The Captain proceeded to the jail, and demanded to see his steward; the jailer hesitating at first, at length granted his permission. He found Manuel locked up in a little, unwholesome cell, with scarcely a glimmer of light to mark the distinction of day and night; and so pale and emaciated, that had he met him in the street he should scarcely have recognised him. “Gracious God! What crime could have brought such an excess of punishment upon you?” inquired the Captain.
Manuel told him the whole story; and, added to that, the things which had been sent to him during the seven days he had been confined in that manner, had seldom reached him. He had lost his good friend Jane, and the many kind acts which she was wont to bestow upon him, and had been compelled to live upon bread and water nearly the whole time, suffering the most intense hunger. Upon inquiry, it was ascertained that the few things sent to make him comfortable had been intrusted to Daley to deliver, who appropriated nearly the whole of them to his own use, as a sort of retaliatory measure for the castigation he received from Manuel. He had not failed to carry him his pan of soup at twelve o'clock every day, but made the “choice bits” serve his own digestion. The jailer felt the pain of the neglect, and promised to arrange a safer process of forwarding his things by attending to it himself, which he did with all the attention in his power, when Manuel's condition became more tolerable. The Captain told Manuel how his affairs stood-that he should probably have to leave him in charge of the consul, but to keep up good spirits; that he would leave him plenty of means, and as soon as his release was effected, to make the best of his way to Scotland and join the old owners. And thus he left him, with a heavy heart, for Manuel did read in his countenance what he did not speak.
The Janson had been discharged, a survey held upon the cargo, protest extended, and the whole sold for the benefit of whom it might concern. Necessary surveys were likewise held upon the hull, and finding it so old and strained as to be unworthy of repair, it was condemned and sold for the benefit of the underwriters. Thus the register “de novo” was given up to the consul, the men discharged, and paid off according to the act of William IV., which provides that each man shall receive a stipend to carry him to the port in Great Britain from which he shipped, or the consul to provide passage for him, according to his inclination, to proceed to a point where the voyage would be completed. The consul adopted the best means in his power to make them all comfortable and satisfied with their discharge. Their several register-tickets were given up to them, and one by one left for his place of destination; Tommy and the second mate only preferring to remain and seek some new voyage. The old chief mate seemed to congratulate himself in the condemnation of the unlucky Janson. He shipped on board an English ship, laden with cotton and naval stores, and just ready for sea. When he came on board to take a farewell of the Captain, he stood upon deck, and looking up at the dismantled spars, said, “Skipper, a shadow may save a body after all. I've always had a presentment that this unlucky old thing would serve us a trick. I says to meself that night in the Gulf, 'Well, old craft, yer goin' to turn yer old ribs into a coffin, at last,' but I'll praise the bridge that carries me safe over, because I've an affection for the old thing after all, and can't part without saying God bless her, for it's an honest death to die in debt to the underwriters. I hope her old bones will rest in peace on terra-firma. Good-by, Captain,—remember me to Manuel; and let us forget our troubles in Charleston by keeping away from it.”
CHAPTER XXV. GEORGE THE SECESSIONIST, AND HIS FATHER'S SHIPS.
AS we have said, the second mate and little Tommy remained to seek new voyages. Such was the fact with the second mate; but Tommy had contracted a violent cold on the night he was locked up in the guard-house, and had been a subject for the medicine-chest for some time; and this, with his ardent attachment for Manuel, and hopes to join him again as a sailing companion, was the chief inducement for his remaining. The Captain gave them accommodations in the cabin so long as he had possession of the ship, which afforded the means of saving their money, of which Tommy had much need; for notwithstanding he received a nice present from the consul, and another from the Captain, which, added to the few dollars that were coming to him for wages, made him feel purse-proud, though it was far from being adequate to sustain him any length of time, or to protect him against any sudden adversity.
The Captain had not seen little George, the secessionist, since his assurance that he would make every thing right with Mr. Grimshaw, and have Manuel out in less than twenty-four hours. It was now the fourteenth of April, and the signs of his getting out were not so good as they were on the first day he was committed, for the vessel being condemned, if the law was carried to the strictest literal construction, Manuel would be tied up among the human things that are articles of merchandise in South Carolina. He was passing from the wharf to the consul's office about ten o'clock in the morning, when he was suddenly surprised in the street by little George, who shook his hand as if he had been an old friend just returned after a long absence. He made all the apologies in the world for being called away suddenly, and consequently, unable to render that attention to his business which his feelings had prompted. Like all secessionists, George was very fiery and transitory in his feelings. He expressed unmeasurable surprise when the Captain told him the condition of his man in the old jail. “You don't say that men are restricted like that in Charleston? Well, now, I never was in that jail, but it's unsuited to the hospitality of our society,” said he.
“Your prison groans with abuses, and yet your people never hear them,” replied the Captain.
George seemed anxious to change the subject, and commenced giving the Captain a description of his journey to the plantation, his hunting and fishing, his enjoyments, and the fat, saucy, slick niggers, the fine corn and bacon they had, and what they said about massa, ending with an endless encomium of the “old man's” old whiskey, and how he ripened it to give it smoothness and flavor. His description of the plantation and the niggers was truly wonderful, tantalizing the Captain's imagination with the beauties of a growing principality in itself. “We have just got a new vessel added to our ships, and she sails for the Pedee this afternoon. We got the right stripe of a captain, but we have made him adopt conditions to be true to the secession party. As soon as I get another man, we'll despatch her in grand style, and no mistake.”
The Captain thought of his second mate, and suggested him at once. “Just the chap. My old man would like him, I know,” said George, and they returned directly to the Janson, where they found the second mate lashing his dunnage. The proposition was made and readily accepted. Again the Captain parted with little George, leaving him to take the mate to his father's office, while he pursued his business at the consul's.