"No, no; don't ask now, Master Nic," whispered Pete. "You aren't fit to know now. I'm with you, my lad, and I swear I won't forsake ye."

"You--you will not forsake me?" said Nic, with a look of horror.

"Never, my lad, while I've got a drop o' blood in my veins. Don't-- don't look at me like that. It waren't all my fault. Wait a bit, and I'll tell you everything, and help you to escape back to the old country."

"To the old country!" whispered Nic, whose voice was panting again from weakness. "Where are we, then?"

"Amerikee, among the plantations, they say."

"But--but why? The plantations? What does it mean?"

"Work," said Saunders, who had come up behind them. "Now then, look sharp, and eat your bread. You'll get no more till to-morrow morning, and in less than half-an-hour we shall start."

"Start?" cried Nic huskily, as he clapped his hands to his head and pressed it hard, as though he felt that if he did not hold on tightly his reason would glide away again.

"Yes, man, start," said Saunders. "Can you two fellows row?"

"He can't, sir; he's too weak," cried Pete eagerly; and the overseer's face contracted. "But I can. Best man here with an oar. I can pull, sir, enough for two."

"I'll put you to the proof before you sleep," said the overseer sharply.

"Now, Mr Groves, I'm at your service. I suppose I have some papers to sign?"

"Yes," said the agent, and he led the way, while the overseer followed, closing the door, placing a whistle to his lips and blowing a shrill note which was answered by a deep baying from the dogs.

"Escape!" muttered Nic wildly. "Plantations! Why, I shall be a slave!"

"No, no, my lad; don't take it like that. I'll help you to get away."

"Will ye?" growled Humpy Dee, coming towards them. "Then I tells that chap next time he comes. I splits on you as you splits on we; so look out, I say, both of you; look out!"

"It's a lie, Master Nic--a lie," cried Pete fiercely. "I swear to you, I never--"

Pete caught at the young man's arm as he spoke, and then loosened it with a groan, for, with a look of revulsion, Nic cried hoa.r.s.ely:

"Don't touch me; don't come near me. Wretch--villain! This is all your work."

"And so say we, my fine fellow," cried Humpy Dee, whose eyes sparkled with malignant joy. "His doing, every bit, 'cept what you put in, and for that you've got to take your share the same as us. And all because a few poor fellows wanted a bit o' salmon. Hor, hor, hor! I say, take it coolly. No one won't believe ye, and you may think yourself lucky to get off so well."

Nic turned from the man with a look of disgust, and sat up, resting his throbbing head in his hands; while, as Humpy Dee went back to his companions, whistling as he went, Pete threw himself upon the floor, watching him, with his hands opening and shutting in a strange way, as if they were eager to seize the brutal ruffian by the throat.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN.

CHAINS AND SLAVERY.

Pete calmed down after a while, and began to feel a bit sulky. He had common-sense enough to begin looking at the state of affairs from a matter-of-fact point of view, and he lay conning the position over.

"Just as he likes," he said. "He pitches me over, and won't have any more to do with me. Well, it aren't no wonder, zeeing what I've been.

Wonder what made me turn so zoft and zilly about him! Zeeing how hard it was for him to be zarved as he was, and then hooked off along with us."

"Dunno that it's any worse for him than it is for me," he muttered; "but zeemed to feel a bit sorry about him, poor lad!--there I go again: poor lad! No more poor lad than I be. Got it into my thick head that it was nice to help him while he was so bad, and that, now our lads have pitched me overboard, we was going to be mates and help one another.

But we aren't, for he's pitched me overboard too."

"Well," muttered Pete, with a bitter laugh, "I can zwim as well as most on 'em, and I shan't hurt much; and as for him, he must take his chance with the rest on us. He's got his wits back again, and don't zeem like to go wool-gathering again; and, if he's sharp, he'll speak up and make that t'other man understand it's all a blunder about him being sent off along o' we. But there, he wants to go his own fashion, zo he must.

But if I was him I should kick up a dust before we start, and have myself zent back home by the next ship."

He glanced in the gloom at where Nic was seated, and a feeling of sorrow for the poor fellow filled him again; but after the rebuff he had received he fought it off, and began to watch Humpy Dee and the others, as they sat together talking in a low tone, and then to meditate on their position towards himself.

