The sun was approaching his hour of setting; and the scene, lately so dreary and desolate, was now resplendent with colours which defy all description. It was not merely the purple and gold with which, in the weakness of language, we are forced to designate the hues, which neither pen nor pencil can bring before the mind, but it was the sparkling vividness, the transparent splendour of those colours--making them as spirit compared to mere matter--which spread an atmosphere-like enchantment over the scene, changing its rude features, brightening its dull heaviness, glorifying its gloom, and giving startling variety to its monotony. It was like the wonderful power of imagination, seizing upon the most incongruous materials, and harmonizing them in the life-like light that streams from itself. The mind, still subject, like the skin of the cameleon, to the aspect of things round it, took a brighter tone from the changes of the sky. Suddenly, however, I heard, as it seemed to me, at some little distance, a voice calling. At first, I was hardly certain whether it was not the cry of some wild bird; but presently I distinguished clearly the tones of a human voice; and, reining in my jaded horse, I turned round and looked in the direction from which it seemed to proceed. Running my eye over the ground, I could perceive nothing for a moment or two; but there were so many stumps and bushes and broken trees, that a hundred men might have been near me in that dim and scattered light without my perceiving their proximity. Still, however, the voice called, and I thought I could distinguish the word, "Mas'r." Cautiously I turned my horse amongst the bushes, and rode on towards the spot from which the sound seemed to come; and I soon began to discern the outline of a figure sitting at the foot of a tall, conical cypress-tree, almost assuming the form of one of the beautiful cypresses of Eastern Europe, and perched upon a little knoll, rising above the rest of the Swamp. It was not Bessy's figure; but, with no light satisfaction as I drew near to her and more near, I made out the heavy outline of good aunt Jenny. No words can express the good woman's joy and satisfaction when she saw me; and my own was little less, for I knew that I should now have a clue, and that some light, at least, would be thrown upon the mystery which had kept my mind for so many hours in a state of terror and anxiety. Poor Jenny, however, was weak and exhausted--to such a degree even, that she could hardly speak in answer to my questions; and the first consideration was how to revive her failing strength. At the distance which I supposed we were from any human habitation, no food, of course, was to be procured: night was coming on fast, and there seemed no prospect but of her dying there actually of starvation; till suddenly I remembered the hunting-flask of brandy which I had brought from the house of the hapless Mr. Travis, and of which I had never thought since. It was still in the pocket of my jacket, and it proved indeed a most seasonable relief to the poor woman, who soon recovered sufficiently to be able to tell me, vaguely and confusedly, that some twenty minutes after I had left her and Bessy in the wood, a party of white men, headed by Colonel Halliday, had forced their way through the bushes and hurried them away, offering to lodge them securely in Jerusalem. At Bessy's request, the leader promised, she said, to leave two men on the spot to give me warning when I returned; and poor Jenny declared that she heard him herself give the order to that effect. When they reached the path, however, they found more men and horses there; and the party separated into two divisions. Everything was in confusion, the good woman said; and before they were well aware of what was happening, she and Miss Davenport were riding away with one division, while Colonel Halliday took another direction with the other. It was not till they had gone some hundred yards that either Bessy or herself perceived that old William Thornton was with their party. I need not enter into more details, as I shall have to speak of them more fully hereafter, and as the good woman's account was very confused; I learned, however, from her that Bessy and herself had been detained at Mr. Thornton's house all night, but kept separate from each other; that she, at least, had had no food, and that she had seen a party of three or four of aunt Bab's negroes who came to the house, civilly inquiring if Miss Davenport was there, fired at from the windows without the slightest provocation. Immediately after that, Bessy had been placed upon horseback against her will and carried away.
"They turned me out as soon as she was gone," said aunt Jenny, "without even a cup of cold water; but I knew very well where they took her, and so I came on after my darling. But you see I got faint, master, and thought I should die for want here in the Swamp.
"But what did they take her away for, Jenny?" I inquired. "Why did they not let her remain where she was?"
"Why she see'd them shoot poor 'Ercles and the other two," replied the old woman; "and they knew she would witness against them; so they got her out of de State, and will keep her till it's all blown over. Dat's de reason, I am sure."
"Then why did they not send you away, too?" I asked.
"'Cause I'm a coloured woman, and my oath worth nothing," answered aunt Jenny.
"But if they have taken her into another State, how shall we ever find her?" I exclaimed, almost in despair.
"Oh, she close by--not two miles off," she answered. "Why we are in Nort Carolina now."
