"Hold, Nelson, hold!" cried Nat Turner, in a loud tone; "why do you fire before I give the word? By the Lord, you will bring them all upon us. Do you not know they are close at hand?" These words were spoken before the fresh actors had appeared upon the scene, and just as the man had pulled the trigger; but the next instant, an old negro, with a snow-white head, rushed in between me and the others, and holding wide his arms, exclaimed,--
"Forbear, madmen, forbear! Nathaniel, Nathaniel, wretched dupe of your own superstition, I command you, in the name of the Lord, to forbear! Fly, fly, while the means of escape are left you! Get you down to the coast and away--anywhere, by any means; for destruction is dogging you close, and the avenger of blood is behind you. Poor, misguided, self-sufficient creature, for whom the word of Jesus was not sufficient, escape for penitence and submission; and may God have mercy upon you for the bloody deeds you have done!" As he spoke, I more fully recognized the excellent black preacher, uncle Jack; but, at the same moment, the man who had come with him approached me, and pulled my arm; and, turning round, I saw my faithful Zed.
"Come away, master, come away," he said; "they not hurt him--they dare not hurt him. Come away. A great number of 'em scattered all about. Let us get to Dr. Blunt's as fast as we can."
"Here, take this pistol," I said, "and make sure of a good aim on that man to the extreme left. I will take care of the other two. I will not stir one step till I hear what they have done with Miss Davenport. Steady the pistol against that tree, and take care not to miss."
"Oh, Miss Bessy quite safe," cried Zed; "she gone to Dr. Blunt's too. Come away, master, come away, or we shall have more upon us." While these words had been spoken between him and me, more conversation had gone on, which I did not hear, between the good preacher and the revolted negroes. His words seemed to have some effect. When I looked round, their muskets were no longer raised; but a dull, gloomy look was about them, which augured not well, and I did not choose to leave the old man to their mercy; for I had remarked that they are hard and even cruel to each other when they have the power. Touching the preacher's arm, I said, aloud,--
"Come away, sir, come away. I could take two of these men's lives, perhaps more; for each barrel of this gun is loaded with large buck-shot, which would scatter and kill on either side; but I do not choose to do so. Go on with Zed; I will bring up the rear, and, if they press too close upon us, will fire right in their faces." While I was still speaking, two more of the armed insurgents came up, and gathered round Nat Turner, gesticulating and jabbering in a low tone. Taking advantage of their inactivity, we made our retreat through the bushes, keeping close together, Zed leading the way. From time to time I turned my head, looked round, and listened; but I could perceive no sign of anyone following me, for a hundred or a hundred and fifty yards. At length, however, I heard a rustling in the bushes behind, and I said,--
"Zed, they are pursuing us. Get into the broad path as soon as possible, where we may have a fair sight of them. Here, take this powder-flask and shot-bag. If I have occasion to fire both barrels, give me the pistol instantly; then take the gun and re-charge it as rapidly as possible. You will have time; for each shot will throw them into confusion."
"Oh, Sir Richard, forbear, if it be possible!" said the preacher.
"I will," I replied; "but it is necessary to be prepared, my good friend. If we are to die, let us sell our lives dearly. At all events, so to resolve is our best chance of safety; for even one man, who knows what he is about, can do much against an undisciplined rabble like that." Three minutes more brought us into the wide path, which looked cool and calm, and refreshing in the fading light; but a sound behind made me turn my head ere we had gone a hundred and fifty yards; and I saw the dark forms of the pursuers pouring out of the wood, now at least ten or twelve in number. I instantly raised my gun, and shouted,--
"Keep back, or I will fire upon you!" Courage and cowardice are very curious things. I have always remarked, as a general rule, to which there may be some exceptions, that those who show themselves fierce and sanguinary when there is slight or no resistance, are easily cowed by determination and a bold bearing. The very raising of the gun to my shoulder, though at too great a distance for buckshot to have been very efficacious, made the foremost man halt and recoil upon those behind; and two or three slipped in amongst the trees on either side of the path, to be out of the line of fire. On we hurried as soon as they were brought to a check; and though more than once I was obliged to face about,--for they continued to gain upon us on account of the old man's inability to walk fast,--yet the raising of the gun had always the same effect as at first. At length we began to see the brighter light streaming in at the end of the path from the open fields of the plantations of Mr. Travis and Dr. Blunt. Our pursuers were now within about seventy yards; and I hoped, as they saw us approach the cleared ground, they would cease to follow us, especially as their leader had not shown himself ill-disposed towards myself. But, on the contrary, when we were within twenty yards of the edge of the wood, they hastened their advance to a run, and one or two of them raised their muskets. It was no time for hesitation; and I fired the right-hand barrel straight in amongst them. It was a fair range, where the shot would scatter, but not lose much of its force; and I saw two of them instantly drop.
"O God!" cried the old creature, "that man should be forced so to shed man's blood!"
