The\u00a0three book-keepers were sitting at dinner; it was about eight o\u2019clock. A half-moon glowed in the east with the greenish tinge of the tropics. An hour or so later Mr. Rider would take up his station in the still-house; now he was making the acquaintance of young Rutherford; Burbridge he knew already.<\/p>\n
Robert was in a silent, surly mood. He had lunched that day with Annie, as arranged, but the lunch had been a depressing function. Each party had something to say to the other, but had refrained from saying it; each felt that a barrier had sprung up between them since the night before; each was conscious of it, but wished to disguise the fact from the other.<\/p>\n
Annie had, casually as it seemed, asked him if he were coming to the Great House that night; he had answered, no, he did not think so, and she had not pressed him to come. Indeed, she had seemed relieved at learning that that was not his intention. She had made no reference to the scene of the night before, although it would have been very natural for her to have done so. He himself did not, although he would have liked to ask one or two questions. But she was hardly the person whom he could question as to the whereabouts of Millicent.<\/p>\n
He had gone about his work that day with a dogged determination, though he had no inclination for it. Psyche was looking after his room and his food now; he had asked her that morning to undertake that duty. Rider was to live in the small building attached to the overseer\u2019s residence, but would take his meals with the other book-keepers. At this moment he was trying to appraise Robert; already he had heard a good deal about him from Burbridge.<\/p>\n
The talk on the estate that day had been of the appearance of the strange apparition so distinctly seen by many persons on the previous night. The news had spread with the rapidity of a cane-piece conflagration; there was not a slave, not a white man, on Rosehall who had not heard of it by this; on Palmyra also it was being discussed. The people could think and speak of nothing else. The slaves were frightened. The Horse with three feet, luminous, ominous, of which they had heard all their lives, and which they believed to be an infernal spirit, dominated their imaginations now that it had been seen by so many living witnesses.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you yourself saw it?\u201d said Burbridge to Rider, not for the first time.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs I have said more than once before, yes. It was very distinct, very horrible; it had only three legs, and the foreleg seemed to grow out of the creature\u2019s chest; it was just as negro tradition and superstition have described the Three-footed Horse as being.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen there\u00a0is\u00a0such a fiend,\u201d muttered Burbridge, troubled; \u201cand it is seen on this estate of all others!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIs there such a fiend?\u201d inquired Rider, with a slight smile.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou just said that you yourself saw it,\u201d Robert reminded him gloomily. \u201cYou should be far more convinced than we.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI am merely wondering if it was a fiend,\u201d Rider explained. \u201cThat I did see something, I admit. Exactly what was its nature, I am not prepared to say. It may have been a fiend or a ghost, that is possible. But, again, it may not have been.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen what was it?\u201d demanded Burbridge irritably.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do not profess to know; I think I have made that quite clear. But I heard today that these strange visions appear only when something dreadful is about to happen on this property. You have heard that too, haven\u2019t you, Burbridge?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOften.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen I suppose, we had better be looking forward to trouble, to dreadful occurrences?\u201d<\/p>\n
Burbridge glanced doubtfully at Robert. He did not want anything he said to be repeated to Mrs. Palmer.<\/p>\n
The glance was intercepted; Robert spoke out.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom what I have heard,\u201d he said bitterly, \u201cdreadful things seem a specialty in this place. No doubt all these tales are lies; they get on one\u2019s nerves nevertheless. I am beginning to regret that I ever came to Rosehall.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo soon?\u201d interjected Rider lightly. \u201cWell, being sober and in my right mind\u2014a dreadful state that will not last for long\u2014I am inclined to agree that you are right. I can speak out plainly, you see, Rutherford, for my tenure of office here is not likely to be lengthy. I am very fond of resigning.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou would not be here if I were doing my work properly,\u201d said Robert, with a touch of self-contempt.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlease continue in your bad course for a little while yet,\u201d urged Rider. \u201cI need to recuperate before I become a gentleman of insobriety and leisure again. Pardon the impertinence, Rutherford, but you have people in England, haven\u2019t you\u2014people in good circumstances?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes; why do you ask?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo offence intended, old man; but of course I know you are from a \u2019varsity, like myself, and your sort don\u2019t become book-keepers\u2014if our friend Burbridge will excuse a remark which is not intended to be rude. I am a book-keeper now, but that is because of circumstances. \u201cHow art thou fallen, O Lucifer, son of the morning!\u201d And I have no people in England to whom I could turn; a nephew and a couple of cousins only, and their interest in me is very properly nil. They do not specialise in the appreciation of black sheep. You are different. And since you have begun to regret coming to Rosehall you will certainly go on regretting that you ever came to Jamaica. The logical sequence is that you should leave Jamaica as soon as you can. But men, alas, are not guided by logic!