by Mayne Reid
CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN.
KILLING A TRAIL.
An hour or more we had spent since entering the glade--now no longerterrible. Once more its flowers looked bright, and their perfume hadrecovered its sweetness. Once more the singing of the birds and the humof the insect-world fell soothingly upon my ears; and there, as before,sat the pretty doves, still repeating their soft "co-co-a"--theendearing expression of their loves.
I could have lingered long in the midst of this fair scene--long haveenjoyed its sylvan beauty; but the intellectual must over yield to thephysical. I felt sensations of hunger, and soon the appetite began todistress me. Where was I to obtain relief from this pain--where obtainfood? I could not ask my companion to guide me to the plantations, nowthat I knew the risk he would run in so doing. I knew that it reallywas as he had stated--_the loss of an arm, perhaps of life, should he becaught_. There was but little hope of mercy for him--the less so as hehad no master with power to protect him, and who might be _interested_in his not being thus crippled!
By approaching the open country on the edge of the clearings, he wouldnot only run the hazard of being seen, but, what he feared still more,being _tracked by hounds_! This mode of searching for "runaways" wasnot uncommon, and there were even white men base enough to follow it asa calling! So learnt I from my companion. His information wasafterwards confirmed _by my own experience_!
I was hungry--what was to be done? I could not find my way alone. Imight again get lost, and have to spend the night in the swamp. Whathad I best do?
I appealed to my companion. He had been silent for some time--busy withhis thoughts. They were running on the same subject as my own. Thebrave fellow had not forgotten me.
"Jes what dis nigga am thinkin' 'bout," replied he. "Well, mass'," hecontinued, "when sun go down, den I guide you safe--no fear den. Gabr'ltake you close to de Lebee road. Mass' must wait till sun go down."
"But--"
"Mass' hungry?" inquired he, interrupting me.
I assented.
"Jes thot so. Dar's nuffin' yeer to eat 'cept dis ole snake. Mass' nocare to eat snake: dis nigga eat 'im. Cook 'im at night, when smoke obde fire not seen ober de woods. Got place to cook 'im, mass' see.Gabr'l truss mass' Edwad. He take him to caboose ob de runaway."
He had already cut off the head of the reptile while he was talking; andhaving pinned neck and tail together with a sharp stick, he lifted theglittering body, and flinging it over his shoulders, stood ready todepart.
"Come, now, mass'," continued he, "come 'long wi' Ole Gabe; he find yousomethin' to eat."
So saying, he turned round and walked off into the bushes.
I took up my gun and followed. I could not do better. To haveattempted to find my own way back to the clearings might again haveresulted in failure, since I had twice failed. I had nothing to hurryme back. It would be quite as well if I returned to the village afternight--the more prudent course, in fact--as then my mud-bedaubed andblood-stained habiliments would be less likely to attract attention; andthis I desired to avoid. I was contented, therefore, to follow therunaway to his "lair," and share it with him till after sunset.
For some hundred yards he led on in silence. His eyes wandered aroundthe forest, as though he was seeking for something. They were notdirected upon the ground, but upward to the trees; and, therefore, Iknow it was not the path he was in search of.
A slight exclamation escaped him, and, suddenly turning in his tracks,he struck off in a direction different to that we had been following. Iwalked after; and now saw that he had halted by a tall tree, and waslooking up among its branches.
The tree was the frankincense, or loblolly pine (_Pinus toeda_). Thatmuch of botany I knew. I could tell the species by the large spinouscones and light-green needles. Why had he stopped there?
"Mass' Edwad soon see," he said, in answer to my interrogatory."Please, mass'," he continued, "hold de snake a bit--don't let um touchde groun'--dam dogs dey smell um!"
I relieved him of his burden; and, holding it as he desired, stoodwatching him in silence.
The loblolly pine grows with a straight, naked shaft and pyramidal head,often without branches, to the height of fifty feet. In this case,however, several fronds stood out from the trunk, at less than twentyfeet from the ground. These were loaded with large green cones, fullfive inches in length; and it appeared to be these that my companiondesired to obtain--though for what purpose I had not the remotest idea.
After a while he procured a long pole; and with the end of this knockeddown several of the cones, along with pieces of the branchlets to whichthey adhered.
As soon as he believed he had a sufficient quantity for his purpose, hedesisted, and flung the pole away.
What next? I watched with increasing interest.
He now gathered up both the cones and the adhering spray; but to mysurprise he flung the former away. It was not the cones, then, hewanted, but the young shoots that grew on the very tops of the branches.These were of a brownish-red colour, and thickly coated with resin--forthe _Pinus taeda_ is more resinous than any tree of its kind--emitting astrong aromatic odour, which has given to it one of its trivial names.
Having collected the shoots until he had both hands full, my guide nowbent down, and rubbed the resin over both the soles and upper surface ofhis coarse brogans. He then advanced to where I stood, stooped downagain, and treated my boots to a similar polishing!
"Now, mass', all right--de dam, blood-dogs no scent Ole Gabe now--dat_hill de trail_. Come, mass' Edwad, come 'long."
Saying this, he again shouldered the snake and started off, leaving meto follow in his tracks.