Dick Boldhero.CHAPTERVIII.Itwas more than two months after my arrival at Maroontown, before I was in a condition to depart. Finding that I should not be able to return to Paramaribo in season to go back to Connecticut with my vessel, I sent word to the captain, requesting him to see my mother and sister, and tell them what detained me.When I had sufficiently recovered to travel, I set out from Maroontown, having taken leave of my kind friends there. The negro who had rescued me, together with his family, had done everything in their power to make me comfortable and happy. The neighbors too had shown the greatest interest in my behalf; they were constantly sending me every sort of delicacy, such as small game and the choicest fruits. Never have I met with a people so little selfish, and to whom hospitality seemed to be so natural. Some of them really shed tears as I departed, and even offered to accompany me on my journey. I accepted the latter proposition in part, and accordingly a young man set out to be my guide for the first day.I had heard at Maroontown something about the Englishman whom I was going to visit. I learned that he was a coffee planter with a large estate; but I had discovered that his residence, instead of being a hundred miles from Paramaribo, was nearly double that distance. This taught me a good lesson, which I recommend to the attention of my readers; it is this—before setting out upon a journey, be sure to ascertain how far you have to go.It was now December—a time when the winter had already commenced in New England, but it was very different in Guiana. I found the weather very warm, and my strength was so impaired by my sickness, that the first day I did not proceed more than eight miles. I slept at a small plantation, and the next morning, having taken leave of my guide, I proceeded alone upon my journey. For three days, nothing particular occurred. The country was slightly undulating, and portions of it were exceedingly fertile. Here and there was a plantation, but a large part of the land was covered with forests. On the fourth day after my departure, I met with a curious adventure. There is in this region a species of wild hog called peccary. In some parts, they are numerous, and I had frequently seen them crossing my path in the course of my travels. They seemed not to be very shy, yet, as I approached them, they would usually start off with a kind of grunt, or bark, and hide themselves in the bushes.On the occasion just referred to, I chanced to see a peccary, with a litter of young ones, lying by the side of my path. When I came near, they sprang up and ran away. I however gave chase, and soon caught one of the little pigs. The fellow instantly set up the most vociferous squealing—upon this, the mother turned back and came upon me with savage ferocity. Her mouth was open, and she uttered a sort of bellowing that was quite frightful. I was not disposed to yield my prize at once, but holding on to the hind legs of the pig with the lefthand, and flourishing my club in the right, I faced the infuriated dam. She hesitated a little, but kept up her cry. In a few minutes, I saw issuing from the adjacent thickets several other peccaries, apparently coming to the rescue. They immediately advanced, and I was soon surrounded with more than forty of these raging beasts.Affairs were now getting serious, and I thought it best to release the little prisoner, hoping that this would pacify the tumult. But the tempest was not so easily appeased. The bristly mob still encircled me, grunting, squealing, barking, and bellowing, while, at the same time, their tusks were displayed, ready to rend me in pieces. I was obliged to keep wheeling round, brandishing my club, occasionally giving an obtrusive snout a pretty hearty thump by way of caution. The storm, however, seemed to thicken, and it was obvious that the whole troop would soon rush upon me. In this extremity, discretion seemed the better part of valor, and concluding that I had better risk my honor than my life, I took advantage of an open space, sprang through the circle, and leaped into the branches of a tree that was near by.The disappointed assailants pursued me, and encircling the tree, vented their rage in grunts and groans. Never did I see such a hubbub. Sitting upon the limbs of the tree in perfect safety, I looked down and laughed very heartily at the scene. There was one boar who seemed particularly anxious to signalize himself. He had enormous long tusks, and in his fury, he frothed at the mouth, and kept up a great outcry. He was probably the captain of the troop, for he generally led the way, and a party of a dozen supporters were always at his heels.I could not forbear the pleasure of stirring up this Hector of the field with an occasional poke across the back with my shillaleh. It was amusing to see his indignation, blent with his courage. He rose upon his hind legs, and looked defiance with all his might. There was something about him which seemed to say—“Come down here, you coward; come down, and we’ll give you a peeling.” I did not, however, accept the challenge, though I would have been willing to have tried