\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert smiled, in spite of his depression; he rather liked this quaint parson who was so obviously down and out, and yet who spoke so well and seemed so intelligent.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou take a great interest in me, a stranger,\u201d he replied.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do. Both sober and drunk I am one of the most curious of men. I don\u2019t want to appear a Nosey Parker and that sort of thing, but I have heard all about last night\u2019s little business in these rooms; it is all over the estate. And that, coming just before the appearance of that peculiar-looking ghostly animal, suggests trouble. I am not courageous! I would always avoid trouble precipitately; hence my warning to you. I don\u2019t think you are quite ensnared by the tropics yet?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, there are men like me who, having once got all this sunlight into their bodies, and a good deal of the fermented cane juice into their veins, can never get rid of the fascination of the tropics. Add to those influences a pretty native girl or two, and they are completely lost. They are bound to these lands for ever. I have escaped the wiles of the feminine sex; the bottle has been too powerful a rival to them. But I am doomed to remain here; and so is Burbridge; with him it is financial disabilities mainly. You\u2014you don\u2019t seem to suffer from all these hindrances and drawbacks; therefore I don\u2019t see why the devil you are here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I am.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cQuite so. And last night\u2014all right Burbridge; our friend Rutherford is not the sort that blabs; you need not signal caution\u2014last night showed that you are in a somewhat dangerous position. But you can escape from it if you wish.\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert did not appreciate this direct interference with his affairs. He wondered if Rider could have any ulterior motive for speaking as he did? Had Ashman set him to it? He threw an angry, suspicious look at the ex-clergyman, who understood it in part, but smiled easily.<\/p>\n
Rider sat facing the door. He rose quickly just then, staring towards the dusty path that led from the gate up to the Great House.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur mistress seems to be going for a ride,\u201d he observed, indicating a figure on horseback which, followed by another, was riding towards the gates.<\/p>\n
That it was Annie was quite evident. Another rider attending her was probably her boy.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the first time since I have been here that she has left Rosehall at night,\u201d said Burbridge, surprised, after the two figures on horseback had passed through the gates.<\/p>\n
\u201cAn unusual occurrence, eh? Then the object of her ride must be unusual also. That is a very singular and striking woman,\u201d said Rider.<\/p>\n
The lady and her attendant had now turned their horses\u2019 heads in the direction of Montego Bay. They rode at an easy pace; later on, the road being bad, they would have to go at a walk; they would not reach Montego Bay before eleven o\u2019clock, if that place were their destination.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will be late when they get to the town,\u201d continued Rider; \u201cand that virtuous and somnolent place retires early. Now, what sort of business can be taking Mrs. Palmer to Montego Bay tonight?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou are very curious,\u201d observed Robert with a short laugh, but he too was conscious of a great curiosity.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am curious,\u201d confessed Mr. Rider. \u201cI have already said so. Mrs. Palmer\u2019s doings have exercised a good deal of fascination over me ever since I came to this part of the island. Who is she? What is she? She has had three husbands and\u2014well, it is a fact that she has had three husbands and that all three of them have died. She is a determined woman; she can bend people to her will; she is feared; she can call spirits from the vasty deep\u2014or things that look like spirits. And last night she threatened a young coloured woman with condign punishment, and nearly inflicted that punishment herself. Now she goes riding out at night, with but one boy attending her, and that is hardly what any other white woman in Jamaica would do. She is a mystery. I can\u2019t say that I like mysteries unless I can solve them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe can be very friendly when she wants,\u201d broke in Burbridge haltingly. \u201cAnd she is our employer, after all.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI am here for just so long as it will take Ashman to get someone else to fill my place,\u201d said Rider derisively. \u201cI am merely a convenience and therefore not affected by that strong spirit of loyalty (which seems to me indistinguishable from self-interest) that the ordinary book-keeper may be expected to display. I am here today and gone tomorrow, friend Burbridge, and the benefit of such a situation is that I can speak my mind plainly now and then, knowing that once I depart from any estate, I am not likely to be employed on it again. Anyhow, after what happened on Rosehall last night, I don\u2019t wish to remain here long. A few weeks will be sufficient for me; it would be a few days only were not my exchequer in a deplorable condition. I am now going to keep watch and ward over the still-house, which is a den of thieves. I shall endeavour, myself, to keep my hands off the rum.\u201d<\/p>\n
