Chapter 3

Dan and Mingo had impressed upon Zena the need for her silence no matter what happened and the child had not cried for her mother. Her grey eyes held an expression of solemnity that troubled the men.

Though carrying Zena the two men caught the fleeing slave traders and their captive family before sundown the next day. The three slavers made a cold camp near a small rock outcropping. Through the trees Daniel and Mingo could see Zena's captive family. They had placed the little girl under a nearby small pine and cautioned her to remain there until they came for her. Then they crept forward to observe their quarry.

Both men studied the captives and their captors carefully. Minutes later they silently crept backwards to likewise create a cold camp a half-mile from the others. Daniel went to retrieve Zena as Mingo laid down for a quick nap. An hour later he awoke to find Zena asleep with her head in Daniel's lap and the big man's arm protectively across her little body.

Quietly Mingo stepped to Daniel's side and bent to discuss their observations.

"They undoubtedly have a guard placed. I can remove him and then we will have the element of surprise working against the other two. If we bind the three tightly, we should be able to cover much distance before they free themselves."

"I've been sittin' here thinkin' on that. Do you think we could find a Creek village nearby to stash 'em? I doubt Zena's mother is able to walk very fast. She looks about ready to deliver that child she's carryin'."

Mingo frowned. "Daniel, you do know that many of the nearby tribes including us Cherokee have begun to own black slaves?"

"Yeah, Mingo, but they don't look black. Shoot, Mingo, they AREN'T black. Look at Zena. Her mama and papa are both as white as she is. How could they have been slaves? Somethin' here doesn't make any sense to me. Those were manumission papers you found, not indentured papers. Right?"

"Correct, Daniel, but the law states that if a person's mother was a slave, the child is also a slave. That's why the document names Zena and her brother also."

"Alright then. But that doesn't explain how two white people can be slaves."

"Yes it does, Daniel. They aren't white."

In the silence that followed Mingo's last words the two men stared at each other in the moonlight. Daniel's mind processed Mingo's words and a look of disbelief flashed across his open countenance. He opened his mouth to speak but Mingo cut him off with a wave of his hand.

"Both of Zena's parents must have had colored mothers. In the eyes of the law that makes them colored too. I know it makes no sense to you, Daniel. Be very glad that it doesn't. If you understood the thinking you would be much the same as those who keep their fellow man in bondage. Slavery is common in all cultures. Remember the Romans? Their slaves had highly specialized skills. Gladiators, grooms, teachers, as well as house servants and cooks."

Once again the Kentucky quiet settled over the camp. Mingo crawled from Daniel's side, draped his blanket over the sleeping child and Daniel's blanket around his friend's shoulders. Then, taking his rifle, he slipped into the surrounding forest to take his turn as guard. Daniel leaned back against the tree at his back and fell into a troubled sleep. Alert a few yards away, Mingo's thoughts also haunted his mind.

At first light Daniel and Mingo crept to the edge of the sleeping camp. The guard had been dispatched with a quick blow to the back of the head with the loaded butt of Mingo's whip. Signaling to each other, they silently rose and with cocked rifles stepped into the camp.

"Hope you don't mind but we're takin' your captives." Daniel's voice rang loudly against the camp's boulders. The two slavers rolled and grabbed their rifles but Daniel and Mingo both fired and disabled the other men's guns. Then Mingo uncoiled his whip menacingly. Involuntarily Zena's parents flinched at sight of the weapon and shielded their cowering son. Daniel stepped forward and threw the two broken rifles out of the camp. Mingo helped the trembling woman to stand as her husband lifted his son. He smiled at the frightened woman beside him.

"Don't be afraid. We found your burned out cabin and followed you here. We have Zena safely hidden back in our camp. We have come to rescue you. Please be at ease."

Daniel was already tying the slave traders to two separate trees yards apart from each other. He had relieved the two men of their knives and pulled their arms around each tree trunk. Then he bound their ankles.

"You cain't do this!" The man's voice was whiny and his face twisted in fear. "Injuns might come by and use us for target practice. You already busted our guns and took our knives. How're we supposed to defend ourselves? You've murdered us!"

