With Axe and Rifle Part 7

"She one angel, Ma.s.sa Mike. If such as she lib in heaven, it mus' be one beautiful place," he remarked to me one day.

Kathleen would sit patiently by his bedside, and sing to him with her sweet child-voice, and then read a little or tell him a story, handing him some cooling drink when he was thirsty.

I had one day, while chopping wood, severely sprained my right wrist.

My mother had bound it up and put my arm a sling, so that I could not use it, and I therefore remained at home while my father and Dan were out. The only persons in the house besides my mother, Kathleen, and myself, being Biddy and Dio. Rose had gone to a.s.sist the wife of a settler at some distance whose child was ill. I had been kept awake by the pain my wrist caused me during the night, and while attempting to read had fallen asleep, when I was aroused by the sound of the rough voices of two men at the front door demanding admittance, and abusing Biddy in no measured terms for refusing to let them in.

"It'd be mighty curious, now, if I'd be afther lettin' strangers into the house while the cap'n is away," answered Biddy, who had evidently seen them coming, and had confronted them on the threshold; "in here you don't put your feet 'till the masther comes home to give ye lave, an'

unless yez keep more civil tongues in your head that'll not be likely."

"Are you the only person in the house?" asked one of the men.

"An' what if I am the only person? I am as good as a dozen such spalpeens as you!" cried Biddy in high tones.

"You've got as good as a dozen tongues in your head, you saucy jade,"

answered one of the men, with a laugh.

"Saucy or not saucy, you don't come in here. I'm left in charge, with the mistress busy in one room an' my ould mither, who came all the way out from Ireland when I was a slip of a girl, sick in bed in another, so I'll ax you not to spake so loudly, or you'll be afther disturbing them.

Now just sit down on the bank outside 'till the cap'n comes, or mount your horses and ride away about your business."

"Come, come, Mistress Sharptongue, whether the cap'n shows himself or not, we intend to look round the house inside and out. We are hunting for a runaway n.i.g.g.e.r, and we understand that Captain Loraine has a black boy, and if he is not the one we are looking for, he's pretty sure to know where the other is. These free n.i.g.g.e.rs ought to be hung up on the nearest trees wherever they are to be found; they are a pest to the country!"

"Sure is it Pater ye mane!" exclaimed Biddy in an indignant tone; "n.i.g.g.e.r though he may be, he is more honest than many a white man."

"Keep a civil tongue in your head, Misess Impudence or it may be the worse for you," said one of the men.

Biddy gave a scornful laugh.

"I'll be after t'aching you to keep a civil tongue in your head; just do as I tell you, or--"

I could suppose Biddy flourishing her broomstick. The men laughed in return, and then, hearing a scuffle, fearing that she might be ill-treated, I thought it time to make my appearance with my gun in my left hand, though it would have cost me much had it been necessary to pull the trigger. Biddy was standing at bay, defending herself bravely against the two men, who were endeavouring to force their way into the hall, where the scene I am describing took place.

Whack, whack! down came Biddy's stick on their arms, which they held up to defend their heads, when one of the fellows, who had received a harder blow than he liked, seized the stick with one hand, while with the other he drew his bowie-knife and pointed it at the girl, as if about to strike.

"Arrah! now, ye coward, would ye be afther usin' your knife on a woman?"

shrieked Biddy.

Fearing that the man would not hesitate to commit some act of violence, I stepped forward, and, showing my gun, shouted, "Back, you villains, whoever you are, or take the consequences. I have overheard what you have said; the girl is doing her duty, and until my father comes back-- and I expect him every minute--into this house you do not enter."

The men, who had hitherto not seen me, observing my gun pointed at their heads, stepped back a pace or two; when Biddy, taking advantage of their eyes being withdrawn from her, struck the bowie-knife out of the hand of the man who had attacked her, crying out--

"Fire, Mr Mike, fire; an' we shall, gain the day!"

The two men, who evidently had no wish to risk their lives in the task they had undertaken, sprang back together through the doorway to avoid the expected shot, when Biddy, darting after them, slammed the door in their faces, instantly slipping the bolt, so that they could not again force it open, though they made the attempt. As she did so she uttered a shout of triumph.

"Arrah! the spalpeens will not be again trying to walk into the houses of dacent people with a c.o.c.k an' bull story about hunting for a runaway slave. Just let them have a taste of your rifle, and they'll not forget the lesson we ye given them."

This she said at the top of her voice, knowing that the men outside would hear her. Whether or not they would have made another attempt to get in I cannot say, for at that moment, looking out from the window of the room at which I had been seated, I caught sight of my father, Mr Tidey, and Dan, with guns in hand, approaching the house.

I immediately cried out to them that some men had been endeavouring to force their way into the house. The brave Biddy's a.s.sailants hearing what I said, and expecting probably to have some shot sent after them, took to their heels until they reached their horses, which they had left secured to some trees, when mounting, they galloped off as hard as they could go. Biddy, the excitement over, went into hysterics, laughing and crying and shouting out--

"We've won the day! We did it well, didn't we, Master Mike?"

