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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..0b51c1b --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #66747 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/66747) diff --git a/old/66747-0.txt b/old/66747-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 2ba8185..0000000 --- a/old/66747-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,10335 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Young Supercargo, by William -Drysdale - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: The Young Supercargo - A Story of the Merchant Marine - -Author: William Drysdale - -Illustrator: Charles Copeland - -Release Date: November 16, 2021 [eBook #66747] - -Produced by: davidkpark; Sue Clark; the image following page 211 - provided by The Young Supercargo: a Story of the Merchant - Marine. 1898. Courtesy of Baldwin Library of Historical - Children's Literature, Special and Area Studies - Collections, George A. Smathers Libraries, University of - Florida; and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at - https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images - generously made available by The Internet Archive/American - Libraries.) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE YOUNG SUPERCARGO *** - - - - - -THE YOUNG SUPERCARGO - - - - -BRAIN AND BRAWN SERIES. - - BY WILLIAM DRYSDALE. - - ILLUSTRATIONS BY CHARLES COPELAND. - - =THE YOUNG REPORTER. A Story of Printing House Square.= 300 pages. - With five full-page Illustrations. Cloth. 12mo. $1.50. - - =THE FAST MAIL. The Story of a Train Boy.= 330 pages. With five - full-page Illustrations. Cloth. 12mo. $1.50. - - =THE BEACH PATROL. A Story of the Life-Saving Service.= 318 pages. - With five full-page Illustrations. Cloth. 12mo. $1.50. - - =THE YOUNG SUPERCARGO. A Story of the Merchant Marine.= 352 pages. - With five full-page Illustrations. Cloth. 12mo. $1.50. - -*.* _Other volumes in preparation._ - - - - -[Illustration: “‘WHY, THIS IS NO WHARF-RAT, OFFICER.’”] - - - - -THE YOUNG SUPERCARGO - - A Story of the Merchant Marine - - BY - WILLIAM DRYSDALE - - _Author of “The Young Reporter,” “The Fast Mail,” - “The Beach Patrol,” etc., etc._ - - ILLUSTRATED BY - CHARLES COPELAND - - [Illustration: Docendo discimus] - - BOSTON AND CHICAGO - W. A. WILDE & COMPANY - - - - - COPYRIGHT, 1898, - BY W. A. WILDE & COMPANY. - _All rights reserved._ - - THE YOUNG SUPERCARGO. - - - - -CONTENTS. - - CHAPTER PAGE - - I. KIT SILBURN’S START IN LIFE 9 - - II. A VOYAGE TO YUCATAN 26 - - III. A NORTHER ON THE GULF 44 - - IV. KIT’S CONNECTICUT HOME 61 - - V. A BURGLAR IN THE CABIN 78 - - VI. THE STRANGE CASE OF JOHN DOE 97 - - VII. KIT BECOMES A SUPERCARGO 109 - - VIII. NEWS FROM THE WRECKED SCHOONER 129 - - IX. KIT INSPECTS LONDON 149 - - X. A LETTER FROM THE STATE DEPARTMENT 168 - - XI. A VOYAGE TO MARSEILLES 186 - - XII. IMPRISONED IN THE CASTLE D’IF 203 - - XIII. A VISIT TO NOTRE-DAME-DE-LA-GARDE 221 - - XIV. THE MYSTERIOUS STRANGER FROM ROME 237 - - XV. NEWS FROM NEW ZEALAND 256 - - XVI. KIT LEAVES THE “NORTH CAPE” 272 - - XVII. OVERBOARD IN THE PITCH LAKE 287 - - XVIII. A VOYAGE TO BERMUDA 306 - - XIX. KIT FINDS HIS FATHER 324 - - XX. LOVE’S YOUNG DREAM IN BARBADOES 340 - - - - -ILLUSTRATIONS. - - PAGE - - “‘Why, this is no wharf-rat, officer’” _Frontispiece_ 14 - - “‘You are young for a supercargo, Señor’” 48 - - “‘Can you take me to No. 32 Fenchurch Street?’” 136 - - “‘Here--is the hole he cut through into the priest’s cell’” 211 - - “They had a beautiful view of the Mediterranean” 240 - - - - -THE YOUNG SUPERCARGO. - -CHAPTER I. - -KIT SILBURN’S START IN LIFE. - - -A big black steamship lay beside the wharf in front of Martin’s Stores, -in Brooklyn. The cold November night was so dark that from the brick -warehouse, a hundred feet away, hardly anything could be seen of her -but the lantern that swung in her rigging, a faint light that shone -through her cabin portholes, and occasionally one of her tall top-masts -standing out against the pale moon that tried with little success to -show itself between the scudding clouds. It was bitterly cold, for -November; and a stiff wind from the northeast was driving the black -clouds seaward at the rate of thirty or forty miles an hour. - -The steamer was the _North Cape_, arrived the week before from -Sisal, in Yucatan, with a cargo of hemp in bales. Though everything was -dark and quiet about her on that wintry night, evidences of hard work -in unloading lay all around. The bales had been taken out of her hold -faster than the warehousemen could trundle them into the building, and -the hundred feet of space between wharf and warehouse was littered with -them. Some were piled up in tiers, and others lay scattered about in -confusion. - -That open space between the warehouse and the harbor was well sheltered -from the cutting wind; and patrolman McSweeny, of the Brooklyn police, -with ears and fingers tingling found it a warm corner, and made more -frequent visits to it than his duty really required. If he had gone -into one of the neighboring coffee-houses to warm himself, he might -have been caught by the roundsman and fined; but in going through the -brick archway under the building and prowling among the goods on the -wharf in search of tramps or thieves he was strictly obeying orders. So -on the cold November night he paid particular attention to the wharf -of Martin’s Stores, and visited it so often that no burglar in the -neighborhood would have had the least chance. - -Patrolman McSweeny had been a Brooklyn policeman long enough to -understand all the favorite police ways of stirring out homeless tramps -who are so desperately wicked as to go to sleep in the warmest corner -they can find. Among such goods as bales of hemp, for instance, he -took his long nightclub and jabbed it into all the dark spaces that -were wide enough for a boy or man to squeeze into. That way, he found, -was certain to produce results, if anybody was there. Either the soft -feeling at the end of the club told him that he had found a victim, or -the vigor with which he poked it made the victim cry out with pain. - -For a policeman weighing nearly two hundred pounds, and armed with a -big club and a revolver, patrolman McSweeny, it must be admitted, made -his rounds among the bales with great caution. The ordinary tramp is a -mere bag of dirt for the average policeman to prod and cuff and shake -as he likes; but about ten days before Mr. McSweeny had stirred up two -tramps on that same wharf who had more muscle than most of their clan, -and in their anger they had turned upon him and thrown him overboard. -So he felt that his dignity needed a little polishing up, and he was -ready to polish it up on the next tramp he caught. - -And tramps were not his only victims along the wharves. Sometimes he -came across a boy,--a frowsy, ragged, shivering, homeless boy; and -that always gave him great delight, for a boy, unless he is a big one, -is not as troublesome to handle as a hungry and desperate man. Some -policemen have big hearts, and would rather buy a cup of coffee and a -roll for a hungry boy than take him to the station house and lock him -up; but patrolman McSweeny was not of that kind. He was trying to make -a record on “the foorce,” and every arrest added to his laurels. - -It was about eleven o’clock when the patrolman made his fourth trip -that evening among the hemp bales. Never very good-natured, he was -particularly cross that night. Something at the station had annoyed -him; and with his aching fingers and one or two draughts of a stronger -beverage than coffee, he was rather a dangerous person to be trusted -at large with a club and a revolver and the authority of law. His next -victim on the wharf of Martin’s Stores was pretty sure to have an -unpleasant time. - -He went from pile to pile of the bales, poking his club viciously into -every dark nook and corner, always ready for a sudden attack. And he -had not gone far before he poked something soft, lying between two -bales, and heard a voice cry out, in startled but still sleepy tones:-- - -“Hey! who’s there?” - -The voice was a relief to him, for it was the voice of a boy. - -“Git up here, ye young thafe, till I show ye who it is. Will ye come -out or shall I fan yer carcase wid me club?” - -In answer to this gentle summons a boy’s head and shoulders appeared -above the bales, and the big policeman seized the section of coat -collar that was visible and snatched the rest of the boy out with a -jerk. - -“Stop that! Let go of me!” said the boy. - -Such resistance as that almost took the policeman’s breath away. He -was accustomed to having boys beg him to let them off, and promise -to go home, or go to work, or almost anything else, to get out of -his clutches. But here was a boy who demanded his liberty instead -of begging for it. In such a case it would have made no difference, -probably, even if it had been light enough for him to see that instead -of an ordinary vagabond or river thief this boy was clean and well -dressed. - -“Lit go av ye, then, is it!” he repeated, giving his prisoner another -shake; “it’s in the cells I’ll lit go av ye, an’ not before, ye young -thafe. Yer caught in de act, an I’ll run yer in.” - -“I am no thief,” said the boy, “and you have no business to poke me -with your club or shake me. If you want to arrest me, I will go with -you peaceably; but I have done nothing to be arrested for.” - -“Done nothin’!” the policeman exclaimed, letting go of the boy’s collar -and taking him by the sleeve; “didn’t I ketch ye stealin’?” - -“What was I stealing?” the boy asked. - -“Hemp, av coorse,” said the officer. - -Indignant as he was, the boy could hardly help laughing at the idea of -his stealing five hundred pound bales of hemp. - -“I was sleeping there,” the boy answered, “because I had nowhere else -to sleep.” - -“Thin I’ll give yer a safe place ter slape!” the policeman declared. -“You come wid me;” and he started toward the archway, still holding his -prisoner by the sleeve. - -They were just about to turn from the outer end of the arch into the -almost deserted street when they nearly ran into a man who came along -the sidewalk at a swinging gait and turned short about to enter the -dark tunnel. - -“Hello, officer; what’s this?” said the man, stopping to look at the -young prisoner under the gas lamp. - -“Good avenin’ to you, Captain Griffith,” the policeman answered, in a -very different tone from the one he had used in speaking to the boy. -“It’s one of them loafin’ wharf rats I’ve caught among your bales of -hemp, sir. But I’ll put him where he won’t be sn’akin’ around the -wharves for one while, sure.” - -“Why, this is no wharf rat, officer,” the newcomer said, taking the boy -by the shoulder and turning him around under the lamp to have a better -view of him. “He looks like a respectable boy. What were you doing on -the wharf, my boy?” - -“I went there to sleep between two of the bales, sir,” the boy replied, -“because I had nowhere else to go.” - -“Well, that’s no crime,” said the man; “we all have to sleep somewhere, -I suppose. I think I wouldn’t lock him up just for that, officer. He’s -a decent-looking boy, and I can give him a place to sleep aboard the -ship. It’s no wonder a youngster hunts a warm place on such a night as -this.” - -“Af ye think best, Captain,” the policeman readily answered, releasing -his hold on the boy’s arm. “It’s in luck ye are, bye, that Captain -Griffith of the _North Cape_ put in a good word for ye, or ye’d a -been in a cell by this toime. Then I lave the bye with you, Cap’n.” - -“Very good,” said the Captain. “Good night, officer; you’ll have cold -work to-night. Come along, my boy.” - -The next minute the boy was retracing his steps through the tunnel, -no longer a prisoner, but sure of a warm place to pass the night. He -had no time to wonder why it was that the captain of a freight steamer -had so much influence with the Brooklyn police; and no matter how much -he had wondered he could hardly have guessed the truth, that every -time the _North Cape_ lay at Martin’s Stores policeman McSweeny -received a five-dollar tip for keeping extra watch over her at night. -The big patrolman was too shrewd not to oblige his patron whenever he -could. - -Captain Griffith led the way up an inclined gangway to a lower part of -the deck, then up an iron ladder to a higher deck amidships, then down -a companionway to the snug little cabin of the _North Cape_, where -he turned up the big cabin lamp that had been burning dimly. That done, -he threw off his overcoat, sat down in a revolving-chair at the head -of the cabin table, and looked at the boy for several minutes as if he -intended to look right through him, clothes and all. - -What he saw standing by the cabin table, hat in hand, was a -manly-looking boy of about sixteen or seventeen, perhaps a little -large for his age, strong of build, with a good honest face and bright -bluish-gray eyes, and wavy dark brown hair, and hands and face bronzed -by the sun. - -“No place to sleep, eh?” the Captain asked, at length. - -“No, sir,” said the boy. - -“What are you doing in Brooklyn without a place to sleep?” the Captain -went on. - -“I came to New York to look for work, sir,” the boy replied. “This -afternoon I answered an advertisement in Brooklyn, but did not get the -place.” - -“Where do you live?” the Captain asked. - -“In Huntington, Connecticut, sir,” the boy replied. - -“What’s your name?” - -“Christopher Silburn, sir; they call me Kit.” - -“And how did you happen to come to New York to look for work without -any money?” the Captain continued. - -“I had some money when I came, sir,” Kit answered, “but I have been -here for three days, and it is nearly all gone. What little is left I -am saving to buy food with.” - -“Have you no friends?” the Captain asked, looking at Kit’s clothes, -which though evidently not of city make, were clean and whole. - -“I have a mother and sister, sir,” he answered, “and it is on their -account that I have come to the city, for they need what I can earn. -My father is dead--at least, I am afraid he is.” - -“Afraid he is!” the Captain repeated; “don’t you know whether he is -dead or not?” - -“Not for certain, sir,” Kit replied. “He was first mate of the schooner -_Flower City_, which sailed from Bridgeport for New Orleans with -machinery nearly a year ago. She was sighted by a steamer off Hatteras, -but she has never been heard from since, nor any of her crew. She was -given up long ago, and there is hardly any hope.” - -“Lost at sea!” the Captain said thoughtfully; and it was evident that -from that moment he took a greater interest in the boy he had rescued. -“The old story, I suppose. No money; family at home; wife and children -left to starve.” - -“Not quite as bad as that, sir,” Kit answered, “but very nearly. My -father left us a little house in Huntington, nearly all paid for, and -my mother earns some money by sewing. It is a hard pull; but if I can -find something to do, it will make things a little easier.” - -“Well, Mr. Kit Silburn, of Huntington,” the Captain said, after another -long look at him, “you tell a very straight story. I thought out in the -street that you looked like an honest boy; that’s the reason I got you -away from the policeman. But I don’t judge boys by their faces; some of -the best faces are owned by the biggest rogues. I have a sure way of -my own of finding out whether a boy is likely to steal my spoons and -cushions. I judge a bank by what it has in its safes, and a boy by what -he has in his pockets. Empty out your pockets here on the table, till I -see what you carry.” - -Kit was a little surprised at this request, which was delivered more -like an order on deck; but he obeyed promptly. He began with the -trousers pocket on the right-hand side, and laid out an old knife, a -key-ring without any keys on it, and a small foot rule. Then from the -left-hand pocket he took a well-worn pocket-book. - -“What’s in the purse?” the Captain asked. - -Instead of replying in words, Kit opened it and held it upside down -over the table, and there rolled out a half-dollar, a bright quarter, a -five-cent piece, and two pennies. - -“That your whole stock?” the Captain asked. - -“Yes, sir, that is all the money I have left,” Kit answered. Then he -began on his vest. From the upper pocket on the left-hand side he took -a toothbrush, and a pocket comb fastened to the back of a small mirror. -In a lower pocket, on one side, he had four collar buttons; and on -the other side a card with his name and home address written upon it, -prepared by his mother, as he explained, in case anything should happen -to him. - -Then he began to empty the pockets of his coat. From the breast pocket -he took his handkerchief, and two clean handkerchiefs, folded, that -were beneath it. - -From one of the lower pockets he took a morning newspaper, with -several of the advertisements marked with pencil. Then he put his hand -up to the inside breast pocket, but paused. - -“Well, go on,” said the Captain. - -With a little hesitation Kit took from the pocket two clean collars, -folded in the middle, and laid them on the table. Then a little -pocket testament with gilt edges. Then a letter that had been opened, -addressed to “Mr. Christopher Silburn, General Post Office, New York.” - -“That’s all, sir,” he said. - -“Where do you carry your matches?” the Captain asked. - -“I don’t carry any matches, sir,” Kit answered. - -“Nor cigarettes?” - -“No, sir, I never smoke.” - -The Captain picked up the testament and opened it at the fly-leaf -and read, written in a neat womanly hand, “Christopher Silburn, from -Mother. ‘The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.’” - -“Now, my boy,” the Captain continued, “I see you have a letter there. -Letters always tell their own story. If you want to tell me more about -yourself, you can read that letter to me. But you need not do it unless -you choose.” - -“I am quite willing to read it, sir,” Kit replied, taking up the -letter. “It is from my sister, with a few lines added by my mother.” - -He took it from the envelope and stepped up closer to the light. The -body of the letter was in a scrawly, girlish hand, and the postscript -was written evidently by the same hand that wrote the inscription in -the testament. - - MY DEAR KIT [he read]: We are so worried about you for - fear something will happen to you in that big city. Mamma says it - is more than fifty times as big as Bridgeport, and I am always a - little afraid when I go there. I cried half the night last night, - and I know Mamma was crying for you in the evening, though she - didn’t think that I saw her. Dear old Turk was so quiet all day, I - know he missed you, too. - - I do hope you will find some situation you like, and get a good - start. But if you don’t find one, we want you to come home, Kit; - Mamma says so. - - I bought stamps with one of my dollars to-day and send them to - you in this, for fear you may run out of money. If you don’t get - anything to do, send me a postal card, and I will send you the - other one too, so you can come home in the boat. I do wish you were - here this evening. - Your loving sister, - GENEVIEVE. - -Then he read the postscript:-- - - MY DARLING BOY: Sister has written for me, as my eyes ache - in the evening. We hope to hear from you by to-morrow. Be sure we - both miss you very much. God bless you, my boy, and take care of - you. Remember what I told you before you started. - MOTHER. - -“And you have spent your sister’s stamps, I suppose?” the Captain -asked, when Kit, having finished, refolded the letter. - -“No, sir, I was robbed of them,” he replied. “I took them into a -little shop in one of the avenues to have them changed into money, -and the man put them in the drawer, but would not pay me for them. -He accused me of stealing them. ‘You’re not the first office boy has -stolen his boss’s stamps and come here to sell them,’ he said. ‘Go and -bring your boss, till I give him back his stamps.’” - -“And being a country boy, you did not think of taking the address of -the shop, I suppose?” the Captain asked. - -“No, sir,” Kit answered. “He threatened to call a policeman if I didn’t -go away, so I went.” - -“Looks as if the shopkeeper was the thief himself,” said the Captain, -smiling at Kit’s innocence. “Well, put your things back in your -pockets. How old are you?” - -“Sixteen, sir,” Kit answered; “nearly seventeen.” - -“Ever been to sea?” - -“No, sir. I know very little about the water, for a sailor’s boy. -Huntington is ten miles back from the Sound, and a good many of the -people there are seafaring men, but the boys don’t see much of salt -water.” - -“Would you like to go to sea?” the Captain asked, looking up at him -suddenly. - -“Yes, sir; I should like it very much indeed,” Kit answered promptly. - -“Well, I haven’t taken all this trouble with you just for amusement,” -the Captain went on. “I am in need of a cabin boy; and when I saw you -in the hands of the policeman I rather thought that fate had sent me -one without farther trouble. I never take a boy who has run away from -home, and for that reason I wanted to find out about you by what you -had in your pockets. And I find that you have not run away, and that -you have very good references. A boy with a Bible in his pocket and a -letter from his mother and sister has as good references as I want. I’m -not very much of a church man myself; know more about log books than -prayer books, maybe; but I like to see a boy who’s started out right. -Would you like to be my cabin boy?” - -“Yes, sir; I should like very much to have the place,” Kit replied. - -“Then I’ll tell you what the place is, so you’ll know what you’re -about,” the Captain continued. “You know what a tramp steamer is, I -suppose?” - -“Yes, sir,” Kit answered. “It is a steamer that belongs to no regular -line, but goes wherever she can get freight to carry.” - -“That’s it,” the Captain assented. “And the _North Cape_ is a -tramp steamer. She belongs to no regular line, but goes wherever she -can get freight to carry. She is chartered for one more voyage to Sisal -after hemp, and after that she will go wherever business offers. It may -be on one side of the world and it may be on the other. So if you go -with me, you are just as likely to be in China six months from now, as -to be in New York.” - -Such a prospect made Kit’s eyes sparkle. - -“I should like that very much, sir,” he answered. - -“Very well, then,” the Captain resumed. “Your pay will be six dollars -a month, and you are not to go ashore without leave. That is not very -much pay, but on the ship you will get your board, so you will have -more money at the end of the month than you would have with more pay on -shore. Your work will be to do whatever you’re told, and you’ll have -to walk a very straight line. Don’t think because I have talked to you -so much to-night that I’m going to pet you, for I’m not. When a ship -leaves port, there is only one law for everybody on board, and that is -the captain’s orders.” - -He paused a moment, and then went on:-- - -“There is another boy on this ship, the engineers’ mess-room boy. -You’ve heard the old saying, I suppose, that one boy is half a boy and -two boys are no boy at all. But it’s not so on the _North Cape_. -Each boy has to be a whole boy here, from the top of his head to the -soles of his boots. I don’t allow any skylarking, or any quarrelling.” - -Kit saw that he was expected to make some reply, so he said, “I will -try to please you, sir.” - -“I think you will,” said the Captain. “Now you have a start,--not a -very big one, but as good as most boys have,--and the rest lies with -yourself. You can push your way up in the world, or you can make a fool -of yourself and go to the dogs. Nobody but yourself can say which it -shall be.” - -“I am very much obliged to you, sir,” Kit answered. “I found it pretty -hard to get the start, but now that I have it I shall try to make the -most of it.” - -“It’s time to turn in,” said the Captain, glancing at the cabin clock -and seeing that it was almost midnight. “To-morrow you must write home -for whatever clothes you have. No matter what they are, they will -be good enough when we are at sea. And you must ask your mother’s -permission to go; I won’t take you without that, but as soon as you -get it, I will let you sign the crew list; and you can begin your work -to-morrow morning, while you’re waiting for it. We’ll not be away from -here for a week yet, and there’s plenty of time. You can sleep on one -of the cabin sofas to-night.” - -With that the Captain turned the big lamp down low, picked up his -overcoat, and disappeared through a door at the end of the cabin, -leading, as Kit learned afterward, to his own stateroom. - -Kit was a little dazed at first by the rapidity with which things were -happening. Late in the afternoon he had concluded to go without any -supper, because he was not very hungry and he could not afford to eat -just because it was meal time. Then he had looked about for a place to -sleep outdoors, having no idea how many thousand homeless people in -New York are doing that same thing every night, nor how vigilant the -police are to drive them away or arrest them. He had spent two nights -in cheap lodging-houses in the Bowery, but everything was so foul and -uncomfortable there that he preferred the open air. Then he had gone -to sleep between the hemp bales, only to be poked with a club and -shaken and put under arrest. And now here he was an hour later with as -good a situation as he had hoped to find; and a chance to sleep in as -snug and comfortable a cabin as he ever dreamed of; and a prospect of -breakfast in the morning that would not have to be paid for out of his -poor little eighty-two cents. - -He went around the table to the longest of the three sofas in the -cabin, and found it covered with soft leather cushions. There was even -a leather pillow at the end. He lay down and tried to think things -over. He had no doubt that his mother would consent to his going, for -it had always been intended that he should go to sea with his father. -Then he thought about Genevieve and her stamps, and about Turk, and in -five minutes he was fishing in his dreams, in Bonnibrook, the stream -that runs through Huntington. - -A noise in the cabin awoke him. It was the steward giving the place its -morning cleaning; and half asleep as he still was, Kit saw that the sun -was streaming through the port-holes. - -“Hello, there,” said the steward, “where did you come from?” - -Kit sat up and looked around. He had to think a moment before he could -tell where he did come from. - -“I’m the new cabin boy, sir,” he said. - -“Get up, then, and stir yourself,” said the steward. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -A VOYAGE TO YUCATAN. - - -For five days after Kit’s arrival on board the _North Cape_ -the steam winches were at work ten hours a day with their deafening -clatter, first in hoisting the remainder of the hemp bales out of the -hold, then in taking in what shipping men call a “general cargo,” -consisting in part of barrels of flour, boxes of tea, cases of cloth, -hats, shoes, and other things necessary in a country where little but -hemp is produced. - -On the fifth day there came indications that the ship was about to -sail. The last of the piles of merchandise on the wharf disappeared, -the winches stopped, and two of the hatches were battened down. Kit was -prepared for this, for he was now a legal member of the ship’s family, -having signed the crew list. He had written home and had received his -mother’s permission to go to sea, coupled with many loving expressions -and much good advice; and had received, too, an affectionate letter -from Genevieve, and a little bundle containing the clothing he had left -at home. - -Early in the afternoon the Captain’s bell rang, and it was Kit’s -business to answer it. - -“Go tell the chief I want steam at eight o’clock,” he ordered. - -“Yes, sir,” Kit answered, and ran up to the chief engineer’s room to -deliver the order. When he left the chief’s room he was stopped near -the engine-room skylights by the boatswain. - -“Here, youngster,” said he, “run up for’ard and ask the first officer -to send me the load-water-line; I’ve got to take soundings.” - -“Yes, sir,” Kit answered again, and was about to start on the -errand when he was stopped by Tom Haines, the fourth engineer, a -pleasant-faced young Scotchman of about twenty, who was leaning against -the skylights. - -“Don’t go, young ’un,” Haines said; “he’s trying to make a fool of you. -The load-water-line is painted on the side of the ship; besides, we -don’t take soundings lying at a wharf.” - -Kit laughed good-naturedly at the joke, and Haines added:-- - -“They’ll soon get tired of playing tricks on you, as you don’t get mad. -Just keep your eyes open and your mouth shut, and you’ll soon know as -much about the ship as any of them.” - -“Oh, I don’t intend to let them make me mad,” Kit answered, “no matter -how many tricks they play on me. A new boy has to expect that sort of -thing, I suppose.” - -Before he reached the cabin companionway he was stopped by “Chocolate” -Cheevers, the engineer’s mess-room boy, whose nickname was generally -abbreviated to “Chock.” This boy had already played more tricks upon -Kit than all the rest of the crew combined, and the new cabin boy -felt sure that he would not be a pleasant companion on the voyage. -The curious nickname that the sailors had given him came, it was easy -to see, from the brown hue of his skin; and this and his tight-curled -black hair and velvety brown eyes marked him for a light West Indian -mulatto. He was about a year older than Kit, tall and slender. - -“Say, farmer,” he said, laying a hand on Kit’s shoulder (disliking his -own nickname, he was anxious to attach one to Kit), “don’t you want to -go ashore with me and have a look at the town to-night? This will be -our last night in port.” - -“Why, we’re going to sail at eight o’clock,” Kit answered. - -“Well, you are a green one!” Chock laughed. “How can we sail before we -get our crew on board? We’ll not leave the wharf before midnight, and -then she’ll anchor out in the harbor till morning.” - -“But I can’t go on shore without leave,” Kit protested, “nor you -either.” - -“We can get leave fast enough, on the last night. Come along, and we’ll -take in some of the shows on the Bowery. It’s a gay old place, that -Bowery.” - -“Oh, that’s what you mean by taking a look at the town, is it?” Kit -laughed. “I don’t care about that kind of a look, thank you. I saw a -little of the Bowery when I was looking for a job, and I’m not fond of -it; and I have no money to throw away on such things. We’d better both -stay on board and attend to our business.” - -“Ah, the cabin boy is a preacher as well as a farmer, is he?” Chock -sneered. “Service of song every Sunday morning.” - -“No, I am no preacher,” Kit answered pleasantly; “but I am not fool -enough to spend my money on Bowery shows, either.” - -The Captain’s bell rang again, and he had to hurry away before Chock -had a chance to retort. He was wanted this time to help the Captain -get ready to go ashore; and after the Captain had gone he took the -opportunity to write his last letter home before sailing, as he always -had less to do when the Captain was away. There were writing-materials -on the big cabin table, and he sat down and wrote:-- - - DEAR MOTHER AND VIEVE:--We are getting up steam and will - be off to-night or to-morrow morning, so this is the last letter - you will get from me till I am back from Yucatan. And won’t I be a - regular old sailor by that time! - - The Captain has gone ashore, and we expect the rest of the crew - this evening. You see only about half the crew stay by the ship - all the time; the rest are shipped new for every voyage. The - regular ones are the Captain, the first and second mates, the - chief engineer and his three assistants, the boatswain, the cabin - steward, cabin boy (that’s the undersigned!), cook, galley boy - (that boy is about thirty!), and the engineers’ mess-room boy. - Then before sailing we ship six men “before the mast,” and four - firemen, or stokers. That will make twenty-three of us on board - when we sail. - - I think I have given the Captain satisfaction so far, and I like - it first-rate. Of course we are only in port yet, but I shall like - it at sea too. We have a beautiful little cabin, and the Captain’s - room is about half as large as the cabin. I have to take care of - his room, keep it clean, and keep his clothes in order; clean the - cabin every morning, fill and polish the big lamp, run when the - Captain’s bell rings, and, as he says, “do whatever I’m told,” - which of course I do. - - At the other end of the cabin, across a little alley, are three - good staterooms. The first and second mates have one together, and - the cabin steward and I have another. He sleeps in the lower berth, - and I in the upper. It makes fine quarters for us; but we would - have to move out if there were passengers on board. - - At meal times the Captain and first mate eat together first, then - the second mate comes down and eats, and after he is done the - steward and I eat together. The engineers have their own mess-room. - Of course there is plenty to eat, and our china is all marked N. - C., for _North Cape_. You wouldn’t think things would be - so grand on a freight ship. Why, the cabin is all furnished in - mahogany, with soft leather cushions. Oh, I forgot to say that I - have to help the steward wash the dishes, so it’s well you taught - me how. - - Don’t think I am off on a pleasure trip. I didn’t leave you - both for that. I have lots of work to do; and I hope to do it - faithfully, so that before long I may be something better than a - cabin boy. But cabin boy isn’t so bad for just now. - - The _North Cape_’s size is 2850 tons, and she is a very strong - iron ship; so you need not be worried about me. Shake dear old - Turk’s paw good-by for me. You know how much love I send to you - both. Good-by for a month or six weeks. - Your loving - KIT. - -That was the longest letter he had ever written; and by the time it was -finished he had to help set the supper table, for the ship’s meals must -go on whether the Captain was on board or not. Then the dishes were -hardly washed and put away after supper before the Captain returned, -to be followed in a few minutes by a shipping agent who brought the -crew--the six sailors and four stokers, most of whom had been supplied -with enough liquor to make them willing to sign orders for advances on -their pay, for the benefit of the agent and boarding-house keeper. Some -of them were quite sober, however, and there was one young man of good -appearance whom Kit thought he should like. - -It was nine o’clock by the time the sailors were aboard and quartered -down in the forecastle, but still there were no further signs of the -ship’s moving; on the contrary, the Captain went ashore again, and the -usual harbor lights were kept burning in the rigging. About eleven -o’clock, having nothing to do, but feeling too much excited over the -start to turn in, Kit went up on deck, and was glad to find Tom Haines -taking the air while he waited for his watch to begin at midnight. - -“I wonder why we don’t get off, sir,” Kit said, going up to the young -engineer. - -“You mustn’t say ‘sir’ to me, young ’un,” Haines laughed. “It’s only -the Captain and the two mates and the chief engineer that you’re to say -‘sir’ to. But we’ll be off in a few minutes now.” - -“Then we’ll be out at sea in two or three hours!” Kit exclaimed. - -“Not a bit of it,” Haines answered. “We’d hardly go to sea without the -Captain, and he is spending the night on shore. We’ll drop down below -the Statue of Liberty and anchor there, and some time to-morrow we’ll -get off.” - -“What delays us so long, when everything is ready?” Kit asked. - -“Everything is not ready,” Haines replied. “We have to give the crew -a few hours to sober up in, for one thing; they are not fit for duty -now. It’s an outrageous shame the way the sailors are brought on board -drunk; but that’s always the way, so I suppose there’s no use worrying -about it. Then we can’t go till the charterers of the ship tell us to; -the minute they say go, we’re off. You may as well turn in, young ’un, -for you’ll not see her fairly under way much before noon to-morrow.” - -Kit went down to the cabin and did such odd jobs as he could find, for -he knew it was useless for him to try to sleep when the ship was about -to move. When everything was straightened up, he sat down by the big -table under the lamp and took out the little book in which his mother -had written his name. - -“I wish they’d had steamships in these Bible times,” he said to -himself; “I’d like to see what they had to say about them. There’s a -good deal here about ships, but they were all such little ones; and I -don’t see anything about cabin boys; maybe they didn’t have any cabins.” - -He had not been reading long before the blowing of the big whistle -and the noise on deck told him that the ship was about to move, and -he hurried out. But that first little stage of the journey was a -disappointment. She merely crawled over to the Statue of Liberty and -dropped her anchor, and there was nothing to be seen but the great -blazing torch over the statue, and the twinkling lights on shore. - -It was hardly daylight in the morning when Kit felt himself roughly -shaken, and heard the voice of the steward saying:-- - -“Come, hustle out here, boy. We’re away from the wharf now, and you’ve -got to stir yourself. Don’t lie there and say ‘yes, sir,’ but jump. -I’ll have no lazy boys about my cabin.” - -Kit sprang up and dressed as fast as he could, but nothing he did -satisfied the steward, who ordered him here and there apparently for -the sake of showing his authority, scolded him, and once took him by -the shoulders and shook him. - -“I’d rather hate to sail with the steward for captain!” Kit said to -himself, laughing inwardly at the little man’s feeble attempt at -violence. He did not even know the man’s name, for he was always -addressed as “steward”; but he was a middle-aged, dried-up little -fellow, his yellowish face marked from small-pox, and his body so -thin that his coat always hung like a bag. He spoke with a strong -foreign accent, and Kit had noticed already that the Captain did not -seem to like to have him about him; but he was a capital steward, and -understood his business from top to bottom. - -“I ought to have brought a note-book along to keep a list of the things -I learn,” Kit said to himself after several hours of this nagging; -“I’ve learned a fresh thing this morning, anyhow--not to make a show -of myself by giving unnecessary orders if I’m ever put in any little -position of authority.” - -How differently the Captain managed things! About ten o’clock a little -tug came alongside, and the Captain and the pilot climbed aboard. - -“Put her under way, Mr. Mason,” he said to the first mate as he passed -him, as quietly as if he had been saying “It’s a fine day.” The steward -would have made more fuss over having the carving-knife cleaned. - -It was a grand thing to be steaming out to sea in a fine ship like the -_North Cape_; but now that the moment had come Kit felt a little -more serious over it than he expected. He had never been away from home -before, and a thousand recollections of the old place crowded into -his mind. What were his mother and Vieve doing, and how long would it -be before he should see them again? Having little to do in the middle -of the morning, he went up on deck and leaned over the rail while the -steamer ran down through the Narrows and into the lower bay. Everything -was new and beautiful to him; but he would have enjoyed it more if -there had not been, somehow, a little bit of a haze before his eyes. -Suddenly he felt a friendly clap on the back, and heard the kindly -voice of Tom Haines:-- - -“Brace up, young ’un. You might as well start your first voyage -laughing as crying.” - -“Oh, I’m not crying,” Kit protested; and he proved it by wiping the -back of his hand across his eyes. “You’ll think I’m a big baby, won’t -you?” - -“Not at all,” Haines answered; “I salted the ocean myself a little when -I first left home. You’ll soon get used to being away.” - -“It’s not only that,” Kit said thoughtfully. “This is the first time -I’ve ever seen the big ocean, and I can’t help thinking that my father -is lying at the bottom of it somewhere. He was lost at sea about a year -ago.” - -“All the more reason for you to keep up a bold front, young ’un,” -Haines insisted. “If you have no father, you have to shift for -yourself, and for your family too, like enough. Keep at work and don’t -stop to think about such things. If you want to send a line home to let -them know you’re all right, you can send it ashore by the pilot, you -know, when we’re outside the Hook.” - -Captain Griffith was not the man to leave his ship in the hands of the -pilot, as some captains do. He was up on the bridge, glass in hand, and -remained there till he had seen the flags run up that announced to the -signal station at Sandy Hook, “_North Cape_, for Sisal,” so that -her departure would be announced to the owners and all interested. Then -he went below, and the chief mate took his place on the bridge. - -Kit was surprised, perhaps almost disappointed, to find that the sea -was as smooth as the bay. It was one of those days that come sometimes -even in winter, when there is hardly a ripple on the surface. There was -not a sign of the seasickness he expected, and while the Captain was on -the bridge he had an opportunity to write another “last line” home. - -“Dear Mother,” he wrote with pencil, “I can write you another line to -send by the pilot. We are at sea now, just outside Sandy Hook, and it -is as smooth as Bonnibrook. I am not the least seasick. A little bit -homesick, but I’ll soon work that off. I have to help set the dinner -table now. Love to all. Kit.” - -In another half-hour the pilot was gone, and they were fairly cut off -from the world till they reached the coast of Yucatan. The Atlantic -Highlands loomed up, and Seabright, and Long Branch, and so many more -places on the New Jersey coast, that it looked to Kit as if it must be -one continuous town. When darkness came they could still see the lights -on shore. - -An hour after supper the Captain went into his stateroom, sat down at -his desk that had a bookcase over the top, and called Kit. He had a -bundle of very large sheets closely written in columns before him, and -more sheets of the same