THE PURSUIT--THE FIGHT AND VICTORY--WE DISPOSE OF OUR PRISONERS--THE
BLACK DWARF--THE CITY OF THEMISTOCLES--WE PART COMPANY--I GO WITH PETER
AND READY ABOARD THE WONDROUS HIGHFLIER.
Happily, I was well accustomed to the use of a paddle; Peter was not. I
therefore told him to lay his down, while I steered the canoe with as
little noise as possible, inclining towards the opposite bank near which
I fancied the slave-hunters were working their way up the stream.
The light was increasing,--the voices grew louder. I guessed that the
other canoe must be about abreast of us. "A few minutes more, and we
shall be free of her," I thought to myself, when I observed that Ready
was throwing up his nose and stretching out his neck. I tried by a low
whisper to tranquillise him. In vain. He ran to the side nearest the
other canoe and gave a furious bark. It was immediately responded to by
another dog, and a vehement exchange of fierce growls and barkings
ensued.
"Who goes there?" shouted some one in a surly voice. "Answer, or I'll
fire."
"Don't do that same, friend," I replied in as calm a tone as I could
command. "I've just escaped drowning, and I've no fancy to be shot.
You haven't heard, then, that the Mighty Go-ahead has gone down, and to
the best of my knowledge every soul has perished, except a boy I picked
up, and two or three people I saw floating down the stream, and who may
possibly have reached the shore in safety."
"Not very likely that," observed another man, with a savage laugh. "The
Mississippi isn't famous for helping people to swim ashore."
The first speaker now inquired how the accident had happened, and how I
had escaped. I told him.
"Then it was daylight when the Mighty Go-ahead went down," remarked
another man. "What have you been doing with yourself ever since,
stranger?"
I replied that I had spent part of the night up a tree, till, coming
down, I had discovered the canoe in which I had embarked, and was on my
way back to New Orleans. By this time I could see the other canoe and
the people in her. There were three of them. Their dog, a large
bloodhound, and mine continued to exchange fierce barks and growls, in
spite of our mutual endeavours to silence them. This was an advantage
to me. It gave me time to consider what I should say. I was very
anxious, not on my own account, but for the sake of Marcus. Still
should it come to a tussle, in which our antagonists might not have the
advantage of their firearms, I thought very probably Marcus, Peter, and
I might come off victorious, and I felt sure that Ready would give some
account of the other dog. It was, however, more than possible, should
we begin to fight, that our canoes would be upset, and that we might all
be drowned together. I did not wish to show the slightest unwillingness
to approach the other canoe, lest I might raise the suspicions of the
men in her, so we gradually dropped nearer together. The closer we got,
the more furiously did our dogs bark. The other dog seemed scarcely
able to keep himself in the canoe, as he ran backwards and forwards in
an ungovernable rage. I was in hopes that the men had finished
questioning me, and would allow me to proceed. I gave a flourish with
my paddle, and had made a stroke with it which sent the canoe ahead,
when one of the men cried out--
"You don't happen to have seen a darkie, as you came along, stranger,
have you?"
"Not very likely that I should have seen one in the dark. His colour
would not be favourable for that," I replied, evasively.
"But Sharpfangs smells him, though," exclaimed one of the other men,
with a terrible oath. "Seize him!"
What else was said I scarcely heard. I thought that it was all over
with Marcus, and probably with myself. To attempt escaping a conflict
seemed hopeless. Marcus did not stir; but I heard the click of a
pistol. The other canoe, the bloodhound standing ready for a spring,
dashed alongside ours. I had no time for considering how I should act.
Still Marcus did not move. As the sides of the two canoes touched, up
he rose with his gleaming dagger in his hand. The furious dog flew at
him; but he was prepared, and, striking the brute full in the chest, he
hurled it from him overboard, and in another instant a bullet from his
pistol had gone through the head of one of the men, who fell backward
into the stream. Another of the men was lifting his rifle to fire; but
the negro, quick as lightning, sprang on board the canoe, and wrenching
it from him, he cast it into the water.
On this the man drew a long bowie-knife from his belt; but before he
could strike with it, Marcus had seized him by the wrist, and the two
closed in a deadly struggle. I had wished not to interfere; but when I
saw the other white man draw his knife, evidently with the intention of
striking Marcus, I could not resist springing into the canoe, when,
grasping his arm, I bore him down to the bottom of it. It is surprising
that we did not upset the canoe, which was, however, a large and broad
one. Peter, with much forethought, before attempting to come to my
assistance, lashed the two canoes together. Ready, however, the instant
the man fell, springing into the canoe, seized his left arm, and held
him down so tightly that he could make no effectual resistance. He
struggled, however, and endeavoured, as we rolled about in the bottom of
the canoe, to strike his knife into me. As soon, therefore, as Peter
was at liberty, I told him to try and wrench the knife out of the man's
hand. This he did, and then he gave me a piece of rope, which, with his
help, I passed rapidly round my antagonist's wrists, while I kept him
down by kneeling on his chest, and very nearly squeezing the breath out
of his body.
