Chapter XVI. In Prison

by Joseph A. Altsheler

　　Their fortress prison was built of brick, but it was not aparticularly somber place. They were all put in one large roomwhich had two windows barred with iron; but plenty of air came inat the windows, and the place, though bare, was clean.

　　"Well," said Lieutenant Bernal, when they were inside, "tell meall that occurred before Bernardo Galvez."

　　Paul was again the spokesman telling everything that was said asliterally as he could.

　　"I have an impression," said Lieutenant Bernal, "although myimpressions are usually wrong and my memory is always weak, thatyou have scored, at least partially. You have sowed the fertilecrop of suspicion in the mind of Bernardo Galvez. He has shownthat by making Francisco Alvarez virtually a prisoner, also, andyou have a powerful advocate in the Senior Pollock, the greatmerchant, and I may add the great diplomat, also."

　　"How long do you think we will be kept in here?" asked Shif'lessSol, looking around at the room, which, though wide, was by nomeans so wide as the forests of Kentucky.

　　"I do not know," replied the lieutenant, smiling-he understoodthe look of the shiftless one, "but you shall not be ill-treated,and do not feel that any disgrace lies upon you. This is amilitary prison. Good men have been confined here; I myself, forinstance, because of some little breach of military disciplinemagnified by my officers into a fault. Oh, you shall notsuffer!"

　　He bustled about cheerily. He had food and drink brought tothem, and then he departed, volunteering to see that theirprivate property on "The Galleon" was saved and brought to them.No one spoke for a little while after his going, and then thesilence was broken by a long, dismal sigh. It was drawn up fromthe depths of Long Jim's chest.

　　"Are you sick, Jim?" asked Henry.

　　"Yes, Henry," replied Jim in a melancholy tone, "I'm sick; sickuv all this jawin', sick uv seen' things pulled here, an' thenpulled yonder, sick uv hearin' people lyin', knowin' that they'relyin', and knowin' that other people know that they're lyin'."

　　"Why, Jim," said Paul, who had a twinkle in his eye, "that'sdiplomacy, and the man who practises it is called a diplomatistor diplomat. It's considered a great accomplishment."

　　"It ain't so considered by me, an' I'm bein' heard from," saidLong Jim with great emphasis. "Them dy-plo-may-tists ordy-plo-maws may reckon their-selves pow'ful big boys, but I'vegot another an' better name fur 'em, and it's spelled with jestfour letters of which the furst is L an' the last is R, an themthat comes in between are I an' A, with the I first. Why, Paul,it makes me plum' sick, all these goin's on. In a big town likethis, full uv Spaniards an' Frenchmen an' Injuns an' niggers an'mixed breeds, an' the Lord knows what, you can never tell nuthin''bout nobody, 'cept that he says what he don't believe, an' thathe ain't what he is.

　　"I guess I'm in love more with the big woods than ever. Tharthings is what they is. A buffaler don't pretend to be a b'ar.He'd be ashamed to be caught tryin' to play sech a trick, an' ab'ar has the same respect fur hisself; he'd never dream uv sayin'in his b'ar language, 'Look at me, admire me, see what a fine bigbuflaler I am!' An' I've a lot uv respeck fur the Injun, too.He's an Injun an' he don't say he ain't. He don't come sneakin'along claimin' that he's an old friend uv the family, he jest upan' lets drive his tomahawk at your head, ef he gits the chance,an' makes no bones 'bout it. I'd a heap ruther be killed by agood honest Injun who wuz pantin' fur my blood an' didn't pretendthat he wuzn't pantin', than be done to death down here, in somecur'sud unbeknown, hole-in-the-dark way, by a, furrin' man whocouldn't speak a real word of the decent English language, butwho wuz tryin' to let on all the time that he hated to do it."

　　Long Jim stopped, breathing hard with his long speech and anger.Shif'less Sol rose, walked across the room, and solemnly held outhis hand to his comrade.

　　"Jim," he said, "you don't often talk you're talkin' a heap o' itnow. Shake."

　　Long Jim shook and added with a grin:

　　"When me an' you agree, Sol, 'bout anythin', it's shorely right."

