‘In what way?’ I asked, with a sad foreboding at heart.
‘In supposing it to be a bug of real gold.’ He said this with an air of profound seriousness, and I felt inexpressibly shocked.
‘This bug is to make my fortune,’ he continued, with a triumphant smile, ‘to reinstate me in my family possessions. Is it any wonder, then, that I prize it? Since Fortune has thought fit to bestow it upon me, I have only to use it properly and I shall arrive at the gold of which it is the index. Jupiter, bring me that scarabœus!’
‘What! de bug, massa? I’d rudder not go fer trubble dat bug—you mus git him for your own self Hereupon Legrand arose, with a grave and stately air, and brought me the beetle from a glass case in which it was enclosed. It was a beautiful scarabœus, and, at that time, unknown to naturalists—of course a great prize in a scientific point of view. There were two round, black spots near one extremity of the back, and a long one near the other. The scales were exceedingly hard and glossy, with all the appearance of burnished gold. The weight of the insect was very remarkable, and, taking all things into consideration, I could hardly blame Jupiter for his opinion respecting it; but what to make of Legrand’s agreement with that opinion, I could not, for the life of me, tell.
‘I sent for you,’ said he, in a grandiloquent tone, when I had completed my examination of the beetle, ‘I sent for you, that I might have your counsel and assistance in furthering the views of Fate and of the bug’—
‘My dear Legrand,’ I cried, interrupting him, ‘you are certainly unwell, and had better use some little precautions. You shall go to bed, and I will remain with you a few days, until you get over this. You are feverish and’—
‘Feel my pulse,’ said he.
I felt it, and, to say the truth, found not the slightest indication of fever.
‘But you may be ill and yet have no fever. Allow me this once to prescribe for you. In the first place, go to bed. In the next’—
‘You are mistaken,’ he interposed, ‘I am as well as I can expect to be under the excitement which I suffer. If you really wish me well, you will relieve this excitement.’
‘And how is this to be done?’
‘Very easily. Jupiter and myself are going upon an expedition into the hills, upon the main land, and, in this expedition, we shall need the aid of some person in whom we can confide. You are the only one we can trust. Whether we succeed or fail, the excitement which you now perceive in me will be equally allayed.’
‘I am anxious to oblige you in any way,’ I replied; ‘but do you mean to say that this infernal beetle has any connection with your expedition into the hills?’
‘It has.’
‘Then, Legrand, I can become a party to no such absurd proceeding.’
‘I am sorry—very sorry—for we shall have to try it by ourselves.’
‘Try it by yourselves! The man is surely mad!—but stay!—how long do you propose to be absent?’
‘Probably all night. We shall start immediately, and be back, at all events, by sunrise.’
‘And will you promise me, upon your honor, that when this freak of yours is over, and the bug business (good God!) settled to your satisfaction, you will then return home and follow my advice implicitly, as that of your physician?’
‘Yes; I promise; and now let us be off, for we have no time to lose.’
With a heavy heart I accompanied my friend. We started about four o’clock—Legrand, Jupiter, the dog, and myself. Jupiter had with him the scythe and spades—the whole of which he insisted upon carrying—more through fear, it seemed to me, of trusting either of the implements within reach of his master, than from any excess of industry or complaisance. His demeanor was dogged in the extreme, and ‘dat d—d bug’ were the sole words which escaped his lips during the journey. For my own part, I had charge of a couple of dark lanterns, while Legrand contented himself with the scarabœus, which he carried attached to the end of a bit of whip-cord; twirling it to and fro, with the air of a conjuror, as he went. When I observed this last, plain evidence of my friend’s aberration of mind, I could scarcely refrain from tears. I thought it best, however, to humor his fancy, at least for the present, or until I could adopt some more energetic measures with a chance of success. In the mean time I endeavored, but all in vain, to sound him in regard to the object of the expedition. Having succeeded in inducing me to accompany him, he seemed unwilling to hold conversation upon any topic of minor importance, and to all my questions vouchsafed no other reply than ‘we shall see!’
