The White Rose of Memphis

“Then the boy made an answer which I did not distinctly hear, as they both began to converse in a low, hurried tone. There is a stack of mattresses on the larboard side, and I was leaning against it, and they were on the other side. After a long, whispered conversation, they began to talk a little louder, and then I heard the boy say:

“‘I have found out all you wish to know about Napoleon, and you had better act promptly.’

“‘No, not yet,’ replied the black domino, ‘my plans are not ripe yet; but you must keep your eye on him until I am ready.’

“‘You may depend on me to do that,’ replied the lad; ‘he never shall leave this boat without your consent.’

“‘You are a splendid detective, and shall be abundantly rewarded for your faithful services.’

“‘I have already been rewarded,’ said the boy, ‘ten times more than I deserve. I would do anything to please you!’

“‘I thank my little friend, and mean to show my gratitude in a tangible shape one of these days. I am going to purchase a nice cottage for your mother if I ever get enough money.’

“‘You are too kind, miss; you have done more for me than I deserve; but I will serve you as long as I live. I hope you will succeed in bringing that bad man to punishment for his wicked crimes.’

“They then went away and I heard nothing more.”

“It seems she is shadowing Napoleon.”

“Yes, that is certain.”

“What does it all mean?”

“Ah! that is the question I should like to have explained.”

“Have you ever mentioned the subject to the little boy?”

“No.”

“Call him here and let us endeavor to pump the secret out of him.”

“Come here a moment, little man, if you please.”

The lad promptly approached and fixed his large, restless eyes on Ivanhoe with a look of inquiry.

“What is your name, my little friend?”

“Spratt, sir.”

“Where do you reside?”

“I have no home at present, sir.”

“Did you get on board this boat at Memphis?”

“No, sir.”

“Where did you get on?”

“At Friar’s Point, sir.”

“Where are you going to get off?”

“I do not know what point I shall stop at – that depends on circumstances.”

“What circumstances?”

“If you will excuse me, sir, I had rather not tell that.”

“Oh, certainly, my little friend, you need not tell anything unless it suits you. Do you know the lady in the black domino?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Would you object to tell me who she is?”

“I could not do it without her consent; I think she does not want her name known just now.”

“I will give you this twenty-dollar bill if you will tell me her name.”

“I beg you will excuse me, sir.”

“I will give you a hundred dollars if you will tell me who she is.”

“I could not do it, sir, if you were to offer me a thousand dollars!”

“Does she reside in Memphis?”

“No, sir.”

“Where does she reside, then?”

“I had rather not tell you that, sir.”

“Do you know the man who personates Napoleon?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Will you tell me who he is?”

“That is also a secret which I am not at liberty to reveal.”

“Can you tell me whether or not he got on this boat at Memphis?”

“I could tell you, sir, but I must not talk about him. You will soon know all about it.”

“What right had you to go into that gentleman’s state-room and conceal yourself under his bed?”

“How did you know I did that, sir?”

“I heard you tell the lady in the black domino about it.”

“I hope, sir, you did not play the eavesdropper?”

“No; but you and the lady talked about the matter where I could not help hearing it.”

“I hope, sir, that you will not say anything about what you heard, because if you do you will be sorry for it when you know what caused me to go into his room.”

“You have been watching Napoleon by the lady’s directions – is that not the way of it?”

“Since you have made the discovery, it is useless for me to deny it; but, sir, I beg you to say nothing about it.”

“How long do you want me to keep the secret?”

“But a very short time, sir. That man who represents the emperor is a very grand villain, and if you were to reveal what you know, it might upset all the plans we have been arranging to capture him.”

“Why not capture him now?”

“The lady in the black domino is waiting for something to happen which I am not permitted to tell.”

“Very well, my little friend, I promise you I will not reveal your secret.”

“I am very much obliged to you, sir, and you shall know all about the matter very soon. I will go now, sir, if you have nothing more to say to me.”

As the little fellow bowed politely and moved away, Scottie heaved a sigh and said:

“Heigh ho! was anybody ever so inundated with mystery as we are?”

“If they were, I should pity them.”

“I must say that is a very polite, manly little fellow; and that head of his is full of brains.”