　　Then they fell silent for a while, each thinking in his own wayof what had occurred. Henry Ware walked to one of the windowsand looked out for a long while. He relished little the idea ofbeing a prisoner for the second time, even if the secondimprisonment were a sort of courtesy affair. He saw from thewindows the roofs of houses amid green foliage and he knew thatonly a few hundred yards beyond lay the great forest, which, nowin the freshest and tenderest tints of spring, rolled awayunbroken, save for the few scratches that the French or Spanishhad made, for thousands of miles, and for all he knew to theArctic Circle itself.

　　The words of Long Jim stirred the youth deeply. He did not likeintrigue and double-dealing and the ways of foreign men. LikeLong Jim he longed for the great honest forest, and he, too, hadhis respect for the Indian who would tomahawk him withoutclaiming to be a friend. He was glad, very glad, that he hadcome upon so great an errand, but he would like to cleave throughthe whole web of intrigue with one sturdy blow and then be offinto the forest which was calling to him with such a dearly lovedvoice.

　　Paul saw Henry's face and he understood its expression. He knewthat it was harder for his comrade than for himself to endure theconfinement within four walls, but he said nothing. Words wouldbe wasted.

　　Later in the day their door was opened, and Mr. Pollock came inbringing with him a cheery breeze.

　　"I've come to tell you what news there may be," he said, "andalso to ask questions. Now, sit down and make yourselvescomfortable. That's right. The cunning and ambitious DonFrancisco Alvarez is in a rage. He is also somewhat frightened.He knows that Bernardo Galvez will be busy the next few daystrying to secure the proof of the charges that you make againsthim. In my opinion, Galvez believes thit they are true, but, asyou will agree, he cannot act without proof."

　　"But that is exactly what we lack at this time," said Henry, "andhow can we get it while we are locked up here?"

　　"Just so! Just so! That is a point to which I am coming. Now,about this renegade, this Braxton Wyatt. You say he is the manwho drew the maps and who has been the intermediary in this wholenefarious scheme. Maps could be drawn, of course, for a purposenot wicked, but if they could be produced, and above all ifAlvarez had made any notes upon them in his own handwriting, theywould go far to help. If not proof, they would at least be astrong indication. Now, where do you think these maps are kept?"

　　"On the person of Braxton Wyatt," replied Henry promptly.

　　The merchant smiled with pleasure.

　　"Of course! Of course!" he said. "They belong to Wyatt andnaturally he would keep them. Naturally, also, Alvarez wouldwant him to keep them. He would take care that such things werenot found on his own person. We must get possession of thosemaps. But we must go further. This renegade has lived amongboth the Shawnees and Miamis and is high in their confidence, isit not so?"

　　"Yes, both the great head-chiefs, Yellow Panther and Red Eagle,trust him."

　　"And to carry out this nefarious alliance some promise must havepassed between Alvarez and the two head chiefs. That promise hadto take a concrete form to be binding."

　　"War belts," suggested Henry.

　　"But a white man does not send war belts. He has another kind oftoken, and he makes that token with paper, ink, and a goosequill. Yes, Alvarez is cunning, I know, but the most cunning ofall men when he enters a great conspiracy must leave a loose endhanging about somewhere. Or, to change my simile, there is noarmor of deception so complete that there is not a crack in it.We must find that loose end, we must find that crack, and when wedo, we can see victory just ahead of us."

　　"Do you mean," said Henry, "that Alvarez has probably sent aletter to the Northern chiefs, promising that as Governor Generalof Louisiana he will help them with soldiers and cannon againstus in Kentucky?"

　　"I think it likely, quite likely," returned Oliver Pollock,nodding his head to give emphasis to his words. "He had to givethem something that would bind. A conspirator must take a riskand in this case it seemed small. The villages of those chiefsare beyond the Ohio, fifteen hundred miles at least from here.The chance that such a letter would reappear in New Orleans wasmost remote, and Alvarez might have expected to provide againstthat, too, by being Governor General within a few months. I feelconfident that there is such a letter and we must find it."

　　"It's a pretty problem," said Paul.

　　"I admit it," said Oliver Pollock, "but a new continent teachesone to achieve the impossible. That is what are we to do; how, Ido not yet know, but we must do it."

　　"It's important," said Henry, "that it be done soon."

　　"It certainly is," said Mr. Pollock with great emphasis, "becauseI wish to start North soon with a great fleet of canoes and otherboats loaded with rifles, powder, lead, blankets, medicines, andother absolutely necessary things for our suffering brethren inthe east. They are hard pressed there, and it takes a long timeto pull up the Mississippi and the Ohio and then carry thesethings across four or five hundred miles of country to our army."

