by G. A. Henty
CHAPTER VI
THE NEGRO RISING
While waiting for the arrival of the reinforcements, Captain Crosbiewent on board the _Cerf_. The wounded had all been carried below, wherecots had been slung for them. After their wounds were dressed, he wentround saying a few words to each, enquiring into the nature of theirinjuries. No attempt had been made to remedy the confusion on deck,except that the bodies of those that could be moved had been laid sideby side. That of Mr. Playford and the others who had been crushed by thefalling masts still lay beneath them, as the four men left on board wereunable to do anything to extricate them until help arrived. The captainthen went on board the prize.
"Mr. Hill has spoken in the highest terms of the service that you haverendered, Mr. Glover, though I have not yet heard the full details. Asthe only surviving officer of the _Cerf_, you had better, when you havetime, draw out a full report for me of the work done by her. It will beanother half-hour before we again commence operations against thepirates, and I shall be obliged if you will go on board the _Cerf_ withyour men and endeavour to get the body of Mr. Playford and the othersfrom underneath the masts. Nothing more can be done at present, but itis painful that they should be lying there. I fancy that withhand-spikes you will have no very great difficulty in raising the buttof the mast high enough to draw the bodies from under it. As soon as youhave done that, bring the men back here. When the advance begins youwill shell the wood ahead of it."
"We will put you ashore first, sir; this is the only boat we have thatwill float."
Captain Crosbie on landing went among the women, who were betweenseventy and eighty in number. Some burst into tears when he spoke tothem, others seemed dazed and quite unconscious that they were beingaddressed. Feeling almost unmanned by the moving spectacle, CaptainCrosbie was relieved when the two boats filled with men entered themouth of the cove. As soon as they came alongside, the men leapt out inhigh spirits at the prospect of having a share in the fray. Mr. Hill hadalready picked out twenty of his own party.
"I will myself take the command here, Mr. Hill. I don't wish tointerfere with the credit that you will gain by this affair, therefore Ileave the arrangement of your party in your hands."
Mr. Hill marched the seventy men straight up the hill.
"You will march straight on, Mr. Marston, until you reach the edge ofthe cliff, then you will return. See that the men are placed at regularintervals. You will then face to the right and the line will advance. Noquarter will be given, except to men who throw down their arms and begfor it. I do not suppose that many will do so, as they know what theirfate will be if they are taken to Port Royal. We have reason to believethat there cannot be more than eighty or so on this side, but if theykeep in a body and make a rush at the line they will no doubt be able tobreak through. However, that we must risk, and I hardly think that theywill attempt it, for they know that they must sooner or later fall intoour hands. They will only starve if they conceal themselves. Some mayprefer death in that way, or may think that after we have left they maymanage to get taken across to the mainland in native fishing-boats.However, search the ground closely. These men are steeped in blood; theyhave been the scourge of these seas for the past five or six years, andhave never yet shown mercy."
Mr. Hill then placed himself in the centre of the line, while Mr.Marston again took his place on the right. It was not until they hadworked round nearly to the entrance that opposition was met with; thenthey came upon a spot where a mass of rock cropped up among the trees,and as they approached this a sharp fire of musketry broke out. Mr. Hillordered the two ends of the line to advance so as to form a semicircleround the rock. When they were in position he gave the word to charge,and with a cheer the sailors dashed forward. Led by their officers, theyscrambled up the rocks like cats, discharged their muskets into thepirates grouped on its summit, and then threw themselves upon themcutlass in hand. In three minutes all was over; not a man asked formercy, but all died fighting desperately to the end. Four of the sailorswere killed, several severely wounded. These were carried or helped downto the shore, and the rest of the party then scattered through thewoods; but the closest search failed to discover a single man in hiding,although only some fifty of them had been accounted for. Returning tothe point from which they had started, the party then proceeded tosearch the forest at the other side of the cove.
