by my question. +</P> + +<P> +"Ah sure don't know, sah," he admitted. "Only dat's perzackly who it +was. Ah reckon dar ain't no boat whut won't take a passenger, an' +Kirby, he knows ebery captain 'long dis ribber. Ah figur' it out 'bout +dis way, sah; dat nobody kin tell yit which way we went—up de ribber, +er down de ribber. Long cum de <I>John B. Glover</I>, an' Massa Kirby he +just take a chance, an' goes aboard. De sheriff he goes der odder way, +down stream in a rowboat; an' dat's how dey aims ter sure head us off." +</P> + +<P> +I sat down at the edge of the bluff, convinced that the conclusions of +the negro were probably correct. That was undoubtedly about how it had +happened. To attempt pursuit up stream with only oars as propelling +power, would be senseless, but the passage upward of this troop boat +afforded Kirby an opportunity he would not be slow to accept. Getting +aboard would present no great difficulty, and his probable acquaintance +with the captain would make the rest easy. +</P> + +<P> +The steamer by this time was moving diagonally across the river, head +toward the other shore, and was already so far away the men on deck +were invisible. It was scarcely probable that Kirby would go far +northward, but just what course the man would take when once more +ashore was problematical. Where he might choose to seek for us could +not be guessed. Yet the mere fact that he was already above us on the +river was in itself a matter for grave consideration. Still, thus far +we remained unlocated, and there was less danger in that direction than +down stream. Donaldson, angered by the loss of his boat, and the +flight of Sam, would surely see to it that no craft slipped past St. +Louis unchallenged. In this respect he was more to be feared than +Kirby, with a hundred miles of river to patrol; while, once we attained +the Illinois, and made arrangements with Shrunk, the immediate danger +would be over. Then I need go no farther—the end of the adventure +might be left to others. I looked up—the steamer was a mere smudge on +the distant bosom of the river. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap15"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XV +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE CABIN OF AMOS SHRUNK +</H3> + + +<P> +Beyond this passing of the <I>John B. Glover</I>, the day proved uneventful, +although all further desire for sleep deserted me. It was late +afternoon before Rene finally emerged from the cabin to learn the news, +and I spent most of the time on watch, seated at the edge of the bluff, +my eyes searching the surface of the river. While Kirby's presence up +stream, unquestionably increased our peril of capture, this did not +cause me as much anxious thought as did the strange disappearance of +Free Pete, and the two women. What had become of them during the +night? Surely they could never have out-stripped us, with only a pair +of oars by which to combat the current, and yet we had obtained no +glimpse of them anywhere along that stretch of river. +</P> + +<P> +The knowledge that the steamer which had passed us was heavily laden +with troops was most encouraging. In itself alone this was abundant +proof of the safe delivery of my dispatches, and I was thus relieved to +realize that this duty had been performed. My later disappearance was +excusable, now that I was convinced the papers intrusted to me had +reached the right hands. There might be wonder, and, later, the +necessity of explanation, yet no one would suffer from my absence, and +I was within the limits of my furlough—the reinforcements for Forts +Armstrong and Crawford were already on their way. So, altogether, I +faced the task of eluding Kirby with a lighter heart, and renewed +confidence. Alone, as I believed him to be, and in that new country on +the very verge of civilization, he was hardly an antagonist I needed +greatly to fear. Indeed, as man to man, I rather welcomed an encounter. +</P> + +<P> +There is little to record, either of the day or the night. The latter +shut down dark, but rainless, although the sky was heavily overcast by +clouds. Satisfied that the river was clear as far as eye could reach +in every direction, we managed to pole the heavy boat out of its berth +in the creek while the twilight yet lingered, the western sky still +remaining purple from the lingering sunset as we emerged into the +broader stream. The following hours passed largely in silence, each of +us, no doubt, busied with our own thoughts. Sam made no endeavor to +speed his engine, keeping most of the way close to the deeper shadow of +the shore, and the machinery ran smoothly, its noise indistinguishable +at any distance. Twice we touched bottom, but to no damage other than +a slight delay and the labor of poling off into deeper water, while +occasionally overhanging limbs of trees, unnoticed in the gloom, struck +our faces. By what uncanny skill the negro was able to navigate, how +he found his way in safety along that ragged bank, remains a mystery. +To my eyes all about us was black, impenetrable, not even the water +reflecting a gleam of light; indeed, so dense was the surrounding gloom +that in the deeper shadows I could not even distinguish the figure of +the girl seated beside me in the cockpit. Yet there was scarcely a +break in the steady chug of the engine, or the gentle swish of water +alongside. +</P> + +<P> +The clouds broke slightly after midnight, occasionally yielding a +glimpse of a star, but the uninhabited shore remained desolate and +silent. Day had not broken when we came to the mouth of the Illinois, +and turned our bow cautiously up that stream, becoming immediately +aware that we had entered new waters. The negro, ignorant of what was +before us, soon beached the boat onto a sand bar, and we decided it +would be better for us to remain there until dawn. This was not long +in coming, the graying sky of the east slowly lighting up the scene, +and bringing into view, little by little, our immediate surroundings. +These were lonely and dismal enough, yet revealed nothing to create +alarm. A desolate flat of sand extended from either shore back to a +high ridge of clay, which was thickly wooded. Slightly higher up the +river this ridge approached more closely the bank of the stream, with +trees actually overhanging the water, and a rather thick growth of +underbrush hiding the ground. The river was muddy, flowing with a +swift current, and we could distinguish its course only so far as the +first bend, a comparatively short distance away. Nowhere appeared the +slightest evidence of life, either on water or land; all was forlorn +and dead, a vista of utter desolation. Sam was standing up, his whole +attention concentrated on the view up stream. +</P> + +<P> +"Do steamers ever go up this river?" I asked, surprised at the volume +of water. +</P> + +<P> +He glanced around at me, as though startled at my voice. +</P> + +<P> +"Yas, sah; putty near eny sorter boat kin. Ah nebber tried it, fer +Massa Donaldson hed no bus'ness ober in dis kintry, but Ah's heerd 'em +talk down ter Saint Louee. Trouble is, sah, we's got started in de +wrong place—dar's plenty watah t'other side dis yere bar." +</P> + +<P> +"Who told you the best way to find Shrunk?" +</P> + +<P> +His eyes widened and searched my face, evidently still somewhat +suspicious of any white man. +</P> + +<P> +"A nigger down Saint Louee way, sah. Dey done cotched him, an' brought +him back afore he even got ter Beardstown." +</P> + +<P> +"And you believe you can guide us there?" +</P> + +<P> +"Ah sure can, if whut dat nigger sed wus correct, sah. Ah done +questioned him mighty par'ticlar, an' Ah 'members ebery sign whut he +giv' me." He grinned broadly. "Ah sorter suspicion'd Ah mought need +dat informa'ion." +</P> + +<P> +"All right, then; it is certainly light enough now—let's push off." +</P> + +<P> +We had taken the sand lightly, and were able to pole the boat into deep +water with no great difficulty. I remained crouched at the bow, ready +for any emergency, while the engine resumed its chugging, and Sam +guided us out toward the swifter current of the stream. The broader +river behind us remained veiled in mist, but the gray light was +sufficient for our purpose, enabling us to proceed slowly until our +craft had rounded the protruding headland, out of sight from below. +Here the main channel cut across to the left bank, and we forced into +the deeper shadows of the overhanging woods. +</P> + +<P> +"'Tain't so awful fur from yere, sah," Sam called to me. +</P> + +<P> +"What, the place where we are to land?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yas, sah. It's de mouth ob a little crick, whut yer nebber see till +yer right plum at it. Bettah keep yer eyes open 'long dat shore, sah." +</P> + +<P> +The girl, alertly bent forward, was first among us to detect the +concealed opening, which was almost completely screened by the +over-arching trees, her voice ringing excitedly, as she pointed it out. +Sam was quick to respond, and, almost before I had definitely +established the spot, the bow of the boat swerved and we shot in +through the leafy screen, the low-hung branches sweeping against our +faces and scraping along the sides. It was an eery spot, into which +the faint daylight scarcely penetrated, but, nevertheless, revealed +itself a secure and convenient harbor. While the stream was not more +than twelve feet in width and the water almost motionless, the banks +were high and precipitous and the depth amply sufficient. The dim +light, only occasionally finding entrance through the trees, barely +enabled us to see for a short distance ahead. It looked a veritable +cave, and, indeed, all I remember noting in my first hasty glance +through the shadows, was the outline of a small boat, moored to a +fallen tree. Sam must have perceived this at the same instant, for he +ran our craft alongside the half-submerged log and stopped his engine. +I scrambled over, found precarious footing on the wet bank, and made +fast. +</P> + +<P> +"So this is the place?" I questioned incredulously, staring about at +the dark, silent forest; which still remained in the deep night shade. +"Why, there's nothing here." +</P> + +<P> +"No, sah; dar certenly don't 'pear fer ter be much," and the negro +crept out of the cockpit and joined me, "'ceptin' dat boat. Dar ain't +no boat 'round yere, les' folks hes bin a ridin' in it, Ah reckon. Dis +sure am de spot, all right—an' dar's got ter be a trail 'round yere +sumwhar." +</P> + +<P> +Rene remained motionless, her eyes searching the shadows, as though +half frightened at finding herself in such dismal surroundings. The +girl's face appeared white and drawn in that twilight. Sam advanced +cautiously from off the log to the shore, and began to anxiously scan +the ground, beating back and forth through the underbrush. After +watching him a moment my gaze settled on the strange boat, and I crept +along the log curious to examine it more closely. It had the +appearance of being newly built, the paint unscratched, and exhibiting +few marks of usage. A single pair of oars lay crossed in the bottom +and beside these was an old coat and some ordinary fishing tackle—but +nothing to arouse any interest. Without doubt it belonged to Amos +Shrunk, and had been left here after the return from some excursion +either up or down the river. I was still staring at these things, and +speculating about them, when the negro called out from a distance that +he had found the path. Rene answered his hail, standing up in the +boat, and I hastened back to help her ashore. +</P> + +<P> +We had scarcely exchanged words during the entire night, but now she +accepted my proffered hand gladly, and with a smile, springing lightly +from the deck to the insecure footing of the log. +</P> + +<P> +"I do not intend that you shall leave me behind," she said, glancing +about with a shudder. "This is such a horrid place." +</P> + +<P> +"The way before us looks scarcely better," I answered, vainly +endeavoring to locate Sam. "Friend Shrunk evidently is not eager for +callers. Where is that fellow?" +</P> + +<P> +"Somewhere over in that thicket, I think. At least his voice sounded +from there. You discovered nothing in the boat?" +</P> + +<P> +"Only a rag and some fishing tackle. Come; we'll have to plunge in +somewhere." +</P> + +<P> +She followed closely as I pushed a passage through the obstructing +underbrush, finally locating Sam at the edge of a small opening, where +the light was sufficiently strong to enable us to distinguish marks of +a little-used trail leading along the bottom of a shallow gully +bisecting the sidehill. The way was obstructed by roots and rotten +tree trunks, and so densely shaded as to be in places almost +imperceptible, but Sam managed to find its windings, while we held +close enough behind to keep him safely in sight. Once we came into +view of the river, but the larger part of the way lay along a hollow, +heavily overshadowed by trees, where we could see only a few feet in +any direction. +</P> + +<P> +At the crossing of a small stream we noticed the imprint of several +feet in the soft mud of the shore. One plainly enough was small and +narrow, beyond all question that of a woman, but the others were all +men's, one being clad in moccasins. Beyond this point the path trended +downward, winding along the face of the hill and much more easily +followed. Sam, still ahead, started to clamber across the trunk of a +fallen tree, but came to a sudden halt, staring downward at something +concealed from our view on, the other side. +</P> + +<P> +"Good Lord o' mercy!" he exclaimed, excitedly. +</P> + +<P> +"What's dat?" +</P> + +<P> +I was close beside him by this time and saw the thing also—the body of +a man lying on the ground. The light was so dim only the bare outlines +of the recumbent figure were visible, and, following the first shock of +discovery, my earliest thought was to spare the girl. +</P> + +<P> +"Wait where you are, Rene!" I exclaimed, waving her back. "There is a +man lying here beyond the log. Come, Sam; we will see what he looks +like." +</P> + +<P> +He was slow in following, hanging back as I approached closer to the +motionless form, and I could hear the muttering of his lips. +Unquestionably the man was dead; of this I was assured before I even +knelt beside him. He lay prone on his face in a litter of dead leaves, +and almost the first thing I noticed was the death wound back of his +ear, where a large caliber bullet had pierced the brain. His exposed +hands proved him a negro, and it was with a feeling of unusual +repugnance that I touched his body, turning it over sufficiently to see +the face. The countenance of a negro in death seldom appears natural, +and under that faint light, no revealed feature struck me, at first, as +familiar. Then, all at once, I knew him, unable to wholly repress a +cry of startled surprise, as I stared down into the upturned face—the +dead man, evidently murdered, shot treacherously from behind, was Free +Pete. I sprang to my feet, gazing about blindly into the dim woods, my +mind for the instant dazed by the importance of this discovery. What +could it mean? How could it have happened? By what means had he +reached this spot in advance of us, and at whose hand had he fallen? +He could have been there only for one purpose, surely—in an attempt to +guide Eloise Beaucaire and the quadroon Delia. Then what had become of +the women? Where were they now? +</P> + +<P> +I stumbled backward to the support of the log, unable to answer any one +of these questions, remembering only in that moment that I must tell +Rene the truth. Her eyes already were upon me, exhibiting her fright +and perplexity, her knowledge that I had viewed something of horror. +She could keep silent no longer. +</P> + +<P> +"Tell me—please," she begged. "Is the man dead? Who is he, do you +know?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," I replied desperately. "He is dead, and I recognize his face. +He is the negro Pete, and has been killed, shot from behind. I cannot +understand how it has happened." +</P> + +<P> +"Pete," she echoed, grasping at the log to keep erect, her eyes on that +dimly revealed figure in the leaves. "Free Pete, Carlton's Pete? +How—how could he have got here? Then—then the others must have been +with him. What has become of them?" +</P> + +<P> +"It is all mystery; the only way to solve it is for us to go on. It +can do no one any good to stand here, staring at this dead body. When +we reach the cabin we may learn what has occurred. Go on ahead, Sam, +and we will follow—don't be afraid, boy; it is not the dead who hurt +us." +</P> + +<P> +She clung tightly to me, shrinking past the motionless figure. She was +not sobbing; her eyes were dry, yet every movement, each glance, +exhibited her depth of horror. I drew her closer, thoughtless of what +she was, my heart yearning to speak words of comfort, yet realizing +there was nothing left me to say. I could almost feel the full +intensity of her struggle for self-control, the effort she was making +to conquer a desire to give way. She must have known this, for once +she spoke. +</P> + +<P> +"Do not mind me," she said, pausing before the utterance of each word +to steady her voice. "I—I am not going to break down. It—it is the +suddenness—the shock. I—I shall be strong again, in a minute." +</P> + +<P> +"You must be," I whispered, "for their lives may depend on us." +</P> + +<P> +It was a short path before us and became more clearly defined as we +advanced. A sharp turn brought us into full view of the cabin, which +stood in a small opening, built against the sidehill, and so overhung +with trees as to be invisible, except from the direction of our +approach. We could see only the side wall, which contained one open +window, and was a one-room affair, low and flat-roofed, built of logs. +Its outward appearance was peaceful enough, and the swift beat of my +pulse quieted as I took rapid survey of the surroundings. +</P> + +<P> +"Sam," I commanded, "you are to remain here with Rene, while I learn +the truth yonder. Yes," to her quick protest, "that will be the better +way—there is no danger and I shall not be gone but for a moment." +</P> + +<P> +I seated her on a low stump and left them there together, Sam's eyes +rolling about in a frightened effort to perceive every covert in the +woods, but the girl satisfied to watch me intently as I moved +cautiously forward. A dozen steps brought me within view of the front +of the cabin. The door had been smashed in and hung dangling from one +hinge. Another step, now with a pistol gripped in my hand, enabled me +to obtain a glimpse within. Across the puncheon threshold, his feet +even protruding without, lay a man's body; beyond him, half concealed +by the shadows of the interior, appeared the outlines of another, with +face upturned to the roof, plainly distinguishable because of a +snow-white beard. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap16"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XVI +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE TRAIL OF THE RAIDERS +</H3> + + +<P> +Shocked and unmanned as I was at this discovery, to pause there staring +at those gruesome figures would have only brought fresh alarm to the +two watching my every movement from the edge of the clearing. Gripping +my nerves I advanced over the first body, watchful for any sign of the +presence of life within the cabin. There was none—the work of the +murder had been completed, and the perpetrators had fled. I saw the +entire interior at a glance, the few articles of rude, hand-made +furniture, several overturned, the fire yet smouldering on the hearth, +some broken crockery, and pewter dishes on the floor, and on every side +the evidences of a fierce, brutal struggle. The dead man, with ghastly +countenance upturned to the roof rafters, and the snowy beard, was +undoubtedly the negro helper, Amos Shrunk. Pete's description of the +appearance of the man left this identification beyond all dispute. He +had been stricken down by a savage blow, which had literally crushed in +one side of his head, but his dead hands yet gripped a rifle, as though +he had fallen fighting to the last. +</P> + +<P> +The other man, the one lying across the threshold, had been shot, +although I did not ascertain this fact until after I turned the body +over sufficiently to reveal the face. This was disfigured by the wound +and covered with blood, so that the features could scarcely be seen, +yet I instantly recognized the fellow—Carver. Surprised out of all +control by this unexpected discovery, I steadied myself against the log +wall, fully aroused to the sinister meaning of his presence. To a +degree the complete significance of this tragedy instantly gripped my +mind. It this fellow Carver had been one of the assailants, then it +was absolutely certain that Kirby must have also been present—the +leader of the attack. This inevitably meant that both men had been +aboard the steamer, and later were put ashore at the mouth of the +Illinois. And now that I thought about it, why not? It was no +accident, and I wondered that the possibility had never occurred to me +before. The gambler naturally knew all the gossip of the river, and, +beyond question, he would be aware of the reported existence of this +underground station for runaway slaves. It was common talk as far down +as St. Louis, and his mind would instantly revert to the possibility +that the fleeing Rene might seek escape through the assistance of +Shrunk. The mysterious vanishing of the boat would serve to increase +that suspicion. Even if this had not occurred to him at first, the +steamer would have brought news that no keel-boat had been seen on the +lower river, while the captain of the <I>John B. Glover</I>, or someone else +on board, would have been sure to have mentioned the negro-helper and +suggest that he might have had a hand in the affair. To follow that +trail was, indeed, the most natural thing for Kirby to do. +</P> + +<P> +And he had promptly accepted the chance; blindly, no doubt, and yet +guided by good fortune. He had not overtaken Rene, because she was not +yet there, but he had unexpectedly come upon the other fugitives, and, +even though the encounter had cost the life of his henchman, Carver, it +also resulted in the death of two men who had come between him and his +prey—the negro, and the abolitionist. The scene cleared in my brain +and became vivid and real. I could almost picture in detail each act +of the grim tragedy. The two revengeful trackers—if there were only +two engaged, for others might have been recruited on the steamer—must +have crept up to the hut in the night, or early morning. Possibly +Kirby had learned of some other means of approach from the direction of +the big river. Anyway, the fact that Shrunk had been trapped within +the cabin would indicate the final attack was a surprise. The negro +might have been asleep outside, and met his death in an attempt at +escape, but the old white man, finding flight impossible, had fought +desperately to the last and had killed one antagonist before receiving +his death blow. This was all plain enough, but what had become of +Kirby, of the two women—Eloise, and the quadroon mother? +</P> + +<P> +I searched the cabin without uncovering the slightest trace of their +presence, or finding a single article which could be associated with +them. Kirby himself must have fled the scene of the tragedy +immediately—without even pausing long enough to turn his companion +over to ascertain the nature of his wound. Had something occurred to +frighten him? Had the fellow fled alone back to a waiting boat at the +shore, perchance seriously injured himself in the melee, or had he +secured the two women, and, reckless as to all else, driven them along +with him to some place of concealment until they could be transported +down the river? Nothing could answer these questions; no discovery +enabled me to lift the veil. Uncertain what to do, or how to act, I +could only return to the waiting girl and the negro to tell them what I +had found. +</P> + +<P> +They listened as though scarcely comprehending, Sam uttering little +moans of horror, and appearing helpless from fright, but Rene quiet, +merely exhibiting her emotion in the whiteness of her face and +quickened breathing. Her eyes, wide-open, questioning, seemed to sense +my uncertainty. As I ended the tale and concluded with my theory as to +what had occurred following the deed of blood, her quick mind asserted +itself. +</P> + +<P> +"But this must have happened very lately; the men were not long dead?" +</P> + +<P> +"I cannot judge how long; their bodies were cold." +</P> + +<P> +"Yet the fire still smouldered, you said. When do you think that +steamer could have landed here?" +</P> + +<P> +"Why, perhaps early last evening." +</P> + +<P> +"And it has not occurred to you that the boat might have waited here +while the man Kirby went ashore?" +</P> + +<P> +"No; that could scarcely be true, if the steamer was transporting +troops; what was it you were thinking about?" +</P> + +<P> +She buried her face in her hands; then lifted it once more to mine, +with a new conviction in her eyes. +</P> + +<P> +"It is all dark, of course," she said slowly, "we can only guess at +what happened. But to me it seems impossible that the man Kirby could +have accomplished all this alone—without assistance. The boat we saw +at the landing was not his; it must have been Pete's, and there is no +evidence of any other trail leading here from the river. If, as you +imagine, he knew the captain of that steamer, and some of the other men +aboard were Missourians and defenders of slavery, he would have no +trouble in enlisting their help to recover his runaway slaves. They +would be only too glad to break up an abolitionist's nest. That is +what I believe has happened; they came ashore in a party, and the +steamer waited for them. Even if it was a troop boat, the captain +could easily make excuses for an hour's delay." +</P> + +<P> +"And you think the prisoners were taken along? Yet Kirby would not +want to transport them up the river." +</P> + +<P> +"As to that," she insisted, "he could not help himself. He needed to +get away quickly, and there were no other means available. He could +only hope to connect later with some craft south-bound on which to +return. There are keel-boats and barges always floating down stream +from the mines. He dare not remain here; that was why they were in +such haste; why, they did not even wait to bury the bodies." +</P> + +<P> +"You may be right," I admitted, impressed, yet not wholly convinced. +"But what can we do?" +</P> + +<P> +She looked at me reproachfully. +</P> + +<P> +"You should not ask that of a girl." +</P> + +<P> +The words stung me. +</P> + +<P> +"No; this is my task. I was thoughtlessly cruel. Neither can we +remain here, only long enough to bury those bodies. It would be +inhuman not to do that. Sam, there is an old spade leaning against the +cabin wall—go over and get it." +</P> + +<P> +"Ah ain't goin' fer ter tetch no daid man, sah." +</P> + +<P> +"I'll attend to that; all you need do is dig. Over there at the edge +of the wood will answer, and we shall have to place all three in one +grave—we can do no more." +</P> + +<P> +He started on his mission reluctantly enough, glancing constantly +backward over his shoulder to insure himself of our presence, and +carefully avoiding any approach to the open door. +</P> + +<P> +"Am I to simply remain here?" the girl asked, as I took the first step +to follow him. "Can I not be of some help?" +</P> + +<P> +"I think not; I can get along very nicely. It is not a pleasant sight +inside. Here is the best place for you, as it might not be safe for +you to go any further away. We do not know positively where those men +have gone. They might be hiding somewhere in the woods. You can turn +away and face the forest, so as to see nothing. We shall not be long." +</P> + +<P> +"And—and," she faltered, "what will be done after that?" +</P> + +<P> +"I will endeavor to think out some plan. I confess I do not yet know +what will be best. To remain here is, of course, impossible, while to +return down the river means certain capture. Perhaps you may be able +to suggest something." +</P> + +<P> +Unpleasant as our task was, it proved to be less difficult of +accomplishment than I had anticipated. There were blankets in the +cabin bunks, and in these I wrapped the bodies. They were too heavy, +however, for me to transport alone, and it required some threatening to +induce Sam to give me the assistance necessary to deposit them in the +shallow grave. Only the fear that I would not have him with us longer +compelled his joining me. He was more frightened at the thought of +being left alone than of contact with the dead. In bearing Pete's body +from where it lay in the woods, we were compelled to pass by near where +Rene sat, but she kept her eyes averted, and I experienced no desire to +address her with empty words. Sam filled in the loose earth, rounding +it into form, and the two of us stood above the fresh mound, our bent +heads bared to the sunlight, while I endeavored to repeat brokenly a +few words of prayer. As I finally turned gladly away, it was to note +that the girl had risen to her feet and stood motionless, with face +toward us. Her attitude and expression is still in memory the one dear +remembrance of the scene. My inclination was to join her at once, but +I knew that the negro would never enter the cabin alone, and now our +first necessity was food. Of this I found a fair supply, and, +compelling him to assist me, we hastily prepared a warm meal over the +open fire. It was eaten without, no one of us desiring to remain in +the midst of that scene of death; and the very knowledge that the +dreaded burial was completed and that we were now free to depart, +brought to all of us a renewed courage. +</P> + +<P> +The sun was high in the heavens by this time, the golden light +brightening the little clearing and dissipating the gloom of the +surrounding forest. All suspicion that the murderer, or murderers, +might still remain in the immediate neighborhood of their crime had +entirely deserted my mind. Where, and by what means, they had fled +could not be determined, but I felt assured they were no longer near +by, I had sought in vain for any other path than the one we had +followed from the mouth of the creek, while the suggestion which Rene +had advanced, that the steamer had tied up to the shore, permitting the +raiding party to land, grew more and more plausible to my mind. It +scarcely seemed probable that one man alone, or even two men, had +committed this crime, and the sole survivor disappear so completely +with the prisoners. I had turned each detail over and over in my +thought, while I worked, yet to but little purpose. The only present +solution of the problem seemed to be our return to that hidden basin +where our boat lay, and the remaining there in concealment until the +darkness of another night rendered it safe to once more venture upon. +the river. Perhaps during those intervening hours, we might, by +conferring together, decide our future course; some new thought might +guide us in the right direction, or some occurrence drive us into +definite action. +</P> + +<P> +I spoke of this to her, as I finally approached where she rested on the +stump, eager and glad to escape from all memories of that somber cabin +I had just left. She stood before me, listening quietly, her eyes +lifting to my face, as though she sought to read there the exact +meaning of my words. +</P> + +<P> +"You—you are no longer so confident," she said, "your plan has failed?" +</P> + +<P> +"I am afraid it has," I admitted, "for it was based altogether on the +assistance of Amos Shrunk. He is no longer alive, and I do not know +where to turn for guidance. There would seem to be danger in every +direction; the only question is—in which way lies the least?" +</P> + +<P> +"You begin to regret your attempt to aid me?" +</P> + +<P> +"No," impulsively. "So far as that goes, I would do it all over again. +Your safety means more to me now than ever before—you must believe +that." +</P> + +<P> +"Why should I? All I have brought you is trouble. I can read in your +face how discouraged you are. You must not think I do not understand. +I do understand—perfectly. I can see how all this has happened. You +cannot really care. What you have done has been only a response to +impulse; merely undertaken through a spirit of adventure. Then—then +why not let it end here, and—Sam and I can go on to—to whatever is +before us? It is nothing to you." +</P> + +<P> +"You actually believe I would consent to that?" I asked, in startled +surprise at the vehemence of her words. "That I could prove such a +cur?" +</P> + +<P> +"But why not? It would not be a cowardly act at all. I could not +blame you, for I have no claim on your service—never have had. You +have done a thousand times too much already; you have risked honor, +reputation, and neglected duty to aid my escape; and—and I am nothing +to you—can be nothing." +</P> + +<P> +"Nothing to me!" +</P> + +<P> +"Certainly not. Why speak like that? Have you forgotten again that I +am a slave—a negress? Think, Lieutenant Knox, what it would mean to +you to be caught in my company; to be overtaken while attempting to +assist me in escaping from my master. Now no one dreams of such a +thing, and no one ever need dream. You have had your adventure; let it +end here. I shall be grateful to you always, but—but I cannot bear to +drag you deeper into this mire." +</P> + +<P> +"You order me to leave you?" +</P> + +<P> +"I cannot order; I am a slave. My only privilege is to request, urge, +implore. I can merely insist that it will be best—best for us +both—for you to go. Surely you also must realize that this is true?" +</P> + +<P> +"I do not know exactly what I realize," I said doubtfully. "Nothing +seems altogether clear in my mind. If I could leave you in safety, in +the care of friends, perhaps I should not hesitate—but now—" +</P> + +<P> +"Am I any worse off than the others?" she interrupted. "I, at least, +have yet the chance of escape, while they remain helplessly in Kirby's +clutches. When—when I think of them, I no longer care about myself; +I—I feel almost responsible for their fate, and—and it would kill me +to know that I had dragged you down also. You have no right to +sacrifice yourself for such as I." +</P> + +<P> +"You have been brooding over all this," I said gently, "sitting here +alone, and thinking while we worked. I am not going to answer you now. +There is no need. Nothing can be done until night, whatever we decide +upon. You will go back with us to the boat?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; I simply cannot stay here," her eyes wandering toward the cabin. +</P> + +<P> +I took the lead on the return, finding the path easy enough to follow +in the full light of day. The sincere honesty of her plea—the +knowledge that she actually meant it—only served to draw me closer, to +strengthen my determination not to desert. Her face was ever before me +as I advanced—a bravely pathetic face, wonderfully womanly in its +girlish contour—appealing to every impulse of my manhood. I admitted +the truth of what she said—it had been largely love of adventure, the +rash recklessness of youth, which had brought me here. But this was my +inspiration no longer. I had begun to realize that something deeper, +more worthy, now held me to the task. What this was I made no attempt +to analyze—possibly I did not dare—but, nevertheless, the mere +conception of deserting her in the midst of this wilderness was too +utterly repugnant for expression. No, not that; whatever happened, it +would never be that. +</P> + +<P> +The last few rods of our journey lay through thick underbrush, and +beneath the spreading branches of interlacing trees. It was a gloomy, +primitive spot, where no evidence of man was apparent. Suddenly I +emerged upon the bank of the creek, with the rude log wharf directly +before me. I could hear in that silence the sound of those following, +as they continued to crunch a passage through the thicket, but I +stopped transfixed, staring at the water—nothing else greeted my eyes; +both the boats were gone. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap17"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XVII +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +WE FACE DISASTER +</H3> + + +<P> +This unexpected discovery came to me like a blow; the very breath +seemed to desert my lungs, as I stared down at the vacant stream. We +had been out-generaled, tricked, and all our theories as to what had +occurred were wrong. The duty we had performed to the dead had cost us +our own chance to escape. Instead of being alone, as we had supposed, +we were in the midst of enemies; we had been seen, watched, and while +we loitered ashore, the murderers had stolen our boat and vanished, +leaving us there helplessly marooned. All this was plain enough now, +when it was already too late to remedy the evil. The struggling girl +emerged through the tangle of shrubs, and paused suddenly at my side, +her lips giving utterance to a cry of surprise. +</P> + +<P> +"The—the boat! It is not here?" +</P> + +<P> +"No; there is not a sign of it. Those fellows must be still in the +neighborhood; must have seen us when we first came." +</P> + +<P> +"But, what are we to do?" +</P> + +<P> +I had no ready answer, yet the echo of utter despair in her voice +stirred me to my own duty as swiftly as though she had thrust a knife +into my side. Do? We must do something! We could not sit down idly +there in the swamp. And to decide what was to be attempted was my +part. If Kirby, and whoever was with him, had stolen the missing boat, +as undoubtedly they had, they could have possessed but one +purpose—escape. They were inspired to the act by a desire to get +away, to flee from the scene of their crime. They must believe that we +were left helpless, unable to pursue them, or create alarm. Yet if it +was Kirby, why had he fled so swiftly, making no effort to take Rene +captive also? It was she he was seeking; for the purpose of gaining +possession of her these murders had been committed. Why, then, should +he run away when he must have known the girl was already in his grasp? +The same thought apparently occurred to her. +</P> + +<P> +"You—you believe that Kirby did this?" +</P> + +<P> +"What other conclusion is possible? We know that he passed us on the +steamer—Sam saw him plainly. It was his man, Carver, whom we found +dead in the hut. It could have been no one else." +</P> + +<P> +"But," she questioned, unsatisfied, "he would have only one reason for +being here—hunting me, his slave. That was his one purpose, was it +not? If he saw us, then he must have known of my presence, that I was +here with you. Why should he make no attempt to take me with him? Why +should he steal our boat and run away?" +</P> + +<P> +I shook my head, my glance shifting toward the negro, who stood just +behind us, his mouth wide open, evidently smitten speechless. +</P> + +<P> +"One theory is as good as another," I said, "and mine so far have all +been wrong. What do you make of it, Sam?" +</P> + +<P> +"Who, sah? Me, sah?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, take a guess at this." +</P> + +<P> +"'Pears like," he said, deliberately, rubbing his ear with one hand, +"as how it mought hav' happen'd dis yere way, sah. Ah ain't a' sayin' +it wus, it mought be. Maybe Massa Kirby nebber got no sight ob us +'tall, an' wus afeerd fer ter stay. He just know'd a party wus +yere—likely 'nough sum Black Abolitionists, who'd be huntin' him if he +didn't cl'ar out, just so soon as dey foun' dat Amos Shrunk wus ded. +Her' wus his chance, an' he done took it." +</P> + +<P> +"Yet he would surely recognize the boat?