CHAPTER VI.
THE WISH GRATIFIED.
Marcy Gray slept like a boy who had eaten heartily of mince pie forsupper, that is, uneasily. But still he must have slumbered soundly orhe would have heard the faint scream and the hoarse, muffled voice thatcame up from his mother's room shortly after midnight, or been awakenedby the swift rush of the two figures who hastened up the stairs andthrough the wide-open door into his room. The figures were there, butthe first Marcy knew of it was when one turned up the lamp and the otherlaid a heavy hand upon his shoulder. Then he opened his eyes and triedto sit up, but was pressed back upon his pillow at the same instant thatthe cold, sharp muzzle of a revolver was put against his head.
"Keep still now, you pore white trash, and you is all right," said theman who held the revolver. "Make a noise, and you is all wrong, kaseyou'll be dead quick's a cat can bat her eye. You heah me? Git up!"
THE MASKED ROBBERS.]
Any sense of fear that might have come upon Marcy Gray, if he had beengiven time to think twice, was lost in profound astonishment. The mantalked like a negro; but in those days negroes were not given to doingdesperate deeds of this sort. Hardly realizing what he was doing, Marcythrew off the bedclothes and sat up; and as he did so, the man who hadturned up the lamp snatched the pillows from the bed and took possessionof the brace of revolvers he found under them. Marcy looked at thepillows that were flung upon the floor, and saw that there were darkstains on both of them. He took short, searching glances at the two men,and saw the white showing through the black on their faces. By this timehe was wide awake, and trying to nerve himself for the ordeal he sawbefore him.
"Git up an' climb into them dry-goods of yourn" commanded the robber,standing first upon one foot and then on the other, and swaying aboutafter the manner of a field hand who had suddenly found himself in anembarrassing situation. "Git into 'em lively. I tol' you, chile. I is deoberseer now, an' you is de niggah. Hustle 'em on."
"How do you expect me to dress rapidly with only one hand to work with?"demanded Marcy, who was not frightened out of his senses, even if he waspowerless. "You must give me a little time."
"Well den, what for you go in the wah an' fight the Yankees what want togive us pore niggahs our freedom?" said the robber. "You done got yourarm broke, an' it serves you jes right. Wisht it had been your head."
Marcy dressed in much less time than he generally did, and when he hadthrown his coat over his shoulders and slipped his well arm into one ofthe sleeves, he was ready to follow the robbers downstairs and into thecellar; for he thought that was where he would have to go sooner orlater. He drew a long breath of relief when he was conducted into thesitting-room, where his mother was waiting for him guarded by two morerobbers, whose hands and faces were covered with something that lookedlike shoe-blacking. Although she was pale she did not appear to be badlyfrightened, for she smiled pleasantly as the boy seated himself on thesofa by her side, and said:
"I hope they did not handle you very roughly, Marcy."
"Oh, no; they didn't put a hand on me."
"An' what's more, missus, we aint going to, if you do jes like we tellyou," said the robber who had thus far done the talking. "You whitefolks is rich, an' we black ones is pore. You've got money, an' we aintgot none."
"And you want us to give you some, I suppose," added Marcy, putting hishand into his pocket and drawing forth the small buckskin purse in whichhe carried his change. "There's my pile. How much have you, mother?"
"Look a-here!" exclaimed the man, forgetting himself in his rage andspeaking in his ordinary tone of voice. "That won't go down. You've gotmore, an' we know it; an' if you don't trot it out without no more ofthis foolishness----"
"So far as I know, these purses contain every cent of money there is inthe house or about it," interrupted Marcy, taking both the articles inquestion in his hand and extending them toward the robber. "The darkiesmay have some, but if they have I don't know it."
With a muttered curse the man hit Marcy's hand a heavy blow and sent thepurses flying to the farthest corner of the room. He expended so muchstrength in the blow that he almost pulled the boy from his seat on thesofa, and drew an involuntary exclamation of surprise and indignationfrom his mother.
