THE MASTER OF MOSS BANK.
The Gordon setter's name was Nanita, while that of her master was Mr.
Guy Manton, of New York. Within a short time after the final plunge of
the burned packet, several steamboats, attracted by the blaze, reached
the raft, and offered to carry the survivors of the disaster to the
nearest town. This offer was accepted by all except Mr. Manton, who
asked, as a favor, that he and his dogs might be allowed to remain on
board the _Venture_, at least until morning. Of course the raftmates
willingly consented to this, for Mr. Manton was so grateful to them,
besides proving such an agreeable companion, that they could not help
but like him.
From him they learned how Bim happened to be on board the ill-fated
steamboat, a situation over which they had all puzzled, but concerning
which they had heretofore found no opportunity of inquiring. According
to Mr. Manton's story, he was on his way to a plantation on the
Mississippi, in Louisiana, which he had recently purchased, but had not
yet seen.
Wishing to learn something of the great river on a bank of which his
property lay, he had come by way of St. Louis, and there boarded the
fine New Orleans packet _Lytle_. He had brought with him a supply of
machinery, provisions, and tools for the plantation, all of which were
now either consumed by fire or lay at the bottom of the river. He had
also brought his favorite setter Nanita and her litter of three young
puppies, which he had proposed to establish at his new winter home.
During the stop of the packet at Cairo he had taken Nanita ashore for a
run. On their way back to the boat he discovered that she was not
following him, and anxiously retracing his steps a short distance,
found her in company with a white bulldog, to whom she was evidently
communicating some matter of great interest.
Mr. Manton saw that the strange dog was a valuable one, and when it
showed an inclination to follow them, tried to persuade it to return to
its home, which he supposed was somewhere in the town. As the dog
disappeared, he thought he had succeeded, and was afterwards surprised
to find it on the boat, in company with Nanita and her little ones.
Believing, of course, that the bull-dog's owner was also on board, he
gave the matter but little thought, and soon after called Nanita aft to
be fed.
While he was attending to her wants, the cry of "fire" was raised. The
flames burst out somewhere near the centre of the boat, in the vicinity
of the engine-room, and had already gained such headway as to interpose
an effectual barrier between him and the forward deck. He supposed
that the boat would at once be headed for the nearest bank, but found
to his dismay that almost with the first outbreak of flame the
steering-gear had been rendered useless. At the same time the
engineers had been driven from their post of duty, and thus the
splendid packet, freighted with death and destruction, continued to
rush headlong down the river, without guidance or check.
Amid the terrible scenes that ensued, Mr. Manton, followed by his
faithful dog, was barely able to reach his own stateroom, secure his
money and some important papers, wrench the door from its hinges, throw
it and Nanita overboard, and then leap for his own life into the dark
waters.
At this point the grateful man again tried to express his sense of
obligation to his rescuers, but was interrupted by Billy Brackett, who
could not bear to be thanked for performing so obvious and simple an
act of duty. To change the subject the young engineer told of Bim's
act of real heroism in saving one and attempting to save the other
members of the little family, which he evidently considered had been
left in his charge.
To this story Mr. Manton listened with the deepest interest; and when
it was concluded, he said, "He is a dear dog, and most certainly a
hero, if there ever was one. I shall always love him for this night's
work."
Then Bim, who was now covered with healing ointment and swathed in
bandages, was petted and praised until even Nanita grew jealous, and
insisted on receiving a share of her master's attention.
All the while the brave bull-dog looked into the faces of those
gathered about him with such a pleading air of intelligence and such
meaning barks that his longing to tell of what had happened to him
after he started from the raft in pursuit of the odious "river-trader"
who had once kicked him was evident to them all. If he only could have
spoken, he would have told of the cruel blow by which he was
momentarily stunned, of finding himself in a bag in the river, of how
he had succeeded by a desperate struggle in escaping from it and
finally reaching the shore, of his distress at not finding the raft,
and the sad search for his master through the town, of his meeting with
Nanita, and of his decision to accept her advice and take passage with
her down the river, in which direction he was certain his floating home
had gone. All this Bim would have communicated to his friends if he
could; but as they were too dull of comprehension to understand him,
they have remained in ignorance to this day of that thrilling chapter
of his adventures.