"Hurry on--hurry on!" I exclaimed. At the same moment two or three musket-shots came dropping round us, but without taking effect on any one; and in another minute we were on the open ground. Our situation was, perhaps, more dangerous than ever at this moment; for we were in a field of tall Indian corn, not yet gathered in; and had they possessed the habits and skill of the Indians, their numbers were sufficient to have surrounded us completely by creeping, unseen, through the long stalks. But, turning to observe their motions, I saw a number of them appear at the mouth of the path, pause and observe us for a minute or two, and then retreat into the wood, as if afraid of showing themselves in the open fields.
"Ay, ay," said Zed, "dey know the white men have been about them, and dey daren't come on. Dey would would have killed you long ago, master, if dey had not thought Colonel Halliday was near, and been afraid to make a noise of firing. I s'pose those fellows who came up last told them he had gone on; but how de deuce dey 'scaped him I don't know. Oh, dey won't come out; dey be afraid he too near still--dam cunning, dam cunning." Nevertheless, I continued to watch the edge of the wood from time to time, till we came to a wide stubble-field, where the view was clear on every side. Then, holding out my hand to Zed, I said,--
"Well, my good friend, I have now time to say I am heartily glad to see you safe and well. My mind has been much troubled about you since we last met."
"Oh, tank you, master, tank you," said Zed, taking my hand and shaking it quite friendly; "quite well, tank you; how you been all dis time?"
"As well as might be," I replied; "but I have a good many questions to ask you. First, however, tell me where we had better direct our steps to now?"
"Oh, Dr. Blunt's," answered the good man; "and de niggers all good and true. We shall be quite safe there. But what you want to know, master?"
"First," I said, "how you got out of that dreadful situation in which we left you at poor Mr. Stringer's." The man laughed; for people of his complexion are true disciples of Democritus, laughing at everything, however serious.
"Oh, I got out very well in the end, master," he said, "though I did think at one time I should have been killed. When first they came to the door, I made a noise in the room to make them think Miss Bessy was still there, for fear they should take it into their noddles to run round to the back staircase and cut you off. But when they began to hammer on the door with their hatchets, I went to the other door and listened, and hearing you open the outer door of the pantry-hall, I said to myself, 'They are safe!' Then I halloed out quite loud, 'She's not here, she's got away, up to some of the rooms at the top. I've come round the back way, but she's gone.' Then I told them to stop their hammering, and I would open the door for them. But they went on and crushed it in; and then those vagabonds, Hark and Will--they are the worst niggers of them all--got me by the throat, and asked me how I came in there? So I told them I came the back way; and then they vowed I had helped her away, and Hark lifted up his hatchet to split my skull. He would have found it a pretty hard one; for once de horse threw me down a bank thirty feet, and I fell on the top of my head among the stones. That did not break it, and I think it would have taken two or three good knocks to get inside. But just as Master Hark was going to try, Nat Turner came up, with a gun in his hand, and he caught the other gentleman's arm, and said, 'Let the man alone. The first man who sheds a drop of our own blood, I'll shoot him dead. Do you think if we get to killing each other, we shall ever get the better of the whites?' Then Hark said, 'That in that case, I must come along with them, and shed some white blood too;' and then I couldn't go back. But I told them I couldn't keep up with them all along of my game leg, which makes me hobble so; and then they said they would put me on a horse."
"And how did you get away in the end?" demanded I.
"Why, I thought at first they had trapped me," answered Zed; "but very soon they heard something stirring upstairs, and they all rushed up together to kill that long Yankee man, who preached to them at the meeting. Lord, how he did pray for his life, to be sure! And what a screech he gave when the first of them struck him! But while they were murdering the poor creature, I sneaked downstairs and opened the door between the two halls, for I had got the key with me, and locked it on the other side, and went away out behind the stables. I wouldn't go to the stables, master, for they were sure to go there themselves after the horses; but I got under a thick laurel-bush, and curled myself up, just like Mr. Stringer's large black, dog used to do in the porch----he! he! he! There I lay snug, and I heard them come to the stables and take out the horses, and turn over the hay and straw to see that there was nobody hidden there; and I heard Hark and Will laughing quite loud, and talking about the Yankee minister. One said, 'He has preached his last preaching;' and t'other said, 'He has screamed his last screaming too; and as he sees we have gone the way he taught us, he ought to be content.' And then they laughed again quite loud." My blood ran cold at the horrible levity which Zed depicted; but I could not help believing, from all I had seen myself, that his picture was a very true one; for there is a sanguinary mirth, as well as a sanguinary fierceness. Nothing like real earnestness of purpose and steadfast determination seemed to exist in any of the revolted negroes, excepting Nat Turner. In all the rest, everything was impulse--the impulse to slay, the impulse to laugh, the impulse to hack their victim with unnecessary wounds. Poor creatures! in their state of ignorance, and almost brutality, they seemed a combination of the child and the wild beast; with the levity and thoughtlessness of the one, and the strength of the other.
"I do believe," I said, after musing for a moment or two, "that this man, Nat Turner, is of a better disposition than the rest, and might, had his mind been well directed, have become a good and beneficent person." Zed shook his head, and responded,--
"Don't think so, master; he is dam cunning, that's all."