"Look a-here, ole woman! You'll say 'Oh, my dear boy!' a good many timesafore we uns is done with you if you don't trot out that money,"declared the robber, in savage tones. "We know jes what we're doing, an'you might as well give in without wasting no more time over it. Where isit? I ask you for the last time."
"It is in those purses," replied Marcy. "If you want it, go and pickthem up. You knocked them there."
"We'll take some of that there sass out of you in two minutes by thewatch," snarled the robber, glancing up at the heavy chandelier which,depended from the center of the high ceiling. "Where's that rope, Jim?Do you reckon that there thing will pull out or not?"
"What are you ruffians going to do?" gasped Mrs. Gray, when she saw theman Jim pull a rope from his pocket.
"We're going to see if we can choke some sense into this boy of yourn,"was the answer. "If you don't want to see him hung up afore your facean' eyes, make him tell where that money is. We uns have got to have itafore you see the last of us."
Mrs. Gray turned an appealing look upon Marcy, who said stoutly:
"I told nothing but the truth when I said that there is no money in thehouse except the little in those purses. Why don't you men look aroundand satisfy yourselves of the fact?"
"We aint got time, an' more'n that, we've knocked off work for thenight. Throw one end of the rope over that thing up there, an' make arunning noose in the other. I said I wouldn't ask him agin, an' I meantevery word of it."
Things began to look serious, and the resolute expression on Marcy'spale face showed that he understood the situation. His mother knew hetold the truth that he had secretly removed her treasure to anotherhiding-place, and she longed to throw herself upon his neck and beg himto tell what he had done with it. But she did not do it, for that wouldonly have made matters worse. It would have encouraged the robbers anddisheartened the boy, who was so calmly watching the preparations thatwere being made to pull him up by the neck. He knew that the men wereworking on a supposition; that they had no positive proof that there wasmoney in the house; and hoped that they would soon weary of theiruseless demands, or that something would frighten them away. But he wasobliged to confess to himself that neither contingency seemed likely tohappen. The robbers acted as though they were in earnest, and there wasnothing to interfere with their work. None of the servants had showedthemselves, and even Julius and Bose, who never failed to be on handwhen there was anything unusual going on, had not once been seen orheard. The house was as silent as if it had been deserted. After a fewunsuccessful attempts the man Jim managed to throw the rope over one ofthe branches of the chandelier at the same time that a second robberfinished the work of putting a running noose on the other end.
"Now I reckon we're about ready for business," said the leader grimly."Mebbe you'd best bear down on it first, Jim, to see if the thing willhold you up."
Jim's prompt obedience came near costing him his life. Seizing the ropewith both hands he jerked his knees up toward his chin and swung himselfclear of the floor; whereupon the hook which held the chandelier, andwhich was not intended to support so heavy a weight, was torn from itssocket and the ponderous fixture came down upon the head of the robber,crushing him, bleeding and senseless, to the floor. But the room was notleft in darkness, as Marcy wished it had been; for the single lamp thatlighted it was on a side table, safely out of the way. Every one in theroom was struck motionless and speechless with amazement and alarm, andif Marcy Gray had only had two good hands to use, the disaster to therobber band would have been greater than it was. Their leader was sonearly paralyzed with astonishment that a quick, dexterous fellow, suchas Marcy usually was, could have prostrated and disarmed him with verylittle trouble; but under the circumstances it would have been foolhardyto attempt
it.
As was to have been expected, Mrs. Gray was the first to recover herselfand the first to act. In less than two seconds after the robber struckthe floor she was by his side, trying with both hands to remove thechandelier from his prostrate form. The sight brought Marcy to hissenses.
"Are you lubbers going to stand there and let the man die before youreyes?" he shouted. "Why don't you bear a hand and get him out?"
These words proved to be almost as magical as the "whistle shrill" withwhich Roderick Dhu was wont to summon his Highland clan. Before they hadfairly left Marcy's lips the boy Julius danced into the room through thedoor that led into the hall, shouting at the top of his voice:
"Here dey is! Here dey is! Shoot----" Then he stopped stock still, androlled the whites of his eyes toward the wreck in the middle of thefloor--the shattered lamps, the broken chandelier with the robber's legssticking out from under it--and finished by saying, "Dere's a muss forde gals to clean up in de mawnin. Why don't you shoot 'em?"
