CHAPTER XVII.
MARCY TAKES TO THE SWAMP.
The little darky was not very badly frightened on his own account--henever got that way unless he saw or heard something he could notunderstand--but he was overwhelmed with anxiety for Marcy Gray, who hadnot yet left the presence of his mother. Julius believed that thedwelling had been surrounded by the Home Guards while he was stowing thevalise and blankets in the boat, and if that proved to be the case,Marcy would in all probability start for Williamston jail instead of theswamp. The black boy thought of these things in an instant of time, anddid what he could to upset the plans of the Home Guards by yelling atthe top of his voice.
"Keep still, you little fule," said Beardsley, in an angry whisper."Nobody's going to hurt you."
"Aint, hey?" exclaimed a second man, who at that moment came upon thescene. "I'll hurt him to-morrow, I bet you; I'll have him brung into thefield; and he has heard me talk often enough to know what them wordsmean."
Just then Julius succeeded in freeing himself from Beardsley's grasp,and it was well for him that he did so, for the man had almost smotheredhim by holding his nose between his thumb and fore-finger at the sametime that he covered his mouth with the rest of his hand. The negrogasped once or twice, and then sank to the ground like a piece of wetrope.
"All right. Let him lay there till he gets ready to get up," saidCaptain Beardsley. "Where's the men? Where's Shelby!"
"The men started on a run for the house the minute that black villainyelled," replied Hanson; for he was the one who came to Beardsley'sassistance. "Shelby is round on the other side watching the back door,and he sent me to see what the fursing was about. Now I'll go back andtell him."
"And be sure that you and him keep out of sight when Marcy is broughtout," cautioned Beardsley. "You don't want to let him get a sight at aryone of you, for there's no telling when he will have the power on hisown side."
The overseer hastened away, trusting more to the darkness than to thebushes in the yard to conceal him from Mrs. Gray's view and Marcy's,should either of them chance to look out at the window, and the captainmoved a few steps nearer to the carriage-way, so that he could look atthe house through the branches of an evergreen. When he first peeped outthe front windows were all dark; but presently lights began to appearhere and there, heavy steps and loud angry voices were heard in thehouse, and finally the front door opened, and a man, carrying a lightedlamp in his hand, came out and walked the whole length of it. CaptainBeardsley was surprised, and he felt uncomfortable, too. If the boy ofwhom they were in search was in the house he ought to have beendiscovered before this time; and if he had escaped, where could he havegone unless it was to Plymouth or to the Union men who were hidden inthe swamp? If he had gone to either place Captain Beardsley knew itmeant the loss of more buildings to him and Colonel Shelby.
"And if he's went off it is bekase some traitor or 'nother in ourcompany told him he'd better," soliloquized Beardsley, when he saw thelights shining from the windows of the upper rooms. "Julius, come here.I want to ask you something."
The black boy had by this time recovered his breath and strength enoughto sit up. He had all his wits about him, and was as much interested inwhat was going on in the house as Captain Beardsley himself. He saw thelights ascend from the lower rooms to those in the second story, andfinally he saw them in the garret and in the observatory on the roof;and when no shout of triumph, or any sound to indicate that there was adisturbance in the house, came to his ears to tell him that his masterhad been traced to his hiding-place and captured, the wild hope seizedupon him that Marcy, in some mysterious manner, had succeeded in eludingthe Home Guards. If that was the case he would of course make the bestof his way to the boat; and if he got there before Julius did he wouldshove off alone, and Julius would be left behind to labor under the lashof the overseer. He thought he would rather die than do that, but howcould he escape from Beardsley and reach the creek in time to meet Marcythere? When he heard the captain calling to him he got upon his feet andapproached the carriage-way, just as Beardsley bent his head almost tothe ground, to watch a light that was shining from one of the cellarwindows. He held that position for a moment, and then a roar like thatof a thousand Niagaras rang in his ears and all was blank to him. Hesank limp and motionless to the ground, while Julius took to his heelsand disappeared through the gate. Half an hour later, when the HomeGuards came out of the house without finding Marcy Gray or anything thatcould be used as evidence against him, they were astounded and greatlyalarmed to find Captain Beardsley lying unconscious in the carriageway.
And where was Marcy all this time! When the black boy's first note ofwarning fell upon his ear he was imprinting a farewell kiss upon hismother's lips and giving her a last embrace; but they fell apartinstantly when they heard that wild cry, for they knew what it meant.
"There they are!" gasped Mrs. Gray. "Marcy, I am afraid I have detainedyou too long."
