The White Rose of Memphis

CHAPTER XXII

The arrest of Ingomar had the effect to cast a gloom over the entire party, who were beginning to feel deeply interested in his history. All were seated in a circle round the queen, waiting in silence to hear what was to be said next. The queen was making a desperate effort to conceal her emotions, but without effect. The two officers sat staring at each other, evidently very much embarrassed, while Ingomar was the only one who appeared calm and unconcerned. The mysterious lady in the black domino was leaning on the arm of the old gentleman with the long white beard. She seemed to be anxiously watching the two officers and Ingomar, while she stood near the corner of the pilot house, about thirty feet from where the queen and her party were seated. The strange conduct of the lady in the black domino had excited the curiosity of every passenger on the boat, and when Ingomar was arrested under a charge of willful murder it was hard to tell which feeling had the upper hand, curiosity or indignation. If Ingomar had intimated a wish to have the two officers put ashore in a canebrake it would have been done; in fact, Ivanhoe made a proposition to that effect, but Ingomar wouldn’t hear to it.

“No, my friends, it is my wish that these two officers should be treated with the utmost courtesy; they are only executing the process which the law has placed in their hands; but I would beg to admonish them that handcuffs are not made for gentlemen. The law considers all men innocent until their guilt is established; and, as I have already stated, this case is by no means unfamiliar to me. It is really a part of the little story which I have been telling; and I promise to tell you all about it before I am done. I guess I can easily conclude the narrative by the time we shall reach Vicksburg; but I must relate circumstances and incidents in the order in which they introduced themselves into my story. About three weeks after I had departed from Vicksburg (where I had gone, as I have heretofore stated, to hunt up certain facts which Lottie thought were necessary,) the grand jury returned into the criminal court a true bill against Viola Bramlett, charging her with willful murder, and the day for the trial was agreed on. Mr. Rockland had made the necessary arrangements with the attorney-general, who was quite a young man, but possessed a high order of intellect. He was a good lawyer, but differed from other prosecuting attorneys in one respect. Nearly all State attorneys imagine that it is their duty to prosecute with a vengeance every unfortunate creature against whom a bill may be found. But attorney-general Quillet was ever ready to enter a nolle prosequi when the proof justified it. I was overwhelmed with astonishment one morning to see Harry Wallingford come walking into my office, looking like a corpse. His beard was long and uneven; the hair on his head tangled and unsightly; his clothes were soiled and hung loosely about his body; and his face had no signs of blood in it; his eyes were sunk deep in their sockets, and had a wild, restless stare about them. He held out his thin, bony hand as he dropped into a chair, like one who was very tired.

“‘What on earth caused you to return so soon, Harry?’ I inquired.

“‘My uncle was dead when I reached California, and had willed all his property to his business partner. The will had been presented, proved and probated before I arrived; consequently I had nothing to detain me, so I set out for home; and here I am, as poor as Lazarus, broken down in mind and body, and desperate enough to commit suicide if it was not cowardly to do it. Tell me the news, Ed; though mind you, I am not prepared for good news – I could not bear it; but if you have anything very unpleasant, please let me hear it.’

“‘I beg you will not talk that way – you horrify me. I have no bad news – at least, nothing worse than you have already heard. The day for the trial is fixed, and Lottie is still hopeful; but you know she is by nature sanguine. So far as my own views are concerned, I am frank to say that I am not at all hopeful. When I talk to Lottie she inspires me with hope; but when I talk with Dabbs and Tadpoddle, they extinguish all. They have both been required to enter into recognizance for their appearance as witnesses against Viola. Mr. Rockland and Doctor Dodson have determined to enter a plea of insanity; and then if she is not acquitted, they are confident that they can induce the Governor to grant a pardon. The Governor was here a few weeks ago and spent the night with Mr. Rockland. When Lottie was introduced to him he was perfectly fascinated with her; and she very adroitly managed to induce the Governor to go with her to the jail next morning. She succeeded in persuading him to be introduced to Miss Bramlett, and he expressed great solicitude for her – praised Lottie very much, and when he left he intimated a wish to see Miss Bramlett come out of her troubles unscathed. I have no doubt that he will pardon Viola if she is found guilty. But, by the by, Harry, how came your uncle to will all his money to his partner, after having promised to give it to you?’

