"Where is Kirby?" I asked, incredulous of his sudden disappearance.
For a moment no one answered; then a voice in the crowd croaked hoa.r.s.ely:
"He just slipped out through that after door to the deck--him and Bill Carver."
"And the stakes?"
Another answered in a thin, piping treble.
"I reckon them two cusses took along the most ov it. Enyhow "tain"t yere, "cept maybe a few coins that rolled tinder the table. It wasn"t Joe Kirby who picked up the swag, fer I was a watchin" him, an" he never onct let go ov his gun. Thet d.a.m.n sneak Carver must a did it, an" then the two ov "em just sorter nat"rally faded away through that door thar."
McAfee swore through his black beard, the full truth swiftly dawning upon him.
"h.e.l.l!" he exploded. "So that"s the way of it. Then them two wus in cahoots frum the beginnin". That"s what I told the Jedge last night, but he said he didn"t give a whoop; thet he knew more poker than both ov "em put tergether. I tell yer them fellers stole that money, an"
they killed Beaucaire--"
"Hold on a minute," I broke in, my mind cleared of its first pa.s.sion, and realizing the necessity of control. "Let"s keep cool, and go slow.
While I believe McAfee is right, we are not going to bring the Judge back to life by turning into a mob. There is no proof of cheating, and Kirby has the law behind him. Let me talk to the captain about what had best be done."
"Who, Thockmorton?"
"Yes; he"ll know the better action for us to take. He"s level-headed, and an old friend of Beaucaire"s."
"I"m fer swingin" that d.a.m.n gambler up, without askin" n.o.body," shouted a fellow fiercely. "He"s bin raisin" h.e.l.l frum one end o" this river ter the other fer ten years. A rope is whut he needs."
"What good would that do in this case?" I questioned before anyone else could chime in, "either to the dead man, or his family? That"s what I am thinking about, men. Suppose you strung him up, that money, the plantation, and those slaves would still belong to him, or his heirs.
I"m for getting all these back, if there is any way of accomplishing it. See here, men," I pleaded earnestly, "this affair doesn"t necessarily end here on board the _Warrior_, and if you were to kill Kirby it wouldn"t benefit matters any."
"It would get rid ov a skunk."
"Yes, but he is only one of a hundred between here and New Orleans.
Look at the other side a minute. Beaucaire bet everything he possessed--everything, land, n.i.g.g.e.rs, and money. Kirby sneered him on to it, and saw that he had the kind of a hand that would do the business right. When the Judge died he didn"t own enough to pay his funeral expenses. Now see here; I happen to know that he left two young daughters. Just stop, and think of them. We saw this game played, and there isn"t a man here who believes it was played on the square--that two such hands were ever dealt, or drawn, in poker. We can"t prove that Kirby manipulated things to that end; not one of us saw how he worked the trick. There is no chance to get him that way.
Then what is it we ought to do? Why I say, make the thief disgorge--and hanging won"t do the business."
"Well then, what will?"
"I confess I do not yet know. I want to talk with Thockmorton first.
He may know something."
There was a moment"s silence, then a suspicious voice, "Who the h.e.l.l are you? How do we know you ain"t in on this yerself?"
"Listen, men," and I fronted them, looking straight into their eyes.
"You have a right to ask that question, and I"ll tell you who I am. I am not here in uniform, but I am an officer of the United States Army.
Captain Thockmorton will vouch for that. I pledge you my word that this affair does not end here. I never met any of these men until I came on board the boat at Fort Armstrong, but I have letters with me for Governor Clark of Missouri, and Governor Reynolds of Illinois.
Either man will accept my statement regarding this matter, and I promise you that either Kirby and Carver will return the papers and money before we reach St. Louis, or I"ll swear out a warrant for their arrest. If you boys will stay with me we"ll scare it out of them for the sake of those girls. What do you say?"
No one spoke immediately, although there was a muttering of voices, sounding antagonistic, and sprinkled with oaths. It was, indeed, a poor time and place in which to appeal to the law, nor were these men accustomed to the pleadings of mercy. I glanced across Beaucaire"s extended body, and caught the eyes of McAfee. The man lifted his hand.
