Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-01-19
CHAPTER XIII.
At the liverpool End.

Now, Godfrey O'Neill. deceased, was a
man who at various times in his life had
| extracted from West Africa very consider
| able sums of money. He was shrewd. he
was popular, he had the knack of resisting
sickly climates, and he knew the possibli-
ties of the oil rivers Seaboard down to the
| last bag of kernels.
According to his own account he had
! started life as ships purser. People who
were more fond of accuracy mentioned that
| as matter of history he had first gone
| as cabin boy In a palm oil brig. But be that
| as it may, he had been associated with the
coast from his earliest days, and at the
age of five-and-twenty was trading there
| on his own account
| At first he stuck to an old trading hulk
with mornings in the muddy Monk river
and battled with its swarms of cockroaches
and got together a business; but by degrees
| he gained the confidence of the native
| riparian magnates, and by the time he was
| thirty he had built on piles fine set OF
| factory buildings on the bank, had bought
treaty with the then King of Okky. and
had built another factory at Malla-Nulla in
spite of the fact that the beach there was
one of the most-surf-smtten on the coast.
After that he felt that his Liverpool corre-
spondents We're getting more than their due
share of his hard-wrung profits, and so he
put the coast factories under managers and
came back to the Mersey. And thereafter.
with occasional visits to the coast and the
islands, he made Liverpool his headquar-
ters.
He had an office in Water street, a ware
house near Huskisson dock, and a house
furnished with mid-Nictorian solidity and
ugliness out at Princes Park. A sister.
Mrs. Craven, whose unsatisfactory husband
had conveniently died on the coast kept
house for him. and she voted marriage
failure, Godfrey professed himself as quite
ready to take her verdict and was not anx-
ious to dabble in dangerous experiments.
Finally, as Godfrey O'Neill discovered
after a two years trial of the style of liV-
ing that suited him at Princes Park. that
it cost him just $500 year, he saw very
little use in bestirrng himself to earn
more. He quite admitted that there were
other luXurieS in the world that he ola not
indulge in. He might have kept horses, for
instance; but he happened to dislike them
He might have had French chef; only
plain roast beef and plain roast mutton ap-
pealed more to his appetite, and PLAIN
British cook at $40 a year produced these
exactly to his taste. He might have had
larger house, but frankly he did not want
one.
So he went down to the office in Water
street every other day, and ceased to stir
the business there when it showed any
signs of averaging a more than Gl,5oc
profit for any year, not because he OBJ
jected to additional wealth. but because he
far preferred to play whist to pursuing
money. One may here own freely that Cod
frey O'Neill was an active member OF no
less than five whist quartets, which met at
clubs and houses, and there was the
amusement which after long search he had
discovered pleased him best.
In the comfortable ugly house in Princes
Park, besides Godfrey and Mrs. Craven and
the two servants, there "A child who
afterward developed into the Kate ONelll
of these memoirs. Godfrey ONeill brought
her home on the last visit he made to West
Africa She was then aged at a theoretical
reckoning, three years. and she WAS more
fluent in the Okky tongue than in English.
She had never worn shoes till Godfrey
he, pJ,f how moi
voyage home
rs she white?" Mrs Craven had asked.
white, clean through" Godfrey had as
sured her.
Then who are her people?''
THAT l shall not tel even you. Her
mother Is dead. Her father has gone I'M
der. He was very clever man once.
though l must say he used to be more high
and mighty than 1 cared about on the rare
occasions that 1 met him. But, as 1 say,
he's gone under, hopelessly.''
And presently said Mrs. Craven. when
we get this little wild thing tanned and
clothed, and teach her to speak English and
go to church, up will come some drunken
reprobate to take her away again.
No, he won't. I've fixed that He'll
never claim her again. To start with. he
doesn't know if she's in England, or Can
ada, or Grand Canary. l even changed the
name he called her by. / called her Kate
from the day l left him. and had her chris
tened by that name in Sierra Leone on the
off chance she hadn't been christened be-
fore. And to go on with, he gave me his word
of honor that if | took her away he'd
never embarrass me by inquiring for her
again. You see he was living as a native,
and the child was running about with the
other pickaninnies in the village, and L
guess l made him pretty well ashamed of
himself by what l sad The mothers dead,
you know
POOR said Mrs. Craven. He prom
ised you, did he? And what do You sup
pose the word of man like that is
wort l2' CTle late Craven had il will he
remembered. his strong failings)
"Nnety-nine beach combers out of hun
dred will lie soon as look at YOU God
frey owned. This one is the exception.
He will keep his word at any rate this
matter. He's just as proud as king"
Between drinks" suggested the widow.
Hes more objectionably proud drunk
than sober. He always quotes Latin at one
when he's full. and then says All. but
you've not been to school anywhere, so
you'll not understand that You needn't
be frightened he'll call here, Jane. Just
remember I'm a man with a taste for ease
myself. If I'd thought there was the small
est chance of being bothered with him 1
shouldn't have saddled myself with the
kid"
We'll" said Mrs. Craven. las you have
brought her. I suppose we must do the best
we can for her. The average orphanage
doesn't take them till they are six but /
suppose if we hunt round we can find some
sort of institution which will accept three
year-olds.''
"Orphanage, HIM. You see, Jane. ] was
thinking might keep her ourselves. l
we could look after her.
Il object to the word We" said Mrs
Craven, dryly.
"Oh, l suppose most of the work would
fal! on your shoulders"
Il am sure of it.
Come along. old lady. don't you think
you can manage it? Kitty isn't bad sort
of kid. Y'know. ! saw a goodsh deal of
her on the steamer coming home"
Il thought you gave her in charge of
steward?'
Il never told you that
Mrs. Craven laughed. You see, I know
your little ways-'Steward here's a girl for
you. If you nursery-maid the kid nicely
till we get to Liverpool and don't let me see
more of her than l want. and don't let her
come in and prattle when I'm playing
whist with Capt. Image. there'l be another
quid for you when we land. After that my
sister will take her over, and she won't
want tip at all
Him. said Godfrey, NOW, diamonds
aren't in your line
Il wouldn't be seen with one. I'll take
brown cloth gown. please
Shall l order it?''
NO, you can pay the BILL
"Right-o. Then you will take Kitty and
bring her up here?''
You stupid goose said Mrs Craven. Il
intended that from the moment l saw her.
Cook s out buying her "A cot this minnie