The fact that they had
lost their master, that his household was without a head, that the
calamity of Kaskaskia involved their future, then took possession of
both poor fellows, and the great heart of Africa shook the boat with
sobs and groans and useless cries for help.
"Come out here, you black rascals!" called a voice from the log dam.
Angelique lifted her head. Colonel Menard was in plain sight, resting
his arms across a tree, and propping a sodden bundle on branches.
Neither Angelique nor his men had turned a glance through the eastern
gap, or thought of the stream sweeping to the dam. The spot where he
sank, the broken floor, the inclosing walls, were their absorbing
boundaries as to his fate. As the slaves saw him, a droll and sheepish
look came on their faces at having wailed his death in his living ears.
They shot through the door vigorously, and brought the boat with care
alongside the trunk supporting him.
The colonel let them take tante-gra'mere in. He was exhausted. One arm
and his cheek sunk on the side of the boat, and they drew him across it,
steadying themselves by the foliage upreared by the tree.
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