"Why he saved your life, Zed," I answered; "and at first he showed no inclination to injure me."
"Ay, ay," answered Zed, "that's all his cunning. He saved my life because he knew it would not do for black folks to kill black folks; and he would not fire at you because he knew that the white people were about, and he did not know how near they were. He would have shot you soon enough, if he had not been afraid of the report of the gun. Why, he was the very first to run up and kill McGrubber, although he always pretended to be great friends with him."
"I am hopeless of that man, sir," said uncle Jack, who had hitherto remained silent. "I had once great expectations in regard to him, and, perhaps, my opinion might not have changed, even in consequence of the revolt and the massacre of white men; for he has peculiar notions regarding himself, is extremely superstitious, and believes he has a right to shake off what he calls the yoke of the oppressor. But the man who can murder in cold blood young girls and innocent babes, is a villain beyond all hope. Here we are, however, approaching the house of Dr. Blunt.--Hold! Let us take care; there is a man pointing a musket at us from the window. He thinks we are some of the insurgents."
"Keep back then," I said; "I will go forward. There is light enough for them to see me." And, advancing before the rest, I waved my hand, exclaiming,--
"Do not fire, do not fire. We are friends."
"Who are you? What are you?" cried a boy's voice; for I could now perceive that the musketeer could not be above thirteen or fourteen years of age. "Father, father," he added, calling to some one within the house, "here are three men coming, who declare they are friends."
"My name," I said, "is Sir Richard Conway, whom you may have heard of. One of the two men behind me is Uncle Jack, the preacher; the other, my own servant, who saved my life when the murderers attacked Mr. Stringer's house." By this time two or three other persons had appeared at different windows, and one of them exclaimed,--
"Oh, welcome, welcome, Sir Richard! We will open the door and let you in. We are here, as it were, in a beleaguered fortress, and shall be glad of your military experience and advice. Stay a minute and we will give you admission."
Bolts and bars, which, I should think, had not been used for many a long year before, were removed from the door of Doctor Blunt's house, apparently with some difficulty, for I heard a good deal of thumping within before I obtained admittance. I myself was gladly welcomed; but there was some hesitation about my companions;--not much, indeed, in the case of Uncle Jack, of whom the rumour had already spread, that he was endeavouring, even at the risk of his own life, to appease an insurrection which he knew to be hopeless, and which could only have a course of barbarous massacre, and end in the bloody tragedy of legal execution. My word given for Zed, and my assurance that he had saved my life in the massacre at Mr. Stringer's, succeeded at last in obtaining admission for him also; though much whispered discussion took place amongst some of the gentlemen at the door, of which I could hear some part.
"Why, we have four negroes already in the house," said one.
"Those two will make six, and there are but seven of us in all," added another.
"You have left out Sir Richard and the boy; and let me tell you the latter is as good as any of us," replied the first speaker. "But they only make nine; and what with six negroes in the house, and thirty or forty outside, we might have hard work of it."
"But if Sir Richard passes his word for the man," said a third, "we may be quite sure of him."
"I am quite willing to do that," I interposed; "he has saved my life at the peril of his own; and, whatever happens, I am sure he will be found on our side." At that moment a stout, broad-built, middle-aged man, with a somewhat stern countenance, appeared from some room, apparently at the back of the house, accompanied by no other than my friend Billy Byles. And myself, and the stranger, who was the owner of the plantation, were introduced to each other with the usual words:--
"Doctor Blunt, Sir Richard Conway."
"Sir Richard, I am glad to see you," said Doctor Blunt, in a courteous tone. Then turning to the others, he added, "Admit the man, admit the man. If Sir Richard pledges his word for him, he is quite sure. Now, Sir Richard, permit me to speak with you for a few minutes. You are in the British army, and have seen some service."
"Four or five campaigns," I replied; "and amongst people barbarous enough, though rather more civilized than these."
"Well, sir," continued the doctor, with a tone in which there was some pomposity and a little excitement, "you shall tell us what you think of our plan of defence. We are certain to be attacked to-night; for this is the only house in the neighbourhood which the villains have not assailed. They waited for greater numbers; for they knew that they would meet with resistance here. Pray come into the parlour with me, sir, and we will talk the matter over." I followed him, while Billy Byles remained a few moments to speak a few words with his old acquaintance Zed; and although I was most anxious to see Bessy, and to hear all that had befallen her since we parted, the doctor was so full of the perilous conjuncture which he apprehended, that, in common politeness, I was obliged to delay the inquiries I meditated.
