TEXAKS EEVENGE; 
 
 OR, 
 
 North Against South. 
 
 {^NORD CONTRE SUD.) 
 
 A TALE OF THE AMERICAN CiyiL WAR. 
 
 (COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME.) 
 
 PART I. 
 
 BURBAM, THE ^(ORTHERNER. 
 
 BY 
 
 JULES VERNE, 
 
 AUTHOR OF "ROUND THE WORLD IN EIGHTY DATS," ETC., ETC., ETC 
 
 ILLUSTRATED. 
 
 CHICAGO : ■. 
 
 RAND, MCNALLY & COMPANY, PUBLISHERS, 
 148, 150, 152 AND 154 MONROE STREET; and 
 323 BROADV/AY, NEW YORK. 
 
THE UNIVERSITY OF 
 
 NORTH CAROLINA 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 THE WILMER COLLECTION 
 
 OF CIVIL WAR NOVELS 
 
 PRESENTED BY 
 
 RICHARD H. WILMER, JR. 
 
TEXAR'S REVENGE; 
 
 OB, 
 
 ^CsTortli Against South. 
 
 (NOJiD CONTBE SUD.) 
 
 PART I. 
 
 TEXAR, THE SOUTHERMR. 
 
 603;<:97 
 
CQNTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 ON Board the "Shannon" 7 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 Camdless Bay 20 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 The War of Secession 28 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 The Burbank Family 36 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 Black Creek 46 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 Jacksonville » » ' - SS 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 Before the Court 66 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 The Last Slave 79 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 Waiting ,.90 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 The Morning of the 2nd of March 99 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 The tLVE iNG OF the 2nd of March . . , //Js 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 The Six Days that Followed , , nS 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 A Few Hours 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 On the St. John's 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 Sentence 
 
 155 
 
..m 
 
 tTuj. 
 
 
 THE BEST RECOSfelE^ENDATBON 
 
 for Colgate's Cashjikke Bouqvlt Toilet Soap is its univer- 
 sal use. 
 
 Last year the sales of Cashmere Bouquet exceeded 
 iti amount those of all imported toilet soaps, as shown 
 by the U. S. Treasurj' reports for i8S6. 
 
 The name and trade mark of Colgate (s^ Co. on each cake 
 c.ssi'.re purchasers of superior end tmifonri {jiialUv. 
 
NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 BURBANK THE NORTHERNER, 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 ON BOARD THE "SHANNON." 
 
 Florida was annexed to the American federation in 1819 ; 
 it was organized into a state a few years afterwards. By 
 the annexation the area of the republic was increased by 
 some 67,000 square miles. But the star of Florida shines 
 with second-rate brilliancy in that constellation of thirty- 
 eight which spangle the banner of the United States of 
 America. 
 
 Florida, throughout, is a low, narrow tongue of land, 
 and its rivers, with one exception — the St. John's — owing 
 to the narrowness of the country, are of no importance. 
 From such a slight rise, there is not sufficient fall for the 
 watercourses to be of any rapidity ; there are no moun- 
 tains, only a few lines of " bluffs " or low hiils such as are 
 numerous in the central and southern regions of the Union. 
 In form the peninsula is not unlike the tail of a t>eaver 
 dipping into the ocean between the Atlantic on the east 
 and the Gulf of Mexico on the west. 
 
 Florida's nearest neighbour to the north is Georgia, the 
 frontier running a little above the isthmus which joins the 
 peninsula to the continent. 
 
 Florida seems to be a country apart, with its people half 
 Spaniards, half Americans, and its Seminole Indians so 
 
8 ' NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 different to their congeners in the west. In the sooth it is 
 arid, sandy, almost entirely bordered bs' sand-hills formed 
 by successive irruptions of the Atlantic ; but in the north 
 its plains are of marvellous fertility. Its name is justified, 
 to the letter. The flora is superb, vigorous, and of exu- 
 berant variety, more especially in that portion watered by 
 the St. John's. This river is a broad stream ilowing from 
 south to north, over a course of some two hundred and 
 fifty miles, of which one hundred and sevent- en, up to Lake 
 George, are iiavii.:ablc. The rivers flowing east and west 
 have no rot^m for length ; but the St. John's, from its central 
 course to the north, suffers from no su:h -hindrance, .md 
 numerous branches run into it or rather into tlie multi- 
 tudinous creeks along its banks. The St. John's is in fact 
 the chief artery of the country, which receives its life from 
 its waters, for water is the blood of the earth. 
 
 It was the 7th of February, 1862. The steamboat 
 S/iannon was rutming down th.; St. John's. At four o'cl< «ck 
 in the afternoon she was due at Picolaia. after calling at 
 the piers higher up the river, and the ; rts in St. John's 
 and Putnam counties. A few miles beyond she would 
 enter Duval county, which is bordered by Nassau county 
 and cut off irom it by the river bearing that name. 
 
 Picolata itself is not of much importance, but its neigh- 
 bourhood is rich in indigo pkmtations, sugar plantations, 
 rice fields, cotton fields, and vast cypress groves. For 
 some distance round the population is numerous, and it is 
 an important centre for trade and travellers. It is the 
 landing-place for St. Augustine, one of the chief towns of 
 eastern Florida, situated some dozen miles awa\- on ihat 
 part of the sea-coast sheltered by the long island of Anas- 
 tasia. An almost straight road leads from the rivrr port 
 to the town. 
 
 On the pier at Picolata there are to day many more 
 travellers than usual. Some speeiy veliicles known as kO^ 
 stages, each seating eight p(^rsons, drawn _ by tour or six u^ 
 mules galloping like mad alon^ the road across'the marsh, 
 had brought them from St. Augustine. It was important 
 ft^r them not to miss the bteamboat ; to do so would be to 
 
ON BOARD THE "SHANNON." $ 
 
 risk a delay of at least forty-eight hours in getting back to 
 the towns and villages down the river. For the Shannon 
 made only one passage up or down each day, and she was 
 the only means of transport. It was therefore necessary 
 to be at Picolata when she called ; and the vehicles had 
 unloaded their passengers an hour before she was due. 
 
 There were about fifty men on the gangway at Picolata. 
 While they waited they were talking excitedly. They 
 had divided into two groups not at all anxious to mix with 
 each other. What had brought them from St. Augustine ? 
 Was it some serious matter, some political contest } It 
 was obvious that there was no chance of their agreeing. 
 Enemies they had come and enemies they would return. 
 That could be seen clearly enough from the angry looks 
 they exchanged, from the marked division between the 
 groups, from several ill-sounding words whose defiant 
 meaning no one could mistake. 
 
 A prolonged whistling began to be heard above stream. 
 
 The Shannon soon appeared at the bend of the right 
 bank half a mile above Picolata. Thick clouds of smoke 
 escaped from her two funnels, and crowned the large trees 
 which the sea breeze was shaking on the opposite bank. 
 The moving mass grew larger rapidly. The tide had just 
 turned ; and the current, which for three or four hours 
 had been against her, was now in her favour and taking 
 the waters of the St. John's towards the sea. 
 
 At length the bell was heard. The wheels going 
 astern stopped the Shamton, and her hawsers brought her 
 alongside the pier. 
 
 The passengers went on board somewhat hastily. One 
 of the groups went first ; the other did not move. It 
 looked as though they were waiting for one or several 
 travellers who ran a chance of being late. Two or three 
 men went up the pier to the place where the road from St. 
 Augustine came in ; and then they looked towards the east, 
 evidently with impatience. 
 
 And not without reason ; for the captain of the Shannon^ 
 who was on the bridge, shouted to them, — 
 
 " Now then ! come on ! " 
 
iO ' NORTH AND SOUTH. ^ 
 
 " In a minute or two," answered one of the men in the 
 group that remained on the gangway. 
 
 " I can't wait, gentlemen." 
 
 **A few minutes!" 
 
 « No ! not one ! " 
 
 *' Only a moment ! " 
 
 •* Impossible ! The tide is running out, and I may have 
 no water over the bar at Jacksonville." 
 
 " And besides," said one of those on board, " there is 
 no reason why we should put up with their fancies." 
 
 " That is what I think, Mr. Burbank," said the captain. 
 *• Duty first. Now then, gentlemen, come on board ; I am 
 off." 
 
 And the sailors began to push away the steamboat from 
 the pier, while sonorous jets escaped from the steam- 
 whistle. A shout stop()cd the mantiruvre. 
 
 " There is Texar ! There is Texar ! " 
 
 A carriage came rattling along at full speed and dashed 
 round the turning up to the pier. The four mulcs, which 
 formed the team, stopped at the gate. A man got down. 
 Those of his companions who had gone up the road 
 rejoined him at a run. Then all of them went on board 
 the boat. 
 
 " A moment more, Texar, and you could not have gone. 
 That would have been awkward for you," said one of the 
 group. 
 
 " Yes ! It would have been two days before you got 
 back to — where ? — We shall know when you choose to tell 
 us !" added another. 
 
 "And if the captain had listened to that rascal Burbank," 
 said a third, " the S/iannon would have been a quarter of a 
 mile down stream by now." 
 
 Texar had just stepped on to the fore-leck-house, accom- 
 panied by his friends. He contented himself with a look 
 at James Burbank from where he was only separated from 
 him by the bridge. Although he said not a word, the look 
 he gave was sufificient to show the implacable hatred that 
 existed between the two men. Burbank looked Texar 
 straight in the face, turned his back ou him, and went 
 
ON BOARD THE "SHANNON. 11 
 
 to sit on the after deck-house, where his friends had already 
 seated themselves. 
 
 " Burbank is not happy!" said one of Texar's companions. 
 " And no wonder 1 He lost by his lies, and the recorder 
 did justice to his false witness — " 
 
 " But not to himself," interrupted Texar, " and that 
 justice I will undertake." 
 
 The Shannon had slacked off the hawsers. Her bow pushed 
 off by the long poles, took the line of the current, and 
 driven by her powerful wheels, helped by the ebbing 
 tide, she glided rapidly between the banks of the St. 
 John's. 
 
 American river steamboats are well known. They are 
 many-storied houses crowned with wide terraces, and 
 dominated by the two funnels and the flagstafifs which 
 support the ironwork of the awnings. On the Hudson as 
 on the Mississippi, these steamboats are floating palaces, 
 and can hold tile population of a small town. But there 
 was no need for such grandeur on the St. John's. The 
 Shannon was only a floating hotel, although in its interior 
 and exterior arrangements it was similar to the Kentucky 
 and the Dean Richmond. 
 
 The weather was magnificent. The very blue sky was 
 spotted with light freckles of vapour that thinned off towards 
 the horizon. In the thirtieth parallel of latitude the month 
 of February is almost as warm in the Kew World as it is in 
 the old on the confines of the Sahara ; but a gentle breeze 
 blown in from the sea tempers its excess. 
 
 Most of the passengers on the SJuinnon stopped on the 
 deck-house to breathe the fresh air that the wind brought 
 them from riverside forests. The slanting rays of the sun 
 could not reach them beneath the awnings which were 
 shaken like punkahs by the speed of the steamboat. 
 
 Texar and the five or six companions who had embarked 
 with him, had thought well to go below to one of the boxes 
 in the dining-room. There, with throats seasoned to the 
 strongest drinks of American bars, they tossed off whole 
 glasses of gin and Bourbon whiskey. They were indeed a 
 rough lot, rude in habit and speech, wearing more leather 
 
12 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 than cloth, and more accustomed to h've in the lyoods than 
 in cities. Texar appe;ired to have some right of superiority 
 over them, due, doubtless, to the energy of his character as 
 well as to his position and means. When Texar did not 
 talk, his comrades remained silent and spent the time in 
 drinking. 
 
 Texar, after carelessly running his eye over one of the 
 newspapers which littered the dining-room tables, had 
 just thrown it aside, saying, — 
 
 "That is all old news." 
 
 " I believe you," said one of his companions, " the paper 
 is three days old." 
 
 "And a good many things happen in three days," added 
 another. 
 
 " What is the latest about the war ? " asked Texar. 
 
 "As far as we are concerned, the latest is that the 
 Federals are preparing an expedition against Florida, and 
 that means we may expect an invasion of northerners ! " 
 
 " Is that true ? " 
 
 " I don't know, but I heard of it at Savannah, and I 
 heard of it again at St. Augustine." 
 
 " Well, let these Federals come ! " exclaimed Texar, 
 striking his fist on the table so as to make the glasses and 
 bottles shake. " Yes ! let them come ! and we shall see 
 if the Florida slave-owners will allow themselves to be 
 robbed by the abolitionist thieves." 
 
 Texar's reply will have told two things to those readers 
 who are unacquainted with what was then happening in 
 America. First, that the war of Secession, declar.cl really 
 by the gun fired on Fort Sumter on the nth April, iS6i, 
 was then in its most critical phase, for it had extended 
 almost to the farthest limits of the Southern States ; and 
 secondly, that Texar, a .supporter of slavery„made common 
 cause with the immense majority of the people in the slave 
 states. On board the Shannon were representatives of both 
 parties. One — to use the different appellations bestowed on 
 them during the long struggle — consisting of northerners, 
 anti-olavery men, abolitionists or federals ; the other of 
 southerners, slavery men, secessionists or confederates. 
 
ON BOARD THE "SHANNON." I^ 
 
 An hour afterwards Texar and his comrades, having 
 had quite enough to drink, appeared on the upper deck of 
 the Shannon. She had already passed Trent Creek and 
 Six M-ile Creek on the right bank, Trent Creek coming 
 in from a vast cypress grove. Six Mile Creek bringing its 
 waters down from the Twelve Mile Alarsh, of which the 
 name tells the extent The steamboat's course lay 
 between borders of magnificent trees, tulip-trees, magnolias, 
 pines, cypresses, yuccas, and many others, whose trunks 
 were hidden by the wild undergrowth of azaleas and 
 serpentarias. Occasionally, at the mouths of the creeks 
 leading up to the marshy plains of St. John and Duval 
 counties, a strong odour of musk impregnated the atmo- 
 sphere, coming not from the shrubs, whose emanations are 
 so penetratir,g in this climate, but from the alligators 
 hurrying under the bushes at the noisy passage of the 
 Shannon. Then there were birds of all sorts, wood- 
 peckers, herons, jacamars, bitterns, white-headqd pigeons, 
 mocking-birds, and a hundred others differing in form and 
 plumage, while the cat bird reproduced all the sounds of 
 the forest with his vcntriloquial voice. 
 
 As Texar mounted the last of the steps on to the upper 
 deck, a woman met him on her way down to the interior 
 of the saloon. When she found herself face to face with 
 him, she stepped back. She was a half-breed in the 
 service of the Burbank family ; her first movement had 
 been one of unconquerable repulsion at finding herself 
 suddenly face to face with the declared- enemy of her 
 master. 
 
 Texar gave her an evil look as she stepped back, 
 and then shrugging his shoulders, he joined his com- 
 panions. 
 
 " Yes, it is Zermah," he said, " one of the slaves of 
 Mr. James Burbank, who says he does not approve of 
 slavery." 
 
 Zermah made no reply. When the way to the saloon 
 was clear, she went down it without turning to take any 
 notice of the observation. 
 
 Texar strolled towards the bow of the steamboat • there 
 
14 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 after lighting a cigar, he apparently dismissed from his 
 notice the friends who had followed him, and began to 
 watch with some attention the left bank of the St John's 
 along the border of Putna^m county. 
 
 Meanwhile, on the after-deck of the Shannon, the 
 conversation had run on the war. When Zermah went, 
 Burbank iiad remained with two of his friends, who had 
 accompanied him to St. Augustine. One was his brother- 
 in-law, Edward Carrol, the other was Mr. Walter Stannard, 
 a Floridan living at Jacksonville. They were talking 
 with considerable animation of the sanguinary strife of 
 which the issue was a question of life or death to the 
 United States. But, as we shall see, Burbank's opinion of 
 the issue differed considerably from Texar's. 
 
 " I am anxious," said he, " to get back to Camdless 
 Bay. We have been two days away. Perhaps some news 
 of the war has arrived. Perhaps Dupont and Sherman 
 are'now masters of Port Royal and the islands of South 
 Carolina." 
 
 " Anyhow, it will not be long before they are," said 
 Carrol, " and I shall be much astonished if President 
 Lincoln does not carry the war into llorida." 
 
 "And it will not be before it is time 1 " said Burbank. 
 "It is quite time that the will of the Union should be 
 imposed on these southerners of Georgia and Florida, who 
 fancy they are too far off to be reached ! See to what a 
 degree of insolence vagabonds like Texar are led ! He feels 
 that he is supported by the slaveholders, and excites them 
 against us northerners, whose position, which gets more and 
 more difficult every day, lays us open to the back-wash of 
 the war." 
 
 "You are right, James," said Edward Carrol. "It is of 
 consequence that Florida should return as soon as possible 
 to the authority of the Washington Government. If the 
 Federal army does not come quickly we shall have to 
 abandon our plantations." 
 
 " It may be only a question of days, Burbank," said 
 Stannard. " When I left Jacksonville the day before 
 yesterday, people were getting uneasy at the news of 
 
ON BOARD THE "SHANNON.** I5 
 
 Commodore Dupont's supposed plans for opening up the 
 St. John's, and that would give a pretext for threatening 
 those who do not think with the slave-owners. I am 
 afraid that a rising would turn out the authorities of the 
 town in favour of fellows of the worst description." 
 
 " I should not be surprised if it did," said Burbank. 
 " We shall have a bad time of it till the i^'ederal army 
 comes ; but it cannot be helped." 
 
 " What can we do ? " asked Walter Stannard. " Sup- 
 posing there exist at Jacksonville and other places a few 
 brave colonists who think as we do on this slave question ; 
 they are not strong enough to withstand the Secessionists. 
 We can only reckon for safety on the arrival of the 
 Federals, and wish that when intervention is decided on it 
 will take place without delay." 
 
 " Yes. Would they were here," exclaimed Burbank, " to 
 deliver us from these blackguards ! " 
 
 And we shall soon see that these Northerners, who, on 
 account of family or other interests, were obliged to live 
 amid a slave-holding population and conform to the 
 usages of the country, were fully justified in their fears and 
 the language they held concerning them. 
 
 The news discussed by Burbank and his friends was 
 true. The Federal Government was preparing an expedi- 
 tion for the subjugation of Florida ; not so much, how- 
 ever, for the military occupation o( the State as the closing 
 of the outlets against the blockade-runners, who took away 
 local productions and brought in arms and munitions of 
 war. It was in consequence of this blockade that the 
 Shannon no longer plied up the southern coast of 
 Georgia, which was then in the power of the Northern 
 generals. For prudential reasons she stopped a little 
 beyond the mouth of the St. J ohn's, towards the north of 
 Amelia Island, at the port of Fernandina, the terminus of 
 the Cedar Keys railway, which crosses the Florida penin- 
 sula obliquely to the Gulf of Mexico, liighcr than 
 Amelia Island and the river St. Mary the Shatmon 
 would have risked capture from the Federal cruisers 
 wixich were constantly on the coast 
 
 2 /' 
 
X6 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 It follows that the passengers were chictly Floridnns, 
 whose business did not require thtir crossing the frontier. 
 All of them wen: dwellers in the towns or villagrs on the 
 St. John's and its afiiuents, and for the m<.st part lived at 
 St. Augustine or Jacksonville. At the different places 
 they landed, and embarked either by the gangways from 
 ihc wharves, or by piers built out in the l^nglish 
 fas! lion. 
 
 One of the passengers intended, however, to quit the 
 steamer in mid-stream. His plan was to leave her at a 
 part of the river where there was no wharf or pier, nor 
 village, nor isolated house, nor even a hunting or fishing 
 hut in sight. 
 
 '1 he passenger was Texar. 
 
 About six o'clock the Shannon gave three sharp screams 
 from her steam whistle. Her wheels were almost imme- 
 diately stopped, and she began to drift along with the 
 stream, which hereabouts runs slowly. She was then off 
 the entrance to Black Creek. 
 
 This creek is a dee[» gash in the left bank, into which 
 flows a small river of the same name, which runs by the 
 foot of Fort Heilman, almost on the boundary between 
 Putnam and Duval counties. Its narrow opening is 
 entirely hidden beneath an arch of boughs and foliage 
 matted together, as close as the woof of some close 
 tis'^ue. This gloomy lagoon was almost unlcnown to the 
 people of the country. No one knew that Texar had 
 there his dwelling. The opening of the creek seemed i,n 
 no way to break into the line of bank, and as night was 
 falling rapidly, it would require a very skilful boatman lo 
 take a boat into such a place. 
 
 At the first whistle oi t\\ft Shannon, k shout had come 
 in answer — three times. A light burning among the trees on 
 the bank was put in motion, showing that a canoe was 
 coming out to meet the steamer. 
 
 It was only a skiff — a little bark boat, driven by 
 one paddle. Soon the skiff was half a cable-length from 
 the Shannon. 
 
ON BOARD THE "SHANNON.** 17 
 
 Texar stepped up to t;he front of the fore-deck and 
 making a speaking-trumpet with his hands, shouted, — 
 
 " Ahoy 1 " 
 
 " Ahoy ! " came back in answer. 
 
 " Is that you, Squambo ? " 
 
 " Yes, master ! " 
 
 " Come alongside." 
 
 The skiff came alongside. By the h'ght of the lantern 
 attached to its bow, the man could be seen who was 
 paddling it. He was an Indian, black-headed, naked to 
 the waist, and sturdily built, to judge from the torso 
 revealed in the fitful light 
 
 Texar returned towards his companions and shook 
 hands with them, bidding them a significant au revolt . 
 Then giving a threatening look towards Mr. Burbank, he 
 descended the ladder from the sponson, and stepped into 
 the skiff. In a few turns of the paddle-wheels the steamer 
 was out of sight, and no one on board could suspect that 
 the little craft was about to vanish under the dark thickets 
 on the bank. 
 
 " One scoundrel the less on board," said Carrol, without 
 caring if he were heard by Texar's companions. 
 
 " Yes," said James Burbank, " and at the same time, a 
 dangerous scoundrel. I have no doubt of it myself, 
 although he has always been able to escape conviction." 
 
 " Anyway," said Stannard, " if a crime is committed 
 to-night in the neighbourhood of Jacksonville, they 
 cannot accuse him, for he has left the Shannon." 
 
 " I don't know that," said Burbank, " if they told me he 
 had been stealing or assassinating this very moment fifty 
 miles off in the north of Florida, I should not be surprised. 
 And if he managed to prove that he was not the author of 
 the crime, I should not be surprised after what has happened. 
 But it is not worth while to worry ourselves about such a 
 man. You are going back to Jacksonville, Stannard ?" 
 
 "To-night." ^ 
 
 " Is your daughter expecting you ? " .'-"'"^ 
 
 " Yes, I am going to meet her." / 
 
 PART I (. 
 
l8 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 " I understand," said Burbank ; " and when are you com- 
 ing to Camdless Bay?" 
 
 " In a day or so." 
 
 " Then come as soon as you can, my dear fellow. Wc 
 are on the eve of very important events, and matters 
 will get worse as the Federal troops come nearer. And I 
 fancy your daughter Alice and you would be in greater 
 safety at Castle House than in the town, where the South 
 erners are capable of any excess." 
 
 •' Am I not a Southerner, Burbank ? " 
 
 " Certainly, but you think and act as if you belonged to 
 the North." 
 
 An hour afterwards the Shannon, carried along by the 
 ebb which became stronger and stronger, passed the little 
 village of Mandarin, placed on its green hill. Then five 
 or six miles farther she stopped on the right bank of 
 the river. A quay had been built there for ships to load 
 and discharge at. A little above was an elegant pier, with 
 a light wooden bridge suspended from two chains. This 
 was the landing-place for Camdless Bay. 
 
 At the end of the pier were two blacks with lanterns, for 
 the night was now very dark. 
 
 Burbank took leave of Stannard, and followed by Edward 
 Carrol stepped off on to the pier. 
 
 Behind him '..ent the half-breed Zermah, who answered 
 from a distance to a child's voice. 
 
 " I am here, Dy ! I am here 1 " 
 
 " And father } " 
 
 " Father is here too ! " 
 
 The liiihts receded, and the Shannon continued her 
 voyage, crossing obliquely to tlie left bank. 
 
 Three miles beyond Camdless Bay, on the other side of 
 the river, she stopped at the pier of Jacksonville to put 
 ashore most of her passengers. 
 
 There Walter Stannard went off with three or four of the 
 men whom Texar had left an hour and a half before. Only 
 lialf a dozen passengers were left on board, some for Pablo, 
 : little town near the lighthouse at the mouth of the St. 
 
ON BOARD THE " SHANNON." I9 
 
 John's, others for Talbot Island, off the coast at the open- 
 ing of the channels of the same name, and others for the 
 port of Fernandina. 
 
 The Shannon continued to beat the waters of the river, 
 and cleared the bar without accident. An hour afterwards 
 she disa[.pearcd at the turn of Trout Creek, where the St. 
 John's mingles its already rough waters with the waves of 
 ' he ocean. 
 
NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 CAMDLESS BAY. 
 
 Camdless Bay was the name of the plantation that 
 belonged to James Bu;bank. There he lived with his 
 family. The name of Camdless comes from one of the 
 creeks of the St. John's, which runs in a little above Jack- 
 sonville, and on the opposite side of the river. Communi- 
 cation with the city was thus easy. A good boat, a north 
 or south uinJ, and the ebb for going and the flood for 
 returning, and in an hour the three miles could be sailed 
 between Camdless Bay and the chief town of Duval 
 county. 
 
 Burbank owned one of the finest properties in the 
 countr)^ He was rich himself, and his family was rich, and 
 in addition to the Florida estate he held important landed 
 property in the state of New Jersey, which adjoins the state 
 of New York. 
 
 The site on the right bank of the St. John's had been very 
 happily chosen for the foundation of a wealthy establish- 
 ment. To its natural conveniences man had little to add. 
 The land itself was adapted for all the requirements of 
 extensive works, and the plantation of Camdless Bay, 
 nianaged by an intelligent man, active and in the prime of 
 life, well helped by his staff, and with no want of capital, was 
 in a most flourishing state. 
 
 The plantation was twelve miles round, and had an area 
 of four thousand acres. There were larger plantations in 
 the Southern States, but there were none better managed. 
 Dwelling-house, outbuildings, stables, cattle-sheds, huts 
 for the slaves, farm-buildings, stores for the products of the 
 soil, yards for handling them, workshops and mills, rail- 
 
CAMDLESS BAY. 21 
 
 ways converging to the landing-place and carriage roads, — 
 everything was marvellously arranged from a practical 
 point of view ; that it was a Northerner who had con- 
 ceived, organized, and executed these works could be seen 
 at the first glance. It was only plantations of the first 
 class in Virginia or the Carolinas that could rival Camdless 
 Bay, Besides, the ground consisted of " high hummocks," 
 adapted for the culture of cereals, " low hummocks," 
 specially fitted for coffee-shrubs and cocoa-trees, and 
 marshes, or salt savannahs, where rice and sugar-cane 
 fields could flourish. 
 
 It is v/ell known that the cotton of Georgia and Florida 
 is the most appreciated in the different markets of Europe 
 and America, owing to the length and quality of its fibres, 
 and the cotton-fields, with th:-ir plants in long, regularly- 
 spaced lines, their leaves of tender green and their yellow 
 flowers, were among the chief sources of revenue. At 
 harvest-time these fields, for an acre or an acre and a half, 
 would be covered with huts in which lived the slaves, 
 women and children, whose duty it was to collect the 
 capsules and take out the tufts — a very delicate operation, 
 for the fibres must not be disturbed. The cotton, dried in 
 the sun, was cleaned in a mill by means of toothed wheels 
 and rollers, squeezed in a hydraulic press, done up in bales, 
 hooped with iron, and so packed for exportation ; and 
 sailing-ships or steamers could load alongside the wharf at 
 Camdless Bay. 
 
 James Burbank also devoted much attention to large 
 fields of coffee-shrubs and sugar-canes. Here were plan- 
 tations of from a thousand to twelve hundred trees, from 
 fifteen to twenty feet high, resembling Spanish jasmine 
 in their flowers, and with fruits as big as a cherry con- 
 taining the two grains, which it was only necessary to 
 extract and dry. There were large fields, we might say 
 marshes, bristling with thousands of those long reeds, nine 
 to eighteen feet high, with their crests shaking like the 
 plumes of a troop of cavalr}"- on the march. This crop, 
 which was the subject of special care at Camdless Bay, 
 yielded the sugar in the form of a liquor, which the refinery 
 
22 NORTH ANT) SOUTH. 
 
 transformed into refined sugar, and then, as derived products 
 the syrups used in the manufacture of tafia and rum, and 
 cane wine, a mixture of saccharine liquor with pineapple 
 and orange juice. Although the crop was less important 
 than that from the cotton, the cultivation was there a very 
 profitable one. A few enclosures of cocoa-trees, fields of 
 maize, yams, potatoes, tobacco, and two or three hundred 
 acres under rice, brought in a large amount of additional 
 profit. 
 
 But James Burbank had another enterprise on hand 
 which produced at least equal profit to that of the cotton 
 industry. This was the clearing of the forest which covered 
 much of the estate. To say nothing of the products 
 of the cinnamons, pears, oranges, citrons, olives, figs, 
 mangoes, and bread fruits, or of all the fruit trees of 
 Europe acclimatized so splendidly in Florida, the forests 
 were regularly and constantly thinned. And great was 
 the value of the logwoods, gazumas or Mexican elms, now 
 used for so many purposes, baobabs, coral woods, with 
 twigs and flowers as red as blood, buckeyes, a kind of 
 yellow-flowered chestnut, black walnuts, oaks, southern 
 pines, which yield such admirable specimens for the car- 
 penter and shipwright, pachiriers whose seeds the sun at 
 noon explodes like so many petards, parasol pines, tulip- 
 trees, firs, cedars, and above all cyj^resses, the most widely 
 extended tree in the peninsula, with its forests from sixty 
 to a hundred miles in length. James Burbank had erected 
 several sawmills in different parts of the plantation. Dams 
 had been placed in several oi the tributaries of the St. 
 John's, and the peaceful streams broken into falls, which 
 gave the mechanical power required to produce the beams, 
 joists and planks of which the ships each year took entire 
 cargoes. 
 
 There was, besides, a considerable stretch of prairie, on 
 which flourished the horses, mules, and cattle in numbers 
 enough to supply every agricultural want. 
 
 There are birds of all species in the woods or on the 
 fields_ or plains of every part of Florida, and it can be 
 imagined how the}- swarmed at Camdless Bay. Above 
 
CAMDLESS BAY. '*3 
 
 the trees soared the white-headed eagles with great spread 
 of wing, whose shrill call resembles the fanfare of a cracked 
 trumpet, vultures of extraordinary ferocity, giant bitterns, 
 with a pointed beak like a bayonet. On the banks of the 
 river among the reeds and beneath the interlacement of 
 gigantic bamboos were flamingoes, pink or scarlet, white 
 ibises looking as if they had been stolen from some 
 Egyptian monolith, pelicans of colossal stature, myriads 
 of terns, sea-swallows of all kinds, crab-catchers with tuft 
 and green pelisse, purple-plumaged curlews, with brown 
 down spotted with white, jacamars, kingfishers with golden 
 reflections, a whole world of divers, waterhens, widgeons of 
 the whistling species, quails, plovers, to say nothing of the 
 petrels, puffins, scissorbeaks, seacrows, gulls, and tropic- 
 birds which the wind would bring into the St. John's, and 
 occasionally even flying-fish, beloved of epicures. On the 
 prairies swarmed snipe, woodcock, curlews, marbled godwits, 
 sultan-fowls with plumage of red, blue, green, yellow and 
 white, like a flying palette, partridges, and white-headed, 
 red-winged pigeons ; among the eatable qi^adrupeds, grey 
 squirrels, long-tailed rabbits, half-way between the hare 
 and rabbit of Europe, and herds of deer, and besides these, 
 racoons, turtle, ichneumons, and unfortunately a good 
 many serpents of venomous species. Such was the repre- 
 sentation of the animal kingdom at Camdless Bay, without 
 reckoning the negroes, male and female, employed on the 
 plantation. And if these were human beings, what excuse 
 was there for the monstrous custom of slavery, by which 
 they were bought and sold like cattle .? 
 
 How was it that Jam^s Burbank, a partisan of the anti- 
 slavery cause, a Northerner, hoping for the triumph of the 
 North, had not been able to free the slaves on his planta- 
 tion? Would he hesitate to d<i» it when circumstances 
 became favourable ? Certainly not ! And it was now 
 only a question of weeks, of days perhaps, before the 
 Federal army, which already occupied the outposts, would 
 advance into Florida. 
 
 Already Burbank had done all he could to improve thr 
 lot of his slaves. There were about seven hundred blacks, 
 
24 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 of both sexes, properly lodged in the large barracoons, 
 well looked after and kindly treated, and worked well within 
 their powers. The overseer had orders to treat them all 
 with justice and consideration ; and the duties were done 
 none the worse for corporal punishment having for some 
 time been abandoned at Camdless Bay. This was a striking 
 contrast with the custom of the generality of Floridan 
 plantations, and the system was not looked on with favour 
 by James Burbank's nei^^hbours. And, as may be imagined, 
 this made matters somewhat embarrassing, particularly 
 now the fortune of arms had come to the solution of the 
 slavery question. 
 
 The slaves dwelt in healthy, comfortable huts. Grouped 
 in fifties, these huts formed a dozen villages, otherwise 
 called barracoons, by the side of a running stream. There 
 the blacks lived with their wives and children. I-lach 
 family was as much as possible employed in the same 
 work in the fields, the forests or the workshops, so that its 
 members were not scattered duiing working hours. At 
 the head of these villages was a sub-overseer, acting as 
 mayor practicall\', with his head-quarters in the private 
 grounds of Camdless Bay. These grounds were enclosed 
 by a high palisade, of which the pciin'e' stakes rose verti- 
 cally, half-hidden beneath the verdure of the exuberant 
 vegetation. Inside the palisade rose the private house of the 
 Burbank family. Half house and half castle, it had 
 a):)propriately been called Castle House. 
 
 For many years Camdless Bay had belonged to the 
 ancestors of James Burbank. \\ hen there was a fear of 
 Indian depredations, the owners had fortified the principal 
 house. The time was not very distant when General 
 Jessup defended Florida against tiie Seminoles. The 
 colonists had suffered much from these nomads. Not only 
 did the Indians rob them, but they added murder to the 
 burning of their homes. Even the towns were threatened 
 with invasion and pillage. In many a sp.t rose the ruins 
 that the bloodthirsty Indians left smoking behind them. 
 Less than fifty miles from Camdless Bay there was still to 
 be seen " the house of blood " in which Mr. Motte and his 
 
CAMDLESS BAY, 25 
 
 wife and three daughters had been scalped and massacrea 
 by the Seminoles. But the war of extermination between 
 the white man and the red man is practically over ; the 
 Seminoles were conquered, and sought refuge to the west 
 of the Mississippi, People spoke of them no more, though 
 a few bands still roamed among the marshes of Southern 
 Florida. 
 
 It will therefore be understood that the houses of the 
 colonists were built so as to defy a sudden attack of the 
 Indians, and hold out until the arrival of battalions of 
 volunteers, enrolled in the towns or neighbouring villages. 
 And on this plan Castle House had been designed. 
 
 It stood on a slight rise of the ground, in the centre of 
 a small park of about three acres, situated a few hundred 
 yards from the St. John's. A rather deep watercourse 
 ran round the park, and the palisading on its inner bank 
 completed the defence. The only entrance was by a little 
 bridge thrown across the circular moat. Behind the rise, 
 a mass of beautiful trees covered the slopes of the park. 
 An avenue of young bamboos, with the stems crossing in 
 pointed arches, formed a long nave, leading from the 
 lawn to the landing-place. Beyond, among the trees, 
 were green lawns and wide paths with white borders, 
 ending in a sandy terrace along the principal front of 
 Castle House. 
 
 The castle was irregularly built, and offered much of the 
 unexpected in its grouping and of the capricious in its 
 details. But should its assailants ever break through the 
 park palisades, it would remain defensible, and could main- 
 tain a siege of some hours. Its windows on the ground- 
 floor were protected by iron bars. The main door in the 
 front face was as strong as a portcullis. At certain points 
 along the walls, which were built of a sort of marble, were 
 a few turrets, which rendered the defence easier, as they 
 allowed of the aggressors being taken in flank In short, 
 with its openings reduced to such only as were strictly 
 necessary, the central tower, on which flew the standard 
 of the United States, its lines of battlements along some 
 of the ridges, the slope of its wall at the foot, its high roof, 
 
26 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 many pinnacles, the thickness of its inner walls, which here 
 and there were loopholed, the place resembled a fortress 
 much more than a dwelling house. 
 
 As we have said, it had been necessary to build it so for 
 the security of its inhabitants at the time of the Indian 
 troubles in Florida. There was even in existence a sort 
 of subterranean tunnel which, after passing under the 
 palisade and circular moat, put Castle House in communi- 
 cation with a little creek of the St. John's called Marine 
 Creek. This tunnel could serve as a means of secret 
 escape in case of extreme danger. 
 
 At the time in question, the Seminoles, having been 
 driven out of the peninsula twenty years before, were no 
 longer to be feared. But who could say what was rescr\'ed 
 for the future ? and might not the danger James Burbank 
 had no reason to fear from the Indians, come from his 
 compatriots? Was he not an isolated Northerner at the 
 end of the S -uthcrn States, exposed to all the changes of a 
 civil war, which had been hitherto most sanguinary and 
 fertile in reprisals ? 
 
 But the necessity of providing for the safety of Castle 
 House had in no way interfered with its interior comfort. 
 The rooms were large and luxuriantly and superbly 
 furnished. The Burbank family were blessed with every 
 comfort and every satisfaction fortune can give when it 
 is united to artistic feeling on the part of its possessor. 
 
 Behind the house, in the private park, were splendid 
 gardens, extending to the palisade. The stakes were 
 hidden beneath climbing shrubs and passion-flowers, amid 
 which humming-birds hopped in myriads. Orange-trees, 
 olive-trees, iig-trces, pomegranate-trees, and pontederias 
 with blue bouquets, and magnolias with calices of old ivory 
 perfuming the air, palm-trees waving their fans in the 
 breeze, garlands of violet-shaded coboeas, clumps of green 
 rosetted tupeas, yuccas with their sharp clicking sabres, 
 rosy rhododendrons, clumps of myrtle and shaddocks — in 
 fact everything produced by the flora of a zone which 
 touches the Tropics and could be gathered in its parterres 
 to perfume the air or please tlie eye. 
 
CAMDLESS BAY. 27 
 
 At the extremity of the palisading, under the cypresses 
 and baobabs, were the stables, coachhouses, kennels, dairy, 
 and poultry-yard. Under the thick foliage of these fine 
 trees, impenetrable by the sun, the domestic animals had 
 nothing to fear from the heat of summer, and the running 
 water brought in from the streams close by gave an 
 agreeable and healthy freshness to all. 
 
 This private domain was, it will be seen, a marvellously 
 well-arranged nook in the centre of James Burbank's 
 establishment. No rattle from the cotton-mills, roar from 
 the saw-mills, ring of the axes on the tree-trunks, nor any 
 of the sounds which are inseparable from such an important 
 concern, could be heard beyond the palisades. 
 
 The thousands of birds of the Floridan fauna would pass 
 and flutter from tree to tree. But these winged songsters, 
 whose plumage rivalled the brilliancy of the flowers, were 
 as welcome as the perfumes which the breeze bore 
 with it as it swept over the neighbouring woods and 
 prairies. 
 
 Such was Camdless Bay, the plantation of James 
 Burbank, one of the richest in eastern Florida. 
 
MORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE WAR OF SECESSION. 
 
 And now for a few words on the war of secession, with 
 which this history is intimately connected. 
 
 And in the first place let this be understood, as has been 
 well said, in his remarkable " History of the Civil War in 
 America," by the Comte de Paris, who was formerly on*,' 
 of General McClellan's aide-de-camps, this war was not 
 caused by any question of tariffs, nor of a dificrcncc of 
 origin between the North and the South. The Anglo-Saxon 
 race reigns over the whole territory of the United States. 
 The commercial question was never entertained in this 
 terrible fratricidal strife. " It was slavery, which, prospering 
 in one half of the Republic and abolished in the other, 
 created two hostile societies. It had profoundly motiificd 
 the manners of those where it prevailed, while leaving 
 untouched the outward forms of government. It was 
 not the pretext or the occasion, but the cause, and the 
 only cause, of the antagonism which inevitably resulted in 
 civil war." 
 
 In the slave states there were three classes. The lowest 
 consisted of four millions of enslaved negroes, a third of 
 the population. The highest was the caste of the slave- 
 holders, comparatively uneducated, rich, scornful, who 
 kept the direction of public affairs completely in their 
 hands. Between these classes was the lower class of 
 whites, turbulent, idle and miserable, ardent advocates for 
 the maintenance of slavery for fear of seeing the freed 
 negroes elevated to their level. 
 
 The Northerners had against them not only the rich 
 proprietors, but also those whites who lived, especially in 
 
THE WAR OF SECESSION. 29 
 
 the country, among the slave population. The strife was 
 consequently frightful. In families such dissensions were 
 produced that brothers fought against each other, some 
 under the Federal, some under the Confederate flag. But 
 a great nation could not hesitate to destroy slavery to its 
 roots. In the last centary the illustrious Franklin had 
 demanded its abolition. In 1807 Jefferson had recom- 
 mended Congress to " prohibit a traffic of which the 
 morality, honour, and dearest interests of the country had 
 long required the disappearance." The North was there- 
 fore in the right to march against the South and subdue it. 
 And to follow that with a closer union between the 
 elements of the Republic, and the destruction of that fatal, 
 threatening illusion that the citizen owed obedience first to 
 his own state, and in the second place to the federation. 
 
 It was in Florida that the first question as to slavery 
 had arisen. At the commencement of the century a half- 
 breeds Indian chief, named Osceola, had for his wife a 
 maroon slave born in the marshy part of Florida known as 
 the Everglades. One day the woman was recaptured as a 
 slave and taken away by force. Osceola raised the Indians, 
 began an anti-slavery campaign, and was taken prisoner 
 and died in his prison. But the war continued, and, says 
 the historian Thomas Higginson, " the money it cost was 
 three times as much as that paid to Spain for the purchase 
 of Florida." 
 
 And now for the beginnings of the war of secession, and 
 the state of affairs in the month of February, 1862, when 
 James Burbank and his family were to experience such 
 terrible counterblows that it has appeared interesting to us 
 to make them the subject of this history. 
 
 On the i6th October, 1859, the heroic Captain John 
 Brown, at the head of a small band of fugitive slaves, had 
 seized on Harper's Ferry in Virginia. His object was to 
 free the men of colour. He proclaimed it loudly. Beaten 
 by the militia, he was taken prisoner, condemned to death, 
 and hanged at Charleston on the 2nd of December, i8S9, 
 with six of his companions. 
 
 On the 20th of December, i860, a conventioD assembled 
 
30 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 in South Carolina and adopted with enthusiasm the pro- 
 posal of secession. The following year, on the 4th of 
 March, 1861, Abraham Lincoln was elected President of 
 the Republic. The Southern States regarded his election 
 as a menace to the institution of slavery. On the nth of 
 April, Fort Sumter, one of the forts defending Charleston 
 harbour, fell into the power of the Southerners commanded 
 by General Beauregard. North Carolina, Virginia, Arkan- 
 sas, and Tennessee at once threw in their lot with the 
 Separatists. 
 
 Seventy- five thousand volunteers were raised by the 
 Federal Government. At the outset Washington, the 
 capital of the United States of America, was prepared 
 against a sudden attack, the arsenals of the North which 
 were empty were revictualled — those of the South had 
 been well provisioned by President Buchanan. War 
 material was got together with extraordinary effort. Then 
 Abraham Lincoln declared the Southern ports in a state 
 of blockade. 
 
 Active hostilities broke out in Virginia. McClellan 
 repulsed the rebels in the west ; but on the 21st of July, 
 at Bull Run, the Federal troops, under the orders of 
 MacDowell, were routed, and fled to Washington. The 
 Southerners feared no longer for the safety of Richmond, 
 but the Northerners had much to fear for the capital of 
 the American Republic. A few months afterwards, the 
 Federals were again defeated at Bull's Bluff. These 
 misfortunes were compensated for by the expeditions 
 that put into the hands of the Unionists Fort Hatteras 
 and Port Royal Harbour, which the Separatists never 
 retook. At the end of 1861, the command-in-chief of 
 the armies of the Union was given to Major-General 
 George McClellan. 
 
 During this year the Confederate corsairs swept the 
 seas of both worlds. They were welcomed in the ports 
 of France, England, Spain, and Portugal — a great mis- 
 take which, by giving the Secessionists the rights of 
 belligerents, resulted in encouraging and prolonging the 
 civil war. 
 
tHfi WAR OF SECESSION. ^t 
 
 The naval events, which caused so much stir, were 
 the appearance of the Sumter and her famous Cap- 
 tain Semmes ; the appearance of the ram Manassas ; 
 on the 1 2th of October the sea-fight at the mouth of 
 the Mississippi ; on the 8th of November, the stoppage 
 of the Trent, an English ship, on which Captain 
 Wilkes captured the Confederate envoys — and which 
 nearly brought on a war between Great Britain and 
 the States. 
 
 Meanwhile Abolitionists and Slaveholders were en- 
 gaged in sanguinary combats, with alternating success 
 and defeat in the State of Missouri. One of the chief 
 generals of the North, Lyon, was killed, and this neces- 
 sitated the retreat of the Federals to RoUa, and the 
 march of Price and his Confederates towards the North. 
 There was a fight at Frederictown on the 21st of 
 October, and at Springfield on the 25 th, and on the 
 27th, Fremont occupied the latter town Avith his 
 Federals. On the 19th of December, the fight at Bel- 
 mont between Grant and Polk was indecisive. At 
 length winter, which is always severe in North America, 
 put an end to the operations. 
 
 In the first months of the year 1862, truly prodigious 
 efforts were made by both sides. 
 
 In the North, Congress voted a levy of 500,000 volun- 
 teers — there were a million before the end of the struggle 
 — and sanctioned a loan of 500 millions of dollars. Huge 
 armies were created, the chief being that of the Potomac. 
 Their generals were Banks, Butler, Sherman, McClellan, 
 Meade, Thomas, Kearny, Halleck, to mention only the 
 most famous. Infantry, cavalry, artillery, engineers, were 
 formed and organized. War material was manufactured 
 at express speed, Minie and Colt carbines, rifled cannon 
 on the Parrott and Rodman systems, smoothbore cannon 
 and Dahlgren columbiads, howitzers, revolver-cannons, 
 siege artillery, and shrapnel shell. They organized army 
 telegraphs and army balloons, the reporting service of the 
 large newspapers, the transport service employing 20,000 
 carts, drawn by 84,000 mules. Provisions of all kinds were 
 
^i NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 got in under the direction of the chief of the commissariat. 
 New ships of the ram type were built on the plan of 
 Colonel Ellet, and armoured gunboats were built on the 
 plan of Commodore Foote, to make their first appearance in 
 maritime war. 
 
 In the South equal zeal was shown. The cannon 
 foundries of New Orleans and Memphis, and the forges 
 of Tredegar, near Richmond, turned out their Parrotts and 
 Rodmans. But that was not enough. The Confederate 
 Government sent across to Europe. Liege and Birmingham 
 sent shiploads of arms, and cannon on the Armstrong and 
 Whitworth systems. Blockade-runners brought the war 
 material into the ports, and took away cotton in exchange. 
 Then the army was organized. Its generals were Johnston, 
 Lee, Beauregard, Jackson, Crittenden, Floyd, and Pillow. 
 Irregular troops, militia and guerillas, were raised in addi- 
 tion to the four hundred thousand volunteers enrolled for 
 three years at the most, or one year at the least, voted by 
 the Secessionist Congress on the 8th of August. 
 
 The preparations did not hinder the strife from begin- 
 ning before the winter was half over. Of the slaveholding 
 territory, the Federal Government occupied only Mary- 
 land, Western Virginia, some part of Kentucky, most 
 part of Missouri, and a few points on the sea coast 
 
 Hostilities first broke out again in the east of Kentucky. 
 On the 7th of January, Garfield fought the Confederates at 
 Middle Creek, and on the 25th they were beaten again at 
 Logan Cross or Mill Springs. On the 2nd of February 
 Grant embarked with two divisions on some of the large 
 Tennessee steamboats, to support Foote's cuirassed flotilla. 
 On the 6th, Fort Henry fell into his power. Thus was 
 broken a link of the chain " on which," said the historian 
 of this civil war, " rested the whole system of his adversary 
 Johnston's defence." Cumberland and the capital of 
 Tennessee were thus threatened, and were within easy 
 reach of the Federal troops ; and Johnston endeavoured to 
 concentrate on Fort Donelson, so as to regain a surer base 
 for the defensive. 
 
 At this time, another expedition, consisting of six thon- 
 
tHB WAR OF SECESSION. 33 
 
 Sand men, under the orders of Burnside, and a flotilla of 
 twenty-four armed steamers and fifty transports, descended 
 the Chesapeake and assembled in Hampton Roads on 
 the 1 2th of January. In face of violent storms it started 
 on the 24th of January for Pimlico Sound, to capture 
 Roanoke Island, and reduce the coast of North Carolina. 
 But the island was fortified. On the west the channel was 
 defended by a barrier of sunken ships. Batteries and field 
 works made access difficult. Five or six thousand men 
 with a flotilla of seven gunboats, were ready to withstand 
 any attempt at landing. Nevertheless, notwithstanding 
 the bravery of the defenders, on the 7th and 8th of February 
 the island surrendered to Burnside, with twenty guns and 
 more than two thousand prisoners Next day the Federals 
 were masters of Elizabeth City and the coast of Albemarle 
 Sound, that is to say, the north of this inland sea. 
 
 But to conclude this description of the position of affairs 
 up to the 6th of February, it is necessary to speak of the 
 Confederate general, the old professor of chemistry, Jackson 
 the puritan soldier who defended Virginia. After the 
 recall of Lee to Richmond he commanded the army. He 
 left Winchester on the 13th of January, with his 10,000 
 men, then he crossed the AUeghanies, to advance on 
 Bath on the Ohio railroad. Defeated by the climate, 
 overwhelmed by the snowstorms, he was forced to return 
 to Winchester, without having attained his object. 
 
 And now for that which concerns us more specially, on 
 the southern coast from Carolina to Florida. 
 
 During the second half of 186 1, the Northerners possessed 
 sufficient swift vessels to police the seas, although they 
 could not catch the famous Summer which in January, 1862, 
 put in at Gibraltar, before beginning her cruise in European 
 waters. The Jefferson Davis endeavouring to escape from 
 the Federals had fled to St. Augustine in Florida, and sunk 
 as she entered the channel. Almost at the same time the 
 Anderson, one of the cruisers off" the Florida coast, captured 
 the privateer Beauregard. But in England new ships were 
 fitting out for the fray. It was then that President Lin- 
 coln's proclamation extended the blockade, a fictitious 
 
 PART I. 
 
34 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 blockade of 2800 miles. To watch them only two squadrons 
 were available : one to blockade the Atlantic, the other the 
 Gulf of Mexico. 
 
 On the 1 2th of October, for the first time, the Con- 
 federates endeavoured to clear the mouth of the Miss'ssippi 
 with the Manassas — the first ship plated with iron used in 
 the war— and a flotilla of fire-ships. The attempt did not 
 succeed, and the corvette Ric/nnotid escaped from capture, 
 safe and sound, on the 29th of December, though a small 
 steamer, the SeaHrd, carried off a Federal schooner in sight 
 o( Fort Monroe. 
 
 It was, however, necessary to have a point which could 
 serve as a base of operation for the Atlantic cruisers. The 
 Federal government resolved to seize on Fort Hattera.Sj 
 which defends the channel of the same name, at that time 
 much used by the blockade runners. Its capture was not 
 easy. It was supported by a square redoubt, called F"ort 
 Clarke. A thousand men and the Seventh North Carolina 
 regiment, were entrusted with its defence. The Federal 
 squadron composed of tv.-o frigates, three corvettes, a 
 despatch-boat, and two large steamers anchored in the 
 passes on the 27th of Augi'.st. Commodore Stringham 
 and Gene'-al Butler were in charge of the attack. The 
 redoubt was taken. Fort Hatteras, after a long resistance, 
 hoisted the white flag, and a base of operations was secured 
 by the Northerners for the rest of the war. 
 
 In November the island of Santa Rosa, at the east of 
 Fen.sacola, on the Gulf of Mexico, a dependency of Florida, 
 fell into the hands of the Federals, notwithstanding the 
 efforts of the Confederates. 
 
 The capture of Fort Hatteras not appearing sufficient for 
 the proper conduct of their operations, it was decided to 
 occupy other positions on the coasts of South Carolina, 
 Georgia, and Florida. Two steam frigates, the Wa/'as/t and 
 Susque/ianna/i, three sailing frigates, four corvettes, six gun- 
 boats, many despatch-boats, twenty-five colliers laden 
 with provisions, and thirty-two steamers transporting 15,600 
 men under the orders of General Sherman, were placed 
 under the command of Commodore Dupont. The flotilla 
 
THE WAR OF SECESSION. 35 
 
 mustered on the 25th of October before Fort Monroe. 
 After experiencing a terrible storm off Cape Hatteras, the 
 fleet reached Hilton Head between Charlestown and Savan- 
 nah, close to Port Royal Harbour, one of the most impor- 
 tant in the States, and where General Ripley held command. 
 Forts Walker and Beauregard defended the entrance, about 
 two miles and a half apart ; eight steamers also formed 
 part of the defences, and the bar rendered the harbour 
 almost impregnable to an enemy's fleet. 
 
 On the 5th of November, the channel having been 
 buoyed, Dupont entered the harbour after a cannonade, 
 but he was not able to land Sherman's troops. On the 
 7th, in the afternoon, he attacked Fort Walker and then 
 Fort Beauregard. He overwhelmed them with his storm 
 of shell. The forts were evacuated ; the Federals took 
 possession of them almost without a struggle ; and 
 Sherman occupied the position which was of so much im- 
 portance for the military operations that were to follow. 
 
 This was a blow at the very heart of the Southern States. 
 The neighbouring islands fell one after the other into the 
 power of the Federals, even Tybee Island and Fort Pulaski ' 
 which commanded the Savannah river. At the end of the 
 year Dupont was master of the five great bays of North 
 Edisto, Saint Helena, Port Royal, Tybee, Warsaw, and all 
 the islands scattered along the coast of Carolina and 
 Georgia. And on the ist of January, 1862, a final success 
 enabled him to reduce the Confederate works on the banks 
 of the Coosa w. 
 
 Such was the situation of the belligerents at the com- 
 mencement of February, 1862. Such was the progress of 
 the Federals towards the South, when the fleet of Dupont 
 and the troops of Sherman were menacing Florida. 
 
36 NOKTii AND SOUTH. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE BURBANK FAMILY. 
 
 It was a few minutes past seven when James Rurbank 
 and Edward Carrol mounted the steps on which opened 
 the principal door of Castle House, looking towards the 
 St. John's. Zermah, holding the little girl by the hand, 
 walked behind them. They entered ih- hall, which was a 
 kind of large vestibule with its back rounded into a dome, 
 and containing the double twist of the great staircase 
 which led to the upper floors. 
 
 Mrs. Burbank met them, accompanied by Perry, the 
 chief overseer of the plantation. 
 
 " No news from Jacksonville ?" 
 
 " No." 
 
 " No news from Gilbert ? " 
 
 " Yes— a letter." 
 
 " Heaven be praised ! " 
 
 Such were the first questions and answers that passed 
 between Mrs. Burbank and her husband. James Burbank, 
 after kissing his wife and little Dy, opened the letter which 
 was handed to him. It had not been opened in his 
 absence, for, in consideration of the existing state of affairs, 
 Mrs. Burbank thought it best that her husband should be 
 the first to know what it contained. 
 
 "This letter did not come by the post.''" asked Bur- 
 bank. 
 
 " No, sir," said Perry, " that would have been too risky." 
 
 " Who brought it ? " 
 
 "A Georgia man Mr. Gilbert felt he could trust" 
 
 " When did it arrive ? " 
 
 " Yesterday." 
 
THE BURBANK FAMILY. 37 
 
 " And the man ? " 
 
 •* Went away this evening." 
 
 "Well paid for his work ? " 
 
 "Yes, well paid," said Mrs. Burbank,"but by Gilbert, 
 and he would not take anything from us." 
 
 The hall was lighted by two lamps placed on a marble 
 table before a large sofa. James Burbank went and sat 
 at the table, and his wife and daughter sat near him. 
 Edward Carrol, after shaking hands with his sister, had 
 thrown himself into an arm-chair. Zermah and Perry 
 were standing together near the stairs ; both of them were 
 sufficiently of the family for the letter to be read in their 
 presence. 
 
 The letter was opened. 
 
 " It is dated the 3rd of February," said James Burbank. 
 
 " Four days after date ! " said Carrol, " that is a long 
 time under the circumstances." 
 
 " Read it, papa, read it," said the little girl, with a very 
 natural impatience at her age. 
 
 " This is what it says, — 
 
 " On board the Wabash, at the anchorage of Edisto. 
 "3rd February, 1862. 
 
 " Dear Father, — I begin by sending my love to my 
 mother, my little sister and yourself, not forgetting Uncle 
 Carrol, and to omit nothing, I send Zermah all the 
 remembrances of her husband, my brave and devoted Mars. 
 We are going on as well as possible, and should very 
 much like to be with you. It will not be long before we 
 are, notwithstanding Mr. Perry, who, on seeing the progress 
 of the North, must be much concerned — obstinate slave- 
 owner as he is, the worthy overseer ! " 
 
 " That is one for you, Perry," said Carrol. 
 
 " Every man is welcome to his ideas,^' said Perry, in 
 the tone of a man who had no intention of giving up his 
 own. 
 
 Burbank continued, — 
 
 " This letter will reach you by a man I can depend on. 
 You will have heard that Commodore Dupont's squadron 
 
38 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 has gained possession of Port Royal Harbour and the 
 neighbouring islands. The North is gradually beating the 
 South, and it is very likely that the Federal Government 
 will occupy the chief ports of Florida. They are talking 
 of an expedition under Dupont and Sherman at the end 
 of the month. This is very probable, and we shall occupy 
 the bay of St. Andrew's, whence we shall advance into 
 Florida. I am in a hurry to get there, dear father, and 
 particularly with our victorious flotilla. The situation of 
 my people among the slave-holding population, makes me 
 very anxious ; but the time is coming when triumph will 
 wait upon the ideas that have always been to the fore at 
 Camdlcss Bay. If I could get away I should be with you 
 in twenty-four hours ; but that would be too risky for 
 you as well as for me, and you must be patient. In a few 
 months we shall again meet together at Castle House. 
 And now I must end, asking myself if I have forgotten 
 anybody in my message. And I have! I have forgotten 
 Mr. Stannard and my charming Alice, whom I am longing 
 to see. Give my regards to her father, and to her give 
 more than my regards. 
 
 " Respectfully and sincerely yours, 
 
 "Gilbert Burbank." 
 
 James Burbank laid the letter on the table, and Mrs. 
 Burbank lifted it to her lips, then little Dy put a sounding 
 kiss on her brother's signature. 
 
 " Brave fellow ! " said Edward Carrol. 
 
 " And brave man ! " added Mrs. Burbank, looking at 
 Zermah, who had clasped the little girl in her arms. 
 
 " We must tell Alice," said Mrs. Burbank, " that we have 
 received a letter from Gilbert." 
 
 " Yes, I will write to her," said James Burbank. 
 " Besides, in a day or two I must go to Jacksonville and 
 see Stannard. Since Gilbert wrote tihere may be other news 
 of the proposed expedition. May our Northern friends 
 soon come, and may Florida again be under the Union 
 flag ! Our position here may end in being untenable." 
 
 In fact, as the war approached the South, a change took 
 
THE EURBANK FAMILY. 39 
 
 place in Floridan opinion on the subject which had set the 
 United States at variance. Up to then slavery had not 
 been extensively developed in the old Spanish colony, 
 which had not taken part in the Secession movement with 
 the same ardour as Virginia and the Carolinas. But 
 leaders had sprung up among the slave party, and now 
 these people, ready for outbreak at any moment, having 
 everything to gain by disturbances, were in the majority 
 among the authorities of St. Augustine, and principally of 
 Jacksonville, where their supporters were the vilest of the 
 populace. Hence the position of James Burbank, whose 
 birth and ideas we know, had become an anxious one. 
 
 Twenty years before, James Burbank had left New 
 Jersey, where he still possessed some property, and came 
 to Camdless Bay with his wife and his son, then four years 
 old. We know how the plantation had prospered, thanks 
 to his own intelligent labours and the assistance of his 
 brother-in-law, Edward Carrol. Ke had taken a great 
 liking to the vast establishment which had been handed 
 down to him by his ancestors. Here was born his second 
 child, little Dy, fifteen years after he had fixed his home 
 in the South. 
 
 He was then forty-six years old, of strong constitution^ 
 accustomed to work, and never sparing himself. We 
 know he was of energetic character ; firmly attached to his 
 opinions, he did his utmost to let them be widely known. 
 He was tall and slightly grey ; his face had a somewhat 
 severe but frank and encouraging look. With the goatee 
 of the Americans of the North, without whiskers or 
 moustache, he was a typical New England Yankee. 
 Throughout the plantation he was liked, for he was kind, 
 and he was obeyed, for he was just. His blacks were 
 devoted to him, and he waited not without impatience for 
 circumstances to permit of his giving them their liberty. 
 His brother-in-law was about the same age, and took charge 
 chiefly of the accounts of Camdless Bay. Carrol was quite 
 at one with him in everything, and shared in his view of 
 the slave question. 
 
 Mr. Perry, the overseer, was the only one of a different 
 
40 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 opinion in this little world of Camdless Bay. Let it not be 
 thought that this worthy man ill-treated the slaves. Far 
 from it. He even tried to make them as happy as their 
 condition allowed him. 
 
 " But," said he, " there are warm countries in which work 
 on the land can only be done by blacks, and blacks who 
 are not slaves are no longer blacks ! " 
 
 Such was his theory, which he discussed on every 
 occasion that offered. But he was in no way disconcerted 
 at the fortune of war which favoured the anti-slavery 
 cause. He was, in short, an excellent fellow, and a brave 
 one too, and when James Burbank and Edward Carrol 
 had joined the militia, known as " the minute men," from 
 being ready to start at any minute, he had gallantly joined 
 them in their last struggle with the Seminoles. 
 
 Mrs. Burbank was at this time thirty-nine years of age. 
 She was still very handsome. Her daughter would one 
 day resemble her. James Burbank had found in her a 
 loving, affectionate companion, to whom he owed most of 
 the happiness of his life. The unselfish woman lived bat 
 for her husband and her children, whom she adored, and 
 for whose safety she felt the keenest apprehension now 
 that circumstances had broyght the civil war into Florida. 
 Diana, or rather Dy, as she was familiarly called, a child 
 of six, quick, loving, and happy, lived at Castle House 
 with her mother, but Gilbert was away, his absence causing 
 continued anxiety, which Mrs. Burbank could not always 
 dissimulate. 
 
 Gilbert was then in his twenty-fifth year, and in him 
 were conspicuous the moral qualities of his father, with a 
 little less stiffness, and the same physical qualities, with a 
 little more grace and charm. A bold companion, skilled 
 in all bodily exercises, he was as accomplished as a horse- 
 man as he was as a seaman and hunter. To the great 
 alarm of his mother, the huge forests and marshes of Duval 
 county had often been the scene of his exploits, as had the 
 creeks and passes of the St. John's up to its furthest 
 mouth at Pablo. Gilbert felt himself fully trained for the 
 work of a soldier when the first shots were fired in the 
 
THE BURBANK FAMILY. 4I 
 
 war. He considered that his duty called him to the 
 Federal troops, and he did not hesitate. He asked to be 
 allowed to go. Great was the grief he thus caused his 
 mother, and great was the danger to all, but James Bur- 
 bank did not dream for a moment of refusing his son's 
 request. He thought, like him, that it was a duty, and 
 everything must give place to duty. 
 
 Gilbert, then, set out for the North ; but his departure 
 was kept as secret as possible. If it was known at Jack- 
 sonville that James Burbank's son had entered the Northern 
 service, reprisals would at once have been taken on Camd- 
 less Bay. The young man had been given letters of 
 introduction to his father's friends in New Jersey. He 
 had always shown a taste for the sea, and his friends had 
 had no difficulty in procuring him an appointment in the 
 Federal navy. Promotion was rapid in those days, and as 
 Gilbert was not one of those who remained in the rear, he 
 soon got on. The Washington Government had its eyes 
 on this young man who in the position he found his family, 
 did not hesitate to offer his services. Gilbert distinguished 
 himself at the attack of Fort Sumter. He was on the 
 Richmond when that ship was rammed by the Manassas 
 at the mouth of the Mississippi, and contributed largely to 
 recapture her. After this affair he was made an ensign, 
 although he had not been through the naval school at 
 Annapolis any more than many of the other officers who 
 had been transferred from the mercantile marine. In his 
 new capacity he joined the squadron of Commodore 
 Dupont, and assisted at the brilliant attack on Fort Hat- 
 teras and the capture of the Seas Islands. During the 
 last few weeks he had been a lieutenant on one of Dupont's 
 gunboats which were about to force the mouths of tiie St. 
 John's. 
 
 Gilbert himself longed for an early termination of the 
 war. He loved and was loved ; and when his service was 
 over, he would return to Camdless Bay and marry the 
 daughter of one of his father's best friends. 
 
