CHAPTER XV
'We wish a deed of partnership drawn out between John Myrtle, that ismyself, Linda Myrtle, and Joseph Murdoch. Each of the three partiesagrees to put in the sum of five hundred pounds, which is to be jointlyexpended on the journey to California, and on starting and carrying on asaloon or other establishment there, the profits to be divided monthly,each of the three parties becoming absolute possessor of his or hershare. In the event of Linda Myrtle marrying, or leaving the partnershipfor any reason whatever, she is to forfeit all share in the property oreffects of the partnership.'
The lawyer listened attentively. 'Do either of the other partiessimilarly forfeit their share on leaving the partnership?'
'No; but it might be as well to put in a clause that in the event of hisdoing so the partner remaining has the first option of purchasing hisshare at a price to be fixed upon by an umpire agreed upon by both.'
'I have a question to ask,' the girl said suddenly. 'Would such a deedas this be rendered useless or invalid if the names of one or more ofthe parties were not those properly belonging to them?'
The lawyer looked at her in surprise. 'It would certainly be verydesirable that the real names should be inserted. This, however, wouldnot be indispensable if the identity of the parties with those namedhere could be proved; for instance if you were to come here to prove thedeed I could testify that you were the lady who signed as Linda Myrtle,and that under that name for example, you registered at the hotel, andwere generally known. Did you wish to prove it elsewhere, you would takean affidavit that you were the person designated and known as LindaMyrtle. Did you sign under your real name, whatever it might be, itwould be just as difficult for you in California to prove that you wereentitled to it, as to that under which you sign. You intend, I suppose,to continue to pass under the name given, and will be generally known byit. Moreover, in case of necessity, you might write to me and forwardyour likeness, and I could then make an affidavit to the effect that theoriginal of that portrait was the lady who in my presence signed thedeed of partnership under the name of Linda Myrtle.'
'We should each wish to have copies of the deed of partnership, and Idesire that a fourth copy may be made, and this I shall request you tohold in charge for me, so that in case I should at any time lose or bedeprived of my copy, I should, by applying to you, be able to obtainanother copy.'
'I will certainly do that, Miss Myrtle, and I think it a very wiseprecaution on your part. I will have the draft ready this afternoon,'the lawyer said; 'I shall be glad if you will call in at three o'clockto see if it meets your joint views, and if so, I will have thedeed--which will be a very short one--copied four times in readiness forthe signatures in the morning.'
'What did you want to go on like this for, Linda?' Mr. Warbles grumbled,as he went out into the street. 'Why, the man will suppose that yoususpect us of some plot to rob you.'
'No, I don't suspect anything particular, but there is nothing likehaving things put on a satisfactory footing. I see that it is for ourinterest that we should act square to each other, and I certainly see noreason whatever why you should wish to get rid of me. Still, no one cansay what might happen. After all, I am only ensuring to myself my shareof the profits so long as I do my share of the business as well as Ican--and I should think from what you have seen of my powers of acting,you can rest well assured that I shall do it very well--but I want to beindependent, and I will be so. I don't know anything of this place weare going to, except that the men are rough and quarrelsome, and I want,if after two or three months trial I find the life altogether unbearableto be able to leave, with money enough in my pocket to pay my fare toSan Francisco, if not home, and to be able to keep myself until I canfind some situation.'
'You are right enough, Miss Linda,' Joe Murdoch broke in, 'and I haven'tthe least feeling against you for what you have said and done. I likeyou all the better that you can stand up for yourself, and though I amnot much of a fighting man I will promise you I will stand by you outthere whatever comes. Any man that says a word to you that he ought notto say I will reckon with him. I ain't a straight man myself and neverhave been since I was a kid, but, by gosh, I would be cut in piecesrather than see anything happen to a girl that is as straight as youare.'
'Thank you, Joe,' she said, quietly holding out her hand to him. 'I didnot know you before, but now that I do, I feel there is no occasion forme to have that fourth copy made.'
'You have it made, miss; it is best you should have one. I might gounder and Bob might get another partner, or he might go under and Imight get another partner, and in either case it would save trouble ifyou have your rights clearly marked out and set down.'
'Let us go down to the wharf, Joe,' his comrade said, changing theconversation. 'It is all as good as settled now, and we may as wellbegin to get the things. How long will it take us?'
'It won't take more than two hours, any way,' Joe said. 'There are bigstores here where we can get every mortal thing we want. We could go bythe boat to-night if we wanted to, but we don't want to. In the firstplace I have got to settle about selling my saloon, and in the secondthe order for the horses is only going by to-night's boat, and it ain'tno manner of use our getting into Omaha before they do. It would cost ustwice as much to live in a shanty, where every square foot is occupiedby sleepers, than it would to stop comfortably in an hotel here. I shallnot be long in getting rid of my place. Two or three of the men who useit have asked me at one time or another what I would take to clear outof it. It is handy for the river, and I do a fairish trade with sailorsof an evening. Still, it would take a day or two to arrange it, and itwill never do to look as if one was in a hurry. If they thought I wantedto clear out they would not offer half the sum they would if theythought that I did not care one way or the other about making a deal.'
They walked along the wharves looking at the steamers.
