The search for Nimbus proving unavailing--they scarcely seemed to expect to find him--they began to inquire of the terror-stricken woman the whereabouts of his friend.
"Where is "Liab Hill?" asked the man who held her arm.
"What have you done with that snivelling hop-toad minister?" queried another.
"Speak, d.a.m.n you! and see that you tell the truth," said a third, as he struck her over the bare shoulders with a stick.
"Oh! don"t! don"t!" shrieked the poor woman as she writhed in agony.
"I"ll tell! I will, gentlemens--I will--I will! Oh, my G.o.d! don"t!
_don"t!_" she cried, as she leaped wildly about, tearing the one garment away in her efforts to avoid the blows which fell thick and fast on every part of her person, now fully exposed in the bright light.
"Speak, then!" said the man who held the goad. "Out with it! Tell where you"ve hid him!"
"He ain"t--here, gentlemen! He--he--don"t--stay here no mo"."
Again the blows came thick and fast. She fell upon the ground and rolled in the dust to avoid them. Her round black limbs glistened in the yellow light as she writhed from side to side.
"Here I am--here!" came a wild, shrill shriek from Eliab"s cabin.
Casting a glance towards it, one of the men saw a blanched and pallid face pressed against the window and lighted by the blazing church--the face of him who was wont to minister there to the people who did not know their own "best friends!"
"There he is!"--"Bring the d.a.m.n rascal out!"--"He"s the one we want, anyhow!"
These and numerous other shouts of similar character, beat upon the ears of the terrified watcher, as the crowd of masked marauders rushed towards the little cabin which had been his home ever since Red Wing had pa.s.sed into the possession of its present owner. It was the first building erected under the new proprietorship, and was substantially built of pine logs. The one low window and the door in front were the only openings cut through the solidly-framed logs. The door was fastened with a heavy wooden bar which reached across the entire shutter and was held in place by strong iron staples driven into the heavy door-posts. Above, it was strongly ceiled, but under the eaves were large openings made by the thick poles which had been used for rafters. If the owner had been capable of defense he could hardly have had a castle better adapted for a desperate and successful struggle than this.
Eliab Hill knew this, and for a moment his face flushed as he saw the crowd rush towards him, with the vain wish that he might fight for his life and for his race. He had fully made up his mind to die at his post. He was not a brave man in one sense of the word.
A cripple never is. Compelled to acknowledge the physical superiority of others, year after year, he comes at length to regard his own inferiority as a matter of course, and never thinks of any movement which partakes of the aggressive. Eliab Hill had procured the strong bar and heavy staples for his door when first warned by the Klan, but he had never concocted any scheme of defense. He thought vaguely, as he saw them coming towards him in the bright moonlight and in the brighter glow of the burning sanctuary, that with a good repeating arm he might not only sell his life dearly, but even repel the attack. It would be a proud thing if he might do so. He was sorry he had not thought of it before. He remembered the Spencer carbine which he had given a few days before to Berry Lawson to clean and repair, and to obtain cartridges of the proper calibre, in order that it might be used by some one in the defense of Red Wing. Berry had not yet returned. He had never thought of using it himself, until that moment when he saw his enemies advancing upon him with wild cries, and heard the roar of the flaming church. He was not a hero. On the contrary, he believed himself a coward.
He was brave enough in suffering, but his courage was like that of a woman. He was able and willing to endure the most terrible evils, but he did not think of doing brave things or achieving great acts. His courage was not aggressive. He could be killed, but did not think of killing. Not that he was averse to taking life in self-defense, but he had been so long the creature of another"s will in the matter of locomotion that it did not occur to him to do otherwise than say: "Do with me as thou wilt. I am bound hand and foot. I cannot fight, but I can die."
He shrank from acute pain with that peculiar terror which the confirmed invalid always exhibits, perhaps because he realizes its horror more than those who are usually exempt from its pangs.
