have not been so foolish as to take offence at any little _brusquerie_
of mine; but no, that is improbable.
“Since I saw you I have had great cause for anxiety. I have something
to tell you, yet scarcely know how to tell it, or whether I should
tell it at all.
“I have not been quite well for some days past, and poor old Jup
annoys me, almost beyond endurance, by his well-meant attentions.
Would you believe it?—he had prepared a huge stick, the other day,
with which to chastise me for giving him the slip, and spending the
day, _solus_, among the hills on the mainland. I verily believe that
my ill looks alone saved me a flogging.
“I have made no addition to my cabinet since we met.
“If you can, in any way, make it convenient, come over with Jupiter.
_Do_ come. I wish to see you _to-night_, upon business of importance.
I assure you that it is of the _highest_ importance.
“Ever yours,
“WILLIAM LEGRAND.”
There was something in the tone of this note which gave me great
uneasiness. Its whole style differed materially from that of Legrand.
What could he be dreaming of? What new crotchet possessed his excitable
brain? What “business of the highest importance” could _he_ possibly
have to transact? Jupiter’s account of him boded no good. I dreaded
lest the continued pressure of misfortune had, at length, fairly
unsettled the reason of my friend. Without a moment’s hesitation,
therefore, I prepared to accompany the negro.
Upon reaching the wharf, I noticed a scythe and three spades, all
apparently new, lying in the bottom of the boat in which we were to
embark.
“What is the meaning of all this, Jup?” I inquired.
“Him syfe, massa, and spade.”
“Very true; but what are they doing here?”
“Him de syfe and de spade what Massa Will sis pon my buying for him in
de town, and de debbil’s own lot of money I had to gib for ’em.”
“But what, in the name of all that is mysterious, is your ’Massa Will’
going to do with scythes and spades?”
“Dat’s more dan _I_ know, and debbil take me if I don’t blieve ’tis
more dan he know, too. But it’s all cum ob de bug.”
Finding that no satisfaction was to be obtained of Jupiter, whose whole
intellect seemed to be absorbed by “de bug,” I now stepped into the
boat and made sail. With a fair and strong breeze we soon ran into
the little cove to the northward of Fort Moultrie, and a walk of some
two miles brought us to the hut. It was about three in the afternoon
when we arrived. Legrand had been awaiting us in eager expectation. He
grasped my hand with a nervous _empressement_, which alarmed me and
strengthened the suspicions already entertained. His countenance was
pale even to ghastliness, and his deep-set eyes glared with unnatural
lustre. After some inquiries respecting his health, I asked him, not
knowing what better to say, if he had yet obtained the _scarabæus_ from
Lieutenant G——.
“Oh, yes,” he replied, coloring violently, “I got it from him the next
morning. Nothing should tempt me to part with that _scarabæus_. Do you
know that Jupiter is quite right about it?”
“In what way?” I asked, with a sad foreboding at heart.
“In supposing it to be a bug of _real gold_.” He said this with an air
of profound seriousness, and I felt inexpressibly shocked.
“This bug is to make my fortune,” he continued, with a triumphant
smile, “to reinstate me in my family possessions. Is it any wonder,
then, that I prize it? Since Fortune has thought fit to bestow it upon
me, I have only to use it properly and I shall arrive at the gold of
which it is the index. Jupiter, bring me that _scarabæus_!”
“What! de bug, massa? I’d rudder not go fer trubble dat bug—you mus
git him for your own self.” Hereupon Legrand arose, with a grave and
stately air, and brought me the beetle from a glass case in which
it was enclosed. It was a beautiful _scarabæus_, and, at that time,
unknown to naturalists—of course a great prize in a scientific point
of view. There were two round, black spots near one extremity of the
back, and a long one near the other. The scales were exceedingly
hard and glossy, with all the appearance of burnished gold. The
weight of the insect was very remarkable, and, taking all things into
consideration, I could hardly blame Jupiter for his opinion respecting
it; but what to make of Legrand’s agreement with that opinion, I could
not, for the life of me, tell.
“I sent for you,” said he, in a grandiloquent tone, when I had
completed my examination of the beetle, “I sent for you, that I might
have your counsel and assistance in furthering the views of Fate and of
the bug——”
“My dear Legrand,” I cried, interrupting him, “you are certainly
unwell, and had better use some little precautions. You shall go to
bed, and I will remain with you a few days, until you get over this.
You are feverish and——”
“Feel my pulse,” said he.
