Our Fellows

tonished or elated over a stroke of good fortune than we did at th

to recover General Mason’s money, and their efforts had amounted to nothing; but we ha

d helpless before us, and Black Bess was once more in my und

is breath, “you 147wouldn’t mind telling us how you managed to steal t

Mebbe you won’t b’lieve it,” he added, seeing

ole Black Bes

her ag’in, an’ had o

o set fire to our co

’ll tell you one thing: You had better

. “How did you get out of that tree the other day? Did yo

’s my own busi

tent, and are willing to relate all the circumstances attending the commission of 148their crime, but our prisoner did not belong to tha

y and the disappearance of Black Bess that we should like to have had explained, but as Mr. Redman was not in the

er long enough, and, having in some measure recovered from his fatigue,

indeed. He rolled about on the ground, gnashing his teeth with rage, his face redde

hing his contortions, we trembled with the fear that some of the straps would slip or prove too weak to hold him. But,

to pounce upon the prisoner the instant he saw the least probability of his freeing himself from his bonds; “give it up, don’t

do with me?” asked Luke

and put you where you’ll never have another

ends 150clost by who won’t let harm come to me. If you expect to see daylight ag’i

to a place of safety with as little delay as possible. We did not really believe that he had com

them had witnessed all that had taken place at Dead Man’s Elbow? If that was the case, they would never permit Luke to be taken t

ng in severity, and some portions of my wet clothing were frozen stiff; and now that the excitement 151attending the chase an

d set in, and the rain and sleet began to rattle through the leafless branches abo

en passing through the minds of the rest of our fellows, for they loo

, we are not playing with you, and if you want to save yourself some rough handling, you wi

as 152brought up, and we lifted him from the ground, and placed him on the animal’s back, he did not offer the least resist

et-knife), we sprang into our saddles and set out for home; Duke heading the cavalcade, Mark following at his heels, leading the horse on which our captive was mounted, Herbert c

between Dead Man’s Elbow and the bayou on the

e possession of the squirrels he had shot a few hours before, 153a

these along; ’cause I know by experience that it is monst

, that after we left the bayou he began to cast stealthy glances around him, as if he were looking for some one; and once I saw his

, under which were a pair of eyes regarding us intently. But the cap vanished at the very moment I

ettle down upon us, and before we had accomplished another mile, 154it

cold and darkness grew more intense, and, to add to the unpleasantness of our situation, we reached the end of the ridge at last, and from that point our way lay across a bot

es of his voice that he was shaking with the cold—“strike

ke. “It is all I can do to talk. That isn’t the

ocality” was largely developed, and any place he had once visited he could find again on the darkest of nights. He sometimes laughingly said that he possessed

y hours we stumbled about in the darkness, the rain and sleet beating f

ly stopping to take breath; then, suddenly changing his tone, he entreated us to untie his hands, and, finding

fellows to abandon the idea of riding to the settlement that night, and 156strike for our camp on

to kindle a fire; and as Sandy had been thoughtful enough to br

at once turned his horse, and started off in a direction

sun rise again, our camp on Black Bayou would have been the v

have explained it himself, for the night was so dark that he could not see five feet in adv

we, never doubting his ability to lead us to the p

when I became so cold that I could scarcely sit in my saddle, and with the greatest difficulty resisted the inclination to dismount from my horse and

wall of trees, which surrounded us on all sides. I was as completely lost now as I had been

o you call th

ght glad am I to see it; for I do not believe I co

deed, if you can see any signs

g, but I know it is the camp. Jump

ite out of the question. I do not know whether I rolled out of my saddle or fell out; but I got o

oughts that had so long depressed us, and when at last the fire was well under way, and the flames were leaping

only of the glorious success we had achieved, and of the sensation we should create 159when

ose you and Sandy rub down the horses, and hitch them in some sheltered place where they will be protected from the storm. They have served us faithfully

rangement, but hurried off at once to atte

of wood sufficient to keep the fire burning all night was piled in one corner of the shanty, and we lay stretched out on the l

the moment to forget that his hands were bound behind his back, and that he stood a

g our appetites,” he continued, glancing at the six pieces of beech bark on which he had placed eac

myself,” the prisoner replied

n the world. If we should untie your hands, you might jump up an’ run out in the

161and our cook, having passed around the

ing to see them filled up again in some mysterious manner; but as nothing of the kind happened, we threw them into the fire, and

of us began to blink and nod at the fire, as if recognizing

e furthest corner of the shanty, an

ence to Luke Redman, and the latter must have thought s

“an’ I tell you now, as I told you afore, that you’ll never take 162me to

that, fellows?” asked

mself talk, and that we have

Swamp Dragoons to rescue him, he’ll be disappointed, for they ne

ke much,” declared Sandy. “Thar’s six of them,

to the settlement, or

looked out into the darkness, and thought of that dreary ride through the swamp, that un

r, as far as an attack from the Swamp Dragoons was concerned, that was all in Luke Redman’s eye. Barney and his followers were n

ds of which pointed to midnight. “If there are no objections, I

me,” s

and to make the round of the camp at least three times during the hour. It is a wet job,” said Duke, looking out at the rain and sleet, which were coming down as fier

ing that the consultation was e

aying here until mor

s way directly. If some on you gets your heads broke, you mustn’t bl

ned his bonds, to satisfy ourselves that they were secure, and then crawled back to our places by the fire—all exc

he last I remembered until a hand was laid on my shoulder and a voice whi

me, saw that the aspect of things had 165changed

r was filled with the rapidly-falling flakes. If you have ever had any experience in this l

lancing toward the prisoner, who was a

has been seen sitting up ever since I have been on guard listening with all the ears he’s got, and acting as though he was

s hunting-horn and walked out of the shanty. I threw an ar

raps with which his arms were confined, “but I won’t be so l

down they ever heard of.” I walked off without waiting to hear what Luke Redman had to say in reply, and sta

r stumbling about among the bushes for ten minutes, I

ur prisoner, I leaned against the trunk of a giant oak, which effectually protected me from the storm,

if the animal’s throat had been grasped by a strong hand. I turned quickly, and looking in the dire

log and looked over it. One glance was enough. I gave the signals of distress with all the power