"Now, Sir Richard," he said, closing the door; "you will see that we have two windows in this room facing the orchard, and two in the room similar to this on the opposite side of the hall. The back of the house we have barricaded; fastened up all the windows, put up all the shutters, and only left a little look-out as it were, where some one can be placed to give timely information if the enemy approaches on that side, which I do not believe to be likely. Our precautions, however, will give us time to prepare, in case the attack should take place there. Now that you are with us, we have nine men in all, including my son Simon, and we have plenty of arms and ammunition. I propose to place two men at each window, and to station one at the little look-out at the back, to insure us from attack on that side, and have in each room a negro on whom we can depend, to hand us fresh arms and ammunition." He entered into a good many more details, showing the means of communication from room to room, in case some advantage should be gained at any particular point, and seemed altogether to have a very tolerable notion of defending his premises against a superior body of assailants. He was very minute in his details, however, and I wished to heaven he would bring his long statements to an end; for, although I was by no means insensible to the necessity of preparation and forethought, I was thinking of Bessy Davenport all the time, and paid, I am afraid, little attention to various arrangements of which he thought a great deal, but which, to a man accustomed to such things, were mere matters of child's play.
"Now, Sir Richard," he said, in conclusion, "such are my arrangements. Have you any suggestions to make? I shall defer of course to your military knowledge and experience." I was quite sure he would defer with very great unwillingness, and that his plans must be touched with considerable delicacy. I therefore replied,--
"Your arrangements seem to me to be admirable, Doctor Blunt; and I do not see anything that requires alteration, unless, indeed, you should judge that it would be better to defend the floor above this. You have here very stout shutters and bars. You could place mattresses across the lower part of the windows, upstairs, so as to leave nothing but the heads of your defenders exposed. You are well aware, I know, that an aim upwards, by inexperienced marksmen, is never so certain as an aim down, or on a level. They are always sure to fire either too high or too low; and even if they were to get into the house, we should have the opportunity of firing upon them down the stairs, while we were pretty nearly under cover."
"Why, Sir Richard," he said, "I think myself, that, considering----" I saw he was getting up objections in his mind to any other plan than his own; but, luckily, he was given further time for reflection by the entrance of Billy Byles, bringing Zed with him.
"Zed tells me, Sir Richard," cried my good second, "that you have had a brush with these fellows yourself just now. Let us hear all about it. But first tell us what you think of our arrangements for giving the rascals a hammering if they come here."
"Oh, I think they are excellent," I replied. "I have not the slightest doubt we shall repulse them with great loss."
"I have been thinking," said Doctor Blunt, before Mr. Byles could reply, "and, indeed, Sir Richard judges so too, that it would be better to barricade these windows down below, and make our defence from above. What is your opinion, Byles? You see we should have greater command of the approaches; would be more under cover; and, even if they broke in, could better defend the staircase, when we were already at the top." I had not the slightest objection to his appropriating my view, so that he adopted it; and was very glad to hear Billy Byles approve highly of the arrangements.
"But let us hear, Sir Richard," he said, "what you think of the numbers of these people. Zed says they are about twenty."
"Oh, no," I answered; "his eyes magnify. I could count no more than twelve, and two of those I shot. Whether they are dangerously hurt I cannot tell; for my gun was only loaded with buckshot, and the distance must have been nearly sixty yards. They fell over at once, however, as if they had been pretty hard hit."
"You don't often miss your aim, I fancy," said Billy Byles, with a laugh, for he was just as gay and unconcerned as ever; "but if there are only ten or twelve of these fellows, we have no great cause for alarm, for we could lick them out of the field with our horsewhips."
"You must notdependupon their being in such petty numbers," I replied. "Doubtless, they will increase considerably as night comes on; for they were evidently afraid of showing themselves beyond the edge of the woods in daylight; and their plan will be to attack unexpectedly in the night, till they can muster a much larger force than they have at present."
"That is our great advantage," answered Billy Byles. "We are not afraid of showing ourselves in the daylight, and hunting them down wherever we can find them. When I was at Jerusalem three or four hours ago, the gentlemen mustered one hundred and fifty strong; and the dragoons were coming in very rapidly; while parties were spreading all over the country to clear the woods of these villains. I should not wonder if they did not come here at all."
"I differ with you," I replied, seizing what I considered a favourable opportunity to lead to the subject of which I most wished to speak. "I agree with Doctor Blunt in thinking they will attack this house certainly to-night, especially as they know there are so many ladies in it."
"Ladies! my dear Sir Richard," exclaimed Doctor Blunt; "there are no ladies here. The only one who was here I sent away this morning."
"Why, I heard that Miss Davenport was here," I exclaimed, with a degree of alarm which all must have perceived. Dr. Blunt gazed upon me, and Billy Byles turned his eyes from him to me with a look of doubt, and, I must say, of great apprehension also.
"Why, did she not escape from Mr. Stringer's with you?" exclaimed the latter at length. "We all heard so."
"She did," I answered; "but I left her for a short time in the wood, while I went to see if the road to Jerusalem was clear. When I came back she was gone, and I was told, shortly after, she was come hither."
"Poor Bessy!" ejaculated Billy Byles, in a tone of deep feeling; and I turned my eyes sternly upon Zed. I could see the old man was shaking in every limb; and the moment my look fell upon him, he dropped upon his knees.
