Chapter 25: I Spend Cludde's Crown Piece.
Thankful as I was for my wondrous escape, my mind still misgave me,
both as to our own ultimate safety and as to what might befall
Mistress Lucy. I did not know the extent of the swamp, and maybe
Vetch and his companion would go back for their horses and,
circling round it, circumvent us. Uncle Moses relieved my fears on
this score, telling me that, while the swamp was little more than
half a mile across, it stretched laterally for several miles, and
we should reach the haven whither we were making long before the
swiftest horses could complete the circuit.
On the other point, the well being of Mistress Lucy, he could give
me no reassurance. 'Twas Wednesday: she came of age tomorrow; even
if Vetch was not aware of this, but believed that Friday, the day
of her birthday celebrations, was the actual birthday, it gave us
terribly little time to concert any movements on her behalf. And so
my joy of having recovered my freedom was tempered by uneasiness.
It was heavy going across this sagging morass. Uncle Moses told me
that we were in no danger of sinking into it so long as we took
short and rapid steps; but we were both mightily fatigued, and my
feet as I lifted them seemed heavy as lead. The negro was in far
worse case than I, and had I not grasped him firmly by the arm and
fairly pulled him along, I think he would never have gained the
other side. Towards the middle the surface of the swamp was nothing
but liquid ooze, and once or twice, in spite of our swamp shoes, we
sank in it up to the ankles.
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