"Well, take a little more brandy, aunty," I said. "I will lift you on my horse, and we will go on, if you can show me the best way, for it is beginning to grow darkish." She would fain have walked, declaring that she was quite able, and that the brandy had done her "a mighty power of good." But I would have my own way, and we made our road forward just as the last glowing spot of the sun's disk sank below the horizon. He left a bright and beautiful twilight behind him, however, and we had no difficulty in finding our way onward, the road soon after beginning to rise out of the swamp into the firmer ground beyond.
Though it might be called night when we came in view of a house which Mr. William Thornton had formerly occupied, and which his people still called the old place, or the old quarters, everything around was distinctly visible by the pale, whitish light, which often in this part of the world lingers long in the sky after the sun is down. It was a desolate-looking scene, in which everything spoke of neglect and decay. In the fields, which had been once cultivated, and probably exhausted, young self-sown pine-plants might be seen springing up wherever the ground was not too thickly covered with weeds. Fences there were none, except some fragments round a kitchen garden at the side of the house, which seemed the only spot still cultivated. The house itself, though not actually tumbling down, was sadly dilapidated. Some of the rooms had not even the window-frames in them, and in several others the glass was gone or broken. I never could make out how it is that an uninhabited house always gets its windows broken. Can it be that the persecution which always dogs misery, extends itself to inanimate objects, and that the same spirit which leads a dog to bark at a beggar on no other pretext but his rags, leads the hand of mischief to hurry on ruin wherever it sees it commenced? I marched straight up to the front door, and aunt Jenny slipped quietly off the horse, while I tried the door, and knocked with my knuckles on finding it locked. The head of an old negro, covered with white wool, was speedily put out of a window above, and I was saluted with the words, spoken rather sharply,--
"What you want, mas'r? Can't get in dere."
"I want a night's lodging, and something to eat," I answered boldly. "I have travelled a long way, and can't go farther. Come down, and open the door."
"Can't, mas'r," answered the man, with a low chuckle. "Got the rheumatiz very bad. My ole ooman out, and she got de key." That the man was lying there could be no doubt, and I determined to get into the house by some means, whatever might be the risk. I looked round to see if there was any window near enough to the ground for me to force it open, and then, for the first time, perceived that good aunt Jenny had disappeared. The next minute I heard the sound of steps, running down the stairs inside of the house, and a voice calling out,--
"D----n you! What you doing dere? Let dat door alone. I teach you to come in here, you ole debil!" But aunt Jenny was too quick for him. I heard the key turn in the lock, and, putting my shoulder to the door, I pushed it open, when a scene presented itself which would have made me laugh at any other time. My rheumatic friend from above, who had once been a tall and powerful man, had got aunt Jenny by the throat, and, with the expression of a demon, seemed bent upon strangling her, while she, with not the sweetest expression either, was belabouring his head and face with the large key which she had withdrawn from the door as soon as she had unlocked it. I soon settled the strife, however, by taking hold of the man's collar, and throwing him back to the farther end of the hall.
"Ha! ha!" cried aunt Jenny, laughing, yet panting from the struggle. "I know de way in. He not keep me here two months for nothing, arter missus die. Why, old Sambo, arn't you 'shamed of yourself?"
"I'se an old man," said the negro, again advancing towards me. "And I'se a nigger; but I can tell you, mas'r, dere will be udders here very soon, not so old, not so black as I be."
"Who may they be?" I asked quietly.
"Why, mas'r Thornton," answered the man; "and de udders who he left here, but who is just step out."
"As to Mr. Thornton and his son," I answered, "you are not likely to see them again for some time, as they are both in prison for what they have done to-day. As to any others that Mr. Thornton left, I will settle with them when they come in again."
"Prison!" ejaculated the man. "Prison! You don't say mas'r Thornton in prison?"
"Yes," I answered, assuming a very potential air; "and whether I send you to prison or not will a good deal depend upon your behaviour. Go, take my horse to the stable, and give him some oats and hay."
"Lor' bless 'ee, mas'r, I got no oats and hay," answered the man.
"Then give him some corn," I replied, in a peremptory tone. "I shall come down presently and see that he eats it. Be quick; do what I tell you. Return here quickly, for I want to speak more with you." The man seemed to hesitate for a moment; but negroes, unless they are greatly excited, are swayed by a commanding tone. After twice pausing on his way to the door, he went out, took the horse, and led it away towards the back of the house.
"Now, Jenny," I said, "make the best of your time. Get some food, see who is in the lower part of the house, and come back and join me speedily, for I have got to search for Miss Bessy."
"Let's look for her first, mas'r Conway," answered Jenny, eagerly. "I get on now. Dat brandy make me quite strong."
