as the honest efforts of poor daph were crowned with success, she found herself abundantly able to provide for the physical wants of her master’s children. three years of toil had rolled quickly away. charlie had passed his fourth birth-day, and become a strong-willed, sturdy boy, while the slender figure of the fair louise had grown and rounded, and the rose had learned to bloom on the cheek of captain jones’s “water-lily.”
[pg 108]daph looked at her little ones with affectionate pride, and watched over them with the most tender care. she encouraged them to play in the small garden in the rear of their humble home, but in the street they were never seen. the garments she fashioned for them were neat and tidy, and the snowy aprons they always wore, were monuments of her skill as a laundress; but she was conscious of a something in their external appearance, which was not as it should be. about the manners of her charge, daph was still more troubled. “why you eat so, miss lou?” she would sometimes say. “how shall i eat, daffy?” the child would reply. “well, i jus don’t[pg 109] know,” poor daph would answer, “but dere’s somewhat bout de way you childen do be, at de table, dat daph don’t jus know how to spress it.”
more serious troubles than these by degrees came upon daph, in her management. charlie, though an affectionate, generous child, was hot-tempered and wilful, and when he resisted daph’s authority, or raised his little hand to give an angry blow, the poor creature knew not what to do. in these scenes she generally triumphed, by the look of real distress which clouded her usually pleasant face, and brought charlie, repentant to her arms.
with louise, daph had another[pg 110] difficulty. the child was usually gentle and submissive, but she seemed to pine for other companions, and a home different from that which daph was able to provide for her.
the early lessons of piety which louise had learned at her mother’s knee, had faded from her mind. daph could remind the little girl to say her simple prayer at morning and evening, but she could not talk to her of the loving saviour, or recount the wonders of the gospel she had never read.
the little book, with the golden clasps, daph had cherished with the utmost care. she knew it contained the secret which could bring peace and order to her little home, but its treasures[pg 111] she, in her ignorance, could not unlock.
once she had ventured to ask mrs. ray to read a little to her from it, but she met with a short negative, and a cold, averted look.
mary was almost as ignorant of letters as daph herself. so the poor negro kept the precious book unopened, and awaited god’s time for leading her from darkness unto light.
that the children of her dear mistress would be allowed to grow up, ignorant of the knowledge that belonged to their station, and strangers to the bible their mother had loved, daph would not allow herself to believe. “it will come, i’se sure!”[pg 112] daph would say to herself; “de great lord can make it right!” and thus she stifled her anxious forebodings, and strove to do the duty of the present hour.
mrs. ray’s temper was not quite as trying as when daph first made her acquaintance. the kindness of the honest negro, and her cheerful acceptance of the trials of her lot, had their influence under that humble roof, and won respect and affection, even from mrs. ray. the sunshine of charlie’s happy, roguish face, had cheered the lonely widow, and louise had exerted on her a softening, refining influence. mrs. ray was improved, but not thoroughly changed.
[pg 113]little mary had many harsh words yet to hear, but time had abated the poignancy of the mother’s grief for her lost darling, and made her somewhat more alive to the virtues of her hard-working, quiet, little girl.
during the three years that had passed, since they had dwelt under the same roof, sickness, at various times, had made the little household seem like one family, and the habit of helping each other had daily drawn them nearer.
mary’s demure face was lighted up with wonder as she said to daph, one day, “there’s a gentleman at the door, asking if mother still lives here, and if you are at home.”
[pg 114]“is it a tall, tall gentleman, that looks grand-like and magnificent?” said daph, earnestly, as the thought of her master at once rose to her mind.
“not exactly,” said mary, and, as she spoke, mrs. ray opened the door, and ushered in captain jones.
although her first feeling was disappointment, daph shed tears of joy as she clasped the hand of the honest captain; her tears, however, brightened into smiles as she saw the approving look the captain bestowed on her pets, as he caught them in his arms.
charlie struggled and fought to be free, shouting, “i like you, sir, but you need not squeeze me so, and rub me with your rough whiskers.”
[pg 115]charlie got another hug for an answer, while louise said, “who is it, daph? it cannot be my father!”
“no! no! darling!” said the captain, quickly, and he dashed the tears from his eyes, and was sobered in an instant.
mrs. ray looked on with astonishment and curiosity, at the cordial meeting between her old acquaintance and her lodgers.
captain jones had known mrs. ray slightly in her better days, and he now turned to her, and inquired kindly after her welfare. as usual, she had a series of grievances to relate, but she forbore speaking slightingly of mary, who had modestly retired into[pg 116] the background. the little girl was somewhat astonished when the captain came towards her, and gave her a hearty greeting, as the child of his old mess-mate, and seemed to think her well worth speaking to, though “only a girl.”
the whole party sat down together, and time passed rapidly on, while the captain sat, with the children in his arms, and heard daph’s account of her various trials and adventures since they parted. mrs. ray listened with eager curiosity, but she could gather little from daph’s words that she did not already know.
at length, captain jones said, with a great effort, “daph, i have something[pg 117] to say to you, which is not fit for the children’s ears,” and he gave at the same time an expressive glance towards mrs. ray.
the widow seized mary by the hand, and flounced indignantly out of the room, saying, “i am sure we have too much to do to stay here, where we are not wanted. no good comes of secrets, that ever i heard of!”