As he pressed his face close to the flame-lighted pane, and watched the group of grotesquely disguised men rushing toward his door, his eyes were full of wild terror and his face twitched, while his lips trembled and grew pale under the dark mustache. There was a rush against the door, but it did not yield. Another and another; but the heavy bar and strong staples held it fast. Then his name was called, but he did not answer. Drawing his head quickly from the window, he closed the heavy wooden shutter, which fitted closely into the frame on the inside, and fastened it with a bar like that upon the door. Hardly had he done so when a blow shattered the window. Something was thrust in and pa.s.sed around the opening, trying here and there to force open the shutter, but in vain. Then it was pressed against the bottom, just where the shutter rested on the window-sill. There was an instant"s silence save that Eliab Hill heard a click which he thought was caused by the c.o.c.king of a revolver, and threw himself quickly down upon his bench. There was a sharp explosion, a jarring crash as the ball tore through the woodwork, and hurtling across the room buried itself in the opposite wall. Then there were several shots fired at the door. One man found a little hole in the c.h.i.n.king, between two of the logs, and putting his revolver through, fired again and again, sending spits of hot flame and sharp spiteful reverberations through the darkness of the cabin.
Eliab Hill watched all this with fixed, staring eyes and teeth set, but did not move or speak. He scrambled off the bench, and crawled, in his queer tri-pedal fashion, to the cot, crept into it, and with hands clasped, sat bolt upright on the pillow. He set his back against the wall, and, facing the door, waited for the end. He wished that some of the bullets that were fired might pierce his heart. He even prayed that his doom might come sharp and swift--that he might be saved from torture--might be spared the lash. He only feared lest his manhood should fail him in the presence of impending suffering.
There came a rush against the door with some heavy timber.
He guessed that it was the log from the hitching rack in front of Nimbus" house. But the strong bar did not yield. They called out his name again, and a.s.sured him that if he did not undo the door they would fire the house. A strange look of relief, even of joy, pa.s.sed over his face as he heard this declaration. He clasped his hands across his breast as he sat upon the bed, and his lips moved in prayer. He was not afraid to die, but he was afraid that he might not be strong enough to endure all the pain that might be caused by torture, without betraying his suffering or debasing his manhood.
He felt very weak and was glad to know that fire and smoke would hide his groans and tears.
While he waited for the hissing of the flame the blows of an axe resounded on the door. It was wielded by stalwart hands, and ere long the glare from without shone through the double planking.
"h.e.l.lo, "Liab--"Liab Hill!" cried a voice at the opening which seemed to the quiet listener within strangely like that of Sheriff Gleason. "d.a.m.n me, boys, if I don"t believe you"ve killed the n.i.g.g.e.r, shooting in there. Hadn"t we better just set the cabin afire and let it burn?"
"Put in your hand and see if you can"t lift the bar," said another.
"I"d like to know whether the scoundrel is dead or alive. Besides that, I don"t fancy this burning houses. I don"t object to hanging a sa.s.sy n.i.g.g.e.r, or anything of that kind, but burning a house is a different matter. That"s almost too mean for a white man to do.
It"s kind of a n.i.g.g.e.r business, to my notion."
"For instance!" said another, with a laugh, pointing to the blazing church.
"Oh, d.a.m.n it!" said the former, "that"s another thing. A d.a.m.n n.i.g.g.e.r school-house ain"t of no more account than a brush-pile, anyhow."
A hand was thrust through" the opening and the bar lifted from one socket and drawn out of the other. Then the door flew open and a half dozen men rushed into the room. The foremost fell over the rolling chair which had been left near the door, and the others in turn fell over him.
"What the h.e.l.l!" cried one. "Here, bring the light here. What is this thing anyhow?"
The light was brought, and the voice continued: "d.a.m.ned if it ain"t the critter"s go-cart. Here kick the d.a.m.n thing out--smash it up!
Such things ain"t made for n.i.g.g.e.rs to ride on, anyhow. He won"t need it any more--not after we have got through with him."
"That he won"t!" said another, as the invalid"s chair which had first given Eliab Hill power to move himself about was kicked out of the door and broken into pieces with blows of the axe.
Eliab Hill felt as if a part of his life was already destroyed.
He groaned for the fate of this inseparable companion of all his independent existence. It had grown dearer to him than he knew.
It hurt him, even then, to hear the coa.r.s.e, grim jests which were uttered as its finely-wrought frame cracked beneath the blows of the axe, and its luxurious belongings were rent and torn by the hands that would soon rend and tear its owner. He had come to look upon the insensate machine with a pa.s.sionate regard. While it seemed like tearing away his limbs to take it from him, yet there was a feeling of separate animate existence about it which one never feels towards his own members. He had petted and polished and cared for this strong, pretty, and easily worked combination of levers and springs and wheels that had served him so faithfully, until it seemed to his fancy like an old and valued friend.