'There are plenty of them going up the river,' Murdoch said, 'butThursday's boat is the first that goes up to Omaha, and that is about asclose as we can cut it. It is Monday now, and the day is pretty nearhalf gone; I reckon I shall want all the time for carrying out my deal.I will go now and see one of the chaps I spoke of. At three o'clock wehave got to meet at that lawyer's office, and then if you like we willgo and get our outfit, and take our passages. I have got more thanenough money to pay for my share. If you will take my advice, MissLinda, you will go back to the hotel and overhaul your things and seewhat you want for the journey. You will want some good strong plaindresses and serviceable things underneath, for it is a rough business Ican tell you. You want a store of all sorts of little things--buttonsand such like, needles and thread and all that sort of thing--and plentyof stout shoes that will bear knocking about. You must bear in mind thatyou won't see a shop for four or five months; but remember the lessbaggage you take the better, as I have heard that many a waggonload ofemigrants going across the plains have had to chuck everythingoverboard, kit and food and all except a sack of flour, so as to lightenthe waggons when the horses broke down. I am not sure, Bob, that itwould not be wiser to write for six horses, or better still for twomules for wheelers and four horses. It may cost a bit more, but it willmake things more easy and will give us a better chance of getting to theend of our journey with all our kit.'
'All right, Joe; you know more of these things than I do. If you thinkthat six are best, order them. I suppose the tent we shall get outthere.'
'Yes, the tent is a mighty heavy thing. I should never think of draggingthat with us.'
'I should not have given you credit for being so soft, Murdoch,'Truscott growled, as after seeing the girl into the hotel, they turnedaway together.
'I dare say not. Softness ain't much in my line, but that girl fetchedme altogether. Here she is, right away from England and without a friendin the world, and she speaks out as firm and as brave as if she hadtwenty men within call ready to help her. If she had been one of thecrying sort she would have got no pity from me, but she regular took mybreath away when she spoke
out like that, and I says to myself, "She hasgot to be ridden on a snaffle; just touch the curb and she will boltwith you and will break your neck as well as her own." But I meant whatI said for all that. She is just the girl for what we want, and if shefinds we treat her well and act square by her she will act square by us.She will keep them all at a distance, and keep her head straight all thetime; only you will have to humour her. I don't know where you pickedher up, but I should wager a dollar to a cent that she is thoroughbred.'
'You would not have said so if you had seen her three years and a halfago, when I picked her out from a slum in London.'
'I might not have said so then, that is likely enough; one can't alwaystell whether a yearling is going to turn out a good horse, and a goodmany who think they are clever get sucked in over it; but a man who hasan eye to horseflesh can tell whether a three-year-old is well bred ornot, and I guess I am not far out with this one. Yes, I am struck overher. It is not often that women, or men either for that matter, get onthe soft side of me. You know pretty well that I wasn't afraid ofrunning a bit of risk in the old days, and you may guess that thiscountry doesn't make a baby of one. No, sir, I have seen pistols andknives out pretty often since I came here, and would use them myself ifthere was any occasion, and I guess that if we ever get into a mess youwill find I shall play my part as well as you do; only I want it clearlyunderstood that in this job we are going in for I am ready to go throughit whatever comes; but I am fixed in my mind that we are going to actstraight to that girl.'
'Who wants not to act straight?' the other said angrily. 'Haven't Ibrought her all the way out here because I thought she would be useful?Couldn't I have slipped away with all the pot we had made, and left herbehind me if I had wanted to? And who is talking about my not actingsquare with her now?'
'That is right enough, mate; we won't quarrel over it. So that we threeall act straight to each other all round I am satisfied.'
They did not get away from New Orleans as soon as they had expected. Thevarious purchases were all made in ample time, but the business ofdisposing of Murdoch's saloon was not so speedily arranged. He suggestedthat the other two should go on by the 'Mississippi Belle,' and that heshould follow by the next steamer, but Warbles was against this.
'A week won't make much difference one way or the other,' he said. 'Itis better that we should keep together. You are more up to the ropeshere than I am. I suppose they will change our tickets for those of nextweek's boat?'
'There will be no difficulty about that; I could change them in fiveminutes. There are lots of people who could not get berths on her, andhave had to take them in the next boat, and they would jump at thechance of going up at once.'
It was not until they had been at New Orleans nearly three weeks thatMurdoch's business was finally arranged and everything was ready for astart. Warbles was in no particular hurry; he had been accustomed to doa great deal of aimless loafing about during his career, and foundplenty to amuse him, looking at the busy scene by the riverside; but atlast all was ready, and their goods were all on board the steamer thatwas to start on the following morning.
'There is a New York steamer signalled coming up,' Murdoch said, as theystood together smoking on one of the quays. 'She will be in by fiveo'clock. It is the 'Savannah'; she is a smart boat, and I guess she hasmade the passage down in four or five days quicker time than you did.'
'I am glad she is in before we start. I dare say she will have papersfrom England a good week later than any we have got here. It is as wellto get the last news while we can. We shan't have the chance for somemonths again.'
'I don't care for English papers now. I look at them, because sometimesan English skipper or mate comes into my place, and when they find I ama countryman and know something about the turf, they will put a fewdollars on some horse or other for the Derby. If the news is expected inbefore they sail, sometimes they will turn to the English paper and pickout a horse just for the fun of the thing for some other race of whichthe news ought to be in in a day or two, and put two or three dollars onit. If it was not for that I should never take the trouble to look atthem, though I always take them regular in the saloon.'