 Mr. Stannard did not belong to the class of Floridan 
 planters. A widower, and a man of fortune, he had devoted 
 
42 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 himself entirely to the education of his daughter. He 
 lived at Jacksonville, so that to get to Camdless Bay he 
 had only to go up three or four miles of the river. For 
 fifteen years not a week had passed without his visiting 
 the Burbanks. It might almost be said that Gilbert and 
 Alice were brought up together, and a marriage that had 
 been planned for years had now been decided on, which 
 would bring happiness to both. Although Walter Stannard 
 was a native ot the South, he was an anti-slavery man, as 
 were several others of his Floridan fellow-citizens ; but 
 these were not numerous enough to withstand the majority 
 of the inhabitants of Jacksonville^ whose opinions daily 
 tended more and more in favour of the Separatist move- 
 ment. Stannard and his friends began consequently to 
 be looked upon unfavourably by the leaders of the county, 
 and especially by the small whites and populace, who were' 
 ready for any excess. 
 
 Walter Stannard was born at New Orleans. Mrs. 
 Stannard was a Frenchwoman ; she had died young, and 
 left to her daughter those noble qualities which are 
 peculiar to French blood. When Gilbert went away, 
 Alice had shown an energy that had given Mrs. Burbank 
 much comfort and support. Although she loved Gilbert 
 as she herself was loved, she invariably told his mother 
 that it was hi^ duty to go and fight for the good cause, to 
 fight for the freedom of a race, and, in short, for liberty. 
 She was then nineteen ; fair, with eyes almost blue, of 
 warm complexion, elegant figure, and distinguislied 
 features. She might be a little serious, but so mobile was 
 her expression, that the least smile would light up her 
 beautiful face. 
 
 the Burbank family would not be known in all its most 
 faithful members, if we omitted to say something of its 
 two servants. Mars and Zermah. 
 
 As we have seen from his letter, Gilbert had not gone 
 away alone. Mars, the husband of Zermah, had accom- 
 panied him. He could not have found a more devoted 
 companion than this slave from Camdless Bay, who had 
 become free by setting foot on anti-slavery soil. But to 
 
THE BUR BANK FAMILY. 4^ 
 
 Mars, Gilbert was always " the young master," and he 
 would not leave him, although the Federal Government 
 had already formed regiments of negroes, where he would 
 have found a place. 
 
 Mars and Zermah were not of the negro race by birth. 
 They were half-breeds. Zermah's brother was that heroic 
 slave, Robert Small, who, four months later, captured 
 from the Confederates in the very bay of Charleston, a 
 steamer with two guns, which he took over to the Federal 
 fleet 
 
 The marriage of Zermah and Mars was a happy one ; 
 which more than once, during its first years, the odious 
 traffic in slaves had threatened to break. It was at the 
 moment when they were about to be separated by the 
 fortune of the auction-room, that they came to Camdless 
 Bay. 
 
 These were the circumstances. 
 
 Zermah was thirty-one years old, Mars thirty-five. 
 Seven years before, they had been married when they 
 belonged to a Mr. Tickborn, whose plantation was on the 
 river, twenty miles above Camdless Bay, For some years 
 Tickborn had had business transactions with Texar, who 
 was often a welcome visitor to the plantation. There was 
 nothing surprising in this, for Tickborn was not thought 
 much of in the county. His abilities were not very 
 brilliant ; and, his affairs not prospering, he was obliged 
 to put up a lot of his slaves for sale. 
 
 At this very time Zermah, who was very badly treated 
 like all the rest on Tickborn's plantation, brought a baby 
 into the world, which was immediately taken away from her, 
 for while she was in prison for a crime of which she was 
 innocent, her baby died in her arms. It may be guessed 
 what was the grief of Zermah, and the anger of Mars. 
 But what could they do against a master to whom be- 
 longed their flesh, living or dead, because he had bought 
 it.? 
 
 To this sorrow another no less terrible was added. The 
 day after their child died. Mars and Zermah were packed 
 ofi* to the auctioneer, and threatened with separation 
 
44 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 Yes ! The consolation of finding themselves together 
 under a new master was denied them. A man presented 
 himself who offered to buy Zermah, and Zermah alone, 
 although he did not own a plantation, 'ihis man was 
 Texar. His friend Tickborn was about to sign the agree- 
 ment when, at the last moment, anoth :r bidder appeared 
 on the scene and offered a higher price. This was James 
 Burbank, who happened to be at the sale, and was touched 
 at the fate of the unhai)py half-breed, praying in vain that 
 she should not be separated from her husband. 
 
 Burbank was in want of a nurse for hi-; little girl, 
 and learning that one of Tickborn's slaves had just lost 
 her child, he came to look at her ; but, touched by 
 Zermah's tears, he did not hesitate to offer for herself and 
 husband a price that exceeded all that had been bid up 
 to then. 
 
 Texar knew James Burbank. He had been several 
 times warned off his plantation as a suspicious person. 
 And from this arose the hatred which Texar had vowed to 
 all the family ofCamdless Bay. Texar tried to bid against 
 the rich planter. It was in vain. He grew obstinate. 
 He rose to double the price that Tickborn had asked for 
 the half-breed and her husband. This made Burbank pay 
 very dearly for them — but he got them. 
 
 And so, not only were Zermah and Mars not sepa- 
 rated from each other, but they had entered the service 
 of the best of the planters in Florida. Six years after- 
 wards, Zermah was still in all the maturity of her half- 
 breed beauty. Of energetic character, heartily devoted 
 to her master, she had more than once had occasion 
 — and would soon have occasion again — to prove her 
 fidelity. Mars was worthy of the wife to whom the 
 charitable act of James Burbank had for ever attached 
 him. He was a remarkable specimen of those Africans 
 in whom there is a large proportion of Creole blood. 
 Tall, stout, courageous to a fault, he served his new 
 master well. 
 
 These two new servants were not treated like slaves. 
 They had soon become appreciated for their kindness 
 
THE BURHAXK FAMILY. 45 
 
 and intelligence. Mars uas specially occupied in look- 
 ing after young Gilbert ; Zermah was Diana's nurse. 
 In such positions they were bound to be admitted to a 
 certain intimacy with the family. 
 
 Zermah always felt a mother's love for the' little 
 girl, the love she could not bear the child she had 
 lost. Dy returned it, and the filial affection of the one 
 responded to the maternal cares of the other, and Mrs. 
 Burbank was as friendly to Zermah as she was grate- 
 ful. 
 
 The same feeling existed between Gilbert and Mars. 
 Active and strong, the half-breed had made his young 
 master an expert in all manly exercises, and James 
 Burbank could only congratulate himself at having found 
 him for his son. 
 
 Never had Zermah and Mars been so happy, and 
 that after leaving the hands of Tickborn and nearly 
 falling into those of Texar. They were never to forget it 
 
46 KORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 BLACK CREEK, 
 
 At dawn, the morniirij after the Shannon^s journey 
 down the St. John's, a man was walking on the bank of 
 one of the islets at the bottom of the lagoon of Black Creek. 
 It was Texar. A few steps away was an Indian sitting 
 in the skiff which had met the steamer. It was Squambo. 
 
 After walking up and down for a minute or two, 
 Texar stopped under a magnolia-tree, drew down one 
 of the lower branches and picked off a leaf and its 
 stem. Then he drew from his note-book a short letter,, 
 containing only three or four words written in ink. 
 He rolled up the letter and stuffed it into one of the 
 lower veins of the leaf. This was done so cleverly that 
 the leaf lost nothing of its usual look. 
 
 " Squambo ! " said Texar. 
 
 " Master ! " replied the Indian. 
 
 " Go — you know where ! " 
 
 Squambo took the leaf, put it in the bow of the 
 skiff, sat down in the stern, paddled himself off", turned 
 the extreme point of the islet, and entered the 
 tortuous pasrage under the thick bower of trees. 
 
 The lagoon is cut up into a labyrinth of channels, 
 among which only a man thoroughly conversant v/iih 
 the tangled network of black waters could find his way. 
 
 However, Squambo did not hesitate. Where no one 
 could see an outlet he boldly entered with his skiff". 
 The lower branches thcit he lifted up fell behind him, 
 and left no trace of anything having passed beneath 
 them. Along winding channels, no larger than drains, 
 he paddled his canoe. Quite a world of aquatic birds 
 flew up at his approach. Slimy eels, with suspicious 
 
BLACK CREEK. 47 
 
 eads, slipped under the roots which emerged from the 
 ^ater, Squambo cared for none of these things, no 
 lore than he did for the sleeping caymans, which he 
 ould wake by striking them as they lay on their beds 
 f mud. He kept on without a stoppage, and when he 
 ad no room to paddle, he pushed himself along as if 
 rith a boat-hook. 
 
 Although it was now broad daylight, and the heavy 
 ight mist had begun to evaporate under the first rays of 
 tie sun, nothing could be seen of it beneath this impene- 
 rable roof of verdure. Even in the noonday sun no 
 a.y of light could pierce it. All was shrouded in semi- 
 bscurity, which suited well the crawling creatures that 
 warmed in its black waters, and the thousands of 
 quatic plants that floated on their surface. 
 
 For half an hour Squambo advanced from one island to 
 nother. When he stopped, it was because his skiff had 
 cached one of the last branches of the creek. 
 
 At this spot, where the marshy part of the creek ended, 
 le trees were less crowded and intergrown, and the light 
 f day found admittance. Beyond was a vast prairie 
 ordered with forest, but slightly above the level of the 
 it. John's. The foot, in treading on the marshy ground, 
 ave the same sensation as if treading on an elastic 
 lattress. A few sassafras bushes, with slender leaves and 
 iolet berries dotted the surface with their capricious zigzags. 
 
 After mooring his canoe to one of the twigs on the 
 ank, Squambo jumped ashore. The night mist was 
 rying off, the prairie, quite deserted, was gradually rising 
 cm the fog. Among a group of five or six trees close 
 y was a magnolia of moderate height. 
 
 The Indian stepped towards this tree. He reached it in 
 
 few minutes, and drew down one of the lower branches, 
 'o its end he fixed the leaf that Texar had given him, 
 tien the bough, left to itself, sprung up, and the leaf was 
 )st in the foliage. 
 
 Squambo returned to his skiflf, and then paddled back 
 J the islet where his master awaited him. 
 
 Black Creek is so called from the colour of its waters^ 
 
 4 
 
4§ NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 and covers an area of about six hundred acres. Fed by 
 the St. John's, it is a sort of archipelafjo quite impene- 
 trable to those who do not know its infinite windings. A 
 hundred islands dot its surface ; no bridges or causeways 
 join them. A few high branches interlace above the thou- 
 sands of channels that separate but do not form easy com- 
 munication lines between the different points of the lagoon. 
 
 One of these islands, nearly in the centre of the system, 
 is the most important, on account of its size— some twenty 
 acres — and its elevation, five or six feet above the mean 
 tide of the St. John's. 
 
 At some distant period, this island had served as the 
 site of a fortress, a sort of blockhouse, now abandoned 
 —at least, in a military sense. Its palisades, half ruined 
 by rot, still stood beneath the large trees, magnolias, 
 cypresses, oaks, black walnuts, and austral pines, interlaced 
 by festoons of coboeas and other endless creepers. 
 
 Beyond the outer ring the eye could make out under 
 the heap of verdure the geometrical lines of the little 
 fortress, or rather the outpost, which had never been 
 intended to hold more than a score of men. Narrow 
 loopholes peeped out of the wooden walls. Turfed roofs 
 covered them with a carapace of earth. Inside were a 
 few rooms arranged round a central apartment, contain- 
 ing a store of provisions and munitions. To enter the 
 fortress, it was necessary to get through the palisades at 
 the narrow postern, then to cross the yard, planted with a 
 few trees, and mount a few steps built up of boards. 
 These led to the only door giving; admittance to the 
 interior, and was merely an embrasure that had been altered 
 to suit the purpose. 
 
 Such was the usual retreat of Texar — a retreat which 
 nobody knew. There, hidden from all eyes, he lived with 
 this Squambo, who was devoted to a master of whom 
 he did not think much, and with five or six slaves, who 
 thought even less of him. 
 
 This islet of Black Creek was, it will be seen, some dis- 
 tance from the wealthy establishments on each side of the 
 
BLACK CREEK. 49 
 
 river. There was barel}- a living on it for Texar and his 
 companions, whose wants were not great. A few domestic 
 animals, half a dozen acres planted with potatoes, yams, 
 cucumbers, twenty fruit-trees, almost in their wild state, 
 — that was all, without counting what the hunter could 
 find in the neighbouring forests, or the fisherman in the 
 lagoon, which never failed to yield its harvest. But, 
 doubtless, the dwellers at Black Creek had other resources, 
 of which only Texar and Squambo knew the secret. 
 
 The safety of the blockhouse was almost assured by its 
 situation in such an inaccessible spot. Besides, who would 
 seek to attack it, and why ? In any case, any suspicious 
 approach would be signalled at once by the dogs of the 
 island, two of those ferocious bloodhounds imported from 
 the Caribbees, formerly employed by the Spaniards to hunt 
 down the negroes. 
 
 Such was Texar's dwelling, and it was worthy of him. 
 Now for Texar himself. 
 
 Texar was then Ubout thirty-five. He was of medium 
 height, and of vigorous constitution, hardened by the 
 adventurous life in the open air which had always been 
 his. A Spaniard by birth, he did not hide his origin. 
 His hair was black and coarse, his eyebrows thick, his eyes 
 greenish, his mouth large, with thin indrawn lips, as if it 
 had been made by a sabre-stroke, his nose short, and his 
 nostrils like those of a wild beast. His whole physiognomy 
 denoted craft and violence. He had formerly grown his 
 full beard ; but for the last two years, after it had been 
 half burnt in some affair that no one knew anything 
 about, he had shaved it off, and the cruelty of his features 
 was rendered all the more apparent. 
 
 Twelve years before, this adventurer had come to settle 
 in Florida in this abandoned blockhouse, the possession of 
 which nobody thought of disputing. Whence came he ? 
 Nobody knew. What had been his former life ? It was 
 said, and rightly so, that he had been a slave-dealer, and 
 had sold his cargoes of blacks in the ports of Georgia and 
 the Carolinas. Had he made a fortune in this odious trade ? 
 
 PART h 
 
50 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 It did not seem like it. And, in fact, his reputation was of 
 the slightest even in a country where men of his sort are 
 numerous. 
 
 Nevertheless, if Texar was better known than respected, 
 that did not prevent his exercising a real influence in the 
 county, and particularly at Jacksonville, although it was, 
 it is true, among the least reputable inhabitants. He often 
 went to the chief town on business, which he never spoke 
 about, and had made a number of friends among the small 
 whites and more objectionable people of the place. This 
 we have seen when he was returning to St. Augustine 
 with his companions. His influence extended to a few 
 planters on the St. John's, whom he sometimes visited, 
 though they never visited him, for no one knew of his 
 retreat at Black Creek. 
 
 Sport was a natural pretext for this intercourse, which 
 established itself without difficulty among people of 
 the same habits and tastes. This influence had grown 
 during the last few years, owing to the opinions which 
 Texar ardently defended. The slave question had hardly 
 brought about the division between the United States, than 
 the Spaniard had posed as the most obstinate and deter- 
 mined of slavery partisans. It should be understood that 
 he had little real interest in the matter, for his slaves only 
 amounted to half a dozen. It was the principle he sought 
 to defend. By what means ? By an appeal to the most 
 hateful passions, by exciting the cupidity of the populace, 
 by urging them to pillage, incendiarism, even to murder, 
 against the inhabitants or planters who shared in the ideas 
 of the Northerners. And now this dangerous adventureV 
 was seeking to supersede the civil authorities of Jackson- 
 ville, men of moderate opinions and high character, by the 
 most furious of his partisans. By becoming master of 
 the county, he would have a free field for the exercise of 
 his personal vengeance. 
 
 It will be understood from this, why James Burbank 
 and other planters had not neglected to keep an eye on 
 the proceedings of such a man, whose evil instincts had 
 
BLACK CREEK. 5 1 
 
 already made him formidable ; and why the hate on one 
 side and defiance on the other had been augmented by the 
 approaching events. 
 
 Besides, there was much in the past life of Texar after 
 he had retired from trade which was suspicious. During 
 the last outbreak of the Seminoles, everything seemed to 
 prove that he had a secret understanding with them. 
 Had he told them what blows to strike, what plantations 
 to attack ? Had he helped them in their ambushes and 
 surprises ? There was a strong suspicion that this was the 
 case, and the magistrates had issued a warrant against the 
 Spaniard, and brought him to trial. But Texar had 
 pleaded an alibi, a plan of defence of which he again availed 
 himself later on ; and it was proved he could not have 
 taken part in the attack on a farm in Duval county, when 
 at the same moment he was at Savannah, in the State of, 
 Georgia, about forty miles to the north. 
 
 During the following years there were many serious 
 robberies, sometimes from plantations, sometimes from 
 travellers. Was Texar an author or accomplice in these 
 crimes .-* Suspicions were strong, but as there was no proof, 
 nothing could be done. 
 
 At last an opportunity offered which seemed to bring 
 this hitherto unseizable malefactor within reach of the 
 law ; and this was the affair for which he had the day 
 before been brought before the court at St. Augustine. 
 
 Eight days before, James Burbank, Carrol, and Stannard 
 were returning from visiting a plantation not far from 
 Camdless Bay, when about seven o'clock in the evening, 
 as night was falling, they heard cries of distress. They 
 came to the spot whence the cries proceeded, and found 
 themselves in front of the buildings of an isolated farm. 
 The buildings were on fire. The farm had been previously 
 pillaged by half-a-dozen men who had just dispersed. 
 The authors of the crime were not far off. Two of them 
 could be seen running away through the woods. 
 
 James Burbank and his friends courageously started in 
 pursuit, and the chase took them towards Camdless Bay. 
 
53 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 It was in vain. The incendiaries escaped in the woods. 
 But Burbank, Carrol, and Stannard had recognized one of 
 them. It was the Spaniard. 
 
 And more than this — and corroborating the proof — at 
 the instant this individual had disappeared on the 
 boundary of Camdless Bay, Zermah, who was passing, had 
 been knocked aside by him. And she, like the others, re- 
 cognized him as Texar, running at full speed. 
 
 It is easy to imagine that .such an affair would make 
 considerable stir in the county. A robbery, followed by 
 incendiarism, was a most serious crime where the plan- 
 tations were spread over a large extent of country. 
 Burbank brought a formal accusation against Texar, and 
 the authorities took proceedings. 
 
 The Spaniard was brought to St. Augustine before the 
 Recorder, and then, when confronted by the witnesses, James 
 Burbank, Walter Stannard, Edward Carrol, and Zermah, 
 was unanimously recognized as the man who was running 
 away from the fire. There could be no mistake as far as 
 they were concerned. Texar was one of the authors of 
 the crime. 
 
 The Spaniard, for his defence, brought a number of 
 witnesses to St. Augustine. They declared that on the 
 evening in question they were with Texar at Jacksonville, 
 in the tienda of Torilla, a sufficiently ill-famed drinking, 
 shop in those j>arts. Texar had not left them all the 
 evening. And that there could be no mistake about this, 
 at the very time the crime was committed, the Spaniard 
 had had a dispute with one of them which had ended in 
 blows and threats, for which legal proceedings would pro- 
 bably be taken. 
 
 At this evidence, which was beyond suspicion - for some 
 of the witnesses were strangers to Texar — the magistrate 
 at St. Augustine could only close the inquiry and allow 
 the defendant his expenses. 
 
 The alibi had thus been once more fully established to 
 the advantage of this strange individual 
 
 It was afler this affair, and in company with his witnesses' 
 
BLACK CREEK. $3 
 
 that Texar had returned to St. Augustine on the evening 
 of the 7th of February. We have seen how he conducted 
 himself on board the Slmnnon while the steamer descended 
 the river. Then, on the skiff brought to meet him by 
 Squambo, he had regained the abandoned blockhouse. 
 
 Squambo was a Seminole, intelligent and crafty, and 
 had become the confidant of Texar, who had taken him 
 into his service immediately after the last expedition of the 
 Indians with which his name had been mixed up. 
 
 The Spaniard had reisolved to revenge himself on Jcimes 
 Burbank by all possible means. Amid the many con- 
 junctions that the war daily gave rise to, if Texar could 
 upset the authorities of Jacksonville he could make himself 
 formidable to Camdless Bay. James Burbank was of 
 such energetic and determined character that he had no 
 fear of such a man, but Mrs. Burbank had only too 
 many reasons to tremble for her husband and her family. 
 
 And all the more would she have been anxious had she 
 known that Texar suspected Gilbert Burbank of having 
 joined the Northern army. How had he learnt this, for 
 the departure had been secret > Probably from his 
 spies. 
 
 If Texar thought that James Burbank's son was in the 
 Federal ships under the orders of Dupont, would he not 
 probably devise some trap for the young lieutenant ? 
 Yes ! And if he could entice him on to Floridan territory 
 and capture him, we can imagine what would be his fate 
 at the hands of these Southerners, exasperated at the pro- 
 gress of the Northern arms. 
 
 Such was the state of affairs when this story begins. 
 Such was the position of the Federals on the maritime 
 frontier of Florida, of the Burbanks in Duval county, and 
 of Texar not only at Jacksonville but throughout the slave 
 territories. If the Spaniard could gain his ends, if the 
 authorities could be replaced by his partisans, it would be 
 easy for him to send forth on Camdless Bay a populace 
 maddened against the Abolitionists. 
 
 About an hour after Squambo had left Texar, he 
 
54 NORTH AN© SOUTH. 
 
 returned. He drew his skiff to the bank, entered the 
 palisades, and mounted the steps into the blockhouse. 
 
 " Is it done ? " asked Texar. 
 
 " It is done, master." 
 
 "And— nothing?" 
 
 " Nothing." 
 
JACKSONVILLE. 55 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 JACKSONVILLE. 
 
 " Yes, Zermah, yes, you were created and placed in the 
 world to be a slave ! " said the overseer, mounting his 
 favourite hobby. " Yes I a slave, and never to be a free 
 creature." 
 
 "That is not my opinion," replied Zermah calmly, 
 without the least animation, so many had been these dis- 
 cussions with the overseer of Camdless Bay. 
 
 " It is possible, Zermah ! But in any case you will in 
 the long run come over to the opinion that no equality can 
 exist between the whites and the blacks." 
 
 " It already exists, Mr. Perry, and it has always existed." 
 
 " You are mistaken, Zermah, and the proof is that the 
 whites are ten times, twenty times — what am I talking 
 about? — a hundred times more numerous on the earth 
 than the blacks ? " 
 
 " And it is on that account that they have made slaves 
 of them," answered Zermah, " they had the strength and 
 they abused it. But if the blacks had been in the majority, 
 the whites would have been the slaves ! Or rather they 
 would not, for the blacks would have shown more justice, 
 ind certainly less cruelty." 
 
 Do not let it be supposed that this conversation hindered 
 Zermah and the overseer from remaining on good terms 
 with each other. At the moment they had nothing else 
 to do but talk. They might, perhaps, have chosen a more 
 useful subject of conversation, and they doubtless would 
 have done so had it not been for the overseer's mania for 
 continually discussing the slave question. 
 
 The two were seated in the stern of one of the Camdless 
 
56 MORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 Bay boats, worked by four men from the plantation. They 
 were crpssing the river, taking advantage of the ebbing 
 tide, on their way to Jacksonville. The overseer had 
 some of Mr. Burbank's business matters to attend to, and 
 Zermah was going to buy a few things for little Dy. 
 
 It was the loth of February. Three days before James 
 Burbank had returned to Castle House, and Texar to 
 Black Creek after the affair at St. Augustine. 
 
 The day before Mr. Stannard had heard from Camdless 
 Bay, about the last letter from Gilbert. The news did not 
 arrive any too soon for Alice, whose life had been one of 
 continual anxiety since the outbreak of the war. 
 
 The boat under her lateen-sail slipped along swiftly. 
 In a quarter of an hour she reached Jacksonville. The 
 overseer had, therefore, little time to develop his pet 
 theory, but he made the best of it. 
 
 " No, Zermah," said he. " No ! If the blacks had been 
 in the majority, it would have made no difference. And I 
 tell you this, that whatever may be the result of the war, 
 we shall certainly go back to slavery, for slaves are neces- 
 sar}' to work the plantations." 
 
 " Mr. Burbank does not think so, as you know," said 
 Zermah. 
 
 " I know, but I think Mr. Burbank is wrong notwith- 
 standing the respect I have for him. A black ought to be 
 part of the estate in the same way as the animals and 
 implements. If a horse could go away when it chose, if a 
 plough could change hands when it pleased, no work 
 would be possible. Let Mr. Burbank emancipate his 
 slaves, and you will see what will become of Camdless 
 Bay." 
 
 " He would have done so already," said Zermah, " if 
 circumstances had allowed him to do so. And would you 
 like to know what will happen when the emancipation of 
 the slaves is proclaimed at Camdless Bay? Not a s ngle 
 black will leave the plantation, and nothing will be changed, 
 except the right to treat them as beasts. And, as you have 
 never exercised that right, Camdless Bay will remain as 
 it was." 
 
JACKSONVILLE. 57 
 
 "Do you consider you have converted me to your ideas ?" 
 asked the overseer. 
 
 " Not in the least. It would be useless to do so, and for 
 a very simple reason." 
 
 "What is that?" 
 
 " That at the bottom you think just the same as Mr. 
 Burbank, Mr. Carrol, Mr. Stannard, and every one else who 
 has a generous heart and a just mind." 
 
 " Never, Zermah, never ! And I even affirm that what 
 I say is in the best interests of the blacks. If you leave 
 them to themselves they will perish, and the race will soon 
 disappear." 
 
 " I know nothing about that, Mr. Perry. But anyhow, 
 better the race should disappear than be condemned to the 
 perpetual degradation of slavery," 
 
 The overseer would have replied, for he had by no 
 means reached the end of his arguments ; but the sail 
 was taken in and the boat ran alongside the pier, there to 
 await the return of Zermah and the overseer, who landed 
 at once and set off about their business. 
 
 Jacksonville is situated on the left bank of the St. John's, 
 at the end of a somewhat low plain, surrounded by an 
 horizon of magnificent forests, which form an ever-verdant 
 frame. Fields of maize and sugar-cane and rice, particu- 
 larly by the river side, occupy a part of the plain. 
 
 Twelve years ago Jacksonville was but a big village, 
 with a suburb, where the black population lived in huts 
 built of mud and reeds. At the time of our story the 
 village was becoming a town. Its houses were becoming 
 more comfortable, its streets better planned and better 
 kept, and the number of its inhabitants doubled. And the 
 year before the chief town of Duval county had gained 
 considerably by being united by railway to Tallahassee, 
 which is the capital of Florida. 
 
 The overseer and Zermah noticed that there was a good 
 deal of excitement in the town. Some hundreds of the 
 inhabitants, Southerners of American birth, and mulattoes 
 and half-breeds of Spanish origin, were waitin;^ ior the 
 arrival of the steamboat, of which the smoke was in sight 
 
58 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 down stream over a low point of the St. John's. Some 
 even, in order to reach the vessel more quickly, had started 
 towards her in rowing-boats, and others had gone off in a 
 few of those one-masted dogger-boats which are so common 
 at Jacksonville. 
 
 There had been serious news from the war the evening 
 before. The scheme of operations hinted at in Gilbert 
 l^urbank's letter had become partly known. It had been 
 ascertained that Commodore Dupont's flotilla was getting 
 ready for sea, and that General Sherman was to take his 
 Uoops on board. Where was the expedition going ? 
 They could not say for certain, but everything pointed 
 to tlie St John's and the coast of Florida as being its 
 object. 
 
 When the steamer, which came from Fernandina, had 
 stopped at Jacksonville, iier passengers could only confirm 
 tliat news. They even added that Commodore Dupont 
 would probably anchor in St. Andrew's Bay, while waiting 
 for a favourable moment to force the passes at Amelia 
 Island and the estuary of the St. John's. 
 
 Immediately the mob swarmed up into the town, putting 
 to noisy flight the flock of urubus which do the scavcngcring 
 of the streets. Shouts arose, " Down with the Northerners ! 
 Death to the Northerners I " Such were the cries that 
 Texar's friends started to further excite the already excited 
 population. The crowd gathered in front of the court- 
 house, the police-office, and the episcopal church. The 
 authorities would have more trouble in quieting the out- 
 break, particularly as Jacksonville, as we have already 
 remarked, was divided on this slave question. And in 
 times of trouble, the noisiest and the hastiest make the 
 Law, and the moderate men eventually submit to their 
 domination. 
 
 Naturally in the taverns and tiendas the shouts were the 
 loudest. There it was that the plans were formed for 
 offering an indomitable resistance to the invasion. 
 
 " Let us send the militia to Fernandina," said one. 
 
 '" Let us sink some ships in the channel of the St 
 John's," said another. 
 
JACKSONVILLE. 59 
 
 " Let us run up some earthworks round the city, and get 
 the guns- for them," said another. 
 
 " Let us send for help by the railway from Fernandina 
 to Keys." 
 
 " Let us put out the light at Pablo, and so prevent the 
 enemy's fleet getting in at night." 
 
 " Let us put down torpedoes in the river." 
 
 The torpedo was almost a new thing in the American 
 war, and although they were not too well acquainted with 
 the way to manage it, they were evidently longmg to 
 use it. 
 
 " Above all," said one of the most excited orators at the 
 tienda of Torillo, "we should send to gaol all the North 
 erners m the town, and all those Southerners who think 
 
 with them." .. ,. ^ u j ^ 
 
 It would have been very strange if somebody had not 
 brought forward this proposition, the ultima ratio of 
 sectaries everywhere. And, of course, it was received 
 with cheers. Luckily for the honest people of Jackson- 
 ville the magistrates were to hesitate some time before 
 giving in to this popular prayer. 
 
 As she passed through the streets, Zermah took careful 
 notice of what was going on, so as to tell her master. He 
 would be seri> usly affected by the movement. If violent 
 measures were taken, such measures would not stop at the 
 ti)wn. They would extend beyond it to the plantations 
 in the county. Camdless Bay would be one of the first 
 to be visited. Hence the half-breed, in order to obtani 
 more precise information, called at Mr. Stannard's house a 
 little way out of the town. 
 
 This was a charming, comfortable dwelling, agreeably 
 situated in a sort of green oasis which the clearing-axe had 
 left in a corner of the plain. Under Alice's care the inside 
 as well as the outside of the house was excellently looked 
 after. 
 
 Zermah was received with great cordiality. At first 
 Ahce spoke to her about Gilbert's letter, and Zermah was 
 able to tell her almost his very words. 
 
 " Yes," said Alice, " he is not far off now. But under 
 
60 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 what circumstances will he come back to Florida ? And 
 what dangers may there not be for him before the expe- 
 dition is over ! " 
 
 "Dangers, Alice," said Mr. Stannard. " Do not be nervous. 
 Gilbert faced greater when cruising off the coast of Georgia 
 and in that Port Royal affair. I do not think Florida's 
 resistance will be very terrible or very long. What can we 
 do with this St. John's, which will let the gunboats into the 
 very heart of the country > All defence seems to me diffi- 
 cult, if not impossible." 
 
 " May what you say be true," said Alice, " and may 
 heaven grant that the war will soon be over !" 
 
 " It will only end by wiping out the South," replied Mr. 
 Stannard. " That will take a long time, I am afraid ; and 
 Jefferson Davis and his Generals — Lee, Johnston, and 
 Beauregard — will hold out for some time in the centre. 
 The Federals will not have an easy triumph over the Con- 
 federates. But as to Florida, that can easily be captured ; 
 unfortunately its possession will not ensure the final 
 victory." 
 
 " It is to be hoped that Gilbert will not be imprudent," 
 said Alice, joining her hands. " If he yields to the wish to 
 see his family for a few hours when he is so near them — " 
 
 "And seeing you. Miss Alice," said Zurmah, " for are 
 you not already one of the family ? " 
 
 " Yes, Zermah, in heart." 
 
 " No, Alice, there is nothing to be afraid of," said Mr. 
 Stannard. " Gilbert is too sensible to run any risk when 
 Commodore Dupont could occupy Florida in a few days ; 
 there would be no excuse for the foolhardiness of coming 
 here until the Federals are masters." 
 
 " Particularly now that people are more than ever ready 
 to break out into violence," answered Zermah. 
 
 " The town, this morning," said Mr. Stannard, " is in a 
 very excited state, I saw who are the ringleaders, and I 
 heard them. Texar is with them, and is urging them on 
 and exciting tliem. The scoundrels will end by raising 
 the lower classes not only against the magistrates, but 
 against all who do not agree with them." 
 
JACKSON VILLI. 6 1 
 
 " Do you not think, Mr. Stannard," said Zermah, " that 
 it would be better for you to leave Jacksonville — at all 
 events for a short time. It would be wisest not to come 
 back till after the coming of the Federal troops. Mr. Bur-. 
 bank told me to tell you that he would be glad to see you 
 and Miss Alice at Castle House." 
 
 " Yes, I know," said Mr. Stannard. " I have not for- 
 gotten Mr. Burbank's offer. But is Castle House any safer 
 than Jacksonville ? If these adventurers become masters 
 here, will they not spread over the country, and will the 
 plantations escape their ravages ? " 
 
 " Mr. Stannard," said Zermah, " it seems to me that if 
 there is any danger it would be better to be together." 
 
 " Zermah is right, father. It would be better for us all 
 to be at Camdless Bay." 
 
 " Certainly, Alice," said Mr. Stannard. " I am not 
 going to refuse Burbank's invitation ; but I don't think the 
 danger is so pressing. Z'^rmah can tell our friends that it 
 will take me a few days more to put things in order, and 
 then we will avail ourselves of the hospitality of Castle 
 House." 
 
 "And when Mr. Gilbert arrives," said Zermah, "he will 
 at least find there all he loves." 
 
 Leaving Mr. Stannard and his daughter, Zermah made 
 her way through the crowd, which grew more and more 
 excited, and regained the pier, where the overseer was 
 waiting for her. They got into the boat, and Mr. Perry 
 resumed the usual conversation at the very point he had 
 left it. 
 
 In saying that the danger was not imminent Mr. Stan- 
 nard was mistaken. Jacksonville was to have immediate 
 experience of the effects of the war. 
 
 The Federal Government acted throughout with much 
 circumspection ; they proceeded step by step. Two years 
 after the outbreak of hostilities, Abraham Lincoln had still 
 to proclaim the abolition of slavery throughout the whole 
 territory. Many months were still to elapse before the 
 president's message proposed to solve the slave question 
 by gradually buying out and emancipating the blacks, 
 
62 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 before the vote was passed of 200,000/., with the authority, 
 by way of indemnity, to give 60/. for every slave freed. If 
 some of the Northern generals had been authorized to sup- 
 press slavery in the counties invaded by their armies, they 
 had, up to then, disavowed it. Opinions were not unani- 
 mous on the subject, and there were several Unionist 
 chiefs reported to be against the measure, as being neither 
 logical nor opportune. 
 
 Meanwhile the war dragged on, and much to the disad- 
 vantage of the Confederates. General Price, on the 13th 
 of February, had had to evacuate Arkansas with his con- 
 tingqjnt of Missouri militia. 
 
 We have seen that Fort Henry was captured and 
 occupied by the Federals. Now they were attacking Fort 
 Donelson, which was defended by powerful artillery and 
 covered by three miles of works, embi;acing the little town of 
 Dover. Notwithstanding the cold and the snow, the fort, 
 attacked on the land by the 1 5,000 iben under General Grant 
 and on the water by the gunboats of Commodore Foote, sur- 
 rendered on the 14th of February, with an entire division 
 of men and materials of war. 
 
 This was a serious check for the Confederates. The 
 effect produced by the defeat was immense. As an imme- 
 diate consequence came the retreat of General Johnston, 
 who had to abandon the important town of Nashville on 
 the Cumberland. The inhabitants were seized with panic, 
 and left it as soon as he had gone, and a few days after- 
 wards the same thing happened at Columbus. The whole 
 State of Kentucky was thus in Federal hands. 
 
 We can easily imagine with what feelings of anger and 
 ideas of revenge these events were received in Florida. 
 The authorities were powerless to arrest the agitation, 
 which spread to the most distant villages in the counties. 
 The danger hourly increased for those who did not share 
 in the opinions of the Southerners and join in the plans of 
 resistance against the Federal troops. At Tallahassee and 
 St. Augustine there were troubles which were easily put 
 down ; but at Jacksonville the rising of the populace 
 threatened to degenerate into acts of unqualified violence. 
 
jACKSONVTLLB. 6^ 
 
 The position at Camdless Bay became more and more 
 disquieting. With his men so thoroughly devoted to him, 
 James Burbank might perhaps hold out for a time, although 
 it was then very difficult to procure arms and ammunition 
 in sufficient quantities. At Jacksonville, Mr. Stannard was 
 in great danger of losing his house, his daughter, and all he 
 possessed. James Burbank knowing how he was placed, 
 wrote him letter after letter. He sent many messengers 
 asking him to come to Castle House without delay. 
 There he would be in comparative safety, and if he had to 
 find another retreat, if he had to take refuge in the interior 
 until the Federals had quieted the country by their pre- 
 sence, it would be easier for him to do so. 
 
 Mr. Stannard at last resolved to leave Jacksonville and 
 take refuge at Camdless Bay. He started on the morning 
 of the 23rd, with as much secrecy as possible, and without 
 informing any one of his plans. A boat waited for him at 
 a little creek about a mile up the St. John's. Alice and he 
 reached it in safety, crossed the river, and landed at the 
 Camdless Bay pier, where the Burbanks were waiting for 
 them. 
 
 It is easy to imagine their reception. Was not Alice 
 already Mrs. Burbank's daughter ? Now they were re- 
 united. The dark days that were coming would be passed 
 together in greater safety and less anxiety. 
 
 It was indeed time to leave Jacksonville. The next day 
 Mr. Stannard's house was attacked by a lot of scoundrels, 
 who marked their violence under a show of local patriotism. 
 The authorities had great difficulty in saving the house 
 from pillage, and in protecting some other houses belonging 
 to honest citizens who did not share in the opinions of the 
 mob. Evidently the hour was coming when the magistrates 
 would be replaced by the chiefs of the rioters, who were 
 doing their best to increase the excitement. 
 
 As Mr. Stannard had told Zermah, Texar had left his 
 unknown retreat and was in Jacksonville among his habitual 
 companions, who had been recruited from the very worst 
 of the population, drawn from the plantations up the river. 
 These scoundrels had resolved that they would have their 
 5 
 
64 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 way in the towns as they had had it in the country. They 
 corresponded with their adherents in the different counties 
 of Florida, and by keeping the question of slavery well to 
 the front, gained In numbers every day. In a short time 
 at Jacksonville, as at St. Augustine, the vagabonds, ad- 
 venturers, and backwoodsmen who had come crowding in, 
 would become the masters and have the military and civil 
 power in their hands. The militia and regular troops 
 would hasten to make common cause with them, as has 
 often happened in times of trouble when violence is the 
 order of the day. 
 
 James Burbank was fully aware of what was passing. 
 Many of his confidential agents, on whom he could depend, 
 kept him informed of what was taking place at Jackson- 
 ville. He knew that Texar had reappeared there, and that 
 his detestable influence had extended over the whole of the 
 lower population which, like him, was of Spanish origin. 
 Such a man at the head of affairs was a direct menace to 
 Camdless Bay. And so Burbank was making ready for 
 either resistance^ if it were possible, or retreat if it became 
 necessary to abandon Castle House to fire and pillage. 
 Above all things to provide for the safety of his family and 
 friends was his first and constant care. 
 
 During these days Zermah's devotion knew no bounds. 
 At all hours she watched the boundaries of the plantation, 
 particularly on the river side. A few slaves, chosen from 
 among the most intelligent and best, lived day and night 
 at posts which had been assigned to them. Any attempt 
 against the estate would have been reported immediately. 
 The Burbanks would not be taken unawares, without having 
 time to take refuge in Castle House. 
 
 But James Burbank need not have been so anxious 
 about a direct strong-handed attack. So long as the 
 authority was not in the hands of Texar and his people 
 there was no abandonment of official form. Under the 
 pressure of public opinion the magistrates were brought to 
 decide on a measure that would give a sort of satisfaction 
 to the slavery partisans, who were so incensed against the 
 North, '^ ' _ s 
 
JACKSONVILLE. 6$ 
 
 Burbank was the most important of the Florida planters, 
 the richest of those who were known to hold liberal opinions. 
 It was he who was first thought of to give an explanation 
 of his personal ideas on enfranchisement in the midst of a 
 slaveholding country. 
 
 In the evening of the 26th an orderly from Jacksonville 
 arrived at Camdless Bay, and handed in a letter addressed 
 to him. This is what the envelope contained: — 
 
 "Mr. James Burbank is ordered to present himself in 
 person to-morrow, the 27th February, at eleven o'clock in 
 the mornino^, at the Court of Justice before the authorities 
 of Jacksonville." 
 
 That was all. 
 
 ^m 
 
66 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 BEFORE THE COURT. 
 
 If this was not the clap of thunder, it was the lightning- 
 flash that preceded it. 
 
 If James Burbank was not shaken by it, what were the 
 feelings of his family ? Why should the owner of Camdless 
 Bay be summoned to Jacksonville ? It was indeed a sum- 
 mons, not an invitation, to appear before the authorities. 
 What were they going to do ? Was this the beginning of 
 some prosecution against him ? Was it his liberty or his 
 life that was in danger .? If he obej^ed — if he left Castle 
 House — would they let him come back ? If he did not 
 obey, would they use force to bring him ? And in that 
 case to what dangers, to what violence, would his people 
 be exposed .-' 
 
 "You shall not go, James." 
 
 It was Mrs. Burbank, who spoke in the name of all. 
 
 " No, Mr. Burbank," said Alice. " You must not think 
 of leaving us — " 
 
 " To put yourself in the power of such people," added 
 Carrol. 
 
 Burbank did not answer. When he first read the curt 
 order to appear he liad become so angry that he could 
 scarcely restrain himself What had happened to make 
 the magistrates so daring? Had Texar's companions and 
 partisans found their way into office ? Had they procured 
 the dismissal of the authorities who had hitherto acted with 
 some moderation ? No. Overseer Perry had returned 
 in the afternoon from Jacksonville and brought no such 
 news. 
 
 " Could it be some event of the war ? " said Mr. Stan- 
 
BEFORE THE COURT. ^J 
 
 nard ; "some advantage gained by the Southerners which 
 has led them to attack us ? " 
 
 " I am afraid that must be it," said Edward Carrol. " If 
 the North has experienced some check, these scoundrels 
 will fancy they are no more in danger from Commo- 
 dore Dupont, and are capable of proceeding to any 
 excess." 
 
 "They say that in Texas," said Mr. Stannard, "the 
 Federal troops have had to retire before the militia, and 
 re-cross the Rio Grande, after a severe defeat at Valverde. 
 At least, that is what I was told by a Jacksonville man I 
 met about an hour ago." 
 
 " Evidently that is what has made these fellows so bold," 
 said Carrol. 
 
 " Then Sherman's army and Dupont's flotilla will not 
 come ! " exclaimed Mrs. Burbank. 
 
 " It is only the 26th of February," said Alice, " and, 
 according to Gilbert's letter, the Federal ships will not be 
 ready for sea before the 28th." 
 
 " Then you want the time to get down to the mouths of 
 the St. John's," added Mr. Stannard, " to force the passes, 
 clear the bar, and make a descent on Jacksonville. That 
 will take ten days." 
 
 " Ten days ? " said Alice. 
 
 "Ten days!" added Mrs. Burbank. "And before then 
 what may not happen to us ? " 
 
 James Burbank took no part in the conversation. He 
 .was thinking. He was asking himself what he was to do. 
 To refuse to obey was to see the whole populace of Jack- 
 sonville advance on Camdless Bay with the open or tacit 
 approval of the authorities. How great would then be the 
 danger to his family ! Better risk his own safety than 
 theirs. If his life or liberty were in peril, better that the 
 peril should threaten him alone. 
 
 Mrs. Burbank looked at her husband with the keenest 
 anxiety. She felt that he was fighting a battle with him- 
 self. She hesitated to que<^tion him. Neither Alice, nor 
 Stannard, nor Carrol dare ask him v/bat his answer was to 
 be. It was little Dy who, unconsciously, no doubt, made 
 
68 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 herself the mouthpiece of the family. She had gone near 
 her father, who took her on his knee. 
 
 " Father ! " said she. 
 
 " What is it, dear ? " 
 
 " Are you going to those wicked people who want to do 
 you such harm ? " 
 
 " Yes. I will go." 
 
 " James I " exclaimed Mrs. Burbank. 
 
 " I must ; it is my duty, I will go ! " 
 
 James Burbank had spoken so resolutely that it was 
 useless to say anything against his determination. He had 
 evidently thought over all the consequences. His wife 
 went and sat beside him, and put her arms round him, but 
 she said nothing. And what could she say ? 
 
 " My friends," said Burbank, " it is possible that we are 
 exaggerating the importance of this arbitrary act. What 
 can they say against me.? Nothing, as they know well. 
 Accuse me of my opinions } My opinions are my own. I 
 have never hidden them from my adversaries ; and, as long 
 as I live, I shall not hesitate to proclaim them to their face." 
 
 " We will go with you, James ! " said Carrol. 
 
 "Yes," added Stannard. "We will not let you go to 
 Jacksonville alone." 
 
 " No, my friends," answered Burbank. " To me alone 
 comes the order to appear before the magistrates, and I 
 alone will go. I may be kept there for some days. It is, 
 therefore, better that you stay at Camdless Bay. To you 
 I entrust my family during my absence." 
 
 " And you are really going .-' " said Dy. 
 
 "Yes, my little daughter," said Burbank playfully; "but 
 if I do not lunch with you to-morrow I will coaie back to 
 dinner, and we'll pass the evening together. Now, tell me 
 if, while I am at Jacksonville, there is anything I can buy 
 you ? What can I do to please you ? What shall I bring 
 you ? " 
 
 " BHng yourself, father," said the child ; and at this ex- 
 pression of what all felt, the family separated, aUer Burbank 
 had taken such measures of security as the occasion 
 required. 
 
BEFORE THE COURT. 6g 
 
 The night passed without an alarm. In the morning 
 Burbank was awake with the dawn, and was soon on his 
 way down the avenue of bamboos leading to the pier. 
 There he gave orders for a boat to be ready at eight o'clock 
 to take him across the river. 
 
 As he returned to Castle House from the pier he was 
 met by Zermah. 
 
 " Master," she said, " your mind is ifiade up } You are 
 going to Jacksonville ? " 
 
 " Yes, Zermah, and in the interest of all. You understand, 
 do you not ? " 
 
 "Yes, master. A refusal on your part would bring 
 Texar's mob on Cimdless Bay." 
 
 " And that is a serious danger which must be avoided at 
 all cost," said Burbank. 
 
 " Do you wish me to go with you ? " 
 
 " On the contrary, I wish you to remain on the planta- 
 tion. It is necessary that you should be near my wife, 
 near my child, in case any danger should threaten them 
 before my return." 
 
 " I will not leave them." 
 
 " You have no news ? " 
 
 " No ! It is true, however, that suspicious characters 
 are prowling around the plantation. They have been 
 watched. Last night two or three boats crossed the river. 
 Do they think that Mr. Gilbert is with the Federals under 
 Commodore Dupont, and is coming secretly to Camdless 
 Bay ? " 
 
 "My brave boy!" said Burbank. *' No I he is too 
 sensible to be so rash." 
 
 " I am afraid Texar has some suspicion on the subject. 
 They tell me his influence gets greater every day. When 
 you are at Jacksonville beware of Texar, master — " 
 
 " Yes, Zermah, as of a poisonous reptile ! But I am on 
 my guard. While I am away, if he makes any attempt 
 against Castle House — " 
 
 ** Never fear, master, for yourself; and never fear for us. 
 Your slaves will defend the plantation, and, if necessary, 
 will die to the last man. They are devoted to you. They 
 
70 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 love you. I know what they think, what they say, what 
 they will do. There have been people here from other 
 plantations to raise them against you, but they will not 
 listen to them. They are all one family with yours, and 
 you can depend upon them." 
 
 " I know it, Zermah, and I trust to them." 
 
 Burbank returned to the house. The moment came ; 
 he bid farewell to 'his wife, his daughter, and Alice. He 
 promised them to do nothing to provoke the magistrates 
 to violence. He would be sure to come back that night. 
 He bid everybody good-bye and left them. Certainly 
 James Burbank had much to fear for himself; but there 
 was much to be feared for those he left at Castle House. 
 
 Stannard and Carrol went with him to the landing-place 
 at the end of the avenue. There he gave them his last 
 instructions ; and with a beautiful breeze from the south- 
 west, the boat rapidly left the pier of Camdless Bay. 
 
 An hour afterwards, about ten o'clock, Burbank landed 
 at Jacksonville. The quay was then deserted. There 
 were only a few sailors discharging the cargoes of the 
 dogger-boats. He was not recognized ; his arrival was 
 not announced at all, and he was able to cross to the 
 end of the harbour and call on one of his friends, Mr. 
 Harvey. 
 
 Mr. Harvey was much surprised and uneasy at seeing 
 him. He had not thought that he would have obeyed the 
 order to present himself at the court. In the town it was 
 not thought that he would. As to who had been the cause 
 of the order being given, Mr. Harvey did not know. Pro- 
 bably, with a view to sati^^y public opinion, the magistrates 
 were going to ask him to explain his conduct since the 
 beginning of the war, particularly with regard to his slaves. 
 Perhaps they were going to keep the richest Federal farmer 
 in Florida as a hostage. Would it not have been better 
 to have stopped at Camdless Bay ? So thought Mr. Har- 
 vey. Could he not go back as nobody knew he had 
 come ? 
 
 Burbank had not come merely to go back again. He 
 wished to know what it was all about, and he would know. 
 
BEFOKL iiiE COURT. 7l 
 
 Some very interesting questions as to the state of affairs 
 generally were then put by him to his correspondent. 
 
 Had the authorities been replaced by the ringleaders of 
 :he mob ? 
 
 Not yet, but their position had become precarious. 
 
 Had the Spaniard Texar any hand in the popular move- 
 nent that was about to take place ? 
 
 Yes. He was looked upon as the leader of the advanced 
 slave-holding party in Florida. He and his companions 
 A'ould probably soon be masters of the town. 
 
 Had the last news from the war been confirmed ? 
 
 It had been. The organization of the Southern States 
 lad just been completed. On the 22nd of February the 
 government had been definitely formed, with Jefferson 
 Davis as President and Stephens as Vice-President, and 
 :hey had been invested with power for six years. Con- 
 i^ress, composed of two houses, had assembled at Richmond, 
 [efferson Davis, three days before, had asked for com- 
 ::)ulsory service. Since then the Confederates had had a 
 'ew successes of no great importance. On the 24th, an 
 mportant detachment of WcClellan's had crossed the 
 Upper Potomac, and the Southerners had consequently 
 evacuated Columbus. A great battle was imminent on 
 :he Mississippi between them and the army of General 
 Srant. 
 
 And how about the squadron that Dupont was to bring 
 to the mouths -of the St. John's ? 
 
 Rumours were afloat that in ten days it would attempt 
 to force the passes. If Texar and his partisans were medi- 
 tating an outbreak to get the town into their hands, no 
 time was to be lost. 
 
 Such was the state of affairs at Jacksonville ; and who 
 :ould tell if the Burbank incident would not hasten the 
 catastrophe .-* 
 
 When the time came for him to appear James Burbank left 
 !-iis friend's house and walked to the Courts of Justice, 
 '"here was much excitement in the streets. 1 he people 
 w'c'TQ crowding towards the courts. It seemed as tlit,>u .;h 
 the case, though it might be of little importance in itself, 
 
73 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 would bring about a rising that might have deplorable 
 consequences. 
 
 The square was full of people, mostly of the poorer 
 whites, half-breeds, and negroes. Naturally they were 
 noisy. If those who could obtain admission to the court 
 were few, a good many of Texar's partisans would never- 
 theless be there. With them would be a sprinkling of 
 law-abiding citizens opposed to such an act of injustice, 
 but it would be difficult for them to withstand the party 
 bent on removing the authorities of Jacksonville. 
 
 As soon as Burbank appeared in the square he was 
 recognized. A loud shouting arose ; and it was not in his 
 favour. A few courageous citizens surrounded him, having 
 no intention that an honourable and much-respected man 
 should be exposed to the brutalities of the mob. In 
 obeying the summons he had received Burbank had shown 
 his dignity and decision of character, and his doing so 
 was worthy of recognition. He was therefore able to 
 make his way across the square. He reached the door of 
 the court, entered, and stopped at the bar to which he had 
 been so unjustly summoned. 
 
 The chief magistrate of the town and his assistants 
 were already on the bench. They were moderate, reason- 
 able men. The menaces and recriminations to which they 
 had been subject ever since the outbreak of the war may 
 be imagined. To remain at their posts required no little 
 courage and energy. It was only because the slave ques- 
 tion caused less excitement in Florida than in the other 
 states of the South that they had been able to withstand 
 the attacks of the turbulent party. Secessionist ideas 
 were, however, making way ; and with them the influence 
 of the lower classes and adventurous vagabonds daily in- 
 creased ; and it was to satisfy public opinion, to a certain 
 extent under the pressure of the more violent agitators, 
 that the magistrates had decided to summon James Bur- 
 bank, on information given by one of their leaders — the 
 Spaniard Texar. 
 
 The murmur — of approbation from one side, of disap- 
 probation from another — which greeted the proprietor of 
 
BEFORE THE COURT. 73 
 
 'amdless Bay as he entered the court soon subsided. 
 Erect, with the dauntless look of a man that had never 
 ailed, he did not even wait for the magistrate to ask him 
 he usual questions, but in a firm voice he said, — 
 
 ''You asked for James Burbank. James Burbank is 
 before you." 
 
 After the first formalities, to which Burbank answered 
 very briefly, he said, " Of what am I accused ?" 
 
 Of opposing by word, and probably by deed, such 
 ideas and hopes as are now held by the majority in 
 Florida.'' 
 
 " And who is my accuser ? " 
 
 " I am." 
 
 It was Texar. Burbank recognized his voice. He did 
 not even turn his head ; he contented himself with 
 shrugging his shoulders in token of his contempt for his 
 accuser. 
 
 On the other hand, Texar's partisans encouraged their 
 leader by voice and gesture. 
 
 " And in the first place/' said he, " I tell James Burbank 
 to his face that he is a Northerner ! His presence at 
 Jacksonville, in a Confederate State, is a standing insult. 
 He is a Northerner at heart and by birth ; why has he not 
 gone back to the North ? " 
 
 " I am in Florida," replied Burbank, " because it suits 
 me to be there. I have lived in the county for twenty years. 
 If I was not born in it you know at least where I came 
 from ; and that is more than you can say for those whose 
 past is unknown, and who live not in the light of day, and 
 whose private life ought to be inquired into much more 
 than mine." 
 
 Although this was a direct attack on Texar, he made no 
 sign. 
 
 " What next ? " asked Burbank. 
 
 " Next," said the Spaniard, " when the country has risen 
 for the maintenance of slavery, and is ready to shed its 
 blood to repulse the Federal troops, I accuse James Bur- 
 bank of being an anti-slavery man, and the head of an 
 unti-slavery propaganda." 
 
74 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 lisi 
 
 " James Burbank," said the magistrate, " in the circui 
 
 stances in which we are placed, you will understand thij^" 
 tliis charge is of exceptional gravity. I shall be glad 
 have your answer." 
 
 " Sir," said Burbank, " my answer is very simple. 
 have assisted in no propaganda, nor do I intend doing sH^^^ 
 The charge is false. As to my opinions on slavery, if 
 am permitted to refer to them here, I may say that I a 
 an abolitionist ! I deplore the strife that is raging betwe< 
 tiie South and the North. I am afraid that the South 
 inarching to inevitable disaster, and it is in her owjese 
 interest that I wish to see her on another road instead per 
 engaging in a war against common sense. You will r 
 member some day that those who spoke to you as I alt if 
 speaking were in the right. When the time has come ftmy 
 a change, for a step in moral progress, it is foolish to witl 
 stand it. The separation of the North from the Scut m[ 
 would be a crime against the American country. Neith< ra 
 reason, nor justice, nor force is on your side, and tliplv 
 crime will never be accomplished." 
 
 These words were received with a few shouts of a} 
 proval, speedily drowned in more noisy demonstration ani( 
 The majority were not prepared to accept them. 
 
 When the magistrate had obtained silence in the ecu: 
 James Burbank continued : — 
 
 " And nov/," said he, " I am ready for more precislk 
 charges, as to facts, be it understood, and I will reply t lo 
 them when you tell me what they are." 
 
 The magistrates were much embarrassed by this dign 
 fied bearing. They knew of no fact that could be charge ord 
 against Mr. Burbank. Their object had been to let tl luri 
 ch<;rges be made and let them be proved, if proofs existe< tiv 
 
 Texar saw that he must explain in greater detail or 1: k 
 would fail. tin 
 
 " Be it so," said he. " But it is not my notion of what : " 
 best to invoke freedom of opinion on the slave questia k 
 when the country has risen in support of the clause. Bt 
 if James Burbank has the right to think as he likes on th if 
 subject — if it is true that he abstains from making converl » 
 
BEFORE THE COURT. 75 
 
 his ideas, at least he might abstain from corresponding 
 
 th the enemy at the gates of Florida." 
 
 This accusation of complicity with the Federals was a 
 
 ry serious one at that time, and hence the thrill of ex- 
 
 ement that ran through the audience. It was, however, 
 11 vague, and had to be proved. 
 You pretend that I correspond with the enemy?" 
 Yes," said Texar. 
 
 '• Prove it. I should like you to." 
 
 Very well," said Texar. " About three weeks ago a 
 
 essenger to James Burbank left the Federal army, or 
 
 ther, the flotilla of Commodore Dupont. The man came 
 
 Camdless Bay, and he was followed from the time he 
 
 ft the plantation till he re-crossed the frontier. Do you 
 
 ny that ? " 
 
 Evidently this was the messenger who had brought the 
 )ung lieutenant^s letter. Texar's spies had not been 
 
 ceived. This time the charge was definite, and Burbank's 
 iply was anxiously waited for. 
 
 He did not hesitate to tell them what was only the truth. 
 
 "Yes/' said he, "a man did come about that time to 
 amdless Bay, but the man was only a messenger. He 
 d not belong to the Federal army, and he simply brought 
 letter from my son — " 
 
 From your son,^' interrupted Texar ; " from your son, 
 ho, if we are correctly informed, is in the Unionist service, 
 ho is, perhaps, in the van of the invaders now on the 
 arch to Florida." 
 
 The vehemence with which Texar pronounced these 
 fords made a strong impression on the people in the 
 OUrt. If James Burbank, after admitting that he had re- 
 eved a letter from his son, admitted that Gilbert was in 
 le Federal army, how could he get over the charge of 
 
 ing in communication with the enenAies of the South? 
 
 " Will you reply to the evidence against your son ? " 
 ^ked the magistrate. 
 
 No, sir," replied Burbank, " I have nothing to say in 
 lie matter. There is no charge against my son that I 
 now of. I alone ani accused of holding communication 
 
^6 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 with the Federal army, and I deny it, and I defy this mz 
 who attacks me on account of his own personal hatn 
 towards me to bring forward a single proof." 
 
 " He admits, then, that his son is now fighting again 
 the Confederates ! " exclaimed Texar. 
 
 " I admit nothing," said Burbank. " It is for you 
 prove the charge you- bring against me." 
 
 " Good ! I will prove it," replied Texar. " In a few da) 
 I shall be in possession of the proof you ask, and when 
 have it — " 
 
 •'When you have it," replied the magistrate, "we ca 
 lake it into consideration. Until then, I do not see whs 
 charges Mr. Burbank has to answer." 
 
 In deciding in this way the magistrate acted like a 
 honest man. He was right undoubtedly ; unfortunatel)^ h 
 was wrong to be right with a public so prejudiced agains 
 the planter of Camdless Bay. And then followed a 
 ominous murmuring, and even protesting, on the part c 
 Texar's companions. The Spaniard saw how things wer, 
 going, and abandoning the charges against Gilbert Burbanli 
 returned to those against his father. 
 
 " Yes," he said, " I will prove all that I have advance 
 with regard to James Burbank's being in communicatioij 
 with the enemy preparing to _ invade Florida. Meanwhile 
 the opinions he publicly professes — opinions so dangerou 
 for the cause of slavery — constitute a public danger ; and 
 in the name of all the slaveholders who will not submit td 
 the yoke of the North, I demand that he be secured." j 
 
 " Yes ! yes ! " exclaimed the partisans of Texar, whih 
 some of the audience endeavoured in vain to protest againsi 
 the unjustifiable proposal. 
 
 The magistrate succeeded in quieting the assembly, and 
 then Burbank replied, — 
 
 " I shall do all that my strength and my rights allow mr 
 to oppose such tyranny. I am an abolitionist. And 
 I have already told you so. But opinion is free, I suppose, 
 in a system of government founded on freedom. Up to 
 now it has not been a crime to be an anti-slavery man, and 
 as I am not a criminal the law is powerless to punish me," 
 
BEFORE THE COtJRT. 'Ji 
 
 Renewed shouts of approval seemed to show that Bur- 
 bank was getting the best of it. Texar saw that the time 
 had come to change his batteries. We need not, therefore, 
 be surprised when he hurled at Burbank the following 
 unexpected challenge : — 
 
 " Well, if you do not believe in slavery, why do you not 
 free your own slaves ? " 
 
 " I v/ill do so," answered James Burbank. " I will do so 
 as soon as the time comes." 
 
 " Indeed ! That means you will do so when the Federal 
 army is in possession of Florida. You want Sherman's 
 soldiers and Dui>ont's sailors to give you courage to act up 
 to your ideas ! That is prudent, but it is cowardly." 
 
 " Cowardly ! ". exclaimed Burbank indignantly, and not 
 seeing the snare spread for him. 
 
 " Yes, cowardl)'," said Texar. " You dare not put your 
 ideas into practice ! You only want to curry popularity with 
 the Northerners 1 You are an abolitionist only for appear- 
 ance sake; at heart you are a slavery man." 
 
 James Burbank drew himself up. He gave his opponent 
 a long look of scorn. Such hypocrisy was manifestly 
 absurdly out of keeping with his frank, loyal existence. 
 In a clear, decided tone, that could be heard by all, he 
 said : — 
 
 " Inhabitants of Jacksonville, from this day forth I shall 
 not keep a slave. This very day I proclaim the aboli- 
 tion of slavery over the whole plantation of Camdless 
 Bay." 
 
 yXt first this bold declaration was greeted with cheers. 
 It h.i.d required true courage to do such a thing — courage 
 more than prudence perhaps. Burbank had allowed his 
 indii^nation to get the better of him. 
 
 It was evident that his action would compromise the 
 interests of the other Florida planters, and at once a reac- 
 tion took place in the court. The applause was silenced 
 by the vociferations not only of those who were slaveholders 
 on principle, but of those who till then had been indifferent 
 on the slavery question. 
 
 And Texar's friends would have profited by this reaction 
 
78 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 to commit some act of violence on James Burbank if the 
 Spaniard himself had not restrained them. 
 
 " Leave him alone," said he. " Burbank has disarmed 
 himself. Now he is ours ! " 
 
 His meaning was immediately understood, and his par- 
 tisans refrained from any act of violence. He even felt no 
 misgivings when the magistrates told Burbank he might go 
 —there was no proof to warrant his incarceration. If the 
 Spaniard could make good his words later on, and produce 
 witnesses to show that Burbank was in communication with 
 the enemy, the magistrates could take action. Until then 
 Burbank was free. 
 
 True, the declaration of enfranchisement relative to 
 Camdless Bay was made publicly, and might eventually 
 serve as a pretence on the part of the mob for proceedings 
 against the authorities of the tov/n. 
 
 As he left the court Burbank was followed by a dis- 
 orderly crowd very evilly disposed towards him, but the 
 police kept them from assaulting him. There were shouts 
 and threats, but no acts of violence. Evidently Texar's 
 influence protected him. 
 
 He reached the quay, where his boat was waiting. 
 Thtre he took leave of his. friend Mr. Harvey; and then, 
 pushing off, he was soon out of range of the vociferations 
 with which the rabble of Jacksonville saluted him as he 
 left them. 
 
 As the tide was going down, the boat took at least two 
 hours to get across to Camdless Bay, where the family were 
 waiting for him. Great was their joy when they saw him 
 coming back. Many reasons had they had for fearing he 
 would be kept awaj^ from them. 
 
 " No," said he to little Dy as he kissed her ; " I promised 
 to come home to dinner, my dear, and you know I never 
 break my promises." 
 
THE LAST SLAVE. ^0 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE LAST SLAVE. 
 
 That evening James Burbank told his people what had 
 happened at the court. Texar's hateful conduct was re- 
 vealed. It was at his instigation that the summons had 
 been sent to Camdless Bay. The conduct of the magis- 
 trates had been worthy of praise. When the charge of 
 communicating with the Federals had been made they had 
 asked for the proof, and as the proof was not forthcoming 
 Burbank was set at liberty. 
 
 With these vague charges Gilbert's name had been 
 mixed up. There could not be much doubt that the 
 young man was with the Northern army. Was not 
 James Burbank's refusal a half-admission that the assertion 
 was true } And consequently great was the fear and 
 anxiety on the part of Mrs. Burbank, and Alice, and all 
 the family. If the son could not be g-^t at would not the 
 rabble of Jacksonville take vengeance on his father ? 
 Texar had boasted thrt in a few days he would produce 
 his proof; and it was not impossible that he could do so. 
 What would have to be done then ? 
 
 " Poor Gilbert," said Mrs. Burbank, " to know he is so 
 near to Texar, who will stop at nothing to attain his 
 end." 
 
 " Could we not let him know what is happening at 
 Jacksonville ? " asked Alice. 
 
 "Yes," said Mr. Stannard, "we might let him know that 
 the slightest imprudence on his part will have the most 
 deplorable consequences for his and him." 
 
