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

by G. A. Henty

  CHAPTER X

  AFLOAT AGAIN

  "There will be no occasion to keep watch to-night, Dinah."

  "Not in de least, sah; de water six feet deep, no one could get in."

  As talking was out of the question, the party lay down to sleep soonafter they had finished their meal. It was some time, however, beforeNat closed his eyes. It seemed to him that as soon as the storm wasover, and the water low enough for them to pass up the ravine, no timeshould be lost in attempting to make their way down into the town. Thetroops would no doubt set out again as soon as possible, and a battlemight be fought before nightfall. That the negroes would be beaten hehad no doubt, and in that case other parties of fugitives might make forthe cave. It was likely that, until the battle was fought, there wouldbe but few negroes in the forest; those who had remained there duringthe storm would go down into the full glare of the sun to dry and warmthemselves.

  Doubtless, too, Francois, the negro leader, would have sent messengersoff as soon as he arrived, ordering all able-bodied men in theplantations for miles round to come in to take part in the battle, andtheir chances of meeting with any foes as they descended to the plainwould be slight. It would undoubtedly be a serious matter to carryMadame Duchesne for so long a distance; for they had ever since leavingthe plantation been going farther away from the town, and he calculatedthat it must be at least twenty-five miles distant. He did not thinkthat it would be possible to do the journey in a day; but once down onthe plains they might find some building intact, in which they couldobtain shelter for the night. At last he fell off to sleep.

  When he awoke the din outside had ceased, and the silence seemed almostoppressive. He got up, pushed aside the blanket, and looked out. Thestars were shining, and the wind had entirely lulled. The bottom of theravine was still full of water, but he felt sure that this wouldspeedily drop; for the depression above the gorge was not an extensiveone, and the water that fell there would speedily find its way down. Helit a fresh candle and placed it in the lantern, as the last, which hadbeen renewed by Dinah early in the night, was burning low. He pulleddown the blanket, for although the air was fresh and cool at theentrance, the cave was oppressively warm. It was two hours before daybegan to break; by this time the torrent had subsided and the stream ranin its former course, and it was clear that in another hour it would bepossible to make their way along by the side. As he was turning to goin, Dinah joined him.

  "I tink, Marse Glober, de sooner we go de better."

  "That is just what I have been thinking. There are not likely to be manyof the slaves about in the wood to-day; you see a number of trees haveblown down from above, and just below, the ravine is almost choked withthem."

  "No, sah, many will be killed in the forest, and de rest frighted 'mostout of der lives. If de whites come out and fight to-day, and de blackfellows are beaten, all dose who know of dis place suah to come to hidehere."

  "That was just my idea."

  "How your side, sah?"

  "It seems rather stiff and sore, Dinah. However, that can't be helped.That sash you made me will come in very handy for carrying madame, andwe sha'n't have the weight of the other things we brought up. I amafraid it will be impossible to do the journey in one day, but I daresay we shall light upon a shelter down on the plains."

  "Yes, sah. Me put de pot on de fire at once, and as soon as we habbreakfast we make a start; but before we go me must stain you allagain--got glenty ob berries left."

  Madame Duchesne had already been consulted. She would much rather haveremained until strong enough to walk, but on her old nurse's showing herthat it would be at least a fortnight before she could walk even a mile,and pointing out the danger there was in delay, she agreed to startwhenever they thought fit. The jewels were placed in Dinah's capaciouspocket, as, if they fell in with any strong party of negroes, she wouldbe less likely to be searched than the others. In an hour all thepreparations were completed; one pistol was given to Madame Duchesne andanother to her daughter. Dinah took charge of a brace, and Nat wore theother two brace in his sash. He still wore his uniform under his nankeensuit, and his naval cap was in the bundle that formed Madame Duchesne'spillow. She lay down on the hand-barrow, all the blankets being placedunder her, with the exception of one which was thrown over her, and shewas let down the precipice in the same way as she had been brought up.

