He pulled himself up with an effort. “If you go to Natchez, you’d better find out from somebody who’s had experience in this climate how they treat these fevers. You’d better take Lincoln with you, for you’ll probably have a fight on your hands. There’s a rough crowd there, and if you’re alone you’ll probably lose your ‘Big Harp.’ Find out everything you can about the chances of deposit at New Orleans. The commandant probably won’t tell you much, but what he does say will have truth in it; and all these rumors that we’ve been getting have nothing definite, except that we can’t deposit and ought to fight. The men along the river don’t know any more about the plans of the French than we do. I hope there’s no fight coming; but if there is, God willing, we’ll take a hand in it.”
“You bet,” said Jimmy. He cleared his throat, because what he had to say embarrassed him. “Mack,” he began, “I reckon you know I’ll stand by you? If you’re going to be sick, don’t you go and worry. I’ll stand by the ark. I can put the thing through. You can trust me.”
Marion smiled wearily. “You will be captain, Jimmy?”
Jimmy flushed. His lip trembled. “You’re the captain of this expedition,” he answered in a voice that he tried hard to make steady, “and captain you’re going to stay, Mack, whether ye’re up or on your back here in camp; and I’ll see that your orders get carried out, that’s all. But don’t you worry—you hear me?”
“All right,” said Marion. “I guess we understand each other.”
“I reckon we do,” said Jimmy.
The young captain moved away towards the shelter of poles where Kenton was feeding the horses. He walked unsteadily, and Jimmy saw him wipe his forehead with the back of his hand. A heavy weight settled on Jimmy’s heart. And this was the man Jimmy had sworn to be revenged upon, for forbidding him to join the crew! At that moment, watching him going off to look after the welfare of the camp when he should have been in bed, Jimmy would have welcomed the chance of laying down his life for Marion Royce.
If Marion should let sickness get hold of him so that he could not command the expedition, what would become of all of them? In the crew there were but Marion and himself who had the gift of leadership. The others, efficient enough in other ways, all had disqualifications for commanders, and would quickly have brought the rest of the crew to riot and mutiny and chaos. The fact that Marion had been afraid of Jimmy’s influence at the outset, pointed to the influence which Jimmy had it in him to wield, for either good or evil, and now Jimmy wondered that he had ever threatened to cast it against law and order.
He continued to turn it all over and over in his mind through the process of helping get the breakfast of fish and pot porridge; and even after he and Shadwell had provisioned their skiff and started down the river towards Natchez, he continued to think of it.
He did not communicate his thoughts to Lincoln. No one ever confided in Lincoln. He was too unsympathetic. With his drawling indolence, he scoffed at everything. Jimmy looked at him and wondered if he had ever felt a responsibility.