my hand with him in single combat. Forty to one was rather too many, and so I remained in my castle.Rage, like everything else, must have its end; so, in the course of half an hour, the chivalry of these pigs began to abate. Two or three of them slipped off into the bushes, and their example was soon followed by others. In the course of half an hour, they were all dispersed except the commander-in-chief, and even he, at last, took his departure, having expressed his contempt and defiance in a few significant grunts. I waited till the whole troop had vanished. I then cautiously descended, and proceeded with a light step upon my way. I looked back several times, and scrutinized the thickets that lay along my path. I travelled pretty rapidly for three or four miles, and I may as well confess that I breathed much more freely when I found I had distanced the enemy. It may seem ridiculous that one should be seriously frightened at such an attack, yet the scene dwelt for some time in my memory, and for several nights, my dreams were embellished withimages drawn from the swinish mob that had assailed me in the woods.I now continued my journey, and at the end of eight days, I reached the place of my destination. I found the person whom I sought to be a fat, burly Englishman, named Hartley, possessing about a hundred negroes, all of whom were engaged in the cultivation of coffee. When I told him my errand, he looked at me with surprise, and seemed at first to be in doubt whether he should answer my inquiries. At last, having satisfied himself that I had no sinister object in view, he told me the story which shall be related in the next chapter.CHAPTERIX.“Your uncle,” said Mr. Hartley, “was directed to Surinam rather by chance than choice. He fled from St. Domingo during the troubles there. The vessel in which he came was the only one which offered him an immediate chance of escape, and as his life was in danger, he went on board of her. When he reached Paramaribo, he had considerable property, and thinking that the place offered him fair prospects, he invested his money in ships, and established himself as a merchant. He was very enterprising, and for a time, successful. His manners were pleasing, and he won the good will of every body around him. He paid his addresses to the daughter of a rich planter, and soon married her.“He thus became allied to one of the first families in Surinam. This circumstance, added to others of a favorable character, soon gave him an eligible standing in society. But suddenly a blight came over his prospects, and his descent was even more rapid than his elevation.“After he had been at Paramaribo about three years, he deemed it necessary to go to Amsterdam. Having adjusted his business there, he took passage in one of his own ships, to return. She was said to be richly laden, and, according to his statement, had merchandize on board to the amount of more than two hundred thousand dollars. Previous to her departure, he sent to Surinam, and had insurance effected there to the amount of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars upon the ship and cargo. He returned to Paramaribo, stating that his vessel was wrecked upon one of the West India Islands in a gale, and that the ship and cargo were entirely lost; he, with the captain and two hands only, being saved by swimming to the shore.“Under these circumstances, he claimed the insurance; but this was refused by the company. Your uncle brought an action against them; but an affidavit was produced in court, signed by the captain and the two hands, declaring that the ship was run on shore by your uncle’s orders; his purpose being to destroy the vessel and then claim the insurance, which was said to be twice the amount of the real cost. The astonishment that prevailed through the city of Paramaribo at these disclosures cannot be described. Your uncle breasted the shock with great courage, declared his innocence, and asked only for time and opportunity to clear up the whole transaction; but the judgment of the court was against him, and public opinion went with it. His popularity vanished at once; his friends deserted him, and hiscreditors coming upon him, he was unable to pay them, and was consequently thrown into prison.“Here he remained for two years, during which period his wife died, leaving a daughter, who has since remained with her grandfather, M. Scager, and is now grown up to be a beautiful black-eyed girl.”At this point of Mr. Hartley’s story, my mind turned back to the place where I spent the first night after my departure from Paramaribo, and it seemed to me probable that the girl whom I had seen there was my cousin. I therefore interrupted the narrative, and said, “Allow me to inquire, sir, where the girl you speak of now lives.” “With her grandfather,” was the reply, “about ten miles from Paramaribo.” “Then I have seen her,” said I. “Indeed,” said the Englishman, “and how did that happen?”I then related my adventures at the plantation, giving a brief account of my fright at the bat, the hospitality with which I was treated, and the interest that had been excited in the black-eyed girl on learning my name. When I had done, Mr. Hartley proceeded as follows:It is a strange accident that should have brought you into an acquaintance with your cousin Mirabel. However, to proceed with your uncle’s story. As he continued in prison, no opportunity was afforded for him even to make an attempt to clear up his character. His name, therefore, passed into contempt and infamy. M. Scager, who was a proud and haughty man, was sorely mortified at the disgrace which had fallen upon his family, through the connection, and would permit no one even to speak of his son-in-law.