  Dinah this time followed Nat's example, and used one of the mulattoes'sashes as a yoke to take the weight off her arms. Madame Duchesne wasplaced as far forward on the barrow as possible, so as to divide theweight more equally between her bearers. On raising her, Nat found tohis satisfaction that it hurt him but little. In the week that hadelapsed since she was seized with the fever, Madame Duchesne had lost agood deal of weight, the store of provisions had, too, greatlydiminished, and the sash took so much of the weight off his arms, thatas he walked in a perfectly erect position there was little strainthrown upon the broken bone. It was only when he came to a rough placeand had to step very carefully that he really felt his wounds. Myralooked anxiously at him from time to time.

  "I am getting on capitally," he said. "Do not worry about me; at presentI scarcely feel that unfortunate rib."

  "Mind, if you do feel it, Nat, you must give up. Dinah will take yourplace, and I will take hers. I am sure that I can carry that end verywell for a time."

  "I will let you know when I want a change," Nat said. "Now, you go onahead, and as soon as we get out of this hollow use your eyes sharply."

  They saw no one going up the valley or crossing the open ground. When,however, they entered the forest on the other slope, they saw for thefirst time how terrible had been the force of the hurricane. In someplaces over acres of ground every tree had fallen, in others the tallertrees only had been levelled or snapped off, while others again hadboughs wrenched off, and the ground was thickly strewn with fallenbranches. All this added greatly to the fatigue of travelling. Detourshad to be constantly made, and the journey down took them double thetime that had been occupied in the ascent. When approaching the roadthey had to cross, they sat down and rested for half an hour.

  "You are looking very white, Nat," Myra said; "I am afraid that yourside is hurting you terribly."

  "It certainly hurts a bit, Myra, but it is of no consequence. It wasgoing on very well until I stumbled over a fallen branch that gave itrather a twist."

  "You let me bandage 'im again, Marse Glober. We will go off and set dismatter right."

  When a short distance away Nat stripped to the waist. Myra had done herbest, but the old nurse possessed considerable skill in such matters,and strength enough to draw the bandage much tighter than she had done.

  "Better make it a bit longer," she said, and taking a pair of scissorsfrom her pocket cut off a strip some fifteen inches wide from her amplepetticoat, and wound this tightly round the other bandage. "Dere, sah,dat make you 'tiff and comf'able."

  "It does make me stiff," Nat said with a smile; "I almost feel as if Ihad got a band of iron round me. Thank you; I shall do very well now."

  The old nurse dressed him carefully again, and they rejoined the others.

  "That is ever so much better," Nat said to Myra; "the bandage hadshifted a little, and Dinah has put it on fresh again, and added a stripof her own petticoat."

  The journey was then resumed, and, with an occasional halt, continueduntil late in the afternoon, by which time they were well down on theplain. During the latter part of the day they had heard at firstscattered shots and then a roar of musketry about a couple of miles ontheir right. It continued for half an hour, and then the heavy firingceased; but musket shots could be heard occasionally, and higher up onthe hill than before.

  "The negroes have been beaten," Nat said, "and our men are pursuingthem. Perhaps they will make another stand at the point where the roadruns between two steep banks."

  This indeed seemed to be the case, for half an hour later a heavy firebroke out again. It was but for a short time--in ten minutes it diedaway, and n
o further sound was heard. Darkness was now falling, and theypresently arrived at some buildings that had been left standing. Theywere storehouses, and had not been fired at the time when the planter'shouse was burned, but had probably been used by the negroes as abarrack, until the advance of the troops on the previous day hadcompelled them to take a hasty flight. The litter was now laid on theground. Madame Duchesne had dozed off many times during the day, and wasnow wide awake.

  "Are you going to light a fire, Dinah?"