"Pardon, master, pardon!" he cried. "I only told you so to get you away; because you would stop to fight with four men with muskets, and you nobody but yourself. What good could you do Miss Bessy, getting yourself killed?" I could not speak for a moment or two, and I shook violently, under exhaustion, anger, and the sudden and terrible disappointment I had met with. The man's words crushed out all my hopes, revived all my fears and anxieties--nay, almost drove me to despair. My thoughts were all in confusion; my brain seemed to whirl. Where was she? What had become of her? Was she in the hands of those terrible men? or was she wandering about in the woods, likely to perish, without any one to aid or help her? Or, if she had fled at the approach of the party I had seen, was she not sure to fall into the hands of some other band of murderers?
"You are ill, Sir Richard," said Billy Byles. "Get him a glass of brandy. I can easily conceive what you feel. I know if Lou had been left in such a situation, I should be just as bad. Zed, you rascal, you ought to be licked."
"Well, perhaps I ought, Master Byles," said Zed, still upon his knees; "but I did it for the best."
"Damn the best!" exclaimed Byles; "it is always the worst thing in the world."
"Oh, master, forgive me," cried Zed. "Either beat me or forgive me."
"Leave the room," I said with a gasp; for I felt I could hardly draw my breath. "I cannot, I will not, speak to you now."
"Here, take this brandy, Sir Richard," said Doctor Blunt, "and let us consider the matter more calmly. It may not be as bad as it seems at first. Where did you leave Miss Davenport?" I related, as briefly and as clearly as I could, all that had occurred after Bessy and I took shelter in the angle of the wood; and in doing so, in some degree recovered hope and confidence from the recollection that Bessy was not left alone, and that Zed had more than once declared that some one, whom he called Colonel Halliday, had passed that way with a party of white men.
"Come, come, this is not so bad," said Billy Byles, "if she had got old Jenny with her. That was worth a troop of horse; for she's a 'cute old girl, and knows what she's about quite well. Then, if Halliday passed that way, he has, most likely, taken them all with him to some place of safety."
"But this story may be as false as the other Zed told me," I replied.
"I don't think that," answered Billy Byles; "he had a reason for telling the one lie, and none for telling the other. But I'll soon know. Uncle Jack was with Master Zed, and he'll tell the truth, at all events." Thus saying, he left the room, and returned in a minute, saying,--
"It is quite true; Halliday was there with six or seven men. Uncle Jack saw him in the wood, and, depend upon it, he has taken Bessy away with him."
"I can hardly think she would go," I replied, "without taking some means to let me know she was safe."
"Oh, you cannot tell," said Billy Byles; "he might be in haste; and hurry her away. Halliday is a wild dog, and not to be contradicted by man or woman when he has got any notion in his head; but from your own account, you must be nearly starving, Sir Richard."
"God bless me! I beg your pardon; I never thought of that," said Dr. Blunt. "The stores of our garrison are not very sumptuous, but they can get you a slice of ham and some bread in a minute." The food was soon brought, and a bottle of most excellent Madeira; but I had scarcely eaten two mouthfuls, and drunk one glass of wine, when a boy's voice was heard calling loudly from above,--
"Father, fatter, the moon is just getting up, and I think I see the negroes gathering at the edge of the wood."
"Here, boys, pull in all these shutters," cried Dr. Blunt, "and make them as fast as possible; then each man take his station as he was told before, only at the upstairs windows instead of these. Move up the powder-flasks and the bullets. Don't hurry, Sir Richard, don't hurry; we shall have plenty of time."
"Less time for eating than for fighting and drinking, I suspect," said Billy Byles. "Here, Sir Richard, let me fill your tumbler. I'll take one for company. I say, Blunt, order half a dozen of this Madeira to the rooms upstairs. It is dry work fighting upon cold water."
"Ay, bold Billy Byles to the last," said Dr. Blunt; "but we'll have the wine up, and some brandy too; for some of our people may want a little of that kind of courage, though you don't, Byles."
"Father, father," cried the boy's voice again, "I can see them coming through the corn."
"How many are there?" shouted Dr. Blunt.
"Twenty or thirty, I should guess," replied the boy; "but I can't count them, they are so close together." While all this had been taking place, several men, some black, but mostly white, had been closing the windows and barricading them as well as they could; and as soon as I had drunk the wine which Mr. Byles had poured out for me, I made a little tour through the lower rooms to see that everything had been rendered as secure as possible. I then accompanied Dr. Blunt and the rest of the party to the floor above.
While the men were dispersing themselves, some going into one room, some into another, I turned directly into the right-hand room in front, which I judged to be that from the window of which the boy had challenged me as I came towards the house. He was still there, with a gun in his hand, and there was a candle burning on the table.
"This is my son, Sir Richard," said the doctor, who accompanied me. Turning round from his post, the boy shook hands with me frankly. He was a fine-looking lad, with bright eyes, but he could not have been more than thirteen or fourteen years of age. Pointing with his hand, he said,--
"There they come, father; but they are mighty slow about it."
"You had better put out the lights on this floor, Dr. Blunt," I said.--"they will only serve to direct the enemy's fire, and lose us the advantage which the position of the moon gives. We are in shadow here; but you perceive we can see almost every pebble of the ground out there."
