She pressed the palms of both her hands against her forehead as though in a motion of utter bewilderment.
"Oh, I cannot seem to realize," she exclaimed. "Everything is like a dream to me--impossible in its horror. This situation, is so terrible; it has come upon me so suddenly, I cannot decide, I cannot even comprehend what my duty is. You urge me to go away with you--alone?"
"I do; there is no other way left. You cannot remain here in the hands of these men; the result of such a step is too terrible to even contemplate. There are no means of determining where the others are--Delia and Miss Eloise. Perhaps they have had warning and fled already," I urged, desperately.
Her eyes were staring down at Kirby"s body.
"Look, he--he is not dead," she sobbed, excitedly. "Did you see then, one of his limbs moved, and--and why he is beginning to gasp for breath."
"All the more reason why we should decide at once. If the fellow regains consciousness and lives, our danger will be all the greater."
"Yes, he would be merciless," her lips parted, her eyes eloquent of disgust and horror as she suddenly lifted them to my face. "I--I must not forget that I--I belong to him; I am his slave; he--he, that hideous thing there, can do anything he wishes with me--the law says he can." The indignant color mounted into her face. "He can sell me, or use me, or rent me; I am his chattel. Good G.o.d! think of it! Why, I am as white as he is, better educated, accustomed to every care, brought up to believe myself rich and happy--and now I belong to him; he owns me, body and soul." She paused suddenly, a.s.sailed by a new thought, a fresh consideration.
"Do you know the law?"
"I am no expert; what is it you would ask?"
"The truth of what they have told me. Is it so, is it the law that these men can take possession of nothing here until after Eloise has been found and their papers served upon her?"
"Yes, I believe it is," I said. "She is the legal heiress of Judge Beaucaire; the estate is hers by inheritance, as, I am told, there was no will. All this property, including the slaves, would legally remain in her possession until proper steps had been taken by others. Serving of the papers would be necessary. There is no doubt as to that--although, probably, after a certain length of time, the court might presume her dead and take other action to settle the estate."
"But not for several years?"
"No; I think I have heard how many, but have forgotten."
She drew a deep breath and stepped toward me, gazing straight into my face.
"I believe in you," she said firmly. "And I trust you. You look like a real man. You tell me you serve in the army--an officer?"
"A lieutenant of infantry."
She held out her hand and my own closed over it, the firm, warm clasp of her fingers sending a strange thrill through my whole body. An instant she looked directly into my eyes, down into the very soul of me, and what I read in the depths of her brown orbs could never find expression in words. I have thought of it often since--that great, dimly-lighted room, with the guard at the outer door; the inert, almost lifeless body huddled on the floor beside us, and Rene Beaucaire, her hand clasped in mine.
"Lieutenant Knox," she said softly, yet with a note of confidence in the low voice, "no woman was ever called upon to make a more important choice than this. Although I am a slave, now I am free to choose. I am going to trust you absolutely; there are reasons why I so decide which I cannot explain at this time. I have not known you long enough to venture that far. You must accept me just as I am--a runaway slave and a negress, but also a woman. Can you pledge such as I your word of honor--the word of a soldier and a gentleman?"
"I pledge it to you, Rene Beaucaire," I answered soberly.
"And I accept the pledge in all faith. From now on, whatever you say I will do."
I had but one immediate purpose in my mind--to escape from the house as quickly as possible, to attain Pete"s cart at the edge of the woods and be several miles up the river, hidden away in some covert before daylight, leaving no trail behind. The first part of this hasty program would have to be carried out instantly, for any moment a suspicion might cause Carver to throw open the door leading into the hallway and expose our position. Kirby was already showing unmistakable symptoms of recovery, while those other men idling on the front porch might begin to wonder what was going on so long inside and proceed to investigate. By this time they must be nervously anxious to get away. Besides, it would prove decidedly to our advantage if I was not seen or recognized. The very mystery, the bewilderment as to who had so viciously attacked the gambler and then spirited away the girl, would serve to facilitate our escape. Theories as to how it had been accomplished would be endless and the pursuit delayed.
I stooped and removed a pistol from Kirby"s pocket, dropping it, together with such ammunition as I could find, into one of my own. The man by this time was breathing heavily, although his eyes remained closed, and he still lay exactly as he had fallen.
"Keep your own weapon," I commanded her. "Hide it away in your dress.
Now come with me."
She obeyed, uttering no word of objection, and stepping after me through the open window onto the narrow balcony without. I reached up and drew down the shade, leaving us in comparative darkness. The night was soundless and our eyes, straining to pierce the black void, were unable to detect any movement.
"You see nothing?" I whispered, touching her hand in encouragement.
"No evidence of a guard anywhere?"
"No--the others must still be out in front waiting."
"There were only the four of them then?"
"So I understood. I was told they came up the river in a small keel-boat, operated by an engine, and that they antic.i.p.ated no resistance. The engineer was left to watch the boat and be ready to depart down stream at any moment."
"Good; that leaves us a clear pa.s.sage. Now I am going to drop to the ground; it is not far below. Can you make it alone?"
"I have done so many a time."
We attained the solid earth almost together and in silence.
"Now let me guide you," she suggested, as I hesitated. "I know every inch of the way about here. Where is the negro waiting?"
"At the edge of the wood where the wagon road ends, beyond the slave quarters."
"Yes, I know; it will be safer for us to go around the garden."
She flitted forward, sure-footed, confident, and I followed as rapidly as possible through the darkness, barely keeping her dim figure in sight. We skirted the rear fence, and then the blacker shadow of the wood loomed up somber before us. Our feet stumbled over the ruts of a road and I seemed to vaguely recognize the spot as familiar. Yes, away off yonder was the distant gleam of the river reflecting the stars.
This must be the very place where Pete and I had parted, but--where had the fellow gone? I caught at her sleeve, but as she paused and turned about, could scarcely discern the outlines of her face in the gloom.
"Here is where he was directed to wait," I explained, hurriedly.
"Before I left he had turned his mule around under this very tree. I am sure I am not mistaken in the spot."
"Yet he is not here, and there is no sign of him. You left no other instructions except for him to remain until your return?"
"I think not--oh; yes, I did tell him if you women came without me, he was to drive you at once to the boat and leave me to follow the best way I could. Do you suppose it possible the others reached here and he has gone away with them?"
I felt a consciousness that her eyes were upon me, that she was endeavoring to gain a glimpse of my face.
"No, I can hardly imagine that. I--I do not know what to think. When I see you I believe all you say, but here in the darkness it is not the same. You--you are not deceiving me?"
"No; you must trust my word. This is unfortunate, but neither of us could venture back now. There is a pledge between us."
She stood silent and I strove by peering about to discover some marks of guidance, only to learn the uselessness of the effort. Even a slight advance brought no result, and it was with some difficulty I even succeeded in locating her again in the darkness--indeed, only the sound of her voice made me aware of her immediate presence.
"The negro"s boat is some distance away, is it not?"
"Four miles, over the worst road I ever traveled." A sudden remembrance swept into my mind, bringing with it inspiration.
"Have you ever visited the mouth of Saunder"s Creek? You have! How far away is that from here?"
"Not more than half a mile, it enters the river just below the Landing."
"And, if I understood you rightly," I urged, eagerly, "you said that these fellows left their keel-boat there; that it had been rigged up to run by steam, and had no guard aboard except the engineer; you are sure of this?"
"That was what the man who talked to me first said--the deputy sheriff.