The Conquest: The Story of a Negro Pioneer

by Oscar Micheaux

  CHAPTER XLIII

  "AND SATAN CAME ALSO."

  Came a day when the snow had disappeared; my threshing was done; I hadmoney again, and to Chicago I journeyed.

  During the winter I had planned a way to get to see my wife, and tookthe first step toward carrying it out, immediately following my arrivalin the city.

  I went to a telephone and called up Mrs. Ewis. She recognized my voiceand knew what I had come for. She said: "I am so glad I was near thephone when you called up, because your father-in-law is in the housethis very minute." On hearing this I was taken aback, for it had notoccurred to me that he might be in the city. As the realization that hewas, became clear to me, I felt ill at ease, and asked how he came to bein the city at that time.

  "Well," and from her tone I could see that she was also disturbed--"yousee tomorrow is election and yesterday was Easter, so he came home tovote, and be here Easter, at the same time. Now, let me think a moment,"she said nervously. Finally she called: "Oscar, I tell you what I willdo, P.H. is sick and the Reverend has been here every day to see him."Here she paused again, then went on: "I will try to get him to go home,but he stays late. However, you call up in about an hour, and if he isstill here, I'll say 'this is the wrong number, see?'"

  "Yes," I said gratefully, and hung up the receiver.

  I had by this time become so nervous that I trembled, and then went downinto Custom House place--I had talked from the Polk Street station--andtook a couple of drinks to try to get steady.

  In an hour and a half I called up again and it was the "wrong number,"so I went out south and called on a young railroad man and his wife, bythe name of Lilis, who were friends of Orlean's and mine.

  After expressing themselves as being puzzled as to why the Reverendshould want to separate us, Mrs. Lilis told me of her. During theconversation Mrs. Lilis said: "After you left last year, I went over tosee Orlean, and spoke at length of you, of how broken hearted youappeared to be, and that she should be in Dakota. Mrs. McCraline lookeduncomfortable and tried to change the subject, but I said my mind, andwatched Orlean. In the meantime I thought she would faint right there,she looked so miserable and unhappy. She has grown so fat, you know shewas always so peaked before you married her. Everybody is wondering howher father can be so mean, and continue to keep her from returning hometo you, but Mrs. Ewis can and will help you get her because she can domore with that family than anyone else. She and the Elder have been suchclose friends for the last fifteen years, and she should be able tomanage him."

  Then her mother said: "Oscar, I have known you all your life; I wasraised up with your parents; knew all of your uncles; and know yourfamily to have always been highly respected; but I cannot for my lifesee, why, if Orlean loves you, she lets her father keep her away fromyou. Now here is my Millie," she went on, turning her eyes to herdaughter, "and Belle too, why, I could no more separate them from theirhusbands than I could fly--even if I was mean enough to want to."

  "But why does he do it, Mama? The Reverend wants to break up the home ofOrlean and Oscar," Mrs. Lilis put in, anxiously.

  "Bless me, my child," her mother replied, "I have known N.J. McCralinefor thirty years and he has been a rascal all the while. I am notsurprised at anything that he would do."

  "Well," said Mrs. Lilis, with a sigh of resignation, "it puzzles me."

  I then told them about calling up Mrs. Ewis and what I had planned ondoing. It was then about nine-thirty. As they had a phone, I called Mrs.Ewis again.

  While talking, I had forgotten the signal, and remembered it only when Iheard Mrs. Ewis calling frantically, from the other end of the wire,"This is the wrong number, Mister, this is the wrong number." With anexclamation, I hung up the receiver with a jerk.

  Mrs. Ankin lived about two blocks east, so I went to her house from Mrs.Lilis'. On the street, the effect of what had passed, began to weakenme. I was almost overcome, but finally arrived at Mrs. Ankins'. Justbefore retiring, at eleven o'clock, I again called up Mrs. Ewis, and itwas still the "wrong number." I went to bed and spent a restless night.

  I awakened about five-thirty from a troubled sleep, jumped up, dressed,then went out and caught a car for the west side. I felt sure the Elderwould go home during the night.

