when tom had disappeared, i settled back on my elbow, and listened to the approaching footsteps, which slowly mounted the creaking stairs and stopped at my door. a key turned in the lock, the light of a lantern streamed into the room, and barney and jake redman entered, one carrying a plate filled with corn-bread and bacon, and the other holding a bundle of blankets under his arm.
“wal, my young feller,” said barney, with an awkward attempt to appear good-natured and patronizing, “how do you feel about this time? tired, hungry an’ sleepy, i reckon. we’ve brought you a bite of somethin’, an’ a blanket to lay down on. you’d best do some good eatin’ an’ sleepin’ while you are about it, ’cause we’ve got a long ways to ride to-night.”
“where are we going?” i asked.
205“that’s somethin’ fur you to find out. you’ll know soon enough.”
with this assurance, the dragoons deposited the lantern, blankets and plate on the floor, and went out, locking the door after them.
in a few minutes the sound of voices coming from the adjoining room told me that they had gone in to pay tom a visit.
i had been very sleepy previous to my interview with my fellow-prisoner, but that had worn off now, although i was as hungry as ever. i did ample justice to the bountiful dinner with which barney had provided me, and when he came in after the lantern, i had emptied the plate, and lay stretched out on the blankets, which i had spread upon the floor.
the leader of the dragoons showed a disposition to linger and enter into conversation—a proceeding to which i was strongly opposed. i was impatient to be rid of his presence, in order that i might see tom mason again, and, as i gave only short, crusty answers to his questions, and pretended to be very sleepy, barney finally gave it up in disgust, and took his leave.
206the sound of his footsteps had scarcely died away on the stairs, when the board which concealed the opening in the wall was cautiously pushed aside, and tom once more appeared, his jaws working rapidly, and his hands filled with corn-bread and bacon.
i looked at him closely, and could easily see that something had made a great change in him. the impudent, defiant expression his face usually wore had disappeared, and he looked melancholy and down-hearted, as though he had lost the last friend he had in the world.
he did not wait for me to speak, but began the conversation himself.
“when barney came up i was relating how i obtained possession of the money, wasn’t i?” said he. "i told you that i crossed the bayou with it without being seen by either my uncle or mr. lamar. i was seen by somebody else, however, and by the very one, of all others, i had the most reason to fear; for as i sat looking at the valise, after i had pushed my canoe out of sight among the bushes, and wondering what i should do with it now that i had got it, 207i happened to raise my eyes, and, to my utter amazement, discovered a skiff not more than ten feet from me. in the skiff was luke redman, who stood leaning on his gun, and looking at me with an exultant smile on his face.
"i was certain that he had been watching me, that he had seen me take the money, and the very first words he uttered confirmed the suspicion.
"‘wal, my young chap, i’ve ketched you,’ said he—‘ketched you in the very act, too. this will be a nice story for me to tell in the settlement, won’t it?’
"when i heard this last remark, i for the first time began to realize what i had done. it flashed upon me in an instant that my plan for ruining jerry lamar was likely to ruin me, also.
"in order to satisfy a senseless grudge against a boy who never did me the least harm in his life, i had broken the law, and rendered myself liable to the severest punishment.
"i did not speak—i could not, so great was my bewilderment and alarm—neither did luke redman. he sat down on one of the thwarts, 208and looked earnestly into the water, while i stared blankly at him, wondering what was to be the end of the matter.
"at length a bright idea struck the man. he brought his clinched hand heavily down upon his knee, and looking up, said, with a chuckle:
"‘yes, sir; i’ve ketched you in the very act of stealin’ your uncle’s money. do you know what they do with fellers who commit robbery?’
"‘i have committed no robbery,’ i replied. ‘i am going to take the money back. i only wanted to scare him.’
"‘that story won’t go down—not by no means,’ said luke redman, with another laugh. ‘it’s a mighty nice way you have got of doin’ business, hain’t it, now? you steal a carpet-sack full of yellow-boys, an’ when you are ketched at it, say you are goin’ to take it back, an’ that you only wanted to scare your uncle! who’s fool enough to b’lieve such a tale as that ar’? thar’s only one way you can get out of this scrape, an’ that is—halloo! what’s a-goin’ on over thar?’
209“i heard loud voices at this moment, and looking through the bushes toward the opposite bank of the bayou, found that my plan for being revenged on jerry was beginning to work much sooner than i had anticipated. i saw my uncle take him by the collar and walk him into the skiff, heard jerry beg to know what he had done, and saw the despairing expression his face wore as he picked up the oars in obedience to my uncle’s command, and pulled down the bayou.”
“that’s the time you ought to have bestirred yourself,” said i, worked up to the highest pitch of indignation by tom’s recital. “why didn’t you have the moral courage to undo the wrong you had done? could you sit there and see an innocent boy punished? why did you not pull out into the bayou and tell your uncle that you had the valise?”
“oh, yes! it is all very well for those who have never been guilty of any serious offense to prate about moral courage,” sneered tom. “there isn’t a boy in the world who knows my uncle who would dare face him after doing a deed like that. would you? i’ll bet you 210wouldn’t. he would have turned me out of house and home. i don’t know that i should be in any worse situation than i am now,” added tom, reflectively, "for of course i can’t go back to the settlement after what i have done.
