CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN.
A FIGHT WITH MORPHEUS.
Nic had no faith in his companion's notions about the boat lying sunk inthe creek or river; but as the time wore on he could suggest no betteridea.
Still, he did find out where the guns were kept one day when, in companywith a man of Humpy Dee's party, he was ordered up to help in stowingsome bales of tobacco-leaf in a kind of store at the back of the lowwooden building.
The work was pretty hard, but Nic hardly felt it, for in going to andfro he had to pass an open door which led into the place used by thesettler and Saunders for their dining and sitting room. It was a veryrough spot, and the furniture was all home-made--that is to say, it wasmanufactured by the blacks. But Nic hardly heeded its contents afterseeing a series of hooks driven into the wall, and upon each pair amusket, with powder-flask and bullet-pouch attached.
He could think of nothing else as he walked away, for these weaponsmeant a supply of food if he and Pete took to the woods, and that nighthe communicated the discovery to his companion.
"It ought to be easy to borrow a couple of them," said Petequietly--"zome night when the two gaffers are asleep. On'y one thing tohinder it, as I zee, for I don't believe they shut themselves up,feeling as they do that we're under lock and key."
"What is to prevent me creeping in and getting them, Pete?"
"Dogs," said the man quietly. "Now, if we was at home I could walk intoPlymouth and go to a druggist's shop, and for twopence buy zomething Iknows of as would zend those dogs to sleep till we'd done what wewanted; but there aren't no shops in the woods here."
"And we haven't found the boat, Pete."
"And we haven't found the boat, my lad. But here's a little bit of atool here I've got for you at last. Better one than mine. One of theblacks had been cutting up zome meat with it yesterday, and left it outon the bench--forgetted all about it--they're good ones at forgetting;and zo I scrambled back and got hold of it, sharpened it up at thepoint, and made a wooden sheath for it, so as you can wear it in yourbelt under your shirt."
"A knife!" whispered Nic excitedly as Pete thrust the weapon into hishand. "No; I don't want to shed blood."
"I didn't say it was to kill men with, did I? S'pose one of them dogshad you by the throat, wouldn't it be useful then? or to kill a deer outin the woods? or skin a 'possum? Might even be useful to stick into a'gator's throat. Better take it, master."
Nic's hand closed upon the handle of the keen blade, and he transferredit to his belt; when, as the hard sheath pressed against his side, hefelt that, after all, it was one step towards liberty.
The next morning Pete told him that he had had another good hunt by theriver-side, going as far as he dared, but without result.
"And 'twix' you and me, Master Nic, I suppose it's being a bit of acoward, but I dursen't go no more. I aren't afraid o' things you cansee; but when you're down by the water o' nights listening to thestrange birds making queer noises, and the big bats whuzzing round you,to say nothing of the 'gators walloping about at the edge, and othergashly things zeeming to be lying wait for you, it's a bit too much forme."
"It must be very nervous work, Pete."
"Last night about settled me that we must go right up-country or throughthe woods, for I trod on a big snake, and felt it twissen round my leg.Ugh! I don't mind a conger, because, even if he bites you, it's on'y abite, and it gets well; but a snake! Why, they tell me--leastwise oneof the blacks did--as a bite from one of the rattlesnakes'll finish youoff in 'bout an hour."
"But you were not bitten?"
"S'pose not, and I've been thinking since I must ha' trod on the gashlything's head. Anyhow it did scare me, and I mean to chop every one Izee while I'm hoeing. I have killed four since we've been here."
"You must not try it again, Pete," said Nic.
"Then we shall have to take to the woods, master, for I don't zee anychance o' getting the boat."
That day, while the two prisoners were hoeing together, the settler cameround, stood watching them for a time, and then came nearer and examinedtheir work, saw nothing to complain of, but still being dissatisfied, heturned upon Pete.
"Here, you get chattering too much with this lad," he cried; "be offacross to the long corn-field behind the house and join that gang. Workwith them, and send black Jupe here to take your place."
"Yes, master," said Pete quietly; and as he shouldered his hoe and thesettler walked away, he made an offer at him with the hoe, when one ofthe dogs growled savagely.
Suspicious of danger, the settler turned sharply, to see Pete slouchingaway with his eyes on the ground; so, after an angry word or two at thedog, the master went on again, leaving Nic hoeing away, thinking howdreary the days would pass if he were to have no better companionshipthan that of the black.
Half-an-hour passed before the slave came slowly along the row Nic washoeing--for the waving growth completely shut them from sight--and uponreaching his fellow-prisoner's side he made a few scrapes with his hoeand then stopped, with his black face shining as he showed his teeth.
"You had better go on with your work," said Nic quietly; "the masterwill be back."
"Not a day, sah," said the black. "Him going get boat and go up ribber'long o' Massa Saunder."
