"Suppose he had taken it up?"
"I never thought of such a thing, sir; I was trying to help him, and he knew it."
"I wouldn"t have trusted him," remarked the overseer.
"I did trust him, sir; or, rather, I didn"t think anything about it.
I wanted to stop his leg from bleeding."
"Was he in a hurry to be off after you had fixed him up?"
"He looked uneasy, as if afraid that somebody else might come before he could get away."
"Perhaps he expected you to take up your gun and order him to march for his old quarters?"
"I don"t know how that was," said Ralph; "but the gun lay all the while where he could have taken it up if he would."
"What did you say to him?"
"I told him he was free. And it almost made me cry to see how grateful he appeared for what I had done. I hope he has some good place to stay in."
"No danger," said the overseer; "he has a good enough place for this climate, and lives on the fat of the land, besides. I think some of my negroes could go straight to him within the next two hours, but they won"t tell."
"And do they never run away, too?" asked Ralph.
"Yes; but I have generally got them back. Sometimes they are arrested by the Spanish soldiers, if they venture out of the woods; and sometimes, when they keep in their hiding-places, I track them out myself."
"And do you whip them when you get them back?"
"Of course I do; that teaches them better than to risk it again."
Somehow, Ralph did not like Mr. Osborne; for, besides that it was hard to help a.s.sociating him with the cruel office he occupied, there was a something in him as an individual which repelled the boy"s quick, intuitive sympathies. Practically he might be better than most overseers, but how could he be otherwise under a superior like Mr.
Arthur?
Ralph had brought in the parrots and paroquets that he had shot, for he had not forgotten them on remounting his pony, and he now took off their skins in a very artistic manner, leaving the beautiful plumage almost unruffled, much to the delight of Camilla, who thanked him for his thoughtfulness of her.
Upon the journey homeward, the two spotted ponies, keeping close together, galloped, trotted or walked, according to the fancies of their riders or the variations of the road, while the horses of the older people jogged more steadily.
"I wonder," said Camilla, "if Jumbo will not often think of you? I know he will, though--he cannot help it."
"I hope he will," said Ralph; "and I hope, too, that he will not suffer.
Your father does not seem at all anxious to get him back."
"Oh, no! papa does not care for his running away. He says that if the revolution should succeed, the new government would free all the slaves, and he is willing that this should be done. Somehow, he is a slaveholder against his will."
"Do you like Mr. Osborne?" asked Ralph.
"Not very well. Papa has a high opinion of him as an overseer, but I do think that even papa himself is not quite satisfied with all that was done while we were away in the United States."
"The revolutionists appear to ruin a great many sugar plantations," said Ralph. "Do you ever feel afraid of being molested?"
"Yes, mamma and I do, because they sometimes come very near us; but papa says he does not think there is any danger. They know what his sentiments are; besides, he is an _Americano_, and they have a great respect for _los Americanos_."
"And isn"t he afraid, then, of the Spanish government?"
"No; he takes no active part on either side; only his feelings are with the liberal party. I think papa is not much of a politician."
"I know how he feels," said Ralph; "he is good and kind, and wants everybody to be free. He is one of the best men I ever saw."
"He really is!" exclaimed Camilla, enthusiastically. "He is just as good as any one _can_ be. And," she added, with childlike earnestness, "he likes you ever so much, too."
Ralph was perfectly happy upon this ride; and when the party reached home, it was to be greeted by the unaffected welcome of the negroes, old and young, who were evidently much attached to their master and his household. The parrots chattered, and the song-birds sang, while the odor of the orange blossoms was well in keeping with the rest.
CHAPTER XV.
A NEW PROPOSITION.
Next day the planter and his young guest visited the city, and returned with Captain Weston. He was thrilled by the story of Ralph"s encounter with the wild boar. It shocked him to think how narrowly a dreadful calamity had been escaped, and he all the while attending to his ordinary duties, in ignorance of the danger.
"Captain," said Mr. Arthur, as they sat conversing together after reaching the plantation, "I have a proposition to make. Why not let Ralph remain with me till your return from Philadelphia? I may take a journey or two about the island within the next few weeks, upon business, and probably he would enjoy going with me. It would give him an opportunity to see more of Cuba than he is likely to see in any other way."
"I don"t know what his mother would say," replied the captain. "She expects me to bring him home, and I am afraid she would be troubled about it. Besides, I like to have him with me, though I know you would take every care of him."
"I understand your feelings," said the planter; "but my wife is about writing to Mrs. Weston concerning the debt of grat.i.tude we owe him; and should you consent to his remaining, I think her letter will place the matter in such a light as to remove any objection on his mother"s part."
Mrs. Arthur seconded her husband very earnestly.
"You cannot think how much we would enjoy having him here," she said.
"He has such a kind, lovable nature, and is so bright and active. I do hope it may be arranged that he may stay."
Captain Weston revolved the matter seriously, and concluded at length that it should be left to Ralph"s decision. What that decision would be he could have had very little doubt, as he glanced toward the boy and girl who were at that moment enjoying a swing under an orange tree of unusual size, the vibrations of the rope occasionally bringing down some of the golden fruit.
Ralph was in ecstasies at the proposition, and Camilla"s bright face lighted up with a pleasure that she did not try to conceal.
"Oh, how nice it will be!" she said. "I am so glad you are to remain."
A soft flush leaped to her cheeks as she spoke, and her beautiful eyes expressed an artlessness that was very bewitching.
So it was settled that Ralph should remain in Cuba during the two months which would probably elapse before the return of the Cristoval Colon to Santiago. His mother (for he could not have endured to think of Mrs.
Weston in any other light) would be comforted by the knowledge that he was in such good hands. And then how much he would have to tell her when he should go home!
Captain Weston was greatly pleased with the plantation and its management. He had seen much of Cuba, but never anything of this kind which appeared so satisfactory. He walked and rode with the planter, smoked his cigar with him, and admired his kind treatment of his slaves.
After a tarry of two days, he returned to the city, accompanied by the planter and Ralph.
As the latter mounted the side of the Cristoval Colon, he met a merry welcome from the tars, some of whom threw out sly innuendoes in their sailor style about pearls and pearl-divers, but he did not permit their harmless jokes to annoy him.
After a pleasant visit, Mr. Arthur returned to the plantation; but Ralph did not accompany him, as he desired to remain some days with his father during the vessel"s brief stay in port.