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yas, sah; Ah reckon he wud, sah. Dat's de truth, whut stumps me. Dat +white man am certenly full o' tricks. Ah sure wish Ah know'd just whar +he wus now. Ah'd certenly feel a heap easier if Ah did." He bent +suddenly forward, his glance at the edge of the log. "Dey ain't took +but just de one boat, sah, fer de odder am shoved under dar out'r +sight." +</P> + +<P> +As I stooped further over I saw that this was true, the small rowboat, +with the oars undisturbed in its bottom, had been pressed in beneath +the concealment of the log wharf, almost completely hidden from above, +yet to all appearances uninjured. The very fact that it should have +been thus left only added to the mystery of the affair. If it had been +Kirby's deliberate purpose to leave us there stranded ashore, why had +he failed to crush in the boat's planking with a rock? Could the +leaving of the craft in fit condition for our use be part of some +carefully conceived plan; a bait to draw us into some set trap? Or did +it occur merely as an incident of their hurried night? These were +unanswerable questions, yet the mere knowledge that the boat was +actually there and in navigable condition, promised us an opportunity +to escape. While hope remained, however vague, it was not my nature to +despair. Whether accident or design had been the cause, made no +odds—I was willing to match my wits against Kirby and endeavor to win. +And I must deal with facts, just as they were. +</P> + +<P> +"It is my guess," I said, "that their only thought was to get away +before the crime was discovered. The leaving of this boat means +nothing, because the steam-operated keel-boat they escaped in, could +never be overtaken, once they had a fair start. If Kirby was alone in +this affair, and had those two women in his charge, getting away would +be about all he could attend to. He'd hardly dare leave them long +enough to sink this craft. But what does he know about running an +engine?" +</P> + +<P> +"Ah reckon as how he cud, sah, if he just had to," interposed the +negro. "He wus a' foolin' mor' or les' wid dat one a' comin' up frum +Saint Louee; an' he sure ask'd me a big lot o' questions. He done +seemed right handy; he sure did." +</P> + +<P> +"Then that probably is the explanation. Rene, would you be afraid to +remain here alone for a little while?" +</P> + +<P> +She glanced about into the gloom of the surrounding woods, her +hesitancy answering me. +</P> + +<P> +"It is not a pleasant prospect I admit, but there is no possible +danger. Kirby has gone, beyond all question, but I wish to learn, if I +can, the direction he has taken. All this must have happened only a +short time ago—while we were at the cabin. The keel-boat can scarcely +be entirely out of sight yet on either river, if we could only find a +place to offer us a wide view." +</P> + +<P> +"But could I not go with you?" +</P> + +<P> +"Hardly with me, for I intend to swim the creek and try to reach the +point at the mouth of the Illinois, from where I can see up and down +the Mississippi. I am going to send Sam back through the woods there +and have him climb that ridge. From the top he ought to have a good +view up the valley of the Illinois. I suppose you might go with him." +</P> + +<P> +"Ah sure wish yer wud, Missus," broke in the negro pleadingly. "Ah +ain't perzackly feered fer ter go 'lone, but Ah's an' ol' man, an' Ah +reckon as how a y'ung gal wus likely fer ter see mor'n Ah wud. 'Pears +like Ah's done los' my glasses." +</P> + +<P> +A faint smile lighted up her face—a mere glimmer of a smile. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, Sam, I'll go," she said, glancing up into my eyes and holding out +her hand. "You wish me to, do you not?" +</P> + +<P> +"I think it will be fully as well. I have some doubts as to Sam, but +can absolutely trust you. Besides there is nothing to be done here. I +shall not use the boat, then if anyone does chance this way, they will +find nothing disturbed. You still retain the pistol?" +</P> + +<P> +She nodded her response and without delaying my departure longer, I +lowered myself into the water and swam toward the opposite shore, +creeping forth amid a tangle of roots, and immediately disappearing in +the underbrush. Sam had already vanished, as I paused an instant to +glance back, but she lingered at the edge of the wood to wave her hand. +I found a rough passage for the first few rods, being obliged to almost +tear a way through the close growth and unable to see a yard in +advance. But this ended suddenly at the edge of the sand flat, with +the converging waters of the two rivers visible just beyond. My view +from here was narrowed, however, by high ridges on both sides, and, +with a desire not to expose myself to any chance eye, I followed the +line of forest until able to climb the slope, and thus attain the crest +of the bluff. +</P> + +<P> +From this vantage point the view was extensive, both up and down the +big river, as well as across to the opposite bank. For miles nothing +could escape my eyes, the mighty stream sweeping majestically past +where I lay, liquid silver in the sunshine. Its tremendous volume had +never so impressed me as in that moment of silent observation, nor had +I ever realized before its sublime desolation. Along that entire +surface but three objects met my gaze—a small island, green with +trees, seemingly anchored just beyond the mouth of the Illinois; a +lumbering barge almost opposite me, clearly outlined against the +distant shore, and barely moving with the current; and far away below a +thin smudge of smoke, arising from behind a headland, as though curling +upward from the stack of some steamer. I watched this closely, until +convinced the craft was bound down stream and moving swiftly. The +smudge became a mere whisp and finally vanished entirely. I waited +some time for the vessel to appear at the lower end of the bend, but it +was then only a speck, scarcely distinguishable. I felt no doubt but +what this was the stolen keel-boat, speeding toward St. Louis. +</P> + +<P> +Armed, as I believed, with this knowledge that Kirby had actually fled, +beyond any possibility of doing us any further injury, I did not hurry +my return, but remained for some time on the bluff, watching those +rushing waters, and endeavoring to outline some feasible plan for the +coming night. With this final disappearance of the gambler we were +left free to proceed, and it seemed to me with no great danger of +arousing suspicion, so long as we exercised reasonable precautions. +The girl to all appearances was white; no one would ever question that, +particularly as she possessed sufficient intelligence and refinement to +thus impress anyone she might meet, If necessary we might travel as man +and wife, with Sam as our servant. Our means of travel would attract +no particular attention in that country—the edge of the wilderness; it +was common enough. This struck me as the most reasonable course to +pursue—to work our way quietly up the Illinois by night, keeping close +in shore to avoid any passing steamer, until we arrived close to +Beardstown. There, if necessary, we might begin our masquerade, but it +need not be a long one. Undoubtedly there were blacks in the town, +both slaves and free negroes, with whom Sam could easily establish an +acquaintance. By this means we would soon be able to identify that +particular preacher into whose care I hoped to confide Rene. Of +course, the girl might refuse to enter into the game, might decline to +assume the role assigned her, however innocent I intended it to +be—indeed, I felt convinced she would meet the suggestion with +indignation. But why worry about that now? Let this be kept as a last +resort. There was no necessity for me to even mention this part of my +plan until after our approach to Beardstown; then the necessity of our +going forward with it might be so apparent, she could not refuse to +carry out her part. With this point thus settled in my own mind I felt +ready to rejoin the others. +</P> + +<P> +I must have been absent in the neighborhood of two hours, and they had +returned to the bank of the creek some time in advance of me. As I +appeared at the edge of the wood, Sam hailed, offering to row the boat +across. +</P> + +<P> +"All right," I replied, confident we were alone. "It will save me +another wetting. You saw nothing?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, sah; leastways, not much," busily fitting the oars into the +row-locks. "We cud see up de Illinois mor'n ten mile. Ah reckon, but +dar wan't no boat nowhar, 'cepting an o' scow tied up ter de bank." +</P> + +<P> +"I thought so. The keel-boat has gone down the Mississippi." +</P> + +<P> +"Yer done saw her, sah?" +</P> + +<P> +"I saw her smoke; she was hidden by a big bend just below. Don't sit +there staring at me—come across." +</P> + +<P> +Rene greeted me with a smile, as I scrambled up on the slippery log, +and asked a number of questions. I answered these as best I could and +then explained, so far as I deemed it desirable, the general nature of +the plans I had made. Both she and the listening negro in the boat +below agreed that the safer course for us to choose led up the +Illinois, because every mile traversed in that direction brought us +nearer the goal sought, and among those who were the enemies of +slavery. To proceed northward along the Mississippi would only serve +to plunge us into an unbroken wilderness, already threatened by Indian +war, while to venture down that stream meant almost certain capture. +The Illinois route offered the only hope, and we decided to venture it, +although Rene pleaded earnestly that she and the negro be permitted to +go on alone. To this suggestion, however, I would not consent, and the +girl finally yielded her reluctant permission for me to accompany them +until she could be safely left in the care of white friends. +</P> + +<P> +She took anxious part in our discussion, bravely endeavoring to hide +the anguish she felt, yet I knew her real thought was elsewhere—with +those two in Kirby's hands, already well on their way to St. Louis. +Try as she would she was unable to banish from her mind the conception +that she was largely to blame for their misfortune, or submerge the +idea that it was cowardly in her to seek escape, while leaving them in +such peril. I lingered, talking with her for some time after Sam had +fallen asleep, yet the only result was the bringing of tears to her +eyes and a reluctantly given pledge that she would do whatever I +believed to be best and right. The girl was not wholly convinced by my +argument, but no other course of action seemed open to her. She +appeared so tired and worn that I left her at last in the little glade +where we had found refuge, hoping she might fall asleep. I doubt if +she did, although I dozed irregularly, my back against a tree, and it +was already growing dusk when she came forth again from her retreat, +and joined us in a hastily prepared meal. +</P> + +<P> +Sam and I stowed away in the boat whatever provender remained, and I +assisted her to a seat at the stern, wrapping a blanket carefully about +her body, for the night air in those dank shadows already began to +chill. I took possession of the oars myself, believing the negro would +serve best as a lookout in the bow, and thus settled we headed the boat +out through the tangle of trees toward the invisible river. The silent +gloom of night shut about us in an impenetrable veil, and we simply had +to feel our slow way to the mouth of the creek, Sam calling back +directions, and pressing aside the branches that impeded progress. I +sat facing the motionless girl, but could barely distinguish her +shapeless form, wrapped in the blanket; and not once did her voice +break the stillness. The night hung heavy; not even the gentle ripple +of water disturbed the solemn silence of our slow progress. +</P> + +<P> +Suddenly we shot out through the screen of concealing boughs into the +broader stream beyond, and I struggled hastily to swerve the boat's bow +upward against the current. The downward sweep of the water at this +point was not particularly strong, the main channel being some distance +further out, and we were soon making perceptible progress. The light +here in the open was better, although dim enough still, and revealing +little of our surroundings. All was wrapped in gloom along shore, and +beyond the radius of a few yards no objects could be discerned. The +river itself swept past us, a hidden mystery. Sam knelt on his knees, +peering eagerly forward into the blackness, an occasional growl of his +voice the only evidence of his presence. I doubt if I had taken a +dozen strokes, my whole attention centered on my task, when the sudden +rocking of the boat told me he had scrambled to his feet. Almost at +the same instant my ears distinguished the sharp chugging of an engine +straight ahead; then came his shout of alarm, "God, A'mighty! Dar's de +keel-boat, sah. Dey's goin' fer ter ram us!" +</P> + +<P> +I twisted about in my seat, caught a vague glimpse of the advancing +shadow, and leaped to my feet, an oar gripped in my hands. Scarcely +was I poised to strike, when the speeding prow ripped into us, and I +was catapulted into the black water. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap18"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XVIII +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE LOSS OF RENE +</H3> + + +<P> +There was the echo of an oath, a harsh, cruel laugh, the crash of +planking, a strange, half-human cry of fright from the negro—that was +all. The sudden violence of the blow must have hurled me high into the +air, for I struck the water clear of both boats, and so far out in the +stream, that when I came again struggling to the surface, I was in the +full sweep of the current, against which I had to struggle desperately. +In the brief second that intervened between Sam's shout of warning, and +the crash of the two boats, I had seen almost nothing—only that black, +menacing hulk, looming up between us and the shore, more like a shadow +than a reality. Yet now, fighting to keep my head above water, and not +to be swept away, I was able to realize instantly what had occurred. I +had been mistaken; Kirby had not fled down the river; instead he had +craftily waited this chance to attack us at a disadvantage. Convinced +that we would decide to make use of the rowboat, which he had left +uninjured for that very purpose, and that we would venture forth just +so soon as the night became dark enough, he had hidden the stolen craft +in some covert along shore, to await our coming. Then he sprang on us, +as the tiger leaps on his prey. He had calculated well, for the blunt +prow of the speeding keel-boat had struck us squarely, crushing in the +sides of our frail craft, and flinging me headlong. +</P> + +<P> +What had become the fate of the others I could not for the moment +determine. I could see little, with eyes scarcely above the surface, +and struggling hard to breast the sweep of the current. The darkness +shadowed everything, the bulk of the keel-boat alone appearing in the +distance, and that, shapelessly outlined. The craft bore no light, and +had it not been for a voice speaking, I doubt if I could have located +even that. The rowboat could not be distinguished—it must have +sunken, or else drifted away, a helpless wreck. The first sound my +ears caught, echoing across the water, was an oath, and a question, "By +God! a good job; do you see that fellow anywhere?" +</P> + +<P> +"Naw," the response a mere growl. "He's a goner, I reckon; never +knowed whut hit him, jedgin' frum the way he upended it." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, then he isn't likely to bother us any more. Suppose he was the +white man?" +</P> + +<P> +"Sure he wus; it wus the nigger who was up ahead. We hit him, an' he +dropped in 'tween ther boats, an' went down like a stone. He never +yeeped but just onct, when I furst gripped ther girl. I don't reckon +as she wus hurt et all; leastwise I never aimed fer ter hurt her none." +</P> + +<P> +"Has she said anything?" +</P> + +<P> +"Not a damned twitter; maybe she's fainted. I dunno, but that's ther +way females do. What shall I do with the bird, Kirby?" +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, hold on to her there awhile, long as she's quiet. I'm going to +try the steam again, and get outside into the big river. Hell, man, +but this hasn't been such a bad night's work. Now if we only make it +to St. Louis, we'll have the laugh on Donaldson." +</P> + +<P> +"I reckon he won't laugh much," with a chuckle. "It's cost him a +valuable nigger." +</P> + +<P> +"You mean Sam? Yes, that's so. But I'd like to know who that other +fellow was—the white one." +</P> + +<P> +"Him! oh, sum abolitionist likely; maybe one o' ol' Shrunk's gang. +It's a damn good thing fer this kintry we got him, an' I ain't worryin' +none 'bount any nigger-stealer. The boat must 'er gone down, I reckon; +enyhow ther whol' side wus caved in. What's ther matter with yer +engine?" +</P> + +<P> +"It's all right now—keep your eyes peeled ahead." +</P> + +<P> +The steam began to sizz, settling swiftly into a rhythmatic chugging, +as the revolving wheel began to churn up the water astern. Confident +of being safely hidden by the darkness, I permitted the current to bear +me downward, my muscles aching painfully from the struggle, and with no +other thought in my mind except to keep well out of sight of the +occupants of the boat. To be perceived by them, and overtaken in the +water, meant certain death, while, if they continued to believe that I +had actually sunk beneath the surface, some future carelessness on +their part might yield me an unexpected opportunity to serve Rene. The +few words overheard had made sufficiently plain the situation. Poor +Sam had already found freedom in death, crushed between the two +colliding boats, but the girl had been grasped in time, and hauled +uninjured aboard the heavier craft. This had been the object of the +attack—to gain possession of her. Very evidently I had not been seen, +at least not closely enough to be recognized by Kirby. In a measure +this afforded me a decided advantage, provided we ever encountered each +other again—and I meant that we should. The account between us was +not closed by this incident; far from it. There in that black water, +struggling to keep afloat, while being swept resistlessly out into the +river, with no immediate object before me except to remain concealed by +the veil of darkness, I resolved solemnly to myself that this affair +should never end, until it was ended right. In that moment of decision +I cared not at all for Rene Beaucaire's drop of negro blood, nor for +the fact that she was a slave in her master's hands. Her appeal to me +ignored all this. To my mind she was but a woman, a sweet, lovable, +girlish woman, in the unrestrained power of a brute, and dependent +alone on me for rescue. That was enough; I cared for nothing more. +</P> + +<P> +The intense blackness hid me completely, as I held my head barely above +the surface, no longer making any effort to stem the downward sweep of +the stream. Conscious of being thus borne rapidly to the mouth of the +river, my only endeavor was to keep afloat, and conserve my strength. +The ceaseless noise of the engine told me accurately the position of +the keel-boat, although, by this time, there was a stretch of rushing +water between us which prevented me even seeing the hulking shadow of +the craft. Judging from the sound, however, it was easy to determine +that the heavy boat was traveling much faster than I, and was steadily +passing me, close in against the dense shadow of the southern shore. +With silent strokes I waited patiently, until the steady chugging of +the engine grew faint in the distance, and then finally ceased entirely. +</P> + +<P> +I was alone in the grasp of the waters, wrapped in the night silence, +both shores veiled beneath the dense shadows; every dim outline had +vanished, and I realized that the swift current had already swept me +into the broad Mississippi. Uncertain in that moment which way to +turn, and conscious of a strange lassitude, I made no struggle to reach +land, but permitted myself to be borne downward in the grip of the +water. Suddenly something drifted against my body, a black, +ill-defined object, tossing about on the swell of the waves, and +instinctively I grasped at it, recognizing instantly the shell of our +wrecked boat. It was all awash, a great hole stove in its side well +forward, and so filled with water the added weight of my body would +have sunk it instantly. Yet the thing remained buoyant enough to +float, and I clung to its stern, thankful even for this slight help. +</P> + +<P> +There was no occasion for fear, although I became aware that the sweep +of the current was steadily bearing us further out toward the center of +the broad stream, and soon felt convinced that escape from my +predicament would be impossible until after daylight. I could perceive +absolutely nothing by which to shape a course, the sky above, and the +water beneath being equally black. Not a star glimmered overhead, and +no revealing spark of light appeared along either shore, or sparkled +across the river surface. The only sound to reach my ears was the soft +lapping of water against the side of the boat to which I clung. The +loneliness was complete; the intense blackness strained my eyes, and I +constantly felt as though some mysterious weight was dragging me down +into the depths. Yet the struggle to keep afloat was no longer +necessary, and my head sank in relief on the hands gripping at the +boat's stern, while we floated silently on through the black mystery. +</P> + +<P> +I know not how long this lasted—it might have been for hours, as I +took no account of time. My mind seemed dazed, incapable of +consecutive thought although a thousand illogical conceptions flashed +through the brain, each in turn fading away into another, before I was +fully aware of its meaning. Occasionally some far-off noise aroused me +from lethargy, yet none of these could be identified, except once the +mournful cry of a wild animal far away to the right; while twice we +were tossed about in whirlpools, my grip nearly dislodged before the +mad water swept us again into the sturdy current. I think we must have +drifted close in toward the western shore, for once I imagined I could +vaguely distinguish the tops of trees outlined against the slightly +lighter sky. Yet this vision was so fleeting, I dare not loosen my +hold upon the boat to swim in that direction; and, even as I gazed in +uncertainty, the dim outline vanished as though it had been a dream, +and we were again being forced outward into the swirling waters. +</P> + +<P> +Suddenly the wrecked boat's bow grated against something immovable; +then became fixed, the stern swinging slowly about, until it also +caught, and I could feel the full volume of down-pouring water pressing +against my body. It struck with such force I was barely able to work +my way forward along the side of the half-submerged craft in an effort +to ascertain what it was blocking our progress. Yet a moment later, +even in that darkness, and obliged to rely entirely upon the sense of +touch, the truth of my situation became clear. The blindly floating +boat had drifted upon a snag, seemingly the major portion of a tree, +now held by some spit of sand. I struggled vainly in an attempt to +release the grip which, held us, but the force of the current had +securely wedged the boat's bow beneath a limb, a bare, leafless +tentacle, making all my efforts useless. The ceaseless water rippled +about me, the only sound in the silent night, and despairing of any +escape, I found a submerged branch on which to stand, gripped the boat +desperately to prevent being swept away, and waited for the dawn. +</P> + +<P> +It seemed a long while coming, and never did man gaze on a more dismal, +ghastly scene than was revealed to me by those first gray gleams dimly +showing in the far east. All about stretched utter desolation; +wherever my eyes turned, the vista was the same—a wide stretch of +restless, brown water surging and leaping past, bounded by low-lying +shores, forlorn and deserted. There was no smoke, no evidence of life +anywhere visible, no sign of habitation; all was wilderness. The snag +on which I rested was nearly in the center of the great river, an ugly +mass of dead wood, sodden with water, forking out of the stream, with +grotesque limbs thrust up into the air. The force of the current had +driven the nose of the boat so firmly beneath one branch as to sink it +below the surface, making it impossible to be freed. In the dull light +I struggled hopelessly to extricate the craft, my feet slipping on the +water-soaked log. Twice I fell into the stream, barely able to clamber +back again, but my best efforts were without results. The increase in +light gave me by this time a wider view of my surroundings, but brought +with it no increase of hope. I was utterly alone, and only by swimming +could I attain either bank. +</P> + +<P> +How far I had aimlessly drifted down stream during the night was a mere +matter of conjecture. I possessed no knowledge of where I was. No +familiar object along shore afforded any clue as to my position, and I +could not even determine which bank offered me the greater chance of +assistance. Each appeared about equally bare and desolate, entirely +devoid of promise. However, I chose the west shore for my experiment, +as the current seemed less strong in that direction, and was about to +plunge in, determined to fight a way across, when my eyes suddenly +detected a faint wreath of smoke curling up into the pale sky above a +headland far to the southward. As I stared at this it became black and +distinct, tossed about in the wind. I watched intently, clinging to my +support, scarcely trusting my eyesight, while that first wisp deepened +into a cloud, advancing slowly toward me. There was no longer doubt of +what it was—unquestionably some steamer was pushing its course up +stream. Even before my ears could detect the far-off chug of the +engine, the boat itself rounded the sharp point of the headland, and +came forth into full view, heading out toward the middle of the river +in a search for deeper water. +</P> + +<P> +It was an unusually large steamboat for those days, a lower river +packet I guessed, with two funnels painted yellow, and a high pilot +house, surmounted by a huge brazen eagle. At first, approaching me, +bow on, I could perceive but little of its dimensions, nor gain clear +view of the decks, but when it veered slightly these were revealed, and +I had a glimpse of a few figures grouped forward, the great wheel +astern splashing the water, and between a long row of windows +reflecting the glare of the early sun. Even as I gazed at this vision +a flag crept up the slender staff at the bow, and reaching the top +rippled out in the crisp breeze. A moment later I deciphered the +lettering across the white front of the pilot house, <I>Adventurer, of +Memphis</I>. +</P> + +<P> +Indifferent at that moment as to where the approaching boat might be +bound, or my reception on board; desirous only of immediate escape from +my unfortunate predicament, I managed to remove my sodden coat, and +furiously wave it in the air as a signal. At first there was no +response, no evidence that I had even been seen; then slowly, +deliberately, the steamer changed its course, and came straight up the +river, struggling against the full strength of the current. I could +see a man step from out the pilot house onto the upper forward deck, +lean out over the rail, and speak to the others below, pointing toward +me across the water. A half-dozen grouped themselves at the bow, ready +for action, their figures growing more sharply defined as the +struggling craft approached. The man above stood shading his eyes with +one hand, and gesticulating with the other. Finally the sound of his +voice reached me. +</P> + +<P> +"Hey! you out there! If you can swim, jump for it. I'm not going to +run into that snag." +</P> + +<P> +I measured the distance between us with my eye, and leaped as far out +as possible, striking out with lusty strokes. The swift current swung +me about like a chip, and swept me downward in spite of every struggle. +I was squarely abreast of the boat, already caught in her suction, and +being drawn straight in toward her wheel, when the looped end of a +flying noose struck my shoulder. +</P> + +<P> +"Keep your head, lad!" roared out a hoarse voice. "Hang on now, an' +we'll get yer." +</P> + +<P> +It was such a rush, such a breathless, desperate struggle, I can +scarcely recall the details. All I really remember is that I gripped +the rope, and clung; was dragged under again and again; was flung +against the steamer's side, seemingly losing all consciousness, yet +dimly realizing that outstretched hands grasped me, and lifted me up by +main strength to the narrow footway, dropping me there in the pool of +water oozing from my clothes. Someone spoke, lifting my head on his +arm, in answer to a hail from above. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, he's all right, sir; just a bit groggy. What'll we do with him?" +</P> + +<P> +"Bring him along up to Haines' cabin, and get him the old suit in my +room. You might warm him up with a drink first. You tend to it, +Mapes." +</P> + +<P> +The liquor I drank out of a bottle burnt like fire, but brought me new +strength, so that, with Mapes' help, I got to my feet, and stared about +at the group of faces surrounding us. They were those of typical river +men, two negroes and three whites, ragged, dirty, and disreputable. +Mapes was so bushily bearded, that about all I could perceive of his +face was the eyes, yet these were intelligent, and I instantly picked +him out as being the mate. +</P> + +<P> +"How long yer all bin roostin' on thet snag?" he questioned, evidently +somewhat amused. "Dem me, stranger, if I ever see thet sorter thing +done afore." +</P> + +<P> +"I was caught there last night," I answered, unwilling to say more, +"Boat got snagged in the dark, and went down." +</P> + +<P> +"Live round yere, I reckon?" +</P> + +<P> +"No; just floating. Came down the Illinois. Where is this steamer +bound?" +</P> + +<P> +"Hell alone knows," dryly. "Yeller Banks furst, enyhow; we're loaded +with supplies." +</P> + +<P> +"Supplies! For Yellow Banks?" in surprise. "Why; what's going on +there? My friend, there aren't ten families within a hundred miles of +that place." +</P> + +<P> +Mapes laughed, his mouth opening like a red gash, exhibiting a row of +yellow fangs. +</P> + +<P> +"No, I reckon not; but thar's a hell ov a lot o' fellers thar whut +ain't families, but kin eat. Didn't yer know, pardner, thar's a right +smart war on? thet the Illinoy militia is called out, an' is a marchin' +now fer Yeller Banks? They're liable fer ter be thar too afore ever +this damn scow makes it, if we hav' ter stop an' pick eny mor' blame +fools outer the river. Come on, let's go up." +</P> + +<P> +"Wait a minute. This is an Indian war? Black Hawk has broken loose?" +</P> + +<P> +"Sure; raised perticular hell. We heerd down et Saint Louee he'd +killed 'bout a hundred whites, an' burned sum ov 'em—ther ol' devil." +</P> + +<P> +"And where is he now?" +</P> + +<P> +"Dunno; never wus up in yer afore. We bin runnin' 'tween Saint Louee +an' New Orleans, 'till the Gov'ment took us. Maybe the captain kin +tell yer—sumwhar up Rock River, I reckon, wharever that is." +</P> + +<P> +We climbed the steep steps to the upper deck, and were met at the head +of the ladder by the captain, evidently desirous of looking me over. +He was a solidly-built individual, wearing white side-whiskers, and a +bulbous nose, and confronted me not altogether pleasantly. +</P> + +<P> +"All right, are you? Water pretty cold yet, I reckon. Been sticking +on that snag for long?" +</P> + +<P> +"Several hours; but my boat was wrecked before we lodged there." +</P> + +<P> +The captain laughed, and winked aside at the mate. +</P> + +<P> +"Seems to be a mighty populous river up this way, hey, Mapes?" he +remarked genially. "Castaways round every bend." +</P> + +<P> +"What do you mean? Have you picked up others?" +</P> + +<P> +"Certainly have. Hit a keel-boat twenty miles below." +</P> + +<P> +"A keel-boat, operated by steam?" +</P> + +<P> +"Couldn't say as to that. Was it, Mapes? The craft had gone down when +I got on deck. Had four aboard, but we got 'em all off, an' stowed 'em +back there in the texas. You better get along now, and shuck those wet +clothes." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap19"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XIX +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +ON BOARD THE _ADVENTURER_ +</H3> + + +<P> +The captain turned rather sharply away, and I was thrust through an +open cabin door by the grasp of the mate before I could really sense +the true meaning of this unexpected news. Mapes paused long enough to +gruffly indicate a coarse suit of clothes draped over a stool, and was +about to retire without further words, when I recovered sufficiently +from the shock to halt him with a question. +</P> + +<P> +"I suppose you saw those people picked up from the keel-boat?" +</P> + +<P> +"Sure; helped pull 'em aboard. A damned queer combination, if you ask +me; two nigger wenches, Joe Kirby, an' a deputy sheriff from down Saint +Louee way." +</P> + +<P> +"Two women, you say? both negresses?" +</P> + +<P> +"Well, thet whut Joe sed they wus, an' I reckon he knew; an' neither ov +'em put up a holler whin he sed it. However one ov 'em looked ez white +as enybody I ever saw. The deputy he tol' ther same story—sed they +wus both slaves thet Kirby got frum an ol' plantation down below; som' +French name, it wus. Seems like the two wenches hed run away, an' the +deputy hed caught 'em, an' wus a takin' 'em back. Kirby cum 'long ter +help, bein' as how they belonged ter him." +</P> + +<P> +"You knew Kirby then?" +</P> + +<P> +"Hell, ov course. Thar ain't many river men who don't, I reckon. What +is it to you?" +</P> + +<P> +"Nothing; it sounds like a strange story, that's all. I want to get +this wet stuff off, and will be out on deck presently." +</P> + +<P> +I was shivering with the cold, and lost no time shifting into the warm, +dry clothing provided, spreading out my own soaked garments over the +edge of the lower bunk, but careful first to remove my packet of +private papers, which, wrapped securely in oiled silk, were not even +damp. It was a typical steamer bunkhouse in which I found myself, +evidently the abiding place of some one of the boat's petty officers, +exceedingly cramped as to space, containing two narrow berths, a stool +and a washstand, but with ample air and light. The slats across the +window permitted me a view of the river, and the low-lying shore +beyond, past which we were slowly moving. The sun was just rising +above the eastern horizon, and the water reflected a purple tinge. +With no desire to return immediately to the deck, I seated myself on +the stool to consider the situation. +</P> + +<P> +Fate had played a strange trick, and I knew not how best to turn it to +advantage. One thing only was clear; whatever was to be accomplished, +I would have to do it alone—nowhere could I turn for help. In the +first place Kirby undoubtedly had the law with him, and besides was +among friends—those who would naturally believe him, and were loyal to +the institution of slavery. The very fact that this was a Memphis boat +we were on precluded any possibility that the crew would sympathize +with a nigger-stealer. Nor could I anticipate any assistance from +without. Steamboats were few and far between on these northern waters, +and at this time, if the report of war was true, everything afloat +would be headed up stream, laden with troops and provisions. That the +report was true I had no doubt. The probability of an outbreak was +known before I left Fort Armstrong; the crisis had come earlier than +expected, that was all. +</P> + +<P> +This, then, was the situation—through an odd intervention of +Providence here we were all together on this steamer, which was +steadily churning its way northward, every turn of the wheel bearing us +deeper into the wilderness. The chances were that we should thus be +aboard for several days; certainly until we encountered some other boat +bound down stream, which would accept us as passengers. Meanwhile what +should I do? How escape observation? How reach Rene, without +encountering Kirby? The answer was not an easy one. The deputy would +not know me, for I had never been seen by him. Kirby believed me dead, +yet might recognize me in spite of that conviction if we met face to +face. Still, would he? The daring hope that he might not came to me +in a flash. Might it not be possible to so disguise myself as to +become unnoticeable? I sprang up to stare at my features in the small +mirror hanging over the washstand. The face which confronted me in +surprise was almost a strange one even to my eyes. Instead of the +smart young soldier, smoothly shaven, with closely-trimmed hair, and +rather carefully attired, as I had appeared on board the <I>Warrior</I>, the +glass reflected a bearded face, the skin visibly roughened and reddened +by exposure, the hair ragged and uncombed. Even to my view there +remained scarcely a familiar feature—the lack of razor and shears, the +exposure to sun and water, the days of sickness and neglect, had all +helped to transform me into a totally different-appearing person from +what I had formerly been; the officer and gentleman had, by the mystery +of environment, been changed into the outward semblance of a river +roustabout. Nor was this all. The new character was emphasized by the +clothes I wore—far too large to fit, also the texture and color, not +to mention the dirt and grease, speaking loudly of a rough life, and +the vicissitudes of poverty. The metamorphosis was complete; so +complete that I laughed aloud, assured by that one glance that the +gambler, confident that I was dead, would never by any possibility +recognize me in this guise, or while habilitated in such nondescript +garments. Unless some happening should expose me, some occurrence +arouse suspicion, I felt convinced of my ability to even slouch past +him on deck unobserved, and unrecognized. +</P> + +<P> +But the girl—Rene? And so this was how I had appeared to her. No +wonder she questioned me; doubted my first explanation. The thought +that my personal appearance was so disreputable had never occurred to +me before, and even then, staring into that glass, I could scarcely +bring myself to acknowledge the truth. I had first approached her +confident that my appearance as a gentleman would awaken her trust; I +had felt myself to be a most presentable young man in whom she must +instantly repose faith. Yet, this had not been true at all—instead I +came to her with the outward bearing of a worthless vagabond, a +stubble-bearded outcast. And yet she had trusted me; would trust me +again. More; she could never be deceived, or fail to recognize my +presence aboard if she had the freedom of the deck. Kirby might be +deceived, but not Rene. Still she was a woman of quick wit; once +recovered from her first