“Time passed on, and the subject was nearly forgotten. Your uncle seemed as completely lost to the world as if he had been dead and buried; but at length a considerable excitement was produced by the rumor that he had escaped from prison. On inquiry, it was found that he was gone, but no one could tell how he had effected his liberation, nor whither he had fled. This occurred about a dozen years ago. It excited no little curiosity at the time, and various rumors were afloat respecting it.“There were a few persons who had always entertained the belief that your uncle was the victim of a foul conspiracy between the insurance company and the captain of the ship; that the loss of the vessel was unavoidable; and that, in order to save the immense sum for which insurance had been effected, the captain had been bribed to make oath to a false statement. But these rumors gradually subsided, and for the space of nearly a dozen years, your uncle’s name was hardly mentioned.“But about a twelve-month ago there was occasion for new surprise. I had known your uncle intimately, for during his residence in Paramaribo, I also lived there. I had the greatest confidence in him, and loved him as if he had been my brother. I never fully credited the charges that were brought against him, and therefore made some efforts in his behalf during his imprisonment, but it became necessary for me to establish myself here, and I was able to render him no effectual assistance. I had no communication from him after I left Paramaribo, and had no better means of judging whither he had gone than any other individual. His escape, however, seemed tobe an argument against him, and as nothing was heard from him, my mind gradually yielded to the conviction that he had been guilty of the crime with which he was charged.“But about a year ago, I was astonished as well as delighted to receive from Amsterdam a remittance amounting to sixty thousand dollars, with directions to pay your uncle’s creditors the full amount due to them, both principal and interest. No explanations whatever were given; no clue was afforded as to the source from which the money came. I proceeded to distribute it according to the directions, and paid every one of the persons to whom your uncle was indebted, and had still a balance of about two thousand dollars in my hands. I have written to the persons at Amsterdam, through whom the money came to me, making inquiries as to your uncle, and asking instructions respecting the surplus that remains, and have had only the naked reply, that no knowledge whatever of your uncle is in possession of the parties, and that they have no directions but those given me in the first letter.“I have not been able to obtain any precise information respecting your uncle. Upon the payment of his debts, an entire revolution of public opinion took place at Paramaribo, in regard to him. The belief became general that he was what he seemed to be, a high-minded and honorable man, and that he had suffered from a base conspiracy. The uneasiness displayed by a certain lawyer who had been connected with the insurance company, served to confirm these opinions.“There was also another circumstance which contributed to the same result, and this was, that the captain had never returned to Paramaribo, although he had a wife and family there; and it was reported that he had turned out a desperate character, and had been engaged in several piratical expeditions.”It may be well believed that I listened to this recital with the most intense interest. Scarcely was it finished, when my determination was formed to set about a search for my uncle. I soon communicated these views to Mr. Hartley. At first he objected, urging my youth, the utter want of a clue by which he could be traced, and my destitution of means for sustaining the expense of the undertaking, as conclusive arguments against it.He considered the project indeed to be the hair-brained dream of a sanguine boy; but as I persisted in my resolution, and suggested my plan of operation, he began to listen, and in the end, gave me his hearty support and efficient aid. He supplied me with letters to several persons in Paramaribo, who might aid me in my researches, furnished me with money for my immediate expenses, and gave me a letter of credit for what I might farther need. Being thus provided, I soon set out for Paramaribo, with high hopes of success in my proposed search.(To be continued.)The cowwill eat 276 plants, and reject 218; the goat eats 449, and rejects 126; the sheep, 387 and 341; the horse, 262 and 212; the hog, 72 and 171.
CHAPTERVIII.