I felt it, and, to say the truth, found not the slightest indication of
fever.
“But you may be ill, and yet have no fever. Allow me this once to
prescribe for you. In the first place, go to bed. In the next——”
“You are mistaken,” he interposed, “I am as well as I can expect to be
under the excitement which I suffer. If you really wish me well, you
will relieve this excitement.”
“And how is this to be done?”
“Very easily. Jupiter and myself are going upon an expedition into the
hills, upon the mainland, and, in this expedition, we shall need the
aid of some person in whom we can confide. You are the only one we
can trust. Whether we succeed or fail, the excitement which you now
perceive in me will be equally allayed.”
“I am anxious to oblige you in any way,” I replied; “but do you mean to
say that this infernal beetle has any connection with your expedition
into the hills?”
“It has.”
“Then, Legrand, I can become a party to no such absurd proceeding.”
“I am sorry—very sorry—for we shall have to try it by ourselves.”
“Try it by yourselves! The man is surely mad!—but stay—how long do
you propose to be absent?”
“Probably all night. We shall start immediately, and be back, at all
events, by sunrise.”
“And will you promise me, upon your honor, that when this freak
of yours is over, and the bug business (good God!) settled to
your satisfaction, you will then return home and follow my advice
implicitly, as that of your physician?”
“Yes; I promise; and now let us be off, for we have no time to lose.”
With a heavy heart I accompanied my friend. We started about four
o’clock—Legrand, Jupiter, the dog, and myself. Jupiter had with
him the scythe and spades—the whole of which he insisted upon
carrying, more through fear, it seemed to me, of trusting either of
the implements within reach of his master, than from any excess of
industry or complaisance. His demeanor was dogged in the extreme, and
“dat d——d bug” were the sole words which escaped his lips during the
journey. For my own part, I had charge of a couple of dark lanterns,
while Legrand contented himself with the _scarabæus_, which he carried
attached to the end of a bit of whip-cord; twirling it to and fro,
with the air of a conjurer, as he went. When I observed this last,
plain evidence of my friend’s aberration of mind, I could scarcely
refrain from tears. I thought it best, however, to humor his fancy,
at least for the present, or until I could adopt some more energetic
measures with a chance of success. In the mean time I endeavored, but
all in vain, to sound him in regard to the object of the expedition.
Having succeeded in inducing me to accompany him, he seemed unwilling
to hold conversation upon any topic of minor importance, and to all my
questions vouchsafed no other reply than “we shall see!”
We crossed the creek at the head of the island by means of a skiff,
and, ascending the high grounds on the shore of the mainland, proceeded
in a northwesterly direction, through a tract of country excessively
wild and desolate, where no trace of a human footstep was to be seen.
Legrand led the way with decision; pausing only for an instant, here
and there, to consult what appeared to be certain landmarks of his own
contrivance upon a former occasion.
In this manner we journeyed for about two hours, and the sun was
just setting when we entered a region infinitely more dreary than
any yet seen. It was a species of tableland, near the summit of an
almost inaccessible hill, densely wooded from base to pinnacle, and
interspersed with huge crags that appeared to lie loosely upon the
soil, and in many cases were prevented from precipitating themselves
into the valleys below merely by the support of the trees against which
they reclined. Deep ravines, in various directions, gave an air of
still sterner solemnity to the scene.
The natural platform to which we had clambered was thickly overgrown
with brambles, through which we soon discovered that it would have
been impossible to force our way but for the scythe; and Jupiter, by
direction of his master, proceeded to clear for us a path to the foot
of an enormously tall tulip-tree, which stood, with some eight or ten
oaks, upon the level, and far surpassed them all, and all other trees
which I had then ever seen, in the beauty of its foliage and form, in
the wide spread of its branches, and in the general majesty of its
appearance. When we reached this tree, Legrand turned to Jupiter,
and asked him if he thought he could climb it. The old man seemed a
little staggered by the question, and for some moments made no reply.
At length he approached the huge trunk, walked slowly around it, and
examined it with minute attention. When he had completed his scrutiny,
he merely said:
“Yes, massa, Jup climb any tree he ebber see in he life.”
“Then up with you as soon as possible, for it will soon be too dark to
see what we are about.”
“How far mus go up, massa?” inquired Jupiter.
“Get up the main trunk first, and then I will tell you which way to
go—and here—stop! take this beetle with you.”
“De bug, Massa Will!—de goole-bug!” cried the negro, drawing back in
dismay—“what for mus tote de bug way up de tree?—d——n if I do!”
