Chapter 9 The Family's Feud The next Sunday, we all went to church.
After dinner that night, Miss Sophia asked me to get her Bible from the church because she had forgotten it there.
I went to the church and found her Bible.
It seemed strange to me that she would be so nervous about it.
When I shook the book, a note fell out with half-past-two written on it.
When I got home, Miss Sophia took me to her room and looked in the Bible.
When she found and read the note, she asked if I had read it.
I lied and told her I couldn't read.
Then she hugged me and told me to go out and play.
Outside, one of the slaves was following me.
When I asked him why, he said he had something important to show me.
I followed him down to the swamp far from the house.
He pointed to an area in the distance, told me to look there, and then left.
I found a little open patch as big as a bedroom hung all round with vines.
There was a man laying there asleep.
It was old Jim.
I woke him up.
He was so happy to see me that he nearly cried.
He said he'd followed me in the water the night we were separated, but he couldn't call out for me because he was afraid someone would have hurt him and caught him.
Why didn't you come and get me sooner, Jim?
Well, I've been busy gathering supplies and fixing the raft.
What raft, Jim?
Our old raft.
You mean it wasn't smashed to pieces?
No, she was torn up a good bit, but I was able to fix her up just fine.
When I saw that you were safe in the old house, I made friends with some of their slaves and they kept me hidden here.
I told Jim to stay put and then headed back up to the house.
I don't want to talk much about the next day.
I reckon I'll cut it pretty short.
I woke up early and noticed how still it was.
There didn't seem to be anybody stirring, which was unusual.
Buck was gone and the house was empty.
I went outside and asked one of the slaves, who told me that Miss Sophia had run away with one of the shepherds and they were in love.
Both families were off in a battle with each other now.
I ran toward the river and soon heard guns.
I climbed up a tree and watched the battle.
It was horrible.
The two families were fighting fiercely and shooting at each other.
I found Buck, and he told me about Miss Sophia running away with young Harney Shepherds, and Buck said they got across the river safely.
I was glad of that, but Buck was angry that he never shot Harney.
I'd never heard anything like it.
All of a sudden, bang, bang, bang, went three or four guns.
Buck and the boys with him jumped for the river.
Both of them seemed to be hurt.
As they swam down the current, some men ran along the bank, shooting at them.
It made me so sick that I almost fell out of the tree.
I won't tell all that happened next.
It'd make me sick again if I was to do that.
I wish I'd never come ashore that night to see such things.
I won't ever forget that.
I stayed in the tree until it began to get dark.
I was afraid to come down.
Sometimes I heard guns away off in the woods.
Twice I saw gangs of men gallop past with guns, so I reckoned the trouble was still going on.
I was mighty downhearted.
I made up my mind I wouldn't ever go near that house again.
I thought I was to blame somehow.
I judged that piece of paper meant that Miss Sophia was to meet Harney somewhere at half-past two and run off.
I should have told her father about that paper and the curious way she acted.
Then maybe this awful mess wouldn't have happened.
When I got down out of the tree, I clapped along down the riverbank.
Cried a little for Buck, for he had been mighty good to me.
It was dark now.
I never went near the house, but struck through the woods and made for the swamp.
My souls, but I was scared.
I raised a yell.
A voice nearby said, Is that you?
It was Jim's voice.
Nothing ever sounded so good before.
I ran along the bank and got aboard our raft.
Jim was so glad to see me that he grabbed me and hugged me.
Then he said, Bless you, child.
I was sure you were dead again.
Slaves came earlier and they thought you'd been shot.
I'm so glad to get you back again.
All right.
That's mighty good.
They won't find me.
They'll think I've been killed and floated down the river.
Don't lose time, Jim.
Just shove off for the big water as fast as you can.
I was powerfully glad to get away from the fighting, and so was Jim to get away from the swamp.
We said there was no home like a raft, after all.
Other places do seem so cramped up and smothery, but a raft doesn't.
You feel mighty free and easy and comfortable on