surprise at thus encountering me, neither by +word or look would she ever betray her knowledge. If I could only plan +to meet with her first alone, the peril of her recognition would not be +extreme. +</P> + +<P> +But I must also figure upon the other woman. Who could she be? Not +Eloise Beaucaire surely, for the mate had only mentioned one of the two +as being sufficiently white to be noticeable. That one would surely be +Rene, and it was scarcely probable that Eloise, with no drop of negro +blood in her veins, could appear colored. Perhaps this second woman +was Delia, the quadroon mother. But if so, how did she chance to fall +alone into Kirby's clutches? Was she aboard the keel-boat, locked +below in the cabin, when it rammed into us? If she had been captured +at Shrunk's camp during their murderous raid, what had become of her +companion? Where was Eloise Beaucaire? The harder I sought to +straighten out this mystery the more involved it became. I knew so +little of the facts, there was nothing I could argue from. All that +remained was for me to go forward blindly, trusting implicitly to the +god of luck. +</P> + +<P> +With every additional glance at the face reflected by the mirror, my +confidence strengthened in the ability to encounter Kirby, and pass +unrecognized. Convinced as he undoubtedly was of my death beneath the +black waters of the river he could not possibly imagine my presence +aboard the <I>Adventurer</I>, while my personal appearance was so utterly +changed as to suggest to his mind no thought of familiarity. The +conditions were all in my favor. I was smiling grimly at this conceit, +well pleased at the chance thus afforded me, when the stateroom door +was suddenly flung open, and the hairy face of the mate thrust within. +</P> + +<P> +"I reckon yer better tote them wet duds down ter the boiler room," he +said, gruffly, "an' then git sum grub. Likely 'nough yer wound't mind +eatin' a bit. Be yer a river man?" +</P> + +<P> +"I've never worked on a steamboat, if that is what you mean." +</P> + +<P> +"No; well I reckoned not, but the captain he thought maybe yer had. I +tol' him yer didn't talk like no steamer hand. Howsumever we're +almightly short o' help aboard, an' maybe yer'd like a job ter help pay +yer way?" +</P> + +<P> +My fingers involuntarily closed on some loose gold pieces in my pocket, +but a sudden thought halted me. Why not? In what better way could I +escape discovery? As an employe of the boat I could go about the decks +unsuspected, and unnoticed. Kirby would never give me a second +thought, or glance, while the opportunity thus afforded of speaking to +Rene, and being of service to her, would be immeasurably increased. I +withdrew my hand, swiftly deciding my course of action. +</P> + +<P> +"I suppose I might as well earn a bit," I admitted, hesitatingly. +"Only I had about decided I'd enlist, if the war was still going on +when we got up there." +</P> + +<P> +"That'll be all right. We'll keep yer busy til' then, enyhow. Go on +down below now, an' eat, an' when yer git through, climb up the ladder, +an' report ter me. What'll I call yer?" +</P> + +<P> +"Steve." +</P> + +<P> +"Steve—hey; sorter handy man, ain't yer?" +</P> + +<P> +"Well, I've done a little of everything in my time. I'm not afraid to +work." +</P> + +<P> +During most of the remaining hours of the morning the mate kept me +employed below, in company with a number of others of the crew, in +sorting over the miscellaneous cargo, which had evidently been very +hastily loaded. I began to think that I had made a wrong choice, and +that, in the guise of a passenger, with the freedom of the upper decks, +my chances for observation would have been decidedly better. The work +was hard, and dirty, and, after a few hours of it, I must have looked +my assumed part to perfection. However, it was now too late to assert +myself, and I could only trust blindly to Fate to furnish me with the +information I needed. Mapes merely glanced in upon us occasionally, +leaving the overseeing of the gang to a squatty, red-faced white man, +whose profanity never ceased. There were ten of us in the gang, +several being negroes, and I was unable to extract any information of +value from those I attempted to converse with. One had assisted in +rescuing the party from the wrecked keel-boat, and had seen the two +women, as they came aboard under the glare of a torch, but his +description of their appearance was far from clear, and as to what had +become of them since, he knew nothing. +</P> + +<P> +As we worked in the heat and dirt below, the steamer steadily plowed +its way up stream, meeting with no vessel bound down, or even a +drifting barge; nor did I perceive the slightest sign of any settlement +along the banks. Our course ran zig-zag from shore to shore in an +endeavor to follow the main channel, and progress was slow, the +wheelsman evidently not being well acquainted with the stream. The cry +of a leadsman forward was almost constant. Once we tied up against the +western bank for nearly an hour to remove a bit of driftwood from the +wheel, and I heard voices speaking above on the upper deck as though +passengers were grouped along the rail. I obtained no glimpse of +these, however, although one of the negroes informed me that there were +several army officers on board. The possibility that some of these +might recognize me was not a pleasant thought. I saw nothing of the +captain, but heard him shouting orders to the men engaged tinkering at +the paddle-wheel. The overseer gave me a hat which added little to my +personal appearance, and by the time we were called to knock off for +the noon meal, I was thoroughly tired, and disgusted, feeling as much a +roustabout as I certainly looked. +</P> + +<P> +The meal was served on an unplaned plank, the ends resting on kegs in +front of the boilers. The unwashed gang simply helped themselves, and +then retired to any convenient spot where they chose to eat. I +discovered a fairly comfortable seat on a cracker box, and was still +busily munching away on the coarse, poorly-cooked food, when Mapes, +prowling about, chanced to spy me among the shadows. +</P> + +<P> +"Hullo; is that you, Steve?" he asked, gruffly. "Well, when yer git +done eatin' I got another job fer yer on deck. Yer hear me?" +</P> + +<P> +I signified that I did, and indeed was even then quite ready to go, my +heart throbbing at this opportunity to survey other sections of the +boat. I followed him eagerly up the ladder, and ten minutes later was +busily employed with scrubbing brush, and a bucket of water, in an +endeavor to improve the outward appearance of the paint of the upper +deck. Nothing occurred about me for some time, the passengers being at +dinner in the main cabin. I could hear the rattle of dishes, together +with a murmur of conversation, and even found a partially opened +skylight through which I could look down, and distinguish a small +section of the table. Kirby was not within range of my vision, but +there were several officers in fatigue uniforms, none of their faces +familiar, together with one or two men in civilian dress, I judged +there were no women present, as I saw none, or heard any sound of a +feminine voice. The principal topic of conversation appeared to be in +connection with the war, and was largely monopolized by a red-faced +captain, who had once been a visitor in Black Hawk's camp, and who +loudly asserted that the gathering volunteers would prove utterly +useless in such a campaign, which must eventually be won by the +superiority of regular troops. A hot-headed civilian opposite him at +the table argued otherwise, claiming that the militia was largely +composed of old Indian fighters, who would give a good account of +themselves. The discussion became noisy, and apparently endless, +interesting me not at all. Once I detected Kirby's voice chime in +mockingly, but altogether the talk brought me no information, and +possessed little point. +</P> + +<P> +I had moved away, and was engaged busily scraping at the dingy paint of +the pilot house, when a negro, evidently a cook from his dress, came up +from the lower deck, bearing a tray well-laden with food in one hand, +and disappeared aft. He did not even notice my presence, or glance +about, but I instantly shrank back out Of sight, for I became +immediately conscious that someone was closely following him. This +second man proved to be one of the fellows in civilian clothing I had +previously noticed at the table below, a tall, sallow individual, +attired in a suit of brown jeans, his lean, cracker face ornamented by +a grizzled bunch of chin-whiskers. +</P> + +<P> +"Yer wait a minute thar, Jim," he called out, "'til I unlock that thar +dore. I ain't ther kind thet takes chances with no nigger." +</P> + +<P> +I recognized the peculiar voice instantly, for I had listened to that +lazy drawl before while hidden in the darkness beneath the Beaucaire +veranda—the fellow was Tim, the deputy sheriff from St. Louis. The +negro rested his tray on the rail, while the white man fumbled through +his pockets for a key, finally locating it, and inserting the +instrument into the lock of the second cabin from the stern. It turned +hard, causing some delay, and a muttered curse, but finally yielded, +and the door was pushed partly ajar. I heard no words exchanged with +anyone within, but the negro pushed the tray forward without entering, +sliding it along the deck, while Tim, evidently satisfied that his +charges were quite safe, promptly reclosed and locked the door, +returning the key to the security of his pocket. After staring a +moment over the rail at the shore past which we were gliding, he +disappeared after the negro down the ladder. I was again alone on the +upper deck, except for the wheelsman in the pilot house, yet in that +broad daylight I hesitated to act on my first impulse. Eager as I +certainly was too make the poor girl aware of my presence on board, the +chance of being seen, and my purpose suspected by others, restrained +me. Besides, as yet, I had no plan of rescue; nothing to suggest. +</P> + +<P> +Even as I hesitated, industriously scrubbing away at the paint, Kirby +and the captain appeared suddenly, pausing a moment at the head of the +ladder in friendly conversation. Parting at last, with a hearty laugh +over some joke exchanged between them, the latter ascended the steps to +the pilot house, while the gambler turned aft, still smiling, a cigar +between his lips. I managed to observe that he paused in front of the +second cabin, as though listening for some sound within, but made no +attempt to enter, passing on to the door beyond, which was unlocked. +He must have come to the upper deck on some special mission, for he was +out of my sight scarcely a moment, returning immediately to the deck +below. This occurrence merely served to make clearer in my mind the +probable situation—the after-cabin was undoubtedly occupied by Kirby, +perhaps in company with the deputy; while next to them, securely locked +away, and helpless to escape, were confined the two slave women. In +order to reach them I must operate under the cover of darkness, and my +only hope of being free to work, even then, lay in the faith that the +gambler might become so involved in a card game below as to forget his +caution. So far as Tim was concerned I felt perfectly capable of +outwitting him; but Kirby was dangerous. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap20"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XX +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE STORY OF ELSIE CLARK +</H3> + + +<P> +The next two hours dragged dreadfully slow, in spite of my pretense at +steady work, and the fact that my thoughts were continuously occupied. +The shores past which we glided were low and monotonous, while the +river was but a tawny sweep of unoccupied water. We were already well +above the region of white settlements, in a land beautiful, but +uncultivated. The upper deck remained practically deserted, and I was +encouraged to observe, by glancing through the skylight, that a +stubborn game of poker was being indulged in at the cabin table below. +The amount of stakes visible, as well as some of the language reaching +me, accounted for the absence of passengers outside, even those not +playing circling the table in interest. The deputy, however, was not +among these, and occasionally he wandered up the ladder, and patrolled +the deck, although making no effort to invade the locked stateroom. +Apparently he was merely performing a duty assigned him by Kirby, but +possessed no fear that his prisoners would escape. The last time he +appeared more at ease, and sat down on a stool close to the rail, +smoking his pipe, and staring out glumly at the water. His position +was within a foot or two of the closed door, and I ventured to work my +passage along the front of the cabin, hoping to attract his attention. +Perhaps he was lonely, for he finally observed me in my humble +capacity, and broke the silence with a question. +</P> + +<P> +"Hav' yer ever bin up this way afore?" +</P> + +<P> +I paused in my work, and straightened up stiffly. +</P> + +<P> +"Onct," making the fault in pronunciation prominent. +</P> + +<P> +"Wal', how fur is it then, ter thet damn Yellow Banks?" +</P> + +<P> +"I dunno 'sackly in miles," I acknowledged doubtfully. "Everything +looks just 'bout alike 'long yere," and I took a squint at the bank, as +though endeavoring a guess. "I reckon maybe it'll be 'bout twenty-four +hours' steamin' yet—morn'n thet, likely, if we got ter tie up much +'long shore. Are yer goin' fer ter jine the army?" +</P> + +<P> +"Whut, me jine the army?" he laughed as though at a good joke. "Hell, +no; I'm a sorter sheriff down Saint Louee way, an' all I want fer ter +do now is just git back thar as fast as God Almighty'll let me." +</P> + +<P> +"I see, yer a headin' in the wrong direction. I reckon yer mus' be one +o' them parties whut we done yanked outer thet keel-boat down river +las' night, aint yer?" +</P> + +<P> +"I reckon I wus; whut of it?" +</P> + +<P> +"Nuthin' 'tall; 'tain't no manner o' 'count ter me, fur as thet goes," +and I got down on my knees again to resume scrubbing. "All I wus goin' +fer ter ask yer wus—wan't thar a couple o' womin 'long with ye? +Whut's becom' o' them? I ain't seed hide ner hair ov either since they +cum aboard." +</P> + +<P> +I did not glance around, yet knew that Tim spat over the rail, and +stroked his chin-beard reflectively, after looking hard at me. +</P> + +<P> +"They'se both of 'em niggers," he said, evidently persuaded my question +was prompted only by curiosity. "They belong ter Joe Kirby, an' we got +'em locked up." +</P> + +<P> +"That's whut yer way up yere fur, hey? Goin' ter take 'em back down +river ter Saint Louee, I reckon?" +</P> + +<P> +"Furst boat thet cums 'long. They skipped out night afore las', but we +cotched 'em all right. Yer goin' back on this steamer?" +</P> + +<P> +"Not me; I'm goin' fer ter enlist whin we git ter Yellow Banks. Thar's +a heap more fun in thet, then steam-boatin'." +</P> + +<P> +We continued to talk back and forth for some time but to little +purpose, although I endeavored to lead the conversation so as to learn +more definitely the exact situation of the two prisoners. Whether Tim +was naturally cautious, or had been warned against talking with +strangers by Kirby, I do not know, but, in spite of all my efforts, he +certainly proved extremely close-mouthed, except when we drifted upon +other topics in which I felt no interest. He was not suspicious of me, +however, and lingered on in his seat beside the rail, expectorating +into the running water below, until Mapes suddenly appeared on deck, +and compelled me to resume work. The two disappeared together, seeking +a friendly drink at the bar, leaving me alone, and industriously +employed in brightening up the front of the cabin. I was still engaged +at this labor, not sorry to be left alone, when a cautious whisper, +sounding almost at my very ear, caused me to glance up quickly, +startled at the unexpected sound. I could perceive nothing, although I +instantly felt convinced that whispering voice had issued from between +the narrow slats defending the small stateroom window. No one was in +sight along the deck, and the rag I was wielding hung limp in my hand. +</P> + +<P> +"Who was it that spoke?" I ventured, the words barely audible. +</P> + +<P> +"Ah did; the prisoner in the stateroom. Have both those men gone?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; I am here alone. You are a woman? You are Rene Beaucaire?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, Ah am not her; but Ah thought from the way yer questioned thet +brute, yer was interested. Ah know whar Rene Beaucaire is." +</P> + +<P> +"You know? Tell me first, who you are?" +</P> + +<P> +"Elsie Clark. Ah am a mulatto, a free negress. Ah bin helpin' Massa +Shrunk, an' a cookin' fer him. Yer know whut it wus whut happened down +thar?" +</P> + +<P> +"I know part of it, at least—that Shrunk has been killed. I am not a +steamboatman. I was at Shrunk's cabin, and found the bodies. Tell me +exactly what occurred there." +</P> + +<P> +"Whut's yer name?" +</P> + +<P> +"Steven Knox; I am a soldier. Rene must have told you about me." +</P> + +<P> +"No, sah; she never done tol' me nuthin'. Ah didn't much mor'n see her +enyhow, fur as thet goes." +</P> + +<P> +"Not see her! Then she is not confined there with you?" +</P> + +<P> +"Wiv me? Dar ain't nobody confined yer wiv me. Ah just ain't set eyes +on nobody since Ah done got on board, 'cept de cook. Ah reckon dem +white men aim fer ter tote me soufe, an' sell me fer a slave; dat's why +Ah's locked up yere dis way. But Ah sure does know whar dis yer Rene +Beaucaire wus." +</P> + +<P> +"Where?" +</P> + +<P> +"Wal', sah, it wus 'bout like dis. Long 'bout three o'clock in de +manning, ol' Bill Sikes cum up frum de lower pint, a drivin' his +kivered wagon, an' made Massa Shrunk git up out er bed fer ter git him +anodder team o' hosses. Den dey done routed me up fer ter hustle up +sum grub." +</P> + +<P> +"Sikes; who is Sikes?" +</P> + +<P> +"He lives down by de lower pike, Sah; he's an abolitionist, sah." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, I see; he and Shrunk worked together. He helped with the runaway +slaves." +</P> + +<P> +"Yas, sah. Ah's bin called up thet way afore. So Ah just nat'larly +went ter work cookin', an' purty soon dey all ov 'em cum stragglin' in +ter de cabin fer ter eat. Dar was four ov 'em, sah," her voice a husky +whisper. "Bill Sikes, totin' a gun in his han', a free nigger whut dey +called Pete, an' two wimin. Furst like, bein' Ah wus right busy, Ah +didn't take no heed ov dere faces, fer dey wus all muffled 'round like; +but dey hed fer ter unwrap dem veils fore dey cud eat—tho' de Lord +knows dey didn't no one ov 'em eat much. De bigger one was a quadroon, +maybe 'bout forty years ol', an' de odder she wan't much more'n a gal; +an' dar wan't nuthin' ov de nigger 'bout her, 'cept it mought be de +hair, an' de eyes—dem was sure black 'nough. Ah just nat'larly felt +mighty sorry fer her, fer she done cried all de time, an' cudn't eat +nuthin'." +</P> + +<P> +"You learned who they were? how they came there?" +</P> + +<P> +"Course Ah did. Sikes he 'splained all 'bout 'em ter Massa Shrunk, an' +Ah heerd whut he sed. Ah wus a waitin' on 'em. Seems like, dey hed +run off frum de Beaucaire plantation, sumwhar down ribber on de +Missouri side, 'cause ol' Beaucaire hed died, an' dey wus goin' fer ter +be sold down soufe. De free nigger he wus helpin' fer ter git 'em away +in his boat. De way I heerd 'em tell, dey got snagged in de dark, an' +den drifted ashore at de lower pine. Wanderin' 'round, dey stumbled on +Sikes, an', soon as he heard de story, he just hitched up, an' drove +over whar we were. Took him 'bout three hours, Ah reckon, an' 'long de +road one ov his hosses wint lame." +</P> + +<P> +"And—and what then?" I asked breathlessly, glancing about to assure +myself no one had appeared on deck, as she paused. "They got away?" +</P> + +<P> +"'Cept fer de free nigger, de rest ov 'em started cross kintry fer +Beardstown, sah. De nigger Pete, he didn't go, fer he'd made up his +min' fer ter git bac' hom' ter ol' Missurry de furst chanst he got. We +all ov us helped fer ter put 'em in de wagon, hid undeh a lot o' truck, +an' den Sikes he done drove 'em out thro' de bluffs. Ah done walked +wif de gal, an' she tol' mor' 'bout herself, an' whar she cum frum; an' +dat wus her name, sah." +</P> + +<P> +"Her name? What name?" +</P> + +<P> +"Rene Beaucaire; de quadroon woman, she wus her mother." +</P> + +<P> +I could scarcely voice my surprise, the quick throbbing of my heart +threatening to choke me. +</P> + +<P> +"She claimed that name? She actually told you she was Rene Beaucaire?" +</P> + +<P> +"She sure did. Why? Wan't thet her name?" +</P> + +<P> +"I do not know," I confessed. "I had supposed I had met such a person, +but if what you tell me is true, I was mistaken. Everything has become +confused. Perhaps I shall understand better, if you go on. What +happened after they left?" +</P> + +<P> +"Why, we just went back ter bed, an' 'long 'bout daylight, I reckon, +sum fellars cum ashore off a steamboat, an' done broke inter de house; +muster bin a dozen, er mor', white men, a cussin' an' swearin', an' +sayin' dey wus a huntin' dem thar Beaucaire niggers. We never done +heerd 'em till dey bust in de dore. One ob dem he knocked me down, an' +den Ah saw Massa Shrunk kill one, afore dey got him. Ah don't know +just whut did cum ob de free nigger; Ah reckon maybe he run away. +Dar's a fellar on board yere whut killed Massa Shrunk; an' he's de same +one whut made me cum 'long wid him." +</P> + +<P> +"You mean the deputy sheriff? the man with the chin-whiskers?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, sah. Ah don't mean him. He wus thar all right, but Ah never saw +him hit nobody. It wus another fellar, a smooth-faced man, sorter tall +like, all dressed up, an' who never talks much." +</P> + +<P> +"Kirby—Joe Kirby, a river gambler." +</P> + +<P> +"Dat's de name—Kurby. Wal', he's de one whut wus lookin' fer dis yere +gal, Rene Beaucaire. He wanted her pow'ful bad. Dey hunted all 'round +fer ter git hol' her, cussin' an' threatenin', an' a haulin' me round; +but 'twan't no sorter use. So finally dey took me 'long ter a boat in +de crick—a keel-boat, run by steam. Most de odder men disappeared; Ah +never did know whar dey went, but dis yere Kurby, an' de man wif de +chin-whiskers, dey done shut me up in de cabin. Ah don't know much +whut did happen after dat, till 'bout de time de steamboat done hit us; +an' 'bout de next thing Ah wus yanked up yere on deck." +</P> + +<P> +"But there was another woman on the keel-boat when it was sunk—a +prisoner also. Surely you must have seen her," I insisted. +</P> + +<P> +"Ah saw her—yas," eagerly. "But Ah don't know who she wus, sah, nor +whar she ever cum frum." +</P> + +<P> +"Then she is not there with you?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, sah; Ah's yere all 'lone. Ah reckon, tho', she sure mus' be on +board sumwhar. All what Ah does know is, dat de gal called Rene +Beaucaire sure ain't on board; fer she, an' her mah, am at Beardstown +long fore dis, an' a headin' right smart for Canady; while Ah's headin' +fer down soufe. Ah's a free nigger, an' dey's kidnapped me. Ah's just +told yer all dis, Mister White Man, 'cause you's a frien' ob de +Beaucaires—yer wus, wusn't yer?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," I said soberly, "I am; and, if I can find any chance to help +you, I am going to do it, Elsie. Be careful now; don't talk any +more—the captain is just coming out of the pilot house." +</P> + +<P> +As greatly as this brief, hastily whispered conversation had served to +clear up certain puzzling matters in my mind, the total result of the +information thus imparted by Elsie Clark only rendered the situation +more complex and puzzling. Evidently the other prisoner had not been +confined on the upper deck, but had been more securely hidden away +below, where her presence on board would better escape detection. For +what purpose? A sinister one, beyond all doubt—the expression of a +vague fear in Kirby's heart that, through some accident, her identity +might be discovered, and his plans disarranged. I was beginning to +suspect I might not have rightly gauged those plans. The first +suspicion which assailed me was whether or not the man himself had +already determined that his prisoner was not merely a helpless slave in +his hands, to be dealt with as he pleased under the law, but a free +white woman. If so, and he still desired to keep control, he would +naturally guard her all the more closely from either speech, or contact +with others. His only safety would lie in such action. I had heard +him express boastingly his original design relative to both these +girls; I comprehended the part he intended Eloise Beaucaire to play in +his future, and realized that he cared more to gain possession of her, +to get her into his power, than he did to obtain control of the slave. +This knowledge helped me to understand the predicament which this +revelation put him into, and how desperately he would strive to retain +the upper hand. If, in very truth, she was Judge Beaucaire's white +daughter, and could gain communication with others of her class, +bringing to them proof of her identity, there would be real men enough +on board the <I>Adventurer</I> to rally to her support. Those army officers +alone would be sufficient to overcome any friends Kirby might call +upon, and in that case the gambler's house of cards would fall +instantly into ruins. We were already sailing through free territory, +and even now he held on to his slaves rather through courtesy than law. +Once it was whispered that one of these slaves was white, the daughter +of a wealthy planter, stolen by force, the game would be up. +</P> + +<P> +But would she ever proclaim her right to freedom? It seemed like a +strange question, and yet there remained a reason still for silence. +If she was indeed Eloise Beaucaire—and even as to this I was not as +yet wholly convinced—she had deliberately assumed to be Rene, doing so +for a specific purpose—that object being to afford the other an +opportunity for escape. She, conscious of her white blood, her +standing of respectability, had felt reasonably safe in this escapade; +had decided that no great harm could befall her through such a +masquerade for a few days. If worst came to worst she could openly +proclaim her name at any moment, assured of protection at the hands of +anyone present, and thus defy Kirby. I recalled to memory their +conversation, which I had overheard in the library at Beaucaire; and I +understood now what had easily led to all this—her belief, from +Kirby's own words, that nothing further could be done until the +necessary legal papers had been served on her in person. This faith, +coupled with the mysterious disappearance of Rene and the quadroon +mother, and her being mistaken for the absent girl, all led her +inevitably to the conclusion that she must continue to act out the part +assumed until those others were safe beyond pursuit. With quick wit +she had grasped this chance for service; had encouraged Kirby to +believe her the slave, and then, in sudden desperation, had been driven +into trusting me in an effort to keep out of his hands. +</P> + +<P> +This theory seemed possible enough; yet what she might decide to do +now, under the stress of these new conditions, was no less a problem. +She possessed no knowledge regarding the others, such as I did. She +had no means of guessing that the two others had already actually +escaped, and were even then beyond the power of their pursuers. Her +one thought still would be the continuation of deceit, the insistence +that she was Rene. To do otherwise would defeat her purpose, make her +previous sacrifice useless. She must still fight silently for delay. +Why, she had not so much as trusted me. From the very beginning she +had encouraged me in the belief that she was a negress, never once +arousing the faintest suspicion in my mind. Not by the slip of the +tongue, or the glance of an eye, had she permitted either of us to +forget the barrier of race between. Nothing then, I was convinced, +short of death or disgrace, could ever compel her to confess the truth +yet. Kirby might suspect, might fear, but he had surely never learned +who she was from her lips—that she was Eloise Beaucaire. +</P> + +<P> +And was she? Was the proof of her identity, as yet produced, the story +of Elsie Clark, sufficiently satisfactory to my own mind? It became +more so as I thought, as I remembered. Every link in the chain of +evidence seemed to fall noiselessly into its place, now that I compared +my own experience with the details furnished me by the mulatto girl. +No other conclusion appeared possible, or probable; no other solution +fully met the facts in the case. The conviction that this young woman +was white, educated, refined, the daughter of good blood—no fleeing +negress, cursed with the black stain of an alien race, a nameless +slave—brought to me a sudden joy in discovery I made no attempt to +conceal. "Eloise Beaucaire, Eloise Beaucaire"—the name repeated +itself on my lips, as though it were a refrain. I knew instantly what +it all meant—that some divine, mysterious hand had led from the very +hour of my leaving Fort Armstrong, and would continue to lead until the +will of God was done. It was not in the stars of Fate that such +villainy should succeed; such sacrifice as hers fail of its reward. I +might not know where to turn, or what to do; yet it was with far +lighter heart, a heart stimulated by new hope, the gleam of love, that +I faced the task before me. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap21"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXI +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE LANDING AT YELLOW BANKS +</H3> + + +<P> +Nevertheless, in spite of this resolve, and the fresh courage which had +been awakened within me by the faith that from now on I battled for the +love of Eloise Beaucaire, no immediate opportunity for service came. +All that the dark girl knew of her present whereabouts was that she had +been lifted on board, and, in all probability, taken below. Certainly +the girl had not been cabined on the upper deck; nor was I at present +in any position to seek openly the place of her confinement. I could +only wait patiently, and observe. +</P> + +<P> +Supper was served me in front of the boilers, in company with the rest +of the crew. Later, I was assigned a sleeping space on the lower deck, +barely wide enough to lie in, and was permitted to sit among the +others, under the uptilt of the swinging gangway, listening to their +boisterousness, and rough play, or watching the dusk of evening descend +over the deserted waters, as the laboring steamer battled against the +current. It was a still, black night, and the <I>Adventurer</I> made +extremely slow progress, a leadsman at the bow calling off the depth of +water, and a huge light, rather ingeniously arranged, casting a finger +of radiance along the ghostly shore line. With no marks of guidance on +either bank, the wheelsman felt his uncertain passage upward, advancing +so cautiously progress was scarcely noticeable, and I could frequently +distinguish the voice of the anxious captain from the upper deck, above +the hiss of the steam, as he called some hasty warning. In all +probability we should have eventually been compelled to tie up against +the bank, and await daylight, but for the disappearance of the heavy +masses of clouds overhead, and the welcome gleam of myriads of stars, +reflected along the smooth surface of the water. +</P> + +<P> +Three times, at intervals, I made an effort to explore the second deck, +but each time met with failure to accomplish my object. The narrow +space extending between rail and cabin never seemed entirely deserted, +and my last attempt brought me face to face with Mapes, who very curtly +ordered me below, accompanying his command with a profane request to +remain there. To protest, and thus possibly arouse the mate's +suspicion as to the purpose of my presence on board, would have +resulted in greater damage to our cause than any probable peril of the +coming night. So I obeyed without a word, deeming it best to lie down +quietly in the space allotted, and endeavor to think out some feasible +plan for the morrow, rather than be caught again prowling around +blindly in the dark. To assist me in this decision Mapes hung about +the lower deck, until satisfied that I had actually turned in. +</P> + +<P> +But I made no effort to sleep, and my mind remained busy. Even in the +course of those brief excursions I had acquired some little information +of value, and of a nature to leave me more at ease. I was now +convinced that Kirby, whatever might be his ultimate purpose regarding +the girl, had no present intention of doing her further injury. He +contemplated no immediate attempt at forcible possession, and would be +well satisfied if he could only continue to hold her in strict +seclusion. The thing he was guarding against now, and while they +remained on board, was escape from discovery. +</P> + +<P> +I could easily understand the reason for this. He dare not expose her +to the view of others, or permit her the slightest opportunity to +appeal to them for rescue. Whether the man still believed her to be of +negro blood, or not, the girl's unusual appearance would be certain to +exercise more weight than his unsupported word—her refined, Caucasian +face, the purity of her language, her simple story, would assuredly win +an instant response from many of those on board. These waters were too +far to the northward to be a safe hiding place for slave-hunters, and +Kirby must be fully aware—knowing the characteristics of the river as +he did—that his only security lay in keeping this woman in seclusion, +carefully hidden away under lock and key, until he held her completely +in his power, in a land where slavery was king. Then he could play the +brute, but not here. I was convinced the man possessed brains and +caution enough to deliberately choose this course—to do otherwise +would mark him a fool, and that was not to be thought of. Even his +reckless bravado would never drive him into an utterly unnecessary +peril. All that he planned to accomplish later, could wait; but now +his only purpose was to protect her from observation; to encourage his +fellow-travelers to even forget that he had any slaves on board. There +was a game of cards going on in the salon, in which he was +participating, but Tim, not concerned in it, was wandering back and +forth, up and down the ladder, watchful of every movement about the two +decks, and making it extremely difficult for anyone to pass his guard. +Satisfied as to this, and being intensely weary from my night without +rest, and the hard work of the day, before I even realized the +possibility, I fell sound asleep. +</P> + +<P> +It was about the middle of the following afternoon when the +<I>Adventurer</I> poked her blunt nose around a point of land, and came into +full view of the squalid hamlet of Yellow Banks. A half-hour later we +lay snuggled up against the shore, holding position amid several other +boats made fast to stout trees, busily unloading, and their broad +gangplanks stretching from forward deck to bank. All about was a scene +of confusion and bustle, mud, and frontier desolation. Inspired by the +ceaseless profanity of both mates, the roustabouts began unloading +cargo at once, a steady stream of men, black and white, burdened with +whatever load they could snatch up, moving on an endless run across the +stiff plank, and up the low bank to the drier summit. It chanced to be +my good fortune to escape this labor, having been detailed by Mapes to +drag boxes, bales and barrels forward to where the hurrying bearers +could grasp them more readily. This brought me close to the forward +stairs, down which the departing passengers trooped, threading their +insecure way among the trotting laborers, in an effort to get ashore. +</P> + +<P> +All this deck was sufficiently unobstructed so as to afford me glimpses +without, and for some distance along the bank; and it was not difficult +for one with military training quickly to sense the situation, +especially as I overheard much of the conversation between Mapes and +the young lieutenant quartermaster who immediately came aboard. A more +desolate, God-forsaken spot than Yellow Banks I never saw. It had been +raining hard, and the slushy clay stuck to everything it touched; the +men were bathed in it, their boots so clogged they could hardly walk, +while what few horses I saw were yellow to their eyes. The passengers +going ashore waded ankle deep the moment they stepped off the plank, +and rushes and dried grass had been thrown on the ground to protect the +cargo. Only three log houses were visible, miserable shacks, one of +them a saloon, evidently doing a thriving business. In most cases it +was impossible to distinguish the civilian inhabitants from their +soldier guests. Reynolds' troops, all militia, and the greater part of +them mounted, were an extremely sorry-looking lot—sturdy enough +physically, of the pioneer type, but bearing little soldierly +appearance, and utterly ignorant of discipline. They had been hastily +gathered together at Beardstown, and, without drill, marched across +country to this spot. Whatever of organization had been attempted was +worked out en route, the men being practically without uniforms, tents, +or even blankets, while the arms they bore represented every separate +species ever invented. I saw them straggle past with long squirrel +rifles, Hessian muskets, and even one fellow proudly bearing a +silver-mounted derringer. The men had chosen officers from out their +own ranks by popular election, and these exercised their authority very +largely through physical prowess. +</P> + +<P> +We had an excellent illustration of this soon after tying up at the +landing. A tall, lank, ungainly officer, with a face so distinctively +homely as to instantly attract my attention, led his company of men up +the river bank, and ordered them to transport the pile of commissary +stores from where they had been promiscuously thrown to a drier spot +farther back. The officer was a captain, to judge from certain stripes +of red cloth, sewed on the shoulders of his brown jean blouse, but his +men were far from prompt in obeying his command, evidently having no +taste for the job. One among them, apparently their ringleader in +incipient mutiny, an upstanding bully with the jaw of a prize-fighter, +took it upon himself openly to defy the officer, exclaiming profanely +that he'd be damned if he ever enlisted to do nigger work. The others +laughed, and joined in the revolt, until the captain unceremoniously +flung off his blouse, thus divesting himself of every vestige of rank, +and proceeded to enforce his authority. It was a battle royal, the +soldiers crowding eagerly about, and yelling encouragement impartially +first to one combatant, and then another. +</P> + +<P> +"Kick him in the ribs, Sam!" +</P> + +<P> +"Now, Abe, yer've got him—crack the damn cuss's neck." +</P> + +<P> +"By golly! that's the way we do it in ol' Salem." +</P> + +<P> +"He's got yer now, Jenkins, he's got yer now—good boy, Abe." +</P> + +<P> +Exactly what occurred I could not see, but when the circle of wildly +excited men finally broke apart, the big rebel was lying flat on his +back in the yellow mud, and the irate officer was indicating every +inclination to press him down out of sight. +</P> + +<P> +"Hav' yer hed 'nough, Sam Jenkins?" he questioned, breathlessly. +"Then, blame ye, say so." +</P> + +<P> +"All right, Abe—yer've bested me this time." +</P> + +<P> +"Will yer tote them passels?" +</P> + +<P> +The discomfited Jenkins, one of whose eyes was closed, and full of +clay, attempted a sickly grin. +</P> + +<P> +"Hell! yes," he admitted, "I'd sure admire ter dew it." +</P> + +<P> +The conqueror released his grip, and stood up, revealing his full +height, and reaching out for the discarded blouse, quietly slipped it +on. One of the <I>Adventurer's</I> passengers, an officer in uniform, going +ashore, another tall, spare man, had halted on the gangplank to watch +the contest. Now he stepped forward to greet the victor, with smiling +eyes and outstretched hand. +</P> + +<P> +"Not so badly done, Captain," he said cordially. "I am Lieutenant +Jefferson Davis, of General Atcheson's staff, and may have a good word +to say regarding your efficiency some time." +</P> + +<P> +The other wiped his clay-bespattered fingers on his dingy Jean pants, +and gripped the offered hand, appearing homelier than ever because of a +smear of blood on one cheek. +</P> + +<P> +"Thank ye, sir," he answered good humoredly. "I'm Abe Lincoln, of +Salem, Illinoy, an' I ain't got but just one job right now—that's ter +make them boys tote this stuff, an' I reckon they're goin' ter do it." +</P> + +<P> +With the exchange of another word or two they parted, and not until +thirty years later did I realize what that chance meeting meant, there +in the clay mud of Yellow Banks, at the edge of the Indian wilderness, +when Abraham Lincoln, of Illinois, and Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi, +stood in comradeship with clasped hands. +</P> + +<P> +I recognized the majority of those disembarking passengers who passed +by me within a few feet, but saw nothing of Kirby, the deputy sheriff, +or caught any glimpse of their prisoners. The only conclusion was that +they still remained on board. I was not at all surprised at this, as +their intention undoubtedly was to continue with the steamer, and +return south the moment the cargo of commissary and quartermaster's +stores had been discharged. Neither had any interest in the war, and +there was nothing ashore to attract them which could not be comfortably +viewed from the upper deck. It was safer far to keep close guard over +their charges, and see that they remained out of sight. +</P> + +<P> +We had unloaded perhaps a quarter of our supplies, when an officer +suddenly appeared over the crest of the bank and hailed the captain. +There was a tone of authority in his voice which caused us to knock off +work and listen. +</P> + +<P> +"Is Captain Corcoran there? Oh, you are Captain Corcoran. Well, I +bring orders from headquarters. You are to discontinue unloading, +Captain, retain the remainder of the provisions on board, and prepare +at once to take on men. What's your capacity?" +</P> + +<P> +"Take on men? Soldiers, you mean?" +</P> + +<P> +"Exactly; we've got to find quarters for about seven hundred. Two of +those boats up yonder will take horses. The troops will be along +within an hour." +</P> + +<P> +"We are not to return south, then?" +</P> + +<P> +"No; you're going in the other direction—up the Rock. You better get +busy." +</P> + +<P> +He wheeled his horse and disappeared, leaving the angry captain venting +his displeasure on the vacant air. Kirby, evidently from some position +across the deck, broke in with a sharp question. +</P> + +<P> +"What was that, Corcoran? Did the fellow say you were not going back +to St. Louis?" +</P> + +<P> +"That's just what he said. Damn this being under military orders. +We've got to nose our way up Rock River, with a lot of those measly +soldiers aboard. It's simply hell. Here you, Mapes, stop that +unloading, and get steam up—we've got to put in a night of it." +</P> + +<P> +"But," insisted Kirby in disgust, "I'm not going up there; aren't there +any boats going down?" +</P> + +<P> +"How the hell should I know? Go ashore and find out—you haven't +anything else to do. According to what he said, this boat casts off in +half an hour and heads north." +</P> + +<P> +The men below knocked off work willingly enough, and, taking advantage +of the confusion on board, I endeavored to creep up the stairs and gain +a view of the upper deck. But both Mapes and the second mate made this +attempt impossible, forcing me into the ranks of the others, and +compelling us to restow the cargo. The methods they adopted to induce +sluggards to take hold were not gentle ones, and we were soon jumping +at the snarl of their voices, as though each utterance was the crack of +a whip. By a little diplomacy, I managed, however, to remain within +general view of the gangway and the stairs descending from the deck +above, confident that no one could pass me unseen. This watch brought +no results, except to convince me that Kirby and his party still +remained aboard. So far as I could perceive, no attempt to depart was +made by anyone, excepting a big fellow with a red moustache, who swore +profanely as he struggled through the mud, dragging a huge valise. +</P> + +<P> +The situation puzzled and confused me. What choice would Kirby and the +deputy make? If once up Rock River the <I>Adventurer</I> might very likely +not return for weeks, and it did not seem to me possible that the +impatient gambler would consent to such a delay. Every advance +northward brought with it a new danger of exposure. These were +Illinois troops to be transported—not regulars, but militia, gathered +from a hundred hamlets—and many among them would be open enemies of +slavery. Let such men as these, rough with the pioneer sense of +justice, once suspect the situation of those two women, especially if +the rumor got abroad among them that Eloise was white, and the +slave-hunter would have a hard row to hoe. And I made up my mind such +a rumor should be sown broadcast; aye, more, that, if the necessity +arose, I would throw off my own disguise and front him openly with the +charge. Seemingly there remained nothing else to do, and I outlined +this course of action, growing more confident as the minutes sped, that +the two men had determined to take their chances and remain aboard with +the prisoners. No doubt they hesitated to leap from the frying pan +into the fire, for perilous as it might prove to continue as passengers +of the <I>Adventurer</I>, an even greater danger might confront them ashore, +in that undisciplined camp. Aboard the steamer they could keep their +victims safely locked in the cabins, unseen, their presence unknown; +while probably Captain Corcoran and his two mates, all southern men, +would protect their secret. It seemed to me that this, most likely, +had been the final decision reached, and I determined to stick also, +prepared to act at the earliest opportunity. I could do no more. +</P> + +<P> +It was only an accident which gave me a clue to the real program. +Mapes sent me back into the vacant space just forward of the +paddle-wheel, seeking a lost cant-hook, and, as I turned about to +return the missing tool in my hand, I paused a moment to glance +curiously out through a slit in the boat's planking, attracted by the +sound of a loud voice uttering a command. I was facing the shore, and +a body of men, ununiformed, slouching along with small regard to order, +but each bearing a rifle across his shoulder, were just tipping the +ridge and plowing their way down through the slippery clay in the +direction of the forward gangway. They were noisy, garrulous, profane, +their mingled voices drowning the shouts of their officers, yet +advanced steadily—the troops destined for Rock River were filing +aboard. I saw the column clearly enough, all the soldier in me +revolting to such criminal lack of discipline, and the thought of +hurling such untrained men as these into Indian battle. Yet, although +I saw, not for an instant did my gaze linger on their disordered ranks. +The sight which held me motionless was rather that of a long, broad +plank, protected on either side by a rope rail, stretching from the +slope of the second deck across the narrow gulf of water, until it +rested its other end firmly against the bank. +</P> + +<P> +The meaning of this was sufficiently apparent. For some reason of his +own, Kirby had evidently chosen this means of attaining the shore, and +through personal friendship, Corcoran had consented to aid his purpose. +The reason, plainly enough, was that by use of this stern gangway the +landing party would be enabled to attain the bank without the necessity +of pushing their way through the crowd of idle loungers forward. And +the passage had just been accomplished, for, as my eyes focussed the +scene, they recognized the spare figure of the deputy disappearing over +the crest—a vague glimpse, but sufficient. At the same instant hands +above began to draw in the plank. +</P> + +<P> +There was but one thing for me to do, one action to take—follow them. +Dropping the cant-hook, I turned aft and crept forth through a small +opening onto the wooden frame which supported the motionless +paddlewheel, choosing for the scene of operations the river side, where +the boat effectively concealed my movements from any prying eyes +ashore. Everyone aboard would be clustered forward, curiously watchful +of that line of soldiers filing across the gangplank and seeking +quarters upon deck. The only danger of observation lay in some +straggler along the near-by bank. I lowered myself the full length of +my arms, dangling there an instant by clinging to the framework; then +loosened my grip and dropped silently into the rushing waters beneath. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap22"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXII +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +MY FRIEND, THE DEPUTY SHERIFF +</H3> + + +<P> +Well below the surface, yet impelled swiftly downward by the sturdy +rush of the current, sweeping about the steamer's stern, I struck out +with all the strength of my arms, anxious to attain in that first +effort the greatest possible distance. I came panting up to breathe, +my face lifted barely above the surface, dashing the water from my +eyes, and casting one swift glance backward toward the landing. The +high stern of the <I>Adventurer</I> was already some considerable distance +away, exhibiting no sign of movement along her after-decks, but with +that snake-like line of men still pouring over the crest of the bank, +and disappearing forward. Great volumes of black smoke swept forth +from the funnels, and my ears could distinguish the ceaseless hiss of +steam. Again I permitted my body to sink into the depths, swimming +onward with easier stroke, satisfied I had not been seen. +</P> + +<P> +When I came up the second time I was quite far enough to be safe, and +the stragglers had largely disappeared on board. Content to tread +water, yet constantly drifting farther away in the trend of the +current, I was able to observe all that took place. The sun had +disappeared, and the western shore rested obscured by a purple haze, +the wide stretch of water between slowly darkening. Light lingered +still, however, along the clay hills of Yellow Banks, crowded with +those soldiers left behind, who had gathered to speed the departure of +their more fortunate comrades. The decks of the <I>Adventurer</I> were +black with men, their cheers and shouts echoing to me along the surface +of the river. Slowly the steamer parted from the shore, as the +paddle-wheel began to revolve, flinging upward a cataract of spray, the +space of open water widening, as the advancing bow sought the deeper +channel, and headed northward. A great resounding cheer from both ship +and shore mingled, rolling out over the darkening waters of the river, +and echoed back by the forests along the bank. Farther up two other +boats—mere phantoms in their white paint—cast off also, and followed, +their smoke wreaths trailing behind as they likewise turned their prows +up stream. Ten minutes later the three were almost in line, mere blobs +of color, barely distinguishable through the descending dusk. +</P> + +<P> +I swam slowly ashore, creeping up the low bank into the seclusion of a +shallow, sandy gully, scooped out by the late rains. The air was mild, +and I experienced no chill from my wet clothes, the warmth of the sand +helping to dry them on my body. The river and sky were darkening fast, +the more brilliant stars already visible. The western shore had +entirely vanished, while nothing remained in evidence of those +department boats except the dense black smoke smudge still outlined +against the lighter arch of sky overhead. To my left the camp fires of +the soldiers still remaining at Yellow Banks began to show red with +flame through the shadows of intervening trees, and I could hear the +noise of hammering, together with an occasional strident voice. +Immediately about me all was silent, the steadily deepening gloom +rendering my surroundings vaguely indistinct. +</P> + +<P> +Thus far I possessed no plan—except to seek her. How this was to be +accomplished appeared in no way clear. I lay there, my mind busy with +the perplexing problem. Where could Kirby go, now that he was ashore? +How could he hope to find concealment in the midst of that rough camp? +that little, squalid frontier settlement of a few log huts? Could it +be possible that he had friends there—old cronies to whom he might +venture to appeal for shelter, and protection? men of his own kidney to +whom he could confide his secret? As the thought occurred to me it +seemed quite possible; indeed it scarcely appeared probable that he +would, under any other circumstances, have made the choice he did. +</P> + +<P> +Surely such a man could never have risked going ashore unless some +definite plan of action had already formulated itself in his mind. And +why should the fellow not possess friends at Yellow Banks? He knew the +river intimately and all the river towns; possibly he had even landed +here before. He was a man feared, hated, but obeyed the full length of +the great stream; his name stood for reckless daring, unscrupulous +courage everywhere; he could command the admiration and loyalty of +every vicious character in the steamboat service between Fort Crawford +and New Orleans. It was hardly likely that none of these men, floaters +at best, were in this miscellaneous outpouring of militia; indeed it +was almost certain there would be some officers among them, as well as +enlisted men. +</P> + +<P> +As my thought grasped these facts, they led to the only possible +decision. I would venture forward, rather blindly trusting that good +fortune might direct my steps aright. I would have to discover first +of all, where Kirby had taken Eloise—into whose hands he had deposited +the girl for safe keeping. This task ought not to be difficult. The +settlement was small, and the camp itself not a large one; no such +party could hope to enter its confines without attracting attention, +and causing comment. There was but slight discipline, and the majority +of the soldiery were simple-hearted, honest fellows who could be easily +induced to talk. Once I had thus succeeded in locating her, the rest +ought to prove comparatively easy—a mere matter of action. For I had +determined to play the spy no longer; to cease being a mere shadow. To +my mind the excuse for masquerade no longer existed. The two fugitives +were already safely on their way toward Canada, beyond any possibility +of pursuit; and, from now on, I could better play my game in the open, +confident that I held the winning hand in my knowledge of the girl's +identity. +</P> + +<P> +So I proposed finding Eloise, and telling her the whole truth; +following that, and assured of her support, I would defy Kirby, +denounce him if necessary to the military authorities, identifying +myself by means of my army commission, and insist on the immediate +release of the girl. The man had broken no law—unless the wanton +killing of Shrunk could be proven against him—and I might not be able +to compel his arrest. Whatever he suspected now relative to his +prisoner, he had originally supposed her to be his slave, his property, +and hence possessed a right under the law to restrain her liberty. But +even if I was debarred from bringing the man to punishment, I could +break his power, and overturn his plans. Beyond that it would be a +personal matter between us; and the thought gave me joy. Certainly +this method of procedure looked feasible to me; I saw in it no +probability of failure, for, no matter how many friends the gambler +might have in camp, or the influence they could exert in his behalf, +they could never overcome the united testimony I was now able to +produce. The mere statement of the girl that she was Eloise Beaucaire +would be sufficient to free her. +</P> + +<P> +I attained my feet, confident and at ease, and advanced up the gully, +moving cautiously, so as not to run blindly upon some sentry post in +the darkness. There would be nervous soldiers on duty, liable to fire +at any sound, or suspicious movement, and it was a part of my plan to +penetrate the lines unseen, and without inviting arrest. Once safely +within the confines of the camp, the lack in uniforms and discipline, +would afford ample freedom, but to be held as a prisoner, even for a +short time, might prove a very serious matter. Within a short distance +the gully became too shallow for further concealment. I could perceive +the red glow of the fires gleaming out between the trees, and the +numerous dark figures of men, engaged in various tasks, or lying idly +about, waiting a call from the cooks to supper. My judgment told me +that I must already be safely within the picket lines, able to walk +forward unmolested, and mingle with these groups fearlessly. I was yet +standing there, uncertain as to which group I should choose to +companion with, when the dim figure of a man, unquestionably drunk, +came weaving his uncertain way along a footpath which ran within a yard +of my position. Even in that darkness, not yet dense with night, the +lank figure possessed an outline of familiarity, and the sudden blazing +up of a fire revealed the unmistakable features of the deputy. +</P> + +<P> +"Hullo," I said, happily, stepping directly before him. "When did you +come ashore?" +</P> + +<P> +He stopped as though shot, bracing himself with difficulty, and +endeavoring to gain a glimpse of my face. +</P> + +<P> +"Hello, yerself," he managed to ejaculate thickly. "Who are yer? +frien' o' mine?" +</P> + +<P> +"Why, don't yer remember me, ol' man? I'm the feller who wus scrubbin' +the paint on the <I>Adventurer</I>. We wus talkin' tergether comin' up. I +wus goin' fer ter enlist." +</P> + +<P> +"Hell! yes; glad ter see yer. Sum hot whisky et this camp—tried eny?" +</P> + +<P> +"No," I answered, grasping at the opportunity to arouse his generosity. +"I ain't got no coin to buy. They wudn't let me leave ther boat, ner +pay me a picayune, so I just skipped out. I'm flat broke; maybe yer +cud stake me fer a bite ter eat?" +</P> + +<P> +"Eat!" he flung one arm lovingly about my shoulders, and burst into +laughter. "Yer bet yer life, we're a goin' ter eat, an' drink too. I +don't go back on none o' ther boys. Yer never heerd nuthin' like thet +'bout Tim Kennedy, I reckon. Eat, sure—yer know Jack Rale?" +</P> + +<P> +"Never heerd the name." +</P> + +<P> +"What, hell! never heerd o' Jack Rale! Ol' river man, half hoss, half +alligator; uster tend bar in Saint Louee. He's up yere now, a sellin' +forty-rod ter sojers. Cum up 'long with him frum Beardstown. Got a +shack back yere, an' is a gittin' rich—frien' o' mine. Yer just cum +'long with me—thas all." +</P> + +<P> +I permitted him to lead me, his voice never ceasing as we followed the +dim trail. I made out little of what he said, nor did I question him. +Drunk as the man was, I still thought it best to wait until more +thoroughly assured that we were alone. Besides I could take no chance +now with his garrulous tongue. The trail ended before a two-room log +cabin, so deeply hidden in the woods as to be revealed merely by a +glimmer of light shining out from within through chinks in the walls. +Tim fumbled for the latch and finally opened the door, lurching across +the threshold, dragging me along after him. The room was evidently +kitchen and bar combined, the latter an unplaned board, resting on two +upturned kegs, with a shelf behind containing an array of bottles. +There were two men at a sloppy table, a disreputable looking white +woman stirring the contents of a pot hung over the open fire, and a +fellow behind the bar, attired in a dingy white apron. It was all +sordid enough, and dirty—a typical frontier grogshop; but the thing of +most interest to me was the proprietor. The fellow was the same +red-moustached individual whom I had watched disembark from the steamer +that same afternoon, slipping in the yellow mud as he surmounted the +bank, dragging his valise along after him. So it was this fellow +passenger who had given these fugitives refuge; it was his presence in +these parts which had decided Kirby to make the venture ashore. He +glanced up at our entrance, the glare of light overhead revealing a +deep, ugly scar across his chin, and a pair of deep-set, scowling eyes. +</P> + +<P> +"Back in time fer supper, hey, Kennedy," he growled, none too +cordially. "Who's yer frien'?" +</P> + +<P> +"A feller whut's goin' ter enlist. He's all right, Jack," the deputy +hiccoughed thickly. "Les' liquor, an' then we'll eat. I'm payin' the +bill—so whut the hell is it ter yer?" +</P> + +<P> +"Nuthin' 'tall; eny frien' o' yers gits ther best I hav'. Corn liquor, +I reckon?" +</P> + +<P> +He set out a squat bottle on the bar, and thinking it best to humor the +both of them I poured out a stiff drink, fully aware that Rale was +observing my features closely. +</P> + +<P> +"Seen yer afore sumwhar, ain't I?" +</P> + +<P> +"I reckon," I replied indifferently, watching Tim fill his glass. "I +worked my way up on the boat; saw yer on board." +</P> + +<P> +"Sure; that's it; 'tain't in my line fer ter forgit a face. Yer ain't +enlisted yit?" +</P> + +<P> +"No; reckon I'll wait till maunin', an' clean up a bit furst. How +'bout sum soap an' water fore I eat? an' yer cudn't loan me a razor, +cud ye?" +</P> + +<P> +He rubbed his chin reflectively with stubby fingers. +</P> + +<P> +"Wal' I got plenty o' water, an' maybe cud scare up sum soap. Tim yere +he's got a razor, an', if he's a frien' o' yers, I reckon he mought +lend it ter yer—thet's sure sum hell ov a beard yer've got." +</P> + +<P> +The deputy gulped down his drink, and smacked his lips, clinging with +one hand to the bar, regarding me lovingly. +</P> + +<P> +"Sure; he's friend' o' mine. Shave him myself soon's I git sober. +Stand most whisky all righ', but damn if I kin this kind—only hed +three drinks, tha's all—-whut's thet? Yer can't wait? Oh, all righ' +then, take it yerself. Mighty fin' razor, ol' man." +</P> + +<P> +Rale found me a tin basin, water, a bit of rag for a towel, and a +small, cracked mirror, in which my reflection was scarcely +recognizable. He was a man of few words, contenting himself with +uttering merely a dry comment on Kennedy, who had dropped back into a +convenient chair, and buried his face on the table. +</P> + +<P> +"Tim's a damn good fellow, an' I never saw him so blame drunk afore," +he said, regretfully. "Know'd him et Saint Louee; used ter drop in ter +my place. He an' Kirby hed a row, an' I reckon thet's whut started him +drinkin'." +</P> + +<P> +"A row; a quarrel, you mean?" forgetting myself in surprise. "Who's +Kirby?" +</P> + +<P> +"Joe Kirby; yer sure must know him, if yer a river man. Slim sorter +feller, with a smooth face; slickest gambler ever wus, I reckon." +</P> + +<P> +"Why, of course," getting control of myself once more. "We picked him +up, 'long with Tim, down river. Hed two women with 'em, didn't they? +runaway niggers?" +</P> + +<P> +Rale winked facetiously, evidently rather proud of the exploit as it +had been related to him. +</P> + +<P> +"Wal', ther way I understan', they wa'n't both of 'em niggers; however, +that was the story told on board. This yere Joe Kirby is pretty damn +slick, let me tell you. One of 'em's a white gurl, who just pretended +she wus a nigger. I reckon thet even Kirby didn't catch on ter her +game et furst; an' when he did he wus too blame smart ter ever let her +know. She don't think he knows yet, but she's liable fer ter find out +mighty soon." +</P> + +<P> +"But he cannot hold a white woman," I protested stoutly. +</P> + +<P> +"Can't, hey! Wal', I reckon there are ways o' even doin' thet, an' if +thar be, Kirby'll find it. They say thar's mor'n one way ter skin a +cat, an' Joe never cut his eye teeth yisterday, let me tell yer. Thet +gurl's not only white—she's got money, scads ov it, and is a good +looker. I saw her, an' she's some beaut; Joe ain't passin' up nuthin' +like that. I reckon she won't find no chance ter raise a holler fore +he's got her tied good an' strong." +</P> + +<P> +I stared blankly at the fellow, a thousand questions in my mind, and a +dim perception of what he meant permeating my brain. +</P> + +<P> +"Do you mean," I asked, horrified, "that he will compel her to marry +him?" +</P> + +<P> +"Sum smart little guesser, ain't yer? I reckon she's in a right smart +way ter do it, et thet." +</P> + +<P> +"And wus this the cause of the quarrel between Kirby and Kennedy?" +</P> + +<P> +"Wal', I reckon it wus; leastwise Tim wudn't be mixed up in the affair +none. They hed it prutty blame hot, an' I reckon thar'd bin a dead +deputy if hedn't bin fer me. Tim thought I wus a prutty gud frien' an' +cum over yere ter liquor, an' eat. Ther joke ov it is, he never know'd +thet Joe hed told me all 'bout the fix he wus in, afore we cum ashore. +Hell, it wus all fixed up whut wus ter be done—only we didn't expect +the steamer wus goin' on north. Thar's sum boys wantin' a drink; see +yer agin." +</P> + +<P> +I finished shaving, making no attempt to hurry, busily thinking over +this new situation. In the first place why had Rale told me all this? +Quite probably the indiscretion never occurred to him, or a thought +that the matter would prove of any personal interest to me. He had +been drinking, and was in a reckless mood; he believed me a common +river roustabout, with few scruples of conscience, and possibly had +even picked me out as an assistant in the affair. I felt convinced the +man had some purpose in his conversation, and that he had not finished +all he intended to say, when the entrance of customers compelled his +return to the bar. His parting words implied that. Perhaps the revolt +of the deputy made it necessary for the conspirators to select another +helper to properly carry out their nefarious scheme, and Rale had +decided that I might answer. I hoped this might prove the explanation, +and determined to seek the earliest opportunity to impress upon that +individual the fact that I was desperately in need of money, and +decidedly indifferent as to how it was obtained. If I could only have +a moment alone with Kennedy, in which to learn exactly what he knew. +But it was plainly useless to hope for this privilege; the fellow slept +soundly, his face hidden in his arms, the sleep of complete drunkenness. +</P> + +<P> +The two soldiers, whose entrance had interrupted our talk, remained at +the bar drinking, until after I had completed my toilet; and were still +there listening to a story Rale was telling, when the slatternly white +woman announced that supper was ready to serve. Seemingly I was the +only one prepared to eat, and I sat down alone at a small table, +constructed out of a box, and attempted to do the best I could with the +food provided. I have never eaten a worse meal, or a poorer cooked +one; nor ever felt less inclination to force myself to partake. +Finally the soldiers indulged in a last drink, and disappeared through +the door into the night without. Tim slept soundly, while the other +men remained engrossed in their game of cards. Rale wiped off the bar, +glanced about at these, as though to reassure himself that they were +intent on their play; then, removing his apron, he crossed the room, +and drew up a chair opposite me. +</P> + +<P> +"All right, Sal," he grunted shortly. "Bring on whut yer got." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap23"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXIII +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +A NEW JOB +</H3> + + +<P> +He remained silent, staring moodily at the fire, until after the woman +had spread out the dishes on the table before him. Then his eyes fell +upon the fare. +</P> + +<P> +"Nice looking mess that," he growled, surveying the repast with +undisguised disgust. "No wonder we don't do no business with thet kind +ov a cook. I reckon I'd a done better to hav' toted a nigger back with +me. No, yer needn't stay—go an' make up them beds in the other room. +I'll watch things yere." +</P> + +<P> +He munched away almost savagely, his eyes occasionally lifting to +observe me from beneath their shaggy brows, his muscular jaws fairly +crunching the food. I judged the fellow had come over intending to +resume our interrupted conversation, but hardly knew what he had best +venture. I decided to give him a lead. +</P> + +<P> +"I ain't got no money, myself," I began to explain, apologetically, +"but Tim thar sed he'd pay my bill." +</P> + +<P> +"Sure, that's all right; I ain't a worryin' none. Maybe I might put +yer in an easy way o' gittin' hold o' a little coin—thet is if ye +ain't too blame perticular." +</P> + +<P> +"Me!" I laughed. "Well, I reckon I don't aim fer ter be thet. I've +bin ten years knockin' 'bout between New Orleans an' Saint Louee, +steamboatin' mostly. Thet sort o' thing don't make no saint out'r eny +kin'd man, I reckon. What sort'r job is it?" +</P> + +<P> +He eyed me cautiously, as though not altogether devoid of suspicion. +</P> + +<P> +"Yer don't somehow look just the same sort o' chap, with them ther' +whiskers shaved off," he acknowledged soberly. "Yer a hell sight +better lookin' then I thought yer wus, an' a damn sight younger. Whar +wus it yer cum frum?" +</P> + +<P> +"Frum Saint Louee, on the boat, if thet's what yer drivin' at." +</P> + +<P> +"Tain't what I'm drivin' at. Whar else did yer cum frum afore then? +Yer ain't got no bum's face." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, I see; well, I can't help that, kin I? I wus raised down in +Mississip', an' run away when I wus fourteen. I've been a driftin' +'long ever since. I reckon my face ain't goin' ter hurt none so long +as the pay is right." +</P> + +<P> +"No, I reckon maybe it won't. I've seed sum baby faces in my time thet +sure hed the devil behind 'em. Whut's yer name?" +</P> + +<P> +"Moffett—Dan Moffett." +</P> + +<P> +He fell silent, and I was unpleasantly aware of his continued scrutiny, +my heart beating fiercely, as I endeavored to force down more of the +food as an excuse to remain at the table. What would he decide? I +dared not glance up, and for the moment every hope seemed to die within +me; shaving had evidently been a most serious mistake. Finally he +spoke once more, but gruffly enough, leaning forward, and lowering his +voice to a hoarse whisper. +</P> + +<P> +"Wal' now see yere, Moffett, I'm goin' fer ter be damn plain with yer. +I'm a plain man myself, an' don't never beat about no bush. I reckon +yer whut yer say ye are, fer thar ain't no reason, fer as I kin see, +why we should lie 'bout it. Yer flat broke, an' need coin, an' I'm +takin' at yer own word—thet ye don't care overly much how ye git it. +Thet true?" +</P> + +<P> +"Just 'bout—so it ain't no hangin' job." +</P> + +<P> +"Hell, thar ain't really no manner o' risk at all. Yer don't even hav' +ter break the law fer as I know. It's just got fer ter be done on the +dead quiet, an' no question asked. Now look yere," and he glared at me +fiercely, a table knife gripped in one hand. "I'm sum wildcat whin I +onct git riled, an' if yer play any dirt I'll sure take it out'r yer +hide if I'm ten years a findin' yer. Yer don't want'r try playin' no +tricks on Jack Rale." +</P> + +<P> +"Who's a playin' any tricks?" I protested, indignantly. "Whatever I +says I'll do, an' thar won't be no talkin' 'bout it nether. So whut's +the job? This yere Kirby matter?" +</P> + +<P> +He nodded sullenly, a bit regretful that he had gone so far I imagined, +and with another cautious glance about the room. +</P> + +<P> +"I'll tell yer all ye need ter know," he began. "'Tain't such a long +story. This yere Joe Kirby he's a frien' o' mine; I've know'd him a +long time, an' he's in a hell of a fix. He told me 'bout it comin' up +on the boat, an', betwixt us, we sort'r fixed up a way ter stack ther +cards. Here's how it all happened: Thar wus an ol' planter livin' down +in Missoury at a place called Beaucaire's Landin'. His name wus +Beaucaire, an' he hed a son named Bert, a damn good-fer-nuthing cuss, I +reckon. Wal' this Bert runned away a long while ago, an' never cum +back; but he left a baby behind him—a gurl baby—which a quadroon +slave give birth too. The quadroon's name wus Delia, an' the kid wus +called Rene. Git them names in yer head. Ol' Beaucaire he knew the +gurl wus his son's baby, so he brought her up 'long with his own +daughter, who wus named Eloise. They wus both 'bout ther same age, an' +nobody seemed ter know thet Rene wus a nigger. Fer sum reason ol' +Beaucaire never set her free, ner the quadroon nether. Wal' Kirby he +heard tell o' all this sumwhar down the river. Yer see he an' Bert +Beaucaire run tergether fer a while, till Bert got killed in a row in +New Orleans. I reckon he tol' him part o' the story, an' the rest he +picked up in Saint Louee. Enyhow it looked like a damn good thing ter +Kirby, who ain't passin' up many bets. Ol' Beaucaire wus rich, an' +considerable ov a sport; people who hed seed the gurls sed they wus +both ov 'em beauties an' Eloise—the white one—hed an independent +fortune left her through her mother. So Kirby, he an' a feller named +Carver—a tin-horn—planned it out betwixt 'em ter copper ol' +Beaucaire's coin, an' pick up them gurls along with it." +</P> + +<P> +"But how cud they do thet?" +</P> + +<P> +"Luck mostly, I reckon, an' Kirby's brains. The plan wus ter git +Beaucaire inter a poker game, ease him 'long a bit, an' then break him, +land, niggers, an' all. They didn't figure this wud be hard, fer he +wus a dead game gambler, an' played fer big stakes. It wus luck though +what giv' 'em their chance. Beaucaire hed sum minin' claims up on the +Fevre, an' hed ter go up thar. It's a long, lonesom' trip, I reckon, +an' so the other two they went 'long. They got the ol' chap goin' an +comin', an' finally coddled him 'long till he put up his big bet on a +sure hand. When he found out whut hed happened the of gent got so +excited he flung a fit, an' died." +</P> + +<P> +"Leavin' Kirby ownin' all the property?" +</P> + +<P> +"Every picayune, niggers an' all. It wus sum sweep, an' he hed signed +bills o' sale. Wa'n't nobody cud git it away frum him. Wal', Joe he +didn't want fer ter make no fuss, ner scare the gurl none, so he went +down ter' Saint Louee an' made proof o' ownership afore a jedge he +know'd. Then, with the papers all straight, he, an' the sheriff, with +Tim yere, the deputy, run up the river at night ter serve 'em quietly +on the daughter—the white one, Eloise. Kirby he didn't aim ter be +seen at all, but just went 'long so thar wudn't be no mistake. Yer +see, them papers hed ter be served afore they cud take away the +niggers. Kirby wus goin' ter sell them down river, an' not bother +'bout the land fer awhile, till after he'd hed a chance ter shine up +ter this yere gurl Eloise. He'd never seen her—but, enyhow, he got +thet notion in his hed." +</P> + +<P> +"She wus the daughter; the white one?" +</P> + +<P> +"Sure; he hed the other by law. Wal', when they all got thar, nobody +wus home, 'cept one o' the gurls, who claimed fer ter be Rene—the one +whut wus a nigger, thet Kirby owned. Nobody know'd which wus which, +an' so they hed ter take her word for it. They cudn't do nuthin' legal +till they found the other one, an' they wus sittin' round waitin' fer +her ter turn up, when the nigger gurl they wus watchin' got away." +</P> + +<P> +"How'd she do thet?" +</P> + +<P> +"Don't noboddy seem ter know. Damn funny story. Way they tell it, +sumbody must'r knocked Kirby down an' run oft with her. Whoever did +it, stole the boat in which Kirby an' the sheriff cum up the river, an' +just naturally skipped out—the sheriff's nigger an' all. It wus a +slick job." +</P> + +<P> +"Of course, they chased them?' +</P> + +<P> +"Best they cud, not knowin' which way they'd gone. They reckoned the +whol' bunch must'r got away tergether, so the sheriff he started fer +Saint Louee, an' the others got onto a troop boat what happened ter cum +'long, and started north. Long 'bout the mouth ov the Illinoy they +caught up with a nigger-stealer named Shrunk. They hed a fight in an' +about his cabin, an' sum killin'. Two ov the womin got away, but Kirby +an' Tim got hold o' this gurl what hed claimed ter be Rene, an' a +mulatto cook who wus a workin' fer Shrunk. I reckon maybe yer know the +rest." +</P> + +<P> +"I know they wus run down by the <I>Adventurer</I>, an' hauled aboard. But +how did Kirby learn his prisoner wus white? Did she tell him?" +</P> + +<P> +"I should say not. It wus the mulatto cook who told him, although, I +reckon, he hed his doubts afore thet I knew she wusn't no nigger the +furst minute I got eyes on her—they can't fool me none on niggers; I +wus raised 'mong 'em. But so fur's the gurl's concerned, she don't +know yet thet Kirby's found out." He emitted a weak laugh. "It sorter +skeered Joe ter be caught way up yere in this kintry, kidnapin' a white +gurl. He didn't know whut the hell ter do, till I give him a p'inter." +</P> + +<P> +"You were the one who suggested marriage?" +</P> + +<P> +"Wal', I sed she cudn't do nuthin' 'gainst him onct he wus married to +her. I thought o' thet right away. Yer see this wus how it happened: +Kirby sed he'd like fer ter marry her, an' I sez, 'why not then? +Thar's an ol' bum ov a preacher yere at Yellow Banks, a sorter +hanger-on ter one o' them militia companies, what'll do eny damn thing +I tell him too. I got the goods on him, an' he knows it.' +</P> + +<P> +"'But she wouldn't marry me,' he says, 'yer don't know thet gurl.' +</P> + +<P> +"'Don't I,' I asked sarcastic. 