He laughed but made no movement to leave. Instead of that he lapsed into thought as though something were on his mind.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know what she is, more or less,\u201d said Robert, as if to himself, \u201cbut down in the Bay, I remember now, even the rector was puzzled as to who she was and where she originally came from. He said something of the sort to me when he learnt I was coming here to work. The matter seems to have been much discussed, but no one is any the wiser.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe matter has been much discussed,\u201d said Rider, waking out of his reverie; \u201call personal matters are canvassed in this country with a good deal of energy and even more impertinence. Witness our conversation now. But Mrs. Palmer has not been communicative. Still\u2014\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know something?\u201d quickly inquired Burbridge.<\/p>\n
\u201cMerely rumours, but I fancy they are true. You see, she lived in Kingston before she appeared as a bride in St. James, and Kingston is a town where news spreads far more rapidly than it can down here. I was in Kingston when it was said she was going to marry John Palmer, and as he was known as one of the biggest of the planters, and the owner of the finest residence in rural Jamaica, naturally there was some talk about the woman he had selected as his wife. Some of this talk came my way; I was then curate in the parish church, and the proper thing is that all the gossip should be related to the clergy; apparently it assists them in their spiritual work.\u201d<\/p>\n
He paused for a moment, and the other men waited expectantly, not fishing to press him to detail the early history of a woman, but eager to hear it nevertheless.<\/p>\n
\u201cI forget now what her maiden name was,\u201d resumed Rider, \u201cbut that doesn\u2019t matter. The story was that she came to Jamaica from Haiti.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHaiti?\u201d cried Robert; \u201cthen she is French?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably both French and negro,\u201d suggested Burbridge; \u201cI hear there is a lot of mixture of blood in Haiti; she may have some. That might account for her witcheries!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is hardly any need to find the blood of the negro in every villain, male or female,\u201d chuckled Rider, \u201cthough that seems to be the fashion in the West Indies. The world is not divided into black devils and white angels; anyway, we three could hardly claim to belong to the angelic confraternity, could we? Besides, there were plenty of white people in Haiti once.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, but after the French Revolution the negro leader Dessalines had them all driven out or massacred,\u201d Robert reminded him. \u201cThose who seemed to be white and were allowed to remain really could prove that they had some negro blood in their veins. I was told that in France. Annie may be one of those.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou forget, my friend, that Henry Christophe succeeded Dessalines as ruler of the northern part of Haiti, and he allowed white people to settle there; why, his own doctor was a white man. And in the south, Petion, the President, encouraged white people to remain. No; you are quite wrong about Annie Palmer\u2019s origin. Her mother and father were said to be Irish; she herself was born in England or Ireland\u2014both countries have been mentioned\u2014but they took her over while she was yet a little girl. She speaks English perfectly; she would have learnt it from them. She probably speaks French fluently, though no one here has heard her speak in that language. She must have heard and seen some strange things in Haiti; it was there, if anywhere, that she discovered she had powers out of the ordinary. As a growing girl she must have been even more beautiful than she is now, and if her parents were in favour with either Christophe or Petion she would have been regarded as a sort of goddess by the common people. White, lovely, imperious, strong, fearless: don\u2019t you see she was just the sort of girl that a superstitious people would have worshipped?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI can understand that,\u201d said Robert; \u201cbut what follows from that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis\u2014it is merely a deduction of mine, but I don\u2019t see why it shouldn\u2019t be true\u2014the voodoo priests there, who are versed in all the old African sorcery, and who do understand how to influence the minds of their dupes in all sorts of extraordinary ways, may have seen in this wonderful young girl great occult possibilities, and have taken pleasure in teaching her how to develop those possibilities. She knows how to terrorise the people on her own estates; she has always known it. She can beat down the resistance of white men weaker than herself. I have spoken about the Haitian priests. As a matter of fact, the priestesses of Haiti are quite as powerful, in every way as influential, as their male colleagues. Given a woman of that description thrown in contact with Annie Palmer when she was growing into womanhood, when her mind was maturing, when her curiosity was at its keenest, and anything might happen. She may have had a voodoo priestess for nurse when her parents took her to Haiti; it is quite likely. And Haiti, we all know, is the very stronghold of devil-craft in this part of the world. There the people see visions and the dead are brought out of their graves, or seem to be.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is all guess and hearsay,\u201d murmured Burbridge.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is most of it conjecture,\u201d admitted Rider. \u201cI said as much at the beginning; and that is why I have never mentioned the matter before. Still, she did come from Haiti to Jamaica, and she was of English or Irish parentage; so much was believed in Kingston, and that belief would not have got about if it had not its foundations in fact. The rest may not be true, but I think it is. The circumstances suggest that it is.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I have been talking too much,\u201d he added abruptly; \u201cI must go on to the still-house now.\u201d<\/p>\n
