by Oliver Optic
CHAPTER XXIV.
A CREVASSE ON THE MISSISSIPPI.
When Mrs. Shepard came on board, she seemed to be more composed. Shedeclared that, when the whole country was under water, she felt betterto be in a boat. During the night the water had risen nearly a foot,and the citizens were not a little alarmed. Hundreds of laborers wereat work on the levees, and several small crevasses had been made a fewmiles above the city. We had engaged a pilot, though rather for theinformation he could give us than because we needed him in thenavigation of the river.
Captain Cayo had taken leave of us, and Colonel Shepard had paid hisbill for services and expenses. I liked the pilot very well; and I wassorry to lose him. The white man and the negroes rescued from thefloating building stayed on board as long as we remained at the wharf.It was not easy for them to return to their homes; and they had nomoney to pay for their food and shelter. We made up a liberal purse forthem, and divided it equally among them; and they went ashore verygrateful to us for what we had done. Captain Blastblow said they mademore money by coming with us than they could by staying at home.
At Colonel Shepard's request we "lashed boats" for the sociability ofthe thing. We rigged a plank bridge, with a railing to it, so that theladies could pass from one steamer to the other without assistance,though Owen was always ready when the young ladies wished to pass fromone to the other. After this job had been done, I went forward andfound Cornwood at the helm, where I had left the pilot. I was notexactly pleased to see him at the wheel. After we had left the wharf,Nick and the Floridian had been permitted to enjoy the liberty of thedeck, for I did not believe they would be likely to attempt to escapewhile the country seemed to be covered with water in every direction.
"What are you doing there, Cornwood?" I asked, as I entered thepilot-house.
"The pilot has gone below for some matches, and I offered to take thewheel while he was absent," replied Cornwood, in the mildest of tones.
"I will thank the pilot to call a deck-hand when he wants to berelieved," I replied.
"You think I mean mischief, I dare say," he added, with his silkysmile; "but you can see that I can do no harm if I desired to, which Ido not. Captain Blastblow is at the wheel of the other steamer."
At this moment the pilot came in, with a cigar in his mouth, and tookthe wheel.
"Captain Garningham, I should like to have a little talk with you,"said Cornwood. He led the way to a couple of chairs on the forecastle,which had just been abandoned by the young ladies.
"Captain Garningham, I have been subjected to such an outrage as Inever before experienced in my life," said the Floridian.
"I think you cannot greatly wonder at it," I replied.
"Should you wonder at it if a party were to come on board of theSylvania, take you by force, strip you almost to the skin, and rob youof your money? That is precisely my case, and you say I need notgreatly wonder at it," continued Cornwood, as mildly as he had begun.
"I think my case would be a little different from what yours was," Ireplied.
"As yet I have not even been informed of the cause of such brutaltreatment. If you had stayed a few hours longer in New Orleans, and hadnot treated the men you picked up on the house so liberally, I shouldhave sought a remedy in a writ of _habeas corpus_."
"I don't think you were quite ready to adopt such a course as that, forit would have resulted in having you sent to the calaboose to wait fora requisition from the Governor of Florida," I answered, laughing atwhat I considered the absurdity of the proceeding. "The only reason wedid not hand you over to the police was that we were afraid of beingdetained as witnesses."
"I understand you; and I prefer to fight this battle in some otherState than Louisiana. I shall not try to escape; and I know that NickBoomsby will not. If I am not always honest, I am now; and I assure youI don't know the reason for the savage treatment I received on board ofthe Islander; and I will thank you to tell me. In a word, I entreat youto do so."
I concluded that Cornwood wanted to prepare for his defence, for I wassatisfied that he understood the charge as well as I did. But he seemedto be so earnest over the matter that I went over the case for him.
"When you started from St. Augustine to recover the Islander, you weresatisfied that Nick Boomsby had stolen the four thousand dollars," Iproceeded.
"On the contrary I was satisfied that Buckner stole it," interposedCornwood.
"I am stating my belief, be it right or wrong. When I told you aboutthe sailing of the Islander without her owner and his family, you weresatisfied that Nick was on board of her, and that he had the moneystolen from the messenger."
"Nothing could be farther from the truth; but go on," added theFloridian.
"You would not have gone to Key West to stop the Islander at your ownexpense."
"I did go at my own expense," added Cornwood, with a smile.
"But not to stop the Islander," I added.
"I admit that I had another mission there. I had been thinking of goingto Key West on business for a week."
"When you got there you forged a letter to Captain Blastblow, to inducehim to leave before the arrival of the Sylvania," I added.
"That was a little harmless strategy to enable me to carry out thepurpose for which I went to Key West," added Cornwood, with thesmoothest of smiles.
"I never heard forgery called by that name before," I replied, withbecoming severity.
"It was not to obtain money, or any other valuable consideration fromColonel Shepard that I wrote his name. Why, I could have made twohundred dollars by detaining the Islander," said the Floridian, withspirit.