Here, however, they met with no resistance. A few dead were found, butthe forest was deserted. After searching in vain for some time it wasconcluded that the survivors had probably gone down the face of thecliff and hidden there in caves or in thickets in places that could onlybe reached by men well acquainted with the ground.
After two hours' vain search, Mr. Hill led the party down to the shoreagain. While he had been away the captain had had the storehousesopened. These were filled with booty of all kinds, the plunder of atleast fifty ships, as they judged by the chronometers, the marks onbales, and other articles. Here were thousands of cases of wine, rangesof barrels of rum, hogsheads of sugar, coffee, and other colonialproduce, quantities of bales of cotton cloths used for the slaves,furniture of all kinds, enormous numbers of trunks and boxes containingwearing apparel, bales of silks and satins, and an immense amount oftable-linen.
In the centre of one of the storehouses was a chamber constructed ofstone four feet thick with an arched roof. The entrance was closed bytwo iron doors, one within the other, and these were so strong that itwas necessary to drag up a six-pounder cannon to batter them in. When atlast an entrance was forced, the strong-room was found to containupwards of seventy thousand pounds in coin, hundreds of watches, and alarge amount of jewellery, much of which was of Spanish manufacture, anda great many church vessels and ornaments of silver. It was evidentthat, although no doubt a certain proportion of the spoil had beendivided at the time of capture, the main bulk had been stored there fordivision some day when the haunt should be finally abandoned. Thesailors now set about examining the bodies of the pirates who had beenkilled on the shore by the explosion. It was found that in almost everycase they wore belts under their clothes, and that these contained fromten to a hundred pieces of gold. A systematic search was then made, and,in all, the money found upon the dead pirates amounted to six thousandpounds, which was added to the store taken from the treasury.
The work of emptying the storehouses, getting up jury-masts on board the_Cerf_, and doing the absolutely necessary repairs to her and the prizesoccupied three days. The women had been placed in the brigantine afterthe craft had been thoroughly washed down and scoured, and she had beentaken out and anchored near the frigate, to which the wounded had allbeen conveyed as soon as the fight was over. On the evening of the thirdday the storehouses and other buildings still standing were all burned,the cannon were taken on board the frigate, and the next morning thefour vessels got up sail and started in company for Jamaica. Nat wasleft in command of the _Cerf_ with fifteen men. Low was in command ofthe schooner with twelve men. Mr. Marston had charge of the capturedbrigantine with fifteen men, all that could be spared from thediminished crew of the frigate. Nat had had time, when the long day'swork was over, to row off every evening to see Needham, whose arm hadbeen amputated an hour after the fight was ended. He was, the doctorsaid, going on well, and was in very good spirits.
"This is sure to give me my step," he said to Glover. "I shall haveserved my time in six months, and Marston's rank will of course beconfirmed, now that poor Playford's death has made the vacancypermanent. You have another year to serve, have you not, Glover?"
"Yes, rather more. However, of course this affair will help me too, assoon as I have passed."
"It ought to, old fellow, considering you were the only officer left onboard the _Cerf_, and that you unfastened the boom under that tremendousfire, to say nothing of carrying the schooner and running the risk ofbeing blown up when you went on board the brigantine. You will get yourswab as soon as you have passed. You see it has been a big thing;fifty-eight men killed and a hundred and four put down a
s wounded; andthe breaking up of this pirate's nest makes it the most important affairthere has been out here for years. The other ships on the station willall feel quite jealous of us. There will be a goodish bit ofprize-money, too, which is not to be despised. Over eighty thousandpounds in gold and, I should say, over twenty thousand pounds in goods,makes even a midshipman's share something considerable. How is your arm,Glover?"
"Well, it has been hurting me a bit. I am not conscious of having usedit particularly, but I suppose when I was thrown down by that explosionit must have got wrenched somehow."
"Well, if I were you I would ask Dr. Bemish to have a look at it."
Glover did so. It was black and blue from the shoulder down to theelbow, and very tender to the touch.
