A Jolly Fellowship

  CHAPTER XII.

  RECTUS LOSES RANK.

  After supper, Rectus and I went to see the African governor, GoliahBrown. He was a good-natured old colored man, who lived in a house atrifle better than most of those inhabited by his fellow-countrymen. Themain room was of a fair size, and there was a centre-table, with somebooks on it.

  When we saw this, we hesitated. Could we ask a man who owned books, andcould probably read, to play second fiddle to a woman who could notspeak the English language, and who for years, perhaps, had devoted theenergies of her soul to the sale of pepper-pods?

  However, the office of prime minister was no trifle, and many moredistinguished and more learned men than Goliah Brown have been glad toget it. Besides this, we considered that blood is blood, and, inmonarchical countries, a queen is a queen. This was a colony of amonarchy, and we would push forward the claims of Poqua-dilla the First.We called her "The First," because, although she may have had a goodmany ancestors of her name in Africa, she certainly started the line inthe Bahamas.

  Goliah proved himself a steady-going talker. He seemed pleased to haveus call on him, and told us the whole story of the capture of himselfand the rest of the Africans. We had heard pretty much all of it before,but, of course, we had to politely listen to it again.

  When he finished, we asked a few questions about the queen, and findingthat Goliah admitted her claims to royal blood, we told him what weproposed to do, and boldly asked him to take the position of primeminister in the African community.

  At first, he did not understand, and we had to go over the thing two orthree times before he saw into it. Then, it was evident that he couldnot see what business this was of ours, and we had to explain ourmotives, which was some trouble, because we had not quite straightenedthem out in our own minds.

  Then he wanted to know which was the head person, a queen or a primeminister. We set forth the strict truth to him in this matter. We toldhim that although a queen in a well-regulated monarchy actually occupiesthe highest place, that the prime minister is the fellow who does thereal governing. He thought this might all be so, but he did not like theidea of having any one, especially Jane Henderson, as he called her, ina position higher than his own. We did not say anything to him, then,about giving the queen her English name, because we supposed that hehad been used to speak of her in that way, to white people, but wedetermined to refer to this when matters should be settled.

  He was so set in his own opinion on this point of position, that we wereafraid we should be obliged to give the thing up. He used very goodarguments, too. He said that he had been elected to his present officeby his fellow Africans; that he had held it a long time; that he didn'tthink the rest of his people wanted him to give it up, and he didn'tthink he wanted to give it up himself. A prime minister might be allvery well, but he didn't know anything about it. He knew what it was tobe governor, and was very well satisfied to leave things as they were.

  This was dampening. Just as the old fellow thought he had settled thematter, a happy thought struck me: we might make the monarchy anindependent arrangement. Perhaps Goliah would have no objection to that,provided we did not interfere with his governorship. If Poqua-dillashould be recognized as a queen, and crowned, and provided with anincome sufficient to keep her out of any retail business, it was aboutall she could expect, at her time of life. She certainly would not careto do any governing. The few subjects that we should enlist would bemore like courtiers than anything else.

  I called Rectus to the door, and suggested this arrangement to him. Hethought it would be better than nothing, and that it would be well tomention it.

  We did this, and Goliah thought a while.

  "Ef I lets her be call' queen," he said, "an' she jist stay at home an'min' her own business, an' don' run herse'f agin me, no way, how muchyou s'pose she able to gib fur dat?"

  "'ALL RIGHT,' SAID GOLIAH, WITH A SMILE."]

  Rectus and I went again to the front door to consult, and when we cameback, we said we thought she would be able to give a dollar.

  "All right," said Goliah, with a smile. "She kin jist go ahead, and bequeen. Only don' let her run herse'f ag'in me."

  This suited us, and we paid the dollar, and came away.

  "More cash!" said Rectus, as we walked home.

  "Yes," said I, "but what troubles me is that queen's income. I don't seenow where it's to come from, for old Goliah wont allow his people to betaxed for her, that's certain."

  Rectus agreed that things looked a little bluish, but he thought wemight pay the income ourselves, until after the coronation, and then wecould see what else could be done. This wasn't much of a plan, but Icouldn't think of anything better.

