CHAPTER X
"THEN CAME THE WILD WEATHER."
January and February, blustery, wild months, crept slowly away, andMarch, still more blustery, came in. The cold and dampness told uponpoor old Charles, and more than one day found him a fast prisoner in the"baid," which, in spite of Mammy's conviction "dat it fair hit de sorespots," frequently failed to find Charles', and only served to smotherhis groans. Then one day, when, in spite of his spouse's protests, heinsisted upon going to the Arcade in a driving snowstorm, the climax wasreached, and when Charles reached his little cabin at nightfall he was"cl'ar beat out an' ready fer ter drap," as Mammy told Mrs. Carruth. Thenext day he was downright ill, and a physician had to be summoned.
"Seem lak, seem lak de very ol' boy hisself done got inter dat man,"scolded Mammy, her wrath the outcome of nervous irritation, for Charleswas the pride and the love of her life. "No matter how I is ter argifywid him, he just natcherly boun' ter go 'long ter dat Arcyde yistiddy,an' now see what done come of it! Gawd bress ma soul, I reckons I'dsmack him good ef he warn't lyin' dar groanin' so wid his misery dat helak 'nough wouldn't feel de smacks I give him. Tch! tch!" and Mammyshook her head ominously.
"Poor Charles! I'll go right out to the cabin, Mammy, and sit with himwhile you look after your cooking; it's too bad, too bad; but I think hewill soon be about again."
"Yes, an' ef yo' goes out in dis hyar blizzardy weather I'll have twosick folks on my han's 'stid o' one. Now, see here, Miss Jinny, yo' min'me an' stay indoors! Yo' hear me?"
"Nonsense, Mammy. Do you think I shall take cold by walking from here toyour cabin? How foolish," protested Mrs. Carruth. "Your luncheon countercannot be neglected, and with but one pair of hands how can you do yourcooking and nurse Charles, too?"
As she spoke Mrs. Carruth tied a scarf over her head and wrapped a long,heavy cloak about her, Mammy never for a second ceasing to protest.
"Now come, Mammy," she said, leading the way to the back door, Mammyfollowing and scolding every step of the way. As they opened the doorleading to the back porch they were assailed by a gust of wind and awhirl of snow which blinded them, and at the same time nearly carriedthem off their feet.
"Mighty man! Go 'long back, Miss Jinny' Go back! Dis hyar ain't nofittin' place fer yo', I tells yo'," gasped Mammy, turning to bar Mrs.Carruth's progress, for even Mammy's weight was as a straw against thegale which swept around the corner of the porch. But slight as she was,Mrs. Carruth was not to be overborne. For a moment she laid hold of theporch railing to steady herself, then with a firm hold upon her flappingcloak braced herself against the wind, and started for the cottage.Mammy was for once silenced, simply because the words were swept fromher lips as soon as she tried to form them.
Earlier in the morning an attempt had been made to clear a path to thecottage; but in such a wild, howling blizzard a half hour was more thanenough to set man's work at naught, and Mrs. Carruth and Mammy had toflounder through the snowdrifts as best they could, and were breathlesswhen they reached the bottom of the garden.
"Fo' Gawd's sake, come unner de lee ob de house 'fore yo' is blown daidunner ma eyes, honey," panted Mammy. "Oh, why for is we ever come tersech a place fer ter live! We all gwine be froz daid 'fore we kin drawour brefs. Come in de house, Miss Jinny, come in," and, half dragging,half carrying her mistress, Mammy led her into the cabin where thelittle darkey, Mammy's handmaiden, stood with her eyes nearly poppingout of her head with fright, for she had been watching them from thesafe shelter of the kitchen.
Mrs. Carruth dropped upon a chair well-nigh exhausted, for even thoughthe cabin was barely two hundred feet from the house, it had requiredall the strength she could summon to battle her way to it in the forceand smother of the blizzard.
"Why--why, I'd no idea it was so terrible," she panted. "I've never knownsuch a storm."
"Ain't I tell yo' so? Ain't I tell yo' not ter come out in it? An' how Iis ter git yo' back ter de house is mo'n I kin tell," deplored Mammy, asshe hastily divested herself of her own wrappings and then turned toremove her mistress'.