 "And how are we to let him know?" asked James 
 Burbank. " There are spies all round the plantation ; 
 
 6 
 
80 MORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 there can be no doubt of that. The messenger Gilbert 
 sent was watched back to the frontier. Every letter we 
 write may fall into Texar's hands. F,very man we send 
 with a verbal message may be arrested on the road. No, 
 my friends, do not try to make matters worse. May 
 l^.eaven send the Federals into Florida without delay ! 
 It is time they came now ; the minority of honest people 
 is threatened by the scoundrels of the country." 
 
 James Burbank was right. Owing to the watch kept 
 round the plantation it would be very imprudent to hold 
 any communication with Gilbert. And the time was 
 appr(>aching when he and his people would be in safety 
 under the protection of the Federal army. 
 
 In fact, it was the very next morning that Commodore 
 Dupont was to start from his anchorage at Edisto. In 
 three days his flotilla would have dropped down the 
 Georgia coast and reached St. Andrew's Bay. 
 
 Then James Burbank told his friends of the very serious 
 matter that had happened before the ma'^istrates ; how he 
 had been led to reply to Texar's taunt as to the slaves at 
 Camdless Bay. Strong in his right, strong in his con- 
 science, he had publicly declared the abolition of slavery 
 on his estate. This was what no Southern state had yet 
 allowed to be proclaimed without having been obliged by 
 the fortune of war. He had done it entirely of his own free 
 will. 
 
 The declaration was as bold as it was magnanimous. 
 What would be its consequences no one could foresee. 
 Evidently it would not make Burbank's position less 
 hazardous in this slave-holding country. It might, 
 perhaps, provoke some desire of revolt among the slaves 
 on other plantations. That did not matter ! His friends, 
 excited by the grandeur of the action, fully approved of 
 what Burbank had done. 
 
 "James." said Mrs, Burbank, " whatever may happen, 
 you did quite right to reply in that way to Texar's odious 
 insinuations." 
 
 " We are proud of you, father ! " said Alice, giving Mr. 
 Burbank the name for the first time. 
 
THE LAST SLAVE. 8l 
 
 "And so, my dear girl," said James Burbank, "when 
 Gilbert and his Federals enter Florida they will not find 
 a single slave at Camdless Bay." 
 
 " Thank you, Mr. Burbank," said Zermah. " I thank 
 you for my companions and myself. As far as I am 
 concerned I never felt I was a slave. Your kindness and 
 generosity have always made me seem like as free as I am 
 to-day." 
 
 " Quite so, Zermah," said Mrs. Burbank. " Slave or free, 
 we shall love you none the less." 
 
 Zermah vainly tried to hide her emotion. She took 
 Dy in her arms and clasped her to her bosom. 
 
 Carrol and Stannard cordially shook hands with Bur- 
 bank to show how they applauded his deed of daring — 
 and justice. 
 
 Evidently the Burbank family in their generous en- 
 thusiasm forgot all about the complications to which the 
 act might give rise. 
 
 No one at Camdless Bay would think of blaming James 
 Burbank, unless perhaps Mr. Perry, the overseer, when he 
 heard what had taken place. But he was away on duty 
 and would not be back till late at night. 
 
 When the family gathering broke up, Mr. Burbank told 
 them that next morning he would give the slaves theii* 
 liberty. 
 
 " We will be with you, James," said Mrs. Burbank, 
 " when you tell them they are free." 
 
 ** Yes, so will all of us," said Carrol. 
 
 " And me, too ! " said little Dy. 
 
 " Yes, my dear ; you too." 
 
 " Zermah," said the little girl, " are you going to leave us 
 now ? " 
 
 " No, my child ! " said Zermah, " No, I will never leave 
 you!" 
 
 In the morning, the first person Mr. Burbank met in the 
 private garden was Perry the overseer. As the secret had 
 been kept, he had heard nothing about it. He soon heard 
 it from the lips of his master — much to his amazement. 
 
 " Oh , Mr. James ! oh, Mr. James ! " 
 
 PART I. 
 
87 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 The worthy man was quite astounded, and other werds 
 failed him. 
 
 " But that ought not to surprise you, Perry," said Burbank. 
 " I am only anticipating matters. You know that the 
 enfranchisement of the blacks is an act imposed on every 
 State that is careful of its dignity." 
 
 " Its dignity, Mr. James ! What sort of a thing is this 
 dignity ? " 
 
 " You do not understand the word ' dignity,' Perry ? 
 Well, careful of its interests." 
 
 " Its interests — its interests, Mr. James ! You .say careful 
 of its interests ! " 
 
 "Certainly, and the future will show you I am right." 
 
 " But where are we to get the labour for the plantation, 
 Mr. Burbank?" 
 
 "Amongst the blacks, Perry." 
 
 " But if the blacks are free not to work they will not 
 work." 
 
 "They will work; and, what is more, work with more 
 teal and more pleasure, for their condition will be better." 
 
 " But your blacks, Mr. James ! Your blacks will begin 
 by leaving you." 
 
 " I shall be much astonished if a single one does any- 
 thing of the sort." 
 
 " But I am no longer overseer of the slaves at Camdless 
 Bay." 
 
 " No, but you are overseer at Camdless Bay ; and I do 
 not suppose your position will be any the worse for com- 
 manding free men instead of slaves." 
 
 "But—" 
 
 " My dear Perry, I warn you that I have an answer for 
 all your buts. Look after what you have to do regarding 
 a measure which you cannot prevent, and of which all my 
 family approve." 
 
 " And do the blacks know nothing about it ? " 
 
 "Not yet," said Burbank; "and do not say anything 
 about it to them. They shall be told it to-day. You can 
 assemble them in the park at three o'clock this afternoon, 
 and tell them I have a communication to make to them." 
 
THE LAST SLAVE. 83 
 
 Then the overseer retired with many a gesture of 
 astonishment. 
 
 •' Blacks who are not slaves ! Blacks who will work 
 for themselves ! Blacks who will have to look after their 
 own wants ! It is a regular capsize of the social order ! It 
 is the upsetting of all human law ! It is against nature — 
 yes, against nature ! " 
 
 During the morning Burbank, Stannard, and Carrol went 
 out in the break to visit the northern boundary of the 
 plantation. The slaves were busy at their usual work in the 
 fields of rice and coffee- shrubs and sugar-canes. There was 
 the same bustle going on in the workshops and saw-mills. 
 The secret i.ad been well kept. No communication had 
 been established between Jacksonville and Camdless Bay. 
 These who were so directly interested knew nothing of 
 James Burbank's project. 
 
 In driving along the boundary of the estate Burbank 
 and his friends wished to assure themselves that the neigh- 
 bourhood of the plantation presented nothing suspicious. 
 After yesterday's declaration, it was to be feared that some 
 of the Jacksonville mob or the people of the country round 
 might find their way to Camdless Bay. But nothing of 
 the sort was to be seen. No prowlers were noticed even 
 on the bank of the river or along the St. John's. The 
 Shannon, which passed at ten o'clock, did not stop at the 
 pier, but continued her voyage to Picolata. Neither up 
 stream nor down stream was there anything to alarm the 
 inhabitants of Castle House. 
 
 A little before noon Burbank, Stannard, and Carrol re- 
 passed the bridge into the enclosure and entered the house. 
 The family were waiting for lunch. They seemed less 
 anxious, and talked more at their ease. It seemed as 
 though the course of events had paused for a while. Pro- 
 bably the energy of the Jacksonville magistrates had put a 
 check on the violent spirits of Texar's party. If that state 
 ol things continued for a day or so, Florida would be occu- 
 pied by the Federal arm}^ and anti-slavery men, whether 
 Northerners or Southerners, would be in safety. 
 
 James Burbank could thus proceed to the ceremony 01 
 6 
 
84 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 emancipation — the first action of the kind that had ever 
 voluntarily taken place in a slave State. 
 
 Of all the blacks on the plantation, the one who would 
 be most gratified was evidently a fellow of about twenty, 
 whose name was Pygmalion, or Tyg, as he was more com- 
 monly called. He looked after the servants' quarters at 
 Castle House, and so lived there. He did not work in the 
 fields, nor in the factories, nor in the shops. Truth to tc!I, 
 Pygmalion was a ridiculous, vain, idle fellow, wliose faults 
 his master very kindly overlooked. Since the slave ques- 
 tion had come up, he had been heard to declaim in sounding 
 phrases about human liberty. On all occasions he in- 
 dulged in pretentious speeches to his fellow negroes, 
 and was generally laughed down. As they said, he tried 
 to ride the great horse when even a donkey would have 
 thrown him. Many discussions had he had with Mr. Perry 
 when the overseer was in a humour to listen to him ; and 
 we can imagine the enthusiasm with which he would wel- 
 come an act of enfranchisement that gave him the dignity 
 of manhood. 
 
 The negroes had been told to assemble in the private 
 park in front of Castle House, as an important communi- 
 cation was to be made to them by the planter. 
 
 A little before three o'clock— the time fixed for the 
 meeting — the slaves began to assemble. They had not gone 
 to work after the midday meal ; and had tidied themselves 
 up and changed their working clothes as was usual with 
 them when admitted within the palisades. At the barra- 
 coons there had been great excitement, and the overseer 
 had walked from one to the other growling to himself, — 
 
 " When I think that at this moment we can buy and 
 sell these fellows as if they were merchandise, and in 
 another hour we shall be able to do nothing of the sort ! 
 Yes ! I will say so to the last ! Mr. Burbank, you can 
 do what you like and say what you like, and so can 
 President Lincoln, and so can all the Federals of the 
 North, and all the Liberals of the world ! " 
 
 And here Pygmalion, who knew nothing as yet, found 
 (limself face to face with the overseer. 
 
THE LAST SLAVB. 85 
 
 " Why are we to be called together, please, Mr. 1 ctry ? " 
 asked he. " Do you know ? " 
 
 " Yes, idiot ! It is to—" 
 
 The overseer stopped, not wishing to betray the secret. 
 An idea occurred to him. 
 
 " Come here, Pyg," he said. 
 
 Pygmalion approached. 
 
 " Have I ever pulled your ear for you, my boy } " 
 
 " Yes, Mr. Perry, for contrary to all justice — human or 
 divine — you have a right to do so." 
 
 "Well, as it is my right I am going to use it once more!" 
 
 And without heeding the cries of Pyg, but without doing 
 him any serious hurt, he pulled the ears which were already 
 of tolerable length. And much did it relieve the overseer 
 to take advantage of his right for the last time. 
 
 At three o'clock James Burbank and his people appeared 
 on the terrace at Castle House. Before them stood seven 
 hundred slaves, men, women, and children, among them a 
 score of old negroes, who, when they were past work, 
 found a comfortable retreat for old age in the Camdless 
 Bay barracoons. 
 
 Deep silence fell on all. At a gesture from Mr. Bur- 
 bank the overseer made the negroes form up closer, so 
 that they could distinctly hear what was said to them. 
 
 " My friends," said James Burbank, " you know that a 
 civil war has been raging for a long time in the United 
 States. The real cause of that war is the question of 
 slavery. The South is only fighting for slavery, in which 
 it thinks its interests are bound up and which it wishes to 
 maintain. The North, in the name of humanity, desires to 
 put an end to it in America. God has helped the defen- 
 ders of a righteous cause, and victory has already more 
 than once declared for those who are fighting for the 
 freedom of a race. For some time, as everybody knows, 
 I have shared in the opinions of the North without being 
 able to put them in practice. But now, certain things 
 have happened, and I can lose no time in acting up to my 
 ideas. Listen, then, to what I have to tell you in the name 
 of all my family." 
 
S6 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 There was a subdued murmur of emotion in the crowd, 
 but it died away almost instantly, and then James Burbank, 
 in a voice that could be heard by all, made the following 
 declaration : — 
 
 "From this 28th of February, 1862, henceforth the 
 slaves on this plantation are free. They can leave here or 
 stay here as they please. There are now none but free 
 men at Camdless Bay." 
 
 The first greeting from those who had thus ceased to be 
 slaves was a loud cheering. Arms were lifted in sign of 
 thankfulness. The name of Burbank was shouted again 
 and again. The crowd rushed to the terrace. Men, 
 women, and children wished to kiss the hands of their 
 liberator. The enthu-iasm was indescribable, and it was 
 all the more vigorous from being unprepared. As to 
 Pygmalion we can imagine how he gesticulated and 
 perorated and attitudinized. 
 
 Then an old negro, the oldest on the plantation, ad- 
 vanced to the steps of the terrace. Then he lifted his 
 head, and, speaking with much emotion said, — 
 
 " In the name of the old slaves of Camdless Bay, who 
 are now free, I thank you, Mr. Burbank, for having let us 
 hear the first words of freedom ever spoken in the State of 
 Florida." 
 
 As he spoke the old negro slowly mounted the steps, 
 and kissed James Burbank's hands ; and then, as little Dy 
 stretched out her arms to him, he lifted her up and held 
 her out to his comrades. 
 
 " Hurray ! Hurray for Mr. Burbank ! " 
 
 The joyous shouts again rent the air, loud enough to 
 carry to Jacksonville, on the other bank of the St. John's, 
 the news of the great deed that bad been done. 
 
 The family were deeply moved. In vain did they try 
 to quiet these shouts of enthusiasm. It was Zermah who 
 succeeded in procuring silence as she advanced to the 
 edge of the terrace to speak. 
 
 " My friends," said she, " v/e are now free ; thanks to the 
 generosity, to the humanity of him who was our master, 
 the best of masters ! " 
 
THE LAST SLAVE. g; 
 
 " Yes ! yes ! " shouted hundreds of voices in one great 
 shout of gratitude. 
 
 " We can now go where we please. We can, if we like, 
 avail ourselves of our liberty to leave the plantation. As 
 for me I will follow the instinct of my heart ; and I am 
 sure that most of you will do as I do. For six years I 
 have lived at Camdless Bay. My husband and I have 
 lived here and we wish to die here. I ask Mr. Burbank to 
 keep us now we are free as he kept us when we were 
 slaves. Those who wish him to do so — " 
 
 "All! all!" 
 
 And the words repeated a thousand times showed how 
 much the master of Camdless Bay was appreciated, and 
 proved the bond of friendship and gratitude that united 
 all on the estate. 
 
 James Burbank then spoke. He told all those who 
 wished to remain on the plantation that they might do 
 so under new conditions ; all that was to be done was to 
 agree what price should be paid for their labour. It was 
 necessary that the matter should be iinished in due form, 
 and consequently each of the negroes would now receive 
 a certificate of liberation. 
 
 To issue these was the duty of the assistant overseers. 
 Ever since Mr. Burbank had decided to free his slaves he 
 had had these papers prepared, and as negro after negro 
 came up to receive them, most affecting were the demon- 
 strations of gratitude. 
 
 The end of the day was devoted to rejoicing. In the 
 morning the blacks would return to their "ordinary work, 
 but to-day must be given over to festivity. The Burbanks, 
 as they walked among the crowd, were greeted with tokens 
 of the sincerest friendship and assurances of boundless 
 devotion. 
 
 But among the crowd overseer Perry moved like a lost 
 soul. 
 
 " Well, Perry/' asked Mr. Burbank, " what say you ? " 
 
 " I say, Mr. James, that although they are free, these 
 Africans are none the less Africans and have not changed 
 their colour. They were born black and they will die black," 
 
88 HORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 " But they will live white," said Burbank with a smile, 
 "and that is everything ! " 
 
 That evening the dinner at Castle House was a happy 
 one ; and more confidence was felt as to the future. In a 
 few days the security of Florida would be completely 
 assured No bad news had come from Jacksonville. It 
 was possible that James Burbank's conduct before the 
 magistrates had had a favourable impression on the 
 majority of the inhabitants. 
 
 One of the company at dinner was Mr. Overseer Perry, 
 who had been obliged to help in what he could not hinder. 
 He sat down opposite the old negro who had been invited 
 by Mr. Burbank, in order to show that the freedom given 
 him was not an empty declaration. Outside were heard 
 the sounds of the holiday-making ; and the park was 
 illuminated by the reflection of the bonfires lighted in 
 different parts of the plantation. In the middle of dinner 
 a deputation arrived with a magnificent bouquet for the 
 little girl, the finest, certainly, that " Miss Dy Burbank of 
 Castle House " had ever received. 
 
 When all had gone, the family went back into the hall, 
 to stay there till bedtime. It seemed as if a day so well 
 begun could not but end as well. About eight o'clock the 
 plantation was quiet. It seemed as though nothing would 
 occur to trouble it, when a voice was heard without. 
 
 James Burbank rose and went to the front door. 
 
 In front of the terrace a few men were standing and 
 talking in a loud tone. 
 
 " What is the matter ? " asked James Burbank. 
 
 " Mr. Burbank," said one of the overseers, " a boat has 
 just run alongside the pier." 
 
 "Where from?" 
 
 " The left bank." 
 
 " Who is on board ? " 
 
 " A messenger sent to you from the Jacksonville magis- 
 trates." 
 
 *' And what does he want } " 
 
 " He has a letter for you. Shall I let him land ?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
THE LAST SLAVE. 89 
 
 Mrs. Burbank came to her husband's side, Ahce stepped 
 p to one of the windows, while Stannard and Carrol walked 
 3 the door. Zermah, taking little Dy by the hand, stood 
 p. All felt that some serious incident was at band. 
 
 The overseer went back to the landing-place. Ten 
 linutes aftervvards he returned with the messenger whom 
 he boat had brought from Jacksonville. 
 
 He was in the uniform of the County Militia. He was 
 itroduced into tb.e hall^ and asked for Mr. Burbank. 
 
 " I am James Burbank. What is your business ?" 
 
 " To hand you this letter." 
 
 The messenger held out a large envelope which bore the 
 eal of the court. 
 
 Burbank broke the seal, and read, — 
 
 " By order of the authorities newly constituted at Jack- 
 onville, every slave set free without the permission of the 
 Confederate Government will be immediately expelled the 
 eriitory. 
 
 " The expulsion to take place within the following forty- 
 ight hours ; and, in case of refusal, force will be used. 
 
 " Texar. 
 
 "Done at Jacksonville, 28th February, 1862." 
 
 The magistrates had been superseded. Texar had been 
 ilaced by his partisans in charge of the town. 
 
 " What answer shall I take back ? " asked the messenger. 
 
 " None ! " said James Burbank. 
 
 The messenger retired, and was escorted back to the 
 >oat, which put off towards the other side of the stream. 
 
 And so, at the Spaniard's orders, the old slaves of the 
 lantation were to be dispersed ! Although they were free 
 nen, they were no longer free to live in Florida ! Camdless 
 Bay was to be deprived of all the men on whom he had 
 eckoned to defend the plantation. 
 
 Free on those conditions ^ " said Zermah. " Never ! I 
 efuse such freedom ! And if I cannot remain near you I 
 vould rather be a slave." 
 
 And, taking her certificate of freedom in her hands, 
 l^ermah tore it across, and fell at James Burbank's feet. 
 
NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 WAITING. 
 
 Such were the first conseque ces of the generous action of 
 freeing his slaves before the Federals were masters of the 
 ti rritory, 
 
 Texar and his partisans were now in power, and could 
 indulge in any deed of violence that their brutal natures 
 suggested. By his vague denunciations the Spaniard had 
 not been able to put James Rurbank in prison, but he had 
 gained his end none the -less by taking advantage of the 
 excitement of the people at the conduct of the magistrates. 
 After the acquittal of the anti-slavery planter, who was 
 going to proclaim emancipation on the estate, Texar had 
 raised a crowd of malcontents and headed a revolution in 
 the town. He had superseded the old magistrates by the 
 most advanced members of his party, formed a committee 
 of small whites and Floridans of Spanish origin, and assured 
 himself of the co-operation of the militia, with whom he 
 had been in treaty for a long time, and who at once frater- 
 nized with the people. The fate of every person in the 
 county was now in his hands. 
 
 James Burbank's conduct had not been approved by the 
 majority of the planters on the banks of the St. John's, 
 who feared that their own slaves would compel them to 
 follow his example. Most of them being ardent Southerners, 
 pledged to withstand the pretensions of the Unionists, saw 
 with extreme irritation the advance of the Federal armies, 
 and declai-ed that Florida should resist them as the other 
 Southern States were resisting them. At the outset of the 
 war they had treated the question of enfranchisement with 
 indifference, but they had hastened to range themselves 
 
WAITING. 9T 
 
 under the flag of Jefferson Davis, and to do their utmost to 
 second the efforts of the rebels against the Government of 
 Abraham Lincoln. 
 
 Under such circumstances there was little wonder that 
 Texar, having the same opinions and interests to defend, 
 should have succeeded as he had done, notwithstanding 
 his evil reputation. He had seized his post, however, not 
 so much to organize resistance and repulse Commodore 
 Dupont's flotilla as to gratify his evil instincts ; and that is 
 why, on account of the hatred he bore towards the Burbank 
 family, his first care had been to reply to the liberation at 
 Camdless Bay by the edict which obliged the slaves who 
 had been freed to leave the territory in forty-eight hours. 
 
 " In acting thus," he said, " I protect the interests of the 
 planters. They cannot but approve of a measure which 
 will prevent the rising of the slaves in Florida." 
 
 The majority had thus applauded without reservation 
 this order of Texar's, arbitrary though it was. It was 
 arbitrary, unique, and indefensible. In freeing his slaves, 
 James Burbank was only acting within his right which he 
 had always possessed. He could have done it before the 
 war had divided the United States on the question of slavery. 
 Nothing had occurred to supersede this right, and Texar's 
 action was neither just nor legal. 
 
 But Camdless Bay would be deprived of its natural 
 defenders, and Texar's object would be attained. 
 
 This was well understood at Castle House ; and it would 
 perhaps have been better if James Burbank had waited till 
 he could act without danger. But, as we know, he had 
 been charged before the Jacksonville magistrates with 
 acting contrary to his opinions, and so placed that he must 
 conform to them ; and, incapable of mastering his indigna- 
 tion, he had declared himself publicly, and had publicly 
 proceeded before the people of his plantation to give his 
 slaves their freedom. By doing so he had injured his own 
 position and that of his guests, and now it must be decided 
 in all haste what was to be done. 
 
 In the first place — and this very evening the discussion 
 was entered upon- -could they go back on this act of 
 
92 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 emancipation ? No. That would make no difference ir. 
 the state of affairs. Texar would not recognize such s 
 tardy going back. Besides, the negroes, when they learnt 
 what the Jacksonville authorities had decided to do, woulrl 
 unanimously imitate Zermah's example. Rather than 
 leave Camdless B;^.y and be hunted from the State, they 
 would return to ^^heir condition as slaves until the time 
 when they would have the right to be free and live freely 
 where they pleased. 
 
 But what would be the good of this ? They would, 
 under their old master, defend the plantation which had 
 become their home, and with all the more ardour now they 
 had been freed. This Zermah guaranteed. James Burbank 
 therefore decided that he '• ould not recall what he had 
 done. All the rest were of his opinion. 
 
 And they were not mistaken. In the morning, when 
 the new decree of the Jacksonville Committee was known, 
 marks of devotion and tokens of fidelity came in from all 
 sides. If Texar attempted to put his edict in force they 
 would resist it. If he used force, they would use force to 
 repel him. 
 
 " And, besides," said Carrol, "events are hurrying on. In 
 a couple of days, in twenty-four hours perhaps, the slave 
 question in Florida will be settled. To-morrow the Federal 
 flotilla may force the mouths of the St. John's, and then — " 
 
 " And if the militia, aided by the Confederate troops, 
 make any resistance ? " asked Mr. Stannard. 
 
 " If they resist, their resistance will not last long," said 
 Carrol. "Without ships or gunners, how can they oppose 
 the passage ot Commodore Dupont.the landing of Sherman, 
 the occupation of the ports of Fernanuina, Jacksonville, and 
 St. Augusiine .? When these points are occupied, the 
 Federals will be masters of Florida. Then Texar and his 
 Iriends will have to run." 
 
 " If they could only catch him/' said James Burbank, 
 "then we should see if, when he is in the hands of Federal 
 justice, he could substantiate some alibi to escape the 
 punishment he deserves." 
 
 The night passed without the security of Castle House 
 
WATTTNd. 9S 
 
 being disturbed. In the morning the rumours that were 
 flying about were inquired into. The plantation was not 
 threatened that day. Texar's decree had ordered the 
 expulsion of the blacks in forty-eight hours. James Bur- 
 bank had determined to resist the order, and occupied the 
 time in preparing for the defence of his house. 
 
 It was, however, important to get at all the reports from 
 the theatre of war. Any moment the state of affairs might 
 be changed ; and James Burbank and his brother-in-law 
 set off on horseback to learn what they could. Descending 
 the right bank of the St. John's, they rode towards the 
 mouth of the river, so as to explore for a dozen miles the 
 widening of the river, which ends at San Pablo, where the 
 lighthouse stands. As they passed Jacksonville they 
 would be able to see if there was any gathering of boats 
 indicating an approaching attack on Camdless Bay. In 
 half an hour they had passed the boundary of the plan- 
 tation. 
 
 Meanwhile Mrs. Burbank and Alice were walking in the 
 park of Castle House. In vain Mr. Stannard tried to calm 
 their apprehensions. They both had a presentiment of a 
 coming catastrophe. 
 
 Zermah had been among the barracoons. Although the 
 threat of expulsion was known, the blacks heeded it not. 
 They had returned to their usual work. Like their old 
 master, they had made up their minds to resist If they 
 were free, by what right were they to be expelled from the 
 country of their adoption ?, Nothing could be more satis- 
 factory than Zermah's report — the blacks of Camdless Bay 
 could be trusted. 
 
 "Yes," said she, "my companions will all return to 
 slavery, as I have done, rather than leave their master ! 
 And if they are obliged, they will defend their rights." 
 
 Nothing more was to be done than to wait for the return 
 of Janies Burbank and Edward Carrol. 
 
 At this date, the ist of March, it was not impossible 
 that the Federal flotilla had arrived in sight of Pablo light- 
 house, ready to occupy the mouth of the St. John's. The 
 Confederates had not too many militia to oppose their 
 
04 NORTH XSD SOUTH. 
 
 passage, and the authorities of Jacksonville would have 
 none to spare to carry out their threats against the former 
 slaves of Camdless Bay. 
 
 Mr. Perry made his daily visit to the different workshops 
 and storehouses on the estate. He also could bear witness 
 to the go jd disposition of the negroes. Although he did 
 not care to admit it, he saw that if they had changed their 
 condition, their assiduity at their work and devotion to the 
 Burbank family had not changed. To resist all that the 
 Jacksonville populace attempted against them they were 
 firmly resolved. But, in Mr. Perry's opinion, these fine 
 feelings would not last. Nature would reclaim her rights. 
 After tasting independence, these enfranchised negroes 
 would return to slaverj^ and descend to the place that 
 Nature intended for them, between the man and the animal. 
 
 As he was thinking of these things, who should he run 
 against but the conceited Pygmalion, strutting like a pea- 
 cock with his head on high, his hands behind his back, and 
 evidently thinking very much of himself as a free man. 
 One thing was certain, and that was that he was not doing 
 much work. 
 
 " Good morning, Mr. Perry ! " said he superbly. 
 
 " What are you doing, Mr. Idle ? " 
 
 " I am taking a walk ! Have I not the right to do 
 nothing now I am no longer a vile slave, and have the 
 certiiicate of liberation in my pocket?" 
 
 " And who is to feed you, Pyg ? " 
 
 " I am, Mr. Perry." 
 
 " And how ? " 
 
 " By eating." 
 
 "And who is to give you what you eat ?" 
 
 " My master." 
 
 " Your master ! Have you forgotten that now you have 
 no master, noodle ? " 
 
 " No. I had one, and I shall have one ; and Mr. Burbank 
 will not send me away from the plantation, where, I can say 
 without boasting, I am of some use." 
 
 " But he will send you away ? " 
 
 "Will he.?" 
 
WAITING. 95 
 
 " Certainly. When you belonged to him he could keep 
 you to do nothing. But now you do not belong to him he 
 will show you the door if you do not work, and we shall 
 see what you will do with your liberty, poor lunatic !" 
 
 Evidently Pyg had not studied the question from that 
 point of view. 
 
 " VViiat, Mr. Perry ? Do you think Mr. Pu: bank would 
 be so cruel — " 
 
 " It is not cruel ; it is only logical. Besides, whether Mr. 
 James wishes it or no, there is, a decree of the Committee 
 at Jacksonville ordering every freed slave out of Florida." 
 
 " Then that is true, tiien ? " 
 
 " Quite true ; and we shall now see how you and your 
 companions will get out of the difficulty now you have lost 
 your master." 
 
 " I am not going to leave Camdless Bay even if I am 
 free." 
 
 " You are free to go, but not free to stop ! You had 
 better pack up." 
 
 " And what's to become of me ? " 
 
 " That is your business." 
 
 " But if I am free," said Pygmalion, returning again to 
 that point, " If I am free — " 
 
 " That is not enough, it seems ! " 
 
 " Tell me what I ought to do, Mr. Perry." 
 
 " What you ought to do ? Well ; listen, and follow me, 
 if you can." 
 
 " I follow." 
 
 " You are free, are you not ? " 
 
 " Yes, and I have got the certificate in my pocket* 
 
 " Well ; tear it up." 
 
 " Never." 
 
 " Then there is only one way I can see for you to stop 
 here." / 
 
 "What is that.?" 
 
 " Change your colour, Pyg ! When you are white you 
 can live at Camdless Bay ; till then you cannot." 
 
 The overseer, chuckling at having given Pyg's vanity 
 such a lesson, turned on his heel. 
 
g6 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 Pyg remained deep in thought. He saw that to be no 
 longer a slave was not enough to keep him his place. He 
 must be white ? And how could he become white, when 
 Nature had made him black as ebony? And as he re- 
 turned to Castle House he scratched his head as if he 
 were tearing the hair from the skin. 
 
 A little before noon James Burbank and Edward Carrol 
 returned to Castle House. They had seer^ nothing alarming 
 at Jacksonville. The boats were in their usual place, 
 some moored to the pier, others anchored out in the 
 stream. A few detachments of Confederates had been 
 seen on the left bank of the river, marching towards the 
 north towards Nassau county. Nothing seemed to threaten 
 Camdless Bay. 
 
 When they reached the end of the estuary, Burbank and 
 his companion had looked out over the open sea. There 
 was not a sail in sight. Not a cloud of smoke from some 
 steamer could be traced on the horizon to indicate the 
 presence or approach of a squadron. Preparations for 
 defence there were none. There were no batteries, no 
 earthworks. If the Federal ships appeared either at 
 Nassau Creek or at the mouth of the St. John's, there was 
 nothing to stop them. Only Pablo lighthouse was dis- 
 mantled ; the lantern was unshipped ; and the passes were 
 thus unlighted. But that would only prevent the entrance 
 of a flotilla during the night. 
 
 Such was the report they brought back with them. 
 There seemed to be nothing doing at Jacksonville to indi- 
 cate an approaching attack on Camdless Bay. 
 
 " That is well," said Mr. Stannard, " but it is unsatis- 
 factory that Dupont's ships are not yet in sight ; there is 
 a delay there that I cannot understand ! " 
 
 " Yes," said Carrol ; " if the fleet sailed the day before 
 yesterday from St. Andrew's Bay, it ought now to be oflf 
 Fernandina." 
 
 " It has been very bad weather during these last two or 
 three days," said James Burbank. " It is possible that 
 with these westerly Vv'inds Dupont has had to go out to sea. 
 
WAITING, (^? 
 
 The wind went down this morning, and I should not be 
 surprised if this very night — " 
 
 " May heaven listen to you, my dear James," said Mrs. 
 Burbank, " and come to our help." 
 
 " If Pablo lighthouse," said Alice, "is not lighted, how 
 could the flotilla get into the St. John's to-night ? " 
 
 " It would be impossible for them to get into the St. 
 John's," said Burbank. "But before attacking the mouths of 
 the river the Federals would have to capture Amelia Island 
 and then Fernandina, so as to command the railway to 
 Cedar Keys. I do not expect Dupont's vessels up the St. 
 John's for three or four days." 
 
 " That is so, James," said Carrol. " But I hope the cap- 
 ture of Fernandina would force the Confederates to retreat. 
 The militia might even abandon Jacksonville before the 
 arrival of the gunboats. Then Camdless Bay would no 
 longer be threatened by Texar and his accomplices — " 
 
 "That is possible," said James Burbank. "Once the 
 Federals set foot in Florida, our safety will be, to a certain 
 extent, secured. Is there any news on the plantation ? " 
 
 " None," said Alice. " I heard from Zermah that the 
 blacks had gone to work as usual, and that they are ready 
 to fight to the last in defence of Camdless Bay." 
 
 " Let us hope we shall not have to put their devotion to 
 the proof! I shall not be at all surprised if the scoundrels' 
 who have got the upper hand at Jacksonville take them- 
 selves off as soon as the Federal fleet is signalled. But we 
 must be on our guard. After liinch, Stannard, come with 
 Carrol and me over to the most exposed part of the estate. 
 I do not want you and Alice to be in as much danger here 
 as at Jacksonville. In truth, I shall never forgive myself 
 for bringing you here, if things turn out badly." 
 
 "My dear James," said Stannard, "if we had stayed in 
 our house at Jacksonville we should have been exposed to 
 the exactions of the authorities, like all the rest who hold 
 anti-slavery opinions." 
 
 " In any case, Mr. Burbank," said Alice, " even if the 
 danger is greater here, is it not better for us to share it 
 with you ? " 
 
 PART L . * 
 
98 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 "Yes, my dear girl," said James Burbank. "Come on ! 
 I hope and think that Texar will not have time to put his 
 scheme against our men into execution." 
 
 During the afternoon Burbank and his friends visited 
 the barracoons with Mr. Perry. They could see for them- 
 selves that the feeling among the blacks was excellent. 
 Burbank called the overseer's attention to the zeal with 
 which the newly freed negroes had returned to work. Not 
 one was absent from his post. 
 
 " Yes, yes ! " answered Perry. " But we have to see how 
 the work will turn out in the end." 
 
 " But the}^ did not change their arms when they changed 
 their condition, did they .•' " 
 
 " Not yet ; but you will soon see that they have not the 
 same hands at the end of the arms." 
 
 "Well, Perry," replied Burbank gaily, "their hands will 
 always have five fingers, I imagine ; and we cannot expect 
 them to have more." 
 
 As soon as the round had been made, Mr. Burbank and 
 his friends returned to Castle House. The evening passed 
 as quietly as the last. In the absence of all news from 
 Jacksonville there seemed to be ground for hope that 
 Texar had given up his threat, or that he had no time to 
 execute it. 
 
 Careful precautions were, however, taken during the 
 night. Perry and the assistant overseers stationed sentries 
 round the estate, and particularly watched the banks of the 
 river. The blacks had been cautioned to retreat on the 
 palisades in case of an alarm, and a sentry was on guard at 
 the gate. 
 
 Many times did James Burbank and his friends go out 
 to see that their orders had been attended to. When the 
 sun rose nothing had happened. The night had passed 
 without incident 
 
THE MORNING OF THE 2ND OF MARCH. Qp 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE MORNING OF THE 2ND OF MARCH. 
 
 Next day, March 2nd, James Burbank had news by one 
 of his assistant overseers, who had crossed the river and 
 returned to Jacksonville without awaking suspicion. 
 
 The news was undoubtedly correct and it was im- 
 portant. 
 
 Commodore Dupont had anchored at daybreak in St. 
 Andrew's Bay, on the coast of Georgia. The Wabash, on 
 which he had hoisted his flag, was at the head of a 
 squadron of twenty-six vessels, of which eighteen were 
 gunboats, one a cutter, one an armed transport, and six 
 were ordinary transports with General Wright's brigade 
 on board. And, as Gilbert had said in his last letter. 
 General Sherman accompanied the expedition. 
 
 Commodore Dupont, whom the bad weather had kept 
 back, had at once set to work to take possession of the 
 passes of the St. Mary's. These channels, difficult enou'.:;h 
 of access, open off the mouth of the river of the same 
 name to the north of Amelia Island on the frontier of 
 Georgia and Florida. 
 
 Fernandina, the principal position of the island, was 
 protected by Fort Clinch with agarrison of fifteen hundred 
 men behind its thick stone walls. Would the Southerners 
 hold out against the Federals in this fortress,' wherein they 
 might make a lengthened defence .? It would be thought 
 so. 
 
 Nothing of the kind was done. According to the 
 assistant-overseer's report, a rumour had reached Jackson- 
 ville that the Confederates had evacuated Fert Clinch as 
 
Six) NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 soon as the squadron appeared in St. Mary's Bay ; and not 
 only had they abandoned Fort Clinch, but they had 
 cleared out of Fernandina, Cumberland Island, and all 
 that part of the Florida coast. 
 
 This was all the news that reached Castle House, but 
 there is no need to dwell on its importance with regard to 
 the position at Camdless Kay. Now ti:at the Federals 
 had at last landed in Florida, the whole State would scon 
 be in their power. Obviously a few days would elapse 
 before the gunbuats crosstui the bar of the St. John's. But 
 their presence would have its effect on tlie new authorities 
 of Jack.sonville, and there was room to hope that, in fear 
 of reprisals, Texar and his supporters would not dare to 
 take action against the plantation of so prominent a 
 Northerner as James Burbank, 
 
 This was reassuring for the family, whose fear was sud- 
 denly changed to hope. And Alice Stannard and Mrs. 
 Burbank ceased to tremble for Gilbert's safety, with the 
 certainty that he was not far off and the assurance that 
 he would soon return. The young lieutenant at St. 
 Andrew's was within thirty miles of Camdless Bay. He 
 was on board the gunboat Ottawa^ which had just been 
 distinguished by a feat of arms unexampled in naval 
 annals. 
 
 What had happened on the morning of the 2nd of 
 March was this. The assistant-overseer had not ascer- 
 tained these details during his visit to Jacksonville, but it 
 is important that they should be known on account of the 
 events that follou-ed. 
 
 As soon as Commodore Dupont. discovered that Fort 
 Clinch had been evacuated by the Confederate garrison, 
 he sent a few vessels of light draught across St. Mary's 
 Channel. Already the white population had retired into 
 the interior of the country with the Soutlicrn troops, aban- 
 doning the towns, villages, and plantations on the coast. 
 There was a regular panic due to the fear of the reprisals 
 which, the Secessionists falsely stated, were intended by 
 the Federal chief. Not only in Florida, but along the 
 Georgian frontier, along the whole extent of country 
 
THE MORNING OF THE 2ND OF MARCH. KOI 
 
 between the bays of Ossabaw and St. Mary's, the people 
 beat a precipitate retreat so as to escape from the troops 
 landed by General Wright. Under these circumstances, 
 Commodore Dupont did not have to fire a shot to get 
 possession of Fort Clinch and Fernandina. The t^unboat 
 Ottatva, on which was Gilbert, accompanied by Mars, acted 
 as second, and had to use its guns in the manner following. 
 
 The town of Fernandina is connected with the west 
 coast of Florida on the Gulf of Mexico by a branch rail- 
 way which runs to Cedar Keys. The railway runs along 
 the coast of Amelia Island ; then before it reaches the 
 mainland it crosses Nassau Creek on a long bridge of 
 piles. 
 
 When the Ottawa reached the centre of the creek a 
 train was on the bridge. The garrison of Fernandina was 
 in flight, taking its provisions with it, and followed by 
 many of the more or less important people of the town. 
 Immediately the gunboat started at full speed towards the 
 bridge and fired her bow-chasers at the piles and the train. 
 Gilbert was in charge of the firing, and many good shots 
 were made ; among them a shell struck the last carriage 
 of the train and broke the axle and the coupling. The 
 train did not stop for an instant — to do so would have 
 been dangerous — and leaving the carriage to look after 
 itself, steamed off full speed to the south-west. A detach- 
 ment of Federal troops landed at Fernandina appeared at 
 this moment, and rushed on to the bridge. The carriage 
 was captured with the fugitives it contained, who were 
 chiefly civilians. The prisoners were taken to the superior 
 ofificer, Colonel Gardner, in comm.and at Fernandina, who 
 took their names, kept them for twenty-four hours on one 
 of the vessels of the squadron, as an example, and then 
 released them. 
 
 When the train had run out of sight, the Ottawa went 
 off" to attack and seize a vessel laden with war material, 
 which had taken refuge in the bay. These events were 
 calculated to spread discouragement among the Con- 
 federate troops and the people of the Floridan towns ; and 
 this was particularly the case at Jacksonville. The estuary 
 
102 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 of the St. John's would be forced as easily as had been 
 that of the St. Mary's ; that was very evident, and probably 
 the Unionists would meet with no more resistance at 
 Jacksonville than at St. Augustine and the other coast 
 towns. 
 
 This was good news for James Burbank. He might 
 well believe that Texar dared not nov/ give effect to his 
 plans. He and his partisans would be superseded, and in 
 due course the honest folks would resume the power of 
 which an outbreak of the mob had dc2:)rived them. 
 
 There was every reason to think in this way and to 
 hope ; and as soon as the staff at Camdless Bay heard the 
 important news, which was soon knovn at Jacksonville, 
 their joy showed ilself in noisy cheering, in which Pyg- 
 malion took a prominent part. Nevertheless, it would not 
 do to abandon the precautions whicli had been taken to 
 secure the safety of the estate, at least until the gunboats 
 appeared in the river. 
 
 Unfortunately — and this James Burbank could neither 
 imagine nor suppose — a whole week was to elapse before 
 the Federals were ready to enter the St. John's. And 
 during that time what dangers were to threaten Camdle.ss 
 Bay! 
 
 Commodore Dupont's plan was to show the Federal 
 flag at eveiy point where vessels could go. He split up 
 his squadron into detachments. One gunboat was sent 
 up the St. Mary's River to occupy the little town of that 
 name, and advance some sixty miles up the country. To 
 the south were sent three other gunboats, commanded by 
 Captain Godon, to explore the bays, seize Jekyll and St. 
 Simon's islands, and take possession of the small towns of 
 Brunsv/ick a^iid iJarien, which had been partly abandoned 
 by their inhabitants. Six steamers of light draught were 
 destined, under the orders of Commandant Stevens, to 
 enter the St. John's and reduce Jacksonville. The rest of 
 the squadron, under Dupont, was to take care of St. 
 Augustine's and blockade the coast down to Mosquito 
 Inlet, the passes of which ivould .be then closed against 
 contraband of war. 
 
THE MORNING OF THE 2ND OF MARCH. IO3 
 
 But this series of operations could not be accompli'^hed 
 in twenty-four hours, and twenty-four hours would be 
 enough for the devastation of the country by the So,uth- 
 erners. 
 
 About three o'clock in the afternoon James Burbank 
 had his first suspicions of what was being devised against 
 him. Mr. Perry, after a round of inspection on the frontier 
 of the plantation, came hurriedly into Castle House and 
 said, — 
 
 " Mr. Burbank, they have reported that some suspicious 
 vagabonds are on their way to Camdless Bay." 
 
 " From the north ? ''" 
 
 " From the north." 
 
 Almost at the same moment Zermah, returning from 
 the landing-place, told her master that there was a lot of 
 boats crossing the river and approaching the right bank. 
 
 " They are coming from Jacksonville ? " 
 
 " Certainly." 
 
 "Go into the house," said Burbank, "and don't go out 
 again, Zermah, on any pretence." 
 
 "No, master." 
 
 Burbank went off to reconnoitre. When he returned, he 
 could not but tell his friends that matters looked threaten- 
 ing. An attack seemed almost certain, and it was better 
 that all should be forewarned. 
 
 "And so," said Mr. Stannard, "these scoundrels, on the 
 eve of being curbed by the Federals, dare — " 
 
 "Yes," said Burbank coldly. "Texar could not miss 
 such an opportunity of being revenged when he is free to 
 disappear as soon as his vengeance is satisfied. Then with 
 more animation he resumed, " But will this man's crimes 
 always remain unpunished ? Will he always get away ? 
 In truth after doubting the justice of man are we to doubt 
 the justice of i leaven — " 
 
 "James," said Mrs. Burbank, " at a time when we ma) 
 only have the help of God to trust to. do not reproach 
 Him— ^' 
 
 "And let us put ourselves under His care," said Alice 
 Stannard. 
 
£04 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 James Burbank, recovering his coolness, set about giving 
 his orders for the defence of the house. 
 
 " Have the blacks been told ? " asked Edward Carrol. 
 
 "They will be." said Burbank. "My idea is to defend 
 the palisades. We cannot think of defending the whole 
 boundary of Camdless Bay against an armed mob, for it is 
 likely that the assailants will be in large numbers. We 
 must get all the defenders into the inner ring. If, unfor- 
 tunately, the palisade is forced. Castle House, which once 
 defied the Seminoles, may perhaps be held against Texar's 
 bandits. My wife, Alice, and Dy and Zermah, to whom I 
 entru.st them, must not leave the house without my order. 
 If matters become serious, everything is prepared for them 
 to save themselves by the tunnel which communicates 
 with the little Marine Creek of the St. John's ; there a 
 boat will be found in charge of two of our men. It is 
 hidden in the bu.shes ; and, Zermah, you must go in it up 
 the river to Cedar Rock." 
 
 " But you, James ? " 
 
 " And you. father .? " 
 
 Mrs. Burbank had seized the planter by the arm, and 
 Alice had caught hold of Mr. Stannard, as if the time had 
 come for them to escape from Castle House. 
 
 "W^e will do all we can to rejoin you," said Burbank, 
 "when the position is no longer tenable. But you must 
 promise, if the danger becomes too great, to get away to 
 safety at Cedar Rock. We shall want all we have of 
 courage and audacity to keep back the scoundrels, and 
 resist them till our ammunition fails." 
 
 Evidently this is what would have to be done if the 
 assailants were too numerous and succeeded in forcing the 
 palisades and invading the park so as to make a direct 
 attack on Castle House. 
 
 James Burbank then called together his men, and Perry 
 and his assistants ran off to the barracoons with his orders. 
 In less than an hour the blacks, in fighting trim, were 
 drawn up near the gate in the palisades. Their wives and 
 children had gone off to seek safety in the v.oods round 
 Camdless Bay. 
 
THE MORNING OF THE 2ND OF MARCH. 105 
 
 Unfortunately, the means of organizing a serious defence 
 vere limited. Since the beginning of the war it had been 
 ilmost impossible to procure arms and ammunition in 
 
 ufiicient quantity. Burbank had in vain tried to buy 
 
 hem at Jacksonville ; and he had to be content with what 
 
 •emained in the house after the last siege by the Seminoles. 
 
 His plan was to preserve Castle House from, being burnt 
 
 Dr stormed. He could not dream of protecting tlie estate, 
 
 aving the workshops, stores, factories, or barracoons, or 
 
 )reventing the plantation from being devastated. He had 
 :iardly four hundred negroes in a state to oppose the 
 issailants, and these were insufficiently armed. A few 
 dozen muskets were distributed to the best men, while the 
 irms of precision were kept in reserve for James Burbank, 
 [lis friends, Perry, and the assistant-overseers. 
 
 The whole force was drawn up at the gate in such a 
 manner as to repulse the threatened assault on the pali- 
 
 ades, which were also defended by the creek that ran 
 
 ound them. 
 
 Amid the confusion Pygmalion was very busy and ex- 
 :ited, bustling hither and thither and doing nothing. He 
 A^as like one of those circus clowns who pretend to do 
 
 verything and do nothing, much to the amusement of the 
 ludience. Pyg, considering himself as belonging specially 
 :o the defenders of the house, did not dream of associating 
 A^ith his comrades outside. Never had he felt himself so 
 devoted to James Burbank. 
 
 All was ready in the garrison. On what side was the 
 ittack to come ? If the assailants appeared on the northern 
 ;ide the defence could be most easily conducted. If, on 
 :he contrary, they attacked on the river-front, the defence 
 •vould be more difficult, owing to Camdless Bay being open 
 3n that side. A landing is always a difficult operation, it is 
 ::ruc, and, under any circumstances, it would require a good 
 nany boats to transport an armed band from one bank of 
 :he St. John's to the other. Thus said Burbank, Carrol, 
 md Stannard as they watched the return of the scouts Vv'ho 
 lad been sent to the boundary of the plantation. It would 
 lot do to be in the, dark as to the manner of attack. 
 
^^ NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 About half-past four in the evening the scouts returned 
 trom the northern side of the estate and made their report 
 
 A ^olumn of armed men were advancing in that direction 
 Was this a detachment of the county mihtia or only a divi- 
 sion of the mob, attracted by the hope of pillage, and 
 charged with the execution of Texar's decree concernino 
 the freed slaves ? In any case, the column was a thousand 
 strong, and nothmg could be done against it with the force 
 on the plantation. It might perhaps be hoped that, if the 
 palisades were carried by assault, Castle House would offer 
 a longer and more serious resistance 
 
 J-l 'Tffl'l?-^''^- ^^'f ^^' ^°'"^^" ^^^ ^^°^'ded a landing 
 under difficulties in the httle harbour of Camdless Bay, and 
 had crossed the river below Jacksonville in some fifty boats 
 three or four journeys being sufficient to ferry it over. And 
 n."l ^ ' ' J'iT'''^^" °^ collecting his men within the 
 palisades had been a wise one, for it would have been 
 miposs.ble for h.m to defend his frontier against such an 
 
 PrS^^hr^' ^' ^K^'""^ °^ ^^" assailants-Texar in person ? 
 Probably not At the time when the approach of the 
 
 rlkvTo'7' '^^'^'T'' '\t' ^P""'"""^ migh't consider it too 
 risky to p ace h-mself at the head of his men. If he had 
 done so, ,t vyould be because, when his work of vengeance 
 was accomplished the plantation devastated, the BuFbanks 
 massacred or fallen into his hands, he had made up his 
 
 T. K f- ^PJ ^"^ ?^ '°''*' P^^'^^P"^ ^^e" to the Everglades 
 (the backwoods of Southern Florida), where it would be 
 ditticult to get at him. 
 
 hJu^T'-^^''™°'^'^'^°"' °^ t^^ possibilities, and Bur- 
 h^A -^ !,'?" '^ ''"'''''"' ^''^"Sht. Hence it was that he 
 had decided to put in safety his wife and child, and Alice 
 Stannard, entrusted to the devotion of Zermah, at Cedar 
 Kock wnichwas about a mile above Camdless Bay. If 
 
 S7hcr-°/^""^,2'V^^^''^ ^^"•'^'^ t° the assailants, he 
 .^LJJ' "J\^ there rejoin the family, and wait till 
 
 safety was assured to the honest people of Florida under 
 the protection of the Federal army. 
 
 And so a boat had been hidden in the reeds of the St. 
 
THE MORNING OF THE 2ND OF MARCH. lOJ 
 
 John's, and left to the keeping of two negroes at the end 
 of the tunnel which, led from the house to Marine Creek. 
 ,But before the parting took place, it would be necessary to 
 4efend the house for a few hours — at least until nightfall, 
 when, in the darkness, the bo:it could go up the river in 
 secret, without risk of pursuit from the suspicious-lookfng 
 canoes that were prowling about in such numbers. 
 
108 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 THE EVENING OF THE 2ND OF MARCH. 
 
 James Burbank, with his companions, and most of the! 
 blacks were ready for the fight. He had now nothing to! 
 do but to wait. His arrangements were to make his first 
 stand at the palisades round the private park, and then, i{ 
 driven back, to make another stand behind the walls of 
 Castle House. 
 
 About five o'clock the increasing tumult showed that 
 the assailants were not far off. From the shouting it was 
 only too easy to understand that they were in possession 
 of the northern pa-rt of the estate. On the right, thick 
 columns of smoke began to rise above the trees. The 
 sawmills had been set on fire, and the barracoons, after 
 being pillaged, were in flames. The poor people had not 
 had time to put in safety the few things that the act of 
 liberation had made their own the evening before ; and 
 loud were the cries of despair and anger that answered the 
 shouts of the marauders. 
 
 Gradually the shouters approached Castle House. A 
 strange light appeared in the northern horizon, as if the 
 sun was setting in that direction. Occasional puffs of 
 warm smoky air swept up against the house. Violent de- 
 tonations produced by the burning of the dry wood in the 
 workshops were heard every now and then. Once a 
 louder explosion than the rest showed that the boiler at 
 one of the sawmills had been blown up. Devastation in 
 all its horrors was evidently in progress. 
 
 Burbank, Carrol, and Stannard were at the gate in the 
 palisades. There they received and disposed of the last 
 detachment of negroes that were gradually coming in. 
 
THE EVENING OF THE 2ND OF MARCH. lOg 
 
 The assailants might appear at any moment. The increas- 
 ing crackle of the musketry showed that they could not 
 be far from the ring, which was easy of assault, for 
 the nearest trees were not fifty yards away. The Con- 
 federates could keep in cover to the last moment ; and the 
 bullets began to rain on the palisades, while the rifles 
 remained invisible. 
 
 After consideration it was thought best to withdraw all 
 the men within the fortress. There the armed negroes 
 would be less exposed, as they could fire between the 
 angles at the top of the timbers ; and when the assailants 
 tried to cross the stream and carry the stronghold by 
 storm, they might manage to repulse them. 
 
 The negroes were all withdrawn, and the gate was about 
 to be shut, when James Burbank, throwing a last glance 
 around without, caught sight of a man at full run towards 
 him, as if seeking safety amongst the defenders of Castle 
 House. A few shots were aimed at him from the woods 
 close by, but did not hit him. With a bound he jumped 
 on the drawbridge and was in safety within the palisades. 
 The gate was immediately shut and firmly fastened. 
 
 " Who are you ? " asked James Burbank. 
 
 " One of the servants of Mr. Harvey, your correspondent 
 at Jacksonville." 
 
 " Did Mr. Harvey send you here with a message C " 
 
 " Yes, and as the river was guarded, I could not cross it 
 hereabouts." 
 
 "And you came with the militia without being sus- 
 pected 1 " 
 
 " Yes. They are followed by a mob of looters. I came 
 with them, and as soon as I was within range, 1 ran and 
 risked a few shots." 
 
 " Good, my friend ! Thanks ! You have Mr. Harvey's 
 message ? " 
 
 " Yes, Mr. Burbank. Here it is." 
 
 Burbank took the letter and read it. Mr. Harvey said 
 he might put implicit confidence in his messenger, John 
 Bruce, of whose sincerity there could be no doubt. After 
 
no NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 hearing the news he brought, Mr. Burbank would see what 
 was best to be done. 
 
 At this instant a volley was heard from without. There 
 was not a moment to lose. 
 
 " What would Mr. Harvey have me understand f" asked 
 Burbank. 
 
 " That in the first place," said Bruce, " the armed mob 
 which is attacking Camdless Bay is from fourteen to fifteen 
 hundred strong." 
 
 • " I did not reckon them at less. What next .? IsTexar 
 at their head ? " 
 
 " Mr. Harvey found it impossible to ascertain. One 
 thing is certain, and that is that Texar has not been at 
 Jacksonville for the last four-and-twenty hours ! " 
 
 " That ought to indicate some new scheme of the 
 scoundrers," said Burbank. 
 
 "Yes," answered Bruce. "That is what Mr. Harvey 
 thinks. Besides, Texar need not be there to execute the 
 order as to setting adrift the freed slaves — " 
 
 " Setting them adrift ! " exclaimed Burbank. " Setting 
 them adrift and helping them in incendiarism and 
 robbery — " 
 
 •* And Mr. Harvey thinks that while there is time, you 
 would do well to* put your family in safety by sending 
 them away at once from Castle House." 
 
 " Castle House," said Burbank, " can be defended, and 
 we will only leave it when it is untenable. Is there any 
 fresh news from Jacksonville ? " 
 
 " None." 
 
 " Have not the Federal troops made any movement 
 into Florida ? " 
 
 " None since they occupied Fernandina and the Bay of 
 St. Mary's." 
 
 " And what is the chief reason of your being sent .-* " 
 
 " To tell you that the dispersal of the slaves was only a 
 pretext got up by Texar to enable him to lay waste the 
 plantation, and make you his prisoner." 
 
 "Yea do not know if Texar is at the head of these 
 rascals ? " 
 
THE EVENING OF THE 2ND OF MARCH. ill 
 
 " No, Mr. Burbank. Mr. Harvey tried to find out, but 
 could not. And I have tried since I left Jacksonville, but 
 without success." 
 
 " Are there many of the militia with this mob ?" 
 
 "A hundred, at the outside," replied Bruce, "but the 
 mob is composed of the very worst characters. Texar had 
 them supplied with weapons, and they will not stop at any 
 excess. I repeat, Mr. Burbank, Mr. Harvey's opinion is 
 that you should abandon Castle House at once. He 
 ordered me to invite you to his cottage at Hampton Red. 
 It is about a dozen miles up stream on the right bank, 
 and there you would be safe for some days — " 
 
 "Yes, I know." 
 
 " I could take you and your family there without risk of 
 discovery, if you will go at once, before retreat is im- 
 possible." 
 
 " I thank Mr. Harvey, and you too, my friend," said 
 Burbank, '' but we have not yet come to that." 
 
 "As you wish, Mr. Burbank," answered Bruce. " I shall 
 none the less remain until you require my services." 
 
 The attack, which now began, required all James Bur- 
 bank's attention. , 
 
 A violent fusilade burst out, although the assailants 
 could not be seen owing to the shelter of the trees. The 
 bullets rained on the palisades, but did little damage. 
 Unfortunately, Burbank and his companions could only 
 reply feebly, having only forty guns amongst them. Being 
 stationed in the best positions for firing effectively, theii 
 shots did more execution than those of the militiamen at 
 the head of the column, a few of whom were hit, though 
 hidden in the wood. 
 
 This long-range fight lasted for about half an hour, 
 rather to the advantage of the defenders. Then the 
 assailants rushed at the palisades to storm them. As the 
 attack was to be delivered on several sides at once, they 
 brought with them planks and beams from the workshops, 
 now in flames. In twenty places these beams were thrown 
 across the stream, and over them rushed^ the Spaniard's 
 men to the foot of the palisades, losing several of their 
 
 PART I. H 
 
112 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 number in killed and wounded. And then they cHmbe( ^^ 
 up the planks and hoisted one another up ; but they d'u^ 
 not succeed in getting over. The negroes, infuriatet^s 
 against the incendiaries, repulsed them with great bravery 
 But it was evident that the defenders of Camdless Bai^r 
 could not for long hold out at all points, against th*^' 
 murderous foe. Until nightfall they might keep them a 
 bay, providing they were not seriously wounded. Burbanljii 
 and Stannard had, however, not been touched. Carrot' 
 alone had been hit, by a ball that tore open his shoulder! 
 He had to retire to the hall, where Mrs. Burbank, Alice 
 and Zermah gave him every attention. i 
 
 But night was coming to the help of the besiegers. UndeiDi 
 cover of the darkness some fifty of the most determined)'! 
 amongst them ran up to the gate, axe in hand. Probably i' 
 they would not have been able to force it had not a breach ti 
 been opened by a daring manoeuvre. c 
 
 A part of the outbuildings suddenly took fire, and the ' 
 flames, fed by the dry wood, seized on the palisades 
 against which the building leant J 
 
 Burbank rushed towards the fire, if not to put it out, at 
 least to defend the breach. 
 
 By the light of the flames he saw a man run througbtl 
 the smoke, climb the palisades, and escape over the planks^' 
 across the stream. i: 
 
 It was one of the assailants, who had penetrated into 
 the park on the St. John's side, from among the reeds. 
 Unseen, he had entered the stables, and at the risk of 
 perishing in the flames, had set fire to some trusses ofr 
 straw. V 
 
 A breach was thus opened. In vain Burbank and his: 
 companions endeavoured to bar the way. A mass of 
 assailants threw themselves into it, and the park wast 
 invaded by several hundred men. ; 
 
 Many fell in the hand-to-hand fight. The noise of the = 
 firing was heard on all sides. Soon Castle House was 
 entirely surrounded, while the negroes, overwhelmed by the 1 
 numbers, were forced out of the park to take flight in the 1 
 v/oods of Camdless Bay. They had fought as long as 1 
 
THE EVENING OF THE 2ND OF MARCH. 113 
 
 hey could, with courage and devotion ; but if they had 
 esisied longer, they would have been massacred to the 
 1st man. 
 
 Burbank, Stannard, Perry, the assistant-overseers, John 
 Jruce, who had fought bravely, and a few blacks had to 
 ake refiige in Castle House. 
 
 It was then nearly eight o'clock in the evening. The 
 |iight was dark in the west. In the north the sky was 
 iblaze with the glare of the conflagration. 
 
 Burbank and Stannard came hurriedly into the house. 
 
 " You must escape," said Burbank. " You must go at 
 )nce. Whether the thieves force their way in, or are kept 
 )utside till we are obliged to surrender, there is danger in 
 ;-our remaining. The boat is ready. It is time to part. 
 \iy wife, Alice, I implore you to follow Zermah with Dy 
 :o Cedar Rock. There you will be in safety, and if we are 
 compelled to escape in our turn, we will find you there, we 
 vill join you." 
 
 j " My father," said Alice, " come with us, and you too, 
 Mr. Burbank." 
 1 " Yes, James ! Yes ! Come ! " said Mrs. Burbank. 
 
 " I ! " answered Burbank, " I abandon Castle House to 
 ;hese scoundrels ! Never, while resistance is possible ! 
 We can hold out for some time yet And when you are 
 n safety we shall be stronger to defend ourselves I " 
 
 "James \" 
 
 " It is necessary ! " 
 
 A terrible tumult was heard as he spoke. The door 
 'esounded with the blows dealt on i: by the assailants, 
 ,vho were attacking the principal or river front of the 
 louse. 
 
 " Go ! " exclaimed Burbank, " The night is already 
 dark ; they will not see you in the shadow ! Go 1 you 
 ire only paralyzing us by remaining here ! For God's 
 >ake, go ! " 
 
 Zermah went first, holding little Dy by the hand. Mrs. 
 Burbank tore herself from her husband's arms, Alice left 
 ler father's. They disappeared down the staircase which 
 ,ed below the ground into the tunnel to Marine Creek. 
 
114 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 * And now," said Burbank, addressing himself to Pen u 
 the assistant-overseers, and the few negroes remaini" 
 " now, my friends, we must resist to the death." 
 
 Then they all ascended the grand staircase from tl." 
 hall, and took up their positions at the windows on t', 
 first floor. There, to the hundreds of bullets that hone^,,^ 
 combed the front of the house, they answered by Tew^,,', 
 but more effective discharges, firing, as they did, into tt . 
 mass of the assailants, who came on to force their wa ^;, 
 through the door either by axe or flame. There was n 
 one this time to open a breach into the house. Such a 
 attempt as that against the wooden palisades would hav] 
 been useless against stone walls. 
 
 Nevertheless, a score of men, stealing along in the darff 
 ness, which now was profound, gathered on the step:! 
 The door was then attacked furiously. It needed all it 
 solidity to withstand the blows of the picks and axe 
 The attempt cost many of the assailants their lives, fc 
 the position of the loopholes admitted of a cross fire on t 
 the step. 
 
 And now something happened to make matters worse 
 Ammunition began to fail. Burbank, his friends am 
 overseers, and the blacks, armed with guns, had used th<[' 
 greater part during the three hours the assault had lastedf 
 If they had to hold out much longer, how could they d( 
 it after the last cartridges had gone ? Would they hav< 
 to abandon Castle House to the mob, who would leavt 
 nothing of it but ruins ? 
 
 And this would certainly have to be done if the assailant 
 broke in the door, which had already be^un to shake, 
 Burbank saw this, but he resolved to wait till the last. At 
 any moment might not a diversion take place ? There 
 was now nothing to fear for Mrs. Burbank, his daughter, 
 nor Alice Stannard. And as men they could fight to the 
 end against this rabble of n^arderers, incendiaries, and 
 thieves. 
 
 " We have still ammunition for an hour," said Burbank. 
 " Use it all, my friends, and don't let us give up Castlfl 
 House." ] 
 
tHi! aVENlNQ OF TH^ 2ND 0^ MARCH. tis 
 
 He had hardly finished speaking when a loud report 
 
 s heard in the distance. 
 
 ' A cannon-shot ! " he exclaimed. 
 
 Another report was heard to the westward, on the other 
 
 e of the river. 
 
 * A second shot ! " said Stannard. 
 •' Listen ! " said Burbank. 
 
 A third report was heard, the wind bringing it more 
 
 tinctly to Castle House. 
 
 ' Is that a signal to recall the assailants to the right 
 
 nk ? " asked Stannard. 
 
 " Perhaps," said Bruce. " It is possible that there has 
 
 n an alarm over there." 
 
 Yes," said the overseer ; " and if these cannon-shots 
 ve not been fired from Jacksonville^ — " 
 
 * They have been fired from the Federal fleet ! " said, 
 rbank. " Has the flotilla forced the entrance of the St. 
 Itin's and mounted the river ? " 
 
 A.nd there was nothing impossible in Commodore Du- 
 nt's being now master of the river, at least in the lower 
 rt of its course. 
 
 But it was not so. The three gunshots had been fired 
 m the battery at Jacksonville ; that was quite evident, 
 no more firing was heard. There had been no engage- 
 nt between the Northerners and Confederates on the 
 
 John's or in the plains of Duval county. 
 And there could be no doubt that this had been the signal 
 recall to the commander of the militia when Perry, who 
 s stationed at one of the side loopholes, exclaimed, — 
 
 They are retiring ! They are retiring ! " 
 Burbank and his companions hurried to the central 
 idow, which they opened. 
 
 The sounds of the axe were no longer heard against the 
 Dr. Not one of the assailants was in sight. If their 
 .uts and yells were still heard in the air, they were heard 
 ther and further away. 
 
 Evidently something had happened to oblige the au- 
 )rities at Jacksonville to recall this mob to the other 
 ik of the St. John's. Doubtless it had been agreed that 
 
ii6 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 three gunshots should be fired in case any movement Cj,, 
 the squadron should threaten the Confederate position. 
 
 So the assailants had abruptly abandoned their fin,"' 
 assault, and across the devastated fields of the estate han 
 taken their way, lighted by the fires they had kindlei 
 An hour later they re-crossed the river two miles belovp 
 Camdless Bay, where the boats were waiting for them. L 
 
 Soon their shouts died away in the distance. To thi ' 
 uproar succeeded absolute silence. It was as the silenc<|j, 
 of death over the plantation. 
 