"I don't think anything is broken," the doctor said, "but it has been avery close shave. At any rate, it is just as well that I should put onsplints and bandage it, and you must take to your sling again and keepto it for some time. It is not tender above the shoulder, is it?"
"No, doctor; I think it is all right there."
"That is lucky. You ought to go on the sick-list."
"I cannot do that, sir. It would be giving up the command of thebrigantine, and I would put up with anything rather than that."
They had fine weather and a leading wind to Jamaica, and their arrivalthere with the two captured prizes and the news that the piratical haunthad been completely destroyed, created quite a sensation, which washeightened by the rescue of so many females from the hands of thepirates. Some fifteen of these found friends in the island, and thescene when they were handed over to them was painful in the extreme. Athird of the number were French, and there were also some eighteenSpaniards. All were temporarily taken in and cared for by families atPort Royal, and were sent off as soon as opportunity offered either tothe islands for which they had been bound when captured, or to theirfriends in Europe.
Mr. Hill, in his report, had done full justice to the work done by the_Cerf_, and had mentioned Nat's going on board the brigantine to drownher magazine, and the great service that he had rendered in covering theadvance of the sailors by the guns of that craft, and in inflicting suchheavy punishment upon the two parties that had attempted to possessthemselves of the batteries, and the admiral sent for him and personallycongratulated him on his work.
"I will see that as soon as you have passed, Mr. Glover, you shall haveyour commission as acting lieutenant. I have not forgotten what CaptainCrosbie told me of your gallant action at Cape Francois."
Mr. Hill was at once appointed to the command of a frigate whose captainhad died of yellow fever, and received the rank of commander pending itsconfirmation from home; and Mr. Philpot, second lieutenant of thatfrigate, was appointed first lieutenant of the _Orpheus_ in his place.The schooner and the _Cerf_ were sold, for the latter had suffered somuch damage forward by the fire concentrated upon her by the pirates'ships that she was considered unfit for further service. The otherbrigantine was bought into the service. The plunder taken was sold byauction, and the proceeds, together with the sum fetched by the threeprizes, brought the total up to one hundred and five thousand pounds, alarger sum than had ever been captured by any vessel on the station.
The new brigantine was re-christened the _Falcon_, and Mr. Low wasplaced in command, with two midshipmen from other ships on the stationunder him. She was not, like the _Cerf_, a tender to the _Orpheus_, asthe frigate could no longer spare a crew for her, having, in addition tothe loss in action, been obliged to send thirty men to hospital onshore. The brigantine was therefore manned by drafts from other ships ofwar on the station. Needham was also left on shore, being promoted atonce to the rank of lieutenant, which left Nat for the time seniormidshipman of the _Orpheus_, which was now directed to cruise in theneighbourhood of Hayti, where complaints had been received of vesselsbeing missing.
Two months after leaving Jamaica the _Orpheus_ again put in to CapeFrancois. Nat was still wearing his arm in a sling. There had been agood deal of swelling and inflammation, but this had now abated, and inhis opinion his arm was perfectly well again, but the doctor insistedthat he should as a precautionary measure still use the sling. Thefrigate needed some repairs, having carried away some spars in ahurricane a week previously, and on the day of their arrival the captainsent for Nat, and said kindly:
"We shall be here for a week, Mr. Glover, and the doctor thinks thatanother run among the hills will do you good, therefore you can go andstay with your friends there until we sail again. If you return this dayweek that will do. You have stuck to your work well, for Doctor Bemishsaid that for the first month at least you ought to have been on thesick-list, and at any rate you deserve a holiday for your share in thatfight."
On landing Nat went first to Monsieur Duchesne's office. The planter hadbut just driven in, and his horse and trap were still standing at thedoor. The negro driver gave a friendly grin as he saw him.
"Glad to see you, sah, bery glad; eberyone will be glad. Hope you allwell, sah?"
"Thank you, Caesar. All well at the plantation, I hope?" and he went intothe office, where he was most warmly received by Monsieur Duchesne.
