l
working for her behoof. She told me afterwards that, having locked
herself in the cabin, she was in a stupor of grief, and felt, when
the vessel moved (believing that it was putting out to sea) that
nothing could save her now. But when she heard the shouts and the
firing, a wild hope sprang up within her; she was possessed with a
strong assurance that something was being attempted for her sake,
and she clasped her hands and prayed that it might have a happy
issue.

Chapter 29: We Bombard The Brig.

'Twas not very long before Uncle Moses was back, bringing welcome
blankets, in which I rolled myself while my clothes were drying at
a fire Joe kindled in the wood. The old negro said that we could
not expect any reinforcements before daybreak, the people being
quite unwilling to march during the night so far from their homes.
He had brought back with him, however, Noah and Jacob on horseback,
and indeed I suspected that without them even Uncle Moses himself
would not have conquered his dread of the bugaboos and faced the
night journey a second time.

Some three hours after daybreak the dusky recruits came dropping in
with weapons of all sorts--firelocks, knives, bludgeons--and with
food, of which I for one was mighty glad, being sharp set after my
swimming and a cold night. The negroes made a great clamour as
their numbers increased--there were soon pretty nearly a hundred of
them, all the able-bodied men on the estate and a fair sprinkling
of women, too. 'Twas hopeless, the noise being so great, to expect
that Vetch would not get a shrewd notion of the size of our force,
and I saw no reason for attempting to conceal it; indeed, I
nourished a secret hope that, being a coward at heart, he would be
daunted at sight of us, and yield up Mistress Lucy on terms. But
this hope soon took wing.

The tide had now left the brig high and dry on the sand. She had
heeled over, but not enough to make it possible for her crew to use
their brass guns against the negroes who crowded the top of the
cliff. They made some attempt to train the guns, but desisted when
they saw that the utmost elevation would reach no higher than
halfway up. But the cliff top was well within range of their
muskets, as one unfortunate negro, approaching the edge too closely
found to his cost. A shot struck him on the leg, and he ran howling
back, causing his companions to scuttle like rabbits into the
woodland.

We had discussed during the night wha