A Roving Commission; Or, Through the Black Insurrection at Hayti

by G. A. Henty

  CHAPTER IX

  AN ATTACK ON THE CAVE

  Dinah lay down for a short sleep. It was far too late for Nat to startfor Count de Noe's plantation, and when it was broad daylight, he wentdown to the pool for a bathe. When he returned, Dinah was standing atthe entrance. She held up her hand to signal to him to stay below. Shecame down the steps, and sat down with him on a stone twenty or thirtyyards up the stream.

  "Mam'selle hab gone to sleep again," she said; "now we can talk quiet."

  "And what is your news, Dinah?" he asked.

  "Marse Glober, it am jest awful. It seem to Dinah dat all de blackfolk in dis island am turned into debils--from eberywhar de samestory--eberywhar de white massas and de ladies and de childer allkilled. Dat not de worst, sah, dey not content wid killing dem, dey putdem to horrible tortures. Me can't tell you all de terrible tings datI'se heard; me jest tell you one, dat enough for you to guess what deoders are. Dey caught one white man, a carpenter, dey tied 'im betweentwo planks and dey carry 'im to his saw-pit and dey saw 'im asunder. Inone place de niggers march to attack town, and what you tink dey takefor dere flag? A lilly white baby wid a spear run troo him. As to deladies, me can no speak of de awful tings me hab heard. You quite rightto gib pistol to madame and mam'selle, dey do well shoot demselvesbefore dese yellow and black debils get hold of dem. Me neber tink datme hab shame for my colour, now I hab shame; if me could lift my handsand ebery mulatto and black man in dis island all fall dead, me lift demnow, and me glad me fall dead wid de rest."

  "This is awful, indeed, Dinah; as you say the negroes seem to havebecome fiends. I could understand it in plantations where they are badlytreated, but it is certain that this was quite the exception, and that,on the whole, they were comfortable and happy before this trouble began.I know they were on Monsieur Duchesne's estate, and on all those Ivisited when I was here before. I do not say they might not havepreferred to be free."

  "What good dat do dem, sah? If free, not work; dey worse off dan whenslabes. Where dey get close? where dey get food? what dey do when deyget old? Look at Dinah, she allus comfor'ble and happy. She could worknow tho' she old, but she hab no work to do 'cept when she like to dustroom; she get plenty ob good food, she know well dat howeber old shelive, massa and madame make her comfor'ble. Suppose she like de oders,and stop down at de huts, what den? who gib de ole woman food? who gibher close? who gib her wine and medicine? No, sah, dis am bad businessall troo--terrible bad for white men, terrible bad for black men,terrible bad for eberyone.

  "Next you see come de turn of de white man. Dey come out from de towns,plenty guns and powder, dey attack de blacks, dey shoot dem down likedogs, dey hunt dem troo de hills; dey show dem no mercy, and dey don'tdeserve none, massa. It would hab been better had big wave come swallowdis island up, better for eberyone; white man go to white man's heaben,good black man go to heaben, either de same heaben, or de black man'sheaben. Now, suah enough, dere no heaben for dese black men who hab donedese tings, dey all shut out; dey no let dem in 'cause dey hab blood ondere hands, me heard priest say dat St. Peter he sit at de gate. Well,sah, you bery suah dat St. Peter him shake him head when black fellowfrom dis island come up and ask to go in. All dis dreadful, massa;" andthe tears ran plentifully down the old nurse's cheeks.

  "It won't be as bad as that, Dinah," Nat said soothingly. "There must bea great many who have taken no part in this horrible affair, and whohave only risen because they were afraid to hang back."

  "Don't you whisper word to Mam'selle Myra 'bout dese tings, MarseGlober."

  "You may be sure that I shall not do so, Dinah; but certainly I shall,whenever I leave her, tell her not to hesitate to use her pistol againstherself."

