The Broken Sword; Or, A Pictorial Page in Reconstruction

by D. Worthington

  CHAPTER XI.

  THE MAJESTY OF THE LAW.

  Another morning came and there was a cook perseveringly tasking herselfwith a round of slavish duties in the kitchen; but she did not come fromNed's cabin.

  Old Jupiter, the pet hound, looked up into her fair face as if to say,"You will not forget me when breakfast is ready will you?" As quietly aspossible she went about; there was no rattling of cups and plates, forthe new cook said as she came softly out of her chamber "my dear fathermust not be disturbed this morning." She went resignedly to her toil.There was a blister or two upon her soft white hands, "but father willkiss the fire out of them when he comes to breakfast; and then we willgive thanks to God for His bounty and in our home it may be that weshall be happy."

  As her father entered the room, Alice ran to kiss him, observing thatshe would not ask for a compliment this morning, as it seemed thatClarissa had communicated her mad spirit to all the appurtenances of thekitchen; the fire would not burn and the kettle had gone off upon arampage, perhaps as Clarissa's carriage would go when driven upon thecorduroy roads of reconstruction; and then again she had prodded herhand unnecessarily with the sharp tines of a fork with which she wasmarking points in the biscuits.

  Her father laughed at her little deficiencies as he relaxed his sternold face to kiss her and said to her approvingly "perhaps you will yetbe a CHEF in this responsible department my daughter."

  Together they sat down to their meal; together their hearts wereuplifted unto Him who had made for them such ample provision.

  "And now my daughter," said the colonel smilingly as he was leaving theroom "what are your prognostications for to-day. Shall we have peace andrest, or surprises and?" he had not concluded the enquiry when a rudeknocking came from the hall door. A frown instantly shadowed theveteran's face. The hour for inquisitorial visits or interruptions wasunseasonable, "what could it mean?" he queried.

  "Is yo name Semo?" asked a ruffianly negro in uniform, as the oldsoldier opened the door "It is," replied the colonel restraining hiswrath.

  "Yu is summuns to kote sar forthwid."

  "Why such a requisition, will you please explain," demanded the colonel.

  "Don't ax fool questions white man; cum rite erlong, dis heer ritbleeges me to tak yu ded er live."

  The colonel went to the stable to saddle Nelly and she was gone,Sweetheart was also gone, and so were the other horses.

  He came back with the information; the negro laughed savagely in hisface, and told him "dat de milintery company was er drillin in de townund he seed his hosses ergwine to de drill-ground wid de sargent und decorprul und de flagman."

  The colonel looked into the face of the negro as he asked despairingly:"How am I to obey the order? I have no way of getting to your court."

  "You has got ter go ded er live, I'm er gwine to gib yu one hour to gitter kote und den I'm agwine ter fetch yu wid de possum common taters,"and the negro gave his horse the whip and cantered away.

  Sixty-five years had stiffened the joints of the old man; his musclesand sinews were relaxed and gouty, but the order must be obeyed; notemporizing with the policy of reconstruction, no annulling an orderwhen issued from a court.

  The old gentleman halting from sheer weakness ascended the ricketystairway of the court room and he saw the power of the law, itslearning, its dignity prostituted to ignoble purposes.

  He saw the power of reconstruction, its ignorance, its venalityaccentuated to a degree that provoked his abhorrence.

  He saw as he entered the house the American flag drooping in gracefulfolds over the bench, and he felt that judicial authority was reinforcedby the strength and dominion that overpowered the South.

  A stupid negro as black as the hinges of midnight sat upon the judgmentseat; sat there as a representative of the law that had for itssubstantial underpinning in all the bygone ages, honesty, capacity,promptitude, justice; sat there under a commission to checkmate evil.

  There were but two white men in this revolting presence, beside theveteran, whose face was now marked by fatigue and despair, and whodropped exhausted upon a rude bench.

  They were not there from choice but because the law of the bewilderedland had brought them there.

  Judge Blackstock's black face looked out of a canopy as of carded wool;beetling eyebrows of snowy whiteness would rise and fall automaticallylike the crest of a kingfisher; the contour of his face was maderidiculously picturesque by great brass rimmed spectacles that satreposefully below the bridge of his nose.

  A spring tide one day washed him out of a fisherman's hut into theoffice of a justice of the peace, where he was dipping out of his Dutchnets a larger fry.

  The old negro was not vicious or malignant, only ignorant, fanatical andsuperstitious, with a religious vein that ran in eccentric curves andsharp lines through his stupid nature.

  Laflin was his apotheosis, his providence, his inspiration. It wasLaflin he believed who had placed in the mid-heavens the great luminaryof freedom; who had written upon amaranthine leaves the proclamation ofemancipation; and who had erected within his reach the huge commissariatdripping all the while with fatness.

  It was to Laflin that he carried his docket every morning to beparagraphed by stars and asterisks against the names of particularoffenders; and it was to Laflin that he read the judgments of the courtwhenever rebels were indicted.

  If "Ilderim" the sheik could have seen the old negro with his mace ofoffice presiding in his court he would have recognized his maternaluncle.