 It was then half-past nine o'clock. Burbank and hi; 
 companions went downstairs to the hall. There la} 
 Edward Carrol, stretched on the sofa, slightly wounded 
 and somewhat weakened by the loss of blood. 
 
 They told him what had happened since the signal fron: 
 Jacksonville. For the moment, at least. Castle House had 
 nothing to fear from Texar's gang. 
 
 " Yes," said James Burbank. " But the scoundrel wished 
 to disperse my liberated slaves, and they are dispersed 
 He wished to lay waste the plantation in revenge, andj. 
 only its ruins are left ! " 
 
 " James," said Walter Stannard, " worse misfortunes 
 might still happen to us. None of us fell in defending 
 Castle House ; but your wife, your daughter, and my 
 daughter might have passed into the hands of these rascals, 
 and they are safe." 
 
 " You are right, Stannard, and God be praised for it ! 
 What has been done by Texar's orders shall not go un 
 punished, and I will have justice to the last drop of his 
 blood." 
 
 " It is a pity," said Carrol, " that Mrs. Burbank, Alice, 
 Dy, and Zermah left us ! I know we seemed to be in 
 great danger then ; but I would rather know they were 
 here." 
 
 " Before the morning," said Burbank, " I will rejoin 
 them. They will be dreadfully anxious, and we must set 
 their minds at rest. I will then see if we can bring them 
 back to Camdless Bay, or leave them for a day or two at 
 Cedar Rock." 
 
THE EVENING OF THE 2ND OP MARCH. it; 
 
 " Yes," said Stannard. " We must not be hasty. All 
 lay not be over ; and as long as Jacksonville is under 
 ."exar's control we have something to fear." 
 
 " That is why I will act prudently," answered Burbank. 
 Perry, you will see that a boat is ready a little before 
 aybreak. I shall only want one man to go with me — " 
 
 A cry of grief, a shout of despair, suddenly interrupted 
 im. 
 
 The cry came from that part of the park where the lawn 
 ay in front of the house. It was immediately followed 
 )y the words — 
 ; "Father! Father!" 
 
 \ " My daughter's voice ! " exclaimed Mr. Stannard. 
 ! " What new misfortune ! " asked Burbank. And open- 
 ng the door they rushed out. 
 
 i Alice was standing a few yards away, and at her feet 
 iay.Mrs. Burbank. 
 , Neither Dy nor Zermah were with them. 
 
 " My child ! " exclaimed Burbank. At the sound of hi3 
 oice his wife rose. She could not speak. She stretched 
 ^ut her arms towards the river. 
 
 " Carried off } Carried off ? " 
 
 " Yes ! by Texar ! " said Alice. 
 
 And then she fell senseless by Mrs. Burbank's side. 
 
iiB MORTH AND SOUIU 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THE SIX DAYS THAT FOLLOWED. 
 
 When Mrs. Burbank and Alice were in the tunnel leading 
 to Marine Creek, Zermah was in front. The slave held the 
 little girl with one hand ; with the other she carried a 
 lantern, by whose feeble light they walked. When she 
 reached the end of the tunnel Zermah asked Mrs. Burbank 
 to wait for her. She intended to make sure that the boat 
 and the two negroes that were to take them to Cedar 
 Rock were at their post. Opening the door at the end of 
 the tunnel she stepped out towards the river. 
 
 For a minute — only a minute — Mrs. Burbank and Alice 
 waited for Zermah's return, when Alice noticed that Dy 
 was not with them. 
 
 " Dy ! Dy ! " shouted Mrs. Burbank, at the risk of 
 betraying her presence. 
 
 The child did not answer. Accustomed to follow Zer- 
 mah, she had gone with her out of the tunnel towards the 
 creek before her mother had noticed her. 
 
 Suddenly a groaning was heard. Fearing some new 
 danger, and thinking not for a moment of their own safety, 
 they ran out to the bank of the creek, and reached it just 
 in time to see a boat disappearing in the darkness. 
 
 " Help ! Help ! It is Texar ! " shouted Zermah. 
 
 " Texar ! Texar ! " shouted Alice in reply. And with 
 her hand she pointed to the Spaniard, revealed by the 
 reflection of the fires at Camdless Bay. He was standing 
 upright in the boat which rapidly shot away. 
 
 Then all was silent. 
 
 The two negroes with their throats cut lay dead on the 
 ground. 
 
THB mX DAYS THAT FOLLOWED. i\g 
 
 Then Mrs. Burbank, in distraction, followed by Alice 
 who in vain tried to stop her, ran along the bank, calling 
 after her little daughter. No cry answered to hers. The 
 boat had become invisible, either because the gloom had 
 veiled it from her sight, or because it had crossed the river 
 to some point on the left bank. 
 
 For an hour this vain pursuit continued. At last Mrs. 
 Burbank fell exhausted. Alice, with extraordinary energy, 
 helped the unfortunate mother to rise, supported her, and 
 almost carried her. In the distance, in the direction of 
 Castle House, rang out the reports of the firearms, mingled 
 every now and then with the terrible yells of the besiegers. 
 But it was necessary to go back in that direction, to try 
 and get back to the house along the tunnel, to open the 
 door which communicated with the underground stairs. 
 When she reached that spot how would Alice make her- , 
 self heard ? 
 
 She dragged Mrs. Burbank along, but the mother was 
 unconscious of what she was doing. Twenty times did they 
 stop as they returned along the riverside. At any instant 
 they might fall into the hands of those who were wrecking 
 the plantation. Would it be better to wait till daylight ? 
 But how in this place could she give Mrs. Burbank the 
 attention her state required ? And so, cost what it might, 
 Alice resolved to get back to Castle House. And as the 
 winding of the river lengthened the way, she thought it 
 would be better to go straight across the fields, guided by 
 the light of the burning barracoons. This she did, and thus 
 it was she came near the house. 
 
 There Mrs. Burbank fell motionless at her feet. She 
 could support her no longer. 
 
 By this time the detachment of militia, followed by the 
 horde of pillagers, had given up the assault, and were far 
 from the palisades. Not a shout was heard within or 
 without. Alice imagined that the assailants had captured 
 the house and abandoned it without leaving one of its 
 defenders alive. Supreme was her anguish ; her strength 
 failed her, and she, too, fell to the ground, while a last 
 g^roan escaped from her, a last appeal. It had been heard. 
 
120 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 Burbank and his friends had rushed out. Now they knew 
 all that had passed at Marine Creek. What mattered it to 
 them that the plunderers had gone ? What mattered it 
 to them that there was no fear of falhng into their power ? 
 A dreadful misfortune had come to them. Little Dy was 
 in the hands of Texar ! 
 
 This was the story told by Alice, broken with many 
 sobs, and listened to by Mrs. Burbank, who had returned 
 to consciousness and was bathed in tears. This is what was 
 learnt by Burbank, Stannard, Carrol, Perry, and their few 
 companions. T.he poor child, taken they knew not where, 
 in the hands of her father's cruellest enemy ! What could 
 be worse than that ? Could the future have greater griefs 
 in store ? 
 
 All were overwhelmed at the blow. Mrs. Burbank was 
 taken to her room and laid on her bed, and Alice remained 
 with her. 
 
 Below, in the hall, Burbank and his friends endeavoured 
 to devise some plan by which they could recover Dy and 
 rescue Zermah from Texar's hands. The devoted half- 
 breed would certainly endeavour to defend the child to the 
 death ! But as the prisoner of a scoundrel animated by 
 personal hatred, would she not pay with her life for the 
 curses she hurled at him ? 
 
 Then James Burbank blamed himself for having forced 
 his wife to leave Castle House, for having arranged such a 
 means of flight which had turned out so badly. Was 
 Texar's presence at Marine Creek to be attributed to 
 chance .'' Evidently not. Texar, in some way or another, 
 had heard of the existence of the tunnel. He had said to 
 himself that the defenders of Camdless Bay would endea- 
 vour to escape by it when they could no longer hold out 
 in the house. And, after leading his men to the right 
 bank of the river, after forcing the palisades, and driving 
 Burbank behind the walls of the house, there could be 
 no doubt he and some of .his accomplices had posted 
 themselves near Marine Creek. There he had suddenly 
 surprised the two blacks in charge of the boat, and cut 
 tbeir throats, their cries being unheard amid the tumult 
 
THE SIX DAYS THAT FOLLOWED. 121 
 
 made by the besiegers of the house. The Spaniard had 
 waited till Zermah appeared with little Dy close behind. 
 Seeing them alone, he probably thought that neither Mrs. 
 Burbank, nor her husband, nor her. friends were going to 
 leave Castle House. Then he would have to be content 
 with this prey^ and had seized on the child and the half- 
 breed to carry them off to some retreat whence it would be 
 impossible to recover them. 
 
 And with what more terrible blow could the scoundrel 
 have visited the Burbanks ? 
 
 A horrible night was passed by the survivors. Was there 
 not a chance that the assailants might return in greater num- 
 bers and better armed ? Fortunately, they did not. When 
 the day broke there had been no renewal of the attack. 
 
 But it was important to know why the three cannon- 
 shots had been fired the night before, and why the assail- 
 ants had retired when one effort more — an hour's effort at 
 the outside — would have given them the house. Was the 
 recall due to some demonstration of the Federals at the 
 mouth of the St. John's ? Had Commodore Duponf s 
 ships become masters of Jacksonville ? Nothing in Bur- 
 bank's interest could be more desirable. In all safety he 
 could begin his search to recover Dy and Zermah, and 
 openly attack Texar — if the Spaniard had not retreated 
 with his partisans — and prosecute him as the promoter of 
 the havoc at Camdless Bay and the double abduction of 
 the half-breed and child. 
 
 This time no such alibi was possible as that which the 
 Spaniard had produced at the opening of this history, when 
 he appeared before the magistrate at Saint Augustine. 
 If Texar was not at the head of this band of scoundrels 
 who had invaded Camdless Bay — as Mr. Harvey's mes- 
 senger had been unable to ascertain — the last cry of 
 Zermah had only too clearly revealed the part he took in 
 the abduction. And had not Alice recognized him as the 
 boat was rowing away ? 
 
 Yes ! Federal justice would make the scoundrel confess 
 where he had taken his victims, and punish the crimes 
 which he could not deny. 
 
 PART I. Z 
 
i'i» Hortn AND soufs. 
 
 Unfortunately, nothing happened to confirm this hyp6» 
 thesis concerning the arrival of the Northern flotilla in the 
 waters of the St. John's. At this date, the 3rd of March, 
 no ship had left the bay of St. Mary's, as was only too 
 clearly ascertained by the news which one of the assistant- 
 overseers brought in during the day from the other bank 
 of the river, to which he had gone to inquire. No vessel 
 had appeared off Pablo light. The whole fleet was 
 employed at Fernandina and Fort Clinch. It seemed 
 as though Commodore Dupont could only advance into 
 the centre of Florida with extreme circumspection. At 
 Jacksonville the rioters were still in power. After the 
 expedition to Camdless Bay the Spaniard had again 
 appeared in the town, and was organizing the defence 
 against Stevens's gunboats, should they try to cross the 
 bar. Doubtless some false alarm the evening before had 
 called back the looters. After all, was not Texar's 
 vengeance sufficient, now that the plantation had been 
 wasted, the factories fired, the negrocjs dispersed in the 
 forests with nothing but the ruins of the barracoons left to 
 them, and little Dy taken away from her father and 
 mother, with no trace as to where she had gone ? 
 
 Of this James Burbank felt only too certain, when 
 during the morning he and Walter Stannard explored 
 the right bank of the river. In vain they searched the 
 smaller creeks for some clue as to the direction taken by 
 the boat. The search could at the best be but incomplete, 
 unless the left bank was searched as well. 
 
 But at this time, was not this impossible ? Would it 
 not be necessary to wait till Texar and his partisans were 
 reduced to impotence by the arrival of the Federals? 
 With Mrs. Burbank in such a state, Alice unable to leave 
 her, and Carrol laid up for some days, would it not be 
 imprudent to leave them alone at Castle House, when the 
 return of the assailants was not unlikely ? 
 
 And what was even more maddening was, that Burbank 
 could not dream of proceeding against Texar, either for the 
 devastation of his estate, nor the abduction of Zermah and 
 his daughter. The only magistrate to whom he could 
 
THE SIX DAYS THAT FOLLOWED. 123 
 
 address himself was the author of the crime. All that 
 could be done was to wait until regular justice had resumed 
 its course at Jacksonville. 
 
 " James," said Mr. Stannard, " if the dangers which 
 threaten your ^child are terrible, at least Zermah is with 
 her, and you can depend on her devotion — " 
 
 " Till death— quite so ! " said Burbank. "And when will 
 Zermah be dead ? " 
 
 " Listen, my dear James. Consider for a moment. It 
 is not Texar's interest to proceed to such extremities. 
 He has not yet left Jacksonville, and until he has 1 
 think his victims have no act of violence to fear. Your 
 child will be a guarantee, a hostage against the reprisals 
 which he has to guard against, not only from you, but 
 from the Federals, for having suspended the regular 
 authorities of Jacksonville, and devastated a Northener's 
 plantation. It is his interest to spare them, and wait till 
 Dupont and Sherman are masters of the territory before 
 you do anything against him." 
 
 " And when will that be ? " asked Burbank. 
 
 " To-morrow ! To-day, perhaps ! I tell you, Dy is 
 Texar's safeguard. It is for that purpose he took the 
 opportunity of carrying her off, knowing that it would 
 also break your heart, my poor James ; and the scoundrel 
 has succeeded only too well." 
 
 Thus reasoned Mr. Stannard, and he had good grounds 
 for doing so. Would he convince James Burbank? 
 Doubtless, no. Would he give him any hope ? None. It 
 was impossible. But Burbank saw that he must force 
 himself to talk before his wife as Stannard had talked to 
 him. Otherwise she would not survive the blow. And 
 when he reached home, he made much use of the argu- 
 ments which had no effect upon himself. 
 
 Meanwhile, Perry and his assistant overseers visited 
 Camdless Bay. It was a heartrending spectacle which 
 even made a great impression on Pygmalion, who accom- 
 panied them. The " free .man " had never dreamt of 
 following the freed slaves dispersed by Texar, The liberty 
 to sleep in the woods and suffer cold and hunger seemed 
 I 2 
 
124 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 LO him excessive. As he preferred to remain at Castle 
 House, he ought^ hke Zermah, to have torn up his act of 
 enfranchisement to gain the right to Hve there. 
 
 " You see, Pyg ! " said Mr. Perry^ " the plantation is 
 laid waste, our workshops are in ruins. That is what has 
 been the cost of giving liberty to people of your colour." 
 
 " Mr. Perry," replied Pygmalion, " it is not my fault — " 
 
 " It is your fault. If fellows like you had not applauded 
 the speechifiers who thundered against slavery, if you had 
 protested against the ideas of the North, if you had taken 
 arms to repulse the Federal troops, Mr. Burbank would 
 never have to think of freeing you, and disaster would 
 never have come to Camdless Bay." 
 
 " But what can I do now ? " said the disconsolate Pyg. 
 « What can I do, Mr. Perry ? " 
 
 " 1 will tell you, Pyg, if you have the least feeling of 
 justice about you. You are free, are you not ? " 
 
 " It seems so." 
 
 " And consequently, you belong to yourself.?" 
 
 "Certainly." 
 
 " And if you belong to yourself, there is nothing to stop 
 you from doing what you like with yourself. -'" 
 
 " Nothing, Mr. Perry." 
 
 " Well, in your [lace, Pyg, I should not hesitate. I would 
 go to the nearest plantation and again become a slave, and 
 the price I realized by my sale I would bring back to my 
 old master, to indemnify him for the wrong I did him when 
 he set me free ! " 
 
 Did the overseer speak seriously ? It was impossible to 
 know what nonsense the witty man might talk once he 
 had mounted his hobby. Pygmalion, the piteous Pyg- 
 malion, disconcerted, irresolute, abashed, did not know 
 what to reply. 
 
 It was only too evident that James Burbank's act of 
 generosity had brought misfortune and ruin on the planta- 
 tion. The disaster v.ouid cost him a considerable amount 
 of money. There were no barracoons left ; they had fallen 
 after they had been sacked. The sawmills and workshops 
 were only heaps of cinders from which grey wreaths of 
 
THE SIX DAYS THAT FOLLOWED. 12$ 
 
 smoke still rose. In place of the stores where the timber 
 was kept, of the factories where the cotton was heckled, 
 of the hydraulic presses where it was squeezed into bales, 
 of the sugar-mills, there were only blackened walls ready to 
 fall, ana where the chimney of the factory rose, there was 
 now but a mound of reddened bricks. The fields of coffee 
 and rice, the kitchen garden, the enclosures for the 
 domestic animals, had been completely laid waste, as if a 
 herd of wild beasts had ravaged them for hours. At the 
 sight of this lamentable spectacle, Mr. Perry could hardly 
 contain himself. His anger escaped in threatening words. 
 Pygmalion felt anything but comfortable at the fierce 
 looks the overseer gave him ; and he ended by leaving, to 
 return to Castle House, in order that, as he said, he might 
 reflect more at his ease on the proposition as to selling 
 himself, which the overseer had made. And, doubtless, 
 the day was not long enough for his reflection, for when 
 evening came, he was still undecided. 
 
 During the day a few of the old slaves returned in secret 
 to Camdless Bay. It may be imagined what was their 
 distress when they found not a single hut undestroyed. 
 James Burbank gave orders that as much as possible 
 should be done for them. A certain number were lodged 
 within the palisades in the servants' quarters that the 
 fire had not touched. They were, at first, employed 
 in burying their companions who had died in the 
 defence of the house, and also the corpses of the 
 assailants who had fallen in the attack — the wounded 
 had been carried away by their comrades. And they 
 also buried the two negroes who had been killed by 
 Texar and his accomplices when surprised at their post 
 near Marine Creek. 
 
 This done, James Burbank could not set about getting 
 his estate again into order until the question between 
 North and South was settled in Florida. Other cares, 
 equally serious but very difierent, absorbed his attention 
 night and day. All in his power to do to recover some 
 trace of his little daughter he did. Mrs. Burbank's health 
 was in a precarious state, although Alice had not left her 
 
126 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 for a moment, and watched over her with filial solicitude ; 
 and it was necessary to find a doctor for her. 
 
 There was one in Jacksonville who possessed the full 
 confidence of the Burbanks ; and as soon as he was sent 
 for he did not hesitate to come to Camdless Bay, He 
 prescribed a few remedies. But would they be efficacious 
 so long as Dy remained unrestored to her mother ? 
 
 Leaving Carrol, who would have to keep to his room for 
 some days, Burbank and Stannard went out each day to ex- 
 plore both banks of the river. They searched the islands 
 in the St. John's ; they asked the country people ; they 
 inquired in the smallest villages in the county ; they 
 promised a heavy reward to any one who would bring 
 them any clue. Their efforts remained useless. How 
 could they learn what was going on in Black Creek where 
 the Spaniard hid himself? No one knew of it. And, 
 besides, to withdraw his victims the better from all search, 
 had not Texar taken them further up the river ? Was not 
 the county large enough, were there not enough hiding- 
 places in the vast forests in tlie centre, amid the immense 
 marshes in the South of Florida, in the region of the inac- 
 cessible Everglades, for Texar to hide his victims so that 
 they could not be reached ? 
 
 At the same time, through the doctor coming to Camd- 
 less Bay, Burbank was kept informed of what was passing 
 at Jacksonville and in the north of Duval County. 
 
 The Federals had made no new demonstration. Had 
 special instructions arrived from Washington forbidding 
 them to cross the frontier ? Such a proceeding would be 
 disastrous for the Unionists in the SoLLh, and particularly 
 so for Jatnes Burbank. 
 
 Nevertheless, Commodore Dupont's squadron remained 
 in the estuary of the St. Mary's, and if Texar's men had 
 been recalled by the three canon-shots fired on the 2nd 
 of March, it was because the Jacksonville authorities had 
 been deceived by a false alarm ; and, through the error, 
 Castle House had escaped from pillage and ruin. 
 
 But would not the Spaniard send another expedition to 
 complete his work, seeing that James Burbank was not in 
 
tHE SIX DAYS THAT FOLLOWED. 127 
 
 lis hands ? An unlikely hypothesis ! At present, the 
 ttack on Castle House and the carrying oft" of Dy and 
 ^ermah were probably enough for him. Besides, some of 
 he better-class citizens had not hesitated to show their 
 Jisapprobation of the affair at Camdless Bay, and their 
 lisgust at the chief of the Jacksonville rioters, although 
 heir opinion might matter little to Texan The Spaniard 
 vas more powerful than ever in Duval County. His 
 agabonds and unscrupulous adventurers were quite at 
 :heir ease. Each day they gave themselves up to pleasures 
 )f all sorts, degenerating into orgies. The noise of the 
 Tierry-makings even reached the plantation ; and the sky 
 Jlowed with the public illuminations, which might be taken 
 or the light of another incendiary fire. Moderate men 
 ,vere reduced to silence, and had to submit to the yoke of 
 ihis faction, which was supported by the populace of the 
 :ounty. 
 
 The temporary inaction of the Federal army oppor- 
 tunely came in to help the new authorities, who profited 
 by it to spread the report that the Northerners would not 
 pass the frontier ; that they had received orders to retreat 
 Into Georgia and the Carolinas ; that Florida would not be 
 ubjected to the invasion of the anti-slavery troops ; that 
 its position as an old Spanish colony put it outside the 
 question the United States were seeking to solve by force 
 :bf arms, &c., &c. And in all the counties there was pro- 
 duced a certain current favourable rather than contrary to 
 the ideas which the partizans 'of violence represented. 
 This was apparent in many places, particularly in the 
 north, on the Georgian frontier, where the planters with 
 Northern sympathies were atrociously treated, their slaves 
 put to flight, their sawmills and factories destroyed by fire, 
 ti.eir establishments devastated by the Confederate troops, 
 as Camdless Bay had just been by the populace of Jack- 
 onville. 
 
 It did not, however, seem — at present at least— that 
 there was a chance of the plantation being again invaded. 
 |But much did James Burbank chafe at the delay of the 
 Federals in making themselves masters of the territory. 
 
128 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 As things stood, nothing could be done against Texar 
 either to bring hinn to justice for what could not be 
 denied, or compel him to reveal the hiding-place of Dy 
 and Zermah. 
 
 Burbank could not bring himself to believe that the 
 Federals were going to remain quietly on the frontier. 
 Gilbert's last letter had expressly stated that the expedition s 
 of Commodore Dupont and Sherman was destined forh 
 Florida. Since this letter, had the Federal Governmentjn 
 sent diiil'erent orders to Edisto Bay, where the squadron 
 was waiting ? Had a success of the Confederate troops 
 in Virginia or the Carolinas obliged the army of the 
 Union to halt in its march to the South ? 
 
 Thus passed the five days which followed the attack on 
 Camdless Bay. There was no news of a movement of the 
 Federals. No news of Dy and Zermah, although Burbank 
 had done his best to come on tlieir track, and not a day 
 had passed without some fresh effort. 
 
 The 9th of March had come. Edward Carrol had 
 complete ly recovered. He was now fit to join in the work 
 of his friends. Mrs. Burbank continued extremely weak. 
 It seemed as though her life threatened to take flight with 
 her tears. In her delirium she called her little daughter 
 in heartrending tones ; she attempted to go in search of 
 her. These crises were followed by syncopes, which put 
 her life in danger. Often and often Alice feared that the 
 unhappy mother would die in her arms. 
 
 A war rumour reached Jacksonville on the morning of 
 the 9th of March. Unfortunately, it was calculated to 
 give new encouragement to the partizans of Secession. 
 
 The Confederate general, Van Dorn, had repulsed the | 
 soldiers of Curtis on the 6th of March at the battle of t 
 Betonville, in Arkansas, and obliged them to retreat. 
 Really this was an engagement with the rear-guard of a 
 small Northern corps ; and the success was more than 
 compensated for a few days afterwards by the victory of 
 Pea Ridge. It, however, provoked an increase of insolence 
 among the Southerners. At Jacksonville, the unimportant 
 action was celebrated as a complete check to the FederaJ 
 
THE SIX DAYS riiAT FOLLOWED. 129 
 
 arm.}'- ; and there were new festivities and new orgies, the 
 murniur of which rolled mournfully over Camdless Bay. 
 
 When James^Burbank returned, about six o'clock in the 
 evening, from liis exploration of the left bank of the river, 
 he had ascertained the following facts. 
 
 A native of Putnam county fancied he had discovered 
 some trace of the abduction on an island of the St. John's 
 a few miles above Black Creek, During the preceding 
 night this man thought he had heard a cry of despair, and 
 had come to report the fact to James Burbank. Squambo, 
 the Indian, Texar's confidant, had been seen in the neigh- 
 bourhood in his skiff. There was no doubt about the 
 Indian's being seen, for the fact was confirmed by a pas- 
 senger on board the Shannon, who, on his return to St. 
 Augustine, had landed during the day at Camdless Bay. 
 
 It need not be said how eagerly James Burbank started 
 on the track. Carrol and two negroes accompanied him 
 in the boat with which he started up the river. They 
 speedily reached the island in question^ thoroughly searched 
 it, and visited a few fishermen's huts that did not seem to 
 have been recently occupied. Among the almost impene- 
 trable underwood in the interior there was not a vestige of 
 tiuman beings. There was nothing on the bank to show 
 that a boat had put in. Squambo could nowhere be seen, 
 and if he had been prowing round the island he haa 
 probably not landed. The expedition was thus without 
 jresult, like the others. The return had to be made to the 
 plantation \ t;h the knowledge that a false track had been 
 *ollo\ved.~ In the evening, Burbank, Stannard, and Carrol, 
 is tkdy were together in the hall, talked over this useless 
 earch. About nine o'clock, Alice, having left Mrs. Bur- 
 Dank asleep, came to join them, and found that the last 
 ittempt had been without result. 
 
 The night was to be a dark one. The moon, in its first 
 
 quarter, had already disappeared below the horizon. A 
 
 deep silence enveloped Castle House, the plantation, and 
 
 he river. The few blacks in the servants' apartments 
 
 ere a^^leep. When the silence was troubled it was by 
 
 e distant clamour and the reports of the fireworks it 
 
 8 
 
130 NORTH AND SOUtti. 
 
 Jacksonville, where, with great uproar, the people were 
 celebrating the successes of the Confederates. 
 
 Each time the noise was heard in the hall another blow 
 was struck at the Burbanks. 
 
 " We ought to find out what it means," said Carrol, " and 
 see if the Federals really have renounced their plans on 
 Florida." 
 
 " Yes ! It must be done," answered Stannard. " We 
 cannot exist in this uncertainty.'^ 
 
 " Well," said Burbank, " I will go to Fernandina to- 
 morrow — and then I will see — " I 
 
 At this moment there came a gentle tap on the fronts 
 door of Castle House, on the side facing the river. ]i 
 
 A scream escaped from Alice, who rushed to the door.j 
 Burbank vainly tried to keep the girl back. And as noj 
 reply had come, another knock was heard, this time morej: 
 distinctly. ! 
 
A FEW HOURS, 13 1 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 A FEW HOURS. 
 
 AMES BURBANK stepped to the door. He did not expect 
 nybody. It might be some important news from Jack- 
 onville brought by John Bruce from his correspondent, 
 Ar. Harvey. 
 
 A third time there came a knock, and from a more im- 
 latient hand. 
 
 " Who is there ? " asked James Burbank. 
 
 " I am," was the reply. 
 
 " Gilbert ! " exclaimed Alice. 
 
 She was not mistaken, Gilbert at Camdless Bay ! Gil- 
 lert appearing among his people, glad to come and pass a 
 sw hours with them, knowing nothing, doubtless, of the 
 lisasters that had fallen on them ! 
 
 In a moment the young lieutenant was in his father's 
 rms ; while the man who accompanied him carefully shut 
 he door, after taking a last look round outside. 
 
 It was Mars, Zermah's husband, Gilbert Burbank's 
 [evoted follower. 
 
 After embracing his father, Gilbert turned round. Then, 
 eeing Alice, he took her hand and clasped it with, an 
 rresistible movement of affection. 
 
 " My mother ! " he said. " Where is mother ? Is it true 
 hat she is dying ? " 
 
 " You know all, then .? " said j ames Burbank, 
 
 " I know all : the plantation laid waste by the Jackson- 
 'ille ruffians, the attack on Castle House, my mother — 
 lead perhaps ! " 
 
 The young man's presence in the county where he ran 
 uch peril was immediately explained. 
 
132 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 This is what had happened : 
 
 That evening, some gunboats from Commodore Dupont's jcc: 
 squadron had come to the mouth of the St. John's. 
 Ascending the river, they had had to stop at the bar, four 
 miles below Jacksonville. A few hours later, a man, 
 calling himself one of the lighthouse-keepers at Pablo, 
 had boarded Stevens's gunboat, on which Gilbert was 
 second in command. The man had related all that ha 1 
 passed at Jacksonville, including the attack on Camdless 
 Bay, the dispersal of the blacks, and the serious condition m 
 of Mrs. Burbank. It may be guessed what were Gilbert's re 
 feelings on listening to the story of these deplorable ;F 
 events. jai 
 
 Then he was seized with an irresistible desire to see his 
 mother. With the permission of Commandant Stevens 
 he had left the flotilla in the gig. Accompanied by the '^ 
 faithful Mars, he passed unnoticed in the darkness — by ^ 
 the way he knew so well — and landed half a mile below 
 Camdless Bay, so as to avoid touching at the pier, which 
 would probably be watched. 
 
 But what he did not know, and could not know, was 
 that he had fallen into a snare spread by Texar. At an 
 price the Spaniard desired to obtain the proof required b 
 the magistrates — the proof that James Burbank was in 
 correspondence with the enemy. To entice the youn 
 lieutenant to Camdless Bay, a lighthouse-keeper at Pabii 
 had been sent to acquaint Gilbert with what had occurrc 
 at Castle House, particularly the condition of his mothe;. 
 The young lieutenant had set out, as we know; and he had 
 been watched as he went up the river. As he glided alon^^ 
 by the reeds that bordered the high bank of the St. John's 
 he had, however, thrown the Spaniard's men off the track ; 
 but though the spies had not seen him land below 
 Camdless Bay, they hoped to capture him on his return, 
 particularly as all that part of the river was under their 
 surveillance. 
 
 " Mother ! " continued Gilbert, " where is she ? " 
 
 " Here, my son ! " said Mrs. Burbank. 
 
 She liad just appeared on the landing of the hall stair- 
 
I A FEW HOURS. I33 
 
 |:ase ; she descended slowly, holding the rail, and fell on a 
 ',ouch, while Gilbert covered her with kisses. 
 
 In her troubled sleep she had heard the knock at the 
 loor. Recognizing her son's voice, she had collected 
 sufficient strength to get up and meet Gilbert, to weep with 
 lim and the others. The young man clasped her in his 
 irms. 
 
 " Mother ! mother! " said he, "I see you again, after all. 
 rlow you are suffering ! But you live ! Ah ! we will cure 
 rou ! Yes ! These evil days will soon end. We .shall be 
 ■e-united — soon ! We will give you back your health. 
 Fear nothing for me, mother No one knows that Mars 
 ind I are here." And as he spoke, Gilbert saw his mother 
 vas fainting, and tried to revive her by his caresses. 
 
 But Mars seemed to understand that he and Gilbert did 
 lot know the full extent of the calamity. James Burbank, 
 3arrol, and Stannard stood silent with bowed heads, . 
 A.lice could not restrain her tears. Dy was not there, nor 
 vas Zermah, who ought to have guessed that her luisband 
 vas at Camdless Bay, that he was in the house, that he 
 vas waiting 
 
 So, with his heart torn by anguish, he looked into all 
 ;he corners of the hall, and then asked Mr.Burbank, — 
 
 '• Master, what is the matter ? " 
 
 At this moment Gilbert rose. 
 
 " And Dy ? " he asked. " Has Dy gone to bed ? Where 
 is my little sister ? " 
 
 " Where is my wife ? " said Mars. 
 
 An instant afterwards the young officer and Mars knew 
 ill. In coming from the St. John's, from the place where 
 their canoe was waiting for them, they had seen enough in 
 the darkness of the ruins of the plantation. But they 
 might naturally think that, with the disaster consequent on 
 •Jie enfranchisement of the blacks, the limit had been 
 reached ! Now nothing was hid from them. One did not 
 find his sister at home, the other did not find his wife, and 
 no one could tell them where Texar had hidden them fur 
 these seven days. 
 
 Gilbert returned to kneel near Mrs. Burbank. His tears 
 
134 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 mingled with hers. Mars, with bloodshot face and panting 
 chest, walked to and fro, unable to contain himself 
 
 At last his rage exploded. 
 
 " I will kill Texar ! " he said. " I will go to Jacksonville 
 — to-morrow — this very night — this very instant " 
 
 "Yes, come, Mars ! come !" said Gilbert. 
 
 Jatoes Burbank stopped them. 
 
 " If that was what ought to be done," said he, " I should 
 not have waited for you to come, my son ! The scoundrel 
 would already have paid with his life for his evil deeds. 
 But, before that is done, it is necessary that he should say 
 what he alone can say. And when I speak thus, Gilbert 
 — when I advise you and Mars to wait — it is because it is 
 necessary to wait." 
 
 " Be it so, father ! " said the young man. " But at least 
 I will ransack the country ; I will search — " 
 
 "And do you think I have not done so? Not a day 
 has passed without our exploring the river-banks and 
 islands which might serve as a refuge for Texar, and not a 
 trace have we found, not a thing to put us on your sister's 
 track. Carrol and Stannard have helped me, and up to 
 now our search has been fruitless." 
 
 " Why did you not lodge a complaint at Jacksonville ? " 
 asked the young officer. " Why have you not brought an 
 action against Texar for having caused the pillage of 
 Camdless Bay and the abduction — " 
 
 " Why ? " answered James Burbank. '" Because Texar 
 is now the master ; because all honest men tremble before 
 the scoundrels who are devoted to him ; because the 
 pnpulace is with him, and the county militia is with 
 him." 
 
 " I will kill Texar ! " said Mars, as if he were possessed 
 by some fixed idea. 
 
 " You shall kill him when the time comes," said James 
 Burbank. " At present it would make matters worse." 
 
 " And when will the time come ? " asked Gilbert. 
 
 " When the Federals are masters of Florida — when they 
 have occupied Jacksonville." 
 
 " And if it is then too late ? " 
 
A FEW HOURS. 135 
 
 " My son ! my son ! I beseech you do not say that 1 " 
 
 exclaimed Mrs. Burbank. 
 
 " No, Gilbert, do not say that," added Alice. 
 
 James Burbank took his son's hand. 
 
 "Gilbert, listen to me," he said. "We, like yon and 
 Mars, will do instant justice on Texar if he refuses to tell 
 us what he has done with his victims. But for your 
 sister's sake, Gilbert — for your wife's sake. Mars — our 
 anger must give place to our prudence. There is good 
 reason to believe that in Texar's hands Dy and Zermah 
 are hostages for his safety. The scoundrel is afraid of 
 having to answer for turning out the honest magistrates 
 of Jacksonville and letting loose on Camdless Bay the mob 
 of scoundrels to burn and pillage a Northerner's planta- 
 tion. If I did not bd,ieve this, Gilbert, would I speak with 
 such conviction ? Would I be strong enough to wait ? " 
 
 " And would I still be alive ? " asked Mrs. Burbank. 
 The unfortunate woman felt that if her son went to Jack- 
 sonville he would fall into Texar's power. And what could 
 save an officer of the Federal navy fallen into the power 
 of the Southerners when the Federals were threatening 
 Florida ? 
 
 Nevertheless, the young oflicer was not master of himself. 
 He was obstinate in his wish to go ; and, like Mars, he 
 repeated, " I will kill Texar ! " 
 
 " Come, then ! " he said. 
 
 " You shall not go, Gilbert ! " 
 
 Mrs. Burbank raised herself from the sofa. She placed 
 herself before the door ; but, exhausted by the effort, she 
 could not support herself, and she fainted. 
 
 " Mother ! mother !" exclaimed the young man. 
 
 Mrs. Burbank had to be carried to her room, where Alice 
 remained with her. Then James Burbank rejoined Carrol 
 and Stannard in the hall. 
 
 Gilbert was sitting on the sofa with his face in his hands. 
 Mars was standing apart, and silent. 
 
 "Now, Gilbert," said James Burbank, "you are in your 
 right senses. Speak ! On what you say depends what wt 
 shall do. Our only hope is in a prompt arrival of the 
 
136 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 Federals in the county. Have they given up their project 
 of occupying Florida ? " 
 
 « No." 
 
 "Where are they?" 
 
 *' A part of the squadron at this moment is on the way 
 to Saint Augustine, to blockade the coast." 
 
 " But is not the Commodore going to take possession of 
 the St. John's .?" asked Carrol. 
 
 "The lower course of the St. John's is ours. Our 
 gunboats are anchored in the river under the orders of 
 Commandant Stevens." 
 
 " In the river, and they have not yet endeavoured to 
 seize on Jacksonville ?" asked Stannard. 
 
 " No, for they have had to stop at the bar, four miles 
 below the town." 
 
 "The gunboats stopped," said James Burbank, "and by 
 an insurmountable obstacle .'' " 
 
 " Yes, father," answered Gilbert ; " stopped by want of 
 water. The tide must be high for them to pass the bar, 
 and even then the passage would be difficult. Mars knows 
 the channel, and he is to be the pilot." 
 
 " Waiting ! always waiting ! " exclaimed James Burbank. 
 " And for how long ? " 
 
 Three days or twenty-four hours — how long the time 
 would be for the people in Castle House ! And if the 
 Confederates saw that they could not defend the town ! If 
 they abandoned it, as they had abandoned Fernandina, 
 Fort Clinch, and the other points of Georgia and northern 
 Florida ! l( Texar did not run away ! Then where would 
 they search ! 
 
 Mr. Stannard then asked if it was true that the Federals 
 had met with a repulse in the North. What was thought 
 of the defeat at Bentonville ? 
 
 " The victory of Pea Ridge has enabled Curtis to re- 
 occupy the ground he for a moment lost. The situation 
 of tht: Northerners is excellent ; their success is assured in 
 a delay which it was difficult to foresee. When they have 
 occupied the principal points in Florida, they will stop 
 contraband of war from entering through the coast passes; 
 
A FEW HOURS. I37 
 
 and arms and ammunition will no longer reach the 
 Confederates. Then, in a little time, the territory will 
 resume its calm and security under the protection of our 
 squadron. Yes, in a few days ! But now — " 
 
 The idea of his sister being exposed to such peril re- 
 turned to him with such force that Mr. Bu!;bank, to divert 
 his attention, changed the conversation. How did the 
 belligerents stand ? Could Gilbert give them any news 
 which had not reached Jacksonville or rather tamdless 
 Bay.? 
 
 Several things he could tell them, some of them of great 
 importance for the Northerners in Florida. 
 
 It will be remembered that after the victory of Donelson, 
 the State of Tennessee had almost entirely fallen under 
 Federal domination. By a simultaneous combined attack 
 of army and fleet, the Federals endeavoured to make 
 themselves masters of the entire course of the Mississippi. 
 They had descended it to Island lo, where the troops came 
 in contact with Beauregard's division, which had charg^^ 
 of the defence of the river. Already, on the 24th of 
 February, General Pope's brigade, after landing at Com- 
 merce, on the right bank of the Mississippi, had repulsed 
 J. Thomson's corps. Arrived at Island 10 and the village 
 of New Madrid, they had, it is true, to halt before a for- 
 midable system of redoubts prepared by Beauregard. 
 Since the fall of Donelson and Nashville, all the positions 
 on the river above Memphis had been considered as lost 
 to the Confederates, but those below could still be 
 defended, and here it was a battle would soon be fought 
 which might be decisive. 
 
 But meanwhile, Hampton Roads, at the entrance of the 
 James River, had been the scene of a memorable combat. 
 The battle had been between the first examples of armour- 
 plated ships, the employment of which has modified the 
 navies and naval tactics of both the Old and New World. 
 
 On the 1st of March the Monitor, an armour-plated 
 vessel built by the Swedish engineer Ericcsen, and the 
 Virginia, the old Me7'rimac much altered, had been ready 
 to put to sea, one at New York, the other at Norfolk. 
 
 PART I. 
 
138 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 At this time a Federal division, under the orders of 
 Captain Marston, was at anchor in Hampton Roads, near 
 Newport News. This division was composed of the 
 Congress, the Saint Lawrence, the Cumberland, and two 
 steam frigates. 
 
 Suddenly, on the 2nd of March, in the morning, there 
 appeared the Virginia, commanded by the Confederate 
 Captain Buchanan. Followed by a few other vessels of 
 minor im^portance, she attacked the Congress, and then the 
 Cumberland, which latter she rammed and sank with a 
 hundred and twenty men of her crew. Returning then to 
 the Congress, stranded on the mud, she shelled her and set 
 her on fire. Only the night stopped her from destroying 
 the other three vessels of the Federal squadron. 
 
 It is difficult to imagine the effect produced by the 
 victory of a small armour-plated ship over the broadside 
 ships of the Union. The news was propagated with 
 marvellous rapidity. Great was the consternation among 
 the partizans of the North, for the Virginia might enter 
 the Hudson and sink every ship at New York. Great 
 was the joy of the Southerners, who saw the blockade 
 raised and trade again untramelled along their coast. 
 
 It was this naval success which was being so noisily 
 celebrated at Jacksonville. The Confederates now fancied 
 themselves safe from the Federal vessels. Following on 
 the victory at Hampton Roads, might not Commodore 
 Dupont's squadron be immediately recalled to the Potomac 
 or the Chesapeake ? No landing would threaten Florida. 
 The slavery ideas supported by the most violent of the 
 Southerners would triumph without a contest. And this 
 would strengthen Texar and his partizans in a position in 
 which they could do so much evil. 
 
 But the Confederates were in too great a hurry. And 
 the news already known in Florida, Gilbert was able to 
 supplement with that which was current when he left 
 Commandant Stevens's gunboat. 
 
 The second fight in Hampton Roads had been very 
 different from the first. On the morning of the 9th of 
 March, when the Virginia was preparing to attack the 
 
A FEW HOURS. 139 
 
 Minnesota, one of the two Federal frigates, an enemy 
 whose presence was unsuspected by the Southerners 
 suddenly appeared before her. A strange machine came 
 away from the frigate's side, '* a cheese-box on a raft," as 
 the Confederates called it. This " cheese-box " was the 
 Monitor, commanded by Lieutenant Warden. He had 
 been sent to destroy the batteries on the Potomac, but on 
 reaching the mouth of the James River, had heard the 
 firing in Hampton Roads, and during the night had 
 brought the Monitor on to the scene. 
 
 At half a dozen yards from each other these two for- 
 midable engines of war fought for four hours, and then 
 the Virginia, struck on the water-line and in danger of 
 sinking, took flight in the direction of Norfolk. The 
 Monitor, which was to sink nine months later, had 
 completely defeiated her rival. Thanks to her, the 
 Federal Government resumed its superiority in Hampton 
 Roads. 
 
 *' No, father," said Gilbert, as he ended his story, " our 
 squadron has not been recalled to the north. Stevens's 
 six gunboats are anchored in the St. John's in front of the 
 bar. I tell you that in three days, at least, we shall be 
 masters of Jacksonville." 
 
 " Then you must see, Gilbert, that you had better wait 
 and return on board ! But on your way to Camdless Bay 
 do you not think you have been followed ? " 
 
 " No. Mars and I have escaped all observation." 
 
 *' And this man who told you what had passed at the 
 plantation, the fire, the robbery, the illness of your mother. 
 Who is he?" 
 
 " He said he was one of the lighthouse-keepers at Pablo, 
 and had come to warn Captain Stevens of the danger run 
 by the Northerners in this part of Florida." 
 
 " Did he know of your presence on board ? '* 
 
 "No, and he seemed much surprised at it. But why 
 these questions ? " 
 
 " Because I am afraid it is some plot of Texar's. He 
 more than suspected — he knew that you were in the 
 Federal navy. He learnt that you were under the orders 
 
140 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 of Commandant Stevens. If he wished to entice you 
 here — " 
 
 " Never fear. We have got to Cam d less Bay without 
 being seen coming up the river, and it v.ill be the same 
 when we go back." 
 
 *' If yo'u go on board — not otherwise ! " 
 
 " I promise you^ father, Mars and I shall be on board 
 before daybreak." 
 
 " When will you go ? " 
 
 "When the tide turns. That is about half-past two 
 o'clock." 
 
 " Who knows } " said Carrol. " Perhaps the gunboats 
 will not stop three days at the bar ?" 
 
 " The wind must freshen to give enough water on the 
 bar," said the lieutenant. " May it blow a gale ! And 
 then we can get at the scoundrels I And then — " 
 
 " I will kill Texar,'^ said Mars„ 
 
 " It was a little after midnight. Gilbert and Mars 
 would not leave Castle House for two hours, waiting for 
 the ebb to return to the flotilla. The darkness was great, 
 and there was every chance of their getting away un- 
 perceived although several boats were on guard on the 
 St. John's below Camdless Bay. 
 
 The young officer went up to his mother. He found 
 Alice seated at the bedside. Mrs. Burbank, exhausted by 
 the efforts she had made, had fallen into a deep slumber — 
 a very sorrowful one to judge by the way she sobbed. 
 
 Gilbert would not interfere with this state of torpor in 
 which there was more prostration than sleep. He sat near 
 the bed after Alice had motioned him not to speak. There 
 in silence they watched to-^iether the poor woman whom 
 misfortune had struck so cruelly. Had they words in 
 which to exchange tl'eir thoughts? No! They felt 
 the same suffering, they understood each other and said 
 nothing — it was their hearts that spoke. 
 
 At last the time arrived for Gilbert to leave. He gave 
 his hand to Alice, and both bent over Mrs. Burbank, whose 
 eyes were half-closed and could not see them. 
 
 Then Gilbert pressed his lips to his mother's forehead. 
 
A FEW HOURS. 14 T 
 
 which the girl kissed after him. Mrs. Burbank gave a 
 sorrowful sob, but she did not see her son go, nor Alice 
 follow him to bid him a last farewell. . 
 
 Mars went out to see if the coast was clear. He came 
 back as Gilbert and Alice entered the hall. 
 
 *' It is time to go," said he. 
 
 " Yes, Gilbert," said James Burbank. " Go ! we shall 
 meet again at Jacksonville." 
 
 " Yes ! At Jacksonville, and to-morrow if the tide 
 allows k's to cross the bar. As for Texar — " 
 
 " We must have him living ! Do not forget that I " 
 
 " Yes, living ! " 
 
 The young man embraced his father and shook hands 
 with his uncle Carrol and Stannard. 
 
 *' Come, Mars," said he. 
 
 And following the right bank of the river they kept 
 along for half an hour. They met no one. They reached 
 the place where they had left the gig, and embarked in her 
 to get into the stream, which would take them rapidly to 
 the bar of the St. John's, 
 
142 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 ON THE ST. JOHN'S. 
 
 They were alone on the river. Not a light could be seen 
 on the opposite bank. The lights of Jacksonville were 
 hidden by the bend of Camdless Creek, as it rounded 
 towards the north ; but the reflection mounted on high 
 and tinged the lower bank of clouds. 
 
 Although the night was dark, the gig could without 
 difficulty make its way down stream to the bar. No 
 vapour, however, rose from the waters of the St. John's, 
 and it could easily be followed and pursued if any Con- 
 federate boat was in waiting for it, but this Gilbert and his 
 companion had no reason to expect. 
 
 Both were silent. Instead of heading down stream they 
 would much rather have crossed it to seek out Texar in 
 Jacksonville, and meet him face to face. Then ascending 
 the river they could search the forest and the creeks and 
 their banks, and though James Burbank had failed they 
 might succeed. But it was best to wait. When the 
 Federals were masters of Florida, Gilbert and Mars could 
 set to work against the Spaniard vvith more chances of 
 success. Their duty now was to re-join the flotilla under 
 Commandant Stevens. If the bar became practicable 
 sooner than they hoped, the young lieutenant ought to be 
 at his post ready for action, and Mars should be at his post 
 ready to pilot the gunboats up the channel, the depth of 
 which, at every moment of the rising tide, was so well 
 known to him. 
 
 Mars, seated in the stern of the gig, plied his paddle I 
 with vigour. In the bow Gilbert kept careful watch down 
 stream, ready to signal any danger that presented itself 
 
OiV THE ST. JOHN'S. 143 
 
 from boat or drifting tree. Leaving the right bank 
 obliquely, they made for the middle of the channel, so as 
 to take advantage of the full strength of the stream. 
 Once they were there, Mars, by a stroke to port or star- 
 board, could easily keep the gig on its course. 
 
 It would have been safer to have kept along by the dark 
 fringe of trees and gigantic reeds which bordered the right 
 bank of the St. John's. In the shadow of the thick 
 branches there was little risk of discovery. But a little 
 below the plantation a sharp elbow of the bank threw the 
 current out to the other side, and formed a wide eddy 
 which made the navigation somewhat difficult. Mars, 
 seeing nothing suspicious ahead, steered the boat out into 
 the current, which was swiftly running to the sea. From 
 the landing-place at Camdless Bay to the anchorage ot the 
 flotilla below the bar, the distance was four or five miles, 
 and helped by the ebb and the vigorous strokes of the 
 paddle, this ought to be accomplished within a couple of 
 hours. 
 
 A quarter of an hour after their start, Gilbert and Mars 
 were in mid-stream, and approaching Jacksonville. It 
 may be that Mars unconsciously headed towards the town, 
 drawn thither by some irresistible attraction. Never- 
 theless the hateful place must be avoided, for its neigh- 
 bourhood was probably better guarded than the middle of 
 the river. 
 
 " Starboard, Mars, starboard," said the young officer. 
 
 And the gig curved into the line of the current about a 
 quarter of a mile from the left bank. 
 
 Jacksonville was now neither dark nor silent. Scores of 
 lights were moving about on the wliarves, or swaying in the 
 boats on the water. A few were gliding along from point 
 to point, as if an active guard had been organized. 
 
 At the same time songs and shouts showed that scenes 
 of amusement or riot continued to trouble the town. Did, 
 then, Texar and his partizans believe in the defeat of the 
 Northerners in Virginia and the possible retreat of the 
 flotilla ? Or were they making the best of the few days 
 that were left to them in launching out into every excess, 
 10 
 
144 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 while the people around them were drunk with whiskey 
 and gin ? 
 
 The gig kept on her course in mid -stream. Gilbert had 
 good reason to hope that he would be out of danger as 
 soon as he had passed Jacksonville. 
 
 Suddenly he motioned to Mars to stop paddling. 
 Vv^ithin a mile below the town he had just caught sight of 
 a long line of black objects stretching like a range of reefs 
 from one side of the river to the other. 
 
 It was a line of boats broadside on, and guarding the St. 
 John's. Evidently, when the gunboats cleared the bar, 
 these would be powerless to resist them, and would have 
 to retreat, but if any Federal boats attempted to ascend 
 the river they might offer some opjosition to their 
 passage. For this reason they had been placed in position 
 durinf,^ the night. They lay without moving, kept in 
 station either by their grapnels or their oars. Although 
 no men could be seen it was certain that a number were 
 on board and well armed. 
 
 Gilbert, of course, remarked that the string of vessels 
 had not barred the river when he came up to Camdless 
 Bay. The precaution had been taken since the passage of 
 the gig, and perhaps, in view of an expected attack from 
 Commandant Stevens. Anyhow, the gig was forced to leave 
 the centre of the stream, and keep as close as possible to 
 the right shore, where it might pass unperceived among 
 tlie reeds in the sliadow of the trees. This was the only 
 chance of passing the barrier. 
 
 " Mars, mind you paddle without any noise until we are 
 through the line," said the lieutenant. 
 
 " Yes, sir." 
 
 " We may get among the eddies, and if you want any 
 help — " 
 
 " I shall not want any." 
 
 And with a powerful stroke he sent the boat towards 
 the river side some three hundred yards above the guarded 
 line. If she had not been sighted as she crossed the river 
 — and she might have been — she would certainly be safe 
 from discovery under the dark masses along its edge, and 
 
ON THE ST. JOHN'S. I45 
 
 if the end of the line of boats did not extend to the bank, 
 it was pretty certain she could get through. 
 
 Mars worked her carefully down in the darkness, which 
 the thick curtain of leafage rendered darker. The stumps 
 that here and there showed above the water he dexterous!}* 
 avoided, and with noiseless strokes headvanced, occasionally 
 crossing an rddy or a counter current which, without some 
 trouble, it was not easy to get through. Coasting in this 
 way quite an hour would be lost, though it would matter 
 little if daylight came before the voyage ended, as by that 
 time they would be near enough to the gunboats to fear 
 no danger from Jacksonville. 
 
 About four o'clock the gig reached the line of boats. 
 As Gilbert had expected, the shallowness of the river close 
 in shore had caused the passage near the edge to be left 
 unguarded. A few hundred feet beyond, a point jutted 
 out into the St. John's, thickly wooded and crowded with 
 mangroves and bamboos. This point on the up-stream 
 side was as dark and gloomy as could be wished, but on 
 the downstream face the trees and shrubs suddenly came 
 to an end, and the shore v^as cut up into marshes and 
 creeks, and lay low and exposed, with nothing to cast 
 a shadow. The river there was as light as in the 
 open, and a black moving point like the gig would pro- 
 bably be seen should any vessel be lying off in the 
 neighbourhood. 
 
 Beyond it the eddies ended, and the current flowed 
 straight and strong. If the boat could double the point, 
 she would soon be swept down to the bar, and thence to 
 the anchorage. 
 
 Cautiously Mars glided by under the bank. Peering 
 into the darkness he intently watched the lower course of 
 the river. Close to the edge as it was safe to go, clearing 
 the eddies which, as the point curved out, grew more 
 troublesome to him, he plied his paddle silently, while 
 Gilbert, forward, kept a steady look-out over the whole 
 surface of the St. John's. 
 
 Gradually the gig neared the point. A few minutes 
 more and they would reach the end which ran out as a fine 
 
^46'' NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 tongue of sand. They were not more than thirty yards 
 from it when Mars abruptly stopped. 
 
 " Are you tired ? " asked the lieutenant. " Shall I take 
 your place ? " 
 
 *' Not a word, Mr. Gilbert ! " whispered Mars. 
 
 And with two strong strokes of the paddle, he drove the 
 gig towards the land as if to run her on the bank. Then, 
 instantly, he grasped one of the branches hanging over the 
 river, and under it guided the boat out of sight. In an 
 instant they were alongside the root of one of the mangrove 
 trees, and motionless in darkness so deep that they could 
 not see each other. 
 
 m ten seconds the manoeuvre was accomplished. 
 
 The lieutenant seized his companion's arm, and was 
 about to demand an explanation, when Mars pointed 
 through the foliage and showed him a moving object just 
 off the spit. 
 
 It was a boat with four men in her rowing up-stream, 
 and rounding the point so as to skirt the bank as she 
 passed. 
 
 The same thought occurred to Gilbert and Mars. 
 Before everything, and in spite of everything, they must 
 regain their ship. If the gig was discovered they would 
 not hesitate to climb the bank, run under the trees, and 
 escape along the riverside to the bar. There at daybreak, 
 whether their signals were answered by the nearest of the 
 gunboats or they had to swim for it, they would do all that 
 was humanly possible to get back to their duty. 
 
 But a moment afterwards they found that all retreat by 
 land was cut off. 
 
 When the boat arrived at some twenty feet from the spot 
 where they lay hid, a conversation suddenly began between 
 the men in her and half a dozen others who appeared in the 
 gloom among the trees on the top of the bank. 
 
 " The worst is over ! " said one from the land. 
 
 " Yes," said a man in the boat. " To double that point 
 against the tide is almost as bad as pulling up a rapid." 
 
 " Are you going to anchor here now that we have been 
 landed on the point ? " 
 
ON THE ST. JOHN'S. 147 
 
 ** Yes. We shall guard the end of the barrier better." 
 
 " Right. We will look after the bank, and unless they 
 take to the marshes, the scoundrels will not find it easy 
 to get; by us." 
 
 " Have they done so, do you think ? " 
 
 " No ; they couldn't. They'll try to get back on board 
 before daylight, and as they cannot pass the boat barrier, 
 they will make their attempt along here. And here we are 
 to stop them." 
 
 Few as were the phrases, they were sufficient to explain 
 what had happened. The departure of Gilbert and Mars 
 had been observed — there could be no doubt of that. 
 Although they had managed to reach Camdiess Bay 
 without falling aboard of the boats ordered to stop them, 
 now that the river was barred, and their return waited for, 
 it would be difficult, if not impossible, to reach the gun- 
 boats. 
 
 The gig was fairly caught between the men in the boat 
 and the men landed on the point. Flight by the river was 
 impracticable, and none the less so was it impracticable 
 along this narrow bank, with the St. John's on one side and 
 the marshes on the other. 
 
 At the same time Gilbert learnt that his presence on the 
 St. John's was known ; and there could !.^e no doubt it was 
 known that he and his companion had landed at Camdiess 
 Bay, that one of them was James Burbank's son^ an officer 
 in the Federal navy, and*the other one of his men. The 
 lieutenant could not well mistake the danger that threatened 
 him when he heard the last words of the conversation. 
 
 " Keep your eyes open, then," said one of the men on 
 the land. 
 
 "All right," was the reply. " A Yankee officer is a good 
 prize, particularly when the officer is the son of one of our 
 cursed Floridan Federals." 
 
 " And they'll pay well for him, for Texar is the pay- 
 master." 
 
 " We may not catch them to-night, for they may lay up 
 in some of the creeks. But when day comes we'll search 
 every cranny so well that not a water rat will escape us." 
 
148 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 "Don't forget, you are to take them alive." 
 
 "All right! Remember, if we get them on the 
 land, we have to hail you to take them over to Jackson- 
 ville." 
 
 " Unless we have to give chase we shall remain here." 
 
 •' And we shall stop here across the bank." 
 
 " Good luck to you ! You had better have spent the 
 night in drinks at Jacksonville." 
 
 " Yes, if the rascals outwit us ! But never fear, to- 
 morrow we shall take them to Texar bound hand and 
 foot." 
 
 The boat then moved off some twenty feet, and then the 
 noise of a chain running out announced that she had 
 dropped anchor. The men above spoke no more, but the 
 sound of their feet was heard as they marched to and fro 
 on the fallen leaves. 
 
 By the river as by the land flight was no longer 
 possible. 
 
 So thought Gilbert and Mars. Neither of them had 
 made a single movement or uttered a word. There was 
 nothing to betray the presence of the gig under the dark 
 arbour of foliage — an arbour v^hich was a prison. To leave 
 it was impossible. Supposing that they were not dis- 
 covered during the night, how could they escape when day 
 appeared ? 
 
 The lieutenant's capture not only meant danger to his 
 own life, but another attack on *his father by Texar, and 
 proof of James Burbank's correspondence with the 
 Federals. When Gilbert was in Texar's power, the 
 necessary proof would be to hand. And then what would 
 become of Mrs, Burbank ? What would become of Dy 
 and Zermiah, when neither father, brother, nor husband 
 could continue the search } 
 
 In a moment all these thoughts presented themselves, 
 and Gilbert recognized the inevitable consequences. 
 
 If they were taken only one chance was left. The 
 Federals might seize Jacksonville before Texar could 
 injure them. The prisoners might be given enough time 
 
ON THE ST. JOHN'S. 149 
 
 for this to take place between the sentence they could not 
 escape and their execution. That was their only hope. 
 But how could they hurry on the arrival of Stevens ? How 
 could he clear the bar if the water was still wanting ? How 
 could Stevens find his way through the windings of the 
 channel- if his pilot, Mars, was in the hands of the Con- 
 federates .? 
 
 Evidently, then, Gilbert must risk even the impossible to 
 get on board before daylight ; and he must leave this place 
 at once. But could he do so ? Could not Mars, by 
 driving the gig suddenly across the eddy, get clear away ? 
 While the men in the boat were losing time by weighing 
 the grapnel or letting out chain, could they not get by out 
 of reach .'* 
 
 That was impossible ! The lieutenant knew it only too 
 well. The paddle was no match for four oars. The gig 
 would inevitably be caught. To make such an attempt 
 was to court certain capture. 
 
 What was then to be done ? Was he to wait ? Day 
 would soon appear. It was already half-past four o'clock, 
 and a few streaks of the dawn had risen above the eastern 
 horizon. 
 
 It was necessary to do something. Gilbert, bending 
 towards Mars, spoke to him in a whisper. 
 
 "We cannot wait much longer. We are both armed 
 with a revolver and a cutlass. In the boat there are only 
 four men. That is only two to one ; and we shall have 
 the advantage of the surprise. You can send the gig up 
 to the boat in a stroke or two; she is anchored and cannot 
 stop our boarding. We will fall on the men and settle 
 them before they have time to recognize us, and we can 
 make a dash for it. Before the fellows on the bank have 
 given the alarm we. may have got through the barrier and 
 reached the ships. Do you understand ? " 
 
 Mars replied by drawing his cutlass and slipping it into 
 his belt near his revolver. Then he slacked off the painter 
 of the gig from the mangrove root and grasped his paddlo 
 ready for a vigorous stroke, 
 
»5o 
 
 NORTH AND SOUTH, 
 
 Bnt as he stooped to begin Gilbert stopped him with a 
 gesture. 
 
 Something had come unexpectedly to alter his plans. 
 
 With the first streaks of the day, a thick mist began to 
 rise on the water. Like a humid pile of cotton-wool it 
 rolled along the river waves, clinging to them as it came. 
 Formed over the sea, such vapours enter the estuary, and 
 driven before a gentle breeze, ascend the course of the St. 
 John's. In less than a quarter of an hour Jacksonville, on 
 the left bank, and the trees on the right bank had disap- 
 peared, wrapped in the yellowish mist whose character- 
 istic odour filled the valley. 
 
 Did not this offer a means of safety? Instead of engag- 
 ing in an unequal struggle in which they might both fall, 
 why should they not try to get by in the fog ? 
 
 Gilbert saw this, and that is why he stopped Mars 
 from beginning his stroke. Now, instead of dashing 
 out, he was to slip along cautiously and silently, and 
 avoid the boat, which slowly vanished as the mist closed 
 round it. 
 
 Then the voices were again heard replying to the bank 
 from the river. 
 
 " Look out in the fog." 
 
 '* Yes. We are getting in the anchor, and coming closer 
 in shore." 
 
 " All right. But don't break your communication with 
 the line. If they come near you, keep them back till the 
 fog lifts." 
 
 " Yes ! Never fear ; you see that the beggars don't get 
 past you ashore." 
 
 Evidently the orders were obeyed. There were certain 
 boats crossing the river from one bank to the other, that 
 also was obvious. But Gilbert did not hesitate. The gig, 
 paddled noiselessly by Mars, glided out from her shelter 
 under the trees, and crossed the eddy in which the boat 
 had been anchored. 
 
 The fog seemed to thicken, although it was penetrated 
 by a dim light such as is given by a horn lantern.' Nothing 
 
ON THE ST. JOHN'S. 151 
 
 could be seen a yard or two away. If the gig passed dear 
 of the boat, there was an excellent chance of her escaping 
 unobserved. And it was not difficult to avoid the boat, 
 for the men in weighing the anchor made enough noise 
 with the chain to leave no doubt as to their exact posi- 
 tion. 
 
 The gig slipped by unnoticed, and Mars could ply his 
 paddle a little more vigorously. 
 
 The difficulty was to keep a proper course without 
 running out into midstream. If possible he would have 
 remained at a little distance from the right bank ; but the 
 only guide was the lapping of the water on the shore. The 
 day was breaking, and the light flooded the mass of vapour 
 although the fog was very thick. 
 
 For half an hour the gig, so to speak, wandered about at 
 a venture. Sometimes a vague outline unexpectedly ap- 
 peared, which might be a boat much magnified by refrac- 
 tion — an instance of a phenomenon commonly observed in 
 sea fogs. 
 
 In fact every object appeared with quite fantastic sudden- 
 ness, and seemed to be of enormous dimensions. Luckily 
 what Gilbert took for a boat would be only a buoy, or rock 
 above water, or a pole with its upper end vanishing in the 
 mist. 
 
 A few pairs of birds flew by with measured flap of wing. 
 They could scarcely see them, but they heard their piercing 
 cry. Some came flying along the surface of the water, and 
 turned to flight when the gig approached them. They 
 vanished, but it was impossible to say if they flew to the 
 bank or dived into the water. 
 
 From their paddling all the time with the stream Gilbert 
 knew that he must be nearing the anchorage of the gun- 
 boats ; but as the ebb had slackened he could not say if he 
 had passed the line, and he was in constant expectation of 
 running aboard one of the boats. 
 
 All chance of serious danger was not over. And it soon 
 became evident that the danger was greater than ever. At 
 short intervals Mars had to stop and hold the oaddle out 
 
 PART I, 
 
152 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 of the water. The noise of oars, sometimes far off, some- 
 times close by, would make itself heard. Shouts would be 
 exchanged between the boats. Vague masses would loom 
 and vanish in the fog, and these were evidently the guard 
 boats it was their oljject to avoid. Sometimes the mist 
 would suddenly open as if a puff of wind had penetrated 
 it. The range of vision would increase to a hundred yards 
 and more, and Gilbert and Mars would try to make out 
 their whereabouts ; and then the mist would thicken 
 again, and all they could do was to drop down with the 
 stream. 
 
 It was a little past five o'clock. Gilbert calculated that 
 he was two miles from the anchorage. As a fact, he had 
 not yet reached the bar of the river, which would be easily 
 recognizable by the increase in the sound of the stream, 
 and by the numerous minor currents intermingling tumul- 
 tuously in a way no sailor could mistake. Had he crossed 
 the bar, Gilbert would have thought himself safe. It was 
 not likely that the boats would venture so far from Jack- 
 sonville under the fire of the gunboats. 
 