  It is always very slow getting from the south to the west side inChicago, on a surface car, and it was after seven o'clock when I arrivedat the address, an apartment building, where Mrs. Ewis' husband held theposition as janitor, and where they made their home, in the basement.

  She was just coming from the grocery and greeted me with a cheerful"Good Morning," and "Do you know that rascal stayed here until twelveo'clock last night," she laughed. She called him "rascal" as a nickname.She took me into their quarters, invited me to a chair, sat down, andbegan to talk in a serious tone. "Now Oscar, I understand yourcircumstances thoroughly, and am going to help you and Orlean in everyway I can. You understand Rev. McCraline has always been hard-headed,and the class of ministers he associates with, are more hard-headedstill. The Elder has never liked you because of your independence, andfrom the fact that you would not let him rule your house and submit tohis ruling, as Claves does. Now Oscar, let me give you some advice.Maybe you are not acquainted with the circumstances, for if you hadbeen, in the beginning, you might have avoided this trouble. What I amtelling you is from experience, and I know it to be true. Don't evercriticize the preachers, to their faces, especially the older ones. Theyknow their views and practices, in many instances, to be out of keepingwith good morals, but they are not going to welcome any criticism oftheir acts. In fact, they will crucify criticism, and persecute thosewho have criticized them. Furthermore, you are fond of Booker T.Washington, and his ideas, and Rev. McCraline, like many other negropreachers, especially the older ones, hates him and everybody thatopenly approves of his ideas. His family admire the educator, and so doI, but we don't let on to him. Now I have a plan in mind, which I feel amost plausible one, and which I believe will work out best for you,Orlean, and and myself. Before I mention it, I want to speak concerningthe incident of last fall. When you sent him that bunch of letters, withmine in it, he fairly raised cain; as a result, the family quit speakingto me, and Orlean has not been over here for six months, until she andEthel came a few days before Easter, to get the hats I have always giventhem. Now, she went on, seeming to become excited, if I should inviteOrlean over, the Elder would come along," which I knew to be true. "Whenyou wrote me last summer in regard to taking her to a summer resort, soyou could come and get her, I told Mary Arling about it. Now to becandid, Mrs. Arling and I are not the best of friends. You know shedrinks a little too much, and I don't like that, but Mary Arling is afriend of yours, and a smart woman."

  "Is that so?" I asked, showing interest, for I admired Mrs. Arling andher husband.

  "Yes," Mrs. Ewis reassured me, "she is a friend of yours and you knowall the McCraline family admire the Arlings, and Orlean goes thereoften." "Well, as I was saying", she went on, "last summer out at apicnic, Mrs. Arling got tipsy enough to speak her mind and she simplylaid the family out about you. She told the Reverend right to his teeththat he was a dirty rascal, and knew it; always had been, and that itwas a shame before God and man the way he was treating you. Yes, shesaid it," she reassured me when I appeared to doubt a little. "And shetold me she wished you had asked her to take Orlean away; that she wouldnot only have taken her away from Chicago, but would have carried her onback to Dakota where she wanted to be, instead of worrying her life awayin Chicago, in fear of her father's wrath. So now, my plan is that yougo over to her house, see? You know the address."

  I knew the house. "Well," and she put it down on a piece of paper, "yougo over there, and she will help you; and Oscar, for God's sake, sheimplored, with tears in her eyes, do be careful. I know Orlean loves youand you do her, but the Reverend has it in for you, and if he learnedyou were in the city, Orlean would not be allowed to leave the house.Now, she added, I will get him over here as soon as I can and you doyour part. Good-bye."


  I took a roundabout way in getting back to the south side, keeping outof the colored neighborhood as long as possible, by taking a Halstedstreet car south, got a transfer, and took a Thirty-fifth street car.

  I was careful to avoid meeting anyone who might know me, but who mightnot be aware of my predicament, and who might thoughtlessly inform theMcCralines.