All this time the canoe was rocking so violently from side to side that
I expected every instant to find myself struggling in the water. The
same idea probably occurred to my antagonist, and this, as very likely
he could not swim, paralysed his efforts more than it did mine. At all
events, in a few minutes I found myself the victor, and, leaving Peter
and Ready in charge of my conquered foe, I was able to go to the
assistance of Marcus, at the other end of the canoe.
The man with whom he was struggling was little less inferior in strength
to himself, and, had I not been able to help him, the issue might have
been doubtful. By stepping into our canoe I got at the man's arms, and
held them down, while Marcus, still kneeling on his body, lashed them
securely together, and prevented him from making any further resistance.
"You'll not let that damned darkie murder me, stranger?" said the man,
in a humbled tone.
"Do you think the scars of your merciless lash have yet disappeared from
my shoulders?" said the negro, grinding his teeth. "Can you restore
those you tore from me and delivered over to worse than death? Am I to
forget the curses, the insults, you have heaped on me?"
He seized the man and shook him, as a savage dog does an animal he has
conquered. I dreaded that he was about to throw the overseer--for such
I supposed the man to be--into the water.
"Hold, Marcus!" I exclaimed. "I cannot stand by and allow murder to be
committed. These men are now in our power, and we may dispose of them
as may be necessary for our safety; but we must not take their lives."
"To kill them will be the only safe way of disposing of them," he
answered, in a hoarse voice. "What else but death can such vermin
expect at my hands?"
I was in hopes that he said this to frighten the men, rather than with
an intention of murdering them. At the same time I well knew that, even
had he not killed their companion, he could expect no mercy at their
hands. I remembered, also, that, having participated, as it would be
called, in the crime, though my conscience was free from guilt, I should
certainly share the consequences. Probably, if caught, we should both
of us, and very likely Peter and Ready also, be hung up from the nearest
tree. How to dispose of our prisoners was therefore the question. Of
course the tempter, ever ready to instigate men to do evil, whispered,
"Kill them;" and the cowardice in our hearts added, "It will be the
safest course." But I had been taught some maxims, when I was a boy,
which I did not forget. They were, "Do right, whatever comes of it;"
"Never do wrong in the hopes of avoiding a possible evil." Accordingly
I entreated Marcus to refrain from injuring the men, and to come into
our canoe, and talk the matter over.
Having thrown all the arms overboard, except a rifle which lay loaded at
the bottom of the boat, we stepped back into our canoe, followed by
Peter and Ready, and paddled away out of earshot of our prisoners.
Marcus suggested various plans for their disposal. Although but a few
minutes had elapsed since I caught the first glimpse of the other canoe,
the dawn had increased so much that we could already see the shore on
either hand. Marcus stood up and looked about him.
"I see where we are," he whispered as he sat down.
"I have a friend who lives not far off. We will blindfold the eyes of
the men, and leave them under his charge. He will take good care that
they do not escape till we have had time to get out of their reach."
The plan seemed good; so dropping alongside the canoe, we took the men's
handkerchiefs from their pockets and secured them over their eyes. I
observed that Marcus went to the man whose eyes I had bound, and
tightened the handkerchief. The man groaned.
"Ah! it is not pleasant, but you might be seeing things you should not,
if it slipped," said the black, between his teeth. "Be silent; we are
not going to kill you, as you deserve."
We now took the smaller canoe in tow, and paddled rapidly on. We had
need of haste, for the steamers and other craft might be moving up and
down the river, and we might be discovered. We crossed to the opposite
or west side of the river, to a spot where a wide stream ran into it.
We pulled up a little way, with dark woods on either side of us, till we
came to a small island, on which Marcus ran the canoe on shore. Putting
his finger to his lips to enjoin silence on Peter and me, he stepped on
shore, and disappeared amidst the tangled underwood. I sat watching our
captives, and wondering what was to be done with them. One of them was
working his head about, evidently with the hopes of loosening the
handkerchief. I gave him a touch with the paddle, and Ready, who seemed
to consider that he was to keep watch and ward over the vanquished,
uttered a fierce growl, which made the man keep perfectly still, though
he groaned in his rage and fear. In a short time Marcus returned with a
companion, another negro, but very unlike himself. The new-comer was
short, and out of all proportion broad; indeed he was a dwarf Hercules,
for the appearance of his head and shoulders showed that he possessed
immense muscular power. He soon gave proof of his strength, for,
looking into the canoe, he stooped down, and lifting one of the men up,
he carried him off on his back, with as much ease as if he had been an
infant. The man shrieked out with pain, for the cords cut his wrists;
but the dwarf only uttered a hoarse peal of laughter and walked on, more
than once striking the unfortunate wretch against the trees as he
passed. He soon returned for the other, whom he treated in the same
way. I observed that Marcus removed everything from the larger canoe
into ours. By the time this was done, the dwarf came back again, and,
nodding to his companion, lifted the canoe bodily up out of the water,
and carried it off on his shoulders among the bushes.
