CHAPTER XXII
PERSECUTED BUT NOT FORSAKEN
MANNING and Giles listened with tense faces as Virginia, with wild eyes and feverish speech, told her amazing story. Then Manning, the cold, the self-contained, less emotional than a Sioux Indian, reached out and pressed his sister's hand.
"I am proud of my little, sister," he said.
Giles said little in words; he was not good at saying things; his eyes, as they rested upon Virginia, spoke sufficiently.
"Oh, Manning!" cried Virginia breathlessly. "Do you think that I shot that man … killed him?"
"No, sister," answered Manning slowly, "but if Dessalines is mad, as you seem to think that he is, I would not give much for his life. Don't think about it, dear. It was an accidental act of yours and if you had shot him purposely you would have been quite justified. You are mistress here."
"Serve him right, the skulker!" said Giles savagely.
Manning was silent for several moments. "The whole countryside will be hunting your Haytian to-morrow," he said. "A regiment of soldiers would be needed to protect him now—that is, if he were first to fall into the hands of the crackers." He pondered.
"But you will try to save him, Manning, will you not?" begged Virginia.
Manning's light eyes grew paler. "Of course I will." His voice was coldly curt. "The man saved your life and Giles's. I shall try to pay the obligation in full by saving him first from the mob and then from the law, if necessary, as seems probable. If I can only get him here, in this house he shall have sanctuary. I do not care to be under obligation to a negro."
"Manning!" cried Virginia.
"Why not take a boat and go into the swamp ourselves," said Giles. "He would recognize us. We might smuggle him out after dark."
Manning shook his head. "It might be done, but I doubt it. In his condition he would probably run from us before he knew who we were."
"Do you suppose they will hunt for him in the swamp?" asked Virginia.
"I think not. The canoe which he found is the only boat there, and I shall have ours hid. I doubt also if those men would care to go into the Caw Caw Swamp. It is a terrible place to get through; absolutely impenetrable in parts, and it would require a very good woodsman to find his way out again."
"Then you think that they will simply wait at the outlets?"
"Yes; and shoot him as they would a buck when he breaks cover. He cannot get through at night; it is bad enough in the daytime." Manning shook his head slowly. "I should not be surprised if he were never to be seen again."
"I don't agree with you, Manning," Virginia answered. "I believe that he can find his way about just as a dog might. He told me that he came out last night, swimming and climbing, and struck the very spot he was looking for. Think of how many generations of his ancestors lived in the jungle."
"I suppose he might live in there for months," said Giles. "Curious race, the negro—what?" No doubt he can find things to eat which we would never think of—what?"
Manning, thinking deeply, had not heard the last few words. Virginia watched him anxiously, hopefully. She had long ago learned to count upon the resource of her brother. Presently Manning looked up, his face relieved, but still doubtful.
"There is but one man to my knowledge who can find Dessalines," he said, "who can find him and bring him out of that place."
"One of your negroes?" asked Giles.
"No," said Virginia quickly. "You mean Leyden!"
"Right!" cried Giles, "why didn't we think of him before!"
"I believe that Leyden could go about that swamp as you would roam around Oxford or Fenwick, Giles," said Manning. "If Dessalines can be found, Leyden is the man to find him. I shall make a simple business proposition of this thing; I am under obligation to this negro and mean to save his life if possible. Leyden's profession is to find things in savage places where other people are either unable or afraid to venture; I mean to wire Leyden to come back here and look for Dessalines."
"Oh, Manning, you wise old darling!" cried Virginia, and threw her arms about her brother's neck. If Manning was ever known to relax from his cool dignity it was at Virginia's outbursts of affection. She ignored any lack of reciprocation on the part of her brother; as a result he would usually reciprocate.
"Write your telegram, Manning," said Giles. "How are you going to put it?"
Manning meditated for an instant. "How's this?" He tore a leaf from his notebook, scribbled a few words, and handed it to Virginia who read aloud:
Have need of your professional services. Matter urgent. Friend lost in swamp. Postpone or cancel other engagements. Expense no object. Can you come?
"That will fetch him!" said Giles emphatically.
"He can catch a sleeper to-night and be here in the morning," said Manning.
The wire was immediately dispatched, and so the matter stood. At midnight the black boy, who had ridden into the city with the message and had been told to await the answer, returned. The message read:
Expect me in the morning to conduct search for Dessalines.