"Let us search the lower part first," I replied. Passing from room to room, through the dilapidated house, we came to the kitchen, or sort of out-house, where we found two old women, seated by a large open fireplace, and apparently concerning themselves but little as to what took place in their neighbourhood. They seemed, indeed, withered up, and hardened by neglect and solitude, and hardly took any notice of us, except looking over their shoulders, till I ordered one of them to get some food for my companion, when she mechanically rose, and, opening a cupboard fixed to the wall, produced some salt fish and coarse bread. Jenny, however, was too eager in pursuit of her young lady to waste her time in eating; and, taking some of the food in her hand, she followed me up the creaking stairs to a large window at the top, on the sill of which old Samuel had apparently been seated when we arrived. The house was not a very large one, and the doors of several of the rooms were open, showing a scene of utter desolation within; but as darkness increased every moment, I thought it better to try what effect my voice would have in discovering whether Bessy was there or not; and I called as loudly as I could,--
"Bessy, dear Bessy, are you here?"
"Here! here!" answered a voice from the end of the corridor. Springing forward, I found a door, locked, but without the key in it.
"Are you there?" ejaculated I.
"Yes, yes," answered that sweet, never-to-be-forgotten voice. "Is that you, dear Richard?"
"Stand back from the door, love, and I will drive it in," I exclaimed. And putting my foot against the balustrade of the stairs, and my shoulder against the old, dilapidated door, I speedily forced the lock from the wood-work, and fell almost headlong into the room. # The windows looked to the eastward, so that it was darker within than without; and I could just see a woman's figure at the other side near the windows. But Bessy saw me better; and in another moment she was in my arms, and weeping on my bosom. I am afraid I kissed her very often, and very freely; but, in that moment, all restraint was broken down. She and I both felt that she was mine; and her lips answered mine, I am sure of it. Old Jenny hugged her in turn, though she was very discreet not to interrupt us too soon. But there was no time to be lost; and as soon as we had somewhat recovered ourselves, I said,--
"Now, dearest Bessy, what is to be done? You know the state of affairs here better than we do. Robert Thornton and his father have been apprehended by the sheriff, and I find only one old negro man here and two women. Is it safe to stay here till to-morrow morning?"
"There is another, younger man somewhere about," she answered; "but I should think they would not venture upon any violence, especially when they know their masters are in prison. Besides, you are well armed, are not you?"
"I have this double-barrelled gun and one pistol," I replied. "You had one, love, and Jenny here had one."
"Ah, dey took mine from me," cried Jenny, who was munching away as hard as she could at the handful of bread and herring she had brought from the kitchen; "dey got dat from me 'fore I knew what dey was doing."
"I have got the one you gave me, safe," said Bessy; "and, indeed, to have it was a great comfort to me; for I did not know what might happen next; and I am afraid I felt as if I could have shot any of them."
"I tell you what to do," cried Jenny; "better not stop here. We are in Nort Carolina here. Let's get back, just to de State line. In Virginny we shall be safer, and know what we are doing."
"But, my good woman," I answered, "this dear girl can't remain in the Swamp all night; and if we were to try to get back to the sheriff's plantation, a thousand to one we should be lost in the night, and she might perish."
"Ay, ay," answered the old girl, with a conceited nod of her head. "Leave all dat to aunt Jenny. Why, dere dat nice cabin, Habakkuk built for hisself just upon de line, arter Miss Bab's death. Don't you know, Missie Bessy? All of felled logs. There you be quite comferable, and I cook for you."
"But where will you get anything to cook, Jenny?" asked Bessy, with a laugh. "I have fared but poorly since I have been here."