Almost at the same instant the doorway behind the prancing darky wasfilled by armed and masked men, who filed rapidly into the apartment,turning right and left along the wall to give their companions in therear room to follow them. Not a word was said or a thing done until adozen or more had entered, and then the robbers were disarmed, withoutthe least show of resistance on their part, and the heavy chandelier waslifted off their injured and still senseless comrade. It was all done inless than two minutes, and the rescuers were about to pass out, asquickly and silently as they came, taking the robbers with them, whenMrs. Gray said:
"Will you not tell us who you are, so that we may know whom to thank forthe inestimable service you have rendered us?"
"We are friends," replied a voice that was plainly disguised.
"We know it; and if that is all you care to have us know, of course weshall have to be satisfied with it," said Marcy, who had received aslight nod from one of the masked men, whom he took to be Aleck Webster."But it's mighty poor consolation not to be able to call our friends byname. I wish you would do me another friendly act by going through thatwounded robber's pockets and getting my revolvers back for me. Theyjumped on to me and took them away before I was fairly awake."
This request was quickly and silently complied with, and then the maskedmen started out again, taking the four would-be robbers with them. Mrs.Gray wanted much to ask what they intended to do with the prisoners, buta look and a few words from Marcy checked her.
"Let us show our gratitude by respecting their wishes and asking noquestions," said he earnestly. "They have saved me from a choking, andif they ever want anything I can give them, I know they will nothesitate to let me know it. Good-night, friends, if you will not tell uswhat else to call you."
A dozen voices, which sounded strange and hollow under the thick whitemasks that covered the faces of the rescuers, responded "good-night,"and Marcy, filled with gratitude for his deliverance, stood on the porchat the side door and saw them disappear down the lane that led throughthe almost deserted negro quarter. Then he walked around to the frontdoor to see what had become of Bose, and discovered him curled up in hisusual place on the mat.
"You rascal!" he exclaimed. "What do you mean by lying here fast asleep,while----"
Marcy's impulse was to kick the dog off the mat in the first place andoff the porch in the second; but remembering how faithfully the devotedanimal had served him in the past and that this was his first offence,he bent over and grasped him by the neck, only to let go his hold thevery next instant. Bose was stiff and cold--as dead as a door nail.
"Poisoned!" ejaculated Marcy. "And to think that I was on the point ofkicking the poor beast! I deserve to be kicked myself for doubting him.The chap who rode into the yard to-night to inquire the way to Nashvilleis the villain who is to blame for this. He is the fellow who captainedthe robbers to-night, and no doubt he was feeding Bose something, when Ithought he was trying to quiet him. Poor old Bose!"
The boy's heart was heavy as he faced about and went into the house,where he found his mother pacing the floor, more frightened and agitatednow than she had been at any time while in the presence of the robbers.She laid her head on Marcy's shoulder, and cried softly as he put hisarm around her and led her to a seat.
"What's the good of taking on so now that the trouble is all over?" saidhe. "But that's always the way with a woman. She will stand up to therack when there is need of it, and cry when there is nothing to cry for.What's the use of doing that?"
"Marcy," said his mother, "did I not tell you to let that money alone?"
"No, ma'am; you said you were afraid that if I tried to take it to a newplace some one would catch me at it; but I wasn't afraid. I was sure Icould do it without being seen, I knew you would sleep better if it wasput somewhere else, and so, while you and every one on the plantation,except the man who was helping me, were in the land of Nod, I took thebags out of the cellar wall and put them where nobody will ever think oflooking for them. Whenever you want any of it say the word, and I willsee that you get it; and in the meantime, if you are asked where it is,you can truthfully say that you don't know."
"But, Marcy, the events of the night, which seem more like a terribledream than a reality, prove conclusively that the story has got abroad;and I don't see how I can muster up the courage to pass another night inthis house," said Mrs. Gray with a shudder. "How could they have got inwithout alarming Bose?"