 Gilbert and Mars bent over almost to the level of the 
 water and listened. They could hear nothing. Perhaps 
 they had gone astray to the right or left of the river ? Had 
 they not better take an oblique course so as to reach one 
 of the banks, and wait till the fog grew lighter to get 
 their proper bearings ? 
 
 This seemed the best thing to do now that the mist had 
 begun to rise. The sun, which they knew was now up 
 was lifting the fog as it wanned it. The surface of the St. 
 John's would soon come into view for some distance round 
 before the sky would show itself. Then the curtain would 
 suddenly collapse, and the horizon appear out of the mist. 
 A mile perhaps below the bar Gilbert would see the gun- 
 boats swinging to the ebb, and he would be able to reach 
 them. 
 
 At this moment a sound of waters rushing together was 
 heard. Almost immediately the gig began to turn as if 
 caught in a whirlpool. There could be no mistake. 
 
ON THE ST. JOHN'S. 153 
 
 " The bar ! " exclaimed Gilbert. 
 
 " Yes ; the bar ! " said Mars ; " and once we are over it 
 e shall be at the anchorage." 
 
 Mars seized the paddle, and endeavoured to keep the 
 ■oper course. 
 
 Suddenly Gilbert stopped him. The mist had opened 
 r a moment, and he caught sic^ht of a bc«at close behind 
 lem. Had her men seen them ? Were they trying to 
 op the way ^ 
 
 " Port ! " said the ypung lieutenant. 
 
 In went the paddle, and in a few strokes the gig was out 
 
 the line. 
 
 But again voices were heard. They were hailinc;^ noisily. 
 
 wa? evident that in this part of the river many boats 
 ere oa guard. 
 
 Suddenly, as if a powerful gust had cleared the space, the 
 ist fell shattered on the surface of the St. John's. 
 
 Gilbert could not restrain a shout of alarm. 
 
 The gig was in the centre of a dozen boats. They were 
 1 the watch at this part of the winding channel which the 
 ir cut across in a long slanting line. 
 
 " There they are ! There they are ! " came from the 
 
 ats around them. 
 
 " Yes ! here we are," said the lieutenant. " Take your 
 itlass and revolver, Mars, and we will defend our- 
 Ives." 
 
 Defend themselves ! Two against thirty ! 
 
 In a moment three or four of the boats were alongside, 
 ars and Gilbert fired their revolvers ; the others did not 
 e, for the prisoners were to be taken alive. Three or four 
 
 the sailors were killed or wounded. But in this unequal 
 rife, how could Gilbert and his companion fail to be 
 .'erpowered ? 
 
 The lieutenant was throttled in spite of his energetic 
 sistance, and dragged on to one of the boats. 
 
 "Escape, Marsl escape!" he shouted for the last 
 me. 
 
 With a sweep of his cutlas'^ Mars released himself from 
 
154 
 
 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 the man who held him, and before they could seize hr 
 again he had thrown himself into the river. In vain the 
 sought to recapture him. He had vanished among tl 
 whirlpools of the bar, where the tumultuous waters wei 
 being lashed into torrents by the return of the risin 
 tide. 
 
SEiiTEiiC^ *55 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 SENTENCE. 
 
 N hour later Gilbert was landed at Jacksonville. The 
 Sports of the revolvers had been heard up-stream, 
 lid they mean an engagement between the Confede- 
 ae boats and the Federal flotilla? Was it not o 
 e feared that the gunboats had cleared the channel i 
 lo wonder that there v.as serious excitement among 
 le townspeople ! Some of them rushed to the stockades 
 'he civil authorities, represented by Texar and the mos 
 etermined of his partizans, had followed them. All 
 /ere looking in the direction of tl.e bar, now free from 
 tiist Field-glasses ancj telescopes were in constant 
 se But the distance was too great— about three miles 
 -for them to ascertain the importance of the engagc- 
 nent or its results. , , 
 
 The flotilla evidently remained at the anchorage it occu- 
 ,ied the night before, and Jacksonville need not fear an 
 mmediate attack from the gunboats. The people who 
 lad most deeply committed themselves would have tune 
 o escape into the interior of Florida. 
 
 If Texar and two or three of his companions had more 
 •eason than others to fear for their safety, there appeared 
 o be no cause for anxiety in what had occurred ihe 
 Spaniard suspected that it meant the capture of the gig 
 that he wanted at any cost. 
 
 " Yes at any cost," said he, endeavouring to recognize 
 the boat as it neared the quay. " At any cost this son of 
 
156 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 Burbank's must fall into the snare I spread for him. The 
 I shall hold the proof that James Burbank is in commun 
 cation with the Federals ! And when I have shot the so 
 twenty-four hours shall not slip bv before I have shot tL 
 father!'^ 
 
 Although his party were masters of Jacksonville, Texa 
 after the discharge of James Burbank, had been waitinjj. 
 for a propitious occasion of again arresting him. Th 
 opportunity came in the trap laid for Gilbert Burbanl 
 With Gilbert identified as a Federal officer, arrested in th 
 enemy's country, condemned as a spy, the Spaniard coul ' 
 enjoy his revenge to the full. 
 
 Circumstances served him well. It was indeed the soi ^ 
 of the Camdless Bay planter whom tiiey were bringing t( . 
 Jacksonville. That Gilbert was alone, that his companioijj] 
 had been drowned or saved made little difference so lon|| 
 as the young officer was captured. Texar had only t(! 
 bring him before a committee composed of his partizans 
 where he would preside in person. 
 
 Gilbert was received with howls and threats by th«i! 
 people, who knew him well. He treated the shoutij, 
 with disdain. He gave no sign of fear, although a 
 detachment of soldiers had to be called up to protect 
 his life against the violence of the crowd. But wheO' 
 he saw Texar he could not restrain himself, and wouldi 
 have throv.n himself on him had he not been stopped 
 by the soldiers. 
 
 Texar did not move. He did not say a word. He pre- 
 tended not to see him, and allowed him to be taken away 
 with the most perfect indifference. 
 
 A few minutes afterwards Gilbert Burbank found him-j 
 self in the Jacksonville prison. Theic could be no douijt 
 as to the fate for which the Southerners were keeping' 
 him. 
 
 In about an hour Mr. Harvey, James Burbank's corre- 
 spondent, presented himself at the prison and attempted to 
 see Gilbert. He was denied admission. By Texar's 
 orders the lieutenant was kept in solitary confinement. 
 
SBNT15NCB. 157 
 
 And the onh- result of Mr. Harvey's application was that 
 he himseif was put under strict surveillance. 
 
 His connection with the Burbanks was known, and 
 t was not in accordance with Texar's plans that Gil- 
 ert's arrest should immediately be known at Camdless 
 pay. 
 
 When the verdict was given and the sentence pronounced 
 
 t would be time enough to inform James Burbank of what 
 
 ad passed, and when he was informed of it there would 
 
 e no time for him to leave Castle House and escape from 
 
 "exar. 
 
 And so Mr. Harvey was unable to send a messenger to 
 
 aitidless Bay. An embargo had been put on all the 
 
 oats in the port. All communication was shut off between 
 
 the left and right banks of the river. While his father 
 
 thought he was safe on board the gunboat the lieutenant 
 
 was in prison at Jacksonville. 
 
 At Castle House they listened with anxiety for some 
 bistant sound of firing to announce the arrival of the 
 Federals above the bar. Jacksonville in the hands of 
 the Northerners meant Texar in the hands of James 
 Burbank. 
 
 Not a sound was heard from downstream. Overseer 
 Perry, who v/ent out to explore the St. John's up to the 
 ine of boats, Pyg and one of the assistant-overseers sent 
 three miles down the riverside beyond the plantation, came 
 Dack with the same report. The flotilla was still at the 
 inchorage, and there was no sign of preparation to start 
 'or Jacksonville. 
 
 And besides, how could they cross the bar ? Admitting 
 :hat the tide rendered it practicable sooner than they 
 loped, how could they venture along the intricate channel 
 low that the only pilot who knew the soundings was no 
 on ger with them ? For Mars had not reappeared. And if 
 J^aines Burbank had known what had passed alter the cap- 
 ;ure of the gig, would he not have beheved that his son's 
 ;ompanion had perished in the whirlpools .-' And if Mars 
 lad been saved, would not his first care have been to 
 
158 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 return to Camdless Bay as it was impossible for him to 
 return on board ? 
 
 Mars had not appeared at the plantation. 
 
 Next day, the nth of March, about eleven o'clock, th." 
 committee assembled, with Texar as preside-it, in the very 
 Court of Justice where the Spaniard had made his chart' e 
 against James Burbank. This time, the charges against 
 the younLf officer were too serious to allow of his escap 
 He was doomed beforehand. Once this busii:css of tiu: 
 son was settled, Texar could devote himself to the father. 
 With little Dy in his power, Mrs. Burbank would succumb 
 to the successive blows he had dealt her, and he wouitl 
 be avenged. Did it not seem as though every thin .f 
 played into his hands to help him gratify his implacable 
 hatred ? 
 
 Gilbert was brought from his prison. The crowd ac- 
 companied him, groaning and yelling as on the previous 
 evening. When he entered the court, where Texar's 
 partizans were already in force, he was saluted with violent 
 uproar. 
 
 " Death to the spy ! Death I " 
 
 Gilbert took it all very coolly, and even in the Spaniard's 
 presence kept himself well under control. 
 
 "Your name is Gilbert Burba .k," said Texar. "And 
 you are an officer in the Federal Navy ? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " And you are now a lieutenant on board one of the 
 gunboats under Commandant Stevens ? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " You are the son of James Burbank, a Northerner, the 
 owner of the plantation at Camdless Bay ? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " You admit that you left the flotilla anchored below the 
 bar, during the night of the loth of March ?" 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " You admit that you were captured a.9 you were trying, 
 to regain the flotilla with one of your men ? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
SEI^ITENCE. 159 
 
 " Will you tell me what your business was on the St. 
 John's ? " 
 
 " A man came on board the gunboat of which I wivs 
 second in command, and told me that my father's plantation 
 had been devast<-ted by a horde of scoundrels, that Castle 
 House had been bes;eged by thieves. I need not tell that 
 to the President of this Committee, who is personally 
 responsible for these crimes." 
 
 " I tell Gilbert Burbank." said Texar, " that his father 
 had challenged public opinion by freeing his slaves, that 
 an order had been issued commanding the newly freed 
 slaves to disperse, that this order was executed — " 
 
 " With pillage and incendiarism," replied Gilbert, " and 
 rape, of which Texar is personally the author." 
 
 " When I am before my judges I will reply," said the 
 Spaniard coldly. "Gilbert Burbank, do not' attempt to 
 change our positions. You are the accused, not the 
 accuser," 
 
 " Yes, the accused — at this moment, at all events, but 
 the Federal gunboats have only the bar of the St. John's 
 between them and Jacksonville, and then — " 
 
 Then the uproar broke out against the young officer, 
 who dared to brave the Southerners to their face. 
 
 " Dea^h ! Death ! " shouted the crowd on all sides. 
 
 The Spaniard with difficulty quieted the angry crowd. 
 Then he resumed his questions. 
 
 " Will you tell us, Gilbert Burbank, why you left your 
 ship last night ? " 
 
 " To see my dying mother." 
 
 "You admit, then, that you landed at Camdless 
 Bay ? " 
 
 " I have no reason to hide it." 
 
 " And only to see your mother ? " 
 
 « Only." 
 
 "We have reason to believe you had another ob- 
 ject ? " 
 
 "What?" 
 
 *' To communicate with your father, James Burbank, wh( 
 11 
 
i6o NORTH ASD SOUTO. 
 
 has been under sa^kion for some time of being in corre- 
 spondence with the Federal savoy." 
 
 * You know that is not trae," repfied GObert with vary 
 natma] indignation. " If 1 came to CstmAAf^ Bay, it vas 
 not as an officer, bat as a son/* 
 
 "Or a spy?" said Texar. 
 
 The shoots began again. 
 
 " Death to the spy ! Death!* 
 
 Gilbert saw that he was lost, and what was a tenible 
 blow to him, that his &ther was lost with him. 
 
 ^' Yes/' said Texar, " the iUness of yoor mother was only 
 a pretext ! Yoo came as a spy to Camdlefss Bay to report 
 to the Fedetals thestateofthe defences of the St. John's." 
 
 Gilbert mat. 
 
 " I came to see my dying mother, as yoo know wdL 
 Never should I have believed that in a civilized ooontry 
 there ooolld be jodges who would ocmsuler it a crime for a 
 saikir to come to his mothei^s deathbed, even ia the 
 eaiem/s territofy ! Let him who blames me and woald 
 not do likewise, dare to tell me so!* 
 
 Men in whom hatred had not extii^nislied all foeBag, 
 woaM have applauded a declaxation so noble and fiank. 
 Bat thK was not the case here. 
 
 The dedaration wa« received with renewed uproar ; 
 and when the Spaniaid remarked that in receiving 
 333 officer of the enemy in time of war, James Bur- 
 bank was as guilty as the ofiBoer, his st alfiinrtit was loudly 
 applauded. 
 
 llien the CCMnmxtlBe; mating a l^ni1l>nl^fiva<^lnw^anwffa5 
 
 to the &ther, condemned Lietrtenant Gilbext Burfaank; of 
 the Federal navy, to death. 
 
 Tl^ doomed man was dien taken back to prison amid 
 the shouts <d the populace; who followed him withcrie 
 of— 
 
 "Death to the spy! Death!" 
 
 That evening a tit*st4»ntfnt of tihe Jar l rc n a wi ri ll^ twiltHa 
 arrived at Camdk'ss B^. The officer io command asked 
 for Mr. Boitaaic. 
 
SENTENCE. i6i 
 
 James Burbank came forward to meet him, accompanied 
 by Edward Carrol and Walter Stannard. 
 
 "What is it they want? " asked James Burbank. 
 
 " Read that order ! " answered the officer. 
 
 The order was to arrest James Burbank, as the accom- 
 plice of Gilbert Burbank, condemned to death as a spy by 
 the Committee of Jacksonville, and who was to be shot 
 within twenty-four hours. 
 
 END OF PART I. 
 
TEXAR'S REVENGE; 
 
 li^orth Against South. 
 
 iNORD (JONTBE SUD.) 
 
 PART II. 
 
 TEXAR, THE SOUTHERNER. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 After the Capture .; . . 167 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 A STRANGE Operation . . o 176 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 The Day before 186 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 A Gale from the North-east . . . , . .196 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 A Prisoner 296 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 St. Augustink 217 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 Last Words and a last Sigh 230 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 From Camdless Bay to Lake Washington. . . . 240 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 The great Cypress Forest » 25c 
 
 CHAPTER X, 
 A Meeting « 258 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 The Everglades ^O- 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 What Zermah overheard .276 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 A DOUBLE Life 285 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Zermah at Work 
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 The two Brothers .... 
 
 291 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 COXCLUSION 306 
 
NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 ?art M. 
 
 TEXAR THE SOUTHERNER. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 AFTER THE CAPTURE. 
 
 " TeXAR ' "—such was the well-hated name that Zermah 
 had shouted into the darkness at the moment Mrs. Burbank 
 and Alice reached the bank of Marine Creek. The sni 
 had recognized the Spaniard. There could be no douot 
 he was the author of the abduction, of which he now took 
 personal charge. i. ir j 
 
 It was indeed Texar, and with him were half a dozen 
 
 accomplices. , . . . j-4.:^^ 
 
 For some time he had been plannmg this expedition, 
 which had for its object the devastation of Camdless t5ay, 
 the pillage of Castle House, the ruin of the Burbank family, 
 and the capture or death of its head. It was with this in 
 view that he had launched his horde of pillagers on to the 
 plantation. But he had not put himself at their head ; he 
 had left the task of leading them to a few of the most 
 violent of his partisans, and hence John Bruce was right 
 when he assured James Burbank that Texar was not among 
 the assailants. ^ , i i. - 
 
 Texar was aware of the existence of the tunnel between 
 Castle House and the Creek. If the house was captured, 
 the defenders would evidently try to escape down the 
 tunnel. Taking a boat from Jacksonville, and followed by 
 
1 68 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 another boat with Squambo and two of his slaves, he had 
 come to the creek to watch. He was not mistaken. That he 
 saw at once when he found one of the Camdless Bay boats 
 stationed among the reeds. The blacks in charge of it 
 were surprised, attacked, and strangled. All that had then 
 to be done was to wait. Soon Zermah appeared, and with 
 her the little girl. Fearing that help might come in answer 
 to Zermah's shouts, the Spaniard had thrown her into 
 Squambo's arms ; and when Mrs. Burbank and Alice ap- 
 peared on the bank Zermah was being carried off to the 
 middle of the river in the Indian's boat. 
 
 We know the rest. 
 
 When the prisoners were secured, Texar did not think 
 it necessary to accompany Squambo, who was entirely 
 devoted to him, and knew where to take Zermah and Dy. 
 and when the three cannon-shots recalled the assailants 
 from storming Castle House he had struck off obliquely 
 across the St. John's and disappeared. 
 
 Where had he gone ? No one knew. He did not return 
 to Jacksonville during the night of the 3rd and 4th of 
 March, nor for twenty-four hours afterwards. What was 
 the meaning of this strange absence, which he took no 
 trouble to explain > No one could tell. But it would be 
 a somewhat compromising circumstance should he be 
 charged with carrying off Dy and Zermah, The coinci- 
 dence between the abduction and his disappearance could 
 not but tell against him. Nevertheless, he did not return 
 to Jacksonville till the morning of the 5th to take the 
 necessary measures for the defence of the town — in time 
 enough, however, to lay the snare for Giloert Burbank. and 
 preside at the committee which sentenced the young officer 
 to death. 
 
 One thing was certain, and that was that Texar was not 
 in the boat with Squambo, which was carried off into the 
 gloom by the rising tide. 
 
 Zermah, knowing that her shouts would not be heard on 
 the deserted banks of the St. John's, was silent. She sat 
 in the stern with Dy in her arms. The child was quite 
 frightened, and uttered not a single complaint She clung 
 
AFTER THE CAPTURE. ^'"> 
 
 to the half-breed's breast, and hid herself in the folds of her 
 mantte. Once or twice only did a few words escape her 
 
 "^"■Mamma ! mamma ! Good Zermah. I am afraid ! I am 
 
 '''■^'^es LrdearrSs::r"d-Ze:mah.'-we shall see her. 
 
 ''TtlZlI.Z^^^Cui Burbank had run along the 
 rigtt tank oHhe stream, and was seeking in vamo follow 
 
 Z daughter as she was borne away to ^e °PPOS.te s.de^ 
 The darkness was then profound. The hres on me 
 estlte had be^n to subside, but not without several explo- 
 s ons From the heavy clouds of smoke in the north the 
 
 Ckfc^^n^of ^-seL" rSVnontrb^n^^^^^^^^^ 
 
 ''thleT;:s 'r^'ambo VoCdr U was i^^portant for 
 r.7ermahtoknow To ask the Indian would be useless 
 
 many rea; Could 't be hoped that^chance wou, b„ t to 
 ^noltnTnie^nf htself'^ith'^Lertaininl where she 
 
 am^ihwt^^Tri^Srd-^Tad^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 
 
 1 
 
I70 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 indication, and thinking only of the danger which threatened 
 the girl. Of her own danger she never thought ; all her 
 fears were concentrated on the child. It was Texar who 
 had stolen her — of that there could be no doubt. She 
 had recognized the Spaniard, who had been at Marine 
 Creek either with the intention of entering Castle House 
 through the tunnel or waiting for the defenders when they 
 attempted to escape. If Texar had not been in such a 
 hurry, Mrs. Burbank and Alice Stannard would now have 
 been in his power. If he had not headed the attack of the 
 militia and rabble, it was because he felt surer of securing 
 the Burbank family at Marine Creek. 
 
 In any case, Texar could not deny that he had taken part 
 in the seizure. Zermah had shouted his name, and Mrs. 
 Burbank and Alice must have heard her. Later on, when 
 the hour of justice came, when the Spaniard would 
 have to answer for his crimes, he would not on this occasion 
 be able to invoke one of those inexplicable alibis that had 
 hitherto succeeded with him. 
 
 What fate had he in reserve for his victims } Was b'^ 
 going to banish them to the marshy Everglades beyr/^^ 
 the sources of the St. John's 1 Did he look upon Zerma'^''^ "° 
 dangerous witness, whose evidence would one day ruV*^^" "^ 
 
 Zermah would willingly have sacrificed her life to s "^ "5 
 child that had been carried away with her. But if sh comci- 
 dead, what would become of Dy in the hands of ^ could 
 and his companions ? The thought was torture to h rc;turn 
 she clasped the girl more closely to her heart, as if Sq; ^ . ^ 
 had shown some intention of taking her away. *" ^'"^^ 
 
 Zermah noticed that the boat was nearing t"*^- ^"" 
 bank of the river. Would that give her any clue ^ officer 
 for she did not know that the Spaniard lived in 
 Creek, on one of the islets of the lagoon. Even 7^^^ "^^ 
 partisans were ignorant of this, for no one had eve'^^*^ ^"^ 
 admitted to the blockhouse which he occupied 
 Squambo and the blacks. ;^''" °" 
 
 It was to Black Creek that Squambo was takii'^^e sat 
 prisoners. In that mysterious place they would b^ quite 
 from all search. The creek was, so to speak, impene^ clung 
 
AFTER THE CAPTURE. 171 
 
 for no one knew the plan of its waterways. It offered a 
 thousand retreats where prisoners could be hidden without 
 it being possible to discover any traces of them. If James 
 Burbank tried to explore its tangled thickets, there would 
 be time enough to remove the half-breed and child to the 
 south of the peninsula. There all chance would be lost 
 of recovering them amid the vast regions which the 
 Floridan pioneers rarely visited, and the unhealthy plains 
 where only Indians wandered. 
 
 The forty-five miles between Camdless Bay and Black 
 Creek were quickly covered. About eleven o'clock the 
 boat passed the bend which the St. John's makes two 
 hundred yards below the creek. All that had to be done 
 was to find the entrance to the lagoon — not an easy thing to 
 do in the profound darkness which enveloped the left bank 
 of the river. Squambo, though well acquainted with the 
 place, kept off the shore as much as possible. It would 
 have been easier for him to have run close in, but the bank 
 was cut into by a number of small creeks bristling with 
 reeds and other aquatic plants, and he was afraid of running 
 aground. And as the tide had turned he would be in a 
 difficulty were he to do so. He would have to wait nearly 
 eleven hours till the tide came back^ and how could he 
 avoid being seen during that time .-* There were always a 
 good many boats on the river, and now events necessitated 
 constant communication between Jacksonville and St. 
 Augustine. If the members of the Burbank family had 
 not perished in the attack on Castle House they would be 
 sure to begin an active search in the morning, and Squambo 
 stuck on a shoal at the foot of the bank would inevitably 
 be seen. It would be a dangerous position, and for 
 many reasons it was better for him to remain in the stream, 
 even, if necessary, to anchor and wait for the dawn, when 
 he could be sure of his road. 
 
 Suddenly he heard a noise approaching him. It was 
 the sound of paddle-wheels. And almost immediately a 
 moving mass appeared round the bend of the left bank. 
 
 A steamboat was advancing at half-speed. In less than 
 a minute it would be upon them. 
 
172 NORTH AND SOUTH. . 
 
 By a gesture Squambo stopped his men, and with a 
 movement of the rudder turned the boat's head towards 
 the right bank so as to avoid being seen. 
 
 But the boat had been sighted by the look-out on board, 
 and she was hailed from the steamer. 
 
 Squambo muttered a terrible oath. But he had to obey. 
 
 A moment afterwards he ran alongside the steamer, 
 which had stopped to wait for him. 
 
 Zermah at once rose from her seat. Here was a chance 
 of safety. Could she not appeal for help, make herself 
 known, and escape from Squambo ? 
 
 The Indian rose at the same moment, bowie-knife in 
 hand. With the other hand he caught hold of Dy, whom 
 Zermah in vain tried to snatch from him. 
 
 " One word," he said, " and I will kill her ! " 
 
 If it had been her own life that was threatened, Zermah 
 would not have hesitated. But as it was the child's, she 
 was silent. 
 
 From the deck of the steamer nothing could be seen of 
 what was taking place in the boat. 
 
 The steamer was coming from Picolata, where she had 
 embarked a detachment of militia for Jacksonville, to rein- 
 force the Southern troops defending the mouth of the 
 river. 
 
 An officer leaning over the bridge spoke to the Indian : 
 
 " Where are you going to ? " 
 
 " Picolata." 
 
 Zermah took note of the name, although she knew that 
 Squambo wished to keep secret his real destination. 
 
 " Where do you come from ? " 
 
 "Jacksonville." 
 
 " Any news there ? " 
 
 " No." 
 
 " Nothing about Dupont's flotilla ? " 
 
 " Nothing." 
 
 " No news since the attack on Fernandina and Fort 
 Clinch ? " 
 
 " No." 
 
 " No gunboats in the St. John's ? " 
 
APTER THE CAPTURE, 
 
 173 
 
 " None." 
 
 " What was the meaning of the lights we saw, and the 
 reports we heard, while twe were at anchor waiting for the 
 tide to turn ? " 
 . " An attack on Camdless Bay plantation.'* 
 
 " By the Northerners ? " ^ 
 
 " No. By the Jacksonville Militia. The planter defied 
 the orders of the committee — " 
 
 " Right ! Right ! You mean James Burbank, the mad 
 abolitionist ? " 
 
 "Just so." 
 
 "What was the result!" 
 
 " I do not know. I only saw it as I passed. It looked 
 as though everything was in flames." 
 
 At this moment a feeble cry escaped from the child's 
 lips. Zermah put her hand on D\''s mouth, as the Indian's 
 fingers felt for her neck. The officer on the bridge heard 
 nothing. 
 
 " Were the guns in action at Camdless Bay?" 
 
 " I do not think so." 
 
 "Why the three reports which seemed to come from 
 Jacksonville ? " 
 
 " I do not know." 
 
 " Is the St. John's clear from Picolata to the bar ? " 
 
 *' Quite clear, and you need not trouble yourself about 
 the gunboats.^' 
 
 " All right. Sheer off ! " 
 
 An order was sent down to the engine-room, and the 
 steamer resumed her way. 
 
 " Can you answer me a question ? " asked Squambo. 
 
 " What .? " said the officer. 
 
 " The night is very dark. I hardly know where I am." 
 
 " Off Black Creek." 
 
 " Thank you." 
 
 The paddle-wheels churned the river face, and gradually 
 the steamer disappeared in the night, leaving behind her a 
 considerable troubling of the waters. 
 
 Squambo, left alone in mid-stream, sat down in the 
 canoe and gave the order to resume paddling. He knew 
 
174 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 his position, and starboarding his helm headed straight for 
 the oijening of Black Creek. • 
 
 That it was to this place of such difficult access that the 
 Indian was taking theai, Zermah could no longer doubt, 
 and little good did the knowledge do her. How could sul- 
 telf her nnaster, and how could he succeed in searching this 
 impenetrable labyrinth ? At the back of the creek were 
 there not the forests of Duval county offering every facility 
 for evading pursuit, in case James Burbank managed to 
 get through the lagoon ? This part of eastern Florida was 
 in those days a lost country, in which it was almost im- 
 possible to find a trail. Nor was it prudent to venture on 
 doing so. The Scminoles wandered about the forest and 
 marshlands, and v/ere formidable enemies. They robbed 
 the travellers who fell into their hands, and massacred 
 those who attempted to defend themselves. 
 
 A strange affair, much talked of at the time, had hap- 
 pened in the upper part of the country a little to the north- 
 west of Jacksonville. 
 
 Twelve Floridans had landed on the coast of the Gulf of 
 Mexico and been surprised by a tribe of Seminoles. They 
 had not been put to death because they had made no 
 resistance, wluch, as they were one to ten, was not to be 
 thought of. They were stripped, and robbed of all they 
 possessed, even of their clothes. They were forbidden, on 
 pain of instant execution, to again enter the territory, which 
 the Indians claimed as their own ; and, to recognize' them 
 in case they disobeyed the order, the chief of the tribe 
 availed himself of a very simple device. He tattooed them 
 on the arm in a curious way with the juice of a dye-plant 
 and a needle-point, so that they could not remove the 
 m.ark. Without further ill-treatment, they were turned 
 adrift. They reached the northern plantations in a piteous 
 plight, branded, so to speak, with the crest of the Indian 
 tribe, and not at all anxious, as may be imagined, to again 
 fall into the hands of these Seminoles, who would massacre 
 them in order to honour their signature. 
 
 At any other time the militia of Duval county would 
 not have allowed such a proceeding to pass with impunity. 
 
AFTER THE CAPTURE. I75 
 
 They would have gone off in pursuit of the Indians. But 
 at present they had something else to do besides under- 
 taking an expedition against the nomads. The fear of 
 seeing their country invaded by the Northerners over- 
 shadowed everything. Their only object was to prevent 
 the Northerners becoming masters of the St. John's and 
 the district it watered, and they could not spare a man 
 from the Southern forces at Jacksonville and on the 
 Georgian frontier. There would be time enough later on 
 to take the field against the Seminoles, when they had 
 been emboldened by the Civil War to the point of invading 
 the enemy's territory. Then they would not be contented 
 to drive them back into the Everglades, but would en- 
 deavour to destroy them to the last man. 
 
 It was thus dangerous to venture into the territories 
 of Western Florida ; and, if James Burbank pushed his 
 researches in that direction, it would be to meet with more 
 than the usual dangers. 
 
 The boat had reached the left bank of the river. 
 Squambo, knowing where Black Creek enters the St. John's, 
 had no fear of grounding on a shoal, and in less than five 
 minutes he was under the branching trees in darkness 
 deeper than that extending over the river. Accustomed 
 as he was to the navigation of the network of the lagoon, 
 he could advance without fear, but as he could no longei 
 be seen, why should he not have more light on his path ? 
 A resinous branch was cut from one of the trees, and lighted, 
 and stuck in the bow of the boat, so that its smoky light 
 showed the way. In about half an hour Squambo traversed 
 the meanderings of the creek, and at last he reached the 
 island of the blockhouse. 
 
 Zermah was there made to land. •. Overcome with fatigue, 
 tiie little girl was asleep in her arms. She did not wake 
 when the half-breed entered the door of the fortress and 
 was shut up in one of the rooms communicating with the 
 central redoubt. 
 
 Dy, wrapped in a covering which was dragged from one 
 of the corners, was laid on a sort of pallet. Zermah 
 watched by her side. 
 
 12 
 
176 NORTH AND SOUTH, 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 A STRANGE OPERATION. 
 
 In the momin<:^, at eight o'clock — it was the 3rd of March 
 — Squambo entered the room where Zermah had passed 
 the night. He brought some food — bread, a piece of cold 
 venison, fruits, a jug of strong beer, a pitcher of water, and 
 the different utensils for ihe table. At the same time, one 
 of the blacks placed in one of the corners an old piece of 
 furniture with toilet necessaries, towels, and other things 
 for the half-breed's own use and that of the little girl. 
 
 Dy was still asleep. By a gesture Zermah had besought 
 Squambo not to wake her. 
 
 When the negro had gone out, Zermah asked the Indian 
 in a low voice, — 
 
 " What are they going to do with us?" 
 
 "I do not know," said Squambo. 
 
 "What orders have you had from Texar.^" 
 
 "Whether they come from Texar or from somebody 
 else they are these, and you would do well to conform to 
 them. So long as you are here, this room will be yours, 
 and you will be ke|it in it during the night." 
 
 " And during the day ? " 
 
 " You can walk about the enclosure." 
 
 " While we are here. i3ut where are we ? " 
 
 "Where I was told to bring you." 
 
 "And are we to remain here?" 
 
 " I have said what I had to say," said the Indian. " It 
 is useless to ask me more ; I shall not answer." 
 
 And Squambo, whose manner gave no hope of further 
 conversation, left the rocm. 
 
 Zermdh looked at the girl. A few tears rose to her eyes, 
 
A STRANGE OPERATION. 177 
 
 tears which she at once wiped away. It would never do 
 for Dy, when she awoke, to see that she had been crying. 
 It was necessary that the child should gradually become 
 accustomed to her new position, precarious as it might be, 
 for all depended on the Spaniard. 
 
 Zermah thought over what had passed during the night. 
 She had seen Mrs. Burbank and Alice on the bank while 
 the boat moved away. Their desperate appeals, their 
 heartrending cries, had reached her. But had they been 
 able to get back to Castle House along the tunnel, reach 
 the besieged, and tell James Burbank and his companions 
 of the new misfortune that had fallen on them ? Had they 
 been captured by the Spaniard's men, dragged far from 
 Camdless Bay, killed perhaps ? If so, James Burbank 
 would not know that his child had been carried off with 
 Zermah. He would think that his wife, Alice, his daughter, 
 and the half-breed had got safe away from Marine Creek 
 and reached Cedar Rock in safety. He would then make 
 no immediate seach for their recovery ! 
 
 Supposing that Mrs. Burbank and Alice had got back to 
 Castle House, and James Burbank knew everything, was 
 there not cause to fear that the house had been entered by 
 the assailants, pillaged, burnt, destroyed > In that case, 
 what had become of its defenders ? If they had been made 
 prisoners or killed in the struggle, Zermah could not hope 
 for any assistance on their part. Even if the Northerners 
 had become masters of the St. John's she was lost. Neither 
 Gilbert Burbank nor Mars would know that the sister of 
 one and the wife of the other were imprisoned in this islet 
 in Black Creek. 
 
 And although these things were so, and Zermah had 
 only herself to look to, her energy would not leave her. 
 She would do all she could to save this child who had 
 perhaps only her in the world to look to. Her life would 
 centre in this idea — escape ! Not an hour should pass 
 without her doing something towards doing so. 
 
 But was it possible to escape from the fortress watched 
 by Squambo and his companions, to get away from the 
 ferocious bloodhounds that prowled round the enclosure, 
 
178 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 to fly from this island lost in the thousand windings of the 
 lagoon ? Yes, it was possible, but only on condition that 
 she was secretly helped by one of the slaves who knew the 
 channels of Black Creek. Why should not the temptation 
 of a large reward induce one of the men to help her in 
 her escape ? That was the direction in which she must 
 work. 
 
 Dy had just awoke. The first word she uttered was a call 
 for her mother. Then she looked round the room. The 
 remembrance of last night's events returned to her. She 
 saw the half-breed, and ran to her. 
 
 " Good Zermah ! Good Zermah I " she murmured, " I 
 am afraid 1 I am afraid ! " 
 
 " You must not be afraid, my dear." 
 
 " Where is mamma ? " 
 
 " She will come — soon. We have been obliged to save 
 ourselves — as you know ! We are now in safety. There is 
 nothing to fear. As soon as they have helped your father, 
 he will come to us." 
 
 Dy looked at Zermah, as much as to say — 
 
 " Is that really true ? " 
 
 " Yes," said Zermah, who wished to give the child con- 
 fidence at any cost. " Yes, Mr. Burbank told us to wait 
 for him here." 
 
 " But the men who took us away in the boat ? " said the 
 child, returning to the charge. 
 
 "They are the servants of Mr. Harvey, my dear. You 
 know Mr. Harvey, your father's friend who lives at Jack- 
 sonville. We are in his cottage at Hampton Red." 
 
 " And mamma and Alice, who were with us, why are they 
 not here.!*" 
 
 " Mr. Burbank called them back as they were going to 
 get into the boat. Do you not remember ? As soon as the 
 naughty men have been hunted from Camdless Bay, they 
 will come and look for you. See now ! Don't cry ! Don't 
 be afraid, my dear, even if we stay here for some days. 
 We are well hidden. And now let me put you straight." 
 
 Dy kept her eyes obstinately fixed on Zermah, and not- 
 vithstanding what she had been told, a heavy sigh escaped 
 
A STRANGE OPERATION. 179 
 
 her lips. She had not woke with a smile as she usually 
 did. It was important to keep her busy to distract her 
 attention. 
 
 And Zermah tried to do so with the most tender solici- 
 tude. She performed her toilet with as much care as if the 
 child were at Castle House, and at the same time tried to 
 amuse her with her stories. Then Dy ate a little, and 
 Zermah shared her first breakfast with her, 
 
 " Now, my dear, if you like, we will go out into the 
 enclosure." 
 
 " Is Mr. Harvey's cottage very nice ? " asked the child. 
 
 "Nice? No!" said Zermah. " I think it is an old hovel. 
 But there are trees and watercourses, and a place where 
 we can walk. We shall stay here for some days, and if 
 you are not too tired, and are very good, mamma will be 
 pleased." 
 
 " Yes, good Zermah, I will be good ! " said the little 
 girl. 
 
 The door of the room was not locked. Zermah took 
 the child's hand and went out with her. They first found 
 themselves in the central redoubt where it was dark. A 
 moment afterwards they were in full daylight beneath the 
 foliage of the great trees through which the sun shot its 
 rays. 
 
 The enclosure was not large ; it was about an acre in 
 extent, and of this the blockhouse occupied the greater 
 portion. The palisade which surrounded it did not 
 allow Zermah to reconnoitre the position of the island in 
 the lagoon. All she could see through the old gateway 
 was a tolerably wide channel, with troubled waters sepa- 
 rating it from the neighbouring islands. A woman and a 
 child could not but find it difficult to escape. Even sup- 
 posing Zermah could get possession of a boat, how could 
 she get out of the interminable labyrinth ? She did not 
 know that Texar and Squambo alone knew the way, for 
 the negroes rarely left the blockhouse. To reach the St. 
 John's, or the marshes to the west of the creek, she would 
 have to trust to chance. And was not that running to 
 certain destruction ? 
 
jj-Q NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 During the next day or two Zermah, on thinking matters 
 over, saw that no help could be hoped from Texar's slaves. 
 They were for the most part lialf-brutish negroes of for- 
 bidding appearance. The Spaniard did not keep them 
 chained, but they had not more liberty than if he had. 
 With plenty to eat grown on the island, and addicted to 
 strong drink, which Squambo was not at all stingy in 
 giving them, and specially kept for defending the block- 
 house, they had no interest in changing their existence for 
 another. The slave question debated a few miles from 
 Black Creek had no interest for them. To gain their 
 freedom ? Why ? And what would they do with it ? 
 Texar assured their existence, and Squambo did not ill- 
 tr-.^at them, although he would have smashed the head of 
 the first man who advised them to mutiny. They never 
 dreamt of such a thing. They were, indeed, brutes in- 
 ferior to the hounds prowling round the palisade. And 
 without exaggeration it could be said that the hounds 
 excelled them in intelligence, for they knew all the ins 
 and outs of the creek, and swam its multiple passes, 
 running from islet to islet, guided by a marvellous instinct 
 which never led them astray. Often their bark would be 
 heard along the left bank of the river, and before night 
 they would come back to the blockhouse all by them- 
 selves. No boat could enter Black Creek without being 
 at once discovered by these formidable guardians. Except 
 Squambo and Texar, no one would dare to leave the for- 
 tress without running the risk of being devoured by these 
 savage Carib dogs. 
 
 When Zermah saw how the enclosure was watched, 
 when she saw she could expect no help from those who 
 guarded her, it might be thought that she gave up all 
 thought of escape in despair. But she did not. Help 
 might come from outside, and in that case it would come 
 from James Burbank, if he was free to act, or from Mars 
 when Mars learnt how his wife had disappeared. Failing 
 these she must depend on herself for the child's safety. 
 And she would be equal to the task. 
 
 Isolated in this lagoon, she saw herself surrounded only 
 
A STRANGE OPERATION. l8i 
 
 by brutish men. Sometimes she thought that one of the 
 negroes, who was still young, looked at her with pity, 
 Was there any hope in that ? Could she trust him to tell 
 her the way to Camdless Bay, and help her to escape to 
 Castle House ? It was doubtful. And Squambo had 
 "evidently noticed that the slave was taking an interest ir 
 her, for now he was kept away, and Zermah met him nc 
 more in her walks about the enclosure. 
 
 Several days passed and there was no change in the 
 circumstances. From morning till night Zermah and Dy 
 were at liberty to move about as they chose. When night 
 came, although Squambo did not lock them in their room, 
 yet he did not allow them to leave the central red<.»ubt 
 He never spoke to them, and Zermah had given up al] 
 attempts to question him. Not for a moment did he seem 
 to leave the island. She felt that his watch over them was 
 unceasing. And she employed herself in looking aftei 
 the child, who constantly asked for her mother. 
 
 " She will come ! " Zermah would reply. " I have had 
 news of her. Your father will come too, my dear, and 
 with Miss Alice." 
 
 And when she had said this she knew not what else tc 
 imagine ; and then she did her best to amuse the child 
 who showed more sense than could be expected at hei 
 age. 
 
 The 4th, 5th, and 6th of March went by. Althougl- 
 Zermah listened for some distant detonation to announce 
 the presence of the Federal flotilla on the waters of the St 
 John's, no sound reached her. All was silence at Blacl 
 Creek. It was reasonable to suppose that Florida did noi 
 yet belong to the soldiers of the North. And thi< 
 increased the half-breed's anxiety to the utmost. Failing 
 James Burbank, she must trust to Gilbert and Mars. Anc 
 what was very strange was that the Spaniard had no 
 once shown himself at the blockhouse, either in the day 01 
 the night. At least, Zermah saw nothing to make he: 
 think so. And she scarcely slept, passing her long hour; 
 of insomnia in listening — always in vain. 
 
 What could she do if Texar came to Black Creek 
 
i82 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 Would he listen to her prayers or her threats ? Was not 
 the Spaniard's presence more to be feared than his 
 absence ? 
 
 It was the night of the 6th of March, and about eleven 
 o'clock. For the thousandth time Zermah was thinking over 
 these things, as little Dy quietly slept. The room which 
 served them for a cell was in deep darkness. No sound 
 was heard without, except the whistling of the wind along 
 the crumbling planks of the blockliouse. 
 
 Suddenly she heard some one walking into the central 
 redoubt. At first she supposed it was the Indian going to 
 his room opposite hers, after making his usual rounti to 
 see that all was safe. 
 
 Then she heard a few words spoken by two voices. She 
 glided to the door, and placed her ear close to it, and 
 listened. She recognized Squambo's voice, and almost 
 inimL'diately afterwards Texar's. 
 
 A shudder seized her. What did the Spaniard want at 
 this hour ? Was it some new scheme against her and the 
 child ? Were they going to take them from their room, 
 carry them to some more unknown retreat, more impene- 
 trable than this of Black Creek ? In a moment all these 
 suppositions presented themselves. Then her energy took 
 the upper hand, and she leant against the door and lis- 
 tened. 
 
 " Nothing new ? " said Texar. 
 
 " Nothing, master," said Squambo. 
 
 "And Zermah?" 
 
 " I refused to answer her questions." 
 
 " Have any attempts been made to reach them from 
 f amdless Bay ? " 
 
 " Yes, but none have succeeded." 
 
 From this reply Zermah learnt that people were search- 
 ing for them. Who could they be ? 
 
 " How do you know ? " 
 
 " I have been several times to the river-bank," said 
 the Indian. " And a day or two ago I saw a boat laying 
 off the Creek. The two men in her landed on one of the 
 islands by the bank." 
 
A STRANGE OPERATION. 183 
 
 " Who were these two men ? " 
 
 " James Burbank and Walter Stannard." 
 
 Zermah could hardly restrain her emotion. James Bur- 
 bank and Walter Stannard ! And so the defenders of 
 Castle House had not perished in the attack on the plan- 
 tation. And if they had begun to search, it was because 
 they knew that she and the child had been carried off. 
 And if they knew that, it must be because Mrs, Burbank 
 and Alice had told them so. So that they were alive, and 
 they must have got back to Castle House after hearing 
 her last shout for help against Texar. James Burbank 
 thus knew what had happened. He knew the scoundrel's 
 np.me. Perhaps he even suspected where he had hidden 
 his victims. He might even reach them ! 
 
 This chain of thought linked itself together instar.tly in 
 Zermah's mind. A great hope took possession of her — a 
 hope that vanished immediately v/hen she heard "the 
 Spaniard answer — 
 
 " Yes ! Let them search, and they will never find them. 
 In a few days we need have no fear of James Burbank ! " 
 
 What these words meant Zermah could not divine ; but, 
 coming from the man whom Jacksonville obeyed, they were 
 a formidable menace, 
 
 • " And now, Squambo, I want you for an hour," said the 
 Spaniard. 
 
 " Right." 
 
 " Follow me." 
 
 A moment afterwards they had entered the Indian's 
 room. 
 
 What were they doing there.? Was it some secret that 
 Zermah ought to know ? In her position she should neglect 
 nothing that might be of use to her. 
 
 Her room door, as we know, was not locked during the 
 night. The precaution would have been useless, as the 
 redoubt was locked, and Squambo kept the key. It was 
 impossible to get out of the blockhouse, and consequently 
 to attempt escape. 
 
 Zermah could thus open her door and step out. She 
 held her breath as she did so. 
 
1 84 NORTH AND SOUTH. \ 
 
 The darkness was intense. Only a few streaks of ligj 
 came from the Indian's room. 
 
 Zermah crept to tlic door, and peeped through the crai^ 
 between two ulanks. What she saw was too strange f I 
 her to understand its meaning. 
 
 Although the room was lighted only by the fag-end of 
 rcbinous torch, the light was enough for the Indian, whi| 
 was occupied in a work of great delicacy. 
 
 Texar was seated in front of him, with his leather coa] 
 thrown back, and with his left arm bare and stretched out o; 
 a little table just under the light of the torch. A piece c 
 paper of curious shnpe, pierced with little holes, was laic 
 on the inner part of the fore- arm. With a fine needle 
 Squambfj pricked the skin in every place where there waj 
 a liole in the paper. The Indian was tattooing, and, as a 
 Seminole, he was an expert at such work. He did it with 
 su(-h. skill and lightness of hand that the epidermis was 
 only just touched by the needle-point, and the Spaniard 
 felt not the least discomfort. 
 
 When he had done, Squambo lifted the paper ; then, 
 taking a few leaves of a plant Texar had brought with him, 
 he rubbed them over the fore-arm. The sap of the plant 
 rubbed into the needle punctures caused a sharp itching, 
 but the Spaniard was not the man to trouble himself about 
 suc>i -mall matters. 
 
 1 his part of the operation over, Squambo held the torch 
 close to the tattooed place. A reddish design then ap- 
 peared on the skin. The design was an exact copy of thit 
 formed by the needle-holes in the paper. It was a series 
 of inter-crossed lines, representing one of the symbolic 
 fi_:ures of the Seminole religion. The mark could neicr 
 m-Tc be effaced from the arm on which Squambo had put it. 
 
 Zermah had seen it all, and, as we have said, could 
 miderstand nothing of it. What interest could Texar iiave 
 in being thus tattooed ? Why this " particular sign," as 
 the passports say ? Did he wish to pass as an Indian ? 
 Neither his complexi(.<n nor his features would admit of 
 his doing so. Was there any connection between this mark 
 and that which had been put on the Floridans who had 
 
A STRANGE OPERATION. 185 
 
 en robbed by the Seminoles ? And, on account of it, 
 s he going to prove one of those inexplicable alibis 
 ich had hitherto stood him in such good stead ? 
 Perhaps this was one of the secrets of his life which the 
 ture would reveal. 
 
 Another question presented itself to Zermah. Had not 
 e Spaniard come to the blockhouse to avail himselt of 
 uambo's cleverness as a tattooer ? Was he going back 
 Jacksonville, where his partisans were still in power ? 
 r was he going to stop at the blockhouse day after day 
 d make fresh arrangements regarding his prisoners ? 
 Zermah's anxiety was not of long duration." She had 
 ipped back to her room as soon as the Spaniard rose to 
 ter the central chamber. Hidden by the door, she heard 
 he few words exchanged between the Indian and his 
 laster. 
 " Watch them with more care than ever," he said. 
 " Yes," replied Squambo. " But if we are closely pressed 
 )y James Burbank — " 
 "James Burbank, I tell you, will not trouble you after 
 few days. Besides, you know where to take the half- 
 3reed and child — where I shall meet you again." 
 
 " Yes, master," said Squambo ; " for we must provide 
 igainst Gilbert Burbank, or Mars, Zermah's husband — " 
 
 " Before forty-eight hours they will both be in my power, 
 and when I get them — " 
 
 Zermah did not hear the end of the sentence which 
 threatened her husband and Gilbert so seriously. 
 
 Texar and Squambo then left the redoubt, and the door 
 shut behind them. 
 
 A few minutes later the skiff paddled by the Indian left 
 the island, traversed the sombre sinuosities of the lagoon, 
 and put the Spaniard on board a boat that was waiting for 
 him off the creek. Squambo and his master then sepa- 
 rated, Texar going down with the tide to Jacksonville. 
 
 He arrived there at dawn, in time to put his plans into 
 execution. And soon afterwards IViars disappeared in the 
 waters of the St. John's, and Gilbert Burbank was con- 
 demned to death. 
 
86 
 
 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE DAY BEFORE. 
 
 It was in the morning of the nth of March that Gilbert 
 Burbank had been tried by the Jacksonville Committee ; 
 and the same evening his father had been arrested. The 
 next day but one the young officer was to be shot, and 
 doubtless James Burbank, charged as being his accomplice, 
 and sentenced to the same penalty, would die with him. 
 
 As we know, Texar held the Committee in his hand. His 
 word alone was law. The execution of the father and the 
 son would be the prelude to sanguinary excesses against the 
 Northerners in Florida, and all who shared in their ideas 
 on the slavery question. What an amount of personal 
 vengeance would be gratified under the cloak of civil war ! 
 Nothing but the presence of the Federal troops could put a 
 stop to this. But would they come, and, above all, would 
 they come before the first victims had been sacrificed to 
 the Spaniard's hatred .-* 
 
 Unfortunately it seemed to be doubtful. 
 
 One can fancy the anguish at Castle House at this pro- 
 longed delay. 
 
 It seemed as though the plan of ascending the St. John's 
 had been temporarily abandoned by Stevens. The gun- 
 boats made no movement to leave their anchorage. Did 
 they not dare to clear the bar now that Mars was not with 
 them to pilot them along the channel .'' Had they given up 
 the idea of taking Jacksonville, and by the capture assuring 
 safety to the plantations on the St. John's ? What new 
 events of the war had modified the projects of Commodore 
 Dupont? 
 
 Such were the questions that Mr. Stannard and Overseer 
 
THE DAY BEFORE. 187 
 
 rry asked themselves during this interminable day of the 
 h of March. 
 
 i^'rom the news then current it seemed that the Federal 
 )rts in this part of Florida, between the river and the sea, 
 |-e confined to the coast. Commodore Dupont, in the 
 zbash, with the heaviest gunboats of the squadron, had 
 t appeared in the Bay of St. Augustine. It was even 
 orted that the militia were preparing to abandon the 
 ^n without attempting to defend Fort Marion any more 
 |in Fort Church had been defended at the surrender of 
 rnandina, 
 
 5uch, at least, was the news brought by the overseer 
 •ing the morning to Castle House ; and he at once 
 (orted it to Mr. Stannard and Edward Carrol, who, his 
 und not having healed, was obliged to recline on one of 
 ; sofas in the hall, 
 
 ' The Federals at St. Augustine ! " said the latter ; " and 
 y do they not come to Jacksonville ? " 
 Perhaps they wish only to blockade the river without 
 :ing possession," answered Perry. 
 
 ' James and Gilbert are lost if Jacksonville remains in 
 xar's hands," said Mr. Stannard. 
 
 * Could I not go,'^ said Perry, " and tell Commodore 
 ipont that Mr. Burbank and his son are in such 
 tiger?" 
 
 'It would take a day to reach St. Augustine," said 
 rrol, " even supposing that you were not stopped by the 
 reating militia. And before Dupont could order Stevens 
 [occupy Jacksonville, too much time would have gone ! 
 jtsides, there is this bar — this river- bar, which the gun- 
 ats cannot pass. How can they save our poor Gilbert, 
 Vo is to die to-morrow } No ! it is not to St. Augustine 
 u should go, but to Jacksonville ! It is not to Com- 
 3dore Dupont you should appeal, but to — Texar ! " 
 " Mr. Carrol is right, father, and I will go ! " said Alice, 
 10 had heard the few last words. 
 
 The brave girl was ready to risk everything for Gilbert's 
 fety. 
 The evening before, when he left Camdless Bay, James 
 
iS8 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 Burbank had particularly enjoined that his wife should i 
 be told of his departure to Jacksonville. It was better i 
 hide from her that the Committee had ordered his arrc 
 Mrs. Burbank was thus unaware of his having gone, as s 
 was unaware of the fate ot her son, whom she believed 
 be on board the flotilla. How could the unhappy worn 
 bear up under the double blow that had fallen on he 
 Her husband in the power of Texar, her son on the eve 
 being executed ! She would never survive it. When s 
 had asked to see James Burbank, Alice had replied that 
 had left Castle House in resumption of his search after I 
 and Zermah, and that he would be away forty-eight houi 
 So that all Mrs. Burbank's thoughts were concentrated c 
 her stolen child. 
 
 Alice knew all the danr;ers that threatened James an 
 Gilbert Burbank. She knew that the young officer was 1 
 be shot in the morning, and that the same fate was in stoi 
 for his father. But thou:;h she knew all this, she resolve 
 to see Texar, and asked Mr. Carrol to take her across th 
 river. 
 
 " You — Alice — at Jacksonville ! " exclaimed Mr. Stan, 
 nard. 
 
 " Father, it is necessary ! " 
 
 Mr. Stannard's very natural hesitation suddenly ceasec 
 before the necessity of acting without delay. If Gilber 
 could be saved, it was only by the way Alice wished to try 
 Perhaps by casting herself at Texar's knees she could shak( 
 his re.-^olution ! Perhaps she might obtain a resjiite ! Per- 
 haps she might find .support among the better citizens whc 
 might be ic.duced to rise against the intolerable tyranny ol 
 the Committee ! In short, she must go to Jacksonville 
 whatever danger she might run. 
 
 " Perry," she said, " will you take me to Mr. Harvey's 
 house > " 
 
 " Immediately," said the overseer. 
 
 "No, Alice; I will go with you," said Mr. Stannard. 
 " Yes, I will ! Let us start — " 
 
 "You, Stannard.^" asked Carrol. "You are exposing 
 your life. They know your opinions." 
 
THE. DAY BEFORE. 189 
 
 " What does it matter ? " said Mr. Stannard. " I will not 
 ct my daughter go alone amongst those vagabonds. 
 'erry can stay at Castle House, as you cannot walk yet, 
 >r we must prepare in case we are detained — " 
 " If Mrs Burbank asks for you," said Carrol, " if she asks 
 .r Alice, what am I to say ? " 
 
 " oay that we have gone with James in his search on the 
 tlicr side of the river. Tell her, if necessary, that we have 
 ad to go to Jacksonville— in fact anything you like to keep 
 .er quiet, but nothing to lead her to suspect the dangers 
 hat surround her husband and son. Perry, get a boat 
 eady." 
 
 1 he overseer retired at once, leaving Mr. Stannard to 
 )repare for his journey. 
 
 It would be better for Alice not to leave Castle House 
 vithout telling Mrs. Burbank that she and her father had 
 [>een obliged to go to Jacksonville. If need be she could 
 ;ven say that Texar's party had been superseded, that the 
 Federals were masters of the river, that to-morrow Gilbert 
 vould be at Camdless Bay. But would the girl have 
 lufficient self-command, would her voice not betray her 
 ivhen she asserted as facts what now seemed impossible ? 
 
 When she arrived in the invalid's room Mrs. Burbank 
 was asleep, or rather deep in sorrowful slumber, in profound 
 torpor, from which Alice had not the courage to wake her. 
 Perhaps it was better that the girl had no need to speak 
 land soothe her. 
 
 I One of the women of the house watched near the bed. 
 [Alice told her not to leave for a moment, and to ask Mr. 
 iCarrol to answer Mrs. Burbank's questions. Then she 
 bent over the unhappy mother, almost till their lips met, 
 and then she went out and joined her father. 
 As soon as she saw him, " Let us go," she said. 
 They clasped Carrol's hand and went out from the hall. 
 In the middle of the bamboo-path to the landing-path they 
 met the overseer. 
 
 " The boat is ready," said he. 
 
 " Good," said Mr. Stannard. " Keep careful guard over 
 the house, my friend." 
 PART II. 
 
igo NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 "Never fear, Mr. Stannard, our blacks are coming back' 
 to the plantation, and that means much. What woulc' 
 they do with a freedom for which nature has not created 
 them ? Bring us back Mr. Burbank, and they will all be 
 found at their post." 
 
 Mr. Stannard and his daughter took their places in the 
 boat with four of the Camdless Baj^ men. The sail was 
 hoisted, and under a light easterly breeze they speedily 
 left the shore. 
 
 Mr. Stannard thought it best not to land at the wharf 
 at Jacksonville, where he would inevitably be recognized, 
 but to run into a little creek a short distance above. From 
 there it would be easy to reach Mr. Harvey's house, which 
 was on this side and well out in the suburbs. Once 
 there they could consult over matters and act accordingly 
 
 The river at this time was deserted. Nothing abov 
 stream ; nothing below. There had been no fight betweei 
 the Floridan vessels and the gunboats under Commandant 
 Stevens, whose anchorage could not even be seen, owing 
 to a bend in the St. John's closing the horizon below 
 Jacksonville. 
 
 After a quick passage, Mr. Stannard and his daughter 
 reached the left bank. Without being noticed they were 
 able to land in the creek, which was not watched, and in a 
 few minutes they found themselves in the house of James 
 Burbank's correspondent. 
 
 Mr. Harvey was much surprised and much alarmed to 
 see them. Their presence could not be without danger 
 among a mob more and more excited and quite devoted 
 to Texar. It was known that Stannard shared in the 
 anti-slavery ideas adopted at Camdless Bay. The pillage 
 of his house at Jacksonville was a warning that could not 
 be disregarded. 
 
 Assuredly he was running a great risk. The least that 
 could happen to him, if he was discovered, was to be im- 
 prisoned as an accomplice of James Burbank's. 
 
 " We must save Gilbert ! " was all that Miss Alice could 
 answer to Mr. Harvey's observations. 
 
 " Yes," he said. " We must try ! But Mr. Stannard 
 
tHE DAY BEFORE. ipi: 
 
 must not go out of this house ! He must stay here while 
 we act." 
 
 " Will they let me into the prison ? " asked Alice. 
 
 ** I do not think so, Miss Stannard." 
 
 " Shall I get to see Texar ? " 
 
 "We will try." 
 
 " Will you not let me go with you ? " said Mr. Stannard. 
 
 '* No ! that would do harm with Texar and his Com- 
 mittee." 
 
 " Come, then, Mr. Harvey," said Alice. 
 
 Before they left, however, Mr. Stannard asked if there had 
 been any war news which had not yet reached Camdless Bay. 
 
 " None," said Mr. Harvey ; " at least none that concerns 
 Jacksonville. The Federal flotilla has appeared in the 
 Bay of St. Augustine, and the town has been surrendered. 
 At the St. John's nothing has been done ; the gunboats 
 are still at anchor below the bar." 
 
 " The water is too low for them to get over." 
 
 *' Yes, Mr. Stannard ; but to-day we are to have one of 
 the highest tides of the equinox. It will be high water 
 for three hours, and perhaps the gunboats will clear it — " 
 
 " Clear it without a pilot, now that Mars is no longer 
 there to guide them through the channels ! " said Alice in a 
 tone which show^ed that she thought little of this hope. 
 " No ! It is impossible ! Mr. Harvey, I must see Texar, 
 and if he repulses me, we must sacrifice everything to help 
 Gilbert .escape — " 
 
 " And we will do so, Miss Stannard." 
 
 " Feeling has not changed in Jacksonville ? " asked Mr. 
 Stannard. 
 
 "No," replied Mr. Harvey. "The roughs are' the 
 masters, and Texar leads them. But owing to the exac- 
 tions and menaces of the Committee the respectable people 
 are growling with indignation, and it only wants a move- 
 ment of the Federals on the river to bring about an im- 
 mediate change. The mob is a cowardly mob ; and if they 
 have cause to fear, Texar and his partisans will be upset. 
 I hope still that Commandant S<^evens will be able to clear 
 the bar—" 
 
192 
 
 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 " We will wait for that," said Alice resolutely ; " and 
 before then I shall have seen Texar." 
 
 It was then agreed that Mr. Stannard should remain in 
 the house, so that his presence in Jacksonville should 
 not be known. Mr. Harvey was to help Alice in all her 
 plans, the success of which, it was well understood, was 
 problematical. If Texar refused to give Gilbert his life, if 
 Alice could not get to see him, they would try even at the 
 cost of a fortune to procure the escape of the prisoners. 
 
 It was about eleven o'clock when Alice and Mr. Harvey 
 left the house for the Courts of Justice, where the Com- 
 mittee under Texar's presidency was in permanent session. 
 
 The town was still in' a state of great excitement. The 
 militia, reinforced by the detachments arrived from the 
 South, were constantly on the move. Those set free by 
 the surrender of St. Augustine were expected during the 
 day, either by the St.. John's or by the road through the 
 forests on its right bank. The people thronged the streets. 
 A thousand rumours were afloat, contradictory as usual, 
 and provoking a tumult akin to disorder. It was easy to 
 see that if the Federals did arrive there would be no unity 
 of action in the defence ; there would be no serious re- 
 sistance. Fernandina had surrendered nine days before to 
 the troops landed under General Wright ; St. Augustine 
 had received Dupont's flotilla wiihout even attempting to 
 bar his passage ; and so would it be at Jacksonville. The 
 Florida Militia would give place to the Northern troops, 
 and would retire into the interior of the country. There 
 was only one thing to save Jacksonville from capture, to 
 prolong the powers of the Committee and allow them to 
 accomplish their sanguinary plans ; that was, that for want 
 of water or want of a pilot the gunboats kept outside the 
 bar. And in a few hours it would be seen if this were to 
 be the case. 
 
 Through a crowd which grew closer at every step, Alice 
 and Mr. Hai-vey made their way to the principal square. 
 How were they to get into the court.? They could not 
 imagine. Once there, how could they get to see Texar ? 
 They did not know. Who could tell if the Spaniard, when 
 
THE DAY BEFORE. igj 
 
 he heard that Alice Stannard demanded to see him, would 
 not arrest her and imprison her until after the lieutenant's 
 execution ? But she would not think of such things. To 
 see Texar, to compel him to have mercy on Gilbert, no 
 personal danger would be too great for her to run. 
 
 When she and Mr. Harvey reached the square, thej' 
 found there a still more tumultuous crowd. Shouts rent 
 the air, and these words of menace were yelled from one 
 group to another : " Death ! Death ! " 
 
 Mr. Harvey ascertained that the Committee had been 
 sitting as a court of justice for an hour. A dreadful pre- 
 sentiment seized on him, and the presentiment was only 
 too well justified. The Committee were trying James 
 Burbank for being the accomplice of his son Gilbert, and 
 holding communication with the Federal army. The same 
 crime, the same sentence, there could be no doubt, and the 
 crowning of Texar's work against the Burbank family. 
 
 Mr. Harvey would have gone no further. He tried to 
 lead Alice away. He would not subject her to the sight 
 of the violence which the people threatened when the con- 
 denmed men came out of the court after sentence was 
 pronounced. This ;was hardly the time to seek an inter- 
 view with the Spaniard. 
 
 " Come away. Miss Stannard," said Mr. Harvey. " Come 
 away ! We will come back when the Committee — " 
 
 •' No 1 " answered Alice. " I will throw myself between 
 the accused and their judges — " 
 
 The girl's resolution was such that Mr. Harv^ey despaired 
 of overcoming it. Alice led the way. He was bound to 
 follow her. The crowd was quiet— some of them recog- 
 nized her, perhaps, and yet it opened to let her pass. The 
 cries of " Death ! " sounded horribly in her ears. Nothing 
 could stop her. She reached the doors of the court. Here 
 the crowd was rougher than ever, — not the roughness that 
 follows the storm, but that which precedes it. The most 
 terrible excesses were to be feared. 
 
 Suddenly a tumultuous wave burst from the court. The 
 shouts redoubled. Sentence had been given. 
 
 James Burbank, like Gilbert, had been condemned for 
 
194 
 
 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 the same pretended crime to tlie same penalty. Father 
 and son would fall before the same firing platoon. 
 
 '• Death ! Death ! " yelled the crowd of roughs. 
 
 James Burbank appeared on the steps. He was calm 
 and collected. A look of scorn was all he had for the 
 shouting crowd. 
 
 A detachment of militia surrounded him, with orders to 
 take him back to prison. 
 
 He was not alone. 
 
 Gilbert was by his side. 
 
 Taken from the cell where he awaited the hour of exe- 
 cution, the young officer had been brought into the Cf:m- 
 mittee's presence to be confronted with James Burbmk, 
 who could only confirm what his son had said. Gilbert 
 had come to Castle House to see his dying mother for the 
 last time. On the evidence the charge would have collapseil, 
 had not the trial been settled beforehand. The same doom 
 awaited both innocent men — a doom imposed by persoiw-.l 
 vengeance, and pronounced by iniquitous judges. 
 
 The crowd closed on the prisoners. It was with great 
 difficulty that the militia could clear the way. 
 
 There was a sudden movement ia the crowd. Alice 
 rushed towards the father and son. 
 
 Involuntarily the mob recoiled, surprised by this unex- 
 pected attempt. 
 
 " Alice !" exclaimed Gilbert. 
 
 " Gilbert ! Gilbert ! " murmured Alice as she fell into 
 his arms. 
 
 " Alice ! why are you here ? " asked James Burbank. 
 
 " To ask mercy for you. To beg it from your judges. 
 Mercy ! mercy for them ! " 
 
 The girl's cries were heart-breaking. She clung to the 
 clothes of the doomed men, who had for a moment 
 stopped. 
 
 Could they hope for pity from the wild crowd that sur- 
 rounded them ? No ! But her intervention for a moment 
 prevented them from proceeding to violence, in defiance of 
 the militia guard. 
 
