Hardy's incitements were no longer whispers.
"Dandy! Dandy!" he cried, with wild elation of voice and still no
emotion in his face. "Niggeh-fellah thah. Dandy! Ah, Dandy! look him
out!"
The music swelled from Dandy's throat. Away went the pair. The
younger couple, in yoke, trembled and moaned to be after them. The two
clerks had swung down three or four rails from the fence, and with
Hardy were hurrying their horses through, when the youngest dog, nose
to the ground and tugging his yokemate along, let go a cry of discovery
and began to dig furiously under a bottom rail. His master threw him
off and drew from under it "Mrs. Southmayd's" tiny beflowered bonnet.
"Good God!" exclaimed one of the boys as he held it up, "they've made
way with her!"
"Now, none of _that_ nonsense!" I cried; "she's given it to one of them
and they've feared 'twould get them into trouble!" But the three had
spurred off and I could only toss it away and follow.
The baying had ceased and an occasional half-smothered yap told that
the scent was broken. A huge grape-vine end, hanging from a lofty
bough, had enabled the run-away to take a long sidewise swing clear of
the ground; but as I came up the brutes had recovered the trail and
sped on, once more breaking the still air, far and wide, into deep
waves of splendid sound. Close after them, as best they might in yoke,
scuttled the younger pair, dragging each other this way and that, their
broad ears trailing to their feet, and Hardy riding close behind them,
reciting their pedigrees and their distinguishing whims.
Presently we issued from the woods, at the edge of wide fields
surrounding a plantation-house and slave-quarters, and I hoped to find
the trail broken again; but without a pause the chase turned along a
line of fence as if to half encircle the plantation. The master of the
hounds, in nervy yet placid words, explained that a runaway knew better
than to cross open ground by night and set the house-dogs a-barking.
It was only on seeing no workers in the fields that I remembered it was
Sunday, and feared intensely that the pious fugitives might have
shortened their flight.
From the plantation's farther bound we ran down a long, gentle slope of
beautiful open woods. At the bottom of it a clear stream rippled
between steep banks shrouded with strong vines. Here the scent had
failed and it was wonderful to see the docile faith and intelligence
with which the dogs resigned the whole work to their master, and
followed beside him while he sought a crossing-place for his horse.
This took many minutes, but by and by they scrambled over, he bidding
us wait where we were until the dogs should open again; and as he
started down-stream along the farther bank the older hounds, at a
single word, ran circling out before him in the tangle, electrified by
the steel-cold eagerness of his implorings.
But now, to my joy, he found their hungry snufflings as futile as his
own scrutinizings and divinations, and after following the stream until
my companions fretted openly at the delay, he dropped a note from his
horn, rode back with the four dogs, recrossed, and passed down on our
side with them at his heels, frowning at last and scanning the tangled
growth of the opposite bank.
And now again he came back: "You see, this stream runs so nigh the way
they wanted to go that there's no tellin' how fur they waded down it or
whether they was two, three, or four of 'em rej'ined together. They're
shore to 'a' been all together when they left it, but where that was
hell only knows. Come on."
We plunged across after him and followed down the farther bank, and at
the point where he had turned back he put the hounds on again. "How do
you know there were more than one here?" I asked.
"Because, if noth'n' else, this trail at first was a fool's trail and
now it's as smart as cats a-fight'n'--_look 'em out, Dandy_! Every
time the rascals struck a swimmin'-hole they swum it, the men sort o'
tote'n' the women, I reckon--_ah, my Charmer! Yes, my sweet lady! take
'em! take 'em_!"
As the stream emerged into an old field--"Sun's pow'ful hot for
you-all!" Hardy added. "Ain't see' such a day this time o' year fo' a
coon's age. Hosses feel'n' it. Hard to say which is hottest, sun or
brush."
We had skirted the branch a full mile, beating its margin thoroughly,
and were in deep woods again, when all at once Charmer let out a glad
peal. Her mate echoed it and with the stream at their back they were
off and away in full cry. The trail was broad and strong and with rare
breaks continued so for an hour. Often the dogs made us trot; in open
grounds we galloped. Once, in a thickety wet tract where the still air
was suffocating and a sluggish runlet meandered widely, Hardy was
forced, after long hinderance, to drop the trail and recover it on a
rising ground beyond.
There once more we were making good speed when we burst into an open
grove where about a small, unpainted frame church a saddle-horse was
tied under every swinging limb. Before the church a gang of boys had
sprung up from their whittling to be our gleeful spectators. Hardy
waved them off with the assurance that we wanted neither their help nor
company, and though the trail took us at slackened speed around two
sides of the building we passed and were gone while the worshippers
were in the first stanza of a hymn started to keep them on their
benches.
Noon, afternoon; we made no pause. "It's ketch 'em before night," said
Hardy as we bent low under beech boughs, "or not till noon to-morrow."
About mid-afternoon one of the court-house boys, who had been talking
softly with the other, turned back with a bare good-by. His friend
explained:
"Got to be at his desk early in the morning. But I'm with you till you
run 'em down."
Happy for me that he was mistaken. Two hours more were hardly gone
when, "My Prince is sick!" he cried, drew in, and under a smoke of his
own curses began wildly to unsaddle. Hardy rode on.
"You'll have to get another mount," I said.
"Another hell! I wouldn't leave this horse sick in strange hands for a
thousand dollars!" Suddenly he struck an imploring key: "Look here!
I'll give you fifty dollars cash to stay with me till I get him out o'
this!"
"Five hundred," I called, trotting after Hardy, "wouldn't hire me."
Till I was out of earshot I could hear him damning and cursing me in
snorts and shouts as a sneak who would wear my coat of tar and feathers
yet, and I was still wondering whether I ought to or not, when I
overhauled the nigger-chaser cheering on his dogs. Their prey had
again tricked them, and again the cry was, "Take him, Dandy!" and "Hi,
Charmer, hi!"