CHAPTER IV.
After this it became a common thing for passing regiments to camp nearOakland, and the fire blazed many a night, cooking for the soldiers,till the chickens were crowing in the morning. The negroes all hadhen-houses and raised their own chickens, and when a camp was nearthem they used to drive a thriving trade on their own account, sellingeggs and chickens to the privates while the officers were entertainedin the "gret house."
It was thought an honor to furnish food to the soldiers. Every soldierwas to the boys a hero, and each young officer might rival Ivanhoe orCoeur de Lion.
It was not a great while, however, before they learned that allsoldiers were not like their favorite knights. At any rate, theftswere frequent. The absence of men from the plantations, and theconstant passing of strangers made stealing easy; hen-roots wererobbed time after time, and even pigs and sheep were taken without anytrace of the thieves. The boys' hen-house, however, which was in theyard, had never been troubled. It was about their only possession, andthey took great pride in it.
One night the boys were fast asleep in their room in the office, withold Bruno and Nick curled up on their sheep-skins on the floor. Hughwas away, so the boys were the only "men" on the place, and felt thatthey were the protectors of the plantation. The frequent thefts hadmade every one very suspicious, and the boys had made up their mindsto be on the watch, and, if possible, to catch the thief.
The negroes said that the deserters did the stealing.
On the night in question, the boys were sound asleep when old Brunogave a low growl, and then began walking and sniffing up and down theroom. Soon Nick gave a sharp, quick bark.
Frank waked first. He was not startled, for the dogs were in the habitof barking whenever they wished to go out-of-doors. Now, however, theykept it up, and it was in a strain somewhat different from their usualsignal.
"What's the matter with you? Go and lie down, Bruno," called Frank."Hush up, Nick!" But Bruno would not lie down, and Nick would not keepquiet, though at the sound of Frank's voice they felt lessresponsibility, and contented themselves with a low growling.
After a little while Frank was on the point of dropping off to sleepagain, when he heard a sound out in the yard, which at once thoroughlyawakened him. He nudged Willy in the side.
"Willy--Willy, wake up; there's some one moving around outdoors."
"Umm-mm," groaned Willy, turning over and settling himself for anothernap.
The sound of a chicken chirping out in fright reached Frank's ear.
"Wake up, Willy!" he called, pinching him hard. "There's some one atthe hen-house."
Willy was awake in a second. The boys consulted as to what should bedone. Willy was sceptical. He thought Frank had been dreaming, or thatit was only Uncle Balla, or "some one" moving about the yard. But asecond cackle of warning reached them, and in a minute both boys wereout of bed pulling on their clothes with trembling impatience.
"Let's go and wake Uncle Balla," proposed Willy, getting himself alltangled in the legs of his trousers.
"No; I'll tell you what, let's catch him ourselves," suggested Frank.
"All right," assented Willy. "We'll catch him and lock him up; supposehe's got a pistol? your gun maybe won't go off; it doesn't alwaysburst the cap."
"Well, your old musket is loaded, and you can hold him, while I snapthe cap at him, and get it ready."
"All right--I can't find my jacket--I'll hold him."
"Where in the world is my hat?" whispered Frank. "Never mind, it mustbe in the house. Let's go out the back way. We can get out without hishearing us."
"What shall we do with the dogs? Let's shut them up."
"No, let's take 'em with us. We can keep them quiet and hold 'em in,and they can track him if he gets away."
"All right;" and the boys slowly opened the door, and crept stealthilyout, Frank clutching his double-barrelled gun, and Willy hugging aheavy musket which he had found and claimed as one of the prizes ofwar. It was almost pitch-dark.
They decided that one should take one side of the hen-house, and onethe other side (in such a way that if they had to shoot, they wouldalmost certainly shoot one another!) but before they had separatedboth dogs jerked loose from their hands and dashed away in thedarkness, barking furiously.
"There he goes round the garden," shouted Willy, as the sound offootsteps like those of a man running with all his might came from thedirection which the dogs had taken.
"Come on," and both started; but, after taking a few steps, theystopped to listen so that they might trace the fugitive.
A faint noise behind them arrested their attention, and Frank tiptoedback toward the hen-house. It was too dark to see much, but he heardthe hen-house door creak, and was conscious even in the darkness thatit was being pushed slowly open.
"Here's one, Willy," he shouted, at the same time putting his gun tohis shoulder and pulling the trigger. The hammer fell with a sharp"click" just as the door was snatched to with a bang. The cap hadfailed to explode, or the chicken-eating days of the individual in thehen-house would have ended then and there.
The boys stood for some moments with their guns pointed at the door ofthe hen-house expecting the person within to attempt to burst out; butthe click of the hammer and their hurried conference without, in whichit was promptly agreed to let him have both barrels if he appeared,reconciled him to remaining within.
After some time it was decided to go and wake Uncle Balla, and conferwith him as to the proper disposition of their captive. Accordingly,Frank went off to obtain help, while Willy remained to watch thehen-house. As Frank left he called back:
"Willy, you take good aim at him, and if he pokes his head out--lethim have it!"
This Willy solemnly promised to do.
Frank was hardly out of hearing before Willy was surprised to hear theprisoner call him by name in the most friendly and familiar manner,although the voice was a strange one.
"Willy, is that you?" called the person inside.
"Yes."
"Where's Frank?"
"Gone to get Uncle Balla."
"Did you see that other fellow?"
"Yes."
"I wish you'd shot him. He brought me here and played a joke on me. Hetold me this was a house I could sleep in, and shut me up inhere,--and blest if I don't b'lieve it's nothin' but a hen-house. Letme out here a minute," he continued, after a pause, cajolingly.
"No, I won't," said Willy firmly, getting his gun ready.
There was a pause, and then from the depths of the hen-house issuedthe most awful groan:
"Umm! Ummm!! Ummmm!!!"
Willy was frightened.
"Umm! Umm!" was repeated.
"What's the matter with you?" asked Willy, feeling sorry in spite ofhimself.
"Oh! Oh! Oh! I'm so sick," groaned the man in the hen-house.
"How? What's the matter?"
"That man that fooled me in here gave me something to drink, and it'spizened me; oh! oh! oh! I'm dying."
It was a horrible groan.
Willy's heart relented. He moved to the door and was just about toopen it to look in when a light flashed across the yard from UncleBalla's house, and he saw him coming with a flaming light-wood knot inhis hand.