“‘Indeed, I don’t know; the fact is, I have quit trying to investigate the causes of things of late. I was not at all surprised when I was told that such a will had been made. The will was made several years ago; and it is possible that my uncle may have contemplated the making of another one in my favor; but his death was very sudden, and wholly unexpected. He had been in declining health, but his condition was considered by no means critical; he was seized with paralysis, and was totally unconscious until death ensued. His fortune was a very large one, supposed to be several hundred thousands, consisting of cash, mining and bank stocks. The will was witnessed by three reputable men, and there was no ground to doubt its proper execution. I took the advice of able lawyers – had them to investigate the case – and they told me that it would be folly to attempt to overthrow the will.’

“‘What a pity it was you did not start there when your uncle first wrote requesting you to come!’

“‘What a pity it was that such a wretch as I was ever born!’

“‘Harry, don’t talk so; let us hope for brighter days.’

“‘Hope and I have long since parted company, and Misfortune rules the roost with me now. The goddess of fortune is supposed to be blind, but that is a grand mistake, else how could she throw her darts with such unerring aim at my poor carcass?’

“‘Harry, you have met with many disappointments, I admit, but you know the sun always shines brighter after a storm; and I believe if you will put your trust in God, do your duty with a brave heart, and command your passions, you will secure happiness yet.’

“‘Don’t lecture me, Ed – I can’t bear it; I have committed many errors, I confess, but it is too late to mend the matter now. The truth is, I am nothing but a walking bulk of errors anyway, and the sooner I die, the better it will be for the living.’

“‘Dear Harry, you distress me beyond measure by talking so; it shows a lack of courage – a disposition to shrink from trouble when it comes.’

“‘No doubt you think so; it is very easy to philosophize about other people’s troubles; but let the whirlwind sweep away all your hopes of happiness and dash you down to the very lowest pit of despair, then you would talk differently. You love Lottie, I know.’

“‘Ah, Harry, I adore her, I worship her – she is the light of my existence – the delight of my soul – my very heart’s idol – my angel, my Heaven, my all!’

“‘Very well; suppose she were to betray you, and sink into a slough of infamy as deep as that in which Viola has sunk – could you then lecture so eloquently on patience and hope?’

“‘I beseech you not to talk that way; it sounds like a sacrilege to me. You don’t state a supposable case. My Lottie is as pure as an angel in Heaven.’

“‘So I was foolish enough to think about Viola. I had as much faith in her as you have in Lottie. I loved her as well as it is possible for you to love my sister. I believe God has sent this awful curse upon me for worshiping one of his creatures instead of Him. Don’t talk to me about the honesty of women. How could you expect me to have faith in them, since Viola’s fall? Ed, I am not a murderer at heart, but that damnable villain, Bowles, must be punished. If he will fight me, he shall have a fair chance; if not, he must take the consequences. You know he first insulted Lottie, and I knocked him down with a stick for it. He then swore he would have revenge, if he took a life-time to get it. And when he found out that I loved Viola, he began to invent schemes to ruin her, and you know the result, alas! too well. He is a shrewd, calculating, cold-hearted villain, and I dare say no girl left like Viola, unprotected, could withstand his devilish plans. I will do Viola the justice to say that I still think she was virtuous; but what can a poor orphan girl do when such a cruel villain as Bowles arrays his plans for her destruction? Druggists will compound medicines for money that will steal away the thinking faculties of the brain, and when that is done, the victory is easily won. How is it that our laws will allow such a villain to march in triumph over the ruined hopes of honest men? But enough of this, Ed. I’ll settle with Mr. Bowles.’

“‘Harry, you certainly don’t mean to challenge him, do you?’

“‘That is exactly what I mean to do; and if he refuses to fight, then I shall punish him as he deserves.’

“‘Are you willing to violate the laws of the land? Are you not aware of the fact that it is made murder by our laws to kill a man in a duel?’

“‘A curse on the law that protects the villain who destroys the confiding, innocent orphan girl, as Bowles has destroyed poor Viola! A double curse on the law that protects such a sneaking, cowardly villain. No, Ed, it is no use to discuss this matter, because my mind is made up.’

“‘Don’t you know that the code of honor, as some men call it, is no longer considered the code of honor?’

