“We not got de young white folks here,” sang out a voice from among the negroes. “You talk ob hanging, massa; take care we not hang you. What we stop here for?” continued the speaker to his companions; “dere not many dere, or dey cum on.”
From the way the blacks were looking, I guessed that they were trying to discover how many persons were opposed to them; but as yet they fancied that there were others behind us.
“Do you quietly retreat, my young friend,” said Mr Talboys in a low voice. “Make your way back to the house as fast as you can, and tell them to be on their guard. I can manage these fellows as well alone, and your life would be needlessly risked by remaining.”
“I will do as you wish, sir; but if there’s to be fighting, I should prefer to stay by you,” I answered.
“I’ll try to avoid it, then,” said my friend, and once more he spoke to the blacks.
“If the young folks are not with you, tell me where they are.”
“We know nothin’,” answered the black. “Maybe by dis time dey hang from de branch ob one tree.”
“I don’t believe that any of you would have had the cruelty to kill them,” he cried out. “Do as I wish you,” he continued, in a low voice, to me.
Still I could not bring myself, for the sake of saving my own life, to leave him to be taken by the blacks; for it seemed to me that he would have but a small chance of escaping from them. I was hesitating, when I heard a shout from beyond where they were standing, and presently a number more rushed up, who by their furious gestures, as soon as they saw us, seemed to threaten our immediate destruction.
“I’ll kill the first who comes on,” cried Mr Talboys.