"You can free yourselves. It'll take some doin', but it's possible. I think you'd best be puttin' you minds to that problem." Daniel tossed the two knives out into the surrounding brush.

He straightened and beckoned to Mingo. Mingo turned to the former captives and gestured. The man stepped forward and extended his hand to Mingo, then Daniel. "I'm Nemo, this is my wife Maida and our boy Leander. Didn't feel right comin' with you and you not knowin' our names."

Mingo and Daniel shook the man's hand. Then all five walked from the slaver trader's camp back to their own. They passed the third man also tied to a tree, still unconscious from Mingo's blow. The family hardly glanced at his limp body. Zena saw them coming and ran forward, her arms open wide to her mother. The weeping woman knelt and embraced her little daughter.

The two Kentuckians broke camp and were on their way in less than ten minutes. Daniel carried Zena and Mingo watched over Leander. Nemo supported his wife. After nearly two hours Nemo called for a halt. Maida was panting and struggling to keep up. Mingo and Daniel exchanged a glance, then Mingo trotted into the forest as Daniel helped Nemo lean his wife against a large elm. Daniel offered his water bag and the heavy woman gratefully drank. Zena and Leander also drank. Nemo refused until Daniel assured him that water would be found nearby.

The tired family and their tall protector sat and rested for nearly an hour. Mingo returned and reported that a deep cave existed about two miles to the northwest. He had also found a small stream not far from the cave. It would be an ideal resting place.

Nemo and Daniel pulled Maida to her feet. With an arm around her shoulders, Nemo started in the direction Mingo indicated. With Zena in his arms Daniel followed. Leander walked behind Daniel. Mingo walked in the rear, acting as protector to the small band.

In an hour the exhausted party entered the cave. It was rather like a long tunnel that extended deep into the earth. Its sloping floor was damp. Ten feet inside the tunnel Daniel stopped and set Zena on her feet.

"You folks rest. Mingo'n I'll make this place comfortable and get some water for coffee. Be back in a bit." Daniel followed Mingo out of the cave and together the two men gathered armfuls of forest duff and evergreen branches to place on the cave's damp, cold floor. They spread their blankets over the material and helped Maida, Zena and Leander lay back to sleep. Leaving Nemo standing guard with Mingo's knife in his hand, the two friends split apart.

They quickly gathered large armfuls of firewood, built a fire, and spoke words of encouragement to the weary travelers. Mingo filled the coffee pot with water from the nearby stream and returned to the cave. Daniel disappeared into the woods to hunt. When he returned two hours later with a fat doe, he and Mingo knelt beside each other and prepared the carcass.

"Where are we taking these people, Daniel? They have no cabin and Maida is near the time of delivery. I worry that she will go into labor before we can get her back to the settlement."

Daniel nodded. "Me, too. I was thinkin' to take 'em to Boonesborough. Then after the baby comes they can go back to their place and rebuild if they want to. Or they can stay in Boonesborough. Their cabin is awful far away from anyone else. They'd be a sight safer nearer a settlement."

The two men worked in silence for several minutes. Suddenly Daniel cleared his throat.
"Mingo, I been thinkin' about this since yesterday. Nemo and Maida both look white. Nemo's hair is near straight and almost red. Maida's eyes are as blue as Rebecca's. Zena's skin is like milk. And Leander's skin is like coffee, his dark hair is real curly and he's got brown eyes. Do you think maybe he's not really their boy?"

"No, Daniel. It is quite possible that Leander is their child just as Zena is their child. This is the quandary of classifying people by skin color. Leander faces a lifetime of difficulty that his full sister will not face simply because of his appearance. I knew a family like them in Williamsburg years ago. There were four children in the family, and three looked like Leander but one was as light-skinned as Zena. They were all slaves of a wealthy merchant there."

Mingo's voice faded away as the memories overtook his mind. Beside him Daniel sliced the venison into thin strips for roasting. Neither man spoke as their hands performed the familiar tasks while their minds explored the unfairness of man's world and the irrationality of prejudice.