"You have not kept me a moment," said Marcy quickly, "for I was no moreanxious to go than you were to have me. Keep them in the house as longas you can, and I will go into the cellar and try to slip through one ofthe windows into the garden. Poor Julius will be broken-hearted when hefinds that I went without him. Once more good-by, and don't expect tosee me under a week."
JULIUS GIVES THE ALARM.]
Pressing as the need for haste was, Marcy snatched another farewell kissand ran out of the room, taking care not to pass between a window and alamp that stood on the centre-table. He caught his cap from the rack ashe hurried through the hall, and in less time than it takes to tell it,was standing before an open cellar window, waiting and listening. Hisears told him when the Home Guards charged upon the house and entered itthrough the back and side doors, and believing that the sentries, ifthere had been any posted outside, would be wholly engrossed with whatwas going on in the dwelling, he seized upon that particular moment tomake his attempt at escape. Slowly and carefully he crawled up into thewindow, and when he raised his head above the ground all he could seewere bushes and trees and a starlit sky, and all he could hear was themurmur of voices in the sitting-room. If the doors were guarded, as itwas reasonable to suppose they were, this particular cellar window wasnot, and Marcy made haste to crawl out of it and across an interveningflower-bed to the friendly shelter of a thicket of bushes beyond. He didnot linger there an instant, but taking it for granted that Ben Hawkinswas with the Home Guards, and remembering that the man had promised tosee that they behaved themselves while they were in his mother's house,he started at once for the creek, crawling on his hands and knees untilhe was sure he had passed beyond the sentries that he thought ought tohave been left in the yard, and then he sprang up and ran like a deer.He hardly knew when he reached the fence, over which he went as easilyas though he had been furnished with wings, but he knew when he haltedon the bank of the creek and caught Julius in the act of shoving offwith the boat. Thinking only of Captain Beardsley and the overseer andhis whip, the frightened black boy could not be prevailed upon to stopuntil he had pushed the boat to the middle of the stream, where he feltcomparatively safe; and then he looked over his shoulder to see who hispursuer was.
"Why, honey!" he exclaimed, as he got out the oars and backed the boattoward the place where Marcy was standing. "Was dat you? What you doin'hyar? How come dey don't cotch you in de house?"
"Come here quick, and take me on board," replied Marcy; and hecontinued, as he stepped into the stern of the boat and picked up thepaddle he had provided for a steering oar: "What do you mean by tryingto desert me in this fashion; and was that you yelling a while ago?"
"Yes sar, Marse Mahcy, it was Julius done dat yellin', an' I done itkase I aint want Cap'n Beardsley to cotch you in de house," answered theboy, as he laid out his strength on the oars, and sent the boat swiftlyaway from the bank.
"Are you sure that Beardsley was with those men?" asked Marcy earnestly."Think twice before you speak, or you may be the means of making me dosomething that I shall be sorry for
as long as I live."
"Julius don't need to think no two times 'fore he answer dat question.De cap'n was dar, an' so was de oberseer. I know, kase de cap'n squozemy arm till it blacker' n my skin. An' de oberseer 'low to take me to defield in de mawnin'."
"If Beardsley had you by the arm how did you manage to get away fromhim?" said Marcy, who had good reason for wishing to be sure of hisground.
"Well, sar, moster, I buck him; dat's de way I got loose from de cap'n.He scrooch down dis a way, so he kin look in de suller." said Julius,bending forward until his back was nearly on a level with the gunwalesof the boat, "an' I whack him behine de ear, an' he drap so quick hedon't know what hit him. Dat's de troof, sure's you born."
Marcy did not doubt it, for if Beardsley had been foolish enough toplace himself in that position while Julius was within reach of him, theblack boy could have knocked him senseless without any trouble at all.He was the acknowledged champion "bucker" of the neighborhood, and hadbeen known to do such things. The most pugnacious among the littledarkies would scream out in terror, and seek safety in flight, if Juliusraised one foot from the ground and hopped toward him on the other withhis head lowered threateningly, and there was not one among them with ahead hard enough to stand against him for a moment if Julius succeededin catching him by the ears. He could double up the strongest negro onthe plantation by butting him in the pit of the stomach, and he would doit if one of them incurred his displeasure, even though he had to wait amonth to find his opportunity. And he told nothing but the truth when hesaid that he had knocked Captain Beardsley down in that way. All hewanted now was a chance at the overseer. He knew that Mrs. Gray andMarcy did not want him on the place, and consequently Julius did notthink he would be punished for butting him "good fashion."
"Did Beardsley or Hanson say anything about me?" was Marcy's nextquestion.
"All I heard de cap'n say was dat de oberseer an' Shelby want to watchout dat you don't see 'em when you come out'n de house," replied Julius."Dey don't want you to know dey was dar."