"Oh, I see plenty in de kitchen," said Jenny. "I look about me--two or tree dozen eggs, and butter, and tree gallon loaves. We take what we can find. If dey carry us away, dey must feed us. When once we are dere we are quite safe; for dere be two good large room; and dey could never get old Habakkuk out." After some consultation with Bessy, I judged that it was better to follow the old woman's advice. We could not tell how many of Mr. William Thornton's people were near us. We had no reason to believe that our good friend, the sheriff, would venture to come over the Virginian line to our assistance; and it was quite possible that Mr. Thornton and his son might get bail that night, and be upon us early on the following morning. It was evident, too, that they had already gone so far in a daring and lawless course, that no slight considerations would stop them; and in that old and dilapidated house, which seemed to have only two rooms tenantable, there was no possibility of making a good defence against violence from superior numbers. I believe Bessy's evident anxiety to get away from the place as speedily as possible contributed not a little to fix my determination; and it was at length settled that, after allowing a little time for my horse to feed, we should set out for the hut which Jenny mentioned, and to which she professed to know the way perfectly, night or day. Before we came fully to this determination, we heard the voice of the old negro speaking to the woman below; and he twice came to the foot of the stairs with a lighted pine-knot in his hand, and looked up; but he immediately retreated to the kitchen. As soon as our resolution was taken, I unslung the gun from my shoulders, and, leading the way down, proceeded at once to the kitchen, to carry the war, if war it must be, into the enemy's territory. I thought it very likely that the party might, by this time, be reinforced; but I was mistaken. No one was there but the old man and the two old women, and they seemed inclined to be more civil. They all moved out of the way as we advanced towards the fireplace, of which, although it was a very warm night, I made my little party take possession, as a good strategetic position; and, knowing the advantage of acting on the offensive, I said to the old man,--
"How dare you to be art and part in depriving a free white young lady of her liberty?" I then told him I had a great mind to tie his hands behind his back, and carry him into Virginia.
"I am told there is another man here," I added; "where is he? Call him up to me. I am determined to punish you all."
"He not here, mas'r," said the old man, in a subdued tone. "He am gone over to see what de row over dere. Dey tell him, him cousin shot. I only do what I'se told. It's mas'r's fault, not mine. He tell me keep Miss Bessy here, and not let her see nobody, no account whatebber. What can I do, poor nigger man?"
"Your master cannot make you do an illegal thing," I answered. "But come, bring out whatever you have got to eat: we are all hungry."
"I see arter that," cried aunt Jenny, who seemed quite at home in the kitchen. "Now, Venus, where you put de milk?" Venus, who was as unlike her Grecian namesake as could well be conceived, declared the cows were not milked; adding,--
"That black nigger Jack had gone away across de Swamp, and forget 'em." But Jenny, who could play termagant when the occasion required it, drove out the old man to milk the cows himself. Our meal was certainly unwillingly given; but the grudging did not detract from its savour to very hungry people; and I must say, we made perfectly free with Mr. Thornton's house, without any remorse of conscience. After we had supped, Aunt Jenny gathered together whatever she could find of an edible quality, helped herself to a basket, and piled upon the top, besides a candle or two, a number of knotty pitch-pine pieces, which often, in this part of the country, served the purpose of torches.
"Now, come along, Sam'l," she said; "I'se not going to let you 'bide here, plotting. I hope you fed de horses well, for we'se a long way to go, to-night, and 'praps mayn't get to de sheriff's afore to-morrow morning. Dat's why I'm taking all these purvisions; and if Mas'r Thornton say I stole 'em, you tell 'im Sir Richard Conway will pay for 'em when he send in his bill." The old man grumbled; but she drove him out before us, to the stable, where we found my own horse, and that which had carried Bessy thither. There was also a mule in the stable, which I had a strong inclination to borrow, for the purpose of mounting old Jenny; but the good woman declined the honour, saying she had rather walk; she didn't like "'orseback," it made her "uncomferable." With some little trouble, we got everything in order, and set out; the moon, though not yet above the trees, afforded us light sufficient. We went very slowly, and more than once I turned my head to make sure that the old negro was not following to watch us. Jenny seemed to divine my suspicion, and, at length, said, with a laugh,--
"Don't you be afraid, mas'r. He'll not come after we. He's a lazy old debbil, as cross as two sticks; but he would not walk ten steps to save his own soul, if he could help it. I know him long time, and was two months in de house wid him. Oh! and he tell such big lies too. He go and say to Mas'r Thornton, you came wid ten men and took away Miss Bessy, and he couldn't help it; and he'll give all their names too, jist as if he see 'em wid his own eyes."
"Those are lies which can do us no possible harm, Jenny," I answered; "for if these two Thorntons were by any chance to get bailed out to-night, they would not like to pursue us, if they thought we had a large party." Bessy was very silent as we rode along, and doubtless was tired and exhausted; but we had good reason to thank Heaven for the hardy education she had received from Aunt Bab; for one half of what she had gone through during the last two days would have killed any ordinary Virginia girl. After having ridden on for about twenty minutes, we passed a very large tree standing nearly alone, and Aunt Jenny said in an oracular tone,--
"Nort Carolina line. Now we'se in Virginny. Tank God for dat!" Here she turned away to the left, keeping, I supposed, along the boundary line of the two states; and, in little more than a quarter of an hour, we came to an open space just upon the edge of the Swamp land, where, though the moon had now risen, and I looked round on every side, I could perceive nothing at all like the cabin she had mentioned. She trudged on sturdily, however, for a hundred yards further, and then turned round the edge of a little clump of bushes which had hitherto concealed, completely, a low hut, formed of logs, roughly hewn square with the axe, and placed one upon the top of the other, to form the walls. It seemed well thatched with branches and reeds, and had two windows, or rather apertures, and a door, giving it somewhat the appearance of the houses made out of a cat's head, which we draw to amuse children.