  "No, madame; Marse Glober and me tink it too dangerous. Not likely anyob dese black fellows 'bout, but dere might be some hiding, best to becareful. We hab a cold chicken to eat, and dere is some chicken jelly inde lillie pot for you, and we hab bread, so no need for fire to cook,and sartin no need for him afterward, we all sleep first-rate. Madamenot heaby, but road bery rough, and little weight tell up by end ob deday. Dinah getting ole woman, Marse Glober got rib broken--both beryglad when journey done. Mamzelle she tired too; twelve mile ober roughground a long journey for her."

  "My feet ache a little," Myra said, "but otherwise I do not feel tired.I felt quite ashamed of myself walking along all day carrying nothing,instead of taking turns with you."

  There was but little talking as they ate their meal in the darkness.Neither Nat nor the old nurse had said a word as to their feelings asthey walked, but both felt completely exhausted, and it was not manyminutes after they had finished their supper before they were soundasleep. At daybreak they were on their feet again, feeling better afterthe long night's rest, and happy at the thought that this day's walkwould take them to home and safety. Nat now threw off his disguise,placed his cap upon his head, and appeared as a British officer, thoughcertainly one of considerably darker complexion than was common; but hethought there was less danger now from slaves than from parties ofmaddened whites, who had been out to their former homes and might shootany negroes they came upon without waiting to ask questions. Myra alsodiscarded the negro gown.

  "I think that I looked more respectable in that," she said with a laugh,"than in this draggled white frock."

  "It has not been improved, certainly, by its week's wear, Myra; but justat the present moment no one will be thinking of dresses. Now let us beoff. We shall be on the road soon, and in an hour or two will be in thetown."

  THE JOURNEY TO THE COAST.]

  It seemed easy work after the toil of the previous day. They bore to theright until they fell into the main road, both because it would besafer, and because Nat hoped that he might meet someone who could informMonsieur Duchesne--who he had no doubt would have gone out with thecolumn--that his wife and daughter were in safety, and that he wouldfind them at his house in the town. They had, indeed, gone but ashort distance along the road when four men on horseback galloped up.They drew rein suddenly as they met the little party, astonished to see,as they thought, a mulatto girl in front, a negro woman carrying alitter on which was another mulatto woman, and which was carried behindby a young mulatto in the uniform of a British naval officer. Had theymet them out in the country they would probably not have troubled to askquestions, but, travelling as they were along the road towards the town,and from the direction where the column had been fighting, it wasevident that there must be some mystery about it.

  "Who are you?" one of them asked Nat in a rough tone.

  "I am an officer of his Britannic Majesty's frigate _Orpheus_, atpresent, I believe, in the port; this lady on the stretcher is MadameDuchesne; this young lady is her daughter, Mademoiselle Myra Duchesne;this negress, the faithful nurse of the two ladies, has saved theirlives at the risk of her own."

  One of the horsemen leapt from his saddle.

  "Pardon me for not recognizing you, mademoiselle," he said to Myra,lifting his straw-hat; "but the change that you have made in yourcomplexion must be my excuse for my not having done so. I trust thatmadame, your mother, is not seriously ill."

  "She has been very ill, Monsieur Ponson," she replied. "She has justrecovered from an attack of fever, but is very weak indeed."

  "I saw your father three days ago. He had then just received yourmessage saying that you were in safe hiding. He was, of course, in astate of the greatest delight. He went out with the troops yesterday."

  "If you see him, sir, will you be kind enough to tell him that you havemet us, and that he will find us at his house in town?"

  "I will certainly find him out as soon as I reach the troops. Is thereanything else that I can do?"

  "Nothing, thank you, sir. Is there, Nat?"

  "No, unless one of the gentlemen would ride back with us, so as toprevent us from being stopped by every party we meet and having toexplain who we are."

  "I will do so, sir," the youngest of the horsemen said. "I dare say Ishall be able to join our friends at the front before there is any morefighting, for the messenger who came in yesterday evening brought thenews that the blacks had been so completely defeated, that it wasthought likely they would make straight off into the mountains in theinterior."

  "Thank you very much, sir; it will be a great comfort to us to gostraight on. We are anxious to get Madame Duchesne into shelter beforethe sun gets to its full power. My name is Glover. May I ask yours?"