"They're half-afraid of Humpy," he thought, "and he's made 'em think that I zet the sailors at them. If I go on talking till it's a blue moon they won't believe me, zo things must go their own way, and zome day they'll find Humpy out; on'y I'm not going to let him do as he likes with me. This isn't going to be a very cheerful zort of life out here; but, such as it is, it's better than no life at all; zo I aren't going to let him pitch me into the river or down some hole, or knock me on the head, or stick a knife into me. That won't do. It's murder--leastwise it is at home; p'raps it aren't out here. Zeems not after the way that chap talked about shooting us down and zetting them dogs at us. Why, one of 'em's stronger than us, and a zet-to wi' one of 'em wouldn't be nice. Bit of a coward, I s'pose, for I can't abide being bitten by a dog."

"Best thing I can do will be to slip off first chance; for I zeem, what with Humpy and these folk, to have dropped into a nasty spot. Dessay I can take care of myself, and--nay, that won't do; zeem sneaky-like to go and leave that poor lad, for I do zort o' like him. Wonderful how they dogs took to him. Nay, that aren't wonderful. Got a lot o' zense, dogs have. Allus zeem to take to zick people and little tiny children, and blind folk too. How they like them too!"

At that moment there was a deep baying sound not far-away, and Pete had not long to wait before there were steps, the door was unlocked and thrown open, and the overseer entered, accompanied by the dogs, and followed by a party of blacks, one of whom carried a roughly-made basket.

They were big, muscular fellows, and shiny to a degree whenever the light caught their skins, a good deal of which was visible, for their dress consisted of a pair of striped cotton drawers, descending half-way to the knee, and a sleeveless jacket of the same material, worn open so that neck and breast were bare.

The dogs barked at the prisoners, and repeated their examination by scent, ending by going well over Nic, who made no attempt to caress them, nor displayed any sign of fear, but sat in his place stolidly watching the proceedings, the dogs ending their nasal inspection by crouching down and watching him.

The overseer was alone now, and his first proceeding was to take his stand by the black, who had set down the heavy basket, and call Humpy Dee to come forward, by the name of Number One.

The man rose heavily, and this seemed to be a signal for the three hounds to spring to their feet again, making the man hesitate.

"Them dogs bite, master?" he said.

"Yes; they'll be at your throat in a moment if you make the slightest attempt to escape," said the overseer sharply.

"Who's going to try to escape?" grumbled Humpy.

"You are thinking of it, sir," said the overseer. "Mind this," he continued--drawing the light jacket he wore aside and tapping his belt, thus showing a brace of heavy pistols--"I am a good shot, and I could easily bring you down as you ran."

"Who's going to run?" grumbled Humpy. "Man can't run with things like these on his legs."

"I have seen men run pretty fast in fetters," said the overseer quietly; "but they did not run far. Come here."

Humpy shuffled along two or three steps, trailing his irons behind him, and the overseer shouted at him:

"Pick up the links by the middle ring, sir, and move smartly."

He cracked his whip, and a thrill ran through Nic.

Humpy did as he was told, and walked more quickly to where the overseer stood; but before he reached him the herculean black who stood by his basket, which looked like a coa.r.s.ely-made imitation of the kind used by a carpenter for his tools, clapped a hand upon the prisoner's shoulder and stopped him short, making Humpy turn upon him savagely.

"Ah!" roared the overseer, as if he were speaking to one of the dogs.

Humpy was overawed, and he stood still, while the black bent down, took a ball of oak.u.m out of the basket, cut off about a foot, pa.s.sed the piece through the centre ring of the irons, and deftly tied it to the prisoner's waist-belt. Then, as Nic and Pete watched, the action going on fascinating them, the black made a sign to one of his companions, who dropped upon his knees by the basket, took out a hammer, and handed it to the first black. Then the kneeling man lifted out a small block of iron, which looked like a pyramid with the top flattened, clapped it on the floor, and the first black began to manipulate Humpy as a blacksmith would a horse he was about to shoe, dragging him to the little anvil with one hand, using the hammer-handle to poke him into position with the other.

"Going to take off his irons," thought Pete, and the same idea flashed across Nic's mind.