"Ah! here it is!" cried Aunt Jenny. "Dis is de place, mas'r, where ole Habakkuk live for a long time, 'cause he would not be under Mas'r Thornton, when ole missus die. Mas'r Thornton could never find him out; and we, none of us, never say a word. De ole man build it all himself wid his own hands. A mighty smart man he were, and made himself quite comferable here. I guess his ole bedstead here still; so dat you and Miss Bessy can lie down and rest." By this time we had arrived at the door--and Jenny was about to open it, when I suggested that it might be better to have some light before we went in, if she had the means of procuring any.
"O dear, yes," said Jenny. "I brought away de flint and steel. You give me drop of gunpowder, mas'r, on de wick of dis candle, and we'll soon have a light." I did as she desired; and, after lifting Bessy from her horse, I took the candle, which by this time was lighted, and went into the cabin. I must say it had a much less desolate appearance than the house of Mr. Thornton. The old man who constructed it must have had no little skill, taste, and perseverance. He had divided it into two rooms; patched up all the crevices between the logs with moss and mud; formed two shutters for the windows, and a tight-fitting door; and had, apparently with his own hands, constructed from the branches of the trees, and the fallen logs in the neighbourhood, four seats and a table in the outer room, and a bedstead, somewhat in the shape of a knife-tray, in the inner one. Though so near the Swamp, there was no appearance of damp about the hut; and I heartily rejoiced, notwithstanding all its roughness, that Bessy would have such a place of shelter for the night. She and Aunt Jenny had by this time, followed me in; and, seating the dear girl in one of the rude chairs, I pushed back the hair from her forehead, gazing in her face to see what change all the fatigues and annoyances she had undergone had made in her. She looked pale and fatigued certainly, but not ill; and comprehending my anxiety, she took my hand gently in hers, saying,--
"Oh, I shall do very well, dear Richard. A few days' rest and quiet is all I want; and then I shall be as well and saucy again as ever. But you had better look to the horses for fear they should ran away." They had had too much work lately for that, and were still standing with drooping heads at the door of the hut when I went out. Taking off the saddles and bridles, I easily contrived to hamper their feet with the stirrup-leathers; and then, leaving them to provide for themselves during the night, I returned into the cabin and closed the door. It had, unfortunately, no lock, bolt, or bar; but I had already made up my mind to sit up and watch, so that the want of fastenings did not so much matter. In the meantime Aunt Jenny had been bustling about, and had really given an air of some comfort to the place. She had gathered some fragments of wood which lay about the door; had lighted a little fire on the broad, flat stone which served for a hearth; had fixed the candle into a hole in the table which had previously served for a candlestick; and had fastened one of the pine-knots against the wall, adding more light to the interior, though accompanied by a strong, but, to my mind, aromatic smell, from the burning of the resin. Seating myself beside Bessy, I took her hand in mine, saying,--
"One more night, dearest, one more uncomfortable night, and then I trust all our troublous hours will have passed, and the memories of them will be but like a distressing dream. Had you not better go and lie down to obtain some sleep? We can easily get some leaves and dry reeds to make up a tolerable couch."
"You had better, Missie Bessy," said old Jenny. "Dere going to be storm to-night. Better get asleep before de tunder comes, and den you sleep it troo."
"You go and sleep with her, Jenny," I said; "you must be tired out too, poor woman! I will stay here and watch till morning. Then I will wake you, and you shall get us some breakfast before we set out."
"Indeed I am not the least sleepy," said Bessy, with a smile. "Do you know, Richard, so dull and insensible have I been--or perhaps I should say, so benumbed by all that has occurred--that this morning after they brought me to that old house, and I found I could not get out, I fell sound asleep, and must have been still asleep when you arrived. I will sit up and watch with you for an hour or two; but Jenny had better go and sleep, for I am sure she must need it."