  "It is Laurent."

  The other three horsemen, after raising their hats in salute, had nowridden on.

  "How did you get on through the hurricane, Monsieur Glover?"

  "We scarce felt it. We were in a cave with a very small entrance, andafter the first outburst slept through it in comfort."

  "It is more than any of us did in the town," the other said with alaugh. "It was tremendous. I should say that half the houses wereunroofed, and in the poor quarters many of the huts were blown down, andupwards of twenty negroes were killed."

  "Do you think, Monsieur Laurent," Myra said, moving across to him, "thatwe are likely to meet any people on foot whom we could hire?"

  "No, I hardly think so, mademoiselle. All the gentlemen in the town whocould get away rode out with the troops, and the rest of the whites arepatrolling the streets armed, lest the negroes employed in the work ofthe port should rise during the absence of the troops. Why do you ask,mademoiselle?"

  "Because Monsieur Glover had a rib broken by a pistol-ball the daybefore yesterday, and I am sure it hurts him very much to carry mymother."

  The young man leapt from his horse.

  "Monsieur," he exclaimed, "pray take my horse. I will assist in carryingMadame Duchesne."

  "I do not like"--Nat began, but his remonstrance was unheeded.

  "But I insist, monsieur. Please take the reins. You can walk by the sideof the horse or mount him, whichever you think will be the more easy foryou."

  So saying, he gently possessed himself of the handles of the litter,placed the sash over his shoulders, and started. It was indeed animmense relief to Nat. The rough work of the preceding day had causedthe ends of the bone to grate, and had set up a great deal ofinflammation. He had been suffering acutely since he started, in spiteof the support of the bandage, and he had more than once thought that hewould be obliged to ask Myra to take his place. He did not attempt tomount in the young Frenchman's saddle, for he thought that the motion ofthe horse would be worse for him than walking; he therefore took thereins in his hand, and walked at the horse's head behind the litter. Thepain was less now that he was relieved of the load, but he stillsuffered a great deal, and he kept in the rear behind the others, whileMyra chatted with Monsieur Laurent, learning from him what had happenedin the town, and giving him a sketch of their adventures. As they passedthe house of Madame Duchesne's sister, the invalid said that she wouldbe taken in there, as she had heard from Monsieur Laurent that theirown house was partially unroofed. Myra ran in to see her aunt, who cameout with her at once.

  "Ah, my dear sister," she cried, "how we have suffered! We had no hopethat you had escaped until your husband brought us the joyful news threedays ago that you were still in safety. Come in, come in! I am more gladthan ever that our house escaped w
ithout much damage from the storm."

  Although the house was intact, the garden was a wreck. The drive up tothe house was blocked by fallen trees, most of the plants seemed to havebeen torn up by the roots and blown away, the lawn was strewn with hugebranches.

  Two of the house servants had now come out and relieved those carryingthe litter.

  "Ah, Monsieur Glover," continued Madame Duchesne's sister, "once againyou have saved my niece; my sister also this time! Of course you willcome in too."

  "Thanks, madame, but if you will allow me I will go straight on board myship. I am wounded, though in no way seriously. Still, I shall requiresome medical care, for I have a rib broken, and the journey down has notimproved it."

  "In that case I will not press you, monsieur. Dr. Lepel has gone outwith the column, and may not be back for some days."

  "Good-bye, Madame Duchesne!" Nat said, shaking the thin hand she heldout to him. "I will come and see you soon, and hope to find you up bythat time. Now that your anxiety is at an end you ought to gain strengthrapidly."

  "May Heaven bless you," she said, "for your goodness to us!"

  "That is all right," he said cheerfully. "You see, I was saving my ownlife as well as yours; and it is to you, Dinah," he said, turning andshaking her hand, "it is to you that we really all owe our lives. Firstyou warned us in time, then you took us to a place of safety, and havesince got us food and news, and risked your own life in doing so.