"To be sure! to be sure! Well thought of! Put out all the lights," said Doctor Blunt.
"Now, will you go round, doctor," I continued, "and see that every man has his ammunition close at hand? I wonder if these bullets will fit my gun."
"They are quite small," said the doctor, moving away; "you had better put two or three in." When he was gone, I approached the window at which the boy was still standing, and leaning out, took a general survey of the moonlight scene which presented itself before the house. It was one which, at other times, or on any ordinary occasion, would have presented no single point of interest. The ground was very nearly flat, slightly undulating, indeed, towards the eastward, with a small lawn or field in front of the house, and an orchard of what seemed peach and plum trees, at about a hundred and fifty yards' distance. Sweeping all round the horizon, was a dense belt of forest-ground, dark in the shadowy moonlight, like evening clouds upon the edge of the sky, and the space within this barrier of wood was lighted up by the full, clear beams of the rising planet. It was one of those nights which, on this continent, are peculiarly beautiful; when the moon drowns, in her own effulgence, all the stars immediately round herself, but leaves the rest of the sky full of bright luminaries, which, large and full, seem to vie the one with the other in aiding her to make up for the absence of the sun. Fields which had been cultivated, and from most of which the crops had been reaped, to the extent of five or six hundred acres, lay around me within the belt of forest, and on the right extended, first, the stubble field, fifty or sixty acres in extent, and then the wide field of Indian corn not yet gathered in. The maize presents a somewhat curious appearance in the calm moonlight--an appearance, at least, to which we are unaccustomed in Europe, especially when it is ripe. It looks almost white, yet something tells you--I know not well what--that it is not snow which covers the land. Often is it so tall, that a man of full height could pass through it unperceived; but the spring this year had been backward, little rain had fallen, and the corn was considered stunted and deficient. Thus, when I had passed through that field, the long reed-like stalks, with their broad leaves, had not reached higher than my shoulder, and I could now plainly perceive a thick group of dark objects making its way towards the house, still at the distance of a quarter of a mile. All in external nature was very calm and still and pleasant; and the flat and somewhat monotonous scene acquired an aspect almost picturesque, from the accessories of light and shade, and the resplendent heaven above it. But there was that moving group of black objects, which, sometimes pausing for an instant, and always proceeding very slowly and cautiously, kept still advancing towards the house, and added a different sort of interest to the scene. While I was making my survey I continued to charge my gun, and endeavoured, to the best of my power, to calculate the number of the enemy. I could only make out twenty-four; and I do not think I was wrong by more than one or two on either side. In the meantime the boy stood beside me, apparently calm and tranquil, without saying a word. There was an heroic sort of quietude in his demeanour which struck me very much. I knew that through the whole of the south of the United States the idea of a revolt of the slaves is one of those fearful phantoms of the imagination which is present to the minds of all men, although, in the affairs of business, or the excitement of pleasure, they may, from custom, forget it, and take no notice of the shadow of Nemesis which is cast upon the festal board--the sword suspended by a hair, which hangs over the head even of the lord of the feast. They are like people inhabiting a volcanic region, who trim their vines, and sing and dance in their harvests, forgetting altogether the proximity of danger and death, till the first tremulous motion of the earth announces the coming earthquake, and then they start up confused and alarmed by the coming of events which they might have foreseen in the due course of nature. That boy's coolness and tranquillity, in the circumstances in which we were placed, struck me very much. None of us at that time could tell how all these things were to end: no one was aware how far the conspiracy had extended, or what preparations had been made to insure its success. All that we knew was, that the blacks were infinitely superior in number to the whites; that they had risen with merciless fury against their masters; and that they had not yet met with any decisive check: that every house they had attacked they had taken without difficulty, and massacred the inhabitants without consideration of age or sex. Such was our position; yet that boy stood there beside me as cool and quiet as if there was no risk or danger in the coming contest.
"Now, my good lad," I said, after I had taken my survey, "you and I are to defend this window, I suppose."
"I suppose so, sir," he said; "my father told me to stay here."
"Are you not a little nervous?" I asked, with a smile.
"Yes, sir," he answered frankly; "but I always do what father tells me."
"Well," I answered, "there is no great danger, and you are a good, brave fellow. I have seen a good many of these affairs; and it is such hearts as yours that always carry victory with them. Now, I am an old soldier and an officer, so you must obey orders. Go and get a pillow from the bed, and place it on the window-sill. Now, kneel down there; rest your gun quietly over; fix upon the man you intend to shoot, keeping him always under cover of the muzzle, and do not fire until I tell you. I'll bet you a dollar you'll bring him down."
"Won't you have a pillow, too?" asked the boy.
"No," I answered; "I intend to stand here, covered by this corner of the window-frame; but you had better whisper by a hint of what man you intend to fire at, that we may not both mark the same."
"I'll fire at the biggest," said the boy; "I am more sure to hit him."
