“Do the owners hereabouts lose many slaves now-a-days?”
“Not sence old Gashface was killed last autumn.”
“Who’s Gashface? Is it a real name?” asked Vance.
“Nobody ever knowed his raal name,” returned the Colonel; “an’ so we called him Gashface, seem’ as he’d a bad gash over his left cheek. He was a half mulatto, with woolly hair, an’ so short-sighted he weared specs. Wall, that bloody cuss hahz run off more niggers nor all the abolitioners in the Northwest,—damned ef he haint! Two millions of dollars wouldn’t pay fur all the slaves he’s helped across the line. He guv his hull time ter the work, an’ was crazy mad on that one pint. Last yar the planters clubbed together an’ made up a pus of five thousand dollars fur the man that ’ud shoot the cuss. Two gemmlemen from Vicksburg went inter the job, treed him, shot him dead, an’ tuk the five thousand dollars. An almighty good day’s work!”[[14]]
“How did the planters know they had got the right man?” asked Vance.
“Wall, there wah n’t much doubt about that, yer see,” said the Colonel. “Them as shot him war’ high-tone gemmlemen, both on ’em, an’ knowed the cuss well. So did I, an’ they paid me a cool hunderd,—damned if they didn’t!—to come on an’ swar ter the body.”
“Let’s go and have a talk with your smart nigger,” interrupted Vance.
“Agreed!” replied the Colonel with an oath; and the two descended a short ladder, and stood on the lower deck in front of Peek, who was leaning against a green sliding box of stones, used for keeping the boat rightly trimmed.
“Wake up here, Peek,” said Hyde, kicking him not very gently; “here’s my friend, Mr. Vance, come ter see yer.”
The slave started, and his eyes had a lurid glitter as they turned on Hyde; but they opened with a wild and pleased surprise as they caught the quick, intelligible glance of Vance, whose right hand was pointing to an inner pocket of his coat. The change of expression in the slave was, however, too subtle and evanescent for any one except Vance himself to recognize it; and he was not moved by it to take other notice of the negro than to imitate the Colonel’s example by pushing Peek with his foot, at the same time saying, “I wish I had you on a sugar-plantation down in Louisiana, my fine fellow! I’d teach you to run away! You wouldn’t try it more than once, I’m thinking.”