"I say," cried Giles, "how do you think he knew that it was Dessalines?"
Virginia answered quickly. "He knew that Dessalines had failed in Hayti and was probably a fugitive; it would be natural to expect him to turn to his nearest friends for aid."
"Right!" cried Giles. "Then there was that matter of the runaway negro and the big tracks which Leyden saw by the roadside."
"And from what he saw of the Caw Caw Swamp from the main dike he might guess that it was hardly a spot which we would choose for a picnic," said Manning dryly.
They discussed the matter for perhaps half an hour, when Virginia left them to dress for dinner. After she had gone Giles said to Manning:
"Do you suppose that Ginny hit that bounder when the pistol went off, Manning?" The Englishman's voice was anxious.
Manning uttered his hard little laugh. "It appears that she did, from her description; however, it makes little difference. If a lady can't shoot a cracker on her own plantation I should like to know whose plantation she can shoot one on. As far as that is concerned, Giles, there is a little account open between myself and the three other men." Manning's clean-cut features set rigidly; his eyes paled. Giles, law-abiding Briton that he was, stared at him amazed. There was something in the face of the Carolinian which was almost homicidal. "You see," pursued Manning, in his cold, even voice, "these men are virtually squatters on my land, although they pay a nominal rent. They have refused to recognize the authority of the mistress of the plantation and have even presumed to talk back to her with weapons in their hands." Manning's face grew a shade paler, his words dropped like pellets of ice. "They shall receive their warning to leave my land to-morrow, and if they refuse to do so, as I sincerely hope that they will, but doubt, it will be a matter for my personal attention!"
"What do you mean?" Giles's blue eyes began to kindle.
"I mean," answered Manning slowly, "that I shall take my horse and my rifle and conduct these men personally over my boundary. Then I shall warn them that if they return they will be shot on sight." Manning's machinelike control slipped a trifle beneath the strain. "G— d— it man, trash like that talk back to my sister! If they had each a wife and ten small children it should not save them! As far as this brute of a negro is concerned I am willing to give way to popular local sentiment, but as for my sister"
"Manning!" cried Giles, startled; for the face in front of him was livid with fury.
Manning laughed chokingly. "All right, Giles. Let's have a drink and go to bed."
•••••••
The following morning Giles drove into Charleston to meet the naturalist.
"Well, Giles, I hardly expected to see you again so soon," said Leyden in his quiet voice. "Any news?"
"None; I say, it was mighty clever of you to know straight off that it was Dessalines."
"I could never make a living as I do, if I were to be balked by such a simple problem. Got a fresh team?"
"Yes; Manning said that there was no time to lose. The vultures are gathering already. I passed at least a dozen men with rifles on my way in."
"Like buzzards at the scent of blood. They love it. Never mind, we'll fool them. Tell me about it."
Giles told the story in his staccato way. Leyden listened attentively.
"It makes little difference whether the man was struck by Miss Moultrie's bullet or not," said Leyden.
"There is no doubt but that Dessalines killed the man, and very probably—" he checked himself abruptly.
"Very probably what?"
"Oh! hid the body. So much the better."
"But do you really think that you can find Dessalines, Dr. Leyden?"
"Oh, yes, if he is in there. There would be no great difficulty about that. I may find him to-day if I can start by noon, in which case I will bring him out after dark."
"But how can you find him in a place like that?" asked Giles in an awed voice.
"My dear boy, for a man who has lived the most of his useful life on the trail, in the forest, it is as easy to find a man in a place like that as it would be for you to track a horse in a fresh fall of snow. Where he has rubbed the bark, where he has shoved aside the scum and moss which grows on the surface of such swamps, the way he would naturally go … it is all most elementary. It is after we get him out that our real trouble begins; to get him away, out of the country. If I had time—but never mind; at present, haste is everything."
Leyden was silent for over a mile; Giles respectfully held his peace.
"This negro Dessalines," said Leyden suddenly, "has no doubt gone straight back to savagery."
"Don't you think that he has had enough to make him do so?" asked Giles, ever loyal.
"More than enough for a negro; for any negro, no matter how civilized or well educated. You see, Giles, they have not so far to go; less far in fact than a dog, who for centuries has been the companion of civilized man, whereas negroes have been such for but very few generations. How amazing!" burst out the clear, ringing voice. "How appalling! How infinitely, inexcusably stupid that they should be considered for an instant upon the same plane as the white races … should have equal things expected from them … be equally punished when they fail to accomplish these! Think of burning a negro! Why, God bless my soul, it's as bad as burning a dog!"