"The leftenant has got this thing sized up about proper," he said gruffly. "He"s an army officer all right, fer I saw him back thar on the island, when we wus tied up at the dock. Now look yere, boys, I"m fer hangin" both ov them cusses just as much as eny ov the rest ov yer--a bit more, I reckon, fer they stripped me ov my pile; along with Beaucaire, only I was easier ter strip--but, as the leftenant says, that ain"t the p"int now. What we want ter do is get back them bills o" sale, so them two young women won"t be left with nuthin" ter live on. Let"s make the fellers cough up furst, an" then, if we think best, we kin hang "em afterwards. It"s my vote we let the leftenant tackle the job--what do yer say?"
The rise and fall of voices, although punctuated by oaths, and indistinct in expression, seemed generally to signify a.s.sent. The faces of the men, as they pushed and crowded about us, remained angry and resentful. Clearly enough prompt action alone would carry the day.
"Very well then, boys," I broke in sharply. "You agree to leave this settlement with me. Then I"ll go at it. Two or three of you pick up the body, and carry it to Beaucaire"s stateroom--forward there. The rest of you better straighten up the cabin, while I go up and talk with Thockmorton a moment. After that I may want a few of you to go along when I hunt up Kirby. If he proves ugly we"ll know how to handle him.
McAfee!"
"I"m over here."
"I was just going to say that you better stay here, and keep the fellows all quiet in the cabin. We don"t want our plan to leak out, and it will be best to let Kirby and Carver think that everything is all right; that nothing is going to be done."
I waited while several of them gently picked up the body, and bore it forward into the shadows. Others busied themselves in straightening the overturned furniture, and gathered into a small pile those few scattered coins which had fallen to the deck, and been overlooked by the two gamblers in their eagerness to escape. No one attempted to appropriate any of these. McAfee apparently knew most of the fellows intimately, calling them by name, and seemed to be recognized as a leader among them. This fact was encouraging, as to all appearance they were a rough set, unaccustomed to law of any kind, and to be controlled only by physical strength, and some one of their own sort.
In spite of my position and rank, I was far too young in appearance to exercise much weight of authority over such border men, but fortunately I possessed sufficient good sense to rely now in this emergency upon the black-bearded McAfee, who served well. His voice, strongly resembling a foghorn, arose in threat and expostulation unceasingly, and the miners, who evidently knew him well, and perhaps had previously tested the weight of his fist, were lamb-like and obedient to his control.
"They"ll be quiet enough fer a while, leftenant," he managed to whisper hoa.r.s.ely to me. "But they is jest boys growed up, an" if eny one o"
them should really take a notion ter raise h.e.l.l, all the cussin" I might do wouldn"t make no diffrance. Whatever yer aim at, better be done right off, while I kin sorter keep "em busy down yere; onct they git loose on the deck the devil himself couldn"t stop "em frum startin"
a row."
This advice was so good that I slipped instantly away, silently gained the door, and, un.o.bserved, emerged on to the deserted deck without.
The sudden change in environment sobered me, and caused me to pause and seriously consider the importance of my mission. Through the thin walls of the cabin the murmuring voices of those within became indistinct, except as an occasional loudly spoken oath, or call, might be distinguished. The struggling _Warrior_ was close within the looming shadows of the western sh.o.r.e, and seemed to be moving downward more swiftly with the current, as though the controlling mind in the darkened wheelhouse felt confident of clear water ahead. The decks throbbed to the increased pulsation of the engine, and I could plainly hear the continuous splash of the great stern wheel as it flung spray high into the air.
I paused a moment, hand gripping the rail, and eyes seeking vainly to peer across the wide expanse of river, really fronting the situation for the first time, and endeavoring to think out calmly some definite course of action. Thus far, spurred only by necessity, and a sense of obligation, I had merely been blindly grasping at the first suggestion which had occurred to mind. The emergency had demanded action, rather than reflection. But now, on cooler consideration, and alone, the result I sought did not appear so apparent, nor so easily attained.
Hitherto, in the midst of the excitement occasioned by Beaucaire"s tragic death, my mind had grasped but one idea clearly--if I permitted Kirby to be mobbed and killed by those enraged men, his death would benefit no one; would remedy no wrong. That mad mob spirit must be fought down, conquered. Yet now, when I had actually accomplished this, what must be my next step? Nothing less potent than either fear, or force, would ever make Kirby disgorge. Quite evidently the gambler had deliberately set out to ruin the planter, to rob him of every dollar. Even at the last moment he had coldly insisted on receiving a bill of sale so worded as to leave no possible loophole. He demanded all. The death of the Judge, of course, had not been contemplated, but this in no way changed the result. That was an accident, yet, I imagined, might not be altogether unwelcome, and I could not rid my memory of that shining weapon in Kirby"s hand, or the thought that he would have used it had the need arose. Would he not then fight just as fiercely to keep, as he had, to gain? Indeed, I had but one fact upon which I might hope to base action--every watcher believed those cards had been stacked, and that Beaucaire was robbed by means of a trick.
