"It's he," whispered Walter, trembling with suppressed delight, as he passed the glass to Ned. The boys sat and looked at each other in silent ecstasy, with hand clasped in hand for a few moments, and then, creeping stealthily from the place, by a look and gesture conveyed the intelligence to their shipmates as they joined them at the building. How to establish communication with Peterson was the subject that occupied the thoughts of Walter during the entire day.
Having made the habits of Jean a study for some time, he ascertained that he, like most negroes, kept a very poor watch. An old log lay beside the wall of the pig-yard, several rods from Peterson's window; upon this the negro would often sit, lean his back against the wall, and get sound asleep. During this time a good opportunity offered to attract the attention of Peterson, and communicate with him; but as it was not until late at night that Jean fell asleep, Peterson would be asleep also, and it would be impossible to arouse him within those thick walls without making noise enough to wake Jean likewise. They therefore determined to do it in the daytime, as exposing them to the least chance of detection, there being no watch kept then, the building not situated in any common thoroughfare, and the risk of observation from any transient passer very little. There is a great difference in the treatment of slaves by different planters, some being of a cruel, others of a more mild disposition, and disposed not to aggravate the hardships of their slaves by savage treatment; and there are some in whose hands the institution assumes somewhat of a patriarchal character. Lemaire was one of this latter class; whether it sprang from kindness of natural disposition or calculation, as thinking they would last longer and accomplish more in the end, his slaves were well fed, lightly worked, and seldom flogged. He kept a strict watch over his overseers, and the negro drivers especially, and has been known, when he heard the lash too frequently, to go to the spot, take the whip from the negro driver, and giving him three or four severe cuts, say, "See how you like that yourself!" The chief business of the day was over at three o'clock; then came the dinner hour at the mansion, after which Lemaire took his afternoon nap. The overseer did the same; the negroes improved the opportunity to shirk and sleep, and while work went on in the field and at the cane mill more leisurely, all was repose in the vicinity of the dwelling.
The boys had succeeded so well in gaining the confidence of all on the plantation, that they went everywhere without question, both night and day, sat down and gossiped with the children and worn-out darkies who were employed in picking over coffee and cloves, strolled into the fields, and among the carpenters and calkers, at work upon the drogers, for Lemaire built his own vessels.
This hour of napping was the time of the day selected by the boys as most favorable for their purpose. It was a little after four in the afternoon of the day succeeding that on which they had obtained a glimpse of Peterson, when they strolled leisurely towards the lock-up to reconnoitre.
A superannuated negro, partially blind and wholly deaf, sat half asleep on the steps; a parcel of negro children were burrowing in the sand beneath the walls of the adjoining stable, and teasing a turkey-cock by holding up before him a tattered red handkerchief.
With these exceptions, no person was seen around the premises. "We need not fear that old negro, nor these little children," said Walter, "and we never shall have a better opportunity than at this very time."
In the yard was a small building used for storing the coarse cloth of which coffee-bags were made; a cart was tipped up against it, by clambering on which it was not difficult to reach the roof.
"I will get up to the roof of that shed," said Ned, "where I can see all around, and make a signal if any one is coming."
No sooner had Ned gained the roof of the shed, than Walter placed himself directly beneath the grated window, at which they had seen Peterson the morning previous. The blacks possess a wonderful ability for singing those songs of labor used by both black and white seamen to lighten their toil. Negroes in general possess a great facility for remembering tunes, and even the words of songs. In the West Indies you will hear negroes who cannot speak a word of English (to know what it means), sing a song which they have caught from white sailors, all through, without knowing the meaning of one word.
Peterson had a large stock of these songs, which he had picked up in the course of his sea life from sailors of different nations, with whom he had been shipmate. It had been a favorite recreation of Walter, in years past, to sit on Peterson's knee, and coax him to sing those songs, while the little fellow would clap his hands, join in the chorus, and applaud most lustily at the close, always winding up with an entreaty for just one more. Sometimes on a rainy Saturday afternoon, when the weather prevented Peterson from working, half a dozen of the boys would get round him, and, together with his own children, make the old house ring with their screams, while Luce, Peterson's wife, would take her hands out of the suds and join the merry company.