Cudjo's Cave Part 48

Carl's heart contracted. He knew that the critical moment of the night, for him and for his fugitive friends, was now at hand.

"Do you see any landmarks yet?" Sprowl whispered to him.

"I can almost see some," answered Carl, peering earnestly over a moonlit bushy s.p.a.ce. "Ve shall pe coming to them py and py."

"Do you know this ravine?"

"I remember some rawines. I shouldn't be wery much surprised if this vas vun of 'em."

"Look here," said Lysander. Carl looked, and saw a pistol-barrel.

"Understand?"--significantly.

"Is it for me?"' And Carl extended his hand ingenuously.

"For you?--yes." But instead of giving the weapon to the boy, he returned it to his pocket, with a smile the boy did not like.

"Ah, yes! a goot joke!" And Carl smiled too, his good-humored face beaming in the moon.

At the same time he said to himself, "He hates me pecause I am Hapgood's friend; and he vill be much pleased to have cause to shoot me."

Just then Dan stopped. Lysander put up his hand as a signal. The troops halted.

"It's somewhars down in hyar, cap'm," Pepperill whispered.

"It's a horrid place!" muttered Sprowl.

"It ar so, durned if 'tain't!" said Dan, discouragingly.

Before them yawned the ravine, bristling with half-burned saplings, and but partially illumined by the moon. The babble of the brook flowing through its hidden depths was faintly audible.

"See the bodies anywhere?" said Lysander.

"Can't see ary thing by this light," replied Dan. "But we can go down and find 'em."

Sprowl did not much fancy the idea of descending.

"It will be a waste of time to stop here," he said to Silas. "The live traitors are of more consequence than the dead ones. Supposing we go to the cave first, and come back and find the bodies afterwards. Have you got your bearings yet, Carl?"

"I am peginning," said Carl, staring about him, with his hands in his pockets. "I think I vill have 'em soon."

Sprowl looked at him with suppressed rage. "How cussed provoking!" he muttered.

"It is--wery prowoking!" said Carl, looking at the moon. "Aggrawating!"

"Well, make up your mind quick! What will you do?"

Then it seemed as if a bright idea occurred to Carl.

"I vill tell you. You go down and find the podies, and I vill be looking. Ven you come up again, I shouldn't be surprised if I could see vair the cave is."

"Ropes," said Sprowl, "take a couple of men, and go down in there with Pepperill. I think it's best to stay with this boy."

This arrangement did not please Carl at all; but, as he could not reasonably complain of it, he said, stoically, "Yes, it vill be petter so."

Ropes selected his two men, and left the rest concealed in the shadows of the thickets.

"If I could go up on the rocks there, I suppose I could see something,"

said Carl.

"Well, I'll go with you. I mean to give you a fair chance." Carl felt a secret hope. Once more alone with this villain, would not some interesting thing occur? "Wait, though!" said Sprowl; and he called a corporal to his side. "Come with us. Keep close to this boy. At the first sign of his giving us the slip, put your bayonet through him."

"I will," said the corporal.

This was discouraging again. But Carl looked up at the captain and smiled--his good-humored, placid smile.

"You do right. But you vill see I shall not give you the shlip. Now come, and be wery still."

In the mean time, Pepperill, with the three rebels, descended into the ravine. The spot where the dead man and horse had been was soon found.

But now no dead man was to be seen. The horse had been removed from the rocks between which his back was wedged, and rolled down lower into the ravine. A broad, shallow hole had been dug there, as if to bury him. But the work had been interrupted. There was a shovel lying on the heap of earth. Near by was another spot where the soil had been recently stirred--a little mound: it was shaped like a grave.

"They've buried the poor cuss hyar," said Dan.

"We'll see." Ropes took the shovel. "They can't have put him in very deep, fur they've struck the rock in this yer t'other hole."

He threw up a little dirt, then gave the shovel to one of the soldiers.

The moon shone full upon the place. The man dug a few minutes, and came to something which was neither rock nor soil. He pulled it up. It was a man's arm.

"You didn't guess fur from right this time, Dan! Sc.r.a.pe off a little more dirt, and we'll haul up the carca.s.s. Needn't be partic'lar 'bout sc.r.a.pin' very keerful, nuther. He's a mean shoat, whoever he is; one o'

them cussed Union-shriekers. Wish they was all planted like he is! Hope we shall find five or six more. Ketch holt, Dan!"

Dan caught hold. The body was dragged from the lonely resting-place to which it had been consigned. Parts of it, which had not been protected by the superinc.u.mbent bulk of the horse, were hideously burned. Ropes rolled it over on the back, and kicked it, to knock off the dirt. He turned up the face in the moonlight--a frightful face! One side was roasted; and what was left of the hair and beard was full of sand.

"d.a.m.n him!" said Ropes, giving it a wipe with the spade.

The eyes were open, and they too were full of sand.

But the features were still recognizable. The men started back with horror. They knew their comrade. It was the spy who had been sent out to watch the fugitives. It was "the sleeper," whom nought could waken more.

It was Gad.

"Wal, if I ain't beat!" said Silas, with a ghastly look. "Fool! how did he come hyar?"

This question has never been satisfactorily answered. The fatal leap of the terrified horse with his rider is known; but how came Gad on the horse? Those who knew the character of the man account for it in this way: He had been something of a horse-thief in his day; and it is supposed that, finding Stackridge's horse on the mountain, he fell once more into temptation. He was probably a little drunk at the time; and he was a man who would never walk if he could ride, especially when he was tipsy. So he mounted. But he had no sooner commenced the descent of the mountain, than the fire, which had been previously concealed from the animal by the clump of trees behind which he was hampered, burst upon his sight, and filled him with uncontrollable frenzy.

Dan, who had witnessed the flight and plunge, could have contributed an item towards the solution of the mystery. But he opened not his mouth.

"Them cussed traitors shall pay fur this!" said Ropes. This was the only consolatory thought that occurred to him. Having uttered it, he looked remorsefully at the spade with which he had rudely wiped the face of his dead friend. "I thought 'twas one o' them rotten scoundrels, or I--But never mind! Kiver him up agin, boys! We can't take him with us, and we've no time to lose."

So they laid the corpse once more in the grave, and heaped the sand upon it.