Itwas more than two months after my arrival at Maroontown, before I was in a condition to depart. Finding that I should not be able to return to Paramaribo in season to go back to Connecticut with my vessel, I sent word to the captain, requesting him to see my mother and sister, and tell them what detained me.
When I had sufficiently recovered to travel, I set out from Maroontown, having taken leave of my kind friends there. The negro who had rescued me, together with his family, had done everything in their power to make me comfortable and happy. The neighbors too had shown the greatest interest in my behalf; they were constantly sending me every sort of delicacy, such as small game and the choicest fruits. Never have I met with a people so little selfish, and to whom hospitality seemed to be so natural. Some of them really shed tears as I departed, and even offered to accompany me on my journey. I accepted the latter proposition in part, and accordingly a young man set out to be my guide for the first day.
I had heard at Maroontown something about the Englishman whom I was going to visit. I learned that he was a coffee planter with a large estate; but I had discovered that his residence, instead of being a hundred miles from Paramaribo, was nearly double that distance. This taught me a good lesson, which I recommend to the attention of my readers; it is this—before setting out upon a journey, be sure to ascertain how far you have to go.
It was now December—a time when the winter had already commenced in New England, but it was very different in Guiana. I found the weather very warm, and my strength was so impaired by my sickness, that the first day I did not proceed more than eight miles. I slept at a small plantation, and the next morning, having taken leave of my guide, I proceeded alone upon my journey. For three days, nothing particular occurred. The country was slightly undulating, and portions of it were exceedingly fertile. Here and there was a plantation, but a large part of the land was covered with forests. On the fourth day after my departure, I met with a curious adventure. There is in this region a species of wild hog called peccary. In some parts, they are numerous, and I had frequently seen them crossing my path in the course of my travels. They seemed not to be very shy, yet, as I approached them, they would usually start off with a kind of grunt, or bark, and hide themselves in the bushes.
On the occasion just referred to, I chanced to see a peccary, with a litter of young ones, lying by the side of my path. When I came near, they sprang up and ran away. I however gave chase, and soon caught one of the little pigs. The fellow instantly set up the most vociferous squealing—upon this, the mother turned back and came upon me with savage ferocity. Her mouth was open, and she uttered a sort of bellowing that was quite frightful. I was not disposed to yield my prize at once, but holding on to the hind legs of the pig with the lefthand, and flourishing my club in the right, I faced the infuriated dam. She hesitated a little, but kept up her cry. In a few minutes, I saw issuing from the adjacent thickets several other peccaries, apparently coming to the rescue. They immediately advanced, and I was soon surrounded with more than forty of these raging beasts.
Affairs were now getting serious, and I thought it best to release the little prisoner, hoping that this would pacify the tumult. But the tempest was not so easily appeased. The bristly mob still encircled me, grunting, squealing, barking, and bellowing, while, at the same time, their tusks were displayed, ready to rend me in pieces. I was obliged to keep wheeling round, brandishing my club, occasionally giving an obtrusive snout a pretty hearty thump by way of caution. The storm, however, seemed to thicken, and it was obvious that the whole troop would soon rush upon me. In this extremity, discretion seemed the better part of valor, and concluding that I had better risk my honor than my life, I took advantage of an open space, sprang through the circle, and leaped into the branches of a tree that was near by.
The disappointed assailants pursued me, and encircling the tree, vented their rage in grunts and groans. Never did I see such a hubbub. Sitting upon the limbs of the tree in perfect safety, I looked down and laughed very heartily at the scene. There was one boar who seemed particularly anxious to signalize himself. He had enormous long tusks, and in his fury, he frothed at the mouth, and kept up a great outcry. He was probably the captain of the troop, for he generally led the way, and a party of a dozen supporters were always at his heels.
I could not forbear the pleasure of stirring up this Hector of the field with an occasional poke across the back with my shillaleh. It was amusing to see his indignation, blent with his courage. He rose upon his hind legs, and looked defiance with all his might. There was something about him which seemed to say—“Come down here, you coward; come down, and we’ll give you a peeling.” I did not, however, accept the challenge, though I would have been willing to have tried my hand with him in single combat. Forty to one was rather too many, and so I remained in my castle.