  The next day, about noon, we all went to see the real governor of thecolony. Rectus and I didn't care much about doing this, but Cornyinsisted on it. She was afraid of the police,--and probably of the armyand navy, although she made light of them,--and so she thought it wouldbe a good thing to see whether or not we should have to combat with allthese forces, if we should carry out our plans. We took Priscilla alongwith us on Corny's account. It would look respectable for her to have anattendant. This being an extra job, Priscilla earned two sixpences thatday.

  The governor lived in a fine house, on the hill back of the town, andalthough we all knew where it was, Priscilla was of great use to ushere, for she took us in at a side gate, where we could walk right up tothe door of the governor's office, without going to the grand entrance,at the front of the house, where the English flag was flying. There wasa red-coated soldier standing just in the door-way, and when we saw him,we put ourselves on our stiffest behavior. We told Priscilla to waitoutside, in the path, and try and behave so that people would thinkthere was a pretty high-toned party inside. We then went up to thered-coat, and asked to see the governor. The soldier looked at us alittle queerly, and went back into the house.

  He staid a good while, but when he came out he told us to follow him,and took us through a hall into a room where two gentlemen were sittingat desks. One of these jumped up and came to meet us.

  "There is the secretary," said the soldier, in a low voice to me, andthen he left us.

  We now had to ask the secretary if we could see the governor. Heinquired our business, but we didn't seem anxious to tell him.

  "Anything private?" he said, with a smile.

  "Well, sir," said I, "it's not exactly private, but it's not a very easything to put straight before anybody, and if it don't make anydifference, we'd rather not have to tell it twice."

  He hesitated for a minute, and then he said he'd see, and went intoanother room.

  "Now, look here," I whispered to Rectus, "if you're captain, you've gotto step up and do the talking. It isn't my place."

  The secretary now returned, and said the governor could give us a fewminutes. I think the probability was that he was curious to know whattwo boys and a girl could want with him.

  The governor's office, into which we now were shown, was a large room,with plenty of book-cases and shelves against the walls, and in themiddle of the floor a big table, which was covered with papers, packagesof manuscript tied up with tape, and every kind of thing necessary tomake matters look as if business was brisk in these islands. Thegovernor himself was a tall, handsome gentleman, not old a bit, as Cornyput it afterward, and dressed all in white linen, which gave him an airof coolness and cleanness that was quite agreeable to us after our walkin the sun. He was sitting at one end of the long table, and he politelymotioned us to seats at one side of him. I expect the secretary arrangedthe chairs before we came in. We made our manners and sat down.

  "Well," said he, "what can I do for you?"

  If Corny hadn't been along, I don't believe he would have seen us atall. There can be nothing attractive to a governor about two boys. Butalmost any one would take an interest in a girl like Corny. Thesecretary was very polite to her.

  Rectus now gave his throat a little clearing, and pushed off.

  "Our busi
ness with you, sir, is to see about doing something for a poorqueen, a very good and honest woman----"

  "A poor but honest queen!" interrupted the governor, with a smile.

  "Oh, he don't mean a common queen," said Corny, quickly. "He means ablack queen,--an African,--born royal, but taken prisoner when young,and brought here, and she lives over there in the African settlements,and sells peppers, but is just as much a queen as ever, you know, sir,for selling things on a door-step can't take the royal blood out of aperson."

  "Oh no, indeed!" said the governor, and he looked very much tickled.

  "And this poor woman is old, now, and has no revenue, and has to getalong as well as she can, which is pretty poorly, I know, and nobodyever treats her any better than if she had been born a common person,and we want to give her a chance of having as many of her rights as shecan before she dies."

  "At any rate," said Rectus, who had been waiting for a chance to make afresh start, "if we can't give her all her royal rights, we want to lether know how it feels to be a queen, and to give her a little show amongher people."

  "You are talking of an old native African woman?" said the governor,looking at Corny. "I have heard of her. It seems to be generally agreedthat she belonged to a royal family in one of the African tribes. Andyou want to restore her to her regal station?"

  "We can't do that, of course," said Corny; "but we do think she's beenshamefully used, and all we want to do is to have her acknowledged byher people. She needn't do any ruling. We'll fix her up so that she'lllook enough like a queen for those dreadfully poor people."

  "Yes," put in Rectus, who had been getting warm on the subject, "theyare dreadfully poor, but she's the poorest of the lot, and it's a shameto see how she, a regular queen, has to live, while a governor, whowasn't anybody before he got his place, lives in the best house, withtables and books, and everything he wants, for all I know, and a bigflag in front of his door, as if he was somebody great, and----"

  "What?" said the governor, pretty quick and sharp, and turning aroundsquare on Rectus.