It was not long before a steamer appeared at a distant turn of theriver, and as she came up to the city the two men walked down to thewharf, where she would arrive, and where a crowd of idlers likethemselves had already assembled. As she warped alongside, Truscott gavea sudden exclamation and nervously grasped his companion's arm.
'What is up?' the latter asked angrily. 'Confound it, there is nooccasion to grip a man like that. I thought for a moment a big dog hadgot hold of me. What is the matter with you?'
Truscott had pulled his hat far down over his eyes.
'Do you see that man upon the hurricane deck, with his hands in hispockets smoking a cigar?'
'Yes, I see him fast enough; he is an Englishman, one can tell with halfan eye. Well, what about him?'
'Take a good look at him so as to know him again, and then let us getout of this and I will tell you.'
Murdoch took another look and then followed his companion out of thecrowd.
'Well, you look as if you had had a facer,' he said, when they had moveda hundred yards away. 'I have seen chaps look like that when they havehad every penny they own in the world on the favourite and it has noteven been placed.'
'I feel something like that, Joe. I believe that fellow is on my track?'
'You do; why, how can that be? How can he have followed you here?'
'That is more than I can say, but it don't much matter if he hasfollowed me.'
'Are you sure it is the man?'
'Quite sure. I am a good hand at faces. One wants to be when one is abookmaker and don't always find it convenient to pay up. I saw that manat the Oaks; he was talking for some time to a man I knew--the very manwho was mixed up in the job I pulled off before leaving England.'
'You mean it was his money you got at?'
'Yes. Well, that fellow you saw there has been after me. Two or three ofmy pals told me there had been a man asking about me on the racecourses,and one day, it was the only time I went down, one of them pointed himout to me. He got into the train with me at Epsom; he thought I did notsee him, but I did. He got into the next compartment, but I slipped himat Vauxhall, and did not see any more of him. I believe that fellow ison my track, though how he has got hold of it is more than I can guess.Anyhow, I cannot believe it is accident that brings him alongside of meagain. I should not be surprised if he has got a warrant against thegirl and me in his pocket now.'
'Well, he has brought his pigs to the wrong market if he has,' Murdochsaid fiercely; 'we have gone into this affair now, and if anyone thinkshe is going to meddle with us he will find he is mistaken. Well, thereain't any time to be lost; if he happens to go to the same hotel you areat the game is up. You had best go straight back, get a carriage andhave all your things taken right down to the boat; then if you aresmart, you will be in time to get on board the boat that starts in twohours for Baton Rouge. Get off there and be on the look out for our boatas she comes along to-morrow. I shall be up in the bow; if you see mewave my handkerchief you will know it is all right, and you can stepright on board; if you don't see me wave, do you and the girl move offat once; get behind one of the stores, and come on by the next boat. Idon't think it likely he will be there, mighty unlikely, but it is justas well to settle what to do in case he is. If he should by any chanceguess that the Mr. and Miss Myrtle he sees in the hotel books are thepair he is looking for, he would find out that they are bound up theriver, and in the morning he might go down to the steamer to see if itis them. He would watch till she went off, and when he found out thatyou are not among the passengers he would think that he had made amistake, and go back to the hotel again, and would hunt about in otherplaces before he had made up his mind that you had given him the slip.It is a week before another steamer goes up to Omaha, and we should be aweek out on the plains before he got there.'
'I should like t
o see anyone talking about an arrest out there. However,I don't think you need be afraid of him; I fancy I can arrange aboutthat.'
'You ain't going----'
'Never mind what I am going to do,' the other interrupted. 'I am notgoing to have our plans broken up, nor the pleasure of our journeyspoilt by being hunted as if we were dogs. I don't know who this fellowis, and I don't care; if he chooses to meddle with our affairs, he hasgot to take the consequences; he is not in London now. There, don'tstand here another minute; he may land in half-an-hour, and you have gotto be out of the hotel before then. I heard the girl say that the boxeswere all packed. Mind, first get the boxes on board, then go to thewharf and get on board the Baton Rouge steamer. Look out for our boat;if you see me wave my white handkerchief it is safe to come on board; ifnot, slip away and get behind something till we go on again; then comeby next boat. If he gets off at any of the landings, going up the river,I shall get off too, and come on board again as you come along.'
Murdoch went back to the landing-place. The passengers were pouring offthe steamer with bags and boxes of all kinds. The man he was to watchwas still walking quietly up and down the hurricane deck, evidently inno hurry to land until the rush was over. Sometimes he stopped to speaka word or two to a boy who was standing at the rail, watching the otherslanding.
'I guess that fellow is with him,' Murdoch muttered. 'It may be some boyhe has made friends with on the passage. If he has brought him fromEngland it must be because the boy knows Tom and the girl; but if hedoes he could do no harm if the other was out of the way. You are takingit cool and quiet, my fine fellow. If you guessed that every fiveminutes you spent there spoilt your chance, you would not take it quiteso easily.'
It was a good half-hour before the stream of passengers and porters withbaggage had ceased crossing the gangway; then the man and boy left thehurricane deck, and a minute or two later appeared at the gangway,followed by two men with portmanteaux. There was but one vehicleremaining by the wharf. Murdoch knew the driver.
'Mike,' he said, 'here are a couple of dollars for you. If that man justlanding tells you to drive him to Planter's Hotel you take him somewhereelse. Pretend you misunderstood him. I have my reasons for not wantinghim to go there.'