  "Good-bye, Myra; I hope that when I see you again you will have got thatdye off your face, and that you will be none the worse for what you havegone through."

  The girl's lip quivered.

  "Good-bye, Nat. I do so hope your wound will soon heal."

  "You are fortunate, indeed, in having escaped," Monsieur Laurent said asthey turned away. "From all we hear, I fear that very few of the whites,except in plantations quite near the towns, have escaped. It is strangethat the house servants, who in most cases have been all their liveswith their masters and mistresses, and who have almost always beentreated as kindly as if they were members of the family, should not havewarned them of what was coming."

  "I should think that very few of them knew," Nat replied. "They wereknown to be attached to their masters and mistresses, and would hardlyhave been trusted by the others. I cannot think so badly of human natureas to believe that a people who have been so long in close connectionwith their masters should, in almost every case, have kept silent whenthey knew that there was a plot to massacre them."

  "Well, I will say good-morning," Monsieur Laurent said. "I want to beback with the troops. I was detained yesterday, to my great disgust, tosee to the getting-off of a freight, and I should not like to missanother chance of paying some of the scoundrels off."

  Nat made his way slowly and carefully--for the slightest movement gavehim great pain--to the wharf. One of the frigate's boats was ashore. Thecoxswain looked at him with surprise as he went down the steps to it.

  "Well, I'm jiggered," the man muttered, "if it ain't Mr. Glover!" Thenhe said aloud: "Glad to see you back, sir. The ship's crew were all gladwhen they heard the other day that the news had come as how you weresafe, for we had all been afraid you had been murdered by them niggers.You are looking mighty queer, sir, if I may say so."

  "My face is stained to make me look like a mulatto. Whom are you waitingfor?"

  "For Mr. Normandy."

  "Well, how long do you expect he will be?"

  "I can't say, sir. It is about a quarter of an hour since he landed, andhe said he would be back in half an hour; but officers are generallylonger than they expect."

  "Well it won't take you above ten minutes to row off to the ship andback. I will take the blame if he comes down before that. I have beenwounded, not badly, but it is very painful. I want to get it properlydressed."

  "All right, sir, we will get you on board in no time."

  "Give me your arm. I must get in carefully."

  The men stretched to their oars, and in five minutes Nat was alongsidethe _Orpheus_. He had heard, as he expected, that Dr. Bemish had gonewith the party that had been landed, but his assistant was on board. Thefirst lieutenant was on deck. He saw by Nat's walk as he went up toreport his return that something was the matter.

  "Are you ill or wounded, Mr Glover?"

  "I am wounded, sir. I had a rib broken by a pistol-ball, and I have hada long journey, which has inflamed it a good deal."

  "Go down at once and have it seen to; you can tell me your storyafterwards. Have the ladies who were with you got safely down also?"

  "Yes, sir."

  The lieutenant nodded, and Nat then went below and placed himself in thehands of the assistant surgeon.

  "My word, Glover, you have got your wound into a state!" the latter saidafter he had examined him. "What on earth have you been doing to it? Itseems to have been a pretty clean break at first, and it wouldn't havebothered you above three weeks or so, but the ends have evidently beensawing away into the flesh. Why, man alive, what have you been doing?"

  "I have been helping to carry a sick woman down from the hills," Natsaid quietly. "If it had been level ground it would not have hurt somuch, but on rough ground strewn with branches one could not avoidstumbling occasionally, and although it had been bandaged before Istarted the wad slipped and the thing got loose, and after that it waslike walking with a red-hot needle sticking into me."

  "So I should say. Well, I will put you into a berth in the sick-bay atonce. Fortunately we have some ice on board and I will put some of it onthe wound and try to get the inflammation down."

  In a short time he returned with a basin of ice and a jugful of icedlime-juice. Nat took a long drink, and then turned so that the ice couldbe applied to the wound.

  "You must keep yourself as still as you can. I sha'n't attempt tobandage you at present, there is really nothing to be done till we havegot the inflammation down."