  The black judge retained his office rather by sufferance thanpopularity. He was guided by convictions that were illogical andfoolish; slavery he believed to have been the whipcords of an offendedGod with which he smote his chosen people the negroes hip and thigh.This man was one of the judges who was caricaturing reconstruction;inditing as it were a pictorial commentary of the law of crimes andmisdemeanors in misfitting cartoons.

  "Make de pocklermashun, officer" he said to the negro constable as heplaced in his right cheek a huge quid of tobacco.

  "Oh yes," shouted the constable "dis kote is open fur de suppreshun objestis; walk light."

  The judge adjusting his spectacles with a judicial temper, read aloud awarrant. "De state agin Edward Sanders."

  "Stand up dar prisner; is yu gilty ob dis high depredashun ob de law uris yu not gilty?"

  "Not guilty," replied Mr. Sanders.

  "What maks yu say dat white man?" asked his honor.

  "Because I am not in the habit of lying," replied the offended man."Look a heer white man I aint agwine ter hab no bigity in dis kote,"said the judge as he pointed his long bony finger with a savage frown atthe prisoner, "yer 'nose dis heer kote is agwin ter mak itsef ojeous unda pine plank scandle und stinch to dem dat goes agin de law. Don't disheer warrant sezs how dat yu dun und dun dis heer depredashun und now yuups und sez how dat yu didn't. The jedge ob dis kote aint agwine aginhis own affidavy und yu is foun gilty upon de hipsy dixsy ob dis heerwarrant."

  "But I beg that I may be allowed to introduce witnesses who would proveme innocent," exclaimed the prisoner.

  "How in de name ob God is dey gwine to prube yu innercent when dewarrant hab dun und foun yu gilty? tell me dat" asked the judgeargumentively.

  "Do you mean to convict a man in your court who has not been judiciallytried," asked Mr. Sanders.

  "Say dat ober agin" commanded the judge as he leaned forward using hisopen hand as a ear trumpet; "dis kote don't comprehen de fassinashun obde question," and the prisoner repeated the question with emphasis.

  "Eggzackly so," exclaimed the judge, "I sees de pint; you is perseedingto put dis kote in contempt wid your obstropuous language; dis kote isgwine to rite its judgment so de boss can read it widout his specks. Hithas heerd de state pro und con und hit has measured out its ekality ingolden stillyurds, and upon de hole kase und de aggrawashuns dareof yuis foun one hundred dollars und recognized fur your good behavens fur ayear und a day. Officer," he continued addressing the negro, "size updat
white man's pile und tak out er hundred dollars fur de fine fore yuturns him loose."

  "Next case" he exclaimed, "dare is dat Betsy Collins agin; er witnessfur de state agin Mr. Thomson" he continued deprecatingly, "allus agittin up a great flustration agin de po house; a runnin to dis kote widarrant lies lak hit was agwine ter trude itsef on brudder Thomson'sfeelins."

  "What is you doin heer Betsy Collins wid your rad eye a bunged up lak yuhad been a salting a yellow jackets nest? I'm agwine to pospond dis kasetwell brudder Tompson arrivs in kote und terryegates de complaint."

  "De next case am a forsible stenshion kase I'm gwine ter let it go bytoo."

  "Grate King" he exclaimed with an unjudicial gravity, as he bent hisspectacled face to peruse a name upon his docket, "dat ar name retchesfrom de Rappydan to de Jeemes rubber; Willyum Abender Dolbery BowzerIndian Ginrul Mackintosh. Haint dat name dun und fling yo back outenjint? I'm ergwine to split hit rite wide open, und den I'm gwine to widehit up agin. Mouter node yu wur er wagrant ur a secesh nigger toting datsecesh name und all dem Federick gyarments lak yu wuz de rare eend ob debellion."

  "Whose horg's dat yu bin gitting yo rashuns offer?" the judge asked witha fearful grin, and the negro prisoner was for a moment confused,reassuring himself however he pleaded "not guilty" to the warrant andasked that his case might be continued until his old master could besubponed.

  The judge looked toward the prisoner with a scowl as he observed,"What's dat white man's name?"

  "Ole Marser's named arter me," the prisoner humbly replied.

  "Ugh! Ugh!" said the judge "Dats a sarcumstance agin you. I'm ergwine toput yu whey dere haint ergwine to be no mo sturbance betwixt yu and dehorgs. Dis heer jedgment is ergwine to run agin yu twell dat ar horg isfotched into de kote; und hit is ergwine to run in de name of de state."

  "Grate Jarryko!" exclaimed Joshua excitedly from among the bystanders,"dat dere jedgment ez same ez er surcle in de warter, hit haint got noeend, Grate King! dat secesh nigger hez dun und got hissef shot upforever und all dun and dun, by und twixt him und a piney woods rooterthat is dun and woured up fo de bellion fell."

  "Dis kote is gwine to rejourn till to morrow mornin. Make depocklemashun, officer."

  As the old negro judge by the aid of his staff was shuffling out of thecourt house the Colonel was prompted to ask him why he had been rudelytaken from his home and brought as a prisoner before him. The old negrolooked at the Colonel in a furtive way as he replied irritatingly. "Dekote had to bate de trap wid one warmint ter catch anudder one." Andthus the mountebanks and harlequins of these outrageous times werecompounding dynamite in their laboratories that would ere long explodeunder their feet.