'All right, I will take him to Reardon's; it is at the other end of thetown.'
'Come back here and let me know where you put him down,' and Murdochmoved off as the gentleman came up to the carriage.
He watched them drive off, and then took a seat on a baulk of timbertill Mike returned.
'He told me to take him to the Crescent City, and it's there I put himdown, Mr. Murdoch.'
'All right, Mike; I don't care where he goes so that it isn't toPlanter's.' Then he walked away, and after threading several of theworst streets of the town, stopped at a low wine shop. There was no onein but the man behind the bar.
'They tell me that you have sold out, Murdoch, and are going West. Is ittrue?'
'That is right. I have had enough of this. I am going to try my luckWest. Have you got Black Mat with you still?'
'No. You will find him at Luttrell's. You know the place, at the cornerof Plantation Street. That is to say, he was there a fortnight ago, ifhe has not got shot or hung since. Not thinking of taking him with you?'
'No.' Murdoch laughed. 'He is strong enough and would be useful, but hegets so confoundedly sulky if he takes a drop too much. That was why Ihad to get rid of him. He got into three or four rows, and I had him onmy hands each time for over a fortnight, so I thought he had better go.'
'Yes, you told me about it. I found him useful here, especially when Iwanted the place cleared; but it would not do, he broke one fellow'sshoulder throwing him out, and it was getting me a bad name.'
'Well, good-bye,' Murdoch said. 'I am off by the boat to-morrow. I willlook you up if I come back this way, and let you know how I have goton.'
Five minutes later Murdoch turned into Luttrell's. A powerful negro,whose face was disfigured by the scars of several cuts and gashes atonce came up to him. 'Waall, boss, how are you?'
'I am all right, Mat. I came to have a word with you.'
'There ain't no one to prevent you. The boss has just gone out. We don'tdo no business here till late.'
'What I want you for is this, Mat. There is a friend of mine just comefrom New York. He is going up the River with me, but there is a policechap just come down after him, and, like enough, he will be at the boatto put his hand on his shoulder. I want to arrange that he shan't bethere, you understand; I don't want him killed, but I just want him tohave a hint that he had better not meddle with other people'sbusiness--a hint, you know, strong enough to lay him up for three weeksor a month; and I should not mind paying twenty dollars to the man whogives him the hint.'
'You point him out to me and the job will be done, boss; only I don'tsees as I can hit it to exact three weeks or a month. When one is in abit of a hurry it ain't no easy matter to figure it out just exact.'
'Well, we are not particular to a week; what we want is not to bebothered with him.'
'I will fix that, boss. You can go on board that boat with your mindeasy.'
'Of course you can't go now?'
'Well, I could go, if it was downright necessary, but it would be roughon the boss to find no one here when he came back. I expect he will bein in ten minutes. He said if anyone asked for him he would be back inhalf-an-hour, and it is getting on for that now.'
'I will wait, then; I know Luttrell very well; he will let you go outfor a bit with me if I ask him.'
The keeper of the saloon soon returned. 'I can do without him,' he said,when Murdoch told him that he wanted the negro to do a job for him. 'Idon't expect it will be a very busy night, and if it is I will call mywife down, and put her behind the bar, while I keep things straightenedout.'
Upon arriving at the hotel Captain Hampton dined quietly. Then he wentto the clerk's desk, had a talk with him over the people who had beenstaying there and showed him Dorothy's photograph.
'Nothing like that been here,' the clerk said positively. 'I should havenoticed her at once if she had been.'
'I have no reason to suppose that she came here more than to any otherhotel,' Hampton said. 'I will go round in the morning and try theothers. I suppose there are not a great many where a gentleman with alady with him would be likely to put up?'
'Not more than six, I should say, at the outside,' the clerk said, andgave the names, which Captain Hampton at once wrote down in a note-book.
'It is just possible that they might not have come here at all, but mayhave stopped at Mobile, where the steamer touched on her way down;still, I think it much more likely that they have come here.' Then hewent upstairs and wrote a chatty letter to Danvers, giving him anaccount of the voyage.
'I hear there is a steamer leaves to-morrow, and I hope to be able togive you some news before I close this. I am going round the hotels thefirst thing, and hope, if not to find them, to get some news of them.The latter is most probable. I don't see Truscott could have any motivein stopping here, and I shall expect to find that they only stayed a dayor two and then went up the river. I have a strong conviction he meansto go to California; but even in that case he may have chosen some otherroute--have gone down to Panama and crossed the isthmus there, or mayhave taken steamer to Galveston and started from there by the southernroute, though I don't think that is likely, for the Indians are worse onthat line than on the other. Anyhow, whichever route they have taken Ishall follow. I wrote from New York to the War Office, asking that myleave might be extended for another six months from the end of the year,on very urgent business that compelled me to travel in America. I havesent a private letter to Colonel Eversfield, telling him something ofthe nature of the work I have in hand, and asking him to back up myrequest. I have no doubt he can manage it. That ought to give me plentyof time; but if the worst comes to the worst and I find myself pinched Imust take ship at San Francisco and get to China, and from there by a P.and O. to India. This will
be the last letter you will get, I fancy, fora very long time; though for aught I know there may be means of sendingoff letters from some of the stations on the plains.'