“Yes, and he has been playing a very deep game, if I am not very much mistaken.”

“What in Heaven’s name does it all mean?”

“I would give my bottom dollar to be able to answer the question.”

“Let us try and pump the secret out of Brazzleman – I dare say he knows all about it.”

“I have been trying to get him to tell me who the lady is, but he positively refuses to do it – in fact, I do not believe he, or the captain either, knows who she is.”

“Look yonder, will you – that mysterious woman has been watching us all the time. She is going to that boy to find out what we have been saying to him. I declare, this is really provoking; and I am not willing to submit to it any longer!”

“Can you suggest any plan to get rid of the nonsense?”

“Suppose we complain to Captain Quitman?”

“I should not like to do that, after making a promise to the lad to keep his secret.”

“How would it do to cross-examine Napoleon on the subject?”

“That would be the most imprudent step we could take, for it appears that the black domino has got him spotted. I think we should not say anything to any one about what we know until something more is developed.”

“See yonder; she is leading that boy to her state-room. Mischief is brewing, and a culmination will be reached soon.”

“Well, let matters jog along; come down and dance a set – I hear the music.”

“I have no objection – in fact, I am glad you proposed it, as I think the dance will take my mind from this unpleasant subject. I have often heard of people suffering with curiosity, but never till now did I know how one could be so much excited.”

Ivanhoe then led Scottie down to the saloon, and soon was gliding round in a lively waltz with her fair cheek resting on his shoulder. George was looking supremely happy, as he waltzed with the queen of Sheba. A dozen other couples were enjoying themselves, while keeping time to the splendid music.

“Come,” said Ivanhoe, as soon as the waltz was ended, “let us go back on deck, as I have thought of something else to tell you.”

“I hope you are not going to harp on the same string?”

“That is exactly what I am going to do; but I have something new to tell you. Just a moment before we began to waltz, George told me that the whole secret was divulged.”

“What secret?”

“The mystery about the black domino.”

“Well, what does it amount to?”

“She is a confidence woman – a female pickpocket – an expert thief, and that lad is her pal.”

“Now, I do not believe a word of that story, for she has been weeping frequently. Confidence women do not shed tears – pickpockets do not act like that woman.”

“I shall venture no opinion, so far as I am concerned. George says that she has stolen a large sum of money from Napoleon, and that the boy helped her do it.”

“If that is true, why do they not arrest her at once?”

“They have not got sufficient proof to justify that course yet, though they think they will be able to do it very soon.”

“If I live a hundred years, I never will wear another mask, or associate with others who do. I am very sure that we would have enjoyed our excursion much better if we had not appeared in mask.”

“I agree with you there – these masquerades are only suited to furnish opportunities for thieves to ply their trades.”

“As soon as Ingomar finishes his story (and I hope he will not stop a moment until he is through with it), we will put an end to this nonsense.”

“I will go and request the queen to re-assemble her party at once, so that we may hear the remainder of the tale without further delay.”

“I wish you would.”

Ivanhoe then went to look for the queen, who issued her orders for the party to meet immediately. A majority of the passengers came up with Ingomar and the queen, as they were becoming deeply interested in the story. The maskers all being seated, the queen directed Ingomar to resume.

“I was very much disappointed when Mrs. Debar returned to my cell and informed me that the civil authorities refused to believe her when she informed them that I was not her husband – they thought it was a ruse invented by her to get her husband out of prison; but she was kind enough to bring a lawyer to see me on the subject. Mr. Deediddle was a middle-aged man, with a very red nose and a ponderous stomach, evidently a devout worshiper of Bacchus. I don’t think I ever before saw such a red nose on a man’s face. He was a perfect talking machine; and I was rather distrustful of him, but he assured me that there would be no difficulty in securing my release.