  "Oh, he don't mean you!" said Corny. "He's talking about the blackgovernor, Goliah Brown."

  "Ah, indeed!" said he, turning away from Rectus as if he didn't like hislooks. "And what does Brown think of all this?"

  I thought I'd better say a word or two now, because I didn't know whereRectus would fetch us up next, if we should give him another chance, andso I said to the governor that I knew Goliah Brown would make noobjections to the plan, because we had talked it over with him, and hehad agreed to it.

  "Well, then, what do you want that I should do for you?" said thegovernor to Corny.

  "Oh, nothing sir," said she, "but just to make it all safe for us. Wedidn't know exactly what the rules were on this island, and so wethought we'd come and see you about it. We don't want the policemen, orthe soldiers or sailors, or anybody, to get after us."

  "There is no rule here against giving a queen her rights," said thegovernor, who seemed to be in a good humor as long as he talked toCorny, "and no one shall interfere with you, provided you do not commitany disorder, and I'm sure you will not do that."

  "Oh, no!" said Corny; "we just intend to have a little coronation, andto ask the people to remember that she's a queen and not a pepper-podwoman; and if you could just give us a paper commission, and sign it, weshould--at least I should--feel a good deal easier."

  "You shall have it," said the governor, and he took some paper and apen.

  "It seems a little curious," said he to Corny, as he dipped his pen inthe ink, "that I should serve a queen, and have a queen under me at thesame time, doesn't it?"

  "Kind o' sandwiched," remarked Rectus, who had a face like frozen brass.

  The governor went on writing, and Corny and I looked at Rectus as if wewould singe his hair.

  "You are all from the States, I suppose," said the governor.

  I said we were.

  "What are your names?" he asked, looking at Corny first.

  "Cornelia V. Chipperton," said Corny, and he wrote that down. Then helooked at me.

  "William Taylor Gordon," said I. When the governor had put that on hispaper, he just gave his head a little wag toward Rectus. He didn't lookat him.

  "My name is Samuel Colbert," said Rectus.

  Corny turned short on him, with eyes wide open.

  "Samuel!" she said, in a sort of theatre-whisper.

  "Now, then," said the governor, "this paper will show that you have fullpermission to carry out your little plans, provided that you do nothingthat may create any disorder. If the woman--your queen, I mean--has beenin the habit of earning her own livelihood, don't make a pauper of her."And he gave us a general look as if the time had come to say good-bye.So we got up and thanked him, and he shook hands with us, Rectus andall, and we came away.

  We found Priscilla sitting cross-legged on the grass outside, pitchingpennies.

  "That thar red-coat he want to sen' me off," said she, "but I tole himmy missy and bosses was inside, and I boun' to wait fur 'em, or gitturned off. So he le' me stay."

  Corny, for a wonder, did not reprove Priscilla for giving the sentinelthe idea that her employers hired penny-pitchers to follow them around,but she walked on in silence until we were out of the grounds. Then sheturned to Rectus and said:

  "I thought your name was Rectus!"

  "It isn't," said he. "It's Samuel."

  This was no sort of an answer to give Corny, and so I explained thatRectus was his school name; that he was younger than most of us, andthat we used to call him Young Rectus; but that I had pretty muchdropped the "young" since we had been travelling together. It didn'tappear to be needed.

  "But why did you call him Rectus, when his name's Samuel?" asked Corny.

  "Well," said I, laughing, "it seemed to suit him."

  This was all that was said about the matter, for Priscilla came up andsaid she must hurry home, and that she'd like to have her sixpence, andthat changed the subject, for we were out of small money and could onlymake up eleven half-pence among us. But Priscilla agreed to trust usuntil evening for the other "hoppenny."

  Corny didn't say much on the way home, and she looked as if she wasdoing some private thinking. I suppose, among other things, she thoughtthat as I considered it all right to call Rectus Rectus, she might aswell do it herself, for she said:

  "Rectus, I don't think you're as good at talking as Will is. I move wehave a new election for captain."

  "All right," said Rectus; "I'm agreed."

  You couldn't make that boy angry. We held a meeting just as we got tothe hotel, and he and Corny both voted for me.