He addressed an envelope, laid it by the unfinished letter, and thenwent downstairs. It was dark now, and beckoning to Jacob, who wassitting in the hall, to accompany him, he strolled out through the door.For nearly an hour they wandered about, and at the end of that time cameout on the quays.
CHAPTER XVI
'It is pleasant here, Jacob, after those close streets.'
'It is an awful place for smells, Captain.'
'It is smelly, Jacob. I fancy the town was built on a swamp; I think Ihave read something about it. Well, there are no smells here; suppose wesit down and look at the river for a bit, the air is fresh andpleasant.'
A minute later a man with naked feet stole up behind them. He was closeto them before any sound warned them of his approach. Jacob looked roundand uttered a sharp exclamation. Captain Hampton was in the act ofspringing to his feet when he received a violent blow on the shoulder,and fell face foremost on the ground. With a cry of rage Jacob sprang athis assailant and caught him by the throat. The man shook him off andbrought down his hand on the top of his head with such force that hefell insensible. Then he stooped over Captain Hampton, and having turnedhim over on his back felt in his pockets, but rose with an exclamationof disgust, having only found two or three dollars in them, as CaptainHampton had taken the precaution of laying aside his watch and emptyinghis pockets of money and papers before leaving his room. Ten minuteslater some sailors coming along the wharf came across Jacob, who wasjust trying to get on to his feet.
'Hello, mate, what is the matter?'
'I dunno,' he replied stupidly.
'Been having a drop too much?'
'No, it ain't that--oh, I remember now. I was there with my master,sitting on that log, when a great nigger attacked us. He stabbed mymaster, and I suppose he stabbed me; I don't remember much about itexcept that I got hold of his throat.'
'Where is your master?'
The question completely aroused Jacob's faculties, and he hurried roundto the other side of the log.
'Here he is,' he cried. 'Oh, my dear master, are you hurt bad?' andstooping over him he burst out crying.
'That won't do any good, lad,' the sailor said. 'Here, let us have alook at him. He has been stabbed, sure enough, Jack. He is just soakingwith blood.'
'Is he dead, Bill?'
The sailor tried to turn the body over, but as he did so there was afaint moan.
'He ain't gone yet, that's clear. Who is he, boy?'
'He is Captain Hampton, an English gentleman. We only got in here thisafternoon. He is staying at the Crescent City.'
'Well, we can't let him lie here. You stay here with him, Jack, and wewill go off and get some one to carry him.'
In a few minutes the men returned with two constables carrying astretcher; on this the body was placed, four of the sailors lifted itand carried it to the hotel, and then up to his room, where two surgeonswere quickly in attendance. Jacob stood by listening with breathlessanxiety to their talk as they examined his master.
'Will he die, sir?' he asked, in a broken voice, as they rose from theexamination.
'No, I reckon he hasn't had his call this time, but it has been a closething. What was he doing when he was struck?'
'He was just getting up, sir, from the log that he was sitting on.'
'Ah, that saved him; another half inch and we could have done nothingfor him. You see, he was struck from above; the wound is just behind theshoulderbone, and it has gone right down inside the bladebone, but hasmissed the lungs altogether--at least, we think so. Do you see that darkmark under the skin below the bone? That is where the point of the knifecame to. Of course he has lost a lot of blood, but there is no reasonwhy, if he goes on well, he should not be about again soon. Did hedrink?'
'No, sir,' Jacob replied indignantly.
'Well, that is all in his favour; in this climate a man with his bloodheated has but a poor chance if he gets hurt. He is English, the clerktold me as I came up?'
'Yes, sir; he is an English captain.'
'Ah, well, he will have a chance of fighting some more battles yet. Youare his servant, I hear?'
'Yes, sir.'
'Well, you are not going to lose your master this time; you had bettersit up with him to-night. We will get a nurse for him in the morning. Iwill order some lemonade to be sent up, and will bring round somemedicine in half an hour, and sit here for a bit. Doctor Hawthorne willwait until I come back.'
By this time they had finished bandaging the wound.
'Hullo, what is the matter with you?' he exclaimed, as Jacob reeled andwould have fallen had he not caught him. 'Here is another patient,Hawthorne. The boy is bleeding from the head somewhere. I thought helooked half stupid.'
They laid him down and examined him.
'He has had a tremendous blow on the head,' the other said. 'It has cutright through the cap and has laid the bone bare. I expect that thickcap saved his life. I wonder what he was struck with.'
They bathed the boy's head with iced water for some time. Presently heopened his eyes.
'Do not move, lad; you have had an awkward blow on the head. You mustlie still for a bit, else we shall be having you on our hands too. Whatdid he hit you with?'
'I dunno, sir; he had nothing in his hand but the knife.'
'It wasn't done with a fist,' Doctor Hawthorne said, 'and is certainlynot the cut of a knife.'
'I fancy it was done with the handle of the knife,' the other said. 'Thenegro could have had no motive in killing the boy. I expect he had theknife in his hand, and he struck down on him with the end of the hilt.That would make just the sort of wound this is. You see, it is a littleto one side of the centre of the skull, and so glanced off the bone. Ifit had caught him fairly in the centre it would have staved in the skullto a certainty.' They placed a pillow from the sofa under the boy'shead, gave him a little lemonade to drink, and then one of the doctorsleft, after having aided in placing Captain Hampton on the bed, proppedup almost into a sitting position by pillows. Jacob dozed off into aconfused sleep. Occasionally he woke up and saw the doctor sitting byhis master's bedside, and then relapsed into sleep. At last he startedup at the sound of a voice. The sun was gleaming through the window andthe doctor was standing speaking to Captain Hampton.
