Jack made one last desperate struggle for life. He sprang down the ledge, turned aside with one hand the bayonet which was thrust at his bosom, and felled the soldier with the other; but ere he could clear the guard, his shoulder was transfixed by another bayonet, which disabled him, and in a few minutes he was stretched at the feet of the soldiers, a wounded, pinioned captive. Before the sun had set that afternoon he was securely lodged in the prison at Guayave, heavily ironed, and the prison was guarded by a detachment of soldiers.
The trial of Jack Shadow soon came on before a bench of magistrates. His identity was proved; also the conspicuous part he had taken in the insurrection, and the bloody acts which he had committed. The outlaw was condemned to death. His deportment was sullen and dogged to the last. He refused to see his wife, who, when too late, regretted the steps which, prompted by anger and a short-lived desire for revenge, she had taken for his arrest. He was hanged on a gallows, about a quarter of a mile outside the village of Guayave.
Chapter XXX. WEST INDIA LIFE
I remained on the Upper Pearl estate, and found much to interest an inquiring mind. Murray, although there were some good points about him, was not considered trustworthy. In his cups he was quarrelsome and as choleric as a Welshman; and a fondness for liquor was his besetting sin. He was an excellent accountant and an efficient clerk, but could hardly be relied on when a clear head and cool judgment were required.
A short time before I became acquainted with Murray, he had quarreled at a dinner party with a Mr. Reed, the manager of a coffee plantation. The lie was exchanged, a blow was struck; a challenge was given and accepted on the spot. The next morning the parties met, with their seconds, firmly bent upon shooting each other. There was no flinching on the part of the principals; no desire evinced to give or receive an apology. The seconds, however, were made of milder stuff; and neither of them being Irishmen, thought they would be justified in rendering the duel a bloodless one, and transforming a grave matter into a harmless joke. They accordingly loaded the pistols with powder only, keeping the bullets in their pockets; probably taking the hint from the well-blazoned proceedings in the duel fought at Chalk farm, a few years before, between Jeffries and Moore,
"When Little's leadless pistol met the eye,
While Bow Street myrmidons stood laughing by."
The word was given, and both parties fired. No harm was done; but apologies were out of the question, and "another shot" was loudly and peremptorily called for, and the distance, eight paces was shortened to six. The farce was again repeated, when Murray, wondering at the bloodless result, espied a smile on the features of his second, which did not seem in keeping with the gravity of the occasion. His suspicions were aroused; and the seconds, on being charged with duplicity, acknowledged the fact, adding that it would be worse than folly to shoot each other, and suggesting that they should shake hands, take a good breakfast together, and, in a Christian spirit, banish all enmity from their hearts.
This advice, so wise in itself, was not taken in good part by either of the principals. They were indignant at having been imposed upon, and made a laughing-stock to the community. Murray could not control his temper, but threw his pistol at the head of his second, cutting him badly in the face, and knocking him over; he chased the second of his antagonist off the field, and then offered his hand to the man whom he had twice attempted to shoot, which in a kind spirit was heartily grasped; and the two principals in the duel, who, five minutes before, eagerly thirsted for each other's blood, rode off together sworn friends and brothers, and were afterwards as great cronies as the Irish Bard and the Scotch reviewer.
Mr. Orr, the manager of the Upper Pearl, who left the estate, bowed down by disease, on the evening of my arrival, had a narrow escape from death. When he recovered, after a severe illness of several weeks, he refused to resume his situation, declaring he had got enough of the Pearls to last him his lifetime.