by Kirk Munroe
CHAPTER XXXVI.
THE MASTER OF MOSS BANK.
The Gordon setter's name was Nanita, while that of her master was Mr.Guy Manton, of New York. Within a short time after the final plunge ofthe burned packet, several steamboats, attracted by the blaze, reachedthe raft, and offered to carry the survivors of the disaster to thenearest town. This offer was accepted by all except Mr. Manton, whoasked, as a favor, that he and his dogs might be allowed to remain onboard the _Venture_, at least until morning. Of course the raftmateswillingly consented to this, for Mr. Manton was so grateful to them,besides proving such an agreeable companion, that they could not helpbut like him.
From him they learned how Bim happened to be on board the ill-fatedsteamboat, a situation over which they had all puzzled, but concerningwhich they had heretofore found no opportunity of inquiring. Accordingto Mr. Manton's story, he was on his way to a plantation on theMississippi, in Louisiana, which he had recently purchased, but had notyet seen.
Wishing to learn something of the great river on a bank of which hisproperty lay, he had come by way of St. Louis, and there boarded thefine New Orleans packet _Lytle_. He had brought with him a supply ofmachinery, provisions, and tools for the plantation, all of which werenow either consumed by fire or lay at the bottom of the river. He hadalso brought his favorite setter Nanita and her litter of three youngpuppies, which he had proposed to establish at his new winter home.
During the stop of the packet at Cairo he had taken Nanita ashore for arun. On their way back to the boat he discovered that she was notfollowing him, and anxiously retracing his steps a short distance,found her in company with a white bulldog, to whom she was evidentlycommunicating some matter of great interest.
Mr. Manton saw that the strange dog was a valuable one, and when itshowed an inclination to follow them, tried to persuade it to return toits home, which he supposed was somewhere in the town. As the dogdisappeared, he thought he had succeeded, and was afterwards surprisedto find it on the boat, in company with Nanita and her little ones.Believing, of course, that the bull-dog's owner was also on board, hegave the matter but little thought, and soon after called Nanita aft tobe fed.
While he was attending to her wants, the cry of "fire" was raised. Theflames burst out somewhere near the centre of the boat, in the vicinityof the engine-room, and had already gained such headway as to interposean effectual barrier between him and the forward deck. He supposedthat the boat would at once be headed for the nearest bank, but foundto his dismay that almost with the first outbreak of flame thesteering-gear had been rendered useless. At the same time theengineers had been driven from their post of duty, and thus thesplendid packet, freighted with death and destruction, continued torush headlong down the river, without guidance or check.
Amid the terrible scenes that ensued, Mr. Manton, followed by hisfaithful dog, was barely able to reach his own stateroom, secure hismoney and some important papers, wrench the door from its hinges, throwit and Nanita overboard, and then leap for his own life into the darkwaters.
At this point the grateful man again tried to express his sense ofobligation to his rescuers, but was interrupted by Billy Brackett, whocould not bear to be thanked for performing so obvious and simple anact of duty. To change the subject the young engineer told of Bim'sact of real heroism in saving one and attempting to save the othermembers of the little family, which he evidently considered had beenleft in his charge.
To this story Mr. Manton listened with the deepest interest; and whenit was concluded, he said, "He is a dear dog, and most certainly ahero, if there ever was one. I shall always love him for this night'swork."
Then Bim, who was now covered with healing ointment and swathed inbandages, was petted and praised until even Nanita grew jealous, andinsisted on receiving a share of her master's attention.
All the while the brave bull-dog looked into the faces of thosegathered about him with such a pleading air of intelligence and suchmeaning barks that his longing to tell of what had happened to himafter he started from the raft in pursuit of the odious "river-trader"who had once kicked him was evident to them all. If he only could havespoken, he would have told of the cruel blow by which he wasmomentarily stunned, of finding himself in a bag in the river, of howhe had succeeded by a desperate struggle in escaping from it andfinally reaching the shore, of his distress at not finding the raft,and the sad search for his master through the town, of his meeting withNanita, and of his decision to accept her advice and take passage withher down the river, in which direction he was certain his floating homehad gone. All this Bim would have communicated to his friends if hecould; but as they were too dull of comprehension to understand him,they have remained in ignorance to this day of that thrilling chapterof his adventures.