paper, blank. - -“Can you read writing, my boy?” he asked. “Oh, yes, I know you can,” -he added, “for you read a letter to me. See whether you can read this -writing to me while I copy it,” and he handed Kit one of the big sheets. - -Kit took it and began with the first line across the broad page:-- - -“‘Hernandez & Co., Merida,’” he read; “‘1 case dry goods; weight 168 -pounds;’ then here’s some sort of a mark--a square with an ~H~ -inside of it.” - -“That’s what we call a diamond ~H~,” the Captain explained; “when -it’s in a circle, we call it a circle ~H~. Now go on.” - -Kit read several more of the lines without difficulty, till the Captain -stopped him. - -“You’ve been to school, then, have you?” he asked. - -“Oh, yes, sir!” Kit answered. “I always went to school till about six -months ago. Since then I’ve been doing whatever work I could get.” - -“Study geography?” the Captain asked. - -“Yes, sir.” - -“What do you know about the place we’re going to--Sisal?” - -“It is a small place on the coast of Yucatan, sir,” Kit answered -promptly; “a seaport for the city of Merida, which lies about twenty -miles inland. But I have learned most of that from your books here -since I came aboard, sir,” he added, blushing a little. - -“Well, I am glad to see you are honest about it,” the Captain said, -with a smile. “I think you can stand there and read some of these -manifests to me while I copy them. These things are the plague of my -life. I have to make three copies of them before we reach Sisal, and -I’d rather navigate a ship around the world than do it. Go ahead, now, -and be very careful; for the least mistake will make no end of trouble.” - -Kit began and read line by line with great care, while the Captain -laboriously copied. After fifteen or twenty minutes of the work the -Captain laid down the pen, and began to open and shut his hand and to -rub it. - -“Ah, my fingers are not as nimble as they once were,” he said. “It -gives me cramp in the hand.” - -For some time Kit had been revolving something in his mind while he -read, but could not quite determine to speak it out. This pause of the -Captain’s, however, decided him. - -“I write a plain hand, sir,” he said; “if you could trust me, I think I -could copy them for you.” - -The Captain looked up at him with one of the piercing looks that seemed -to go through him, and Kit was a little alarmed. Maybe it was presuming -too much for the cabin boy to suggest such a thing. Even then, though, -under that sharp gaze he thought it was worth the venture, for if he -succeeded, it would show that he was good for something better than -scouring the knives. - -“Sit down here and let me see your handwriting,” the Captain said at -length, laying a bit of plain paper on top of the manifests. - -Kit sat down and took up the pen, and had just begun to write when -something happened that gave him so much satisfaction that he could -hardly keep a straight face. There came a knock at the door, and the -engineers’ mess-room boy stepped in with the engineer’s report of the -number of tons of coal in the bunkers. For this boy to see him seated -in the Captain’s stateroom, writing at the Captain’s desk, with the -Captain himself standing by watching him, was the best answer he could -give to the assertion that he was a “farmer” and a “preacher.” Chock -Cheevers could not have looked more astonished if he had seen one of -the stokers on the bridge taking an observation. - -The little interruption over, Kit wrote, as neatly and plainly as he -could, “Christopher Silburn, cabin boy, steamship _North Cape_, -for Sisal.” - -“Yes, that is a good plain hand,” the Captain said, taking the paper. -“I will let you try it, at any rate. You can go ahead while I go up on -the bridge. Remember that you can’t be too careful.” - -He hooked the stateroom door open as he went out; and he had hardly -been gone five minutes before Mr. Hanway, the big, powerful second -mate, went down to his room for a reefing jacket. Seeing the new boy at -the Captain’s desk, and being fond of a little quiet fun, he went up to -the open door, touched his cap in mock politeness, and said, - -“She’s heading sou-sou-west, sir.” - -Kit hardly knew whether he dared joke with the second mate or not; but -with an inspiration he looked up from his work without the least change -of countenance, and, returning the salute, replied, - -“Very good, sir; keep her so, sir.” - -More than an hour passed before the Captain returned from the bridge, -and in the interval Kit nearly filled one of the large sheets. - -“That will do for to-night,” the Captain said, looking over the page. -“You have done it very well; but there’s more than one night; you can -do a little at it every evening.” - -Then the steward had something to say when Kit went into the pantry, -which also opened from the cabin. The steward was not pleased to see -the new boy taken into the Captain’s favor. - -“I want that cabin cleaned before six o’clock in the morning,” he -growled. “You needn’t think you’re going to shirk your work because you -write for the Captain.” - -“Very well, sir,” Kit answered. “I don’t intend to shirk any work.” - -It did not seem quite right, on his first voyage, that the sea should -be so smooth all the way down the coast. Even when the _North -Cape_ passed Hatteras there was no more than a little swell. When -she reached the Florida coast, in about four days, she kept so well in -shore that the sandy beach could be seen plainly, and the palm trees -just as he had seen them in pictures. He learned from Tom Haines that -steamers bound for the Gulf always run as close to the Florida coast -as they dare, to be inside of the Gulf Stream, which flows northward at -the rate of about four miles an hour, and retards a south-bound steamer -just that much when she runs against it. - -On the seventh day they sighted the eastern cliffs of Yucatan; and -after two days of steaming along the coast, but so far out that they -could see nothing but the outlines of the low hills, Kit learned that -they were approaching Sisal. By that time he had made three copies of -the long manifest, working at it a little nearly every evening on the -cabin table. - -It was early in a hot afternoon that they dropped anchor off Sisal; -and nowhere in the world is it more appropriate to say of a ship that -she lies “off” a port, for at Sisal a ship of any size must lie at -least three miles off. There is no harbor, and the shore slopes off so -gradually that no ship can approach the town. - -“That must have been as smooth a voyage as ever a ship made,” Kit said -to Tom Haines, as they stood by the rail together when the anchor went -down. “I didn’t know it ever was so smooth for ten days at a time.” - -“The Atlantic is a treacherous old pond,” Tom answered. “To-day it -makes you believe it’s only a big lake; to-morrow it knocks you all to -pieces. And this is a bad part of the coast we’re on, this south side -of the Gulf; when we get any bad weather here, we have to hoist anchor -and run to sea. But you want to keep your eyes open now; you’ll see -some queer people in a few minutes.” - -“What are all those little boats coming out to us?” Kit asked; -“lighters to take off the cargo?” - -“No indeed!” Tom laughed. “They don’t begin work as fast as that here. -Everything is ‘mañana’ here, which means ‘to-morrow’ in Spanish; these -people all speak Spanish, you know. That first boat, the one with the -flag at the stern and rowed by four men, is the government boat, that -brings out the Captain of the port, the health officer, and a lot of -custom-house men. After they have examined our papers and found that -we’re all well, the other boats will come up. They are what we call -‘bum-boats,’ with things to sell--cigars and tobacco, bead work, canes -plated with tortoise-shell, all sorts of nonsense; and they will be -on the lookout for passengers who may want to go ashore. But it’s the -officers in the first boat I want you to see; they’ll be aboard in a -minute.” - -The gangway had been lowered, and after a great deal of shouting in -Spanish the government boat came up to it and made fast. Then there -came up the steps a dozen swarthy men whose appearance gave Kit more -surprise than anything else he had seen on the voyage. Each one, as -far as he could see, wore nothing but a white shirt and a high black -silk hat, with a belt around the waist with a big revolver stuck in -each side. They carried themselves with great dignity, which made their -costume all the more grotesque; and as they stood on deck shaking -hands with Captain Griffith, it was as much as Kit could do to restrain -his laughter. - -“Don’t they wear trousers in this country?” he whispered to Tom. - -“They all have trousers on--white linen ones,” Tom answered; “but they -roll them clear up so they won’t get wet in the boat. And it’s the -fashion in Yucatan to wear the end of the shirt outside instead of -inside the trousers. It wouldn’t be so bad in this hot climate, with -their bare feet and legs, if they didn’t wear the high black hats to -look stylish.” - -The Captain took his visitors down into the cabin; and next minute his -bell rang, and Kit had to run. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -A NORTHER ON THE GULF. - - -When the port officers returned to shore they left behind four of the -custom-house men, who were to stay on board the _North Cape_ as -long as she lay there; and these men deposited their high hats in the -cabin and put on dark blue caps that they carried in their pockets, -rolled down their trousers, and thus, though still in their bare feet, -transformed themselves into respectable-looking citizens. - -Kit heard the order given from the bridge, “Lower away the captain’s -gig!” and in a few minutes Captain Griffith followed the officers -ashore to arrange for lighters to land his cargo. He returned in time -for supper, bringing along a package of letters that had been handed -him at the custom-house--some for himself, and some for members of the -crew. - -“I think I have something here for you, Christopher,” he said as he -passed through the cabin, where Kit was setting the table. “Yes,” -he went on, pausing under the lamp to look over the letters, “‘Mr. -Christopher Silburn, S. S. _North Cape_, Sisal, Yucatan.’ There’s -news from home for you. The mail steamer left three days behind us, but -she has beaten us down and gone on to Vera Cruz; so you will have a -chance to answer your letter when she comes back, in about a week.” - -“Thank you, sir,” Kit answered, as the Captain handed him a letter -addressed in his mother’s familiar handwriting. He was delighted to -hear from home, but still the letter frightened him a little, for he -had not expected to hear while he was away, and his first thought was -that there must be something the matter. He hastily cut the envelope -open and read far enough to see that no one was sick, then put the -letter in his pocket till his work was done. It was not till the supper -dishes were washed and put away that he had any leisure, and then he -sat down under the cabin lamp and read it. The main letter was from his -mother, and there was a shorter one from Genevieve. - - MY DEAR BOY [his mother wrote]: Though I have no news to tell you, - I want to send you a few lines by the first mail steamer, for I - don’t want you to feel that you are entirely cut off from home and - family. No matter how far away you are, you know we are always - thinking about you. - - And I don’t want to tire you with a lot of advice, but I do hope, - my dear boy, that you will take care of yourself in every way. It - may be selfish in me to say so, but I want you to remember that you - have not only yourself, but your mother and sister too, to think - about and work for. You are all we have. I am sure you will do your - best wherever you are, but I want you to take great care of your - health. That is an unhealthy country you are in, and you must not - expose yourself to the hot sun. I will try to have some new shirts - ready for you when you get back to New York; and I think you had - better buy a few handkerchiefs, for you have not enough. And don’t - forget the little book I gave you, Kit. - YOUR LOVING MOTHER. - -Then he unfolded the note from Genevieve. - - DEAR KIT [she wrote]: This is the first note I ever wrote without - mother’s seeing it, but I do not want her to see this, because I am - going to write to you about father, and that always troubles her. - - I want you always, when you are travelling about the world, to keep - your ears open for news of the _Flower City_ or some of her - boats. It may be foolish, but I never can believe that we shall not - see him any more. You know how many people have been shipwrecked - and then come home again years afterwards. You’ll do this, won’t - you? - - Dear old Turk is trying to write to you. He heard me say that I was - going to write, so he sits here beside me, putting up first one paw - and then the other. I am sure he would write if he could. With love, - VIEVE. - -He was about to read the letters over again, when the Captain’s bell -rang. All the doors and port-holes were left open now, for the heat was -intense even after dark, and he went into the Captain’s room without -knocking. - -“Shut the door, my boy,” the Captain said; “I have something to say to -you;” and as Kit obeyed, he could not help wondering whether he had -done anything that he was to be scolded for. But the Captain’s first -words relieved his mind. - -“I am going to put you at a job to-morrow that will require all your -brains,” he said. “The lighters will be here in the morning after -cargo, and I am going to send you ashore to make a list of every -package landed. I have to keep a sharp eye on these boatmen, or they -rob me. Everything will be checked off as it leaves the ship, and you -will keep a list on shore, and the goods go into the hands of our agent -in Sisal immediately, and he receipts for them. - -“Now I want you to understand,” he continued, “that this is very -important work. I have never trusted such work to a cabin boy before. -If you miss a package, it may cost me a great many dollars. But I see -you have some brains, and I want you to use them, and do the work -carefully.” - -“Thank you, sir,” Kit answered. “I will certainly do my best.” - -Kit returned to the cabin, with a little flush on his face. He had seen -for some days that his position on the ship was much better than when -he started, but he had not dreamed of such an important commission as -this. It would give him a great amount of extra work to do, but what -of that? He was not afraid of work. Nearly any one in the crew would -jump at the chance to go ashore and do what he was to do. Copying the -manifests had given him extra work, but it had paid many times over by -giving the Captain a good opinion of him. - -Immediately after breakfast next morning the gig was lowered again, -and the Captain was rowed ashore by two of the men, with Kit sitting in -the stern by his side. Kit knew how some of the crew were wondering to -see him going off in this style, but he had no chance to speak to them. -On the way they passed three of the lighters going out--open boats -about thirty feet long, very strongly built, with a single mast, each -with a large crew of half-clad Mexicans ready for work. - -The Captain waited till the first of the lighters arrived with its -load, and showed Kit where he was to stand on the mole, as the Mexicans -call the wharf, and how he was to keep his list. Then he returned to -the ship, and the cabin boy was left to his own resources. - -“I’m going to be roasted and broiled and frizzled here,” he said to -himself, “under this sun. But I can stand it if these fellows can. And -when there’s no lighter in sight I can get into the shade there beside -the warehouse.” - -He soon found that he was to have company in the hot sun; for as the -agent had to receipt for the goods, he sent one of his own clerks -to check them off on one of the manifests that Kit had copied. The -clerk was a slender young man in a broad-brimmed Panama hat; and Kit -was greatly amused when he touched his hat to him, and called him -“Señor.” But the young man spoke a little English, and they soon became -acquainted. - -“You are young for a supercargo, Señor,” the clerk said, in a lull in -the work. - -[Illustration: “‘YOU ARE YOUNG FOR A SUPERCARGO, SEÑOR.’”] - -Kit had read enough sea stories to know something about supercargoes, -though he did not know that he was doing the work of one at that minute. - -“I’m not the supercargo, sir,” he replied; “I’m the cabin boy; we have -no supercargo.” - -“Ah!” said the clerk; and it was still more amusing to see how -dignified he immediately became, and what a superior air he assumed. -But another trifling incident soon made him friendly again, for the -agent himself came down to the mole to inquire about something, and he, -too, touched his hat to Kit and called him Señor, whereupon the clerk -said something in Spanish that must have explained that Kit was only -the cabin boy, for the agent immediately replied, “Oh, cabin boy is he? -Well, he must be a good one, or he wouldn’t be put at this work. Bring -him up to the house to breakfast.” - -Kit was under the impression that he had had his breakfast several -hours before, on board ship; but he followed Tom Haines’s advice to -“keep his eyes open and his mouth shut,” and before long he learned -that the southern custom is to take only a cup of coffee and a roll -in the early morning, and to wait till midday for the full breakfast, -which is really an early dinner. - -About twelve o’clock there were no lighters in sight, for the boatmen -were eating their breakfast too, and the clerk took Kit through a -narrow street to a big one-story stone warehouse, the agent’s business -place, where, on a shady rear verandah, a long table was spread. -This was “the house” the agent had referred to; and by keeping both -eyes and ears open, Kit learned that it is the custom in Yucatan for -the proprietors and all the employees of large business houses to -eat together in the warehouses, a cook and waiters being kept on the -premises. - -He was a little embarrassed to find that he was to be seated at the -right hand of Mr. Ysnard, the agent, near the head of the table; for he -was bright enough to see that the seats were arranged according to rank -in the firm, with the proprietor at the top of the table, the cashier -and chief clerks next, then the minor clerks, and the porters and boys -near the foot. - -“Hadn’t I better go lower down, sir?” he asked. “I don’t think I belong -up here.” - -“Oh, yes, you do!” Mr. Ysnard laughed; “you are my guest to-day, and my -guests always belong in the seat of honor.” - -While the many courses were brought on, soup, fish, roasts, dessert, -and fruits, Mr. Ysnard asked Kit enough questions to keep him busy -answering--how long he had been on the _North Cape_, how he liked -it, where he lived, and all about himself. But when, after the meal was -finished, they all sat talking, and most of them smoking, he began to -grow uneasy. - -“I shall have to ask you to excuse me, sir,” he said to Mr. Ysnard. “I -am afraid some of the lighters will be coming in, and I must not miss -anything.” - -“Very true, my boy, you must attend to business,” Mr. Ysnard answered. -“And you can safely follow the example, Michel,” he called down the -table to Kit’s fellow-clerk on the wharf, who sat about the middle. - -Together they returned to their work, and up to dark they had little -chance for conversation, for eight lighters were now busy bringing -cargo. When it was too dark to see longer, the gig was sent to take Kit -on board. - -“Make way for the supercargo!” Chock Cheevers cried, as he stepped on -board. “Clear a gangway there. Don’t you see who’s come aboard?” - -But the second mate had something more important to say. - -“Bring your list into the chart-room,” he ordered, “and compare it with -my tally.” The second mate had been keeping the tally of everything -that left the ship; and when the comparison was made they corresponded -exactly, showing that on his first day, at any rate, Kit had made no -mistakes. - -It seemed a little odd to go to washing dishes again after being a -clerk all day; but they were soon done, and next morning he was out -bright and early to clean the cabin and set the table. After breakfast -he was rowed ashore as before, but dressed this time in his thinnest -clothes. Even at eight o’clock the sun was burning hot, and the -cloudless sky seemed to indicate an intensely hot day. He was soon -to learn, however, that tropical skies change very rapidly. Five or -six of the lighters had come in with loads and returned to the ship, -when there came a single puff of wind from off the water that reminded -Kit of home. It was the first really cool thing he had felt since his -arrival in Yucatan; and this little puff, lasting only a few seconds, -was more than cool--it was actually chilly. - -“Ah, that’s good!” he said to the clerk; “I wish they’d give us more of -that.” - -The clerk shivered in his linen clothes, and pointed with one hand -toward the sky. There far in the north was a big dark-gray cloud, that -seemed to grow larger and darker as they looked at it. - -“El Norte!” Michel exclaimed; and shivered again. - -“What’s that?” Kit asked. - -“A norther, you call it in English,” the clerk replied; “a great cold -storm from the north. That puts an end to our work for some days. -There’ll be a heavy sea on in a few minutes.” - -“Then I ought to get back to the ship,” Kit said half to himself. - -“You couldn’t do it,” said the clerk. “Look.” - -He pointed seaward, and Kit saw all the lighters scudding toward shore -before a wind that they hardly felt yet on the mole. Thick black smoke -was pouring from the _North Cape’s_ funnel, and across the water -he heard the “click, click, click,” of the steam windlass. - -“Why, she’s going off!” Kit cried; “she’s hoisting anchor!” - -“Of course she is,” Michel laughed; “she’ll have to put to sea; she -can’t lie there in a norther, and you’ll see no more of her till the -storm is over. That often happens here.” - -“And what becomes of a cabin boy who happens to be left on shore?” Kit -asked, half inclined to laugh at the predicament he was in. - -“You’re better off here than on the ship,” Michel answered, “and we -won’t let you starve.” - -By this time the whole sky was overcast, and frequent blasts of the -cold wind struck them. The foremost of the lighters arrived, and their -men worked like beavers to land what cargo they had. All about were -men on the beach drawing their boats far up on shore out of reach of -the heavy sea that they knew was coming. As fast as the lighters were -unloaded, they too were drawn up. It was as much too cold now as before -it had been too hot, but they had to stay on the mole till everything -was checked off. - -“Now make a run for it to the warehouse!” It was the voice of Mr. -Ysnard, who had come down to see that all was left snug, and who -saw that both the youngsters were shivering. Already the spray was -beginning to fly over the mole, and in one glance seaward Kit saw that -the _North Cape_ was standing out into the Gulf. He was left alone -in Yucatan; but instead of waiting to worry over it, he took to his -heels and beat Michel to the warehouse by several yards. - -There he hardly knew the place, it was so dark; for all the shutters on -the seaward side had been closed to keep out the wind, as there was no -glass in the windows. People were hurrying through the streets, and the -sky was growing blacker every minute. - -“Now we’ll catch it, my boy,” Mr. Ysnard laughed, as he followed them -in, half soaked with spray. “Three days these things last, generally, -and then it takes two or three more for the sea to go down so that the -lighters can go out. So you are a prisoner in Mexico for five days at -least, and you will be my guest longer than you expected.” - -“Thank you, sir,” Kit answered; “but I hope the ship will not be in any -danger.” - -“Oh, no more than from any other storm. There is plenty of sea room, -and she will run out fifty or a hundred miles and keep her nose in the -wind. No, she will be all right.” - -The breakfast table had to be set in the warehouse, as the verandah -was too much exposed to the wind; and Kit noticed that the norther -interfered with business and upset everything just about as much as an -earthquake would at home. The clerks really suffered from cold, though -Kit found it warm enough in the shelter of the building. The storm -increased every minute, and they soon began to hear the roar of the sea -breaking against the mole. - -It was a relief to everybody when closing time came, five o’clock. -Mr. Ysnard’s open carriage arrived to carry him to his home in the -country, and he told Kit that he was to go along. - -“But you must have something around you, in this wind,” he said; “I -think I can lend you a Mexican overcoat.” And he went into the office -and returned in a minute with two large red blankets, one for himself -and one for Kit. - -“This is what we call a ‘serape,’”[1] he explained. “See, there is a -slit cut in the middle for the head to go through,” and he slipped the -blanket over Kit’s head and put his own on in the same way; and Kit -could not help laughing to see himself so suddenly transformed into a -young Mexican. - - [1] Pronounced ser-rap-pa. - -As they were driven through the streets he saw that Sisal was a -desolate little place of few houses, some of them of stone plastered -over and some covered with corrugated iron; and the streets were nearly -deserted on account of the norther, and most of the shutters closed. -The few men to be seen were all wrapped in serapes, which warmed the -shoulders, but could not warm the bare feet, nor heads covered with -straw hats. - -Mr. Ysnard’s house was on the brow of a low hill overlooking the town -and the sea, and after the late dinner he took Kit into his “den,” as -he called it, and they had a long talk before bedtime. - -“As you copied the manifests,” the agent said in the course of the -conversation, “you are familiar with all the marks on the cargo. You -may see some cases coming ashore without any marks at all. Those are -little private ventures by some of the officers or crew; and when you -see one of them all you have to do is let it pass without putting it on -your list, you know. They escape paying duty by slipping them through -that way.” - -“No, sir; I have no instructions of that kind,” Kit answered. “My -orders are to make a list of everything brought ashore.” - -“But if there should be a little profit in it for you?” Mr. Ysnard -suggested. “Suppose you were paid a small commission on everything that -slipped through without your seeing it?” - -“I don’t think you ought to ask it of me, Mr. Ysnard,” Kit replied. -“The Captain trusts me, and I should be ashamed to betray him. I -couldn’t possibly do it.” - -“Ah, my boy, I was just trying you,” Mr. Ysnard laughed, giving Kit -a hearty clap on the shoulder. “I am glad to see that you are not to -be tempted. That is just what we want to avoid, the landing of such -smuggled cases, for they get both the ship and the agent into a lot of -trouble. I suppose the Captain sent you ashore because he was sure he -could trust you. - -“There is always room for bright young fellows who can be trusted,” -he added; “in fact, I could make room in my own business for a young -American of about your age. How would you like to leave the ship and -make more money in Sisal?” - -The question came so suddenly that it almost staggered Kit; but he soon -made up his mind how to answer. - -“I think it is very pleasant here, sir,” he said, “but I don’t believe -in changing. I have a good start on the ship, and don’t think I ought -to leave it; but I am very much obliged to you, sir, for the offer.” - -When he went out in the morning, he saw that the Gulf was almost white; -partly with foam, and partly from the white sand that was stirred up -from the bottom. Tremendous seas were breaking over the mole, and great -sheets of spray were flying over several of the warehouses. - -The norther prophets were right in saying that the norther would last -for three days. Every night Kit went home with Mr. Ysnard, but without -meeting his wife, as she was an invalid and seldom left her room. On -the fourth day the dark clouds drifted gradually away, the wind lulled, -and the tropical sun shone hot again. About noon he was delighted to -see the _North Cape_ steam back to her old place and drop her -anchor. - -“But you’ll not get out to her for a day or two yet,” Mr. Ysnard told -him; “no small boat could go out till this heavy sea subsides. I am -going into the country in a few minutes to see how much my plantations -have suffered, and if you like, you can go along and learn something -about this hemp you are going to be loaded with.” - -The carriage came early that day, and they were soon driving between -broad fields of cactus plants. - -“That’s the stuff,” Mr. Ysnard told him; “it is the leaves of this -cactus that yield the hemp. You see some of the leaves are six feet -long and four or five inches broad. We cut off the leaves and soak them -in water, then run them through a machine that extracts the fibre. That -fibre is the hemp. Another machine cleans and straightens it, and we -dry it and press it into bales, and it is ready to go north to be made -into ropes and matting. Now you know something about the cargo you are -to carry. - -“But you have no idea,” he continued, “of the condition of the workmen -who raise this hemp. We call them peons, and on most of the plantations -they are little better than slaves, though I am glad to say that it -is not so on mine. In this country a peon cannot leave the land he -belongs on while he is in debt to his master; and as they earn only -about twelve and one-half cents a day they are always in debt. A son -is responsible also for his father’s debts, so they are practically -slaves, with no chance of ever freeing themselves. It is a terrible -system.” - -“Your plants do not seem to have suffered much from the wind, sir,” -said Kit; “maybe it is because you treat your men better.” - -“Well,” Mr. Ysnard laughed, “there is no great merit in that. They do -better work for me because I treat them well, and it pays better in the -end. Slave labor is always the poorest.” - -The next day the lighters ventured out again, and there was more work -for Kit on the mole. Then when the cargo was all landed the loading -began, and he was kept on deck to keep tally of the number of bales -received. That took six full days, and still there was no sign of the -mail steamer returning. - -“The storm must have delayed her,” Captain Griffith said. “No use -to send letters home now; for she has to touch at Havana, and we go -direct, and we’ll beat her up. We’ll be off to-morrow.” - -Kit asked and received permission to go ashore to say good-by to the -agent who had been so hospitable to him. He had spent so much time in -the little town that it almost seemed like leaving home again. Mr. -Ysnard shook his hand warmly at parting. - -“I have enjoyed having you here,” he said. “I like to see a bright, -faithful young chap like you. Our young Mexicans are slow coaches -beside you American boys. I was going to send you out a barrel of -Mexican fruit that I had put up for you, so I’ll have it put in your -boat. Keep pulling, my boy, and some day you may be down here in a -better position than cabin boy.” - -Kit tried to think it over as he returned to the ship, but he could -not explain to himself what he had done to make Mr. Ysnard take such -an interest in him. There was something about him, he could not help -seeing, that pleased both the Captain and the agent; and he was glad of -it, though he did not know what it was. - -When the ship passed the Sandy Hook signal station, eight days later, -the flags that she set told the brief story of the homeward voyage. - -“_North Cape_,” they said, “eight days from Sisal, with hemp. -Smooth passage.” - -And when a few hours afterwards she lay at her old place in front of -Martin’s Stores, her bow almost rubbed against the stern of a little -tug. - -“Why, that’s the _Triton_!” Kit said to himself, when he saw the -tug’s name. “That’s Captain Judson’s boat, from Bridgeport, and Captain -Judson is our near neighbor in Huntington. If he is going back, maybe -he will take my barrel of fruit up to Bridgeport.” - -“Yes, going back to-night,” Captain Judson said, when Kit found him. “I -towed a yacht down yesterday. Take up a barrel of fruit for you? Aye, -that I will, lad--and take you too, if you can get off. I know somebody -up there who’d be glad to see you. Eh, my boy?” - -Take him too! That was something that Kit had not thought of; but what -a surprise it would be for the folks at home to see him come walking -in! Within five minutes he had seen Captain Griffith and had readily -been granted a week’s leave of absence. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -KIT’S CONNECTICUT HOME. - - -The Huntington stage was the same old weather-beaten stage that Kit had -left a month before, but its wheels were gone. Fairfield County, all -the way from Bridgeport back to Huntington and beyond, was white with -snow, and the frozen roads were packed hard. The body of the stage had -been lifted from its wheels and put on runners, and the bells on its -two gaunt horses jingled merrily through the Bridgeport streets and -over the Connecticut hills. - -“My folks all well, Silas?” was the first question that Kit asked when -he found the stage nearly ready to start. - -“They was right peart when I come down this mornin’,” the driver -replied, “so I guess they hain’t gone into a decline since. Sakes -alive, but won’t they be surprised to see you, though! They was lookin’ -for a letter. But what’s this, Kit? No overcoat! Here, wrap this hoss -blanket ’round you snug.” - -“Oh, you don’t know how good the cold feels, Silas,” Kit laughed, -though he was glad enough to accept the blanket. “I’ve just come from a -country where the sun burns like a hot iron, and the trees were full -of fruit, ten days ago.” - -Involuntarily he looked around to see that his barrel was safe. - -“Now don’t you give yourself no consarn ’bout that thar bar’l!” the -driver exclaimed. “When Silas lashes a bar’l on behind his sleigh, you -can just make up your mind it’s thar to stay. While you youngsters -goes out an’ sees the world, old Silas he stays to hum an’ ’tends to -business, an’ carries your letters back to Hunt’n’ton.” - -The only other passenger was Henry Steele, the Huntington shoemaker, -who had been down to Bridgeport to buy leather, and had it in a big -roll beside his feet; and he and the driver plied Kit with so many -questions about his travels that he was kept busy answering. - -“What was you aboard this _North Cape_?” Silas asked. - -Kit felt for a moment that considering the work he had been doing he -was entitled to lay claim to some higher position than the one he -really occupied; but he soon smothered that down. - -“Cabin boy,” he answered; and added to himself, “There’s no use of a -fellow being ashamed of a good honest job, and one that he likes.” - -“And you got good and seasick at the start, I’ll warrant!” Mr. Steele -laughed. - -“No, sir, I wasn’t sick a single minute on the whole voyage,” Kit -answered. - -“Well, Kit,” said the shoemaker, “if some boys were to tell me that, -I’d think they were drawing the long bow. But I’ve known you since you -were knee-high to a grasshopper, and I must say I’ve never known you to -speak anything but the truth.” - -“Th-th-thank you!” Kit tried to say it with a laugh, but the laugh -turned into a shiver. It was all very well to feel at home in the -cold, but there were some holes in the horse blanket. And he was -growing impatient to see the familiar faces. He had not felt so down in -Yucatan, because there he knew it was impossible; but now that every -minute took him nearer, the minutes became dreadfully long. - -Manly young sailor as he was, his heart beat faster as the stage -drew into the outskirts of Huntington--if so small a place can be -said to have outskirts. He had had already a glimpse of the white -church steeple from a distant hilltop. And now there was the church -itself! And he could have told with his eyes shut just how the land -lay opposite the church. First there was a little store, with some -empty barrels and boxes always in front. Then there was Dr. Thomas’s -big white house, with the white fence in front. And then came a small -house a story and a half high, with a light piazza across the front, -standing about thirty feet back from the street, with a weather-beaten -picket fence in front, and some big trees on each side extending their -thick limbs over its mossy roof. House and fence had once been brown, -but both were sadly in need of paint, and one end of the cornice was -coming loose. But in Kit’s eyes, that was the cosiest place of all; for -that was home! - -There were no tracks in the deep snow between the road and the walk -in front of the house, and when Silas guided the horses in toward the -sidewalk they sank halfway to their knees. Then Kit unwrapped his -blanket and sprang out. Some one in the front room of the house saw -the stage stop, and that was a matter to be inquired into. All the -neighbors take an interest in it when the Huntington stage stops in -front of a house. The door opened, and a rosy-cheeked young girl of -about fourteen looked out. - -“Hello, Vieve!” Kit cried, waving his hand to her. A tropical hurricane -could not have made his heart jump like that. - -The girl paused long enough to cry out:-- - -“Mother! Mother! Quick! Here’s Kit!” - -And the next moment she was down the walk, and the sailor boy was -smothered with hugs and kisses in a way that made old Silas and the -shoemaker feel quite young again, and Turk was barking a noisy welcome. -In another minute Mrs. Silburn joined them, and all the hugging was -repeated. - -“Now don’t trouble yourself about the bar’l,” Silas insisted when Kit -at length made his way back to the stage. “’Taint no weight at all;” -and he took it by the rims and carried it to the piazza, then rolled it -into the house. - -“I’ve brought you something better than the letter you was lookin’ for, -Mrs. Silburn,” he said, as he returned to the stage. - -But Mrs. Silburn hardly heard. She had eyes only for Kit, ears only for -what he said. - -“You’re not sick, Kit, that you’ve come home?” she asked, when the -three were in the sitting-room together. “No,” she added, “I need -hardly ask that; I never saw you look better. Why, you’re as brown as -an Indian.” - -“Never was ‘weller’ in my life,” Kit answered as well as he could, for -his mother was holding fast to him while Vieve was trying to drag him -up to the stove to warm him. “A week’s leave of absence, that’s all, -while the ship discharges cargo.” - -“Oh, a whole week!” Vieve cried, jumping around him in her glee. -“That’s the reason you’ve brought your baggage!” and she glanced toward -the barrel. - -“Did he bring that in here?” Kit asked. “That won’t do. It came from a -hot place, but it must stay in the cool up here. Have you got a cool -room we can put it in?” - -“I think you’ll find all the other side of the house cool enough,” Mrs. -Silburn laughed. “We don’t keep any fires across the hall now; it saves -both wood and trouble.” - -Kit rolled the barrel across the hall into the cold parlor, and hurried -back to the stove. But he could not stay in one place long--not for -the first hour or two. He had to go to the windows to see how the -yard looked, and into the kitchen to look at the familiar pans hanging -against the wall, and upstairs to the little room with the sloping -ceiling where he had slept so many years. When he came down again, -Vieve was putting on her hat and coat. - -“Say, avast there, now,” he cried; “you’ll have to take another tack. -(I suppose you’ll expect me to talk sea talk, now I’m a sailor.) I know -what you’re after, Vieve, and it won’t do. No going out to buy more -things for supper. I’m not the prodigal calf, you know--the prodigal -son, I mean. Whatever you were going to have for your own suppers is -just what I want.” - -“Just put yourself in that chair, Mr. Silburn,” Vieve laughed, pointing -to her father’s armchair, that she had drawn up to the fire for him, -“and don’t begin to interfere so soon;” and she was gone before he -could stop her. And Mrs. Silburn brought her husband’s slippers, that -were carefully laid away, and would have untied Kit’s shoes if he had -let her. - -“You’ve had a hard time of it, Kit,” she said, “and we must make you -comfortable at home.” - -“Indeed, I’ve not, mother,” he answered; “you mustn’t spoil me on that -account. I’ve had a splendid time, and enjoyed every minute. I’ve made -some good friends, too, since I went away.” - -“I’m sure you would do that, Kit,” she answered, her face full of -motherly pride. “And you’ve grown so, too!” - -It was not long before supper was ready, for Vieve was both cook and -errand girl while her mother was busy sewing. - -“You’ll not mind eating in the kitchen, Kit?” his mother asked. “We eat -there now, while we’re alone.” - -“Mind it!” Kit exclaimed; “it’s just what I wanted to do. Oh, look -here, Vieve!” he went on, as he took his mother by the arm and led -her into the kitchen, “have you cooked all these things so quick? -Beefsteak, and fried potatoes, and ham and eggs, and coffee? Why, we -ought to have you for cook aboard ship.” - -“Ah, you don’t know how good it all tastes!” he declared, when they -had set to work at the eatables. “We have good fare on the ship, first -rate; but it’s not like home. No such coffee as this, I tell you. -Coffee is always bad at sea, they say.” - -“And do you have to eat out of a little mess pan, like the other -sailors?” Vieve asked. - -“Do I!” Kit laughed. “I guess you don’t know what a dignified position -your big brother holds, my child. Why, I eat in the cabin, with silver -forks and spoons, and a monogram on all the dishes. And in the evening -I sit at the Captain’s desk and do my writing.” - -“Oh, Kit!” Mrs. Silburn expostulated. She was not quite sure whether he -was joking with them or not. - -“It’s a fact,” he answered, laughing to think how grand he could make -everything appear if he felt inclined to boast. “And I wash the dishes -afterwards, and clean the spoons; but that part we don’t speak of in -polite society.” - -They were done eating, but still busy talking, when Vieve suddenly -asked:-- - -“What’s in that barrel, Kit?” - -“Ah, Miss Curiosity!” he laughed. “You’re the