We crossed the creek at the head of the island by means of a skiff, and, ascending the high grounds on the shore of the main land, proceeded in a northwesterly direction, through a tract of country excessively wild and desolate, where no trace of a human footstep was to be seen. Legrand led the way with decision; pausing only for an instant, here and there, to consult what appeared to be certain landmarks of his own contrivance upon a former occasion.
In this manner we journeyed for about two hours, and the sun was just setting when we entered a region infinitely more dreary than any yet seen. It was a species of table land, near the summit of an almost inaccessible hill, densely wooded from base to pinnacle, and interspersed with huge crags that appeared to lie loosely upon the soil, and in many cases were prevented from precipitating themselves into the valleys below, merely by the support of the trees against which they reclined. Deep ravines, in various directions, gave an air of still sterner solemnity to the scene.
The natural platform to which we had clambered was thickly overgrown with brambles, through which we soon discovered that it would have been impossible to force our way but for the scythe; and Jupiter, by direction of his master, proceeded to clear for us a path to the foot of an enormously tall tulip-tree, which stood, with some eight or ten oaks, upon the level, and far surpassed them all, and all other trees which I had then ever seen, in the beauty of its foliage and form, in the wide spread of its branches, and in the general majesty of its appearance. When we reached this tree, Legrand turned to Jupiter, and asked him if he thought he could climb it. The old man seemed a little staggered by the question, and for some moments made no reply. At length he approached the huge trunk, walked slowly around it, and examined it with minute attention. When he had completed his scrutiny, he merely said,
‘Yes, massa, Jup climb any tree he ebber see in he life.’
‘Then up with you as soon as possible, for it will soon be too dark to see what we are about.’
‘How far mus go up, massa?’ inquired Jupiter.
‘Get up the main trunk first, and then I will tell you which way to go—and here—stop! take this beetle with you.’
‘De bug, Massa Will!—de goole bug!’ cried the negro, drawing back in dismay—‘what for mus tote de bug way up de tree?—d—n if I do!’
‘If you are afraid, Jup, a great big negro like you, to take hold of a harmless little dead beetle, why you can carry it up by this string—but, if you do not take it up with you in some way, I shall be under the necessity of breaking your head with this shovel.’
‘What de matter now, massa?’ said Jup, evidently shamed into compliance; ‘always want for to raise fuss wid old nigger. Was only funnin any how. Me feered de bug! what I keer for de bug?’ Here he took cautiously hold of the extreme end of the string, and, maintaining the insect as far from his person as circumstances would permit, prepared to ascend the tree.
In youth, the tulip-tree, or Liriodendron Tulipiferum, the most magnificent of American foresters, has a trunk peculiarly smooth, and often rises to a great height without lateral branches; but, in its riper age, the bark becomes gnarled and uneven, while many short limbs make their appearance on the stem. Thus the difficulty of ascension, in the present case, lay more in semblance than in reality. Embracing the huge cylinder, as closely as possible, with his arms and knees, seizing with his hands some projections, and resting his naked toes upon others, Jupiter, after one or two narrow escapes from falling, at length wrigg
led himself into the first great fork, and seemed to consider the whole business as virtually accomplished. The risk of the achievement was, in fact, now over, although the climber was some sixty or seventy feet from the ground.
‘Which way mus go now, Massa Will?’ he asked.
‘Keep up the largest branch—the one on this side,’ said Legrand. The negro obeyed him promptly, and apparently with but little trouble; ascending higher and higher, until no glimpse of his squat figure could be obtained through the dense foliage which enveloped it. Presently his voice was heard in a sort of halloo.
‘How much fudder is got for go?’
‘How high up are you?’ asked Legrand.
‘Ebber so fur,’ replied the negro; ‘can see de sky fru de top ob de tree.’
‘Never mind the sky, but attend to what I say. Look down the trunk and count the limbs below you on this side. How many limbs have you passed?’
‘One, two, tree, four, fibe—I done pass fibe big limb, massa, pon dis side.’
‘Then go one limb higher.’
In a few minutes the voice was heard again, announcing that the seventh limb was attained.
‘Now, Jup,’ cried Legrand, evidently much excited, ‘I want you to work your way out upon that limb as far as you can. If you see anything strange, let me know.’
