we have already described the other tests to which don put his disguise during the forenoon, and we know that every one who saw him believed him to be old jordan’s ghost. godfrey, especially, was greatly alarmed, and don had the satisfaction of seeing him run, which was a sight worth going miles to behold. the magical manner in which he appeared and vanished, was very bewildering to all who witnessed it; but it would have been no mystery at all, had they been aware that the window that led into old jordan’s room was unfastened. as they could see nothing of don after he went behind the corn-crib, they naturally concluded that he had vanished into thin air. in no other way could they account for his disappearance.
don had wasted a good deal of time in these experiments, and now the ringing of the dinner-bell admonished him that he must pull off his disguise,[pg 249] and hurry back to the house. another thing that warned him to make haste, was the knowledge that he had thrown the negroes into a state of great excitement and alarm. he was afraid they might tell his parents what they had seen, and that would bring about an investigation.
“it would never do to be caught in the act,” thought don, as he hastily pulled off old jordan’s clothes and bundled them into the chest. “i don’t know what father would say to me. but didn’t godfrey run, though? i declare it seems selfish for me to enjoy all this fun by myself. i wish i had some good fellow to help me laugh!”
don stopped for a few minutes to indulge in a very hearty but silent fit of merriment, and then having put on his clothes, and wiped the black off his hands and face with a damp cloth which he had taken the precaution to bring with him, he glanced about the room to make sure that he had left everything just as he had found it, and went out, locking the door behind him. he reached the house and made his way to his room without being seen, and having performed a hasty toilet, went down to the dining-room in time to learn that the measures he had taken to frighten godfrey evans, had succeeded almost too[pg 250] well. one of the servant girls was standing at the door showing a good deal of the whites of her eyes, and looking altogether as if she were highly excited about something.
“it’s all nonsense, jane,” don heard his mother say.
“no odds, missus,” replied the girl. “sam say he can’t hitch up dem hosses no mo’. he wouldn’t go nigh dat barn, he say, fur no money in dis broad world. he done seed it, suah.”
don, well knowing what it was that the girl referred to, and hardly able to control himself, so great was his desire to laugh, glanced about the table to see what the family thought about it. they were all there, and their faces expressed the greatest astonishment. even the general elevated his eye-brows, and turned about in his chair to look at the girl. don sat down in his place and tried to look as surprised as the rest did; and then recollecting that he had yet seen or heard nothing to be surprised at, he asked:
“what’s the matter?”
“why, mother just sent out word to sam to hitch up the horses,” said bert, “and he sent back word that he couldn’t think of it.”
[pg 251]“why not?” inquired don.
“o, because he’s got it into his head that there’s something out there—something that looks like old jordan.”
“never mind, jane. i will look into the matter after dinner,” said the general.
the girl disappeared, and the family being left alone, devoted themselves to the viands before them and to discussing the strange incidents that were reported to have happened at the barn during the forenoon. don found that, for a wonder, the story of his exploits had been told without the exaggeration common in such cases, but, to keep up appearances, he was obliged to feign ignorance, and inquire particularly into things. bert and his mother declared that it was all moonshine—that the hostler had not seen anything; but the general was pretty well convinced that something had happened, and that an investigation would not be out of place. it was a wonder that no one suspected don, and perhaps the reason was because he looked so innocent.
the investigation came off immediately after dinner, but nothing new was brought to light. the hostler told his story in a straightforward manner and produced his witnesses to prove what he said;[pg 252] and so positive were they all that they had seen jordan’s haunt about the barn but a few hours before, that the general began to think that perhaps the old fellow had returned after his long absence, but, for some reason which he could not explain, was keeping himself as close as possible. the general tried to laugh the matter off at first, but soon found that it was much too serious for that; and his face assumed an expression of trouble and anxiety when he found that the field hands, one and all, had sent him word by the hostler that when night came, they would call on him for the money that was due them.
“i am really afraid i have made a mess of it,” thought don, when he heard this. “i had no idea that i was going to scare everybody so badly, and i wish now i hadn’t done it. no matter, it will soon be over now. i’ll frighten godfrey to-night, if he comes after that barrel, and then i’ll never play old jordan again!”
the general looked grave and seemed greatly perplexed, and so did mrs. gordon; while the boys, don among the rest, declared that there must be some explanation for the strange things that had happened in the barn that morning, and spent the rest of the day in trying to clear away the mystery.[pg 253] they looked in every place, except the one in which they would have been the most likely to find some clue to aid them in their search, and hunted for everything except the right one. they all believed now—all except don, of course—that old jordan had come back, and they looked everywhere for him, except in his room. they knew he could not have gone in there if he had been so disposed, for the door was locked.