  "I will lie quiet as long as I am awake, but I cannot answer for myselfif I go off to sleep, which will not be long, for I am as tired as adog. To-day's walk would have been nothing if I had been all right, itwas the pain that wore me out."

  "I don't suppose you will move. You may be sure that that rib will actlike an alarm, and give you warning at once if you stir in theslightest."

  Having seen Nat comfortable, the young surgeon went up on deck.

  "How do you find Mr. Glover?" the first lieutenant asked. "He says thatit is only a broken rib."

  "Well, sir, it was only a broken rib at first, now it is a broken ribwith acute inflammation round it. There is a flesh wound about fourinches long where the bullet struck, broke the rib, ran along it, andwent out behind. That would not have been anything if he had kept quiet;as it is, it is as angry as you could want to see a wound. But that isnot the worst, the two ends of the bone have been rubbing against eachother with enough movement to lacerate the flesh, with the naturalresult that a wonderful amount of inflammation has been set up roundit."

  "But how did he manage it?"

  "It seems, sir, that he has been carrying, or helping to carry, a sickwoman down from the mountains, and he says the ground was very rough andstrewn with boughs, so that one can understand that he got some terribleshakes and jolts, which would quite account for the state of hiswounds."

  "I should think so. When Monsieur Duchesne came off with the news thathis wife was safely hidden, and that Glover was with her, he said thathis daughter, who had written the note, reported that her mother wasill. No wonder he has got his wound in such a state if he has, as yousay, aided to carry her down all that distance. He must have had a brushwith the negroes."

  "That must have been before he started, sir; for he said that thebandage shifted, so his wound must have been bound up before he setout."

  "It was a gallant thing for a lad to undertake--a most gallant action!Why, it must have been torture to him."

  "It must indeed, sir."

  "He is not in any danger, I hope?"

  "Not unless fever in
tervenes, sir. No doubt with rest and quiet and theuse of ice we shall succeed in reducing the inflammation; but it islikely enough that fever may set in, and if so there is no saying how itmay go. I shall be glad to have Doctor Bemish back again to take theresponsibility off my hands."

  Late that afternoon Monsieur Duchesne came on board to thank Nat. He wasnot allowed to see him, as the doctor said that absolute quiet wasindispensable. He had had a full account from Myra of the adventuresthrough which the little party had gone, and he retailed this to thelieutenant and doctor in the ward-room.

  "A most gallant business altogether," the first lieutenant said when hehad finished, "and certainly the most gallant part of it was undertakingto carry Madame Duchesne when practically disabled. But I canunderstand, as you say, that directly the negroes were defeated by theforce that went out against them, some of them would have made for thatcave, and it was therefore absolutely necessary to get away before theycame. However, I hope that we need not be anxious about him; he has gonethrough three or four scrapes, any of which might have been fatal. Therewas that fight with the dog; then he was in the thick of that businesswith the pirates, and was blown up by the explosion, and half his crewkilled. He has had some marvellous escapes, and I think we may feel veryhopeful that he will get over this without serious trouble. It was luckyindeed his finding your family jewels on two of those scoundrels that heshot."

  "It would have been a great loss, but it is such a little thing incomparison to the saving of my wife and daughter, that I have scarcelygiven it a thought. I shall do myself the pleasure of calling againto-morrow morning to know how he is."

  "Do so, monsieur; you will probably find Captain Crosbie here. I had anote from him an hour ago, saying that he was returning, and would behere by eight o'clock. The negroes having been defeated, and the safetyof the town being ensured for a while, he does not consider that hewould be justified in joining in the pursuit of the blacks among thehills."

  Nat was not aware of the return of the landing-party until the nextmorning, when on opening his eyes he saw Dr. Bemish by his side.

  "You young scamp," the latter said, shaking his finger at him, "you seemdetermined to be a permanent patient. As soon as you recover from oneinjury you are laid up with another. So here you are again."