"But where does the fault lie? In educating them?"
"Ah, no. Education is light, and light is what we all strive for. The system, however, is absurd; cramming their heads with empty words! You see, Giles, the race possesses a retentive memory which is a deceptive quality, as it does not indicate cerebration. A negro may hold a lot of facts, but he cannot combine them for use. His brain does not possess the requisite convolutions. I remember that when I was a child of six years I was taught the Ten Commandments in French. I had not yet learned them in Dutch, my mother tongue. I was made to recite this gibberish; was looked upon as clever, intelligent; was proud of my accomplishment. It took no thought, simply memory. Such a difference!"
"But where is the fault?"
"There is no especial fault; it is unfortunate. The fault was of course in bringing them into the country as slaves. To-day the sentiment is to atone for this, except among a lot of ignorant people who try to deal summarily with delinquencies which arise, and a lot of stupid or malicious people who commend such dealings. The fault is not worth considering; it is done. Spilt milk. The question is the remedy."
"And that"
"Time and patience; time and patience. The negro will never be a menace to this or any other nation until he has the mind to be one, and when he has the mind to be one he will have mind enough not to be one. He is not naturally vicious. Of course he can be goaded into sporadic outbreaks. He may be a tremendous nuisance; is now; will be; but a menace, never!"
Leyden's coming brought to Virginia a comforting relief from the tension of the last several hours; the relief which attends the arrival of the surgeon in a case of accident. Leyden's manner carried a distinct sense of sufficiency.
"These fellows have been organizing," said Manning, "and there has been some talk of attempting to search the swamp, but they have no boats. Nothing has been seen or heard of Dessalines or the man he carried off, but it appears that Virginia did not hit this chap." He handed Giles a mushroom-shaped leaden pellet. "I found this, beside the man's rifle, early this morning."
He turned to Leyden. "What do you require for your search, Dr. Leyden?"
"Two day's rations and a bateau," replied the naturalist briskly. "Has anybody been into the swamp?"
"I think not; I gave strict orders that they should keep out, as I had a special officer coming; besides they have no boat. They are puzzled, but I think that they will obey my orders."
"About those three men?" said Giles diffidently. His face had cleared at Manning's information in regard to Virginia's part of the affair.
"They have been warned to leave my property at once," said Manning in a hard voice. "I think it probable that they will do so."
"Do you think that it will take you very long to find Dessalines, Dr. Leyden?" asked Virginia.
"No, Miss Moultrie, not if he is still in the swamp, which I think probable. It may take me some time, however, to induce in him a condition of mind which will fit him to come out; it is this which I fear."
"What do you mean?" asked Manning.
"I mean that his present mental condition might be such as to endanger his safety. In that case I shall leave him there for a few days in the hope that food, rest, and the assurance of safety may have a quieting influence. By reporting no success, the search will be abandoned. It will then be easy to get him out. The next step is to get him out of the country."
"Can you not call upon the governor of the State for military protection?" asked Giles.
"Yes; if we wished to have him tried," said Manning. "If he has killed this man, as seems probable, it would be all up with him before a Carolina jury."
"Since we are all to become aiders and abetters in his escape," said Leyden, "let us do it thoroughly. He may be kept here in the house until the excitement has subsided, after which we can take him secretly to Charleston and put him aboard an outward-bound British tramp steamer. It will not be difficult to prevail upon the captain to earn a couple of hundred of dollars."
Manning frowned. He possessed in full the pride of his race, and furtive methods were hard to swallow; it would have been more to his taste to have surrounded Dessalines with a few armed white men of his choosing, and thus escort him aboard a vessel in defiance of the mob, the sheriff, and the law of the land. In his district he was feared and respected; he was not liked as his father had been, but he was known to be utterly fearless and as relentless as an Indian. He appreciated of course the futility of any attempt at open lawlessness.
"And now," said Leyden, arising from the table, for he had been taking some refreshment, "I will go in and look for our unfortunate friend."
"You are not going alone, are you, Dr. Leyden?" exclaimed Virginia.
"Yes, Miss Moultrie. "I—eh—think that this is best."
•••••••
The afternoon, the night, all of the following day—thirty-six hours—passed without tidings of Leyden or Dessalines. Midnight rested on Live Oak Plantation, hovered over the Caw Caw Swamp.
