Up the River; or, Yachting on the Mississippi

by Oliver Optic

  CHAPTER XXVII.

  THE PLANTER AND HIS FAMILY.

  I was quite exhausted after my efforts and the strain put upon me, andI was in no humor even to be praised. Some of the negroes our boatspicked up on planks and on their toppling houses might have beendrowned; but I did not believe the people in the mansion-houses were inany great danger. However, I had never seen an inundation before, and Imay have been mistaken. My father was one of the first to visit me inthe pilot-house.

  "You have done well, Alick," said he; and that was all he did say, forhe was not given to praising any one beyond his desert. "What are yougoing to do with all these people?"

  "We can land them, or put them on board of one of the steamers here," Ireplied; and I had not thought of the matter before.

  "Mrs. Shepard is very nervous indeed, and is anxious to get away fromthis place," continued my father.

  "The Islander might have gone on," I suggested.

  "We could not leave until assured that you did not need the assistanceof the other steamer. We were about to send a line to you and attach itto one of the steamers. The only trouble was to get a line long enoughand strong enough."

  While we were talking Colonel Hungerford came into the pilot-house. Iintroduced him to my father, and the planter indulged in more praisewhich I do not care to repeat. He informed me that he had chartered oneof the river steamers to take his servants and those of the otherplanters down to Carrollton, a few miles below.

  "I am now going on board of another steamer to inquire if she is boundup the river, for I have concluded to visit my brother at Baton Rouge.But I suppose my mansion will not be fit to live in for some weeks tocome, if ever. I desire to know your address, Captain Alick,--excuseme, but that is what I hear others call you,--that I may communicatewith you at some future time."

  "Quite unnecessary," said my father, with a smile, as though hesuspected the object of the inquiry.

  "But I desire to express my sense of obligation to your son for thegreat service he has rendered me and my family," persisted the planter.

  "You have done that already, sir, to my entire satisfaction," I added.

  "You are very strange people, not to allow me to do something."

  "We are decidedly averse to having anything done," replied my father,laughing, not because anything was funny, but to prevent the southerngentleman from taking offence at what he said. "My son owns andcommands this yacht, and I dare say he will be glad to have you takepassage in his steamer to Baton Rouge, or any other point on the riverin our route."

  "I shall be most happy to accept your very kind invitation," repliedColonel Hungerford, promptly.

  By this time the steamer he had engaged to take his "people," as hecalled them, like one of the patriarchs of old, came alongside. Thefour planters had a consultation, as to what disposition should be madeof the servants, and the business manager of one of them was appointedto take the entire charge of the party. The other planters were goingto New Orleans, and the same steamer was to convey them there.

  In less than half an hour the boat started, and we restored things totheir former condition on board of the Sylvania and Islander. We lashedboats again, and restored the bridge from one vessel to the other. Allhands were employed in cleaning up the Sylvania; and I asked CaptainBlastblow not to allow any of his passengers or crew to come on boardtill this had been done. He complied with my request, and sent all hiscrew on board to help.

  We did not get under way until this was done, as Moses wanted tooverhaul the engine a little, for he declared that such a wrenching ashe had given the machine was enough to start half the nuts and bolts.My father remained in the pilot-house talking with the planter. But thesubject of their conversation was the inundation. I lay upon the sofa,resting myself, and rather dreading to meet the people on board theIslander, for I had been praised enough, and this sort of thing wasbecoming more embarrassing. As the hands were drowning the decks again,Washburn brought the family of Colonel Hungerford into the pilot-house,which was about the only place for them, unless they went into thecabin.

  The planter introduced his wife, son and daughter to my father andmyself. In the daughter I saw a very beautiful young lady; the son wasvery affable and pleasant, and the father and mother were not less so.All of them began to express their obligations to me, and I replied ascheerfully as I could.

  "We shall have a very pleasant party up to Baton Rouge, ColonelHungerford," I ventured to say, in order to turn the current of theconversation.

  "It's no use, Blanche," said the colonel to his daughter, who had beenthe last to speak. "Captain Alick won't let you speak of anyobligation, and he won't even give me his address."

  "I don't think he has any address in particular at present," interposedmy father, "unless it be on the high seas or the Great Lakes. I havenot yet made a home in America, as I intend to do. When we have one, weshall be very glad to have you discharge whatever sense of obligationyou may feel by making us a visit; and we shall judge of the depth ofthe obligation by the length of the visit."

  "Upon my word, that would be an odd way to discharge an obligation; andwe should be obliged to stay with you all the year round," replied theplanter.

  The young lady had snapping black eyes; and I saw that she wanted tosay something, but was restrained by the newness of the acquaintance.

  "If we had got out on the river half an hour sooner, we might havesaved imposing ourselves upon your hospitality, for a large steamerwent up then," said Colonel Hungerford. "She stopped a little while atthe crevasse, I am told, but finding she could do no good, she wenton."

  "I am glad she did, as otherwise she would have cheated us out of yourpleasant company," replied my father.