night came at last, and so did all the negroes employed on the plantation, who asked for their money. the general, knowing that it would be of no use to argue with them, declined to pay them off until the year for which they were hired was ended; but he promised that, if they saw the apparition again and would show it to him, he would settle with them at once and let them all go. don breathed easier after that. he was afraid that his propensity for mischief was about to occasion his father great inconvenience, and he was glad that the trouble could be averted without a confession on his part. he told himself that his father would never see the apparition. he would take precious good care to avoid that.
don did not put on old jordan’s clothes that night, because godfrey did not come to the potato-patch as[pg 254] he had agreed. clarence waited and watched for him until nine o’clock, and as soon as he could slip away from his relatives the next morning, he went down to godfrey’s cabin to see what had kept him at home. don followed him at a distance, and saw that his cousin held a long and earnest conversation with godfrey, and that he seemed to be very much elated about something when he came back. by putting these two things together, don arrived at the conclusion that godfrey would be on hand that night, and so he was. don happened to be on the watch when he went into the summer-house; and knowing that godfrey would not come so far unless he intended to go the rest of the way, he ran back to the house to get ready for him. it was certainly provoking, when he was in so great a hurry, to find the kitchen occupied by two servants, who would surely see him if he took the key to jordan’s room down from its nail, and who, besides, would be certain to speak about it. they must be got out of the room somehow, and there was no time to waste.
“jane,” said don, suddenly, “did you hear mother calling you?”
“no, sar,” replied the girl, jumping up.
“i didn’t either,” was don’s mental comment, as[pg 255] she hurried away. “ben,” he added, turning to the old negro who sat in the chimney-corner, “what did old preacher hudson want of you just a few minutes ago?”
“sar?” exclaimed ben. “i didn’t see no preacher hudson to-day, sar!”
“why, wasn’t he out at the gate just now calling for you?”
“mebbe so, sar,” replied ben, rising and picking up his hat, “but i didn’t see him. mebbe he’s dar now.”
“i don’t think he is,” said don, to himself, “but it will not hurt you to go out and see; and in the meantime——”
don put the key into his pocket as soon as ben was out of sight, and lost no time in making his way to the barn. at the door he met the hostler.
“time to lock up now, mr. don,” said the latter, “but i’se a little jubus ’bout dat barn, sar. yes, sar, i’se a little jubus!”
“well, then, go back to your quarters and i will lock the doors,” replied don.
the hostler, glad to be relieved of so disagreeable a duty, turned and went off, and don, after closing all the doors, and locking all except one, hurried[pg 256] into old jordan’s room. it was the work of but a few minutes to put on the negro’s clothes and black his face and hands; and this being done, he seized a shovel, and stealing out of the barn, climbed the fence and ran across the potato-patch. about thirty yards from the fence he stopped, and crouching down close to the ground, waited to see what was going to happen. presently he heard cautious footsteps, and a few seconds later two heads appeared above the top rail of the fence.
“there they are,” thought don, his heart beating rapidly with excitement. “now i’ll see if either of them has courage enough to come over the fence after they find out i am here.”
as these thoughts passed through don’s mind he arose to his feet, and driving his shovel into the ground began throwing out the dirt so rapidly, that in a very short space of time he had dug a hole as large as a moderate workman would have been able to dig in ten minutes. he worked till the perspiration started out all over him, but kept his eyes fastened on the two heads, which could be seen plainly above the fence. he knew that the owners of the heads heard the sound of the shovel, and that they were listening to it and talking about it. they stood[pg 257] there at the fence so long that don began to think they were too badly frightened to come any nearer.
“i am afraid i haven’t managed this thing quite right,” thought don. “i ought to have let them come into the field first, and then showed myself to them while they were at work. godfrey will never come within reach of me again while i have these clothes on.”
very likely godfrey never would, if he had been left to himself; but don had somebody else to contend with, and that was his cousin clarence, upon whom he had thus far scarcely bestowed a thought. clarence had more courage then godfrey. he had almost too much, don afterward thought, when he found himself tied up in the potato-hole.
the two stood at the fence and talked and listened for a few minutes, and then to don’s great surprise, and somewhat to his alarm, they jumped over into the field and came toward him, clarence leading the way.
don had half a mind to throw down his shovel and take to his heels; but suppose he had done so, and the swift-footed godfrey, emboldened by his flight, had followed and caught him! what then? it would have turned the joke upon himself, and[pg 258] besides clarence would have found that his cousin was acquainted with his secret, and that was something don did not want him to know.