"I had been told that your ship came into port at daybreak, my dearMonsieur Glover, and I should have come off to ask after you as soon asI had answered my letters, and to carry you off if the captain wouldgive you leave. But I see your arm is still in a sling. You have nothurt it, I hope?"
"I hurt it in that fight we had with the pirates. I dare say you heardof it."
"Everyone has heard of it," the planter said. "It was splendid, andthere is not one here who does not feel grateful indeed to your ship forhaving rid us of all those scoundrels, who have been doing us so muchharm for years. You have not hurt it much, I hope?"
"It was bad for a bit, but it is all right again now. The doctor ordersme to keep to the sling for some time longer, though I am sure there isnot the least necessity for it."
"And now about your leave, shall I go off to the ship, think you?"
"The captain himself gave me leave this morning for a week without myeven asking for it."
"That is good news indeed. My carriage is at the door; I fortunatelytold Caesar to wait, as there are some things to take back. My wife andMyra will be delighted to see you, they talk of you always, and will beglad indeed to have you with them again. My boy has gone out to buy thematters required by madame, he will be back in a few minutes."
A quarter of an hour later Nat was on his way out to the plantation,where he was received with a welcome of the warmest kind by MadameDuchesne and her daughter. Both were greatly concerned at finding thathis arm had again been injured.
"It is hard indeed," Myra said, "that I should be so well and strongagain, and that you should still be suffering for what you did for me."
"I do not think," he said, "that that business has really anything to dowith the last one. A pirate ship blew up close to us; the shock wastremendous. The masts of the brigantine I was in snapped off as if theyhad been carrots, everyone on deck was thrown down, twelve were killedoutright, and the rest of us were all a great deal bruised and hurt. Thedoctor said that he thought my arm might very well have been broken evenhad it not been for that accident, and as I came off better than most ofthe others, I certainly have no reason to complain. It is really quitewell again now, and I can use it for almost all purposes. I consider itabsurd that I should wear this sling, and would take it off at once,only the doctor made me promise that I would generally wear it; indeed,on board I always took my arm out when I wanted to use it, and he saidhimself that a certain amount of exercise was good for me."
Monsieur Duchesne came home as usual just at sunset. Nat noticed that atdinner he was evidently preoccupied, though he endeavoured to join inthe conversation as cheerily as usual. After the ladies had left thetable he said:
"You may have noticed that I am _distrait_, Monsieur Glover, but it isan anxious time for all of us on the island, and has been so, indeed,for some time. You see we are divide
d into three classes: there are thepure whites, the mulattoes, and the negroes, and even these aresubdivided. There are the old settlers, men who, like myself, belong tonoble French families, and who, I hope, keep up the best traditions ofour country; there are the poor whites, landless men who arediscontented with their position, and hate those who are better off,while they stand aloof from the mulattoes. These, again, are equallydivided. Many of them are rich men with plantations. They send theirsons and daughters over to France to be educated, and take it much amissthat we, who are of pure blood, do not associate with them. Then, again,there are the negroes, who number no fewer than five hundred thousand,while we whites are but forty thousand. We went on well enough togetheruntil the States General met in France. It was a bad affair that, for usas well as for France. From that time there has been a ferment. We sentover deputies, eighteen of them, but the Assembly only allowed six totake their seats, and while they snubbed us, the young mulattoes weretreated with the greatest favour.
"Then came the news that the Assembly had passed a declaration assertingall men to be free and equal. You may imagine what a shock this was tous. Some of the mulattoes, in their excitement, took up arms to showthat they were free, but they were easily put down. However, when theNational Assembly heard of the excitement and dissatisfaction causedamong the French in all their colonies, they made another decreeauthorizing each colony to elect its own legislative assembly. Ourassembly here lost their heads on finding power in their hands, andpassed a constitution which practically renounced all allegiance toFrance. Some riots broke out, and things would have been very serioushad not, on the eleventh of October last year (1790), a decree beenpassed by the National Assembly modifying the former one. However, onthe fifteenth of May they passed another, declaring all people of colourin the French colonies, born of free parents, entitled to vote formembers of the colonial assembly, and to be elected to seats themselves.
