Drum (68 page)

The strange light continued. It was not his imagination. The fire his flesh had fed on had become a strange reality, flickering and pulsating on the walls. The entire window was filled with a strange light which flickered and danced into the room. He raised her face to his, kissed her lightly and sprang out of bed. Over the treetops he could see a blazing inferno that sent streamers of flame high into the black sky.

"Fire!"

chapter xt

Drumson ran to the window. The night sky was bright with color and, high over the treetops, flames were rising in giant tongues of orange and scarlet, licking at the blackness of the sky and then cascading down in showers of golden sparks. Frozen in inarticulate terror, Drumson continued to stare out of the window, trying to gather his thoughts into some form of action.

Fire! The realization unfroze him and he ran to the door, frantic now. With his finger on the latch, he became conscious of his nakedness and snatched his pants from the floor, marveling for an instant how red-skinned his body was from the reflected light.

"Quick, Regine, dress!" He shocked her from her apathy, but she could only grab the hand that was shaking her and cover it with kisses. "Rouse all de servants on dis floor. Tell Merc or Jupe run out to de bam and git the men there. I'll go to Masta Hammond." He forgot to fasten the button on the waistband of his pants and now as he started down the stairs, the pants fell and tripped him. The second-floor landing broke his fall and as he stood up, dazed, to gather his trousers around him, he took another step and stumbled over the shoes he had left on the landing. He pushed open the door to his own room, which was also lit up by the fire, and noticed that Bruno had taken his suggestion and was now bedded with Brutus.

"Fire! Fire!" he cried. He shook them both, although it was needless for they were both awake, though quite oblivious to the strange light in the room.

Without waiting for them to get up, he rushed down the stairs and through the main house to Hammond's room. The door was bolted on the inside. His fists beat a frenzied tattoo on the panels.

"Masta Hammond, Masta Hammond," he screamed. "It's me, Drumson. Get up! Fire, Masta Hammond, fire!"

He could hear hasty footsteps in the room, footsteps that seemed too Ught for a man. He heard the bolt inside being slipped back. Then the door flew open under his pounding, with such force that it hit Hammond on the forehead, nearly stunning him.

"You goddam nigger son of a bitch. What you mean a-poundin' on the do' fer?" It was dark in Hammond's room because the shutters, despite the heat, were all tightly closed, but some of the brightness filtered in around the edges, enough so that Drumson could see a froth of white flounces scurrying up the stairs.

Miss Augusta! the thought flashed across his mind.

"Open de shutters, Masta Hammond. Somethin' a-burnin' over to de ol' house. Fire goin' up in de sky."

Hammond hurried to the windows. One look told him the story. In the light Drumson saw Hammond's nightshirt, a pool of white on the floor. Grabbing up his master's trousers he handed them to him, then dashed up the stairs to the room above where he found Augusta tying the belt of her dressing gown.

"Fire, Miz 'Gusta," he cried, and ran on through the house to awaken the guests. Each of the Rowe sisters sat bolt upright in bed, believing the end of the world had come when they saw a half naked Negro running through their room yelling "fire." He roused the Holcombs, the Gasaways and the Redfields and then returned to the lower floor. Hammond was in the kitchen and all the servants were down, except Clytie. Ajax, Caleb, the Holcomb coachman and the old man who drove for the Rowe sisters were in from the bam.

"Get all the kettles, buckets and big pans out and we'll take 'em over to the old house," Hammond ordered. "Don' jes' know what we kin do. That ol' house made of pine and she go up like tinder. Shore hope Ellen and the kids got out. Hope it don' spread to the cabins and the sheds. Here," he fumbled in his pocket and withdrew a key which he threw to Brute. "Run over and unlock the sheds and let the boys and girls out. Tell 'em we'll all be over in a minute."

He was interrupted by a knocking on the outside kitchen door. The pounding was enough to break the door down and Drumson ran to open it. It was Big Pearl. She paused on the step outside, not daring to enter, and she was panting so it was almost impossible for her to speak. Her eyes were rolling wildly and she leaned against the side of the door, trying to support herself.

"Don' go out, Masta Hammond. Don' go out. They'sj a-comin' here. They's a-goin' to kill you, Masta Hammond." ''

"Who's a-comin'? Who's a-goin' to kill me?" Hammond helped Drumson pull her inside.

