All of a sudden I heard a faint cry.
"Marse Dick!" it said feebly, and the voice came from the direction I had first heard the noise. Barron, Byrd and myself heard the cry simultaneously, and we instantly started toward the spot from whence it came. The next minute we broke through a thicket of blackberry bushes, and found a small cleared spot in the midst of the grass and briars.
There, lying upon his back, with his left hand held over a nasty cut in his abdomen, was my boy, Sam. The poor fellow saw me and I caught his glad look of recognition, but his glance wandered back of me to Mr. Johnson and his men, and his look turned to one of savage fury. He started to rise, but I quickly held him in my arms while the rest crowded around us.
"What's happened?" I gasped. "Where is mother and Mary—and Miss Carter?"
"Miss Mary, she gone wid Marse Berk—all alone—old missus and Miss Rose gone away, too," said the poor fellow, with great difficulty.
I looked at Will and saw him turn ashy pale and his jaws set until the bands of muscle in his lean face seemed about to break with the strain.
"What rascal do you suppose did this?" asked Mr. Johnson, coming up closer and noticing the look on Will's face. But no one answered.
"Who gave you that cut, Sam?" I asked, bending over him and gently removing his hand from the gash. "Get some water, quick!" I continued to the men, but Barron had already started for the boat, where he found a bailer, and returned in a moment with it full of water. In a few moments Sam felt better, and I immediately set to work to dress his wound. "Who cut you?" I asked again, for I saw he hesitated about telling me. I soon had a bandage in place, and then I repeated the question.
"Marse Berk," he finally whispered, and as he did so Will leaned over him to catch the words. "He an' that Captain were here—Marse Berk—he wanted Miss Mary to go off alone with him on the schooner—an' he took her—she wanted to wait for old missus an' she cried—I came—so he killed me."
"But mother and Miss Carter, Sam, quick; where are they?" I asked, frantically.