  "If de negroes find dis cave, you trust to me," the negress said firmly."I'se heard dat it bery wicked ting to kill oneself. Bery well, sah, mewon't let madame and mam'selle do wicked ting. Dinah got long knifehidden, if dey come Dinah kill bofe ob dem, den dey no do wicked deed.As to Dinah, she poor ole negro woman. Better dat St. Peter say to her,'You no come in, dere blood on hands,' dan dat he should say dat to detwo white ladies she hab nursed."

  Nat's eyes were moist, and his voice shook at this proof of the oldwoman's devotion, and he said unsteadily:

  "St. Peter would not blame you, Dinah. He would know why there was bloodon your hands, and he would say, 'Come in, you have rendered to yourmistresses the last and greatest services possible.'"

  After breakfast Dinah washed his shirt, his white nankeen trousers, andjacket, and, as he had not a red sash to wind round his waist, he tookthe ornaments and slings from his sword-belt and put this on.

  "You pass bery well, sah, for mulatto man; de only ting am de hat. Datred handkerchief bery well when you pretend to be negro, but not suitmulatto, and Dinah will go see what she find at dose plantation on dehills."

  "No, Dinah, you must not run risks."

  "No risk in dat, sah. Dinah known bery well at most of de plantationsround. I'se got a name for hab good medicines for febers, and ointmentsfor sores, and women dat hab childer ill bring dem down to me from allparts. Bery simple for me to go round and say dat now de house gone andde ladies and all, me not like to stay down dere and be trouble to mydarters. Plenty for 'em to do to keep demselves and der childer. Megoing to trabel round de country and nurse de sick and sell mymedicines. Suah to meet some woman whose child me hab cured; ask her ifshe know anyone who hab got straw-hat--dere suah to be straw-hats inplanters' houses--me say dat a mulatto hab lost his, and not able to godown to town to buy one, and told me would gib me dollar if I could gethim good one. Me try to get someting for sash too."

  "That would be almost as difficult as the hat, Dinah."

  Dinah shook her head.

  "Plenty ob women got red shawl, sah; most all got red handkerchief. Buyone shawl or six handkerchief, bring dem home, cut dem up, and sew demtogether; dat make bery good sash. You no trouble, massa; you keep quiethere all day and look abter madame. I'se sure to be back before it timefor you to start."

  Dinah indeed returned just as the sun was sinking. She carried a smallbundle in one hand, and a broad-brimmed straw-hat in the other.

  "Well done, Dinah!" Nat exclaimed as he returned after sitting for acouple of hours on the rocks near the fall, and found her in the cave."How did you get the hat?"

  "Jess as I said, sah; me found one woman who allus bery grateful tome-for sabing her chile. I tell her I want straw-hat. She said she couldget me one, two, or tree hats in de house ob mulatto oberseer. She 'tealone for me. Most of de men down in de plain, so she take basket and goup to de house garden--ebery one take what dey want now. She get somegreen 'tuff, as if for her dinner; den she go round by mulatto man'shouse, she look in at window and see hats; she take one, put 'im inbasket and cober 'im ober, den bring um back to me. She had red shawl;she gib it me, but I make her take dollar for it. Me hide de hat undermy dress till me get away into de woods again, den me carry um. Now,sah, put um on. Dat suit you bery well, sah; you pass for young mulattoman when I got dis shawl cut up and sewn togeder. You please to know datmadame open her eyes lillie time ago, and know mam'selle and Dinah. Megib her drink ob pine-apple juice wid water in which me boil poppyseeds; she drink and go off in quiet sleep; when she wake to-morrow I'spect she able to talk."

  "I don't like your going, Nat," Myra said when, the shawl having beenconverted into a sash, he put his pistols into it. "We have heard, yousee, that the Bayous were not killed in the first attack, and I do notsee that you can learn more."