'Wal', thar ain't no gurl ever I see +yet thet won't marry a man if the right means are used. How kin she +help herself? Yer leave it ter me.'" +</P> + +<P> +"And he consented?" +</P> + +<P> +"He wus damn glad to, after I told him how it cud be done. But Tim he +wudn't go in with us, an' thet's why we got ter hav' anuther man. Come +on over ter the bar an' hav' a drink, Moffett; them other fellers are +goin' ter eat now." +</P> + +<P> +The diversion gave me opportunity for a moment's thought. The plan was +a diabolical one, cold-blooded and desperate, yet I saw no certain way +of serving her, except by accepting Rale's offer. I had no +satisfactory proof to present against these villains, and, even if I +had, by the time I succeeded in locating headquarters and establishing +my own identity, the foul trick might be executed without my aid, and +the injured girl spirited away beyond reach. I did not even know where +she was concealed, or how I could lay hands on Kirby. The genial Rale +pushed out a black bottle and we drank together. +</P> + +<P> +"Wal'," he said, picking up the conversation where it had ended, quite +satisfied with his diplomacy, and wiping his lips on his sleeve. "What +ye say, Moffett? Thar's a hundred dollars in this job." +</P> + +<P> +"Whar is the gurl?" +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, I reckon she ain't fur away; we kin find her all right. I got ter +know 'bout yer furst. Are yer game?" +</P> + +<P> +"I'm game 'nough, Jack," assuming a familiarity I thought he would +appreciate. "Only I don't want'r jump inter this yere thing without +knowin' nuthin' 'bout it. What is it yer got lined up fer me ter do?" +</P> + +<P> +He helped himself to yet another liberal drink, and I was glad to note +that the fiery liquor was already beginning to have its effect, +increasing his recklessness of speech. +</P> + +<P> +"All right, Dan; have another one on me—no? Wal', hell; I 'spose I +might as wal' tell ye furst as last. Thar ain't nuthin' fer eny o' us +ter git skeered about. We got it all planned. I sorter picked yer out +'cause thar ain't noboddy knows yer in camp here—see? If yer +disappear thar won't noboddy give a damn. An' thar ain't scarcely +noboddy what knows the gurl is yere nether—only maybe a few soldiers, +who thinks she's a nigger. We don't want this affair talked about +none, do we? I reckon not. So we planned it out this way: Thar's a +frien' o' mine got a shack down on Bear Crick, 'bout twenty mile below +yere. He sells red-eye ter barge an' keel-boatmen, what tie up thar +nights. Wal', he's all right—a hell o' a good feller. What we aim +ter do is run the gurl down thar ternight, unbekno'nst ter enybody. I +reckon yer kin ride a hoss?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; so thet's my job?" +</P> + +<P> +"Thet's the whole o' it. Yer Just got ter stay thar with her till +Kirby kin git away, without noboddy thinkin' enything 'bout it. It's +damn easy money ter my notion." +</P> + +<P> +I thought swiftly. There were several questions I wanted to ask, but +dare not. It was better to trust to luck, for I must lull, not arouse +suspicion. Thus far the affair had played wonderfully into my hands; +if I could maintain my part to the end, there ought to be no reason why +the girl should not be saved uninjured. The one thing which I had +feared no longer threatened—I was not to be brought face to face with +Kirby. If we encountered each other at all, it would be in darkness, +where there was only slight probability of recognition. The impatience +in Kale's face drove me to declare myself. +</P> + +<P> +"Why, if thet's all I got ter do fer a hundred dollars," I said gaily, +"I'm yer man, Jack. An' how soon will Kirby be comin' down ter this +yer place on Bear Crick?" +</P> + +<P> +"In a day er two, I reckon. Soon's thar's sum boat headin' down river. +Yer see, this yer's all camp; thar ain't no fit place whar we kin hide +the gurl, an' make her keep her mouth shet. Them blamed soldiers are a +moosin' 'bout every whar, an' if she onct got talkin', our goose wud be +cooked. Furst thing we got ter do is git her outer this camp." +</P> + +<P> +"Ternight, yer sed?" +</P> + +<P> +"'Bout midnight; yer'll go'—hey?" +</P> + +<P> +"I reckon; yer got the money?" +</P> + +<P> +With his eyes fastened on the two men eating, he counted out some gold +pieces on the bar and shoved them over to me, keeping them under cover +of his hand. +</P> + +<P> +"Thar's half o' it, an' the rest is yers when ye bring back the hosses." +</P> + +<P> +"How many hosses? Who's a goin'?" +</P> + +<P> +"Three o' yer. Kirby's fer sendin' the mulatter gurl 'long. She's a +free nigger an' might let her tongue wag. Now listen, Moffett, I'm a +goin' out putty soon ter git things ready, an' I'll leave Sal yere ter +tend bar. Now git this; thar's a right smart trail back o' the cabin, +leadin' straight down ter the crick, with a spring 'bout half way. +Thar ain't no guard down thar, an' ye can't miss it, even en the dark. +The hosses will be thar et midnight waitin' fer yer. All ye got ter do +is just put them two gurls on an' ride away. Yer don't never need ter +speak ter 'em. Yer understand? All right, then; hav' anuther drink." +</P> + +<P> +I shook my head. +</P> + +<P> +"But how'm I goin' ter git ter this place—whatever it's called?" +</P> + +<P> +"Thar ain't no trouble 'bout thet; all yer got ter do is ride straight +south till yer cum ter the crick, an' yer thar. It's Jenkins' Crossing +yer after." +</P> + +<P> +"I reckon thar ain't eny Injuns, er nuthin'?" +</P> + +<P> +"Hell, no; they're all t'other direction; nuthin' worse'n wolves. Say, +though, yer might have trouble with them gurls—got a gun?" +</P> + +<P> +"No." +</P> + +<P> +He reached back into a small drawer under the shelf, and brought out an +ugly-looking weapon, tried the hammer movement with his thumb, and +handed it over to me with a grin. +</P> + +<P> +"Some cannon, an' I want it back. Don't fail at midnight." +</P> + +<P> +"An' thar ain't nuthin' fer me ter do till then?" +</P> + +<P> +"Not a thing; take a nap, if ye want'r. Sal kin wake ye up. I reckon +I won't be back till after yer off." +</P> + +<P> +I sat down in a chair and leaned back against the wall, tilting my hat +down over my eyes and pretending to fall asleep. Through half-closed +lids I managed to see all that transpired in the room, and my mind was +busy with the approaching crisis. Had Rale revealed all the details of +their plan to me, I wondered. It seemed comprehensive enough, and yet +it hardly appeared possible that they would thoughtlessly place in the +hands of any stranger such an advantage. It would only be natural for +them to withhold something—merely trusting me with what I actually had +to know. Yet crime was forever making just such mistakes; these men +had to place confidence in someone, and, after all, it was not so +strange that the saloon keeper had selected me. I had come to him a +penniless river bum, representing a class he had dealt with all his +life. I had played the part well, and he had found no reason to +suspect me. Moreover the course they were pursuing appeared perfectly +natural—the only means of carrying out their scheme, with the least +possible chance for discovery. +</P> + +<P> +Rale busied himself for some minutes before putting on his hat, +counting over some money, and filling his bottles from a reserve stock +underneath the shelf. The two men completed their meal and resumed +their card game, while Sal hastily washed up the few dishes and tucked +them away in a rude cupboard beside the fireplace. Tim slept +peacefully on, but had slightly changed his posture, so that his face +was now upturned to the light. The sight of his familiar features gave +me an inspiration. He was, undoubtedly, an honest fellow, and had +quarreled with Kirby over this very matter, refusing to have any hand +in it. He had supposed up to that time that he was doing no more than +his duty under the law. If I could arouse him from drunken stupor, he +might even be willing to work with me in the attempt to rescue Eloise. +Rale disappeared through the rear door, after exchanging a few words +with the woman, and did not return. I waited motionless for some time, +fearful lest he might come back. Suddenly the front door opened +noiselessly, and Kirby entered, advancing straight toward the bar. Sal +served him, answering his questions, which were spoken so low I could +not catch the words. His eyes swept the room, but the hat concealed my +face, and he only recognized Tim. He paused long enough to bend above +the upturned features of the unconscious deputy, not unpleased, +evidently, to discover him in that condition. +</P> + +<P> +"The damned old fool," he muttered, perhaps not aware that he spoke +aloud. "Rale has got him fixed, all right." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap24"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXIV +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +KIRBY AND I MEET +</H3> + + +<P> +Sal remained seated behind the bar, nodding, and, so soon as I felt +reasonably assured that she was without interest in my movements, I +leaned forward and endeavored to arouse Kennedy. This was by no means +easy of accomplishment, and I was compelled to pinch the fellow rather +severely before he sat up angrily, blurting out the first words which +came to his lips: +</P> + +<P> +"What the devil—" +</P> + +<P> +His half-opened eyes caught my gesture for silence, and he stopped +instantly, his lips widely parted. +</P> + +<P> +"Meet me outside," I whispered, warningly. "But be careful about it." +</P> + +<P> +The slight noise had failed to disturb the woman, and I succeeded in +slipping through the unlatched door without noting any change in her +posture. Tim, now thoroughly awake, and aware of something serious in +the air, was not long in joining me without, and I drew him aside into +a spot of deeper blackness under the trees. He was still indignant +over the pinching, and remained drunk enough to be quarrelsome. I cut +his muffled profanity short. +</P> + +<P> +"That's quite enough of that, Tim," I said sharply, and was aware that +he stared back at me, plainly perplexed by the change in my tone and +manner. "You are an officer of the law; so am I, and it is about time +we were working together." +</P> + +<P> +He managed to release a gruff laugh. +</P> + +<P> +"You—you damn bum; hell, that's a good joke—what'r yer givin' me now?" +</P> + +<P> +"The exact truth; and it will be worth your while, my man, to brace up +and listen. I am going to give you a chance to redeem yourself—a last +chance. It will be a nice story to tell back in St. Louis that you +helped to kidnap a wealthy young white woman, using your office as a +cloak for the crime, and, besides that, killing two men to serve a +river gambler. Suppose I was to tell that sort of tale to Governor +Clark, and give him the proofs—where would you land?" +</P> + +<P> +He breathed hard, scarcely able to articulate, but decidedly sober. +</P> + +<P> +"What—what's that? Ain't you the fellar thet wus on the boat? +Who—who the devil are yer?" +</P> + +<P> +"I am an officer in the army," I said gravely, determined to impress +him first of all, "and I worked on that steamer merely to learn the +facts in this case. I know the whole truth now, even to your late +quarrel with Kirby. I do not believe you realized before what you were +doing—but you do now. You are guilty of assisting that contemptible +gambler to abduct Eloise Beaucaire, and are shielding him now in his +cowardly scheme to compel her to marry him by threat and force." +</P> + +<P> +"The damn, low-lived pup—I told him whut he wus." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, but that doesn't prevent the crime. He's all you said, and more. +But calling the man names isn't going to frighten him, nor get that +girl out of his clutches. What I want to know is, are you ready to +help me fight the fellow? block his game?" +</P> + +<P> +"How? What do ye want done?" +</P> + +<P> +"Give me a pledge first, and I'll tell you." +</P> + +<P> +He took a long moment to decide, not yet wholly satisfied as to my +identity. +</P> + +<P> +"Did ye say ye wus an army offercer?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, a lieutenant; my name is Knox." +</P> + +<P> +"I never know'd yer." +</P> + +<P> +"Probably not, but Joe Kirby does. I was on the steamer <I>Warrior</I> +coming down when he robbed old Judge Beaucaire. That was what got me +mixed up in this affair. Later I was in that skiff you fellows rammed +and sunk on the Illinois. I know the whole dirty story, Kennedy, from +the very beginning. And now it is up to you whether or not I tell it +to Governor Clark." +</P> + +<P> +"I reckon yer must be right," he admitted helplessly. "Only I quit +cold the minute I caught on ter whut wus up. I never know'd she wa'n't +no nigger till after we got yere. Sure's yer live that's true. Only +then I didn't know whut else ter do, so I got bilin' drunk." +</P> + +<P> +"You are willing to work with me, then?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yer kin bet I am; I ain't no gurl-stealer." +</P> + +<P> +"Then listen, Kennedy. Jack Rale told me exactly what their plans +were, because he needed me to help him. When you jumped the +reservation, he had to find someone else, and picked me. The first +thing he did, however, was to get you drunk, so you wouldn't interfere. +That was part of their game, and Kirby came into the saloon a few +minutes ago to see how it worked. He stood there and laughed at you, +lying asleep. They mean to pull off the affair tonight. Here's the +story." +</P> + +<P> +I told it to him, exactly in the form it had come to me, interrupted +only in the recital by an occasional profane ejaculation, or some +interjected question. The deputy appeared sober enough before I had +finished, and fully grasped the seriousness of the situation. +</P> + +<P> +"Now that is the way it stacks up," I ended, "The girl is to be taken +to this fellow's shack and compelled to marry Kirby, whether she wants +to or not. They will have her where she cannot help herself—away from +anyone to whom she could appeal. Rale wouldn't explain what means were +to be used to make her consent, and I didn't dare press him for fear he +might suspect me. They either intend threatening her, or else to +actually resort to force—likely both. No doubt they can rely on this +renegade preacher in either case." +</P> + +<P> +"Jack didn't name no name?" +</P> + +<P> +"No—why?" +</P> + +<P> +"Only thar uster be a bum hangin' round the river front in Saint Louee +who hed preacher's papers, en wore a long-tailed coat. Thar wan't no +low-down game he wudn't take a hand in fer a drink. His name wus +Gaskins; I hed him up fer mayhem onct. I'll bet he's the duck, for he +hung round Jack's place most o' the time. Whatcha want me ter do?" +</P> + +<P> +"It has seemed to me, Tim," I said, thoughtfully, "that the best action +for us to take will be to let them place the girl in my hands, just as +they have planned to do. That will throw them entirely off their +guard. As things stand, I have no knowledge where she is concealed, or +where to hunt for her; but it is evident she is in no immediate danger. +They don't dare to force action here, in this camp. Once we succeed in +getting her safely away, and remain unknown ourselves, there ought to +be very little trouble in straightening out the whole matter. My plan +would be to either ride around the camp in the night, and then report +the whole affair at headquarters, or else to strike out direct for Fort +Armstrong across country. The Indians will all be cleaned out north of +here, and they know me at Armstrong. Do you know any place you can +pick up a horse?" +</P> + +<P> +"Thar's a slew ov 'em round yere," he admitted. "These fellers are +most all hoss-soldiers. I reckon I cud cinch sum sort o' critter. Yer +want me along?" +</P> + +<P> +"Perhaps not, Tim. Your disappearance might cause suspicion, and send +them after us. My plan is to get away as quietly as possible, and let +them believe everything is all right. I want a day or two in which to +work, before Rale or Kirby discover we have not gone to Bear Creek. +I'll meet them alone at the spring down the trail, but shall want you +somewhere near by. You see this is bound to mean a fight if I am +recognized—likely three against one; and those men wouldn't hesitate +at murder." +</P> + +<P> +"I reckon not, an' it wudn't be their furst one nuther, Looks ter me +like yer wus takin' a big chance. I'll be thar, though; yer kin bet on +thet, an' ready fer a fight, er a foot race. This is how I size it +up—if thar ain't no row, I'm just ter keep still, an' lie low; an' if +a fracas starts I'm ter jump in fer all I'm worth. Is thet the +program?" +</P> + +<P> +"Exactly—that's my idea." +</P> + +<P> +"Wal' then, I'm a prayin' it starts; I want just one crack et thet +Kirby, the ornary cuss." +</P> + +<P> +We talked the whole matter over in detail, having nothing better to do, +and endeavoring to arrange for every probability, yet did not remain +together for long. With my eyes to a chink between the logs I got a +view of the interior of the cabin. The two card players had +disappeared, and I imagined they were rolled up in blankets in one +corner of the room. Sal was alone, seated on a stool, her head hanging +forward, sound asleep. Evidently she had received no orders from Rale +to keep watch over the movements of either of us, and was not worried +on account of our absence. In all probability the saloon keeper +believed the deputy was drunk enough to remain in stupor all night, and +he considered my services as bought and paid for. He had traded with +derelicts of my apparent kind before. +</P> + +<P> +I felt nervous, anxious, eager for action. The time dragged horribly. +If I could only be accomplishing something; or if I knew what was +occurring elsewhere. What if something unforeseen should occur to +change Rale's plan? Suppose, for instance, those fellows should decide +to force the marriage tonight, instead of waiting until after arrival +at Jenkins' Crossing? Suppose she resisted them, and was injured? A +suspicion came to me that I might have misunderstood all this. My God! +if I only knew where it was they had concealed the girl. +</P> + +<P> +The two of us explored about the silent cabin, but discovered nothing. +There was no light visible in the rear room, nor any sound of movement +within. The two windows were closed, and the door locked. We found a +convenient stump in the woods, and sat down to wait, where we could see +all that occurred about the cabin. The distant camp fires had died +down, and only occasionally did any sound, generally far away, disturb +the silence. The night was fairly dark, the stars shining brightly +enough, but dense beneath the trees; yet we managed to locate the +nearer sentries by their voices when they reported posts. None were +stationed close by. Everything indicated that we were safely outside +the lines of camp. We conversed in whispers, until Tim, still +influenced by his excessive drinking, became sleepy, and slid off the +stump onto the ground, where he curled up on a pile of leaves. I let +him lie undisturbed, and continued my vigil alone, feeling no +inclination to sleep, every nerve throbbing almost painfully. Three or +four men straggled into the saloon while I sat there, coming from the +direction of the camp, and were doubtless waited upon by Sal. None +remained long within, and all I saw of them were indistinct figures +revealed for a moment, as the light streamed out through the opened +door. One seemed to be an officer, wrapped in a cavalry cloak—hunting +after men out of bounds, possibly—but, later than eleven o'clock, +there were no more callers. Soon after that hour the light within was +turned low. +</P> + +<P> +All the while I remained there, motionless, intently watchful for every +movement about me, with Tim peacefully asleep on the leaves, my thought +was with Eloise Beaucaire, and my mind torn with doubt as to the wisdom +of my choice. Had I determined on the right course? Was there nothing +else I could do? Was it best for me to thus rely on my own efforts? or +should I have sought the assistance of others? Yet where could I turn? +How could I gain in time such assistance? I realized in those moments +that selfishness, love, personal desire, had very largely influenced me +in my decision; I was eager to rescue her alone, by my own efforts, +unaided. I had to confess this to be my secret purpose. I could dream +of nothing else, and was actually unwilling to share this privilege +with any other. I felt she belonged to me; determined she should +belong to me. From that instant when I became convinced that she was +of white blood—that no hideous barrier of race, no stain of dishonor, +held us apart—she had become my one ambition. I not only knew that I +loved her; but I believed almost as strongly that she loved me. Every +glance of her eyes, each word she had spoken, remained indelibly in my +memory. And beyond doubt she thought me dead. Kirby would have told +her that both men in the wrecked boat went down. It would be to his +advantage to impress this on her mind, so as thus to emphasize her +helplessness, and cause her to realize that no one knew of her +predicament. What an awakening it would be when she again recognized +me as actually alive, and beside, her. Surely in that moment I should +read the whole truth in those wonderful eyes, and reap my reward in her +first impulse of gratitude. It was not in nature to share such a +moment with another; I wanted it for myself, alone. +</P> + +<P> +It was nearly twelve before even the slightest sound near at hand +indicated the approach of others. I was already in an agony of +suspense, imagining something might have gone wrong, when the dull +scuffling of horses' hoofs being led cautiously up the trail to my +right, broke the intense silence. I listened to assure myself, then +shook Tim into wakefulness, leaving him still blinking in the shadow of +the stump, while I advanced in the direction of the spring. Suddenly +the darker shape of the slowly moving animals loomed up through the +gloom, and came to a halt directly in front of me. I saw nothing of +Rale until he spoke. +</P> + +<P> +"That yer, Moffett?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; whar's yer party?" +</P> + +<P> +I caught view of his dim outlines, as he stepped slightly forward, +reassured by my voice. +</P> + +<P> +"They'll be yere; thar's a bit o' time ter spare yit. I aimed not ter +keep 'em waitin'. Here, this is yer hoss, an' yere's the leadin' strap +fer the others. Better tie it ter yer pommel, I reckon, so's ter leave +both yer hands free—yer might hav' need fer 'em. We'll tend ter +mountin' the gurls, an' then all ye'll hav' ter do will be ter lead +off. Thar won't be no talkin' done yere. Better walk the hosses till +yer git crost the crick, so the sojers won't hear yer. Got that?" +</P> + +<P> +"I reckon I hav', an' sense 'nough ter know it without bein' told. Did +yer think I wanted ter be catched on this job?" +</P> + +<P> +"All right, but thar's no harm a tellin' yer. Don't be so damn touchy. +Eneyboddy in the shack?" +</P> + +<P> +"No; only the woman, asleep on a stool." +</P> + +<P> +"Whar's Tim gone to?" +</P> + +<P> +"I reckon he don't even know hisself; he's sure sum drunk." +</P> + +<P> +Rale chuckled, patting the side of the horse next him. "Whole caboodle +workin' like a charm," he said, good humoredly. "Thought onct the +deputy might show up ugly, but a quart o' red-eye sure fixed +him—thar's our party a comin' now. Ye're ter stay right whar ye are." +</P> + +<P> +They were advancing toward us up the bank which sloped down toward the +creek. It occurred to me they must be following some well-worn path, +from the silence of their approach—the only sound being a faint +rustling of dead leaves. Rale moved forward to meet them across the +little open space, and a moment later, from my hiding place among the +motionless horses, I became able to distinguish the slowly approaching +figures. There were four in the party, apparently from their garb two +men and two women. The second man might be the preacher, but if so, +why should he be there? Why should his presence at this time be +necessary? Unless the two main conspirators had special need for his +services, I could conceive no reason for his having any part in the +action that night. Had I been deceived in their plans? The horror of +the dawning conception that possibly I had waited too long, and that +the deed I sought to prevent had already been consummated, left me +trembling like an aspen. Even as this fear overwhelmed me with +consternation, I was compelled to notice how helplessly the first of +the two women walked—as though her limbs refused to support her body, +even though apparently upheld by the grip of the man beside her. Rale, +joining them, immediately grasped her other arm, and, between the two, +she was impelled forward. The saloon keeper seemed unable to restrain +his voice. +</P> + +<P> +"Yer must'r give her one hell o' a dose," he growled, angrily. "Half +o' thet wud a bin 'nough. Why, damn it, she kin hardly walk." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, what's the odds?" it was Kirby who replied sarcastically. "She +got more because she wouldn't drink. We had to make her take it, and +it wasn't no easy job. Gaskins will tell you that. Have you got your +man here?" +</P> + +<P> +"O' course; he's waitin' thar with the hosses. But I'm damned if I +like this. She don't know nuthin', does she?" +</P> + +<P> +"Maybe not now; but she'll come around all right, and she signed her +name. So there ain't no hitch. She seemed to get worse after that. +Come on, we can't stand talking here; let's get them off, Jack, there +isn't any time to waste. I suppose we'll have to strap her into the +saddle." +</P> + +<P> +I held back, and permitted them to work, merely leading my own horse +slightly to one side, and keeping in his shadow. I doubt if Kirby even +glanced toward me, although if he did he saw only an ill-defined +figure, with no glimpse of my face. But the chances were that I was +nothing to him at that moment—a mere floating bum whom Rale had picked +up to do this job; and just then his whole attention was concentrated +upon the half-conscious girl, and his desire to get her safely out of +that neighborhood. My presence meant nothing of special interest. +Gaskins brutally jerked the shrinking mulatto forward, and forced her +to mount one of the horses. She made some faint protest, the nature of +which I failed to catch clearly, but the fellow only laughed in reply, +and ordered her to keep quiet. Eloise uttered no word, emitted no +sound, made no struggle, as the two other men lifted her bodily into +the saddle, where Kirby held her, swaying helplessly against him, while +Rale strapped her securely into place. +</P> + +<P> +The entire proceedings were so brutally cruel that it required all my +strength of will to restrain myself from action. My fingers closed +upon the pistol in my pocket, and every impulse urged me to hurl myself +on the fellows, trusting everything to swift, bitter fight. I fairly +trembled in eagerness to grapple with Kirby, hand to hand, and crush +him helpless to the earth. I heard his voice, hateful and snarling, as +he cursed Rale for his slowness, and the hot blood boiled in my veins, +when he jerked the girl upright in the saddle. +</P> + +<P> +"Thar," said the saloon keeper, at last, testing his strap. "I reckon +she can't fall off nohow, even if she don't sit up worth a damn. Go +ahead now, Moffett." +</P> + +<P> +Both the men stepped aside, and I led my horse forward. The movement +brought me more into the open, and face to face with Kirby. By some +trick of fate, at that very instant a star-gleam, piercing through the +screen of leaves overhead, struck full into my eyes. With an oath he +thrust my hat back and stared straight at me. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap25"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXV +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE FUGITIVES +</H3> + + +<P> +I could not see the mingled hate and horror glaring in the man's eyes, +but there could be no doubt of his recognition. The acknowledgment +found expression in a startled exclamation. +</P> + +<P> +"By God!—you, here!" +</P> + +<P> +That was all the time I gave him. With every pound of strength, with +every ounce of dislike, I drove a clenched fist into that surprised +face, and the fellow went down as though smitten by an axe. Even as he +reeled, Rale leaped on me, cursing, failing to understand the cause, +yet instinctively realizing the presence of an enemy. He caught me +from behind, the very weight of his heavy body throwing me from +balance, although I caught one of his arms, as he attempted to strike, +and locked with him in desperate struggle. He was a much heavier and +stronger man than I, accustomed to barroom fighting, reckless of +method, caring for nothing except to get his man. His grip was at my +throat, and, even as his fingers closed savagely, he struck me with one +knee in the stomach, and drove an elbow straight into my face. The +next instant we were locked together so closely any blow became +impossible, youth and agility waging fierce battle against brutal +strength. I think I was his match, yet this I never knew—for all my +thought centered in an effort to keep his hands from reaching any +weapon. Whatever happened to me, there must be no alarm, no noise +sufficiently loud so as to attract the attention of sentries on guard. +This affair must be fought out with bare knuckles and straining +sinews—fought in silence to the end. I held him to me in a bear grip, +but his overmastering strength bore me backward, my body bending +beneath the strain until every muscle ached. +</P> + +<P> +"Damn you—you sneakin' spy!" he hissed savagely, and his jaws snapped +at me like a mad beast. "Let go! damn you—let go!" +</P> + +<P> +Crazed by the pain, I swerved to one side, and half fell, my grip torn +loose from about his arms, but as instantly closing again around his +lower body. He strained, but failed to break my grasp, and I should +have hurled him over the hip, but at that second Gaskins struck me, and +I went tumbling down, with the saloon keeper falling flat on top of me, +his pudgy fingers still clawing fiercely at my throat. It seemed as +though consciousness left my brain, crushed into death by those +gripping hands, and yet the spark of life remained, for I heard the +ex-preacher utter a yelp, which ended in a moan, as a blow struck him; +then Rale was jerked off me, and I sobbingly caught my breath, my +throat free. Into my dazed mind there echoed the sound of a voice. +</P> + +<P> +"Is thet 'nough, Jack?—then holler. Damn yer, yer try thet agin, an' +I'll spill whut brains ye got all over this kintry. Yes, it's Tim +Kennedy talkin', an' he's talkin' ter ye. Now yer lie whar yer are. +Yer ain't killed, be ye, Knox?" +</P> + +<P> +I managed to lift myself out of the dirt, still clutching for breath +but with my mind clearing. +</P> + +<P> +"No; I guess I'm all right, Tim," I said, panting out the words with an +effort. "What's become of Kirby? Don't let him get away." +</P> + +<P> +"I ain't likely to. He's a lyin' right whar yer dropped him. Holy +Smoke! it sounded ter me like ye hit him with a pole-axe. I got his +gun, an' thet's whut's makin' this skunk hold so blame still—oh, yes, +I will, Jack Rale; I'm just a achin' fer ter let ye hav' it." +</P> + +<P> +"And the other fellow? He hit me." +</P> + +<P> +"My ol' frien', Gaskins; thet's him, all right." The deputy gave vent +to a short, mirthless laugh. "Oh, I rapped him with the butt; had ter +do it. He'd got hold ov a club somwhar, an' wus goin' ter give yer +another. It will be a while, I reckon, 'fore he takes much interest. +What'll I do with this red-headed gink?" +</P> + +<P> +I succeeded in reaching my feet, and stood there a moment, gaining what +view I could through the darkness. The short struggle, desperate as it +had been, was not a noisy one, and I could hear nothing about us to +indicate any alarm. No hurrying footsteps, no cries told of +disturbance in any direction. Kirby rested exactly as he had fallen, +and I stared down at the dim outlines of his distended body, unable to +comprehend how my swift blow could have wrought such damage. I bent +over him wonderingly, half believing he feigned unconsciousness. The +fellow was alive, but his head lay upon a bit of jagged rock—this was +what had caused serious injury, not the impact of my fist. Kennedy had +one hard knee pressed into Rale's abdomen and the star-rays reflected +back the steel glimmer of the pistol held threateningly before the +man's eyes. The horses beyond stood motionless, and the two women in +the saddles appeared like silent shadows. I stood up once more, +peering through the darkness and listening. Whatever was to be done, I +must decide, and quickly. +</P> + +<P> +"Have Rale stand up, but keep him covered. Don't give him any chance +to break away; now wait—-there is a lariat rope hanging to this +saddle; I'll get it." +</P> + +<P> +It was a strong cord and of good length, and we proceeded to bind the +fellow securely in spite of his objections, I taking charge of the +pistol, while Tim, who was more expert, did the job in a workmanlike +manner. Rale ventured no resistance, although he made no effort to +restrain his tongue. +</P> + +<P> +"Thar ain't no use pullin' thet rope so tight, yer ol' fule. By God, +but yer goin' ter pay fer all this. Maybe ye think ye kin git away in +this kintry, but I'll show ye. Damn nice trick yer two played, wa'n't +it? The lafe will be on 'tother side afore termorrer night. No, I +won't shet up, an' ye can't make me—ye ain't done with this job yet. +Curse ye, Tim Kennedy, let up on thet." +</P> + +<P> +"Now gag him, Tim," I said quietly. "Yes, use the neckerchief. He can +do more damage with his mouth than any other way. Good enough; you are +an artist in your line; now help me drag him over here into the woods. +He is a heavy one. That will do; all we can hope for is a few hours +start." +</P> + +<P> +"Is Kirby dead?" +</P> + +<P> +"I'm afraid not, but he has got an ugly bump, and lost some blood, his +head struck a rock when he fell. It will be a while, I imagine, before +he wakes up. How about your man?" +</P> + +<P> +He crossed over and bent down above the fellow, feeling with his hands +in the darkness. +</P> + +<P> +"I reckon he's a goner, Cap," he admitted, as though surprised. "Gosh, +I must'r hit the cuss harder than I thought—fair caved in his hed, the +pore devil. I reckon it's no great loss ter noboddy." +</P> + +<P> +"But are you sure he is dead? That will put a different aspect on all +this, Kennedy!" I exclaimed gravely, facing him as he arose to his +feet. "That and the belief I now have that Kirby has already +consummated his plan of marriage with Miss Beaucaire." +</P> + +<P> +"You mean he has—" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, that he has forced the girl to assent to some form of ceremony, +probably legal in this country. I overheard enough between him and +Rale to suspect it, at least, and she is even now under the influence +of some drug. She hasn't spoken, nor does she seem to know what is +going on about her. They strapped her into the saddle." +</P> + +<P> +"The hell they did." +</P> + +<P> +"It has been a hellish affair all the way through, and the only way in +which I can serve her, if this is so, is by getting her away—as far +away as possible, and where this devil can never find her again. She's +got to be saved not only from him, but also from the scandal of it." +</P> + +<P> +He stood silent, little more than a shadow before me, his head bent, as +though struggling with a new thought, a fresh understanding. +</P> + +<P> +"I reckon I kin see thet, sir, now." His voice somehow contained a new +note of respect, as though the truth had suddenly dawned upon him, "I +didn't just get hold o' things rightly afore; why an army offercer like +yer should be mixed up in this sorter job. But I reckon I do now—yer +in love with her yerself; ain't thet it, sir?