"Clees, Masta Hammond." Big Pearl was screaming in her hysteria. "Clees and that Meg and Alph and them niggers what come las' night. Some o' our boys too. They got pitchforks and they on they way over here. Heard 'em I did. Lucy say fer me to run over here to tell you. Lucy said fer you not to leave de house."

Lewis Gasaway, Doc Redfield and Holcomb came into , the kitchen. I

"Wha's happenin'. Ham?" Redfield spoke. '

"Don' jes' know. Big Pearl here say the niggers are loose. Clees a-leadin' a uprise. Don' know how many of my boys are in on it, maybe all of 'em, maybe none but those Montgomery niggers are loose. They're bad 'uns. Old house a-burnin' but cain' do nothin' to save it." He turned back to Big Pearl.

"See anythin' of Miz Ellen and the kids?"

It set her off into another fit of screaming and now Lucretia Borgia added her high-pitched wails.

"Ain' seen 'em, ain' seen hide nor hair of 'em. They's burnt, Masta Hammond. Burnt to a crisp." A new series of hysterics had been touched off and now all the women in the kitchen were wailing.

Hammond saw Augusta coming through the doorway, followed by Lou-ella Gasaway.

"For God's sakes, get these screaming women out o' here and get 'em upstairs. Cain' do nothin' in this bedlam."

Augusta managed to slap Lucretia Borgia into sensibility and between the two of them they led Big Pearl away. The rest of the women followed and as Regine passed Drumson, she laid a surreptitious hand on his and squeezed hard.

In the momentary lull of quiet that followed they heard a distant rumble of voices.

"Wha's that?" Ajax held up a warning hand.

Drumson opened the back door a crack and listened. From down in the hollow that separated the two houses, he could hear a shouting that swelled in volume. It sounded like the voices of a hundred men approaching, and as it increased in volume he could distinguish individual words that rose above the tumult.

"Kill 'em! Kill the white bastards! Don' kill de wimmin. I wants me a white woman."

As he stood in the open door listening, he could discern the heads of the shouting men, appearing now over the rise, and then their running forms, silhouetted against the bright light. He slammed the door shut and bolted it.

"They's comin', Masta Hammond. They's comin'."

"You Brute, and you Ajax! Merc, Jupe! You boy"—he pointed to Bruno—"and you otherns. Pile furniture up agin all the windows." Hammond stepped to the door but Drum-son tried to halt him.

"Don' go out, Masta Hammond, don' go out."

"Ain' a-goin', boy. Just goin' to take a peek."

The slaves had massed on the edge of the woods. Shouts were still to be heard but they had stopped their advance. Evidently they had halted for some sort of a council. They were too far away to be seen plainly and if it had not been for the light from the burning house, they would have been invisible. Hammond was relieved to see that there were no flickering torches among them. Evidently they had forgotten to light them from the flames of the old house or had not thought them necessary. He knew that none of them had tinderboxes and without torches there would be little danger of the house burning. It had been his greatest worry—that the house would be turned into a blazing inferno, driving them out into the open where they would be easily overcome by sheer force of numbers.

He had seen all he wanted to see. He knew that he and his guests were in great danger. Slave uprisings were rare indeed but there had been a few instances when they had burned the big house, killed all the whites, and scattered, seeking hiding places in the swamps or mountains. Hammond could not bring himself to believe that his own slaves were all taking part in the revolt. He knew himself to be admired and respected if not actually loved by most of them, but he did not discount the fact that the seeds of rebellion found fertile soil in any slave's mind. He turned to the group of white men who had remained in the kitchen.

"Any of you men got any side arms? All I got here is a brace of pistols. Other guns over to the ol' house. Probably those black bastards found 'em but don' think any of 'em kin shoot. Don' think they ever had a gun in they hands afore."

"Never thought to bring no gun sech a little ways," Gasa-way excused himself.

"Nor I," Doc Redfield added.

"Brought a brace of pistols, but they're out in my coach," Holcomb said.

"If n them varmints armed, and if n any of Montgomery's men knows how to shoot, we ain' got much of a chance to hold this place 'ginst 'em with only four pistols. Lewis, looks like it all depends on you." Hammond singled Out Lewis Gasaway.

"What you mean, Ham?"

"Think you kin sneak out to the bam and get a horse and then ride to Benson?"

"Think I kin."

