UP THE RIVER FOR MANY DAYS.
Colonel Hungerford was even more vexed at the failure of the plan to
arrest the fugitives than I was. But Baton Rouge was on the last of the
bluffs that one sees in descending the great river, and above the
region of continuous levees. There was no doubt we could operate from
this region, and secure the capture of the fugitives.
"How long since the Queen left?" asked the governor, of the man who had
given us the information.
"She must have been gone nearly three hours," he replied.
"The fugitives are not likely to leave the steamer before she gets to
Vicksburg, for there is no railroad from any point this side of that
city. It is thirty-five miles from here to Bayou Sara. The steamer may
stop there, and may not," said the governor, musing. "That is the last
place in this State at which she is at all likely to make a landing. I
will telegraph at once."
Without waiting to see any of our passengers ashore, I went with the
governor to the telegraph office. He sent the dispatch to an official,
directing him to board the steamer, if she did not stop, and arrest the
fugitives, a sufficient description of whom I gave him. When this was
done, Colonel Hungerford had time to attend to the landing of the
party. He insisted that all the passengers should go to his residence
and stay over Sunday with him. Colonel Shepard declined, and declared
that he and his family had no claims upon his hospitality. A
good-natured controversy ensued, and ended in the Colonel and all the
others yielding the point.
Three carriages started for the residence of the chief magistrate, and
another was awaiting his orders at the levee. By this time a reply came
from the official in Bayou Sara, in which he promised to follow the
instructions of the governor as soon as the steamer came in sight, for
she had not yet appeared.
"Now, Captain Alick, if you will get into the carriage, I will take you
up to the house," said Colonel Hungerford.
"You must excuse me, sir, for I have to attend to the affairs of the
vessel," I answered.
"Must I argue this same question with you, too?" demanded the governor.
"I hope you will not, for I think it will do no good," I added,
laughing. "Your excellency forgets that I am the captain of the
Sylvania, and a true sailor never gives up his ship."
"Your ship is all well enough. You must go to my house, and bring Mr.
Washburn with you."
"Impossible, sir! Our steamer is not a river boat, and she is not a
flat-bottomed craft," I tried to explain. "Her keel does not take
kindly to the levee. I must stay here and look out for her; but I will
call at your house this evening."
But it was no use to argue the point; the governor persisted, and I
finally compromised with him by agreeing that either Washburn or myself
should be at his house all the time we remained in the place; in other
words, we were to have "watch and watch" in visiting him. I took my
first turn.
Nothing could be more delightful than the home of the governor, and I
think I never saw so many beautiful residences in a city of the size of
the capital. I had put on my best uniform, and prepared to make a
creditable appearance in the place. Our party were presented to all the
principal people of the city, who called to see the governor and
congratulate him on the escape of himself and his family from the
inundation, news of which had come by the steamer. I tried to keep in a
corner, and talk with Miss Margie and Miss Blanche; but I was dragged
out twenty times to be exhibited as the captain who ran his vessel
through the crevasse, and over the cane-fields of the plantations.
We had a very large party at tea, and in spite of the embarrassments of
my position, I enjoyed the occasion very much. Before we left the table
the governor received a dispatch informing him that the two fugitives
had been captured on board of the Queen of the South, and committed to
the calaboose, or lockup. Again I felt really sorry for poor Nick
Boomsby, and almost wished that he had escaped, though I could not
justify myself in permitting him to do so.
On Sunday we all went to church, leaving the Sylvania in charge of a
crew from the Islander, and the whole ship's company, including the
pilot, dined with the governor. The next morning I was astonished to
hear that Cornwood and Nick had arrived, having been brought down in
charge of an officer in the night, and were in prison. Late on Saturday
night I had sent by telegraph to Florida, a condensed account of the
arrest of the robber and his accomplice after the fact, and the
information that the money had been recovered. A reply soon came that
proper officers, with a requisition for the culprits, would be sent at
once for them.
In the mean time, the prisoners were brought before the court, and the
evidence against them was heard. Cornwood was his own counsel, as well
as Nick's. The testimony was considered strong enough to hold the
fugitives for the requisition. They were sent to the lockup again, and
our party resumed their merrymaking.
We rode all about the country; we went to dinner parties; and we
reciprocated the hospitalities extended to us by taking the governor
and his friends on several excursions in the two steamers. Mrs. Shepard
improved wonderfully as soon as she realized that the earth beneath her
was solid, and there was no danger of the unruly waters drowning her
while she slept. It was an exceedingly jolly time we had from morning
till night, and sometimes half the latter.
After we had been at the capital of the state three days, I thought it
was about time to move up the river again; but the Florida officials
had not yet appeared. It was not till the following Saturday that they
arrived. They had been detained in procuring the requisition by the
absence of the governor, and in collecting what evidence they could
obtain. With the officers came Peverell, the bank messenger, from whom
the money had been stolen.
Another hearing before the court was necessary. The package containing
the four thousand dollars was produced, and identified by Peverell. He
testified as to the manner in which the package had disappeared from
the counter of the saloon. He brought the affidavits of two men who had
seen Nick go off to the Islander just before she sailed, with a bundle
in his hand.