He rose quickly, nodded to the others, then went his way. Robert turned to Burbridge.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat fellow has been saying some peculiar things,\u201d he remarked. \u201cTell me, do you believe these stories about Mrs. Palmer\u2019s murdered husbands?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood God, Rutherford!\u201d exclaimed Burbridge, \u201cdo you want to get me in trouble?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat question alone is an admission,\u201d said Robert grimly. \u201cRider clearly believes that there is some sinister history connected with this place, and so do you. And I am coming to believe it myself. That is the worst of it. My mind is plagued with doubts and suspicions.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut you\u201d\u2014Burbridge hesitated a moment, and then pursued the topic resolutely; he felt he could trust Robert. \u201cYou are not like us, as Rider just said; if you don\u2019t like staying here you can leave when you please, unless\u2014\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUnless what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUnless\u2014you won\u2019t mind my saying so?\u2014you are in love with Mrs. Palmer. I can understand that you should be. She is a wonderful woman.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI will be frank with you, Burbridge; I am and I am not. She is wonderful, as you say, and she has been extraordinarily kind to me. But since you know what happened here last night\u2014of course Psyche told you\u2014I don\u2019t mind admitting that I am startled and disgusted and afraid. I am not afraid for myself, but for Millicent. I don\u2019t know what is going to happen, but I feel that something is. I feel mean when I speak like this; I feel as if I were a traitor. Yet\u201d\u2014he broke off abruptly. \u201cHave you any idea where Millicent may be?\u201d he asked, as if changing the subject.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no particular secret about that. She has an aunt who lives just outside of Montego Bay, on the road to Hanover. I suspect old Takoo took her there last night, but I don\u2019t suppose he will keep her there for long. He will remove her as soon as he can, if he wants her whereabouts to be unknown. Meantime, as she is over twelve miles from here, she should be safe for the present.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSafe from whom?\u201d<\/p>\n
Burbridge did not answer.<\/p>\n
Robert, who had suddenly decided that he was interested in Millicent\u2019s welfare, was frankly and sincerely worried; Burbridge, though personally indifferent, felt that perhaps there might be much to be worried about.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou or Rider, said a little while ago that Mrs. Palmer was going in the direction of Montego Bay,\u201d insisted Robert. \u201cDo you think\u2014\u2014?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI would not dare to think anything,\u201d replied Burbridge, lowering his voice. \u201cI don\u2019t want to get mixed up with this business, Rutherford; I have enough of my own difficulties to contend with.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut surely she wouldn\u2019t dare!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know what you mean,\u201d said Burbridge guardedly, \u201cbut I believe Millicent is perfectly safe where she is, for the present at any rate. She is probably in bed by now, and even in Jamaica a man or woman is secure in bed. There is nothing to worry about.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWill you find out for me, tomorrow, without fail, just where she is?\u201d asked Robert. \u201cCan you get the information? I will pay any expenses that may be incurred. Will you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI will try,\u201d promised Burbridge. \u201cI can send a boy I can trust down to the Bay on an errand, and he will go to the place I told you about. If Millicent is there he will find out.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSend early,\u201d urged Robert; \u201cI want to know before evening.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVery good.\u201d<\/p>\n
Both men sought their rooms.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":251,"menu_order":12,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[49],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-41","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry","chapter-type-numberless"],"part":3,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/whitewitchofrosehall\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/41","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/whitewitchofrosehall\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/whitewitchofrosehall\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/whitewitchofrosehall\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/251"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/whitewitchofrosehall\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/41\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":145,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/whitewitchofrosehall\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/41\/revisions\/145"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/whitewitchofrosehall\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/3"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/whitewitchofrosehall\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/41\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/whitewitchofrosehall\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/whitewitchofrosehall\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=41"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/whitewitchofrosehall\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=41"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/whitewitchofrosehall\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=41"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}