“If you are afraid, Jup, a great big negro like you, to take hold
of a harmless little dead beetle, why, you can carry it up by this
string—but, if you do not take it up with you in some way, I shall be
under the necessity of breaking your head with this shovel.”
“What de matter now, massa?” said Jup, evidently shamed into
compliance; “always want fur to raise fuss wid old nigger. Was only
funnin anyhow. _Me_ feered de bug! what I keer for de bug?” Here he
took cautiously hold of the extreme end of the string, and, maintaining
the insect as far from his person as circumstances would permit,
prepared to ascend the tree.
In youth, the tulip-tree, or _Liriodendron Tulipifera_, the most
magnificent of American foresters, has a trunk peculiarly smooth, and
often rises to a great height without lateral branches; but, in its
riper age, the bark becomes gnarled and uneven, while many short limbs
make their appearance on the stem. Thus the difficulty of ascension,
in the present case, lay more in semblance than in reality. Embracing
the huge cylinder, as closely as possible, with his arms and knees,
seizing with his hands some projections, and resting his naked toes
upon others, Jupiter, after one or two narrow escapes from falling,
at length wriggled himself into the first great fork, and seemed to
consider the whole business as virtually accomplished. The _risk_ of
the achievement was, in fact, now over, although the climber was some
sixty or seventy feet from the ground.
“Which way mus go now, Massa Will?” he asked.
“Keep up the largest branch,—the one on this side,” said Legrand. The
negro obeyed him promptly, and apparently with but little trouble,
ascending higher and higher, until no glimpse of his squat figure could
be obtained through the dense foliage which enveloped it. Presently his
voice was heard in a sort of halloo.
“How much fudder is got for go?”
“How high up are you?” asked Legrand.
“Ebber so fur,” replied the negro; “can see de sky fru de top ob de
tree.”
“Never mind the sky, but attend to what I say. Look down the trunk and
count the limbs below you on this side. How many limbs have you passed?”
“One, two, tree, four, fibe—I done pass fibe big limb, massa, pon dis
side.”
“Then go one limb higher.”
In a few minutes the voice was heard again, announcing that the seventh
limb was attained.
“Now, Jup,” cried Legrand, evidently much excited, “I want you to work
your way out upon that limb as far as you can. If you see anything
strange, let me know.”
By this time what little doubt I might have entertained of my poor
friend’s insanity was put finally at rest. I had no alternative but to
conclude him stricken with lunacy, and I became seriously anxious about
getting him home. While I was pondering upon what was best to be done,
Jupiter’s voice was again heard.
“Mos feerd for to ventur pon dis limb berry far—’tis dead limb putty
much all de way.”
“Did you say it was a _dead_ limb, Jupiter?” cried Legrand in a
quavering voice.
“Yes, massa, him dead as de door-nail—done up for sartain—done
departed dis here life.”
“What in the name of heaven shall I do?” asked Legrand, seemingly in
the greatest distress.
“Do!” said I, glad of an opportunity to interpose a word, “why come
home and go to bed. Come now!—that’s a fine fellow. It’s getting late,
and, besides, you remember your promise.”
“Jupiter,” cried he, without heeding me in the least, “do you hear me?”
“Yes, Massa Will, hear you ebber so plain.”
“Try the wood well, then, with your knife, and see if you think it
_very_ rotten.”
“Him rotten, massa, sure nuff,” replied the negro in a few moments,
“but not so berry rotten as mought be. Mought ventur out leetle way pon
de limb by myself, dat’s true.”
“By yourself!—what do you mean?”
“Why, I mean de bug. ’Tis _berry_ hebby bug. Spose I drop him down
fuss, and den de limb won’t break wid just de weight ob one nigger.”
“You infernal scoundrel!” cried Legrand, apparently much relieved,
“what do you mean by telling me such nonsense as that? As sure as you
let that beetle fall, I’ll break your neck. Look here, Jupiter! do you
hear me?”
“Yes, massa, needn’t hollo at poor nigger dat style.”
“Well! now listen!—if you will venture out on the limb as far as you
think safe, and not let go the beetle, I’ll make you a present of a
silver dollar as soon as you get down.”
“I’m gwine, Massa Will—deed I is,” replied the negro very
promptly—“mos out to the eend now.”
“_Out to the end!_” here fairly screamed Legrand, “do you say you are
out to the end of that limb?”