By this time what little doubt I might have entertained of my poor friend’s insanity, was put finally at rest. I had no alternative but to conclude him stricken with lunacy, and I became seriously anxious about getting him home. While I was pondering upon what was best to be done, Jupiter’s voice was again heard.
‘Mos feerd for to ventur pon dis limb berry far—tis dead limb putty much all de way.’
‘Did you say it was a dead limb, Jupiter?’ cried Legrand in a quavering voice.
‘Yes, massa, him dead as de door-nail—done up for sartain—done departed dis here life.’
‘What in the name of heaven shall I do?’ asked Legrand, seemingly in the greatest distress.
‘Do!’ said I, glad of an opportunity to interpose a word, ‘why come home and go to bed. Come now!—that’s a fine fellow. It’s getting late, and, besides, you remember your promise.’
‘Jupiter,’ cried he, without heeding me in the least, ‘do you hear me?’
‘Yes, Massa Will, hear you ebber so plain.’
‘Try the wood well, then, with your knife, and see if you think it very rotten.’
‘Him rotten, massa, sure nuff,’ replied the negro in a few moments, ‘but not so berry rotten as mought be. Mought ventur out leetle way pon de limb by myself, dat’s true.’
‘By yourself!—what do you mean?’
‘Why I mean de bug. ’Tis berry hebby bug. Spose I drop him down fuss, and den de limb won’t break wid just de weight ob one nigger.’
‘You infernal scoundrel!’ cried Legrand, apparently much relieved, ‘what do you mean by telling me such nonsense as that? As sure as you let that beetle fall—I’ll break your neck. Look here, Jupiter—do you hear me?’
‘Yes, massa, needn’t hollo at poor nigger dat style.’
‘Well! now listen!—if you will venture out on the limb as far as you think safe, and not let go the beetle, I’ll make you a present of a silver dollar as soon as you get down.’
‘I’m gwine, Massa Will—deed I is,’ replied the negro very promptly—‘mos out to the eend now.’
‘Out to the end!’ here fairly screamed Legrand, ‘do you say you are out to the end of that limb?’
‘Soon be to de eend, massa,—o-o-o-o-oh! Lor-gol-a-marcy! what is dis here pon de tree?’
‘Well!’ cried Legrand, highly delighted, ‘what is it?’
‘Why taint noffin but a skull—somebody bin lef him head up de tree, and de crows done gobble ebery bit ob de meat off.’
‘A skull, you say!—very well!—how is it fastened to the limb?—what holds it on?’
‘Sure nuff, massa; mus look. Why dis berry curous sarcumstance, pon my word—dare’s a great big nail in de skull, what fastens ob it on to de tree.’
‘Well now, Jupiter, do exactly as I tell you—do you hear?’
‘Yes, massa.’
‘Pay attention, then!—find the left eye of the skull.’
‘Hum! hoo! dat’s good! why dar aint no eye lef at all.’
‘Curse your stupidity! do you know your right hand from your left?’
‘Yes, I nose dat—nose all bout dat—tis my left hand what I chops de wood wid.’
‘To be sure! you are left-handed; and your left eye is on the same side as your left hand. Now, I suppose, you can find the left eye of the skull, or the place where the left eye has been. Have you found it?’
Here was a long pause. At length the negro asked,
‘Is de lef eye of de skull pon de same side as de lef hand of de skull, too?—cause de skull aint got not a bit ob a hand at all—nebber mind! I got de lef eye now—here the lef eye! what mus do wid it?’
‘Let the beetle drop through it, as far as the string will reach—but be careful and not let go your hold of the string.’
‘All dat done, Massa Will; mighty easy ting for to put de bug fru de hole—look out for him dar below!’
During this colloquy no portion of Jupiter’s person could be seen; but the beetle, which he had suffered to descend, was now visible at the end of the string, and glistened, like a globe of burnished gold, in the last rays of the setting sun, some of which still faintly illumined the eminence upon which we stood. The scarahœus hung quite clear of any branches, and, if allowed to fall, would have fallen at our feet. Legrand immediately took the scythe, and cleared with it a circular space, three or four yards in diameter, just beneath the insect, and, having accomplished this, ordered Jupiter to let go the string and come down from the tree.
