Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1892-11-11
CHAPTER XXVI.
THE We SALE.


THE SLAVE SALE.
At twelve o'clock upon the day after
that on which Gerald Leslie and hs
daughter had been parted by tine pitt
less attorney, the slave auction COM
mencpd.
TIE sale was to take place in public
apartment capable of containing up
ward Of 4 hundred people.
At one end OF this room stood the
roS,r I'M q the auctioneer. while imme-
diateil before his desk was stretched u
long table of rough deal. Upon WHICH
one ~ one the slaN Is took t,,clr places,
while the auctloneer eXpatlatei upon
their merits.
Round this table were placed benches.
on which the BUYERS and looNerS-on
lounged during the auction.
The plantatlon-hands were the first
to be sold, and the sale had lasted for
some hours When Toby, the muiattu.
slowly mounted the table. and took lis
stand before the eager eyes OF The buy
erS.
The counttnance of the slave was
sad and carcW,>Iil; and. rs he assembled
the table. he looked anNiOuSly rnu vi
the room as If seeking among al, t,,,'oa
eager faces for some one Ne eNpHc.e1
to see there.
But it was evident that he looked in
vain, for, after long and earnest
scrutiny of that varied crowd, he
sighed heavily, and his head sank upon
his breast with gesture OF despair.
The bidding lasted for some tune,
and the most perSeverln@ bidder WAS
SllaS Craig himself, who sat on u hP!IrA
close to the table, and amused itluSrlt
by whiting a stick with his bowie
knife.
One by one the other purchasers gave
way, and the mulatCo fell TO the lttor-
ney.
AS the hammer of the auctioneer de
scended upon his desk, thus proclaim-
ing that the bargain was complete. a
singular expression Illuminated the
face of the slave. Toby.
Inat expression seemed one OF min
gled hdte and trlunlpl, and, as lie de-
Scended from the platform, the haua
of the mulattO mechanically sought for
some object hidden in his breast.
That object WAS the knife with which
Franclli,l had stabbed herSelt-the
knife which Toby had offered the day
before to Gerald Leslie.
The mulatto slowly withdrew into Il
corner where some other slaves pur-
chased by Silas Craig We're huddied to-
getier, awaiting the termination OF the
sale.
For some moments there was pause.
Several among the crowd asked what
the next lot was to be. The voice of
the auctioneer responded from his ros-
tram, The OCtOroOn girl, Cora"
Again there was IL pause. Iner2
were few there who did not know the
story OF Gerald Leslie and his daughter
and every one present seemed to draw
IA long breath.
Inc Octoroon emerged from the
group of slaves, behind whom she had
been hidden, and slowly aSUHnded tine
platform.
Meier in her happiest day--never,
VIE. ;rOunded by luxury, when SUI
teli'' ~ adulati0n and respect, naI
Cora leslie looked more.lovely than TO-
day.
Her face was whittier than marble,
! her large dark eyes were Shrouded he
| n@atH their dropping lids, irln3tu with
long and siken lashes; her rich wealth
| OF raven hair had been loOsened by the
rude hands of an oyerSecr. and fell in
| heavy masses far below her waist; her
slender vet rounded figure WaS set OF
| by the soft folds of her simple cambria
dress, which displayed her shoulders
| and arms in all their statuesQue beauty.
One murmur of admiration spread
| Through the assembly us the Octoroon
| took her place at the table.
All there had heard - :he loveliness
| of Gerald Leslie'S daughter, yet few
had expected to see her so lovely.
Eyeglasses were raised, spectacleS
| put on. and looks of insOlent admire
| ton were fixed upon the unhappy girl.
IIt Si N cantor N
| every eve. she Was Scarely conscious Of
how much she had to endure. Her
whole being was absorbed III one
| thought. Her father; would he come,
would he rescue her?
When for one brief instant she lifted
| her eyes, the crowd Of faces swan be
| fore her, as it hidden from her by a
veil of mist.
The sounds of the many voices fell as
| confused murmurs upon her ears.
She was listening for the voice which
| should announce her that help was
near.
But that longed-for voice did not
| come, and she heard instead the harsh
| accents of the auctioneer dwelling up
! on the charms which were to be sold to
| the highest bidder.
AT that moment two men entered
| one OF these was Augustus Horton,
| the other Gilbert Margrave.
Gerald Leslie and the engineer had
| passed night of utter wretchedness.
All the ready money that the ruined
| planter could command consisted of a
| few thousand dollars, and Gilbert Mar
| grave had only the sum which he had
brought with him for his travelling ex-
| penses.
To communicate with England was
| impossible, though the young man had
| ample resources there; he had also let
| ters of credit on clearinghouse in
New York, but he well knew that moth
ing but ready money could save Cora
from her Infamous prosecutors.
The entire sum at his command was
a little over twenty thousand dollars.
Gilbert Margraye was the first to bid.
Five thousand dOllarS!"
six thousand" cried Augustus Hor-
| ton.
A laugh circulated among the assem-
| bly,. Il guess you begun bit too low,
stranger" said one of the planters.
Seven thousand"
ITEM" cried Augustus.
Guess We'll teach you what a slave
sale is. Britisher," said another man
near Gilbert, cutting lump of tobacco
and thrusting it into his mouth.
Gilbert Margrave's cheek grew pale;
he felt that the man he had to deal
with was not to be beaten.
Twelve thousand" Fifteen" "twen-
ty."
For a moment there was pause;
Gilbert drew his breath. For one brief
instant he thought that the planters
caprice might be less powerful than his
avarice. He knew not that Augustus
Horizons love for Cora was full of pas