"Poor old Bose will never act as our sentry again," replied the boy,with tears of genuine sorrow in his eyes; and then he went on to tellhow he had found the companion and friend of his childhood dead at hispost, and his mother said that she would willingly surrender the money,that had been nothing but a source of trouble to her ever since she drewit from the bank, if by so doing she could bring Bose back to lifeagain.
"What bothers me quite as much as his death is the thought that I wantedto hurt him because he did not awaken me," said Marcy. "And one thing Ishould like to have explained is how those masked men happened to be onthe watch on this particular night, and get here as they did just in thenick of time. I tell you, mother, I was glad to see the chandelier knockthat villain endways, and if I could have snatched the weapon the robbercaptain had in his hand, I would have made a scattering among them."
"I don't suppose you have any idea who the robbers were?"
"I am sure I never saw one of them before. I didn't pay much attentionto their voices, for I knew they would not betray themselves by talkingin their natural tones, but I took notice of the way they acted andcarried themselves, and was obliged to put them down as strangers. Theydo not belong about here."
"Marcy, you frighten me!" cried Mrs. Gray. "You surely do not wish me tothink that some of our neighbors brought them here to rob us?"
"That is what I think myself, and there is no use in denying it. Didn'tShelby and Beardsley take particular pains to tell us that they would beaway from home to-night? Hallo, there!" exclaimed Marcy, who just thencaught sight of the boy Julius standing in a remote corner, pulling hisunder lip and gazing ruefully at the ruins of the chandelier. "What doyou mean by keeping so quiet when you know that I want to have someserious talk with you? Come here, sir."
Julius had learned by experience that when he was addressed in thisstyle he was to be taken to task for something, probably for lying orstealing. He could not remember that he had been guilty of telling liesvery lately, but as for picking up things he had no business to touchthat was a different matter. When Julius was certain that he knew whatthe offence was for which he was to be reprimanded, he always tried tomake it lighter by offering some sort of a confession; and he did so inthis instance.
"I know I aint going steal it, Marse Marcy," he began, putting his handinto his pocket. "I jes want look at it and den I going give it back."
"So you've got it, have you?" said Marcy, who had not the slightest ideawhat the black boy meant. "I knew I'd find it out sooner or later. Giveit to me, sir!"
The boy took his hand out of
his pocket and placed in Marcy's extendedpalm a bright, new fifty-dollar gold piece. Mother and son looked ateach other in silent amazement, both being startled by the samesuspicion. Cautious as he thought he had been, Marcy had not succeededin removing the money from the cellar to a new hiding-place withoutbeing seen. Julius knew all about it.
"What for dey make all dem sharp corners on dar?" asked the boy,pointing to the gold piece. "What for dey don't make 'em roun' like allde res'?"
"Where are the rest?" demanded Marcy. "Hand them out."
Julius obeyed, but this time he produced a twenty-dollar piece.
"Go on. Pull out some more," said Marcy.
"Dat's all," replied the boy. "When de bag bus' you and ole Morris pickup all but two, and dere dey is."
Marcy remembered now, although he might never have thought of it again,how startled he was when one of the little bags in which his mother'streasure was packed became untied in his hand, and the gold piecesrattled down upon the hard floor of the cellar. The coachman, who wasworking with him, was prompt to extinguish the lantern, while Marcyalternately groped for the money and sat up on his knees and listenedfor the sound of footsteps on the floor overhead. It seemed to him thatall in the house ought to have been aroused by the racket, but when hebecame satisfied that such was not the case, the lantern was againlighted and the work went on. He thought he had picked up all thepieces, but it seemed he hadn't. And where was the boy Julius when thishappened? That was a point that could be cleared up at some future time;but just now Marcy wanted to talk about something else.
"Where were you when those robbers came into the house?" he inquired."Were you in bed!"
"Oh, no, sar; I wasn't in bed," replied Julius.
"Where were you?"
"I was out dar," said the boy, giving his head a circular nod, so as toinclude nearly all the points of the compass at once.
"Out where?"
"Jest out dar in de bresh."
"Julius," said Marcy, getting upon his feet, "are you going to answer meor not?"