"as i was saying, i sat there in my canoe, and saw jerry and my uncle go down the bayou toward the village. when they had passed out of sight, luke redman said:
"‘it’s too late to give the money back now, even if you meant to do it—which i know you didn’t—an’ the best thing for you will be to turn it over to me.’
"‘turn it over to you!’ i echoed, amazed at the proposition.
"‘sartin. i’ll take care on it for you. that’s the only way you can get out of this trouble.’
"‘well, i’ll see you in guinea first,’ i replied. ‘i can take care of it myself.’
"‘no, you can’t, an’ you shan’t, nuther!’ exclaimed luke redman, with as much authority as though the money had been his own private property. ‘i’ve ketched you in a 211scrape that’ll send you to state’s prison fur the best years of your life, an’ if you want me to keep my mouth shet, you mustn’t put on no flourishes, ’cause i won’t stand it! i’ll take the money, an’ when things have quieted down a little, me an’ my family’ll emigrate. we’ll go to texas, an’ stay thar. we’ll say nothing to nobody about this yer business, an’ no one need know that you had a hand in it. if you won’t agree to that, i’ll go straight to the settlement, an’ tell your uncle that he has got the wrong buck by the horn, an’ that you are the guilty chap, an’ not jerry. what do you say to that, my lad?’
"i did not say any thing; for i was so utterly confounded that i could not speak. luke redman must have taken my silence for consent; for he lifted the valise out of my canoe, and, after stowing it away in the stern of his skiff, pulled off through the swamp, and i never made an effort to detain him. i must have sat there for hours, gazing fixedly at the spot where i had last seen his boat among the trees, hoping and half believing that the events of the afternoon were a terrible 212dream, from which i would awake to find myself as i was before—an honest boy, if not a good one.
"it was only by a strong effort that i aroused myself. i returned by a circuitous route to the place where i had left my horse, and throwing myself into the saddle, rode about until nearly midnight, starting at every sound, and almost certain that every tree i passed concealed some one who would spring out and arrest me.
“when i first discovered you and your friends coming down the road, on your way to the village to visit jerry, i nearly fell off my horse with fright. i knew it looked suspicious for me to sneak off into the bushes, but i could not help it—i could not face you.”
“you showed your guilt as plainly as daylight,” i observed. “there was not one among our fellows who was not willing to declare that you knew more about that money than any one else.”
“i can not begin to tell you what a miserable night i passed,” continued tom. "my uncle 213repeatedly declared in my hearing that he knew jerry to be the guilty one, but that did not allay my fears in the least. the real facts of the case might leak out somewhere before morning—there were a thousand ways in which they might become known—and then what would he think of me? above all, what would he do?
"i never once closed my eyes in sleep, and early the next morning i set out for the swamp, to visit my evil genius. he and his boys were the only friends i had now, and, somehow, i felt easier in their company than any where else. i believed that i must keep close to them, to prevent them from telling some one of my secrets.
"i was glad to learn that luke redman intended to start for louisiana immediately, and was sorry he had not gone hours before. i was angry, too, when i found that he was going alone, and urged him to take his whole family and clear out, bag and baggage, and never return; but he said it would look suspicious if they all went together, and i was obliged to submit to the arrangements he had made.
214"it was luke redman’s intention to go down the bayou to the river in his skiff, and the swamp dragoons and i were so anxious to see him off that we accompanied him on horseback.
"he would have succeeded in making his escape, had it not been for that accident at dead man’s elbow. although he had two oars, and was a good boatman, he allowed himself to be brought within the influence of the current that ran toward the cavern. his skiff was overturned, and the only thing that saved him from destruction was the tree that stood on the edge of the falls.
"when your brother came down, i concealed myself in the bushes, and kept out of his sight. i saw all that happened there that afternoon, and when mark swam over the falls, i jumped on my horse with the others, and did my best to overtake him; but he gave us the slip somehow, and we went back and worked for six long hours to get luke redman out of that tree, and to obtain possession of the valise.
"we accomplished both undertakings at last, and fearing that the settlement had been aroused, and that the river would be closely 215guarded, we came back to this place; and while the settlers were searching all over the country for luke redman, he was concealed in this very house, i visiting him regularly, and keeping him posted in all that was going on.
"two days ago, barney took a skiff down the bayou to the river, and hid it where his father could find it; and yesterday luke redman made another attempt to leave the state. this time he rode your horse, trusting to her speed to bring him out of any scrape he might get into.
"he had a lively time dodging the men in the cane-brakes, and finally you fellows discovered and captured him.
"barney and i saw you while you were taking him through the swamp, and we hurried home, got the rest of the fellows, and pete and his crowd, and rescued him.
“you see, i knew it would prove a serious thing for me if he were taken to the settlement. he would be brought before the squire, and, of course, during his examination he would tell how he came by the money, which would be a bad thing for me.”
216“but, tom,” said i, “didn’t you know all the while that the part you have taken in this miserable business would become known sooner or later?”
“yes, i did; i couldn’t help knowing it, but i wanted to keep it hidden as long as i could. i stuck to luke redman, and helped him by every means in my power, until he told me that i was a prisoner, and at that moment he made an enemy of me. he must look out for his own bacon now. i know what his plans are, and i’ll ruin them if i can, no matter what happens to myself. i’ll teach him a thing or two before i am done with him.”
tom shook his head threateningly as he said this, and brought his fist down into the palm of his hand with a report like that of a pistol.