  I arrived at Mrs. Arlings without meeting anyone who knew me, however.They owned and occupied an elaborate flat at an address in theThirty-seventh block on Wabash avenue. I rang the bell, which wasanswered by a young lady unknown to me, but who, I surmised, roomed atthe house. She inquired the name, and when I had told her she let out an"O!" and invited me into the parlor. She hurried away to tell Mrs.Arling, who came immediately, and holding both hands out to me, said, "Iam so glad you came at last, Oscar, I am so glad."

  After we had said a few words concerning the weather, etc., I said in aserious tone, "Mrs. Arling, I am being persecuted on account of myideas."

  "I know it, Oscar, I know it," she repeated, nodding her headvigorously, and appeared eager.

  I then related briefly the events of the past year, including theReverend's trip to Dakota.

  Raising her arms in a gesture, she said: "If you remember the day afteryou were married, when we had the family and you over to dinner, and youand Richard (her husband), talked on race matters, that the Elder neverjoined. Well, when you had gone Richard said: 'Oscar and the Elder arenot going to be friends long, for their views are too far apart.' Whenhe brought Orlean home last year I said to Richard, 'Rev. McCraline isup to some trick.'" Continuing, she went on to tell me, "You are awarehow bitter most of the colored preachers are in regard to Booker T.Washington." "Yes," I assented. "Mrs. Ewis and I talked the matter overand she said the Reverend had it in for you from the beginning, that is,he wanted to crush your theories, and have you submissive, like Ethel'shusband. He was more anxious to have you look up to him because you hadsomething; but after he found out you were not going to, well, this isthe result."

  "Now, Oscar, whatever you suggest, if it is in my power to do so, I willcarry it out, because I am sure Orlean loves you. She always seems soglad when I talk with her about you. She comes over often," she went on,"and we get to talking of you. Now before I tell you more, you must notfeel that she does not care for you, because she allows her father tokeep her away from you. Orlean is just simple, babylike and is easy torule. She gets that from her mother, for you know Mary Ann is helpless."I nodded, and she continued. "As for the Reverend, he has raised them toobey him, and they do, to the letter; the family, with Claves thrown in,fear him, but as I was going to say: Orlean told me when I asked her whyshe did not go on back to you, 'Well, I don't know.' You know how shedrags her speech. 'Oscar loves me, and we never had a quarrel. In fact,there is nothing wrong between us and Oscar would do anything to pleaseme. The only thing I did not like, was, that Oscar thought more of hisland and money than he did of me, and I wanted to be first.'"

  "Isn't that deplorable," I put in, shaking my head sadly.

  "Of course it is," she replied with a shrug, "why, that could be settledin fifteen minutes, if it were not for that old preacher. She alwayslikes to talk of you and it seems to do her good."

  "Now, my plan is," I started, with a determined expression, "to have youcall her up, see?"

  "Yes, yes," she answered anxiously.

  The cold days and long nights passed slowly by, and Icared for the stock. (Page 296.)]

  "And invite her over on pretense of accompanying you to a matinee."

  "Yes, yes," and then, her face seemed to brighten with an idea, and shesaid: "Why not go to a matinee?"

  "Why yes," I assented. "I had not thought of that," then, "Why sure,fine and dandy. We will all go, yes, indeed," I replied, with goodcheer.

  She went to the phone and called up the number. In a few minutes shereturned, wearing a jubilant expression, and cried: "I've fixed it, sheis coming over and we will all go to a matinee. Won't it be fine?" shecontinued, jumping up and down, and clapping her hands joyfully, besideherself, with enthusiasm, and I joined her.

  Two hours later, Mrs. Hite--the young lady that answered the door when Icame that morning--called from the look-out, where she had been watchingwhile Mrs. Arling was dressing, and I, too nervous to sit still, waswalking to and fro across the room--that Orlean was coming. We had beenuneasy for fear the Elder might hear of my being in the city, beforeOrlean got away. I rushed to the window and saw my wife coming leisurelyalong the walk, entirely ignorant of the anxious eyes watching her fromthe second-story window. I could see, at the first glance, she had grownfleshy; she had begun before she left South Dakota. It was a bay windowand we watched her until she had come up the steps and pulled the bell.