“Soon be to de eend, massa,—o-o-o-o-oh! Lord-gol-a-marcy! what _is_
dis here pon de tree?”
“Well!” cried Legrand, highly delighted, “what is it?”
“Why taint noffin but a skull—somebody bin lef him head up de tree,
and de crows done gobble ebery bit ob de meat off.”
“A skull, you say!—very well!—how is it fastened to the limb?—what
holds it on?”
“Sure nuff, massa; mus look. Why, dis berry curous sarcumstance, pon
my word—dare’s a great big nail in de skull, what fastens ob it on to
de tree.”
“Well now, Jupiter, do exactly as I tell you—do you hear?”
“Yes, massa.”
“Pay attention, then!—find the left eye of the skull.”
“Hum! hoo! dat’s good! why, dar aint no eye lef at all.”
“Curse your stupidity! do you know your right hand from your left?”
“Yes, I nose dat—nose all bout dat—’tis my lef hand what I chops de
wood wid.”
“To be sure! you are left-handed; and your left eye is on the same side
as your left hand. Now, I suppose, you can find the left eye of the
skull, or the place where the left eye has been. Have you found it?”
Here was a long pause. At length the negro asked,
“Is de lef eye of de skull pon de same side as de lef hand of de skull,
too?—cause de skull aint got not a bit ob a hand at all—nebber mind!
I got de lef eye now—here de lef eye! what must do wid it?”
“Let the beetle drop through it, as far as the string will reach—but
be careful and not let go your hold of the string.”
“All dat done, Massa Will; mighty easy ting for to put de bug fru de
hole—look for him dar below!”
During this colloquy no portion of Jupiter’s person could be seen; but
the beetle, which he had suffered to descend, was now visible at the
end of the string, and glistened, like a globe of burnished gold, in
the last rays of the setting sun, some of which still faintly illumined
the eminence upon which we stood. The _scarabæus_ hung quite clear of
any branches, and, if allowed to fall, would have fallen at our feet.
Legrand immediately took the scythe, and cleared with it a circular
space, three or four yards in diameter, just beneath the insect, and,
having accomplished this, ordered Jupiter to let go the string and come
down from the tree.
Driving a peg, with great nicety, into the ground, at the precise
spot where the beetle fell, my friend now produced from his pocket a
tape-measure. Fastening one end of this at that point of the trunk of
the tree which was nearest the peg, he unrolled it till it reached
the peg, and thence farther unrolled it, in the direction already
established by the two points of the tree and the peg, for the distance
of fifty feet—Jupiter clearing away the brambles with the scythe. At
the spot thus attained a second peg was driven, and about this, as a
centre, a rude circle, about four feet in diameter, described. Taking
now a spade himself, and giving one to Jupiter and one to me, Legrand
begged us to set about digging as quickly as possible.
To speak the truth, I had no especial relish for such amusement at
any time, and, at that particular moment, would most willingly have
declined it; for the night was coming on, and I felt much fatigued
with the exercise already taken; but I saw no mode of escape, and
was fearful of disturbing my poor friend’s equanimity by a refusal.
Could I have depended, indeed, upon Jupiter’s aid, I would have had
no hesitation in attempting to get the lunatic home by force; but I
was too well assured of the old negro’s disposition to hope that he
would assist me, under any circumstances, in a personal contest with
his master. I made no doubt that the latter had been infected with
some of the innumerable Southern superstitions about money buried,
and that his fantasy had received confirmation by the finding of the
_scarabæus_, or, perhaps, by Jupiter’s obstinacy in maintaining it to
be “a bug of real gold.” A mind disposed to lunacy would readily be
led away by such suggestions, especially if chiming in with favorite
preconceived ideas; and then I called to mind the poor fellow’s speech
about the beetle’s being “the index of his fortune.” Upon the whole, I
was sadly vexed and puzzled, but at length I concluded to make a virtue
of necessity—to dig with a good will, and thus the sooner to convince
the visionary, by ocular demonstration, of the fallacy of the opinions
he entertained.
The lanterns having been lit, we all fell to work with a zeal worthy
a more rational cause; and, as the glare fell upon our persons and
implements, I could not help thinking how picturesque a group we
composed, and how strange and suspicious our labors must have appeared
to any interloper who, by chance, might have stumbled upon our
whereabouts.