“i am between two fires,” thought don, almost ready to laugh in spite of his fear of detection, “and for once in my life i have overreached myself. i am sure to be found out, no matter whether i run away or stay here, and then what will clarence think of himself? could he ever face father again, after entering into a conspiracy to rob him of eighty thousand dollars? i’d like to spare his feelings if i can. perhaps if i keep on digging, and act as though i didn’t see or hear them, they will become frightened and go away.”
this was don’s only hope now, but it did not last long, for it was hardly formed in his mind before clarence marched up and seized him by the arm. don was highly amused by the conversation the two engaged in when they came close to him; and when clarence lighted a match and surveyed him by the light it threw out, he would have spoken, had his cousin made the least sign of recognition. but clarence could see no resemblance between those black features and don’s handsome face; and besides godfrey was so positive that they had captured old[pg 259] jordan himself, that he never had a suspicion of the truth.
don played the part of ghost as long as he could, and spoke only when he found that he must, or feel the weight of godfrey’s shovel in his ribs. as he could see no way out of the difficulty in which he was placed, he trusted entirely to luck, hoping that clarence would let him go without compelling him to tell who he was. he heard all that passed between the two, and was not a little amazed to learn that he was to be confined in the potato-hole, and left without anything to eat or drink, until he was ready to tell where the barrel was hidden. he pondered the matter deeply while he was being led across the field and down the road toward godfrey’s cabin, but did not reveal himself, because he still clung to the hope that something might turn up in his favor. he uttered a feeble protest against the treatment he was receiving, just as he believed old jordan would have done, had he been in the same situation, but of course it did no good. while godfrey was gone for the rope and he was alone with clarence, he was several times on the point of speaking out, but could not without doing the very thing he most wished to avoid. while he was thinking about it, godfrey came back,[pg 260] and almost before he knew it, he was confined in the cellar, and clarence and godfrey were out of hearing.
“here i am,” thought don, “and if i don’t get out and reach home very shortly after clarence does there will be a hubbub indeed. i wish i hadn’t done it. what a desperate fellow that clarence gordon is! if he doesn’t turn over a new leaf pretty soon, he will come to some bad end as sure as he is a living boy. what will he have to say for himself when he finds out what he has done? o, i must get away!”
but don’s resolutions amounted to nothing, and neither did the efforts he made to free himself from his bonds. godfrey had done his work well, and don could move neither hand nor foot. he tried to pull the stanchion down, but it was as solid as it was the first day it was put up there, and don could not even shake it. he was fast, and there he must stay until some one came to release him. his feelings, as he began to realize this fact, were none of the pleasantest, but still they were much more agreeable than his cousin’s were the next morning, when he first learned from godfrey evans who it was that he had assisted to capture and imprison the night before; and to him we will now turn before we tell how don got out, and what happened to him afterward.
[pg 261]we left clarence leaning against the corn-crib, almost overwhelmed with the startling disclosures his companion in trouble had just made to him.
“i can see through some of it now jest as easy as fallin’ off a log,” moaned godfrey, rocking himself back and forth as he sat on the ground, “an’ i blame myself fur not seein’ through it sooner. that thar don is a great feller fur tricks, an’ here he’s gone an’ dressed hisself up like ole jordan so’s to fool me an’ the rest.”
“if that is the case,” said clarence, who at last succeeded in finding his tongue, “he must have known about the barrel; and how did he find that out?”
“i didn’t say i could see through it all, did i?” demanded godfrey. “that’s the part i can’t understand, no more’n i can understand how you fust come to know about the bar’l.”
“how do you know it was don?” asked clarence, who could not realize the situation in which he was placed. “you haven’t been near the cellar this morning, have you?”
“no, i hain’t; but i know it’s mr. don all the same,” replied godfrey. “did ye never hear him whistle? wal, i have. he can whistle so’t ye can[pg 262] hear him a mile; an’ the fust thing i heerd this mornin’, when i opened my eyes, was him a whistlin’ like he was a callin’ his dogs. i went to the door an’ listened, kase somethin’ kinder told me that mebbe things wasn’t jest right like they’d oughter be, an’ if them whistles didn’t come from that tater-hole, i ain’t a settin’ here.”
“couldn’t old jordan whistle?” asked clarence, who still clung to the hope that godfrey was mistaken.
“not like that, an’ nuther could anybody else. i tell you he’s thar, mr. clarence, an’ now what’s goin’ to become of me an’ you?”
“de pony ready, sar,” said the hostler, showing himself at the end of the crib at this moment.
“whar ye goin’?” asked godfrey, as clarence moved away. “don’t leave me now. i’m in a power of trouble an’ trib’lation!”
“am i any better off, i’d like to know?” demanded the boy angrily. “you think of no one but yourself. here am i, fifteen hundred miles from home, and with scarcely twenty dollars that i can call my own.”
“that’s more’n i’ve got,” whined godfrey.
“i shouldn’t care a snap if we had only found the[pg 263] barrel,” continued clarence. “with my pockets full of money i could go anywhere; but as it is, how am i going to get home? that’s what troubles me. of course i can’t stay here!”
“no more can i,” said godfrey.