Besides telling the raftmates of his cruel experience, Mr. Manton
related some of the incidents of a canoe voyage even then being made
down the river by his only son Worth and the boy's most intimate
friend, Sumner Rankin. These two had made a canoe cruise together
through the Everglades of Florida the winter before, and had enjoyed it
so much, that when Mr. Manton proposed that they should accompany him
to Louisiana, they had begged to be allowed to make the trip in their
canoes.
"They started from Memphis," continued Mr. Manton, "and have had some
fine duck and turkey shooting among the Coahoma sloughs and
cane-brakes. With them is a colored man named Quorum, who crossed the
Everglades with them, and who now accompanies them, in a skiff that
they purchased in Memphis, as cook and general adviser. I have heard
from them several times by letter, and so know of their progress. It
has been so good that unless I make haste they will reach Moss Bank
before me. That is the name of our new home," he added, by way of
explanation.
"Wha' dat yo' say, sah?" exclaimed Solon, who had been an interested
listener. "Yo' callin' dat ar plantashun Moss Back?"
[Illustration: "'Yo' callin' dat ar plantashun Moss Back?' exclaimed
Solon" (missing from book)]
"Yes, 'Moss Bank' is the name it has always borne, I believe," replied
Mr. Manton. "But why do you ask? Do you know the place?"
"Does I know um! Does I know de place I war borned an' brung up in?
Why, sah, dat ar' my onlies home befo' de wah. Ole Marse Rankim own
um, an' me an' he boy, de young marse, hab de same mammy. So him my
froster-brudder. He gwine away fer a sailor ossifer, an' den de wah
comin' on, an' ebberyt'ing gwine ter smash. He name 'Summer.' Yo'
know dat young gen'l'man?"
"Yes," replied Mr. Manton, "I knew him intimately. He has been dead
for several years; but I am well acquainted with his family, and it is
his son who is now travelling down the river in company with my boy.
In fact, it was through him that I came to purchase this old
plantation, with a view to making it our winter home."
"Praise de Lawd, I gwine ter see a Rankim once mo'!" exclaimed the old
negro. "Yo' is gwine stop at de ole Moss Back place, Marse Winn? Yo'
sholy is?"
"Why, yes; if Mr. Manton would like to have us, I think we should be
very happy to stop there when we reach it," said Winn.
"Stop! Of course you will," exclaimed Nanita's master. "I have
already planned for that, and should feel terribly disappointed if you
did not. I want to see more of you, and I want you to meet and know my
boys. Besides, I was going to ask you to allow Nanita and her pup to
complete their journey down the river on this raft in company with Bim,
who will, I know, take good care of them. If you should consent to
this plan, of course you will be obliged to stop at Moss Bank to land
them.
"We shall be delighted to have them," said Billy Brackett; "and, on
behalf of Bim, I hereby extend a formal invitation to them to become
his raftmates for the remainder of the cruise. At the same time, I am
certain that my companions, as well as myself, will be most happy to
visit you in your new home, and there make the acquaintance of your
boys."
By the time this arrangement was concluded it was daylight, and Mr.
Manton insisted on the raftmates turning in for a nap, while he and
Solon kept watch. He remained on board the _Venture_ all that day, and
by sunset the current had borne the raft forward so rapidly that they
were able to tie up near Columbus, Kentucky. At this point the owner
of Moss Bank bade his new-made friends _au revoir_, and started by rail
for his Louisiana home.
After his departure, and during the month of drifting that followed,
the raftmates talked so much of Moss Bank, and listened to so many
stories concerning it from Solon, that to their minds it grew to be the
objective point of their trip, and seemed as though it must be the one
place towards which their whole voyage was tending. Much as they
anticipated the reaching of this far-southern plantation, however, they
would have been greatly surprised and decidedly incredulous had any one
told them that it was indeed to mark the limit of their voyage, and
that there the good raft _Venture_, from Wisconsin for New Orleans, was
destined to vanish, and become but a fading memory. But so it was, as
they found out, and as we shall see.