  "I should not run the risk, such as it may be, merely to ask thatquestion. But I think that their coachman, Toussaint, must have savedthem. I want to see him; possibly he may have made some arrangements forgetting them down to the coast, and he might be willing to allow youand your mother to go down with them. Of course she would have to becarried, but that might not add much to the difficulty."

  Receiving general instructions from Dinah as to the shortest route, hestarted, without giving time for Myra to remonstrate further.
After twohours' walking he approached the plantation of Count Noe. The house was,of course, gone. Seeing a negro girl, he went up to her.

  "Which is the house of Toussaint?" he asked.

  She pointed to a path.

  "It am de first house you come to," she said; "he used to live at destables, but now he hab de house ob one of de oberseers who was killedbecause he did not join us."

  On reaching the house indicated he looked in at the window, and saw theperson he was looking for sitting at a table reading. He was now a manof forty-eight years old, tall in stature, with a face unusuallyintelligent for one of his race. His manners were quiet and simple, andthere was a certain dignity in his bearing that bespoke a feeling thathe was superior to the race to which he belonged and the position heoccupied. Nat went round to the door and knocked. Toussaint opened it.

  "Have you a letter for me?" he asked quietly, supposing that his visitorhad come with a message to him from one of the leaders of the rebellion.

  Nat entered and closed the door behind him.

  "Then you do not remember me, Toussaint?"

  The negro recognized the voice, and the doubtful accent with which hisvisitor spoke French.

  "You are the young English officer," he exclaimed, "though I should nothave known you but for the voice. I heard that you were at MonsieurDuchesne's, and it was believed that you had fled to the woods with hiswife and daughter. I am glad that they escaped."

  "I have come from them, Toussaint--at least from the daughter, for themother has had an attack of fever. She heard that the family here hadalso escaped, and she said at once that she felt sure you had aidedthem."

  "I did so," the negro said quietly; "they were the family I served, andit was my duty to save them; moreover, they had always been kind to me.They are safe--I saw them down to the coast last night. I risked mylife, for although the slaves round here respect me and look upon me astheir leader, even that would not have saved me had they suspected thatI had saved white people from death."

  "But you are not with them, Toussaint, surely?"

  The negro drew himself up.

  "I am with my countrymen," he said; "I have always felt their positiongreatly. Why should we be treated as cattle because we differ in colourfrom others? I did my duty to my employers, and now that that is done Iam free, and to-morrow I shall join the bands under Francois andBiassou. I regret most deeply that my people should have disgraced theircause by murders. Of the two thousand whites who have fallen fully onehalf are women and children, therefore there could have been but onethousand men who, if they had been allowed to go free down to the town,could have fought against us; and what are a thousand men, when we arehalf a million? It has been a mistake that may well ruin our cause;among the whites everywhere it will confirm their opinion of our racethat we are but savages, brutal and bloodthirsty, when we have theopportunity. In France it will excite those against us who were beforeour friends, and French troops will pour into the islands, whereas, hadthe revolution been a peaceful one, it would have been approved by thefriends of liberty there. It is terrible, nevertheless it makes it allthe more necessary that those who have some influence should use it forgood. Now that the first fury has passed, better thoughts may prevail,and we may conduct the war without such horrors; but even of that I haveno great hope. We may be sure that the whites will take a terriblevengeance, the blacks will retaliate; it will be blood for blood on bothsides. However, in a case like this the lives of individuals are asnothing, the cause is everything. I have myself no animosity against thewhites, but many of my countrymen have just cause for hatred againstthem, and were any to try to interfere to prevent them from taking thevengeance they consider their right, it would cause dissension and soprejudice our chances of success. You can understand, then, that I shallhold myself aloof altogether from any interference. I am sorry for theladies, but now that I have done my duty to my late employers, I have aparamount duty to discharge to my countrymen, and decline to interferein any way."

  "Then all I can say is," Nat said sternly, "that I trust that some day,when you are in the power of your enemies, there will be none to giveyou the aid you now deny to women in distress."

