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Page 4
After
a few weeks, Carey despaired of ever returning to Cedar Bayou, and
decided to sell his property to Yocum, if an agreement could be reached.
He would then escape to Louisiana, and Yocum readily agreed, offering
to compensate the fugitive partly in gold, partly in slaves, and the
remainder to be several head of horses. But first, Yocum told him,
he would have to see the Cedar Bayou property himself, and determine
if the title were clear and transferable. Carey then executed a power-of-attorney
so Page could transfer the property, and as the innkeeper prepared
to ride westward, he warned the fugitive again to remain close to
the attic and not show his face outside if strangers appeared at the
Inn.
After Yocum left, Carey decided to walk through the woods to the stock
pens where Higdon lived, and along the way he ran into W. H. Irion,
whom Carey tended to trust because of their previous acquaintance.
He told Irion the complete story of the Brittain killing, his agreement
to sell Yocum his property and his plan to flee to Louisiana. Irion
feigned great astonishment, but with a selfsame frankness, he told
Carey that more than likely the latter would be murdered as soon as
Yocum returned. Irion then recounted a few of the murder episodes
that had transpired at the Inn, and readily admitted his own involvement
in some of McClusky's and Yocum's machinations, which had ended short
of murder.
Carey asked Irion to ride hurriedly to Cedar Bayou with a letter for
Benjamin Page in order to try to stop the transfer of Carey's property
before it was too late. Irion replied that he couldn't because he
had no money for the trip, but that Carey should not worry -- that
Irion would not stand by and permit Yocum to kill him. Carey, however,
pressed his desire, offering Irion his expensive pistol and gold watch
to finance the trip, and the latter finally agreed. Carey then penned
a brief note to Page, and Irion rode away with the gun, watch, and
letter, exclaiming as he dug in his spurs, "I'll defeat old Yocum
this time, damn 'im!"
Instead, the scheming Irion rode straight to Yocum's house and gave
the letter to the innkeeper's wife. Then he left for Beaumont
to sell the watch and pistol and pocket the proceeds. As of that moment,
Carey felt that he could no longer wager his life by spending another
night in the attic of Yocum's
Inn. While the innkeeper was away, he would slip out of the house
each day after dark and spend his nights hidden away in the hayloft
of the barn. The next Saturday, the same day that Yocum returned,
Carey left at daylight for Zeke Higdon's cabin, only to learn that
the stock-keeper and his wife planned to spend the day grinding corn
at Yocum's mill. Carey later hid out in the woods near the trail,
and as sunset approached, he saw the Higdons returning with a cartload
of corn meal.
As
the fugitive pondered his plight, he considered for the first time
the feasibility of returning to Harris
County and face the legal music there rather than fleeing to Louisiana
without any money. Beset with fright and unaware that Yocum had already
returned, Carey began pleading for Higdon to help him in his flight,
adding that he already knew a plot to murder him existed. At first
Higdon scoffed at the idea, but later, as they approached the latter's
cabin, Higdon grew strangely silent and appeared depressed. Later
he asked Carey to remain outside while he and his wife discussed a
matter of importance in the privacy of their home. While Carey waited,
their muffled but upraised voices were sometimes audible through the
log crevices, but always their subject of conversation remained a
mystery. Finally Mrs. Higdon opened the door and invited Carey inside.
At a glance he could tell that Higdon had been crying. For a second
time, Carey inquired about the cause of Higdon's depression, but received
no answer, the latter only turning and staring blankly at the wall.
At last his wife intervened, "Come on out with it, Zeke! It's Carey's
life that's at stake so tell him!" Page
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