　　"It's shorely a wonderful thing," said Shif'less Sol, "that youkin take boats up a big river hundreds an' hundreds o' miles intothe heart o' a continent, then bend off into another riverrunnin' into it that takes you nearly over to the Atlantic. An'mebbe ef you took one o' the rivers that runs in it on the otherside you might follow it up 'till you got purty near to thewestern ocean. It says to me plain ez print that we must hevthis here Mississippi all the way to its mouth. We can't staybottled up."

　　"Sh-sh," said Mr. Pollock, warningly. "Leave that to the future.It will adjust itself, and I think it will adjust itself in theway that we wish, but we cannot talk of it now, while BernardoGalvez is our good friend and Spain inclines to our side. Ofcourse Louisiana may be passed back to France, but France is abetter and more powerful friend than Spain can be."

　　"Do you think you can get hold of Braxton Wyatt?" asked Henry ofMr. Pollock.

　　"I shall try," replied the merchant. "Our association has agentshere, and in such times as these and in such a great emergencymuch may be excused. If we can get hands upon him at aconvenient moment and place we'll see whether he has those mapsabout him."

　　"He'll surely have them," said Henry. "But he'll stick close toAlvarez."

　　"Yes, there lies the trouble," said Mr. Pollock, "but we'll doour best."

　　He took his departure, and they were left again to loneliness.Several days passed thus and they chafed terribly. Food anddrink they had in plenty, and even some English books were sentto them. But the narrow space and the four enclosing walls werealways there. Outside the spring was deepening. All the greatforest throbbed with the life of bird and beast, but they, thehighest of creation, could not walk ten paces in any direction.

　　"Jim," said Shif'less Sol to Long Jim, "there's a spring 'bouttwenty miles north o' Wareville that you an' me hev sat by many atime. Thar are hundreds o' springs through that country, yes,thousands o' 'em, but this one is the finest o' 'em all. Itcomes right out o' the side o' a rock hill, a stream so pure thatyou kin see right through it same ez ef it wuzn't thar, then itfalls into a most bee-yu-ti-ful rock pool scooped out by Natur,an' ez the pool overflows, it runs away through the grass an' thewoods in a stream 'bout two feet wide an' four inches deep. Ithink that's 'bout the nicest, coldest, an' most life-givin'water in all Kentucky. You an' me, Jim, hev gone thar many atime, hot an' tired from the hunt, an' hev felt ez ef we hadlanded right on the steps o' Heaven itself. An' the game, Jim!The game, big an' little, knowed 'bout that spring, too.Remember that tre-men-je-ous big elk you an' me killed 'bout twohundred yards north o' the spring. He stood most ez high ez ahorse. An' remember, Jim, when we climbed up on top o' the hillout o' which the spring runs, we could see a long distance everyway, north, south, east an' west, over the most bee-yu-ti-fulcountry, an' we could go whar we pleased. We could follow thebuffaler clean to the western ocean ef we felt like it."

　　Long Jim had been sitting on the floor. Now he rose and advancedin a threatening manner upon Shif'less Sol.

　　"See here, Sol Hyde!" he exclaimed, "me an' you hev had wordsmany a time, but they hey always ended in smoke! They hev nevergone ez fur ez this! An' I want to tell you right here, SolHyde, that I kin stand a lot uv things but I can't stand this!'Ef you say another word about that bee-yu-ti-ful spring, an'them bee-yu-ti-ful woods, an' that beeyu-ti-ful game, thar'll bea heap uv trouble, an' it'll all be fur you!"

　　"Hit him anyway, Jim," said Tom Ross. "He's done filled me cleanup with discontent, and he ought to be punished."

　　Shif'less Sol laughed.

　　"I won't do it again, Jim," he said. "It wuz 'cause I feel ez badabout it ez you do, an' I jest had to let off some meanness."

　　Lieutenant Diego Bernal reappeared at last. He bestowed shrewdlooks upon the five and said:

　　"I have an impression, though my impressions are usually falseand my memory always weak, that you are pining. You wish theliberty and the open air of Kaintock. Your legs are long and youwould stretch them."

