The Hour and the Man Part 3

"Voices," he whispered. Bayou could hear none. In a moment, Henri continued.

"It is Toussaint, I thought we should meet him hereabouts."

The next turn of the path brought them upon Toussaint, who was advancing with the led horse from Breda. Not far behind him was Madame Oge's house, the door standing wide, and, seen by the light within, a woman in the doorway. Toussaint pulled up, Henri leaped down, and ran to shake hands with his friend. Papalier took the opportunity to say, in a low voice, to Bayou--

"You must send your fellow there on board s.h.i.+p. You must, there is no doubt of it. The Governor, and all the householders in Cap, are doing so with their cleverest negroes; and if there is a clever one in the colony, it is Toussaint."

"I shall do no such thing," said Bayou. "I have trusted Toussaint for these thirty years; and I shall not distrust him now--now when we most need those we can best confide in."

"That is exactly what Monsieur Clement said of his postillion; and it was his postillion that struck him to the heart. You must send Toussaint on board s.h.i.+p; and I will tell you how--"

Papalier stopped, perceiving that the two negroes were not talking, but had their eyes fixed on him.

"What is that?" said Henri. "Is Toussaint to go on board s.h.i.+p?"

"No, no; nonsense," said Bayou; "I am not going to send anybody on board s.h.i.+p. All quiet at Breda, I suppose, Toussaint?"

"All quiet, sir, at present. Monsieur Papalier--on board s.h.i.+p I will not go."

"As your master pleases. It is no concern of mine, Toussaint," said Papalier.

"So I think," replied Toussaint.

"You see your faithful hands, your very obedient friends, have got a will of their own already," whispered Papalier to Bayou, as they set their horses forward again: Henri turning homewards on the tired horse which had carried double, and Bayou mounting that which Toussaint had brought.

"Will you go round, or pa.s.s the house?" Toussaint asked of his master.

"Madame Oge is standing in the doorway."

Bayou was about to turn his horse's head, but the person in the doorway came out into the darkness, and called him by his name. He was obliged to go forward.

"Madame," said he, "I hope you have no trouble with your people. I hope your people are all steady."

"Never mind me and my people," replied a tremulous voice. "What I want to know is, what has happened at Cap. Who have risen? Whose are these fires?"

"The negroes have risen on a few plantations: that is all. We shall soon--"

"The negroes!" echoed the voice. "You are sure it is only the negroes?"

"Only the negroes, madame. Can I be of service to you? If you have any reason to fear that your force--"

"I have no reason to fear anything. I will not detain you. No doubt you are wanted at home, Monsieur Bayou."

And she re-entered her house, and closed the doors.

"How you have disappointed her!" said Papalier. "She hoped to hear that her race had risen, and were avenging her sons on us. I am thankful to-night," he continued, after a pause, "that my little girls are at Paris. How glad might that poor woman have been, if her sons had stayed there! Strange enough, Paris is called the very centre of disorder, and yet it seems the only place for our sons and daughters in these days."

"And strangely enough," said Bayou, "I am glad that I have neither wife, son, nor daughter. I felt that, even while Odeluc, was holding forth about the age of security which we were now entering upon--I felt at the moment that there must be something wrong; that all could not be right, when a man feels glad that he has only himself to take care of. Our negroes are better off than we, so far. Hey, Toussaint?"

"I think so, sir."

"How many wives and children have you, Toussaint?" asked Papalier.

"I have five children, sir."

"And how many wives in your time?"

Toussaint made no answer. Bayou said for him--

"He has such a good wife that he never wanted more. He married her when he was five-and-twenty--did not you, Toussaint?"

Toussaint had dropped into the rear. His master observed that Toussaint was rather romantic, and did not like jesting on domestic affairs. He was more prudish about such matters than whites fresh from the mother-country. Whether he had got it out of his books, or whether it really was a romantic attachment to his wife, there was no knowing; but he was quite unlike his race generally in family matters.

"Does he take upon himself to be scandalised at us?" asked Papalier.

"I do not ask him. But if you like to consult him about your Therese, I do not doubt he will tell you his mind."

"Come, cannot we go on faster? This is a horrid road, to be sure; but poor Therese will think it is all over with me, if she looks at the red sky towards Cap."

There were reasons enough for alarm about Monsieur Papalier's safety, without looking over towards Cap. When the gentlemen arrived at Arabie, his plantation, they found the iron gates down, and lying on the gra.s.s-- young trees hewn down, as if for bludgeons--the cattle couched in the cane-fields, lapped in the luxury of the sweet tops and sprouts--the doors of the sugar-house and mansion removed, the windows standing wide, and no one to answer call. The slave-quarter also was evidently deserted.

Papalier clapped spurs to his horse, and rode round, faster than his companions could follow him. At length Bayou intercepted his path at a sharp turn, caught his bridle, and said--

"My dear fellow, come with me. There is nothing to be done here. Your people are all gone; and if they come back, they will only cut your throat. You must come with me; and under the circ.u.mstances, I cannot stay longer. I ought to be at home."

"True, true. Go, and I will follow. I must find out whether they have carried off Therese. I must, and I will."

Toussaint p.r.i.c.ked his horse into the courtyard, and after a searching look around dragged out from behind the well a young negress who had been crouching there, with an infant in her arms. She shrieked and struggled till she saw Papalier, when she rushed towards him.

"Poor Therese!" cried he, patting her shoulder. "How we have frightened you! There is n.o.body here but friends. At least, so it seems. Where are all the people? And who did this mischief?"

The young creature trembled excessively; and her terror marred for the time a beauty which was celebrated all over the district--a beauty which was admitted as fully by the whites as by people of her own race. Her features were now convulsed by fear, as she told what had happened--that a body of negroes had come, three hours since, and had summoned Papalier's people to meet at Latour's estate, where all the force of the plain was to unite before morning--that Papalier's people made no difficulty about going, only stopping to search the house for what arms and ammunition might be there, and to do the mischief which now appeared--that she believed the whites at the sugar-house must have escaped, as she had seen and heard nothing of bloodshed--and that this was all she knew, as she had hidden herself and her infant, first in one place, and then in another, as she fancied safest, hoping that n.o.body would remember her, which seemed to have been the case, as no one molested her till Toussaint saw her, and terrified her as they perceived. She had not looked in his face, but supposed that some of Latour's people had come back for her.

"Now you will come with me," said Bayou to Papalier, impatiently.

"I will, thank you. Toussaint, help her up behind me, and carry the child, will you? Hold fast, Therese, and leave off trembling as soon as you can."

Therese would let no one carry the infant but herself. She kept her seat well behind her master, though still trembling when she alighted at the stables at Breda.

Placide and Denis were on the watch at the stables.

"Run, Denis!" said his brother. And Denis was off to tell his mother that Toussaint and Monsieur Bayou were safe home.

"Anything happened, Placide?" asked Bayou.

"Yes, sir. The people were sent for to Latour's, and most of them are gone. Not all, sir. Saxe would not go till he saw father; nor Ca.s.sius, nor Antoine, nor--"

"Is there any mischief done? Anybody hurt?"

"No, sir. They went off very quietly."