'You have a nasty wound,' he was saying, 'but fortunately it has nottouched any vital point. You have been simply insensible from loss ofblood. There is every chance of your doing well, but you must not try tomove.'
'What is the matter with Jacob?' Captain Hampton said feebly, as the boyappeared at the foot of his bed with a wet towel still bound round hishead.
'I am all right, Captain, though I feel queer and my head is achingterribly; but I don't care a bit now you have come round.'
Captain Hampton's eyes turned to the surgeon for an explanation.
'He has had a heavy blow on the head. We have heard nothing from himbeyond the fact that he had hold of the throat of the negro who attackedyou. The man evidently struck him down, and from the appearance of thewound we gather that he struck him with the haft of the knife.Fortunately it fell rather on the side of his head or it might havekilled him; as it is, it has laid the bone bare; we bandaged it up witha cloth soaked in ice water and he will be all right in a day or two.'
'Where am I wounded?' Captain Hampton asked.
The surgeon explained the nature of the wound.
'No doubt it was some negro who had gone down to sleep on the wharf, andseeing you come along with this boy thought he would rob you. Yourpockets were turned inside out.'
Captain Hampton did not speak for a minute; then, with a faint smile, hesaid:
'He did not get much for his pains. I put everything in that drawer andlocked it before coming out, and dropped the key into my portmanteau.'
'That is all right,' the surgeon said cheerfully. 'I was afraid youmight ha
ve lost a good deal of money. We gave notice to the police lastnight, but it is not likely you will ever hear of the fellow again. Suchthings are common enough in the streets of New Orleans, and it is notonce in a hundred times that the police ever manage to lay a finger onthe scoundrels. Had you been in any gambling place, because, in thatcase, some one may have tracked you?'
Captain Hampton shook his head. 'No; I had only taken a stroll throughthe town. How long am I likely to be laid up?'
'You must be in bed for a fortnight at least; the wound was made by abowie knife and is a broad, deep cut, and the knife penetrated to itswhole depth, for there is a bruise each side of the mouth of the wound.If you were to attempt to move earlier than that you might have a greatdeal of trouble. Now, there is no occasion for me to stay with you anylonger. Dr. Hawthorne, who was called in with me, will be here at nineo'clock, and will bring a nurse with him. You must have some one withyou; your wound might break out suddenly at any moment. We shall giveyou a little weak broth; but we must not begin building you up atpresent; the great thing is to avoid any chance of fever setting in.Your having lost so much blood is all in your favour in that respect.Now lad, I will have a look at your head; yes, you had better keep onapplying cloths dipped in ice water to it. I will tell them to send youup a basin of broth when they send some up to your master. You hadbetter not take any solid food to-day.'
At ten o'clock, Captain Hampton, having taken a few spoonfuls of brothfrom his nurse, fell off into a quiet sleep. Jacob, who had taken offhis boots, so as to move about noiselessly, had tidied up the room. Hehad glanced several times towards the unfinished letter and theaddressed envelope on the table, and he now took his shoes in his hand,and went out through the door, put on his shoes again, and proceededdown stairs, having, before he left the room, laid aside his wet clothsand put on his cap.
'When does the post go out for England?' he asked the clerk.
'It is mail day to-day; there is a steamer going direct to England.'
He went back to his master's room, took up a pen, and with infinitelabour scrawled a few lines at the bottom of the unfinished letter,making several blots and smudges as he did so. These he dried withblotting-paper, and with much self-disapproval folded the letter, placedit in the envelope, and, going downstairs again, handed it to the clerkto post.
For three or four days Captain Hampton remained in a very weak state;then he began to rally and picked up strength fast. At the end of tendays he was able to walk across the room.
'What has become of the letter I left on the table when I went out withyou, Jacob?'
'I saw the envelope was to Mr. Danvers, sir, and you had told me abouthim. I asked about the post, and they said that it was going out thatday, and as you had written before you went out I was sure that youwanted the letter to go by it, so I made a shift to write a line at thebottom to say that you could not finish it because you had got hurt, andthen fastened it up and posted it. I hope that was right, sir.'
'You intended well, anyhow, Jacob; but it would have been better,perhaps, if you hadn't done it, as it will only alarm him needlessly.'
'I told him the doctor said you would get round, sir.'
'Ah, well, that is all right. I am glad you sent it, as he would belooking for a letter from me. I suppose you are quite sure that it was anegro who stabbed me?'
'Quite sure, sir. It was dark, but not so dark that I could not see hisface.'
'Well, in another three or four days I shall be able to be out, Jacob.If I find that these people were here at the time I landed I shall haveno doubt that this business was their work. I knew the man by sight andhe may have known me. Someone may have pointed me out to him on theracecourse, as I had been asking about him. Of course it may have beendone merely for the sake of plunder, but I think the other is morelikely.'
Three days later Captain Hampton was able to go for a ride in acarriage. He went first to the police office.
'We have no news whatever to give you, Captain Hampton,' thesuperintendent, who had been to see him several times, said as heentered.