Nic looked at the man sharply as he uttered the word _boat_. Wouldn'tit be possible to hear from him where the boat was kept?
"Berry hot. Take four boy row de boat, and tell Sam and Zerks load degun and shoot ebbery white body who done work."
"Ah!" said Nic.
"Dat so, sah," said the man, laughing. "No shoot black fellow."
He said no more, but went on chopping away in the hot sunshine farfaster than Nic could manage, and the intense heat did not seem toaffect him. For it was so hot that the prisoner felt exhausted, earlyas it was in the day, the tall growth around keeping off the breeze.
But he worked away, with the perspiration streaming down his face,thinking what an opportunity this would be for taking to the woods orthe open country, but with his heart sinking as he dwelt upon thepossibility of Humpy Dee and the others fighting against such a planfrom pure malice. And besides, Pete was not there to discuss thematter. There were the armed blacks, too, and the dogs.
Nic went to the end of his row, turned, and worked away back, forgetfulof his black companion, till he was half-way along the return row, whena peculiar sound startled him, and stepping aside among the canes, hisheart gave a big throb, for the black seemed to have fallen fromexhaustion. The next minute he smiled, for he realised that the man wasfast asleep.
And how hot it was! Nic's throat was dry, his tongue parched, whileonly some three hundred yards from where he toiled there was the greenband of cane and reed jungle, and just beyond that the bright, coolwaters of the river.
Oh, if he could only be where he could lie down and take one long, deepdraught!
The thought of it increased his thirst.
Well, why not? The black had shown him that there was no danger. Theirtyrants had started in the boat by now, or the idle rascal would nothave lain down so coolly to sleep, and this terrible thirst--
"Oh, I must go and have a drink," muttered Nic wearily; and then, layingdown his hoe, he walked swiftly to the end of the row, turned at rightangles along by the ditch which divided the field from the next field,and, satisfied that he could not be seen from the house, kept on and on,startled more than once by the rustle of a gliding snake, till thenarrow patch of jungle was reached, and he plunged into it, to force hisway along to the edge of the river.
The reeds and dense water-growth ended suddenly, and he was about topeer out, up and down, to make sure that he was not seen, thinking thewhile of how easy escape seemed, when he drew back and stood watchingwith starting eyes.
But it was not at the alligator six feet long which lay between him andthe gliding river, nor yet at that other, a dozen yards away, sunningitself at the surface of the water; but at the black woolly head of aswimmer nearly a
t the other side, making easily and well for the mouthof an overhung creek nearly opposite to where Nic crouched, and quiteregardless of the dangerous reptiles which might be near.
The feeling of thirst died out as Nic watched, seeing that there was away of escape after all by the river; for if that man dared trusthimself to swim in open daylight to the other side, surely he and Petemight venture, even if the place did swarm with reptiles?
Nic's heart beat with a strange feeling of satisfaction. Here, then,was one of his unfortunate companions taking advantage of the master'sabsence to escape. Why was not Pete there to join him, and they mightall get away together?
In another minute Nic would have been on his way back to try and getspeech with Pete, and tell him what he had seen. He might, he thought,elude Samson's watchfulness, when, to his astonishment, the man reachedthe farther shore, stepped out, and shook himself, when Nic felt that hemust be dreaming, for it was Samson himself.
The next minute Nic saw him plunge into the thick growth overhanging thenarrow creek and disappear.
"Left his musket behind because he felt doubtful about getting itacross," thought Nic, and once more he was about to hurry back, when astrange rustling sound caught his ear, followed by the rattle as of apole; and directly after the mystery of the boat's hiding-place was laidbare, for it glided out from among the waving canes, and there wasSamson standing upright, dipping the pole first on one side, then on theother, sending the boat across as it glided down with the stream, passedthe watcher, and evidently was being directed for the other creek.
"Poor old Pete, how glad he'll be!" thought Nic. "That's it, plainenough; kept over there because they think no one would dare to swimacross; but we dare."
"Dare we?" said Nic to himself the next minute, as he saw an unusuallylarge alligator make a swirl in the water and dart by; and he shudderedas the thought occurred to him that, though the reptiles might not touchthe blacks, with a white man it might mean something very different.
"Ugh! you little beast," he muttered, as there was a rustle in the moistpatch of jungle, and he caught sight of the loathsome blunt muzzle ofwhat looked like a monstrous eft staring hard at him, not a couple ofyards distant.
A quick movement sent the reptile scuffling away; then there was asplash, and forgetful entirely of his thirst, Nic hurried back, feelinga lingering doubt as to whether the settler or his overseer might nothave been to the field during his absence, as they were certainly notgone.
But upon reaching the place where he had left his hoe, there it lay withthe handle too hot to hold, and the slave close at hand, shining andhappy, fast asleep, with his mouth open, and the red lips attracting theflies, as if it were some huge ugly red blossom from which they mightsip.
