Bryonia’s statement was so simple that the miners were inclined to believe him. Nux and I, who had crawled nearer to the fire when the pistol shot rang out, could hear distinctly every word, and for a moment I was horrified that Bry should prove false and desert to the enemy. But Nux was chuckling gleefully, and whispered: “Dat Bry, he mighty clever boy, Mars Sam!” So I began to comprehend that Bry was acting a part, with the idea of saving Nux and me from discovery and ultimately recovering the gold. Therefore I kept silent and listened eagerly.
Evidently the miners were not of one opinion concerning the new arrival.
“Let’s kill the nigger,” said Daggett. “Then we won’t run any chances.”
“Don’t be a fool,” retorted Larkin. “Bry can be useful to us. He’s the cook of the ‘Flipper’, I’m told, and besides helping to carry the gold, he can cook our meals when we get to sea, and help sail the ship.”
“If he’s run away from camp, why, he’s one of us,” said Judson, yawning and sitting down again. “And if it comes to a fight, he counts for one more on our side.”
“But he don’t get any gold,” added Dandy Pete.
“Don’t want any gold,” said Bry, composedly. “Only want to get away.”
“All right,” decided Larkin. “You can come along. But you’ve got to obey orders, and the first time I catch you at any tricks, I’ll put a bullet into you.”
Bry grinned from ear to ear, as if he considered this a good joke, and then he warmed his hands over the fire while Judson brought him something to eat from the bundle.
Afterward all lay down to sleep again except Larkin, who resumed his watch. It was too soon to put any trust in Bry, so the black, having eaten his fill, lay down beside the others.
Nux and I cautiously retreated to the rock, and consulted as to what we should do under these circumstances. The black man had perfect confidence in his comrade, and proposed that we should still follow the band of robbers and wait for Bry to find a way to communicate with us and assist us. This seemed reasonable to me, also.
As we were chilled to the bones in the cold night air, Nux suggested that we go into camp until morning, and led me a long distance back into the woods, where we finally came to a deep hollow. Here there would be little danger that a fire could be seen by the robbers; so we gathered together some twigs, and as I had matches in my pocket a fire was soon started that proved very grateful to us both. We then agreed to take turns watching until daylight, and while Nux lay down to sleep I took the first watch. But in some way—perhaps because the fire was so cosy and agreeable,—I gradually lost consciousness, and when morning came both Nux and I awoke with a start to find the fire out and the sun glinting brightly through the trees.