"Well, p'raps I do," answered the good woman. "Then you call me by-and-by, and come and sleep yourself, my darling; but let's set off, whatsoever, by daylight." Jenny was somewhat more particular in regard to her bed than most people of her colour. Going forth to the edge of the swamp once or twice, she brought in several bundles of dry rushes, shaking her head each time she returned, and saying,--
"Goin' to storm very soon. Great a'mighty big clouds coming up; hope de water not come in." At length all her preparations were complete; and retiring into the little inner cell with a lighted pine-knot in her hand, she closed the door between, and left Bessy and myself alone. I drew my chair close to her, and I think I may be forgiven for putting my arm round her and making her pillow her head upon my bosom as she had done two nights before. I might also be forgiven for pressing my lips upon hers, and drawing her somewhat closely to my heart. At leastsheforgave me, and that was all I cared about. I told her how anxious I had been, how terrified, when I found she was gone from the spot in which I had left her; what a night and day of agitation and alarm I had undergone; and how I longed to hear all that had befallen her from her own sweet lips.
"Oh, I will tell you all," said Bessy. "I wish I could call it a 'Midsummer Night's Dream,' dear Richard; but it has been too terribly real for that. However, it will wile away half an hour of the night; and so you shall hear it."
You remember, when you left me, I promised, if anything should make me quit the spot, to strew some pieces of paper or fragments of my handkerchief upon the ground as I went, to give you some indication of the way I had taken. For about a quarter of an hour--it could not be more (though it seemed to me more at the time)--all was quiet and still; and I and Jenny and the girl Minerva sat and talked, listening every now and then for your return. At length one of the other mulatto women came from the place where they had lighted a fire, to say that their cooking was ready; and, seeing me and Jenny, asked us to come and partake. We declined, however; and Minerva went away and left us. But a minute or two had passed, when we heard a distant noise of horses' feet; and then the sound of people talking loud not far off. I started up and prepared to fly, but Jenny's sharp ears had distinguished the voices better than I had, and she said,--
"Those are white men's tongues!" I listened, and convinced myself she was right; and after a good deal of conversation had gone on, apparently between the new comers and the mulatto women, we saw seven or eight while men coming up, guided by the girl Minerva. They were headed by a person whom I knew, though I cannot say I ever much liked him, and would rather perhaps have had any other escort. On this occasion, however, he behaved quietly and like a gentleman, telling me that his party would convey me to a place of safety: that they had several spare horses with them and women's saddles; but that, as it was growing late, it would be necessary for me to come with him directly. I informed him, in return, that you had gone to see if the way were clear to Jerusalem, and that I did not think I ought to go, till you came back. He said he could not wait that time, as he had several other young ladies to take up at different houses on the road; but that he must insist upon my not remaining there exposed to danger from any of the lawless ruffians who were roaming about; at the same time, to satisfy me that you would have information of my departure and safety, he said he would leave one or two of his men on the spot. I heard him give the order myself, and I do believe he was at this time acting in good faith, though he did not behave rightly afterwards. If I acted wrongly, dear Richard, forgive me; though I have hardly forgiven myself since, knowing and feeling what you must have suffered. Is not that a vain speech, Richard? But you see how I count upon your love, and I don't mind your seeing it. Well, I was satisfied that you would soon know, and your mind be put at ease; and I and Jenny went with Colonel Halliday and his party to the path on the right, where we found all the horses and half a dozen more men. Once there, we were mounted immediately; but the men continued on foot talking together for some minutes, arguing, it seemed to me, upon some arrangements. At length they jumped on their horses; and Halliday, and five of the men, rode off in one direction while the rest pushed to the right, taking me and Jenny with them. We had not gone a quarter of a mile, when who should ride up to my side from behind, but old William Thornton, Robert's father. "Well, cousin Bessy," he said, "we will take good care of you. We will put you in a place of safety. What a lucky thing, you escaped out of Beavors! Why they have murdered all the rest."
"I understood Colonel Halliday, he was going to take me to Jerusalem;" I replied; "and this is quite a contrary direction, Mr. Thornton."
"Oh, you mistook him," replied the old man; "you can't get to Jerusalem nor he either. The road is in possession of the niggers. There's full four hundred of 'em." At first, Richard, I was frightened, and thought of you, and how you would get through. But the next moment, something in my own breast, told me the statement was all false. I knew the man. I knew what a knave he was, and what efforts he had made to get me into his hands when I was a child; then a selfish fear, a fear for myself took possession of me. I was now in his power. I doubted not the people who were with him were all his own creatures; and, after a minute or two of wild consideration, confused and inconsequent enough, I thought it would be best to let him take me where he would, believing that in this country of law, he dare not use any violence or do me any injury. At all events, I had got the pistol you had given me, and at that moment, I looked upon it as a treasure indeed. Well, he carried me to his own house, and took me there to a nice room enough, where he said he would send me up some supper. He was exceedingly polite and civil all the time, and excused himself for not taking me into the parlour, because his son Robert was there, who was not quite recovered. Presently a negro girl brought me some lights; for by this time it was quite dark. Then came some supper, and some wine, of which I partook heartily, confess; for I was weak and faint, and I felt the necessity of some adventitious courage. My supper was hardly over when William Thornton and his son both came in. The old man carried some papers in his hand; and the son, after speaking a few civil words, sat himself down right between me and the door.
