Chapter 4

Mingo sat alone and stared at the stars above him. He was sitting near the mouth of the cave standing his time as guard. Midnight had passed and Daniel had roused him from a troubled sleep. His mind wandered to the slave family he had known in Williamsburg. All the years he had lived in exquisite freedom they had been enslaved. Having escaped a kind of bondage himself he had a better understanding of the family now in his care.

Upon his return to Boonesborough he planned to seek out Rebecca and discuss his new understanding with her. She too had known people in bondage as indentured servants. Likewise Jericho Jones. His scholarly mind reached for understanding. His compassionate heart reached with a different purpose.

The sound of footsteps broke his reverie. He recognized Nemo's footsteps and relaxed against the cave wall. The other man sat beside him and gazed at the heaven bright with summer stars. They sat in silence for several minutes, then Nemo sighed and turned to face the Indian beside him.

"Mr. Boone said you're a Cherokee, but your father is white. Like mine."

Mingo nodded and waited for the other man's questions to begin.

"Am I bothering you? I don't want to do that. I owe you and Mr. Boone more than I could repay in a life time. You had no cause to come after us, no stake in our freedom, yet you interfered and freed us. Why did you do that?"

"It was the right thing to do. We could tell from the look of your place that whoever lived there was taken by force. We knew that you had children with you. Neither Daniel nor I turn our backs when we know someone needs our help. It really is as simple as that."

Nemo's eyes flashed in the darkness as he searched Mingo's face. "I'm sorry. It's just that I don't trust anyone anymore. Master Matheson was good to me and mine. He was a fair man. But his boy's wife is a mean woman and she sent those men after us, even though we were set free when the master died. She just didn't like knowin' that her husband's daddy set us all free. Me and mine rankled the worst because we look white and my wife is actually kin to her husband. She didn't want that fact to ever come out."

Mingo sighed deeply at Nemo's recitation. He looked at the other man's pale skin and light eyes. Once again he shook his head at the insanity of slavery.

"I know that you and Mr. Boone won't try and enslave us. I was worried at first when you took us. We have papers back at the cabin to prove what I'm tellin' you. If you'll come with me after we get Maida safely to Boonesborough, I can show you."

"That's not necessary, Nemo. I…"

Nemo broke into Mingo's sentence with his own. "It is necessary Mingo. That way you'll never have any doubt about what I'm tellin' you."

Mingo smiled and stood. "Stay here. I'll be right back." He melted into the darkness of the cave and returned with a small metal box in his hand. Gently he handed the box to Nemo, who took it carefully. His light eyes lit with joy when he found the papers safely folded inside.

"You found it! You knew all along that we were freed slaves. You risked yourselves for a family of slaves. Why?"

"I told you why, Nemo. It was the right thing to do. You are free citizens of Virginia, and Kentucky is bound to Virginia. Therefore you are free citizens of Kentucky. But it would not have mattered. We would have followed you even if you were escaped slaves. To both of us, slavery is wrong. We would have taken you from those who held you captive even if we did not know you were free."

Nemo silently looked down at the paper in his hands. "Mingo, life is going to be hard for Leander. Do you think he'll be accepted in Boonesborough? Are you?"

Mingo pursed his lips for a few seconds, then carefully answered the worried father. "Nemo, as with all people there are some in Boonesborough that judge another by the color of his skin. I have experienced that firsthand. But there are also others that do not. It will not be easy for Leander, and I can see that such strife may drive a wedge between him and the rest of your family. I also think that you and your wife can help him through that strife. More than this I cannot tell you."

Nemo nodded and squeezed Mingo's arm in silent gratitude. Then he rose and walked into the cave to finish out the night. When dawn broke Mingo entered the cave and found the family side by side on the pallet of evergreen boughs. Daniel sat up and stretched.

A quick breakfast was made and then the three men discussed their options. Daniel and Mingo thought it best for one of them to return to Boonesborough, get some saddle horses and come back so the children and Maida could ride rather than walk. Two days would be spent. If Maida and the children tried to walk, the time would be much longer. Nemo listened to their argument and agreed with the other two men. Daniel shouldered his pack, hefted his rifle and saluted them as he stepped out of the cave.

Maida lay sleeping on the evergreen pallet. The two children lay beside her, also sleeping. Nemo stood looking down at his family, tenderness beaming from his face. Mingo went to check the nearby surroundings. The summer day was alive with bird song and insect buzz. When he returned Nemo was also asleep beside his family. Mingo climbed a nearby sweet gum and surveyed the wider area. There was no sign of the slave traders. He sat perched in the tree for several hours, enjoying the rocking motion as the tree swayed in the summer breeze.

In the late afternoon he climbed back down and went to join the happy family. They ate their meal of roasted venison and drank black coffee. Mingo told Cherokee tales and the Mathesons told tales they had heard from their African slave fellows. Then the family sang spirituals they had learned and Mingo sang Cherokee and English songs. The fire burned brightly and the new bonds brought pleasure to all five people.

Nemo insisted on standing watch and Mingo turned over his rifle with thanks. He curled up before the little fire and fell quickly asleep. Maida and the children lay side by side on the blanket and joined him in peaceful slumber.

Late in the evening of the following day Daniel arrived with the horses. Beside him was Rebecca. Mingo lifted her down and hugged her in greeting. Introductions were quickly made and Rebecca took over the camp cooking. She would accept no help from Maida. Instead she offered her soft wool shawl and beckoned the weary woman to sit and watch. The two children played tag through the trees near the cave mouth. Mingo and Daniel picketed the horses and cared for them while Nemo took a bucket to the stream for water.

The meal was ready in no time and everyone relaxed and ate Becky's pot of venison stew, sopping up the broth with chunks of her freshly made bread. The seven happy people sang the moon up, then bedded down for the night. Becky distributed the blankets she had brought, then she and Daniel went to bed beneath the trees. Mingo took the first watch, promising to waken Nemo at midnight. Soon the immediate vicinity was filled with the quiet slumber of easy minds and happy hearts.