“come children, come with mary,” said the girl, apparently unconscious of her mother’s indignant manner.
the children followed somewhat reluctantly, and daph and the captain were left alone together. since the moment of her landing, daph had had no one to whom she might speak of[pg 118] the dark fears for her master and mistress, that at times preyed upon her; to her own strange departure she had never alluded. she had met questionings with dignified silence, and had patiently endured insinuations, which, but for her clear conscience, would have driven her to frenzy. now, she felt that she was to hear some important news, and her trembling knees refused to support her. anxious and agitated, she sank on her low bench, and fixed her eyes eagerly on the captain.
“daph,” he began, “there was horrible truth in your words that night, when you pleaded so earnestly on board the martha jane! i thank[pg 119] god that i did not turn a deaf ear to you then! daph, you have saved your master’s children from a bloody death, and you will be rewarded, as there is a father in heaven!”
the captain paused, and daph bent anxiously forward, exclaiming, “my dear missus? master?”
captain jones could not speak. he drew his hand significantly across his throat, and then pointed solemnly upwards.
daph understood his meaning but too well. she had hoped on, determinately; but now the hour of awful certainty had come, and she could not bear it. she gave one loud scream, and fell senseless on the floor. the[pg 120] wild yell that burst from the anguished heart of the negro, rang through the house, and mrs. ray and mary were at the door in a moment, followed by the terrified children. little louise dropped down beside daph, and began to cry piteously, while charlie flew at captain jones like a young lion, and loudly exclaiming, “the naughty man has killed dear daffy, and i’ll punish him.”
while mrs. ray and her daughter were making every effort to recall poor daph to consciousness, charlie continued his attack upon the captain, with sturdy foot, clenched hand, and sharp teeth, until the honest sailor was actually obliged to protect himself, by[pg 121] putting the child forcibly from the room, and firmly locking the door.
perfectly infuriated, charlie flew into the street, screaming, “they’ve killed my daffy! the wicked! wicked man.”
several persons gathered round the enraged child, and a young physician, who was passing, stopped, to find out the cause of the disturbance. charlie’s words, “she lies dead there! the wicked man has killed her,” caught the attention of dr. bates, and he eagerly asked, “where, where, child?”
charlie pointed towards the house, and the doctor entered, without ceremony, charlie closely following him. his loud knock was answered by captain jones, whose cautious manner of[pg 122] unlocking the door seemed, to the young physician, a most suspicious circumstance.
charlie no sooner caught sight of his enemy than he leaped furiously upon him. the strong sailor received him in his muscular arms, and there held him, a most unwilling prisoner, while he watched the proceedings going on about poor daph, and rendered assistance where he could.
dr. bates ordered her clothes to be instantly loosened, and then commanded mrs. ray to lay her flat on the floor, while he proceeded to apply his lancet to her arm.
while this process was going on, the clock on a neighboring steeple struck[pg 123] twelve. captain jones looked hastily at his great silver watch, and saw that it was indeed midday, and he had not a moment to spare, as the martha jane was by this time quite ready to set sail, and only waiting for her captain.
he hurriedly placed a little parcel on the mantel-piece, and with one long, sorrowful look at poor daph, and a hasty farewell to mrs. ray and the children, he left the house.
it was long before daph returned to consciousness, and when her eyes once more opened they were wild with fever and anguish. she declared, however, that she was quite well, and would have no one about her; she longed to be alone, to struggle with her great[pg 124] sorrow. the children would not leave her, but it was in vain they tried their little expressions of tenderness, and begged her look once more like their “own dear daffy.”
the sight of the unconscious orphans redoubled the grief of the poor negro, and she burst into a flood of tears. the poor children, overcome at this unwonted sight, sank down beside her, and mingled their tears with hers.
mrs. ray and the young doctor were sorely puzzled by the strange scenes they had witnessed. they had both seen the rich chains about daph’s neck, which had been disclosed while she was unconscious, and not a little wonder was excited by the sight of[pg 125] that expensive jewelry in such a place. dr. bates had not failed to observe the refined appearance of the fair louise and the noble bearing of little charlie, contrasting as they did so strangely, with the plainness of their humble home, and the unmistakable african face of the woman, of whom they seemed so fond.
the wild agitation of daph, the disappearance of the sun-browned stranger, the necklaces, the children, all tended to fill the mind of dr. bates with dark suspicion. he lingered about daph as long as he could make any excuse for doing so, and when he reluctantly turned from the room, he did not leave the house without thoroughly[pg 126] questioning mrs. ray as to what she knew of her lodgers. mrs. ray had but little to tell, excepting, that they had been commended to her, three years before, by the same tall sailor, whose appearance that day had created such a commotion. of captain jones she could only say, that he had been a mess-mate of her husband, years before, and had always been reckoned an honest, kind-hearted man.
the questions put by dr. bates roused all the curiosity of mrs. ray, and revived the suspicions, with regard to daph, which had been much in her mind during the early days of their acquaintance. such thoughts had long since been banished, by the honest,[pg 127] upright life of the kind-hearted, industrious negro, but now they rose with new strength.
she recalled the richly embroidered dresses in which the children sometimes appeared, the first summer after their arrival, and she dwelt on the reluctance which daph always exhibited to answering any questions as to her past life, or the circumstances attending her departure from her southern home.
these remembrances and suspicions she detailed to the willing ear of dr. bates, who was satisfied that he was on the eve of unraveling some tangled web of iniquity, and with slow and thoughtful steps he walked away from[pg 128] the humble home, so wrapped in mystery.
once more left to herself, mrs. ray felt ashamed of having doubted poor daph, and was half inclined to go to her, and frankly own the misgivings the late occurrences had excited; but the thought of those strange circumstances again set her curiously at work, and all right feeling was soon lost, in an eager anxiety to find out the dark secret, which hung like a cloud over the poor negro.
