第83章

Then I struck up the road, and when I passed the mill I see a sign on it, "Phelps's Sawmill," and when I come to the farm-houses, two or three hundred yards further along, I kept my eyes peeled, but didn't see nobody around, though it was good daylight now.But I didn't mind, because I didn't want to see nobody just yet -- I only wanted to get the lay of the land.

According to my plan, I was going to turn up there from the village, not from below.So I just took a look, and shoved along, straight for town.

Well, the very first man I see when I got there was the duke.He was sticking up a bill for the Royal Nonesuch -- three-night performance -- like that other time.They had the cheek, them frauds! I was right on him before I could shirk.He looked astonished, and says:

"Hel-LO! Where'd YOU come from?" Then he says, kind of glad and eager, "Where's the raft? -- got her in a good place?"I says:

"Why, that's just what I was going to ask your grace."Then he didn't look so joyful, and says:

"What was your idea for asking ME?" he says.

"Well," I says, "when I see the king in that doggery yesterday I says to myself, we can't get him home for hours, till he's soberer; so I went a-loafing around town to put in the time and wait.A man up and offered me ten cents to help him pull a skiff over the river and back to fetch a sheep, and so I went along; but when we was dragging him to the boat, and the man left me a-holt of the rope and went behind him to shove him along, he was too strong for me and jerked loose and run, and we after him.We didn't have no dog, and so we had to chase him all over the country till we tired him out.We never got him till dark; then we fetched him over, and I started down for the raft.When I got there and see it was gone, I says to myself, 'They've got into trouble and had to leave; and they've took my nigger, which is the only nigger I've got in the world, and now I'm in a strange country, and ain't got no property no more, nor nothing, and no way to make my living;' so I set down and cried.I slept in the woods all night.But what DID become of the raft, then? -- and Jim -- poor Jim!""Blamed if I know -- that is, what's become of the raft.That old fool had made a trade and got forty dollars, and when we found him in the doggery the loafers had matched half-dollars with him and got every cent but what he'd spent for whisky; and when I got him home late last night and found the raft gone, we said, 'That little rascal has stole our raft and shook us, and run off down the river.'""I wouldn't shake my NIGGER, would I? -- the only nigger I had in the world, and the only property.""We never thought of that.Fact is, I reckon we'd come to consider him OUR nigger; yes, we did consider him so -- goodness knows we had trouble enough for him.So when we see the raft was gone and we flat broke, there warn't anything for it but to try the Royal Nonesuch another shake.And I've pegged along ever since, dry as a powder-horn.Where's that ten cents?

Give it here."

I had considerable money, so I give him ten cents, but begged him to spend it for something to eat, and give me some, because it was all the money I had, and I hadn't had nothing to eat since yesterday.He never said nothing.The next minute he whirls on me and says:

"Do you reckon that nigger would blow on us? We'd skin him if he done that!""How can he blow? Hain't he run off?"

"No! That old fool sold him, and never divided with me, and the money's gone.""SOLD him?" I says, and begun to cry; "why, he was MY nigger, and that was my money.Where is he? -- I want my nigger.""Well, you can't GET your nigger, that's all -- so dry up your blubbering.

Looky here -- do you think YOU'D venture to blow on us? Blamed if I think I'd trust you.Why, if you WAS to blow on us --"He stopped, but I never see the duke look so ugly out of his eyes before.

I went on a-whimpering, and says:

"I don't want to blow on nobody; and I ain't got no time to blow, nohow.

I got to turn out and find my nigger."

He looked kinder bothered, and stood there with his bills fluttering on his arm, thinking, and wrinkling up his forehead.At last he says:

"I'll tell you something.We got to be here three days.If you'll promise you won't blow, and won't let the nigger blow, I'll tell you where to find him."So I promised, and he says:

"A farmer by the name of Silas Ph----" and then he stopped.You see, he started to tell me the truth; but when he stopped that way, and begun to study and think again, I reckoned he was changing his mind.And so he was.He wouldn't trust me; he wanted to make sure of having me out of the way the whole three days.So pretty soon he says:

"The man that bought him is named Abram Foster -- Abram G.Foster --and he lives forty mile back here in the country, on the road to Lafayette.""All right," I says, "I can walk it in three days.And I'll start this very afternoon.""No you wont, you'll start NOW; and don't you lose any time about it, neither, nor do any gabbling by the way.Just keep a tight tongue in your head and move right along, and then you won't get into trouble with US, d'ye hear?"That was the order I wanted, and that was the one I played for.I wanted to be left free to work my plans.

"So clear out," he says; "and you can tell Mr.Foster whatever you want to.Maybe you can get him to believe that Jim IS your nigger -- some idiots don't require documents -- leastways I've heard there's such down South here.And when you tell him the handbill and the reward's bogus, maybe he'll believe you when you explain to him what the idea was for getting 'em out.Go 'long now, and tell him anything you want to; but mind you don't work your jaw any BETWEEN here and there."So I left, and struck for the back country.I didn't look around, but I kinder felt like he was watching me.But I knowed I could tire him out at that.I went straight out in the country as much as a mile before Istopped; then I doubled back through the woods towards Phelps'.I reckoned I better start in on my plan straight off without fooling around, because I wanted to stop Jim's mouth till these fellows could get away.I didn't want no trouble with their kind.I'd seen all I wanted to of them, and wanted to get entirely shut of them.