"When the news came here six weeks ago, you can imagine the excitement.Meetings were held, and it was even proposed to throw off allegiance toFrance and to hoist the British flag instead of ours. Happily calmerthoughts came, and matters cooled down, but there can be no doubt thatthe state of affairs is critical. The mulattoes, who outnumber thewhites, do not know how to contain themselves with joy, and disputesbetween them and the whites take place daily. Then there are thenegroes. You see, the decree does nothing for them. It is hard to knowwhat the negroes think, even whether they care that they are not to havea vote is not known to us. It is clear that it would be of littleadvantage to them, and, you see, no one who was not out of his mindcould think of giving a vote to them, for their vote would be five timesas large as that of the whites and mulattoes together. We should have anassembly composed entirely of slaves, and these slaves would at oncevote that all the land and property in the island should be dividedamong themselves. What think you of that, Monsieur Glover?"
"It would be madness indeed," Nat agreed.
"Then, you see, even if they did not do that they would declarethemselves free, and we should all be ruined. _Sapristi!_ it makes one'sblood cold to think of such a thing. But, nevertheless, the negroes arelike children, they can be led by a little talk, and among them thereare men of some intelligence who could work the rest up to a state ofmadness. I do not say that this will come--Heaven defend us from such acalamity!--still, monsieur, you will comprehend that we all feel as ifwe were sitting on the edge of a volcano. Such strange things happen.What may not occur next? You will understand that I do not talk of thesethings before my wife and child. They, of course, know about the past,but as for the future they do not trouble themselves at all. I havespoken to some of my friends, and they laugh at the idea of the slavesrising. They say, truly enough, that they are far better treated herethan in your British colonies. But then there has been no revolution inEngland. People have not been stirred up to a state of excitement. Thenation has not lost its head, as in France. I say that it is possiblethere may be trouble with the slaves."
"Not here, surely, monsieur? Your negroes seem to me to be contented andhappy, and I am sure they are well treated."
"That is undoubtedly so; but, as I told you, the negroes are likechildren, they will laugh one minute and scream with rage the next.There is never any saying what they may do. I can hardly bring myself tothink that such a thing could happen, but I have taken to carryingpistols in my pockets, and I have stored some arms in that closet in thehall; at least I should have them handy, and I doubt not that the houseservants will remain true, and I hope many of my slaves. It is for thisthat I have gathered the arms together."
"But surely you would have warning?"
"At the first whisper I should, of course, drive my wife and child downto the town, where we should be safe, for there the whites are strong,and we have no fear of an attack. However, we must trust that such athing may never happen, or that if it does, it may be in the fardistance. But come when it will, everyone should receive warning inplenty of time to make all preparations. It seems to me impossible thata plot of any magnitude could be passed from end to end of this island,and be known to so vast a number of negroes, without some of themwarning their masters of the danger, for there are tens of thousands whoare almost like members of their masters' families."
"I should say it is quite impossible that any extensive plot could behatched without its being known in a very short time to everyone," Natagreed; "and in any case, although those who live far in the interior ofthe island might have reason to fear, should the negroes break out, Ican hardly think that, within little more than an hour's drive from thecity, you need feel any uneasiness whatever."
"No, I feel that there ought to be no trouble here, at any rate unlessthere is a successful insurrection in other parts of the island; nodoubt that would be infectious elsewhere. But the negroes near the townwould be the last to join in such a movement, for they might be surethat the whites there would take speedy vengeance on all within theirreach. However, let us think no more of it at present; my wife and Myrawill be wondering what we can find to talk about so long."