Yet, could this be proven? Would any one of those men actually swear that he had seen a suspicious move? If not, then what was there left me except a mere bluff? Absolutely nothing.
Gambling was a recognized inst.i.tution, with which even the law did not interfere. Of course there were statutes in both Missouri and Illinois, but no enforcement. Indeed the gambling fraternity was so firmly intrenched, through wealth and influence, that no steamer captain even, autocratic as he often was, would dare encroach on their prerogatives. Interested as Thockmorton would be in serving Beaucaire"s dependents, and as much as he cordially disliked Kirby, all I could rely upon from him in this emergency would be a certain moral support, and possibly some valuable advice. He would never dare ally himself openly, for the cost of such action would be too high. On the other hand, from my knowledge of Kirby"s desperate character, and previous exploits, I seriously doubted the efficacy of threatening him with lynch law. He would be far more liable to defy a mob than yield to its demands. Yet memory of those two helpless girls--more particularly that one over whose unconsciousness there hung the possibility of slavery--urged me strongly to attempt even the apparently impossible. I had it in my mind to fight the man personally if, in no other way, I could attain my end; at least I would face him with every power and authority I could bring to bear.
With no other object in mind, and unarmed, never once dreaming of attack, I advanced alone along the dark, narrow strip of deck, leading toward the ladder which mounted to the wheelhouse. There were no lights, and I was practically compelled to feel my way by keeping one hand upon the rail. The steamer was sweeping around a great bend, and a leadsman forward was calling the depth of water, his monotonous voice chanting out strange river terms of guidance. I had reached the foot of the ladder, my fingers blindly seeking the iron rungs in the gloom, when a figure, vague, indistinct, suddenly emerged from some denser shadow and confronted me. Indeed the earliest realization I had of any other presence was a sharp pressure against my breast, and a low voice breathing a menacing threat in my ear.
"I advise you not to move, you young fool. This is a c.o.c.ked pistol tickling your ribs. Where were you going?"
The black night veiled his face, but language and voice, an spite of its low grumble, told me the speaker was Kirby. The very coldness of his tone served to send a chill through me.
"To have a word with Thockmorton," I answered, angered at my own fear, and rendered reckless by that burst of pa.s.sion. "What do you mean by your threat? Haven"t you robbed enough men already with cards without resorting to a gun?"
"This is no robbery," and I knew by the sharpness of his reply my words had stung, "and it might be well for you to keep a civil tongue in your head. I overheard what you said to those men in the cabin. So you are going to take care of me, are you?" There was a touch of steel in the low voice. "Now listen, you brainless meddler. Joe Kirby knows exactly what he is doing when he plays any game. I had nothing to do with Beaucaire"s death, but those stakes are mine. I hold them, and I will kill any man who dares to interfere with me."
"You mean you refuse to return any of this property?"
"Every cent, every n.i.g.g.e.r, every acre--that"s my business. Beaucaire was no child; he knew what he was betting, and he lost."
"But," I insisted almost hopelessly, "perhaps you do not wholly understand this matter--the entire situation. Judge Beaucaire risked every penny he possessed in the world."
"I suppose he did, but he expected to gain it all back again, with as much more of mine."
"That may be true, Kirby. I am not defending his action, but surely this is no reason, now that he is dead, why you should not show some degree of mercy to others totally innocent of any wrong. The man left two daughters, both young girls, who will now be homeless and penniless."
He laughed, and the sound of that laugh was more cruel than the accompanying words.
"Two daughters!" he sneered. "According to my information that strains the relationship a trifle, friend Knox--at least the late Judge never took the trouble to acknowledge the fact. Permit me to correct your statement. I happen to know more about Beaucaire"s private affairs than you do. He leaves one daughter only. I have never met the young lady, but I understand from excellent authority that she possesses independent means through the death some years ago of her mother. I shall therefore not worry about her loss--and, indeed, she need meet with none, for if she only prove equal to all I have heard I may yet be induced to make her a proposition."