We dug very steadily for two hours. Little was said; and our chief
embarrassment lay in the yelpings of the dog, who took exceeding
interest in our proceedings. He, at length, became so obstreperous
that we grew fearful of his giving the alarm to some stragglers in the
vicinity; or, rather, this was the apprehension of Legrand; for myself,
I should have rejoiced at any interruption which might have enabled me
to get the wanderer home. The noise was, at length, very effectually
silenced by Jupiter, who, getting out of the hole with a dogged air of
deliberation, tied the brute’s mouth up with one of his suspenders, and
then returned, with a grave chuckle, to his task.
When the time mentioned had expired, we had reached a depth of five
feet, and yet no signs of any treasure became manifest. A general
pause ensued, and I began to hope that the farce was at an end.
Legrand, however, although evidently much disconcerted, wiped his
brow thoughtfully and recommenced. We had excavated the entire circle
of four feet diameter, and now we slightly enlarged the limit, and
went to the farther depth of two feet. Still nothing appeared. The
gold-seeker, whom I sincerely pitied, at length clambered from the
pit, with the bitterest disappointment imprinted upon every feature,
and proceeded, slowly and reluctantly, to put on his coat, which he
had thrown off at the beginning of his labor. In the mean time I made
no remark. Jupiter, at a signal from his master, began to gather up
his tools. This done, and the dog having been unmuzzled, we turned in
profound silence towards home.
We had taken, perhaps, a dozen steps in this direction, when, with a
loud oath, Legrand strode up to Jupiter, and seized him by the collar.
The astonished negro opened his eyes and mouth to the fullest extent,
let fall the spades, and fell upon his knees.
“You scoundrel,” said Legrand, hissing out the syllables from between
his clenched teeth—“you infernal black villain!—speak, I tell
you!—answer me this instant, without prevarication!—which—which is
your left eye?”
“Oh, my golly, Massa Will! aint dis here my lef eye for sartain?”
roared the terrified Jupiter, placing his hand upon his _right_ organ
of vision, and holding it there with a desperate pertinacity, as if in
immediate dread of his master’s attempt at a gouge.
“I thought so!—I knew it! hurrah!” vociferated Legrand, letting the
negro go, and executing a series of curvets and caracoles, much to the
astonishment of his valet, who, arising from his knees, looked mutely
from his master to myself, and then from myself to his master.
“Come! we must go back,” said the latter, “the game’s not up yet;” and
he again led the way to the tulip-tree.
“Jupiter,” said he, when we reached its foot, “come here! was the
skull nailed to the limb with the face outward, or with the face to the
limb?”
“De face was out, massa, so dat de crows could get at de eyes good,
widout any trouble.”
“Well, then, was it this eye or that through which you dropped the
beetle?”—here Legrand touched each of Jupiter’s eyes.
“‘Twas dis eye, massa—de lef eye—jis as you tell me,” and here it was
his right eye that the negro indicated.
“That will do—we must try it again.”
Here my friend, about whose madness I now saw, or fancied that I saw,
certain indications of method, removed the peg which marked the spot
where the beetle fell, to a spot about three inches to the westward of
its former position. Taking, now, the tape-measure from the nearest
point of the trunk to the peg, as before, and continuing the extension
in a straight line to the distance of fifty feet, a spot was indicated,
removed, by several yards, from the point at which we had been digging.
Around the new position a circle, somewhat larger than in the former
instance, was now described, and we again set to work with the spades.
I was dreadfully weary, but, scarcely understanding what had occasioned
the change in my thoughts, I felt no longer any great aversion from
the labor imposed. I had become most unaccountably interested—nay,
even excited. Perhaps there was something, amid all the extravagant
demeanor of Legrand—some air of forethought, or of deliberation—which
impressed me. I dug eagerly, and now and then caught myself actually
looking, with something that very much resembled expectation, for the
fancied treasure, the vision of which had demented my unfortunate
companion. At a period when such vagaries of thought most fully
possessed me, and when we had been at work perhaps an hour and a half,
we were again interrupted by the violent howlings of the dog. His
uneasiness, in the first instance, had been evidently but the result
of playfulness or caprice, but he now assumed a bitter and serious
tone. Upon Jupiter’s again attempting to muzzle him, he made furious
resistance, and, leaping into the hole, tore up the mould frantically
with his claws. In a few seconds he had uncovered a mass of human
bones, forming two complete skeletons, intermingled with several
buttons of metal, and what appeared to be the dust of decayed woollen.
One or two strokes of a spade upturned the blade of a large Spanish
knife, and, as we dug farther, three or four loose pieces of gold and
silver coin came to light.