"Well, Cousin Bessy," said the father, "I dare say, after all your fatigue and fright, you will sleep well to-night. You are quite safe here; for we have got three white men in the house, Irishmen, who will shoot down any one I order them to destroy; so you need not be in the least alarmed."
"I am not alarmed at all," I answered; though I am afraid, Richard, it was a great fib. "Don't you know, Mr. Thornton, it takes a great deal to alarm me?" The old man looked a little confounded at my reply; but he said,--
"Well, well, we will soon leave you to go to sleep; only there are some old accounts and things between you and me, Cousin Bessy, in regard to matters that occurred when I had the management of your property, which I think we had better settle now. I only just want you to sign these receipts and acquittances. They are all right, as you can see. Give me down the ink; here's a pen." Robert Thornton brought the ink from the mantel-piece, and his father put the papers before me. I did not pay much attention to them; but I just caught in one part, some words which I think were, "For, and in consideration, of the sum of thirty thousand dollars, the receipt of which is hereby acknowledged." I pushed them away at once to the other side of the table, saying,--
"Mr. Thornton, I will sign no papers whatever except in the presence of Mr. Hubbard, and Mr. Henry Thornton; and if these papers are fair and right, I cannot understand your pressing them upon me at such a moment, and in such circumstances."
"The reason of their being pressed upon you, Miss Davenport," said Robert Thornton, with one of his cold sneers, "and the reason why I shall insist upon their being signed at once, lies in the very circumstances to which you do not choose to allude; namely, that you are about to be married to a man whose father deprived you of your father, and who himself nearly deprived me of life. Unless these are signed before your marriage, difficulties must and will arise which I am determined----"
"Stay, stay, Bessy!" I cried, interrupting her narrative; "let me hear that again."
"Not now, Richard, not now," she said, eagerly. "He alluded to your father, Sir Richard Conway; but the very allusion drove me half wild; and I am afraid that I showed myself such a dragon that you would never wish to marry me, if you had seen me then." I took up the papers, and tore them into a thousand pieces, and then said, with as big a look as I could put on--I can hardly think of it without smiling--"Leave the room, sirs! and do not venture to come back again!" The old man got up and drew back; but the younger kept his chair, saying coldly,--
"The papers are soon re-written; and, though sorry to prevent you from sleeping, we shall bring them back in about a quarter of an hour."
"Then mark me, Mr. Robert Thornton," I answered, taking out the pistol; "the first man who attempts to intrude into this room again, I will shoot before his foot crosses the threshold, and these fragments will show the reason why. Leave the room, sirs, instantly." Theydidleave the room--the elder gentleman with a considerable degree of trepidation. But, my dear Richard, I was a mere bully all the time; and although, I am sure, I looked twice as tall as I really am, and talked twice as loud as I ever did in my life before, I was frightened out of my wits all the time. The next unpleasant thing was to hear them lock the door; but, thank Heaven, there was a great bolt in the inside; and if they keptmein, I was determined to keepthemout, or I believed that help must come soon, as too many people knew that I was there for concealment to be long kept up. I need not tell you all the little incidents of that night. I would let nobody into the room but the servant-girl, and made quite sure that only one step had come up the stairs, before I would open the door to her. But the discomforts of that evening were nothing to the horrors of the next morning. What the hour was, I do not know; for my watch was left behind at poor Mr. Stringer's; but I suppose it must have been about nine or ten o'clock; when, seated behind the blind at the open window, I saw five or six negro-men coming up towards the house. When they came near, I recognized several of them at once as poor Aunt Bab's servants, and I saw a great tall man, whom I knew very well, come forward and knock at the door, after which he retreated five or six steps from the house; and I heard old William Thornton's voice speaking to him out of a window on the same floor as the room in which I was.
"Go away, go away this instant," cried the old man; "go away, or I'll shoot you. Not one of you ruffians shall get into my house. Here, Pat Macrea, bring me my gun, and get your own. Bob, Bob," he continued, calling across the passage; "here are a whole heap of the Beavors niggers come to rescue her."