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, Tim," I confessed frankly, and not at all sorry to make the +avowal. "That is the truth. Now what would you do if you were in my +place?" +</P> + +<P> +"Just exactly whut yer doin', I reckon," he returned heartily. "Only +maybe I'd kill thet dirty skunk afore I went away; damned if I wudn't." +</P> + +<P> +I shook my head. +</P> + +<P> +"No, not in cold-blood. I wouldn't have been sorry if he had died +fighting, but murder is not my line. He deserves death, no doubt, but +it is not possible for me to kill him lying there helpless. What +bothers me most right now is your case." +</P> + +<P> +"Mine? Lord, what's the matter with me?" +</P> + +<P> +"Considerable, I should say. You cannot be left here alone to face the +result of this night's work. If Gaskins is dead from the blow you +struck him, these two fellows will swear your life away just for +revenge. Even if you told the whole story, what chance would you have? +That would only expose us, and still fail to clear you. It would +merely be your word against theirs—you would have no witnesses, unless +we were caught." +</P> + +<P> +"I reckon thet's true; I wasn't thinkin' 'bout it." +</P> + +<P> +"Then there is only the one road to take, Tim," I insisted. "We've got +to strike the trail together." +</P> + +<P> +"Whar?" +</P> + +<P> +"I cannot answer that now; I haven't thought it out yet. We can talk +that matter over as we ride. I have a map with me, which will help us +decide the best course to choose. The first thing is to get out of +this neighborhood beyond pursuit. If you only had a horse." +</P> + +<P> +"Thar's two critters down in the crick bottom. I reckon thet Kirby an' +Gaskins must'r tied 'em thar." +</P> + +<P> +"Good; then you will go; you agree with me?" +</P> + +<P> +"Thar ain't nuthin' else fer me ter do—hangin' ain't never bin no +hobby o' mine. As I understand it, this Gaskins wus one o' these yere +militia men. I reckon thet if these yere two bug's wus ter swear thet +I killed him—as most likely they will—them boys wud string me up +furst, an' find out fer sure afterwards. Thar ain't so damn much law +up yere, an' thet's 'bout whut wud happen. So the sooner I leave these +yere parts, the more likely I am ter live a while yet." +</P> + +<P> +"Then let's start," decisively. "Pick up one of those horses down on +the bottom, and turn the other one loose. I'll lead on down the trail +and you can meet us at the ford—once across the creek we can decide +which way to travel; there must be four hours of darkness yet." +</P> + +<P> +I picked up the trailing rein of my horse and slipped my arm through +it. Tim faded away in the gloom like a vanishing shadow. The young +woman next me, strapped securely to her saddle, made no movement, +exhibited no sign of interest; her head and body drooped, yet her hands +grasped the pommel as though she still retained some dim conception of +her situation. The face under her hood was bent forward and shaded and +her eyes, although they seemed open, gave no heed to my presence. I +touched her hands—thank God, they were moist and warm, but when I +spoke her name it brought no response. The other horse, ridden by the +mulatto girl, was forced in between us. +</P> + +<P> +"Who are ye?" she questioned, wonderingly. "Ye just called her by +name, an' ye must know her. Whut ye goin' fer ter do with us, sah?" +</P> + +<P> +I looked up toward her face, without distinguishing its outlines. I +felt this was no time to explain; that every moment lost was of value. +</P> + +<P> +"Never mind now; I know who she is and that you are Elsie Clark. We +are your friends." +</P> + +<P> +"No he ain't—not thet other man; he ain't no friend o' mine. Ah tell +ye. He's de one whut locked me up on de boat. Ah sure know'd his +voice; he done locked me up, an' Ah's a free nigger." +</P> + +<P> +"Forget that, Elsie; he's helping you now to get away. You do just +what I tell you to and above all keep still. Miss Beaucaire was +drugged, wasn't she?" +</P> + +<P> +"Ah don't know, sah. She sure does act mighty queer, but Ah nebber see +her take nuthin'. Ah nebber see nuthin' 'tall till dey took me outer +de shack an' galivanted me up yere. Whar I heerd yer voice afore?" +</P> + +<P> +"I haven't time to explain that; we are going now." +</P> + +<P> +I started forward on foot, leading my horse, the others trailing after +through the darkness. Knowing nothing of the way, I was thus better +able to pick the path, yet I found this not difficult, as it was rather +plainly outlined by the forest growth on either side. It led downward +at a gentle slope, although the grade was sufficiently steep so as to +force Eloise's body forward and compel me to support her as best I +could with one arm. She still appeared to be staring directly ahead, +with unseeing eyes, although her hands clung as tightly as ever to the +saddle pommel. I clinched my teeth, half crazed at the sight of her +condition, yet feeling utterly helpless to do more. I spoke to her +again, but received no answer, not the slightest evidence that she even +heard my voice or recognized her name. +</P> + +<P> +The trail was clay with a few small stones embedded in it, and the +horses made little noise in their descent, except once when Elsie's +animal slipped and sent a loosened bit of rock rolling down to splash +in some pool below. We came to the bank of the creek at last, a narrow +stream, easily fordable, but with a rather steep shore line beyond, and +waited there a moment until Tim emerged from out the black woods at our +right and joined us. He was mounted, and, believing the time had +arrived for more rapid movement, I also swung up into saddle and ranged +the girl's horse beside mine. +</P> + +<P> +"It looks to be open country beyond there," I said, pointing across, +"what little I can see of it. You better ride the other side of Miss +Beaucaire, Tim, and help me hold her up—the colored girl can trail +behind. We'll jog the horses a bit." +</P> + +<P> +They were not stock to be proud of, yet they did fairly well, Tim's +mount evidently the best of the four. The going was decidedly better +once we had topped the bank. The stars were bright enough overhead to +render the well-marked trail easily visible, and this led directly +southward, across a rolling plain. We may have ridden for two miles +without a word, for, although I had no intention of proceeding far in +this direction, I could discover no opportunity for changing our +course, so as to baffle pursuit. That Kirby and Rale would endeavor to +follow us at the earliest opportunity was most probable. They were +neither of them the sort to accept defeat without a struggle, and, +after the treatment they had received, the desire for revenge would be +uppermost. Nor thus far would there be any difficulty in their picking +up our trail, at least as far as the creek crossing, and this would +assure them the direction we had chosen. Beyond the ford tracing our +movements might prove more troublesome, as the short, wiry grass under +foot, retained but slight imprint of unshod hoofs, the soil beneath +being of a hard clay. Yet to strike directly out across the prairie +would be a dangerous experiment. +</P> + +<P> +Then suddenly, out of the mysterious darkness which closed us in, +another grove loomed up immediately in our front, and the trail plunged +sharply downward into the depths of a rugged ravine. I was obliged to +dismount and feel my way cautiously to the bottom, delighted to +discover there a smoothly flowing, narrow stream, running from the +eastward between high banks, overhung by trees. It was a dismal, +gloomy spot, a veritable cave of darkness, yet apparently the very +place I had been seeking for our purpose. I could not even perceive +the others, but the restless movement of their horses told me of their +presence. +</P> + +<P> +"Kennedy." +</P> + +<P> +"Right yere, sir. Lord, but it's dark—found enything?" +</P> + +<P> +"There is a creek here. I don't know where it flows from, but it seems +to come out of the east. One thing is certain, we have got to get off +this trail. If we can lead the horses up stream a way and then circle +back it would keep those fellows guessing for a while. Come here and +see what you think of the chance." +</P> + +<P> +He was not to exceed two yards away from me, but came shuffling +uncertainly forward, feeling gingerly for footing in the blackness +along the rock-strewn bank. His outstretched hand touched me, +startling us both, before we were aware of our close proximity. +</P> + +<P> +"Hell, but I'm as blind as a bat," he laughed. "Is this the crick? +How wide is it?" +</P> + +<P> +"I just waded across; about five yards and not more than two feet deep." +</P> + +<P> +"Maybe it's blocked up above." +</P> + +<P> +"Of course, it might be, but it seems like a chance worth taking. We +are sure to be caught if we hang to this trail." +</P> + +<P> +"I reckon thet's so. Ye let me go ahead with the nigger gurl, an' then +follow after us, leadin' Miss Beaucaire's boss. By jeminy crickets, +'tain't deep 'nough fer ter drown us enyway, an' I ain't much afeerd o' +the dark. Thar's likely ter be sum place whar we kin get out up thar. +Whar the hell are them hosses?" +</P> + +<P> +We succeeded in locating the animals by feeling and I waited on the +edge of the bank, the two reins wrapped about my arm, until I heard the +others go splashing down into the water. Then I also groped my own way +cautiously forward, the two horses trailing behind me, down the sharply +shelving bank into the stream. Tim chose his course near to the +opposite shore, and I followed his lead closely, guided largely by the +splashing of Elsie's animal through the shallow water. Our movement +was a very slow and cautious one, Kennedy halting frequently to assure +himself that the passage ahead was safe. Fortunately the bottom was +firm and the current not particularly strong, our greatest obstacle +being the low-hanging branches which swept against us. Much of my time +was expended in holding these back from contact with Eloise's face, our +horses sedately plodding along behind their leaders. +</P> + +<P> +I think we must have waded thus to exceed a mile when we came to a fork +in the stream and plumped into a tangle of uprooted trees, which ended +our further progress. Between the two branches, after a little search, +we discovered a gravelly beach, on which the horses' hoofs would leave +few permanent marks. Beyond this gravel we plunged into an open wood +through whose intricacies we were compelled to grope blindly, Tim and I +both afoot, and constantly calling to each other, so as not to become +separated. I had lost all sense of direction, when this forest finally +ended, and we again emerged upon open prairie, with a myriad of stars +shining overhead. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap26"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXVI +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE ISLAND IN THE SWAMP +</H3> + + +<P> +The relief of thus being able to perceive each other and gain some view +of our immediate surroundings, after that struggle through darkness, +cannot be expressed in words. My first thought was for the girl, whose +horse I had been leading, but her eyes were no longer open and staring +vacantly forward; they were now tightly closed, and, to all appearances, +she slept soundly in the saddle. In the first shock of so discovering +her, I touched her flesh to assure myself that she was not dead, but the +blood was flowing warm and life-like through her veins. She breathed so +naturally I felt this slumber must be a symptom of recovery. +</P> + +<P> +We were upon a rather narrow tongue of land, the two diverging forks of +the stream closing us in. So, after a short conversation, we continued +to ride straight forward, keeping rather close to the edge of the woods, +so as to better conceal our passage. Our advance, while not rapid, was +steady, and we must have covered several miles before the east began to +show gray, the ghastly light of the new dawn revealing our tired faces. +Ahead of us stretched an extensive swamp, with pools of stagnant water +shimmering through lush grass and brown fringes of cat-tails bordering +their edges. Seemingly our further advance was stopped, nor could we +determine the end of the morass confronting us. Some distance out in +this desolation, and only half revealed through the dim light, a somewhat +higher bit of land, rocky on its exposed side, its crest crowned with +trees, arose like an island. Tim stared across at it, shading his eyes +with one hand. +</P> + +<P> +"If we wus goin' ter stop enywhar, Cap," he said finally, "I reckon thar +ain't no better place then thet, pervidin' we kin git thar." +</P> + +<P> +I followed his gaze, and noticed that the mulatto girl also lifted her +head to look. +</P> + +<P> +"We certainly must rest," I confessed. "Miss Beaucaire seems to be +sleeping, but I am sure is thoroughly exhausted. Do you see any way of +getting across the swamp?" +</P> + +<P> +He did not answer, but Elsie instantly pointed toward the left, crying +out eagerly: +</P> + +<P> +"Sure, Ah do. The lan' is higher 'long thar, sah—yer kin see shale +rock." +</P> + +<P> +"So you can; it almost looks like a dyke. Let's try it, Tim." +</P> + +<P> +It was not exactly a pleasant passage, or a safe one, but the continual +increase in light aided us in picking our way above the black water on +either hand. I let my horse follow those in front as he pleased and held +tightly to the bit of the one bearing Eloise. It had to be made in +single file, and we encountered two serious breaches in the formation +where the animals nearly lost their footing, the hind limbs of one, +indeed, sliding into the muck, but finally reached the island end, +clambering up through a fissure in the rock and emerging upon the higher, +dry ground. The island thus attained proved a small one, not exceeding a +hundred yards wide, rather sparsely covered with forest trees, the space +between these, thick with undergrowth. What first attracted my gaze +after penetrating the tree fringe was the glimpse of a small shack, built +of poles, and thatched with coarse grass, which stood nearly in the +center of the island. It was a rudely constructed, primitive affair, and +to all appearances deserted. My first thought was that we had stumbled +upon some Indian hut, but I felt it safer to explore its interior before +permitting the others to venture closer. +</P> + +<P> +"Hold the horses here, Tim; let me see what we have ahead first." +</P> + +<P> +I approached the place from the rear, peering in through the narrow +openings between the upright poles. The light was so poor I was not able +to perceive much, but did succeed in fully convincing myself that the +dismal shack was unoccupied. The door stood unlatched and I pushed it +open. A single glance served to reveal everything the place contained. +Without doubt it had been the late abode of Indians, who, in all +probability had fled hastily to join Black Hawk in his foray up Rock +River. There was no pretense at furniture of any description—nothing, +indeed, but bare walls and trampled dirt floor, but what interested me +most was a small bit of jerked deer meat which still hung against an +upright and the rude stone fireplace in the center of the hut, with an +opening above to carry away the smoke. I had found during the night a +fair supply of hard bread in my saddle-bag, and now, with this additional +gift of Providence, felt assured, at least, of one sufficient meal. I +stood there for perhaps a minute, staring wonderingly about that gloomy +interior, but making no further discoveries, then I returned without and +called to the others. +</P> + +<P> +"It is all right, Tim, there is no one here. An old Indian camp, with +nothing but a junk of jerked deer meat left behind. Elsie, gather up +some of that old wood yonder and build a fire. Kennedy and I will look +after Miss Beaucaire." +</P> + +<P> +It was bright day by this time, the red of the rising sun in the sky, and +I could trace the radius of swamp land stretching about us on every hand, +a grim, desolate scene even in the beauty of that clear dawn. We had +been fortunate enough to approach the spot along the only available +pathway which led to this little oasis, and a more secure hiding place it +would be difficult to find. The tree growth and heavy underbrush +completely concealed the miserable shack from view in every direction, +and what faint trail we had left behind us since we took to the water of +the creek would be extremely hard to follow. I felt almost at ease for +the present and satisfied to rest here for several hours. +</P> + +<P> +Tim assisted me in unstrapping Eloise, and lifting her from the saddle, +and, as she made no effort to help herself, the two of us carried her to +a warm, sunny spot beside the wall of the hut. Her cramped limbs refused +to support her body, and her eyes, then open, yet retained that vacant +look so noticeable from the first. The only change was in the puzzled +way with which she stared into our faces, as though memory might be +struggling back, and she was vaguely endeavoring to understand. Except +for this pathetic look, she had never appeared more attractive to my +eyes, with color in cheeks and lips. Her hood had fallen backward, +revealing her glossy hair still smoothly brushed, while the brilliancy of +the sunlight only made more manifest the delicate beauty of her features. +Tim led the horses away and staked them out where they could crop the +rich, dewy grass. After removing the saddles, he followed the mulatto +girl into the hut, and I could hear the murmur of their voices. I +endeavored to address Eloise, seeking thus to awaken her to some sense of +my presence, but she merely smiled meaninglessly, leaned her head wearily +back against the poles and closed her eyes. +</P> + +<P> +It was a poor meal enough, although it sufficed to dull hunger, and yield +us some strength. Eloise succeeded in choking down a few morsels, but +drank thirstily. It was pitiful to watch her, and to mark the constant +effort she was making to force the return of memory. Her eyes, dull, +uncomprehending, wandered continually from face to face in our little +group, but no flash of intelligence lighted up their depths. I had Elsie +bathe her face with water and while, no doubt, this refreshed her +somewhat, she only rested her head back on my coat, which I had folded +for a pillow, and again closed her heavy eyes. The negress appeared so +tired I bade her lie down and sleep, and soon after Tim also disappeared. +I remained there alone, guarding the woman I loved. +</P> + +<P> +I myself had reason enough to be weary, yet was not conscious of the +slightest desire to rest. My mind did not crave sleep. That Eloise had +been drugged for a purpose was now beyond controversy, but what the +nature of that drug might be, and how it could be combated, were beyond +my power to determine. Even if I knew, the only remedies at hand were +water and fresh air. And how were we to escape, burdened by this +helpless girl, from pursuit, which, perhaps, had already started from +Yellow Banks? At all hazards I must now prevent this dazed, stupified +woman from ever again falling into the power of Joe Kirby. That was the +one fact I knew. I would rather kill her with my own hand, for I was +convinced the fellow actually possessed a legal right, which I could not +hope to overthrow. However it had been accomplished, through what +villainy, made no odds—she was his wife, and could only be released +through process of law. He could claim her, hold her in spite of me, in +spite of herself. No influence I might bring to bear would save her now +from this contamination. It would all be useless, a thing for laughter. +Her signature—of which Kirby had boasted—and the certificate signed by +the dead Gaskins, would offset any possible efforts I might put forth. +There remained no hope except through flight; outdistancing our pursuers; +finding a route to safety through the wilderness which they would never +suspect. +</P> + +<P> +Where could such a route be found? In which direction was it safest for +us to turn? Surely not southward down the river seeking refuge at Fort +Madison, nor in the opposite direction toward Fort Armstrong. I thought +of both of these, but only to dismiss them from consideration. Had it +not been for this marriage, either might have answered, but now they +would prove no protection. Those men whom we were seeking to escape +would remember these points at once, and suspect our fleeing to either +one or the other. There was no power there able to protect her from the +lawful authority of a husband; nor could she deny that authority, if he +held in his hands the proof. No, I must find an unknown path, an +untraveled trail. Our only hope lay in baffling pursuit, in getting far +beyond Kirby's grip. For the moment I felt reasonably safe where we +were—but only for the moment. We could rest on this isolated island, +barely lifting itself above the swamp, and plan our future, but within +the limits of another day, probably, those fellows would discover signs +of our passage, faint as they were, and follow us. I dragged the map out +from its silk wrapping and spread it forth on the ground between my +knees. It was the latest government survey, given me when I first +departed for the North, and I already knew every line and stream by +heart. I bent over it in uncertainty, studying each feature, gradually +determining the better course, weighing this consideration and that. +</P> + +<P> +I became so interested in the problem as to entirely forget her presence, +but, when I finally lifted my head, our eyes met, and I instantly read in +the depths of hers the dawning of recognition. They were no longer dull, +dead, emotionless, but aglow with returning life—puzzled, unassured, yet +clearly conscious. +</P> + +<P> +"Who are you?" she breathed incredulously, lifting herself upon one hand. +"Oh, surely I know—Lieutenant Knox! Why, where am I? What has +happened? Oh, God! you do not need to tell me that! But you; I cannot +understand about you. They—they said you died." +</P> + +<P> +"They must have said much to deceive you," and I bent forward to touch +her hand. "See, I am very much alive. Let me tell you—that will be the +quickest way to understand. In the first place I did not drown when the +boat was smashed, but was rendered helpless and borne away on the water. +I drifted through the darkness out into the Mississippi, and later became +caught on a snag in the middle of that stream. The <I>Adventurer</I> rescued +me about daylight the next morning, and I was no sooner on board than I +was told how the keel-boat had been run down below on the river during +the night and that your party had all been saved—two white men and two +negress slaves. Of course, I knew you must be one of them." +</P> + +<P> +"Then—then we were actually together, on the same boat, all the way up +here?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; I tried hard to find where you were concealed on board, but failed. +I might not have helped you, but I thought you would be glad to know I +was alive. Kirby guarded you with great care from all observation. Do +you know why?" +</P> + +<P> +Her wide-opened eyes gazed into mine frankly, but her lips trembled. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," she answered, as though forcing herself to speak. "I do know now. +I thought I knew then, but was mistaken. I supposed it might be because +I looked so little like a negress, but now I realize it was his own +conscience. He knew I was a white woman; he had become convinced that I +was Eloise Beaucaire. Did you know that, also?" +</P> + +<P> +"I learned the truth on the boat, from the same source where Kirby +obtained his information. Elsie Clark told me." +</P> + +<P> +"Elsie Clark! Who is she? How did she know?" +</P> + +<P> +"A free negress, who had been employed by Amos Shrunk. She was the other +prisoner on the keel-boat when you were captured, kept locked below in +the cabin. Surely you knew there was another woman taken aboard the +<I>Adventurer</I>?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, but we never spoke; she was below, and they kept me on deck. How +could she know who I was?" +</P> + +<P> +"She did not. Only she was positive that you could not be Rene +Beaucaire, because she knew that Rene, in company with her mother, had +departed from Shrunk's cabin before those raiders came. The two had +already started for Beardstown." +</P> + +<P> +She sat upright, all lassitude gone from her body, leaning eagerly toward +me, her eyes alight with interest. +</P> + +<P> +"Gone! Rene escaped them!" she exclaimed, her voice choking, "Oh, tell +me that again. Was the girl sure?" +</P> + +<P> +"Quite sure; she had cooked them breakfast and talked with Rene +afterwards. She saw and spoke with both the women before they left in a +wagon. They were on the Underground, bound for Canada, and safety." +</P> + +<P> +"Thank God! Oh, I thank God!" Her face sank until it was concealed +within her hands. When it lifted again the eyes were brimming with tears. +</P> + +<P> +"I am so glad—so glad," she said simply. "Now I am strong enough to +hear the rest, Lieutenant Knox. You must tell me." +</P> + +<P> +"There is not so much to tell, that I am cock-sure about." I began +slowly. "Kirby had you securely hidden away somewhere on the second +deck, while this Clark girl had been locked into a stateroom above. I +possessed such a growth of beard and was altogether so disreputable +looking as to be mistaken for a roustabout by the boat's officers, who +set me at work to earn my passage. In this way I managed to talk with +Elsie, but failed to locate your quarters. The only glimpse I gained of +you was when you were being taken ashore. Then I followed, and a little +later succeeded in getting you out of Kirby's hands. That is about all." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, no, it is not—you—you came too late." +</P> + +<P> +"Too late! Perhaps I may know what you mean." +</P> + +<P> +"Do you? Surely not to blame me! I—I wish to tell you, Lieutenant +Knox, but—but I scarcely know how. It is all so dim, indistinct in my +own mind—and yet I remember. I am trying so hard to recall how it all +happened, but nothing remains clear in my mind. Have I been drugged?" +</P> + +<P> +"Without question. We have been riding all night and you were strapped +to your horse. Probably you have no recollection of this?" +</P> + +<P> +She shook her head in bewilderment, gazing about as though noting the +strange surroundings for the first time. +</P> + +<P> +"No; the last I remember I was with Kirby and another man. He—he was +dressed like a minister, but—but he was half drunk, and once he swore at +me. The place where we were was a little shack in the side of a hill, +with stone walls. Kirby took me there from the steamer, together with a +man he called Rale—Jack Rale. They locked me in and left me alone until +after dark. Then this other man, who dressed like a minister, came back +with Kirby. They had food and something to drink with them, and lit a +lamp, so that we could see. It was awfully dismal and dark in there." +She pressed her hands to her head despairingly. "I can remember all +this, but later it is not so clear; it fades out, like a dream." +</P> + +<P> +"Try to tell me all you can," I urged. "They fed you?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, I managed to eat a little, but I would not drink. They both became +angry then and frightened me, but they did compel me to swallow some of +the stuff. Then I became dazed and partially helpless. Oh, I cannot +tell you; I do not really know myself—it seemed as though I had to do +just what they told me; I had no will of my own, no power of resistance." +</P> + +<P> +"You were married to Kirby." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, God!—was I? I wondered; I did not really know; truly I did not +know. I seem to remember that I stood up, and then signed some paper, +but nothing had any meaning to me. Is that true? Do you know that it is +true?" +</P> + +<P> +I grasped her hand and held it closely within my own. +</P> + +<P> +"I am afraid it is true," I answered. "I know very little law, and it +may be that such a ceremony is not legal. Yet I imagine those men were +certain as to what they could do. Kirby had planned to marry you from +the very first, as I explained to you before. He told me that on the +<I>Warrior</I> the night your father died." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, you said so; but I did not quite understand—he planned then—why?" +</P> + +<P> +"Because he had heard of your beauty and that you were rich. Were these +not reasons enough? But, after he had mistaken you for Rene, the only +possible way in which he could hope to gain you was by force. Jack Rale +suggested that to him and how it could be done. The other man was a +friend of Rale's, a renegade preacher named Gaskins; he is dead." +</P> + +<P> +"Dead! Killed?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; we brought you away after a fight with those fellows. We left Rale +bound and Kirby unconscious." +</P> + +<P> +"Unconscious, hurt—but not dead?" +</P> + +<P> +"He had a bad gash in his skull, but was alive." +</P> + +<P> +Kennedy, puffing happily upon a pipe, came loitering about the corner of +the hut and approached us. Eloise staggered to her feet, shrinking back +against the wall of the shack, her eyes on his face. +</P> + +<P> +"That man here!" she cried in terror. "That man? Why, he was at +Beaucaire! He is the one to whom I claimed to be Rene." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap27"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXVII +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +WE CHOOSE OUR COURSE +</H3> + + +<P> +Tim grinned at me, but did not appear particularly flattered at his +reception. +</P> + +<P> +"Not quite so fast, yung lady," he said, stuttering a bit and holding +the pipe in his hand. "I reckon I wus thar all right, just as ye say, +an' thet I did yer a mighty mean turn, but I ain't such a dern ornary +cuss as ye think—am I, Cap?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, you are not," I hastened to explain. "Miss Beaucaire does not +understand, that is all. We have been talking together for some time, +but I had forgotten to tell her that you were one of her rescuers. +Kennedy here, merely supposed he was doing his duty, until he learned +what Kirby contemplated. Then he refused to have any hand in it and +the two quarreled. Shall I relate that part of the story?" +</P> + +<P> +Her eyes softened, her lips almost smiling. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," she said. "I am glad to know; tell me all." +</P> + +<P> +I described Tim's part in the whole tragedy swiftly, while he shifted +awkwardly from one foot to the other and occasionally interjected some +comment or correction. He was not wholly at ease in the role of hero, +nor under the steadfast gaze of her eyes. As I stopped speaking she +held out her hand frankly. +</P> + +<P> +"Then I shall count you my friend now," she said simply. "And I am so +delighted to understand everything. There are four of us here, +counting the mulatto girl, and we are in hiding not far from Yellow +Banks. You both think that Kirby and Rale must be hunting us already?" +</P> + +<P> +"Probably; they are very certain not to be very far away. I was +planning our course when I glanced up and caught your eyes watching +me—" +</P> + +<P> +"And I—I thought I saw a ghost," she interrupted. "And then, when, +you actually spoke, I—I was so glad." +</P> + +<P> +Tim's eyes fell upon the map, lying outspread on the ground. +</P> + +<P> +"An' whut did ye think wus best, Cap?" he inquired gravely. "'Tain't +likely we got all summer ter sit 'round yere an' talk in. I reckon we +done rested 'bout long 'nough. 'Tain't such a bad place, but my notion +is, we ought ter be joggin' 'long." +</P> + +<P> +"Mine also. Come over here, both of you, and I'll give you my idea. I +figured our chances in this way." +</P> + +<P> +In a few words I explained my choice of route, pointing it out on the +map and telling them briefly why I was afraid to seek refuge either at +Fort Madison or Fort Armstrong, or, indeed, at any of the nearer +settlements. Eloise said nothing, her gaze rising from the map to our +faces as we debated the question, for Tim spoke his mind freely, his +stubby forefinger tracing the course I had indicated. +</P> + +<P> +"Thar's a trail south o' yere thet leads ter a town called Ottaway, an' +thar's another trail north o' yere—Injun, I reckon—whut runs straight +east. Whar we are is plum in atween the two ov 'em, but it looks like +it might be gud travelin'. Enyhow, thar ain't no rivers er nuthin' so +fer as I see. What's this Ottaway, enyhow?" +</P> + +<P> +"There is a small settlement there and a blockhouse. Possibly there +are other settlements between here and there, not on the map." +</P> + +<P> +"How fer do yer make it—frum this place ter thar?" +</P> + +<P> +"Well, here is probably the stream we waded up last night—see. I +should say we must be about where I make this mark. To Ottawa? I will +make a guess that it is a bit over a hundred miles, and from there to +Chicago sixty or seventy more. Those last would be over a good trail." +</P> + +<P> +"An' whar do yer reckon are them Injuns—the hostile ones; this yere +bunch o' Black Hawk's?" +</P> + +<P> +"Somewhere up Rock River, or along the Green Valley. I'll point it out +to you—see; there is where Black Hawk had his village and his hunters +ranged all over this country, down as far as the Illinois. Of course, +I cannot tell where they are now, for that depends on how far the +soldiers have driven them, but it would be my guess they will be +somewhere in here—between Prophetstown and the Winnebago Swamp." +</P> + +<P> +"Let's see; thet ain't so dern fer away either. I reckon this yere +course ye've just picked out wudn't take us mor'n twenty mile er so +away. 'Spose we'd run inter a raidin' party o' them red bucks. I +ain't got much hair, but I kin use whut I hav' got." +</P> + +<P> +"I am not sure, Tim, but I would even prefer that to being overtaken by +Joe Kirby and the gang he'll probably have with him," I retorted, my +gaze on the questioning face of the girl. "However, there is little +chance of our encountering such a party. The soldiers are all coming +up from the south and are bound to force Black Hawk's warriors to the +other bank of the Rock. There will be nothing but barren country east +of here. What do you say, Miss Eloise?" +</P> + +<P> +Her eyes met mine bravely, without a shadow of doubt in them. +</P> + +<P> +"I shall go wherever you say," she replied firmly, "I believe you will +know best." +</P> + +<P> +"Then I decide on this route. Once we get beyond the swamp, those +fellows are going to have a hard task following us, unless they have an +Indian trailer along with them. We have been here several hours; the +horses must be rested. Let's eat what we can again and then start. We +must find a way out of this labyrinth while we have daylight." +</P> + +<P> +Kennedy stood up and stared about us at the desolate scene, the +expression of his face proving his dissatisfaction with the prospect. +</P> + +<P> +"O' course, I'm a goin' 'long with yer, Cap," he acknowledged, dryly. +"I never wus no quitter, but this yere trip don't look so damned easy +ter me, fer all thet. Howsumever I reckon we'll pull through som'how, +on fut, er hossback. I'll wake up thet dark gurl an' then saddle the +hosses." +</P> + +<P> +I watched him round the corner of the cabin, not wholly at ease in my +own mind, then gathered up the map and replaced it in my pocket, aware +that Eloise had not moved from her position on the grass. +</P> + +<P> +"Is he right?" she questioned, looking up at me. "Is there any real +danger of Indians?" +</P> + +<P> +"Some, perhaps; it is all Indian country, north and east of here—or +has been. I am not denying that, but this danger does not compare, in +my mind, with the peril which confronts us in every other direction. I +am trying to choose the least. Our greatest difficulty will be the +lack of food—we possess no guns with which to kill game, only pistols, +and an exceedingly small stock of ammunition. That is what troubles +Tim; that, and his eagerness to get back down the river. He fails to +realize what it would mean to you to fall again into Kirby's hands." +</P> + +<P> +"Do you realize?" +</P> + +<P> +"Do I? It is the one memory which controls me. Tell me, am I not +right? No, not about the route, but about the man. You despise the +fellow; you are willing to face any hardship so as to escape him?" +</P> + +<P> +"I would rather die than have him touch me. I never knew the meaning +of hate before. Surely you cannot deem it possible that I could ever +forgive?" +</P> + +<P> +"No; that would be hard to conceive; and yet, I wished to hear the +words from your own lips. Will you answer me one thing more—why did +you first assume the character of Rene, and why did you repose such +instant trust in me?" +</P> + +<P> +She smiled rather wistfully, her long lashes concealing her eyes. +</P> + +<P> +"I think I myself hardly knew," she admitted timidly. "It all +happened, was born of impulse, rather than through any plan. Perhaps +it was just the woman in me. After my father died, Delia thought it +best to tell us the story of Rene's birth. This—this was such a +terrible tale, and later we sought all through his private papers, +hoping he had taken some action to set those two free. There was no +proof that he had, no mention, indeed, except a memorandum of intention +to refer the matter to Lawyer Haines at the Landing. This merely +served to confirm what Delia had told us, and, as Haines had gone to +St. Louis, we were unable to see him. We were all of us nearly crazed; +I was even afraid Rene would throw herself into the river. So I +suggested that we run away and drew money out of my private account for +that purpose. My only thought was to take a steamer up the Ohio, to +some place where we were not known, and begin life over again. Rene +had been a sister to me always; we were playmates from childhood, and I +had grown up loving and trusting Delia ever since I was a baby. No +sacrifice was too great to prevent their being sold into slavery. Oh, +you cannot understand—I had no mind left; only a blind impulse to save +them." +</P> + +<P> +I caught her hand in mine and held it firmly. +</P> + +<P> +"Perhaps I do understand. It was my knowledge of this very condition +which first brought me to you." +</P> + +<P> +"You heard about us on the boat—the <I>Warrior</I>? Did father tell you?" +</P> + +<P> +"No; it was Kirby. He was actually proud of what he had done—boasted +to me of his success. I have never known a man so heartlessly +conceited. Eloise, listen. You may have thought this was largely an +accident. It was not; it was a deliberately planned, cold-blooded +plot. I tell you that Joe Kirby is of the devil's own breed; he is not +human. Rene's father told him first of the peculiar conditions at +Beaucaire." +</P> + +<P> +"Rene's father! Does—does he still live?" +</P> + +<P> +"No; but he did live for years after he disappeared, supporting himself +by gambling on the lower river. At one time he and Kirby were +together. After he died Kirby investigated his story in St. Louis and +found that it was true. Then he laid this plot to gain control of +everything, including both of you girls—a plot surely hatched in hell." +</P> + +<P> +"You know this to be true? How?" +</P> + +<P> +"Partly, as I have said, from Kirby's own lips. In addition Jack Rale +added what he knew—they are birds of a feather." +</P> + +<P> +"But it seems so impossible, so like fiction. How could the man hope +to succeed; to consummate such a crime? Besides, why should he desire +us—Rene and I—whom he had never seen?" +</P> + +<P> +"It can only be explained when you know the man. He had heard you +described as a beautiful woman—that was enough for his type. He had +convinced himself that Rene was a slave—his slave, once he had +successfully played his trick. He knew you to be an heiress with a sum +of money in your own right, which he could only hope to touch through +marriage. The man dreamed of owning Beaucaire, of possessing all it +contained. He was willing to risk everything to carry out his +hell-born scheme, and to ruin everyone who interfered with him. I am +telling you all this, Eloise, because it is now time you should know. +Will you not tell me just how it all came to you?" +</P> + +<P> +Her hands clung to me, as though she dare not let go; her eyes were +filled with a mingling of wonderment and pain. +</P> + +<P> +"Why, of course. We thought it best not to go until after we could see +the lawyer. I could not believe my father had neglected to set those +two free—he—he loved them both. Delia and Rene had gone down to the +Landing that night to see if he had returned. We were both of us +afraid to leave Rene alone—she was so despondent, so unstrung. It was +dark and I was all alone in the house. Then these men came. They did +not know me and I did not know them, but I was sure what they came for. +I was terribly frightened, without an idea what to do—only I refused +to talk. All I could do was to pray that the others might be warned +and not return. They searched the house and then left this man Tim to +guard me. He told me he was a deputy sheriff from St. Louis, and—and +I encouraged him to explain all he knew about the case. Then I made up +my mind what to do—I would pretend to be Rene, and let them carry me +off instead of her." +</P> + +<P> +"But did you not realize the danger to yourself?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, I suppose I didn't; or rather I did not care. All I thought about +was how to save her. These were law officers; they would take me to +St. Louis before a court. Then I could make myself known and would be +set free. They couldn't do anything else, could they? There was no +law by which I could be held, but—but, don't you see? The delay might +give Rene time to escape. That was not wrong, was it?" +</P> + +<P> +"Wrong! It was one of the bravest things I ever heard of. And I know +the rest—your encounter with Kirby in the library. I overheard all of +that through the open window, and how you learned from him that certain +legal papers would have to be served on Eloise Beaucaire before any of +the slaves could be touched, or removed from the estate. That +knowledge only brought you new courage to play out your part. But why +did you trust me enough to go with me? And, after trusting me so +fully, why did you refuse to tell me who you really were?" +</P> + +<P> +Her eyes fell before mine, and her cheeks were flushed. +</P> + +<P> +"I—I do not believe I can tell you that, Lieutenant. You—you see I +am not even sure I know. At first, there in the library, I was +compelled to choose instantly between you, and—and something +infinitely worse. I—I supposed that man Kirby was dead; that—that +you had killed him to save me. I—I looked into your face, and—and it +was a man's face; you said you were an army officer. I—I had to +believe and trust you. There was no other way. Please do not ask me +to explain any more." +</P> + +<P> +"I shall not—only just this. If you actually believed in me, trusted +me, as you say, why should you still claim to be Rene; and continually +remind me there was negro blood in your veins; that you were a negress +and a slave?" +</P> + +<P> +"You think that strange? I did trust you, Lieutenant Knox, and I +trusted you more completely the longer we were together. But—but I +did not wholly understand. You were endeavoring to rescue Rene from +slavery. I could not conceive what interest you might feel if I should +confess myself Eloise. You were strange to me; we were there alone +with the negro, and—and somehow it seemed a protection to me to claim +a drop of black blood. Twice I thought to tell you—the words were on +my lips—but something stopped them. Possibly, just a little, I was +afraid of you." +</P> + +<P> +"Then—but not now?