  So saying, he turned and went out through the door, and before morningbroke arrived again at the cave. Not wishing to disturb the others, helay down outside until the sun was up, then he went along the stream forsome distance and bathed. As he returned, Myra was standing on the ledgeoutside the entrance.

  "Welcome back!" she called out. "What news have you brought?"

  "Good news as far as your friends are concerned. Toussaint has got themdown to the coast, and sent them to Cape Francois in a boat."

  "That is good news indeed," she cried. "Oh, I am glad! Now, what is thebad news?"

  "The only bad news is that the negro declined to help you in the sameway. He is starting this morning to join some bands of slaves up in thehills."

  "That is hardly bad news," she said, "for I never supposed that he wouldhelp us. There was no reason why he should run any risks for our sake."

  "I hoped that he would have done so, Myra; but at the same time, as heevidently regards the success of the blacks as certain, and expects tobecome one of their leaders, one can understand that he does not care torun any risk of compromising himself."

  "Mamma is better this morning," Myra said; "she has asked after you, andremembers what happened before her fever began."

  "That is good indeed. As soon as she gets strong enough to travel wewill begin to think how we can best make our way down to the town."

  Four days later, Dinah, on her return from a visit to the plantations,said that there had just been some fighting between the whites comingout from Cape Francois and the slaves. They said that a ship had arrivedwith some French troops, and that all the white men in the town werecoming out, and that they were killing every negro they found. The womenand children from the plantations in the plains were all flying into thewoods.

  "Then it strikes me, Dinah, that our position here is a very dangerousone. You may be sure that the slaves will not be able to stand againstthe whites and the soldiers, and that numbers of them will go intohiding, and it is very likely that some who know the secret of thisplace will come here."

  "Yes, sah, I'se not thought ob dat; but, sure enough, it am bery likelydat some ob dem may do so. What you tink had best be done? If de slabesall running into de wood de danger of passing troo would be muchgreater dan it hab been. And eben if madame could walk, it would be berygreat risk to go down--great risk to 'top here too. What you tink?"

  "I don't know what to think, Dinah; there is one thing, it is not likelythat many of them would come here."

  "No, sah; dose who know about de cave would know dat not more dan eightor ten could hide here--no use to bring a lot ob people wid dem."

  "That is what I think, Dinah; they will keep the secret to themselves.Now against eight or ten of them, I am sure that I could hold thisplace, but some of them, when they found they could not get in, would goback again and might lead a strong party here, or might keep watchhigher up, and starve us out. And even if the whites beat them out ofall the plantations, they would not know where to look for us, and wouldhave too much on their hands to scatter all over the hills. If we are tojoin them it must be by going down."

  "Dinah might go and tell dem, sah."

  Nat shook his head.

  "I am afraid, Dinah, that their passions will be so much aroused at thewholesale murder of the whites that they will shoot every black theycome across, man or woman, and you would be shot long before you couldget close enough to explain why you had come. No, I think the only thingto be done, as far as I can see, is that you should go down from time totime to let us know how things are going. I do not think that the whitesare likely to get very far along the road. You may be sure that when thetroops started from the town news was sent at once to the leaders, andit is likely that they will move a great number of men down to opposethem, and will likely enough drive them back. How
ever, the great thingfor us is to know where they are and what they are doing. It is likelythat now the whites have advanced there will no longer be any watchkept to prevent people, in hiding like ourselves, from going down to thetown; if you find out that that is so, we will put madame on her barrowagain, and carry her down. Of course we should have to chance being metwhen going through the forest, but we must risk that."

  "Yes, I tink dat de only plan, sah."