“‘Fact is, Mr. Demar, I’m an old hand at the pump – no cure no pay, is my motto,’ said Mr. Deediddle, as he wiped the perspiration from his brow with a red handkerchief of enormous size. ‘Fact, Mr. Demar, I have walked in the legal harness for twenty years; what I don’t know about law ain’t printed yet. Fact, Mr. Demar – never lost half a dozen cases in my life. Fact, sir, and when you get me on a Habeas Corpus, I can beat the inventor of the writ. Ah, sir, that’s a glorious writ. Fact, sir, it’s the paladium of liberty – it’s the Alpha and Omega of American freedom. Fact, sir, I’ll pry you out of this horrible place, sir, with this great lever of the law – this center pole of the prisoner’s castle of hope. Fact is, Judge Flaxback always yields to me – he is very fond of whist, and I always let him win, then he returns the favor when making decisions. Fact, sir, he never decides against me – he always stops with me during court – he loves good wine – I always keep the very best. Fact, sir, I keep him full; but business is business, you know, Mr. Demar – no cure no pay. I believe I told you that was my motto – yes, sure enough I did; but a retainer, you know, is always customary – a small retainer – say fifty dollars. Fact is, Mr. Demar, business is business, you know.’

“I gave him fifty dollars as quickly as I could, and would have given him double that sum, if he had demanded it.

“‘For Heaven’s sake, Mr. Deediddle,’ said I, ‘get me out of this miserable place, and you shall be well paid.’

“‘Fact is, sir, you shall be out before to-morrow night. Judge Flaxback is to be in town this very day, and I’ll have a Habeas Corpus served on the sheriff immediately.’

“I was glad when he went away; it was but a short while before he returned, accompanied by the circuit court clerk, who came to administer the oath, that I had to make in order to procure the writ. I made the oath, and again was left alone, when bright rays of hope began to steal in on me. I laid myself down on my hard bed, and began to gaze at Lottie’s picture; my mind was so intensely fixed on the dear image that I did not hear the jailer when he opened the door.

“‘Thanks be to Heaven, Eddie, I have found you at last!’ exclaimed Harry Wallingford, as he sank down by my side and burst into tears. ‘I am the vilest wretch that ever disgraced the face of this green earth. I have spread misery and ruin around all who loved me. I have broken Lottie’s heart, and she is dying. Doctor Dodson says she cannot live three days longer. Why was I ever created? I dare not ask you to forgive me! If remorse could kill, I would have been dead long ago – there is a flaming fire consuming my vitals – yet it will not kill me. Lottie will die with a curse on her lips against me, for she believes I have murdered you, and it will be too late to undeceive her, for she is failing fast. I have killed the sweetest sister that mortal man ever had. Eddie, I would give the world, if it was all mine, to recall the past – if I could only atone for the crimes that I have committed. Poor Viola has been tried and convicted, while Lottie was too ill to know anything about it. They have kept the awful news from her, but she soon will leave this wicked world.’

“He then sank helplessly on the floor and groaned aloud. I could only stare at the unhappy boy whose rashness had caused all this misery. I felt no enmity toward him. I pitied him from the very bottom of my heart. I remembered how he had loved Viola, and how he must have suffered on her account. Then I thought of his love for Lottie, and knew that the errors he had committed were caused by his love for his sister. As soon as I could sufficiently command my feelings to enable me to talk, I began to do what I could to console him.

“‘There is no reason why you should feel remorse at all; grief comes natural under such circumstances; remorse is the pain produced by a consciousness of guilt; guilt cannot exist where there has been no willful intent. The mistakes you have committed were errors of judgment, not of the heart. It is the intent that constitutes the crime. You were prompted to act by love for your sister, and I feel more inclined to approve than to condemn you. I have always loved you – I love you yet; and if Lottie could live, we would all be happy again. Rise up, I pray you; let us forget the past, and work together to repair the errors committed. I promise you that, so far as my feelings are concerned, no ill-will ever shall find lodgment in my poor heart against you.’

“‘Eddie, you are different from all other men. Your heart is more noble, more generous and more forgiving than others’, it is a knowledge of that fact that makes my conscience condemn me. You should have cut my unworthy head off when I gave you that insulting blow. If you knew how my conscience gnaws and burns me for that mean, despicable act, you would indeed pity me!’

“‘You should not feel so about that, because you thought I had betrayed your sister, and it is a brother’s duty to protect the honor of his sister. The truth is, I think under the same circumstances I should have acted as you did. From what I heard, Mr. Debar resembles me so much that it requires close inspection to tell one from the other. Now, you saw Debar with his wife in Memphis, and mistook him for me. You naturally concluded that I had deceived and betrayed your sister. Believing that to be so, you determined to punish her betrayer. Harry, I admire you for it; don’t ask me to forgive you, for there is nothing to be forgiven.’