　　"You hey shore hit it, leftenant," said Tom Ross. "Sometimes Ithink uv startin' off walkin' ez straight an' hard ez I kin,goin' right through the wall thar, an' then through any housethat might git in the way, an' never to stop goin' 'till I got toKentucky, whar a man may breathe free an' easy."

　　Lieutenant Diego Bernal laughed and daintily stroked his littlemustache.

　　"I understand you and you have my sympathy," he said. "WeCatalans are at heart republicans, and I am interested in thisnew place of yours that you call Kaintock. But you will have toendure this fort a while longer. The good Senior Pollock doesnot make progress. He cannot produce the proof of what youcharge. Yet Bernardo Galvez waits. He believes in you, and heholds Alvarez and Wyatt in the city. He is strengthened in hisopinion, too, by gossip that has come down from Beaulieu, butthat is not proof and he cannot act upon it. But be patient. Ihave an impression, although my impressions are usually false,that time is fighting for you."

　　He stayed with them an hour, precise and affected, but theybelieved him to be brave and true. A few days later OliverPollock himself came again.

　　"I have not been able to get hold of Wyatt," he said. "He staystoo closely with Alvarez. I don't think that my agents areskillful enough. Hence I decided to procure a new one andfortunately I have succeeded."

　　"Who is that?" asked Henry.

　　"Yourself."

　　"Myself!" exclaimed Henry in astonishment.

　　"No one but you," replied the merchant. "I have been able, by theuse of great influence, to secure from Bernardo Galvez yourtemporary release. It is to his interest to have this plotexposed if it really exists, and accordingly he has allowed me toborrow you. You can go forth with me if you give your word ofhonor that you will not leave New Orleans or its vicinity andwill report again here."

　　"Why, of course I'll go! I'll"- exclaimed Henry joyfully, andthen he stopped suddenly, looking around at his comrades. Thenhe added: "I don't feel right, Mr. Pollock, to go away and leavethe boys in this place."

　　Up rose Tom Ross.

　　"Don't you fret about us, Henry," he said. "You're goin' on agood work an' you'll do it, too. We need to hev one uv our gangoutside. Remember up at Boo-ly, when Alvarez had us, how muchbetter we felt 'cause he didn't hev Sol. 'Twas a comfort to thinkthat Sol wuz out thar in the woods."

　　It was a long speech for Tom Ross, but it expressed thesentiments of them all. Henry left with Mr. Pollock and theywent to a handsome brick house in the city. This house wasstore, office, and residence combined, and several clerks wereabout. But these clerks did not have pale faces and bent backs.They were mostly strong-limbed, broad-shouldered men with tannedfaces.

　　"They work out of doors," said Mr. Pollock briefly. "Some are togo with the fleet up the rivers, others have been as far as theWest Indies accumulating supplies. It is necessary for them allto be able to write and shoot."

　　Henry liked their looks, but he did not have a chance to speak toany of them as Mr. Pollock quickly led the way into a small inneroffice, where he motioned Henry to a chair and took one himself.Henry was now within narrower walls than those that confined himin the prison, but he felt a huge sense of relief. He was free.If he wanted to open the door and walk out he could do so. Heexpanded his great chest and took a mighty breath. Mr. Pollockheard the aspiration, looked up, and laughed. He understoodperfectly.

　　"I'd feel that way, too, if I had been in your place," he said."Now what we want to do is to devise some plan of trapping yourfriend and enemy, Mr. Wyatt. What do you think?"

　　"Once," replied Henry, "when he was carrying war belts betweenthe Shawnees and Miamis we simply seized him and took them awayfrom him. We must do something of this kind. Where is hestaying?"

　　"Alvarez has a house near the river. He is there. I know thatthe two are plotting all the while, but I cannot get the proof."

　　"Do Wyatt and Alvarez know that I'm out?"

　　"No, neither of them."

　　"That's good. I think I can surprise Braxton Wyatt. If I canget my hands on him I'm sure that we'll find those maps. Whatkind of a house has Alvarez?"

　　"You can see it from that window. A pretty place, standing amongthe trees."

　　Henry looked, and the longer he looked the more pleased he felt.The trees were thick around the house of Alvarez and the factgave him an idea.

　　"I think I know how to do it," he said.

　　Oliver Pollock leaned forward, his shrewd face eager, and for afew minutes the two talked low and earnestly.