Nat lay awake for some time that night thinking of what MonsieurDuchesne had said. He had heard vaguely, while he was there before, ofthe manner in which the revolution in France had affected the island,but it was a subject that was little discussed at the planter's. Havingall the feelings and prejudices of the old _noblesse_ of France, he hadfrom the first been opposed to the popular movement in Paris, and hadheld himself altogether aloof from the demonstration on the island. Thesubject was painful to him, and he had seldom alluded to it in hisfamily circle. It seemed to Nat inconceivable that any general movementcould be planned among the blacks without warning being received by theplanters. When he went out next day he looked with more attention thanbefore at the slaves working on the plantations. It seemed to him thattheir demeanour was quieter than usual; the mulatto overseers seemed topay less attention to them, and he was surprised to come upon three ofthem talking earnestly together, whereas, hitherto, he had always seenthem on different parts of the estate.
On the following morning, the 23rd of August, Monsieur Duchesne startedas usual soon after seven o'clock, for the heat was now intense, and itwas dangerous to be out after the sun had obtained its full power. Anhour later Nat was sitting in the verandah behind the house with MadameDuchesne and Myra, when an old negress ran out; her eyes were wide openwith terror and excitement, and her face was almost pale.
"Madame and mam'selle must fly and hide themselves!" she exclaimed."Nigger come in half an hour ago wid news dat slabes rise last night inmany places all ober de country and kill all de whites. Dinah hear datall people expect dat, only not for anober two days. Oberseers deleaders now. Dey come here quick wid all de field hands. Not a moment tobe lost. Fly for your libes!"
"Impossible!" Madame Duchesne exclaimed, as she and Myra sprang to theirfeet alarmed, but incredulous.
"It may be true, madame," Nat exclaimed. "For God's sake run with Myrain among the shrubbery there; I will
join you in a moment. If it is afalse alarm all the better; but it may be true, and there is not amoment to lose. Do you hear those shouts?"
A burst of yells and shouts rose in the air a short distance away.
"Run! run!" Nat exclaimed as he dashed into the house, rushed to thecloset in the hall, seized two brace of pistols, a sword, and half adozen packets of cartridges for the pistols, and then ran out into theverandah just in time to see the white dresses of the ladies disappearinto the shrubbery close to the entrance of the verandah. Some wrapswhich they sometimes put on to keep off the evening dew when they weresitting out of doors were hung up close by him. Hastily snatching theseoff their hooks, he dashed off at full speed, for the tumult was nowapproaching the front of the house. The ladies had stopped just withinthe cover of the bushes. "Run!" he cried; "there is not a moment tolose. They will be searching for us as soon as they find that we are notin the house."
The belt of foliage extended all round the garden, and, keeping inside,they ran to the other end. Fortunately, adjoining the garden was aplantation of sugar-cane which had not yet been cut, for although thegreater portion of the cane is cut in April, freshly made plantationsplanted at that time are not fit to cut until the autumn of thefollowing year. The canes were ten feet high, and as the rows were threefeet apart, there was plenty of room to run between them. Scarcely aword was spoken as they hurried along. The plantation was some fourhundred yards across; beyond it stretched another of equal size,extending to the edge of the forest. The canes here, which had been cutfour months before, were three feet high; at other times many negroeswould have been at work hoeing the ground round the roots, but when Natlooked out cautiously from the edge of the higher canes not a soul wasto be seen.
"I think it is perfectly safe," he said; "but you had better put on thedark wraps, your light dresses would be seen a long distance away. Wehad better move a short distance farther to the right before we attemptto go straight on. If you will walk one after the other, treading ineach other's steps, I will take off my shoes and follow you; that willdestroy your traces, and the marks of my bare feet might be taken forthose of a negro. Please do not lose a moment," he said, as he saw thatMadame Duchesne was about to speak; "there will be time to talk when weget into the forest and settle what we had best do."