 Texar, informed of what was happening, appeared at the 
 
THE DAY BEFORE. ^95 . 
 
 threshold of the Courts of Justice. A gesture from him | 
 
 silenced the crowd. The order he gave was to take the • 
 
 Burbanks back to prison. i 
 
 The detachment resumed its march. , 
 
 " Mercy ! mercy ! " sobbed Alice, throwmg herself at 
 
 The Spaniard's reply was a gesture of refusal. i 
 
 The girl stood up. i 
 
 "Scoundrel!" she said. i , t. ' 
 
 She would have rejoined the prisoners, followed them to : 
 the prison, and spent with them the last hours left them to 
 
 They were already out of the square, the crowd escorting ■ 
 them with yells and insults. 
 
 It was more than Alice could bear. Her strength; 
 abandoned her. She staggered and fell. She had neither s 
 feeling nor consciousness when Mrs. Harvey received her i 
 
 in her arms. , . , . r *.u ^ 
 
 She did not come to herself till she was with her father / 
 in Mr. Harvey's house. t 
 
 "To the prison! To the prison!" she murmured. j 
 *' Both of them must escape." ' 
 
 "Yes," said Mr. Stannard. "That is all we can try!| 
 Wait till night comes!" i 
 
 Nothing could be done during the day. When darkness - 
 enabled them to act with more safety, without fear ofi; 
 being surprised, Mr. Stannard and Mr. Harvey would] 
 endeavour to help the prisoners escape, with the connivance . 
 of their guard. They would take money with them, soi 
 much— so they hoped— that the man would be unable to ; 
 resist them; particularly as a single shot from Stevens s, 
 gunboats might end the Spaniard's power. , ' 
 
 But night came, and they had to give up all thought of ^ 
 their scheme. The prison was guarded by a detachment' 
 of militia, and all idea of flight was in vain. ; 
 
•9^ NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 A GALE FROM THE NORTH-EAST. 
 
 There was now only one chance for the doomed men — 
 that before a dozen hours had elapsed the Federals were 
 masters of the town. At sunrise James and Gilbert Bur- 
 bank would be shot. Their prison was watched, so was 
 i\Ir. Harvey's house ; how could they esca:)e ? 
 
 The capture of Jacksonville could not be made by the 
 troops landed at Fernandina, who could not abandon that 
 important position in the north of Florida. The task mu?t 
 be that of the gunboats : to accomplish it the bar must be 
 crossed. Then when the line of boats was driven back, the 
 flotilla could anchor opposite the town. Once they had 
 the town under their guns, the militia would beat a retreat 
 to the marshes. Texar and his partisans would certainly 
 follow them, to avoid the well-deserved reprisals. The 
 respectable citizens would then resume the place from 
 which they had been hunted with such indignity, and nego- 
 tiate with the Federal representatives for the surrender. 
 
 Was it possible to effect this passage of the bar, and 
 within the time ? Was there any way of overcoming the 
 obstacle which the want of water put in the way of the 
 gunboats ? It was very doubtful, as we shall see. 
 
 After, sentence was pronounced Texar and the com- 
 mander o^i the militia went down to the wharf to inspect 
 the lower course of the river. Their attention was fixed 
 on the bar. 
 
 " Nothing fresh has been reported ? " asked Texar, as he 
 stopped at the end of the stockade. 
 
 "Nothing," said the officer. "A reconnaissance I sent 
 out to the north tells me that the Federals have not left 
 
A GALE FROM THE NORTH-EAST. 197 
 
 Fernandina for Jacksonville. Probably they are kept in 
 observation on the Georgian frontier until their flotilla has 
 forced the channel." 
 
 " Have any troops come from the south, from St. 
 Augustine, and crossed the St. John's at Picolata > " 
 
 " I think not. Dupont has only troops enough to 
 occupy the town, and his object is to blockade the whole 
 coast from the St John's to the furthest inlets of Florida. 
 We have nothing to fear from that side, Texar !" 
 
 " Then the only danger is from the flotilla if it clears the 
 bar, below which it has been at anchor for three days." 
 
 " That is so. And the question will be decided in a few 
 hours. Perhaps, after all, the enemy's object is to close the 
 river so as to cut off the communication between St. 
 Augustine and Fernandina ! It is most to his interest not ; 
 to occupy Florida at present, but to stop the contraband of 
 war coming in from the south. The expedition has no 
 other object— at least I think not. If it had, the troops at 
 Amelia Island would have been on the march to Jackson- 
 ville." 
 
 "You may be right," said Texar. "It doesn't matter! 
 But I wish this question of the bar was over." 
 
 « It will be settled this very day." 
 
 " If the gunboats do come, what will you do ? "^ ^ 
 
 " Act according to my orders, and take the militia into 
 the interior, so as to avoid all contact with the Federals. 
 If they can occupy the towns, let them. They cannot keep 
 them long, for they will be cut off from their communica- 
 tions with Georgia and the Carolinas, and we shall soon 
 retake them." ^ t 1 -n 
 
 " But," said Texar, " if they are masters of Jacksonville 
 only for a day, we must expect reprisals. All these 
 pretended honest men, these rich planters, and abolitionists 
 will return to power, and then— But^ it shall not be ! 
 No ! and rather than abandon the town — " 
 
 The Spaniard did not finish liis thought, but it was easy 
 to see his meaning. He would not surrender the town i o 
 the Federals, who would place it in the hands of the 
 magistrates he had supplanted. He would give it to the 
 
IpS NORTH AND SOUTH. " I 
 
 flames ; and perhaps his measures were taken with a view' 
 to this work of destruction. Then lie and his followers 
 would retire after the militia, and in the marshes of the 
 south find an inaccessible retreat, where they could awaitl 
 events. 
 
 But there was nothing of this to be feared if the' 
 gunboats could not clear the bar, and the time had come to 
 settle the question, i 
 
 The people came crowding on to the wharves. A 
 moment was enough to show why they had come, 1 
 Deafening shouts arose. ' ] 
 
 " The gunboats are coming ! " ; 
 
 " No ! they have not moved." ! 
 
 " The sea is open ! " • ] 
 
 " They are going to try it at full speed 1 " j 
 
 " Look I look 1 " ^ I 
 
 "So they are!" said the commander of the militia.' 
 
 1 here is something ! Look, Texar ! " 
 
 The Spaniard did not reply. He never took his eyes ' 
 from where the horizon was closed by the line of boats ' 
 drawn across the stream. Half a mile below were the spars ! 
 and funnels of the gun-vessels. A thick smoke was rising . 
 and driven by the wind came floating up to Jacksonville ' 
 
 Evidently Stevens, taking advantage of the full tide, was ■ 
 
 \T^h u° ^'°^^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^ ^" *^°^^s- ^Vould he do so ? ' 
 Would he find enough water, even if he scraped his keels ; 
 as he came .? No wonder there v/as violent excitement ' 
 among the crowds on the bank of the St. John's. ! 
 
 And the excitement increased as some thought they saw i 
 something, and others thought they did not. 
 
 " They have gained half a cable ! " 
 
 " No ! they have not moved further than if their anchor 
 was still down." j 
 
 " There is one moving." i 
 
 " Yes ; but she is swinging on a pivot because she has i 
 not got water enough." ; 
 
 " What a smoke ! " 
 
 "They may bum all the coal in the States, but thev J 
 won t get over," ' i 
 
A GALE FROM THE NORTH-EAST. 199 
 
 " And now the tide is slackening ! " 
 
 " Hurrah for the South ! " 
 
 « Hurrah ! " 
 
 The flotilla's attempt lasted about ten minutes — ten 
 minutes which appeared long to Texar, to his partisans, 
 and to all there whose liberty or life would be endangered 
 by the capture of Jacksonville. What had really happened 
 they did not know ; the distance was too great for them to 
 be sure. Had the channel been forced or not .? By dis- 
 charging all useless weight to lighten his draught, had 
 Stevens been able to clear the narrow shoal that kept him 
 out of the deep water, by which the passage up to the 
 town would be easy ? So long as the tide was on the turn 
 there was a chance that he might. 
 
 But as the people said, the tide had begun to run out. 
 Once the ebb began, the level of the St. John's would soon 
 sink. 
 
 Suddenly arms were stretched towards the bar, and there 
 was a shout that was heard over all, — 
 
 " A boat ! a boat ! " 
 
 A little boat was sighted coming along the left bank, 
 where the flow of the tide was still perceptible, while the 
 ebb appeared in mid-channel. The boat rowed up rapidly. 
 In the stern sat an officer in the uniform of the Florida 
 Militia. He soon reached the stockade, and, running up 
 the ladder, landed on the wharf Perceiving Texar he 
 came towards him, followed by a crowd almost choking 
 with anxiety to see and hear, 
 
 " What is it ? " asked the Spaniard. 
 
 " Nothing, and there will be nothing ! " said the officer. 
 
 " Who sent you .? " 
 
 " The commander of the boats, who will soon be back 
 here." 
 
 "And why?" 
 
 " Because the gunboats have failed in crossing the bar, 
 although they were lightened for draught and were driven 
 at full speed. There is now nothing to fear — " 
 
 " For this tide ? " asked Texar. 
 
 " Nor for any other— at least idr some months.*' 
 
^ 
 
 NORTH AND SOUTH, 
 
 " Hurrah ! Hurrah ! " 
 
 The cheers spread over the town. And as the rough): 
 more than ever cheered the Spaniard, in whom al! theii 
 detestable instincts were incarnate, the respectable peopUl 
 saw with despair that for some time yet they would b^ 
 under the iniquitous rule of the Committee and its chief. 
 
 The officer's report was true. From that day the tid<ji 
 would decrease each day. The tide of the 12th of MarchI 
 was one of the highest of the \'ear, and several months 
 would elapse before it a^ain reached the same level. The 
 bar being impassable, Jacksonville would escape Stevens's 
 guns. Texar would remain in power ; the scoundrel woulc 
 accomplish his work of vengeance Even if General Shermar 
 sent Wright to occupy the town with the troops landed aljl 
 Fernandina, tlie march would take several days. As far as! 
 the Burbanks were concerr.ed, their execution being fixed; 
 for the next morning, nothing could save them. 
 
 The news spread to the suburbs. We can imagine its 
 effect on the riotous portion of the community. Decent c 
 people prepared to leave a town in which they could not: 
 be safe. 
 
 The cheering and shouting reached the prisoners, and' 
 told them that all hope of life had vanished, and they were 
 heard in Mr. Harvey's house. We need not dwell on the 
 despair with which they filled Mr. Stannard and his 
 daughter. What could they do now to save James Bur- 
 bank and his son ? Corrupt the gaoler ? They could not 
 now leave the himse in which they had taken refuge ! A 
 troop of desperadoes kept them in sight, whose curses 
 could be heard at the door. 
 
 'Night came on. The weather, which had been threaten- 
 ing for some hours, changed rapidly ; the wind had gone 
 round to the north-east. Great masses of grey, broken 
 clouds came racing past, too hurriedly to dissolve in rain, 
 and almost low enough to sweep the surface of the sea, 
 A frigate's masts would certainly have reached into the. 
 mass of vapour. The barometer suddenly fell, and there 
 was every sign of a storm over the distant Atlantic. 
 
 From its position the storm would strike full into the 
 
A GALE FROM THE NORTH-EAST. 201 
 
 ry of the St. John's. It would raise the waters and 
 them back like the bores of large rivers, and the flood 
 
 rise over the lands by the river-side, 
 iring this night of trouble Jacksonville was swept with 
 ile violence. A part of the stockade succumbed to 
 ury of the surf against the stockades ; the water came 
 the wharf, and dashed to pieces on it several dogger- 
 5, whose cables broke like threads. It was impossible 
 main in the streets or squares owing to the shower 0; 
 nents that rained down from the roofs. People too'- 
 je in the public-houses, and the noise therein con- 
 ed, not without advantage, with the roar of the storm. 
 w^as not only over the land that the gale raged. In 
 5t. John^s, the agitation of the waters produced quite a 
 )us sea. The boats moored above the bar were caught 
 le storm before they could get into safety ; their grap- 
 broke, and their cables parted. The night's tide, 
 ased by the gale, carried them up the river resistlessly. 
 le were stove against the piles, others were swept past 
 csonville and lost on the islands and points miles up 
 St. John's. Many of the sailors lost their lives in the 
 m, which came on so suddenly as to render useless the 
 
 ures usually taken under such circumstances, 
 lad the gunboats v/eighed anchor and steamed off to 
 (ter in the creeks at the mouth ? Had they, thanks to 
 1 precaution, escaped complete destruction ? Had they 
 ie out of the river ? That they had remained at their 
 jhors Jacksonville could not believe, for the bar would 
 y be impassable. 
 
 Darkness enveloped the valley of the St. John's, while 
 air and the water mingled together as if some chemical 
 [on was trying to combine them into one element. It 
 5 one of those cataclysms which are so frequent at the 
 linox, but in violence it exceeded all that this part of 
 )rida had experienced. 
 
 3wing to its violence the storm lasted but a few hours, 
 fore the sun rose the storm had passed over into the 
 If of Mexico. 
 \bout four o'clock, as the first streaks of dawn were 
 
202 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 tinting the horizon, a calm succeeded to the tumult o) 
 
 night, and the people began to crowd into the streets 
 the drinking-bars where they had taken refuge, 
 militia reappeared at their deserted posts. The da 
 caused by the tempest began to be taken in hand, pai 
 larly along the river front, where they were considei 
 the tide bringing down with it many of the drifted 
 that had been wrecked and carried up the river. 
 
 But these wrecks could only be seen for a few yards 
 from the bank, as a dense fog had accumulated over 
 river, and was rising towards the higher zones that 
 been cooled by the tempest. At five o'clock the cent 
 the stream was still invisible, although but a few momi 
 would elapse before it would be dissipated in the ra 
 the sun. 
 
 Suddenly, just after five o'clock, loud reports bi 
 through the mist. There could be no mistake. It 
 not the long roll of thunder, but the formidable detonati 
 of artillery ! Something whistled characteristically o 
 head ; a shout of terror rose from the crowd, who ru 
 towards the wharf 
 
 The fog began to open ; it was pierced by bang a 
 bang. Its wreatlis mingled with the smoke from the 
 and fell to the river. 
 
 There lay Stevens's gunboats in line before Jacks( 
 ville, which they commanded completely within si 
 range ! 
 
 " The gunboats ! The gunboats ! " 
 
 The words, repeated from mouth to mouth, soon spr 
 to the outskirts. In a few minutes the respectable pop 
 lation with extreme satisfaction, the disreputable popul 
 tion with extreme alarm, learnt that Stevens was mastjii 
 of the St. John's. 
 
 What had happened ? Had the Northerners found tit 
 storm of unexpected assistance ? Yes. The gunboaij 
 had not sought shelter in the lower creeks of the estuar(i 
 Notwithstanding the violence of the wind and sea, thej 
 had held to their anchors. While the enemy cleared o 
 with his small craft, Stevens rode out the hurricane at tl| 
 
A GALE FROM THE NORTH-EAST. 203 
 
 of disaster, so as to attempt the passage, which circum- 
 :es had made practicable, • 
 
 le storm, by driving back the waters up the estuary, 
 raised the level of the. stream above the normal height, 
 the gunboats being driven at full speed at the bar, had 
 y got over, although they had scraped the sand with 
 keels, 
 bout four o'clock in the morning, Stevens, coming up 
 le fog, calculated that he was off Jacksonville. There 
 ad anchored. And when all was ready he had rent 
 mists by the discharge of his heavy guns, and hurled 
 irst projectiles at the left bank of the St. John's, 
 he effect was instantaneous. In a few minutes the 
 itia had evacuated the town, following the example of 
 Southern troops at Fernandina and St. Augustine, 
 /ens, seeing the wharves deserted, began at once to 
 ken fire, his object being not to destroy Jacksonville, 
 to occupy it. 
 
 Imost immediately a v/hite flag was displayed on the 
 irts of Justice. 
 
 Vheri the guns were first heard in Mr. Harvey's house, 
 it was the anxiety. The town was certainly attacked, 
 i attack could only come from the Federals. Either 
 y had ascended the St. John's, or come from the north 
 Florida. Was this the unhoped-for chance of safety — 
 only one that could save James and Gilbert Burbank ? 
 ^T. Hdrvey and Alice rushed to the door of the house, 
 xar's men who were on guard had taken flight and 
 [owed the militia. 
 
 A-lice and her companion rushed to the riverside. The 
 f was just vanishing and the other bank of the river 
 aid be seen. 
 
 f he gunboats were silent, for already Jacksonville had 
 andoned its resistance. 
 
 A number of boats had put off from the flotilla, and 
 re landing on the quay a detachment armed with rifle.s, 
 rolvers, and axes. 
 
 Suddenly a shout was heard among the sailors. 
 The man who had shouted rushed towards Alice. 
 
204 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 "Mars ! Mars!" she exclaimed, stupefied to find he ^ 
 in the presence of Zermah's husband, who she thoiifli ^^ ' 
 had been drowned. 1 '^'^ 
 
 " Mr. Gilbert ! Mr. Gilbert ! " asked Mars. " Wh 
 is he ? " 
 
 " Prisoner with Mr. Burbank ! Save him. Mars I Sa 
 him ! and save his father ! " 
 
 " To the prison ! " shouted Mars, turning and joini 
 his companions. ] 
 
 And then all set off at a run to prevent a last crid 
 being committed by Texar. 
 
 Mr. Harvey and Alice followed them. 
 
 So that, after jumping into the water, Mars had escaj* '* 
 the eddies on the bar ? Yes ! And the brave half-brec ^, 
 had prudently refrained from letting his safety be knoM 
 at Castle House. To have sought there for shelter wou 
 have been to risk his safety, and to accomplish his wo " 
 lie must be free. Having swum to the right bank of t| ^^ 
 river, he had been able, by creeping through the reeds, 
 get down opposite the flotilla. There his signals hs "^ 
 been noticed, and a boat had been sent to bring him c '"' 
 board Stevens's vessel. Stevens was full}'- informed ( 
 what had occurred, and on account of Gilbert's imminei 
 danger efforts were made to get through the channel. Bi «" 
 they were useless, as we know, and the operation wa 
 about to be abandoned when, during the night, the store 
 raised the river level. But without knowledge of th« 
 difficult waterway the flotilla might have grounded on thi 
 shoals. Fortunately Mars was there. He had skilfullji 
 piloted the commandant's gunboat, and the others fol 
 lowed, notwithstanding the storm. And before the fog 
 had risen on the St. John's, they were anchored with thi 
 town under their guns. 
 
 It was time, for the two men were to be executed ; 
 daylight. But already all cause for fear had been remove 
 The magistrates had resumed the authority usurped b 
 Texar. And when Mars and his companions reached thi 
 prison, James and Gilbert Burbank were coming out, fre 
 at last 
 
 & 
 
A GALE FROM THE NORTlI-EASf. 
 
 '■^5 
 
 In a moment the young lieutenant had clasped Alice to 
 
 s breast, while Stannard and James Burbank fell into 
 ich other's arms. 
 
 " My mother ? "^sked Gilbert. - 
 
 " She lives ! she lives ! " answered Alice. 
 
 "Well, let us go to Castle House ! " said Gilbert. 
 
 " Not before justice is done ! " ansv/ered James Burbank. 
 
 Mars understood his master. He rushed towards the 
 lain square, in the hope of finding Texar. 
 
 Would not the Spaniard have already taken flight, so as 
 3 avoid reprisals ? Would he riot have withdrawn himselt 
 "om public vengeance with all those concerned with him 
 1 the late period of excess } Would he not have followed 
 he militia, who were in full retreat ? 
 
 It would have been thought so. 
 
 But, without waiting for the intei-vention of the Federajs, 
 
 number of the inhabitants had run to the Courts of 
 usticc. Texar was arrested at the moment he was about 
 o escape. He was put under a guard ; and very resigned 
 o his fate did he appear. But when Mars came towards 
 lirn, he saw that his life was in danger. 
 
 The half-breed threw himself on him. Irf spite of the 
 fforts of those who guarded him, he seized him by the 
 hroat, and would have strangled him there and then, if 
 ames Burbank and his son had not appeared. 
 
 " No ! no ! Living ! " shouted James Burbank. " He 
 must live ! he must speak ! " 
 
 " Yes, he must ! " said Mars. 
 
 A few minutes later Texar was locked up in the very 
 cell where his victims had awaited the hour of execution. 
 
jo6 
 
 NORTH AMD SOUTH. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 A PRISONER. 
 
 At last the Federals wei^ masters of Jacksonville, an 
 consequently of the St. John's. The troops brought b; 
 Commandant Stevens immediately occupied the chi 
 points of the city. The usurping authorities liad fled, 
 the old committee only Texar had been captured. 
 
 Whether owing to weariness at the exactions of the 
 few days, or to indifference on the slavery question, thi 
 people did not give at all a bad reception to the officers 
 the flotilla, who represented the government of Wash- 
 ington. 
 
 Meanwhile, Commodore Dupont at St. Augustine busi 
 himself in closing the Floridan coast against contraban 
 of war. The passes of Mosquito inlet were all seiz& 
 That at once cut off the trade in arms and munitions wit 
 the Bahamas. It was evident that henceforth Florid, 
 would be subject to the Federal Government. 
 
 The same day as the surrender of Jacksonville, Jam 
 and Gilbert Burbank and Mr. Stannard and his daught 
 crossed the St. John's to Camdless Bay. 
 
 Perry and the assistant-overseers were waiting for them 
 at the little landing-place with a few of the blacks who had 
 returned to the plantation. It can be .imagined how they 
 were received, and with what demonstrations they were 
 welcomed. 
 
 Soon James Burbank and his companions were at his 
 wife's bedside. 
 
 It was when she thus again beheld her son that for the 
 first time she learnt what had passed. The young officer 
 clasped her in his arms. Her people would never leave 
 
A t»RTSONER. 207 
 
 pr again. Alice could give her all her attention. She 
 
 ould soon recover her strength. There was nothing now 
 
 > fear from Texar's schemings. The Spaniard was in the 
 
 ands of the Federals, and the Federals were masters of 
 
 icksonville. 
 
 But if she had to tremble no r^ore for her husband and 
 )n, her whole thought was on h^r daughter. She wanted 
 >y ; and Mars must find Zermah. 
 
 •' We shall find them ! " exclaimed James Burbank. 
 Mars and Gilbert will help in the search." 
 
 " Yes, father, and without losing a day ! " 
 
 " As we have got hold of Texar/' said Mr. Burbank, 
 Texar must speak." 
 
 "And if he refuses to speak?" asked Mr. Stannard. 
 I If he pretends he knows nothing about the disappearance 
 ■f Dy and Zermah?" 
 
 " And how can he ? " said Gilbert. " Did not Zermah 
 ecognize him at Marine Creek .? Did not Alice and mother 
 lear Zermah shout his name as the boat moved off ? Can 
 l-ou doubt that he was the author of the outrage, and was 
 n command there ? " 
 
 "It was Texar ! " said Mrs. Burbank, rising as if she 
 ^ould have thrown herself out of bed. 
 
 " Yes," said Alice, " I recognized him ! He was standing 
 ip in the stern of the boat, which he was steering into 
 nid-stream." 
 
 " Be it so," said Mr. Stannard. " It was Texar. There 
 is no doubt ! But if he refuses to say where he has hidden 
 them, where are we to look i* — for we have searched in vain 
 fialong the river for miles." 
 
 To this questton, so clearly put, there was no reply. All 
 depended on what the Spaniard said. Was it his interest 
 to speak or be silent ? 
 
 " Do you not know where the scoundrel usually lives ? " 
 asked Gilbert. 
 
 " No one knows ; no one has ever known," said James 
 Burbank. " In the south of the country there are so many 
 huge forests and inaccessible marshes where he could hide 
 himself. To explore that country would be in vain. The 
 
 14 
 
2o8 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 Federals themselves could not there pursue the retreating 
 militia. It would be trouble thrown away." 
 
 " I must have ray daughter ! " exclaimed Mr. Burbank. 
 
 " My wife ! I will find my wife ! " said Mars ; " and I 
 will force the rascal to tell me where she is." 
 
 " Yes," said James Burbank, " when the man sees he may 
 save his life by speaking, he will speak. If he were in 
 flight we might despair. With him in Federal hands, we 
 can get his secret out of him. Have confidence, my poor 
 wife ! We are on the track, and we will give you back 
 your child." 
 
 Mrs. Burbank fainted and fell back on her bed. Alice 
 remained witli her, while Mr. Stannard, James Burbank, 
 Gilbert and Mars went down into the hall to talk matters 
 over with Edward Carrol. 
 
 It was agreed to wait till the Federals had organized 
 their capture, and that Commodore Dupont should be in- 
 formed of the facts relative not only to Jacksonville, but 
 to Camdless Bay. Perhaps he would decide to bring 
 Texar at once before a militarj^ tribunal } 
 
 Gilbert and Mars would not let the day pass without 
 starting on their search. While James Burbank and Stan- 
 nard and Carrol were thinking over the first steps, they 
 would be off up the St, John's, in the hope of discovering 
 a clue. 
 
 Was it not to be feared that Texar would refuse to speak, 
 and in his hatred prefer to undergo the last penalty, rather 
 than surrender his victims ? Better to do without him. 
 Let them discover where it was he lived. But that was a 
 vain search. They knew nothing of Black Creek. They 
 thought the lagoon was inaccessible. And they passed 
 along by the thicket on the bank without discovering the 
 narrow entrance. 
 
 During the 13th of March there was no change in the 
 situation. At Camdless Bay the reorganization of the 
 estate proceeded slowly. From all parts of the district, 
 from the neighbouring forests, into which they had been 
 forced to disperse^ the blacks were returning in great 
 numbers. Although set at liberty by the generous act of 
 
A PRISUJSEk. 209 i 
 
 James l^urbank, they did not think that all obligation to j 
 
 him was at an end. Thej'- would be his servants if they ; 
 
 could not be his slaves. They longed to get back on the ■ 
 
 plantation, to rebuild the barracoons destroyed by Texar's I 
 
 roughs, to set up the factories and refit the workshops, and ■ 
 resume the work which for so many years had been the 
 
 welfare and happiness of their families. ; 
 
 The routine of the plantation was first taken in hand. ; 
 Edward Carrol, almost cured of his wound, resumed his ] 
 accustomed work. There was plenty of zeal on the part ^ 
 of Perry and the assistant-overseers. Even Pyg bestirred ^ 
 himself, although he did not do much. The poor creature i 
 had rather come down in his ideas. He called himself '> 
 free, but he acted like a platonic freedman, much embar- 
 rassed to use the liberty which he had the right to enjoy, i 
 When the men had returned to Camdless Bay, and rebuilt ] 
 the houses that had suffered, the plantation would soon ; 
 resume its accustomed aspect. Whatever might be the ! 
 issue of the war, there was every reason to hope that ; 
 security was assured to the Florida planters. " 
 
 Order was re-established at Jacksonville. The Federals ; 
 
 did not attem.pt to interfere with the municipal administra- , 
 
 tion. They occupied the town for military purposes, and ' 
 
 left the civic authority to the magistrates whom the outbreak ; 
 
 had for a time suspended. It was enough that the stars : 
 
 and stripes floated over the buildings. If the majority of ; 
 
 the inhabitants were not indifferent to the question which ; 
 
 divided the States, they at least showed no repugnance at ; 
 
 submitling to the victorious party. The unionist cause I 
 
 would meet with no opposition. The doctrine of " state's , 
 
 right" dear to Georgia and the Carolinas was not held ^ 
 
 in Florida with anything like the same ardour, nor would ] 
 
 it be, even if the Federals withdrew their troops. ; 
 
 The events of the war up to this had been as follows : — ; 
 
 The Confederates, in order to support Beauregard, had ' 
 
 sent six gunboats, under Commodore Hollins, who had '■ 
 
 taken up his position on the Mississippi, between New ■ 
 
 Madrid and Is and Ten. A struggle began, in which he j 
 
 was vigorously withstood by Admiral Foote, with the ! 
 
2IO NORTH AND SOUTft. 
 
 object of holding the upper river. The day that Jackson- 
 ville fell to Stevens, the Federal artillery opened against 
 Hollins's gunboats. The advantage rested with the North- 
 erners, who took Island Ten and New Madrid, and thus 
 occupied the course of the Mississippi for a hundred and 
 twent) -four miles, reckoning the windings of the stream. 
 
 At this time much hesitation showed itself in the plans 
 of the Federal government. General MacClellan had to 
 submit his ideas to a council of war, and although they 
 were approved by the majority of the council, President 
 Lincoln's yielding to regrettable influences postponed their 
 execution. The army of the Potomac was divided so as to 
 assure the safety of Washington. Fortunately the victory 
 of the Monitor and the flight of the Virginia had opened 
 the navigation on the Chesapeake ; and the precipitate 
 retreat of the Confederates, after the evacuation of Manassas, 
 had allowed the army to go into cantonments in that town. 
 In this way the question of the blockade of the Potomac 
 was settled. 
 
 Politics have always a disastrous effect on military affairs, 
 and the interests of the North now suffered severely from a 
 decision come to for political purposes. General MacClellan 
 was deprived of the command-in-chief of the Federal 
 armies. His command was reduced to that of the army of 
 the Potomac, and the other corps, now become independent, 
 passed under the sole direction of President Lincoln. 
 
 It was a mistake. MacClellan keenly resented the 
 affront of his undeserved dismissal. But like a soldier who 
 thought only of his duty, he resigned himself to his fate. 
 The very next day he formed a plan the object of which 
 was to land troops on the beach of Fort Monroe. The 
 plan was adopted by the chiefs of the corps and approved 
 by the president. The war minister sent orders to New 
 York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, and vessels of all kinds 
 arrived in the Potomac to take on board General MacClellan's 
 army and its baggage. The threats which so long had 
 made Washington tremble would cease, and Richmond, the 
 Southern capital, would in its turn be threatened. 
 
 Such was the situation of the belligerents when Florida 
 
A PRISONER, 211, 
 
 submitted to General Sherman and Commodore Dupont. 
 At the same time that their squadron completed the 
 blockade of the Floridan coast, they had become masters- 
 of the St. John's, and assured themselves of the complete 
 possession of the peninsula. 
 
 In vain had Gilbert and Mars explored the banks and 
 islands up to Picolata. And all that could be done 
 was to deal with Texar. From the day when the doors of 
 the prison shut on him he had had no communication with 
 his accomplices. And it seemed to follow that Dy and 
 Zermah would be found wherever they might have been 
 before the Federal occupation. 
 
 The state of things at Jacksonville was now such that 
 justice could safely be left to take its course against the 
 Spaniard, if he refused to give information. But before 
 proceeding to extremes it was hoped he would make 
 certain confessions on condition of being set at liberty. 
 
 * On the 14th it was decided to try what could be done, 
 the military authorities having previously signified their 
 approval. 
 
 Mrs. Burbank had recovered her strength. The return 
 of her son, the hope of soon seeing her child, the peace 
 which had settled down on the country, and the safety now 
 guaranteed to Camdless Bay had all united in restoring to 
 her the energy, she had lost. There was no more to fear 
 from the partisans of Texar, who had terrorized over 
 Jacksonville. The mihtia had retired into the interior of 
 Putnam county. If, later on, the St. Augustine militia, 
 ?ifter passing the river farther up, joined hands v/ith them 
 in attempting an expedition against the Federals, the peril 
 would be distant, and need cause no anxiety while Dupont 
 and Sherman remained in Florida. 
 
 It was agreed that James and Gilbert Burbank should 
 go to Jacksonville this very day, and go alone. Carrol, 
 Stannard, and Mars would remain at the plantation ; Alice 
 could not leave Mrs. Burbank. The young officer and 
 his fatiier tlibught they would be back before night, and 
 with good news. As soon as Texar had told then^ where 
 he was keeping Dy and Zennah, they would see about 
 
212 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 their deliverance, which would doubtless be accomplished 
 in a few hours or a day at the outside. 
 
 Just as they were going away, Alice took the young 
 officer apart. 
 
 " Gilbert," she said, " you are going to see a man who 
 has done much evil to your family. He is a scoundrel 
 who would have killed both you and your father. Gilbert, 
 you must promise me to keep your temper when you are 
 with Texar." 
 
 " Keep my temper ! " exclaimed Gilbert, who grew pale 
 with anger at the mere mention of the Spaniard's name. 
 
 " It is necessary for you to do so. You will gain nothing 
 by being angry. Forget all idea of vengeance to secure 
 the safety of your sister, who will soon be mine ! For that 
 you must sacrifice ever>-thing. You must make Texar feci 
 sure that he has nothing to fear in the future." 
 
 " Nothing ! Do you forget that owing to him my 
 mother might have died, my father might have been 
 shot?" 
 
 " And so might you, Gilbert ; you whom I never thought 
 to see again ! Yes, he did all tliat, and we must not think 
 of it any more ! I tell you, because I am afraid that your 
 father will not control himself, and if you do not do so you 
 will fail. Why did you dccicie to go to Jacksonville with- 
 out me? I might have gained by kindness — " 
 
 "And if this man refuses to answer.'" asked Gilbert, 
 who felt the justice of Alice's advice. 
 
 "If he refuses, you must leave the magistrates to com- 
 pel him. He risks his life, and when he sees he can save 
 it by speaking, iie will speak. Gilbert, promise me, in the 
 name of our love, promise me — " 
 
 " Yes, my dear i\lice ; yes ! Whatever he may have 
 done, if he gives us back my sister, I will forget it." 
 
 " Good, Gilbert. We have passed through a terrible 
 trial, which will soon be at an end. For the sad days we 
 have been through God will give us years of happiness." 
 
 Gillpert clasped the hands of his svveethe^.rt, who could 
 not restrain a fev/ te.irs, and they parted 
 
 At teu o'clock James Burbank and his son took leave 
 
A PRISONER. 213 
 
 of their friends, and entered a boat at the little landing- 
 place. 
 
 The river was being speedily crossed when, at an obser- 
 vation of Gilbert's, the boat, instead of running straight to 
 Jacksonville, was steered for Captain Stevens's gunboat. 
 
 Stevens was in military charge of the town. It was 
 therefore best that James Burbank's undertaking should be 
 first of all submitted to him for approval. His communi- 
 cations with the authorities were frequent. He knew 
 what Texar had done when in power, what was his share 
 of the responsibility in the events that had laid the 
 plantation waste, and why and how he had been arrested 
 when the militia had begun to retreat. He knew of the 
 reaction which had taken place against Texar, and how 
 the whole respectable population of Jacksonville were 
 asking that he should be punished for his crimes. 
 
 Stevens gave a willing reception to the Burbanks. For 
 the young officer he had particular esteem, having been 
 able to appreciate his character and courage while Gilbert 
 was under his orders.^ After the return of Mars to the 
 flotilla, when he learnt that Gilbert had fallen into the 
 hands of the enemy, he did his utmost to save him. But 
 stopped before the bar of the St. John's, how could he 
 reach him in time ? We know under what circumstances 
 the safety of the prisoners had been obtained. 
 
 In a few words Gilbert told him what had passed, con- 
 firming what had already been reported by Mars. There 
 could be no doubt that Texar was personally responsible 
 for the outrage at Marine Creek, and that he alone could 
 say where Dy and Zermah were now detained by his 
 accomplices. That their fate was in the Spaniard's hands 
 was only too evident, and Stevens saw this at once. Would 
 he allow the Burbanks to take the matter in hand and act 
 as they thought fit ? He approved of all that had been 
 done ; and if it was necessary to set Texar free, he would 
 do so, and take the responsibihty with the Jacksonville 
 magistrates. 
 
 James and Gilbert Burbank, having obtained full per- 
 mission, thanked the captain, and received from him a 
 
214 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 
 written permission to communicate with the Spaniard. 
 They then resumed their voyage to Jacksonville. i 
 
 There they met Mr. Harvey, by appointment. The three | 
 then went to the court, where they received from the '^ 
 magistrates an order to enter the prison. | 
 
 A physiologist would have been much interested in | 
 Texar's bearing and conduct since his incarceration. There I'J 
 could be no doubt that he was very angry at the arrival of * 
 the Federal troops, which put an end to his being first .' 
 magistrate of the town. Although he had held the power ; 
 to do what he liked, and had every facility for gratifying ( 
 his personal hatred, yet a delay of a few hours had > 
 prevented him from shooting James and Gilbert Bur- i 
 bank ! But his regret went no further. That he was in I 
 the hands of his enemies, imprisoned on the most serious j 
 charges, responsible for all the violent deeds that could be j 
 so justly laid to his charge, seemed to be a matter of > 
 perfect indifference to him. His only trouble was that i 
 he had not brought to completion his plans against :; 
 the Burbanks. He seemed to take no interest whatever ; 
 in the proceedings against him. Would he now render ! 
 futile the attempts about to be made to get a word from : 
 him ? ! 
 
 The door of the cell opened. James and Gilbert Burbank j 
 were in the prisoner's presence. ^ 
 
 " Ah 1 the father and the son," said Texar in the insolent | 
 tone that was habitual to him. " I ought to be much | 
 obliged to the Federals ! Without them I should not have \ 
 had the honour of this visit. The mercy you no longer ask ; 
 for yourselves you have doubtless come to offer me ? " ' 
 
 The tone was so provoking that James Burbank would ' 
 have exploded had not his son restrained him. j 
 
 " Father, let me speak. Texar would like to meet us on , 
 ground where we cannot follow him — that of recrimination. ' 
 It is useless to talk about the past. It is with the present , 
 we are concerned — the present alone." • 
 
 " The present !" exclaimed Texar ; " or rather the present i 
 situation ! It seems to me that is clear enough ! Three ; 
 days ago you were in this cell, which you would never have ' 
 
A PRISONER, 215 
 
 left but to meet your death. To-day I am in your place, 
 and I feel much more comfortable than you think." 
 
 The reply was disconcerting, for the Burbanks had come 
 to offer him his freedom in exchange for his secret. 
 
 "Texar," said Gilbert, "listen to me. We will act 
 frankly with you. What you have done at Jacksonville is 
 no concern of ours. What you have done at Camdless 
 Bay we are willing to forget. We are interested in only 
 one thing. My sister and Zermah disappeared the night 
 your partisans invaded the plantation and laid siege to 
 Castle House. It is certain that both were carried off — " 
 
 "Carried off?" answered Texar, mechanically. "I am 
 delighted to hear it." 
 
 "To hear it!" exclaimed James Burbank. "Do you 
 deny, you scoundrel, dare you deny — " 
 
 " Father," said the lieutenant, " keep cool — you must. 
 Yes, Texar, they were carried off during the attack on the 
 plantation. Do you admit that you did it ? " 
 
 " I have nothing to answer." 
 
 " Do you refuse to tell us where my sister and Zermah 
 have been taken under your orders ? " 
 
 " I repeat, I have nothing to answer." 
 
 " Not even if by speaking we could set you free ? " 
 
 " I do not want to be free." 
 
 " And who will open the gates of this prison for you .? " 
 exclaimed James Burbank, whom so much impudence had 
 completely astounded. 
 
 " The judges I ask for." 
 
 " The judges ! They will condemn you without mercy." 
 
 " Then I shall see what is to be done." 
 
 " So you definitely refuse to reply ? " asked Gilbert, for 
 the last time. 
 
 " I refuse." 
 
 " Even at the price of the liberty I offer ? " 
 
 " I do not want your liberty." 
 
 " Even at ^he price of the fortune I offer you ? " 
 
 " I do not want your fortune. And now, gentlemen, 
 ^ leave me alone." 
 
 It must be admitted that the Burbanks were completely 
 
2i6 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 bewildered at such assurance. On what could it rest ? 
 How dare Texar expose himself tea trial which could only 
 have one result ? Neither liberty nor all the gold they 
 had offered could tempt him to answer. Was his inex- 
 tinguishable hatred forcing him to act against his own 
 interests ? 
 
 " Come, father, come ! " said the young officer ; and he 
 led James Burbank out of the prison At the door they 
 rejoined Mr. Harvey, and the three went off to Captain 
 Stevens to report their want of success. 
 
 Meanwhile a proclamation from Commodore Dupont 
 had arrived on board the flotilla. It was addressed to the 
 inhabitants of Jacksonville, and stated that no notice would 
 be taken of political opinions, nor of what had happened 
 in Florida since the outbreak of the civil war. Submission 
 to the flag covered all responsibilities in a public point of 
 view. 
 
 Evidently this measure, a very wise one in itself, and in 
 accordance with President Lincoln's policy in all similar 
 circumstances, could not apply to private affairs as in 
 Texar's case. He had usurped the powers of the regular 
 authorities, and used them to organize resistance. Be it 
 so! That was a question between Southerners and 
 Southerners in which the Federals did not wish to be 
 concerned. But attempts on persons, the invasion of 
 Camdless Bay directed against a Northerner, the destruc- 
 tion of James Burbank's property, the capture of his 
 daughter and a woman in his service, were crimes against 
 ordinary law, and for them redress could be had in the 
 regular course of justice. 
 
 Such was the advice of Commandant Stevens. Such 
 was the advice of Commodore Dupont as soon as the com- 
 plaint was made to him, and permission asked to proceed 
 against the Spaniard. 
 
 In the morning of the 15th of March an order was issued 
 for Texar to appear before the military tribunal on the 
 double charge of pillage and abduction. It was before 
 the couit-martial sitting at St. Augustine that the accused 
 would have to answer for his crimes. 
 
ST. AUGUSTINa 
 
 ?T7 I 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 ST. AUGUSTINE. 
 
 St. Augustine is one of the oldest towns in North 
 America, and dates from the fifteenth century. It is the 
 capital of St. John's county, which, large as it is, contains 
 less than 3000 inhabitants. 
 
 Spanish in origin, St. Augustine remains very much as 
 it was. It rises near the end of one of the islands on 
 the coast. Its harbour is a safe refuge for ships of war or 
 commerce ; it is well protected against the winds which 
 unceasingly sweep in from the sea along the dangerous 
 shore. But to enter it vessels have to cross the bar which 
 the eddies of the Gulf Stream heap back at its mouth. 
 
 The streets of St. Augustine are narrow, like those of all 
 cities beneath the direct rays of the sun. Owing to theii 
 position, and to the sea-breezes which night and morning 
 freshen the atmosphere, the climate is a mild one, and the 
 town is to the United States what Nice and Mentone are 
 to Provence. 
 
 The population is thickest about the harbour and the 
 neighbouring streets. The suburbs, with their few huts 
 covered with palm-leaves, would be completely deserted 
 were it not for the dogs, pigs, and cows allowed to wander 
 where they please. 
 
 The city, properly so-called, has a very Spanish look. 
 The houses have strongly-barred windows, and in the 
 interior they have the traditional patio, or central court, 
 surrounded by slender colonnades, fantastic gables, and 
 carved balconies. Sometimes, on Sundays or holidays, the 
 houses pour forth their inhabitants into the town. Then 
 there is the strangest mixture of senoras, negresses, 
 mulattoes, half-breeds, Indians, thoroughbred blacks, English 
 
 PART II. 
 
2i8 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 ladies, gentlemen, clergymen, monks, and Catholic pries 
 all with a cigarette in their lips, even when they are goiii 
 to the Calvary, which is the parish church of St. Augustir 
 whose bells have rung their peal almost without interrupt! 
 since the middle of the seventeenth century. 
 
 We must not forget the markets, richly stored wiii 
 vegetables, fish, poultry, pigs, lambs — slaughtered as r 
 quired by the buyers — eggs, rice, boiled bananas, frijoles 
 a sort of small cooked bean— in short, all the tropical fruit 
 •■.'ncapplcs, dates, olives, pomegranates, oranges, guava 
 caches, figs, maraiions — all in the best condition to mak^ 
 :ife agreeable and easy in this part of Florida. 
 
 The highways are not cleansed by paid scavengers, bu 
 by flocks of vultures, which the law protects, and forbid 
 being killed under very strong penalties. The birds' ea 
 everything, even snakes, which are in considerable numbers 
 notwithstanding the voracity of the feathered scavengers, 
 
 There is no want of green among the chief houses of the 
 town. Where the roads cross, a glance will show many a 
 group of trees with its branches above the roofs of the 
 houses, and alive with its noisy crowd of wild parrots. 
 Often there are huge palms waving their foliage in the air, 
 like huge fans or Indian punkahs. Here and there are 
 large oaks garlanded with lianas and glycenas, and 
 bouquets of gigantic cactuses, which at their base form an 
 impenetrable hedge. Everything is cheering and at- I 
 tractive, and would be more so jf the vultures only did ] 
 ihcir work more conscientiously. Decidedly they are not ' 
 as good as mechanical sweepers. | 
 
 At St. Augustine there are but one or two steam saw- ' 
 inills, a cigar factory, and a turpentine distillery. The / 
 town is more commercial than industrial, and exports or ^ 
 iiuports molasses, cereals, cotton, indigo, gums, timber, fish, ' 
 and salt. At ordinary times the harbour is busy enough I 
 with the arrival or departure of steamers employed in the ; 
 trade and passenger service to the different ports of the > 
 ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. i 
 
 St. Augustine is the seat of one of the six courts of i 
 justice existing in Florida. Its only means of defence are ' 
 
ST, AUGUSTINE. 219 
 
 I 
 m solitary fort— Fort Marion, or St. Mark — built in the 
 oH-astilian style in the seventeenth century. Vauban or 
 jLormontaigne would doubtless have made very little of it, 
 i'put it is admired by archaeologists and antiquaries for its 
 lowers and bastions, and demilune and machicolations, 
 •jind its old guns and mortars, which would be more 
 P dangerous for those that fire them than those they are 
 .fired against. 
 
 h It was this fort which the Confederate garrison had hur- 
 riedly abandoned at the approach of the Federal flotilla, 
 although the Government, a few years before the war, had 
 improved its means of defence. After the militia had left, 
 the inhabitants of St. Augustine had voluntarily submitted 
 to Commodore Dupont, who occupied the town without a 
 blow. 
 
 The proceedings against the Spaniard^ Texar, had made 
 much noise in the county. It seemed as though tliere was 
 at last to be an end to the strife between this suspicious 
 individual and the Burbank family. The abduction of the 
 little girl and Zermah was calculated to intensify the public 
 opinion, which had pronounced emphatically in favour of 
 the planter of Camdless Bay. There could be no doubt 
 that Texar was the author of the crime. But it would be 
 curious to see how he would get out of the charge, and 
 whether he would get off, as he had always done before. 
 
 Excitement threatened to be great at St. Augustine 
 The proprietors of the neighbouring plantations crowded 
 in. The matter v;as of great interest to them personally, 
 as one of the charges referred to the overrunning and pillage 
 of Camdless Bay. Other plantations had also been ravaged 
 by the Southerners, and it was important to know how the 
 Federal Government would look upon such crimes against 
 the common welfare, though perpetrated under cover of 
 politics. 
 
 The chief hotel in St. Augustine, the City, had accom- 
 modated a goodly number of visitors whose sympathy was 
 entirely with the Burbank family, and it could accommo- 
 date a great many more. And, for a hotel, there could be 
 uo more appropriate building than this huge sixteenth- 
 
2 20 NORTH AND SOU'lK. 
 
 century houiie, the old home of the correj^idor, with it.l 
 puerta, or principal door, covered with carvings, its sola od 
 room of honour, its interior court with the columns gar-;' 
 landed with passion-flowers, its verandah, on to whichi 
 opened the most comfortable rooms with their wainscoting] 
 hidden under the bric^htest colours of emerald and golden] 
 yellow, its miradors on the walls in Spanish fashion, its] 
 leaping fountains and smiling grass plats, all in a vast] 
 enclosure, the high-walled patio. 
 
 There it was that James and Gilbert Biirbank, and Mr..| 
 Stannard and his daughter, accompanied by Mars, had 
 taken up their abode the evening before. 
 
 After their fruitless journey to the prison at Jacksonville, 
 James Burbank and his son had returned to Castle House. 
 When they learnt that Texar refused to answer any ques- 
 tion about Dy or Zermah, the family felt their last hope 
 vanish, although the news that Texar would have to answer 
 to military justice for his doings at Camdless Bay was some 
 consolation. In view of a sentence which he could not 
 escape, the Spaniard would doubtless break silence when 
 it was necessary for him to treat for his liberty or his life. 
 
 In this matter Alice Stannard would be the principal 
 witness. She had been at Marine Creek when Zermah 
 had shouted Texar's name, and she had recognized the 
 scoundrel in the boat which bore him away. She had come 
 to St Augustine, and her father and his friends had accom- 
 panied her. After dinner, on the i6th, they had bidden 
 farewell to Mrs. Burbank and Edward Carrol. One of the 
 steamboats had embarked them at Camdless Bay, and 
 landed them at Picolata, and thence a stage-coach had 
 brought them along the winding road, through the oaks, 
 and cypresses, and plantains, which here abound. Before 
 midnight comfortable hospitality had received them in the 
 apartments of the City Hotel. 
 
 Texar had not been abandoned by his friends, as might 
 be imagined. His partisans were chiefly among the 
 smaller planters, all of them embittered slaveholders. 
 Knowing that they would not have to answer for any of 
 the troubles at Jacksonville, his companions resolved to 
 
ST. AUGUSTINE. 22 1 ] 
 
 'I 
 rally round their old chief. Many of them had come to ,'; 
 St. Augustine. It is true that it was not in the patio of ■ 
 the City Hotel that one would look for them ; but there | 
 were many of them in the inns in the town, in the trendas ; 
 where the half-bred Spaniards and Creeks sell everything ] 
 tliat can be eaten, drunk, or smoked. There these in- ' 
 dividuals of low origin and equivocal reputation lost no j 
 opportunity of protesting in Texar's favour. j 
 
 Commodore Dupont was not now at St. Augustine. He : 
 was away on the blockade. But the troops landed after ■ 
 the surrender of Fort Marion were in firm possession of \ 
 the city. There was no movement to be feared on the part J 
 of the Southerners or of the militia, who were retreatmg on ,' 
 the other side of the river. If the partisans of Texar at- J 
 tempted any rescue, they would be immediately put down. : 
 
 One of the gunboats had brought tlie Spaniard to i 
 Picolata, and thence he had been brought under a strong ; 
 escort, and placed in one of the cells in the fort, from ■• 
 which escape was impossible. As he had demanded a trial, \ 
 he was not likely to attempt an escape. His partisans ' 
 were aware of this. If he were condemned this time, they ^ 
 would see what they could do to help him, but till then they ; 
 would be quiet. '■ 
 
 In the absence of the Commodore, Colonel Gardner was , 
 in military command. He was the president of the court- ; 
 martial appointed to try Texar in one of the rooms of Fort \ 
 Marion. This was the colonel who had assisted at the < 
 capture of Fernandina, and it was at his orders that the i 
 prisoners captured from the train by the Ottawa had been | 
 detained for forty-eight hours, a fact which it is here j 
 important to notice. ] 
 
 The court-martial opened at eleven o'clock in the \ 
 morning, A numerous public filled the room. Amongst ; 
 the noisiest of the crowd were the friends and .partisans of i 
 the accused. ^ 
 
 James and Gilbert Burbank, Mr. Stannard, his daughter, 5 
 and Mars occupied the place reserved for the witnesses. ^ 
 There seemed to be no defence. No witnesses were ap- ' 
 parently to be called. Did the Spaniard scorn all evidence, 
 
22 2 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 or had he found it impossible to bring any to his help ? 
 It would soon be known. Anyhow, there seemed to be 
 no doubt as to the issue of the affair. 
 
 An indefinable presentiment had seized upon James 
 Burbank. Was it not in this very town that he had before 
 prosecuted Texar ? Had not he, then, by an incontestable 
 alibi, escaped from justice ? 
 
 As soon as the court-martial was seated Texar was 
 brought in. He sat down coolly and quietly. Nothing 
 seemed to be able to disturb his natural impudence. A 
 smile of disdain for his judges, a look full of assurance for 
 the friends he recognized in the room, a look of hatred for 
 James Burbank, and then he settled himself and waited 
 for Colonel Gardner to begin. 
 
 The interrogatories began in the usual way. 
 
 " Your name ? " asked Colonel Gardner. 
 
 " Texar." 
 
 " Your age ? " 
 
 " Thirty-five." 
 
 "Where do you live." 
 
 " At Jacksonville ; at Torillo's tienda." 
 
 " I want to know your usual abode." 
 
 " I have none." 
 
 James Burbank felt his heart beat as he heard this reply, 
 given in a tone which plainly denoted a firm resolve to 
 keep secret the real place of residence. 
 
 The president again tried to get at the facts, but Texar 
 persisted that he had no fixed abode. He gave himself 
 out to be a nomad, a backwoodsman, a hunter in the vast 
 forests, a dweller in the cypress-groves, living by his rifle 
 and his decoys. That v/as all that could be got from him. 
 
 " Be it so," said Colonel Gardner, " It does not matter 
 much," 
 
 " It does not matter much," said Texar impudently. 
 " Put down, if you like. Colonel, that my domicile is now 
 Fort Marion, in St. Augustine, where I am detained con- 
 trary to all justice. Of what am I accused, if you please ?" 
 he asked, as if he wished to take the management of his 
 own trial. 
 
ST. AUGUSTINE. 223 
 
 "You are not called upon to answer for anything that took 
 place at Jacksonville. A proclamation from Commodore 
 Dupont has been issued announcing that the Government 
 will not interfere in the local revolution which substituted 
 for the regular authorities of the county certain new magis- 
 trates, whoever they may have been. Florida is now under 
 the Federal flag, ana the Government of Washington wilj 
 soon proceed with its reorganization." 
 
 " If I am not charged with the change in the munici- 
 pality of Jacksonville, and that with the support of the 
 majority of the people, why am I brought before this 
 court-martial .-' " 
 
 " I will tell you what you pretend not to know. Crimes 
 against the common welfare have been committed while 
 you were exercising the functions of chief magistrate of 
 the town. You are accused of having excited the violent 
 part of the population to commit them." 
 
 " What are these crimes .-' " 
 
 " In the first place, there is the outrage at Camdless Bay 
 plantation, where a horde of thieves was set loose." 
 
 " And a detachment of soldiers, commanded by an 
 officer of the militia," added the Spaniard quickly. 
 
 " Be it so. But there was robbery, incendiarism, and 
 armed attack against a house, which it was right to repel 
 — as was done." 
 
 " Riglit ? " answered Texar. " Right was not on the 
 side of him who refused to obey the orders of a properly 
 constituted Committee. James Burbank — for he it was — 
 had given his slaves their freedom in defiance of public 
 opinion, which, in Florida, as in most of the southern 
 states of the tjnion, is in favour of slavery. That act 
 might have been the cause of much disaster on the neigh- 
 bouring plantations by exciting the blacks to revolt. The 
 Committee of Jacksonville decided that under the circum- 
 stances it was their duty to interfere. They did not annul 
 the act of enfranchisement, but they thought fit to expel 
 the newly freed slaves from the district. James Burbank 
 refused to obey the order, and the Committee had to use 
 force. That is why the militia, accompanied by some of 
 
 15 
 
2 24 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 the inhabitants, proceeded to disperse the former slaves at 
 Camdless Bay." 
 
 " Texar," replied Colonel Gardner, " the court-martial 
 cannot admit that the view you take of the outrage is the 
 correct one. James Burbank is a Northerner by birth, and 
 was quite within his rights in freeing his slaves. Nothing 
 can excuse the excess which took place on his planta- 
 tion." 
 
 " I consider that I am losing time in discussing matters 
 of opinion with the court-martial. The Committee of 
 Jacksonville considered it their duty to act as they did. 
 Am I accused as president of that Committee ? Is it your 
 intention to make me alone responsible for its acts ? 
 
 " \'es. You were not only the president of the Com- 
 mittee, but you in person led the thieves." 
 
 " Prove it," said Texar coolly. " Have you a single 
 witness who saw me among eitlier the citizens or the 
 soldiers of the militia who carried out the Committee's 
 orders ? " 
 
 At this reply Colonel Gardner called on James Burbank 
 to give his evidence. 
 
 James Burbank related what had happened since Texar 
 and his partisans had superseded the regular authorities 
 of Jacksonville. He laid stress on the attitude ot the 
 accused in inciting the people to attack his estate. But to 
 Colonel Gardner's question as to the presence of Texar 
 among the assailants, he could only rc-ply that he had not 
 himself seen him. We know in fact that when John 
 Bruce, Mr. Harvey's messenger, had been asked if the 
 Spaniard was one of the mob, the reply was he could not 
 say. 
 
 ^ In any case no one can doubt," added James Burbank, 
 "that this man is solely responsible for the crime. He it 
 was who incited the people to attack me, and had he had 
 his way my house would have been given to the flames, 
 and destroyed with its last defenders. His hand was in 
 all this, as it will be found to have been in a still more 
 criminal act." 
 
 The witness offered no further evidence. Before dealing 
 
ST. AUGUSTINE. 225 ' 
 
 With the abduction it was best to finish with the first ■ 
 charge. j 
 
 " And so," continued Colonel Gardner, " you say that . 
 you only had a share in the responsibility which lay on the : 
 Committee in executing their order?" 
 
 " That is so." I 
 
 " And you adhere to your statement that you were not \ 
 at the head of those who attacked the plantation ? " i 
 
 " I do. You have not a single witness who can swear i 
 he saw me. No ; I was not among the brave citizens 
 who executed the Comniittee's orders. And I may add ' 
 that on that day I was absent from Jacksonville." 
 
 *'Yes; that is possible after all," said James Burbank, '< 
 who considered that it would be better to rely on the ' 
 second charge. j 
 
 " It is true," said Texar. 1 
 
 " But if you were not amongst the thieves at Camdless ■ 
 Bay," continued James Burbank, " you were at Marine ; 
 Creek, waiting for the opportunity of committing another 
 crime." 
 
 " I was not at Marine Creek," coolly answered Texar. '■ 
 " I was not at Jacksonville during that day." , 
 
 It will not have been forgotten that John Bruce had told ; 
 James Burbank that Texar had not been seen at Jackson- . 
 ville during the forty-eight hours from the 2nd to the 4th ^ 
 of March. \ 
 
 After this statement of the Spaniard's, the president of 
 the court-martial put to him the following question :— , 
 
 " If you were not at Jacksonville, where were you ? " 
 
 " I will tell you when the time comes," said Texar. " It 
 is enough for me now to have proved that I was not on ' 
 the plantation during the attack. And now, colonel, what | 
 is the next charge ? " 
 
 And, with his arms crossed, he glared impudently at his ; 
 accusers, and defied them to their face. \ 
 
 The charge was not long in coming, and Colonel Gardner j 
 put it in a way that made it difficult to meet. j 
 
 " If you were not at Jacksonville, the charge is that you ; 
 
 were at Marine Creek." V 
 
 1 
 
 ■1 
 
2 26 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 " At Marine Creek ? And what did I do there ? " 
 
 " You carried away a child, Diana Burbank, the daughter 
 of James Burbank, and Zerinah, the wife of a half-breed 
 named Mars, here present, who was with the child." 
 
 " Ah ! I am charged with this carrying away ! " said 
 Texar, in a tone of profound irony. 
 
 " Yes, you ! " exclaimed James Burbank, Gilbert, and 
 Mars, all at once. 
 
 " And why am I accused, if you please, and not somebody 
 else?" 
 
 " Because you alone were interested in committing this 
 crime." 
 
 "How interested ?" 
 
 " As an act of revenge on the Burbank family. More 
 than once before James Burbank had prosecuted you. By 
 pleading an alibi you escaped from justice ; but you on 
 many occasions proclaimed an intention of being revenged 
 on those who accused you." 
 
 " Be it so," said Texar. " That between me and James 
 Burbank there is an implacable hatred I do not deny; 
 that I had an interest in making him break his heart over 
 his child I do not deny ; but that I did what you say is 
 another matter. Have you any witnesses who saw me ? " 
 
 " Yes," said Colonel Gardner ; and he called on Alice 
 Stannard to be sworn. 
 
 Miss Stannard related what had passed at Marine Creek. 
 She was absolutely certain as to the facts. In coming 
 from the tunnel she and Mrs. Burbank had heard the name 
 shouted by Zermah, and that name was Texar's. 
 
 After stumbling over the corpses of the murdered negroes, 
 she had run along the river bank. Two boats were pushing 
 off. In one were the victims ; in the other was Texar, 
 standing upright in the stern. And by the light of the 
 fires of the burning plantation she had recognized the 
 Spaniard. 
 
 "" You swear that ? " asked Colonel Gardner. 
 
 " I swear it," answered Alice. 
 
 After this precise declaration there could be no doubt 
 of Texar's guilt. But James Burbank and the entire 
 
ST. 'AUGUSTINE. 227 
 
 audience could not help observing that the accused had not 
 for a moment lost his coolness. 
 
 " What have you to > say to the charge ? " asked the 
 president of the court-martial. 
 
 " This," said the Spaniard. " I do not wish to accuse 
 Miss Stannard of perjury. Nor do I accuse her of 
 serving the hatred of the Burbank family against me, 
 by affirming on oath that I am the author of a crime of 
 which I never heard till after my arrest. All I say is 
 that she is mistaken when she says she saw me in one of 
 the boats." 
 
 " But if Miss Stannard was mistaken on that point," 
 said Colonel Gardner, "she cannot be mistaken when 
 she says that she heard Zermah cry, ' Help ! It is 
 Texar ! ' " 
 
 " Well," said the Spaniard, " then if Miss Stannard was 
 not mistaken, Zermah was, that is all." 
 
 " Would Zermah have shouted your name if you were 
 not there ? " 
 
 " Very likely, for I was not there, and I was not even at 
 Marine Creek." 
 
 " That you must prove." 
 
 *' That is easy enough." 
 
 " Another alibi ? " asked Colonel Gardner. . 
 
 " Another ! " said Texar. 
 
 At this there was a movement of voices amongst the 
 audience, a murmur of doubt that was not in favour of the 
 accused. 
 
 " Texar," said the colonel, " if you plead another alibi, 
 can you prove it ? " 
 
 " Easily, for I have only to ask you a question." 
 
 " What is that ? " 
 
 " Were you not in command of the troops landed to 
 capture Fernandina and Fort Clinch .'' " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 "You remember the train for Cedar Keys that was 
 attacked by the Ottawa on the bridge between Amelia 
 Island and the mainland ? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
2 28 NORTH AND SOUTH, 
 
 "Well, the rear carriage was knocked off and stopped 
 on the bridge, and a detachment of Federal troops captured 
 the fugitives, and the prisoners had their names taken, and 
 did not receive their liberty for foity-eight hours after- 
 wards." 
 
 " I know that." 
 
 " Well, I was one of those prisoners." 
 
 •' You > " 
 
 "Yes, I!" 
 
 A fresh murmur still more unfavourable to the accused 
 greeted this declaration. 
 
 " Then," continued Texar, " as these prisoners were in 
 your custody from the 2nd to the 4th of March, and the 
 attack on this plantation took place on the night of the 3rd 
 of March, it is simply impossible that I could have been at 
 Marine Creek. Alice Stannard could not have heard 
 Zcrmah shout my name. She could not have seen me in 
 the boat, for I was then a Federal prisoner." 
 
 " That is false ! " exclaimed James Burbank. " It cannot 
 be!" 
 
 " I swear I saw that man," said Alice, " and I recognized 
 him there as I do now." 
 
 " Look at the papers ?" said Texar. 
 
 Colonel Gardner searched among the papers that had 
 been sent to Commodore Dupont after the capture of 
 Fernandina, and in the list of prisoners there appeared the 
 name of Texar, with his description. 
 
 There could be no room for further doubt. The Spaniard 
 was innocent of the abduction. Miss Stannard must 
 have been mistaken. He could not have been at Marine 
 Creek. His absence from Jacksonville for forty-eight 
 hours was fully accounted for ; he was then a prisoner on 
 one of the gunboats. And, again, an indisputable alibi, 
 proved by official evidence, had come to clear him of 
 the charge. 
 
 James Burbank, Gilbert, Mars, and Miss Stannard were 
 overwhelmed at the result. Texar had again escaped them, 
 and with them all chance had gone of ascertaining Avhat 
 had become of Dy and Zermah. 
 
ST. AUGUSTINE. 
 
 229 
 
 The decision of the court-martial could not be in doubt 
 for an instant. Texar was discharged, and walked out of 
 the room amid the enthusiastic cheers of his friends. 
 
 Before night he had left St. Augustine, and no one knew 
 to what part of Florida he had gone to resume his 
 mysterious life of adventure. 
 
NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 LAST WORDS AND A LAST SIGH. 
 
 The same day, the 17th of March, James and Gilbert 
 Burbank, Mr. Stannard and his daughter, and Zormah's 
 husband returned to Camdless l^ay. 
 
 They could not hide the truth from Mrs. Burbank. The 
 unfortunate mother received a fresh blow which, in the 
 weak state she was, might prove fatal. 
 
 The last attempt to discover the fate of her child had 
 failed. Texar had refused to answer. And how could he 
 be obliged to do so when he asserted that he was not the 
 author of the abduction .'' By an alibi niorc unintelligible 
 than those that had preceded it, he had proved that he was 
 not at Marine Creek when the crime took place. Had he 
 been found guilty, they could have given him his choice 
 between suffering the consequences or revealing the where- 
 abouts of his victims. * 
 
 " But if it was not Texar," asked Gilbert, "who was it ?" 
 
 " It must have been some of his people," said Mr. 
 Stannard. 
 
 "That is the only explanation,'^ said Edward Carrol. 
 
 " No, father, no, Mr. Carrol I " said Alice. " Texar was 
 in the boat. I saw him. I recognized him when Ztrmah 
 shouted his name ! I saw him ! I saw him ! " 
 
 What could be the answer to this ? Alice adhered to 
 her statement that it was impossible for her to have been 
 mistaken. And if she was not mistaken, how could the 
 Spaniard have been at Fernandina, in one of Dupont's 
 gunboats at the time ? 
 
 It was inexplicable. But if the others had any doubt, 
 Mars had none. He made no effort to comprehend the 
 incomprehensible. All he did was to make up his mind 
 
LAST WORDS AND A LAST SIGH. 231 
 
 to follow after Texar and to wring from him the secret, 
 even if it became necessary to torture him. 
 