  Mrs. Arling had told me my wife did not have any gentleman company. Ihad not felt she had, for, in the first place, she was not that kind ofa woman, and if her father, by his ways, discouraged any men in comingto see her while she was single, he was sure to discourage anyafterward. But Mrs. Arling had added: "I told her I was going to get hera beau, so you get behind the door, and when she comes in I will tellher that I have found the beau."

  I obeyed, and after a little Orlean walked into the room, smiling andcatching her breath, from the exertion of coming up the steps. I steppedbehind her and covered her eyes with my hands. Mrs. Arling chirped,"That is your beau, so you see I have kept my word, and there he is." Iwithdrew my hands and my wife turned and exclaimed "Oh!" and sank weaklyinto a chair.

  We had returned from the theatre, where we witnessed a character playwith a moral, A Romance of the Under World. We had tickets for anevening performance to see Robert Mantell in Richelieu. Mrs. Arlingushered us into her sitting room, closed the door, and left us toourselves.

  I took my wife by the hand; led her to a rocker; sat down and drew herdown on my knee, and began with: "Now, dear, let us talk it over."

  I knew about what to expect, and was not mistaken. She began to tell meof the "wrongs" I had done her, and the like. I calculated this wouldlast about an hour, then she would begin to relent, and she did. After Ihad listened so patiently without interrupting her, but before I feltquite satisfied, she wanted to go to the phone and call up the house totell the folks that I was in town.

  "Don't do that, dear," I implored. "I don't want them to know, that is,just yet." The reason I was uneasy and wanted her to wait awhile was,that I felt her father would go to call on Mrs. Ewis about eight o'clockand it was now only seven. But she seemed restless and ill at ease, andpersisted that she should call up mother, and let her know, so Iconsented, reluctantly. Then as she was on the way to the phone I calledher and said: "Now, Orlean there are two things a woman cannot be at thesame time, and that is, a wife to her husband and a daughter to herfather. She must sacrifice one or the other."

  "I know it," she replied, and appeared to be confused and hesitant, butknowing she would never be at ease until she had called up, I said "Goahead," and she did.

  I shall not soon forget the expression on her face, then the look ofweak appeal that she turned on me, when her father's deep voice rangthrough the phone in answer to her "Hello." The next instant sheappeared to sway and then leaned against the wall trembling as sheanswered, "Oh! Pa-pa, ah," and seeming to have no control of her voice.She now appeared frightened, while Mrs. Arling and Mrs. Hite stood near,holding their breath and looked discouraged. She finally managed to getit out, but hardly above a whisper, "Oscar is here."

  "Well," he answered, and his voice could be heard distinctly by thosestanding near. "Well," he seemed to roar in a commanding way, "Why don'tyou bring him to the house?"

  What passed after that I do not clearly remember, but I have read lotsof instances of where people lost their heads, where, if they would havehad presence of mind, they might have saved their army, won some greatvictory or done something else as notorious, but in this I may beclassed as one of the unfortunates who simply lost his head. That is howit was described later, bu
t speaking for myself, when I heard the voiceof the man who had secured my wife by coercion and kept her away from mea year; which had caused me to suffer, and turned my existence into averitable nightmare, the things that passed through my mind during thefew moments thereafter are sad to describe.

  I heard his voice say again, "Why don't you bring him to the house?" ButI could only seem to see her being torn from me, while he, a massivebrute, stood over lecturing me, for what he termed, "my sins," but whatwere merely the ideas of a free American citizen. How could I listen toa lecture from a person with his reputation. This formed in my mind andadded to the increasing but suppressed anger. I could see other yearspassing with nothing to remember my wife by, but the little songs shehad sung so often while we were together in Dakota.

  "Roses, roses, roses bring memory of you, dear, Roses so sweet and endearing, Roses with dew of the morn; You were fresh for a day then you faded away. Red roses bring memories of you."

  The next moment I had taken the receiver from her hand, and called,"Hello, Rev. McCraline," "Hello, Rev. McCraline," in a savage tone. Whenhe had answered, I continued in a more savage voice, "You ask my wifewhy she did not bring me to the house?"