"Come, it is time that we were away," said Marcus.
Once more we all three resumed our seats in our canoe. Ready took his
place in the bow, and away we paddled as before. I could scarcely
persuade myself that the fierce tragedy in which I had just taken a part
had really occurred. All seemed like some dreadful dream. I said
nothing; I could not speak. Marcus was silent. We paddled on out of
the river, and into the Mississippi, nearly to the middle of it. There
he looked around him, and then dropped the articles he had taken out of
the other canoe, one after the other, into the water. The rifle and
other heavy things sank; the rest floated down the stream.
"If they are seen, so much the better," observed Marcus. "It will be
supposed that the canoe was upset, and the men were drowned."
"But surely their lives are safe?" I observed, with some doubt in my
tone, for I could not help thinking of the ferocious countenance of the
man in whose power we had left them.
"Safe enough, but not agreeable," he answered. "Ah! if you knew all I
have suffered from those men, you would own that I have treated them
mildly. I spared their lives for your sake, and partly that I did not
wish to have more blood on my hands than I have already; and yet, to
effect my purpose, how much deeper may I have to dye them! Every man's
hand is against me, and mine must be against every man. Alas, alas!
hard is my lot! Oh! stranger, be thankful to Heaven that you have a
white skin and are a free man!"
He spoke in a tone of the bitterest anguish. I tried to console him.
Too true, every man's hand in that country would be against him; not
because he had killed a fellow-creature, but because he was attempting
to escape from bondage and degradation.
We continued paddling on for some time without speaking, till we came in
sight of a collection of log-huts and a landing-place. It was a city,
he told me--or at least a city that was to be--with a very fine name--
the City of Themistocles, if I recollect rightly.
"I'll put you on shore there, stranger," he observed. "There is no one
on the quay. They are not early-risers in that place. You can expect
no better opportunity of being free of me. There, leap on shore. Say
that a negro, in a canoe, took you off an island to which you had swum
when the steamer went down, and that after he had landed you here he
went on his way. Be wise; say nothing more. The boy understands me?"
Peter nodded.
"Farewell!"
Marcus put out his hand. I shook it warmly. We exchanged no other
words. I sprang on shore, followed by Peter and Ready, and the canoe
glided away down the stream, and was soon out of sight. We sat down on
some logs piled up ready for the steamers, and Ready, conceiving that he
had for the present done his duty, coiled himself at my feet, and went
to sleep. I was too anxious to do the same, though I leaned back
against the logs to rest my weary frame. It must be remembered that,
since the steamer went down, the only rest I had enjoyed was while
sitting over the fire with Marcus. I had had a fatiguing swim, a run
from an alligator, a climb up a tree, to the branches of which I had had
to hang on for some hours, a desperate struggle for life, a long paddle,
a second fierce conflict, and another paddle, not to speak of the
anxiety to which I had all the time been subject. I had not rested
long, when Ready started up and uttered a warning bark, and I saw a
couple of men lazily sauntering down from the huts towards the quay, and
rubbing their eyes as if just awoke out of sleep.
"Well, and where do you come from, stranger?" was the very natural
question they put to me, and which I willingly answered by telling them
of the loss of the _Mighty Go-ahead_, and of most, if not all, of her
crew and passengers.
"Then that's the shouts we heard last night," observed one of the men to
the other.
The men, I found, were overseers of some gangs of negroes, a number of
whom soon appeared, some loaded with bales of merchandise, and others
with logs of wood. They came stumbling along, laughing and chattering
in spite of their burdens. Several, however, relaxing in their efforts,
when their taskmasters' whips descended on their shoulders, howled with
pain, but they were very speedily again shouting and talking as merrily
as before. The overseers were evidently not satisfied with my account
of myself. I looked anxiously up the river for the steamer coming down
on her passage to New Orleans, but I found that she was not expected for
another hour. I would have tried to obtain some refreshment, but I knew
that if I went to the huts I should be subjected to more inquiries, so I
told my companion that we would wait till we got on board the steamer
for breakfast. While waiting, I gathered from the conversation of the
overseers that Marcus's pursuers had actually touched there on their way
up, and had left a full description of him. I felt thankful that no one
had been about when he put us on shore. As it was, I could not help
fancying that the overseers associated us in some way with him.
It was a great relief to my mind when I caught sight of the huge steamer
afar off, gliding rapidly along over the bosom of the mighty stream, her
white paint glistening in the beams of the morning sun, and contrasting
with the dark foliage of the trees which lined the bank. The negroes
stood marshalled ready with their loads to rush on board. Her tinkling
bell gave notice to the engineers to stop. She came alongside the quay.
Peter, Ready, and I sprang into her vast interior, among casks and
chests and bales, and soon found our way into the saloon above, and on
to the platform abaft, where I hoped Ready would be allowed to remain.
Once more the bell tinkled. The huge wheels of the _Wondrous Highflier_
began to revolve, and away she glided down the Mississippi.