"He is addressing the troops!" he cried, drawing his sword, and rushing
forth.

Toussaint was not addressing the troops. He was merely informing
Jacques, whom he had requested to lie in waiting there, beside his
horse, that he was no longer a commander--no longer in the forces; and
that the recent proclamation, by showing him that the cause of negro
freedom was now one with that of the present government of France, was
the reason of his retirement from the Spanish territory. He explained
himself thus far, in order that he might not be considered a traitor to
the lost cause of royalty in France; but, rather, loyal to that of his
colour, from the first day of its becoming a cause.

Numbers became aware that something unusual was going forward, and were
thronging to the spot, when the General rushed forth, sword in hand,
shouting aloud--

"The traitor! Seize the traitor! Soldiers! seize the traitor!"

Toussaint turned in an instant, and sprang upon his horse. Not a negro
would lay hands on him; but they cast upon him, in token of honour, the
blossoms of the amaryllis and the orange that they carried. The Spanish
soldiers, however, endeavoured to close round him and hem him in, as the
General's voice was still heard--

"Seize him! Bring him in, dead or alive!"

Toussaint, however, was a perfect horseman; and his favourite horse
served him well in this crisis. It burst through, or bounded over, all
opposition, and, amidst a shower of white blossoms which strewed the
way, instantly carried him beyond the camp. Well-mounted soldiers, and
many of them, were behind, however; and it was a hard race between the
fugitive and his pursuers, as it was witnessed from the camp. Along the
river bank, and over the bridge, the danger of Toussaint appeared
extreme; and the negroes, watching the countenance of Jacques, preserved
a dead silence when all the horsemen had disappeared in the woods which
clothed the steep. Then all eyes were turned towards the summit of that
ridge, where the road crossed a space clear of trees; and there, in an
incredibly short time, appeared the solitary horseman, who, unencumbered
with heavy arms, and lightly clothed, had greatly the advantage of the
soldiers in mounting the ascent. He was still followed; but he was just
disappearing over the ridge, when the foremost soldier issued from the
wood behind him.

"He is safe! he is safe!" was murmured through the throng; and the words
reached t