same old Vieve, ain’t -you? I suppose that’s the way your relation Eve prodded poor Adam on to -his ruin. But to tell you the truth, Vieve, I don’t exactly know what’s -in it myself. Suppose I bring it in and we find out.” - -No sooner said than done; the barrel was rolled in, and Vieve had the -hammer and chisel ready. - -“Now shut all the doors, Vieve,” he said, as he unfastened the head; -“if it should be anything alive, it might get away.” - -Vieve hastened to obey, but seeing him laughing at her, she threw them -open again. - -When the head was raised from the barrel, the room was instantly filled -with a delightful tropical aroma that was familiar enough to Kit, but -that is seldom found in a house in Huntington. - -“Just crush these in your hands, and then smell them,” he said to both, -taking up a handful of the fragrant lemon leaves with which the top -of the barrel was covered; and they thought they had never smelled -anything so sweet. - -When he brushed the leaves aside, he found more than half a bushel -of lemons, limes, and oranges. Then a little partition nailed in, -and beneath it a great assortment of southern fruits--sugar apples, -loquats, sapadillos, sour sops, jelly cocoanuts, tamarinds, guavas, -and bananas. Then another partition, and beneath that a dozen of the -largest and finest pineapples he had ever seen. By the time the barrel -was emptied, every table and chair in the kitchen was covered with -luscious fruit. - -“Where in the world did you get all these things, Kit?” his mother -asked. - -“A present from one of my friends in Yucatan,” he replied; and then he -had to tell all about Mr. Ysnard and how kind he had been. While he -talked he was busy gathering up the fruit and laying it on the pantry -shelves, where it would neither freeze nor be too warm, and Vieve and -her mother fell to and washed the dishes. - -“We’ll try one of these pineapples in the sitting-room,” he said; and -he took a sharp knife and began to pare off the rough outer skin. “I -want you to taste a real pine fresh from the orchard. They’re very -different from the hard little things we buy here.” When it was peeled -he took two forks and tore it apart into small pieces, as he had been -taught on the ship; and around the sitting-room stove they were all -agreed that no better or sweeter fruit could be grown. - -But alas for Kit’s intentions to tell all his adventures that evening! -He had had little sleep on the tug, and before the pineapple was -finished, he caught himself nodding several times. - -“There’s no use talking,” he laughed; “I’ve got to go to bed. The -wonderful adventures and hairbreadth escapes of Christopher Silburn, -Esq., will keep for another time. I guess I’m in a hurry to feel my old -bed.” - -And before many minutes he was sound asleep in it, to know no more of -ships, or tropics, or home, till he sprang up in the morning, thinking -that he must hurry to clean the cabin. - -Breakfast was hardly over before Harry Leonard, one of Kit’s old chums, -called to see him; for by that time it was known all over Huntington -that Kit was home. Harry was a good companion in every respect but one: -the boys called him the biggest boaster in Fairfield County. - -“I’m thinking of going to sea myself,” he said, after they had talked -a few minutes. “I know where I can get a berth as second mate of a -bark, after I’ve made a voyage or two. What do you do on the _North -Cape_, Kit?” - -“I’m assistant to the Captain,” Kit answered, with a sly wink at Vieve; -“I write out the manifests and such things. He and I were the only ones -who went ashore, and I spent several days with our agent in Sisal. I -want you to try an orange out of the barrel of fruit the agent sent out -to the ship for me. Oh, yes, I have to be back in five days more. I -don’t know who’d make out all the papers if I didn’t get there.” - -With Vieve hiding her face and shaking, it was hard for Kit to keep -from laughing, but he did. - -“Didn’t I give him a dose?” he roared, after Harry was gone. “He’s such -an awful bragger I thought I’d pay him in his own coin. But isn’t it -funny how you can change things by telling only one side of a story. -Everything I said was true, only I didn’t tell it all.” - -That afternoon Kit was out in the snow with a ladder and hammer and -nails, fastening the end of the cornice that was loose; and before dark -he had mended the shaky front gate, and replaced some missing pickets, -and put a new hinge on the kitchen door. - -“I’m not going to let you work so when you come home for a little -holiday, Kit,” his mother said in the evening when they were sitting -around the fire again. “You must rest.” - -“Oh, that’s nothing at all,” Kit retorted. “I want the place to look -shipshape for a particular reason. Somebody may be coming home one -of these days, and he must find everything in good order. I know you -don’t like to talk about that, mother, but it has to be talked about -sometimes. As long as there is the least chance, we must not lose -hope; and both Captain Griffith and Mr. Ysnard think there is still -a possibility of father’s being alive. Of course it is a very slight -chance, but still it is a chance, and we must not give up.” - -“Oh, Kit, I am so glad to hear you say so!” Vieve exclaimed. “You know -that’s what I have always said. And your Captain thinks so too!” - -“Ah, don’t deceive yourselves, children,” Mrs. Silburn sighed. “How -could your father be alive without coming home or even sending us word -for nearly a year? And we know that his ship was lost.” - -“Yes, there is no doubt his ship was lost, mother,” Kit admitted, “but -still there are many things that may have happened through which he may -be alive and yet not be able to get home, or even to write to us. Mr. -Ysnard has a friend whose ship was lost at sea, but who got home more -than two years after he had been given up. They took to the boats, of -course, and all the boats were swamped but the one he was in. That one -was picked up by a Norwegian brig bound for Honolulu. When they got -into the Pacific, after going around Cape Horn, the brig was wrecked -also, and the crew got to one of the little desert islands in the -Pacific where ships never touch. They were there over a year before -they got away. And there was an ending to that that won’t be likely to -happen in our case. When the man got home, he found his ‘widow’ just -about to be married to some other man.” - -“No, I don’t think that will happen in our case!” Mrs. Silburn said, -smiling in spite of herself. “Such remarkable escapes happen sometimes -at sea, but we have no right to expect them. You may as well make up -your mind that you will have to be the head of the family, Kit.” - -“A poor head at present, I am afraid,” Kit answered. “But I think the -day will come when I shall be able to take care of you both, if father -doesn’t come back. That’s what I am planning for, at any rate. It’s not -much of a position to be a cabin boy, but I expect to have a better one -some day. It sha’n’t be my fault if I don’t. If I can show them that I -am fit for a better place, I think I will get it in time. But even now -I can do a little bit toward helping things along; I nearly forgot that -part of the business.” - -He put his hand in his pocket and took out some money, and laid a -bright new two-dollar note in Genevieve’s lap. - -“You know the dollar’s worth of stamps you sent me, Vieve. I was -awfully glad to get them, too, for I felt pretty poor just then. So -there’s the dollar, with a little interest added.” - -He had not the heart to tell her that he had been robbed of the stamps. -In all his accounts of his adventures he had not said a word about the -hardships he had gone through. When he told about how nearly he had -been arrested, it was only to turn it into a joke. - -“No, I don’t want it, Kit,” Vieve protested, trying to hand him back -the note. “I sent you that for a present.” - -“No back talk to the head of the family, miss!” he laughed, giving -his sister’s wavy hair a playful pull. “And here’s a little for you, -mother. I can leave you only three dollars this time, as it will cost -me a dollar to get back to the ship. But I hope before long to do -better than that. If I could only make a little more money, I’d like to -have some paint put on the house.” - -“I’m not going to touch a cent of it,” Mrs. Silburn declared. “I don’t -need it, but you do. I want you to buy a cheap overcoat with that -money; you can’t be going about in winter without an overcoat.” - -“I don’t need one,” Kit protested. “I tried on my old one up in my room -this morning, and it fits first rate. It’s plenty good enough till I -get in with the ‘Four Hundred’ in New York, and none of the Vanderbilts -or Astors have invited me to dinner so far. But I don’t need an -overcoat at all unless we go to some cold country next voyage.” - -“And where do you expect to go next time?” Vieve interrupted. - -“There’s no telling,” Kit answered; “it just depends upon who charters -the ship. We might go to China, or to Australia, or Bombay, or most any -seaport in the world. Maybe it will be back to Sisal, for all I know. -Even the Captain did not know, when I left.” - -Kit had his own way about the money in the end, and made his mother -accept the three dollars. - -“I’d be a nice head of a family if I couldn’t leave you any money!” -he argued. “You know I have no expenses like other fellows; and if -I should need money at any time I could draw against my wages. The -sailors nearly all do that; indeed, they have generally spent their -pay for the voyage before they start, so they have to work to pay the -bill.” - -He was acting very much like the head of the family when he looked over -the old house one morning and announced that he thought it could be -made very comfortable for them as soon as he had more money. - -“I like the arrangement of it,” he said; “this sitting-room in front -with the kitchen behind it is very handy. Then the parlor across the -hall and your bedroom behind that is very handy, too. When father comes -back, Vieve can take the other room upstairs.” - -“Oh, it’s a shame to let you work so hard just to make us comfortable!” -Vieve exclaimed. “Other boys have such good times with their skating -and swimming and football and such things. I’m going to work myself -just as soon as I get a chance.” - -“I hope you will,” Kit laughed. “Go to school and work there just as -hard as you can. If mother hadn’t made me go to school and attend -to my lessons, I’d be just an ordinary cabin boy now. I mean,” he -explained, blushing a little at the way he had put it, “I shouldn’t be -able to copy manifests for the Captain, or do a supercargo’s work for -him on shore. We don’t see at the time how much good study does us, -but I tell you we see it afterward, Vieve. And skating and football -and such things! Pshaw, don’t you think I got enough of them when I -was at home? When a fellow gets to my age” (and he drew himself up a -little taller, which made Vieve smile), “he has other things to think -of. I want to push myself ahead, Vieve, and earn enough to take care -of you both. And swimming, did you say? Who do you think has a better -chance for swimming than a sailor when his ship is in port? Oh, you -needn’t sympathize with me, my child. I’d rather go off and see foreign -countries than play football.” - -On Sunday morning he and Vieve went together to the old white church -across the broad street, “just like old times,” as they said; and after -Sunday school he had to explain to a score of friends where he had been -and what he had been doing. His boy friends, he noticed, did not seem -to think it any hardship to go to sea in a fine steamship; most of them -would have jumped at the chance to go with him. - -A whole week seemed so long when he left the _North Cape_ to go -home! And it seemed so short when the last day came! But the stage was -coming down the hill, and Kit had his old overcoat on, which was a -trifle short, but very warm. And under his arm was a little bundle of -shirts and things that his mother had made for him. - -“I may have a chance to get home after the next voyage,” he said, when -they were half smothering him with good-bys in the cold hall, “and I -may be gone for six months; there’s no telling. But I’ll write whenever -I can, you may be sure, and tell you where to send letters. Turk, -you’re pawing me all to pieces, old fellow. Good-by, Vieve; good-by, -mother. I’d keep father’s chair and things ready for him, if I were -you, for he might walk in most any day. Good-by, Turk. He knows I’m -going away, doesn’t he?” - -In a minute more he was in the stage, his mother waving to him from the -door, Vieve throwing kisses to him from the gate, and Turk jumping in -the snow, barking furiously. - -“That’s a pretty little sister you’ve got,” said Silas, when a turn in -the road hid the old house from sight. - -“I’m glad you think so,” Kit laughed, “for everybody says she is the -image of me!” - -He was not the first boy who has tried to laugh on leaving home, to -conceal very different feelings. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -A BURGLAR IN THE CABIN. - - -“Oh, this is ahead of being a cabin passenger on one of the big -liners!” Kit said to himself, as he hurried through the brick tunnel -that led to the wharf of Martin’s Stores. “The passenger knows where -he’s going, so he doesn’t have the fun of wondering. But I don’t know. -Maybe the ship has been chartered for China while I’ve been away; or it -might be for Russia, to carry grain. There’s no seaport in the world -that we mightn’t go to. I think one will suit me just about as well as -another, though I’d rather like to cross the ocean.” - -Tom Haines was one of the first men he met on deck. - -“Well, have you made up your mind where you’re going to take the yacht -to this voyage?” Kit asked, as they shook hands. - -“Don’t call her a yacht!” Tom laughed. “We’d have too many big bills to -pay if she was our yacht. It’s better as it is: we get a salary and a -sea-voyage at the same time. Yes, we’re chartered for Nassau this trip, -to bring back pineapples and sponges; and we’ll be off in four or five -days.” - -“For Nassau!” Kit repeated; “why, that’s--” but there he stopped. - -“That’s right,” Tom said, still laughing. “Stick to your old rule and -never say you don’t know a thing, but go and find it out. I know what -you’re thinking about. You want to go down in the cabin and look at the -map to see where Nassau is. But I’ll save you the trouble. It’s the -capital of the Bahama Islands, in the northern West Indies, and about -a thousand miles from New York; so that will make a short voyage. But -there’s more news for you: you have a new cabin steward.” - -“No!” Kit answered, not at all sorry to hear it. “Where’s the old -steward?” - -“I should think in Bellevue Hospital by this time,” Tom replied, -“unless he’s reformed. He got on a terrible spree and fell to breaking -the crockery, so the Captain sent him off in a hurry. The new man is -a Scotchman named MacNish, and that’s all I can tell you about him. -There’s a new galley boy, too; but that doesn’t count for much.” - -“Not to you,” Kit declared, “but it does to me, because now I’m not the -newest hand on the ship. But I must go down and report myself.” - -He did not see the new steward, who was at work in the pantry; but -Captain Griffith called him into his stateroom. - -“I am glad you are back promptly,” he said, “for to-morrow we begin -taking in cargo for Nassau, and I want you to keep tally as it comes on -board. It is not exactly cabin boy’s work, but you do it carefully, -and it is good experience for you.” - -“I am only too glad to do it, sir,” Kit answered. “I want to make -myself useful.” - -“I thought of raising your pay two or three dollars a month for this -extra work,” the Captain went on, “but I have concluded not to do it at -present. I don’t want to make a pet of you; it’s better that you should -work your way gradually like other people. You can go to the steward -now and see whether he has anything for you to do.” - -There was nothing to be done at the moment, for the new steward had -everything in order. Kit had never seen the pantry so clean, nor the -cabin brass-work so well polished. Mr. MacNish was apparently about -forty years old, a plump man of medium height, his florid round face -smooth except for a little tuft of iron-gray whiskers under each ear. - -“Looks more like an Englishman than a Scotchman,” Kit said to himself; -and his accent certainly was more English than Scotch; but his manner -was much pleasanter than the other steward’s, and he used so many -biblical quotations when he talked that Kit thought he must be a very -devout man. - -For the next four days the cabin boy was busy keeping tally of the -general cargo as it came aboard, and after the same performance as -before of anchoring by the Liberty statue and the Captain coming out in -a tug, the _North Cape_ got under way for Nassau. There was not -much to be seen of the New Jersey coast this time, for she stood out -to the southeastward all the first night, and in two days and a half -crossed the Gulf Stream and ran into warmer weather. And every day Kit -thought more and more of the new steward. He was so kind and gentle, -so willing to do things himself rather than give Kit trouble, so neat -and industrious, and above all so pious in his conversation, that it -worried the cabin boy to see that Captain Griffith treated him rather -abruptly, as if he did not care much for him. - -“Was that a little Bible I saw you have last night, my boy?” Mr. -MacNish asked Kit one morning. “Ah, I thought so. I like to see boys -read their Bible. And maybe you’d lend it to me sometimes. Mine must -have been stolen, I’m afraid, for I always carry it in my satchel. Oh, -it’s a great comfort, lad, in times of trouble. My good old father” -(his voice grew a little husky) “taught me to read my chapter every -day, and I don’t like to miss it. I hope to see the day when we’ll have -morning and evening service on every ship afloat.” - -On the sixth day after leaving New York they sighted Nassau, and Kit -was delighted with the appearance of the place from the water. The big -square stone houses, with their upper and lower balconies enclosed with -green Venetian blinds; the red tiled roofs, white streets running up a -steep hill, palm trees waving gracefully over many of the roofs, old -forts, half in ruins, to the right and left of the town, and the warm -summer weather in midwinter, made it seem like a little fairy-land. -But these things had to be seen from a distance, for the _North -Cape_ drew too much water to cross the bar. She anchored outside, -half a mile from the town, close under the long narrow strip of rock -called Hog Island, where she was exposed to the north wind and would -have to hoist anchor and put to sea if a gale came. - -By the next day the lighters were ready, for the cargo had to be landed -in lighters as it had been in Sisal, though the distance was not as -great, and Kit was set ashore early to check off every package as it -was put on the wharf. He was no beginner at this work now, and as the -people spoke English he found it much easier than at Sisal, though the -boatmen and ’longshoremen were all negroes, and spoke a mixed jargon of -Congo African and Colonial English that was sometimes almost as hard -to understand as the Spanish. The day was intensely hot, and there was -no tree or building on the wharf to give him shelter, and the lighters -arrived so fast that he not only had no chance to see anything of the -city, but had not even time to stop for dinner. - -The only break in the long day was when the mail steamer, the -_Santiago_, arrived from New York. She also was too large to cross -the bar, and a little tug went out to her and carried her passengers -and mails ashore. - -When the day’s work was over, Kit was quite ready to return to the ship -and eat his supper; but while they were washing dishes the steward -proposed that they should get permission and spend the evening on -shore. - -“I feel so lost without the Holy Scriptures I brought from home,” he -said, “and the precious hymn book I used when I was younger than you -are. Ah, how many times they have made my heart light when it was sore -with trouble. I can buy new ones on shore, but they’ll not be like the -ones I used so long. And I want to mail a letter to my dear old father. -I think the Captain would let us go if you were to ask him.” - -Kit was rapidly gaining experience of the world, but he still had a -great deal to learn about the people who live in it. That there are men -who try to hide their wickedness under a cloak of deep piety he had no -suspicion. It was very nice in the new steward, he thought, to take the -first opportunity to replace his lost Bible and mail a letter to his -aged father; and though he felt more like going to bed, he went to the -Captain and readily got permission for them both to go ashore, without -the least suspicion that the steward would much have preferred to go -alone, but was using him as a cat’s-paw because the Captain would be -more likely to oblige him. - -They were taken to the landing-steps in the gig, with the understanding -that the boat would return for them at half-past ten, Mr. MacNish -carrying along a small leather satchel, strongly mounted with brass, -that looked quite luxurious for the steward of a tramp steamship. - -“I want to make a few trifling purchases,” he explained, “and this will -be handy to carry them aboard in. Perhaps I can’t find what I want, but -I’ll not worry over it; ‘sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.’” - -As they climbed up the slippery stone steps Kit noticed two men who -looked like Americans sitting on a bench in the little park, and -imagined that they looked very hard and sharp at him and his companion. -And he saw that the steward noticed them too; indeed there was little -that Mr. MacNish did not notice, now that they were ashore. He looked -around as if there might be highwaymen behind the trees, and clutched -his satchel a little tighter, though it was too dark for him to see the -men distinctly. - -When they crossed the small park they were in Bay Street, the main -business street of the place; and they had not gone far before they -were in front of a dingy saloon, with doors standing wide open. - -“I feel the chill of the night air,” Mr. MacNish said, stopping before -the door, “and it is dangerous to be chilled in the tropics. Let us go -in and get something to warm us.” - -“I am warm enough, thank you,” Kit answered; “I don’t care for -anything.” - -“You know the apostle advises us to take a little wine for the -stomach’s sake,” the steward urged. - -“My stomach’s all right!” Kit laughed. “I suppose they didn’t have any -quinine in those days; quinine’s much better.” - -“Then hold my satchel till I come out,” the steward said, putting it in -Kit’s hands; and a minute later he stood in front of the bar, pouring -out a tumblerful of something that looked stronger than wine. - -While the steward was in the saloon, the two men who had been sitting -in the park passed by on the other side of the street, and Kit noticed -again that they were looking sharply at him and at Mr. MacNish. He was -positive now that they were watched, and it startled him; but he was -relieved to see that the two men paused and exchanged a few words with -a Nassau policeman a little further up the street. They could hardly -be highwaymen, he thought, if they were known to the police. When Mr. -MacNish came out of the saloon he spoke about them. - -“Two men who look like Americans seem to be taking a great interest in -us,” he said. “They watched us pretty closely when we landed, and they -just walked past here, looking at us again.” - -“What’s that!” MacNish exclaimed; “two men! What did they look like?” - -Kit wondered that such a trifling thing should excite him so much, but -he described the men as well as he could. - -“Oh, it’s nothing,” MacNish said, though his manner belied his words. -“You just imagine it. Here, we’ll turn up this way toward the hill; I -think the stores are better in the street above. You carry the satchel -for me a bit, my lad.” - -They turned into a dark side street, and were no sooner around the -corner than the steward quickened the pace almost to a run. His manner -was so changed that Kit for the first time became suspicious, and -thought that he had better have nothing to do with the satchel. - -“Here, you take your satchel, Mr. MacNish,” he said; “I can keep up -with you better if I have nothing to carry. We don’t need to hurry so -much, do we?” - -MacNish snatched the satchel from his hands without replying, and -before they had taken ten steps more Kit was almost knocked down by two -men who sprang out from an alley and seized the steward by both arms -as if they were used to such work. By the dim light from a neighboring -shop window Kit saw that they were the men who had been in the park. - -“Now, then, Slippery Jim, we want you,” one of the men said. “No -nonsense, unless you want some lead in you.” - -Kit was too much astonished to speak, but the steward was equal to the -emergency. With a powerful jerk he wrenched himself free, and the next -moment Kit saw the gleam of a revolver in his hand and heard a shot -fired. It was done so quickly, however, that the bullet flew wide; and -the next minute two policemen in uniform emerged from the alley, and -all four men grappled with the desperate steward and bore him down. - -His language as he lay struggling on his back on the sidewalk was -anything but pious; but he submitted to the inevitable when the -officers put handcuffs on his wrists and stood him on his feet. - -“I am afraid you have made a mistake, gentlemen,” Kit at length said; -“this man is Mr. MacNish, steward of the steamship _North Cape_.” - -“Steward nothing!” one of the men answered, contemptuously. “This man -is Slippery Jim, with fifty other names, and one of the slickest bank -burglars in the world. He’s the man that tapped the North Western bank -for a hundred and forty thousand dollars ten days ago, and I only hope -he’s got it in that satchel. Steward, indeed! He’s smart enough to turn -his hand to anything, and he took that way to escape from New York with -his booty. See here.” - -As he spoke the man took hold of the whiskers on both sides of -MacNish’s face, and being false ones they came off very easily. Then he -rubbed his handkerchief across the steward’s face, and wiped off a big -patch of the pink stain that had given him a florid appearance. - -“We got on his track just after you sailed,” the man continued, “and -followed him in the mail steamer. We are detectives from New York, and -you are a lucky boy that we don’t take you in as an accomplice.” - -Meanwhile the other stranger had been trying to open the satchel. -Finding it securely locked, he impatiently took his knife and cut a -long slit in the leather and thrust in his hand. - -“Here we have it!” he exclaimed, “or some of it. We’ll count it over at -the police station.” - -Kit’s eyes bulged when he saw a big handful of greenbacks and bonds -taken from the satchel; not covetously, but in awe when he thought of -the great amount of stolen money he had been carrying. - -The steward, seeing that his game had reached an end, was inclined to -laugh over his experiences on the _North Cape_. - -“You’ll be wanting a new steward on the ship, Spooney,” he laughed, -“for I’ve accepted a steady situation on shore. I hope you’ll lend -your Bible to the next man; I found it awfully comforting. But I guess -I’ll not mail that letter to-night to my dear old papa; the old chap -was hanged about thirty years ago. I kept your blooming cabin in good -shape, anyhow, for a man with a hundred and forty thousand dollars in -his satchel.” - -It was a relief to Kit when the officers took his former companion -away. He had heard of such desperate criminals, but had never been face -to face with one before. He had an hour yet before the boat would come, -and spent the time walking the streets, feeling sick at heart and a -little out of patience with himself. - -“I don’t wonder he called me ‘Spooney,’” he reflected. “I ought to -have been smart enough to see through the man at once, as I think the -Captain did, to some extent. How easily he might have got me into a -heap of trouble if it had been worth his while! Even a poor boy with -nothing to be robbed of, has to be careful whom he associates with. So -remember that in the future, Mr. Kit Silburn!” - -The Captain’s only remark, when he returned to the ship and told what -had happened, put Kit in a little better spirits. - -“So that leaves us without a cabin steward,” the Captain said, “in a -small port where we can’t get another. I wish I could cut you right -straight in two, Christopher, for I want you in two places at once. As -soon as we have the cargo out you must act as steward till we get back -to New York; but for the present I must have you on shore.” - -“I think I can manage with the steward’s work, sir,” Kit answered; “and -the cargo ought to be out in two or three days now.” - -“And till then the engineers’ boy must look after the cabin too,” the -Captain added. - -That night Kit had many things to think of as he lay in his berth. -Everybody feels a little sheepish to be so thoroughly deceived, and -he was no exception. But there were more important things to consider -than that. It was only a wretched burglar who had called him a spooney, -and his employer liked him well enough to want him in two places at -once. Kit was a good fellow, but he was human, like the rest of us, and -that remark of the Captain’s made him feel pretty well satisfied with -himself. And here was the steward’s place vacant. If he did good work -there for a week or two, he could get the place permanently, he felt -almost sure of that. But did he want it? He was not quite sure about -that. On the one hand it would bring him better pay, and on the other -hand if he became a steward he probably would never get any higher. And -after all, maybe the Captain would think him too young; and a dozen -more ifs and ands, and in the midst of it all he fell asleep. - -For the next week he was the busiest boy in the Bahama Islands. As far -as possible he set things right for the day in the cabin before he went -ashore, then stood all day in the sun, checking off cargo, and was back -to the ship again in time to attend to supper. In the evening he washed -the dishes and cleaned up the pantry, and turned in early because he -had to turn out early. In those days it was only by good management -that he could get ten minutes of his own to write a short letter home. - -“Well, you _are_ a softy!” Chock Cheevers said to him one morning -in the cabin--for it was Chock who had to wait on the Captain in Kit’s -absence. “Here you’re doing the steward’s work, and the cabin boy’s, -and the supercargo’s, all for six dollars a month. I’d strike for -double pay, anyhow, if I was you. I’m going to strike, myself, pretty -soon if this double work keeps on.” - -“My child,” Kit laughed (he hardly noticed it himself, but he always -spoke to the mess-room boy now as if he were indeed the supercargo, -instead of only the cabin boy), “if I had time I would tell you how -many millions strikes cost every year without doing any good, for I -read it one day in an old newspaper. But I haven’t time; the boat is -waiting for me. You do the striking, and I’ll do the working. The -fellows who work don’t generally need to strike. Besides, I like to do -it.” - -That evening Captain Griffith called Kit into his stateroom when his -work in the pantry was done. - -“I want you to make me out a complete list of everything that has been -landed so far,” he said, “so that the agent ashore can receipt for the -goods. I suppose you see by this time something of what a supercargo’s -work is on board ship.” - -“Yes, sir,” Kit answered; “he has to see that the whole cargo is taken -out and landed, and receipted for by the agent.” - -“Yes, that and much more,” the Captain continued. “He is the agent on -board of the parties that charter the ship, and must look after their -interests in every way. He is not an employee of the ship, but of the -charterers. Suppose the _North Cape_ is chartered by John Smith & -Co. to carry a cargo to Rio Janeiro. They deliver their goods on the -wharf, and we load them and carry them to Rio, but beyond loading, -carrying, and unloading them, we legally have nothing to do with them. -It is the supercargo’s business to tally the goods delivered on the -wharf and put on board, see them safely landed at their destination, -and take the consignee’s receipt for them. But more than that, he -must take care of the cargo on the voyage. If there is live stock, he -sees that it is fed and cared for. If there are fruits or vegetables, -he takes care that they are kept cool in hot climates, and kept -from freezing in northern latitudes. In short,” he concluded, “the -supercargo must take as great care of the cargo as if it belonged to -him, always under the owners’ orders. And he is a passenger on the -ship, living in the cabin with the captain, and having nothing to -do, of course, with the management of the vessel. There are always -two interests on a chartered ship,--the interest of the ship, which -the captain takes care of, and the interest of the cargo, which is -the supercargo’s work. Unfortunately we have had only small charters -lately, that did not warrant the employment of a supercargo, so his -work has been left for me to do. When we are chartered for large and -valuable cargoes, the charterers always put a supercargo on board.” - -Kit’s work on shore did not end when the small general cargo was -discharged, as he expected. Nassau business men have an easy way of -thinking that things can be done just as well to-morrow as to-day; -and when the _North Cape_ was empty her return cargo of sponges -and pineapples was not ready. He had to make frequent visits to Mr. -Johnson, the pineapple man, and Mr. Sawyer, the sponge man, to hurry -them up. - -“I am just going out to the pine fields now,” Mr. Johnson said when -Kit first visited him; “come along, and see for yourself how things -are.” - -Kit climbed into the carriage with him, and they drove out about two -miles back of the city to the nearest fields, where he saw for the -first time how pineapples grow. The field was a large one of twenty or -thirty acres, very rocky, but with soil between the protruding rocks -that was almost as red as bricks, and covered with plants from three to -four feet high, each plant with many long, narrow, stiff “leaves,” and -each leaf sharp with spines along its sides and a needle-like point. -The score of colored men who were cutting the pines all wore leather -leggings, he noticed, to protect them from the sharp points. - -“And only one pineapple to a plant!” Kit exclaimed; “I thought they -would bear more than that.” - -“Only one,” Mr. Johnson laughed. “The pine is a very large fruit to -grow on so small a plant, and each plant produces only one. When it is -ripe, we cut it, and that plant’s usefulness is over, except that it -sends out a great many little shoots, called slips, which we take up -and plant for next year’s crop. You see the pine grows on a long stalk -in the middle of the plant, and shoots up like a big cabbage head out -of a bush.” - -With the promise of enough pines to begin loading next day, Kit went -to Mr. Sawyer’s sponge yard to hurry matters there, and was told that -Mr. Sawyer was at the Sponge Exchange; and through going there to find -him he learned enough about sponges to make him open his eyes wide. -The Exchange was a large stone building on one of the wharves, with a -series of broad open arches on each side, so that it seemed to have no -walls; and its concrete floor was covered with separate heaps of sponge. - -“This is the most important industry we have in Nassau,” Mr. Sawyer -explained, “and this Exchange is the largest sponge market in the -world. The merchants fit out small sailboats for sponging, and the -colored men who navigate them get the sponges sometimes by diving, -sometimes by grasping them with long-handled rakes, like oyster tongs. -The sponges are cleaned with lime and sea-water, and then are brought -here and sold by auction. The members of the Exchange are so expert at -the business that for a pile of sponges worth two hundred dollars, the -bids frequently do not vary more than five or six cents. From here they -go to the sponge yard of the purchaser, where they are cleaned again -and sorted, and pressed into bales. I will go up to my yard with you -and see what the prospects are.” - -The ground of the sponge yard was covered a foot deep with bits of -waste sponge, and a dozen colored men and women were sitting about with -scissors in their hands, examining the sponges, feeling them, cutting -out rough bits of stone or coral, and sometimes sewing loose ends -together to give the sponge a better shape. A rough, ragged, shapeless -sponge, after it went through these black hands, came out smooth and -shapely. - -“Here is where we make the bales,” Mr. Sawyer explained, leading Kit -into a shed where a pile of sponge as big as a room was put under a -powerful press and squeezed down to the size of a cotton bale. “Sponge -is very compressible, of course. Some of these colored men take a -sponge as big as a bushel basket, and with crude levers press it into a -small cigar box. It is not only my own sponge, of course, that you are -to be loaded with; I buy wherever I can, and I think I can promise you -five hundred bales by two o’clock to begin on.” - -With his mission successfully accomplished, Kit returned to the ship -and began his new duties as steward. - -“Two more things to stow away in my knowledge box,” he said to himself. -“I’ve had precious little time to learn from books, but my work has -taught me some things from experience; all about Sisal hemp, to begin -with, and now about pineapples and sponges. And maybe a little about -people, too, for I’ve seen some queer ones.” - -In the two weeks more that the _North Cape_ lay at Nassau, waiting -for a cargo that was made ready for her very slowly, Kit managed the -steward’s work in such a way that no complaints were made; and that he -reasonably considered a sure sign that he gave satisfaction, for the -officers of a freight ship are not slow to find fault when anything -goes wrong. While the loading was still in progress the mail steamer -returned from her visit to the south side of Cuba, and after touching -at Nassau went on to New York, carrying northward for trial and -punishment the man of many names and crimes, MacNish, the steward, who -had been lying in the Nassau prison. And when the _North Cape_ -once more lay in front of Martin’s Stores, the newspapers were printing -long accounts of his attempted escape as steward of a freight steamer, -and his arrest in the West Indies. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -THE STRANGE CASE OF JOHN DOE. - - -While Kit was picking his way through the pineapple fields and watching -the processes in the sponge yards of Nassau, something was happening on -the other side of the world that would have made the blood jump in his -veins if he could have known of it. - -Though it was midwinter in New York, it was then, in January, midsummer -in the city of Wellington, New Zealand, which lies south of the -equator. Doors and windows stood open, and men and animals alike -sheltered themselves as far as possible from the burning rays of the -sun. Even the New Zealand boys, who are not little brown savages with -feathers in their hair, but white boys who speak English and go to -school and wear clothes made after London and Paris fashions--even the -boys found it too hot to enjoy their usual Saturday games. - -On the very day that Kit was trying to hurry the pineapple men and -sponge men of Nassau, there was an unusual stir in the big public -hospital of Wellington. Not in the wards where the patients lay; no -matter what happened outside, they were always kept quiet and tranquil. -But downstairs in the Board room, where the Board of Governors of the -hospital meets four times a year to inquire into the management and -arrange the financial affairs, the windows were open and the big table -and soft armchairs all freshly dusted; and in the banqueting-hall -beyond, which the patients never see, but where the governors regale -themselves after their quarterly labors, a long table was spread as if -for a banquet. - -Occasionally a carriage drove through the big gates, and one or two -gentlemen stepped out and disappeared in the house surgeon’s private -office. It was evident, to every one who knew the hospital routine, -that the quarterly meeting day had come, and that the governors were -arriving. They were to audit the accounts, to hear complaints, to make -any necessary changes in the staff, and last but by no means least to -eat the good dinner that almost invariably follows the meeting of any -board of charities. - -At two o’clock precisely the chairman rapped on the big table and -called the Board to order; and the ten other gentlemen, five on each -side of the table, listened with more or less patience to the reading -of the minutes of the last meeting. Then came a batch of reports; for -the reading of reports and the appointment of committees to consider -them form a large part of the business of such meetings. The house -surgeon’s report gave a favorable account of the hospital’s work in -the last quarter. So many patients had been received, so many had been -discharged cured, and not so many but so few had died. If any stranger -had been allowed to be present, he must have thought it the most -remarkable hospital in the world. In the surgical ward, particularly, -not a single patient had died while undergoing an operation; every -operation had been successful. Some of the medical members of the Board -smiled faintly when they heard this, being familiar with the cheerful -medical custom of calling every operation successful when the patient -does not die on the spot; he may die that night or the next day, but -still the operation is called successful. There was a hush of interest -about the table when the clerk read:-- - -“The strange case of John Doe need not be further mentioned here, as -the house surgeon will ask the privilege of making a verbal report in -his case at the pleasure of the Board.” - -Then followed the steward’s report, showing how many barrels of flour -and sugar and other eatables had been consumed and what they had cost; -and the apothecary’s report of the medicines used, and a dozen more; -and, after a half-hour’s discussion of these matters, that part of the -business was finished, and the chairman announced that he was “now -ready to hear the house surgeon’s report on what has appropriately been -called the strange case of John Doe.” - -At this the house surgeon stepped forward with a small memorandum-book -open in his hand. He was a tall, slender man with iron-gray hair and -an extremely professional appearance, slow and accurate in his speech. - -“Although this case has already been brought to the attention of the -Board, Mr. Chairman,” he began, “I will briefly rehearse the principal -facts for your further information. This man to whom we have given -the name of John Doe, because his real name is totally unknown to us, -was brought to this port six months ago by the British ship _Prince -Albert_; and being both physically and mentally incapacitated, he -was immediately brought to the hospital. The log of the _Prince -Albert_ showed that on the 27th of last June their lookout saw -a signal of distress flying from a pole on a small unnamed and -uninhabited island in the Pacific Ocean, the latitude and longitude of -which I have a minute of, but do not at the moment remember. The ship -was immediately put about and a boat lowered, and sent ashore under -command of the second mate. The mate found what he at first supposed to -be the dead bodies of four men, all scantily clothed; but on examining -the bodies faint signs of life were found in one, the man whom we now -know as John Doe, who wore nothing whatever but a pair of trousers, -and, like the others, was much emaciated. The only property found -on the island was the small spar which had been set up for a signal -pole; and the plain inference was that the four men had escaped from -some wreck on the spar, without an opportunity to save any of their -property. - -“The three men who were certainly dead were decently buried, and John -Doe, who was unable to speak or even to open his eyes, was taken -on board the _Prince Albert_, where under kind and judicious -treatment he improved so far physically that by the time she reached -this port he was able to walk a few steps, though still extremely weak. -But there was no corresponding improvement in his mental condition. He -was not able to speak, and apparently understood nothing that was said -to him. Such was his state when he was received in the hospital. - -“It was my opinion, and that of the entire staff, that he was broken -down by the terrible hardships and privations that had caused the death -of his companions, starvation and exposure doubtless chief among them. -Under our treatment he has gained greatly in strength, so that he is -able to move about slowly; and if he were mentally sound I should feel -warranted in discharging him as convalescent. But mentally he is still -incapacitated. His memory is so utterly gone that he does not even know -his own name or country. We have tried every means to arouse him from -his stupor, but he has been able to articulate only six words, and -those indistinctly. They are: ‘I don’t know. I cannot remember.’ - -“Those few words are sufficient, however, to show that he belongs to -some English-speaking nation, probably either to our own country or -to America, or perhaps to some of the British colonies. And my object -in laying the case before you at this length is to enable the Board -to determine whether under the circumstances he is a fit subject for -further treatment in the hospital. Some question has been raised on -that point on account of the doubt whether the man is even a British -subject.” - -“This is indeed an interesting case--a most interesting case!” the -chairman said, when the house surgeon sat down. “I do not remember -that such a problem has ever been presented to us before. Whether this -man, being no longer bodily ill, is entitled to our further treatment -and support, is what we are called upon to decide. I understand from -our worthy chief of staff that he is now strong enough to walk about -without assistance. Would it not be well to bring him into the room, -that we may see for ourselves?” - -“Yes, yes; bring him in!” was echoed by several voices. “Let us see -whether we can make him out.” - -“And if we find that he is an American,” one of the governors said, “he -should be taken in charge by the consul of his own country.” - -“One word more, Mr. Chairman,” said the house surgeon, taking the floor -again. “I must explain that there _is_ some slight ground for -believing that the man is an American rather than a British subject. -The orderly on duty in the exercise yard reported to me several weeks -ago that a ship had that day come into the harbor, flying the American -flag; and that this John Doe, seeing it over the top of the wall, -showed more interest in it than in anything else since his arrival. He -extended his arm toward it, and tried to mutter some words that the -orderly could not make out. With this hint I have had it in mind to try -upon him the effect of the flags of other nations; but anticipating -your desire to see the result for yourselves, I have postponed the -trial until to-day, and have also asked the American consul to be -present--subject, of course, to your wishes. The consul is now waiting -in my office.” - -“Let us see John Doe first,” said the chairman; and the house surgeon -pressed a bell button and gave some instructions to the orderly who -answered. - -In a few minutes the door opened again, and the orderly escorted into -the room what seemed at first to be a bent and stiffened old man, -leaning heavily on a cane and making his way along with difficulty. His -hair and beard were almost white, and he shuffled in without raising -his eyes from the floor, as if he took no interest whatever in the -proceedings. Led to a chair, he sat down heavily, and half-closed his -eyes. But the professional eyes present saw that it was not age, but -suffering and illness, that had reduced him to this condition. The aged -look in his face was caused rather by pain than by years, for there -were few of the wrinkles in the forehead or about the eyes or mouth -that come with advanced age; and his hands were those of a man in the -prime of life, “sixty-five or seventy,” an unprofessional person would -have pronounced him; but the physicians present knew that he was very -little, if at all, past forty. - -“Well, my good man, how are you feeling to-day?” the chairman asked. - -“I don’t know,” John Doe answered, without raising his eyes, and with a -dazed look on his countenance. - -“When did you leave London?” one of the governors asked; but the man -merely shook his head. - -“Or did you come from New York?” another said; but still there was -no answer but a feeble shake of the head. It was too evident that he -understood very little of what was said, and could not answer even that -little intelligently. - -Several of the medical members of the Board went up to him and felt -his pulse, examined the hue of his skin, raised the lids and looked -searchingly into his eyes, and felt his scalp carefully for traces of -an old injury, but could find none. - -“Suppose that we see whether any of our flags will have an effect upon -him to-day,” the chairman suggested; and turning to the house surgeon -he added, “and invite the American consul to come in and see the -result.” - -The surgeon went after the consul, and when they entered the room, they -were followed by an orderly, bearing an armful of folded flags. The -consul was invited to take a chair, after replying to the chairman’s -question that he was acquainted with the circumstances of the case; and -the orderly was directed to unfold one of the flags and show it to the -mysterious patient. - -“Try the British flag first,” the chairman said; and the room was as -quiet as death while the orderly shook out the flag, and held it close -to John Doe’s face. But the feeble man paid no more attention to it -than he had paid to the questions. - -“Now the French flag,” the chairman ordered; and still John Doe did not -raise his eyes from the floor. - -“The American flag,” said the chairman. This was the test; and as the -orderly held out his arm with the beautiful stars and stripes hanging -over it, the members of the Board leaned forward eagerly to watch the -result. - -For a moment John Doe did not seem to see the flag. But presently his -sunken eyes caught the brilliant red and white stripes, and instantly a -change was noticed in his face. A look of semi-intelligence came over -it that none present had seen there before. Leaning the cane between -his knees, he stretched out one hand and drew the orderly closer to -him, and with the other hand stroked the stripes as lovingly and gently -as he might have stroked a kitten or the head of a pet child. His lips -moved, and it was plain that he was trying to utter words that would -not come. And the hush in the room became still deeper when after a few -moments of this the feeble man drew the back of his hand across his -eyes to wipe away the moisture. - -“That will do, Mr. Orderly; you can take the flags away,” the chairman -said; and every man in the room noticed that John Doe kept his eyes -fixed upon the flag until it was folded and carried away. - -“If this remarkable experiment has had the same effect upon you as -upon me, gentlemen,” the chairman continued, “you have seen that the -sight of an old friend has for a moment roused the slumbering faculties -of this poor man’s brain. I have no longer any doubt that he is an -American; and I should like to hear the American consul’s opinion of -this strange case.” - -“This is one of the most touching things that I have ever seen, Mr. -Chairman,” the consul said, stepping forward. “That this stricken and -unfortunate man, a stranger in a strange land, sick, destitute, almost -bereft of reason, should show this emotion at the sight of my flag, an -emotion that nothing else excites in him, leaves me no room to doubt -that he is my countryman. And yet I am compelled to say that this is -not legal proof of his nationality, and to explain, what most of you -doubtless know, that a consul is only permitted to give substantial aid -to distressed seamen who are beyond doubt citizens of his country. Still -I should be glad to strain a point and send this man home, if I only -knew where to send him; but that is yet one of the mysteries. - -“What we have just seen, however, convinces me that his reason is not -dead, only sleeping. Any familiar sight, the face of a member of his -family, even the mention of a familiar name, might restore his lost -memory in an instant. I think you medical gentlemen will agree with -me in this, for you have seen such cases. We shall have within a few -weeks reports from our respective governments giving the names of all -the British and American vessels that were lost last year. It is highly -probable that the mention of the name of this man’s ship may awaken his -memory sufficiently to give us a clue to his identity; and I shall of -course lay the facts before the State Department at once. But meanwhile -I am so firmly convinced that this unfortunate man is my countryman -that I will willingly take upon myself personally the responsibility of -his support.” - -The consul had hardly resumed his chair before one of the members of -the Board sprang to his feet. - -“Mr. Chairman,” he almost shouted, “it is about two months, as you -know, since I returned from America. While there my interest in -hospital work naturally led me to visit the great hospitals in many of -the large cities. In New York, in Boston, in Chicago, in San Francisco, -in New Orleans, I found that at least ten per cent of all the patients -were British subjects, receiving every possible care and kindness -without question of their nationality. In that land they do not ask -whether a man is an American or a Briton or a Hottentot; the only -question is whether he is sick and in need of help, and if he needs it -they give it to him. I do not wonder that this unfortunate man shed -tears at the sight of his flag. And if we turn him out into the streets -to starve because he is a foreigner, we ought to shed tears at the -sight of ours, though for a widely different reason.” - -As the speaker took his seat there was such a furious clapping of hands -that the chairman had to rap on the table for order. - -“The Board seems to be so much of one mind,” he said, “that it is -not necessary to put a motion. John Doe will remain an inmate of the -hospital until the Board’s further orders. And now, gentlemen, the -orderly informs me that dinner is waiting. We hope, Mr. Consul, that -you will do us the honor to dine with us.” - -At the precise moment when the Board went in to dinner, and the -tottering John Doe was led back to his favorite seat in the sunny yard, -Kit, in happy ignorance of his father’s condition, was learning that a -sponge as big as a bushel basket could be pressed into a small cigar -box. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -KIT BECOMES A SUPERCARGO. - - -To have another run out to Huntington when the _North Cape_ -returned from Nassau, was something that Kit had been looking forward -to. Not for a week this time, for he could not expect to have a week’s -holiday at the end of every voyage; but for two nights and a day, -perhaps; long enough to see the familiar faces and the old place. - -But three days, four days, passed, and he was still acting as steward; -and he could not ask for leave of absence while he had that work to -do. And whether he ought to ask for the place permanently or not, he -could hardly make up his mind. He felt the need, more than ever before, -of some one to go to for advice and counsel. Tom Haines was a good -friend, but Tom could hardly advise him in such a matter; and to apply -to the Captain was out of the question. So he did not know whether to -feel glad or sorry when on the fourth day Captain Griffith brought a -stranger into the cabin and introduced him as the new steward. - -“You know the lay of the land in the pantry, Christopher,” he said, -“so you can show him where things are kept.” - -And that was the end of his dream of becoming steward of the _North -Cape_! - -“I think I am rather glad than sorry,” he soon said to himself; “but if -I had really wanted the place, this would really serve me just right -for not making up my mind about it. Chances don’t wait for a fellow -if he does not seize them when they offer. So I am still the cabin -boy, and will still have a chance to copy the manifests and go ashore -to check off cargo. And maybe this will give me a chance for my visit -home.” - -That evening he walked the deck a little in the cold moonlight, -deliberating whether he should ask for a furlough or not; and he had -no sooner made up his mind to do it than he started for the Captain’s -room, having seen enough of the dangers of delay. But before he reached -the head of the companionway the Captain’s bell rang for him. - -“Come in and shut the door, Christopher,” Captain Griffith said. “I -have something to say to you.” Then when the door was closed, he -continued, “How old did you tell me you are?” - -“I am past seventeen now, sir,” Kit answered. - -“You have done very good work for me, Christopher,” the Captain went -on, “but still I am going to take your name off the crew list. I shall -have to have a new cabin boy.” - -“I hope not, sir!” Kit answered; “I have tried to give you -satisfaction.” - -“You have done very well, I must admit,” the Captain said; “but you are -not exactly fitted to the place. You are too bright for a cabin boy, -and there is no better berth in the crew that I can give you.” - -So saying, he took out the book in which he kept the crew list and the -wages account, ran his finger down to Kit’s name, and took up his pen. - -“I see there is seven dollars and a half due you,” he went on, “but we -will call it ten dollars on account of the extra work you have been -doing. So now I erase your name, and you are no longer a member of the -crew;” and he ran his pen through Kit’s name with a big, broad mark. - -For a moment Kit felt as if a flash of lightning had come into the -stateroom and struck him. - -“I hope you will tell me what I have done, to be sent away, Captain,” -he said, in a voice that was not altogether steady. - -“Well, sit down, Christopher, and I will tell you,” the Captain said, -swinging his chair around as Kit took a seat. “I could not well invite -my cabin boy to sit down here for a talk, but as you are my cabin boy -no longer, I can invite you now. I see you take it very much to heart, -so I will tell you in few words.” - -It seemed to Kit at first as if a judge were about to pronounce -sentence upon him; but something in the Captain’s face gave him a -little hope. - -“The _North Cape_ has been chartered by the big firm of Hunter & -Hitchley for a long voyage. She is to go first to Barbadoes with a -general cargo, there take on a cargo of sugar for London, and return -from London to New York with another general cargo. Such a voyage -requires a supercargo; and when the firm asked me to recommend one I -recommended Christopher Silburn. So it means that instead of being the -cabin boy you will be the supercargo as soon as you go over to Hunter & -Hitchley’s office and sign the contract.” - -“Oh, Captain!” Kit exclaimed; he did not see how he could say anything -more at the moment. - -“Your pay will be only eighteen dollars a month for the present, on -account of your youth; and that is small pay for supercargo; but it is -better than six dollars as a cabin boy.” - -“I should think so, sir!” Kit declared; “and I don’t know how I can -ever thank you for such a kindness.” - -“Never mind about that,” the Captain laughed. “And now, Mr. Supercargo, -you must leave me to my work, for I have a great deal to do to-night. -Do you think you could find me a good cabin boy to take your place?” - -“Yes, sir, I think I could,” Kit answered; and he thought immediately -of Harry Leonard, of Huntington. - -“Then I will leave that matter with you,” the Captain said, turning -again to his work. - -Kit had to go on deck again for a little fresh air after this sudden -change in his fortunes, and in his rapid march to and fro he met Tom -Haines, and was on the point of telling him the news, but stopped -himself. “I must tell the folks at home first of all,” he thought; and -after a little chat with Tom about other matters, in which Kit hardly -knew what he was talking about, he went down to the cabin to write a -letter. - -“I hoped to be with you in Huntington by this time,” he began, “but you -will have to put up with a ten-dollar note and a bit of good news.” - -Then he told the story of his promotion as plainly as his excited mind -would permit, and added, “Don’t mind taking the money, for I have a -little more, and of course I will get an advance for a long voyage like -that. I shall need some new clothes; for what is good enough for a -cabin boy would hardly be decent for a supercargo.” - -And at the end he sent a message for Vieve to take to Harry Leonard. -“If he’s not second mate of that bark yet, maybe he would like to be -cabin boy of the _North Cape_ at six dollars a month. I can get -him the place if he wants it, but he must come or let me know the very -day you get this, or it will be too late. And now for Barbadoes, folks, -and London! across the big ocean and back again! I was hoping for that, -you know. I’ll write again, of course, before we sail.” - -Kit’s interview with Hunter & Hitchley next day was something of an -ordeal, for after the contract was signed they had endless instructions -to give him. A hundred things he must attend to with the greatest -care; and another hundred things he must avoid; and such and such firms -must be seen in New York, and so and so in Barbadoes, and in London. - -“You are very young for this work,” Mr. Hitchley told him, “but Captain -Griffith has recommended you highly. We take you altogether on his -recommendation.” - -“I will do my best to give satisfaction, sir,” Kit answered. He had -made the same promise on becoming a cabin boy, and kept it, and was -determined to keep it again. - -His new position brought many minor changes that he had not had time to -think of yet. When the cabin dinner bell rang that day he did not quite -know what to do, so he wisely waited and did nothing, and in a few -minutes the Captain sent for him to come down to dinner. - -“The supercargo eats with the Captain, Silburn,” Captain Griffith said. -“I neglected to tell you that. And he is always ‘Mister’ to the crew; -but for my part I shall call you Silburn, because you are so young.” - -It was odd enough to be eating there with the Captain and first -officer at the table he had helped to wait on before, but he soon -grew accustomed to it, just as he did to being called Mr. Silburn by -everybody but the Captain. In a few days he appeared in a new suit of -dark blue cloth and a cap to match, with a single gilt button on each -side; a costume in which he looked as nautical and business-like as -any young supercargo could desire. - -Doing the clerical work in getting together and loading the cargo was -mere routine business for him now, thanks to the experience he had had -in former voyages; and by the time the _North Cape_ was ready -for sea again he felt considerable confidence in himself in his new -position. The non-arrival of Harry Leonard made him a little uneasy, -for it would not do to fail to have a cabin boy ready on sailing day. -Harry had written that he would be on at once, but nearly a week had -passed. He arrived, however, just as Kit was thinking of looking for -another boy. - -“Oh, say, what a swell you are, Kit!” he exclaimed, “in that uniform. I -must have one like that some day. But I’ll take a shy at your old place -first, for a voyage or two. That’s good enough to begin on, I suppose. -Say, what does a fellow get promoted to from there? Does supercargo -come next?” - -“Not always,” Kit answered. He could not help seeing that Harry’s ideas -were up too near the top-masts, and would have to come down nearer the -keel before long. “But it’s very pleasant work in the cabin of the -_North Cape_, as long as you don’t give the Captain any occasion -to use his rope’s-end on you.” Kit did not believe much in teasing the -new boys on board, but Harry was so full of his own importance that he -could not resist the temptation to frighten him a little. - -“No! say, does he though?” Harry asked, in alarm. “Does he whack you -very hard?” - -“Oh, not so very!” Kit laughed; “anyhow, you don’t mind it much after -you get used to it. Come down to the cabin; he told me to bring you -down to him when you came.” - -“This is the boy I spoke to you about, sir,” Kit said to the Captain. -“His name is Harry Leonard.” - -“I tried to come as soon as I got Kit’s letter,” Harry broke in, “but I -had to have some clothes made.” - -“What’s that!” Captain Griffith exclaimed, looking at the new boy -sharply. “If you mean the supercargo, his name is Mr. Silburn. Don’t -forget that. Do you understand?” - -“Yes, sir,” Harry answered quite meekly; and Kit thought that a good -time for him to withdraw, when the interesting process of training a -willing but conceited boy was beginning. - -There was a large streak of good nature in Harry, however, as well as a -stock of humor; and he felt that he had wiped out this rebuff when he -went up to Kit on deck on the third day out, and, touching his hat very -formally, said:-- - -“Mr. Silburn, the Captain wishes to see you below, sir, if you please;” -then drew his left eye down into a wink that was big enough for a dozen -winks, stuffed his hands into his pockets, and strutted off whistling -“Yankee Doodle.” - -Every day Kit was busy for some hours with his manifests, which he -worked at in the afternoons now instead of the evenings. And it was -fortunate for him that he wasted no time at the start; for on the -eighth day, when they were expecting every moment to sight Sombrero -Key, the first land since leaving New York, they ran into a little -tropical hurricane that tossed up a tremendous sea, and kept Captain -Griffith on the bridge for nearly ten hours without rest. He did not -stop his writing when the confusion on deck told him that they were -preparing the ship for rough weather; but in a few minutes his head -began to ache, and he closed his eyes to rest them. Then a chilly -feeling ran down the back of his neck; he felt as if he must have taken -a mixture of chicken salad, mince pie, ice cream, and soda water for -dinner, and began to wonder whether a siege of illness was coming on. -A minute later, however, Harry Leonard ran out of the pantry, holding -both hands against his stomach. - -“Oh, Kit!” he cried, “or Mr. Silburn, or Supercargo, or whatever your -blessed name is, I’m so sick! oh, I wish you’d let me stay at home!” -and he threw himself on one of the sofas and lay moaning. - -That told Kit what was the matter with him; it was no tropical fever -coming on, but a plain case of sea-sickness! On his third voyage, when -he had risen to be a supercargo, he was desperately seasick for the -first time, simply because it was the first really rough weather he had -encountered. - -The heavy rolling and pitching of the ship in that howling wind and -tremendous sea, the incessant rattling and breaking of dishes in the -pantry, the creaking of joiner work, the shouting of orders on deck, -the men running to and fro to execute them, the whir and jar of the -screw when a lunge of the bow raised it out of the water, combined to -give Kit his first real idea of bad weather at sea. He went on deck, -and the fresh air made him feel better; and he exercised his privilege -as supercargo and went up on the bridge, where he instantly saw by the -anxious faces of the Captain and first officer that they were worried. -He knew that the storm alone was not sufficient to put the ship in -danger; but they were in the neighborhood of Sombrero and other small -islands of that group, night was coming on, and as there was no sun -that day for an observation they were not sure of their position, and -the outlook was not encouraging. - -No supper was prepared in the cabin that evening, for neither the -Captain nor his mate had time to eat; but sandwiches and hot coffee -were put on the table; and when the Captain came down to swallow a cup -of coffee in haste he merely shook his head in reply to Kit’s questions. - -Late in the evening Harry still lay groaning on the sofa, and Kit was -in and out, for neither of the boys felt inclined to turn in. About -eleven o’clock a terrible pounding began on deck. It sounded almost as -if one of the iron masts had fallen and was rolling about the deck. -First there was a thumping from port to starboard that seemed enough -to crush in the deck, followed by a moment of quiet, and then, as the -ship rolled again, the rolling went from starboard to port. Harry -sprang up in alarm. - -“Kit, we’re goners!” he exclaimed; “the ship’s going down!” - -“I don’t believe it,” Kit answered, “but something has carried away.” - -They both ran for the companionway and scrambled on deck, where the -terrific wind almost tore them off their feet. Everything was dark as -pitch except for the light of a solitary lantern, and by that faint -light they saw that in the heavy rolling one of the winches had broken -loose and was rolling from side to side of the deck, to the imminent -danger of both deck and rail; and men were trying to lasso it with -heavy ropes, for no one could approach it without risking his life. -While they watched, the winch was caught and secured, and they returned -to the cabin. - -About two o’clock Captain Griffith came down with the relieved look of -a man who had just rid himself of an aching tooth. “We’re all right,” -he said, as the steward brought him another cup of coffee. “We’ve just -sighted Sombrero light, so we’ll not visit Davy Jones’s locker just -yet. It’s time for you to turn in, Henry.” - -Harry started off for his berth, and Kit and the Captain had a little -chat over their coffee. - -“I don’t like being off a rocky coast on a bad night,” the Captain -said. “The _North Cape_ is good for any kind of weather, but the -ship has not been built yet that will stand a night’s pounding on the -rocks. Now by afternoon we should be off St. Kitts, and from that -all the way down to Barbadoes you will see some of the finest sights -you ever saw in your life. I have seen the Alps and most of the best -scenery in Europe, but never anything to equal these beautiful islands -we will soon pass--St. Kitts, Nevis, Montserrat, Martinique, Dominica, -and several more. Most of them are mountain peaks rising from the sea -and touching the clouds. Barbadoes itself is flat and uninteresting, -except for being the most thickly populated bit of land on the globe. -It contains only about forty square miles, and has forty thousand -inhabitants, or a thousand to a square mile, mostly negroes. But you -will soon see for yourself. I feel quite ready for a sleep. Good-night, -Silburn.” - -“Good-night, sir,” Kit answered; and he made his way across the -unsteady cabin by holding on to the backs of seats, and was soon in his -own berth. - -By the middle of the afternoon the young supercargo learned another of -the advantages of being in his new position. They were then skirting -the coast of the British island of St. Kitts, having left the storm and -the worst of the rough sea in their wake. Instead of taking a hurried -look at the shore over the rail, with both ears open for the Captain’s -bell, as the cabin boy must generally do, he could go up on the bridge -and take a good look through the Captain’s glasses; and he was soon -convinced that Captain Griffith had not at all exaggerated the beauty -of the scenery. He was used to high hills, for Huntington is surrounded -by them, but not hills like these. - -“To think of a mountain coming right up out of the water,” he said to -himself, “and going on up and up till the peak is in the clouds, and -looking as green and smooth as the grass in a park--though I know it’s -not grass, for the Captain says it is fields of sugarcane below, and -trees toward the top. And the way those clouds gather around the peak! -It seems to catch them as they float by, and they grow thicker and -blacker every minute till there is more water than they can hold, and -it comes down without warning in a deluge of rain, and then the sun -shines again! I never saw anything like it.” - -Then the next day he was equally enthusiastic over the French island -of Martinique, which is much larger and has many peaks instead of a -single one; and soon afterward the British Dominica, with scarcely -any inhabitants in its high mountains but the fragments of the -once-powerful race of Caribs, who live now by making baskets so tight -that they will hold water and are used for trunks. As they passed -the little port of Roseau, the capital of Dominica, they saw a large -steamer lying at anchor, which Kit learned was the New York mail -steamer the _Trinidad_, bound like themselves for Barbadoes; and -within the next hour she was under way and following in their wake. - -In a longer race the _North Cape_ would have had little chance -against the speedier _Trinidad_; but the distance from Dominica -to the roadstead off Bridgetown, Barbadoes, is so small that the -two vessels dropped anchor there almost at the same moment, the -_North Cape_ as near to the breakwater as safety allowed, and the -_Trinidad_ farther out. As the day was about closing, Captain -Griffith was in no hurry to enter his ship at the Custom House, for -in any case he could not begin unloading until the next day; but it -was different with the other steamer, which had passengers on board -who were anxious to land. So it happened that the boat in which -Kit was set ashore to pay an early visit to his agent, reached the -landing-steps almost at the same moment as the boat that carried the -_Trinidad’s_ purser. - -Kit was first up the steps, followed by the well-fed purser, who, -although not a tall man, weighed something over two hundred pounds. - -“Just my luck!” the fat purser panted, as he looked about the large -open square. “If I--huh, ahuh, huh--if I didn’t want a--huh, huh--want -a carriage, the square would be full of them; but when I want one in -a--ah!--in a hurry, there’s none here. Here it’s four minutes to six; -and how’s a man of my--huh, huh--of my size going to get to the Custom -House before they close at six o’clock, I’d like to know!” - -“Maybe I can be of use to you, sir,” Kit said, stepping up to him. “I -am supercargo of the _North Cape_, and I’m a pretty good runner. -I’ll take your papers up to the Custom House for you if you like.” - -“Oh, thank you,” the purser panted, looking very much relieved. “I’ll -be a thousand times obliged to you. Here they are, then, all ready; all -you have to do is to shove them under the clerk’s nose.” - -Kit made a hurried inquiry about the direction of the Custom House and -started on a run, and had the satisfaction of delivering the papers -just half a minute before business closed for the day. He next visited -his agent and arranged for lighters in the morning; and an hour later -he met the _Trinidad’s_ purser again, not quite so short-breathed -and red in the face this time. - -“Here we are again, supercargo!” he exclaimed, seizing Kit’s hand. He -had a very jolly manner, and seemed as free with Kit as if they had -been acquainted for years. “You can’t miss anybody in this hole of a -place. They call it a town, but I call it a hole. I’m just going in -here to get something to cool me off, and I want you to come along.” - -“I’m just as much obliged,” Kit answered; “but I suppose you mean -something to drink, and I never drink anything.” - -“I suppose you’ve made a mistake, for the first time in your life,” -the purser rejoined, with a laugh that shook him all over. “I mean -something to eat; a big heaped-up plate of the coldest ice cream this -side of New York. We’re right in front of the ice-house, where I always -eat a lot of ice cream for the fun of hearing it sizzle as it goes -down. By the way, my name’s Clark; what’s yours?” - -“Silburn,” Kit replied. “But the ice-house? This looks like a store.” - -“So it is,” said the purser, as they climbed the stairs to a big -restaurant where scores of people were eating. “It’s store, restaurant, -ice-house, furniture-shop, a dozen things combined. I thought everybody -knew the Bridgetown ice-house. Ice is a government monopoly here, you -know, and these fellows buy the privilege of selling all that is used -on the island. Hello here, Snowflake” (to one of the black waiters; he -seemed to know every one in the place), “bring us two platters of your -best ice cream; platters, do you hear? Not saucers, or plates, but the -biggest platters you have.” - -Kit found the ice cream excellent, and the purser a very entertaining -companion. He was full of good sea-stories, and knew how to tell them -in an interesting way. And he wanted to know all about the young -supercargo. - -“You’re very young for such a place,” he said; “at your age I was -sweeping the cabin and brushing the Captain’s clothes.” - -“So was I,” Kit laughed, “until this voyage;” and he had to tell how he -became a supercargo, after describing his rescue by Captain Griffith -from a Brooklyn policeman. - -“Well, you’ll make your way, if you take care of yourself,” Mr. Clark -said, after Kit had finished his story and his ice cream together. -“Just you let drink alone and don’t get anything into your pockets -that belongs to some other fellow. It’s rum that spoils a good many -young fellows at sea, and you can’t keep too far away from it. I know -appearances are rather against me” (and his fat sides shook again); -“they tell me a man with my red face has no business to give temperance -lectures; but to tell the truth, I never drink any liquor, though I’ll -own up to being fond of good eating. Here, Snowflake, two more platters -of ice cream; and don’t stop to warm it.” - -Kit soon found that notwithstanding his free-and easy manner and his -almost continual laughter, his new companion was a man of great sense -and good judgment, thoroughly acquainted with the work of both purser -and supercargo. - -“I’m glad we ran across each other,” Mr. Clark said, as he shook the -young supercargo’s hand. “We’ll meet again sometime, certain sure. -Don’t forget me; and remember that when you need a friend you’ll always -find one in the purser of the _Trinidad_.” - -That was another of the advantages of being a supercargo; he could -make friends and associate with people who would not have paid much -attention to a cabin boy. But he had more things to learn before -the day was over; for when he returned to the ship he found Captain -Griffith preparing to go ashore, and the Captain invited him to go -along and meet some of the merchants with whom he would have to do -business. They went to the Mercantile Club, where he found the latest -English and American newspapers, and news telegrams posted from London -and New York, and met some of the principal business men of Bridgetown, -and several large sugar planters who went “in to town” in the evenings -to hear what was going on in the big outside world. The conversation -was all about business and the price of sugar and the state of the -crops and the price of freights; and it did not take him long to -realize that with his new associations he was no longer a boy, but a -young man of affairs who must keep his eyes and ears open and inform -himself about a great many things that he had paid no attention to -before. - -For nearly a week the young supercargo was so busy with getting his -cargo ashore and delivered that he had no further chance of seeing the -city or the island; but when it came to loading he had more time to -himself. The sugar came in slowly, and there were days when there was -not enough on the wharf to keep the lighters busy. On such days he had -several times to drive out to large plantations to hurry the work, and -the planters always treated him with the greatest hospitality. Every -night he had some new entry to make in the journal that he began to -keep when he became a supercargo--a journal that he refused to call -a diary, because he had no intention of writing in it regularly, but -only when he had something worth writing. Captain Griffith found -the little book lying on his desk one day and wrote on the fly-leaf, -“Kit Silburn, His Log”; and after that it was always known as “The -Supercargo’s Log.” Some of his entries tell in very few words the story -of part of his first long voyage. - -“Feb. 12.--Still at Bridgetown, Barbadoes. Took in 146 hogsheads of -sugar to-day, with 12 lighters. The sugar is all done up in hogsheads, -weighing something over a ton each. It is black-looking stuff as it -comes from the mills, and has a sweet, sickish smell. The colored -people like to lie on the wharf in the sun and lick up the molasses -that leaks out of the casks. We have now 821 hogsheads on board. - -“Feb. 13.--Still at Bridgetown. No lighters at work to-day, as there -was no sugar ready. Went out to three plantations to hurry things. At -the Sea View plantation Mr. Outerbridge took me all over the place, and -made me stay to dinner. (P.S. He has a beautiful young daughter, Miss -Blanche, and after dinner we had a pony race. She beat me.) They say -this sun would kill a white man in three months if he worked in the -cane-fields, but it does not hurt the negroes. Saw how they squeeze out -the cane-juice between big rollers, and then boil it down into sugar. -The planters promised me 150 hogsheads by to-morrow. - -“Feb. 14.--Got 122 hogsheads sugar on board, and plenty promised for -to-morrow. Very curious thing happened to me to-day. When I came -aboard ship to supper, found a letter for me, though no mail steamer -in. Opened it, and found a handsome valentine. Can’t imagine who could -have sent it. - -“Feb. 15.--Only 30 hogsheads loaded to-day, on account of heavy rain. - -“Feb. 20.--Loaded 82 hogsheads. Have now 1455 on board. We hope to sail -for London on Saturday. Miss Blanche Outerbridge has invited me to a -lawn party at their plantation to-morrow. Half afraid to go, for never -was at a lawn party in my life. - -“Feb. 21.--No sugar to-day. Went to the lawn party, and had splendid -time. The Governor was there, and Mr. Outerbridge introduced me to him. - -“Feb. 23.--Loaded 160 hogsheads to-day. Sugar coming with a rush now. - -“Feb. 25.--Sailed for London at two o’clock this afternoon, with 2415 -hogsheads of sugar, making about $120,000 worth of cargo that I have to -look after. Must keep my eyes open. Will see no more land now till we -sight the Scilly Islands, off the English coast. - -“March 15.