"Yo' foots is soppin', soakin' wet. Yo' mought as well not 'a' had norubbers on 'em, fer yo' is wet ter de knees. Hyer, you no 'countMirandy, get me some hot water, an' den hike upstairs fo' de bottle obalcohol, yo' hyer me!" stormed Mammy, relieved to find someone to venther irritation upon. "An' yo' ain't gwine back ter dat house whilst disstorm is ragin', let me tell yo'."
"I am all right, Mammy; this is mere folly. I shall be as dry as a bonein just a few minutes," protested Mrs. Carruth.
"Yis! Yis! An' lak enough chilled to de bone, too. Now, yo' min' what Itells you," and, in spite of their protests, Mrs. Carruth was presentlyrubbed and warmed into dry garments and comfort. It was well Constance'sCandy Kitchen communicated with Mammy's quarters, and that a supply ofclothing was always kept in it. It was deserted this morning, for Maryand Fanny had gone home on the previous, Saturday afternoon, and thestorm had made it impossible for them to return. A large supply of candyhad been sent to the Arcade on Saturday morning; so even if customerswere courageous enough to face the blizzard in quest of sweets therewould be no lack of of sweets to please the sweet tooth, and Constancewas glad of the respite the storm gave her, for, like many another busylittle business woman, she found many things to attend to in the housewhen she could steal the time from her regular duties.
This morning she was busy with a dozen little odd bits of work, whileJean, school impossible in such weather, was lost to all the outer worldin a new book.
When Mrs. Carruth was made comfortable she went upstairs to Charles. Shefound him in a sorry plight, and saw at once that poor old Charles wasin a more serious condition than Mammy realized, troubled as she wasabout him; but this was carefully concealed from the old woman.
"We have both to take our scolding now," she said as she seated herselfnear him. "Mammy will never forgive either of us for disobeying her,Charles. But what can I do for you?"
Charles was too stiff and full of pain to move, but he tried to smilebravely as he answered:
"Reckons we'd better a-minded her, Honey. Reckons we had. She's a mightypert 'oman, she is, an' when she say do, we better _do_, an' when shesay don't, we better _don't_, dat's suah. An' jes' look at me! Hyar Ilayin' lak I tied han' an' foot, an' de bis'ness down yonder gwine terrack an' ruin, lak 'nough, wid dat no 'count boy a-runnin' it. AndCharles groaned in tribulation of spirit.
"Wait a moment; I'll see that all goes well down there," answered Mrs.Carruth, soothingly, and slipping away from the room she went into thedeserted Bee-hive to 'phone to the Arcade. After considerable delay shegot Mr. Porter and told him the situation. He was all interest, andbegged her to tell Charles that if necessary he himself would mountguard over the luncheon counter. She next called Hadyn, and asked him tolet her know how all went at the candy booth. He assured her that allwas well, but that business did not seem to be flourishing.
"Will you please tell Miss Boggs to close it for the day and to go homeat once, Hadyn? The storm grows worse every moment, I believe, and ifshe remains there any longer she may not be able to get home."
"I'll tell her, and I'll see that she gets home, too. Don't worry,little mother. I'll be down a little later to see how you all fare."
"Oh, no! No! Don't try to come. We are all right, and you must not tryto drive here in this awful storm. Promise me that you won't, Hadyn."
"Can't make rash promises, and Comet has breasted even worse storms thanthis," was the laughing answer. "Who is looking after your furnace, nowthat Charles is down and out?"
"Mr. Henry's man. He was here this morning, and will be back thisevening. We lack nothing, and we don't want you under _any_circumstances. Please, say you won't try to come."
"Not unless----" Then there was a whirr and one or two disconnected wordsand the connection broke short off. No wires could long withstand theweight of ice and snow and the force of wind wrenching at them. Mrs.Carruth tried again and again to get the connection, but all to nopurpose, and with a strang
e apprehension in her heart she returned toCharles' bedside to reassure him regarding his luncheon counter.
At noon the doctor called to see Charles, and during Mammy's absencefrom the room Mrs. Carruth contrived to have a word with him.