Rage, like everything else, must have its end; so, in the course of half an hour, the chivalry of these pigs began to abate. Two or three of them slipped off into the bushes, and their example was soon followed by others. In the course of half an hour, they were all dispersed except the commander-in-chief, and even he, at last, took his departure, having expressed his contempt and defiance in a few significant grunts. I waited till the whole troop had vanished. I then cautiously descended, and proceeded with a light step upon my way. I looked back several times, and scrutinized the thickets that lay along my path. I travelled pretty rapidly for three or four miles, and I may as well confess that I breathed much more freely when I found I had distanced the enemy. It may seem ridiculous that one should be seriously frightened at such an attack, yet the scene dwelt for some time in my memory, and for several nights, my dreams were embellished withimages drawn from the swinish mob that had assailed me in the woods.
I now continued my journey, and at the end of eight days, I reached the place of my destination. I found the person whom I sought to be a fat, burly Englishman, named Hartley, possessing about a hundred negroes, all of whom were engaged in the cultivation of coffee. When I told him my errand, he looked at me with surprise, and seemed at first to be in doubt whether he should answer my inquiries. At last, having satisfied himself that I had no sinister object in view, he told me the story which shall be related in the next chapter.
CHAPTERIX.
“Your uncle,” said Mr. Hartley, “was directed to Surinam rather by chance than choice. He fled from St. Domingo during the troubles there. The vessel in which he came was the only one which offered him an immediate chance of escape, and as his life was in danger, he went on board of her. When he reached Paramaribo, he had considerable property, and thinking that the place offered him fair prospects, he invested his money in ships, and established himself as a merchant. He was very enterprising, and for a time, successful. His manners were pleasing, and he won the good will of every body around him. He paid his addresses to the daughter of a rich planter, and soon married her.
“He thus became allied to one of the first families in Surinam. This circumstance, added to others of a favorable character, soon gave him an eligible standing in society. But suddenly a blight came over his prospects, and his descent was even more rapid than his elevation.
“After he had been at Paramaribo about three years, he deemed it necessary to go to Amsterdam. Having adjusted his business there, he took passage in one of his own ships, to return. She was said to be richly laden, and, according to his statement, had merchandize on board to the amount of more than two hundred thousand dollars. Previous to her departure, he sent to Surinam, and had insurance effected there to the amount of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars upon the ship and cargo. He returned to Paramaribo, stating that his vessel was wrecked upon one of the West India Islands in a gale, and that the ship and cargo were entirely lost; he, with the captain and two hands only, being saved by swimming to the shore.
“Under these circumstances, he claimed the insurance; but this was refused by the company. Your uncle brought an action against them; but an affidavit was produced in court, signed by the captain and the two hands, declaring that the ship was run on shore by your uncle’s orders; his purpose being to destroy the vessel and then claim the insurance, which was said to be twice the amount of the real cost. The astonishment that prevailed through the city of Paramaribo at these disclosures cannot be described. Your uncle breasted the shock with great courage, declared his innocence, and asked only for time and opportunity to clear up the whole transaction; but the judgment of the court was against him, and public opinion went with it. His popularity vanished at once; his friends deserted him, and hiscreditors coming upon him, he was unable to pay them, and was consequently thrown into prison.
“Here he remained for two years, during which period his wife died, leaving a daughter, who has since remained with her grandfather, M. Scager, and is now grown up to be a beautiful black-eyed girl.”
At this point of Mr. Hartley’s story, my mind turned back to the place where I spent the first night after my departure from Paramaribo, and it seemed to me probable that the girl whom I had seen there was my cousin. I therefore interrupted the narrative, and said, “Allow me to inquire, sir, where the girl you speak of now lives.” “With her grandfather,” was the reply, “about ten miles from Paramaribo.” “Then I have seen her,” said I. “Indeed,” said the Englishman, “and how did that happen?”