“‘I know that Henry Clay fought his duel with John Randolph, of Roanoke. I know that Commodore Barron killed Commodore Decatur in a duel. General Jackson killed Dixon in a duel. Prentiss wounded Foote in a duel. General Sam Houston shot General White in a duel. I know that General Albert Sidney Johnson shot his man in a duel. Aaron Burr killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel. I know that Chambers killed Lake in a duel. The world did not condemn these men for fighting duels, and why should it single me out as an especial object for condemnation?’

“‘Well, Harry, you can’t deny making me a solemn promise that you would not seek a quarrel with Bowles until after Viola’s trial.’

“‘I believe I did make such a promise; but I trust you will release me from it, as things have changed so greatly since it was made.’

“‘No, you must wait until after the trial, and then I will withdraw all objections to your management of Bowles.’

“‘On one condition, I will renew the promise.’

“‘What’s that?’

“‘You are to agree not to interfere with me and my plans for a settlement with Bowles after Viola’s trial is over.’

“‘I make the promise on those terms. Now you had better go home, change your dress and seek rest, for you appear greatly wearied.’

“He left my office then with an unsteady step, and I did not see him any more that day. Another source of trouble now began to lower in my pathway. Coming from an unexpected direction, so far as it affected me individually, it was greater than any I had ever before experienced. Trouble divested of mystery may be endured, but when it takes us by surprise, and we feel the blow, but know not who dealt it, it is somewhat hard to bear. Such was the blow that fell on me. I could feel it, but couldn’t see it. An impenetrable cloud of mystery began to gather around me, mixing itself up with all matters in which I was interested. Something near two hundred yards east of Mr. Rockland’s residence, and on the same side of the street, was a small, two-story brick dwelling-house, situated in the middle of a small inclosure, containing, I suppose, about a quarter of an acre of ground. The plot of land was inclosed with pine plank, not over three and a half feet high. That part of the lot which lay in front of the house, constituting the front yard, was thickly set with short, untrimmed shrubbery, while the other had been used as a vegetable garden. There were only four rooms in the house, two in the lower and two in the upper story, and a narrow hall separated the two lower rooms; a pair of steep stairs commenced on the lower floor near the door and ended on the back side of the house, on the upper floor. The building itself stood in a low, flat place, surrounded with rising ground on all sides, and particularly in the rear, where a tall bluff rose up fully as high as the top of the house. The low, marshy ground where the building was located, and the unsightly surroundings, rendered it very undesirable as a residence; I suppose it was owing to this fact that it was most of the time unoccupied. There were no locks to the doors, and the house had for a long time been uninhabited, save by some lonely tramp who now and then sought a night’s lodging in it.

“‘I have thought it expedient to give a minute description of this dismal old house, because it has somewhat to do with my history. About the time Harry returned from California, a rumor began to circulate among the negroes (who are by nature very superstitious) to the effect that the house was haunted by ghostly visitors every night. Of course this story was not believed by any except very ignorant persons; but the matter began to attract some attention, nevertheless, because those who did not believe in ghosts were of the opinion that perhaps the house was being used by thieves and counterfeiters. At any rate, it was very certain that one of the upper rooms was occupied every night by some one, for a dim light was often seen gliding about the apartment. This mysterious circumstance was the usual topic of conversation among Mr. Rockland’s servants. The coachman was an old, gray-headed negro named Zack. He was as full of superstitions as he could be crammed, and he vowed that he had seen a ghost, all robed in white, with long, black hair streaming down her back, and a face as white as snow. One evening I met Harry in the street, not very far from the mysterious house; he cast on me an inquiring look, and spoke as if irritated about something.

“‘What woman is that who is staying in that old brick house?’

“‘How should I know?’

“‘I don’t ask you how you know, but I demand a sensible answer.’

“I was thunderstruck by his manner, for it was evident that he was very much enraged about something.

“‘Why do you not make me an answer?’ he again demanded, his voice still rising with anger.

“‘Really, Harry, upon my word of honor I don’t know,’ I replied mildly.

“‘I don’t believe you, sir,’ he exclaimed as he stamped his foot on the ground. ‘Be cautious how you attempt to deceive me – I am not in the humor to be fooled with by anybody now.’