  "It is only a trifle this time, doctor."

  "Umph, I am not so sure about that. Macfarlane tells me that, notcontent with getting a rib broken, you go about carrying one end of astretcher with a woman on it across ground where it was difficult, ifnot impossible, to move without ricking and hurting yourself. So thatnot only have you set up a tremendous amount of inflammation round thewound, but you have so worn the ends of the bone that they will takethree times as long knitting together as they would have done had theybeen left alone."

  "I am afraid that is all true, doctor," Nat replied with a smile; "but,you see, I thought it better to run the risk of inflammation, and eventhis terrible rubbing of the end of the bones you speak of, than ofbeing caught by these fiendish negroes, and put to death by the hideoustortures with which they have in many cases slowly murdered those whofell into their hands."

  "It must have hurt you badly," Dr. Bemish said, as, after removing thedressing that had, late the evening before, been substituted for theice, he examined the wound.

  "It did hurt a bit, doctor, but as four lives depended upon my beingable to hold on, there was nothing for it but to set one's teeth hardand keep at it. How does it look this morning?"

  "What do you think, Macfarlane? you can form a better opinion than Ican, as I have not seen it before."

  "The inflammation seems to have abated a good deal."

  "In any case we will syringe the wound thoroughly with warm water. Thereare doubtless some particles of bone in it, and until these are got ridof we can't hope that it will heal properly. I will get that largemagnifying-glass from my cabin."

  For half an hour the wound was fomented and washed.

  "As far as I can see it is perfectly clean now," Dr. Bemish said, aftercarefully examining it with the glass. "We will put a compress on, witha wet cloth over it, which must be damped with iced water everyhalf-hour. When we quite get the inflammation down, Glover, which will,I hope, be in two or three days, we will bandage it tightly, and I willbuy you a pair of stays on shore, and lace you up so that there shall beno chance of your performing any more pranks with it, and then I fancyyou will be able to come up on deck, if you will promise to keepyourself quiet there."

  "Well, that is better than I expected, doctor."

  "Have you any message to send to your friends? because I am going ashorenow to see them. Monsieur Duchesne was off yesterday afternoon, butMacfarlane very properly refused to let him see you."

  "Tell him he can't see me for some days, doctor. I do so hate being madea fuss over."

  "I will keep him away for a day or two anyhow," the doctor laughed. "Hegave the ward-room a full history of your affair, so you won't have thetrouble of going over it again."

  "That is a comfort," Nat growled. "How long is the _Orpheus_ likely tostop here, doctor?"

  "Ah, that is more than I can say! At any rate the captain will not leaveuntil he gets orders from Jamaica. The _AEolus_ has just come into port,and the captain will send her off at once with despatches to theadmiral, saying what has taken place, and how he landed a force toprotect the town, and went out with a party to attack the insurgentblacks. He will ask for instructions, as they have no French vessel ofwar here, and the land force is insufficient to defend the place ifattacked in earnest, especially as there is a considerable negropopulation who would probably rise and join the insurgents if these madean assault upon the town. The general hope on board is that we shall getorders to stay here, or at least to cruise on the coast. Now that wehave broken up that nest of pirates, things are likely to be dull herefor some time, though I have little doubt that ere very long we shall beat war with the French. According to the last news, which arrived sinceyou left us, that National Assembly of theirs is going farther andfarther, and its proceedings are causing serious alarm throughoutEurope, for they are altogether subversive of the existing state ofthings. It is to its measures that this terrible insurrection here isdue, and the first consequence of what is really a revolution in Francewill be the loss of her most valuable colony. I suppose you have heardthat something like two thousand whites have been murdered. I have nodoubt that now they have recovered from the first shock, the French herewill take a terrible vengeance; but though they may kill a great numberof the negroes, I doubt if it will be possible to reduce half a millionblacks to submission, especially in an island like this, with mountainranges running through it where cannon would be absolutely useless, andthe negroes could shelter in the almost impenetrable forests that covera large portion of it."