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, not now—not even a little; you have proven yourself all I ever +hoped you would be. I am glad—so glad—to say to you now, I am Eloise +Beau—" +</P> + +<P> +She stopped suddenly, the word half uttered, the smile fading from her +lips. She withdrew her hands from my clasp and pressed them over her +eyes. +</P> + +<P> +"My God!" she burst forth. "But I am not! I am not! Why, I never +felt the horror of it all before—I am not Eloise Beaucaire!" +</P> + +<P> +A moment I stood motionless, seeming to hold my breath, my eyes open, +struck silent by the intense bitterness of that cry. Then the reaction +came, the knowledge that I must turn her thought elsewhere. +</P> + +<P> +"Do not say that, or even think it," I urged, scarcely able to restrain +myself from grasping her in my arms. "Even if it shall prove +true—legally true—some way of escape will be found. The others are +safe, and you are going to need all your courage. Pledge me to forget, +to ignore this thing. I need you." +</P> + +<P> +Her hands fell nerveless and her questioning eyes sought my face. They +were tearless, unabashed. +</P> + +<P> +"You are right, Lieutenant Knox," she said frankly. "I owe my loyalty +now to you. I shall not yield again to despair; you may trust me—my +friend." +</P> + +<P> +The day was not yet ended when we finally retraced our way across the +narrow dyke to the mainland, prepared to resume our journey. The +passage was slow and dangerous, and we made it on foot, leading the +horses. The woods were already beginning to darken as we forded the +north branch of the creek, and came forth through a fringe of forest +trees into a country of rolling hills and narrow valleys. The two +girls were already mounted, and Tim and I were busily tightening the +straps for a night's ride, when, from behind us, back in the direction +of the peninsula we had just quitted, there sounded the sharp report of +a rifle. We straightened up, startled, and our eyes met. There could +be but one conclusion—our pursuers had found the trail. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap28"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXVIII +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +A FIELD OF MASSACRE +</H3> + + +<P> +To my mind, seated on that island in the morass, a map spread before +me, a hundred miles of travel had not appeared a very serious matter, +but I was destined to learn my mistake. The close proximity of the men +seeking to overtake us—as evidenced by that rifle shot—awoke within +us a sense of imminent danger and drove us forward through the fast +gathering darkness at a perilous pace, especially as our mounts were +not of the best. The fringe of trees along the bank of the stream was +sufficiently thick to securely screen our movements until we had safely +merged into the darkness beyond, nor could our trail be followed before +daylight. Yet the desire was in all of our hearts to cover as much +ground as possible. The available course lay across rough country, +along steep sidehills, and into stagnant sloughs. Twice we mired +through carelessness, and several times were obliged to skirt the edge +of marshes for considerable distances, before discovering a safe +passage beyond. The night shut about us black, and discouraging, with +scarcely a star visible in the sky, by which we could determine our +direction. I was quickly lost in this blind groping, unable to even +guess the points of the compass, but Tim apparently possessed the +mysterious instinct of the pathfinder, although what dim signs guided +him I could not decipher. To me it was all chance; while he kept +steadily moving, occasionally relieving his feelings by an oath, but +never hesitating for longer than a moment. +</P> + +<P> +We became mere shadows, groping through the void, barely perceptible to +our own strained eyes. Now and then we drifted apart, and were obliged +to call out so as to locate the others. We seemed to be traveling +across a deserted, noiseless land, the only sound the stumbling hoofs +of the horses, or the occasional tinkle of some near-by stream, +invisible in the darkness. Kennedy led the way, after I had confessed +my inability to do so, and, I think, must have remained afoot most of +the time, judging from the sound of his voice; advising us of the +pitfalls ahead. It was some hours before we finally emerged from this +broken land, and came forth onto a dry, rolling prairie, across which +we advanced at a somewhat swifter gait. In all this time I had never +relaxed my grip on the bridle-rein of Eloise's horse, drawing her up +close beside me, whenever the way permitted, conscious that she must +feel, even as I did, the terrible loneliness of our surroundings, and +the strain of this slow groping through the unknown. We conversed but +little, and then in whispers, and of inconsequential things—of hope +and fear, even of literature and music, of anything which would take +our minds off our present situation. I smiled afterwards to remember +the strange topics which came up between us in the midst of that gloom. +And yet, in some vague way, I comprehended that amid the silence, the +effort to converse, a bond was strengthening between us both—a bond +needing no words. It seemed to me that I could feel the beating of her +heart in response to my own; and that while to my eyes she was but a +mere outline, her features invisible, in imagination I looked into that +face again, and dreamed dreams the lips dared not express. +</P> + +<P> +Surely we both understood. Even as I knew my own heart, I believed +that I knew hers. I do not think she cared then to conceal, or deny; +but, nevertheless, there existed continually between us a sinister +face, a leering, sarcastic face, with thin lips and sneering eyes +forever mocking—the hateful face of Joe Kirby. It was there before me +through all those hours, and I doubt not it mocked her with equal +persistency. Whenever I would speak, that memory locked my lips, so +that all I ventured upon was to quietly reach out my hand through the +darkness, and touch hers. Yet that was enough, for I felt her fingers +close on mine in silent welcome. +</P> + +<P> +Yet, perhaps, I ought not to say that it was any memory of the gambler +which held me dumb. For it was not thought of the man, but rather of +the woman, whose honor I felt bound to guard by closed lips. Some +instinct of my own higher nature, or some voiceless message from her +personality, told me the line of safety—told me that she would +secretly resent any familiarity she was not free to welcome. She might +ride through the black night beside me, our hands clasped in +friendship, our hearts thrilling with hope. We could understand, could +dream the dream of ages together—and yet, this was not now to be +expressed in words; and there must still remain between us a barrier +blacker than the night. She needed not to tell me this truth—I felt +it; felt it in the purity of her soul, her silence, her perfect trust +in me. For this I knew, then and forever—only by respect could I win +the love of her. This knowledge was restraint enough. +</P> + +<P> +We rested for an hour at midnight, on the banks of a small stream. The +sky had lightened somewhat, and we could perceive the way fairly well +when we again advanced, now traveling through a more open country, a +prairie, interspersed with groves of trees. Daylight overtook us at +the edge of a slough, which bordered a little lake, where in the gray +dawn, Tim, by a lucky shot, managed to kill a crippled duck, which +later furnished us with a meager breakfast. In the security of a +near-by cluster of trees, we ventured to build a fire, and, sitting +about it, discussed whether to remain there, or press on. It was an +ideal spot for a camp, elevated enough to afford a wide view in every +direction. No one could approach unseen, and thus far we had no +evidence that our pursuers were even on our trail. Only the crack of +that single rifle shot the evening before had suggested that we were +being followed—yet, even if this were true, the black hours since +would have prevented any discovery of the direction of our night. Not +even an Indian tracker could have picked up our trail amid that +darkness. So it was decided to remain where we were, and rest. +</P> + +<P> +I need not dwell on the details of our flight. They remain in my +memory in all clearness, each scene distinct, each incident a picture +engraved on the mind. I came to believe in, implicitly rely on, all my +comrades—on the black-eyed, dusky Elsie, emotional and efficient, +whose care-free laugh was contagious, and whose marvelous skill in +cooking only increased our hunger, who knew every wild plant that grew, +and unearthed many a treasure to help out our slim larder from the +forest and prairie soil; on the solemn-faced Kennedy, whose profanity +could not be restrained, and whose sole happiness was found in an ample +supply of tobacco; who persistently saw only the dark side of things, +yet who was ever competent, tireless, and full of resource; but most of +all on Eloise, her patient, trustful eyes following my every movement, +uncomplaining, cheerful, with a smile for every hardship, a bright word +of hope for every obstacle. In the darkness of night travel, when no +eye could see her, she might droop from weariness, clinging to her +pommel to keep in the saddle, yet it was always her voice which revived +courage, and inspired new endeavor. +</P> + +<P> +The way was generally rough and puzzling, bringing before us no +familiar landmarks by which to guide our course. My map proved utterly +useless, confusing me by its wrong location of streams, and its +inaccuracy in the estimation of distances. We must have wandered far +to the north from our direct course, led astray in the dark, and by our +desire to advance swiftly. For there soon came to us warning signs +that we were indeed being pursued; and some evidence also that we were +even within Indian territory. Once we beheld from an eminence the wisp +of a camp fire far in our rear, a mere misty curl of smoke showing +against the distant blue of the sky. And once, from out the shadow of +a grove, we stared perplexed across a wide valley, to where appeared a +dim outline of bluffs, and watched a party of five horsemen creep +slowly along their summit, too far away to be recognized—mere black +dots, we could not identify as either white men, or red. +</P> + +<P> +But the savages had left their unmistakable mark for our finding. It +was in the early twilight of the second day, the western sky already +purple with the last fading colors, the prairie before us showing in +patches of green and brown. To our left was a thick wood, even then +grown gloomy and dark in shadows, and slightly in advance of us Kennedy +rode alone, hopeful of thus dislodging some wild animal. I could see +the gleam of the pistol in his hand, held in instant readiness, cocked +and primed. Suddenly he drew rein, and then, turning his horse's head +sharply, advanced cautiously toward the miniature forest, leaning +forward to gaze intently at something unseen from where we were. I +halted the others in a thrill of expectancy, anticipating the report of +his weapon, and hopeful of a successful shot. He halted his horse, +which pawed restlessly, and sat motionless, staring down into a little +hollow immediately in front of him; then he turned in the saddle, and +beckoned me. +</P> + +<P> +"Cum over yere, Cap," he called, his voice sounding strange. "No, not +the gurls; you cum alone." +</P> + +<P> +I rode forward and joined him, only to stare also, the heart within me +almost ceasing to beat, as I beheld the gruesome sight so suddenly +revealed. There, within the confines of that little hollow, almost at +the edge of the wood, lay the dead and mutilated bodies of eleven men, +in every distorted posture imaginable, some stripped naked, and showing +ghastly wounds; others fully clothed; but with the cloth hacked into +rags. It had once been a camp, the black coals of a fire still +visible, with one man lying across them, his face burnt and +unrecognizable. With the exception of one only—a mere boy, who lay at +few rods away, as though brought down in flight—the entire group were +together, almost touching each other in death. Beyond question they +had been soldiers—militia volunteers—for while there was only one +uniform among them, they all wore army belts, and a service insignia +appeared on their hats. Tim vented his feelings in a smothered oath. +</P> + +<P> +"Militia, by God!" he muttered gruffly. "No guard set; the bloody +Injuns jumped 'em frum out them woods. Those poor devils never hed no +chanct. Ain't thet it, Cap?" +</P> + +<P> +"No doubt of it; the whole story is there. None of them alive?" +</P> + +<P> +"I reckon not—cudn't be hacked up like thet, an' most o' 'em skelped. +Them reds never left a damn gun behind neither. Why say, this affair +must a took place this yere very maunin', 'bout breakfast time." +</P> + +<P> +He stood up in his stirrups, and swept his eyes anxiously about in +every direction. +</P> + +<P> +"Good Lord! maybe we better be gittin' 'long out o' yere right smart. +Thar ain't nuthin' ter stay fer; we can't help them ded men none, an' +only the devil himself knows whar them Injuns hav' gone. Yer git the +gurls away afore they see whut's yere—down yonder, inter the valley." +</P> + +<P> +I took one more glance at the sight, fascinated by its very horror, +then wheeled my terrified horse, and rode back. Heartless as his words +sounded, they were nevertheless true. We could be of no aid to the +dead, while upon us yet rested the duty of guarding the living. The +young negress lifted her head, and gazed at me dully, so thoroughly +tired as to be indifferent as to what had occurred; but Eloise read +instantly the message of my face. +</P> + +<P> +"You have looked upon something terrible," she cried. "What was it? a +dead body?" +</P> + +<P> +"Eleven dead bodies," I answered gravely, my lips trembling. "A squad +of militiamen were surprised by Indians over there, and slaughtered to +a man, apparently with no chance to even defend themselves. I have +never seen a more terrible sight." +</P> + +<P> +"Indians, you say! Here?" her eyes widening in horror. "When do you +suppose this happened? how long ago?" +</P> + +<P> +"Within twelve hours certainly; probably soon after dawn. The attack +must have been made while the soldiers were at breakfast." +</P> + +<P> +"Then—then those Indians cannot be far away?" +</P> + +<P> +"We have no means of knowing; but it will be assuredly safer for us to +get under cover. Come, both of you." +</P> + +<P> +"They were all killed—all of them? You are sure?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; it would be impossible for any among them to be alive—the bodies +were scalped, and mutilated." +</P> + +<P> +I caught the rein of her horse, and Elsie, who was now wide awake, and +trembling with fear, pressed forward, close to my other side, moaning +and casting her frightened glances backward. Kennedy was already +started in advance of us on foot, leading his animal, and seeking to +discover the quickest passage to shelter. The valley below was a deep +and pleasant one, with sides forest clad, and so thickly timbered we +were almost immediately concealed the moment we began the descent. On +a narrow terrace the deputy halted us. +</P> + +<P> +"I reckon maybe this yere is as gud as eny place fer ter stop," he said +rather doubtfully. "Thar ain't noboddy kin see us, nohow, an' thar's a +gud spring over yonder. It'll be mighty dark in an hour, an' then we +kin go on; only my hoss is about did up. Whut ye say, Cap?" +</P> + +<P> +"We are probably as safe here as anywhere in the neighborhood. Let me +help you down, Eloise. Is that all you have to report, Tim?" +</P> + +<P> +He lifted his hat, and scratched gently his thin hair. +</P> + +<P> +"Only thet them Injuns went south. I done run onto their trail after +yer left—it wus plain as the nose on yer face. Thar must'r bin a slew +o' 'em, an' sum a hoss-back; they wus a strikin' straight across +yonder, an' I reckon they fetched a prisoner 'long, sumbody wearin' +boots enyhow, fer I saw the tracks in the mud." +</P> + +<P> +"Poor fellow. We'll not remain here, Kennedy, only to rest for an +hour, or two. We'll not risk a fire." +</P> + +<P> +"Sure not—ain't got nuthin' ter cook, enyhow." He hesitated, as +though something was on his mind, glancing toward the girls, and +lowering his voice. "I ain't so very dern tired, an' reckon I'll scout +'round a bit. Them red devils might'r overlooked a rifle er two back +thar in the timber, an' I'd sure like ter git my fingers on one." +</P> + +<P> +I nodded indifferently, too completely exhausted myself to care what he +did, and then dull-eyed watched him disappear through the trees. No +one spoke, even Eloise failing to question me, as I approached where +she and Elsie had flung themselves on the short grass, although her +heavy eyes followed my movement, and she made an effort to smile. +</P> + +<P> +"One can easily see by your face how tired you are," I said, +compassionately, looking kindly down at her. "I am going to sleep for +an hour or two, and you had both better do the same. Tim is going to +keep guard." +</P> + +<P> +She smiled wearily at me, her head sinking back. I did not move, or +speak again; indeed I had lost consciousness almost before I touched +the ground. +</P> + +<P> +I could not have slept long, for there was a glow of light still +visible in the western sky, when a strong grip on my arm aroused me, +causing me instantly to sit up. Tim stood there, a battered, old, long +rifle in his hand, and beside him a boy of eighteen, without a hat, +tousled headed, with an ugly red wound showing on one cheek. +</P> + +<P> +"Mighty sorry fer ter wake ye, Cap," the deputy grinned. "This yere +young chap is one o' them sojers; an' it strikes me, he's got a damn +queer tale ter tell." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap29"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXIX +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE VALLEY OF THE BUREAU +</H3> + + +<P> +I glanced backward across my shoulder toward the others. Both girls +were sleeping soundly, while beyond them, down the slope, the three +horses were quietly cropping away at the herbage. I managed to rise. +</P> + +<P> +"Let's move back to the spring, where we will not wake them up," I +suggested. "Now we can talk." +</P> + +<P> +My eyes sought the face of the lad questioningly. He was a +loose-lipped, awkward lout, trembling still from a fright he could not +conceal. +</P> + +<P> +"You belonged to that squad killed out yonder?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, seh; I reckon I'se the only one whut ain't ded," he stammered, so +tongue-tied I could scarcely make out his words. "I wus gone after +wahter, an' when them Injuns begun fer ter yell, I never dun nuthin' +but just run, an' hid in the bush." +</P> + +<P> +"But you are wounded?" +</P> + +<P> +He put a red hand to his face, touching it gingerly. +</P> + +<P> +"I dun got racked with a branch; I wus thet skeered I just cudn't see +nuthin', seh." +</P> + +<P> +"I understand. What is your name?" +</P> + +<P> +"Asa Hall." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, Asa, I suppose those were militiamen; you belonged to the +company?" +</P> + +<P> +He nodded, his eyes dull, his lips moving, as though it was an effort +to talk. Quite evidently whatever little intellect he had ever +possessed, now refused to respond. Kennedy broke in impatiently. +</P> + +<P> +"It takes thet boy 'bout an hour fer ter tell enything, Cap," he +explained gruffly. "I reckon he's skeered half ter death in the furst +place, an' then thar's sumthin' wrong with him enyhow. Maybe I kin +give ye the main pints. Them thar fellers belonged ter Cap. Hough's +company frum down Edwardsville way—greener then grass, most ov 'em. +They'd cum up frum sumwhar on the Illinoy, an' wus a headin' fer Dixon. +Never onct thought thar might be Injuns down yere, an' never kept no +guard. Them Injuns jumped 'em at daybreak, an' not a soul knew they +wus thar, till they yelled. 'Twan't no fight, just a massacre. This +feller he got away, just as he sed he did, by a hidin' in the bush. I +reckon he wan't even seed at all, but he wus so blame close thet he +heerd 'bout all thet went on, an' even seed a bit ov it. Lord! I hed +ter poke him out; he wus thet skeered he cudn't stand." +</P> + +<P> +"Wal, I reckon yer'd a bin too," the boy stuttered angrily. "I ain't +never seed no Injuns afore." +</P> + +<P> +"An' don't wanter ever see no more, I reckon. Hell! I don't hanker +after eny myself. Howsumever, it's whut he seed an' heerd, Cap, thet +sounds mighty queer ter me. He sez thar wus mor'n fifty bucks in thet +party, an' that ol' Black Hawk wus thar hisself, a leadin' 'em'—he +done saw him." +</P> + +<P> +I turned, surprised at this statement, to stare into the boy's face. +He half grinned back at me, vacantly. +</P> + +<P> +"Black Hawk! He could scarcely be down here; what did he look like?" +</P> + +<P> +"'Bout six feet high, I reckon, with a big hooked nose, an' the +blackest pair o' mean eyes ever yer saw. I reckon he didn't hav' no +eyebrows, an' he wore a bunch o' eagle feathers, an' a red blanket. +Gosh' Mister, but the Devil cudn't look no worse'n he did." +</P> + +<P> +"Wus thet him, Cap?" burst in Tim, anxiously. +</P> + +<P> +"It's not a bad description," I admitted, yet not convinced. "I can't +believe he would be here with a raiding party. If he was, there must +be some important object in view. Is that all?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, 'tain't; the boy swears thar was a white man 'long with 'em, a +feller with a short moustache, an' dressed in store clothes. He wan't +no prisoner nuther, but hed a gun, an' talked ter Black Hawk, most like +he wus a chief hisself. After the killin' wus all over, he wus the one +whut got 'em ter go off thar to the south, the whole kit an' kaboodle. +Onct he spoke in English, just a word, er two. Asa cudn't make out +whut he sed, but 'twas English, all right." +</P> + +<P> +"I don't doubt that. There have always been white renegades among the +Sacs and plenty of half-breeds. Those fellows are more dangerous than +the Indians themselves—more savage, and revengeful. If Black Hawk, +and this other fellow are leading this band, they are after big game +somewhere, and we had better keep out of their way. I favor saddling +up immediately, and traveling all night." +</P> + +<P> +"So do I," and Tim flung a half-filled bag from his shoulder to the +ground. "But I vote we eat furst. 'Tain't much, only a few scraps I +found out thar; but it's a way better then nuthin'. Here you, Hall, +give me a hand, an' then we'll go out, an' round up them hosses." +</P> + +<P> +If the party of raiding Indians, whose foul deed we had discovered, had +departed in a southerly direction, as their trail would plainly seem to +indicate, then our safest course would seemingly be directed eastward +up the valley. This would give us the protection of the bluffs, and +take us more and more out of the territory they would be likely to +cover. All this I explained to Eloise as we struggled with the hard +bread, and a few strips of smoked bacon. Most of the bag had held corn +meal, but no one suggested a fire, as we were glad enough to possess +anything which would still the pangs of hunger. Eloise, filled with +sympathy, attempted to converse with Hall, who ate as though +half-starved, using hands and teeth like a young animal, but the boy +was so embarrassed, and stuttered so terribly, as to make the effort +useless. Within twenty minutes we were in saddle, descending the steep +hillside through the darkness, Tim walking ahead with the lad, his +horse trailing behind, and the long rifle across his shoulder. +</P> + +<P> +It was a hard night journey. Occasionally as we toiled onward I could +hear Elsie moan and sob, but Eloise gave utterance to no sound, except +to reply cheerfully whenever I addressed her. The exceeding roughness +of the passage made our progress slow, and quite frequently we were all +obliged to dismount, generally glad enough of the change, and plod +forward for some distance on foot. I possessed no knowledge then as to +where we were, the map having deceived me so often I had long since +lost all confidence in it as a guide, but now, in this later day, I can +trace our progress with some degree of accuracy, and know that we +passed that night in the valley of Bureau Creek, blindly groping our +way forward toward a fate of which we little dreamed. +</P> + +<P> +Nor did those weary hours of darkness bring to us the slightest +warning, I do not recall feeling any special fear. In the first place +I was convinced that we must already be at the extreme limit of Black +Hawk's radius, and that, traveling as we were eastward, must before +morning be well beyond any possible danger of falling into the hands of +his warriors. The other pursuers I had practically dismissed from +thought. Not for twenty-four hours had we perceived the slightest +signs of Kirby's presence in our rear, and my faith was strong that his +party had either lost our trail, or been turned aside by fear of +encountering Indians. In this respect Kennedy remained more +pessimistic than I, yet even in his mind confidence began to dawn that +we had outstripped our enemies, both white and red, and that a few +miles more must bring us in safety to some pioneer settlement. The +poor condition of our horses compelled us to rest frequently, and our +own utter exhaustion led to our dropping asleep almost the moment we +halted. We were without food, and in no mood to converse. Shortly +after midnight my horse strained a tendon, and could no longer uphold +my weight. On foot, with the poor beast limping painfully behind me, I +pressed on beside Eloise, both of us silent, too utterly wearied with +the strain for any attempt at speech. +</P> + +<P> +The early dawn found us plodding along close beside the creek, a fair +sized stream, which meandered quietly through a beautiful valley +protected on either side by high bluffs, rising to the plateau of +prairie beyond. The bluffs themselves were wooded, but the lower +expanse was open, covered with luxuriant grass, and containing only an +occasional tree, like some lone sentinel, diversifying the landscape +with the darker coloring of its leaves. It was a delightful scene, a +bit of wilderness beauty undefiled, appearing so peaceful and perfect +in its outer aspect as to cause even our tired, jaded eyes to open in +eager appreciation. I noticed Eloise straighten up in the saddle, her +face brightening in the early light as she gazed enraptured at the +varied shades of green decorating the near-by bluff, fading gradually +into the delicate blue of the arching sky overhead. The clear water of +the creek sparkled and rippled musically over a bed of yellow gravel, +while the soft lush grass clothing each bank waved gracefully in the +light wind, rising and falling like the waves of the sea. It was all +primitive nature untouched, nor was there evidence anywhere within our +vision, that this isolated valley in the midst of the prairie, had ever +before been visited by man. No dim trail crossed our path; no +appearance of life, human or animal, met our eyes; we forced our own +passage onward, with nothing to guide us, feeling more and more deeply +the dread loneliness and silence of this strangely desolate paradise. +</P> + +<P> +The rising sun topped the summit of the bluff, its red rays seeming to +bridge with spans of gossamer the little valley up which we toiled. I +had lost my interest, and was walking doggedly on, with eyes bent upon +the ground, when the girl beside me cried out suddenly, a new +excitement in her voice. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, there is a cabin! see! Over yonder; just beyond that big oak, +where the bluff turns." +</P> + +<P> +Her eager face was aglow, her outstretched hand pointing eagerly. +</P> + +<P> +The logs of which the little building had been constructed, still in +their native bark, blended so perfectly with the drab hillside beyond, +that for the moment none of us caught the distant outlines. Tim +possessed the keenest sight, and his voice was first to speak. +</P> + +<P> +"Sure, Miss, thet's a cabin, all right," he said grimly. "One room, +an' new built; likely 'nough sum settler just com' in yere. I don't +see no movement, ner smoke." +</P> + +<P> +"Fled to the nearest fort probably," I replied, able myself by this +time to decipher the spot. "Be too risky to stay out here alone. +We'll look it over; there might be food left behind, even if the people +have gone." +</P> + +<P> +We must have been half an hour in covering the distance. There were a +number of shallow gullies to cross, and a long, gently sloping hill to +climb. The cabin stood well up above the stream, within the shade of +the great oak, and we were confirmed, long before we reached it, of our +former judgment that it was uninhabited. The door stood ajar, and the +wooden shutter of the single window hung dejectedly by one hinge. No +sign of life was visible about the place; it had the appearance of +desertion, no smoke even curling from out the chimney. A faint trail, +evidently little used, led down toward the creek, and we followed this +as it wound around the base of the big tree. Then it was that the +truth dawned suddenly upon us—there to our right lay a dead mule, +harnessed for work, but with throat cut; while directly in front of the +cabin door was a dog, an ugly, massive brute, his mouth open, prone on +his back, with stiffened legs pointing to the sky. I dropped my rein, +and strode forward. +</P> + +<P> +"Wait where you are," I called back. "There have been savages here; +let me see first what has happened inside." +</P> + +<P> +The dog had been shot, stricken by two bullets, and I was obliged to +drag his huge body to one side before I could press my way in through +the door. The open doorway and window afforded ample light, and a +single glance was sufficient to reveal most of the story. It was a +well-built cabin, recently erected, with hip roof and puncheon floor, +the inside of the logs peeled, and white-washed. It had a homelike +look, the few scattered articles of furniture rudely but skillfully +made. A bit of chintz fluttered at the window, and a flower in a can +bloomed on the sill. The table had been smashed as by the blow of an +axe, and pewter dishes were everywhere. The bed in one corner had been +stripped of its coverlets, many of them slashed by a knife, and the +straw tick had been ripped open in a dozen places. Coals from the +fireplace lay widespread, some of them having eaten deeply into the +hard wood before they ceased smouldering. +</P> + +<P> +I saw all this, yet my eyes rested upon something else. A man lay, +bent double across an overturned bench, in a posture which hid his face +from view. His body was there alone, although a child's shoe lay on +the floor, and a woman's linsey dress dangled from a hook against the +wall. I crept forward, my heart pounding madly, until I could gain +sight of his face. He was a big fellow, not more than thirty, with +sandy hair and beard, and a pugnacious jaw, his coarse hickory shirt +slashed into ribbons, a bullet wound in the center of his forehead, and +one arm broken by a vicious blow. His calloused hands yet gripped the +haft of an axe, just as he had died—fighting. +</P> + +<P> +The sight of the man lying in that posture of horror was so terrible +that I instantly grasped the body, dragging it from off the overturned +bench, and seeking to give it a resting place on the floor. But it was +already stiffened in death, and I could only throw over it a blanket to +hide the sight. Tim's voice spoke from the doorway. +</P> + +<P> +"Injuns, I reckon?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, they have been here; the man is dead. But there must have been +others, a woman and child also—see that shoe on the floor, and the +dress hanging over there. The poor devil fought hard." +</P> + +<P> +Kennedy stepped inside, staring about him. +</P> + +<P> +"I reckon likely he wus yere alone," he commented slowly, evidently +thinking it out. "I figure like this—thet he'd heerd rumors o' Injuns +bein' raidin' this way, an' hed sent his fam'ly back ter sum fort +'round yere, but decided fer ter take his own chances. Thar ain't no +waggon round yere, an' no hosses, 'cept thet muel. He'd sure hav' sum +sorter contivance fer ter ride in. Then agin he sorter looks like thet +kind ov a feller ter me—he wudn't do no runnin' hisself, but I reckon +he'd take keer o' his folks. Whut's this yere under the bench?—hell, +a letter." He held it up to the light, in an effort to decipher the +description. "'Herman Slosser, Otterway, Illinoy—ter be held till +called fer.' Thet's it, Cap; thet's his name, I'll bet ye; an' so we +can't be so blamed fur frum this yere Otterway fort. Good Lord! won't +I be glad fer ter see it." +</P> + +<P> +"Do you think it best to stop here?" +</P> + +<P> +"Why not? 'Tain't likely them devils will be back agin. Thar sure +must be somethin' fer us ter eat in the place, an' the Lord kno's we +can't go on as we are. Them gurls be mighty nigh ready ter drop, an' +two o' the hosses has plum giv' out. I'm fer liftin' this body out'r +yere, an' settlin' down fer a few hours enyhow—say till it gits +middling dark." +</P> + +<P> +Undoubtedly this was the sensible view. We would be in far less danger +remaining there under cover than in any attempt to continue our journey +by daylight. Together we carried Slosser's body out, and deposited it +in a thicket behind the cabin, awaiting burial; and then dragged the +dead dog also out of sight. The disorder within was easily remedied, +and, after this had been attended to, the girls were permitted to +enter. Little was said to them, for they had seen enough with their +own eyes to render the situation sufficiently clear, although in truth +both were so wearied with the night ride, and the strain of those hours +of night, as to be practically incapable of feeling any occurrence +deeply. Horror after horror had followed us, until all sense of such +things had become seared and deadened. The mind had reached the limit +of endurance, and refused longer to respond. Even as I repeated +briefly what it was we had discovered, and the conclusions drawn, their +faces expressed only a dull comprehension, and they seemed rather to be +struggling to even keep an appearance of interest. Eloise sank back on +the bench, her head supported against the wall, the lashes of her +half-closed eyes showing dark against the whiteness of her cheeks. She +looked so pitifully tired, the very heart choked in my throat. +</P> + +<P> +The rest of us found a small stock of provisions, and Elsie, with Tim +to aid her, built a fire and prepared breakfast. A half-filled bottle +of whisky discovered in the cupboard, helped to revive all of us +slightly, and gave Asa sufficient courage to seek outside for a spring. +Tim, comparatively unwearied himself, and restless, located a trapdoor +in the floor, rather ingeniously concealed, which disclosed the +existence of a small cellar below. Candle in hand he explored this, +returning with two guns, together with a quantity of powder and ball, +and information that there remained a half-keg of the explosive hidden +below. +</P> + +<P> +"Must a bin aiming ter blow up stumps, I reckon," he commented, +exhibiting a sample. "Coarsest I ever saw; cudn't hardly use thet in +no gun, but it's powder all right," and he crumbled the particles +between his fingers, flinging the stuff into the fire. +</P> + +<P> +To remove the debris out of our way, I was gathering up the straw tick +and slit blankets, and piled them all together back on the bed. +Clinging to one of the blankets, caught and held by its pin, was a +peculiar emblem, and I stood for a moment with it in my hand, curiously +examining the odd design. Eloise unclosed her eyes, and started to her +feet. +</P> + +<P> +"What is that you have?" she asked, +</P> + +<P> +"A pin of some kind—a rather strange design; I just found it here, +entangled in this blanket." +</P> + +<P> +She took it from my hand, her eyes opening wide as she, stared at the +trinket. +</P> + +<P> +"Why," she exclaimed in surprise, "I have seen one exactly like it +before—Kirby wore it in his tie." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap30"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXX +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +WE ACCEPT A REFUGEE +</H3> + + +<P> +I looked again at the thing with a fresh curiosity, yet with no direct +thought of any connection. The undisguised terror manifest in her +face, however, caused me to realize the sudden suspicion which this +discovery had aroused. +</P> + +<P> +"That means nothing," I insisted, taking the pin back into my own +possession. "It is probably the emblem of some secret order, and there +may be thousands of them scattered about. Anyhow this one never +belonged to Joe Kirby. He could never have been here. My guess is the +fellow is back at Yellow Banks before now. Forget it, Eloise, while we +eat. Then a few hours' sleep will restore your nerves; you are all +worn out." +</P> + +<P> +We had nearly completed the meal, seated around what remained of the +shattered table. I do not recall what we conversed about, if indeed we +conversed at all. My own thoughts, rambling as they were, centered on +Eloise, and my desire to bring her safely to the Ottawa fort. How +white and drawn the poor girl's face looked in the bright daylight; and +how little of the food on her plate she was able to force down. What +intense weariness found expression in those eyes which met mine. And +she continued to try so hard to appear cheerful, to speak lightly. It +was pitiful. Yet in spite of all this never to my sight had she seemed +more attractive, more sweet of face. I could not remove my eyes from +her, nor do I think she was unobservant, for a tinge of red crept +slowly into the white cheeks, and a new light flashed across at me from +beneath the shadowing lashes. +</P> + +<P> +The boy Asa sat at the very end of the table, facing the open door, +eating as though he had not tasted food for a week. He was a homely, +uninteresting lout, but Tim had compelled him to wash, and in +consequence his freckled face shone, and the wet shock of hair appeared +more tousled than ever. From the time of sitting down he had scarcely +raised his eyes from off the pewter plate before him; but at last this +was emptied, and he lifted his head, to stare out through the open +door. Into his face came a look of dumb, inarticulate fright, as his +lips gave utterance to one cry of warning. +</P> + +<P> +"Look! Look!" +</P> + +<P> +With swift turn of the head I saw what he meant—a man on horseback, +riding at a savage gait up the trail, directly for the cabin, bent so +low in the saddle his features could not be discerned, but, from his +clothing, unquestionably white. I was without the door, Tim beside me +rifle in hand, when the fellow swept around the base of the oak, still +staring behind him, as though in fright of pursuers, and flogging his +straining horse with the end of a rein. He appeared fairly crazed with +fear, unaware in his blind terror of the close proximity of the cabin. +</P> + +<P> +"Hold on!" I yelled, springing forward, my arms thrown up, directly in +the animal's course. "Stop, you fool!" +</P> + +<P> +I know not whether the frantic horse checked itself, or if the rider +drew rein, but the beast stopped, half rearing, and I gazed with +amazement into the revealed face of the man—he was Joe Kirby. Before +I could speak, or move, he burst into words. +</P> + +<P> +"You! Knox! My God, man, whoever you are, don't refuse me shelter!" +</P> + +<P> +"Shelter? from what?" my hand closing on a pistol butt. +</P> + +<P> +"Indians! Be merciful, for God's sake. They are there in the valley, +they are after me. I just escaped them—they were going to burn me at +the stake!" +</P> + +<P> +I glanced aside at Tim; his rifle was flung forward. Then I looked +quickly back at the man, who had already dropped from his horse, and +seemed scarcely able to stand. Was this true, had he ridden here +unknowing whom he would meet, with no other thought but to save his +life? Heaven knows he looked the part—his swarthy face dirtied, with +a stain of blood on one cheek, his shirt ripped into rags, bare-headed, +and with a look of terror in his eyes not to be mistaken. Villain and +savage as I knew him to be, I still felt a strange wave of pity sweep +me—pity and tenderness, mingled with hatred and distrust. +</P> + +<P> +"Kirby," I said, and strode in between him and Tim's levelled weapon. +"There is no friendship between us—now, or at any time. I believe you +to be a miserable, snarling dog; but I would save even a cur from +Indian torture. Did you know we were here?