That day seemed as if it would never come to an end. But at sunset theconch shell was blown, and the black started up, just as Nicstraightened his weary back, and came slowly towards him down the row hehad hoed.
"Um tink um been fass 'sleep, sah," said the black, grinning. "You tellMass' Saunder? No, you not tell um, and me shut de eye nex' time you go'sleep."
"I shan't tell tales," said Nic good-humouredly. "But I say, do youever think about running away?"
"Run away? What for? No use run away. Set dogs to catch you 'gain.An' if dogs not catch um, where run to? Plantations all alike."
"To you," thought Nic. "Yes; where could he run to--back to Africa?What then? Only to be caught and sold again. Poor wretch! Worse offthan I. There is no pleasant Devon for him to reach, as we must andwill reach it some day. Yes, there are slaves far worse off than I.What can the dear old dad have thought when he found me gone? There isonly one answer to that," said Nic, with a weary sigh--"that I wasdrowned in the pool struggle and swept out to sea."
The next minute Pete came into sight, and their eyes met, Nic giving theman so long and intent a look that he did not see Humpy Dee watchinghim, only that Pete's face worked a little, as if he grasped the factthat his companion had some news to impart.
But they had no chance of communicating then, for Samson and Xerxes wereready to count them as they went up to their shed; the dogs looking onand trotting about busily, as if helping two black shepherds by roundingup their flock.
It was hard work to eat that night, and the evening meal seemed morethan ever to resemble a mash prepared for fattening cattle such as theyseemed to be.
But Nic felt that food meant strength when the time for escaping came,and he forced himself to devour his portion as if ravenously.
The night soon came there, and they were locked up once more, Niceagerly waiting for the chance to tell all he knew.
As he lay in his bunk listening, it was evident, from the low, guardedtone in which their companions talked, that they were in ignorance ofthe fact that their masters were absent, and all was very still outside,till one of the men spoke out angrily. Then a bang on the door from thebutt of a musket, followed by a burst of deep-toned barking, toldplainly enough that proper precautions were taken, Samson's voice comingloudly and hoarsely with an order to keep quiet and lie down before hehad to shoot.
"But there's light ahead," thought Nic; and he waited till he thought hecould communicate his news to Pete; but, to his disgust, the deep, lowbreathing close at hand told that he was asleep.
"Worn out with his weary toil last night," thought Nic. "Well, I'llkeep watch to-night until he wakes, and tell him then."
But hour after hour went sluggishly by, with the watcher trying to thinkout the plan by which they could escape in the easiest way.
In spite of the excitement produced by the knowledge that a door wasopen by which they could get away, there was a hindrance to his thoughtscoming clearly. That long day's toil in the burning sun made his plansrun together till they were in a strange confusion; and at last he wasswimming the river to reach the boat, when a dozen of the reptiles whichhaunted the water seemed to be tugging at him to drag him down, barkingfiercely the while. Then he started up, to find that he had been fastasleep, and that the dogs were barking loudly because of their master'sreturn.
"What's the row about?" Nic heard Humpy Dee growl.
"Then I was right," said another of the men. "The gaffers have been offsomewhere, and have just come back. I thought so, because neither ofthem showed up in the fields after quite early."
"Why didn't you tell me?" growled Humpy; and he whispered to hiscompanions very earnestly.
Just then the voices of the settler and the overseer were heard talkingto Samson; the dogs came smelling about the door, and the sentry spokeloudly to them to get away. Then by degrees all grew silent again, anda rustling sound told Nic that Pete was moving in his bunk.
"Couldn't help it, lad," he whispered; "I was zo worn out, I went offfast. You've got zome'at to tell me?"
"Yes."
"I knowed it; but if I'd had to save my life I couldn't ha' kep' my eyesopen. What is it?"
Nic told him, whispering earnestly in his excitement.
"What a vool--what a vool!" whispered Pete. "On'y to think o' me neverthinking o' that. Then it's all right, Master Nic. We can just gettogether enough prog to last us, borrow the guns, pick out the nightthat zuits us, and then go quietly off."
"But would you dare to swim across the river--the alligators?"
"Yes," said Pete; "if they was twice as big; and if they touch me--well,they'll find out what an edge and point I've given my knife. It's allright, Master Nic, and I'm glad it's you as found out the way."
"Hist!" whispered Nic, laying a hand on the man's mouth.
For there was a rustling not far from where they lay; and Nic felt as ifa hand were catching at his throat, for the thought came to thrill himthrough and through that Humpy Dee had crept nearer to hear what, intheir eager excitement, they had said; and if he had heard--
Pete put it this way:
"If he knows, the game's at an end."
Nic slept little more that night; not that he and Pete talked againabout their plans, but be
cause his brain was full of the momentousquestion:
Had their treacherous companion heard?