I then related my adventures at the plantation, giving a brief account of my fright at the bat, the hospitality with which I was treated, and the interest that had been excited in the black-eyed girl on learning my name. When I had done, Mr. Hartley proceeded as follows:
It is a strange accident that should have brought you into an acquaintance with your cousin Mirabel. However, to proceed with your uncle’s story. As he continued in prison, no opportunity was afforded for him even to make an attempt to clear up his character. His name, therefore, passed into contempt and infamy. M. Scager, who was a proud and haughty man, was sorely mortified at the disgrace which had fallen upon his family, through the connection, and would permit no one even to speak of his son-in-law.
“Time passed on, and the subject was nearly forgotten. Your uncle seemed as completely lost to the world as if he had been dead and buried; but at length a considerable excitement was produced by the rumor that he had escaped from prison. On inquiry, it was found that he was gone, but no one could tell how he had effected his liberation, nor whither he had fled. This occurred about a dozen years ago. It excited no little curiosity at the time, and various rumors were afloat respecting it.
“There were a few persons who had always entertained the belief that your uncle was the victim of a foul conspiracy between the insurance company and the captain of the ship; that the loss of the vessel was unavoidable; and that, in order to save the immense sum for which insurance had been effected, the captain had been bribed to make oath to a false statement. But these rumors gradually subsided, and for the space of nearly a dozen years, your uncle’s name was hardly mentioned.
“But about a twelve-month ago there was occasion for new surprise. I had known your uncle intimately, for during his residence in Paramaribo, I also lived there. I had the greatest confidence in him, and loved him as if he had been my brother. I never fully credited the charges that were brought against him, and therefore made some efforts in his behalf during his imprisonment, but it became necessary for me to establish myself here, and I was able to render him no effectual assistance. I had no communication from him after I left Paramaribo, and had no better means of judging whither he had gone than any other individual. His escape, however, seemed tobe an argument against him, and as nothing was heard from him, my mind gradually yielded to the conviction that he had been guilty of the crime with which he was charged.
“But about a year ago, I was astonished as well as delighted to receive from Amsterdam a remittance amounting to sixty thousand dollars, with directions to pay your uncle’s creditors the full amount due to them, both principal and interest. No explanations whatever were given; no clue was afforded as to the source from which the money came. I proceeded to distribute it according to the directions, and paid every one of the persons to whom your uncle was indebted, and had still a balance of about two thousand dollars in my hands. I have written to the persons at Amsterdam, through whom the money came to me, making inquiries as to your uncle, and asking instructions respecting the surplus that remains, and have had only the naked reply, that no knowledge whatever of your uncle is in possession of the parties, and that they have no directions but those given me in the first letter.
“I have not been able to obtain any precise information respecting your uncle. Upon the payment of his debts, an entire revolution of public opinion took place at Paramaribo, in regard to him. The belief became general that he was what he seemed to be, a high-minded and honorable man, and that he had suffered from a base conspiracy. The uneasiness displayed by a certain lawyer who had been connected with the insurance company, served to confirm these opinions.
“There was also another circumstance which contributed to the same result, and this was, that the captain had never returned to Paramaribo, although he had a wife and family there; and it was reported that he had turned out a desperate character, and had been engaged in several piratical expeditions.”
It may be well believed that I listened to this recital with the most intense interest. Scarcely was it finished, when my determination was formed to set about a search for my uncle. I soon communicated these views to Mr. Hartley. At first he objected, urging my youth, the utter want of a clue by which he could be traced, and my destitution of means for sustaining the expense of the undertaking, as conclusive arguments against it.
He considered the project indeed to be the hair-brained dream of a sanguine boy; but as I persisted in my resolution, and suggested my plan of operation, he began to listen, and in the end, gave me his hearty support and efficient aid. He supplied me with letters to several persons in Paramaribo, who might aid me in my researches, furnished me with money for my immediate expenses, and gave me a letter of credit for what I might farther need. Being thus provided, I soon set out for Paramaribo, with high hopes of success in my proposed search.
(To be continued.)
The cowwill eat 276 plants, and reject 218; the goat eats 449, and rejects 126; the sheep, 387 and 341; the horse, 262 and 212; the hog, 72 and 171.