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, so help me God. I saw the cabin, and hoped to find help." +</P> + +<P> +"The savages are following you?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes—yes; see! Look down there—there are half a hundred of the +devils, and—and Black Hawk." +</P> + +<P> +"By the Holy Smoke, Cap, he's right—there they are!" sung out Kennedy, +pointing excitedly. "The cuss ain't a lyin'. What'll we do?" +</P> + +<P> +I saw them also by this time, my mind in a whirl of indecision. What +should we do? What ought we to do? We should have to fight to the +death—there was no doubt of that. An attempt to get away was +manifestly impossible. But what about this renegade? this infernal +scoundrel? this hell-hound who had been trailing us to kill and +destroy? Should we turn him back now to his deserved fate? or should +we offer him the same chance for life we had? He might fight; he might +add one rifle to our defense; he might help us to hold out until +rescuers came. And then—then—after that—we could settle our score. +Tim's voice broke the silence. +</P> + +<P> +"I reckon we ain't got much time," he said grimly. "It's one thing, +'er the other. I'm fer givin' the damn begger a chanst. I can't turn +no white man over ter Injuns—not me. Kirby's got a gun, an' I reckon +we're goin' fer ter need 'em all afore this blame fracas is over with." +</P> + +<P> +"And I agree with you, Mr. Kennedy," said Eloise, clearly, speaking +from the open door. "Lieutenant Knox, no one here has more to forgive +than I. We must give the man refuge—it would be inhuman not to." +</P> + +<P> +My questioning eyes sought her face, and I read there a plea for mercy +not to be resisted. She meant her words, and the hate and distrust in +my own heart seemed mean and vile. I stepped forward and struck the +horse sharply, sending him scurrying around the end of the cabin. +</P> + +<P> +"Go in!" I said, grimly, to Kirby, looking him squarely in the eyes. +"And then play the man, if you care to live." +</P> + +<P> +I lingered there upon the outside for a moment, but for a moment only. +The advancing cloud of savages were already coming up the slope, +gradually spreading out into the form of a fan. The majority were +mounted, although several struggled forward on foot. Near their center +appeared the ominous gleam of a red blanket, waved back and forth as +though in signal, but the distance was too great for my eyes to +distinguish the one manipulating it. We were trapped, with our backs +to the wall. +</P> + +<P> +There were but few preparations to be made, and I gave small attention +to Kirby until these had been hastily completed. The door and window +were barred, the powder and slugs brought up from below, the rifles +loaded and primed, the few loopholes between the logs opened, and a +pail of water placed within easy reach. This was all that could be +done. Kennedy made use of the fellow, ordering him about almost +brutally, and Kirby obeyed the commands without an answering protest. +To all appearances he was as eager as we in the preparations for +defense. But I could not command him; to even address the fellow would +have been torture, for even then I was without faith, without +confidence. The very sneaking, cowardly way in which he acted, did not +appeal to me as natural. I could not deny his story—those approaching +Indians alone were proof that he fled from a real danger; and yet—and +yet, to my mind he could not represent anything but treachery. I +possessed but one desire—to kick the cringing cur. +</P> + +<P> +I stood at a loophole watching the approaching savages. They had +halted just below the big tree, and four or five, half hidden by the +huge trunk, were in consultation, well beyond rifle shot. Assured by +their attitude that the attack would not be made immediately, I +ventured to turn my face slightly, and take final survey of the room +behind. Tim had stationed himself at the other side of the door, his +eyes glued to a narrow opening, both hands gripped on his gun. Eloise +and the colored girl, the one dry-eyed and alert, the other prone on +the floor crying, were where I had told them to go, into the darkest +corner. The boy I did not see, nor even remember; but Kirby stood on +the bench, which enabled him to peer out through the loop-hole in the +window shutter. What I noticed, however, was, that instead of keeping +watch without, his eyes were furtively wandering about the room, and, +when they suddenly encountered mine, were as instantly averted. +</P> + +<P> +"Where was it you met those Indians, Kirby?" I questioned sternly. +</P> + +<P> +"Down the valley." +</P> + +<P> +"Last night?" +</P> + +<P> +"This morning; they surprised us in camp." +</P> + +<P> +"In camp! there were others with you, then. Who were they? the party +you had trailing us?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," a decidedly sullen tone creeping into his voice. "Five of them; +one was a Winnebago." +</P> + +<P> +"And Rale was along, I presume. What became of the others?" +</P> + +<P> +He shook his head, but with no show of feeling. +</P> + +<P> +"That's more than I know. Things were hot enough for me without +bothering about the rest. I never saw any of them again, except Rale. +He was killed in the fight. About an hour after that I shot the buck +who was guarding me, and got away on his horse." +</P> + +<P> +"What Indians were they?" +</P> + +<P> +"Sacs mostly; some Foxes, and maybe a Winnebago or two." +</P> + +<P> +"Was Black Hawk with them?" +</P> + +<P> +"I don't know—I never saw Black Hawk." +</P> + +<P> +I felt firmly convinced that he was deliberately lying, and yet there +was nothing in his story which might not be true. No doubt it was +prejudice, personal hatred, and distrust which led me to come to this +conclusion. Well, true or not, I meant to see that he fought now. +</P> + +<P> +"All right, but I advise you to keep your eyes outside," I said +sternly. "Don't be staring about the cabin any more." +</P> + +<P> +"I was looking for something to eat." +</P> + +<P> +"Is that so? Well, you better stand it for awhile without eating. +What is it, Eloise?" +</P> + +<P> +"Please let me hand him some food." +</P> + +<P> +I hesitated, conscious that I disliked even the thought of her serving +the fellow in any way, yet unable to resist the eager plea in her eyes. +</P> + +<P> +"Very well, if you wish to; only keep down out of range; those Indians +may try for the loopholes. It is more than you deserve, Kirby." +</P> + +<P> +He made no response, and I watched him closely as he endeavored to eat +what she proffered him, and felt convinced that it was hard work. The +man had lied about being hungry; he was not in need of food, and my +deep-rooted suspicion of him only flamed up anew. A hand gripped at my +sleeve timidly, and I turned quickly to encounter the eyes of Asa Hall. +Never did I read such depth of fear in the expression of any face—it +was the wild, unreasoning terror of an animal. +</P> + +<P> +"What is it, my boy?" +</P> + +<P> +"It's him, seh," he whispered, his lips trembling so I could scarce +catch the words. "Thet feller thar. He's—he's the one I saw las' +night with Black Hawk." +</P> + +<P> +"Are you sure?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, seh; I know him. I saw him plain as I do now." +</P> + +<P> +I do not know why, but every bit of evidence against the man came +instantly thronging back to my mind—the chance remark of Thockmorton +on the <I>Warrior</I> about his suspicion of Indian blood; the high cheek +bones and thin lips; the boy's earlier description; the manner in which +our trail had been so relentlessly followed; the strange emblem found +pinned to the blanket. I seemed to grasp the entire truth—the wily, +cowardly scheme of treachery he was endeavoring to perpetrate. My +blood boiled in my veins, and yet I felt cold as ice, as I swung about, +and faced the fellow, my rifle flung forward. +</P> + +<P> +"Kirby, stand up! Drop that rifle—take it, Eloise. Now raise your +hands. Tim." +</P> + +<P> +"Whut's up?" +</P> + +<P> +"Is there anything serious going on outside?" +</P> + +<P> +"No; nuthin' much—just pow-wowin'. Yer want me?" +</P> + +<P> +"Search that scoundrel for weapons. Don't ask questions; do what I +say." +</P> + +<P> +He made short work of it, using no gentle methods. +</P> + +<P> +"Wal' the gent wasn't exactly harmless," he reported, grinning +cheerfully, "considerin' this yere knife an cannon. Now, maybe ye'll +tell me whut the hell's up?" +</P> + +<P> +Kirby stood erect, his dark eyes searching our faces, his lips scornful. +</P> + +<P> +"And perhaps, Mr. Lieutenant Knox," he added sarcastically. "You might +condescend to explain to me also the purpose of this outrage." +</P> + +<P> +"With pleasure," but without lowering my rifle. "This boy here +belonged to the company of soldiers massacred yesterday morning. You +know where I mean. He was the only one to escape alive, and he saw you +there among the savages—free, and one of them." +</P> + +<P> +"He tells you that? And you accept the word of that half-wit?" +</P> + +<P> +"He described your appearance to us exactly twenty-four hours ago. I +never thought of you at the time, although the description was accurate +enough, because it seemed so impossible for you to have been there. +But that isn't all, Kirby. What has become of the emblem pin you wore +in your tie? It is gone, I see." +</P> + +<P> +His hand went up involuntarily. It is possible he had never missed it +before, for a look of indecision came into the man's face—the first +symptom of weakness I had ever detected there. +</P> + +<P> +"It must have been lost—mislaid—" +</P> + +<P> +"It was; and I chance to be able to tell you where—in this very room. +Here is your pin, you incarnate devil. I found it caught in those +blankets yonder. This is not your first visit to this cabin; you were +here with Indian murderers." +</P> + +<P> +"It's a damned lie—" +</P> + +<P> +But Kennedy had him, locked in a vise-like grip. It was well he had, +for the fellow had burst into a frantic rage, yet was bound so utterly +helpless as to appear almost pitiful. The knowledge of what he had +planned, of his despicable treachery, left us merciless. In spite of +his struggles we bore him to the floor, and pinned him there, cursing +and snapping like a wild beast. +</P> + +<P> +"Tear up one of those blankets," I called back over my shoulder to +Hall. "Yes, into strips, of course; now bring them here. Tim, you tie +the fellow—yes, do a good job; I'll hold him. Lie still, Kirby, or I +shall have to give you the butt of this gun in the face." +</P> + +<P> +He made one last effort to break free, and, as my hand attempted to +close on his throat, the clutching fingers caught the band of his +shirt, and ripped it wide open. There, directly before me, a scar +across his hairy, exposed chest, was a broad, black mark, a tribal +totem. I stared down at it, recognizing its significance. +</P> + +<P> +"By Heaven, Tim, look at this!" I cried. "He is an Indian himself—a +black Sac!" +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap31"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXXI +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW +</H3> + + +<P> +I do not know what delayed the attack of the savages, unless they were +waiting for some signal which never came. I passed from loophole to +loophole, thus assuring myself not only that they still remained, but +that the cabin was completely surrounded, although the manner in which +the warriors had been distributed left the great mass of them opposite +the front. The others evidently composed a mere guard to prevent +escape. No movement I could observe indicated an immediate assault; +they rather appeared to be awaiting something. +</P> + +<P> +Those I saw were all dismounted, and had advanced toward the cabin as +closely as possible without coming within the range of guns. They had +also sheltered themselves as far as possible behind clumps of brush, or +ridges of rock, so that I found it difficult to estimate their number. +Only occasionally would a venturesome warrior appear for a moment in +the open, as he glided stealthily from the protection of one covert to +another. No doubt some were brought within range of our rifles, as +these efforts were usually made to more advanced positions, but I +forbade firing, in the vague hope that, not hearing from Kirby, the +chiefs might become discouraged and draw off without risking an open +attack. +</P> + +<P> +This was more a desperate hope, rather than any real faith I possessed. +Beyond doubt the Indian chief knew, or thought he knew, our exact +strength before he consented to use his warriors in this assault. If +the band had trailed us to this spot, it had been done through the +influence of Kirby, and he had, beyond question, informed them as to +whom we were, and the conditions under which we had fled from Yellow +Banks. The only addition to our party since then was the rescued boy. +They would have little fear of serious loss in an attack upon two men, +and two women, unarmed, except possibly with a pistol or two, even +though barricaded behind the log walls of a cabin. And, with one of +their number within, any attempt at defense would be but a farce. This +same gang had already sacked the cabin, taking with them, as they +believed, every weapon it contained. In their haste they had +overlooked the cellar below. They had no thought of its existence, nor +that we awaited them rifles in hand and with an amply supply of powder +and lead. Whatever might be the final result, a surprise of no +pleasant nature was awaiting their advance. +</P> + +<P> +Convinced, as I had become, that Black Hawk was actually with the +party, although I was unable to obtain any glimpse of him, I felt there +was small chance of his departure, without making at least one effort +to capture the cabin. That was his nature, his reputation—that of a +bulldog to hang on, a tiger to strike. More even, this band of raiders +must be far south of the main body of the Hawk's followers, and hence +in danger themselves. They would never remain here long, facing the +possibility of discovery, of having their retreat cut off. If they +attacked, the attempt would not be long delayed. +</P> + +<P> +Still there was nothing left to do but wait. We were already as +completely prepared as possible with our resources. The main assault +would undoubtedly be delivered from the front, directed against the +door, the only point where they could hope to break in. Here Tim and +myself held our positions, as ready as we could be for any emergency, +and watchful of the slightest movement without. Tim had even brought +up the half-keg of coarse powder from the cellar, and rolled it into +one corner out of the way. His only explanation was, a grim reply to +my question, that "it mought be mighty handy ter hav' round afore the +fracus wus done." We had stationed Asa on the bench, as a protection +to any attack from the rear, although our only real fear of danger from +that direction lay in an attempt to fire the cabin during the +engagement in front. I had instructed the boy to stay there whatever +happened, as he could be of no help anywhere else, and to shoot, and +keep shooting at anything he saw. Not overly-bright, and half-dead +with fear as he was, I had no doubt but what he would prove dangerous +enough once the action started; and, if he should fail, Eloise, +crouching just behind him in the corner, could be trusted to hold him +to his duty. There was no fear in her, no shrinking, no evidence of +cowardice. Not once did I feel the need of giving her word of +encouragement—even as I glanced toward her it was to perceive the +gleam of a pistol gripped in her hand. She was of the old French +fighting stock, which never fails. +</P> + +<P> +My eyes softened as I gazed at her, her head held proudly erect, every +nerve alert, her eyes steadfast and clear. Against the log wall a few +yards away, Kirby strained at his blanket bonds, and had at last +succeeded in lifting himself up far enough so as to stare about the +room. There was none of the ordinary calm of the gambler about the +fellow now—all the pitiless hate, and love of revenge which belonged +to his wild Indian blood blazed in his eyes. He glared at me in +sudden, impotent rage. +</P> + +<P> +"You think you've got me, do you?" he cried, scowling across; then an +ugly grin distorted his thin lips. "Not yet you haven't, you soldier +dog. I've got some cards left to play in this game, you young fool. +What did you butt in for anyway? This was none of your affair. Damn +you, Knox, do you know who she is? I mean that white-faced chit over +there—do you know who she is? You think you are going to get her away +from me? Well, you are not—she's my wife; do you hear?—my wife! +I've got the papers, damn you! She's mine!—mine; and I am going to +have her long after you're dead—yes, and the whole damn Beaucaire +property with her. By God! you talk about fighting—why there are +fifty Indians out there. Wait till they find out what has happened to +me. Oh, I'll watch you die at the stake, you sneaking white cur, and +spit in your face!" +</P> + +<P> +"Kirby," I said sternly, but quietly, stepping directly across toward +him, "I've heard what you said, and that is enough. You are a +prisoner, and helpless, but I am going to tell you now to hold your +tongue. Otherwise you will never see me at the stake, because I shall +blow your brains out where you lie. One more word, and I am going to +rid this world of its lowest specimen of a human being." +</P> + +<P> +"You dare not do—" +</P> + +<P> +"And why not? You promise me death either way; what have I to lose +then by sending you first? It will rid the girl of you, and that means +something to me—and her. Just try me, and see." +</P> + +<P> +He must have read the grim meaning in my face, for he fell back against +the log, muttering incoherently, his dark eyes wells of hate, his face +a picture of malignancy, but utterly helpless—the lurking coward in +him, unable to face my threat. I left him and stooped above her. +</P> + +<P> +"We shall be busy presently; the delay cannot be much longer. I am +afraid that fellow may succeed somehow in doing us harm. He is crazed +enough to attempt anything. May I trust you to guard him?" +</P> + +<P> +Her eyes, absolutely fearless and direct, looked straight up into mine. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, he will make no movement I shall not see. Tell me; do you +believe there is hope?" +</P> + +<P> +"God knows. We shall do our best. If the worst comes—what?" +</P> + +<P> +"Do not fear for me; do not let any memory of me turn you aside from +your work," she said quietly. "I know what you mean and pledge you I +shall never fall into his hands. It—it cannot be wrong, I am sure, +and—and I must tell you that. I—I could not, Steven, for—for I love +you." +</P> + +<P> +My eager hands were upon hers, my eyes greedily reading the message +revealed so frankly in the depths of her own. She only was in my +thoughts; we were there alone—alone. +</P> + +<P> +"They're a comin', Cap," yelled Kennedy and his rifle cracked. "By +God! they're here!" +</P> + +<P> +With one swift spring I was back at my deserted post and firing. Never +before had I been in an Indian battle, but they had told me at +Armstrong that the Sacs were fighting men. I knew it now. This was to +be no play at war, but a grim, relentless struggle. They came en +masse, rushing recklessly forward across the open space, pressing upon +each other in headlong desire to be first, yelling like fiends, guns +brandished in air, or spitting fire, animated by but one purpose—the +battering of a way into that cabin. I know not who led them—all I saw +was a mass of half-naked bodies bounding toward me, long hair +streaming, copper faces aglow, weapons glittering in the light. Yes, I +saw more—the meaning of that fierce rush; the instrument of +destruction they brought with them. It was there in the center of the +maelstrom of leaping figures, protected by the grouped bodies, half +hidden by gesticulating red arms—a huge log, borne irresistibly +forward on the shoulders of twenty warriors, gripped by other hands, +and hurled toward us as though swept on by a human sea. Again and +again I fired blindly into the yelping mob; I heard the crack of Tim's +rifle echoing mine, and the chug of lead from without striking the +solid logs. Bullets ploughed crashing through the door panels and +Elsie's shrill screams of fright rang out above the unearthly din. A +slug tore through my loophole, drawing blood from my shoulder in its +passage, and imbedded itself in the opposite wall. In front of me +savages fell, staggering, screams of anger and agony mingling as the +astonished assailants realized the fight before them. An instant we +held them, startled, and demoralized. The warriors bearing the log +stumbled over a dead body and went down, the great timber crushing out +another life as it fell. Again we fired, this time straight into their +faces—but there was no stopping them. A red blanket flashed back +beyond the big tree; a guttural voice shouted, its hoarse note rising +above the hellish uproar, and those demons were on their feet again, +filled with new frenzy. It was a minute—no more. With a blow that +shook the cabin, propelled by twenty strong arms, the great tree butt +struck, splintering the oak wood as though it were so much pine, and +driving a jagged hole clear through one panel. Kennedy was there, +blazing away directly into the assailants eyes, and I joined him. +</P> + +<P> +Again they struck, and again, the jagged end of their battering ram +protruded through the shattered wood. We killed, but they were too +many. Once more the great butt came crashing forward, this time caving +in the entire door, bursting it back upon its hinges. In through the +opening the red mob hurled itself, reckless of death or wounds, mad +with the thirst for victory; a jam of naked beasts, crazed by the smell +of blood—a wave of slaughter, crested with brandished guns and gleam +of tomahawk. +</P> + +<P> +There is nothing to remember—nothing but blows, curses, yells, the +crunch of steel on flesh, the horror of cruel eyes glowering into +yours, the clutching of fingers at your throat, the spit of fire +singeing you, the strain of combat hand to hand—the knowledge that it +is all over, except to die. I had no sense of fear; no thought but to +kill and be killed. I felt within me strength—desperate, insane +strength. The rifle butt splintered in my hands, but the bent and +shapeless barrel rose and fell like a flail. I saw it crush against +skulls; I jabbed it straight into red faces; I brought it down with all +my force on clutching arms. For an instant Tim was beside me. He had +lost his gun and was fighting with a knife. It was only a glimpse I +had of him through red mist—the next instant he was gone. A huge +fellow faced me, a Winnebago I knew, from his shaven head. I struck +him once, laying open his cheek to the bone; then he broke through and +gripped me. +</P> + +<P> +The rest is what—a dream; a delirium of fever? I know not; it comes +to me in flashes of mad memory. I was struck again and again, stabbed, +and flung to the floor. Moccasined feet trod on me, and some fiend +gripped my hair, bending my head back across a dead body, until I felt +the neck crack. Above me were naked legs and arms, a pandemonium of +dancing figures, a horrible chorus of maddened yells. I caught a +glimpse of Asa Hall flung high into the air, shot dead in mid-flight, +the whirling body dropping into the ruck below. I saw the savage, +whose fingers were twined in my hair, lift a gleaming tomahawk and +circle it about his head; I stared into the hate of his eyes, and as it +swept down—there was a glare of red and yellow flame between us, the +thunder of an explosion; the roof above seemed to burst asunder and +fall in—and darkness, death. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap32"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXXII +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE TRAIL TO OTTAWA +</H3> + + +<P> +When my eyes again opened it was to darkness and silence as profound as +that of my former unconsciousness. My mind was a blank, and seemingly +I retained no sense of what had occurred, or of my present +surroundings. For the moment I felt no certainty even that I was +actually alive, yet slowly, little by little, reality conquered, and I +became keenly conscious of physical pain, while memory also began to +blindly reassert itself. It was a series of dim pictures projecting +themselves on the awakening brain—the Indian attack on the cabin, the +horrors of that last struggle, the gleaming tomahawk descending on my +head to deal the death blow, the savage eyes of my assailant glaring +into mine, and that awful flash of red and yellow flame, swept across +my mind one by one with such intense vividness as to cause me to give +vent to a moan of agony. +</P> + +<P> +I could see nothing, hear nothing. All about was impenetrable +blackness and the silence of the grave. I found myself unable to move +my body and when I desperately attempted to do so, even the slightest +motion brought pain. I became conscious also of a weight crushing down +upon me, and stifling my breath. One of my arms was free; I could move +it about within narrow limits, although it ached as from a serious +burn. By use of it I endeavored through the black darkness to learn +the nature of that heavy object lying across my chest, feeling at it +cautiously. My fingers touched cold, dead flesh, from contact with +which they shrank in horror, only to encounter a strand of coarse hair. +The first terror of this discovery was overwhelming, yet I persevered, +satisfying myself that it was the half-naked body of an Indian—a very +giant of a fellow—which lay stretched across me, an immovable weight. +Something else, perhaps another dead man, held my feet as though in a +vise, and when I ventured to extend my one free arm gropingly to one +side, the fingers encountered a moccasined foot. Scarcely daring to +breathe, I lay staring upward and, far above, looking out through what +might be a jagged, overhanging mass of timbers, although scarcely +discernible, my eyes caught the silver glimmer of a star. +</P> + +<P> +I was alive—alive! Whatever had occurred in that fateful second to +deflect that murderous tomahawk, its keen edge had failed to reach me. +And what had occurred? What could account for my escape; for this +silence and darkness; for these dead bodies; for the flight of our +assailants? Indians always removed their dead, yet seemingly this +place was a perfect charnel house, heaped with slain. Surely there +could be but one answer—the occurrence of a disaster so complete, so +horrifying, that the few who were left alive had thought only of +instant flight. Then it was that the probable truth came to me—that +flash and roar; that last impression imprinted on my brain before utter +darkness descended upon me, must have meant an explosion, an upheaval +shattering the cabin, bringing the roof down upon the struggling mob +within, the heavy timbers crushing out their lives. And the cause! +But one was possible—the half-keg of blasting power Kennedy had placed +in the corner as a last resort. Had Tim reached it in a final, mad +effort to destroy, or had some accidental flame wrought the terrible +destruction? Perhaps no one could ever answer that—but, was I there +alone, the sole survivor? Had those others of our little party died +amid their Indian enemies, and were they lying now somewhere in this +darkness, crushed and mangled in the midst of the debris? +</P> + +<P> +Kennedy, Elsie Clark, the half-witted boy Asa Hall—their faces seemed +to stare at me out of the blackness. They must be dead! Why, I had +seen Kennedy fall, the heedless feet crunching his face, and Asa Hall +tossed into the air and shot at as he fell. Eloise! Eloise! I +covered my eyes with the free hand, conscious that I was crying like a +child—Eloise. My God, Eloise! I wonder if I fainted; I knew so +little after that; so little, except that I suffered helplessly. That +awful, pressing weight upon my chest, the impossibility of moving my +limbs, the ceaseless horror of the dark silence, the benumbing +knowledge that all about me lay those dead bodies, with sightless eyes +staring through the black. If I did not faint, then I must have been +upon the verge of insanity, for there was a time—God knows how +long—when all was blank. +</P> + +<P> +Some slight, scarcely distinguishable noise aroused me. Yes, it was +actually a sound, as though someone moved in the room—moved +stealthily, as though upon hands and knees, seeking a passage in the +darkness. I imagined I could distinguish breathing. Who, what could +it be? A man; a prowling wild animal which had scented blood? But for +my dry, parched lips I would have cried out—yet even with the vain +endeavor, doubt silenced me. Who could be there—who? Some sneaking, +cowardly thief; some despoiler of the dead? Some Indian returned +through the night to take his toll of scalps, hoping to thus proclaim +himself a mighty warrior? More likely enemy than friend. It was +better that I lie and suffer than appeal to such fiend for mercy. +</P> + +<P> +The slight sound shifted to the right of where I lay, no longer +reminding me of the slow progress of a moving body, but rather as +though someone were attempting blindly to scrape together ashes in the +fireplace. Yes, that must be what was being done; whoever the strange +invader might be, and whatever his ultimate purpose, the effort now +being made was to provide a light, a flame sufficient to reveal the +horror of the place—to facilitate his ghastly work. I would wait +then; lie there as one dead until the coming of light helped me to +solve the mystery. Some life must still have lingered amid those +ashes, for suddenly I caught, reflected on the log wall, the tiniest +spurt of flame. It grew so slowly, fed by a hand I could not see; then +on that same wall there appeared the dark shadow of an arm, and the +bent, distorted image of a head. I pressed my one free hand beneath my +neck, and thus, by an effort, lifted myself so as to see more clearly +beyond the shoulder of the dead Indian. The first tiny, flickering +spark of fire had caught the dry wood, and was swiftly bursting into +flame. In another moment this had illumined that stooping figure, and +rested in a blaze of light upon the lowered face, bringing out the +features as though they were framed against the black wall beyond—a +woman's face, the face of Eloise! +</P> + +<P> +I gave vent to one startled, inarticulate cry, and she sprang to her +feet, the mantling flames girdling her as though she were a statue. +They lit up the white-washed wall, splashed with blood, and gave a +glimpse of the wrecked timbers dangling from above. In that first +frightened glance she failed to see me; her whole posture told of fear, +of indecision. +</P> + +<P> +"Who was it spoke? Who called? Is someone alive here?" +</P> + +<P> +The trembling words sounded strange, unnatural, I could barely whisper, +yet I did my best. +</P> + +<P> +"It is Steven, Eloise—come to me." +</P> + +<P> +"Steven! Steven Knox—alive! Oh, my God; you have answered my prayer!" +</P> + +<P> +She found me, heedless of all the horror in between, as though guided +by some instinct, and dropped on her knees beside me. I felt a tear +fall on my cheek, and then the warm, eager pressure of her lips to +mine, I could not speak; I could only hold her close with my one hand. +The flames beyond leaped up, widening their gleam of light, revealing +more clearly the dear face and the joy with which she gazed down upon +me. +</P> + +<P> +"You are suffering," she cried. "What can I do? Is it this Indian's +body?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," I breathed, the effort of speaking an agony. "He lies directly +across my chest, a dead weight." +</P> + +<P> +It taxed her strength to the utmost, but, oh, the immediate relief! +With the drawing of a full breath I felt a return of manhood, a revival +of life. Another body pinned my limbs to the floor, but this was more +easily disposed of. Then I managed to lift myself, but with the first +attempt her arm was about my shoulders. +</P> + +<P> +"No; not alone—let me help you. Do you really think you can stand! +Why, you are hurt, dear; this is a knife wound in your side. It looks +ugly, but is not deep and bleeds no longer. Are there other injuries?" +</P> + +<P> +"My head rings, and this left arm appears paralyzed, from blows, no +doubt, and there are spots on my body which feel like burns. No, I am +not in bad shape. Now let me stand alone; that's better. Good God, +what a scene!" +</P> + +<P> +The fire, by this time blazing brightly, gave us a full view of the +entire dismantled interior. The cabin was a complete wreck, the roof +practically all gone and the upper logs of the side walls either fallen +within or dangling in threat. Above clung jagged sections, trembling +with their own weight; the lower walls were blackened by powder and +stained with blood; the floor was strewn with dead bodies, disfigured +and distorted, lying exactly as they fell, while littered all about +were weapons, dropped by stricken hands. Clearly enough it had been +the sudden plunge of heavy timbers and the dislodgment of those upper +logs, which accounted for this havoc of death. There were dead there +pierced by bullets and brained by rifle stocks, but the many had met +their fate under the avalanche of logs, and amid the burning glare of +exploding powder. +</P> + +<P> +Only between arched timbers and sections of fallen roof could we move +at all, and beneath the network of this entanglement the majority of +the bodies lay, crushed and mangled. I saw Kirby, free from his bonds, +but dead beneath a heavy beam. His face was toward us and the flicker +of flame revealed a dark spot on his forehead—his life had never been +crushed out by that plunging timber which pinned him there; it had been +ended by a bullet. My eyes sought hers, in swift memory of my last +order, and she must have read my thought. +</P> + +<P> +"No," she said, "not that, Steven. It was the boy who shot him. Oh, +please, can we not go? There is light already in the sky +overhead—see. Take me away from here—anywhere, outside." +</P> + +<P> +"In a moment; all these surely are dead, beyond our aid, and yet we +must not depart foodless. We know not how far it still may be to +Ottawa. Wait, while I search for the things we need." +</P> + +<P> +"Not alone; I must be where I can touch you. Try to understand. Oh, +you do not know those hours I have spent in agony—I have died a +thousand deaths since that sun went down." +</P> + +<P> +"You were conscious—all night long?" +</P> + +<P> +"Conscious? Yes, and unhurt, yet prisoned helpless beneath those two +logs yonder, saved only by that over-turned bench. Elsie, poor thing, +never knew how death came, it was so swift, but I lay there, within a +foot of her body unscratched. I could think only of you, Steven, but +with never a dream that you lived. There were groans at first and +cries. Some Indians crept in through the door and dragged out a few +who lived. But with the coming of darkness all sounds ceased and such +silence was even more dreadful than the calls, for help. Oh, I cannot +tell you," and she clung to me, her voice breaking. "I—I dared not +move for hours, and then, when I did try, found I could not; that I was +held fast. Only for a knife in the hand of a dead savage, which I +managed to secure, I could never have freed myself. And oh, the +unspeakable horror of creeping in the darkness among those bodies. I +knew where the fireplace must be; that there might be live coals there +still. I had to have light; I had to know if you were dead." +</P> + +<P> +"Don't think about it any more, dear heart," I urged. "Yes, we can go +now—nothing else holds us here." +</P> + +<P> +We crept out through the door, underneath a mass of debris, into the +gray of the dawn. How sweet the air, how like a benediction the song +of birds. Neither of us looked back, and I held her close against me +as we moved onward, past the big tree, and down the long slope. It was +a wondrous view of peace and beauty, the broad green valley, with the +silver thread of water shining in its center—the valley of the Bureau. +We followed the faint trail, which wound in and out among small copses +of trees; the sun began to brighten the far east and her hand stole +into mine. The light was upon her face, and gave me a glimpse of the +sadness of her eyes. Beyond a little grove we found some horses +browsing in the deep grass; they were those that had brought us from +Yellow Banks, and whinnied a greeting as we drew near. Two of them +were fit to ride and the others followed, limping along behind. +</P> + +<P> +A half mile up the valley we came to a beaten trail, running straight +across from bluff to bluff, and disappearing into the prairie beyond, +heading directly toward the sunrise. We stopped and looked back for +the first time. There on the side of the slope, under the shade of the +big tree, stood the cabin. Only for the wreck of the roof it spoke no +message of the tragedy within. The sun's rays gilded it, and the smoke +from its chimney seemed a beckoning welcome. I reached out and took +her hand, and our eyes met in understanding. What I whispered need not +be told, and when we again rode forward, it was upon the trail to +Ottawa. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR><BR> + +<hr class="full" noshade> +<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE DEVIL'S OWN***</p> +<p>******* This file should be named 17710-h.txt or 17710-h.zip *******</p> +<p>This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:<br /> +<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/7/7/1/17710">http://www.gutenberg.org/1/7/7/1/17710</a></p> +<p>Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed.</p> + +<p>Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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