  Accordingly, Dinah started again the next morning. Nat felt veryanxious, and took up his place near the entrance to the cave. Myra wasbusy seeing to the cooking and in attending upon her mother. About fouro'clock he thought he heard voices, and, crawling cautiously to themouth of the cave, he looked out through the bushes. Eight men werecoming along; six of them were negroes, and the other two were themulatto overseers whose conversation he had overheard. He called softlyto Myra:

  "Don't be alarmed, Myra, we are going to have a fight, but I have nofear whatever of their taking us. Only one can attack at once, and hecan only come slowly. There are eight of them; you may as well bring methe two other pistols. I would not take them if I thought there was thesmallest chance of these fellows getting up here. Go and tell yourmother not to be frightened, and then do you come and sit down behindme. I will hand the pistols to you to load. There are only eight ofthese fellows, and if there were eighty, we could hold the cave; even ifthey got up to the platform they could only enter, stooping, one at atime. Go at once to your mother, they will be here directly."

  "How much farther is this place?" the mulatto Christophe asked.

  "Right dar behind dat bush," the negro said; "you go up by dem steps."

  "It is a splendid hiding-place, Paul."

  "Yes. No one who did not know of it would have a chance of finding it.There is someone there now; don't you see a light smoke rising behindthe bush?"

  "So there is! I should not be surprised if the woman Duchesne and herdaughter are there. It is certain that someone must have helped themoff, or we should have found them long ago."

  "Well, it will be a rare piece of luck if they are there."

  The negroes had already noticed the smoke, and were talking excitedlytogether. It had not occurred to them that any fugitives could havediscovered the place, and they were only concerned at the thought thatthe cave might be already fully occupied.

  "Hullo, dar!" one of them shouted. "How many ob you up dar?"

  No answer was returned. He shouted again, but there was still silence.

  "I s'pect dar only one man," he said to his comrades. "Most likely himgone out to look for food. Bery foolish leab fire burning;" and he atonce proceeded to climb the steps, followed by two others.

  Nat grasped the handle of his pistol. He determined that in the firstplace he would make sure of the two mulattoes. They were by far the mostdangerous of his foes, and if they escaped they would, he had no doubt,keep watch higher up, capture Dinah on her return, and cut off allretreat from the cave. It was time to act at once, and, taking a steadyaim at Paul, he fired.

  With a shriek the mulatto fell backwards. Before the others couldrecover from their surprise Nat fired again, and Christophe fell forwardon his face in the water. He passed the pistol back to Myra, and graspedanother. He had expected that the negroes would at once fly, and two ofthem had turned to do so, when the highest climber shouted down:

  "Come on, all ob you! what you want run away for? Perhaps only one manhere, he want to keep de cabe all to himself; we soon settle with him.Dis cabe de only safe place."

  Nat could easily have shot the man, but he determined to direct his fireagainst those below. If he shot those climbing the others would escape,and it was of the greatest importance that no one should do so. Thenegroes had snatched the pistols from the belts of the fallen mulattoes,and several shots were fired at the bush. Nat drew back for a moment asthe negroes raised their arms, and then discharged the two barrels ofhis pistol with as deadly an effect as before, and seized the thirdweapon. The remaining negro below dropped behind a fallen rock. At thesame moment the man who was evidently the leader of them sprang on tothe ledge. Nat's pistol was ready, and as the negro bounded forward hefired. The ball struck him in the chest, and he fell like a log over theprecipice.

  In his fall he struck one of his comrades, and carried him down on tothe rocks below. The other seemed paralysed with fear, and uttered ashriek for mercy as Nat, who from his position could not see him, sprangto his feet; but the tales that he had heard from Dinah of theatrocities perpetrated had steeled his heart to all thoughts of mercy,and taking a deliberate aim Nat shot him through the head. He had stilla pistol left charged. Myra had not yet loaded the first he had handedto her, for it was but some twenty seconds from the time that the firstshot had been fired. Nat caught up the sword, and at once made his waydown the steps. He ran towards the rock behind which the last of thenegroes had thrown himself. As he did so the man leapt to his feet, andthe two pistols cracked at the same moment. Nat felt a sharp pain in hisside. His own shot had missed, and a moment later the negro was rushingat him with uplifted knife.