--Expect to sight the Scillys to-morrow morning. Have had a -fairly good voyage so far, with some bad weather, but no hard gales. A -long stretch of water, this, from Barbadoes to England; but the seas -are no higher in the middle than along the coast. Cargo in good order.” - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -NEWS FROM THE WRECKED SCHOONER. - - -Soon after daylight on a raw and chilly March morning the masthead -lookout cried “Land-ho!” And the officers and crew of the _North -Cape_ knew that their voyage across the Atlantic had reached its -last stage. Captain Griffith was on the bridge, as most careful -commanders are on entering the busy English Channel; and Kit was there -too, eager for a first sight of the Old World. An hour later the Scilly -Islands could be seen plainly without a glass, though at that distance -they looked like a single island with ships’ masts growing upon it like -trees. Kit had read as much as possible in the Captain’s books about -the places he was to see, so he knew that the group is composed of -about fifty small islands, and that what looked like ships’ masts were -the signal poles upon which are announced the arrival and departure of -more vessels than are signalled at any other place in the world. - -The second officer was busy on deck making fast a series of six or -eight signal flags to a line, and at a word from the Captain they were -hoisted. A moment later a large black ball was run up on one of the -poles on shore, and the flags were lowered, folded, and returned to -the flag locker. It was done so quickly that Kit could hardly believe -that those few stripes of bunting had accomplished so much in so short -a time; but he knew that the flags said to the signalman on shore, -“_North Cape_, from Barbadoes for London, eighteen days, with -sugar”; and that when the signalman hoisted his black ball it said, -“All right; I understand you.” And he knew, too, that almost before the -flags were lowered a telegraphic message had gone to London, announcing -the ship’s arrival, to be posted in the Maritime Exchange, where her -agents would see it as soon as the Exchange opened for the day; and -that long before that the news would have gone under the ocean by cable -to be posted in the Exchange in New York, where it would appear a few -hours later in the afternoon newspapers. So by the hoisting of those -few flags the whole world was informed that the _North Cape_ had -made her voyage safely, and was approaching her destination. - -“What’s the matter, Silburn?” the Captain asked, bringing his hand down -on Kit’s shoulder. “You look sorry to have the voyage nearly ended. -Would you rather turn round and go back?” - -“No, sir!” Kit replied; “I’m anything but sorry. But I was just -thinking what a tremendous lot there is to learn in this world. Here we -have seen nothing but sky and water for eighteen days, and with only -the sun and stars to guide you, you knew almost the exact minute when -we should be here beside the Scilly Islands. Then you hoist a flag, -and in ten minutes they know in New York and in Barbadoes that we have -arrived. It is the most wonderful thing I ever saw.” - -“Oh, no, Christopher,” the Captain answered; “you have seen stranger -things than that. Do you see the sun coming up out of the water there -to eastward? That is rather more wonderful, isn’t it? Every leaf on -every tree is more wonderful than anything that man has done. If we -knew half as much as we think we do, there would be no more sickness -in the world, because we would have a cure for every disease; no more -poverty, for the earth is full of wealth and we should know how to get -it out; and instead of merely sending a few dots and dashes by a wire -across the ocean, we should be able to see what they are doing over in -New York, and talk to them. We may come to that some day.” - -“I wish we had come to that now, sir!” Kit exclaimed. “If we could see -all over the world, I should know where my father is, if he is alive.” - -“It’s better as it is, my boy,” the Captain went on. “To see over the -world would gratify your curiosity, but it would give you a great deal -of worry. No, there are some mysteries of nature that we are better -off not to understand, at least until we have advanced enough in all -directions to understand that everything that happens is for the best. -Still, we must always make the best of what we do know. Some people, -for instance, know enough to go below when the breakfast bell rings. -Come along. - -“This is a great coast to learn history from,” the Captain continued, -while they were eating breakfast. “A large share of the modern history -of the world has been made in this channel. We don’t want to see a -storm to-day, but if it had not been for a storm in this channel, you -would most likely be a Catholic, and we should have an image of the -Virgin Mary in the cabin.” - -“Oh, yes, sir, I know about that,” Kit interrupted. “You mean the storm -that broke up the great Spanish Armada. But the British say they had -the Armada whipped before the storm came.” - -“Trust the British for that!” the Captain laughed; “they won’t let even -nature have any of the credit. But that is only one thing in a hundred. -Here is Land’s End just off our port bow, on the coast of Cornwall. A -few years ago they were all singing a song beginning:-- - - “‘And must Trelawny bleed? And must Trelawny die? - Then twenty thousand Cornishmen will know the reason why.’ - -Now who was Trelawny, and why must he die? No, I’m not going to tell -you; you can hunt it up in some of my books. Then in a few hours we -will be passing a little town called Lyme Regis--a town that never -amounted to much, but some years ago the whole world was anxious about -what was happening there. Who was the prince who landed there with an -army, and tried to make himself King of England? You can hardly name a -spot along this whole coast, but has some important events connected -with it.” - -Within the next twenty-four hours Kit saw a great many places that -before had existed for him only on paper. His father had often -brought home some of Clark Russell’s sea-stories, and Kit had read -them without stopping to think that the places mentioned in them -were real places. But here was “The Lizard,” a high point surmounted -by a light-house that looked like an old castle; and Bolt Head, and -Portland Bill, then St. Alban’s Head, and St. Catherine’s Point. He -had read of all of those. Then by the next morning they were well up -the Channel; and although the French coast was near enough to be seen -indistinctly, they were so close to the British shore that they had -a good view of Brighton, Eastbourne, Hastings, and Dungeness, all of -which Kit had heard of. Then they ran into the narrow straits of Dover, -past Folkestone, South Foreland, Deal, Ramsgate, Broadstairs, North -Foreland, and Margate, and headed straight for the mouth of the Thames. - -“Now, then, Silburn,” Captain Griffith said, when they were fairly in -the river, “your work will soon begin. I don’t know where this cargo is -to be landed, and it’s your place to find out. I shall run up as far as -Gravesend and wait there for orders from the agents. They ought to have -a tug there to meet us; but if they don’t, you will have to go on to -London and find out where we are to discharge. They may order us up to -the docks, or keep us below here.” - -“Yes, sir,” Kit answered, as if “running up to London” were an everyday -affair with him. - -“They have a saying over here,” the Captain went on, “that it’s not -worth while to do your own barking when you keep a dog; so as you are -the supercargo, you’d better do the barking, which, in this case, is to -find out where we are to unload. I’ll lower the gig and set you ashore -at Tilbury, just across the river from Gravesend, and you can get a -train from there up to London, and go to the agents’ office; that is, -of course, if they do not send some one to Gravesend to meet us.” - -Kit went down to his room to make his papers ready, feeling anything -but comfortable over this prospect. How was he to go to London alone, -knowing nothing of the city, and make his way through strange streets -to the office of a strange agent? Going to make the acquaintance of -strangers was hard work for him at first, but he had grown used to that -now; but to make his way about London was another matter. However, he -did not let this worry him long. - -“If I am going to be a child, afraid to go into a new city,” he said to -himself, “I’d better be a cabin boy again. When a fellow undertakes to -do man’s work, he must go at it like a man. Other youngsters have gone -to London, I suppose, without being eaten.” - -Notwithstanding his brave ideas, he looked with some anxiety for the -agent when the _North Cape_ came to a stop in the Thames opposite -Gravesend and near the Tilbury shore. But no tug appeared, and it was -plain that he was destined to make the trip to London. - -“Now listen sharp to what I tell you,” Captain Griffith said, “and you -will come through all right. We will set you ashore at Tilbury, and -the railway station is right at the wharf. Buy a second-class ticket, -and the train will carry you about twenty-five miles and set you down -in Fenchurch Street station, in London. The agents, as you know, are -Topping, Forwood & Hauts, at 32 Fenchurch Street, and that is only -three or four blocks from the station. But that part of the city is -greatly crowded, and rather than waste time by your losing yourself, I -want you to go up in a hansom. You will find scores of them in front -of the station, and the fare will be one shilling. Here is a pound in -English silver change, which I will charge to you. And before doing -your own business with the agents, have them send me a telegram saying -where we are to discharge cargo. Is that all plain?” - -“Yes, sir,” Kit answered; “I think I can carry that through without -making any slips.” - -The gig landed him at Tilbury wharf, and he immediately found himself -in a different world. His ticket he bought at the “booking-office,” -and when he went through to the train its antiquated appearance made -him smile. The cars were like little square boxes, not much bigger -than a street car, but divided into compartments holding eight persons -each, with the doors on the sides; and the engine looked like the small -locomotives of the elevated railroads in New York. - -The hour’s ride took him first through open fields that looked -strangely green for the time of year, then past a settlement of immense -gas tanks, through several small towns, and then among such a maze of -houses that he knew he must be in London. When the train stopped in -Fenchurch Street station, he had no need to inquire his way to the -street, for he had only to follow the crowd. Down the long steps he -went through the lower part of the station, and found himself for the -first time in a crowded London street. - -The Captain was right about the hansoms; there stood a row of them -reaching almost out of sight, and he went up to one of the nearest and -asked the driver:-- - -“Can you take me to No. 32 Fenchurch Street?” - -[Illustration: “‘CAN YOU TAKE ME TO NO. 32 FENCHURCH STREET?’”] - -The driver looked at him a moment, and shook his head doubtfully. - -“I s’pose it kin be done, sir,” he answered, “but it’s a-goin’ to be -consid’able of a job, h’account of this ’ere crowd. It’s all a-owin’ to -the funeral. You see the Prince o’ Wiles’s mother-in-law she’s gone an’ -died, sir, an’ they’re a-buryin’ of ’er hin the Temple this harternoon, -an’ the streets is blocked. But Hi kin tike you ’round cirkewetous-like, -sir.” - -“Well, get me there as soon as you can,” Kit said; and he stepped -in, and the driver shut the two little half-doors, and they set off. -Certainly he had never before seen streets so crowded. The driver -turned off at the first corner, but even in the side streets he could -barely make his way through the crush. On and on they went, turning -here and turning there, but everywhere the crowd was the same; and in -every street Kit kept his eyes open for a look at the procession, but -saw nothing of it. A quarter of an hour passed, a half hour, and still -they were dodging through the throng. - -Suddenly Kit gave one of his knees a tremendous slap and began to laugh. - -“Didn’t they come near doing me for a countryman!” he said to himself. -“The Prince of Wales’s mother-in-law, indeed! Why, she was the Queen of -Denmark, and must have died before I was born. Anyhow, she wouldn’t be -buried in London; and this is no funeral crowd in the streets; it’s all -hansoms and ’busses and trucks--the usual London crowd, no doubt. The -cabby sees I am a stranger and will get as much out of me as he can.” - -At length the hansom drew up in front of No. 32 Fenchurch Street, and -Kit stepped out, and handed the driver a shilling. - -“Wot’s this for?” cabby asked, pretending to be very much surprised -“It’s six shillin’, sir, by the wiy we ’ad to come. Hi ought to say -ten, but Hi’m willin’ to make it six.” - -“Oh, I guess not,” Kit laughed. “A shilling’s a good big fare for the -distance. It’s too bad about the poor Prince of Wales, isn’t it?” - -Although cabby had climbed down from his high seat and was assuming -a very belligerent look, Kit felt bold to make this mention of the -funeral because he saw a big policeman walking slowly toward them on -the sidewalk, and he felt sure that the driver would not care to have -the question referred to the authorities. And he was right about this; -cabby growled a moment about a poor man having to live, but accepted -the shilling, and drove away before the officer reached them. - -It was surprising how easily and quickly the business was done with the -agents. They sent a telegram at once to Captain Griffith, informing -him that he was to unload at Gravesend; and in a few minutes Kit was -talking with them as freely as if he had been taking cargoes to London -for years. He could not help noticing how much easier it was for him -now to become acquainted with people than it had been at first. The -rough edges were wearing off, and instead of a ship’s boy he was -becoming a man of business. It was easier, he found, to manage a cargo -in London than in the West Indian ports, because everything was done -in a more business-like way; and a cargo of sugar, being all in large -parcels, was much easier to handle than a miscellaneous cargo. When -he had received all the instructions the agents had to give him about -the sugar, he found that a young clerk from the office was to accompany -him back to Gravesend to arrange for storing the sugar in a bonded -warehouse. - -“This is Mr. Watkins, one of our junior clerks,” the head of the firm -said. “Mr. Silburn, supercargo of the _North Cape_, Watkins. -You can travel to Gravesend together, as Mr. Watkins has to see the -warehousemen.” - -Kit was a little surprised at the appearance of his new companion. -Mr. Watkins was about his own age, perhaps a trifle older and taller, -with rosy cheeks, and a voice that seemed, whenever he spoke, to come -up from the very soles of his shoes. He wore a long black frock coat, -rubbed a little shiny on the shoulders and elbows, and a shiny high -silk hat; and as they went down the stairs together, he drew on a pair -of leather-colored kid gloves. - -“You’re--ah--aren’t you very young, you know, to be a supercargo, Mr. -Silburn?” the young clerk asked. - -“Well, I’m growing a little older every day,” Kit answered. - -“You must have paid--aw--aw--a heavy premium to get into such a place -at your age,” Watkins went on. - -“Premium?” Kit repeated; he did not understand the English system of -paying a premium to have a boy apprenticed to any business. - -“Y-a-a-s,” Watkins continued. “My father had to pay a hundred pounds to -get me into this office, and I’ll not earn enough to pay my board for -the next two or three years.” - -“We don’t pay any premiums in our country,” Kit exclaimed. “A boy or -young man gets a salary there for working, and the more he’s worth the -more he gets.” - -“Aw, really!” Mr. Watkins exclaimed. “No wonder America is such a good -country for young men. I’ve often thought of going over there, don’t -you know, if I could only get the chance.” - -At first Kit felt something of a dislike for the young Englishman, -perhaps on account of his peculiar style of dress and strange manner of -talking. But when he came to know him better, the dislike melted away, -for he found Watkins to be a very clever fellow. - -Instead of going to the railway station they went in the other -direction, down to the end of London Bridge, and there took one of the -little river steamers for Gravesend. - -“I want to show you some of the sights of London,” Watkins said, “and -when I go over to America, you can show me around New York.” - -“Oh, I’ll do that,” Kit readily promised, “if I am at home. So this -is London Bridge, is it? I’ve often heard of it, and the great crowds -continually crossing it.” - -“Have you any bridges as large as that in America?” Watkins asked. - -Kit was on the point of replying that there were a great many very much -larger; but he caught himself in time, remembering that it is not well -to boast of one’s own country in a foreign land. - -“Oh, yes,” he said, “we have some as large as that; and some of our -rivers are quite as large as the Thames, I think.” - -“Really!” Mr. Watkins exclaimed; “I should hardly have thought it. -But here comes the boat.” And they stepped aboard a steamer that Kit -thought a very small one, compared with the American boats; and his -companion soon began to point out places of interest. - -“There is the Tower of London,” he said. “I will take you in there some -day, if you like. And there is St. Catherine’s dock, and next are the -London docks, and then the East India docks--you must have heard of -them. Here on the other side is the great Greenwich observatory. That -ought to interest you, for more than half the ships afloat take their -time from the big Greenwich clock. You see the river is very crooked. -These straight places between the bends we call ‘reaches.’ We have come -through Greenwich Reach and Woolwich Reach, and now we get to Barking -Reach, Halfway Reach, and Long Reach.” - -By the time they got to Gravesend Kit felt that he had seen a great -deal of London for a first visit of two or three hours. And he had made -one acquaintance at least, and had done his supercargo’s business -with the agents as far as it could be done on the first day. There was -hardly any spot he had seen that he had not heard of before; for his -father had made many voyages to the great European city, and had often -told them stories about London. - -When they landed, Mr. Watkins went in search of the warehousemen, and -Kit found that he had not far to go, for on receipt of the telegram the -_North Cape_ had moved up to one of the Gravesend wharves. He went -into the cabin and exchanged a few words with the Captain, and soon -afterward he met Tom Haines on deck. - -“Say, Silburn,” Tom asked, “what did you say was the name of the -schooner your father was on when he was wrecked?” - -“The _Flower City_,” Kit answered, much surprised at the question. - -“I thought so,” Tom went on. “Then I have some news for you.” - -“Don’t keep me in suspense over it, Tom,” Kit begged. “You know how you -would feel about it if it was your own father.” In spite of his efforts -to remain cool he felt his hand shaking a little. - -“Oh, don’t be excited about it,” Tom continued. “I haven’t found your -father, you know, or anything of that kind. But there’s a man aboard -the ship who was before the mast on the _Flower City_ when she was -lost.” - -“No!” Tom exclaimed. “Then he’s the first one of the crew who has ever -been heard of! Now don’t keep me waiting, Tom; where is the man?” - -“He’s on deck, up forward,” Tom answered. “It’s an old sailor they call -Blinkey, because he has such a squint. He has a friend in our crew -and came aboard to see him, and I happened to overhear him telling -about his shipwreck in the _Flower City_. I thought that was your -father’s vessel, so I got into a talk with him and told him about you, -and made him promise to wait till you came back. He knew your father -very well.” - -“Blinkey!” Kit repeated. “Why, the very last time father was home he -told us some funny stories about an old Irish sailor called Blinkey. It -must be the same man.” - -He hurried forward, and soon found the old man talking to a group of -the sailors, still telling of his adventures in the Western World. - -“And you’re Mr. Silburn’s lad!” Blinkey exclaimed, when Kit went up to -him. “A fine, well-growed lad, too, with the look of your daddy in your -eyes. And you’re a-learnin’ this bad trade, are you?” - -One of the men nudged the old man and whispered that he was talking to -the supercargo, whereupon he scraped the deck with one foot in lieu of -a nod, pulled the peak of his cap, and gave the band of his trousers a -nautical hitch. - -“It’s beggin’ yer pardon I am,” he went on, “me not knowin’ as how I -was speakin’ to a officer. But it’s the fine man yer father is, lad--I -mean Mr. Silburn. I never shipped with a better mate.” - -“Is!” Kit exclaimed. “Then do you know whether he is alive?” - -“It’s not me that’s knowin’, sir,” Blinkey replied. “He was in a good -tight boat the last I set eyes on ’im, but there’s no sayin’. I was -drownded mesilf in that wreck, an’ that was the third time. But a -sailor havin’ nine lives, like a cat, I’ve six yet to dispose of.” - -Kit was kept in agony by the slowness of the old man in coming to the -point and the frequent interruptions of the sailors, so he took Blinkey -up to his stateroom, where they could talk in peace. - -“Now tell me about the voyage, Mr.--Mr.--” - -“Blinkey,” the old man interrupted. “It’s so long since I’ve had any -other I’ve forgot what it was. Well, sir, as I was a-sayin’, I shipped -for Ameriky in the bark _Margate_, and she took fire an’ burnt in -New York bay, so there was Blinkey out of a job. But I wasn’t a man in -them days to stay long on shore, sir, so I looks about--” - -“Yes!” Kit interrupted, fearing that another long yarn was coming. “But -the _Flower City_.” - -“I was a-gettin’ to that, sir,” the old man went on, without hastening -in the least. “So I looks about, as I was a-sayin’, an’ a berth offers -on the _Flower City_, an’ I ships on her. Well, sir, we made two -v’yages down the coast, an’ then we loaded with machinery for New -Orleans. Ah, it was that there machinery as done us up, sir. All went -well till we run into a gale off Hatteras; an’ we’d ’a’ pulled through -that if the cargo’d been better stowed. But we had a heavy load on -deck, an’ some of the big machines carried loose. Ah, it oughtn’t to be -allowed, sir, that it oughtn’t, to carry heavy cargo on deck.” - -“And then?” Kit asked. It was to him the most interesting thing he had -ever listened to; and the old man was so slow in coming to the point! - -“Then we give a lurch, sir, and over we went. Both our starboard -boats was under water, but we’d two on the port side, an’ we took -to them. Your father steered one, and the Captain the other, an’ I -was in the Captain’s boat. Night was a-comin’ on, an’ the last I see -of Mr. Silburn he was a-headin’ his boat about sou-sou-east, an us -a-followin’. That was the last, sir.” - -“And you?” Kit asked. - -“Me, is it? I was drownded. Nex’ mornin’ we was all dead. The sea -was too heavy for a small boat well loaded, an’ that night a wave -struck her an’ she went to pieces. I don’t know what I laid hold of -when everything went from under us, but it must ’a’ been some of the -wreckage; for some time next day I found myself on board a Spanish -brig, with a hole stove in the side of my head, an’ no notion of what -had happened to me arter the boat went to pieces. The brig took me -across the ocean to Barcelona, an’ after a while in hospital there I -worked my way back to London. Since that crack on the head I haven’t -been no use on a wessel, so I’ve got a job here in the big warehouses. -An’ that’s the whole story, sir. What became o’ that there other boat -is more nor I can say. But if it was my father as was in her, sir, I’d -be a-lookin’ any day fer him to come home. She was a better boat than I -was in, an’ you see I’m safe on shore, though I was drownded as dead as -ever anybody was. Leastways, I hope Christopher Silburn didn’t come to -no harm, for he was always werry kind to me, lad--always werry kind to -me.” - -“Thank you,” Kit said, in a husky voice, seeing that the old man seemed -to feel badly over the probable loss of his former mate. “But I have -very little hope left, after what you tell me. Your being saved was -almost a miracle, and we can hardly look for two miracles in the same -shipwreck. You saw the _Flower City_ go down, did you?” - -“Went down right before our eyes, sir,” Blinkey answered, “less than -five minutes after we left her. She couldn’t do nothin’ else, sir, with -them iron castin’s in her.” - -“Was there water in either boat?” Kit asked; “or provisions, or a -compass?” - -“Nothin’ in neither boat but the seats an’ oars, sir,” Blinkey replied; -“there wasn’t no time. Why, we couldn’t even lower the boats; had to -just cut ’em away, sir. An’ that reminds me. Did you ever see that -before, sir?” - -As he spoke the old sailor put one hand into his trousers pocket and -drew forth a large iron-handled pocket knife, such as sailors often -carry. The handle was polished bright by long rubbing against the -pocket and its other contents. - -“See it before!” Kit exclaimed; and his eyes moistened as he took the -knife in his hand. “I should think I had seen it before! My father -carried that knife as long as I can remember, and I often used to -whittle with it when he was at home. Here’s a scar on the palm of my -left hand now where I once cut myself with it.” - -“Yes, sir, that was your father’s knife,” the old sailor answered. “He -handed it to me that last night to cut the boat’s lashings with. But -he couldn’t wait to get it back, and I put it in my pocket. The knife -belongs to you, my boy--Mr. Silburn, I mean. You must take it, sir.” - -“Thank you,” Kit murmured, very willing to accept the gift. “I am glad -to have even that much from the wreck of the _Flower City_, though -I hope for more. And I want to take down your address, so that I can -find you in the future if necessary. Where will a letter reach you?” - -“I don’t exactly know, sir,” the sailor replied, “for I haven’t -had such a thing for many a day. I think if you was to direct it -to Blinkey, an’ send it to the ‘Star an’ Garter’ public house in -Gravesend, though, sir, they’d know who it was for an’ git it to me.” - -While the old man was bowing and scraping himself out, Kit slipped -into his hand all the change he had left from the pound the Captain had -given him, and then hurried through his supper. He had devoted that -evening to a long letter home, giving an account of the voyage and what -he had seen in London. But now he had even a longer letter to write, -and on a very different subject. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -KIT INSPECTS LONDON. - - -The unloading of a steamer in England, the young supercargo soon found, -is not the rapid process that it is in America, though much cheaper. -The workmen receive smaller pay and move more slowly, the machinery is -not so modern, none of the facilities as good. - -“This is about halfway between New York and the West Indies,” Kit was -forced to conclude, “in the way they do work. It must be true, as I -have often heard, that ‘New York is the quickest unloading port in the -world, and the most expensive.’” - -He tried at first to hurry the men up and so save money for his -employers; but it was uphill work for one young American to change -the customs of centuries, and he had to let things take their course. -Even the agents, he noticed, were in no hurry. When the sugar was -all unloaded, there was no new cargo ready to take its place, and -the four or five days that might have sufficed to make the _North -Cape_ ready for sea again, expanded into several weeks. So in spite -of himself Kit had a good deal of idle time while the ship lay at -Gravesend--idle, that is, as far as his work was concerned; there were -too many new things to be seen all around him, too many facts about -London to be learned from the Captain’s books, for much of his time to -be really unemployed. Frequently he had to go to the agents’ office in -Fenchurch Street, and on those occasions whenever he had an hour or -two to spare he took a “’bus” to some other part of the city, taking -care to remain in the same one till it reached its destination and then -return in it, for fear of losing himself. - -One morning when there was no cargo to load and no prospect of any -arriving, Captain Griffith suggested that they should go up together -and have a look at the city. - -“I speak of ‘the city’ in the same way as I should speak of it at -home,” he added, “meaning the whole town. I suppose you have learned -that in London the part they call ‘the city’ is a very small section -where most of the financial business is done; so when a Londoner says -he is going into the city, he means into that small and crowded part of -the town. But I mean it in the larger sense, including the whole place, -or as much of it as we have time to see.” - -“Why, that will be fine, sir,” Kit replied. “I have an appointment for -this morning with young Mr. Watkins, one of our agents’ clerks. He is -going to show me something of London, and we will both enjoy it if you -will go along.” - -“Well, if you youngsters won’t think an old man in the road,” the -Captain laughed, “I will go with you. I once knew London pretty well; -but it is fifteen or eighteen years since I have seen much of it, and -perhaps I will need a guide as much as you do.” - -On the way up in the train (it is always “up” when you go to London; no -matter if you start from the top of the highest mountain in Scotland, -you speak of going “up to London”) Kit told the Captain about the old -sailor from the _Flower City_, and showed his father’s knife. - -“Do not set your hopes too high,” the Captain said after he had heard -the story; “but I should look upon that as a very encouraging piece of -news. It shows that their boats were sound and that the crew were still -afloat after the schooner went down. As one man was saved, another may -have been. There is still great doubt, of course; but I should continue -to hope.” - -When they reached the Fenchurch Street office, they found Mr. Watkins -waiting for Kit, still arrayed in a long black coat and high silk -hat, but much newer and brighter ones than he wore while at work, and -looking so stiff and starched that Kit had to laugh to himself to think -what a figure he would cut in any American city at that hour of the -morning. - -“Now where shall we go first?” the clerk asked, when they reached the -street. - -“I don’t want to interfere with any plans you may have made,” Captain -Griffith answered, “but if you have not settled upon any place, I -suggest that we go first to see the Temple. That I consider one of the -greatest curiosities of London--like a quiet country village set down -in the very heart of the largest city in the world.” - -“Is it a church, sir?” Kit asked. - -“No, indeed!” the Captain laughed; “quite the opposite; it is one of -the headquarters of the London lawyers, though there is a fine old -church in the grounds. But it is so different from anything we have -in America that I can hardly explain it to you. You will soon see for -yourself, if we go there.” - -“We can easily walk as far as the Temple,” Mr. Watkins said, “and you -can always see more in walking than in riding. This way, right up -Fenchurch Street. The way we give the same street different names in -London is puzzling to strangers, but you soon grow used to it. Now this -is one of the chief thoroughfares running east and west; and when you -learn the principal ones, you can easily find your way about. I believe -in your country each street bears the same name through its entire -length, but it is not so here. For instance, this is Fenchurch Street. -We keep right along in this street for miles, if we choose, but it has -a great many different names. In a short distance the name changes -to Lombard Street, then Cheapside, then Newgate Street, then Holborn -Viaduct, then New Oxford Street, then Oxford Street, then away out in -the West End it becomes Bayswater Road, though it is really the same -street all the way through. But we do not go as far as that. We will -have a look at the Bank of England as we pass King William Street, then -when we get to the end of Cheapside we will see the Post Office and -St. Paul’s Cathedral, and cut through St. Paul’s Churchyard to Ludgate -Hill, which will take us to Fleet Street, and there is the Temple.” - -“I believe I have heard of every one of those places before,” Kit -exclaimed, as they made their way along the crowded street; “and I am -glad we are going through St. Paul’s Churchyard. I have heard so much -about the old London graveyards, and that must be one of the best of -them.” - -Why did the Captain and Mr. Watkins look at each other and smile when -he said this, Kit wondered. - -“You will find that nearly every London name is familiar,” said the -Captain, “if you have heard or read much about the place. But I am -afraid you will be disappointed in St. Paul’s Churchyard, for it is not -a burying-ground. It is only the name of a street; all the graves were -emptied long ago and the ground sold for business purposes.” - -“Why, there are no windows in the Bank of England!” Kit cried, when -they reached that great, low, square building occupying a whole block. - -“Plenty of them,” Mr. Watkins answered, “but not on the outside. These -outer walls that you see are not really part of the building. The real -building is inside these walls, and separate. It has to be very strong -and well guarded, you see, because so much money is kept there.” - -“And that crowd in front of the big doors!” Kit went on. “Why, it looks -as if the bank had failed, and the depositors were trying to get their -money.” - -“Ah, that crowd ought to remind you of home,” said Mr. Watkins, -laughing. “We often see such a crowd in front of the bank. The people -are generally American tourists, ‘Cook’s personally Conducted,’ we call -them, and they are visiting the banks among the other sights. They are -led about from one place to another like flocks of sheep.” - -“You are seeing something of the world without being a ‘personally -conducted tourist,’ Silburn,” the Captain said. “We sailors have some -advantages, after all.” - -“I don’t think I should like to be led about like a sheep,” Kit -laughed, “though I suppose it is cheaper and saves a lot of time. You -must see a great many Americans in London, Mr. Watkins; though of -course you do not always know them when you see them.” - -“Oh, don’t we!” the clerk exclaimed. “They say there are always about -forty thousand Americans here, and we can tell one the minute we lay -eyes on him. They dress a little differently, you know; and then when -they speak they have such a different accent. I hope you’ll not mind my -saying so.” - -“Not a bit of it!” the Captain answered; “give it to us. Turn about is -only fair play, and we always poke a little fun at the Englishmen in -America; when we see a stranger arrive with three or four big leather -satchels, a leather hat-box, a tin bath-tub, and two or three steamer -rugs, we know he is an Englishman before we hear him speak. We have a -great many of them, too, and generally disappointed because they can’t -shoot Indians in Broadway, or go buffalo hunting on Boston Common. You -English, somehow, are never happy unless you are shooting something. -But if I am not mistaken that group of large buildings is the Post -Office.” - -“Yes, sir, that is the Post Office,” Mr. Watkins answered. “And I think -you will have to admit that it is the best-managed Post Office you ever -saw.” - -“Yes, I admit that cheerfully,” said the Captain. “It is the very best -in the world. I can send a letter from Gravesend in the morning to the -further end of London, and have an answer the same afternoon. I could -not do that in any city in America.” - -“What, better than the New York Post Office, sir!” Kit exclaimed, in -surprise. - -“Much better managed,” the Captain replied; “very much better. And -the police force here is much better than in any American city. Here, -wait on this corner a minute, and see the ‘bobby,’ as they call him, -manage the great crush of vehicles and people. There, see that! He -just raises a finger, and every vehicle stops to let the people who -have been waiting get across. And now that they have crossed he gives -the slightest wave of the hand, and the vehicles start again. We have -nothing like that at home. But wait a minute longer. There! You see -by raising a finger again he stops the whole line of vehicles going -north and south, to let those pass that are going east or west; and -by another slight motion he stops the east and west ones, and opens -the north and south street. Oh, it is beautifully done. Without such -control there would be an endless block in the streets. By the way, -Silburn, I want you to watch this great ‘traffic,’ as they call it, in -the streets, and tell me to-night what you think are the peculiarities -of it; and at the same time keep an eye on the public buildings, and -tell me what you think of them.” - -“Very well, sir,” Kit answered. “But I can tell you now what I think -of St. Paul’s. Oh, what a tremendous pile of stone! Why, I never saw -anything like it! What a handsome cathedral it would be if they would -scrub it! But it looks as dirty as if there had been a shower of ink.” - -The others laughed at this odd description, but had to admit that -it was quite accurate--for St. Paul’s looks as if it needed a good -scouring. Contenting themselves for the time with admiring the outside -of the great building, they went on as far as Ludgate Circus, and -turned southward into New Bridge Street instead of going on into Fleet -Street. - -“They have a circus here sometimes in this open space, I suppose?” Kit -asked as they were crossing Ludgate Circus. - -“Oh, no,” Mr. Watkins replied. “There are a number of these ‘circuses’ -in London--Regent’s Circus, Finsbury Circus, and so on. That does not -mean that there is ever a circus in them. It is simply the old Roman -way of designating a circle.” - -A short distance down New Bridge Street, which leads to Blackfriars -Bridge, they turned to the right into Tudor Street, and in a few -minutes went through one of the big gateways into the grounds of the -Temple. It was indeed, as the Captain had said, like going into a -country village, in the green grass, the noble trees, the delicious -quiet, though separated only by a wall from the busiest part of the -world’s busiest city. - -“This is historical ground we are on,” Mr. Watkins said as they walked -in. “Though given up to the lawyers now, this was originally the -quarters of the Knights Templars of Jerusalem--the order established -for the defence of the Holy Sepulchre, you know. That was nearly nine -hundred years ago, and of course there were not as many buildings here -in those days. Then it was taken from them and fell into the hands -of the Knights of St. John, and later on it became the property of -the lawyers of the higher courts, who still hold it. They have their -offices in these buildings, and many of them live here with their -families. Some of the buildings are nearly a thousand years old, and -some are quite modern. A beautiful place to live, isn’t it, almost in a -park, but with the city just outside the gate?” - -“Why, there must be fifteen or twenty of these big buildings!” Kit -exclaimed; “and are they all full of lawyers?” - -“All full of lawyers,” the clerk answered, smiling. “And there goes -one of the lawyers. He is on his way to court, as you can tell by his -wearing his wig. You know the barristers always wear a big wig in -court. Do you see that little shop over there by the arches? That is -the shop of a wig-maker who does business here and makes most of the -wigs. He has to pay well for the privilege of doing business here, too.” - -“But wigs!” Kit asked. “What do they wear wigs for? They’re not all -bald, are they?” - -“Oh, no!” Watkins laughed. “They wear them because that has been the -custom for hundreds of years--wigs and long black gowns, whenever they -appear in court. We never change old custom here, you know. If our -great-grandfathers did a thing, we think that sufficient reason for -our doing it too. But turn up this way; I want to show you the Temple -Church. I think it will interest you, for it is the Church the old -Templars used to worship in; it was built in 1185.” - -They went through the big Gothic doorway of the Temple Church, where a -guide took them in hand and pointed out all the curiosities. Under the -dome at the front was a large open space, where there lay stretched -full length on the floor a dozen or more life-size figures of men clad -in armor, and all black like tarnished bronze. - -“Some have their legs crossed, you will notice,” the guide explained, -“and others lie out straight. Those with crossed legs were the Knights -of the Cross, the others their squires and followers. The legs are -crossed so as to make the sign of the cross, you know. You would hardly -believe that the figures are made of white marble, would you? Yes, sir, -all white marble; they are so old that they have turned black.” - -In the other part of the church, nearer the pulpit, he showed them the -handsomely carved pews that the lawyers sit in, and explained that -after attending service on Sunday mornings the occupants go into the -great hall to dine together in state. “It is always a fine banquet,” he -added, “so they are pretty regular in their attendance at church. Do -you see that little tower on the side, with just a slit for a window? -That was once the Temple prison where unruly knights were confined; -sometimes they were left there to starve.” - -After inspecting the church they turned to the right into a narrow -court between the church and some other large buildings, where a number -of tombstones marked the graves of eminent persons. Most of the stones -were carved with armorial bearings, showing that the persons beneath -had been lords or dukes or other noblemen; but one tomb without any -such pompous tracing attracted Kit’s attention. - -“Why, look here!” he cried. “This says, ‘Here lies Oliver Goldsmith!’ -One of the best books I ever read (it was called the ‘Vicar of -Wakefield’) was by a man named Oliver Goldsmith. I don’t suppose it -can be the same one, though.” - -“It is the very one,” the Captain told him. “There may have been a -thousand Oliver Goldsmiths in the world, but still there was only -one. See what a beautiful inscription it is. All the coronets and -coats-of-arms in the world could not make a tomb as interesting at -those simple words, ‘Here lies Oliver Goldsmith.’ A man could hardly -pass that tomb without stopping to look at it.” - -“Well!” Kit exclaimed, “I never thought I should see his grave.” - -“Oh, a great many celebrated men have been associated with these -Temples,” Mr. Watkins explained. “Dr. Johnson once lived here, you -know, and one of the newer buildings is called Dr. Johnson’s building.” - -“By the way,” the Captain interrupted, “that reminds me. It is time we -had something to eat, and I want you both to take lunch with me after -we go down and have a look at the gardens.” - -While they walked through the beautiful Temple gardens, with their -fountains, flower-beds, and gigantic trees, with the Thames flowing -in front and the great series of Temple buildings in the rear, Kit -wondered how speaking of Dr. Johnson reminded the Captain of eating -lunch. He could not at the time see any connection between them, but he -saw it a few minutes later. - -“Let us go out this way,” the Captain said, “into the Strand. I have -not been here for many years, but these old places do not change much. -I know of a very good restaurant not far from here.” - -In the Strand they turned to the right, and a few steps took them into -Fleet Street, where the Captain soon stopped and guided them into a -narrow alley bearing the sign, “Wine Office Court.” A few feet up the -court, on the right-hand side, they went through a doorway that looked -nearly as old as anything about the Temple, and so into a restaurant -with old-fashioned high-backed benches, stiff old chairs, heavy oak -tables, and a fireplace that looked as if it might have been used by -the Crusaders. - -“You take that seat at the end of the table, in the corner, Silburn,” -the Captain said, “and Mr. Watkins and I will take the sides. We don’t -have to consider here about what we will eat, because the great dish -is a chop and a baked potato, with some of the baked Cheshire cheese -to finish up on. You know the name of this place is ‘The Olde Cheshire -Cheese.’ I was reminded of it as soon as Mr. Watkins spoke of Dr. -Johnson.” - -“This is one of the famous old eating-houses of London, Silburn,” -the Captain continued. “I wanted to bring you here because I saw you -reading my ‘Boswell’s Life of Johnson’ the other day, so I thought it -would interest you.” - -“Oh, he must have been a great man, sir,” Kit answered. “I am very much -interested in that book.” - -“Well, look at that brass plate on the wall just over your head,” the -Captain laughed. - -Kit turned his head and read the words, cut in a small brass plate that -was screwed to the wall, “The seat of Dr. Samuel Johnson.” - -“Why, what does that mean, sir!” Kit exclaimed. “That can’t be the man -I have been reading about!” - -“It is the very man,” the Captain declared. “This restaurant is so old -that it was here in his day, and it was his favorite eating-place. And -that exact seat where you are sitting was his favorite place, where he -sat every day to eat his dinner while he talked with many of the famous -men you read of in the book. You see you are on the track of famous -people to-day.” - -“I feel as if I were a sort of character in a book,” Kit replied, -“instead of a real American eating chops and baked potatoes; -_such_ chops, too! this is a great country for chops, but I don’t -think much of their oysters. I tried some a few days ago, and they -tasted soapy, as if they had been raised in a wash-tub. Then when I -went into a drug store to look at a directory they charged me a penny -for the privilege. Think of paying two cents to look at a directory! -But those are small matters. It is an event in a fellow’s life to be -sitting where the great Dr. Johnson used to sit, and to see the grave -of such a man as Oliver Goldsmith. I can hardly realize it.” - -“Oh, we will associate with some more noted people before we stop,” the -Captain replied. “If you both feel like it, we will take a hansom down -to Westminster Abbey when we finish here, where you can see the tombs -of more celebrated Englishmen than you have ever heard of. It is a good -place for a young man to go, for he naturally begins to inquire about -the great people who are buried there, and to read about them.” - -When the lunch was concluded and they were about to go, Mr. Watkins -made a remark. It was something that he had been thinking about half -through the meal; for it was intended to be a joke, and an Englishman -approaches a joke as cautiously as a good driver nearing a railway -crossing. - -“I suppose there will be a new plate on the wall next time you come -here, Mr. Silburn,” he said. - -“Why so?” Kit asked. - -“Well,” said Watkins, “you see that plate says, ‘The seat of Dr. Samuel -Johnson.’ Now they will have another one under it, I have no doubt, -adding, ‘Also of Mr. Supercargo Silburn.’” - -“Oh, I’ve no doubt of it,” Kit replied. “I ought to laugh at the joke, -but I really cawn’t, don’t you know, after that big chop and potato.” -He tried to imitate the English manner of speaking; but if that was -another joke, it was all lost on Mr. Watkins. - -The three crowded into a hansom and were soon set down in front of -Westminster Abbey, and for the next hour Kit had eyes for nothing but -the long rows of tombs. The architecture might have surprised him -under other circumstances, but no architecture was as interesting to -him as the burial-place of so many famous people he had heard of. The -tomb of David Livingstone was one of the first that caught his eye. -Then he found Sir Isaac Newton’s, and those of Browning and Tennyson -side by side, and Shakespeare, Dr. Johnson, Lord Macaulay, a bust of -Longfellow, and scores, hundreds of others whose names he had at least -heard. - -“Shall we go in among the tombs of the kings?” Captain Griffith asked -at length. - -“Not on my account, sir,” Kit replied; “I don’t want to spoil the -effect of these great people by looking at a lot of mere kings.” - -“You mustn’t mind my young friend’s disparagement of your kings, Mr. -Watkins,” the Captain laughed; “he is a thorough young American, and -we don’t raise kings over there to any great extent. But it will suit -me not to spend any more time here. What do you say to having a look -at the town from the top of Primrose Hill, with just a glance into the -British Museum as we pass it?” - -Both “the boys,” as the Captain called them, were pleased with this -proposition, and he called another hansom to take them first to -the British Museum. There Mr. Watkins took pains to show them the -interesting parts, and Kit was particularly interested in the mummies -and their curious casings. What he wanted most to see, however, was the -great library, one of the largest in the world; and he was disappointed -when told that it was impossible to get into the reading-room without a -ticket, which could be had only with a deal of red tape. - -“I don’t believe they would let the Prince of Wales in without a -ticket,” the young clerk said, “so I am sure we have no chance.” - -There was no disappointment, however, about the view from the summit of -Primrose Hill. They drove around through Hampstead to reach the hill -from the rear, and when they stood on its very top the whole of London -seemed to lie at their feet. - -“Ah, it is a grand sight!” Mr. Watkins exclaimed. “We Londoners never -tire of looking at it, though it is an old story with us. You see what -a deep valley the city lies in, with the Thames running through the -middle of it. The hills on the other side of the valley are in Surrey -and Kent, two of our English counties. And do you see that blazing fire -near the top of the Surrey Hills? It looks like fire, but that is the -Crystal Palace with the sun shining upon it.” - -“Yes, it is a grand sight,” the Captain said. “And you must not forget, -Silburn, that you are looking at this moment at the homes of more -people than you can see from any other spot on earth. Here are six -millions of people living between us and those opposite hills--more -people than there are in the kingdom of Belgium, and nearly as many as -there are in the whole of Canada. You never saw such a view as this -before.” - -“No, sir, I never did,” Kit admitted; “it is a great sight; but I can’t -help wondering why they built such a big city down in such a hollow. -No wonder they have such thick fogs here. I suppose you’ll laugh at -me for it, but I think our hills out in Fairfield County are much -handsomer. I should rather live in Huntington than in London.” - -“Well, I like to hear you tell the truth about it,” the Captain -laughed. “Some Americans who come over here think they must praise -everything because it is the fashion to do so. These Europeans like to -boast of their own countries, but they seem to immigrate to America -pretty fast. Eh, how is that, Mr. Watkins?” - -“Yes, sir, they do,” the young clerk answered. “And I am one of them. -If I had half a chance, I should go to America myself.” - -The setting sun gave warning to the sight-seers that it was time -to bring their excursion to an end. Both Kit and the Captain urged -Watkins to return to Gravesend and eat supper with them on the _North -Cape_; but he still had work to do in the office, and the party -separated in Trafalgar Square, Captain Griffith and Kit taking a ’bus -to the Fenchurch Street station, whence a train soon carried them to -Tilbury, opposite Gravesend. - -“Now, Silburn,” the Captain said that evening while they sat in the -cabin, “I want you to answer those questions I asked you to-day. What -have you to say about the traffic in the London streets?” - -“They are the most crowded streets I ever saw, sir,” Kit answered; “but -it does not seem to me that there is any more business done in them -than in a great many other streets I have seen. I looked out for big -trucks, express wagons, baggage vans, and such things, but did not see -a great many. The crowding seemed to me to be done by the great number -of ’buses and hansoms. If the ’buses were taken away, there would be no -great crowd in the London streets. So if they had the same modern means -of transit that we have in our American cities, fast cable and electric -cars and such things, there would be plenty of room.” - -“And the public buildings?” the Captain asked. - -“Some of them must have been very fine when they were new, sir,” Kit -replied; “but they are so dark with smoke and dirt and age that they -make a fellow feel gloomy. I should think the Londoners would have the -blues most all the time, with their dark buildings and those terrible -fogs. It is a great place, of course; but somehow it doesn’t seem to me -exactly like a city. It seems more like a lot of big villages that have -grown together.” - -“Ah, they’re not going to make an Englishman of you, that’s certain!” -the Captain laughed. “But you are right in both the opinions you have -given. It is the lack of quick transit that crowds the streets; and -modern London is not exactly a city, but a collection of large towns -that have grown together. You will be quite an expert in cities some -day, if you study their points so carefully.” - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -A LETTER FROM THE STATE DEPARTMENT. - - -“I think it’s a mean way to treat a fellow, Kit,” Harry Leonard -complained when they were alone together. “Oh, you needn’t think I’m -going to be calling you Mr. Silburn when nobody else can hear. I want -a chance to see something of London, and you know very well it’s only -fair I should have. I haven’t been allowed ashore since we came into -the Thames. You always used to go ashore when you were cabin boy, for -you’ve told me so.” - -“That was a little different,” Kit exclaimed. “I was doing a -supercargo’s work when I was cabin boy, and I had to go ashore on -business. But I think the Captain will let you go up to town if you ask -him. I know he likes you, from the way he speaks of you. You’re a very -different boy, Harry, if you don’t mind my saying so, from what you -were when you came on board. We all have to learn, I suppose, that we -don’t get things for favors, but by working for them, and you are doing -your work well.” - -“Thawnk you very much, Mr. Supercargo!” Harry retorted, taking off his -cap in mock humility. “I like to be appreciated by my superiors.” - -“Well, it’s a fact,” Kit laughed. “I’ll tell you what I’ll do. All this -stuff on the wharf will be aboard by two or three o’clock, and if you -like I will ask the Captain to let you go up to London with me after -that. You know it is daylight here till eight or nine o’clock in the -evening.” - -“Hooray for you!” Harry shouted. “If you ask, it’s a sure thing, for -you get whatever you want. I wish I had such a pull with the Captain as -you have.” - -“I have no ‘pull’ at all--” Kit started to say; but he was interrupted -by footsteps on the companionway, and a moment later Captain Griffith -entered the cabin with a handful of letters. - -“There seems to be something for most everybody in this lot,” he said, -laying the letters upon the big table and looking them over. “Captain -Griffith, Captain Griffith, Mr. Mason, Mr. Christopher Silburn, Mr. -Hanway, Mr. Christopher Silburn--here are two for you, Silburn, so your -folks have not forgotten you.” - -Kit saw at a glance that one of the letters was from his mother and the -other from Vieve; and the one from his mother was so large and thick -that it rather alarmed him. He went to the corner of the long sofa and -hurriedly opened it, and found two enclosures, besides a page or two in -his mother’s handwriting. - -“We are so flustered by these letters that we don’t know what to do,” -Mrs. Silburn wrote. “But your sister and I both think that the best -thing will be to send them right over to you, so that you will be sure -to get them before you leave London. We have kept copies, in case they -should be lost. Oh, Kit, do you think there is any chance that this man -may be your dear father? I am afraid it is only exciting our hopes in -vain, but we ought to do something about it, though we don’t know what. -How could we ever get along without a great, big _man_ like our -Kit to advise us?” - -After reading this mysterious introduction Kit turned hurriedly to -the enclosures. The first was on a sheet headed “Bryant & Williams, -Bridgeport, Conn.,” whom he immediately recognized as the owners of his -father’s schooner, the _Flower City_. - - MRS. CHRISTOPHER SILBURN, Huntington, Conn. [the letter began]: - - Please find enclosed a copy of a letter we have just received from - the State Department at Washington, which explains itself. We have - sent similar copies to the families of all the members of the crew - of the schooner _Flower City_, as far as they are known. While - we have slight hopes that the person referred to in the letter - may have been a member of that unfortunate crew, we deem it only - right to lay the information before you, that you may take whatever - measures seem to you proper. - Very respectfully yours, - BRYANT & WILLIAMS. - -Kit was beginning by this time to chafe over the delay in getting at -the mysterious information. But the other enclosure must give it, and -he quickly unfolded the sheet. - - STATE DEPARTMENT, Washington, D. C. [it began]. - OFFICE OF THE FOURTH ASSISTANT SECRETARY. - Folio G x R. No. 2814 F. - - MESSRS. BRYANT & WILLIAMS, Bridgeport, Conn. - - _Dear Sirs_: The department is informed by the Consulate at - Wellington, New Zealand, that a patient who has been in the public - hospital there for some months is supposed to be a shipwrecked - American sailor. This man was landed in Wellington from the - British ship, _Prince Albert_, having been picked up by that - ship on the 27th of June last on a small unnamed island in the - Pacific Ocean, where his three companions had died of hardship and - starvation, and where he was reduced to such a mental and physical - condition that he was unable to move or give any account of himself. - - Since his reception in the hospital he has been restored to - physical health, but he is still unable to give his name or place - of residence, though from certain tests that have been applied it - is believed that he is a native-born American citizen. He is of - medium height with gray hair and beard, and looks sixty years old, - though he is probably much younger. - - The Life Saving Service has supplied this department with a list of - all the American vessels that have been lost within the last two - years; and a copy of this letter is sent to the owners of each of - such lost vessels, as far as they can be traced, to enable them to - communicate with the families of the lost crews. - - Requests for information on the subject should be addressed to the - Chairman of the Board of Governors, Public Hospital, Wellington, - New Zealand; or to the American Consulate at that port. - Yours, etc., - H. R. BATTAWAY, - _Chief Clerk to Fourth Assistant Secretary_. - -On opening the letter from Vieve he found that it was full of questions -and surmises about the mysterious man in New Zealand, so he put that -in his pocket to be read later on. The State Department letter was -too important to let anything interfere with it. He read it again and -again, and tried to estimate what the chances were that this man might -be his missing father. Suppose there were twenty lost vessels, each -with a crew of twenty men? That would give only one chance in four -hundred. But one chance in forty thousand, he thought, would be a great -thing. Sixty years old? His father was not nearly as old as that; and -there was not a gray hair in his head. But who could say what suffering -he might have gone through, or what changes it might have made in his -appearance? - -It was hard work to put those letters into his pocket and go on quietly -checking his lists as the cargo came aboard; but it was necessary, and -Kit did it. The engagement he had just made with Harry Leonard must be -postponed, for he must have time to think, and then time to write some -letters. But what was he to write? - -All through the morning and until the last case of cargo on the wharf -was put in the hold and duly checked off, the young supercargo stuck -manfully to his work. Harry Leonard was disappointed when told that his -trip to London would have to be put off, but when Kit explained the -reason Harry was more than willing to wait. - -“Why, they’d give him a big reception in Huntington,” he exclaimed, “if -your father should come home alive.” - -With all his thinking Kit could not decide upon a better course than to -show the letters to Captain Griffith and ask his advice. “He knows more -in five minutes than I know in a week,” he said to himself, “and his -advice is sure to be good. It’s a valuable thing to have good friends -to go to when you need advice.” - -Captain Griffith, as he expected, was very much interested when he -heard the contents of Kit’s letter. First he listened while Kit read -the letter from the State Department, and then took it and read it -carefully over himself. Then he got out a map to look at the position -of Wellington, New Zealand. - -For some minutes he leaned back in his revolving-chair, looking hard at -the ceiling, deep in thought. - -“It’s a strange case, Silburn,” he said at length. “I’ve been trying to -figure out what happened to your father when his schooner went down. -They took to the boats, and in the heavy sea your father’s boat went to -pieces. He kept afloat on some piece of wreckage, and in the morning -he was seen and picked up by a passing ship. She was an American ship, -I should say, bound ’round the Horn for San Francisco or the northwest -coast. But when they got into the Pacific that second ship was wrecked, -and your father and three others made their way to a little island, -where he was afterwards picked up by the British vessel and carried to -New Zealand. Yes, it is all plain enough.” - -“Why, Captain!” Kit cried; “do you really think so, sir?” - -“I don’t say that I think so, or that I don’t think so,” the Captain -answered. “I wanted to see whether there was any reasonable theory -by which I could account for your father’s being found on a desolate -little island in the Pacific. I see that there is; it might easily have -happened just as I have described it. So we begin by knowing that it -is possible that this man may be your father. And having reached that -point we came to a sudden stop through somebody’s remarkable stupidity. -Do you see how badly this inquiry has been managed?” - -“Yes, sir,” Kit answered, “I think I do. They ought to have sent a -photograph of the man and a full description.” - -“Of course they ought!” the Captain declared, thumping his fist down on -the desk. “The fullest description possible--his height, weight, color -of his eyes, condition of his teeth, marks on his body, every possible -particular. I suppose we must be satisfied that the State Department -has taken the trouble to give even this much information about the -case; but it would have been easy to give a little more. However, this -oversight does not put an end to the business; it only entails a great -waste of time. Now you have been thinking about this thing all day; -what has it occurred to you ought to be done?” - -“Well, sir,” Kit answered, “it seemed to me that the best way would be -to write to the American consul at Wellington, and ask him to send a -description of the man. If it is my father, he is nothing like sixty -years old, but what he has gone through may make him look much older -than he really is.” - -“That’s it,” the Captain agreed. “That is exactly the proper thing for -you to do. And write from here, at once; but have the answer sent to -your home in America, for there is no telling where you may be. Now -tell me something about your father. How tall a man was he?” - -“He was just five feet ten and a half inches, sir,” Kit replied. “I -remember that very well, because he used to measure me when I was -little and say, ‘I wonder whether you will ever be as tall as your -father, youngster?’ It hardly looked likely then, but I am within about -an inch of that now, and still growing.” - -“Very well; put that down on this slip of paper; height, five feet ten -and a half inches. Was he stout, or slender?” - -“Just about medium, sir,” Kit went on; “I think he weighed about one -hundred and sixty pounds. And he was dark in the hands and face, from -the sun, and had dark brown eyes and hair to match, the hair just a -little bit curly, like mine.” - -“Put it all down,” the Captain said. “Were his teeth good or bad?” - -“Oh, he had beautiful teeth, sir,” Kit declared. “He never had to go -to the dentist’s, and they were as white and regular--well, I used to -tell him they were almost as handsome as a set of false ones.” - -“Put it down,” the Captain repeated. “And do you know whether there -were any marks on his body that he could be identified by?” - -“The only mark I know of was a long scar on his left temple, sir,” Kit -answered, “running down like this;” and he drew a finger across his own -temple to show the direction. “He got that when he had such a narrow -escape from being killed. A block fell from aloft and came just near -enough to make a gash in his skin. A quarter of an inch more would have -killed him on the spot, of course; but he only laughed at it when he -told us about it.” - -“Ah, that is a good point; put it down. A man may lose his teeth, or -grow fat or thin, or his hair turn gray, but he never can get rid of a -scar. That cut on the temple will go further than anything else to tell -us whether this is your father or not. Now when you write to the consul -tell him all these things that you have told me, and as much more as -you can think of. And there is another thing. To make such an inquiry -as this, and get your father home, if it proves to be your father, will -cost some money. You are willing to spend whatever you can afford, I -suppose?” - -“Why, Captain,” Kit exclaimed, “what would I care for money in exchange -for my father! I would sell the last shirt off my back just to hear -that he is alive. And we could raise a little money in Huntington, if -it came to the worst. I know mother would spend her last cent to find -him. But I think I can manage it myself, if it does not cost too much.” - -“Well, Silburn,” the Captain said, laying his hand on Kit’s shoulder, -“you have a good name, and that is always something to fall back on. I -have a little money that I have saved year after year, and if you need -more than you think, I will lend you a few hundred, and you can pay me -interest on it and pay it off gradually. I should consider it quite as -safe in your hands as if it remained in the bank.” - -“Thank you, Captain,” Kit answered. “I am more grateful to you than I -can tell you. But it will be months before we can hear from the consul, -and by that time I shall have a little more money of my own. I want to -send him a little money in the letter and ask him to have a photograph -taken of the man in the hospital. If it is my father, I think we should -recognize him, no matter how much he is changed.” - -“That is a capital idea,” the Captain assented; “and by writing from -here your letter will get to New Zealand much sooner than if you sent -it from America.” - -That evening Kit had his hands full with letter-writing. There was one -to be written to his mother, and one to Vieve, and a note to Bryant & -Williams, thanking them for their letter, and last of all, a long one -to the consul at Wellington, in which he gave the fullest possible -description of his father. - -“The mention of some familiar names,” he wrote, “might cause him to -remember things that he has forgotten, if, as I hope, it proves to be -my father. He lives in Huntington, Connecticut, opposite the church, -and my mother’s name is Emily Silburn. His two children are Genevieve -and Christopher Silburn; he always called us Vieve and Kit. Our dog’s -name is Turk. The _Flower City_ was the schooner he was wrecked -on. The scar I have mentioned looks whiter than the rest of his face. -If he seems to recognize any of these names, that will be pretty good -evidence that he is Christopher Silburn.” - -“Ah, my!” Kit said to himself, rubbing his eyes after finishing the -long letter, “this not knowing whether you have a father or not is bad -business. But just suppose we should see him sitting again in his old -chair in Huntington! I mustn’t think of that, though, for it may be -only preparing for a disappointment.” - -Captain Griffith approved of the letter to the consul when he read it; -and when Kit asked permission for Harry Leonard to go up to London with -him next day, it was given immediately. - -“I don’t like to have my boys going into these big towns alone, -getting into mischief,” he said; “but if Harry goes with you, that -is a different matter. You know you are not a boy any more, but a -supercargo; and you must keep Harry straight. By the way, Silburn, -stand out there in the light a minute till I look at you. There; that -is just the way I stood you out the night I rescued you from the -policeman in Brooklyn. Do you know it occurred to me while you were -describing your father this afternoon that you were giving almost an -exact description of yourself? You must be very much like him.” - -“I am glad to hear it, sir,” Kit laughed, “for he was always called a -fine-looking man.” - -When the Captain’s two “boys” took the ferryboat over to Tilbury in the -morning, Harry was like a young colt in a spring pasture. No wonder, -either, for he had not set foot off the _North Cape’s_ deck before -since she left New York. He was full of fun now that he was away from -the restraint of the ship, and, like Kit, he was not disposed to admire -everything simply because it was in a foreign country; on the contrary, -most things he saw he regarded as fair game for ridicule. - -“And they call these things cars, do they?” he asked, when they were -seated alone in one of the compartments of the train. “Well, they look -to me very much like our coal cars in America, with roofs put on them. -I suppose they have such little windows because larger ones would be -of no use; you never can see more than fifty yards in this country, -on account of the fog. Did you ever see such a foggy hole? I know now -why the sun never sets on the Queen’s dominions: it’s because it never -rises, ‘don-cher-know?’ What do they want with an old Queen here, -anyhow? I guess if a President’s good enough for us, it’s good enough -for them.” - -“I always thought you were an Irishman, Harry,” Kit laughed; “now I’m -sure of it, from the way you find fault with the English. Wait till you -see London; you may change your mind then.” - -“Oh, London!” Harry sneered. “You’d think the sun rose out of the -Thames and set in Buckingham Palace, to hear these Britishers talk. -I’ll bet it’s not as fine a city as Bridgeport. Look at the big -factories they have there, and the new court-house, and the--” - -“We may as well get out here,” Kit interrupted, “as this is Fenchurch -Street station and the end of the line. I don’t believe they’ll carry -us any further.” He found it very entertaining and novel to act as -a guide to London, particularly with a companion who looked upon -everything from such original standpoints as Harry, and who was so -determined to see nothing equal to America in the British capital. - -Harry was so much interested in Kit’s accounts of the mummies and other -curiosities in the British Museum, that they took a hansom and drove to -the Museum first. - -“This sort of thing will do occasionally in London,” Kit said, “where a -cab costs a shilling. But we’ll have to come down to street cars again, -or walking, when we get back to America.” - -“Where are the high buildings, Kit?” Harry asked, after they had gone -a few blocks. “These are all small affairs, so far. Can’t we have him -drive past some of the tall buildings?” - -“I’m afraid we should have hard work to find any,” Kit answered. “I -have seen no buildings here more than six or eight stories high.” - -“Six or eight stories!” Harry cried; “and they call this a great city! -Why, there are some buildings in New York twenty-six stories high, and -lots of them from twenty to twenty-five stories. Yes, it’s just as I -expected: they brag so much about London, but I don’t believe it’s -‘in it’ at all beside America. They can’t fool me with their mummies, -either, for I saw some in a museum in New York when I was there. I know -a thing or two about dried Egyptians.” - -As he was prepared to find fault with the mummies, it was not hard to -be disappointed in them. “They’re a very ordinary lot,” he declared -when he saw them. “Those in New York were all kings and emperors and -such things, but these are just common people. They don’t look as -life-like, either. Why, those fellows in New York seemed just ready to -sit up and eat their dinner.” - -Some mention being made of Buckingham Palace, Harry immediately -became anxious to see it. “Not that I suppose it amounts to much,” he -explained, “but we may as well see what sort of tenement houses they -lodge their royal family in. Royal family, indeed! Why, in our country -we’d elect a new queen every year or two if we had to have one at all.” - -“Very well,” Kit assented; “I should rather like to see Buckingham -Palace, too, and we can have a look at the Thames Embankment at the -same time. We can walk over to Gower Street station and take the -underground road to St. James Park station, and that is near the -Palace. We both want to see the great underground railway, of course.” - -Feeling surer of making his way in the main streets, Kit led Harry to -Tottenham Court Road, and turned up Euston Road to the Gower Street -station. In Euston Road they found a great many openings in the -street and in the yards on each side, through which poured clouds of -sulphurous smoke. - -“Bah!” Harry cried, as one of the dirty clouds enveloped and half -choked them; “there must be a sulphur mine underneath here, and it’s -caught fire. Or do you suppose it’s a match factory?” - -“I suppose these must be airholes for the underground road,” Kit -replied; “for it runs under this street. But I don’t see how the people -can stand such rank smoke, that’s a fact. And it’s cheerful to think -that that’s the air we will have to breathe in the underground train.” - -They bought their tickets for St. James Park station and went down -two long and dirty stairways into the bowels of the earth, where they -found a long cave arched with smoky bricks, dimly lighted with a -half-dozen gas-jets, with a very dirty platform on each side and two -tracks between them. Twenty or thirty other persons were waiting for -the train, all breathing the thick smoky atmosphere, that coated their -throats and made them cough. - -In two or three minutes a faint rumbling began in one of the dark -tunnels leading out of each end of the cave; and the rumbling grew -louder and louder till it became a roar, and the train drew up. There -was a great banging of doors, people got out and others got in, Kit and -Harry scrambled into an empty compartment, and in a few seconds the -lights of the platform faded away and they were in darkness save for a -very dim gas-jet in the roof of the car. - -“Now this is real luxury!” Harry laughed. “Everything you touch is -black as a chimney, and the air you breathe is thick enough to cut. -These tunnels would make good sewers, Kit. But do you think our folks -would believe the Londoners really ride through such holes in the -ground? Ain’t it simply frightful?” - -“I shall have to agree with you this time,” Kit answered. “I had no -idea the underground roads were as bad as this. It would be a terrible -place for an accident, wouldn’t it, in these dark caves?” - -They went on and on past station after station, and after half an hour -of jolting and half suffocating Kit began to suspect that he must have -made some mistake, for it was less than a mile from Gower Street to St. -James Park. He took out his map and examined it as well as he could -under the feeble light. - -“See here, I’ll tell you what we’ve done,” he explained, “we’ve taken -an outer circle train. You know this underground road runs in a small -inner circle and a big outer circle. And we’re in the wrong train, -that is carrying us away round the city. But no matter, it will bring -us to St. James after a while. That’s rather a good joke on us, Harry, -for a hansom would have taken us across in half the time and for half -the money.” - -“Oh, well,” Harry answered, “no matter. It’s just as well to get a good -dose of the underground this time, for I never want to see the thing -again. One dose is enough, well shaken and taken.” - -It took them fifty minutes to reach the St. James Park station; and -after they had climbed the long stairs to the surface they stood awhile -on the edge of the park to get some fresh air into their lungs. - -“It’s just as I expected,” Harry declared, “only a good deal worse. -They don’t half know how to do things over here. And that’s Buckingham -Palace, is it, where the Queen lives? Why, it’s only two stories high, -and a basement! Now, Kit, you know as well as I do that this palace -ain’t a patch to Mr. Barnum’s house out in Seaside Park, in Bridgeport. -No, sir, it doesn’t compare with it.” - -“Oh, Harry, you can’t please a fellow who’s determined not to be -pleased,” Kit laughed. “When you come to London, you must make up your -mind that things are better than anywhere else, and tell the people -so. Then they’ll pat you on the back and say the Americans are their -cousins.” - -“How could I tell them?” Harry asked; “they don’t understand me when -I speak to them, and I never half know what they say. I should think -they might know how to speak their own language.” - -By the time night came they had seen the new Thames Embankment, and -Madame Tussaud’s waxworks show, Trafalgar Square, and Pall Mall, St. -Paul’s Cathedral, and several of the curious old churches, and had -walked through the Strand and Fleet Street, and many more of the busy -parts of the city. And within forty-eight hours the Scilly signals were -set in motion again, and over the wires flashed the brief announcement, -“Passed, steamer _North Cape_, for New York.” - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -A VOYAGE TO MARSEILLES. - - -Between being a cabin boy with no responsibility beyond setting the -table straight and keeping the cabin clean, and being a supercargo with -a large and valuable cargo to look after, there is a wide step, as -Kit realized when the _North Cape_ lay once more at the wharf in -front of Martin’s Stores. Harry Leonard set off gayly for home before -the ship was fairly moored in her berth; but for his own part, with -nominally far more liberty, he could not think of going further away -than his employers’ office till all the cargo was out; and he could not -tell whether even then he should be able to take a long enough holiday -for a run out to Huntington. - -“You see these things work both ways, Harry,” he said to the cabin boy -before the latter set off. “You complained in London about not being -able to go ashore, but I am just as badly off here, where I have so -much to do that I cannot leave the wharf for a week at any rate.” - -“But you don’t complain about it, Kit,” Harry answered. “I don’t -believe you ever complain about anything.” - -“Why should I complain about this,” Kit asked, “when it is my work that -keeps me and I am glad to have the work to do? What would the owners -think of the Captain if he said he could not sail on the day they -ordered, because he had some business of his own to attend to? No, I am -not complaining about it, but just telling you the fact. And I spoke of -it because I want you to take a little bundle up to Huntington for me, -and tell my folks that nothing but my work keeps me from going home at -once. I shall know in a few days whether I can get home this trip, and -of course I have written.” - -There was no reason why the supercargo should explain to the cabin boy -that the “little bundle” he sent home was the result of many visits to -Peter Robinson’s, in Regent Street, and to another London place known -as “Louise’s,” in the same street; and that it contained some things -whose buying required as much care on his part as the stowing of a -cargo. It was not such a little bundle, either, nor so light; but Harry -took it cheerfully, and promised to deliver all of Kit’s messages. - -Instead of Kit applying to the Captain now for information about the -ship’s movements, it was rather the other way. As supercargo it was his -business to know what the next cargo was to be, and where it was to be -taken. But for some days neither of them knew, and it was impossible to -learn, because the charterers did not yet know, themselves. - -“I imagine from what I heard in the office to-day,” Kit said to the -Captain one evening, “that they are thinking of sending us next to -Marseilles.” - -“Yes,” the Captain answered, “they are talking of it, I know. But -nothing is settled yet.” - -“I hope they will,” Kit went on; “that would give us a fine voyage -into the Mediterranean and past Gibraltar. Marseilles must be a little -further than London, of course.” - -“Yes, it is just about four thousand miles,” the Captain answered. -“It would be a good thing for you, for several reasons. The _North -Cape_ ought to go into dry-dock to be scraped and painted before -crossing the ocean again, for one thing, and that would give you -time to go home. For another thing, Marseilles is one of the most -interesting places in the world. But our firm won’t take those things -into consideration in making up their minds,” he added, laughing. - -“What cargo should we probably take if we went to Marseilles, sir?” Kit -asked. - -“Oil,” the Captain replied; “and as Marseilles is one of the great -olive-oil shipping ports, that would be carrying coals to Newcastle -with a vengeance, wouldn’t it?” - -“I don’t quite understand, sir,” Kit answered. - -“Well, you will soon see into it,” the Captain said, “if we go to -Marseilles. You see they make a great deal of olive-oil all along that -part of the Mediterranean coast. And it is shipped from Marseilles. -Olive-oil, you understand, is a very expensive product. We make a -great deal of cotton-seed oil in this country, and that is a very cheap -product. So they buy our cotton-seed oil, and we take it over to them.” - -“But you don’t mean that they mix our cotton-seed oil with their -olive-oil, and sell it for pure oil, do you, sir?” - -“I never saw them mix it,” the Captain said, laughing quietly to -himself. “But when you put this and that together, and considering that -they have no other use for cotton-seed oil over there, it certainly -looks very much like it, doesn’t it? - -“However, I don’t think you need worry your mind about our share in -the transaction,” the Captain went on, seeing that Kit looked very -thoughtful over it. “If they pay us for carrying the oil, we have -nothing to do with the use they make of it. We might carry a cargo of -cotton to Manchester; and if some dishonest cloth-maker there mixes -a lot of it with his wool, that dishonesty cannot be laid on our -shoulders.” - -“Captain, do you think there is a really honest man in the world?” Kit -asked. - -“Yes, two,” the Captain laughed; “Christopher Silburn and Captain -Griffith.” - -The uncertainty about their next destination could not last long, -for the cargo was nearly out; and on the same day that Kit was told -definitely that he was to go to Marseilles, the Captain induced his -charterers to let him have a week in dry-dock first for overhauling the -ship. The supercargo, however, could not arrange for more than four -days’ leave of absence, there being many things to see to; and that -would give him only two full days at home. - -Going out by train this time, for greater speed, Kit reached Bridgeport -too late for the stage; but without hesitation he set off over the -hills on foot, glad of the chance to see so much of the country just as -the trees and grass were putting on their new spring suits; and when he -stepped without warning into the little house opposite the church, his -mother and Vieve were at the supper table. - -“You gave me a great start when you came in, Kit,” Mrs. Silburn -declared after the first greetings were over. “You walk exactly as your -father did; my first thought was that he had come home. And upon my -word you are just his size. My, my, what a man you have grown! I have -no little Kit any more, but a big grown man.” - -“Don’t speak of growing!” Kit retorted. “Where’s the little sister I -left at home? What have you done with her? This great big girl can’t be -Vieve, can she? And you are looking so much better, too, mother. I’m -afraid those little things I got you in London are about four sizes too -small. - -“I wanted to get you some really good things in England,” he went on, -“but those letters you sent me from Bridgeport and Washington made -me more careful of my money. If that mysterious man in New Zealand -should really prove to be father, we would need all the money we could -possibly raise to bring him home comfortably. I don’t feel as if my -wages belonged to myself, exactly, till that thing is settled.” - -“Oh, it was such a comfort, Kit, the way you managed those letters,” -his mother declared. “We did not know what to do at all. I don’t feel -so much now as if I had no one to depend upon.” - -“Well, the Captain advised me,” Kit modestly answered. “He always knows -what ought to be done. You must not set your heart too much upon it, -but still there is a chance. Since one man escaped from the wreck of -the _Flower City_, why not another? It will take weeks and weeks, -perhaps months, to get an answer from the consul at Wellington; and -until it comes, we can do nothing but wait patiently.” - -The next morning Kit settled himself in his father’s armchair by the -window, with a big volume in his hands. - -“It’s a good thing father bought this set of cyclopædias,” he said, -“for I think it will give me just the information I want. Our next -voyage is to be to Marseilles (did I tell you last evening?), and I -want to find out something about the place. You’ve no idea what a help -it is in going to a new city to read everything you can find about it -beforehand. All the way over to London, when I had any spare time, I -read the Captain’s books about it and studied the maps, and by the time -I got there I knew a great deal about it.” - -“Harry Leonard must have been a great help to you there,” Vieve -suggested slyly; “he says he showed you around so much.” - -“Does he?” Kit laughed. “That’s just like Harry! He makes a very good -cabin boy, but he hasn’t quite got over his boasting habit yet. The -only visit he made to London was when I got leave for him one day and -took him for a trip on the underground railway. We took the wrong -train, too, by the way, and went about fifteen miles round to get a -mile across town. But let’s see about this place in France. M-a-r; here -we are--‘Marseilles, the third city of France, population about four -hundred and fifty thousand. Well situated in a valley on the shore of -the Mediterranean. Chief city of the Department of Bouches-du-Rhone. -Marseilles is one of the oldest cities in Europe, having been founded -about 600 B.C.’ - -“Think of that, mother! This place I am going to was founded six -hundred years before the time of our Saviour! - -“‘The first settlement,’” he continued to read, “‘is usually ascribed -to the Phœnicians. Lazarus is said to have been one of the early -bishops of Marseilles, and a skull purporting to be his is still -preserved in a portion of the original church in which Lazarus -preached. Aside from this, the most remarkable building in Marseilles -is the church of Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde, which, standing on the -summit of a high hill, is church and fort combined, and is reached by -hydraulic elevators. Marseilles is the scene of the principal part -of Alexander Dumas’ remarkable story of the “Count of Monte Cristo.” -The Castle d’If, in which Monte Cristo was confined in a dungeon for -fourteen years, stands on a rocky islet in the harbor, and is still -in a good state of preservation. The chief articles of commerce are -olive-oil, figs, dates, almonds, and wine. Marseilles is one of the -principal ports of the Mediterranean, from thirty to fifty vessels -entering or leaving daily. The Peninsular and Oriental steamers call -here on their way to and from India and Australia.’ - -“I tell you there’s going to be something to see, in a place like -that!” Kit exclaimed, as he closed the book. “Six hundred years before -those things happened that we read about in the New Testament! A fellow -can hardly get that into his head. I hope I’ll have a chance to see -that church on the hill, that’s both church and fort. And Lazarus! -That’s going it a little strong, it seems to me; I don’t remember -reading anything in the Bible about Lazarus being a bishop. But I -should like to see that old church.” - -“Oh, I wish they had ‘cabin girls’ on ships!” Vieve declared; “I’d like -to go and see these queer places the way you do. Girls never have a -chance to see anything.” - -“They’re a very lucky lot,” Kit answered. “They only have to stay at -home and be comfortable, while their fathers and brothers go away to -work for them.” - -“Now, children, I’ll have to punish you both if you begin to quarrel,” -Mrs. Silburn laughed. “The most important thing is when you will be -back from this next voyage, Kit; and that you haven’t told us yet.” - -“We can safely say in about two months,” Kit replied, “if all goes -well. And by that time I think we ought to have an answer from New -Zealand.” - -Those two days at home were many hours too short, but there was no help -for it. Kit had nearly two months’ wages to hand over to his mother, -and after taking a good look at the outside of the house he suggested -that she should get some one to mend the two or three broken places and -then have it painted. - -“That will not cost very much,” he said, “for it is a small house. And -if--if that should--well, you know what I mean. We want everything -looking nice if he comes home.” - -Silas did not go down to Bridgeport with his stage in time to catch the -9.15 train, the one that Kit wanted to take; so he walked down as he -had walked up, glad to have another two or three hours among the green -fields after so much blue water. - -From the time of his reaching New York again the young supercargo had -very little time to himself until the _North Cape_ cleared for -Marseilles, for the cargo began to arrive next day, and he had to give -his attention to it. - -“It hardly seems to me as if we had been home,” he said to Captain -Griffith as they stood on the bridge, watching the gradual fading -away of the Navesink Highlands. “They keep us going so fast; to-day in -Barbadoes, to-morrow in London, next day in Marseilles. I see you have -the ‘Count of Monte Cristo’ among your books, Captain. I will get you -to let me read it when I am through with my work. I have been reading -everything I could find about Marseilles.” - -“Oh, yes, you can take it,” the Captain answered. “You will find it a -very interesting story, particularly when you are bound for Marseilles. -But there is something about it that to me is of more interest than the -story itself. I won’t tell you what it is; you can find that out for -yourself.” - -For four or five days Kit was busy with his manifests, but after that -his time was his own, except for an occasional visit to the hold to see -that his cargo was in good order--his “magic oil,” he called it; for as -far as he could make out it was to go into Marseilles nothing but plain -cotton-seed oil, and return to New York “pure olive-oil,” worth two -dollars a gallon. - -The ocean seemed a vast desert of water on this voyage. They were far -out of the usual track of vessels crossing the Atlantic, except those -bound for the far East by way of the Suez Canal; and in the eighteen -days before Gibraltar was sighted they passed only three sails. But in -those days Kit put all his papers in order and read the “Count of Monte -Cristo” with great care. - -“I should not have spent so much time on an ordinary story,” he said -when it was finished, “but this tells so much about Marseilles. And I -wanted to find out what you considered of more interest about it than -the story itself.” - -“And did you find it out?” the Captain asked. - -“I think so, sir,” Kit replied. “The story was evidently written about -the middle of this century, or less than fifty years ago. I think the -author wanted to show what wonderful things could be accomplished by -a man with fabulous wealth. So after the hero had been imprisoned -in that Castle d’If a great many years, he made his way through the -walls to the dungeon of a very wise priest who was confined there. -The priest became so attached to him that before he died he told him -of the secret hiding-place of an immense treasure; and after the hero -escaped he went to the island and got the treasure. As nearly as I -can make out, the treasure amounted to about three million dollars, -and he did all his wonderful things with that money. The interesting -thing is, as I understand it, that less than fifty years ago, a great -author, living in Paris, when he wanted to write about a man with -as much money as anybody could imagine, much less really have, gave -him only three million dollars, which in those days seemed beyond -belief; whereas now within a single lifetime, some of our American -millionaires are so much richer that three million dollars would seem -like a small sum to them.” - -“That’s it, exactly,” the Captain replied; “I am glad you caught the -idea. It just shows how the wealth of the world has increased in the -last fifty years--or perhaps how it has fallen into comparatively few -hands. Half a century ago three millions was as great a fortune as -could be imagined; now when a man gets three he is not satisfied till -he turns it into thirty.” - -“It has made me anxious to see that Castle d’If and its dungeons,” Kit -said. - -“I hope to have another look at it myself,” the Captain answered. “I -was there once, but it was many years ago--long before you were born. -We will go out together some day.” - -When Gibraltar was reached, the hoisting of two or three flags caused -a telegraphic message to be sent by cable to London and thence to New -York, “Passed, steamer _North Cape_, New York for Marseilles. All -well,” so that the ship’s owners and the crew’s friends knew within a -few hours that she had once more crossed the Atlantic in safety. - -“I should hardly like to be sailing past here in a ship that that -tremendous fort was trying to keep out,” Kit declared. “It looks as if -nothing could get past, with those great tiers of guns commanding this -narrow passage. This is the strangest thing I have seen yet--Africa -just across the channel, Spain on this side, and that great tall rock -at the end of the peninsula belonging to England. I have read how the -rock is full of underground passages and hidden batteries. They call -it the impregnable fortress; don’t they, sir?” - -“Impregnable is a very good word, Silburn,” the Captain answered, “but -no place is impregnable in these days. That rock has been taken and -retaken a number of times, so it cannot be impregnable. The English -have fortified it very strongly, because it is an important point; but -in case of attack they would have to depend largely upon their navy to -defend it. A few dynamite cartridges thrown against the rock would soon -reduce it.” - -“Well, it doesn’t really look as if the English had any business with a -big fort right on the best corner of Spain,” Kit went on. - -“You will soon find yourself in deep water if you go into such -questions as that, young man,” Captain Griffith laughed. “What business -have the English in India, or Egypt, or Africa? What business have the -Spaniards in Cuba? What business have we in America, for that matter, -which belonged to the Indians? You will save yourself trouble by taking -things as you find them. You’ll be saying next that the Phœnicians -ought to own Marseilles, instead of the French, because they founded -it.” - -After two days of skirting the Spanish coast the _North Cape_ -sighted the Balearic Isles; and two days more took her into the Gulf of -Lyons, within a few hours of Marseilles. The last half of her journey -in the Mediterranean, however, was not as pleasant as the first; for -a heavy wind from the northwest made the air raw and chilly, even in -that warm climate, and stirred up a heavy sea. - -“It is the Mistral,” the Captain explained. “That is the name they give -the cold north wind all along this coast. It comes up very suddenly -once every six or eight weeks, and makes the natives shiver. I am just -as well satisfied to have it now, for it only lasts a day or two, and -we will be pretty sure of fine weather in port.” - -As they approached Marseilles, Kit recognized many of the points -from what he had read. There was the semicircle of mountains at the -rear, forming a vast amphitheatre in which the city lay--desolate, -barren-looking mountains of grayish-white rock, with hardly any traces -of vegetation. And there was the church on the summit of a high hill -rising from the valley, with a great gilded statue of the Virgin -Mary on top; he knew that must be Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde, from the -descriptions of it, and imagined that the long straight lines running -up the side of the hill must be the track of the elevators. Then when -they drew nearer he saw the long breakwater, extending a mile or -more along the shore, which makes Marseilles one of the best ports -in Europe. And to the right lay a group of three rocky islands, some -distance apart, one of which he was sure must be the island of the -Castle d’If. - -“I suppose we run in behind the breakwater, Captain?” he asked. “I see -there is quite a forest of masts in there.” - -“No,” the Captain answered, “we go into the Old Port--the Vieux -Port, as they call it here, _vieux_ being the French word for -_old_. That was the original port, of course, that was the making -of Marseilles; and a very curious place it is; a natural basin running -right up into the heart of the city, with a narrow entrance. However, -you will soon see it all for yourself.” - -It was before ten o’clock in the morning that the ship ran between -the two old-fashioned forts, one on each side of the narrow entrance, -and ploughed her way slowly up the Old Port. It did not look to Kit -as if there could possibly be room for another steamer on any of the -three sides, so thickly were the vessels crowded in--big steamers and -little, sailing-ships, tugs, beautiful yachts, fishing-boats, excursion -boats, every sort of craft he could think of. All around, except at the -entrance, were broad streets full of people, lined with tall buildings -of light stone, many of them looking as if they might have stood since -the old Phœnician days. But room was found on the east side for the -_North Cape_, and as soon as she was made fast, both the Captain -and Kit went ashore--the former to attend to his custom-house business, -and Kit to find his agents. - -Within ten minutes they were both back at the ship, each with a -disgusted look in his face. - -“Well, did you find your agents, Silburn?” the Captain asked. “Just -about as much as I got into the Custom House, I suppose. Every business -place is shut up tight as a drum. This is some saint’s day or other, -and all business is stopped; the only places open are the cafés and -tobacco shops. They don’t care very much for Sundays in these Catholic -countries, except as a time for bull-fights and the opera; but just -give them a saint’s day, and you couldn’t induce one of them to work. -This is a wasted day for us, and I don’t like it.” - -“Nor I,” Kit answered; “but I suppose we must put up with it. It -wouldn’t be so bad if we had some work to do on board.” - -“No, there is nothing to do,” the Captain growled. It was not hard to -see that he was very much annoyed at the delay. “We might as well go -out and see some of the sights, I suppose. How would you like to go up -to that church on the hill? or would you rather go out to Castle d’If?” - -“Why, I should much rather go out to Monte Cristo’s castle, sir,” Kit -answered, wondering that circumstances had made the trip possible on -his very first day in port. - -“Then Monte Cristo it is!” the Captain exclaimed. “I’ll be getting -angry at these saintly Frenchmen pretty soon if I don’t do something -to work it off. Then you step ashore, Silburn, and find out how we can -get there. There used to be a little steamboat or two going out, and I -suppose they still run. Just find out what time they start.” - -Kit returned in a few minutes with a longer face than before. - -“No boats to-day, Captain,” he reported. “They are all afraid of the -rough water outside.” - -“Right enough for them,” the Captain answered, “since they are small -excursion boats and made for smooth water. But there’s nothing outside -to-day to hurt a good sea-boat. Step over there to the head of the port -where you see those sail-boats to hire, and see whether you can get a -boatman to take us over.” - -Kit was gone longer this time, but once more he returned with bad news. - -“I’m afraid we’ll have to give it up, Captain,” he said. “Not one of -the boatmen will venture outside the port. I made them understand by -saying ‘Castle d’If,’ and pointing out; but they only shook their heads -and answered ‘Le Mistral! le Mistral!’” - -“Well,” the Captain exclaimed, with an expressive shrug of the -shoulders, “this town is pretty well closed to-day, isn’t it? But I -think I can find a way to get to that island. Lower away the longboat, -Mr. Mason.” - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -IMPRISONED IN THE CASTLE D’IF. - - -There was a great deal of the boy left in Captain Griffith, as Kit had -long suspected; though he attended so thoroughly to his business that -it did not often have a chance to show itself. But having made up his -mind to enjoy a little holiday at the Castle d’If, he entered fully -into the spirit of it. His ordering the longboat lowered was sufficient -indication that he intended to sail out to the island, for it would -have taken six or eight men to row it against the heavy sea, and it was -the only one of the ship’s boats that was fitted with a mast and sail. - -“We can hardly be back in time for dinner,” the Captain said, looking -at his watch. “Put us up a good big basket of lunch, steward--enough -for five or six men, for I must have some passengers along for ballast, -in this breeze. Suppose you step up and ask the chief engineer whether -he would like to go out to the castle, Silburn; and you can bring your -friend Haines too, if he likes to come. I will take you along, Henry, -to look after the lunch.” - -The little trip to the castle was developing into a regular picnic, -much to Kit’s delight. With the Captain and Tom Haines and Harry along, -they were sure to have a lively time. Both the chief engineer and Tom -Haines were glad to go, and in a few minutes they were all ready for -the start. - -“Now let me see,” said the Captain, before he went down the ladder to -the little boat, in which the mast had been stepped. “We must have -everything we are likely to need, for there’s no telling how we may -find things out there. The island belongs to the government, and they -used to keep a man there to show the castle to visitors, but I don’t -know how it is now. Plenty of lunch in the basket, steward?” - -“Enough for twice as many, sir,” the steward answered, “and dishes too. -You’ll not go hungry, sir.” - -“Then I don’t know of anything else we want.” - -“Water, sir?” Kit suggested; “hadn’t we better take some water along?” - -“There’s always a keg of water in the boat,” the Captain answered. -“See that it’s full, Henry. Besides, there is a big well or tank in -the castle, enough to supply a whole garrison. But we may need some -candles, for some of those dungeons are so dark you can hardly see your -hand before your face. Put a good package of candles in the basket, -steward.” - -The steward ran back to the cabin for the candles, and in another -minute they were off, the five men making just about a proper ballast -for the boat when the sail began to draw. The Captain took the helm -and the main sheet, Harry and Tom Haines were sent up forward to keep -her a little down by the head, and Kit and the chief engineer seated -themselves amidships. - -“This is Fort St. John on the right,” the Captain said, as they sped -through the harbor entrance, “and on the left is Fort St. Nicholas. Now -look at this big building on the high point to the left--the one that -stands in the handsome park. They call that the Château de Pharo. It -belonged to the Emperor Napoleon III., and he presented it to the city. -In the great cholera epidemic of 1885 they used it for a hospital, -and it has since been turned into a medical school with a hospital -attached. That is the handsomest site in Marseilles; trust an emperor -for picking out the choice spots. Now look out for a little tossing -when we round the point.” - -It was more than “a little tossing” that they got when they were once -out in the big bay. Great waves chased their stern, and occasionally -the boat tumbled down from the crest of a billow with a violent slap. -But there was no fear in any of the party to mar the pleasure of the -sail. They not only felt perfectly safe with the Captain at the helm, -but knew, too, that he would not have taken them out if there had been -any danger in so stanch a boat. - -“Now you have a fine view of Marseilles,” he said, when they were well -out. “Off to the left there the breakwater runs so far that you can -barely see the end of it. And to the right of the point is what they -call ‘the Corniche.’ That is a long, smooth, winding drive along the -shore, and one of the handsomest places to be found anywhere. When you -go out there two or three miles you come to the end of the Prado; and -by turning into that you come to the heart of the city again.” - -“See how old Notre-Dame stands out on the hilltop,” he went on. “You -would hardly think that statue of the Virgin, on the summit, was -thirty feet high, would you? But it is. They have to gild it every -few years to keep it bright, and it costs twelve thousand dollars to -cover it with gold-leaf. It is so windy up there that they have to -build a little house around it for the painters to work in. That is the -favorite church with the Marseilles sailors. Many of them go up there -to say their prayers before setting out on a voyage. Then when they are -in danger at sea they promise an offering to the Virgin if their lives -are saved, and when they get back to port they present a little toy -ship to the church, or a tablet to be put on the walls. It is full of -such things.” - -“Don’t you think, sir, it would be better for them to give their -attention to navigating their ship, when they are in danger?” Haines -asked. - -“Well, that is their form of religion,” the Captain answered; “we must -not ridicule them for living up to their faith. But what do you think -of this boat for a sailer, boys? It is two miles from the port out -to the castle, and we shall be there in five minutes more. Why, she -deserves to be taken up to Nice and entered in the spring regattas.” - -At this mention of the castle they all looked toward it and saw that -it was a large and very old building of stone, with battlements on the -top, and a high tower rising far above the rest, the whole standing -upon a great rock that rose from the water’s edge to a height of thirty -or forty feet. - -“That must have been a very strong place before the days of heavy -guns,” Kit suggested. - -“It was one of the strongest forts in France,” the Captain replied. -“For centuries the most important political prisoners were confined -here. There was not the least chance for them to escape or for their -friends to rescue them. Do you see that high battlement that runs up -almost straight from the water? That is where Monte Cristo, according -to the story, was thrown into the sea when he pretended to be dead and -was sewn up in a sack. And if I’m not mistaken he was no wetter then -than we are going to be before we get ashore, for there is a heavy sea -running against this rock. - -“There is the landing-place, just at the foot of that rocky path,” -he continued, standing up in the stern to look about. “It is a wharf -of natural rock, with three or four fathoms of water. But there’s no -landing there to-day, with this sea breaking over it. We must get -around to leeward and try to find a bit of beach.” - -The island offers very little in the way of beach, but on the sheltered -side they found a smooth slope that answered their purpose, and in a -few minutes they were safely on shore and had dragged the boat well up -out of harm. - -“Now this way,” the Captain directed. “One of you youngsters help Henry -carry the basket. We’ve got to get around to that path we saw, for the -gate at the top of it is the only entrance.” - -By scrambling over the rocks they soon reached the path, and followed -it over rough and slippery rocks, up a steep incline, to the heavy -gate, which was closed, but not locked. Once through the gate, the path -showed more evidences of care, though it was still rough and difficult, -rising in a sort of rude stairway, with a step followed by four or -five feet of steep incline, then another step and another incline. On -the right was a thick stone wall, with long narrow slanting slits for -firing muskets through. - -Up and up the path led, growing rougher the nearer it approached the -castle, till it ran across a large open yard and ended at the moat, -over which a heavy wooden drawbridge was lowered. - -“There’s a sample of old times for you,” the Captain said, when they -reached the drawbridge and paused for breath. “Two or three days’ work -would make a good path of that; but in two or three centuries not one -commander of the place had ambition enough to repair it.” - -Crossing the bridge over the dry and rocky and weedy moat, they reached -the entrance to the castle proper, where the massive doors stood -hospitably open, and they walked in without challenge or hindrance. It -was soon evident that there was no other person on the island, for they -hallooed and shouted, but received no reply. - -“Strange that they leave such a historical place without any one to -take care of it,” said the chief engineer. And it did look odd, but the -fact was that the man in charge had gone ashore on some errand, and the -heavy sea had prevented his return. - -Having passed through the main portal, they were in a large stone-paved -courtyard, nearly in the centre of which stood an old-fashioned -well-curb. A heavy stone stairway on the opposite side led to a solid -gallery of iron and stone running completely around the court, both -stairs and gallery having a strong rail of wrought iron. Numerous doors -opened from both the ground floor and the gallery, some closed and some -standing open, and over several of the doors were small signs bearing -the names of their former occupants. - -“Put your lunch basket here in the corner,” the Captain directed -Harry. “There doesn’t seem to be any one here to disturb it. But get -out some candles, and we’ll have a look at these lower dungeons first. -Nearly every one of these solid doors leads to a dungeon, I suppose -you understood, and some of them to a series of dungeons. Silburn is -anxious to see Monte Cristo’s late residence, I am sure. Do you see his -name on the sign there under the stairway, Silburn?” - -“Yes, sir, I saw that the first thing,” Kit answered. “But there is -so much to see here a fellow hardly knows where to look. It is like -going back two or three hundred years at a single step. Even in the old -buildings of London I saw nothing like this. It is a regular feudal -castle, such as we see sometimes in pictures.” - -“It adds a little to the romance of the thing to have the place -entirely to ourselves,” said the Captain. “We are as safe from -intrusion as if we raised the drawbridge and bolted the big doors, for -you may be sure none of the French boatmen will come out in this sea. -Now, then, if you are all ready, we will visit Monte Cristo first. Give -me a candle, and I will lead the way.” - -With a lighted candle in his hand the Captain went through a broad but -low arched doorway, followed by all the others, into a small dark cell, -paved with stone, to which a few faint rays of light were admitted by -a slit a foot long and about two inches wide in the upper part of one -wall. - -“And did Monte Cristo spend fourteen years in such a dark hole as -this!” Kit exclaimed, with a shudder. - -“No, indeed,” the Captain answered; “he was in a far worse place than -this. Now look out for your footing on this slant and for your heads in -the low doorway.” - -He led the way to another and smaller doorway in the darkest corner, -not high enough to stand erect under, and reached by going down a dark -and dangerous incline of a few feet. - -“This,” said he, “is Monte Cristo’s dungeon. You see it is lower than -the other, and even darker. Here on the side is the hole that he cut -through into the priest’s cell. Do you see where a large stone has been -removed? We could crawl through there into the other cell, but it is -not worth while, as they are much the same. Well, Mr. Supercargo, how -do you like this sort of a residence?” - -“Terrible!” Kit answered. “The only good thing I see about it is that -it is entirely dry. There does not seem to be any of the dampness that -we expect in a dungeon.” - -“That is because these dungeons are all above ground, and founded on -rock,” the Captain explained. “And this Monte Cristo cell is the worst -of all. It is not more than ten or twelve feet square, you see, and the -ceiling is low. In fact, it is no better than a dark cellar. But in the -upper tier there are some fine cells. Occasionally they caught a king -or prince and caged him here, you know, and they had better quarters.” - -“Then let us go and see them!” the chief engineer exclaimed. “It’s -enough to give a man the shivers to look at such holes as these.” - -Cautiously they crawled out of the lower dungeons and went to the -stairway. As they passed the well-curb, Harry stopped and raised the -lid and looked down. - -“Water!” he cried; “I should say so. Here’s a big square tank with -water enough to float a ship.” - -[Illustration: “‘HERE--IS THE HOLE HE CUT THROUGH INTO THE PRIEST’S -CELL.’”] - -They went up the broad, heavy stairs to the gallery, and the Captain -paused before a door that was marked “Louis-Philippe, 1792.” - -“Hello!” Kit cried; “did they have Louis-Philippe in here? Why, he was -one of the kings of France!” - -“This was not the king, if I remember rightly,” the Captain replied, -“but the Duke of Orleans, and father of the king of the same name. You -will see a very different cell here from Monte Cristo’s, if the door is -not locked.” - -The huge door opened readily, and they stepped into a large and lofty -room, moderately well lighted by a window that overlooked the court, -but that was not quite wide enough to offer a chance of escape. The -stone floor and heavy stone walls gave the apartment, to be sure, -something of the air of a prison; but it was eighteen or twenty feet -square, and on one side was a handsome fireplace, with a broad stone -seat on each side, and a carved mantel of stone that evidently had once -been a work of art, but that was badly chipped and broken by time, -perhaps with the assistance of some of the royal prisoners. When they -looked up the chimney, through which they had a glimpse of the scudding -clouds, they saw that although the opening was nearly four feet across, -it was not more than five or six inches wide, so that a prisoner could -not escape through it. - -“You see they had better quarters for their distinguished prisoners -than they gave to poor sailors like Monte Cristo,” the Captain said. -“Just imagine this room fitted up with rugs and hangings and handsome -furniture, as no doubt it was when Louis-Philippe occupied it. A man -could hardly want a better place. There are more such rooms on this -tier, that you can look at later on. Some of them were occupied by -Albert del Campo, Bernardot, a rich armorer of Marseilles who was mixed -up with the Duc de Richelieu. The Man in the Iron Mask, the Count de -Mirabeau, the Abbé Peretti, and a great many more famous men of their -times. Now if you want a good view of the bay, come up to the top of -the tower.” - -The Captain led the way up the iron stairs of the tower, all the -others following. But before Kit and Harry Leonard, who brought up the -rear, reached the top, they heard an exclamation of surprise from the -Captain, who hurriedly began to descend the steps. - -“Make for the boat, boys, as fast as you can!” he cried. “The wind has -shifted, and the sea is tumbling in on that side hard enough to break -her to pieces. We must get her further up in a hurry, or we’ll lose a -good boat.” - -The party made a scramble down the stairs, across the court, and down -the rough steps outside, then along the jagged rocks, till they reached -the boat, which, by their united strength, was soon dragged out of -reach of the waves. But the spot where they had landed in comparatively -smooth water was now beaten by heavy seas that wet them with their -spray. - -“That was a narrow escape!” Kit exclaimed. “It wouldn’t have taken many -minutes to break her up, where she lay. But she’s all right now.” - -“Yes, the boat is all right now,” Captain Griffith answered; “but -that’s about all we can say. There’s no such thing as launching her -from these rocks while the wind holds in this quarter. We’re as safely -imprisoned in Castle d’If as ever Monte Cristo was. We are in for a -night of it here, at any rate; you can make up your minds to that.” - -“Hurrah!” Harry Leonard cried, waving his arms. “Ain’t that a jolly -lark! We have plenty of provisions and lights and a big tank of water, -and I wish the Mistral would last a week.” - -But the Captain gave him such a look that Harry suddenly made his face -as serious as if the voice had come from the blackened rocks. - -“It would make bad work for us if this wind should hold too long,” the -Captain said. “But I think we can look for a change in the night; and -for the present we have no great cause to complain. We may consider -it settled, at any rate, that we must spend the night in the castle. -Chief, you and Haines bring along the sail and hang it somewhere to -dry; we may need it to-night to lie on. And we will all go back to the -court till I organize you into a proper garrison and set the watches. - -“Now I am going to establish a headquarters,” he went on, when they -were in the court again. “Shall we be romantic and take Monte Cristo’s -cell, or be comfortable and camp in Louis-Philippe’s big room?” - -“Let us be kings while we can,” the chief engineer answered, as the -Captain looked at him for a reply. “It looks a little rheumatic in -Monte Cristo’s place, and the other is a fine large room.” - -“Very well, then,” the Captain decided; “headquarters established in -room No. 14, formerly the residence of the Duke of Orleans. Henry, you -are appointed quartermaster; you and Silburn bring up the provisions.” - -He led the way again to Louis-Philippe’s cell, and looked about to see -what they most needed. - -“Chief,” he soon said, “I am going to put you in charge of a foraging -expedition. If you will take Haines and Henry with you down to the -big yard across the moat, you will find the remains of an old shed or -something that has collapsed there. I noticed it as we came in. Let -them bring up a good stock of the old boards. It will be cold to-night, -and we shall need a fire, and some of them can be made into seats.” - -The departure of the other three left Kit and the Captain alone in the -cell. - -“This is more of an adventure than we bargained for, sir,” Kit said. “I -didn’t think when I was reading that story, that I should be a prisoner -myself in Castle d’If. None of us will forget it in a hurry, and I -think I am rather glad it has happened.” - -“So am I, to tell the truth,” said the Captain. “It won’t do us any -harm if the weather lets us away in the morning. I don’t go in for this -sort of thing very often; but now that we _are_ in for it, we may -as well enjoy it.” - -Within the next hour the big cell bore a more homelike look than it -had had for many a day. With two of the boards a rough table was -made between the chimney-place and the inner wall. More boards were -converted into two rough benches; still others were arranged slantingly -against a wall to make a springy bed; and by resting one end of the -remainder on the stone seats and jumping upon them they were soon -converted into a formidable heap of firewood. - -“How many candles, Mr. Quartermaster?” the Captain asked. - -“Eleven, sir,” Harry answered, “besides one that was partly burned when -we were in Monte Cristo’s cell.” - -“Very good. The fire will give us light enough most of the time. And -the provisions?” - -“I’ll see, sir,” Harry replied; and taking the napkin from the top of -the basket he spread it upon the improvised table and began to lay the -food out upon it. - -“Here’s more than half of a boiled ham, sir,” he began, “and a roast -chicken, and three loaves of bread and some rolls, butter, pickles, -some cold roast beef, a big pot of cold coffee, pepper and salt, and a -lot of dishes and knives and forks. That’s all, sir.” - -“All!” the Captain laughed. “The castle is provisioned for a siege. -It’s a good thing the _North Cape_ has such a liberal-minded -steward. I was afraid we might only have enough for one meal; but if -we take a good sandwich apiece now, we will have plenty for supper and -breakfast. Make us five big ham sandwiches, Mr. Quartermaster.” - -“Aye, aye, sir!” Harry replied. He was so excited over being at once a -shipwrecked mariner and a prisoner in a celebrated old castle, that it -was well for him to have something to do. - -With the sandwiches in their hands they strolled among the dismal -cells, finding something on every hand to interest them. Afterward they -went out to explore the island outside the castle walls, and found -caves made by the angry water, and in several places steps cut in the -rock, where small boats could land passengers. When the first signs of -dusk appeared they returned to the castle; and Kit in wandering about -found two things that excited his curiosity. - -“There are some locked doors down on the ground tier,” he said to the -Captain, “that may lead to places of interest. And I have found a very -small narrow cell, hardly high enough for a man to stand up in, without -any window at all. I wonder what that can have been for.” - -“I don’t know about the locked doors,” the Captain answered, “but most -likely they lead to the rooms occupied by the people who take care of -the place. There must be somebody in charge of it, and they may have -gone ashore and been kept there by the storm. It is very natural that -they should lock the doors of their rooms on going away. The small dark -cell that you have discovered, however, was the death chamber. When a -prisoner was condemned to death he was taken there without any warning, -generally in the night or early morning. A guillotine was set up there, -and the man never came out alive. I suppose this castle could tell some -terrible tales if it could talk. But we must be thinking of supper. -Haines, you and Henry bring up a few more loads of boards first; that -light wood burns up very rapidly, and it is growing chilly.” - -The bare old cell soon looked quite cheerful, with a rousing blaze in -the fireplace, and its five occupants seated on the benches, eating a -good supper and drinking coffee that they had heated over the fire. The -Captain announced during the meal that Silburn was to stand watch from -six to ten, Haines from ten to two, and Harry Leonard from two till six. - -“And the watchman must take care of the fire,” he added, “and keep an -eye on the weather. If the wind shifts, I am to be called immediately.” - -Kit’s watch carried them through one of the most enjoyable evenings -he had ever spent. With the benches drawn up in front of the fire the -Captain began to spin sea-yarns, and told them tales of adventure and -hairbreadth escape in many seas in various parts of the world. The -chief engineer, too, had a good stock of such stories; and Haines spun -two or three yarns that kept them in roars of laughter. - -“I can’t do my share at this business,” Kit lamented. “I’ve hardly seen -a real gale yet, much less had any adventures.” - -“That would be no drawback, if you were a real Jack Tar instead of -a supercargo,” the Captain said, laughing. “When Jack is short of -adventures he invents a few. Some of the imaginary yarns are better -than the true ones, too. But you can spin a real yarn some time about -the night you were imprisoned in the Castle d’If.” - -By ten o’clock the stories were pretty much all told, the sail, now -thoroughly dry, was spread over the bed of boards, and all but Haines, -the next watch, prepared for sleep. There was no covering, to be sure; -but the blazing fire promised to give them a warm and comfortable -night. Before turning in, the Captain went to the top of the tower, and -found the night intensely dark, but no change in the weather. - -When two o’clock came, and Haines aroused Harry Leonard to relieve -him on watch, the others were all fast asleep; but the slight noise -woke the Captain, and he went out quietly to look at the sky, without -finding any change in the wind. - -Harry began his watch by putting on more wood, and making a blaze that -illuminated the stone cell beautifully. But about four o’clock the -watchful Captain stirred, turned over, raised his head, and asked: - -“Any change yet in the weather, Henry?” - -The cell was dark and chilly, the fire burned down, and no answer came -from the watch. - -Thoroughly awake in an instant, the Captain sprang up and found Harry -sitting sound asleep on one of the stone seats in the chimney-place. - -Surprised and angered at this disobedience of orders, he stepped to -the door to look at the sky again before awaking the watchman in the -emphatic way that he contemplated. He put his thumb on the heavy -wrought-iron latch and pushed against the door, but it would not open. - -He pushed harder and shook the door, but instead of its opening, the -shaking only gave him a still greater surprise. He could tell by the -feel and the rattling that the door was held fast by the heavy bolt on -the outside. Somebody or something had shot the bolt! - -He went to the window and looked out, but all was black as ink. Then, -hardly able to believe his senses, he returned to the door and shook it -again. - -It was so plain that he had to believe it. The bolt was shot, and they -were all securely imprisoned in the cell of Louis-Philippe, in the -Castle d’If. