Outside on the street Julius heard this, and with a single leap he was back on the pavement, banging on the door. “Open up, open the door!”257
The door opened. Julius pushed the old slave aside and with huge strides he was at a door near the back of the house.
“Mini-mini,” he called.
“Yes, masra,” came the voice from inside the room.
“Open up,” commanded Julius.
But the slave shook his head, scared, “I don’t have a key,”258 he said.
Julius asked no more. He threw his weight against the door, which burst open.
The next moment he had Mini-mini in his arms. “Oh, Mini-mini, dearest, my love, my treasure, what’s been happening to you? Forgive me for your having to suffer like this for me!”
Mini-mini could only sob. Julius wanted to get her outside, but when he saw that she could hardly walk he picked her up and carried her through the door. To the frightened slave he said, “Tell your master that I’ll bring the money this afternoon, and I’ll pay for the door, too.”259
When they were a few doors further, he suddenly realized that he had no idea where he could go with Mini-mini, and he couldn’t carry her much further.
He set her down on a doorstep. She was still sobbing, and he stroked her hair. Frantically he looked for inspiration. Where could they go? The De Ledesmas’ wasn’t an option. Then he suddenly thought: his daughter, Miriam, was married to one of the tradesman De la Parra’s sons and lived in the Molenstraat. Yes, Miriam. She would have a room in her grounds where Mini-mini could stay. But she wouldn’t be able to walk that far. Benny would have to hire a carriage, and quickly. In the meantime Julius went and sat next to Mini-mini on the doorstep.
Various passers-by stared in astonishment at the scene of a white man sitting there on a doorstep with his arm round a weeping mulatto woman.
“Masra Jethro,” Mini-mini asked, “How is he doing?”260
Only now did Julius think of Jethro, who must be told that he had Mini-mini again. Benny came with a carriage. Julius lifted Mini-mini into it and went to sit next to her.
“Saramaccastraat,” he ordered. Mini-mini was shocked, but he reassured her immediately. “You won’t be staying there: we’re going to collect Masra Jethro.”261
The carriage stopped at the De Ledesmas’ door. Julius sent Benny inside to collect Jethro. He must say nothing about Mini-mini. Only that Jethro’s father wanted to take him for a ride. Benny went in through the negroes’ entrance and saw Jethro, who was still sitting on the step near the window.
“Psst,” Benny signalled, and when Jethro came, he whispered something in his ear. Jethro ran up the two staircases, taking his nightgown off on the way. A slave-girl answered Benny’s knock on the back door, and Benny said to her, “Masra Julius has sent for Masra Jethro to go for a short ride with him.”262
Jethro was by this time downstairs again, with nothing on, but with his clothes in one hand and his shoes in the other, and he would have gone out onto the street like that had Benny not quickly pulled his shorts on for him. At the carriage door he threw himself into Mini-mini’s arms. “Oh, Mini-mini, you’re here, oh you’re here; oh Mini-mini never go away again.”
And his father, happily watching this, said, “No, Jethro, she’ll never go away again. She’s staying with us. Forever.”
222 “Kwasiba, san de fu du?”
223 “Ai misi, mi grani kaba, mi skin weri.”
224 “San mi kan du gi yu, san mi kan gi yu dan?”
225 “Mi no wani noti baya, pe m’e go i no kan tyari gudu, misi mi no wani noti, ma yu nanga masra Julius, un luku mi pikin baya, un luku Mini-mini, meki a tan nanga yu, sorgu en bun, na dati nomo mi wani.”
226 “Mini-mini go masi a masra en baka.”
227 “Yu m’ma ben lobi fu taki te a ben masi mi baka, ferteri mi wan sani.”
228 “Mi no sabi san fu ferteri, masra.”
229 “Ya, a tori fu Mini-mini nanga Koprokanu.”
230 “Ya, Mini-mini na a nem fu wan fu dem pikin.”
231 “We, dan ferteri mi na tori fu yu nen.”
232 “O, Mini-mini luku den ’a’ fu yu, den gersi todo-bere.”
233 “Den ’tu’ fu masra Jethro gersi doksi.”
234 “Mini-mini tidé mi wan’ yere a tori fu Mini-mini.”
235 “Ma mi ferteri masra a tori dati someni lesi keba.”
236 “No, no, a no Koprokanu mi wani yere, mi wani yere a tori fu yu, fu yu Mini-mini, a pikin san yu ben kisi, en p’pa, suma ben de yu mati?”
237 “San Mini-mini, yu habi bere?”
238 “Suma dan, suma na a p’pa?”