an' calls hissel' all sorts o' names, but was ay cautious no to gie
ower mony details o' his sins, an' the good folk were highly edified
by it, my aunt amangst them, an' asked him for subscriptions for every
sort o' charity.
'But Chilpo, he couldna stand this sudden right-about-face, for there
was nae releegion at aal i' his wee, misshapen anatomy, naething but
love o' siller, and beastly, secretive pleasures o' opium drams an'
such like. An' he mutinies against it, an' cusses an' swears to
hissel' i' his pigeon-English talk, for Isaac by degrees began to hae
his doots aboot the lawfu'ness o' smugglin' an' saeforth, an' Chilpo's
wages an' profits dootless wud suffer by his maister's scruples.
'Consequence was, there grew to be bad blood betwixt maister an' man,
an' folk could hear them quarrelling inside the office o' nights, till
at the finish there's a grand flare-up, Isaac seemingly strikin'
Chilpo, an' Chilpo clickin' his maister wi' his knife.
'Chilpo gets the bag for that, Isaac no daurin' to prosecute him, for
he kenned ower muckle. But he disna leave the toon; just hangs aboot,
doggin' Isaac's footsteps, an' cussin' to hissel' i' his queer,
ootlandish way o' talk. "Him coward," he would mutter, "but Chilpo
brave man. He no take no blowee. Chilpo hang Isaac--hang himselfee--no
matter--Chilpo fear nozzin'," an' he would gnash wi' his white teeth
savagely like a mad dog as he saw Isaac pass along the street.
'His heart was just as black as his sweaty, black phiznommy, an' he
properly haunted Isaac till he fair plagued him to death.
'One Sabbath, when there was a great function on at Isaac's chapel, he
actually follows him in, an' sat sneerin' an' mimickin' an' makin'
game o' Isaac as he prayed an' groaned, an' confessed to bein' a
muckle great sinner i' the past, till Isaac was near mad wi' rage an'
terror. He tried to pray, but the words wouldn't come richt, an' the
sweat poured aff his brow, they said, till folk thought he was about
to hae a fit or seizure o' some sort.
'At the finish he gies it up, an', staggerin' on to his feet, points
i' a frenzied sort o' way to Chilpo sittin' there below him, an' cries
oot loud: "It's the deil, it's the deil! Drive him awa; drive him oot
o' the holy place! I tell ye he's sin hissel'. See the sooty face on
him!"
'"Ugh! Black Isaac, him coward!" shouts Chilpo, standin' up on his
seat. "Him sky-pilot nowee, no goodee any more. Once a timee
diffelent; good pilate once, grand pilate with Chilpo; men's pilate,
women's pilates, temple's pilates, all sorts pilates. Oh yez; huzza!
Dam good timee then; ping-pang, click-click, plenty moneys, plenty
grogs, plenty funee. O yez; Chilpo, he knowee." The little heathen
chuckled to himself, makin' uncanny motions wi' his hands o'
throat-cuttin' an' liquor-drinkin' an' fillin' his pockets wi' siller.
'"Him hipple-clite nowee," continued Chilpo, shoutin' aloud to all the
chapel-folks who hadn't recovered theirsels from their amazement; "dam
hipple-clite! Why, him worship the debbil like Chilpo former timee.
Him no use for prayee; him dam-ee, curs-ee; him Church's pilate,
women's pilate, then burnee together. Oh yes, him lemember allight;
askee him," an' wi' that he points his finger at Isaac, whose face was
workin' in a frightful fashion, his eyes starin' this way an' that,
wi' no meanin' i' them, his lips black, an' his mouth slobberin'; then
sudden he starts to run, but catches his foot an' falls full length
doon on the floor an' drums wi' his hands amangst the cushions.
'There was a panic at that; half o' the women faints dead awa, the
bairns scream, and some o' the men drives Chilpo, still chucklin' to
himself, oot at the door wi' blows, whilst others attend to Isaac
lyin' wi' his head covered i' the dusty cushions an' his hands hard
a-grip o' the seat-stanchions.
'They loosens his grasp wi' difficulty, but lifts him up at the finish
wi' a shockin' face on him, an' a senseless tongue that babbled aboot
a parrot. Some said it mun ha' been i' reference someway to some
wicked episode i' his past life which Chilpo kenned o' an' alluded to
i' the chapel. Maybe a parrot had been left the sole survivor after a
sack, ye ken, an' Isaac couldna forget the scene. Anyways, Chilpo, the
dam cunnin' little de'il, kenned o' the hidden sore i' Isaac's mind,
an' laid a cruel finger on 't wi' the blackest malice. An' there was
nae doot aboot the outcome o't, for Isaac was gone clean daft, an'
died not long afterwards i' the asylum.
'Weel, they gied him a big buryin', for his brethren i' the chapel
said they believed he was a true repentant sinner, an' forbye that he
had left a good bit siller amangst them, which would dootless assist
them to that conclusion; an' as there had been some body-snatchin'
lately, they determined to form a small watch committee to keep guard
at the graveside for a night or two.
'Weel, the watch was composed o' some decent elderly folk, who didn't
trash theirselves ower the job; an' mevvies the funeral festivities
had delayed them a bit, for they didn't arrive at the graveyard till
aboot half-past ten o' the clock.
'It was ane o' thae tempestuous October nights, wi' half a gale
blowin', an' clouds gallopin', wi' flittin's o' moonlight like jockeys
ridin' 'em; an' when they came nigh to the graveside, an' saw a dark,
misshapen sort o' a figure plyin' an axe vigorously, an' heard a thud,
thud, same as ye may when passin' by a butcher's shop any day, why,
they turned tail and fled, the most o' them stumblin' this way an'
that amangst the headstones.
'Two o' them, though, was a bit bolder, an' pressed on up to the
graveside, whereupon the little black demon figure thuds doon his axe
wi' a sickenin' sound, then dives awa into the darkness, screechin'
oot: "Chilpo, Chilpo! he makee sicker, he makee sicker!" and therewith
vanished frae Bocca Chica.
'As for the doubloon,' concluded Jake, spinning it into the air as he
spoke, 'it was found amangst some leavin's o' Chilpo's at his
lodgin's, an' sold wi' some other trinkets to pay some small debts he
had left behind him.
'My aunt bought it up as a memento o' the marcifu' preservation she
had had frae marryin' wi' a buccaneer; an' when I said good-bye to her
on startin' for India, she presented it to me, wi' an admonition ne'er
to have any traffic wi' dwarfs or pirates.'
THE END
PRINTED BY
BILLING AND SONS, GUILDFORD
* * * * *
TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE
Italic text is denoted by _underscores_.
Obvious punctuation and spelling errors repaired. Punctuation and
spelling standardized when a predominant preference was found in this
book. Other possible errors retained.
Page 43, "the many" changed to "them any" (he'd never have hearkened
to them any more).
Page 164, "Georgie" changed to "Geordie" (responded Geordie
gratefully).
Inconsistent hyphenation was retained. When uncertain of the author's
spelling of words split across lines, hyphen was retained in such
words as "chimney-piece", "god-child", "cock-sure", "well-made". Words
"lampshade", "mantelpiece", "grandchildren", also split across lines
in the original, are not hyphenated in this text.
"GEORDIE ARMSTRONG, 'THE JESU-YTE'" tale starts with subheading I,
which suggests that the tale has several parts. However, there are no
other numbered subheadings in this chapter.