"Then Ajax, you goes with him. Help him saddle. Then you look in Holcomb's coach and get his brace of pistols and bring 'em back. That'll give us four."

Bruno stepped forward from the dark shadows of the wall to stand in front of his master.

"Them pistols hidden in de coach, Masta Holcomb, suh. Hidden in de little secret cupboard 'hind de seat. Ajax he never fin' 'em. Better let me go with 'im. I finds 'em fast and gets 'em back to the house afore Ajax finish saddlin' the horse."

"All right for Bruno to go?" Holcomb recognized Hammond as in command.

"Kin you trus' him?" Hammond said. "Won' take the guns and run wid 'em?"

"Trust him, I do. Bruno's a good boy. Can we trust you, Bruno?"

"You knows you kin, Masta Holcomb, suh. Am' a-wantin' to go with them niggers."

"I'd let him go, Maxwell, and besides, we'll need him. You wouldn't think it to look at him but that boy's a crack shot. His other master taught him. Kin pick the eyes out of a squirrel, never knew him to miss."

Hammond nodded. "Put out the candle."

With the room in darkness, he slowly opened the door and looked out. He saw nothing nearer than the distant group, and even they were becoming more indistinct as the flames of the old house were dying down. "Now, Lewis, scrouch down and run for the bam, Ajax and Bruno will be behind you. Ride across the fields till you gets to the road. That way the barn will be behind you and the niggers. Wake everyone along the road and tell all the men folks to git here as soon as possible. Tell 'em to wait down at the gates so's they

can come in a body. When you gits to Benson, ring the fire bell. Git as many as you kin. God knows how many we got 'gainst us. And hurry, man." He gave Gasaway a slight push as he bent low to run to the bam, then pushed Ajax and Bruno out after him. He kept the door open a crack until he saw all three gain the bam in safety and then a figure running out from the bam. Bruno reached the back door safely with Holcomb's pistols. In a few moments a horse and rider came out and galloped down across the field, but as Ajax started back to the house, another figure appeared out of the darkness running towards him.

Bruno, without even asking Hammond's permission, pushed the door open wide and knelt on the threshold.

"Come on, Ajax," Hammond yelled. "Look out for the bastard behin' you." He could see a flash of light glitter from the scythe blade in the man's hand.

Bruno fired. The pursuer dropped in his tracks. Hammond reached down, grabbed the boy by the shoulders and pulled him back, waited for Ajax to get inside, then slammed the door and bolted it.

"Good boy. You got that one. Sorry I doubted you. You keeps that gun and guards the back do.' Got more powder and shot?"

Bruno was reloading in the darkness and when he had fiua-ished, he pushed a sUver powder horn and shot into Hammond's hand. Hammond svmmioned them all, except Bruno, into the pantry and there Ut a candle. He handed Holcomb the other of the two pistols, gave one of his own to Redfield and retained the third.

"Know how to load, Drumson?"

"Don' know, Masta Hammiond, suh."

Hammond showed him how to put the powder in, how to use the Uttle ramrod, how to insert the ball, and cock it.

"If'n I fires, I hand it to you to reload. You keep 'hind me. Holcomb, you take this side of the house. Doc, you goes to the other. That boy guards the back and I takes the front. Each one of you get some of my boys to watch with you. Come 'long, Drumson." Hammond walked out into the front hall, Drumson behind him. He heard the swish of skirts descending the staircase and turned to look at Augusta. She came up to Hammond and laid a hand on his arm. He could see Lucretia Borgia's wide face behind her.

"Go back upstairs," he whispered. "You're safer up there and 'sides," he added, remembering her punctiliousness,

"you got a duty to your guests. You got to keep them from hysterickin'."

"I've got another duty that's far more important—being with you. The slaves are rising, aren't they? WTiat chance do we have?"

"I don' know. We got four pistols and no tellin' what they got. Lewis got away on a horse and he's gone to rouse the neighbors. He'll tell 'em all to wait down at the gate, but if things git hot, they'll know 'bout it and not wait for the others. Lewis should get to Benson in 'bout a half hour. Give or take 'nother hour for the men to get dressed and back here. If'n we kin hoi' out for two hours, we pretty safe."

"But can we?"

"Might not. Them niggers wantin' blood tonight. They gone back to Africa. Pizen in their blood tonight. Turns 'em from bein' docile into savages and I don' know how many of them there is."