  "You are very kind, Major Garningham," replied the colonel. "I confessI am greatly interested in your steamer, for I never have seen one likeit before that I can remember."

  Washburn reported that the engine was in order, and that the cleaningprocess was finished. I directed the pilot to blow his whistle and goahead. In a few minutes we were again stemming the tide of theMississippi. The crowd on the levees and the steamers honored us with aseries of rousing cheers, to which the pilot replied with the steamwhistle.

  As soon as we were fairly out of the vicinity of the late excitingscene, the passengers of the Islander, including Mrs. Shepard, came onboard. They were all presented to the planter and his family, and ofcourse there was a great deal to say about the inundation, includingthe details of the escape of the people on the knoll. I found that theparty were soon the best of friends, and I went into my room to liedown. I was so tired that I dropped asleep.

  I was awakened by Captain Blastblow coming into my room. He seemed tobe considerably excited; but I was sure he would not be where he was ifany accident had happened to either steamer.

  "Sorry to disturb you, Captain Alick, but this has been a very excitingtime; and while we were all so busy, your two prisoners have taken tothemselves legs or wings, and cleared out," said he, with a lugubriousgaze at me, as I sat upon the bed.

  "Cleared out!" I exclaimed. "Where have they gone?"

  "That's what bothers me. I kept my eye on them for a good while, butthey behaved so well that I soon forgot all about them as we became soabsorbed in the fate of the Sylvania," replied the captain, blankly. "Iknow I ought to have kept an eye on them to the end, and I am to blame.But it wasn't quite human to mind much about those rascals when weexpected every minute to see your steamer fall back and be swamped. Ihad both boats ready to drop into the water."

  "Gone, have they?" I repeated. "Haven't you any idea where they went?Your steamer was not near the levee, and they would not have goneashore there, if it had been."

  "I can only guess where they went. Not long before you got out of thathole, a large passenger steamer came alongside, and held on at ourbowsprit-bitts awhile. She kept her wheels working all the time, whileI was telling the captain what had happened. I am inclined to thinkthat Cornwood and Boomsby stepped on board of her before
she left. Ifound just now that their baggage was gone; and they could easily havegot it out of the fore-cabin while I was talking to the captain. I amsorry for it, and if it hadn't been for that break, and your runninginto that hole, it would not have happened."

  "How far ahead of us is that steamer?" I asked.

  "She must be all of two hours ahead," replied Captain Blastblow.

  "I am sorry we have lost them, but it can't be helped," I added, as Iled the way out into the pilot-house where the passengers wereassembled. I told my father of the escape of the robbers, and asked himif the money was still safe, meaning the four thousand dollars.

  "It must be, for it was in my trunk in the Sylvania all the time youwere inside of the levee," replied he. "But I will make sure of it." Hewent down into the after cabin, and returned with the intelligence thatit was where he had put it. This was some relief; and we dropped thematter because we could not do anything about the escape of therascals. I felt rather cheap about the matter, because I had notdelivered them to the police at New Orleans.

  While I was asleep, my father and Mr. Tiffany had directed Cobbingtonto remove their portmanteaus, as they called their trunks, from thegrand state-rooms. They reported to me, and I assigned one of them tothe planter and his wife, and the other to Miss Blanche. They weredelighted with the apartments. Owen insisted upon giving up his room toMr. Tiffany; and there were berths enough for my father and my cousin.Our cabin was about full again.

  I saw that my father was very much pleased with the planter and hisfamily; and I think one might have gone all over the country to findpeople more agreeable.

  Supper was ready by the time the passengers had taken possession oftheir rooms and berths. I took the captain's place in the cabin forthis occasion, though I often did so while we were in the river and theSylvania was in charge of the pilot. Colonel Hungerford sat next to meon one side, and I told him all about the robbery of the bankmessenger, and the escape of our prisoners.

  He thought it very probable that they had taken the steamer bound upthe river.

  "Donaldsonville is the next town of any importance; and there we cantelegraph to some place ahead of the steamer, and have the robbersdetained by the police. Does any one remember the name of the steamer?"asked the colonel.

  Miss Margie Tiffany remembered that it was the Queen of the South. Owenwas so reckless as to say he was glad the prisoners had got away, andhe hoped they would succeed in eluding the police. We were yachting onthe Mississippi, and we could not bother with arresting and holdingprisoners. We had the money they had stolen, and that was enough.

  "We may find the Queen of the South at Donaldsonville when we getthere," continued Colonel Hungerford. "It is seventy-four miles fromSt. Charles, which is the nearest post-office to my plantation. Whenshall we get there?"

  "Not until early in the morning," I replied. "We can't get along veryfast against this current."

  "The Queen may be there, as she will arrive in the night, waiting forfreight or passengers," replied the planter. "If you will allow me, Iwill take charge of the apprehension of those men, for I think I shallunderstand it better than you, as I have had considerable experience insuch cases."

  Colonel Hungerford looked slyly at his wife and daughter. I could notunderstand the meaning of his expressive communication; but I wasentirely willing he should cause the arrest of the fugitives.