The Admirable Lady Biddy Fane

  CHAPTER XXXVII.

  AN EXPLANATION OF THAT CRY I HEARD IN THE NIGHT, WITH OTHER PERTINENTMATTER.

  The next morning when we were mounted, and only waiting the order tostart on our way, our ears were assailed by the piteous cry of a woman,which recalled to my mind the weeping I had heard in the night; but nowthe wailing was close at hand, coming from the midst of the huts wherethe tower stood. The next moment there sounded the sharp crack of awhip, followed by a scream of pain. At this the pretty color went out ofLady Biddy's cheek, and she called to Lewis de Pino, who stood talkingwith one of the hunters (and both as unconcerned as if they had beenstone deaf), to know whence that cry came; but ere he could come smilingto her side to reply, the whole matter was explained by the appearanceof five young Indian women bearing among them a long pole, to which theywere attached by leather collars round their throats. The foremost ofthem was stanching her tears with her hands under the threat of thearquebusier conducting them, who had a short-stocked whip with a longlash in his hand, with which he tapped her shoulder menacingly as hespoke. These poor souls had never a bit of clothes on but a clout abouttheir loins, and she who was trying to check her weeping had a longwheal across her neck, that stood out purple from her copper skin wherethe whip had fallen.

  Lady Biddy was greatly shocked at the spectacle of this barbarity; norcould she smile on Lewis de Pino that day as she had the day before,which I was glad to observe; albeit he did all he could to set thismatter in a fair light when we stopped at noon to dinner. He told herthat slaves were one of the commodities he dealt in, and that if he didnot occupy himself in this traffic another would, and maybe to theirdisadvantage, assuring her they were better treated at his hands than bytheir own kinsmen, who, of their own free will, brought their wives anddaughters down to the station to sell them for knives, axes, beads, andthe like; justifying himself by the opinion of some very pious writersthat all things being created for the use of man, Providence did furnishthe savage heathens to be servants of Christians for the cultivation ofspices, sugars, and other things necessary to their comfort.

  "But," says Lady Biddy, "if their case is better as slaves than as freewomen, why does that poor soul weep?"

  "Why," says he, "my man was forced to use his whip because she strove tohang herself by the neck to the pole the others carried; and you mustagree that in every country those are deservingly punished who attemptto end a life given them to be a blessing to their fellow-creatures."

  "Nay," says Lady Biddy, "that is no answer to my question. She wept ereshe tried to end her miserable life, for a certainty, and I would knowwhy she wept."

  Lewis de Pino, making inquiries on this, learnt that the young woman hadbut recently been wedded, and that her husband losing his life inbattle, she had been sold by her father, who could not be burthened withher.

  "So you see, madam," says he, when he had imparted this, "we treat themno worse than they would be treated if we did not exist. Nevertheless,'tis a trade I would gladly abandon, for the sight of theirsuffering--which I can not ignore--unmans me for my business, so that Ioften pay more for these slaves than they are worth, merely to securethem from the ill-treatment they would receive were they returned uponthe hands of those who would be rid of them. Nay, the sight of that poorcreature's tears so moves me that I will, if it please you, order hercollar to be unbolted and give her freedom."

  This the sly rogue offered, knowing well that Lady Biddy would notconsent to an act which he himself had shown would be the greatercruelty, and with the sole intent, I take it, to insinuate himself intomy lady's good graces. All that she desired, therefore, was that theyoung woman should be placed on one of the pack-mules until she hadrecovered from the exhaustion into which her grief had thrown her.Whereupon Lewis de Pino, with as good grace as he could muster, orderedher leather collar to be unbolted, and a place to be made for her on oneof the mules, making the young woman understand at the same time that itwas by the wish of Lady Biddy that this indulgence was granted her. Thisshe understood well enough, for being freed she rushes to Lady Biddy,embraces her knees, pressing her face against them; but this done, erehand could be laid on her, she darted off with a cry like a startledblackbird into the wood.

  Coming to a distance, she had yet so much feeling that gratitude rose inher bosom above the instinct of self-preservation, and she turned about,raising her arms in the air as if to bless Lady Biddy. At that moment,seeing her thus exposed, a Portugal cocks his musket, and, clapping itto his shoulder, fires at her; but by good chance I, standing not morethan a yard off, was enabled by a quick movement to fling the fellow'sarm up, whereby the ball passed harmlessly over her head. With anotherwild cry of joy she turned about and fled out of sight, nor did any ofthe Portugals attempt to follow her more than a score of yards or so,for loaded as they were with their arms, to pursue her, who was light onfoot as any deer, was a profitless folly.

  This business did not prove more clearly than words what a liar Lewis dePino was, for surely the girl would not so joyously have recoveredfreedom if that was true that he told of the barbarity of her kinsfolk.But for all this he did persevere in defending himself as we continuedour march, and, to my mortification, Lady Biddy allowed herself, as Ijudged by her manner, to be beguiled by his crafty tongue. So that I wasnot much better pleased with her this day than I had been the daybefore.

  Indeed, it was past my comprehension how one of her understanding couldfail to see that this Lewis de Pino, for all his good looks and fairspeaking, was an arrant rascal; but that was no such extraordinarymatter neither, for as the day began to draw in I began to doubt whetherI had not suffered him to deceive me, who was by no means under thecharm of his personal gifts. For, taking note of the position of the sunpretty frequently, and making all allowance for the turns of the path inwinding amongst the mountains, I came to the conclusion that we had beentraveling for these two days full south, and rather a point or so to theeast of it than to the west. Then calling to mind as well as I could thelook of the chart, it grew upon me that we were not making in thedirection of Caracas at all, by reason that the chain of mountains thereset down ran east and west, with Caracas lying not more than half adozen leagues from the sea.

  As this conviction became stronger, I was troubled beyond description,for to go back was out of the question; while to go on was to layourselves more inevitably in the power of Lewis de Pino. So, with aheart like any lump of lead, I laid me in my net that night; yet might Ihave counted myself a happy man at that time could I have foreseen thegreater trouble that was to come, as I shall show in the next chapter.