  "Yes," he answered. His voice had changed from the commanding tone, andnow appeared a little solicitous. "Yes, why don't you come to thehouse?" I seemed to hear it as an insult. I did not seem to understandwhat he meant, although I understood the words clearly. They seemed,however, to say; "Come to the house, and I will take your wife, and thenkick you into the street."

  I answered, with anger burning my voice; "I don't want to come to yourhouse, because the last time I was there, I was kicked out. Do you hear?Kicked out."

  "Well, I did not do it." Now, I had looked for him to say that verything. I felt sure that he had put Ethel up to the evil doing of a yearbefore, and now claimed to know nothing about it, which was like him. Itmade me, already crazed with anger, more furious, and I screamed overthe phone "I know you didn't, and I knew that was what you would say,but I know you left orders for it to be done."

  "Where is Orlean?" he put in, his voice returning to authoritative tone.

  "She is here with me," I yelled, and hung the receiver up viciously.

  It was only then I realized that Mrs. Arling and Mrs. Hite had hold ofeach arm and had been shouting in my ears all this while, "Oscar, Mr.Devereaux, Oscar, don't! don't! don't!" and in the meantime fear seemedto have set my wife in a state of terror. She now turned on me, intones that did not appear natural. The words I cannot, to this day,believe, but I had become calm and now plead with her, on my knees, andwith tears; but her eyes saw me not, and her ears seemed deaf toentreaty. She raved like a crazy woman and declared she hated me. Of asudden, some one rang the bell viciously, and Mrs. Arling commanded meto go up the stairs. I retreated against my will. She opened the door,and in walked the Reverend.

  Orlean ran to him and fell into his arms and cried: "Papa, I do not knowwhat I would do if it were not for you," and kissed him--she had notkissed me. After a pause, I went up to him. As I approached he turnedand looked at me, with a dreadful sneer in his face, which seemed tosay, "So I have caught you. Tried to steal a march on me, eh?" And theeyes, they were the same, the eyes of a pig, expressionless.

  Feeling strange, but composed, I advanced to where he stood, laid myhands upon his shoulder, looked into his face and said slowly, "Rev.McCraline, don't take my wife"--paused, then went on, "why could you notleave us for a day. We were happy, not an hour ago." Here my stare musthave burned, my look into his face was so intense, and he looked away,but without emotion. "And now I ask you, for the sake of humanity, andin justice to mankind, don't take my wife."

  Not answering me, he said to my wife: "Do you want your papa?"

  "Yes, yes," she said and leaned on him. Then she looked into his faceand said: "He insulted you."

  "Yes yes, dear," he answered. "He has done that right along, but youstep outside and Papa will tend to him."

  She still clung to him and said: "He has made you suffer."

  He bowed his head, and feigned to suffer. I stood looking onmechanically. He repeated, "Run outside, dear," and he stood holding,the door open, then, realization seemed to come to her, she turned andthrew herself into Mrs. Arling's arms, weakly, and broke into mournfulsobs. Her father drew her gently from the embrace and with her face inher hands, and still sobbing, she passed out. He followed and throughthe open door I caught a glimpse of Clavis on the sidewalk below, theman who had written--not a year before, "I am going to be a brother, andhelp you."

  The next moment the door closed softly behind them. That was the lasttime I saw my wife.

  THE END

  TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE:

  Illustrations have been moved to the nearest paragraph break, butotherwise reflect the location where they are placed in the originalpublication.

  Obvious typos and printer errors have been corrected without comment.

  With the exception of obvious printer errors, inconsistencies in theauthor's spelling, punctuation, and use of hyphens have been retained asin the original book. Examples of such inconsistencies include, but arenot limited to:

  far-away/ faraway batch/ bach Governor Reulbach/ Governor Reulback

  Unconventional spelling has been retained in words such as (but notlimited to) the following:

  physicological: page 35 monoply: page 50 minature: page 150 futhermore: page 153 concensus: page 283