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His knowledge of these men his having counselled me to play there the accident, to say the least, a strange one, of our again meeting with the "sportsmen" of the boat, and under such a new phase the great celerity with which my purse had been "cleared out" all these circumstances passing rapidly through my mind, led me naturally enough to suspect D'Hauteville of treason.
Aurore Besancon is not a slave!" Gayarre started, as though some one had thrust a knife into him. "Who says that?" he demanded, though with a voice that evidently faltered. "I!" replied the voice; and at the same instant a young man leaped upon one of the benches, and stood with his head overtopping the crowd. It was D'Hauteville! "I say it!" he repeated, in the same firm tone.
At length an idea suggested itself a plan so feasible that I could not help communicating it to D'Hauteville, who like myself was awake. The plan was simple enough, and I only wondered I had not thought of it sooner. What could be better than this? There would be no difficulty in his obtaining the horses at Bringiers the carriage more likely.
I shall not repeat the words to which we listened. I shall not detail the speeches of that mean villain at first fulsome and flattering then coarse, bold, and brutal; until at length, failing to effect his purpose by entreaties, he had recourse to threats. D'Hauteville held me back, begging me in earnest whispers to be patient.
His being thus late did not shake my faith in him. There was some difficulty about his obtaining the money, for it was money I expected him to bring. He had hinted as much. No doubt it was that that was detaining him; but he would be in time. He knew that her name was at the bottom of the list the last lot Lot 65! Notwithstanding my confidence in D'Hauteville I was ill-at-ease.
The very same thought had occurred to myself. No doubt they were returning to their homes the overseer to the plantation Besancon, and the trader to his own house which I know to be farther down the coast. I now remembered having often seen this man in company with Gayarre. The thought had occurred to myself as D'Hauteville spoke, but how knew he?
I had taken my stand in such a situation, that I could still command a view of the entrance. More than ever was I anxious about the coming of D'Hauteville. Aurore had been placed near the foot of the rostrum. I could just see the edge of her turban over the shoulders of the crowd. By elevating myself on my toes, I could observe her face, which by chance was turned towards me.
Wrapped with several letters which had been exchanged between them was a detailed account of the unfortunate affair in his father's crooked writing, and inside of all a bill of divorce, which had been obtained in Illinois previous to the elder Ravenel's marriage with the beautiful Julie D'Hauteville, of New Orleans.
We might have been left undisturbed until nightfall, and it was my design to have then recrossed the lake, landed at some new point, and, under the guidance of the Bambarra, get back to the Levee Road, where we were to meet D'Hauteville with the horses. Thence, as originally agreed upon, to the city.
We might yet find them near at hand, with trailing bridles, cropping the grass. Without loss of time we went in search of them D'Hauteville took one direction, I another, while Aurore remained in the thicket of the pawpaws. I ranged around the neighbourhood, went back to the fence, followed it to the road, and even went some distance along the road.
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