Julius gave way strong on the oars and Marcy steered the boat, listenedfor sounds of pursuit, and thought over the situation. He made up hismind to one thing before he had left the house fairly out of sight, andthat was that Captain Beardsley and Colonel Shelby would be sorry thatthey had had anything to do with the Home Guards. His patience was allgone now, and every move they made should be met by a counter-movementon his own part. He thought he knew the name of every man in thecompany, and he would take pains to see that the Federal commander atPlymouth knew them also and where they lived; and while he was waitingfor the Yankees to do something he would do something himself, beginningthat very night.
Having at last satisfied himself that the Home Guards were not pursuinghim, Marcy dismissed them from his mind for the present, his actionsindicating that he was looking for some object he expected to find inthe creek in advance of him. He was searching for Beardsley's schooner,and was so long in finding it that he began to fear her owner had stolena march upon him by towing her from the creek to a safer hiding-place.But the captain evidently thought she could not be in any safer berththan the one she had always occupied in the creek in front of his house,for there was where Marcy found her, as he was on the point of giving upthe search and telling Julius to pull for Middle River the best he knewhow, for there was a man waiting for them there.
"It seems a pity to destroy a fine vessel like this," said Marcy, asJulius caught the fore chains and allowed the current to swing the boatbroadside to the _Hattie_.
"Well, den, what for dat rebel burn all dem fine ships out on de watahlike Marse Jack tell about?" demanded Julius. "An' what for de cap'nbrung all dem Home Gyards to de house to cotch you an' tote you off tojail?"
With all Beardsley's persecutions so fresh in his mind, Marcy Gray didnot stand upon the order of going to work but went at once. BeforeJulius ceased speaking he was over the schooner's rail, with a bag of"fat" wood in one hand and an axe in the other. The hatches werefastened down of course, and the door that gave entrance to the cabinwas locked; but the latter yielded to a single heavy blow with the axe,and Marcy went in and emptied his bag of kindling wood upon the floor.Then he piled upon it everything he found in the cabin that he couldmove, including the slats in the bunks, the tables and chairs, and thedoors that he could tear from their hinges. Over all he poured a coupleof quarts of oil from bottles that he had brought with him for thepurpose, and set fire to it in three or four different places. He waiteduntil he saw the work of destruction fairly begun, and then ran on deckand dropped into the boat.
"Now set me ashore at the foot of that poplar to which the breast-lineis made fast," said he. "I want Beardsley to know who did this work, andwhy it was done. But of course he knows without any telling."
"Hi yi, Marse Mahcy, she gwine go right up in de elemunts!" criedJulius, as a cloud of smoke, which was brightly illumined by the firethat was blazing beneath, came pouring out of the cabin-door.
"I think I made a sure thing of it," answered Marcy. "Of course she willburn readily, for everything in the cabin is covered with paint orvarnish. We can't get away from here any too quick. Hurry up."
It did not take Julius more than two minutes to row around the stern ofthe schooner to the tree to which the breast-line was fastened, nor didit take Marcy longer than that to spring ashore and place upon aneighboring tree, in a conspicuous position where it would be sure tocatch the eye of the first man who passed that way, the note which hehad written that afternoon while his mother was packing his valise. Itwas addressed to Captain Beardsley, and ran as follows:
This is to pay you for the share you had in bringing Hanson back to our plantation, and in organizing the Home Guards to take me to Williamston Jail. This is the first payment on a big debt I owe you and Colonel Shelby. If you do not wish any more like it take Hanson away from our place at once and keep him away; and furthermore, keep everybody else away from there. You are on a false scent, and so long as you follow it, so long will you continue to lose property. There is no large sum of money in or around the house. When you become satisfied of that fact perhaps you will cease troubling my mother.
Placing this note on the side of the tree opposite the fire so that itwould not be scorched by the heat, and fastening it there with three orfour wooden pins so that the wind would not blow it away, Marcy ran backto the boat, and Julius once more pushed out into the stream. He turnedto look behind him every few minutes, but the boat was pulled intoMiddle River, and perhaps two or three miles down its swift currenttoward the coast, before he saw any signs of the fire he had leftbehind; and at the moment his eye caught its first faint reflection onthe clouds, he heard a cautious hail from the bank.
"Boat ahoy!" came through the darkness in tones that were just loudenough to attract his attention.
"Who is it?" demanded Marcy, picking up the loaded gun that lay besidehim in the stern-sheets. "Way enough, Julius."
"Mebbe dat aint de man you want see," replied the boy, handling the oarsas if he meant to turn the boat toward the opposite bank.
"I am Aleck Webster's father," said the voice, in answer to Marcy'squestion. "Ben Hawkins sent me here to show you the way to our camp."