"Fire into them--fire into them!" cried my worthy Cousin Robert, with an oath. "You can say you thought they came to attack the house. I'll be with you in a minute." You may judge how terrified I was, Richard; but, putting my head out, I saw old Mr. Thornton and one of his Irishmen leaning forth from two of the windows with guns in their hands. Just at the same moment, poor Hercules exclaimed,--
"For Heaven's sake, don't shoot us, Mas'r Thornton! We only want to speak with Miss Bessy."
"Go along!" cried the old man. "She's not here, I tell you."
"Why I see her there now," cried the negro. At the same moment, Robert Thornton came to the window, crying,--
"March off, you scoundrels!" Then, adding something in a low voice to his father, he put a gun to his shoulder.
"For shame, Mr. Thornton--for shame!" I cried, as loud as I could speak. But it had no effect. All the guns went off almost together, and three of the poor negroes fell. Two started up again immediately; but poor Hercules remained upon the ground till the rest carried him off. I thought I should have fainted; and the dreadful deed they had done seemed to have awed and terrified the other people in the house. I heard them talking loudly and eagerly; and, from fragments of their conversation which I caught, I easily comprehended that what terrified them most was the fact of my having witnessed their proceedings.
"Oh, the old devil can do no harm," said Robert Thornton. "She's a nigger and a slave, and can't testify. As to this girl, you must send her across the line, and keep her there till the matter is settled. The court sits next Thursday week."
"But how shall we get her to go?" asked old Mr. Thornton.
"I will make her go, or serve her the same," said Robert Thornton, bitterly. "Here, Pat," continued he, "you and Dan won't be afraid to follow me into the girl's room, though she has got a pistol. I will go in first, and she can but shoot one of us."
"Afraid! not a bit," answered the man. "We'll soon master her, whatever devil there may be in her. But you won't hurt her, Master Thornton; I can't see a woman hurt." All this conversation was carried on very close to my door; and I will own, Richard, I was completely cowed.
"Mr. Thornton," I cried; "Mr. Thornton--speak to me through the door. I know what you are afraid of, and what you want; and I am willing to go peaceably where you wish me; for I do not want to have a cousin's blood upon my head."
"Well, undraw the bolt, then," said Robert Thornton, "and let us come in."
"No, no," I answered, "I will make my conditions. Nobody shall come in, and nobody shall touch me. Bring the horses round before the house, and I will come down the stairs quietly and mount, if you will promise that nobody shall come within two yards of me. Do you all promise?"
"Yes," answered Robert Thornton, "nobody wants to come near you, Miss Bessy, or to do you any harm."
"Very well," I answered; "I will trust to your promise. But mind, if any one comes near, I will shoot him as sure as my name is Davenport; and the consequences be upon your own heads. Now bring round the horses and keep away from the door." Three horses were brought round almost immediately, and some one came and unlocked the door. I heard him go down stairs again, and then, opening the door, I went down with the pistol in my hand. I tried not to shake, Richard; and I don't think any of them saw how terrified I was; for I heard the old man say when I got out before the house,--
"What a devil she is!" He little knew how my heart was sinking at that moment. As I approached the side of the horse on which the woman's saddle had been put, Robert Thornton offered to help me; but I was still afraid he would get the pistol from me, and I told him to stand off. Without farther parley, we set out as soon as I had mounted, one negro man going on horseback before, and another following closely. None of the white men accompanied us; but I heard old Mr. Thornton giving as strict directions to the man who followed, as if I were to be imprisoned for some criminal offence. He ended by saying,--
"Now, mind, if she gets away, I will cut you to pieces; so see to it." In this manner I was brought over to the house where you found me, and there locked in that miserable room by the old man Samuel, and another younger negro whom I have not seen since.
"And now, dear Richard," said Bessy, having finished her story, "don't you think me a terrible termagant? When I think of all I said and did, I feel almost ashamed of myself, and I dare say, hereafter, I shall blush whenever I think of it."
"Why, dearest Bessy," I answered, drawing her closer to me, "what could you do? The gentlest hearts are not always those most devoid of spirit."
"But have you not sometimes thought mine a cold heart, Richard?" asked Bessy; "so cold as to give you pain without cause. Oh, you know not when I have given you pain what agony I have inflicted on myself!" Closer and closer I drew her to my bosom; kiss after kiss I pressed upon her lips, till she became almost frightened, and exclaimed,--
"O Richard, remember, nothing is changed!"
"Yes, dearest," I answered, "everything is changed. One little word you have spoken insures that you shall never have need, or fancy you have need, to inflict pain upon me or yourself again." I was going on, but such an awful clap of thunder burst over our heads, that she started from my arms like a guilty thing, and event after event came fast to stay further explanation.