Driving a peg, with great nicety, into the ground, at the precise spot where the beetle fell, my friend now produced from his pocket a tape-measure. Fastening one end of this at that point of the trunk of the tree which was nearest the peg, he unrolled it till it reached the peg, and thence farther unrolled it, in the direction already established by the two points of the tree and the peg, for the distance of fifty feet—Jupiter clearing away the brambles with the scythe. At the spot thus attained a second peg was driven, and about this, as a centre, a rude circle, about four feet in diameter, described. Taking now a spade himself, and giving one to Jupiter and one to me, Legrand begged us to set about digging as quickly as possible.
To speak the truth, I had no especial relish for such amusement at any time, and, at that particular moment, would most willingly have declined it; for the night was coming on, and I felt much fatigued with the exercise already taken; but I saw no mode of escape, and was fearful of disturbing my poor friend’s equanimity by a refusal. Could I have depended, indeed, upon Jupiter’s aid, I would have had no hesitation in attempting to get the lunatic home by force; but I was too well assured of the old negro’s disposition, to hope that he would assist me, under any circumstances, in a personal contest with his master. I made no doubt that the latter had been infected with some of the innumerable Southern superstitions about money buried, and that his phantasy had received confirmation by the finding of the scarabœus, or, perhaps, by Jupiter’s obstinacy in maintaining it to be ‘a bug of real gold.’ A mind disposed to lunacy would readily be led away by such suggestions—especially if chiming in with favorite preconceived ideas—and then I called to mind the poor fellow’s speech about the beetle’s being ‘the index of his fortune.’ Upon the whole, I was sadly vexed and puzzled, but, at length, I concluded to make a virtue of necessity—to dig with a good will, and thus the sooner to convince the visionary, by ocular demonstration, of the fallacy of the opinions he entertained.
The lanterns having been lit, we all fell to work with a zeal worthy a more rational cause; and, as the glare fell upon our persons and implements, I could not help thinking how picturesque a group we composed, and how strange and suspicious our labors must
have appeared to any interloper who, by chance, might have stumbled upon our whereabouts.
We dug very steadily for two hours. Little was said; and our chief embarrassment lay in the yelpings of the dog, who took exceeding interest in our proceedings. He, at length, became so obstreperous that we grew fearful of his giving the alarm to some stragglers in the vicinity;—or, rather, this was the apprehension of Legrand;—for myself, I should have rejoiced at any interruption which might have enabled me to get the wanderer home. The noise was, at length, very effectually silenced by Jupiter, who, getting out of the hole with a dogged air of deliberation, tied the brute’s mouth up with one of his suspenders, and then returned, with a grave chuckle, to his task.
When the time mentioned had expired, we had reached a depth of five feet, and yet no signs of any treasure became manifest. A general pause ensued, and I began to hope that the farce was at an end. Legrand, however, although evidently much disconcerted, wiped his brow thoughtfully and recommenced. We had excavated the entire circle of four feet diameter, and now we slightly enlarged the limit, and went to the farther depth of two feet. Still nothing appeared. The gold-seeker, whom sincerely pitied, at length clambered from the pit, with the bitterest disappointment imprinted upon every feature, and proceeded, slowly and reluctantly, to put on his coat, which he had thrown off at the beginning of his labor. In the mean time I made no remark. Jupiter, at a signal from his master, began to gather up his tools. This done, and the dog having been unmuzzled, we turned in profound silence towards home.
We had taken, perhaps, a dozen steps in this direction, when, with a loud oath, Legrand strode up to Jupiter, and seized him by the collar. The astonished negro opened his eyes and mouth to the fullest extent, let fall the spades, and fell upon his knees.
‘You scoundrel,’ said Legrand, hissing out the syllables from between his clenched teeth—‘you infernal black villain!—speak, I tell you!—answer me this instant, without prevarication!—which—which is your left eye?’
‘Oh, my golly, Massa Will! aint dis here my lef eye for sartain?’ roared the terrified Jupiter, placing his hand upon his right organ of vision, and holding it there with a desperate pertinacity, as if in immediate dread of his master’s attempt at a gouge.
Selected Tales (Oxford World's Classics) Page 30