'I did not expect you would have any,' he replied. 'I have come to seeyou about a different business. Here is the letter the head of thepolice at New York gave me to you. You see I am in search of two peoplefrom England. By the aid of the police at New York I traced them andfound that they had come on here nearly three weeks before. I followedthem, and was wounded a few hours after my arrival here. I am wellenough to begin the search again, and shall be very glad if you willsend one of your officers with me to visit the hotels.'
The superintendent at once complied with his request, and at the secondhotel they visited he discovered that the people he sought had beenstaying there and had left on the evening of his arrival.
'They were booked on the boat to Omaha,' the clerk said. 'I know theyhave been getting a lot of things at the stores, as they were goingacross the plains. The evening before they were to start Mr. Myrtle saidthey had changed their minds and were going on at once to Baton Rouge.They hurried up, but they were pretty late. They took a carriage fromhere and the driver told me they only just caught the boat by a minute;the bell was ringing when they got to the quay. You won't catch themnow; the 'Arkansas' is a fast boat and I suppose they got on board herat Baton Rouge. There is no boat going now for the next four or fivedays, so they would have a good three weeks start of you.'
'You don't happen to know where they bought their things?' CaptainHampton asked.
'They got a lot of things at J. B. Nash's stores; a good many came uphere, but I expect the heavy part went straight on board.'
'Thank you. I don't think there is anything more to ask you. We will godown to these stores,' he added to the policeman, as he returned to thecarriage. 'I may learn something there that may be useful.'
His inquiries showed plainly enough that Truscott really meant to crossthe plains and that they were going to travel by waggon. 'What harnessdid they buy?' he asked.
'For six horses, at least, by what I heard them say; for four horses andtwo mules. The two men were talking about it, and they wanted biggercollars for the two wheelers because they would be mules.'
'Were there two men, then, as well as a girl?'
'Yes; the three always came together; one of them belonged to this city.I knew his face, though I don't know what his name was. I take it he wasa Britisher, though he had been long enough here to lose most of hisaccent. He seemed rather to boss the show and the other bought thethings he fixed on. I allow he was a pretty smart fellow and was prettywell fixed up on prices. We did not get very much out of that deal.'
'What was he like?'
'He was a strong-built sort of chap about forty, I should say, andlooked rather a hard sort of cuss. I don't know what his name was; theother called him Joe.'
'Thank you. I daresay I shall be coming in to get an outfit for myselfin a day or two. I am thinking of going across the plains, too.'
'Well, I guess we can fix you up with everything you want, squire. Butyou don't look as if you was fit for a journey across the plains justyet. It ain't child's play; I reckon it wants a pretty strong man tostand the racket.'
'I shall have a fortnight to pick up on board the steamer,' CaptainHampton said. 'I have just had a bout of illness, but I am shaking itoff, and it will be at least three weeks before I am at Omaha.'
'We are going for a long journey, Jacob,' he said when he returned tothe hotel.
'We have been a pretty goodish long 'un already, Captain.'
'Nothing to what we are going to set out on now, Jacob. We have got afortnight or three weeks on board a steamer, and then we start acrossthe plains.'
'How long shall we be in crossing them, sir?'
'Four or five months, Jacob.'
'My eye!' the lad exclaimed. 'Them must be something like plains; andwhat is there the other side of them?'
'There is a country where they find gold, Jacob.'
'What! sovs?' the boy exclaimed.
'The stuff sovereigns are
made of.'
'But you ain't going to look for that, sir.'
'No, lad; I am going after these people. They were here that eveningwhen we came in, and as they started in a hurry half-an-hour after welanded, I cannot help thinking they saw me. It seems they had anotherman with them when they were here, and I expect they came here to joinhim. I don't know whether he left with them; my own opinion is he didnot, but when Truscott saw me he hurried off at once to his hotel andstarted, leaving the other man to prevent my following them. Probably hestarted by the boat in the morning after them, believing the negro hehad hired had done his work. At any rate I have made up my mind tofollow them. I was determined to do so before; but if I hadn't been,this would have decided me. They have got a long start, but we will comeup to them sooner or later.'
'I should think so,' the boy said, energetically, 'and pay them out forit too. My eye! won't they be surprised when we drop upon them just asthey are picking up gold. But you ain't fit to start yet,' he went on,changing his voice; 'you look very white, sir; I think you have beendoing too much, and it won't do for you to start to cross these hereplains until you are strong; it will just be a-knocking yourself up, andI don't suppose there ain't no doctors living out there.'
'That there are not, Jacob,' Captain Hampton laughed. 'Well, we shallhave three weeks' quiet on board the steamer, and by the time we land Ihope I shall be as strong as ever. I will keep quiet for the rest of theday. To-morrow I shall have to see about taking our passage and gettingready for the start. I know nothing about what we shall want yet.'
The next morning Captain Hampton took Jacob with him down to the storeswhere he had been on the previous afternoon.
'I have made up my mind to go across the plains,' he said; 'now, what doI want? I know absolutely nothing about it. Clothes I have got of allsorts--I want nothing in that way; I want to travel as light aspossible, so as to push on fast.'
'Can you shoot?'
'Yes, I am a good shot, and have a double-barrelled gun and rifle withme.'