"Oh, yes sar," exclaimed the boy, backing off a step or two. "I goinganswer ebery question you ax me. I was jest out in de gyarden."
"What were you doing out there at that time of night?"
"Nuffin, sar."
"Did you see the robbers come into the house?"
"Yes, sar; I done seed 'em come in."
"Then what did you do?"
"I jest went 'round out dar."
"And did you see those other masked men, who came in and rescued us fromthe power of the robbers?"
"Yes, sar, I seed dem too," replied Julius, becoming interested. "And Idone tol' 'em to come in quick."
"Did you know they were out there in the garden?"
"Yes, sar; I knowed it."
"Who told you they were there?"
"Nobody."
"Julius," said Marcy sternly, "I am going to know all about this. Ishall give you no peace until you answer every one of my questions, andI shall begin by putting a grubbing-hoe into your hands at daylight inthe morning. Have you any more money in your pockets?"
"No, sar; I gib you de lastest I got."
"Then hurry off to bed and be ready to go to work when I call you."
"Well, sar, Marse Marcy," said the boy, plunging his hands into hispockets and swinging himself about the room as if he was in noparticular hurry to go to bed, "if you wuk Julius till he plum dead youcan't make him tell what he don't know."
At this juncture a new actor appeared upon the scene. It was old Morris,who had been in the hall for the last five minutes, waiting as patientlyas he could for Julius to give him an opportunity to speak to Marcy andhis mother in private. His patience was pretty well exhausted by thistime, and when he saw that Julius had no intention of going away untilhe got ready, the coachman stepped into the room.
"See here, niggah," he began, and that was enough. Julius knew the oldman, and when the latter pointed to the door he lost no time in goingout of it. Morris followed him to the end of the hall and closed andlocked that door behind him, and then came back to the sitting-room. Hewas badly frightened, and so excited that he hardly knew what he wasdoing, but he was laughing all over.
"How is you, missus?" said he, as he shut the door and backed up againstit.
"Morris," exclaimed Mrs. Gray, "do you know who the robbers were?"
"No, missus, I don't; but I does know that they don't 'long around indis part of the country. That Cap'n Beardsley, he brung 'em up fromNewbern."
"Do you know what you are saying?" demanded Marcy. "Who told you thatimprobable story?"
"G'long now, honey," answered Morris good-naturedly. "Mebbe de niggahsall fools, but they know a heap. Marse Marcy, dat gal Nance didn't tellno lie when she say how that Allison and Goodwin boy come to MissBrown's house and talk about de money, did she? And she didn't say nolie nudder when she tol' me that these men coming up here some night toget that money, did she? Aint they done been here dis night? What forthe cap'n and all the rest of dem white trash gone to the Island thisnight? Kase they don't want to be here when the thing happen."
"Did you know that the robbers were to come here to-night?"
"No, sar, Marse Marcy. I didn't know that. I know they was coming somenight."
"Well, some one must have known that they had made up their minds tocome to-night and told the Union men to be on the watch for them," saidMarcy.
"That's a fac'," assented Morris.
"Who was it?"
"I--I don't know, sar; 'fore the Lawd----"
"Morris!" said Mrs. Gray reproachfully.
"Yes, missus; I does know, but I don't want to tell."
"That is more like it," said Marcy. "What is the reason you don't wantto tell?"
"Kase I don't want to get nobody in trouble with Cap'n Beardsley,"replied the coachman; and he might as well have told the fullparticulars, for Marcy and his mother knew that they had one of thecaptain's own servants to thank for their rescue.
"And does Julius know all these things?"
"Ye-yes, sar," exclaimed Morris, becoming so angry that he could nottalk half as fast as he wanted to. "Dat niggah all the time snoopingaround, and you nebber know when he aint hear all you saying."
"He knows that you and I removed that money," said Marcy. "He wassomewhere about when that bag became untied, and here are two piecesthat he picked up after we left the cellar."
Old Morris was profoundly astonished. He leaned heavily against thedoor, and gazed at the glittering coins in Marcy's hand as if he hadbeen deprived of the power of speech.