"And I will take the little one," I answered. "We shall give a good account of both, depend upon it." There was no real levity in what I said; for I could not but feel, that whatever might be the lad's inherent courage, yet with his want of experience in such scenes of strife and bloodshed, there must be some awe, if not timidity. In the meantime Doctor Blunt passed along from room to room, seeing that all his little garrison were well placed, and doing his duty as commander-in-chief very creditably. At length he returned to us, before he took his own post at one of the windows, slapping his son on the shoulder, and saying,--
"Well, Simon, my lad, here you are, under the command of a gallant officer, who, I see, has taken care of you. Do your duty boldly, my son, and we will give these fellows a peppering."
"I will try, father," replied the boy, modestly, and Doctor Blunt continued looking out.
"Ay, they have come into the open ground. They have determined upon it, but I think we can match them."
"You had better, I think, reserve your fire, Doctor Blunt," I said. "If they should perceive us at the windows, as probably they will, let them fire at us first. If they make a rush to break into the lower story, they are lost with the small number they have; for we can pick them off at our ease, if we do it coolly, while they cannot touch us up here."
"Do you give the word, Sir Richard, will you?" said Doctor Blunt. "I will tell the people not to fire till you speak."
"Very well," I answered; "but let each mark his man as he comes up, and keep him constantly covered, that the first fire may be a telling one. Those who have double-barrelled guns had better reserve the second barrel, that they may keep the enemy employed while they are are re-loading."
"I understand, I understand," said my host. "I will go and tell them all; but you cannot expect very well-disciplined soldiers here, Sir Richard."
"We must do our best, my good sir," I answered; "and I have no doubt of the result. One of us is equal to five or six of them, when we are not taken asleep in our beds." Doctor Blunt moved away to give the orders I had suggested, and I again put my head out of the window. The body of insurgents was now not a hundred and fifty yards from the house; but I don't think they saw me, for that side of the building was completely in shadow. They advanced very cautiously, however, taking advantage of the trees of the peach-orchard, to cover their approach; and there was evidently some hesitation at its verge, before they came out in the clear moonlight. They might, indeed, be laying their plan of attack. At length one man came forth, about ten or twenty yards before the rest, and took a leisurely survey of the whole front of the house. I was greatly afraid that some of our party would fire; but all kept still. At length the negro returned to his companions, and then they marched forward in a long, straggling line; each man with his gun raised to his shoulder, covering the upper windows.
"Keep down!" I said to my young companion; "keep your head down, and let them fire. Then raise yourself, choose your man, and when I give the word, pull the trigger." I have always found it a very difficult thing to get men to reserve their fire. There is a sort of natural anxiety to have the first chance, which causes many a shot to be thrown away. There was no nervousness, however, upon the present occasion; and all remained profoundly still, while the insurgents advanced to within about thirty paces of the house. We could now see all the men distinctly; so much so as nearly to distinguish their features, though that is somewhat difficult with a negro, even in the daylight. They evidently saw us too, and our white faces made us a better mark; but, as I had expected, the having to fire upward disturbed their aim. When they were at the distance I have mentioned, the word "Halt!" was pronounced; and the whole line came to a stand. Then there seemed to be some little hesitation; but, after a moment some one shouted, "Fire!" And nine or ten guns went off right at the windows. The glass crashed and rattled above us in the upper part of the frame, and a bullet seemed to strike the wall just below where I was standing; but not a single shot took effect upon anybody in the house. I had a great mind to let them come a little nearer still, that we might be more sure of our aim; but I knew that every one was impatient round me; and, seeing a movement amongst the negroes, as if to make a rush upon the lower part of the house, I gave the word to fire. Every one was prepared; every one had selected his man, and all the guns went off almost at once. Never was such a scene as now ensued. Six or seven of the insurgents fell down at once; and then there was a general scamper. Away they went in every different direction--tumbling over their fallen companions--running against the trees of the orchard--throwing away their guns to fly the better; and showing every symptom of that panic terror which so generally accompanies want of discipline. From the boldness with which they had marched up to the house, and the deliberation with which they had fired, I had not thought that the affair would be so soon over; but they were now evidently routed beyond any chance of a rally; and I gave one tall, big fellow, who was running faster than any of the rest, the advantage of my second barrel. He stumbled and fell, but was up again in a moment, and away, though he must have been wounded. Several more shots were fired amongst the fugitives from the other windows. Running round to Doctor Blunt, I said--
"If we make a sally now, we may capture some of them." Three or four of the gentlemen followed me downstairs; and rushing out, we got into the orchard as fast as possible, amongst the trees of which, several of the insurgents were endeavouring to shelter themselves from the shots which had been coming after them from the windows; though they might have made a good fight of it still, had they not been so completely scared. But no resistance was offered. Three or four ran away across the fields as fast as they could go, when they saw white faces in the orchard; but we captured two of them and marched them up towards the house. On the spot where the negro line had been formed we found the rest of our party, with a lantern and a sort of link or flambeau, examining the fallen. Billy Byles was hauling up one of the wounded men, while Doctor Blunt and another gentleman were stooping down over a tall fellow, who seemed quite dead, and holding the link to his face as if they saw something very curious in it.