 "You are right, Mars," said Gilbert. "But we may 
 have to do without the scoundrel if we do not know what 
 has become of him. We must start on our search again ! 
 I have orders to remain on leave as long as is needful, and 
 to morrow — " 
 
 " Yes, Mr. Gilbert, to-morrow ! " 
 
 And the half-breed went to his room, where he could 
 give free vent to his sorrow and his anger. 
 
 In the morning Gilbert and Mars completed their 
 preparations for departure. They were going to devote 
 the day to a careful search among the minor creeks and 
 small islets on both banks of the St, John's above Camd- 
 less Bay. 
 
 During their absence James Burbank and Edward Carrol 
 would prepare for a more extended campaign. Provisions, 
 ammunition, means of transport, men — nothing would be 
 neglected. If theyhad to go to the wild regions of Lower 
 Florida, to the southern marshes, and through the Ever- 
 glades, they would go. That Texar had left Florida was 
 impossible. To the north he would have found the Fede- 
 ral troops on the Georgian frontier. By sea he would 
 have to make for the Bahamas, and Commodore Dupont's 
 flotilla had closed all the passes. He must be in Florida, 
 hidden where his victims had been hidden for a fortnight, 
 and the expedition would seek for his traces over the 
 whole territor}^. 
 
 There was peace at Jacksonville. The old magistrates 
 had resumed their position in the municipality. There 
 were no more citizens in prison for their opinions, Texar's 
 partisans had all fled. 
 
 The war continued in the central states much to the 
 advantage of the Federals. On the iSth and 19th the 
 first division of the army of the Potomac landed at Fortress 
 Monroe. On the 22nd the second division prepared to 
 leave Alexan<iria for the same destination. In spite of 
 the military genius of the old professor of chemistry, 
 Stonewall Jackson, the Southcr:iers were beaten at Kerns- 
 
 PART II. F 
 
232 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 town. There was thus no rising to be feared in Florida, 
 which always remained somewhat indifferent to the heated 
 passions of North and South. 
 
 The Camdless Bay men gradually came back. After 
 the capture of Jacksonville, the orders of Texar and his 
 Committee relative to the expulsion of the freed men were 
 of no effect. On the 17th of March the greater part of 
 the blacks had returned, and were busy rebuilding the 
 barracoons, while many were at work clearing the ruins of 
 the stores and saw-mills. Under the direction of Edward 
 Carrol, Perry and the assistant overseers were very busy. 
 To him James Burbank left the whole task of reorganiza- 
 tion. The father's whole time was devoted to the search 
 for his child. A dozen of the freed negroes were chosen 
 to help in the expedition, who, with heart and soul, entered 
 on their work. 
 
 Where was the expedition to go } There was much 
 reason for hesitation. But an unhoped-for circumstance 
 forlunately gave a clue. 
 
 On the 19th Gilbert and Mars left Castle House, and set 
 off up the St. John's. None of the negroes of the planta- 
 tion accompanied them. It was necessary to act as secretly 
 as possible, so as not to awake the suspicion of the spies, 
 who might be watching Castle House. 
 
 Gilbert and Mars were coasting along the left bank. 
 Among the masses of foliage and floating islands detached 
 by the high tides of the equinox, the boat ran no risk of 
 discovery. 
 
 Up to the village of Mandarin the river is almost a 
 marsh. At high water the stream overflows the low banks, 
 and it is not till half-tide that the ebb is enough to reduce 
 the St. John's to its normal level. The right bank is 
 higher ; the fields of maize are above the level of the 
 periodical floods, which prevent any tillage being attempted. 
 It might even be called a ridge, along which rise the few 
 houses of Mandarin; and the ridge ends in a cape projecting 
 into the stream. 
 
 Below numerous islands occupy the bend of the river, 
 ^nd, reflecting the white canopies oi" their magnificent 
 
LAST WORDS AND A LAST SIGH. 233 
 
 magnolia-trees, the river divided into these channels runs 
 in or out with the tide. 
 
 After examining the western arm, Gilbert and Mars were 
 making their way along the main bank ; they were assuring 
 themselves that no creek opened up beneath the branches 
 of the tulip-trees. Up to the present they had seen nothing 
 but the wide marshes of the lower river, valleys bristling 
 with tree-ferns and liquidambars, whose early blossoms, 
 mingling with the garlands of serpentarias and aristolochias, 
 impregnated the air with their penetrating perfumes. But 
 the water was of no depth ; it was running off in tiny 
 streams, and the ebb would soon leave the ground quite 
 dry. Among the streams were a few huts, which did not 
 seem to have been recently occupied, although it seemed 
 as though a good many animals had made it their home. 
 There v/ere dogs barking, and cats mewing, and frogs 
 croaking, and snakes hissing, but there were neither dogs 
 nor cats, nor frogs nor snakes, for the cries were the call of the 
 cat-bird, a sort of thrush with a black head and orange throat. 
 
 It was about three o'clock in the afternoon. The boat 
 was alongside a thick ckinip of reeds, when a powerful 
 stroke of the gaff from Mars cleared away a heap of ver- 
 dure that had seemed to be impenetrable. Beyond was a 
 sort of backwater some half-acre in extent, where the sun 
 never penetrated through the dome of tulip-trees. 
 
 " I did not know of this pond," said Mars, rising so as to 
 look round the banks. 
 
 "Let us explore it then," said Gilbert. "It ought to 
 communicate with that row of lagoons, which may he fed 
 by some creek u{) v/hich we may find our way." 
 
 " That is so," said Mars, " and I see an opening over 
 there to the north-west." 
 
 " Do you know w'lere we are ? " 
 
 "Not exactly, unless this is what they call Black Creek ; 
 but I thought, like everybody else, that it was impossible to 
 get into it, and that it had no j:;ommuaication with the 
 St John's-." 
 
 " Had there not used to be a blockhouse here, to keep 
 the Seminoles in check ? " 
 
 F 2 
 
234 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 /' Somewhere, yes. But that was years ago, and the 
 e!itr;mce to the creek is shut and the fortress abandoned. 
 I have never been there, but it is all in ruins.'' 
 
 "Let us get there." said Gilbert. 
 
 "We'll try," said Mars, "although it will be difficult to 
 do so. The water will soon be off, and the marsh will not : 
 give very good footing." 
 
 " Well, if there is not enough water, we'll stop in the 
 boat." 
 
 " We must not lose any time ; it is three o'clock, and the 
 night soon makes under these trees." 
 
 It was indeed Black Creek into which, by a lucky stroke 
 of the boat-hook, Gilbert and Mars had found an entrance. 
 The lagoon was, as we know, only practicable for light 
 skiffs such as that used by Squambo when he and his 
 master ventured on the St. John's. To reach the block- 
 house in the middle of the creek, a knowledge of the 
 thousand twists and turns was necessary, and for many 
 years no one had ventured to attempt such a thing. The 
 existence of the fortress had dropped out of recollection, 
 and hence its security for the .strange malignant personage 
 who had made it his home. 
 
 To steer up the labyrinth required the thread of 
 Ariadne, for it was always in darkness, even when the 
 .sun was on the meridian. Without the thread, chance 
 alone could reveal the central island ; and it was to chance 
 that Gilbert and iMars h;'.d to trust. When they were out 
 of the first pond they entered a series of channels, and 
 paddled on, urged by some secret presiiutiment. As they 
 were going to explore the whole country, it would never 
 do to leave this lagoon unknown. 
 
 In about half an hour the boat liad gone a mile. More 
 than once some bank had blocked the way, and t'ley had 
 had to paddle back and try another channel. Strong as he 
 was, the half-braed felt tliat he wanted a rest after his 
 efiorts. Ikit he would not stop until he had reached a 
 larger island than the rest, where a few ra)s of the sun 
 found their way through the trees. 
 
 "That is queer," .said he. 
 
LAST WORDS AND A LAST SIGH. 235 
 
 " What is the matter ? " aslced Gilbert. 
 
 " There are signs of cultivation on that island." 
 
 Soon they landed on a less marshy bank than most of 
 the others. 
 
 Mars was not mistaken. There were traces of culture. 
 A few yams were visible here and there ; there were four 
 or five furrows in the soil; a pick was sticking in the 
 ground. 
 
 " The creek is inhabited ! " said Gilbert. 
 
 " It looks like it. At any rate, it is known to some 
 backwoodsmen or Indians who grow vegetables." 
 
 " Then they may have built houses, cabins — " 
 
 " If there is one to be found we shall find it." 
 
 It was of great interest to discover what sort of people 
 lived at Black Creek, Were they hunters from the lower 
 country, or were they Seminoles, who still live in the 
 marshy parts of Florida ? 
 
 Without thinking of returning, Gilbert and Mars got 
 back into the boat, and followed up the curves of the creek, 
 peering into the thick of the bushes in every direction. 
 Sometimes they thought they saw a house, but it was only 
 a curtain of verdure stretching from tree to tree. Some- 
 times they thought a man was looking at them, but it was 
 only a twisted root with an outline in the shape of a human 
 figure. Perhaps what was hidden from their eyes would 
 reveal itself to their ears ? The least noise in this deserted 
 place would reveal a man's presence. 
 
 Half an hour after their first halt they reached the 
 central island. The blockhouse was so completely hidden 
 in the trees that nothing could be seen of it. It seemed 
 as though the creek ended, and that further passage was 
 impracticable. 
 
 " I do not think we can go further," said Mars ; " there is 
 no water." 
 
 " But," said the officer, ** we cannot have been wrong 
 about that cultivated patch. People come to this creek. 
 They may have been here recently ? Perhaps they are 
 here now .? " 
 
 " Perhaps ; but we must make the best of the daylight 
 
236 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 to get back to the St. John's. Night is coming on. The 
 darkness will soon be thick, and how can we then make 
 out the way ? I think we had better return and come 
 back first thing to-morrow morning. Let us go back, as i 
 usual, to Castle House. We can tell them what we have 
 seen, and prepare to explore Black Creek with better 
 chance of success — " 
 
 " Yes ; that is best But before we go I should like — " 
 
 Gilbert was standing motionless, taking a last look under 
 the trees, and he was about to give the order to put off 
 when he stopped Mars by a gesture. 
 
 The half-breed stood up and listened. 
 
 A cry, or rather a sort of groan, was heard which could 
 not be confounded with that of a beast of the forest. It 
 was a cry of despair and lamentation, the appeal of a 
 human being in great pain, the last appeal of a voice 
 about to be silent for ever. 
 
 " That is a man ! " said Gilbert " He wants help I 
 Perhaps he is dying." 
 
 " Yes," said Mars. " We must go to him. We must 
 find out who he is. Jump ashore ! " 
 
 This was done in a moment The painter was hitched 
 on to a stump, and they were up the bank and under the 
 trees and looking at the footprints of men as revealed by 
 the last rays of the sun. They followed these up. Now 
 and then they stopped and listened. Could they hear the 
 noise ? They listened again. They heard it close by, very 
 ne.ir them now ; the darkness was growing deeper, but 
 they would reach the spot from which the sounds came. 
 
 Suddenly a more doleful cry was heard. There was no 
 mistake about the direction. In a few steps Gilbert and 
 Mars were throuL,^h a thicket and in the presence of a man 
 stretched on the ground near a palisade. 
 
 Stabbed in the chest the blood was flowing from him, 
 and formed a pool around. The last breath was on his 
 lips. He had but a few moments to live. 
 
 Gilbert and Mars stooped over him. He opened his 
 eyes and vainly tried to answer the questions put to 
 him. 
 
LAST WORDS AND A LAST SIGH. 237 
 
 " We must see this man ! " said Gilbert. " Get a torch ; 
 set a knot on fire ! " 
 
 ; Mars had already snapped off a resinous bough from 
 lOne of the trees that grew in such numbers on the island. 
 He lighted it with a match, and its smoky flame illuminated 
 the gloom. 
 
 Gilbert knelt near the dying man. He was a negro, a 
 slave, and still young. His shirt lay open and showed the 
 gash made by the knife. The wound was mortal, for the 
 lung was pierced. 
 
 " Who are you ^ Who are you ? " asked Gilbert 
 
 No reply. 
 
 " Who stabbed you ? " 
 
 The slave could not utter a word. 
 
 Mars swung round the torch to recognize the place where 
 the murder had been committed. 
 
 He then saw the palisade, and through the open door 
 caught sight of the dim outline of the blockhouse. 
 
 " The fortress ! " he exclaimed. 
 
 And leaving his master near the dying slave, he rushed 
 through the door. 
 
 In an instant he had entered the blockhouse, been in the 
 central redoubt, and into all the rooms. In one he found 
 the remains of a fire. The fortress had therefore been 
 recently occupied ; but by whom ? Floridans or Seminoles .? 
 That must be ascertained immediately, and from the 
 wounded man. Who were his murderers ? They had fled 
 within the last hour or so. 
 
 Mars ran out of the blockhouse and round the palisade 
 in the enclosure. But no one did he find. If he and 
 Gilbert had come earlier in the day, they might have dis- 
 covered the inhabitants of this fortress, but now they were 
 too late. 
 
 The half-breed returned to his master, and told him tliey 
 were at the blockhouse of Black Creek. 
 
 "Can the man speak?" he asked. 
 
 " No ; he has lost consciousness, and I don't think he 
 will regain it." 
 
 "Try and make him," said Mars. "There is a secret 
 
238 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 here we must know, and no one can tell us when that 
 unfortunate man is dead." 
 
 " Yes ! Let us take him into the blockhouse. He may 
 
 come to himself there. We cannot let him die out here." 
 
 " You hold the torch, Mr. Gilbert ; I can carry him." 
 
 Gilbert held the burning bough. The half-breed lifted 'i 
 
 the inert body in his arms, mounted the steps of the ** 
 
 postern, entered the embrasure, and laid down his burden | 
 
 in one of the rooms of the redoubt. ;< 
 
 The dying man was laid on a bed of herbs, and Mars : 
 
 put his flask to his mouth. ■> 
 
 The heart still beat but feebly, and at long intervals. •* 
 
 Life was failing. Would his secret escape him with his f 
 
 last sigh ? I 
 
 The few drops of brandy seemed to give him new life, | 
 
 His eyes opened. He fixed them on Mars and Gilbert, ■ 
 
 and strove to fight with death. He would speak ! Some> '.^ 
 
 vague sounds escaped from his lips — a name, perhaps ! ■ 
 
 " Speak ! Speak ! " said Mars. '• 
 
 The excitement of the half-breed was truly inexplicable. ] 
 
 It seemed as though the task to which he had devoted 1 
 
 his life depended on the last words of this dying man. 'i 
 
 The young slave in vain endeavoured to utter a word. • 
 
 He had not the strength. 
 
 At this moment Mars noticed a slip of paper in his" s 
 waistcoat pocket. j 
 
 To seize this paper, open it, read it by the light of the | 
 torch, was the work of an instant. 
 
 There were a few words on it. ': 
 
 " Carried off by Texar from Marine Creek — taken to i 
 
 the Everglades — to Carneral Island — message given to the 1 
 
 young slave — for Mr. Burbank." ^ j 
 
 The handwriting Mars knew well. !l 
 
 '• Zermah ! " he exclaimed. \ 
 
 At this name the dying man opened his eyes, and his j 
 
 head fell in sign of affirmation. \ 
 
 Gilbert raised him a little, and asked, — ^ 
 
 " Zermah ? " -^ 
 
 "Yes." I 
 
LAST WORDS AND A LAST SIGH. 239 .] 
 
 "AndDy?" 
 
 " Yes." i 
 
 "Who stabbed you?" ■ 
 
 " Texar." 1 
 
 And that was the poor slave's last word. 'He fell back 
 dead. 
 
240 NORTH AND SOUTH, 
 
 \ 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 FROM CAMDLESS BAY TO LAKE WASHINGTON. 
 
 It was not till just upon midnight that Gilbert and Mars 
 returned to Castle House. Great had been their difficulty 
 in getting out of Black Creek. When they left the block- 
 house night had begun to fall in the valley of the St. John's, 
 and beneath the trees of the lagoon the darkness was 
 complete. 
 
 Mars took the boat back among the shoals and islets, 
 guided by a sort of instinct, without which he would never 
 have reached the river. Twenty times and more had he 
 to stop before a barrier he could not pass, and return by 
 the way he had come in search of a practicable channel. 
 He had to light resinous pine-knots, and stick them in the 
 bow of the boat, so as to throw some light on his course. 
 The difficulty was greatest where he had to find the only 
 mouth by which the waters joined the St. John's. The 
 gap in the reeds by which they had entered a few hours 
 before proved unrecognizable ; but luckily the tide was 
 ebbing, and the boat floated out with the stream. Three 
 hours afterwards they were at Camdless Bay. 
 
 At Castle House neither James Burbank nor his people 
 had gone to bed. They were waiting anxiously for their 
 long-delayed return. Gilbert and Mars came back every 
 night, why had they not come now ? Had they found a 
 clue? 
 
 At last they arrived, and, as they entered, all in the room 
 rushed towards them. 
 
 ** Well, Gilbert .? " said James Burbank. 
 
 " Father, Alice was not mistaken. It was Texar who 
 carried off my sister and Zermah." 
 
 "You have the proof? " 
 
FROM CAMDLESS BAY TO LAKE WASHINGTON. 241 
 
 "Read!" 
 
 And Gilbert held out the scrap of paper with the few 
 words in the half-breed's writing. 
 
 " Yes," continued he. " Doubt is no longer possible. It 
 was the Spaniard ! And he took or caused to be taken 
 his two victims to the blockhouse at Black Creek. There 
 they have been living isolated from all. A poor slave to 
 whom Zermah had trusted this paper, that it might reach 
 Castle House, and from whom she doubtless learnt that 
 Texar was taking them to Carneral Island, has paid with 
 his life for his devotion. We found him dying, stabbed by 
 Texar, and now he is dead. But if 'Dy and Zermah are 
 not at Black Creek we know at least where they have 
 gone. They are in the Everglades, and there we must 
 find them. To-morrow we must start." 
 
 " We are ready, Gilbert." 
 
 " Then to-morrow let it be." 
 
 Hope had returned. There would now be no fruitless 
 endeavours. Mrs. Burbank, being told of what had hap- 
 pened, began to revive ; and she had strength enough to 
 rise from her bed and kneel and thank Heaven. 
 
 According to Zermah, it was Texar in person who had 
 been in command at the capture at Marine Creek. He it 
 really was whom Alice had seen. But how could this be 
 reconciled with the Spaniard's alibi .? How could he have 
 been a Federal prisoner at the time the crime was com- 
 mitted .? Evidently the alibi was false like the others. 
 But how could it be explained ? What was the secret oi 
 Texar's ubiquity ? 
 
 It mattered little after all. It had now been ascertamed 
 that the half-breed and child had been taken first to the 
 blockhouse at Black Creek, and that now they had gone 
 to Carneral Island. There they must seek for them; 
 there they must take Texar by surprise. This time 
 nothing must hinder them from visiting him with the 
 just punishment of his crimes which he had so long 
 deserved. 
 
 And there was not a day to lose. From Camdless Bay 
 to the Everglades the distance was considerable. The 
 
242 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 voyage would take many days. Fortunately the expedi- 
 tion had been organized carefully and was ready. 
 
 Carneral Island was shown by the maps to be on Lake 
 Okee-cho-bee, 
 
 The Everglades are in a marshy region bordering on 
 Lake Okee-cho-bee, a little below the twenty-seventh 
 parallel, in the southern part of Florida. P>om Jackson- 
 ville to the lake was about four hundred miles. And it 
 was a rarely visited district ; in fact, at this epoch it was 
 almost unknown. 
 
 If the St. John's had been navigable to its source the 
 journey would not have been a difficult one, but there was 
 every chance that they would only be able to sail up it for 
 one hundred and seven miles ; that is to Lake George. 
 Beyond that the road would be choked with islands and 
 shoals, the channel might even sometimes at ebb tide be 
 dry, and a heavily-laden boat would under any circum- 
 stances find it difficult to pass. If it were possible to 
 reach Lake Washington, in about the twenty-eighth degree 
 of latitude, the end would be near. But it was only wise to 
 prepare for a journey of two hundred and fifty miles across 
 an almost deserted region, where there were no means of 
 transport and no likelihood of provision. 
 
 On the 20th of March the expedition mustered at the 
 landing-place. James Burbank and his son had said good- 
 bye to Mrs. Burbank, who was not able to leave her room. 
 Mr. Stannard and his daughter and the assistant overseers 
 were there, and Pyg had come to bid farewell to Mr. Perry, 
 for whom he, strange to say, had a great regard. He 
 remembered the lessons he had received as to the incon- 
 veniences of a liberty for which he was not ready. 
 
 The expedition consisted of James Burbank and his 
 brother-in-law, now cured of his wound, his son, Mr. Perry 
 the overseer. Mars, and a dozen negroes chosen from the 
 most devoted of those on the estate — in all, seventeen. 
 Mars knew enough of the St. John's to serve as pilot below 
 as well as above Lake George. The blacks were all ex- 
 perienced boatmen, and, when the current or the v/ind 
 failed, could handle the oars to good purpose. 
 
PROM CAMDLESS BAY TO LAKE WASdlNtnON. 243 
 
 The boat, one of the lar-^est on the plantation, would 
 be worked under sail whenever the wind was favourable 
 She carried arms and ammunition sufficient for James Bur- 
 bank and his companions to fear nothing from either the 
 Seminole bands or Texar's companions. 
 
 Gilbert embraced Alice, and James Burbank clasped her 
 to his arms as if she were already his daughter. 
 
 " Father— Gilbert," she said, " bring back to us little Dy I 
 Bring me back ray sister." 
 
 " Yes, dearest Alice, yes ! we will bring her back. May 
 heaven protect us ! " 
 
 Mrs. Stannard and Alice and the assistant overseers and 
 Pyg remained at the landing-place till the boat put ofif. 
 They signalled their last adieux as before the north-east 
 wind and served by the flowing tide she disappeared behind 
 the little point at Marin:: Creek. 
 
 It was about six o'clock in the morning. An hour after- 
 wards the boat passed the village of Mandarin, and it was 
 nearly ten o'clock when, without having had to take to the 
 oars, she was off Black Creek. 
 
 All hearts beat as they ran by the left bank of the river 
 through which its waters flowed. It was behind those 
 clumps of reeds and canes and mangroves that Dy an;! 
 Zermah had first been hid. It was there that for more 
 than a fortnight Texar and his companions had so closely 
 concealed them that all trace of them had been lost. Ten 
 times had James Buibank and Stannard and Gilbert and 
 Mars passed by that lagoon without thinking for an instant 
 that the old blockhouse might be their prison. ^ 
 
 This time there was no reason for stopping. Their 
 search took them now hundreds of miles to the south, and 
 the boat passed Black Creek without even stopping. 
 
 The first meal was taken together. The boxes contained 
 twenty days' provisions, and there were a number of 
 packages ready to be carried when the journey had to be 
 continued overland. And there were the necessaries for 
 camping, either by day or night", in the ttiick woods with 
 which the river-banks are clothed. 
 
 At eleven o'clock, when the tide t'arn;;u, the wind 
 
244 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 remained favourable, but the oars had to be taken to 
 keep up the speed. The blacks bent cheerily to their 
 work, and propelled by ten vigorous pairs the boat rapidly 
 ascended the river. 
 
 Mars sat silently at the helm, taking the boat without 
 hesitation through the channels among the islands and 
 islets with which the river is dotted; Where the stream was 
 weakest he took his way without hesitation. Never did he 
 enter an impracticable channel ; never did he risk ground- 
 ing on any of the shoals which the ebb would soon leave 
 dry. He knew the river up to Lake George as well as he 
 knew it below Jacksonville, and he piloted the boat with as 
 much certainty as he had piloted Stevens's flotilla over <"he 
 bar. 
 
 Hereabouts the St. John's was deserted. Since the 
 capture of Jacksonville the trading- boats on the river had 
 been stopped, and there was no vessel on the river except 
 for the use of the troops or under the orders of Com- 
 mandant Stevens. Above Picolata even these would 
 probably have disappeared. 
 
 About six o'clock in the evening Picolata was reached. 
 A detachment of Northerners occupied the pier. The 
 boat was hailed, and had to run alongside. Gilbert 
 Burbank made himself known to the commanding 
 officer, and showing the pass with which he had been 
 furnished by Commandant Stevens, was allowed to 
 proceed. 
 
 The halt lasted but a minute or so. The tide began to 
 turn, the oarsmen stopped, and the boat under sail sped on 
 between the woods that fringed the stream. On the left 
 bank the forest soon ended in a marsh. On the right, the 
 forest remained thick and interminable, and they would 
 have it with them all the way to Lake George. At times 
 it ran back a little, and fields of rice and indigo and cotton 
 filled up the stretches in front, and bore witness to the 
 fertility of the Floridan peninsula. 
 
 A little after six o'clock a bend of the river shut out the 
 view of the red tower of the old Spanish fort, which for a 
 century and more had been abandoned. 
 
PROM CAMDLESS BAY TO LAKE WASHINGTON. 245 
 
 ♦♦Mars," asked James Burbank, ♦'you are not afraid to 
 keep to the river dus ing the night ? " 
 
 ♦' No, sir," said Mars. " I can answer for myself all the 
 way to Lake George. Beyond that we shall see. We 
 have not a moment to lose, and as long as the tide serves 
 we had better take advantage of it I think we might as 
 well carry on night and day." 
 
 There was no occasion to regret this decision. All night 
 the boat kept on her way ; when the tide failed the oars 
 were got out. Neither that night nor the following, nor 
 the day of the 22nd of March, nor the next twelve hours, 
 were marked by any adventure. The upper course of the 
 river seemed to be quite deserted. The route lay through 
 a long forest of ancient cedars, whose leafy masses agam 
 and again came close to the bank and formed a thick bower 
 of verdure. Villages they saw none. Plantations or 
 isolated habitations there were none. The banks of the 
 river showed no trace of cultivation. On the 23rd, at day- 
 break, the river broadened out into a wide stretch of water, 
 bordered, as usual, by the interminable forest. The country 
 became very flat, and opened out till the horizon was miles 
 away. 
 
 They had reached the lake which the St. John's traverses 
 from south to north, and from which it drains a part of its 
 waters. 
 
 " Yes," said Mars, " this is Lake George, which I came 
 to when I was with the expedition to the upper river." 
 
 " And how far are we from Camdless Bay ? asked 
 James Burbank. 
 
 " A hundred miles," said Mars. ^^ 
 
 "That is not a third of the distance to the Everglades, 
 said Carrol. 
 
 " Mars," said Gilbert, " what are we to do now ? Are 
 we to leave the boat and take to the bank ? That will be 
 a slow, laborious affair. When we are through the lake, 
 cannot we keep to the water as long as it is navigable ? 
 Shall we try it, keeping ready, of course, to take to the 
 shore as soon as we run aground ? We might as well try 
 it. What do you think ? " 
 PART IL 
 
246 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 " We will try it, Mr. Gilbert." 
 
 And they could not have done better. 
 
 There would be time enough to take to the land. To 
 keep to the water meant the saving of much fatigue and 
 delay. And the boat headed out across the lake, keeping 
 the eastern bank well in view. 
 
 Round the lake the vegetation is not so luxuriant as by 
 the river-side. Extensive marshes stretch away almost 
 out of sight. Some portions of the soil, less exposed to 
 the invasion of the waters, are carpeted with black mosses, 
 from which spring violet clouds of tiny fungi growing in 
 millions. Only the waterfowl could venture across these 
 marshes, and they were alive with infinite numbers of teal 
 and duck and snipe. If the expedition ran short of provi- 
 sions, here was enough to fill the vacancy without difficulty. 
 Rut to follow the game on land they would have to risk 
 meeting with armies of dangerous snakes, whose hissings 
 could be even heard in the boat, and whose ravenous 
 enemies, the white pelicans, rose in flocJcs along the margin 
 of the lake. 
 
 The boat slipped along rapidly under sail with the wind 
 from the north. The breeze was so fresh that the oars 
 were not needed throughout the day, and when evening 
 came the thirty miles which Lake George measures from 
 north to south had been traversed without fatigue. 
 
 About six o'clock James Burbank and his men had 
 reached the lower angle by which the St. John's enters the 
 lake. 
 
 If they stopped — and the stoppage was only to take 
 breath for half an hour at the outside — it was because three 
 or four houses formed a village at this place. These were 
 occupied by some of those nomadic Fioridans who devote 
 themselves chiefly to hunting and fishing at the beginning 
 of the season. At Carrol's suggestion it seemed opportune 
 to ask for information relative to the passage of Texar. 
 
 One of the inhabitants was questioned. During the last 
 few days had he seen a boat crossing Lake George towards 
 Lake Washington ; a boat with seven or eight people, one 
 a woman of colour, and a little child of white birth ? 
 
FROM CAMDLESS BAY TO LAKE WASHINGTON. 247 
 
 "Yes," said the man. " Two days ago I saw a boat like 
 that." 
 
 " Did it stop here ? " asked Gilbert. 
 
 " No ! It kept on as hard as it could go to the upper 
 river. I distinctly saw a woman with a child in her arms." 
 
 " My friends," said Gilbert, " there is hope for us ! We 
 are really on the traces of Texar ! " 
 
 "Yes," answered James Burbank, "he is only forty-eight 
 hours in front of us ; and if we can keep to the boat we 
 shall gain on him." 
 
 " Do you know the river about Lake George ? " asked 
 Carrol. 
 
 " Yes, sir ; I have been up it more than a hundred 
 miles." 
 
 '* Do you think it is navigable for a boat like ours ? " 
 
 " What does she draw ? " 
 
 " About three feet/' said Mars. 
 
 " Three feet/' said the man " That may do. If you 
 take soundings as you go, you will get into L^ke 
 Washington." 
 
 " And then/' said Carrol, " how far shall we be from 
 Lake Okee-cho-bee ? " 
 
 " About a hundred and fifty miles." 
 
 " Thanks, my friend." 
 
 " Let us get on board, and keep to the boat till the water 
 fails us." 
 
 The men took their places. The wind had fallen as 
 evening closed ; the oars were got out and pulled with 
 vigour. The narrowing banks began to disappear. At 
 nightfall the boat had made many miles to the south. 
 There was no need to stop, as they could sleep on board. 
 The moon was almost full. The Hght was enough to steer 
 by. Gilbert was at the helm ; Mars was in front with a 
 long pole in his hand, sounding all the time, and ordering 
 the boat to starboard or port as occasion required. He 
 touched ground only five op six times, and each time got 
 off without effort. About four o'clock in the morning, 
 when the sun rose, Gilbert estimated that at least fifteen 
 miles had been rowed during the nii^iiit. 
 
24^ NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 If the river continued navigable for a few more days, \ 
 James Burbank's chances of success would be much im- ; 
 proved. But several serious difficulties arose during: the day, j 
 On account of the windings of the river, there were many > 
 projecting points in its course where the accumulated sands \ 
 increased the number of shoals that had to be avoided, j 
 The wide sweeps necessary to avoid these made the : 
 journey so much longer, and caused delay. The wind, j 
 although it did not shift, was brought round so by the j 
 windings of the stream that the sail could not always be ] 
 used, but the blacks bent to their oars and did their best : 
 to make up for lost time. J 
 
 And many obstacles were met with peculiar to the j 
 St. John's. There were the floating islands formed by a ' 
 prodigious accumulation of that exuberant plant, the 
 " pistia," which certain explorers have justly compared to i 
 a gigantic lettuce spread on the top of the water. This • 
 herbaceous caruet is solid enough for otters and herons to 
 disport themselves on ; but it would never do to run into j 
 such vegetable masscs, as withdrawal would not be easy, ) 
 and so Mars did his best to avoid them. 
 
 On the river-banks the thick forest again had appeared. \ 
 But noW there were none of those innumerable cedars with [ 
 their roots bathed by the river. There were, in their stead, 
 quantities of pines, a hundred and fifty feet high, belonging i 
 to the southern species, which found a favourable soil amid ! 
 the inundated tracts known as " barrens." The mould - 
 there has a peculiar elasticity, so much so. as to throw ; 
 a man off his balance si ould he attempt to walk over it.; 
 Fortunately James Burbank's men did not make the ex- 1 
 periment. j 
 
 The St. John's continued to carry them through the i 
 regions of Lower Florida. The day passed without adven- ' 
 ture. So did the night. The river continued to be com- ' 
 pletely deserted. Not a boat appeared on t'ne waters. In 
 this there was nothing to complain of Better to find j 
 nobody in this distant ct)untry than to risk disaster, for i 
 the backwoodsmen and professional hunters of tiiese parts.i 
 are people to be treated with suspicion. 
 
tkOU CAMDLESS BAY TO LAKE WASHINGTON. 249 
 
 And there were the militia from Jacksonville or St. 
 Augustine, whom Dupont and Stevens had driven to the 
 south, who might be met with, and the meeting would have 
 been still more undesirable. Among them Texar certainly 
 had many partisans, who might attempt to avenge him 
 on James and Gilbert Burbank. It was the object of the 
 expedition to avoid fighting with every one except the 
 Spaniard, and only to fight with him should he attempt to 
 carry off his prisoners by force. 
 
 Fortunately, James Burbank was so well served by cir- 
 cumstances that on the evening of the 25th of March he 
 reached Lake Washington. There the narrowness and 
 shallowness of the river brought the boat to a stop. Two- 
 thirds of the distance had, however, been sailed or rowed, 
 and James Burbank was now only a hundred and forty 
 miles from the Everglades. 
 
NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE GREAT CYPRESS FOREST. 
 
 Lake Washington is about a dozen miles long. It is 
 one of the least important lakes in this part of southern 
 Florida. Its waters are not deep, and they are crowded 
 with bushes and branches brought down by the stream 
 from the floating fields, where the snakes are in such 
 numbers as even to render the navigation dangerous. 
 Like its banks, its surface is almost deserted, and seldom 
 indeed is it that a boat from the St. John's ventures so 
 far. 
 
 At the southern end of the lake the river resumes its 
 course, bending more towards the middle of the peninsula. 
 It is then little more than a shallow brook, its source being 
 some thirty miles further south, between the twenty-eighth 
 and twenty-seventh degrees of latitude. 
 
 Below Lake Washington the St. John's is not navigable. 
 Much to the regret of James Burbank, the stream had to 
 be abandoned, and the land-road taken through a very 
 diflficult country, often no better than a marsh, through 
 endless forests with the ground so cut up with rivulets and 
 quagmires as to be almost impassable. 
 
 The expedition landed. The weapons and bales of 
 provisions were divided amongst the blacks. Every 
 one knew his place, and there would be no cause for 
 delay. All had been thought out in advance, and when 
 a halt was called the camp could be pitched in a few 
 minutes. 
 
 Gilbert and Mars occupied themselves in hiding the 
 boat, so that *it might escape the observation of any 
 Seminoles or Floridans who might pass that way. Under 
 the drooping branches of the trees by the bank, and among 
 
THE GREAT CYPRESS FOREST. 251 
 
 the gigantic reeds, it was easy to find a fitting place of 
 concealment. 
 
 There was another boat which Gilbert would have been 
 glad to find — that which had brought Dy and Zermah to 
 Lake Washington. Evidently Texar must have abandoned 
 it somewhere in the neighbourhood. What James Burbank 
 had been obliged to do the Spaniard must have done. 
 And for some hours in the afternoon a search for this boat 
 was made, in order to procure positive proof that Texar 
 had reached Lake Washington. 
 
 The search was in vain. The boat could not be found. 
 Perhaps the Spaniard had destroyed it, thinking it would 
 be of no further use to him. 
 
 How painful must the journey now have become ! There 
 was no longer the river to save the woman and child from 
 fatigue. Dy, carried in Zermah's arms, forced to follow the 
 men who were used to such marches through this difficult 
 country; the half-breed subject to insults and violence, and 
 beaten to hasten her steps, and falling often to save the 
 child when thinking nothing of herself — all this was pic- 
 tured to the minds of those in pursuit. As Mars thought 
 of all this he grew pale with anger, and muttered to 
 himself — 
 
 '• I will kill Texar ! " 
 
 Would he were at Carneral Island face to face with the 
 villain whose abominable machinations had caused such 
 suffering to the Burbanks, and injured him more deeply 
 by taking away Zermah his wife ! 
 
 The camp was formed at the extremity of a small cape 
 projecting northwards into the lake. It had not been 
 thought wise to risk travelling in the forest during the 
 night, and it was decided to wait for the dawn before 
 the start was made. At four o'clock the signal to 
 move was given. The bales and packages were dis- 
 tributed amongst half the crew, it being intended to 
 work in relays. All, masters and men, were armed with 
 Minie rifles, loaded with a bullet and four buckshot, 
 and Colt revolvers, which came into general use during 
 the war of Secession. 
 
252 
 
 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 Armed in this way they were equal to attacking Texar 
 even at the head of sixty of his men. 
 
 It had been decided to keep to the course of the river as 
 closely as possible. This would take them to the south in 
 the direction of Lake Okee-cho-bee. It was a thread 
 through the forest labyrinth, and it was followed easily 
 enough. Along the right bank was a sort of footpath, a 
 towing-path, in fact, used by those who had dragged their 
 light canoes up stream. Gilbert and Mars went first ; 
 James Burbank and Edward Carrol brought up the rear ; 
 Perry was in the middle and every hour saw that the loads 
 were changed. Before the start a rapid breakfast had 
 been taken, a stoppage was to be made at noon for dinner, 
 and another at six o'clock for supper and camping, if 
 matters did not look promising for a night-march. That 
 was the programme, and it was punctually adhered to. 
 
 At first the road lay along the eastern shore of Lake 
 Washington, low and flat, and almost on the move. Then 
 the forest came on, but of slight extent compared to what it 
 was to be. This forest was chiefly composed of thickets of 
 logwood with small leaves and yellow clusters, and with the 
 brownish heart-wood so well known to dyers ; then there 
 were Mexican elms, guazumas with white bouquets, used 
 in so many wa5's, and with a shade giving, it is said, a most 
 obstinate cold. Dotted about were a few groups of cinchonas, 
 liere mere shrubs instead of magnificent trees as in Peru. 
 Everywhere rose large masses of bright-coloured plants, 
 such as gentians, amaryllides, and asclepias ; all plants and 
 flowers yellow or white in Europe being here of different 
 shades of red and purple. 
 
 Towards evening the thickets disappeared, to give 
 place to the great cypress forest, which extends to the 
 Everglades. 
 
 During the day they had walked twenty miles. Gilbert 
 asked of the negroes if they were tired. 
 
 " We are ready to go on, sir," said one of them, answer- 
 ing for the rest 
 
 " Are we not likely to go astray during the night ? " 
 asked Edward Carrol. 
 
THE GREAT CYPRESS FOREST. 
 
 '■S3 
 
 " No," said Mars. " We have only got to keep to the 
 river." 
 
 "And the night is clear," said the young officer, "the 
 sky is cloudless ; the moon will rise at nine and last till 
 day. Besides, the foliage of the cypresses is not very 
 thick, and the darkness is not as great as in any other 
 forest." 
 
 So they made a fresh start. The next morning, after 
 travelling part of the night, they stopped to breakfast at 
 the foot of one of those huge cypress-trees which can be 
 counted in millions in this region of Florida. 
 
 He who has not explored these natural marvels can 
 hardly figure them to himself. Imagine a stretch of green 
 more than a hundred feet above the river, with tree-trunks 
 straight as towers, on whose tops it seems almost pos- 
 sible to walk. Below the ground is wet and marshy ; the 
 water in pools on the impermeable soil, round which 
 and in which are crowds of frogs and toads, and lizards 
 and scorpions, and spiders, turtles, snakes, and aquatic 
 birds. Above the pools flash, like shooting stars, bright- 
 pluniaged orioles ; in the trees leap squirrels and gather 
 parrots, who fill the forest with their noisy screeches. A 
 curious country it is, and difficult to penetrate. The 
 ground must be carefully studied, for a foot-passenger may 
 sink to his armpits in the many quagmires. But keeping 
 a sharp look-out in the clear night, the expedition advanced 
 without accident. 
 
 The river still gave them their true course. And this 
 was fortunate, for the cypresses all resembled each other, 
 with their twisted, spiral trunks, hollow below, and 
 throwing out their long roots that ridged the soil, 
 and rose for twenty feet or more in cylindrical stems, 
 huge ribs with knotty handle supporting an immense 
 green umbrella that gave but little protection from either 
 rain or sun. 
 
 It was beneath these trees that James Burbank and his 
 companions were journeying a little before daybreak. The 
 weather was magnificent. There was no storm to fear, 
 which might make the ground an impracticable marsh, 
 
254 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 although a constant look-out was necessary to keep clear 
 of the never-drying bogs. 
 
 During the day no trace was met with of either 
 Southerners or Seminoles. It might be that the Spaniard 
 had gone down the left bank, which was clear of obstacles ; 
 but by either bank the road lay direct to the country men- 
 tioned in Zermah's letter. 
 
 The night came. James Burbank halted for six hours ; 
 then the rest of the night speedily slipped away. The road 
 lay in silence through the sleeping cypress-grove. Not a 
 breath of wind troubled the dome of foliage. The moon 
 outlined on the ground a light network of shadow. The 
 river murmured in its almost level bed ; many shoals 
 appeared above its surface, and showed that it could be 
 easily crossed, if necessary. 
 
 After a halt of two hours, the march was resumed, but 
 during this day the guiding-thread occasionally gave out, 
 as though the end of the skein would soon be reached. 
 The river was a mere streak, diving every now and then 
 under a clump of cinchonas, while beyond the cypress- 
 forest shut in three-quarters of the horizon. At last it gave 
 out altogether ; they had passed its source. 
 
 And now they reached a cemetery reserved, according 
 to native custom, for the blacks who had become 
 Christians and died in the faith. Here and there were 
 humble crosses, some of stone, some of wood, rising from 
 the little mounds and marking the graves between the 
 trees. Two or three aerial burials had taken place, and 
 the skeletons were gently swaying in the wind on their 
 cradle of boughs. 
 
 " The existence of a cemetery," said Carrol, " ought to 
 show that we are near a village — " 
 
 " Which need not exist," said Gilbert, " for it is not on 
 our map ; and villages often disappear in these parts, owing 
 to the inhabitants abandoning them or their being destroyed 
 by Indians." 
 
 " Gilbert,'^ said James Burbank, " what shall we do now 
 the St. John's has gone out ? " 
 
 "We must follow the compass. However thick the 
 
The great cypress forest. 255 
 
 forest may be, it will be impossible for us to lose 'our- 
 selves/' 
 
 " Well, let us get on," said Mars, who could hardly keep 
 still during these stoppages. " Let us get on, and trust to 
 Providence." 
 
 Half a mile beyond the negro cemetery they came out 
 on to a green plain, and, compass in hand, struck off due 
 south. 
 
 During the first part of the day no incident occurred. 
 Up to then nothing had been found to gi\^e a clue ; would 
 it be so to the end ? Would they attain their object, or 
 would the end be despair ? 
 
 At noon they stopped. Gilbert, taking account of the 
 distance from Lake Washington, estimated that they were 
 still iifty miles from Okee-cho-bee. Eight days had 
 elapsed since they left Camdless Bay, and more than 
 three hundred miles had been traversed with exceptional 
 rapidity. In the absence of heavy rain, which would have 
 made the course of the St. John's unnavigable, and flooded 
 the country, and in the clearness of the moon, everything 
 had been favourable for the journey. 
 
 A comparatively short distance now separated them from 
 Carneral Island, and they expected to reach it during the 
 next two days. What was to happen then it was im- 
 possible to foresee. 
 
 But if hitherto good fortune had been theirs, it seemed 
 as though they were now to meet with insurmountable 
 difficulties. 
 
 The journey had been resumed as usual after the noon- 
 day meal. The character of the road had not changed. 
 There were still large sheets of water and quagmire to 
 avoid, and tiny streams to be crossed knee-deep. 
 
 About four o'clock Mars suddenly stopped. When his 
 companions came up with him he pointed out the print of 
 feet on the ground. 
 
 " There can be no doubt," said James Burbank, "that a 
 body of men have recently passed here." 
 
 " And a large body," said Edward Carrol. 
 
 " Where do the footsteps come from ? Where do they 
 
256 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 go to ? " asked Gilbert. " We must find that out before 
 
 we do anything else." 
 
 And they set to work t9 do so. 
 
 For five hundred yards to the east they traced the foot- 
 steps, and it seemed useless to go further. It was clearly 
 shown that a band of from a hundred and fifty to two 
 hundred men had come from the Atlantic coast into the 
 cypress grove. The footprints were continued westward 
 towards the Gylf of Mexico, and thus seemed to lead 
 across the peninsula, which is here only two hundred miles 
 wide. It WHS apparent that these men had camped on 
 the very spot that the Burbanks were now examining ; 
 and Gilbert and Mars went off to follow the westward 
 trail for a little. To their astonishment, they found that 
 it soon turned to the south. When they returned, Gilbert 
 explained. 
 
 " We are preceded by a body of men who are going the 
 same road as we are. They are armed, for we found the 
 bits of the cartridges they used to light their fires with. 
 Who they are I know not. All I can say is that they are 
 numerous, and are going to the Everglades." 
 
 " Are they not a band of wandering Seminoles ?'* asked 
 Edward Carrol. 
 
 " No," answered Mars ; " the footprints show they are 
 Americans." 
 
 " Perhaps soldiers of the Floridan militia," said James 
 Burbank. 
 
 " That is to be feared," said Perry. " They seem to me 
 to be too many of them to belong to Texar." 
 
 " Unless he has been joined by some of his partisans, 
 who must have come to him in hundreds," said Carrol. 
 
 " We are only seventeen," said the overseer. «. 
 
 " What does that matter ? " exclaimed Gilbert. " If they 
 attack us, not one of us will run." ^ 
 
 "No ! no !" said all his companions. 
 
 Their courage was "the same as it had been ; but it 
 seemed hard to meet with an obstacle when so near 
 their object. And what an obstacle ! A detachment of 
 Southerners, come to join the Spaniard in the Everglades 
 
THE GRfiAT CVPRESS FOREST. iS^ 
 
 until the time came for them to appear again in the north 
 of Florida. Therein was the danger. All felt it to be so. 
 And after the first display of enthusiasm, they stood silent, 
 looking at their chief, and asking what orders he would 
 give. VEven Gilbert shared in the common impression, but 
 notwithstanding, he gave the word — 
 "Forward I" 
 
s-SS NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 A MEETING. 
 
 Yes ; forward they must go. But under these serious 
 circumstances every precaution was taken. It was indis- 
 pensable to clear the march, to reconnoitre the thickets on 
 the road, to be ready for anything?. 
 
 The weapons were carefully examined and held ready 
 for immediate service. At the least alarm the packages 
 were to be dropped on the ground and the men would 
 fight behind them. The order of march remained as 
 before. Gilbert and Mars formed the vanguard, but they 
 
 kept further ahead to guard against surprise. The rate of f). 
 progress was the same, but it seemed better not to follow 
 in the same track as ^he others had gone. Better would it 
 be if they did not meet with the detachment in advance of 
 them on the road to the Everglades. But this did not 
 seem to be easy, for the detachment had not moved in a 
 straight line, but had diverged to the right and left, showing 
 a certain amount of hesitation, though the general advance 
 was unmistakably southwards. 
 
 A day passed. Nothing happened to bring James 
 Burbank to a standstill. He had kept on at a good pace, 
 and had evidently gained on those in front of him. Hour 
 by hour the traces of their passage became more recent. 
 It became easy so see how often they had halted either to 
 camp or take counsel. 
 
 Gilbert and Mars studied the trail with great care ; 
 almost as if they had been Seminole trackers. 
 
 " We are certain," said Gilbert, " that neither Zermah 
 nor Dy are with this party. There are no footprints of a 
 horse, and if Zermah was with them it is obvious that with 
 Dy in her anus her footprints would be easily recognizable;, 
 
A MEETING. ^ 259 
 
 and we should see Dy's footsteps at the halting-places. 
 But there is no mark of woman's foot or girl's foot. The 
 detachment carries firearms. We can see the marks of the 
 stocks on the ground. But I notice that the stocks are 
 like those on the rifles carried by sailors. Probably the 
 Florida militia has such arms ; if not, I cannot understand 
 it. One thing is certain, and that is that the band is ten 
 times as numerotis as ours, and we must be very careful as 
 we get nearer to them." 
 
 And everything was done to carry out his suggestion. 
 His deductions from the evidence of the footprints were 
 correct. It was obvious that neither Dy nor Zermah were 
 with the detachment, and it seemed from this certain that 
 they were not on the track of the Spaniard. The men 
 from Black Creek could not be so numerous or so well 
 armed. And there could be little doubt that a strong 
 body of militia were on the march to the Everglades, 
 where Texar had probably arrived a day or two before. 
 And these militiamen might make matters serious for 
 James Burbank. 
 
 That evening they halted on the edge of a narrow 
 clearing, which had been occupied an hour or two before- 
 hand, to judge from the heap of scarcely cold cinders 
 and the traces of the camp. When this was ascertained, 
 it was decided not to resume the march till after nightfall. 
 The night was dark. The sky was cloudy. The moon 
 did not rise till late. They could approach the detach- 
 ment under the most favourable conditions.^ Could they 
 reconnoitre the camp without being perceived ? Could 
 they get round it during the night, and huiry on in 
 front so as to be first at Lake Okee-cho-bee and Carneral 
 Island } 
 
 The expedition, with Mars and Gilbert ahead as scouts, 
 started about half-past eight, and silently entered into the 
 darkness under the tr.es. For two hours they kept on, 
 making as little noise as possible, 
 
 A little after ten o'clock James Burbank stopped with a 
 word the group of blacl 3 . t wiiose head he and the over- 
 seer were walking. His son and Mars were coming back 
 
26o * NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 towards him, and he waited anxiously for an explanation 
 of their rapid retreat. 
 
 The explanation was soon given. 
 
 " What is it ? " he asked. " What do you see ? " 
 
 "A camp under the trees, and the fires alight." 
 
 "Far off?" asked Carrol. 
 
 " About a hundred yards." 
 
 " Did you see who they were ? " 
 
 " No ; the fires arc dyinj^^ down," said Gilbert. " But I 
 do not think we are wrong in saying there are two hundred 
 men." 
 
 " Are they asleep .' " 
 
 " Most of them, but they have got men on the watch. 
 We saw the sentinels with their rifles on their shoulders 
 pacing backwards and forwards under the cypresses." 
 
 " What are we to do ? " asked Carrol. 
 
 " We must first of all reconnoitre them," said Gilbert, 
 "and see who they are, if possible." 
 
 " I am ready," said Mars, 
 
 " I'll go with you," said Perry. 
 
 " No ; I'll go," said Gilbert ; " I would rather see for 
 myself." 
 
 " Gilbert," said James Burbank, " there is not one of us 
 who would not risk his life for the good of us all ; but to 
 make this reconnaissance with some chance of not being 
 seen, only one ought to go." 
 
 " I'll go alone." 
 
 " No, my son. I would rather you stayed with us." 
 
 " I am ready, master ! " 
 
 And Mars, without another word, disappeared in the 
 darkness. 
 
 While he was gone James Burbank prepared for an 
 attack. The bales and packacjes were laid down in a circle ; 
 the bearers took to their weapons, and with the others went 
 into hiding among the trees, awaiting further orders. 
 
 From where James Burbank stood he could not see the 
 camp. He had to go about fifty yards before the fires 
 were visible ; and he resolved to wait till the half-breed re- 
 
A MEETING. 261 
 
 turned before he took any further measures. The lieutenant 
 was more impatient, and went forward a few yards. 
 
 Mars approached the camp, gliding silently from trunk 
 to trunk, hoping to get near enough to see how the men 
 were placed and who they were, and how many they were. 
 This did not seem to be difficult. The night was dark, 
 and the fires gave but little light. But to succeed he must 
 get almost inside the camp. 
 
 To, have the free use of his limbs as much as ppssible he 
 had taken with him neither rifle nor revolver. It would be 
 necessary to defend himself in silence, and his only weapon 
 was his axe. 
 
 Soon the brave half-breed was close to one of the 
 sentries, who was only seven or eight yards from the fires. 
 All was still. Evidently the men were tired after their long 
 march, and were asleep. The sentinels alone were watch- 
 ing at their posts wilh more or less vigilance. 
 
 For a moment or so he looked at the man who was 
 nearest him. He was standing upright against a cypress- 
 trunk, and gave no sign of moving. His gun was resting 
 on the ground, and he seemed half-asleep. Was it possible 
 to slip round him ? 
 
 Mars crept stealthily towards him. Suddenly the 
 crackling of a dry branch revealed his presence. 
 
 Instantly the man raised his head and looked to the 
 right and left » , 
 
 Doubtless he saw something suspicious, for he brought 
 his gun to his shoulder. 
 
 Before he could fire Mars had knocked his gun up against 
 him and sent him flying to the ground, and at the same 
 time clapped his large hand on his mouth so that he could 
 utter no cry. A moment afterwards the man was gagged, 
 and carried hurriedly to James Burbank. 
 
 The other sentinels took no notice of what had passed. 
 Evidently their watch was a negligent one. 
 
 Mars laid his burden at his young master's feet. The 
 blacks crowded up. The man was half-suffocated, and 
 when the gag was removed he could not for a moment or 
 
 PART U. 
 
262 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 SO say a word. The darkness was too great for his uniform 
 to be seen. 
 
 " Help ! " he shouted. 
 
 " Not a word ! " said James Burbank, stopping him. 
 "You have nothing to fear from us." 
 
 " What do you want with me ? " 
 
 " To answer truthfully to our questions." 
 
 " That will depend on your questions," said the man. 
 " Are you ^for the South or th^ North ? " 
 
 " For the North." 
 
 " I am ready to reply." 
 
 Gilbert took up the examination. 
 
 " How many men are there in that camp ? " 
 
 " Nearly two hundred." 
 
 " Where are they going ? " 
 
 " To the Everglades." 
 
 " Who is in command ? " 
 
 " Captain Howick." 
 
 "What, Captain Howick of the WadasAf" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 " Is it a detachment of seamen from Commodore Du- 
 ;jont's squadron .'" 
 
 "Yes; Federals, Northerners, Anti-slavery men, 
 Unionists!" said the man, apparently quite proud at an- 
 .nmcing the different titles of the followers of the good 
 r:use. 
 
 And so, instead of a body of Florida militia, of Texar's 
 ■ artisans, James Burbank had met with friends, with 
 •)mpanions in arms, whose reinforcement was most wel- 
 )me. 
 
 " Hurrah ! " they shouted with such vigour that the 
 -\ hole camp was instantly afoot. 
 
 Suddenly torches flared up in the darkness. Burbank's 
 i-ncn rushed into the clearing, and Captain Howick, without 
 .. \'. (jrd of explanation, held out his hand to the young 
 !n' ten ant, whom he never expected to meet on the road to 
 • : ,e Everglades. Explanations did not take long, nor were 
 ttiey difficult. 
 
• A MEETING. 263 '| 
 
 " What are you doing in Lower Florida, captain ?'" asked \ 
 Gilbert. 
 
 " My dear Burbank/' said the captain, « we have been \ 
 sent on an expedition by the commodore." I 
 
 " Where do you come from ? " 
 
 " From Mosquito Inlet, and we have been to capture j 
 New Smyrna in the interior of the county." ' 
 
 " And where are you going now ? " . 
 
 " To punish a band of Southerners who took a couple of | 
 our boats in an ambuscade, and to avenge the deaths of \ 
 our brave comrades." ! 
 
 And Captain Howick related what Jain es Burbank could .! 
 not know, for it took place two days after he left Camdless 1 
 Bay. 
 
 Commodore Dupont was, it will be remembered, organ- . 
 izing the effective blockade ot the coast. In doing this his ; 
 flotilla was stationed off Anastasia Island, above St.: 
 Augustine, at the mouth of the channel separating the: 
 Bahamas from Cape Sable at the southern end of Florida. ; 
 But this did not seem enough to him, and he resolved to 
 q-ive chase to the Southern vessels in the smaller rivers of 
 the peninsula. One of the expeditions on this service, 
 consisted of a detachment of seamen and two boats. The; 
 Southerners kept a careful watch on^their proceedings, and 1 
 allowed the boats to get well up into the wild part of| 
 Florida. To advance so far was certainly imprudent, for : 
 the Indians and militia were in great force in the neigh- 1 
 bourhood, and the result was that they fell into anj 
 ambuscade on the shore of Lake Kissimmee, about eighty^ 
 miles westward of Cape Malabar. They were attacked by; 
 a numerous body of the enemy, and the two officers in' 
 command and many of the men were killed. The survivors' 
 regained Mosquito Inlet by a miracle, and Commodore 
 Dupont at once sent off an expedition to avenge the\ 
 massacre of the Federals. j 
 
 A detachment of two hundred men was placed under; 
 command of Captain Howick, and landed near Mosquito! 
 Inlet. It soon reached New Smyrna, some miles from the; 
 
 i 
 i 
 
264 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 coast, and, after taking such measures as were necessary, 
 Captain Howick struck off to the south-west in chase of 
 the party who were responsible for the Kissiminee ma'ssacre, 
 and this party had fled to the Everglades. 
 
 " We are also going to the Everglades," said Gilbert. 
 
 " You ! " said the officer. " What are you going to do 
 there ? '* 
 
 " Catch a few scoundrels and chastise them, as you are 
 going to do, captain !" 
 
 " Who are these scoundrels ? " 
 
 " Before I answer that, answer me one question. When 
 did you leave New Smyrna ? " 
 
 •' Eight days ago." 
 
 " And you have not met any party of Southerners on 
 your way ? " 
 
 " No, but we know from a slire source that detachments 
 of militia are hiding in Lower Florida." 
 
 " Who is in command of the detachment you are after ? 
 Do you know him .-* " 
 
 " Oh, yes ! And if we catch him Mr. Burbank will not 
 be sorry." 
 
 " Why not ? " asked James Burbank. 
 
 " Because he is the Spaniard the court-martial at St. 
 Augustine acquitted (or want of evidence." 
 
 " Texar ! " 
 
 "What ! " exclaimed Gilbert, "Texar chief of the parti- 
 sans you are after ? " 
 
 " Himself! He was the author of the Kissimmee mas- 
 sacre, at the head of some fifty fellows like him ; and we 
 ascertained at New Smyrna that he had taken himself off 
 to the Everglades." • 
 
 " And if you catch him what are you going to do ? " 
 asked Carrol. • 
 
 " Shoot him on the spot," said Captain Howick. " That 
 is the commodore's order, and rest assured we shall execute 
 it without delay." 
 
 It will easily be imagined what an effect tliis revelation 
 produced on James Burbank. This reinforcement meant 
 the almost certain deliverance of Dy and Zermah, the 
 
A MEETING. 265 
 
 assured capture of the Spaniard and his accomph'des, and 
 the inevitable punishment for his crimes. 
 
 Gilbert then told Captain Howick the object of their 
 expedition to Southern Florida, which, in the first place, 
 meant the deliverance of Zermah and the girl, carried off 
 to Carneral Island, as the half-breed's letter showed. The 
 captain also learnt that the alibi invoked by the Spaniard 
 at the court-martial could not be true, although they could 
 not at present disprove it. But with this massacre at 
 Kissimmee there seemed to be no chance of Texar again 
 escaping. 
 
 An unexpected observation of James Burbank's, how- 
 ever, led to somewhat different thoughts. 
 
 ** Can you tell me," he asked Captain Howick, " when 
 the Federal boats were attacked ? " 
 
 " The massacre took place on the 22 nd of March." 
 
 " But on the 22nd of March Texar was at Black Creek ! 
 How could he have taken part in the massacre at Kissim- 
 mee, two hundred miles away ? " 
 
 " What do you mean ? " asked the captain. 
 
 " I mean that Texar could not have been at the head of 
 the Southerners who attacked your men." 
 
 " You are mistaken, Mr. Burbank. The Spaniard was 
 seen by some of the men who escaped. I examined them 
 myself, and they recognized Texar from having seen him 
 at St. Augustine." 
 
 " That cannot be, captain. The letter written by Zermah 
 proves that on the 22nd of March Texar was at Black Creek." 
 
 Gilbert had listened without a word. He saw that his 
 father must be right. The Spaniard could not have been 
 near Kissimmee on the day of the massacre. 
 
 " What does it matter .? " he said. " There is something 
 aboi;t the man which at present we cannot understand, 
 and why should we try to do so ? On the 22nd of March 
 he was at Black Creek, as Zermah says. On the 22nd 
 he was at the head of a party of Floridans, two 
 hundred miles away, so you say. Well, be it so. We are 
 agreed that he is now in the Everglades. Let us catch 
 him as soon as we can 1 " 
 
2^^ NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 " Yes, Gilbert, that's it," said Captain Howick. " And 
 we'll shoot him anyhow ! Let us be off." 
 
 The fact, like the others, was none the less incompre- 
 hensible. It seemed as though the Spaniard had a 
 double. 
 
 Would the mystery be cleared up ? In any case, the 
 only thing to do was to make sure of Texar ; and 
 Howick's seamen and Burbank's negroes fell in together, 
 and resumed their way to the south. 
 
THE EVERGLADES. 267 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 THE EVERGLADES. 
 
 A HORRIBLE district is that of the Everglades, and yet 
 it is superb. Situated in the southern part of Florida, it 
 extends right down to Cape Sable, the extreme point of 
 the peninsula, and it is simply an immense marsh. The 
 waters of the sea flood it in wide stretches, when the storms 
 of the Atlantic or the Mexican Gulf beat on to its shores, 
 and mingle with the waters from the clouds that the 
 winter season pours down in cataracts. And in conse- 
 quence it is a country half liquid and half solid, and almost 
 uninhabitable. 
 
 But let it not be supposed that it is barren. On the 
 contrary, it is on the surface of the islands in the marsh 
 that nature asserts her rights. The malaria is, so to speak, 
 conquered by the perfumes of the wonderful flowers ; the 
 islands are steeped in the fragrance of a thousand plants, 
 blooming in such splendour as to justify the peninsula's 
 poetic name. And it is in these healthy oases that the 
 Indians take refuge, though not for long at a time. 
 
 A few miles beyond the frontier of this territory is the 
 wide sheet of water known as Lake Okee-cho-bee, which is 
 just a little below the twenty-seventh parallel. In one of 
 the angles of this lake lies Carneral Island, where Texar 
 fancied he had an unknown retreat in which he could defy 
 pursuit. 
 
 The country was worthy of him and his companions. 
 When Florida belonged to the Spaniards, it was thither 
 that all the white scoundrels fled from justice. Mixing 
 with the native population, among whom there still were 
 traces of Carib blood, they made common cause with the 
 Creeks and Seminoles and nomadic Indians who were 
 
268 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 only subdued after the long bloody war that ended in 
 
 1845. 
 
 Carneral Island seemed safe from all attack. On the 
 eastern side it is separated from the mainland by a narrow 
 channel about a hundred feet across, and the only means 
 of communication was a heavy boat To escape by 
 swimming was impossible, for no one would dare to enter 
 the slimy water which bristled with long interlacing plants 
 and swarmed with reptiles. 
 
 Beyond was the cypress forest with the ground half 
 under water and traversed but by narrow paths which were 
 by no means easy to trace. A clayey soil sticking to the 
 feet like glue, enormous trunks of fallen trees barring the 
 way, and a suffocating odour of mouldiness were among 
 the other obstacles to be overcome in the approach, And 
 there were masses of formidable plants, such as the 
 phylacias, and millions of pezizas, gigantic mushrooms, 
 as explosive as if they were charged with guurcotton or 
 dynamite, going off with a violent report at the slightest 
 shock and filling the air with a choking cloud of tawny 
 spores that give the human skin an eruption of painful 
 pustules, so that the spiteful vegetables have to be avoided 
 as carefully as the most dangerous animals of the teratologic 
 world. 
 
 Texar's dwelling was an old Indian wigwam built on 
 piles under the branches of the large trees in the eastern 
 end of the island. Hidden amid the foliage, it was in- 
 visible even from the nearest bank. The two hounds 
 guarded it with as much vigilance as they did the block- 
 house at Black Creek, and trained to the chase of men 
 would tear in pieces any one attempting to approach the 
 wigwam. 
 
 Two days had passed since Zermah and little Dy had 
 arrived. The journey had been easy enough till they 
 reached Lake Washington, but after entering the cypress 
 forest it had been exceedingly painful, even for the vigor- 
 ous men who were used to the unhealthy climate and the 
 long wearisome advance through the marsh. What the 
 woman and child had suffered can be imagined ! But 
 
The everglades. 269 
 
 Zermah was strong, brave, and devoted, and throughout 
 the journey had carried little Dy whose legs would soon 
 have failed her ; and when she reached Carneral Island she 
 was almost exhausted. 
 
 And after what had passed wheft Texar and Squambo 
 had dragged her from Black Creek, is it not a wonder that 
 she still held out ? She had no means of knowing that 
 the letter she had given to the young slave had fallen into 
 James Burbank's hands, but she knew that he had paid 
 with his life for the act of devotion by which he had 
 attempted to save her. He had been surprised at the 
 moment he was starting for Camdless Bay, and had been 
 mortally wounded ; and the half-breed had said to herself 
 thatv now James Burbank would never know that the 
 Spaniard was going to Carneral Island, and how could he 
 get any clue to her whereabouts ? How then could she 
 retain the shadow of a hope ? Every chance of safety 
 seemed to have vanished in this region whose horrors she 
 knew too well. And no escape was possible ! 
 
 The little girl was in a state of great weakness ; and in 
 spite of Zermah's constant care, the fatigue had made her 
 ill. Pale and emaciated as if she had been poisoned by 
 the emanations from tlie marshes, she was no longer strong 
 enough to remain upright, and could with difficulty utter 
 but a few words, which were always an inquiry for her 
 mother. Zermah could no longer tell her, as she had done 
 for the first few days after her arrival at Black Creek, that 
 she v/ould soon see Mrs. Burbank, and that her father, 
 brother, Miss Stannard, and Mars, would soon come to her. 
 With her precocious intelligence rendered more acute since 
 the dreadful scenes at the plantation, Dy saw that she 
 had been torn from her home and was in the hands of a 
 wicked man, and unless some one came to her rescue she 
 would never again see Camdless Bay. And so Zermah 
 knew not what to answer, and in spite of all she coyld do, 
 saw the child gradually wasting away. 
 