  "HE FELL LIKE A LOG OVER THE PRECIPICE."]

  For the moment Nat forgot that he had another shot left, and,dropping the pistol, shifted his sword to the right hand, and before thenegro's knife could fall he ran him through the body. There was now butone foe left. He lay stunned below his fallen comrade, and Nat saw fromthe manner in which one of his legs was doubled under him that it wasbroken. He could do no harm, but he would assuredly die if left therealone. Nat pressed his lips together, and having picked up his pistol,he put it close to the man's head and fired. Looking up, he saw Myra runout with a pistol in her hand.

  "It is all right, Myra. Thank God none of them have got away."

  "Are you hurt?" she asked, breathlessly.

  "I will come up," he said; "I am hit in the side, but I don't think thatit is at all serious."

  He found, however, as he ascended the steps, that it gave him acute painevery time he moved. The girl was white and trembling when he joinedher.

  "Don't be frightened, Myra," he said, "I am sure that it is nothingserious. It struck a rib and glanced off, I think, and at the worst ithas only broken the bone. You go in and attend to your mother."

  "I shall not do anything of the sort," she said. "You come in, and Iwill look at it; it must want bandaging, anyhow."

  Nat felt that this was true, and, following her into the cave, he lether take off his jacket. The wound was a few inches below the arm.

  "It is lucky that it was not a little more to the right," he said; "itwould have done for me. Don't look so white, Myra, a miss is as good asa mile. It is as I thought, is it not?--just a glancing wound."

  "Yes," the girl said.

  He felt along the rib.

  "Yes," he said, "there is no doubt that it is broken; I can feel theends grate, and it hurts me every time I breathe. This is where it is,just where the cut begins; the wound itself is nothing."

  "What shall I do?" she asked quietly.

  "Tear a strip or two off the bottom of your petticoat, then sew the endstogether to make a long bandage, and roll a little piece, so as to makea wad about an inch wide. Is the wound bleeding?"

  "Yes, very much."

  "Fold a piece four or five thick, and lay over that the other wad so asto go up and down across the rib. Now, if you will give me a little warmwater and a piece of rag, I will bathe the wound while you are makingthe bandage."

  "I will bathe it," the girl said. "I am sure it would hurt you to getyour hand round."

  In ten minutes the operation was completed.

  "I am so sorry that I cannot help," Madame Duchesne murmured, as Myrasat down to sew the strips together.

  "There is nothing that you could do, thank you," Nat said cheerfully."Myra is getting on capitally. I shall soon be all right again."

  When everything was done, he said, "You are a trump, Myra, you have doneit first-rate." Then the girl, who had gone on as quietly as if she hadb
een accustomed to such work all her life, broke down, and, burstinginto a fit of crying, threw herself down by the side of her mother. Natwould have attempted to soothe her, but her mother said, "Leave her tome, she will be all the better for a good cry." Nat went down again tothe stream, picked up the four pistols the Creoles had carried andunwound their sashes, thinking that these would be better than themake-shift that he wore. As he did so two small bags dropped out. Heopened them; both contained jewels, some of which he had seen MadameDuchesne wearing.

  "That is a bit of luck," he said to himself. "No doubt directly theyentered the house these scoundrels made one of the women show them wheremadame's jewel-case was, and divided the contents between them. WhenDinah comes we must get these bodies down the stream. I could do itmyself were it not for this rib, but it would not be safe to tryexperiments. What a plucky girl Myra is! Most girls would have beenready to faint at the sight of blood. I will wait a few minutes before Igo up so as to give her time to pull herself together."

  In ten minutes he went up again. "Madame," he said, "I have somethingthat I am sure you will be very glad to get back again. I took off thesashes of those rascally mulattoes, and these two bags fell out of them.What do you think they contain? Some of your jewels."

