Notwithstanding the near prospect of having his spite gratified, Richard Darke keenly feels his humiliation. He has done so ever since the day of his receiving it; and as determinedly has he been nursing his wrath.
He has been still further exasperated by a circ.u.mstance which has lately occurred--the return of Charles Clancy from Texas. Someone has told him of Clancy having been seen in company with Helen Armstrong--the two walking the woods _alone_!
Such an interview could not have been with her father"s consent, but _clandestine_. So much the more aggravating to him--Darke. The thought of it is tearing his heart, as he returns from his fruitless search after the fugitive.
He has left the swamp behind, and is continuing on through a tract of woodland, which separates his father"s plantation from that of Colonel Armstrong, when he sees something that promises relief to his perturbed spirit. It is a woman, making her way through the woods, coming towards him, from the direction of Armstrong"s house.
She is not the colonel"s daughter--neither one. Nor does d.i.c.k Darke suppose it either. Though seen indistinctly under the shadow of the trees, he identifies the approaching form as that of Julia--a mulatto maiden, whose special duty it is to attend upon the young ladies of the Armstrong family, "Thank G.o.d for the devil"s luck!" he mutters, on making her out. "It"s Jupiter"s sweetheart; his Juno or Leda, yellow-hided as himself. _No_ doubt she"s on her way to keep an appointment with him? No more, that I shall be present at the interview. Two hundred dollars reward for old Jupe, and the fun of giving the d.a.m.ned n.i.g.g.e.r a good "lamming," once I lay hand on him. Keep on, Jule, girl! You"ll track him up for me, better than the sharpest scented hound in my kennel."
While making this soliloquy, the speaker withdraws himself behind a bush; and, concealed by its dense foliage, keeps his eye on the mulatto wench, still wending her way through the thick standing tree trunks.
As there is no path, and the girl is evidently going by stealth, he has reason to believe she is on the errand conjectured.
Indeed he can have no doubt about her being on the way to an interview with Jupiter; and he is now good as certain of soon discovering, and securing, the runaway who has so long contrived to elude him.
After the girl has pa.s.sed the place of his concealment--which she very soon does--he slips out from behind the bush, and follows her with stealthy tread, still taking care to keep cover between them.
Not long before she comes to a stop; under a grand magnolia, whose spreading branches, with their large laurel like leaves, shadow a vast circ.u.mference of ground.
Darke, who has again taken stand behind a fallen tree, where he has a full view of her movements, watches them with eager eyes. Two hundred dollars at stake--two hundred on his own account--fifteen hundred for his father--Jupe"s market value--no wonder at his being all eyes, all ears, on the alert!
What is his astonishment, at seeing the girl take a letter from her pocket, and, standing on tiptoe, drop it into a knot-hole in the magnolia!
This done, she turns shoulder towards the tree; and, without staying longer under its shadow, glides back along the path by which she has come--evidently going home again!
The negro-catcher is not only surprised, but greatly chagrined. He has experienced a double disappointment--the antic.i.p.ation of earning two hundred dollars, and giving his old slave the lash: both pleasant if realised, but painful the thought in both to be foiled.
Still keeping in concealment, he permits Julia to depart, not only unmolested, but unchallenged. There may be some secret in the letter to concern, though it may not console him. In any case, it will soon be his.
And it soon is, without imparting consolation. Rather the reverse.
Whatever the contents of that epistle, so curiously deposited, Richard Darke, on becoming acquainted with them, reels like a drunken man; and to save himself from falling, seeks support against the trunk of the tree!
After a time, recovering, he re-reads the letter, and gazes at a picture--a photograph--also found within the envelope.
Then from his lips come words, low-muttered--words of menace, made emphatic by an oath.
A man"s name is heard among his mutterings, more than once repeated.
As d.i.c.k Darke, after thrusting letter and picture into his pocket, strides away from the spot, his clenched teeth, with the lurid light scintillating in his eyes, to this man foretell danger--maybe death.
CHAPTER FOUR.
TWO GOOD GIRLS.
The dark cloud, long lowering over Colonel Armstrong and his fortunes, is about to fall. A dialogue with his eldest daughter occurring on the same day--indeed in the same hour--when she refused Richard Darke, shows him to have been but too well aware of the prospect of impending ruin.
The disappointed suitor had not long left the presence of the lady, who so laconically denied him, when another appears by her side. A man, too; but no rival of Richard Darke--no lover of Helen Armstrong. The venerable white-haired gentleman, who has taken Darke"s place, is her father, the old colonel himself. His air, on entering the room, betrays uneasiness about the errand of the planter"s son--a suspicion there is something amiss. He is soon made certain of it, by his daughter unreservedly communicating the object of the interview. He says in rejoinder:--
"I supposed that to be his purpose; though, from his coming at this early hour, I feared something worse."
These words bring a shadow over the countenance of her to whom they are addressed, simultaneous with a glance of inquiry from her grand, glistening eyes.
First exclaiming, then interrogating, she says:--
"Worse! Feared! Father, what should you be afraid of?"
"Never mind, my child; nothing that concerns you. Tell me: in what way did you give him answer?"
"In one little word. I simply said _no_."
"That little word will, no doubt, be enough. O Heaven! what is to become of us?"
"Dear father!" demands the beautiful girl, laying her hand upon his shoulder, with a searching look into his eyes; "why do you speak thus?
Are you angry with me for refusing him? Surely you would not wish to see me the wife of Richard Darke?"
"You do not love him, Helen?"
"Love him! Can you ask? Love that man!"
"You would not marry him?"
"Would not--could not. I"d prefer death."
"Enough; I must submit to my fate."
"Fate, father! What may be the meaning of this? There is some secret-- a danger? Trust to me. Let me know all."
"I may well do that, since it cannot remain much longer a secret. There _is_ danger, Helen--_the danger of debt_! My estate is mortgaged to the father of this fellow--so much as to put me completely in his power.
Everything I possess, land, houses, slaves, may become his at any hour; this day, if he so will it. He is sure to will it now. Your little word "no," will bring about a big change--the crisis I"ve been long apprehending. Never mind! Let it come! I must meet it like a man. It is for you, daughter--you and your sister--I grieve. My poor dear girls; what a change there will be in your lives, as your prospects!
Poverty, coa.r.s.e fare, coa.r.s.e garments to wear, and a log-cabin to live in! Henceforth, this must be your lot. I can hold out hope of no other."
"What of all that, father? I, for one, care not; and I"m sure sister will feel the same. But is there no way to--"
"Save me from bankruptcy, you"d say? You need not ask that. I have spent many a sleepless night thinking it there was. But no; there is only one--that one. It I have never contemplated, even for an instant, knowing it would not do. I was sure you did not love Richard Darke, and would not consent to marry him. You could not, my child?"
Helen Armstrong does not make immediate answer, though there is one ready to leap to her lips.
She hesitates giving it, from a thought, that it may add to the weight of unhappiness pressing upon her father"s spirit.
Mistaking her silence, and perhaps with the spectre of poverty staring him in the face--oft inciting to meanness, even the n.o.blest natures--he repeats the test interrogatory:--
"Tell me, daughter! Could you marry him?"
"Speak candidly," he continues, "and take time to reflect before answering. If you think you could not be contented--happy--with Richard Darke for your husband, better it should never be. Consult your own heart, and do not be swayed by me, or my necessities. Say, is the thing impossible?"
"I have said. _It is impossible_!"
For a moment both remain silent; the father drooping, spiritless, as if struck by a galvanic shock; the daughter looking sorrowful, as though she had given it.