Besides telling the raftmates of his cruel experience, Mr. Mantonrelated some of the incidents of a canoe voyage even then being madedown the river by his only son Worth and the boy's most intimatefriend, Sumner Rankin. These two had made a canoe cruise togetherthrough the Everglades of Florida the winter before, and had enjoyed itso much, that when Mr. Manton proposed that they should accompany himto Louisiana, they had begged to be allowed to make the trip in theircanoes.
"They started from Memphis," continued Mr. Manton, "and have had somefine duck and turkey shooting among the Coahoma sloughs andcane-brakes. With them is a colored man named Quorum, who crossed theEverglades with them, and who now accompanies them, in a skiff thatthey purchased in Memphis, as cook and general adviser. I have heardfrom them several times by letter, and so know of their progress. Ithas been so good that unless I make haste they will reach Moss Bankbefore me. That is the name of our new home," he added, by way ofexplanation.
"Wha' dat yo' say, sah?" exclaimed Solon, who had been an interestedlistener. "Yo' callin' dat ar plantashun Moss Back?"
"'Yo' callin' dat ar plantashun Moss Back?' exclaimedSolon" (missing from book)]
"Yes, 'Moss Bank' is the name it has always borne, I believe," repliedMr. Manton. "But why do you ask? Do you know the place?"
"Does I know um! Does I know de place I war borned an' brung up in?Why, sah, dat ar' my onlies home befo' de wah. Ole Marse Rankim ownum, an' me an' he boy, de young marse, hab de same mammy. So him myfroster-brudder. He gwine away fer a sailor ossifer, an' den de wahcomin' on, an' ebberyt'ing gwine ter smash. He name 'Summer.' Yo'know dat young gen'l'man?"
"Yes," replied Mr. Manton, "I knew him intimately. He has been deadfor several years; but I am well acquainted with his family, and it ishis son who is now travelling down the river in company with my boy.In fact, it was through him that I came to purchase this oldplantation, with a view to making it our winter home."
"Praise de Lawd, I gwine ter see a Rankim once mo'!" exclaimed the oldnegro. "Yo' is gwine stop at de ole Moss Back place, Marse Winn? Yo'sholy is?"
"Why, yes; if Mr. Manton would like to have us, I think we should bevery happy to stop there when we reach it," said Winn.
"Stop! Of course you will," exclaimed Nanita's master. "I havealready planned for that, and should feel terribly disappointed if youdid not. I want to see more of you, and I want you to meet and know myboys. Besides, I was going to ask you to allow Nanita and her pup tocomplete their journey down the river on this raft in company with Bim,who will, I know, take good care of them. If you should consent tothis plan, of course you will be obliged to stop at Moss Bank to landthem.
"We shall be delighted to have them," said Billy Brackett; "and, onbehalf of Bim, I hereby extend a formal invitation to them to becomehis raftmates for the remainder of the cruise. At the same time, I amcertain that my companions, as well as myself, will be most happy tovisit you in your new home, and there make the acquaintance of yourboys."
By the time this arrangement was concluded it was daylight, and Mr.Manton insisted on the raftmates turning in for a nap, while he andSolon kept watch. He remained on board the _Venture_ all that day, andby sunset the current had borne the raft for
ward so rapidly that theywere able to tie up near Columbus, Kentucky. At this point the ownerof Moss Bank bade his new-made friends _au revoir_, and started by railfor his Louisiana home.
After his departure, and during the month of drifting that followed,the raftmates talked so much of Moss Bank, and listened to so manystories concerning it from Solon, that to their minds it grew to be theobjective point of their trip, and seemed as though it must be the oneplace towards which their whole voyage was tending. Much as theyanticipated the reaching of this far-southern plantation, however, theywould have been greatly surprised and decidedly incredulous had any onetold them that it was indeed to mark the limit of their voyage, andthat there the good raft _Venture_, from Wisconsin for New Orleans, wasdestined to vanish, and become but a fading memory. But so it was, asthey found out, and as we shall see.