  Madame Duchesne and Myra both uttered exclamations of pleasure. "Theyare family jewels," Myra said, "and my father and mother both prize themvery much. How strange they should have been on these men!"

  "The two mulattoes were two of your overseers, and no doubt ran straightup and seized them directly they entered the house."

  She saw that her mother wished to speak, and leaned down over her, forMadame Duchesne could not as yet raise her voice above a whisper.

  "Turn them out," she said, "and see how many are missing."

  Although Nat had seen Madame Duchesne in full evening dress two or threetimes when parties of friends had assembled at the house, and hadnoticed the beauty of her jewels, he was surprised at the number ofbracelets, necklaces, brooches, and rings that poured out from the bags.Some of the larger articles, which he supposed were ornaments for thehair, were bent and crumpled up so as to take up as little space aspossible. Myra held them up one by one before her mother's eyes.

  "They are all there, every one of them," the latter whispered. "Yourfather will be pleased."

  "The greater part of these," Myra said to Nat, "were brought over whenthe Baron Duchesne, our ancestor, came over here first, but a great manyhave been bought since. I have heard mamma say that each successor ofthe name and estate has made it a point of honour to add to thecollection, of which they were very proud, as it was certainly thefinest in the island; and besides, it was thought that if at any timeHayti should be captured, either by the Spanish or your people, or ifthere should be trouble with the blacks, it would be a great thing tohave valuables that could be so easily hidden or carried away."

  "Then they have thought all along that there might be a rising here someday?"

  "Yes. I have heard my father say that when he was a boy he has heard hisgrandfather talk the matter over with others, and they thought that thenumber of slaves in the island was so great that possibly there mightsome day be a revolt. They all agreed that it would be put down, butthey believed that the negroes might do terrible damage before enoughtroops could be brought from France to suppress it."

  "They thought rightly," Nat said, "though it has been a long timecoming; and the worst of it is that even if it is put down it may breakout again at any time. It is hardly reasonable that, when they are atleast ten to one against the whites and mulattoes together, men shouldsubmit to be kept in slavery."

  "But they were very well off," Myra said. "I am sure they were muchbetter off than the poorer whites."

  "From what I have seen of them I think they were," Nat replied, "but yousee people do not know when they are well off. I have no doubt that ifthe last white man left the island, and slavery were abolished for ever,the negroes would be very much worse off than they were before, and Ishould think they would most likely go back to the same idle, savagesort of life that they live in Africa. Still, of course, at present theyhave no idea of that. They think they will be no longer obliged to work,and suppose that somehow they will be fed and clothed and haveeverything they want without any trouble to themselves. You see it isjust the same thing that is going on in France."

  "Well, now, what are you going to do next, Nat?"

  "I shall load the pistols. I have got four more now. Then I shall takemy place at the mouth of the cave again. I hope that when Dinah comesshe will bring us news that will enable us to move away. The fact thatthis party was coming here for refuge shows that the blacks are growingalarmed, and perhaps have already suffered a defeat, in which case theway will be clear for us. If not, I must get her to help me clear theplace down below, it will not be difficult. What have you got on thefire?"

  "There is a fowl that I have been stewing down to make the broth formother. I have another cut up ready for grilling."

  Two hours later Nat, to his surprise, saw Dinah hurrying down theravine, for he had not expected her until evening. He stood up at once.She paused when she caught sight of the bodies lying below the cave.

  "It is all right, Dinah," he shouted. "We have had a bit of a fight, butit only lasted for a minute or two, and except that I got a graze from apistol-ball, we are unhurt."

  "De Lord be blest, sah!" she said as she came up. "Eight ob dem, and youkill dem all, sah?"

  "Yes; one could hardly miss them at that distance. I am glad to say thatnone of them got away. You are back earlier than I expected."

  "Yes, sah; me found out all de news in good time, and den, as eberyonesay hurricane come on, I hurry all de way to get here before he come."