"Instead of doing what he employed you to do, you sold him out, and lethis steamer go off without him. You were satisfied that Nick had thefour thousand dollars with him, and you were bound to have the half, ifnot the whole of it. It looks like a plain case."
"You are taking an entirely wrong view of the matter, CaptainGarningham," protested Cornwood. "I shall be able to prove in due timethat you are utterly mistaken."
"Two thousand dollars were found on you, and the same on Nick."
"I grant that this fact has a suspicious look about it; and I can notgreatly blame you for your course, though the brutality exercised uponme was entirely unnecessary. Now I will explain the whole matter to youjust as it was; and you will see that you were greatly mistaken."
"I am ready to hear anything you have to say," I replied.
"That four thousand dollars is a rather annoying coincidence," hebegan.
"I should think it might be," I added.
"You quite mistake my meaning. I am willing to admit that I have toldprofessional lies in the interest of my clients. I am Buckner'scounsel, though I told you to the contrary. He admitted his guilt tome."
"Did he, indeed? Did he tell you what he did with the package of billsafter he took it from the counter?"
"He did: he acknowledged that he was guilty, and told me how it wasdone," replied Cornwood, with easy assurance, of which I had seen agreat deal on his part. "Buckner's wife was at the door of the saloon,and he gave the package to her as he rushed out. She had it under hershawl before Nick got half way to the door. She went home; and myclient considers it a successful affair. He offered me five hundreddollars to get him out of the scrape, and that is the fee for which Iam working just now, in part."
"And he gave you the money, did he?" I asked, hardly able to keep fromlaughing in the face of the guileless Floridian.
"Not he, for his wife started for Kentucky, or some other state, assoon as she got the money. This is where the unlucky coincidence comesin. My first business in Key West was to see that Nick did not returnhome, as I feared you would compel him to do when you found him onboard of the Islander. My second was to pay four thousand dollars,which I drew from the First National Bank of Florida Friday morningbefore I started for Cedar Keys."
"O, I see! That was where the four thousand dollars came from," Iexclaimed.
"Precisely so. I was to pay it into the
Marine Court, pending a suit inwhich I was interested, against a salvage company."
"But you did not pay it in."
"How could I when it was Sunday? I intended to do so the next day. WhenI found that Nick did not mean to stop in Key West, I directed CaptainBlastblow to get up his anchor and hurry to New Orleans before theSylvania came in. I could not get ashore myself when I had induced Nickto continue the voyage. The four thousand dollars was a burden to me,and I asked Nick to take part of it from me to keep till we got to ourdestination. The loss of it would ruin me, and I thought it would besafer in the care of two persons than one. That's the substance of it,and you can see that it explains the whole affair."
"I see it does: it makes it all as clear as Mississippi mud," Ireplied, laughing heartily.
"You evidently do not believe the statement I have made," said theFloridian, looking very much wounded in his feelings.
"Whether I do or not, Cornwood, we will not quarrel about it," I added,as good-naturedly as I could.
"I will show you some documents I have in my valise which will make itall as clear as the pure waters of Green Cove Springs."
"I think I will not look at them at present. Has Nick learned thisstory by heart?" I inquired. "He used to be a very bungling liar whenwe were small boys together; and I don't know whether he has improvedany or not."
"I think it is rather cruel of you, Captain Garningham, to sport withmy feelings when I have been subjected to such inconvenience anddiscomfort by you."
"I must be candid with you, Cornwood. If I take your statement for thetruth, I judge that you are liable to the state prison, or whatever youcall it in Florida, for what you have done. You know that Buckner isguilty, but you are engaged in a conspiracy to keep the principalwitness out of court, which makes you virtually an accomplice to thecrime."
"You forget the duty I owe my client, who has entrusted his sacredliberty in my keeping."
"Most of the lawyers I ever knew were honest men, and I don't believeone of them would resort to such a trick to clear his client. What'sall that?" I exclaimed, as I saw a gathering on the levee of the rightbank of the river.
"A crevasse in the levee," said the pilot. "It's a bad one, too."
A steamboat was backing her wheels near the opening, evidently toprevent being sucked into the breach by the furious current that pouredthrough it. Quite a number of men were assembled on the levee, but theyseemed to be incapable of doing anything to stop the flow of the water.When we came abreast of the crevasse, we could see through it to thecountry beyond. It was covered with water, which was pouring in throughthe breach at a frightful rate.
"That was done by the crawfish that burrow into the levees, for I seesome of their houses on the top, where they go when it is high-water,"said the pilot.
Just then a row-boat came to the crevasse, and fearlessly headed intothe opening. In an instant it was swamped, and the two men it hadcontained were struggling in the mad current. They held on to theiroars, and were swept rapidly inland.
"There will be a hundred lives lost by that break," added the pilot."There are several plantations on that knoll, and the water is liftingthe houses on it."
I could see the houses toppling over, half a mile from the levee.