'That will help you a good deal; the game has been mostly shot or scaredaway along the line, but there is some to be had, and, you see, any meatyou don't want you can swap for flour and other things with some of theemigrants. As to your pushing on, you might do that sometimes, but notvery often. There are Redskins all along the line, and a man travellingby himself would have much trouble in getting through. As a generalthing folks go in parties of ten or twelve waggons, often more, and thenthey are too strong for the Redskins to attack. I do not think you couldtravel much faster than the ordinary, not even if you had good horses.The bullocks travel slow, but they go a good many hours a day, and campat night where there is water.'
'If you could ride all the way you might do two days' journey in onesometimes, but you must take some provision along with you. You musttake some flour and some bacon, for you can't always reckon on game, andtea and sugar, and little odds and ends. And then there are yourclothes; knocking about for four months, and sleeping as you stand, youwant at least two suits besides what you have got on. Then there is yourammunition. Altogether, go as light as you can, you have got a lot ofthings to haul along with you. If you ain't afraid of roughing it Ishould say you could not do better than take a strong buggy.'
'That is a four-wheeled vehicle, I suppose?'
The man nodded.
'You can have it with springs or without. Springs make it easy, but ifyou break one you are done.'
'Would it be strong enough to carry, say, six hundred weight?'
'Ay, double that, if need be; but of course the lighter the better. Youwould want a tarpaulin to cover the things up, and you might make ashift to sleep under it if it is wet.'
'No, we will sleep under the waggon; we will have hooks put along allround the bottom board, and a stout canvas curtain with rings to hang;down to the ground and peg down there.'
'That will make a capital tent; have it to open behind, so that you cansit at the entrance and have a fire outside.'
'Can you get me such a vehicle and make a sail-cloth curtain for me?'
'I can do that,' the man said.
'About how much will it cost for a good hickory waggon without springs,and without any particular finish?'
'You would pay about a hundred and fifty dollars; the tarpaulin to comewell over it, and the canvas arrangement, might be forty dollars more,though I cannot tell you exactly. If you say two hundred dollarsaltogether you won't be far from the mark.'
'Very well, you can do it. How much flour shall I take?'
'Well, seeing that you will do some shooting and swap some of the meatfor flour, I should say a hundred and fifty pounds ought to last the twoof you fairly well.'
Half an hour was spent in discussing the other items, including a dozenof brandy for emergencies, a small stock of medicines, pickles, sauces,and other items, mounting up to about four hundred pounds in weight. Tothese were added some twenty pounds of ammunition.
'Allowing fifty pounds for blankets and clothes, we shall be well underfive hundred,' Captain Hampton said; 'and we shall get lighter as we goon.'
'When you book your passage you can arrange for the buggy to be takenup,' said the storekeeper. 'You might put all the things in it. We shallput all the small items in boxes, and then lash the tarpaulin well overeverything; they will travel safely enough, and you will have no troubleabout them till you get to the end of the journey. Now, what abouthorses? What are you going to do? I reckon you will have to pay a mightyhigh price if you wait until you get to Omaha.'
'I shall want three horses; a good one for my own riding, and two sturdyanimals for the cart--the boy will drive the cart. Could we get themtaken up too?'
'You can get anything taken up by paying for it. I don't say as youwouldn't save money, because you would, a good bit, if you were to dropoff at some station, a good way from any town, and look round among thefarmers and get what you want, and go on by the next boat--but I supposethat would not suit you?'
'Not at all. The great thing is to save time. Do you think that I couldpick up three horses to suit me here?'
'You can pick up anything you like here. I will give you the names ofhalf-a-dozen stable-keepers, and if you don't find them all at one placeyou will at another. But mind, don't give the prices asked. Seeing youare a stranger they will put on about three times the price they will beready to take.'
'They are pretty well alike in that respect all over the world,' CaptainHampton laughed. 'I have bought some horses in my time, and I don'tthink they will take me in much, still I am much obliged to you for yourwarning. I don't think I should have been prepared to bid them only athird, though I should, I dare say, have tried half.'
'A third is enough to begin with, anyhow,' the man said, 'and Ishouldn't rise much on that. You have got five days before you start, soyou can take your time; and I should say don't get town horses, butcritters fresh from the farms. Town horses get their legs knocked aboutand can't stand hard work and weather, like those just brought in. Iain't sure you would not do better to take steamer and go twenty orthirty miles up or down the river; you will be more likely to get anhonest horse.'
It took Captain Hampton three days before he had purchased three animalsto his liking; but when he had done so, he was well content with hisbargains, all of which he had picked up at farm houses a few miles fromthe city. A store of grain sufficient for the passage was sent with themon board the boat, and everything was in perfect readiness on themorning of the day when the steamer was to start up the Mississippi.
END OF THE SECOND VOLUME
NEW LIBRARY NOVELS.
THE ONE TOO MANY. By E. Lynn Linton. 3 vols.
IN DIREST PERIL. By David Christie Murray. 3 vols.
THE TIGER LILY: a Tale of Two Passions. By G. Manville Fenn. 2 vols.
THE RED-HOUSE MYSTERY. By Mrs. Hungerford. 2 vols.
THE COMMON ANCESTOR. By John Hill. 3 vols.
DOROTHY'S DOUBLE. By G. A. Henty. 3 vols.
CHRISTINA CHARD. B
y Mrs. Campbell Praed. 3 vols.
Thank you for reading books on BookFrom.Net Share this book with friends