My father and Mr Tidey, on hearing the account I gave them, were of opinion that the men were satisfied that the black was not concealed in the house, but that Biddy had simply fought to prevent them from entering. Probably they admired her all the more for her determined conduct. Dan, keeping himself concealed, followed them for some distance, and when he came back reported that they had taken the road to Kentucky, so we hoped that we should be rid of them.

Several days pa.s.sed away and Dio had recovered his strength sufficiently to get up and move about the house, though my father would not allow him to go out of doors. His delight was to attend to Kathleen and do her bidding. She, finding her power, kept him in constant employment.

Young as she was, she could read remarkably well, and her great desire was to teach him to read. He probably had never before seen a book, as any person attempting to teach the blacks in the slave-states would have been thrown into prison, and very possibly hung to the nearest tree.

Except ledgers and account books, probably not a volume of any description was to be found in Mr Bracher's establishment. For hours together Kathleen would occupy a high chair, with Dio seated on the ground by her side, while she taught him the alphabet or read to him some interesting tale out of one of her books. My mother felt it her duty to instruct him in the gospel, of which he was perfectly ignorant, and she took great pains to impart to him its elementary truths, which he willingly and joyfully took in.

"Dis poor n.i.g.g.ar nebber 'fore heard Jesus Christ," he said to her one day in a low voice; "Him wond'ful good for die for black man like me who nebber do noting to please Him. Me try an' lub Him an' serve Him with all my heart to de end ob my days."

"Christ died for black men and white men alike; G.o.d wants all people of every colour, nation, and tongue to come to Him and to be saved,"

answered my mother. "If Dio gives G.o.d his heart, G.o.d will protect him and guide him through life until He calls him to that happy heaven He has prepared for all those who love Him here on earth."

When Dio heard that the Bible contained G.o.d's loving message to man, he became doubly anxious to learn to read it. It was wonderful the progress he made in a short time, showing that the minds of the negro race are as capable of imbibing knowledge as those of white men.

There was still a considerable risk that Dio might be recognised by some of the friends of Mr Bracher who might pa.s.s that way, and my father had determined to start with him in a few days on his projected journey northwards.

My father and I had just returned from a distant part of the estate, and were about to enter the house, when, looking along the road, I saw three hors.e.m.e.n, two of whom bore a striking resemblance to the men who had paid us a visit when in search of Dio.

"They may be mere travellers, or may be coming without any thought of Dio, but it will be prudent, in case of accident, to be prepared for them," observed my father; "we will go in and stow away the black."

We entered as we spoke. Kathleen had taken her usual place on a chair with a book in her hand while several others lay scattered before her.

Dio was seated on the ground, his eyes level with the page from which she read, he endeavouring to repeat the words after her. Biddy was engaged at the other end of the room in making a cake, and did not observe us enter. My father, afraid of alarming the little girl, did not speak, but beckoned Dio who just then looked up, to come to him.

Biddy, seeing that something was amiss, hurried out of the room after us.

"Not a moment to lose," he whispered, "run back to your room, jump into bed, and draw the clothes over your head; take care that nothing belonging to you is left in sight. Mike will carry away your shoes and anything else you have. Some suspicious persons are coming this way."

"I should not be surprised, Biddy, if they are your old friends," I observed; "you will treat them with due hospitality if they enter the house."

"Sure the cap'n won't be lettin' thim in at all at all," she said, when she observed the three men on horseback approaching, two of whom she recognised as her former opponents.

"Biddy is right," observed my father, "and our safest plan will be to keep them outside until we ascertain their business. Let your mother know, call Mr Tidey and Dan, and close the window-shutters as fast as you can."

The latter order Biddy set about zealously executing, aided by Dan and my mother, while my father and I, joined by Mr Tidey, stood at the front door to receive our unwelcome guests.

"What brings you here?" asked my father; "I should have thought after the way you behaved at your last visit that you would have been ashamed to show your faces."

"That's neither here nor there, captain," answered one of the men; "we have notice that you are hiding a runaway slave, and we have come to demand him from you; if you don't give him up, you will learn that we have the power to take him by force."

"No man shall enter my house unless I invite him," said my father calmly, "as to taking any one out of my house by force, you can only do that when you have conquered me. Whether you can conquer me or not is to be seen."

The men were somewhat taken aback by this address, and began to ride up and down in front of the house, casting doubtful glances at him and Mr Tidey.

At last they once more pulled up, and one of them exclaimed, "Come, captain, this won't do! I ask you whether or not you have a negro boy anywhere about your premises? If you have, give him up without more words. He belongs to Silas Bracher, who is not the man to allow his property to be stolen from him."

"I have stolen no man's property," answered my father, "and as to allowing strangers to come into my house, under any pretext whatever, I don't intend to do it, so you have my answer. I'll give you corn for your horses and food for yourselves, but over this threshold you don't step with my good will."

"Then you don't deny having harboured the slave we are in search of?"