"He's a pretty old man, and took big chances yesterday. If it were onlythe rheumatism I had to contend with, I should not feel the leastconcern for him. That is painful, I know, but not dangerous, as it hassettled in his limbs; but I don't like this temperature and breathing.Yet I dare say, if I use a stethoscope, he will think he is a dead manalready. These colored people are difficult patients to handle, whatwith their ignorance and their emotional temperaments they are far worsethan children, for we can compel children to do as we think best."
Mrs. Carruth smiled. "You do not know the ante-bellum negro," she said.
"Maybe I do not, but I know the post-bellum, I can tell you, and I'vevery little use for them."
"Do you wish to examine Charles?" she asked, quietly.
"If he had been a white man, I should have done so last night when I wasfirst called to attend him; but I came near being mobbed the last time Itried to use a stethoscope on a negro patient. The family thought I wasabout to remove the woman's lungs, I believe."
"Charles, I wish Dr. Black to examine you very thoroughly while he ishere--as thoroughly as if he were treating me. There is nothing to alarmyou; but we cannot treat you understandingly unless he learns exactlywhere the greatest difficulty lies."
"Wha' he gwine do to me?" asked Charles, his eyes opening wide.
"Examine your lungs and heart to see if they are sound and strong."
"He gwine cut me wide open?" cried the old man.
Just then Mammy entered. It was well she did. "Luty, Luty, dat man gwineprojec' wid me, honey; don' you let him."
For a moment Mammy seemed ready to take the defensive, and Dr. Blackshrugged his shoulders in a manner which indicated: "I told you so."Perhaps it was the shrug--Mammy wasn't slow to grasp a situation--but morelikely it was the look in her Miss Jinny's eyes, for, turning to thedoctor, she said, with the air of an African queen:
"Yo' is de perfessional 'tendant, an' I wishes yo' fer ter do what yo'an' ma Miss Jinny knows fer ter be right wid de patient."
When Dr. Black left a few moments later, he said to Mrs. Carruth, whohad followed him downstairs, while Mammy remained behind to alternatelyberate and calm Charles:
"If we can keep the fever down, the old fellow may escape with nothingworse than his rheumatic twinges--hard to bear, but not alarming; but Idon't like the other symptoms. He was too old to take such chances. Canyou let me hear from him about eight this evening?"
"Every hour if necessary. He is like one of our own family to us, andnothing we can do for him or Mammy can ever repay their devotion to us.Would it not be better for you to call again?"
"I'd gladly do so, but I am likely to be summoned to a patient inGlendale at any moment, and with this storm----" And the doctor waved hishand toward the turmoil beyond the windows.
"I know it. I will 'phone if----" Then Mrs. Carruth paused in dismay."What if the wires were down?"
"My wire was all right when I left home less than an hour since, and youmay not need me, after all. I hope you will not."
"Amen to that hope," said Mrs. Carruth, fervently, and, bidding thedoctor good-bye, she returned to Charles.
As the day dragged on the storm increased in violence. Mammy would nothear of Mrs. Carruth returning to the house, but prepared a dainty trayfor her and ordered her into the Bee-hive to partake of her luncheon,and afterward to lie down. Perhaps she would not have been so ready tocomply with the old woman's wishes had she not resolved upon a coursewhich she felt sure Mammy would combat with all her strength. This wasto spend the night with Charles, whose condition did not improve. Towardevening Jean came battling out to the cottage, followed by Constance,greatly to Mammy's consternation.
"I 'clar's ter goodness, yo's all gone crazy!" she stormed as they camein from the Bee-hive. "Fo' de Lawd's sake, wha' brung you chillun outhyer? Ain' yo' Ma an' me got 'nough fer ter pester us wid dat sick manup dar widout any mo' tribberlations 'scendin' 'pon us? Go 'long back, Itells yo'; 'fo' we's driven cl'ar crazy."
"Hush, Mammy, dear," said Constance. "I want mother to go back to thehouse and let me take her place with Charles. I am so strong that itwon't tire me, and you know I'm a good nurse, don't you?"
"And so am I, Mammy. You know I am," broke in Jean. "Please, please letme stay."
For a moment Mammy looked as though she were about to take a wild flightinto the wilder weather outside, and her wits along with her; then shestamped her foot and said:
"Yo' chillern come an' talk wid yo' ma."