“‘Yes, but for my rashness, coupled with my unpleasant temper, all the trouble might have been avoided. You could have explained everything, but I did not give you a chance. There is where I committed the unpardonable error that has ruined all of us.’

“‘I hope that things are not so bad as you seem to think. We must act now, and that promptly. A dispatch must be sent to Doctor Dodson without delay; and if you will go and procure a messenger to take it to the nearest telegraph office, I will write the dispatch while you are getting the messenger ready. See that he is well mounted, on a good horse, for he must make at least eight miles per hour; it is twenty-four miles from here to the nearest telegraph office. Tell the messenger that he shall have as much money as he wants, if he will make speed. Go quickly – make the necessary arrangements while I write the dispatch.’

“He hurried from the jail instantly, while I penned the following message:

“‘DOCTOR DODSON – Tell dear Lottie I am well and safe; will be home day after to-morrow. Harry is with me, and everything is explained. A man resembling me very much killed Clanton; he was imprisoned to await his trial – he escaped – I was arrested and detained, under a mistaken belief that I was the criminal. It is a mere mistake of personal identity. The real criminal was in Memphis. Harry saw him there with his wife, and thought it was I – hence his enmity toward me. It was all a mistake; everything is now understood. I will be released to-morrow on habeas corpus. Save dear Lottie’s life. Tell her to live for my sake. Send me a dispatch every ten minutes till I come.’

“By the time the dispatch was ready Harry returned, accompanied by an intelligent looking lad about eighteen years old, who promised to be at the telegraph office with the dispatch inside of three hours. I handed him fifty dollars, and directed him to wait at the office for an answer.

“‘Leave your horse at the station, and procure a fresh one, and when the answer comes, bring it to me immediately. I shall want you to carry another dispatch as soon as you bring the answer to this one. I will pay all the expenses and remunerate you to your entire satisfaction; then I will give you as a present this fine gold watch.’

“The lad’s bright black eyes fairly blazed with delight as I held up the pretty prize before him.

“‘You may trust me, sir; I’ll deliver this dispatch in two hours and a half from this moment.’

“Before the last word was out of his mouth, he was half way down-stairs, and two seconds afterward I heard the clatter of his horse’s hoofs as he dashed down the road. I stood and listened until the sound grew faint, then died away.

“‘Eddie,’ said Harry, ‘if God only would let dear Lottie live, I would spend the remainder of my life on my knees, pouring out earnest thanks to Him. I would discard pride and self-love, and endeavor to control this unfortunate temper of mine, and devote my days to His service.’

“‘I am so glad to hear you talk that way; maybe God will think of your good resolve, and reward it by saving her life. Somehow, I have a hope that we shall hear favorable news when our messenger returns – I cannot think that I am never again to behold those beautiful blue eyes; I can’t realize it. The ways of Providence are full of mystery, but we know they are ever just; and knowing this to be so induces me to cling to the hope that our Lottie will be spared. It is my candid opinion that if she had been well Viola would have been cleared, because she was in possession of strange facts, in connection with the case, which would have produced a different verdict.’

“‘Ah! my poor sister may have believed in Viola’s innocence, in fact, I know she did; but that belief was founded on friendship instead of facts. No, the proof was full and complete, and Mr. Rockland told me that during his thirty years’ practice he had never known the guilt of a prisoner so fully established. You no doubt imagine that you have suffered much, but your cause of sorrow is very slight when compared with mine. If poor Lottie dies, the loss will be as much mine as yours; for you cannot love her more than I do; and when she leaves us she will go direct to Heaven, where you can go to meet her. But how different is it with Viola; I loved her as well as you loved Lottie; no man ever loved a woman more devotedly than I loved her. I might have borne to see her die, if she was as well prepared to meet God as Lottie is; but when I know that she is forever lost to me, and perhaps her soul is lost, too, I feel and know that I cannot bear it!’

