The crew that went up the river under the command of Captain Harris and the Master numbered in all nine persons, of whom (if I except Secundra Dass) there was not one that had not merited the . From Harris downward the voyagers were notorious in that colony for desperate, bloody-minded ; some were reputed pirates, the most hawkers of rum; all ranters and drinkers; all fit associates, together without , upon this and murderous design. I could not hear there was much discipline or any set captain in the gang; but Harris and four others, Mountain himself, two Scotchmen—Pinkerton and Hastie—and a man of the name of Hicks, a drunken shoemaker, put their heads together and agreed upon the course. In a material sense, they were well enough provided; and the Master in particular brought with him a tent where he might enjoy some privacy and shelter.
Even this small indulgence told against him in the minds of his companions. But indeed he was in a position so false (and even ridiculous) that all his habit of command and arts of pleasing were here thrown away. In the eyes of all, except Secundra Dass, he figured as a common and designated victim; going unconsciously to death; yet he could not but suppose himself the and the leader of the expedition; he could scarce help but so conduct himself and at the least hint of authority or , his deceivers would be laughing in their sleeves. I was so used to see and to conceive him in a high, attitude, that when I had conceived his position on this journey, I was pained and could have blushed. How soon he may have entertained a first , we cannot know; but it was long, and the party had advanced into the beyond the reach of any help, ere he was to the truth.
It fell thus. Harris and some others had apart into the woods for , when they were startled by a in the brush. They were all accustomed to the arts of Indian , and Mountain had not only lived and hunted, but fought and earned some reputation, with the . He could move in the woods without noise, and follow a trail like a hound; and upon the of this alert, he was deputed by the rest to into the for intelligence. He was soon convinced there was a man in his close neighbourhood, moving with precaution but without art among the leaves and branches; and coming shortly to a place of advantage, he was able to observe Secundra Dass crawling briskly off with many backward glances. At this he knew not whether to laugh or cry; and his , when he had returned and reported, were in much the same dubiety. There was now no danger of an Indian onslaught; but on the other hand, since Secundra Dass was at the pains to spy upon them, it was highly probable he knew English, and if he knew English it was certain the whole of their design was in the Master’s knowledge. There was one singularity in the position. If Secundra Dass knew and his knowledge of English, Harris was a in several of the tongues of India, and as his career in that part of the world had been a great deal worse than , he had not thought proper to remark upon the circumstance. Each side had thus a spy-hole on the counsels of the other. The plotters, so soon as this advantage was explained, returned to camp; Harris, hearing the Hindustani was once more closeted with his master, crept to the side of the tent; and the rest, sitting about the fire with their tobacco, awaited his report with . When he came at last, his face was very black. He had overheard enough to confirm the worst of his suspicions. Secundra Dass was a good English scholar; he had been some days creeping and listening, the Master was now fully informed of the , and the pair proposed on the morrow to fall out of line at a carrying place and plunge at a venture in the woods: preferring the full risk of famine, beasts, and savage men to their position in the midst of .
What, then, was to be done? Some were for the Master on the spot; but Harris assured them that would be a crime without profit, since the secret of the treasure must die along with him that buried it. Others were for desisting at once from the whole enterprise and making for New York; but the appetising name of treasure, and the thought of the long way they had already travelled the majority. I imagine they were dull fellows for the most part. Harris, indeed, had some acquirements, Mountain was no fool, Hastie was an educated man; but even these had manifestly failed in life, and the rest were the dregs of colonial . The conclusion they reached, at least, was more the offspring of greed and hope, than reason. It was to temporise, to be and watch the Master, to be silent and supply no further aliment to his suspicions, and to depend entirely (as well as I make out) on the chance that their victim was as greedy, hopeful, and as themselves, and might, after all, betray his life and treasure.
Twice in the course of the next day Secundra and the Master must have appeared to themselves to have escaped; and twice they were . The Master, save that the second time he grew a little pale, displayed no sign of disappointment, apologised for the stupidity with which he had fallen aside, thanked his recapturers as for a service, and rejoined the with all his usual gallantry and cheerfulness of and bearing. But it is certain he had smelled a rat; for from thenceforth he and Secundra only in each other’s ear, and Harris listened and shivered by the tent in vain. The same night it was announced they were to leave the boats and proceed by foot, a circumstance which (as it put an end to the confusion of the portages) greatly the chances of escape.
And now there began between the two sides a silent contest, for life on the one hand, for riches on the other. They were now near that quarter of the desert in which the Master himself must begin to play the part of guide; and using this for a of , Harris and his men sat with him every night about the fire, and laboured to him into some admission. If he let slip his secret, he knew well it was the warrant for his death; on the other hand, he durst not refuse their questions, and must appear to help them to the best of his capacity, or he practically published his mistrust. And yet Mountain assures me the man’s brow was never . He sat in the midst of these jackals, his life depending by a thread, like some easy, householder at home by his own fire; an answer he had for everything—as often as not, a jesting answer; avoided threats, insults; talked, laughed, and listened with an open ; and, in short, conducted himself in such a manner as must have suspicion, and went near to stagger knowledge. Indeed, Mountain confessed to me they would soon have disbelieved the Captain’s story, and supposed their designated victim still quite innocent of their designs; but for the fact that he continued (however ingeniously) to give the slip to questions, and the yet stronger of his repeated efforts to escape. The last of these, which brought things to a head, I am now to relate. And first I should say that by this time the temper of Harris’s companions was worn out; civility was scarce pretended; and for one very significant circumstance, the Master and Secundra had been (on some pretext) deprived of weapons. On their side, however, the threatened pair kept up the parade of friendship handsomely; Secundra was all bows, the Master all smiles; and on the last night of the he had even gone so far as to sing for the diversion of the company. It was observed that he had also eaten with unusual , and drank deep, doubtless from design.