  "Well, come up, Dinah. Madame is going on very well. You know those twomulattoes?"

  "Me know dem, sah; dey bery bad men, dey lead de black fellows to deattack."

  "Well, it is well that they came up here, for they had, hidden in theirsashes, all madame's jewels."

  "Dat am good news, sah," the old woman said as she joined him, "datpowerful good news. Madame didn't say anyting about jewels, but Dinahtought of dem, and what a terrible ting it would be if she had lost dem!Dat good affair."

  "So you think that we are going to have a storm, Dinah?"

  "Sartin suah, sah; bery hot las' night, bery hot dis morning, and jestas me got to top of hill me saw de clouds coming up bery fast."

  "I didn't notice the heat particularly. Of course it is very shady inthis deep gorge, and one does not see much of the sky."

  "Dis bery good place, sah--better dan house, much better dan forest. Mewas despate frighted dat storm would come before me got here."

  "I was wanting you to help me put the bodies into the stream, Dinah."

  "No need for dat, sah; when storm come wash dem all down--no fear obdat."

  She went into the cave, and Nat followed her.

  "Me hab good news for you, ma'am. De whites come out strong from de townwid regiment of troops and de sailors from English ship; de blacks haba fight down in de plain, but dey beat dem easy. Den yesterday de bandsof Francois come down from de mountains, get to our plantation in deevening; dey bery strong, dey say dar am ten thousand ob dem. Dey s'pectde whites to come and attack to-morrow. To-day dey clearing out all deplantations on de plain. De black fellows say dey cut dem all topieces."

  "There is no fear of that," Nat broke in. "So you think that they willfight in the morning?"

  "No, sah, me no tink dat; me suah dat as soon as de whites see dehurricane coming dey march back fast to de town; no can stand hurricanewidout shelter. You had better light de lantern, it am getting as darkas night."

  Nat went to the entrance. Looking up, he saw a canopy of black cloudpassing overhead with extraordinary rapidity. Almost instantaneouslythere came a flash of lightning, nearly blinding him, accompanied by atremendous clap of thunder. He turned hastily back into the cave.

  "It is lucky that you arrived in time
, Dinah; if you had been tenminutes longer you would have been caught."

  He stopped speaking, for his voice was drowned in a tremendous roar. Hewas about to go to the mouth of the cave again, but Dinah caught hold ofhis jacket.

  "No, sah, you mustn't go; if you show your head out beyond de cabe, dewind catch you and whirl you away like leaf, nobody neber see you nomore. We safe and comfor'ble in here. We just got to wait till it allover. Dat wind strong enough to trow down de strongest trees, blow downall de huts, take de roof off de strongest house. We not often habhurricanes in dis island, but when dey come, dey come bery bad. Dose tentousand black fellows down at de plantation dey hab a bery bad time obit to-night, dey wish demselves dead afore morning."

  "It is very bad for the women and children too, Dinah."

  "Yes, sah, me hab not forgotten dat; but most ob dem will hab gone, deyrun away when dey hear dat de whites coming out of town. Dey know berywell dat de whites hab good cause to be bery angry, and dat dey shooteberyone dey catch."

  "But they will be just as badly off in the woods as they would be intheir huts, Dinah. Have your daughter and her children got away?"

  "No, sah, dey wur going jest as I started, but I told dem dat hurricanecoming, and dat dey better stay in de clearing; and dey agreed to hideup in de little stone hut at end of garden where dey keep de tools andoder tings. De roof blow off, no doubt, but de walls am low and strong.Dey hab bad time dere, but dey safe."

  With Dinah's assistance, Nat fixed a blanket at the point where thenarrow entrance widened out, to keep out the swirls of wind which fromtime to time rushed in, propping it in its place by the hand-barrow onwhich Madame Duchesne had been brought up. Myra had finished cooking thefowls just as her nurse arrived, and they sat down to their mealheedless of the terrific tempest that was raging outside.