CHAPTER x.x.xVII.
THE "BEST FRIENDS" REVEAL THEMSELVES.
"Bring alight!" shouted the leader. One of the men rushed into the house of Nimbus, and s.n.a.t.c.hed a flaming brand from the hearth. As he ran with it out of the front door, he did not see a giant form which leaped from the waving corn and sprang into the back door.
The black foot was bare and made no sound as it fell upon the threshold. He did not see the black, furious face or the right arm, bared above the elbow, which s.n.a.t.c.hed a saber from the top of a cupboard. He did not see the glaring, murderous eyes that peered through the vine-leaves as he rushed, with his flaming brand aloft, out of the house to the hut of Eliab. As he readied the door the light fell upon the preacher, who sat upon the bed. The fear of death had pa.s.sed away--even the fear of suffering was gone. His lips moved in prayer, the forgiving words mingling with the curses of his a.s.sailants: "O G.o.d, my help and my shield!" ("_Here he is, G.o.d d.a.m.n him._") "Forgive them, Father--" ("_I"ve got him._") "They know not---a--h!"
A long, shrill shriek--the voice of a man overborne by mortal agony--sounded above the clamor of curses, and above the roar of the blazing church. There was a fall upon the cabin floor--the grating sound of a body swiftly drawn along its surface--and one of the masked marauders rushed out dragging by the foot the preacher of the Gospel of Peace. The withered leg was straightened. The weakened sinews were torn asunder, and as his captor dragged him out into the light and flung the burden away, the limb dropped, lax and nerveless, to the ground. Then there were blows and kicks and curses from the crowd, which rushed upon him. In the midst, one held aloft a blazing brand. Groans and fragments of prayer came up through the din. [Footnote: Those who are interested in such matters may find some curiously exact parallels of the characters and incidents of this chapter testified to under oath in the "Report of the Committee on Ku-Klux Outrages in the Southern States." The facts are of no special interest, however, except as ill.u.s.trations of the underlying spirit and cause of this strange epidemic of violence.]
All at once there was a roar as of a desert lion bursting from its lair. They looked and saw a huge black form leap from the porch of the other house and bound toward them. He was on them in a minute.
There was the swish of a saber swung by a practiced hand, and the high-peaked mask of the leader bent over the hissing blade, and was stripped away, leaving a pale, affrighted face glaring stupidly at the ebon angel of wrath in the luried fire-light. A fearful oath came through the white, strong teeth, which showed hard-set below the moustache. Again the saber whistled round the head of the avenger.
There was a shriek of mortal agony, and one of the masqueraders fell. The others shrunk back. One fired a shot. The man with the torch stood for the moment as though transfixed, with the glaring light still held aloft. Then, with his revolver, he aimed a close, sure shot at the dusky giant whom he watched.
Suddenly he saw a woman"s naked figure, that seemed to rise from the ground. There was a gleam of steel, and then down through mask and flesh and bone crashed the axe which had fallen by the door step, and the blood spurted upon Lugena"s unclothed form and into the face of the prostrate Eliab, as the holder of the torch fell beside him. Then the others gave way, and the two black forms pursued. There were some wild shots fired back, as they fled toward the wood beyond the road.
Then from its depths came a flash and a roar. A ball went shrieking by them and flew away into the darkness beyond. Another, and another and another! It was not the sharp, short crack of the revolver, but the fierce angry challenge of the rifle. They had heard it before upon the battle-field, and terror lent them wings as they fled.
The hurtling missiles flew here and there, wherever a masked form could be seen, and pursued their fleeing shadows into the wood, glancing from tree to tree, cutting through spine and branch and splintering bole, until the last echo of their footsteps had died away.
Then all was still, except the roar of the burning church and the solemn soughing of the pines, as the rising west wind rustled their branches.
Nimbus and his wife stood listening in the shade of a low oak, between the scene of conflict and the highway. No sound of the flying enemy could be heard.
"Nimbus! _Oh_, Nimbus!" the words came in a strained, low whisper from the unclad figure at his side.
"Wal, "Gena?"
"Is you hurt, honey?"
"Nary bit. How should I be? They run away ez quick ez I come. Did they "buse you, "Gena?"
"None of enny "count," she answered, cautiously, for fear of raising his anger to a point beyond control--"only jest a tryin" ter make me tell whar you was--you an" "Liab."