"Now, my young friend, it will be well to beat a retreat before these rascals discover that we are alone," he said. We were about to do as he proposed, when, unfortunately, one of the blacks, who was nearer to us than the rest, looked round, and seeing no one besides us, shouted to his companions. Now one stopped, now another, till the whole party came to a stand-still, turned round, and faced us. "Spring back and try to get under cover," said Mr Talboys in a low voice. "If the fellows advance, fire; but not till then. I'll speak to them." He then shouted, "You have carried off two young people from my house. Give them up at once unhurt, and we will not punish you as you deserve; but if they're injured, not one of you shall escape hanging." "We not got de young white folks here," sang out a voice from among the negroes. "You talk ob hanging, massa; take care we not hang you. What we stop here for?" continued the speaker to his companions; "dere not many dere, or dey cum on." From the way the blacks were looking, I guessed that they were trying to discover how many persons were opposed to them; but as yet they fancied that there were others behind us. "Do you quietly retreat, my young friend," said Mr Talboys in a low voice. "Make your way back to the house as fast as you can, and tell them to be on their guard. I can manage these fellows as well alone, and your life would be needlessly risked by remaining." "I will do as you wish, sir; but if there's to be fighting, I should prefer to stay by you," I answered. "I'll try to avoid it, then," said my friend, and once more he spoke to the blacks. "If the young folks are not with you, tell me where they are." "We know nothin'," answered the black. "Maybe by dis time dey hang from de branch ob one tree." "I don't believe that any of you would have had the cruelty to kill them," he cried out. "Do as I wish you," he continued, in a low voice, to me. Still I could not bring myself, for the sake of saving my own life, to leave him to be taken by the blacks; for it seemed to me that he would have but a small chance of escaping from them. I was hesitating, when I heard a shout from beyond where they were standing, and presently a number more rushed up, who by their furious gestures, as soon as they saw us, seemed to threaten our immediate destruction. "I'll kill the first who comes on," cried Mr Talboys. They answered with derisive cries, and several of them levelled their muskets. Mr Talboys and I kept ours pointed at them, sheltering ourselves as we could behind the trunks of two trees which stood close together. Our chance of escaping appeared very small.