"When did you see Hawkins?" inquired Marcy.
"This afternoon; and he told me that the Home Guards were likely todrive you away from home to-night. It's all right, Mister Marcy."
The latter was so sure of it that he at once turned the boat toward thepoint from which the voice came (the night was so dark that he could notsee anything but bushes and trees on the bank), and in two minutes morewas standing by Mr. Webster's side. The man pointed toward the brightspot on the clouds and said, in a voice that Marcy recognized thistime:
"Are the Home Guards out to-night?"
"Oh, yes; they're out, and came to my mother's house, or I shouldn't behere now. But they didn't set anything on fire so far as I know."
"Then whose work is that? Ther
e's something burning off that way."
"It is the work of _Marcy, the Refugee_. That's I. After persecuting mefor months in every way he could think of, Beardsley has driven me fromhome at last, and I set fire to his schooner to pay him for it."
"I am a refugee myself," replied Mr. Webster. "And there's my hand,which says that I will stand your friend as long as you need one. If theHome Guards had been organized a few weeks sooner Aleck would not haveleft us old men and boys to fight our battles alone. But he had an ideathat the presence of the Yankees on the coast would serve as aprotection to us; and there's where he was wrong. If we don't dosomething at once, they will follow us into the swamp and kill orcapture the last one of us. That fight in Hampton Roads put life andenergy into them."
"I don't see why it should. They got the worst of it."
"Are you sure?" exclaimed Mr. Webster. "I heard that we got the worst ofit; that some of our best ships were sunk or burned."
"Will it be quite safe for us to stop here long enough to have a snack?"said Marcy. "Then, Julius, you may hand out that brown basket; the onewith the napkin spread over the top. I'm hungry, and I suppose you are,Mr. Webster, for you have walked from your home since Hawkins saw youthis afternoon. By the way, where is Hawkins now?"
"He will hang around the settlement as long as he can, and take to thewoods only when he sees that preparations are being made to compel himto go back to the army. Didn't you see him with the Home Guardsto-night?"
Marcy replied that he did not see anybody, for he ran before the HomeGuards came into the house. If Hawkins was with them, as he had promisedto be, Marcy was satisfied that no indignity had been offered to hismother.
By this time Julius had made the boat fast to a tree on the bank andcome ashore with the lunch; and while Marcy and his new friend wereeating the cold bread and meat he passed over to them, the former gave atrue history of that battle in Hampton Roads as he learned it from thepapers Captain Barrows left with him. Then he gave a short account ofhis experience and dealings with Captain Beardsley, so that the manmight know just how much reason he had to stand in fear of him, andfinally he inquired how many men there were in Mr. Webster's party, andwhere and how they lived. He learned that there was an even score ofthem now, seven of their number (one of whom was Ben Hawkins) beingparoled prisoners, who declared that they would fight rather than goback to the army. It had been the habit of the original members of theband to go into the woods whenever they desired to talk about thingsthat they didn't want their rebel neighbors to know; but ever since theyheard of the Home Guards, whose avowed object it was to send all theUnion men they could find to Williamston Jail, they had become refugeesin earnest, some of them having taken up their permanent abode in thecamp. Those who had families to look out for now and then visited theirhomes during the daytime; but judging by the way things looked now, thatsmall privilege would soon be denied them.
"And when it comes so that we can't see our folks for fear of beingshot, or marched off to jail, we'll take to visiting them in thenighttime," said Mr. Webster, in concluding his story. "And if we haveto do that, we'll light fires to show us the way back to camp."
Having disposed of a good share of the contents of the brown basket, Mr.Webster declared that it was time for them to start for the camp, whichwas located in one of Captain Beardsley's wood lots, and not more thanfive miles away. He said that, as long as Captain Beardsley continued totrouble him and his friends, they would sleep on his grounds, warmthemselves and cook their meals over fires built with wood that was cutfrom his trees, steal his corn meal and bacon, and shoot his hogs asoften as they came within range of the camp. Mr. Webster's canoe wasclose by, and when he stepped into it he fastened the painter of Marcy'sboat to a cleat in the stern, so that the two little crafts would notbecome separated in the darkness. It might require some talking to bringthem together again, and they did not want to do much of that until theywere safe in camp. As they shoved off from the bank they took a lastlook at that bright spot on the clouds, which had been growing brighterand larger every moment since it appeared, bearing unmistakabletestimony to the destructive work that was going on beneath it. If thefire had attracted the attention of the Home Guards (and Marcy did notsee how it could be otherwise), they did not reach the creek in time tosave the schooner. Marcy wondered what Captain Beardsley's feelings wereabout that time.