“yes, you can. no one will ever say a word to you about it; but i can’t face any of my uncle’s family after what i have done. of course don will blow the whole thing the minute he gets out. he can’t avoid it, unless he tells a lie, and that’s something he says he never did in his life. i wish to goodness i could say as much!”
clarence had, beyond a doubt, placed himself in a very unpleasant situation, and the longer he talked and thought about it, the more vividly did the fact seem to impress itself upon his mind. one thing was certain: he could not stay under his uncle’s roof any longer, and he thought it would be policy to get as far as possible out of the way before the general returned. he ran around the corner of the crib to the place where the pony was standing, and paying no heed to godfrey’s earnest entreaties that he would stay just long enough to tell him what he ought to do under the circumstances, clarence sprang into the saddle and galloped out of the yard. almost involuntarily[pg 264] he turned down the road toward godfrey’s cabin. he had a vague idea that something might yet be done to avert the calamity he so much dreaded. if don would promise to say nothing about what had happened the night before, and make up some plausible story to tell his father, he (clarence) would release him, and read him a lecture on the subject of practical joking. that much being arranged, he could, perhaps, content himself on the plantation for two weeks longer, during which time he could write to his mother, who would be sure to send him money to take him home, if he asked for it. as soon as it arrived he would bid good-by to all his relatives in mississippi; and when he was once safely on board a steamer bound up the river, he did not care how soon don told about passing the night in the potato-hole. the longer clarence thought of this, the more feasible did the plan seem. it all rested with don, and he was a good-hearted fellow, who, for the sake of keeping his cousin out of trouble, ought to be willing to tell a lie. clarence thought it would do do harm to ask him, at any rate; and with this object in view he put the pony into a gallop, and went down the lane at a more rapid rate than he had ever before travelled on horseback.
[pg 265]arriving at the turn in the road, where he had remained to keep guard over the prisoner while godfrey was gone after the rope, clarence dismounted, tied the pony to a swinging branch, climbed the fence and made his way through the brier-patch toward the potato-hole. he listened repeatedly, but could not hear don’s whistle, and he hoped that it was because his cousin was tired and had stopped to rest; but something told him that it was because he had been liberated. this proved to be the truth of the matter, as clarence found when he reached the cellar. the door stood wide open, and looking in he saw the plough-line with which his cousin had been bound, lying in pieces at the foot of the stanchion.
“it’s all over with me,” thought clarence, hurrying away from the cellar with as much haste as he would have exhibited had he seen some frightful object there. “very likely he is at home by this time telling all he knows. i wish i was at home too. i don’t see why i ever consented to come here.”
clarence suddenly stopped and listened intently. a few weeks ago he would not have noticed the sound that attracted his attention, but he noticed it now, faint as it was, and he was glad to hear it, too. it was the sound of a steam whistle, and it came from the river below him. he recognised it at once,[pg 266] for he had heard it often during his journey down the river. “that’s the emma deane,” thought he. “she has been to new orleans, and is now on her way up the river. can i reach the landing in time to catch her, i wonder? i will, if don’s pony has the wind to stand the gallop.”
clarence ran through the brier-patch, scratching his hands and face and tearing his clothes at almost every step, but nothing could stop his progress. reaching the fence where he had left the pony, he quickly untied him, and jumping on his back, went tearing up the road with all the speed the spirited little animal could be induced to put forth. he did not look up when he passed his uncle’s house, but kept his hat down over his eyes, urged on the pony, and finally disappeared around the bend, and entered a thick piece of woods that bounded that side of general gordon’s plantation. as he dashed along wholly engrossed with his gloomy thoughts, and intent on reaching the landing before the steamer, there was a violent rustling among the bushes, the pony jumped quickly to one side, and his rider, being taken off his guard, was thrown flat in the middle of the dusty lane. clarence scrambled to his feet and made a blind dash to recover the bridle which had been pulled from his grasp, but the pony was too quick[pg 267] for him. he wheeled on the instant, flourished his heels in the air and started for home.
clarence was not injured in the least by the fall, but he was pretty well shaken, and so nearly blinded by the dust that it was a minute or two before he could collect his scattered senses, and clear his eyes so that he could take note of what was going on around him. the first thing he saw was the pony’s white tail disappearing around the turn in the road, and the next was godfrey evans, who arose from a thicket of bushes, and hurrying up laid hold of the boy’s collar.
“i’m pretty badly shaken up, but i don’t need any help,” said clarence, who was already on his feet. “hallo! what’s the matter with you?”
clarence had by this time cleared the dust from his eyes so that he could take a good look at his companion. there was an expression on his face that he had never seen there before, and he did not know what to make of it.
“why don’t you let go my collar?” demanded clarence.
“kase i want them twenty dollars ye’ve got in yer pocket—that’s why,” replied godfrey, savagely.
clarence was too amazed to speak.