They had gone but a few yards when Nat's eye caught sight of a hoe lyingon the ground a short distance along one of the rows of the young canes.He ran and fetched it, the others stopping while he did so. Then as hewent along he carefully obliterated his footsteps, and continued to doso until when, after walking thirty or forty yards farther, he turnedinto the young plantation. The surface of the ground was almostdust-dry, and between the rows of the growing canes a track had beenworn by the feet of the slaves, who every two or three days hoed roundthe roots; here, therefore, there was no occasion to use the hoe, as theground was so hard that his feet left no marks upon it. In a few minutesthey entered the wood and went in some little distance; then theystopped. They could still hear the yells of the negroes, who, Natdoubted not, were engaged in plundering the house, after which he feltsure that there would be an eager search for the fugitives.
The ground had been rising all the way.
"I see you need a few minutes' rest," he said to Madame Duchesne, whowas so much shaken that it was evident she could walk but littlefarther. "I will go back to the edge of the wood and see if there areany signs of their following us."
Just as he reached the open ground there was a louder outburst thanusual of exulting cries; he saw a column of smoke rising from the trees,and knew that the negroes had set the house on fire. He returned at onceto the ladies. Madame Duchesne had sunk on the ground. Myra was kneelingbeside her.
"We must go on, madame," he said; "the scoundrels have fired thehouse."
She rose to her feet.
"I am better now," she said with a calmness that greatly pleased Nat."It seemed a dream at first. What does it all mean, Nat?" for she aswell as her daughter had come to address him by that name.
"I fear it is a general rising of the blacks throughout the island," hereplied. "Monsieur Duchesne told me last night that he thought such anevent might possibly take place, but he made sure that if it occurred weshould have ample warning. By what your old nurse said it must have beenan arranged thing, to take place on the twenty-fifth, but something musthave hurried it. I think, to begin with, we had better go half a milefarther into the forest. We can talk as we go."
"Had we not better make straight for the town?"
"I think not, though of course I will do whatever you believe to bebest; but there are a score of plantations between us and the town, andI have no doubt that the slaves will have risen everywhere. Besides, ifyour own negroes fail to follow our track, they will make sure that wehave gone in that direction, and will be on the look-out for us;therefore I think that for the present we had better remain in theforest."
"But how can we live here?" she asked.
"There will be no difficulty about that," he replied; "there are plentyof plantations of yams, and I can go down and dig them up at night. Theyoung canes will quench your thirst if we fail to hit upon a spring, butwe know that there are several of these among the hills, for we passover five or six little streamlets on our way to the town."
"I am sure Nat will look well after us," Myra said confidently;"besides, mamma, I am certain that you could not walk down there. Youknow you never do walk, and I cannot recollect your walking so far asyou have done to-day."
This indeed had been the chief reason why Nat had decided that they hadbetter stay in the forest at present, although he had not mentioned it.Like all Creoles--as whites born in the islands were called in theFrench West Indies--Madame Duchesne was altogether unaccustomed toexercise, and beyond a stroll in the garden when the heat of the day wasover, had not walked since her childhood. The heat, indeed, rendered ajourney of any kind next to impossible during the greater part of theday. They had slaves to do their bidding, to wait on them, fetch andcarry, and consequently even in the house they had no occasion for theslightest personal exertion. Madame Duchesne, being of a naturally moreenergetic temperament than are Creoles in general, was less indolentthan the majority of the ladies of the island, but was wholly incapableof taking a walk of which English ladies would have thought nothing. Shewas already greatly exhausted by the excitement and the fatigue of theirhasty flight, and to Nat it seemed at once that it was hopeless for herto think of attempting the journey of fifteen miles across a roughcountry.
The forest grew thicker as they advanced, and after walking for half anhour Madame Duchesne declared that it was impossible for her to gofarther. Nat was indeed surprised that she had held on for so long. Shehad been leaning on his arm, and he felt the weight becoming heavier andheavier every step. She was bathed in perspiration, her breath came ingasps, and he himself proposed a halt, feeling that she was at the endof her strength.