“‘Harry, I implore you, tell me what you mean?’

“‘Don’t you be uneasy about what I mean; you shall know to your sorrow ere long, or my name is not Harry Wallingford. I am not such a simpleton as you have imagined, as you’ll find out one of these days. I am not a coward, nor am I a bully, but under certain circumstances I would kill a man. I am heartily sick of these sentimental hypocrites who pretend to be a man’s friend when before his face, but sneak round and stab him in the dark!’

“‘Harry, are you mad?’

“‘No; but I would to Heaven I were; then I could not see and know of the corruption and villainy that boils and bubbles up on every hand. We are in the very middle of a deep sea of treachery and corruption. I thought I had one honest friend; but alas! it was all a mistake, no one will do to trust; they are all hypocrites!’

“‘Harry, you do me grievous wrong to say that; for I swear by everything I hold sacred that never have I, either by word, thought or deed, intentionally injured you. I call upon you in the name of our old friendship – I ask you as a man of honor – I pray you in the name of dear Lottie, whom we both love – I ask in the name of our dead mother – nay, I ask in the name of God, for an explanation of this unmerited insult which you have thrust upon me!’

“‘I warn you now, sir, that I will not permit you to speak of my dear sister Lottie. She is not for such as you, and the sooner you realize the fact the better it will be for you. It shall be my business to protect her; and you may be sure I am able and willing to do it. If ever I see you in my sister’s company again, you will hear it thunder louder than you ever heard it before. I give you fair notice now; and if you value your life, let me advise you not to forget what I am saying. I know you are ready with an explanation, but your oily tongue won’t save you in this instance.’

“‘Harry, do you mean what you say? Don’t you know that it would kill me to give Lottie up? You would not have our engagement broken off, would you?’

“‘It seems that you are rather dull of comprehension to-day. I thought my language was exceedingly plain. Didn’t I tell you that my sister was not for your sort? How could I use language less ambiguous?’

“My ire was now roused to the highest pitch, and I made a desperate struggle to smooth it down. To some extent I succeeded, but not entirely.

“‘I never will surrender my claims to Lottie – never, never! If all the black imps from the infernal regions, with Satan at their head, were here to oppose me, I would not yield my just claim to her hand!’

“‘I am truly glad to hear you talk with so much spirit and determination, because I was afraid that you were cowardly. I know how to manage a brave man, but a coward puzzles me; therefore, we’ll see whether you marry my sister or not. There are honest gentlemen in this city, worthy in all respects, who love her, and, when I want her to marry, she can find a husband who won’t betray her.’

“‘In Heaven’s name, what have I done?’

“‘I have no more business with you just now, sir. You will oblige me by going about yours, if you have any; if, however, you have no business, you had better go, anyway, as I am done with you for the present.’

“Harry waved his hand haughtily for me to leave, and I thought I had to oblige him. I never had seen him in such a terrible passion before. Of all the troubles that I had ever encountered, this was by long odds, the greatest. To think that Harry Wallingford, the only brother of my betrothed bride, was becoming my deadly enemy, caused my heart almost to die within my breast. Hadn’t we been bosom friends from early boyhood? Hadn’t we endured our sorrows together, and enjoyed our triumphs jointly? Wouldn’t I risk my life, and everything else, to serve him? What had I done to justify the application of such insults to me? As I walked toward my office I felt more depressed than I ever had felt before. Something whispered in my mind a horrible tale of woes to come. I knew that some sneaking villain had been at work, but as to who he was or what he had done, I was totally ignorant. I thought it best to go and see Lottie at once. I then turned my steps in the direction of Mr. Rockland’s residence, hoping to have an interview with Lottie before she saw her brother, but I was too late. Harry had been with her for over an hour before I arrived, and I did not know what communications he had made to her until a long time afterward. If I had been advised in that respect, an ocean of trouble might have been avoided. Lottie met me at the front gate and led me into her flower garden. The moment my eyes looked upon her I discovered that something serious had occurred. It was plain to be seen she had been weeping.

“‘For Heaven’s sake, Eddie,’ she whispered, as she took my arm, ‘don’t go into the house! Harry is there, and in such a passion as I never witnessed before, and I pray Heaven I never shall again. What on earth have you done to offend him?’