Volume 2 Chapter 25 - The Maroon by Mayne Reid
The Mysterious Motive
The original motive of the myal-man, in conspiring the death of the Custos Vaughan, would have been strong enough to urge him on without this new instigation. As we have seen, it was one of deadly revenge—simple, and easily understood.
Not so easily understood was that which actuated the Jew. On the contrary, so secretly had he conceived his purposes, that no living man—not even Chakra himself—had been made privy to them. Up to this moment they may have appeared mysterious; and the time has arrived when it becomes necessary to reveal them. The explanation will show them to be only natural—only in keeping with the character of this crooked and cruel old man.
It is scarce necessary to say that Jacob Jessuron was no type of his race; nor, indeed, of any race. A German Jew by birth, it was not necessarily this that made him either slave-dealer or slave-stealer. Christians have taken their full share in both branches of the nefarious trade; and equally with Jews and Mohammedans have they been guilty of its most hideous enormities. It was not, therefore, because Jacob Jessuron chanced to be a Jew that he was a trafficker in human flesh and blood—any more than that he was a villainous man; but because he was Jacob Jessuron—a representative of neither race nor nation, but simply a character sui generis.
Without dwelling upon his general demerits, let us return to the more particular theme of the motives which were instigating him to make a victim of his neighbour Vaughan—a death victim: for his conversation with Chakra showed that this was the very starting-point of his intentions.
In the first place, he was well acquainted with the domestic history of the planter—at least, with that portion of it that had transpired subsequent to the latter’s coming into possession of Mount Welcome. He knew something of Mr Vaughan previously—while the latter was manager of the Montagu Castle estate—but it was only after the Custos had become his nearer neighbour, by removal to his present residence, that the Jew’s knowledge of him and his private affairs had become intimate and accurate.
This knowledge he had obtained in various ways: partly by the opportunities of social intercourse, never very cordial; partly through business transactions; and, perhaps, more than all—at least, as regarded some of the more secret passages of Mr Vaughan’s history—from the myal-man, Chakra.
Notwithstanding his grotesque hideousness, the Coromantee was gifted with a rare though dangerous intelligence. He was au fait to everything that had occurred upon the plantation of Mount Welcome for a past period of nearly forty years. As already hinted, he knew too much; and it was this inconvenient omniscience that had caused him to be consigned to the Jumbé Rock.
For more than one purpose had the Jew made use of the myal-man; and if the latter was at present assisting him in his dark design, it was not the first by many, both deep and dark, in which Chakra had lent him a hand. Their secret partnership had been of long duration.
The Jew’s knowledge of the affairs of Loftus Vaughan extended to many facts unknown even to Chakra. One of these was, that his neighbour was blessed with an English brother, who had an only son.
An artist was the English brother, without fortune—almost without name. Many other circumstances relating to him had come to the knowledge of Jessuron; among the rest, that the proud Custos knew little about his poor English relatives, cared less, and scarcely kept up correspondence with them.
In what way could this knowledge interest Jacob Jessuron?—for it did.
Thus, then: it was known to him that Loftus Vaughan had never been married to the quadroon Quasheba. That circumstance, however, would have signified little, had Quasheba been a white woman, or even a “quinteroon”—in Jamaica termed a mustee, and by some fanciful plagiarists, of late, pedantically styled “octoroon”—a title which, it may here be stated, has no existence except in the romantic brains of these second-hand litterateurs.
We repeat it—had the slave Quasheba been either a white woman, or even a mustee, the fact of a marriage, or no marriage, would have signified little—so far as regarded the succession of her offspring to the estates of the father. It is true that, if not married, the daughter would, by the laws of Jamaica—as by those of other lands—still have been illegitimate; but for all that, she could have inherited her father’s property, if left to her by will: since in Jamaica no entail existed.
As things stood, however, the case was widely, and for the Lilly Quasheba—Kate Vaughan—dangerously different. Her mother was only a quadroon; and, married or unmarried, she, the daughter, could not inherit—even by will—beyond the paltry legacy of 2000 pounds currency, or 1500 pounds sterling!
Kate Vaughan was herself only a mustee—still wanting one step farther from slavery to bring her within the protecting pale of freedom and the enjoyment of its favours.
No will that Loftus Vaughan could decree, no testamentary disposition he might make, could render his daughter his devisee—his heiress.
He might will his property to anybody he pleased: so long as that anybody was a so-called white; but, failing to make such testament, his estate of Mount Welcome, with all he possessed besides, must fall to the next of his own kin—in short, to his nephew Herbert.
Was there no remedy for this unspeakable dilemma? No means by which his own daughter might be saved from disinheritance?
There was. A special act might be obtained from the Assembly of the Island.
Loftus Vaughan knew the remedy, and fully intended to adopt it. Every day was he designing to set out for Spanish Town—the capital—to obtain the special act; and every day was the journey put off.
It was the execution of this design that the Jew Jessuron of all things dreaded most; and to prevent it was the object of his visit to the temple of Obi.
Why he dreaded it scarce needs explanation.
Should Loftus Vaughan fail in his intent, Herbert Vaughan would be the heir of Mount Welcome; and Herbert’s heart was in the keeping of Judith Jessuron.
So fondly believed the Jewess; and, with her assurance of the fact, so also the Jew.
The love-spell woven by Judith had been the first step towards securing the grand inheritance. The second was to be the death-spell, administered by Chakra and his acolyte.