“‘The pardoning power of God is unlimited; Christ did not die for righteous people alone, but to redeem sinners; and if you will have faith in Him, and serve Him with all your heart, you may be permitted to meet Viola in Heaven after all. But here comes Mr. Deediddle to talk about the habeas corpus. Let us hear what he has to communicate.’

“Mr. Deediddle came blustering in, and it was with some difficulty that he squeezed his ponderous body through the small door of my cell.

“‘Ah! confound such small doors!’ he muttered, as he began to brush the dust off his coat with his red bandana. ‘I can’t see why people make such small doors, anyway. Well, Demar, I dropped in merely to let you know that we are all right – Judge Flaxback has made the habeas corpus returnable at nine o’clock to-morrow morning; he is to spend the night with me. Fact, sir, here’s his note accepting my invitation. I’ll wine him, dine him, and card him to-night. I’ll play whist with him all night, and let him win; that will settle our case all right; fact, sir, trust me to manage his sort.’

“‘But, Mr. Deediddle, I would prefer that no underhand means should be used in my case. I can prove my identity beyond all doubt.’

“‘Oh! no doubt you can, Mr. Demar, but what good will proof do when the mind of the court is against you. Fact, sir, you had better let me manage the case in my own way. Fact is, I am an old hand at the pump; been in harness over a quarter of a century; I am the man to pry you out – wine and whist are the great levers to pry with before Flaxback. Fact is, he can’t get round ’em.’

“Mr. Deediddle rattled away for nearly an hour, and I was glad when he took his departure. He had been gone but a few minutes when Mrs. Debar came in. Harry gazed at her in great astonishment for several seconds, then said:

“‘Eddie, this is the lady I saw in Memphis, in that old brick house, and I thought I saw you there with her.’

“‘It was my husband, sir, and not Mr. Demar. We were stopping in an old dilapidated brick house; my husband was waiting for some money to be sent to him. He made his escape from this jail and went to Memphis; I followed him, and one night we fled, as we learned that detectives were following us. I have just received a letter from my husband; he is in Matamoras, Mexico, and I am going to meet him as soon as Mr. Demar is released.’

“‘I see through it all now – you and your husband left Memphis on the very night when Demar was arrested at Horn Lake; this unlucky coincidence led me to believe that he had eloped with you, and had been false to my sister. Acting on this belief, I have committed an unpardonable blunder, and caused my sister’s death and ruined all my friends.’

“As Mrs. Debar wiped the fast falling tears from her eyes, she said: ‘I am truly sorry to hear of your misfortunes, but hope things are not so serious as you seem to think. I, too, have had my share of trouble; my poor husband has been compelled to exile himself from his country when he was innocent. I love him, and I mean to go where he goes; I will share his sorrows, and do my best to make him happy. It is true that my husband killed Mr. Clanton, but he did it in self-defense, and would have been able to prove it, but unfortunately, the only witness who saw the whole transaction died soon after the killing.’

“Mrs. Debar now went away, leaving me alone with Harry. She promised to be present on the next morning at the trial, to give her evidence, which would, of course, be greatly in my favor.

“It was after night, and just six hours from the time my messenger had started with my dispatch, when he came dashing into my cell with an answer. He had made the round trip, a distance of forty-eight miles, in six hours. He informed me that he had to wait at the office just one hour for the answer, so he had done the traveling in five hours.

“My hand trembled when I took the dispatch from the messenger, and well it might, for I knew that little paper would tell a tale that would seal my fate. It would tell me whether or not those charming blue eyes were ever again to gaze on me. It would decide whether or not I was ever to clasp dear Lottie to my heart again. I hesitated, and looked at Harry, but saw no encouragement there. He was as pale as death, and trembling from head to foot, and seemed to have ceased to breathe.

“‘Eddie,’ he gasped, ‘you may be prepared to hear the very worst, for her case was hopeless when I left home. That telegram will either tell you she is dead, or that she is dying.’

“‘Heaven have mercy!’ I exclaimed, as I glanced over the contents of the dispatch. My worst fears were realized – my darling was dying.

“It is useless for me to try to describe how I felt when I read the fatal news. No one can understand or appreciate it even if I could select words to tell how great was my misery. It was over half an hour before either of us spoke, and there is no telling when the silence would have been broken, had it not been for the messenger.