At least, about three in the morning, he came out of the tent into the open air, audibly mourning and complaining, with all the manner of a sufferer from . For some while, Secundra publicly attended on his patron, who at last became more easy, and fell asleep on the frosty ground behind the tent, the Indian returning within. Some time after, the was changed; had the Master out to him, where he lay in what is called a robe of : and thenceforth kept an eye upon him (he declared) without remission. With the first of the dawn, a of wind came suddenly and blew open one side the corner of the robe; and with the same , the Master’s hat whirled in the air and fell some yards away. The sentry thinking it the should not , thereupon drew near; and the next moment, with a great shout, informed the camp their prisoner was escaped. He had left behind his Indian, who (in the first of the surprise) came near to pay the of his life, and was, in fact, mishandled; but Secundra, in the midst of threats and cruelties, stuck to it with extraordinary , that he was quite ignorant of his master’s plans, which might indeed be true, and of the manner of his escape, which was demonstrably false. Nothing was therefore left to the but to rely entirely on the skill of Mountain. The night had been frosty, the ground quite hard; and the sun was no sooner up than a strong set in. It was Mountain’s boast that few men could have followed that trail, and still fewer (even of the native Indians) found it. The Master had thus a long start before his pursuers had the , and he must have travelled with surprising energy for a pedestrian so unused, since it was near noon before Mountain had a view of him. At this conjuncture the trader was alone, all his companions following, at his own request, several hundred yards in the rear; he knew the Master was unarmed; his heart was besides heated with the exercise and of hunting; and seeing the so close, so defenceless, and seeming so , he vain-gloriously to effect the capture with his single hand. A step or two farther brought him to one of a little clearing; on the other, with his arms folded and his back to a huge stone, the Master sat. It is possible Mountain may have made a , it is certain, at least, the Master raised his head and gazed directly at that quarter of the thicket where his hunter lay; “I could not be sure he saw me,” Mountain said; “he just looked my way like a man with his mind made up, and all the courage ran out of me like rum out of a bottle.” And presently, when the Master looked away again, and appeared to resume those in which he had sat immersed before the trader’s coming, Mountain slunk stealthily back and returned to seek the help of his companions.
And now began the chapter of surprises, for the had scarce informed the others of his discovery, and they were yet preparing their weapons for a rush upon the , when the man himself appeared in their midst, walking openly and quietly, with his hands behind his back.
“Ah, men!” says he, on his them. “Here is a fortunate encounter. Let us get back to camp.”
Mountain had not mentioned his own weakness or the Master’s disconcerting gaze upon the thicket, so that (with all the rest) his return appeared spontaneous. For all that, a arose; oaths flew, fists were shaken, and guns pointed.
“Let us get back to camp,” said the Master. “I have an explanation to make, but it must be laid before you all. And in the meanwhile I would put up these weapons, one of which might very easily go off and blow away your hopes of treasure. I would not kill,” says he, smiling, “the goose with the golden eggs.”
The charm of his superiority once more triumphed; and the party, in no particular order, set off on their return. By the way, he found occasion to get a word or two apart with Mountain.
“You are a clever fellow and a bold,” says he, “but I am not so sure that you are doing yourself justice. I would have you to consider whether you would not do better, ay, and safer, to serve me instead of serving so commonplace a as Mr. Harris. Consider of it,” he concluded, the man a gentle tap upon the shoulder, “and don’t be in haste. Dead or alive, you will find me an ill man to quarrel with.”
When they were come back to the camp, where Harris and Pinkerton stood guard over Secundra, these two ran upon the Master like , and were amazed out of measure when they were bidden by their comrades to “stand back and hear what the gentleman had to say.” The Master had not before their onslaught; nor, at this proof of the ground he had gained, did he betray the least sufficiency.
“Do not let us be in haste,” says he. “Meat first and public speaking after.”
With that they made a hasty meal: and as soon as it was done, the Master, leaning on one elbow, began his speech. He spoke long, addressing himself to each except Harris, finding for each (with the same exception) some particular flattery. He called them “bold, honest blades,” declared he had never seen a more company, work better done, or pains more merrily supported. “Well, then,” says he, “some one asks me, Why the devil I ran away? But that is scarce worth answer, for I think you all know pretty well. But you know only pretty well: that is a point I shall arrive at presently, and be you ready to remark it when it comes. There is a here: a double traitor: I will give you his name before I am done; and let that suffice for now. But here comes some other gentleman and asks me, ‘Why, in the devil, I came back?’ Well, before ............