Virginia had retired, exhausted, semi-hysterical. Giles and Manning sat in the office and smoked innumerable cigars. Occasionally they would walk out upon the broad veranda which flanked the house, and listen. Far across the rice fields, where the still waters of the main canal drew a straight, black, gleaming line, fires sparked out here and there where the watchers, awed by the night, had gathered in groups for greater cheer, regardless of their self-imposed duties.
"They are getting tired of it," observed Manning; "another day will send most of them about their business. Some of them came to me this evening with a proposition to make a general search. I told them that in my opinion they were a set of fools to waste so much effort over one crazy nigger; that I had sent the officer in to look for the white man."
"Do you feel any anxiety about Leyden?"
"Not I. He has the faculty of taking care of himself developed to a most tremendous degree." Manning's quick eye caught a glimpse of a black figure beneath them. It slipped into the fig trees. There was a moon, old, yellow, for the most of the time shrouded by cloud masses.
"Who are you there? What are you doing?" Manning's raw voice cleft the soft air like a knife.
"Hit's me, Marse Manning, sah,—David." It was one of the house servants, wandering out through the morbid curiosity which has such a potent hold upon the race.
"Go to your quarters! If I sight any of you negroes out of doors I shall put a bullet into you—do you hear?"
The man fled like a black cat. Silence fell.
"Listen!" said Manning suddenly.
A foot crunched the gravel directly beneath the lattice of the veranda. Leyden's voice said softly in French.
"I have been waiting for you to send that fellow about his business, Moultrie. Is the way clear?"
"One minute," said Manning in the same tongue. He stepped inside the door and extinguished the lamp. "Come on," he said briefly.
Two dark figures silently ascended the steps and swiftly entered the shuttered room. Giles bolted the door behind them.
"Aristide!" whispered Giles, his voice trembling with emotion.
"Giles!" came the muffled answer, vibrant, husky throated. "Giles … my friend!"
"Hush!" whispered Leyden sternly. "Light the lamp."
The flame struggled down the wick; the light strove upward. Giles and Manning looked toward Dessalines. He was enveloped in Giles's dark-blue raincoat which Leyden had taken with him. The garment was covered with mud and slime. Both men were drenched, muddy, covered with innumerable scratches from some of which the blood trickled. Dessalines' feet were bare; his face gaunt, but composed. His eyes never left Leyden, whom he watched as a dog might his master. Occasionally he was shaken from head to feet by a nervous chill.
"Eh, well?" said Leyden speaking in French, "you were not getting anxious? Our friend here was somewhat overwrought and required much assurance of his safety. Now he will be better for a dose of bromide and a bed." He turned to Dessalines. "Is it not so, camarade?"
"Yes, yes, dear doctor," replied Dessalines in a shaking voice.
"But tell us—" began Giles eagerly.
"Speak French!" said Leyden curtly. He turned to Manning. "Let us show Dessalines to his room. Is the way clear?"
"The house is empty," said Manning. "Come on." He picked up the lamp, then set it down again. "Never mind the light," he said, and led the way in the darkness to a room which had been prepared for the Haytian.
"I will join you directly," said Leyden. "Wait for me in the office." Manning and Giles withdrew.
"Now my friend," observed Leyden to Dessalines, as he stirred a white powder in a glass of water, "you will take this and go to bed. No prayers to-night; you have prayed sufficiently for one day. You are to go to sleep, do you understand?"
Dessalines turned suddenly, fell at the feet of the naturalist, embraced his knees in his great arms. His sobs grew alarming.
"Quietly, camarade," said Leyden gently. He stooped and patted the huge shoulder. "Now go to sleep … do you hear me? Go to sleep!" He turned softly and left the room, locking the door behind him.
Manning and Giles were awaiting him in the office.
"About that white man?" were Giles's first words.
Leyden shrugged. "Who knows," he answered evasively, "never mind him. If one will meddle with heavy machinery"
"Did you have any difficulty in finding him?" inquired Manning.
"None whatever. He was partially insane and I had trouble to quiet him. Then I judged it safer to wait twenty-four hours that he might get himself in hand." He sighed wearily. "Never did I listen to such agonies of prayer; it was a fatiguing adventure. Some whisky? … Ah, thanks. There is really nothing more to tell. Ach! Our perplexities have just begun. And now, if you will be so good as to excuse me, I think that I will retire."