Arrival of the waggon—Why Dio ran away—How to act for the best—Abolition of slavery—What Biddy O’Toole meant to do—Kathleen and Dio—Biddy’s interview with the strangers—Dio’s pursuers—A fortunate arrival—Teaching the black to read—Good words—An interrupted lesson—The alarm—Man-hunters—Every man’s house his castle—Watching the strangers—An agreeable surprise—Mr McDermont—My mother’s apprehensions of danger—Our garrison increased.
The first thing I did the next morning on getting up was to hurry out to ascertain if Mr Tidey and the negro had arrived, and was much disappointed to find that the waggon had not come back. Breakfast was over, and still it did not appear. My mother suggested that possibly the black was too weak to be removed. When I told my father of the two men we had fallen in with, in search of a runaway slave, he looked grave, remarking—
“Possibly the fellows on their return may have fallen in with the waggon, and if so, they have carried off it and its occupants.”
“I don’t think Mr Tidey would allow himself to be captured by only two men, or would surrender the black of whom he had taken charge,” I remarked.
“He is not likely to submit himself to be made prisoner, I grant, unless he should have been wounded, but possibly he may not have felt himself called on to fight for a stranger, should the men in search of the slave be able to prove that he belongs to them or their employer,” answered my father. “However, I’ll set out to try to ascertain what has happened; saddle Swiftsure, Mike, while I get ready.”
As I was on my way to the field in which our horses grazed, I heard Dan shout out—
“Here comes the waggon, no necessity to get the horses.”
On running back to the hill on which Dan was standing, I saw the waggon coming along, driven at a quick rate by Peter, while Mr Tidey was seated with his rifle between his knees, close behind him. I could not discover a third person, and I began to fear that the negro had died or been captured by his pursuers. This was a great disappointment, and I pictured to myself the misery of the poor fellow, should he have been dragged back into slavery.
While returning by a path running alongside the hill, we lost sight of the waggon. On our arrival at the house, however, it had just reached the foot of the hill. We here found our father, mother, and Kathleen, standing at the doorway to welcome Mr Tidey, and to hear what had happened.
At that moment a person rose from the bottom of the waggon, and, leaping to the ground, came running towards us. It was the black we had discovered. For an instant he stopped and gazed in my father’s face, then darting forward, he seized his hand and pressed it to his lips, exclaiming—