THE SICK BOY 137 



They came at last to a knoll in the great cane-brake. 

 His wife rushed out to welcome him, and his children 

 followed her. His wife heard his story of meeting the 

 white hunter, and the children made friends with the 

 dog. 



He told his tale in the evening as they all partook of 

 a repast. His master had sustained heavy losses, and was 

 compelled to sell a part of his estate and some of his slaves. 

 He had sold this man's wife and children to a planter some 

 hundred miles distant. They could not live apart, so he 

 contrived means of meeting his own and planned an escape 

 into these dread swamps of mire and poison, happy at heart 

 if he could be with his own. A hell were a heaven if he 

 could be with his own. 



They had escaped in a hurricane, and he had found this 

 retreat, where alligators, serpents, and poisoned air would 

 be his defense, for the sake of his own. 



" I wish you could secure for us a common master," 

 said he. 



His tale went to the heart of Audubon. 



He resolved to go to one of the negro's former mas- 

 ters and try to arrange for a safe return of the fugitives 

 to a single plantation. 



He put aside the ibises he had found in the cane-brake 

 for this act of humanity. He found the first master of the 

 fugitive family, and appealed to his heart. 



The planter heard his story with willing ears. He would 



