"Oh, yes, my good friend," replied Mr. Hubbard, to some question of the sheriff. "A slave being clearly a chattel, notwithstanding the Act of 1799, you can proceed just in the same manner as for the recovery of any other chattel stolen or abstracted. The abductors can be indicted, and a warrant against them can be issued to prevent their removal of the chattel from the jurisdiction of the State. Besides, in the case of Moosa versus Allain, Judge Martin's judgment clearly shows that a slave himself is entitled to the aid of a magistrate, to prevent him from being illegally removed from the State." There was something very harsh to my ears, as an Englishman, to hear even mild Mr. Hubbard talking of a human being as a chattel; and as I could be of no use in the discussion, I listened no longer. I thought, however, if I could get a knowledge of the country, I might employ any military science I possessed in preventing the escape of our adversary. A printed map could not be obtained; but as some two or three dozen persons had already surrounded us, I contrived to get hold of a pen-and-ink drawing of all the roads round about, and a torrent of information as to marshes, ditches, brakes, and bad places. In the meantime, sundry horses were brought out saddled, and sundry gentlemen began to mount; and before all was ready, bold Billy Byles and three other gentlemen rode up, with the gay and excited air of men bound for some exceedingly joyful enterprise.
"Now then," cried Mr. Byles, "let's be off. I hear they have taken right across for the old Nottoway encampment; but as they are going in waggons, we shall catch them soon enough." I looked at my pen-and-ink map, and saw marked down on one spot, "Indian Village." Two roads led towards it, one a distinct broad way, and the other seemingly a narrow but more direct path.
"Is this road passable?" I asked, of a young man standing near, and pointing to the map. He could tell me nothing about it; but another said,--
"I came along it this morning. It is wettish down there by the bars; but if you keep your horses' heads well up, you'll get through, I reckon. There's a little bit of a jog there to the left, which is not down on the plan, and if you take that, you'll come right down on the palisade on t'other side. There you can see by the waggon tracks, whether they have gone on or not, for that rain last night must have washed it pretty clean." By this time, all were prepared to set out except Mr. Hubbard, who preferred to wait our return in Jerusalem; and we made altogether a party of some fifteen horse. As we rode out of the town, I pointed out on the map, to the sheriff, the roads I have alluded to, and proposed that he and Mr. Thornton, with the main body of the party, should follow the wider road, while I and Billy Byles, with one or two others, should take the narrower path, and endeavour to cut Mr. Lewis's party off.
"No bad plan," said the sheriff, with a nod of his head; "but, will you have force enough?"
"I understand they have got several fellows with them--three Irishmen and a Dutchman, besides others."
"Give me two other stout men besides Mr. Byles," said I, "and I will undertake to keep them at a stand till you come up."
"A soldier?" asked the sheriff, laconically. I nodded my head.
"Well, go along then," he said; "there's your way up there; then the first to the right; but then mind the jog of the road to the left, about seven miles on. But Byles knows all about it; he knows the country right well. Here's their trail--these waggon ruts, freshly made and sharp at the edges. You can easily judge by these whether they have gone on; and if they have got beyond the camp, you had better stay there till we come. There will be nothing for it then but to ride them straight down as hard as we can go." The matter was soon explained to Mr. Byles, who was ready for anything; and after he, on his best judgment, had selected two stout fellows to accompany us, we set off at as fast a pace as we could well go, till we reached the month of the very narrow path which we had to pursue. Nor did we much slacken our speed there; although, to say the truth, it was rather a perilous undertaking to ride along it with such velocity; for the boughs swung across in many directions, whisking one's eyes, or one's knees, or one's head, every two or three hundred yards.
"Now we are coming near the bad place by the bar," said Billy Byles. "Keep a short rein and ease them up as you go through." And on he went, into what seemed to me neither more nor less than a morass. His horse made a terrible flounder at the first plunge, but was up again in a moment; and on we all went, stumbling, and sinking, and rolling, but scrambling on still, till we reached the other side of the bad place, and were once more upon firm ground. The next three or four miles were much more open, the road passing through a low sort of brushwood, with scattered scrubby trees, and a good deal of short grass between. We took advantage of it to the uttermost, and entered the thicker wood again after a gallop of some twenty minutes.