第96章

"Jump into the car at the end, Dan; I will come to you there, and you can tell me all the news.We are going straight on to Columbia.Now, Dan," Vincent went on when he joined him-for in no part of the United States were negroes allowed to travel in any but the cars set apart for them-" what is your news? The chief constable telegraphed that they had, as we expected, been joined by Pearson here.""Yes, sah, dey war here for sure.When I get here I go straight to de constable and tell him dat I was in search of two men who had kidnaped Captain Wingfield's slave.De head constable he Richmond man, and oh course knew all about de family; so he take de matter up at once and send constable wid me to seberal places where it likely dat the fellows had put up, but we couldn't find nuffin about dem.Den next morning we go out again to village four mile out of de town on de north road, and dere we found sure 'nough dat two men, wid negro wench and chile, had stopped dere.She seem bery unhappy and cry all do time.De men say dey bought her at Richmond, and show do constable of de village do paper dat dey had bought a female slabe Sally Moore and her chile.Do constable speak to woman, but she seem fright cued out of her life and no say anything.Dey drive off wid her early in do morning.Den we make inquiries again at do town and at do station.We find dat a man like Pearson get out.He had only little hand-bag with him.He ask one of do men at do station which was do way to do norf road.Den we find dat one of do constables hab seen a horse and cart wid two men in it, with negro woman and child.One of do men look like Yankee-dat what make him take notice of it.We s'pose dat odor man went back to Richmond again.""That is all right, Dan, and you have done capitally.Now at Florence we will take up the hunt.It is a long way down there;and if they drive all the way, as I hope they will, it will take them a fortnight, so that we shall have gained a good deal of time on them.The people at the station are sure to remember the three boxes that lay there for so long without being claimed.Of course they may have driven only till they got fairly out of reach.Then they may either have sold the horse and trap, or the fellow Pearson has with him may have driven it back.But I should think they would most likely sell it.In that case they would not be more than a week from the time they left Richmond to the time they took train again for the south.However, whether they have got a fort-night or three weeks' start of us will not make much difference.With the description we can give of Pearson, and the fact that there was a negress and child, and those three boxes, we ought to be able to trace him."It was twelve at night when the train arrived at Florence.As nothing could be done until next morning Vincent went to an hotel.As soon as the railway officials were likely to be at their offices he was at the station again.The tip of a dollar secured the attention of the man in the baggage-room.

"Three boxes and a black bag came on here a month ago, you say, and lay here certainly four or five days-- perhaps a good deal longer.Of course I remember them.Stood up in that corner there.

They had been checked right through.I will look at the hooks and see what day they went.I don't remember what sort of men fetched them away.Maybe I was busy at the time, and my mate gave them out.However, I will look first and see when they went.

What day do you say they got here?"

"They came by the train that left Richmond at six o'clock on the morning of the 20th.""Then they got in late that night or early next morning.Ah, the train was on time that day, and got in at half-past nine at night.

Here they are-three boxes and a bag, numbers 15020, went out on the 28th.Yes, that's right enough.Now I will just ask my mate if he remembers about their going out."The other man was called.Oh, yes, he remembered quite well the three boxes standing in the corner.They went out some time in the afternoon.It was just after the train came in from Richmond.

He noticed the man that asked for them.He got him to help carry out the boxes and put them into a cart.Yes, he remembered there was another man with him, and a negress with a child.He wondered at the time what they were up to, but supposed it was all right.Yes, he didn't mind trying to find out who had hired out a cart for the job.Dessay he could find out by to-morrow-at any rate he would try.Five dollars are worth earning anyway.

Having put this matter in train, Vincent, leaving Dan at Florence, went down at once to Charleston.Here, after twenty-four hours'

delay, he obtained a warrant for the arrest of Jonas Pearson and others on the charge of kidnaping, and then returned to Florence.

He found that the railway man had failed in obtaining any information as to the cart, and concluded it must have come in from the country on purpose to meet the train.

"At any rate," Vincent said, "it must be within a pretty limited range of country.The railway makes a bend from Wilmington to this place and then down to Charleston, so this is really the nearest station to only a small extent of country.""That's so," the railway man said.He had heard from Dan a good deal about the case, and had got thoroughly interested in it."Either Marion or Kingstree would he nearer, one way or the other, to most of the swamp country.So it can't be as far as Conwayhorough on the north or Georgetown on the south, and it must lie somewhere between Jeifries' Creek and Lynch's Creek; anyhow it would be in Marion County-that's pretty nigh sure.So if I were you I would take rail back to Marion Court house, and see the sheriff there and have a talk over the matter with him.You haven't got much to go upon, because this man you are after has been away from here a good many years and won't be known;besides, likely enough he went by some other name down here.