Fiction > Book editions > London, 1885 - Dynamiter

THE FAIR CUBAN. 153
with a strange gesture of groping. ' How is this ? ' he
cried, in a sharp, unhuuiaii voice, ' Am I blind ? ' I
ran to him and tried to lead him to the table ; but he
resisted and stood stiffly where he was, opening and
shutting his jaws, as if in a painful effort after breath.
Then suddenly he raised both hands to his temples,
cried out, ' My head, my head ! ' and reeled and fell
against the wall.
I knew too well what it must be. I turned and
' begged the servants to relieve him. But they, with one
accord, denied the possibility of hope ; the master had
gone into the swamp, they said, the master must die ; all
help was idle. Why should I dwell upon his sufferings 1
I had him carried to a bed, and watched beside him. He
lay still, and at times ground his teeth, and talked at
times unintelligibly, only that one word of hurry, hurry,
coming distinctly to my ears, and telling me that, even
in the last struggle with the powers of death, his mind
was still tortured by his daughter's peril. The sun had
gone down, the darkness had fallen, when I perceived
that I was alone on this unhappy earth. What thought
had I of flight, of safety, of the impending dangers
of my situation ? Beside the body of my last friend,
I had forgotten all except the natural pangs of my
bereavement.
The sun was some four hours above the eastern line,
when I was recalled to a knowledge of the things of earth,
by the entrance of the slave-girl to whom I have already
referred. The poor soul was indeed devotedly attached
to me ; and it was with streaming tears that she broke
to me the import of her coming. With the first light of
dawn a boat had reached our landing-place, and set on
shore upon our isle (till now so fortunate) a party of
officers bearing a w^arrant to arrest my father's person,
and a man of a gross body and low manners, who declared
the island, the plantation and all its human chattels, to
be now his own. ' I think,' said my slave-girl, ' he must
be a politician or some very powerful sorcerer ; for
Madam Mendizabal had no sooner seen them coming,
than she took to the woods.'