Captain Blastblow and I testified that the money had been found, in
equal parts, on the prisoners. The plan of Cornwood to get possession
of the whole or half of the money was shown from the manner in which he
had conducted himself, in causing the departure of the Islander from
Key West before the arrival of the Sylvania, though the latter was in
sight when the former left.
Cornwood attempted to disprove the charges by repeating the silly story
he had told me. He cross-questioned the witnesses, and did his best to
browbeat Peverell. The messenger showed that it was impossible that any
money could have been obtained from the bank while Cornwood was in
Jacksonville between the time the Floridian arrived and departed. But
the court was satisfied with the evidence, and the governor complied
with the requisition.
Before I left the court-room, I went to Nick to say how sorry I was for
him--sorry that he had done anything to reduce himself to such a
situation.
"I don't know what made me do it," blubbered Nick, to the great disgust
of his fellow-criminal. "I didn't think of doing it until the minute I
did it. I had been thinking, as I told you at the time, of clearing
out; and the sight of the package of money seemed to show me how it
could be done."
"What are you talking about, you ninny?" growled Cornwood. "You are
convicting yourself."
"I don't care anything about that. I won't lie any more about it, for
it ain't no use," replied Nick, sourly. "If it hadn't been for you, I
should have got off all right, Cornwood."
I concluded that his penitence was not very deep. He told me then how
Cornwood had come on board of the Islander and accused him of taking
the package, and he had been compelled to give him half of it to
prevent him from exposing him. But all he said was no more than we had
reasoned out before, and the confession seemed to be hardly original.
"You can do something for me, Captain Alick," he continued. "If you
will get me out of this scrape I will never do anything wrong again as
long as I live!"
"I can do nothing for you," I replied, as gently as I could.
"They say you are thick with the governor, Alick. If you say the word,
he will let me off," pleaded the culprit.
"He can do nothing for you any more than I can. You are in the hands of
the law now, and nothing but the law can settle your case, Nick.
Good-by."
I had hardly uttered the last words before I felt a heavy hand laid
upon my throat, which was followed by a choking sensation.
"What are you about, Sandy Duddleton?" demanded my ancient enemy. "What
have you been sayin' ag'in my boy? He's a hund'ed times as honest as
ever you was!"
I thought I should be choked to death; and the instinct of
self-preservation took possession of me. I sprang at the throat of my
old tyrant. He went down upon the floor, and I on the top of him,
before my father or any other person could come to my aid. As he went
down he released his grasp on my throat in his effort to save himself.
[Illustration: "I sprang at the throat of my old tyrant." _Page 343._]
"Arrest that person!" cried the justice, in the sternest of tones.
In another instant two officers had Captain Boomsby in their clutches.
A complaint was made against him for a breach of the peace. The justice
made short work of him; he was sentenced to pay a fine of one hundred
dollars, and to stand committed until paid. It was more money than he
had, and he was sent to jail. As usual, he was more than "half seas
over," as he used to call intoxication when I sailed with him in the
Great West. It appeared that he had followed the officers, but had some
difficulty in finding "his boy."
In the afternoon the Florida party took a boat down to New Orleans,
intending to return home by the steamer to Cedar Keys. I afterwards
learned that both Nick and Cornwood were convicted, and sentenced to
the penitentiary for three years. Though Cornwood was only an
accomplice after the fact, he was the greater villain of the two. I
never saw either of them again.
We spent another Sunday in Baton Rouge, and delightful as our sojourn
had been, even Mrs. Shepard thought it was about time to depart. But I
could not leave with my ancient enemy unforgiven. I went to the clerk
of the court and paid Captain Boomsby's fine. He was released from
confinement, and took the next boat down the river. He had the grace to
take my hand, and say good-by before he went; and that was the last
time I ever saw him.
We had a large crowd on the levee when we left, and we kept our
whistles going till a bend in the river took us out of sight of the
hospitable city where we had enjoyed so much. The water had fallen a
little, but not much. The melting snows of the northern hills had not
yet sent down their full tribute to the Gulf.
We stopped at Natchez and at Vicksburg, and were very handsomely
treated by the people. But the broad river was the greatest study to
us, for we had visited no end of towns and cities on our long voyage.
We were interested in the numerous islands, hundreds of them. When we
looked at some of them from below, the fresh foliage seemed to form a
regular flight of steps. The pilot explained this appearance. The rapid
current was continually wearing away the upstream end of the island,
and depositing its soil on the other end, in which every year new trees
sprang up; and each step denoted a period in the growth of the wood.
It was the first day of May when we reached Cairo, at the mouth of the
Ohio, where the waters of the two rivers seemed to be spread out like
an inland sea or lake. We found an excellent hotel there; but Washburn
and I spent what time we had to spare with our friend West, who had
been for a time a student in Somerset College.
A couple of days more brought us to St. Louis, where we found enough to
interest us for a week. When we were about ready to continue our
voyage, Colonel Shepard came into the pilot-house, where I was seated
with Washburn, and wanted to know how much farther up the river I
intended to go. He had heard me speak of sailing the next morning, and
he thought it was about time for him to leave for New York, by train,
with his family.