“No. He succeeded in escaping. His letter is dated Richmond.”
Clara made no reply, and the old lawyer passed out, muttering: “Poor little simpleton. ’T is only a freak. No woman in her senses could resist such an offer. She’ll thank me one of these days for my anæsthetic practice.”
CHAPTER XXXIX.
SEEING IS BELIEVING.
“It is a very obvious principle, although often forgotten in the pride of prejudice and of controversy, that what has been seen by one pair of human eyes is of force to countervail all that has been reasoned or guessed at by a thousand human understandings.”—Rev. Thomas Chalmers.
When, after some detention, Esha returned to the garden, and could not see Clara, she ran up-stairs and sought her in all the rooms. Then returning to the garden she looked in the summer-house, in the grape-arbor, everywhere without avail. Suddenly she caught sight of a small black girl, a sort of under-drudge in the kitchen, who was standing with mouth distended, showing her white teeth, and grinning at Esha’s discomfiture. It was the work of a moment for Esha to seize the hussy, drag her into the wash-house, and by the aid of certain squeezings, liberally applied to her cervical vertebræ, to compel her to extrude the fact that Missie Clara had been forcibly carried off by two men, and placed in a carriage, which had been driven fast away.
When Esha communicated this startling information to Madame Volney, the wrath of the latter was terrible to behold. It was well for Lawyer Semmes that his good stars kept him that moment from encountering the quadroon lady, else a sudden stop might have been put to his professional usefulness.
After she had recovered from her first shock of anger, she asked: “Why hasn’t Peek been here these five days?”
“’Cause he ’cluded’t wan’t safe,” replied Esha. “He seed ole Semmes war up ter su’thin, an’ so he keep dark.”
“Well, Esha, we must see Peek. You know where he lives?”
“Yes, Missis, but we mus’ be car’ful ’bout lettin’ anybody foller us.”