 The wigwam was only a huge hut which in the winter 
 season arforded no adequate protection. The wind and 
 the raio penetrated it on all sides. But in the hot season 
 
270 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 which was now coming on in this latitude, it at least pro- 
 vided sheltv-r from the heat of the sun. It was divided 
 into two rooms of unequal size. One was narrow and 
 badly lighted and did not communicate with the open air, 
 but with the other room, which obtained its light from a 
 door that opened on to the bank of the narrow channel. 
 Zermah and Dy had been lodged in the small room, where 
 a litter of herbs served them for a bed. 
 
 The other room was occupied by Texar and the Indian 
 Squambo, who never left his master. For furniture, they 
 had a table with many jars of brandy, and glasses and a 
 few plates, a sort of cupboard for provisions, a half-squared 
 tree-trunk for a seat and two bundles of herbs for beds. The 
 fire necessary to cook the meals was made on the stone 
 hearth outside, in one of the angles of the wigwam, and it 
 proved sufficient for the preparation of the dried meat and 
 venison that a hunter could find on the island, and the 
 fruits and vegetables in an almost wild state, just enough, 
 in fact, to keep them from dying of hunger. 
 
 The half-dozen slaves Texar had brought with him from 
 Black Creek slept out of doors like the dogs, and like them 
 served as guards on the approaches. 
 
 From the first day Dy and Zermah were allowed to go 
 out and in as they pleased. They were no longer im- 
 prisoned in their rooms. But they were watched. The 
 precaution was superfluous, for no one could cross the 
 channel without using the boat that was always in the safe 
 keeping of the blacks. And as she walked about Zermah 
 took careful notice of the difficulties of escape. 
 
 The first day the half-breed was never out of sight of 
 Squambo ; but she did not see Texar. When night came 
 she, however, heard the Spaniard talking to the Seminole, 
 and ordering him to keep a strict watch. And soon all 
 but Zermah were asleep in the wigwam. 
 
 Up to then Zermah, it should be said, had not had a 
 single word spoken to her by Texar. As she ascended the 
 river towards Lake Washington, .she had in vain asked 
 him what he v/as going to do with lier and t'le child. And 
 while she spoke the Spaniard contented himself with 
 
THE EVERGLADES. 271 
 
 shrugging his shoulders and fixing his cruel eyes on her, 
 and looking as if he scorned to answer. But Zermah 
 had no intention of giving in. When she reached Camera] 
 Island, she resolved to attack Texar so as to excite his 
 pity, if not for herself, at least for the unfortunate 
 child, and if his pity failed her to appeal to his self- 
 interest. 
 
 An opportunity offered. The day after her arrival, 
 while the little girl was asleep, Zermah walked out towards 
 the channel by the side of which Texar was then standing 
 and giving orders with Squambo to the slaves, who were 
 at work weeding, for the water was so choked that the 
 barge could hardly pass. While this was being done two 
 of the negroes were striking the surface of the water with 
 long poles so as to frighten away the reptiles whose heads 
 appeared every now and then above the surface. 
 
 A moment afterwards Squambo left his master, and 
 Texar was also going away when Zermah came up. 
 
 " Texar/' said Zermah firmly, " I wish to speak to you. 
 This will be the last time, doubtless, and I beg you to hear 
 me." 
 
 The Spaniard, who had just lighted his cigarette, did not 
 answer, and Zermah having waited a few seconds con- 
 tinued, — 
 
 " Will you tell me what you are going to do with Dy 
 Burbank .'' " 
 
 No reply. 
 
 " I say nothing about my own fate. All I have to do 
 with now is that of this child, whose life is in danger, and 
 who will soon escape you." 
 
 At this Texar made a gesture of the most absolute 
 incredulity. 
 
 " Yes, very soon," continued Zermah. " If not by flight 
 it will be by death." 
 
 The Spaniard took a long whiff at his cigarette, and 
 replied, — 
 
 " Bah ! The little girl will be all right after a few days' 
 rest, and I reckon on your care, Zermah, to retain its 
 precious existence for us." 
 
272 NORTH AND SOUTH, 
 
 " No, I repeat Before very long, the child will be dead, 
 and dead without any profit to you." 
 
 "Without profit!" replied Texar, "when I have her 
 far from her dying mother, her father and her brother 
 reduced to despair?" 
 
 " Be it so," said Zermah. " You have your revenge, 
 Texar, but believe me, it would be more to your advantage 
 to give up the child than to keep her here." 
 
 " What is that you say ? " 
 
 "I say that you have made James Burbank sufifer 
 enough ; that now it is your interest to speak." 
 
 " My interest ?" ■ 
 
 "Certainly. The plantation of Camdless Bay has been 
 laid waste. Mrs. Burbank is dying, perhaps dead at this 
 moment ; her daughter has disappeared, and her father is 
 vainly endeavouring to find her. All this has been done 
 by you, Texar. I know it ! and I have the right to tell 
 you so to your face. But take care ! Your crimes will be 
 discovered some day, and think of the punishment that 
 will come to you ! Your best interest now is to show pity. 
 I do not speak for myself, though my husband will not find 
 me when he returns. No, I speak only for the little girl 
 who is dying. Keep me if you like, but send the child 
 back to Camdless Bay to her mother ; then they will never 
 ask you about the past, and if you want it they will even 
 pay you well for the girl's liberty. If I take upon myself 
 to speak like this, and propose this exchange, it is because 
 I know James Burbank and his people to the bottom of 
 their hearts ; because I know they would sacrifice all their 
 fortune to save the child, and I call God to witness they 
 will keep the promise their slave has made." 
 
 "Their slave.?" exclaimed Texar ironically. "There 
 are now no slaves at Camdless Bay," 
 
 " There are ; for in order to stay with my master I re- 
 fused to be set free." 
 
 " Indeed, Zermah, indeed ! " answered the Spaniard. 
 "Well, since you do not mind being a slave we can under- 
 iStand each other. Six or seven years ago I wished to buy 
 you of my friend Tickborn. I offered for you, for you alone, 
 
THE EVERGLADES. 273 
 
 a considerable sum, and you would have belonged to me 
 ever since if James Burbank had not got hold of you. 
 Now I have you, and I will keep you." 
 
 " Be it so, Texar,'' said Zermah. " I will be your slave. 
 But the child ! Will you not give her up ? " 
 
 "The child of James Burbank ! " answered Texar in a 
 tone of the deepest hatred, " Give her up to her father ? 
 Never!" 
 
 " Villain ! " exclaimed Zermah in anger. " If her father 
 does not take her from you, God will ! " 
 
 A grin, a shrug of the shoulders, and that was all the 
 Spaniard's answer. He had rolled up a second cigarette 
 and lighted it calmly with the end of the last, and strolled 
 off up the bank of the channel without another look at 
 Zermah, who would have struck him as if he had been a 
 wild beast, at the risk of being massacred by Squambo and 
 his companions, had she only had a weapon. But she 
 could do nothing. Motionless she stood and watched the 
 blacks at work- Nowhere a friendly face ; nothing but 
 the faces of brutes hardly seeming to be human. And she 
 went back to the wigwam to resume her part of mother to 
 the child who in a feeble voice was calling her. She tried 
 to console the poor little creature, whom she took in her 
 arms and animated with her kisses ; and then she brought 
 the child outside and gave her a warm drink made on the 
 hearth. All she could do in her state of destitution she 
 did. Dy thanked her with a smile — and such a smile — 
 sadder than if it had been tears. 
 
 Zermah did not see the Spaniard again all that day. 
 And she did not seek to see him. What good would it do } 
 He would not change his sentiments, and by these recri- 
 minations things might become worse. For though up to 
 then, during her stay at Black Creek, and since her arrival 
 at Carneral Island, the worst treatment had been spared 
 her and the child, there was everything to be feared from 
 such a man. A fit of anger might drive him to the greatest 
 violence. No pity could be expected from him, and as his 
 interest did not stand in the way of his hate, Zermah had 
 given up all hope in the future. As to the Spaniard's 
 
2 74 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 companions, Squambo and the slaves, how could they be 
 expected to be more human than their master ? They 
 knew the fate that awaited them if they showed the slightest 
 sympathy. From them nothing was to be hoped. Zermah 
 must trust to herself Her resolution was taken. She 
 would try and escape during the night. 
 
 But how i The ring of water that surrounded the island 
 must be crossed, and though near the wigwam the channel 
 was narrow, yet it could not be swum. There was only 
 one chance, and that was to seize on the barge. 
 
 The night fell dark and gloomy, for the rain had come 
 on, and the wind swept fiercely across the marsh. 
 
 If it was impossible for Zermah to quit the wigwam by 
 the door of the large room, perhaps it would not be difficult 
 for her to make a hole in the wail, and so get through. 
 
 Ten o'clock came, and nothing was heard outside but the 
 moaning of the storm. Texar and Squambo were asleep. 
 The hounds hiding under one of the thickets no longer 
 prowled round the dwelling. 
 
 The moment was favourable. 
 
 While Dy lay sleeping on the couch of herbs, Zermah 
 began to pull away quietly the straw and reeds in the side 
 wall of the wigwam. 
 
 At the end of an hour the hole was only large enough 
 for the girl to get ttirough, and she was making it larger 
 \v..en a noise suddenly stopped her. 
 
 The noise came from far out in the darkness, and was 
 the barking of the hounds announcing some arrival. Texar 
 and Squambo suddenly awakened, got up, and hurriedly 
 went out. 
 
 Voices were heard. Evidently a troop of men had 
 Reached the opposite bank of the channel. Zermah must 
 for the present give up her attempt at flight. 
 
 Soon, in spite of the tumult of the storm, it was easy to 
 distinguish the sound of many footsteps. Zermah listened. 
 What was happening ? Had Providence taken pity on 
 her? Had the help come on which she had not dared to 
 !eckon? 
 
 No, and she knew it could not be so, for there was no 
 
THE EVEUGLADliS. 275 
 
 sound of a strugo^le as the channel was crossed, no reports 
 of firearms. It was a reinforcement that had arrived at 
 Carneral Island. 
 
 A minute afterwards Zermah saw two persons enter the 
 wigwam. The Spaniard was accompanied by another man 
 who could not be Squambo, for the Indian's voice could be 
 heard outside on the bank of the channel. 
 
 Two men were, however, in the room. They had begun 
 to talk in a low voice, when they suddenly stopped. One 
 of them, lantern in hand, came towards Zermah's room, 
 and she had only just time to throw herself on the bed so 
 as to hide the hole in the wall. 
 
 Texar, for it was he, opened the door, looked round the 
 room, saw the half-breed apparently asleep by the side of 
 the child, and retired. 
 
 Zermah then took her place behind the door he had ■ 
 shut. If she could not see or recognize the strange man, 
 she could hear all that passed. 
 
 And this is what she heard. 
 
 18 
 
!^6 MORTH AND SOUTK. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 WHAT ZERMAH OVERHEARD. 
 
 " You, at Carneral Island ? " 
 
 " Yes. I have been here for some hours." 
 
 " I thought you were at Adamsville, near Lake Apopka ? " 
 
 " I was there a week ago." 
 
 " And why have you come here ? " 
 
 " Because I had to do so." 
 
 "We ought never to meet, you know, except in the 
 marsh at Black Creek, and then only after you have written 
 to tell me ! " 
 
 " But I had to beat a hurried retreat, and escape to the 
 Everglades." 
 
 " Why ? " 
 
 " I am going to tell you." 
 
 " But is there no risk of our being found out ? " 
 
 " No 1 I came in the dark, and none of your slaves saw 
 me. 
 
 Zermah listened, but she could not up to this point make 
 out the meaning of the conversation, nor could she imagine 
 who was the wigwam's unexpected guest. There were 
 certainly two men talking ; and yet it seemed as though it 
 was only one man who questioned and answered. The 
 voice was the same ; the accent was the same ; the words 
 seemed to come from the same mouth. In vain Zermah 
 tried to look through a crack in the door. The room was 
 lighted but feebly, and remained in a half-shadow which 
 prevented the least object from being distinguished. The 
 half-breed had therefore to content herself with listening as 
 intently as possible to a conversation which might be of 
 extreme importance for her. 
 
 After a moment's silence the two men had continued as 
 
WHAT ZERMAH OVERHJEARD. ^77 
 
 follows. Evidently it was Texar who asked the first 
 question. 
 
 " You have not come alone ? " 
 
 " No ; some of our men came with me to the Everglades." 
 
 " How many ?" 
 
 " Forty." 
 
 " Are you not afraid that they will find out what we have 
 kept secret from them for so long ? " 
 
 " No. They will never see us together. When they 
 leave Carneral Island they will have learnt nothing, and the 
 plan of our life will in no way be changed.^' 
 
 And Zermah thought she could hear the clasp of the 
 hands as they met in token of continued friendship. 
 
 Then the conversation was resumed. 
 
 "What has happened since Jacksonville was taken ? " 
 
 *' A serious business. You know that Dupont took 
 possession of St. Augustine ? " 
 
 " Yes, I know ; and you, I suppose, know why I 
 know .'' " 
 
 " Yes ! The story of the Fernandina train came in 
 handy to allow you to establish the alibi that forced the 
 court to acquit you." 
 
 " Which did not quite suit them ! Bah ! It is not the 
 first time we have got off like that." 
 
 " And it won't be the last. But do you know what the 
 Federals are after in occupying St. Augustine ? It was 
 not so much to hold the capital of St. John's county as 
 to organize the blockade of the Atlantic coast." 
 
 " So i heard." 
 
 '• Well, to watch the coast from the mouth of the St. 
 John's to the Bahamas did not seem to be enough for 
 Dupont, and he resolved to follow up contraband of war 
 into the interior of Florida. So he sent off two boats' 
 crews. Have you heard of this ?" 
 
 " No." 
 
 " But when did you leave Black Creek ? Some days 
 after you were acquitted ? " 
 
 "Yes ! The 22nd of this month." 
 
 " This took place on the 22nd." 
 PART II. 
 
2 78 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 It should be remembered thaf; Zermah knew nothinc^ of 
 the ambuscade at Kissimmee, of which Captain Howick 
 had spoken to Gilbert at their meeting in the forest. So 
 she, like the Spaniard, heard fOr the first time how the 
 boats had been burnt, and hardly a dozen survivors had 
 found their way back to the Commodore with news of the 
 disaster. 
 
 " Well ! well ! " exclaimed Texar. " That is a happy 
 revenge for the capture of Jacksonville, and if we can lure 
 those infernal Northerners into the thick of Florida, not one 
 of them will get back." 
 
 " Not one. If we can get them among the marshes of the 
 Everglades. And we shall have them there before long." 
 
 " What do you mean ? " 
 
 " Dupont has sworn to avenge the death of his officers 
 and sailors, and a new expedition has been sent out to 
 the south of St. John's county." 
 
 " The Federals are coming from that quarter ? " 
 
 " Yes, but more numerous and better armed, and well on 
 their guard against ambuscades." 
 
 " Have you met them ? " 
 
 " No, for our people are not in force now, and we have 
 had to retreat. But, as we retired we drew them on after 
 us. When we have been joined by the militia who are 
 somewhere about, we will fall on them, and not one shall 
 escape." 
 
 " Where did they come from ? " 
 
 " Mosquito Inlet." 
 
 ** Which way did they come ? " 
 
 " Through the cypress grove." 
 
 " Where are they now ? " 
 
 " About forty miles from Carneral Island." 
 
 " Good," said Texar. " We must get them further 
 south, for there is not a day to lose in concentrating the 
 militia. If necessary, we must be off to-morrow to the 
 shore of the Bahama Channel." 
 
 " And from there, if we are pressed before we can collect 
 our friends, we will find a safe retreat in the English 
 islands/' 
 
WHAT ZERMAH OVERHEARD. 279 
 
 The different matters alluded to in this conversation 
 were of the greatest interest to Zermah. If Texar de- 
 cided to leave the island, would he take the prisoners with 
 him, or would he leave them at the wigwam in charge of 
 Squambo ? In that case it would be better not to attempt 
 to escape until after the Spaniard's departure. Then she 
 might, perhaps, have a better chance of success. And 
 perhaps the Federal expedition then in Lower Florida 
 might reach Lake Okee-cho-bee, in sight of Carneral 
 Island .? 
 
 But these hopes vanished almost as soon as they rose. 
 For the next question that was askfed was, what was to be 
 done with the half-breed and child, and to it Texar 
 answered, without hesitation, — 
 
 " I shall take them with me, if necessary, to the 
 Bahamas." 
 
 " But will the little girl bear the discomforts of the 
 voyage ? " 
 
 " Yes ! I will answer for that ; and besides, Zermah knows 
 how she can avoid them ! " 
 
 " But if the child were to die ? " 
 
 " I had rather have her dead than give her back to her 
 father ! " 
 
 " Ah ! you are a good hater of these Burbanks ! " 
 
 " As good as you are ! " 
 
 Zermah could hardly contain herself, and was on the 
 point of throwing open the door and meeting face to face 
 these two men, who were so like to each other, not only in 
 voice, but in evil instinct and want of conscience and 
 heart. But she controlled herself Better hear to tl\e 
 end what Texar and his accomplice had to say. When 
 their talk was at an end perhaps they would sleep ! 
 Then there might be time to escape before they left 
 the island. 
 
 Evidently the Spaniard was in the position of one who 
 had everything to learn from him he was talking to. And 
 so he continued to question him. 
 
 " What news is there from the north .? " 
 
 " Nothing of much importance. Unfortunately, it seems 
 
2 So JfORTH AND SOUtti. 
 
 as though the Federals were getting the best of it, and 
 that the slave cause is done for." 
 
 " Bah ! " said Texar, in a tone of indifference. 
 
 " Well, we are neither for South or North, really, are 
 we ? " 
 
 " No. The only thing is, while they are at each other's 
 throats to be always on the side where most is to be 
 gained." 
 
 In this remark Texar revealed his true character. The 
 two men fished in the troubled water of civil war only for 
 what they could catch. 
 
 " But," said Texar, " what has happened in Florida 
 during the last week ? " 
 
 "Nothing that you do not know. Stevens remains 
 master of the St. John's up to Picolata." 
 
 " And he does not seem to care to come further down .? " 
 
 "No ; the gunboats have not been sent to the south of 
 the county. And I fancy the occupation of this river will 
 5oon end, and that the Confederates will get back the 
 command of the whole stream." 
 
 "How?" 
 
 "There is a rumour that Dupont intends to abandon 
 Florida, and leave two or three ships to blockade the 
 coast." 
 
 " Can that be possible ? " 
 
 "They are talking about it; and if so, St. Augustine 
 will soon be evacuated." 
 
 " And Jacksonville ? " 
 
 "Jacksonville, too." 
 
 " Then I can go back, get the committee together again, 
 and resume the place the Federals pushed me from ! Ah ! 
 my Northerners, if I come back, you will see how I will 
 treat you ! " 
 
 "That is so." 
 
 "And if James Burhank and his people have not cleared 
 out of Camdless Bay they will not again escape me." 
 
 "That is r'ght. All that you have suffered from them 
 I have suffered with you. What you wish, I wish I what 
 you hate, I hate I The two of us are but as one," 
 
WHAT ZfiRMAH OVERHEARD. ^ 281 i 
 
 " Yes ! as one ! " replied Texar. , 
 
 The conversation stopped for an instant. The dink of ' 
 the glasses told Zermah that the Spaniard and the other \ 
 man were drinking together. ' Zermah was thunderstruck, i 
 To listen to them, it seemed as though these two men had ' 
 had an equal hand in every crime committed during the 
 last few years in Florida, and more particularly in those , 
 against the Burbank family. She learnt much as she ; 
 listened to them for another half-hour, and all the time the i 
 same voice gave question and answer, as if Texar were alone I 
 and talking to himself. Here was a mystery which the J 
 half-breed had the greatest interest in discovering. But if | 
 the villains knew that Zermah had heard some of their 
 secrets would they not settle the danger by killing her ? 
 And what would become of the child when Zermah was 
 dead ? ' 
 
 It was about eleven o'clock. The weather continued 
 terrible ; wind and rain blew and fell without ceasing. : 
 Assuredly Texar and his companion would not leave their 
 shelter. They would pass the night in the wigwam, and do ; 
 nothing till the morning, ■ 
 
 And Zermah's doubts ended when Texar's accomplice— : 
 who ought to have been Texar himself — asked, — ; 
 
 " Well, what shall we do ? " 
 
 "This," said the Spaniard. "To-morrow morning we/^ 
 will go with our men and reconnoitre round the lake. We i 
 will explore the cypress grove for three or four miles, after j 
 sending on in advance those who know it best, particularly 
 Squambo. If there are no signs of the approach of the 1 
 Federal detachment, we will return and wait till it is time ^ 
 to retreat. If there is danger, we will get together our - 
 partisans and my slaves, and I will take Zermali off to the | 
 Bahama Channel while you concentrate the militia in Lower 
 Florida." 
 
 " Agreed," said the other ; " while you reconnoitre I will ' 
 hide in the woods on the island. It will not do for us to , 
 be seen together." 
 
 " No ! certainly not ! " said Texar. " We must keep from ' 
 any imprudence that would reveal our secret. Do not come ' 
 
2 82 NORTH AND SOUTH, 
 
 back here till to-morrow night ; and, if I am obliged to 
 go off during the da.y, do not leave the island till I have 
 got clear away. Meet me, then, at Cape Sable." 
 
 Zermah then saw that she could not be rescued by the 
 Federals. If in the morning their approach was discovered, 
 the Spaniard would not leave the island without her. She 
 could only be saved by her own efforts, great as was the 
 danger. Escape under such difficult circumstances was 
 almost impossible. 
 
 But with >vhat courage would she have attempted it 
 had she known that James Burbank, Gilbert, Mars and 
 his companions at the plantation were on their way to 
 deliver her from Texar ; that her letter had told them 
 where to look for her ; that already Mr. Burbank was up 
 the St. John's, beyond Lake Washington ; that the greater 
 part of the cypress grove had been crossed ; that the little 
 band from Camdless Bay had been joined by the detach- 
 ment under Captain Howick ; that it was Texar whom 
 they looked upon as the author of the ambuscade at 
 Kissimmee ; that the scoundrel was to be hunted to death, 
 and that he would be shot on the spot if they could only 
 get hold of him ! 
 
 But Zermah knew nothing of this. She could wait for 
 help no longer. And she resolved to risk everything to 
 get away from Carneral Island. 
 
 But she must wait for twenty-four hours before she 
 made her attempt, although the night was -very dark and 
 favourable for her chance of escape. The men, who had 
 not even taken shelter under the trees, were all round the 
 wigwam. She could hear them walking about on the 
 bank, smoking and talking. If her attempt failed, if her 
 plan was discovered, she would be worse off than she was, 
 and Texar would have an excuse for his violence. 
 
 Would the chance of escape be better to-morrow ? Had 
 not the Spaniard said that his companions, his slaves, even 
 the Indian, Squambo, would accompany him to recon- 
 noitre the Federal advance ? Would something come 
 out of this to increase her chance of getting away ? If she 
 could get across the channel without being seen, and 
 
WHAT ZERMAH OVERHEARD. 283 < 
 
 reach the forest, she did not doubt that she would be safe. ' 
 She could hide, and need not again fall into Texar's hands, 1 
 Captain Howick could not be far off. If he was advancing 
 towards Lake Okee-cho-bee, was there not a chance that 
 she might meet with him ? 
 
 Better, therefore, wait for to-morrow ! But hardly had 
 she so decided, than something happened, that at once ' 
 swept away the scaffold on wliich her last liopes were 
 built. j 
 
 There came a knock at the wigwam door. It was <, 
 Squambo, who made himself known to his master. ; 
 
 " Enter ! " said the Spaniard. 
 
 Squambo came in. ■[ 
 
 " Have you any orders for the night ? " he asked. s 
 
 " Keep careful watch, and let me know at the least 
 alarm." 
 
 " I will do so," said Squambo. _ i 
 
 " To-morrow morning we will reconnoitre for some miles j 
 in the forest," \ 
 
 " The half-breed and Dy ? " ] 
 
 " Will be under guard as usual. See that no one : 
 disturbs us here." . ; 
 
 '' Right." ; 
 
 •' What are the men doing ? " 
 
 " Walking about. None of them seem to care to rest." 
 " See that none get far away." " 
 
 " None shall go." 
 
 " What is the weather like ? " i 
 
 " Not so bad as it was. The rain has stopped, and the ■ 
 
 wind will soon drop." ] 
 
 " Good." . j 
 
 Zermah had listened to all this. The conversation wasj 
 
 evidently nearing its end, when a stifled sigh, a sort of: 
 
 ■rattle, made itself heard. 'i 
 
 „Zermah's blood flowed back to her heart. She rose,, 
 
 rushed to the bed of herbs, and bent over the littiej 
 
 cirl. , 1 
 
 ^ Dy had just awoke, and in what a state ! A chokingf/j 
 husky breath was escaping from her lips. Her little handsl 
 
284 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 were beating the air, as if she sought to drag it into her 
 mouth. Zermah could just hear the words, — 
 
 "Drink! water!" 
 
 The child was being suffocated. She must betaken into 
 the air at once. In the darkness Zermah, distracted, took 
 her in her arms to revive her with her own breath. She 
 felt her struggle in a convulsion. She uttered a cry — she 
 burst open the door of the room. 
 
 Two men were there, standing before Squambo. But so 
 like were they in face and build that Zermah could not tell 
 which of them was Texar. 
 
A DOUBLE LIFE. 285 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 A DOUBLE LIFE. 
 
 A FEW words will suffice to explain that which has hitherto 
 seemed inexplicable in this story. 
 
 The men before whom Zermah had suddenly appeared 
 were twins 
 
 Where they were born they themselves did not know. 
 Probably their birthplace was some village of Texas — 
 whence the name of Texar by merely changing a letter. 
 
 Texas, it will be remembered, is an extensive territory, 
 situated in the south of the United States, and on the Gulf 
 of Mexico. After revolting against the Mexicans, Texas 
 assisted by the United States in its work of independence 
 was annexed to the Union in 1845, under the presidency 
 of John Tyler. 
 
 It was about fifteen years before this annexation that 
 two children were found abandoned in a village on the 
 Texan coast, and were taken care of and brought up by 
 public charity. 
 
 Attention was first directed to the children on account 
 of their marvellous resemblance. They had the same 
 gestures, the same voice, the same attitudes, the same 
 physiognomy, and it may be added the same instincts 
 testifying to a precocious perversity. We know not how 
 they were educated, nor what instruction they received, 
 nor to what family they belonged unless it was to one of 
 those who roamed about the country after the declaration 
 of independence. 
 
 As soon as the brothers Texar thought they could 
 support themselves, they disappeared. This was when 
 they were about twelve years old. They then took to a 
 life of thieving among the fields and farms, stealing bread 
 
286 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 in one place, fruit in another, ending at length in highway 
 robbery. Then they ceased to be seen in the Texan 
 villages in the company of lawbreakers, who, even in those 
 early days had put their strange resemblance to account. 
 Years rolled by. The Texar brothers were soon forgotten 
 even by name. And although the name became notorious 
 enough in Florida, nothing happened to show that they 
 had passed their early years in the coast districts of 
 Texas. 
 
 But how was it that after their disappearance no one 
 knew that there were two Texars ? It was on this 
 ignorance that their plans hao' been built. As was ascer- 
 tained later on when the duality was discovered and proved, 
 the brothers for twenty or thirty years lived apart. Fortune 
 they sought in all ways ; but they did not meet again 
 except at rare interv^als away from observation, either in 
 America, or wherever their search after fortune led them. 
 
 One of them — which it was not known, though it was 
 probably both — engaged in the slave trade. They brought 
 cargoes of slaves from the coasts of Africa to the Southern 
 States of the Union, acting as intermediaries between the 
 merchants on the coast and the captains of the ships 
 employed in the inhuman traffic. 
 
 Did their trade prosper ? We do not know. But pro- 
 bably not ; for it diminished rapidly, and was finally put 
 a stop to when the slave trade was denounced as a bar- 
 barism, and gradually abolished by the civilized world. 
 
 The brothers had not made their fortune, and they re- 
 solved to do so at any price. It was then they resolved to 
 avail themselves of their extraordinary resemblance. 
 
 It often happens that such a resemblance dies away as 
 the children grow to manhood But this was not the case 
 with the Texars. The older they got, the more their 
 physical and moral resemblance increased. It was impos- 
 sible to distinguish one from the other either by his face 
 or his figure or his gestures or voice. And resolving to 
 take advantage of this natural peculiarity, they entered 
 upon a hateful career of crime, intending if one was caught 
 to establish an alidz by means of the other. When one 
 
A DOUBLE LIFE. 287 
 
 went off to commit some act that would bring him within 
 reach of the law, the other would show himself in public, so 
 that all criminating evidence would fail. Of course, they 
 never allowed themselves to be taken in the act, for tlieji 
 no alibi could have been pleaded. 
 
 Having drawn up their programme the twins came to 
 Florida, where neither of them was known, the attraction 
 being the numerous opportunities offered in a state where 
 the Indians still carried on a struggle against the Ameri- 
 cans and the Spaniards. 
 
 It was about 1850 or 1851 that Texar appeared in the 
 Floridan peninsula — Texar, not the Texars, be it under- 
 stood, for it was their intention never to be seen together, 
 never to be on the same day in the same place. 
 
 Hiding themselves thus under a complete incognito, 
 they found a retreat that was quite as mysterious. This 
 was in Black Creek, which they discovered in one of their 
 explorations of the St. John's. There they brought a 
 few slaves, to whom their secret was not revealed. Squambo 
 alone knew the mystery of their double existence. The 
 confidant was worthy of his masters, whom he served with 
 unequalled devotion and discretion, and pitilessly executed 
 their commands. 
 
 Never, it need scarcely be said, did they appear together 
 at Black Creek. When they wished to consult on any 
 matter they wrote to each other. We have, in fact, seen 
 their post-office. A letter was slipped into the stalk of 
 a leaf, and the leaf was fixed to the branch of a tulip- 
 tree in the neighbouring marsh. This means never failed, 
 them. Every day Squambo cautiously visited the tree. 
 If he was the bearer of a letter from the Texar then at 
 Black Creek he fixed it to the branch of the tulip-tree. If 
 the letter had been written by the other brother the Indian 
 found it in the usual place and took it back to the block- 
 house. 
 
 After their arrival in Florida the Texars leagued them- 
 selves with all that was bad among the population. 
 Many of the criminal classes became their accomplices in 
 the numerous robberies that then took place, and thesc- 
 
 19 
 
288 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 became their accomplices later on when the war brought 
 them to the front in political matters. But although some- 
 times one and sometimes another took the lead in these 
 matters, their companions never knew that there were two 
 Texars. Thus it was that an alibiv^z.s always forthcoming 
 when a Texar was brought to answer for his crimes. Thus 
 it was that although James Burbank and Zermah had 
 positively recognized the Spaniard as the author of the 
 fire, he had been acquitted by the tribunal at St. Augustine, 
 for numerous witnesses swore that at the time of the crime 
 he was in Torillo's tienda at Jacksonville. And so it was 
 regarding the attack on Camdless Bay. How could Texar 
 be leading the assault at Castle House, or carrying away 
 Zermah and Dy when he was one of the prisoners made 
 by the Federals at Fernandina, and then in safe keeping 
 on one of the gunboats? 
 
 And even admitting that the duality of Texar was 
 known, how could they tell which of tliem was the culprit ? 
 Were there not in fact two who were guilty .? Should not 
 the justly-merited punishment fall on both } 
 
 At Jacksonville it was probable that both brothers had 
 in turn played the same part after the outbreak. When 
 Texar No. i absented himself on some agreed expedition, 
 Texar No, 2 would take his place without the people being 
 aware of the change. They thus took an equal part in the 
 excesses then committed against the colonists of Northern 
 birth and the Southern planters holding anti-slavery 
 opinions. 
 
 Both were aware of what passed in the Central States 
 of the Union, where, as in Florida, civil war underwent 
 such unexpected changes in fortune ; both had acquired 
 great influence over the lower class of whites, and over 
 the Spaniards, and even the American slave partisans. 
 Their correspondence was considerable, and their meet- 
 ings in out-of-the-way places were many, to enable them 
 to conduct their operations and prepare their future 
 alibis. 
 
 It was while one was in the hands of the Federals that 
 the other organized the expedition at Camdless Bay. 
 
A DOUBLE LIFE. 289 , 
 
 And we know how they had turned this to account at the j 
 
 court-martial at St. Augustine. 1 
 
 Age, as it has been said, confirmed and increased the 
 
 resemblance between the brothers ; but it was possible ■ 
 
 that an accident or a wound might alter tliat resemblance. , 
 
 For instance, in a night-attack some time after their i 
 
 arrival in Florida, one of the Texars had his beard burnt , 
 
 by a rifle fired at him point blank. Immediately the other i 
 
 shaved his beard so as to be like his brother, a fact that I 
 
 was mentioned in the early part of this history. '\ 
 
 Another fact requires explanation. It will not have been 1 
 
 forgotten that one night while she was at Black Creek ' 
 
 Zermah saw the Spaniard's arm tattooed. The reason i 
 
 was that his brother had been captured by a band of ' 
 
 Seminoles, and had been so indelibly marked on his left , 
 arm. Immediately a tracing of the device was sent to the 
 
 fortress and Squambo set to work, so that the identity j 
 
 continued absolute. 1 
 
 In fact if Texar No. i had happened to lose a limb, ; 
 
 Texar No. 2 would have submitted to amputation to re- '' 
 
 semble him. : 
 
 For twelve years the Texar brothers lived this double ^ 
 
 life, but with such skill and prudence that justice was set ' 
 at defiance. 
 
 Had the twins grown rich at this trade ? Yes, in a cer- 
 tain measure. A considerable sum of money saved from 
 
 the proceeds of pillage and theit had beeh hidden in a \ 
 
 secret redoubt of the blockhouse at Black Creek, but as a ' 
 
 precaution it had been taken away by the Spaniard ; 
 
 when he started for Carneral Island, and we may rest | 
 assured he would not leave it behind him if he went to the 
 Bahamas. 
 
 When the twins learnt that Commodore Dupont con- , 
 
 templated an early evacuation of Florida, they saw that ' 
 
 there would be a chance of further enriching themselves, j 
 
 and the Northern planters could be made to pay dearly for j 
 
 the Federal occupation. ^They had therefore resolved to \ 
 
 keep on th^ watch. Once they were back at Jacksonville, ! 
 
 with the help of their partisans and the Southerners in ] 
 
290 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 league with them, they could resume the position which 
 a riot had given them once and could give them again. 
 
 And besides this they had a means of acquiring wealth 
 almost beyond their desires. They had only to listen to 
 the proposition Zermah had made to one of them ; they 
 had only to return Dy to her parents. James Burbank 
 would have given his fortune as his child's ransom. Ke 
 would have undertaken to make no complaint or instigate 
 any pursuit against the Spaniard. But among the Texars 
 hate was stronger than self-interest. They wished to be 
 revenged on the Burbanks before they left Florida. 
 
 Such is all that need be said about the history of the 
 brothers Texar. We can now resume our story. 
 
 When Zermah suddenly found herself in their presence, 
 she understood all. The past instantly rushed back through 
 her mind. In astonishment she looked at the men — 
 motionless as if rooted in the ground, holding the little girl 
 in her arms. Fortunately the air in the room was abun- 
 dant, and all fear of the child's suffocation had gone. 
 
 Her appearance before the brothers, her discovery of the 
 secret of their lives, meant, she well knew, sentence of 
 death. 
 
ZERMAH AT WORK. -9^ 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 ZERMAH AT WORK. 
 
 The Texars were furious at Zermah's interruption. 
 
 With the exception of Squambo, never before since their 
 childhood had a third person seen them together. And 
 this person was their mortal enemy. Their first impulse 
 was to hurl themselves at her and murder her, so as to 
 save the secret of their double life. 
 
 The child raised herself in Zermah's arms ; and holding 
 out her little hands, she cried, — 
 
 " I am afraid ! I am afraid ! " 
 
 At a gesture from the two brothers Squambo stepped 
 roughly up to the half-breed, took her by the shoulder, and 
 pushed her back into her room and shut the door. 
 
 Then Squambo returned to the brothers. His attitude 
 told them they had only to command for him to obey. 
 But the interruption had been so unexpected that it had 
 troubled them more than might be supposed. They 
 seemed to consult each other with a look. 
 
 Zermah had thrown herself into a corner of the room, 
 after laying the little girl on one of the beds. Her self- 
 possession returned to her ; and she went to the door to 
 hear what was passing. In a moment her fate would 
 probably be decided. But the Texars and Squambo had 
 just gone out of the hut, and were no longer within ear- 
 shot. 
 
 And this is what they were saying, — 
 
 " Zermah must die." 
 
 " She must ! If she escapes, or if the Federals get hold 
 of her, we are lost ! She must die ! " 
 
 " This moment ! " said Squambo. 
 19 
 
292 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 And knife in hand he had turned to go to the hut, when 
 one of the Texars stopped him. 
 
 " Wait," said he. " It will always be time enough to put 
 Zermah out of the way ; and we have need of her to take 
 care of the youngster. Let us first see how we stand. 
 A detachment of Northerners is now in the cypress grove. 
 Let us take a careful look-out round the lake, for there is 
 no proof as yet that the detachment is coming this way. 
 If it is coming we shall have time to get away ; if it is not 
 coming we can stop here and let it get deeper into the 
 wilds of Florida when it will be at our mercy. We shall 
 have time to muster the militia and cut off the Federal 
 retreat. Some escaped from Kissimmee, but none will 
 escape here." 
 
 This was obviously the best thing to do under the cir- 
 cumstances. A large number of Southerners were in the 
 neighbourhood only waiting for an opportunity to try a 
 stroke at the Federals, One of the Texars could go out 
 and reconnoitre, and then they could decide either to 
 remain at Carneral Island or move off to Cape Sable. 
 That could be done to-morrow, and Squambo could be 
 trusted to take care of Zermah whatever might be the 
 result of the exploration. 
 
 " As for the child," said one of the brothers, " it is our 
 interest to keep her alive. She cannot have understood as 
 Zermah did, and she may be the price of our ransom should 
 one of us fall into the hands of Captain Howick. To get 
 back his daughter, James Burbank would accept any con- 
 dition we like to impose." 
 
 " If Zermah dies," said the Indian, "are you not afraid 
 that the child will die too .? " 
 
 " No, she will be well looked after, and I can easily find 
 an Indian woman to take the place of the half-breed." 
 
 " Do so then ! We must not have anything to fear from 
 Zermah." 
 
 " Well, whatever happens, we shall soon put her out of 
 the way." 
 
 And Zermah heard the brothers come back into the 
 wigwam. 
 
 A 
 
ZERMAH AT WORK. 293 
 
 What a night it was for the unhappy woman ! She - 
 knew she was doomed, and yet she had no thought for 
 herself, but for Dy, who would thus be abandoned to the 
 cruelty of these pitiless men. It was to thtir interest that 
 the child should live, but when Zermah was gone would 
 she survive ? And the thought of this returned to her so 
 often and took such obstinate possession of her that she 
 resolved to escape before Texar could separate her from 
 the child. 
 
 In the conversation she had overheard, she had learnt 
 that one of the Texars and his companions was going to , 
 reconnoitre round the lake, evident!}' with the object of 
 fighting the Federal defachmt.nt should opportunity offer. 
 Texar would therefore be away with all his men, and his 
 brother would remain on the island so as in the first place 
 not to be recognized, and in the second to watch the hut. 
 Then was the time for Zermah to attempt her escape. 
 Perhaps she might find a weapon of some sort, and' in case 
 of surprise she would not hesitate to use it. 
 
 The night went by. Vainly did Zermah listen for some 
 sign among the sounds on the island of the arrival of 
 Captain Howick and the capture of the Texirs. 
 
 A (ew minutes before daybreak the little girl awoke. 
 Zermah gave her a few drops of water. Then looking at 
 her as if she v/ould never see her again, she clasped her in 
 her arms. At that moment had any one entered to tear 
 her away from her charge she would have defended herself 
 with the fury of a wild beast being taken from her little 
 ones. 
 
 " What is the matter, Zermah ? " asked the child. 
 ' " Nothing — nothing ! " said the half-breed. 
 
 " And mamma— vwhen shall we see her again ? " 
 
 " Soon," said Zermah ; " to-day, perhaps ! Yes, my 
 dear ! to-day I hope we are near her — " 
 
 " And the men I saw to-night ? " 
 
 " The men ! Did you see them ? " 
 
 " Yes, and they made me afraid." 
 
 " But did you notice them ? Did you see how mucl> 
 they were alike ? " 
 
 PART II. 
 
294 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " Well, remember to tell your father, and your brother, 
 that there are two brothers — do you understand ? there are 
 two brothers Texar, so alike that you cannot tell one from 
 the other." 
 
 " Will you tell them that too ? " asked the child. 
 
 " Yes. ril tell them so. But if I am not thfere, you must 
 not forget it." 
 
 " And why will you not be there ? " asked Dy, putting 
 her arms round the half-breed's neck. 
 
 " I shall be there, my dear, I shall be there ! But if we 
 go out, as we have a long way to go, we must get some- 
 thing to eat. I will get you something." 
 
 " And you .'' " 
 
 " I had something while you were asleep, and I am not 
 hungry." 
 
 The truth was, that Zermah could not have eaten had 
 she tried, owing to the state of excitement she was in. As 
 soon as the child had finislied, Zermah put her back on the 
 herb couch, and went to a gap among the reeds in a corner 
 of the room ; and thence she watched for an hour the 
 scene outside. 
 
 Preparations were being made for departure. One of 
 the brothers, only one, was mustering the men that were to 
 go into the cypress grove. The other, whom none of the 
 men had seen, was concealed, either in the wigwam or in 
 some corner of the island. 
 
 At least, so thought Zermah, who knew how careful 
 they were to hide the secret of their lives. And she thought 
 to herself that this other one had been told off to keep 
 watch on Dy and herself 
 
 And Zermah was not mistaken, as we shall soon see. 
 
 And now the men, to the number of about fifty, were 
 all mustered ready before the hut waiting for orders. By 
 about nine o'clock they had all entered the forest, the 
 barge being only able to take some five or six at a time. 
 Zermah saw them go off in small groups, and walk up the 
 other bank ; but she could not see the surface of the 
 water. 
 
 ^ 
 
ZERMAH AT WORK. 295 
 
 Texar remained till the last, and then went off, followed 
 by one of the dogs, whose instinct was to be made use of 
 during the expedition. At a sign from his master the 
 other hound returned to the hut, as if he was to be the only 
 guard. 
 
 A minute afterwards Zermah saw Texar move up the 
 opposite bank, and stop for an instant to arrange his men. 
 Then, with Squambo at their head, and accompanied by the 
 dog, the men disappeared among the trees. Doubtless one 
 of the negroes had brought back the barge, so that no one 
 could cross over to the island. But the half-breed did not 
 see this. 
 
 She, however, hesitated no longer. 
 
 Dy had just awoke. 
 ^ " Come, darling," said Zermah. 
 
 " Where ? " asked the child. 
 
 "There! Into the forest ! Perhaps we shall find your 
 father — your brother ! You are not afraid ? " 
 
 " Not when you are with me." 
 
 Then the half-breed opened the door carefully. As she 
 had heard no noise in the hut, she supposed that Texar was 
 not there. 
 
 And she was right. 
 
 She sought about for some weapon of defence. On the 
 table was one of those large knives used by the Indians 
 when hunting. She picked it up and hid it under her 
 clothes ; and she took a little dry meat to last her for a few 
 hours. 
 
 But the time came for her to leave the wigwam. She 
 looked out through the palisade in the direction of the 
 channel. There was not a living creature in sight. 
 
 The half-breed tried to open the outer door. 
 
 The door was shut from the outside, and would not give 
 way. 
 
 Then Zermah went back to the hut. There was only 
 one thing to be done. That was to make use of the hole 
 she had already half made in the wall of her sleeping- 
 room. 
 
 The work was easy. She had only to use her knife to 
 
296 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 cut into the reeds — and this she did with as little noise as 
 possible. 
 
 But if the hound that had not gone with Texar were to 
 appear ? Would he not throw himself on her and the 
 child ? 
 
 There was, however, no time to hesitate. The hole was 
 made large enough, and through it Zermah drew the child, 
 whom she passionately embraced as she did so. Dy gave 
 back kiss for kiss ; she had understood. It was necessary 
 to escape through this hole. 
 
 Zermah glided through and looked to the left, to the 
 right, and listened. Not a sound could she hear. 
 
 But soon she heard the bark of a hound. It seemed to 
 come from the west of the island. She picked up the 
 child. Her heart beat ready to burst. She could not 
 think she was safe until she was through the reeds on the 
 opposite river-bank. 
 
 But to cross the hundred yards between the wigwam 
 and the stream was the most critical part of the escape. 
 There was a chance of her being seen either by Texar or 
 by the slaves. 
 
 Luckily, to the right of the hut was a thicket of arbores- 
 cent plants and reeds, extending to the bank of the channel, 
 a few yards only from the barge. 
 
 Zermah entered the thicket. The plants opened to give 
 passage to the fugitives, and closed behind them. The 
 barking of the dog was heard no longer. 
 
 The way through the thicket was not easy. There was 
 but a narrow path between the interlacing shrubs. Zer- 
 mah's dress was in rags, and her hands were torn. Little 
 did it matter so long as the child was unharmed ! 
 
 The brave half-breed uttered no complaint, and although 
 Dy often made acquaintance with the thorns, not a cry 
 did she utter. 
 
 Although the distance was short, about sixty yards at 
 the outside, it took quite half an hour before the channel 
 was reached. 
 
 Zermah then stopped, and thsough the reeds she looked 
 first at the wigwam, then at the forest. 
 
ZERMAH AT WORK. 297 
 
 There was no one to be seen. On the other bank was 
 no sign of Texar and his companions, who were a couple 
 of miles or so away. Unless they met the Northerners 
 they would not be back for some hours. 
 
 But Zermah did not believe she had been left alone in 
 the hut. It was not likely that one of the Texars had 
 gone off unseen and taken the dog with him. Besides, 
 had not the half-breed heard the barking — a proof that the 
 hound was still prowling under the trees .-' Any moment 
 she might see one or the other appear. But if she made 
 haste she might reach the cypress grove. 
 
 While she watched the Spaniard's men in their journey 
 from bank to bank she had not been able to see the sur- 
 face of the stream, and she supposed that the barge had 
 been brought back by one of the slaves. This was neces- 
 sary for the safety of the wigwam, in case Captain Howick 
 and his men defeated the Southerners, 
 
 But if the barge was on the other side, so as to be ready 
 to help in Texar's retreat, should he have to retreat ? If 
 it were not there, would he not have to find another hiding- 
 place ? 
 
 But Zermah must have the barge to get across. She 
 could not see it. "Where could it be ? For half a dozen 
 yards she glided through the reeds. Then she stopped. 
 
 The barge was on the other side of the channel. 
 
298 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 THE TWO BROTHERS. 
 
 The position was critical. How could she cross ? The 
 boldest swimmer could not do it without risking his life a 
 score of times. There were but a hundred feet from bank 
 to bank, but without the boat it was impossible to cross 
 them. Triangular heads appeared every now and then 
 above the surface of the water, and the weeds waved to let 
 the reptiles pass. 
 
 Little Dy, almost dead with fright, clung close to Zermah, 
 If she could have saved the child by throwing herself into 
 the thick of this crowd of snakes, who would have closed 
 on to her like the arms of some giant octopus, the half- 
 breed would not have hesitated for a moment ! 
 
 But only some special intervention of Providence could 
 save her. And Zermah knelt and prayed for help. 
 
 Any moment some of Texar's companions might appear 
 on the edge of the forest. If the Texar remaining on the 
 island went back to the wigwam and missed her, would he 
 not come in pursuit } 
 
 " Oh God I have pity on me 1 " 
 
 And as she prayed she looked to the right of the 
 channel. 
 
 A gentle current was running through towards the 
 north of the lake, where a few affluents of the small river 
 Calaooschatches flow out to the Guif of Mexico. It is this 
 river which feeds Lake Okee-cho-bee at the great monthly 
 tides. 
 
 A trunk of a tree came drifting along from the right, 
 and had just struck against the bank. Would not this 
 tree afford the means of crossing the channel ? Evidently. 
 
THE TWO BROTHERS. 299 
 
 In any case if the tree drifted back to the island the 
 fugitives would be no worse off than they were now. 
 
 Without stopping to think, Zermah, as if by instinct, 
 ran to the floating tree. If she had stopped she might 
 have hesitated at the hundreds of reptiles swarming 
 in the water, and the chance that the weeds would keep 
 the trunk motionless in mid-channel ! But an3^thing 
 would be better tlian remaining on the island ! And so 
 Zermah, with Dy in her arms, climbed along into the 
 branches and pushed off the tree, which immediately began 
 to move with the current. 
 
 She tried to hide among the foliage which partly 
 covered it. The banks were deserted. There was no 
 sound from the island or the cypress grove. Once across 
 the channel the half-breed would hide away till night-time, 
 and then enter the forest without being seen. Hope 
 returned to her. She scarcely gave a thought to the reptiles 
 who swam open-mouthed round the tree and glided over 
 its lower branches. The little girl kept her eyes shut as 
 Zermah clasped her to her breast with one hand, while she 
 held the knife in the other ready to defend herself. But 
 whether it was that the monsters feared the sight of the 
 knife, or were only dangerous in the water, they made no 
 attempt to attack her. 
 
 At length the tree reached the middle of the stream, and 
 was being steadily borne towards the forest. In a quarter 
 of an hour if it did not get caught in the weeds it would 
 ground on the other bank. And then, great as were the 
 dangers she had to face, Zermah thought herself safe from 
 Texar. 
 
 Suddenly she clasped the child more tightly to her. 
 
 There was a furious barking on the island. And soon 
 afterwards a dog came bounding along the river-side. 
 
 Zermah recognized the hound that the Spaniard had left 
 to guard the wigwam. 
 
 With coat bristling with anger and eyes flashing fire, 
 he stood ready to leap among the reptiles that crowded 
 the surface of the water. 
 
 At the same moment a man appeared on the bank. 
 
3^0 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 It was the Texar who had stopped on the island. Warned 
 by the dog's bark, he had run up to see what had happened. 
 His rage at finding Zermah and Dy on the drifting tree 
 may be imagined. He could not follow them, for the barge 
 was on the other side of the stream. Only one thing could 
 he do to stop them, and that was to shoot Zermah at the 
 risk of killing the child. 
 
 He had brought his gun with him, and he did not 
 hesitate to use it. He took careful aim at the half-breed, 
 who tried to cover the child with her body. 
 
 Suddenly the dog in its mad excitement jumped into the 
 water. Texar thought he had better wait to see what it 
 could do. 
 
 The hound swam swiftly towards the tree, and Zermah, 
 knife in hand, was ready. But it was not necessary. 
 
 In a moment the snakes had twisted themselves on to 
 their prey, and with a few bites from its teeth in answer to 
 those from their, venomous fangs the dog had sunk among 
 the weeds. 
 
 Texar saw the dog die before he could help it, and now 
 Zermah was escaping him. 
 
 " Die then ! " he exclaimed. 
 
 But the drifting tree had now reached the opposite bank, 
 and the bullet only grazed the half-breed's shoulder. 
 
 Next moment the tree grounded. Zermah carrying the 
 child stepped ashore and vanished into a clump of reeds. 
 Texar fired again, but missed. 
 
 She had escaped from the Texar on the island, but she 
 was now in danger of falling into the hands of his brother. 
 Her first endeavour was to get as far from Carneral Island 
 as possible. When night came she would make for Lake 
 Washington. Calling up all her strength and energy, she 
 fied along, running rather than walking, and carrying the 
 child in her arms. Dy's little legs refused to run on 
 the irregular ground amid the quagmires that sunk like 
 traps, and the roots that grew in such tangled masses as to 
 be impassable for her. 
 
 She did not seem to feel the weight of her burden. 
 Sometimes she stopped, less to take breath than to listen 
 
THE TWO BROTHERS. 3°^'^ 
 
 to the sounds of the forest. Sometimes she thought she J 
 could hear the bark of the other dog that Texar had taken i 
 with him. Sometimes she thought she could hear the , 
 report of firing in the distance. And she wondered if the ; 
 Southerners had come up with the Federal detachment. ■ 
 Then, when she had recognized that the noises were but ' 
 the cries of a bird, or the breaking of some dry branch, she ; 
 would resume her flight, and full of hope, think nothing I 
 of the dangers that threatened her until she reached the i 
 sources of the St. John's. ' 
 
 For an hour she continued to leave Lake Okee-cho-bee, ' 
 making towards the east, so as to approach the Atlantic ! 
 shore. It appeared probable to her that ships of the - 
 squadron would be cruising off the coast in support of the ! 
 detachment under Captain Howick. ] 
 
 Suddenly she stopped. This time there could be no 
 mistake. A furious barking was heard under the trees, and ,.: 
 it was coming quickly towards her. Zermah recognized | 
 the bark as one she had often heard while the dogs kept i 
 watch round the Black Creek blockhouse. ' 
 
 " The dog is on our track," thought she, " and Texar '. 
 cannot be far off." 
 
 She looked round in search of a thicket, in which she ^ 
 and the child could hide. But the dog was as intelligent 
 as he was fierce, and had been trained to slave-hunting, i 
 would he not scent her out ? \ 
 
 The barking came nearer and nearer, and shouts could i 
 be heard in the distance. i 
 
 A few yards away stood an old cypress-tree, hollow with j 
 age, round which serpentarias and lianas had thrown a i 
 thick network of branchlets. i 
 
 Zermah ran to the hollow, which was just large enough i 
 to hold her and the child, while the network of lianas ] 
 concealed them. j 
 
 But the dog was on their track. A minute afterwards ' 
 Zermah saw him in front of the tree. He barked with re- ; 
 newed fury and sprang at the cypress. ; 
 
 A stab with the knife made him retreat ; and he began ; 
 to bark more furiously than ever. 
 
302 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 A minute or so afterwards voices were heard — those of 
 Texar and Squambo, among others. It was the Spaniard 
 and his companions who were running to the lake in 
 an endeavour to escape from the Federal detachment 
 which they had unexpectedly met in the cypress grove, . 
 and found too strong to resist. Texar's object was to 
 get back to Carneral Island by the shortest way, so as to 
 put a ring of water between the Federals and himself. 
 The Federals would not be able to cross it without a boat 
 After a few hours of respite the Southerners could reach 
 the other side of the islano, and when night came make 
 use of the barge to land on the southern side of the 
 lake. 
 
 When Texar and Squambo reached the cypress -tree in 
 front of which the dog continued to b.irk, they saw that 
 the ground was red with the blood that flowed from an 
 open wound in the flank. 
 
 "Look ! look !" exclaimed the Indian. 
 
 " Is the dog wounded } " asked Texar. 
 
 "Yes ! wounded by a knife^ and not a minute ago. The 
 blood is still smoking," 
 
 " Who could have done it ?" 
 
 And here the dog again jumped at the network of foliage 
 which Squambo lifted aside with the butt end of his gun. 
 
 " Zermali ! " he exclaimed. 
 
 " And the child ! " said Texar. 
 
 " Yes. How did they get away ? " 
 
 "Kill her I Kill Zermah ! " 
 
 I'he half-breed stabbed at the Spaniard, but Squambo 
 snatched away the knife and drew her out from the tree so 
 roughly that the child fell and rolled among a, lot of the 
 giant pezizas, which abound under the cypress-trees. 
 
 At the shock, one of the mushrooms exploded like a gun, 
 and a luminous dust crackled in the air. At the same 
 moment other pezizas went off, and there was a noise all 
 round as if the forest were filled with fireworks. 
 
 Blinded by the myriad spores, Texar had to leave go of 
 Zermah, and the burning dust in Squambo's eyes for a 
 moment rendered the Indian powerless. Fortunately the 
 
THE TWO BROTHERS. 303 
 
 half-breed and child were stretched on the fjround, and lay 
 unharmed while the spores crackled above them. 
 
 But Zeraiah could not escape from Texar. Already 
 the air, after a few more explosions, had become breath- . 
 able. . . . Then a new series of reports began, but this 
 time they were the reports of firearms. 
 
 It was the Federal detachment come up with the 
 Southerners, whom they surrounded in an instant and 
 ordered to lay down their arms. As the order was given, 
 Texar seized hold of the half-breed and stabbed her in the 
 breast. 
 
 " The child ! Carry off the child ! " shouted the Spaniard 
 to Squambo. 
 
 The Indian caught up the girl and had run a stride or 
 two towards the lake, when a gun was fired. He fell dead, 
 shot through the heart by Gilbert Burbank. 
 
 For all had come up, James Burbank and Gilbert, and 
 Carrol, and Perry, and Mars, and the blacks from Camdless 
 Bay, and Captain Howick's seamen, who had made pri- 
 soners of the Southerners. Among the piisoners was 
 'I'exar standing upright by Squambo's corpse. Only a 
 few of the men had escaped towards Carneral Island. 
 
 Dy was in her father's arms and he was clasping her as 
 tightly as if he feared she was to be again taken away from 
 him. Gilbert and Mars were leaning over Zermah endea- 
 vouring to revive her. She still breathed, but she could not 
 speak. Mars held up her head, called to her, kissed her. 
 
 She opened her eyes. She saw the child in Mr. Bur- 
 bank's arms, recognized Mars covering her with kisses, and 
 smiled. Then her eyelids fell. 
 
 Mars stood up, and catching sight of Texar jumped 
 towards him shouting, " Kill Texar ! Kill Texar ! " 
 
 " Stop, Mars," said Captain Howick, " and let us deal 
 with the scoundrel." 
 
 "Now," said he, turning towards the Spaniard, "you are 
 Texar of Black Creek." 
 
 " I have nothing to say," replied Texar. 
 
 "James Burbank, Lieutenant Burbank, Edward Carrol, 
 and Mars, all know you and recognize you." 
 20 
 
304 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 " Be it so ! " 
 
 " Vou are to be shot." 
 
 " Well, shoot ! " 
 
 Then, to the surprise of all who heard her, Dy said to 
 her father, — 
 
 " Father, there are two brothers, two wicked men, who 
 are so much alike—" 
 
 " Two men ? " 
 
 " Yes ! Zermah t<'ld me to tell vou so." 
 
 It would, perhai'S, have been difficult to understand the 
 meaning of these strange words had not the explanation 
 been almost iniuiediatcly given, and in a very unexpected 
 fashion. 
 
 Tcxar had been taken to the foot of a tree. There, 
 lookin;^ James Bnrbank in the face, he .stood smokino a 
 cigaiLtte he had just lighted, when, suddenly, as the firincy- 
 party formed up, a man leaped past them and stood by the 
 Spaniard's .'-ide. 
 
 It was the second Texar, whom the men who had reached 
 Carneral Island had told of his brother's arrest. 
 
 The sight of these two men, so like to each other, ex- 
 plained the child's meaning. Mere at last was the explana- 
 tion of the life of crime and the inexplicable alibis. 
 
 But the broth'-r's intervention cou d not but cause a 
 certain amount of hesitation in carrying out the commo- 
 dore's orders. 
 
 The order for immediate execution only referred to the 
 autln^r (4 the ambuscade in \\hich the officers and men 
 of the Federal boats had perished. The author of the 
 robbery at Camdless Bay and the seizure of the child ought 
 certainly to be taken back to be re-tried at St. Augustine. 
 
 But could not both brothers be considered equally 
 responsible for the long series of crimes they had been able 
 to commit with nnpunity } 
 
 Certainly ! But f!Ut of respect to the law Captain 
 Howick thought it best to put the following question, — 
 
 " Which of you was guilty of the massacre at Kis- 
 simmee ? " 
 
 There was no reply. 
 
THE TWO BROTHERS. 305 
 
 Evidently the Texars intended to say nothing in reply 
 to the questions put to them. 
 
 Zermah alone could tell which was which. The brother 
 who was at Black Creek on the 22nd of March could not 
 be the author of the massacre committed a hundred miles 
 off the same day. Zermah had a means of identifying the 
 man who carried her off. But was she not dead now ? 
 
 No. Supported by her husband she was seen to come 
 forward. In a voice that could hardly be heard, she said, — 
 
 " The man who carried me off is tattooed on the left 
 arm. 
 
 At these words a smile of disdain appeared on the lips 
 of the brothers, who folded up their sleeves and showed on 
 the left arm of each a similar tattoo mark. 
 
 At this new impossibility of distinguishing one from the 
 other, Captain Howick thought it was time to bring the 
 scene to a close. 
 
 " The author of the massacre at Kissimmee is to be shot. 
 Which of you was it ? " 
 
 " I was," said both the brothers together. 
 
 That was enough. At the words the firing-party took 
 aim. 
 
 There was a flash and a report, and hand in hand the 
 Texars fell. 
 
 That was the end of these two men, whose extraordinary 
 resemblance had enabled them for so many years to com- 
 mit crime with impunity. The only human sentiment they 
 could be credited with was this savage friendship of brother 
 to brother which had been theirs till death. 
 
3o6 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 The civil war continued with varying fortune. Some 
 things had recently happened of which James Burbank 
 had not heard since his departure from Camdless Bay, and 
 which he only knew when he got back. 
 
 During this time it seemed as though the advantage 
 rested with the Confederates round Corinth, while the 
 Federals occupied the position of Pittsburg Landing. The 
 Southern army had Johnston as gcncral-in-chief, and under 
 him were Beauregarel, Harder, Braxton- Wragg, and Bishop 
 Polk, an old pupil at West Point ; and these cleverly 
 profited by the shortsightedness of the Northerners, who, 
 on the 5th of April, were surprised at Shiloh. The result 
 of that surprise was the dispersal of Peabody's brigade and 
 the retreat of Sherman. The Confederates, however, paid 
 cruelly for their success, the heroic Johnston being killed 
 as he repulsed the Federal army. 
 
 Such was the first day of the battle of the 5th of April. 
 The day but one after there was another fight along the 
 whole line, and Sherman retook Shiloh. In their turn the 
 Confederates had to retreat before the soldiers of Grant. 
 The struggle was a sanguinary one ; out of eighty thou- 
 sand men engaged, twenty thousand were wounded or 
 killed. 
 
 This was the last news of the war that James Burbank 
 and his companions heard the morning after their return to 
 Castle House, on the 7th of April. 
 
 After the execution of the Texars they had accompanied 
 Captain Howick and his prisoners to the coast. At Cape 
 Malabar one of the vessels of the flotilla had been stationed 
 to cruise off the coast, and in her they were taken to St 
 
CONCLUSION. 307 
 
 Augustine. Thence a gunboat took them from Picolata to 
 Camdless Bay. 
 
 And so all got back to Castle House — even Zermah, who 
 had recovered from her wounds. Carried to the Federal 
 vessel by Mars and his companions, she had had every 
 attention, and in her happiness at having saved little Dy, 
 and restored her to those who loved her, how could she 
 die? 
 
 Mrs. Burbank, with her child near her, gradually recovered 
 her health. With her had she not her husband, her son, 
 Alice (soon to become her daughter), Zermah, and Mars ? 
 And she had nothing to fear henceforth from the scoundrel, 
 or rather, two scoundrels, whose chief accomplices were in 
 Federal hands. 
 
 But a rumour was abroad which, it will be remembered, 
 was mentioned by the brothers at their interview at Carneral 
 IsL'ind. It was said that the Northerners were to abandon 
 Jacksonville ; that Dupont, confining himself to the blockade 
 of the coast, was to withdraw the gunboats that assured 
 the safety of the St. John's. This plan would evidently 
 jeopardize the safety of the planters who held anti-slavery 
 notions, and especially James Burbank. 
 
 The rumour was well founded. On the 8th of April, the 
 day after that on which the family returned to Castle House, 
 the Federals began the evacuation of Jacksonville. A few 
 of the inhabitants, who were favourable to the Unionist 
 cause, thought it better to leave the town, some for Port 
 Royal, others for New York. 
 
 James Burbank did not think it necessary to follow their 
 example. The negroes had returned to the. plantation, not 
 as slaves, but as free men, and their presence would assure 
 the safety of Camdless Bay. The war had entered on a 
 favourable phase for the North, and this allowed of Gilbert 
 remaining on leave at Castle House to celebrate his mar- 
 riage with Alice Stannard. 
 
 The work on the plantation was recommenced. There 
 was no question of putting in force against Mr. B'.irbank 
 the order expelliiK; the fi-oed slaves from Flcrtdan territory. 
 Texar and his companions were no longer at hand to raise 
 
3o8 NORTH AND SOUTH. 
 
 the populace, and the gunboats on the coast would promptly 
 re-establish order at Jacksonville. 
 
 The war dragged on for three more years, and even 
 Florida was destined to receive a few more of its counter- 
 effects. In the month of September of this same year 
 Dupont's flotilla appeared at St. John's Bluffs, near the 
 mouth of the river, and Jacksonville was occupied for the 
 second time. Later on it was occupied by General Seymour 
 for a third time, after a trifling resistance. 
 
 On the 1st of January, 1863, a proclamation by President 
 Lincoln abolished slavery in all the States of the Union. 
 But the war did not end till the 9th of April, 1865. On 
 that day, at Appomattox Court House, General Lee sur- 
 rendered with his whole army to General Grant, under a 
 capitulation which did honour to both parties. 
 
 The sanguinary struggle of North against South had 
 lasted four years. It had cost two thousand seven hundred 
 millions of dollars, and killed more than half a million of 
 men ; but slavery was abolished throughout North America. 
 And by it was assured the indivisibility of the Republic 
 of the United States, thanks to the efforts of those Ameri- 
 cans whose ancestors a century before had freed their 
 country in the War of Independence. 
 
 END OF THE SECOND AND LAST PART. 
 
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