"The most curious head I ever beheld," said Doctor Blunt's companion. "Did you ever see such a development? The organ of combativeness enormously full, and destructiveness as big as my fist. I must have that head for my cabinet, doctor."
"Ah, Sir Richard, I see you have brought in a prisoner," said Doctor Blunt, raising his head as I came up with the man I had taken. "This is my friend, Doctor ----, the famous phrenologist."
"Did you ever see such an extraordinary head, Sir Richard?" said the enthusiastic professor of what was then almost a new science. "Why, it is all back; it has neither top nor front. The posterior portion must weigh ten times the anterior. You, sir, what's your name?" he continued, turning to my prisoner. "Do you know who this is?"
"That is Will, sir," answered the unfortunate man;--"that is the gentleman who said we were to kill all the babies."
"There, I told you so!" cried the doctor, rejoicing in the triumph of his art. "He could not help it. That organ of destructiveness did it all. That man should never have been suffered to go loose. Henceforth, if crimes are committed, it is the fault of society. We can always detect the propensity to mischief by the certain laws of phrenology, and our business is to guard against it. If we suffer men like that to go loose, the crimes they commit are chargeable to our own negligence." I was not inclined to stay longer to hear the worthy gentleman's dissertation; and, touching Doctor Blunt's arm, I said--
"We had better return to the house and secure these two men. I must also ask you to do me the great favour of lending me a horse to ride to the county town; for I cannot be satisfied till I see this Colonel Halliday."
"You had better postpone your journey till to-morrow morning," answered the doctor, walking with me towards the door. "Don't you think it will be dangerous to go alone at this time of night?"
"Oh, no," I replied. "These people will not rally; and you may be sure they brought up their whole force. If I am not mistaken, you may look upon the insurrection as at an end. They have met with a check which they will not soon recover; and your neighbours will have much to thank you for, Doctor Blunt."
"Well, sir," replied the doctor, evidently much gratified, "I trust we have done our duty; and if every one will do his duty in such circumstances, the state will have nothing to fear."
"Your gallant young son, sir, has done his duty too, nobly," I replied; "I am quite sure he brought down his man; he was as steady as an old soldier."
"I am delighted to hear you say so, Sir Richard," answered the father, doubtless with a proud heart. "He has been brought up to obey orders, without hesitation, and I trust he has a right--a hereditary right--to courage. His family has not produced a coward, sir, and I trust it never will; but you had better come in and finish your supper, Sir Richard, while they get a horse for you. Will it not be better to have one saddled for your man Zed likewise? He knows the roads more thoroughly than you do, I suspect, and might be of assistance to you in case of danger." I gladly embraced the offer and was not sorry, to say sooth, for some more food. Nor did I altogether refrain from Doctor Blunt's good wine; for I felt that night, more than I ever did in my life, those sensations which doubtless lead many a man to drunkenness--the need of something to keep up my spirits, to enable me to cast off the load of thought, and pursue my course amidst whatever painful circumstances might surround me. I did not drink much, it is true; for out of the bottle of Madeira, set by my side, several of my companions in the late affray came in and helped themselves very liberally. In fact, for the next half-hour, as may be well supposed, the house of Doctor Blunt presented a scene of excitement and confusion sufficient to banish everything like sober thought. Every one was talking; every one was moving about; every one was asking questions, and nobody answering them. Some were examining where the balls had struck; many were describing their own deeds, and telling how they had picked off their man: and certainly if all had been done which they asserted, a dozen negroes must have fallen instead of six. All were talking; some were laughing loudly; and, strange to say, even the captured and wounded negroes were joining in the merriment, almost as if they had been of the victorious, instead of the defeated, party. I saw one fellow sitting in the hall, just opposite the door, with a bullet through his shoulder, and his hands tied behind him, show his white teeth from one end of the range to the other, exclaiming, with a laugh,--
"I wish somebody would tie my hands afore instead of behind. My golly, how hot dat hole feel! I tink dey must shoot wid red-hot shot." At length it was announced that the horses were ready, and I rose to depart.
"What, going, Sir Richard!" exclaimed Billy Byles, coming in. "Hang it, you have stolen a march upon them. I shall go in to-night. Blunt, you had better march the prisoners in. There's no use of keeping them here all night. Hadn't you better wait for us, Sir Richard?"
"No, my good friend," I answered; "I cannot rest satisfied till I hear more of Miss Davenport." Billy Byles was of that sanguine and immovable disposition, which from one success infers that everything else must go right, and he answered,--
"Oh, she is quite safe, depend upon it." Although not an hour before, on hearing of the situation in which she had been left, he had exclaimed, "Poor Bessy!" in tones of melancholy augury, which still rang in my ears. I declined to delay my departure, however; and, shaking hands with young Blunt as I passed, I walked forward to the door, where the horses stood. Zed crept after me slowly, with much the air of an offending dog, who expects, as he follows his master's heels, to have a kick every minute, and keeps himself prepared to jump back and avoid the blow. Much shaking of hands took place on the steps of the house; but at length I mounted, and took my way on.