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -A VISIT TO NOTRE-DAME-DE-LA-GARDE. - - -The noise made by the Captain in shaking the door aroused Harry, and he -sprang up, looking very much frightened. - -“It’s not six o’clock yet, is it, sir?” he asked; “I must have fallen -asleep just a minute ago.” - -“Yes, you are a very valuable man on watch,” the Captain answered. “The -fire burned out in that minute while you were asleep, I suppose? And it -must have been in the same minute that some one came along and fastened -the door and locked us all in here, no doubt.” - -“Locked us in, sir!” Harry exclaimed. “Why, there is no one on the -island to lock us in. I shut the door some time ago because it was -growing colder. But no one could have locked it.” - -He went up to the door and shook it, but of course could not open it. - -“The bolt must have slipped when I shut it, sir,” he said. “The wind -was blowing in so hard.” - -“No matter what fastened it,” the Captain replied; “it is enough for -us to know that it is fastened. It is much more important to know why -you were asleep when I put you on watch. Don’t you know that that is -one of the most serious offences you could commit? But I shall have -something to say to you about that later on. Start up the fire, and put -the remainder of the coffee on to warm.” - -It was in no very pleasant frame of mind that Harry set to work at -building the fire. There was something in the Captain’s manner that -looked ominous. Though it was plain that he was greatly displeased at -such a breach of discipline, and the results that had followed it, he -was cool and quiet, and that promised worse things for the offender -than if he had stormed and blustered. And even in his own mind, Harry -could not excuse himself. He had been left on watch and had gone to -sleep, and while he slept they had been locked in. He could not help -thinking of the death chamber below, and the prisoners called from -sleep to be guillotined. He felt, he imagined, very much as they must -have felt while walking down the stone steps, chained and guarded, to -enter the gloomy chamber. - -The noise soon awakened Kit and the chief and Haines, and they could -not believe at first that they were really prisoners. But very little -experimenting with the door convinced each in turn that it was only too -true. - -“The bolt must have slipped when the door slammed,” the chief engineer -decided, bringing his mechanical mind to bear on the problem. “Maybe we -can shove it back with a thin strip of board.” - -He found a bit that he thought might answer the purpose and went to the -window with it, but one or two trials convinced him that the bolt could -not be reached in that way. - -“Don’t waste your strength on that idea,” the Captain said. “These -heavy bolts cannot slip so easily. Indeed, I should be very sorry to -think that it had slipped of itself, for in that case we might possibly -be kept here for days, without sufficient provisions. Evidently some -one has fastened the bolt. Either there was some one else on the island -from the beginning, or the guardian of the castle has returned and shut -us in. I hope that is the case, for whoever shut us in will let us out. -At any rate, we will eat some breakfast before doing anything else. By -that time it will be daylight.” - -Somehow it did not seem quite so romantic to be encamped in -Louis-Philippe’s cell when they were actually prisoners. Kit could not -help making a mental picture of some visitor opening the door after -weeks had passed, and finding them all lying starved to death. The -coffee was comforting in the raw morning, but the breakfast was not as -jolly a meal as the supper had been. - -“Now,” said the Captain, when they were done eating, “we will see what -we can do toward getting out. It is growing light outside. You reach -a piece of board through the window, Haines, and pound it against the -wall, and halloo at the same time. If there is any one in the castle, -he will be pretty sure to hear it.” - -Haines followed these directions, and made such a racket that it seemed -as if it must have been heard across the water in Marseilles. - -“Somebody’s coming!” he exclaimed, after a minute or two of pounding. -“I hear a footstep on the stones below.” - -“Halloo!” he shouted. “Halloo there! Come and unfasten the door! We -want to get out!” - -“Here he comes!” Haines cried, a moment later. “It’s a soldier. He’s -coming up the stairs.” - -“Then let me take your place,” the Captain said; “I will do the -talking.” - -The footsteps came nearer and nearer around the gallery, and in another -moment a young soldier in the French uniform stood before the window. - -“Good morning,” said the Captain. “Just slide that bolt back, please; -we are fastened in here.” - -The soldier gave a military salute, but did not stir. - -“Oh, he speaks French, of course,” the Captain exclaimed; “and I don’t -know enough of the language to talk to him. Do any of you speak French?” - -“I can struggle with it a little,” the chief engineer answered, “though -I know very little about it.” He took the Captain’s place at the -window, and bowed to the soldier. - -“Bon jour, monsieur,” he said. “Nous avons une grand desir to--to--(oh, -what a dreadful language!) to sortie. Ouvrir la porte, s’il vous plait.” - -The soldier shook his head and made some reply in French. - -“What does he say?” the Captain asked. - -“He says why don’t we keep quiet,” the chief answered. “Oh, no; hold -on; I got mixed with that. He says why did we come in?” - -“Tell him we came to see the castle,” the Captain said, “and could not -get away on account of the storm.” - -The chief put this into French as well as he could, and the soldier -immediately began a long and very rapid tirade, in which they caught -the words “deux cent kilos de bois,” “hier soir,” and “batteau des -gendarmes.” But he showed no inclination to open the door. - -“What’s all that?” the Captain asked. - -“As well as I can make it out,” the chief replied, “he says that he is -the keeper of the castle, and he was detained on shore by the storm. -When the wind abated early this morning he got a boatman to bring him -out, and seeing a light in this cell he came up and found us here. That -we came without permission, and burned up two hundred kilos of his wood -(that’s nearly four hundred pounds), and that he is going to signal for -the police boat and have us taken in charge.” - -“Oh, that’s what he is after, is it?” the Captain laughed. “Then I know -a language he will understand. Let me get there a moment.” - -Again at the window, the Captain put his hand in his pocket and -drew out a ten-franc gold piece which he held between his thumb and -forefinger where the soldier could see it, and pointed toward the door. - -Evidently that was the language he understood best. He immediately -began to smile and reached for the gold, which the Captain handed him; -and in thirty seconds more the big door was unbolted, and they all -slipped out. The gold piece changed the aspect of affairs entirely. -Instead of being their jailer the soldier tried to show them every -attention; and while the chief exchanged a few polite words with him, -Captain Griffith climbed the tower again, and found that the worst of -the wind had died out, what was left coming from another quarter, so -that there was no longer any difficulty about launching the boat. - -It took some time to prepare to start, replacing the sail, packing -the dishes, and getting the boat into the water; but the sun was just -nicely up over the Corniche when they sailed into the Old Port again. - -After reaching the _North Cape_, Kit soon went ashore to find the -agents; but it was still much too early for the Captain to do any -business at the Custom House, and he remained on board. Harry set about -cleaning the cabin, making a great show of industry, but wondering all -the time what the Captain would say or do to him. He had not forgotten -the remark that Kit had made to him, long before, about the rope’s-end -in the Captain’s room. To be sure, Captain Griffith had always treated -him very kindly; but he had never before done anything quite as bad as -to go to sleep on watch. The thought of the rope’s-end troubled him; -and it was still troubling him when the Captain’s bell rang. - -“Now I’m in for it!” he said to himself. “I’m glad there’s nobody else -down here but the steward, anyhow.” - -“Come in here and shut the door, Henry,” the Captain said, when he -answered the call. - -“Oh, yes, I’m in for it now,” he thought. “This is the death chamber, -sure.” - -“Come up here where I can look at you,” the Captain said. He was seated -in front of his desk. “I want to see whether you realize what it means -for a man to go to sleep on watch. If we had been left locked in that -cell, and had all starved there, who would have been responsible for -it?” - -“It would have been my fault, sir,” Harry answered. - -“It would have been your fault,” the Captain repeated. “If a sailor -goes to sleep on watch, and a collision results, and lives are lost, he -is responsible for it, and the law would punish him. The man on watch -often holds the lives of his comrades in his hand, and he should always -feel the responsibility.” - -The Captain stood up as he spoke and stepped toward Harry, but the -cabin boy did not shrink. He had made up his mind to take whatever -came, without flinching. - -“I think you understand what a grave fault you committed,” the Captain -went on, laying his hand on Harry’s shoulder, “and feel sorry for it. -That is not all the punishment you deserve, but it is all you will get -this time, as we were on shore and on a pleasure trip. But never let me -catch you asleep on watch again. Now get out about your business.” - -Harry was not the first cabin boy who had gone into Captain Griffith’s -room expecting something unpleasant, and had come out feeling that he -would swim through stormy seas to serve such a captain as that. Perhaps -that was the reason that nearly every one of the Captain’s cabin boys -had turned out well. - -It was almost noon when Kit returned to the ship, feeling rather -dissatisfied with the way his affairs had gone on shore. - -“What’s the matter, Silburn?” the Captain asked him while they sat at -dinner. “Have they been doing you up? You have to look out for them -here, or they’ll get the strings right out of your shoes. This place is -famous for that. They have a large population in Marseilles from Italy, -Spain, Turkey, Greece, Syria, all over creation, all in a hurry to -make money without caring much how it is made. They tell me that when -Marseilles people buy anything in a store they very often won’t let the -shopkeeper wrap it up, for fear he will change it.” - -“No, sir,” Kit answered, “they haven’t been robbing me; they have had -no chance. But our agents here are curious sort of people, and I am -afraid they will give me as much trouble as they can. Indeed, they have -given me a great deal more trouble already than there was any need of. -One of the first things they said was that they would smooth the way -for me to get my stuff through, and I could do the same for what they -would send over to New York.” - -“Did they, though?” the Captain asked, laughing. “And what did you say -to that?” - -“Why, I was green enough not to know what they meant, sir. I supposed -they referred to the cargo, so I said it had been properly entered and -there would be no trouble about getting it through, and it would be the -same thing in New York. I can see now, from the way they looked at me, -that they could not quite make out whether I was really so innocent, or -only pretending to be. At any rate, I soon found that they supposed I -had brought some goods on my own account, which I would want to smuggle -ashore, and that they wanted to send some in the same way when we go -back.” - -“That was what they meant, and no mistake,” the Captain said. “There is -a great deal of that kind of business done.” - -“Not by me, sir,” Kit went on. “I told them very plainly that I had -brought nothing but what was on my manifests, and that if they wanted -to smuggle anything into New York they would have to try some other -ship. That offended them, I am afraid, for they became very cool, and -left me to find my way about and make my own arrangements. If they can -find any fault here with my work, and give a bad account of me to my -employers, I think they will be pretty sure to do it.” - -“Well, you have the satisfaction of being in the right,” the Captain -answered, “and they are very clearly in the wrong. They will hardly be -likely to expose their dishonest intentions by making any complaints -in New York. At any rate, your work will show for itself when you get -back, if you carry it through well.” - -“I have got along all right so far without their assistance,” Kit -continued; “but it is a new experience to deal with agents who are -disposed to hinder rather than help.” - -“Y-e-s,” said the Captain, dryly. “You will find that you have still -one or two things to learn in the world. Well?” - -“I have picked up more information than I should have got if I had been -depending upon them. If they think I can’t land a cargo of oil without -their help, they are very much mistaken.” - -“Oh, ho!” the Captain laughed; “my young supercargo is beginning to -feel his oats! Quite right, lad. And if they don’t have the homeward -cargo ready for you promptly, their principals will have something to -say to them. You may be sure of that.” - -“This wharf that we are at,” Kit went on, “they call the ‘Quai de la -Fratérnité.’ The oil is to go into that warehouse just across the -street. They talked about keeping us a week before their stevedore -could take out our cargo, so I found one myself and made a contract -with him, and his men are to begin work to-morrow morning.” - -“Good for the young American!” the Captain cried. “If these people get -too high, just remember that there is such a thing as a cable under the -ocean, and that in a few hours you can get orders from New York that -they are bound to obey as well as you.” - -“Yes, sir; but I hope it will not come to that. That square stone -building across the port,” Kit went on, “is the Hôtel de Ville, or -City Hall. You see I am getting to be quite a Frenchman. And this -wide street that runs down to the end of the port is the Cannebiere, -the main street of Marseilles, that is mentioned so often in ‘Monte -Cristo.’ And when you follow it up a little ways, it changes into the -Allée Meilhan, where Monte Cristo’s father died, you know. Then over at -that corner of the port there begins a wide street called the Rue de la -République, which runs diagonally down to the breakwater. - -“Well, you have made good use of your morning,” the Captain declared. - -“Oh, that is only a beginning, sir,” Kit laughed. “I hear that this is -considered the unhealthiest city in Europe, because it is so dirty. -Why, only three or four years ago all the sewers emptied into this -basin, and they say the smell of it was something frightful.” - -“I can testify to that,” the Captain interrupted. “Last time I was -here it was a standing joke that no ship need take in ballast in -Marseilles--the smell of the harbor was strong enough for ballast. It -is none too sweet yet, for that matter.” - -“And still it is a very fine city,” Kit said; “the most interesting -place I have ever seen. There are so many strange things here. That -church of Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde keeps staring at me from its hilltop -wherever I go. I have a strong notion to go to see it this afternoon, -for I shall be very busy after we begin work.” - -“You will have plenty of time after dinner,” the Captain replied. “And -I can promise you that you will not be disappointed. We don’t hear much -about it in America, because Marseilles is very little known there; but -to my mind that church is one of the greatest sights in Europe. I won’t -go with you this time, for I lost too much sleep last night and want a -nap. But this will be a capital day to go. The Mistral is rising again, -and on the top of that hill you will learn something about the force of -the wind. You can take Henry with you if you want him, for sight-seeing -alone is stupid work.” - -Kit was very glad for this permission, both on Harry’s account and his -own; and toward the middle of the afternoon they went ashore and took -an omnibus to the “Garden of the Ascenseurs,” as the starting-point for -the church is called. - -“Well, if this is an omnibus, then I never saw a street car,” Harry -declared. “It’s exactly like a street car. Why do they call it an -omnibus, I wonder?” - -“Because it does not run on tracks,” Kit explained. “You see there are -no rails; it goes right over the paving-stones. It does look like a -street car, that’s a fact, and has the same small wheels.” - -“Everything is different here from anywhere else,” Harry went on. “Just -look at the names of the streets! First we came up the Cannebiere, -then up Rue Paradis. Then we turned up the Cours Pierre Puget into Rue -Breteuil, and now we are going up the Rue Dragon. What would they think -of such names in Huntington, Kit? But the ascenseurs! That’s what takes -me. What are they, Kit? some kind of animals?” - -“Why, the word is almost English,” Kit laughed. “We call them -elevators, in London they call them lifts, and in France they are -called ascenseurs. They are elevators, that’s all, to take us up the -hill.” - -“Say, old man, I don’t see where you learn so many things!” Harry -exclaimed. “We only got here yesterday, and you travel about this town -like a native.” - -“What do you think my eyes are for?” Kit asked. “But here we are. This -seems to be the end of navigation.” - -The omnibus had run through a big gateway into a small garden, and -could go no further because at the end of the garden an immense hill of -rock rose almost straight into the air. As they stepped out, an old man -held a tin box in front of them, with a hole in the top to drop coins -through. - -“No, thank you,” said Harry, “I don’t care for any to-day. They have a -good stock of beggars in this town,” he added to Kit, “but that’s the -first one I ever saw in uniform.” - -“He begs for the sailors’ hospital, so the guidebook says,” Kit -answered, as he dropped a ten-centime piece into the box. “There, what -do you think of going up the hill in that thing?” - -He pointed, as he spoke, to a great pile of masonry that rose almost -straight up the side of the hill, with two tracks, one on each side, -and near the top a series of dark and forbidding arches. The whole -thing had an uncanny look; and they heard the rapid flow of a stream of -water, but could not see it. - -“Phew!” Harry exclaimed. “I don’t like the looks of it very much. I’ve -never made a practice of going to church in an elevator, you know. But -I suppose it must be safe enough, as other people use it.” - -At the foot of the masonry was a small open pavilion where a man -sold tickets for the elevators; and after paying their fares, eighty -centimes, or sixteen cents, each, which entitled them to go up and come -down, they passed through a turnstile and stepped into a car nearly as -large as a small room, with a seat across the back, large windows in -the front, and before the windows a narrow platform, on which stood the -brakeman. - -The only other occupant of the car was a priest dressed in the garb -of his order--a low black hat, with broad brim turned up at the sides, -long black robe with a cape, and the usual black bow trimmed with a -narrow edge of white at the throat--the common costume of a Continental -priest. He was a pleasant-looking old man with nearly white hair; and -it was plain that he was accustomed to making the ascent, for he paid -no attention to the strange surroundings, but sat quietly reading a -small book. - -“If you tell me what it is, you can have it,” Harry said, nudging Kit -with his elbow and directing his eyes toward the priest. “I suppose -it’s a man, though it’s dressed like a woman. What in the world do they -put black petticoats on their priests for in this part of the world? -But take a look at the hat, will you? Nobody could invent an uglier hat -than that, not if he sat up nights thinking about it.” - -Before Kit could reply a bell tapped, the brakeman turned the little -iron wheel by his side, and the car began to ascend--not quietly and -smoothly, like most elevators, but with an oscillating motion and the -noise of a great rush of water. - -In half a minute, as they went up, they were far above the roof of the -pavilion, above everything about them but the hill, and Marseilles -seemed to lie at their feet. It was a grand sight from the very -beginning, and grew grander every moment. - -“Yes, it’s a big thing, Kit,” Harry cried. “It’s the greatest sight -we’ve seen yet. London hadn’t anything like this to offer.” - -At this minute the priest closed his little book and leaned over toward -the boys. - -“Is this your first visit to the Church of Our Lady, my young friends?” -he asked, very pleasantly and in excellent English. “You seem to be -strangers. You must let me be your guide when we get to the top, for I -am quite familiar with the place.” - -It was such a surprise to the boys that they barely had presence of -mind to answer politely. And Harry could hardly look at the wonderful -view for thinking of the remarks he had made about the obliging -priest’s clothes. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -THE MYSTERIOUS STRANGER FROM ROME. - - -When the car reached the summit, the priest stepped out, and the boys -followed. - -“Here,” he said, stepping up to the parapet and making a sweep around -the horizon with one arm, “you have one of the grandest views in -Europe. It is not as extensive as the view from the Eiffel Tower in -Paris, and of course there is not such a wilderness of buildings around -us. But here you have what is lacking there, a great body of water -for a background. You do not see much of the Mediterranean from this -terrace, because the remainder of the hill is in the way; we still have -a considerable part of the hill to climb, you know. But from the level -of the church there is a grand view of the sea.” - -“There could hardly be a better view of the city, sir, than there is -from here,” Kit answered. “The entire place seems to be just below us, -and the hills by which it is enclosed. The Old Port looks from here -like a little pond. But I can make out our ship very plainly, though -she looks like a toy boat from this distance. It is the third steamer -from the end, on this side, sir.” - -“Ah, then you are sailors, are you?” the priest asked. “And I know from -your manner of speech that you are Americans.” - -“Not exactly sailors, sir,” Harry said, thinking it time for him to -take a little part in the conversation. “Mr. Silburn is supercargo of -that steamer he showed you, the _North Cape_, and I am the cabin -boy.” - -“Then you have a great opportunity to see many parts of the world,” the -priest answered. “But in all your travels you will hardly see anything -more unusual than the church we are about to visit. There are other -churches on hilltops, but none with as many curious phases as this. I -have remained for several weeks in Marseilles solely for the sake of -becoming well acquainted with it.” - -“Then you do not live in Marseilles, sir?” Kit asked. “I suppose that -according to the custom of the country we ought to call you ‘father’; -but we are Americans and Protestants, and not accustomed to such -things.” - -“It is not of the least consequence,” the priest answered, with a -smile. “I would not have you depart from what you believe to be right. -It is not a good plan to be Protestant in America and a Catholic in -Europe and a Mohammedan in Turkey, and a Confucian in China. Whatever -you are, stick to it wherever you go. No,” he went on, “I do not live -in Marseilles. My home overlooks this same beautiful blue sea, but it -is many leagues from here. I live in Rome.” - -“We need not linger here,” the priest continued, “for the view is much -broader from the church. Come this way, and we will ascend to the -summit.” - -He led the way under a heavy stone arch to a long, broad stone viaduct, -like a bridge, extending from the column of masonry to the hill beyond. -Then the wide stone walk went up, up, with occasional flights of five -or six steps. At the further end of this was a longer flight of stone -steps, then a turn and another flight, and they were in front of the -entrance to a solid stone fort, with a soldier on guard at the gate. -At this level the gale was so strong that they could hardly keep their -feet. But still they kept on, up more stone steps, till they came to -the portico of the church. - -“We seem to be the only visitors this afternoon,” the priest said, -“though generally there are a number of persons here. I suppose they do -not like the high wind.” - -Instead of ascending the last flight of steps, leading to the interior -of the church, they turned to the left on a broad stone promenade -extending around the building. On one side of this was a low stone -house with several doors, and over one of the doors a sign bearing the -words, “Café, chocolat, vins fins et ordinaire, spiriteaux, tabac.” - -“Look at the gin-mill!” Harry exclaimed. “Who ever heard of a--” But he -recollected himself before he went any further, and stopped suddenly. - -“Do not stop on my account,” the priest said, with a low, pleasant -little laugh. “It looks odd to you, I know, to see a liquor shop -attached to a church. But every country has its own customs, you know. -And here the conditions are very unusual. This is not only a church, -but a fort too, as well as a signal station. All the ships that enter -the harbor are signalled from the poles on the other side of the -building.” - -When they turned the corner, they had a beautiful view of the -Mediterranean for many miles, and the harbor with its forts and -breakwater, and the long range of minor hills and valleys lying between -the city and its encircling mountains. - -“This little house, I believe,” the priest said as they turned again, -pointing to a small stone building that stood on the edge of the -promenade, almost overhanging the precipice, “is for the use of the -clergy attached to the church. But I have not made the acquaintance of -any of them, so I cannot take you in. Perhaps we had better go up now -into the church.” - -They stopped, however, in front of the church door while the priest -pointed out the moat, crossed by a heavy drawbridge, which they had -come over without noticing. - -“On account of the fort it was necessary to make the church capable of -defence also,” he explained. “In case of need the church could make -a very strong defence, with the bridge drawn up. I think you have no -fortified churches in your country?” - -[Illustration: “THEY HAD A BEAUTIFUL VIEW OF THE MEDITERRANEAN.”] - -“No, sir,” Kit replied; “I never saw one before. There are a great many -things in Europe that we do not have in America.” - -“Ah, but you are modest about it!” the priest laughed. “You have also a -great many things there that we do not have here.” - -As they ascended the inner steps they found a little shop on each side -of the entrance, kept by elderly women who were evidently sisters of -some order, as they were clad from head to foot in white nuns’-cloth. -The goods they sold were crosses, medallions, strings of beads, -pictures of the church, and other sacred emblems. And just outside, in -full view, was the office where masses for the repose of the souls of -the dead could be arranged for and the bills paid, and where large and -small candles for church use were also sold. - -A big doorway on the first landing opened into a crypt or lower chapel; -but the iron gate across was locked, and they went up another flight -of steps to the church proper--a church of no unusual size, but one of -the handsomest and most artistic in France, with walls and pillars of -marble, red jasper, and other costly materials. Near the doors were -two large stands with innumerable holders for candles, in which many -were burning, some as tall as a man, others not much larger than the -ordinary household candles. - -The priest had pointed out the curious toy ships hanging from the -ceiling, all offerings from mariners who had been delivered from -peril; the hundreds of tablets on the walls, “like peppermint lozenges -with blue borders,” as Harry whispered to Kit; and the costly altar -decorations, when he suddenly stopped and looked at his watch. - -“I think we had better go out a moment,” he said, “and learn how late -the ascenseurs run. It would be awkward to be left up here after they -had made their last trip for the night.” - -When they reached the stone promenade they saw several men running at -great speed toward the ascenseurs; but whether something had happened -or whether the men were trying to catch the car, was more than they -could tell. The priest, however, asked the attendant who sat near the -church door, and so learned the truth. - -“There is some trouble with the ascenseurs,” he explained, after a -short conversation in French with the attendant. “Not exactly an -accident, but some part of the engine was broken down, and they cannot -run till it is repaired. They think all will be in order again in half -an hour, so we need give ourselves no uneasiness about it.” - -“That is a capital illustration of the fallibility of all things -human,” he continued, as they stepped back out of the wind. “Those -ascenseurs are supposed to be as nearly perfect as such mechanism can -be made. It was thought that nothing could possibly happen to them. -They operate on what is known as the ‘water balance’ system. As one car -goes down the other goes up; and there is a water tank under each car. -Before a car starts from the top, its tank is filled with water by an -engine that forces the water up through a pipe, and the added weight of -the water makes it so much heavier that it easily draws the other car -up. Then there are four large wire cables attached to each car, besides -the usual devices for bringing the cars to a stop in case the cables -should break. That looks as if every possible danger had been guarded -against, doesn’t it? Yet some trifling thing about the engine gives -way, and the whole beautiful mechanism is for the time made useless. -You will find all through life, my boys, that no matter how carefully -you lay your plans, they will sometimes miscarry. It is only those -things that the great Creator arranges for us that always go right. -This solid church may crumble, but the skies above it will still be as -blue, the wind still sweep as furiously across the summit of this hill. -Remember that, my children. Whether you follow the faith that I love, -or the newer forms that I hope you love equally well, you must find in -the end that all rests upon the one foundation, the great Creator who -makes no mistakes, whose love is eternal, who doeth all things well.” - -Kit looked up in surprise to hear a priest speak in this way. There -were few Catholics in his part of Fairfield County, and he had never -given the subject much attention; but from what he had heard of them he -rather imagined that they--well, not that they would eat him exactly, -or insist upon burning candles in front of his face, but that at any -rate they would not be likely to see good in any religion except their -own. But this man was very different from the hazy ideas he had had -of Catholic priests. He did not look or speak like a bigot. As Kit -examined his face more closely he thought it one of the most kindly -and most intellectual faces he had ever seen. And certainly he was a -man of great knowledge. Whatever subject came up in the conversation, -he was familiar with. He had even talked about the management of a -steamship as knowingly as if he had been a sailor. He spoke English -and French with equal ease; as a priest he must also speak Latin; and -as a resident of Rome he must speak Italian. Kit noticed, too, that -although his outer clothing was shaped in the usual priestly fashion, -it was made of very fine materials. His boots were delicate and highly -polished. - -The greater part of the half-hour they spent in examining the curious -objects in the church, and what the boys did not understand the priest -explained to them. He was an invaluable guide and a pleasant companion, -and they were sorry when he said that they had better go out again to -see whether the ascenseurs were yet running. - -They were surprised to find that it was pitch dark when they went out -into the air, for the church was lighted with gas. And the wind had -increased and was blowing even a worse gale than before. They groped -their way down the steps as far as the entrance to the fort, and the -priest held a short conversation with the guard. - -“He says the break has proved more serious than was thought,” their -guide said, “and the ascenseurs will not be able to move for several -hours. But workmen are busy making repairs, and they will be in running -order again some time during the evening. So under the circumstances I -think it will be safer for us to wait. Of course there is a path down -the hill, as I know to my cost, for I walked down it a few days ago, -lost my way, and had to do more climbing than I have done since I was -about your age. But it would be extremely difficult and dangerous in -this darkness, and on such a night. We cannot well wait so long in -the church; but if you will come with me, I will see whether I cannot -induce the authorities to give us more comfortable quarters.” - -“You must not put yourself to any trouble on our account, sir,” Kit -answered, though he was rather pleased at the idea of spending a few -hours more with so agreeable a companion, as well as with having -another little adventure on his second night in Marseilles. “We can get -along very well in any sheltered place; and as you are a stranger here -it might put you to some inconvenience.” - -“I am not a stranger in any church dedicated to the Holy Mother of -God,” the priest answered; and from the movement of his hands the boys -imagined that he was crossing himself, though it was too dark for them -to see. And he spoke as if he felt as sure of finding a welcome there -as though he were about to open the door of his own house. - -The priest led the way up the steps again to the church door, and said -a few words in French to the attendant, which of course the boys did -not understand. But as he drew a silver card-case from an inner pocket -and handed a card to the man, they rightly judged that he was inquiring -for the clergyman in charge, and sending his card to him. - -“I did not intend to introduce myself in Marseilles,” he said, after -the man had disappeared with the card; “but my poor old throat is too -weak to risk long exposure on such a night, and I must find shelter. -And you shall share it with me, for I am your guide, philosopher, and -friend on this occasion. You need not be surprised at anything you may -see. You are in the house of God, and in company of one of the humblest -of his servants.” - -Kit would have given a great deal for a chance to exchange a few -words with Harry. But as that was impossible he had to do his own -thinking unassisted. He began to feel somehow as if he was on the -brink of another adventure, perhaps stranger even than the night in -Louis-Philippe’s cell. This was no ordinary priest, he was sure. -Instead of acting like a man asking for shelter, he seemed rather to be -waiting for something that he was entitled to. - -And what could he mean by telling them not to be surprised at anything -they might see? Surprised! the boys were surprised enough already. -Their weird surroundings thrilled them. The hill of Notre-Dame, with -all its strange accessories, is thrilling under the broad noonday sun; -but on this night of inky darkness, with the lights of Marseilles -twinkling far beneath them, and the church walls, though solid as the -fort itself, trembling under the thundering blasts of the gale, it was -enough to stir the blood of older men than Kit or Harry, without the -addition of a mysterious priest warning them against surprise. - -In a few minutes they heard footsteps coming down one of the long, -gloomy aisles, and the attendant returned, accompanied by a priest -dressed precisely like their companion, except that he carried no -hat. He looked around for a moment in the semi-darkness, this second -priest, approached the little group, and immediately dropped upon his -knees before the stranger. As he did so, the latter put out both hands -as if to help him rise, and the boys noticed that their companion had -removed his gloves, that his hands were beautifully small and white, -and that upon one of his fingers was a large and sparkling seal ring. -The kneeling priest took the hands in his and either kissed one of them -or kissed the ring, it was impossible to tell which. - -The boys disobeyed instructions at once. They were both surprised -already. - -Before rising the priest received the benediction from the newcomer, -and in another moment they were conversing in Latin; not, it seemed -to Kit, like equals talking together, but more like an inferior -speaking to a superior. The conversation lasted for some minutes; -and at its conclusion the priest of the church, with a profound bow, -led the way down the steps, across the stone promenade, and into the -small house in which, as their guide had told them, the clergy made -their headquarters. It was not, as the boys soon saw, a place where -the priests lived, but simply where they could sit and read and make -themselves comfortable while waiting for the numerous services during -the day and evening; and an adjoining room, the door of which stood -open when they entered, was evidently devoted to the uses of the -sisters in white. - -The room was in darkness at first, but the priest began to light the -wax candles that seemed to be kept more for ornament than use, and -it was soon bright as day. He drew up chairs for the visitor and his -companions, and then, with many low bows, excused himself and went out. -The apartment looked somewhat bare, but its scant furniture was heavy -and solid. - -“This will answer our purpose while we are detained here,” their friend -said when they were alone. “I have asked them to let us have a fire, -for the wind makes the air chilly.” - -In an incredibly short time, the priest returned with a number of -attendants, each bearing a load of some kind--attendants, who were -evidently young men in training for the priesthood, for they all wore -semi-priestly costumes. Two of them carried a large and handsomely -carved armchair from the church. Another had a large purple cloth over -his arm. Another bore a footstool, and still another brought an armful -of wood. - -Surprising as all this was, the boys were still more surprised to see -that each person as he entered the room immediately dropped upon his -knees, and rose only when their guide motioned them to do so, which he -did immediately. The two with the big chair had to set it down before -they could kneel; but the young man with the armful of wood had the -hardest time getting down and up again. - -The big chair was placed by the side of the hearth, and with the heavy -purple cloth thrown over it, and the footstool in front, it began -to look, the boys thought, very much like a throne. But their guide -seated himself in it as readily as if a throne was his customary seat, -and talked in Latin again with the priest, while one of the young men -started a blazing fire. When the priest withdrew again, as he did in a -few minutes, accompanied by the young men, it was with many low bows, -and walking backward toward the door. - -“Some of them are going to break their necks if this thing keeps on,” -Harry said to himself. He was fairly tingling for a chance to talk to -Kit, but that was still impossible. “But I’d like to know what sort of -a Grand High Panjandrum this is we’re travelling with. It must be an -awful nuisance to be such a big gun that people have to get down on -their knees to you. Why, I don’t believe you have to kneel when you go -to see the Governor of Connecticut; no, nor the President.” - -“They are going to bring us some trifling refreshment,” their guide -said, “as we shall lose our dinners through this accident to the -ascenseurs.” Then seeing that the boys hardly knew how to conduct -themselves in what was for them a very awkward situation, he skilfully -led them into conversation. How long had they been in Marseilles, and -what had they seen? - -Kit was soon started with the story of their visit to the Castle -d’If and what befell them there, in which their friend was very much -interested. Then he was led on and on, almost without knowing it, to -tell something of his own history; and that took him naturally to the -disappearance of his father, and the possibility that he might be the -strange man in the New Zealand hospital. - -“It is a great trial to be kept in such suspense,” their guide said; -“but whatever comes of it you must always feel that it is for the best. -I am glad to know that I may perhaps be of a little assistance to you -in such a matter. We may never meet again, but I shall be happy if I -can give you cause to remember your visit to Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde -with the stranger from Rome. I have a very dear friend in New Zealand -who may be of the greatest assistance to you in identifying the man in -the hospital, or in providing suitably for him if he proves to be your -father--as indeed I hope he may. I will give you a line to my friend, -and you must not hesitate to use it if occasion arises.” - -He took from an inner pocket, as he spoke, a small letter-case with -silver clasp and corners, opened it, and with the fountain pen it -contained wrote a brief letter, resting the case upon his knee, -enclosed it in an envelope which he addressed, and handed it to Kit. - -“If you should go to New Zealand to make inquiries for yourself,” he -said, “do not fail to present it, or if you send it by mail, write a -letter of your own to accompany it, explaining the case. You will find -it of use to you.” - -“Thank you very much, sir,” Kit answered, as he took the letter. “I -cannot tell what will be best to do till we hear from the consul there.” - -The letter-case was hardly restored to its place before the priest -returned, bringing again several attendants who carried a large tray -loaded with silver eating and drinking utensils, a silver urn of -steaming tea, bread, meats, cakes, fruit, nuts, and cheese. Again they -all went through the kneeling process; and they were shortly followed -by several more priests, who were duly introduced to the distinguished -visitor. - -While they were eating, all the priests and attendants withdrew; and -the “they” included the boys as well as the stranger, for he had -thoughtfully asked for food for his friends as well as for himself. -After a suitable interval the priests returned, kneeling as before, the -tray was removed, and the priests, at the stranger’s bidding, drew up -chairs, and a conversation followed, sometimes in Latin, sometimes in -French. - -The boys could easily see that they were as much of a mystery to the -priests as the whole thing was to them. Here were two young men, whose -dress showed that they were not in holy orders, who did not even speak -the language of the country, but who sat and talked and ate with the -distinguished stranger as if with an equal; who did not kneel to him, -did not even bow when they stood before him, but spoke to him and asked -him questions as freely as if he had been their father. If the boys -could have understood a few words of the conversation, their situation -would have been much less awkward; but it was all as bad as Greek to -them, and they could do nothing but sit and listen. - -For the next hour or two the priests were in and out, bowing themselves -out backwards always as they retired, kneeling always as they entered; -and in the intervals the boys enjoyed the conversation of their guide, -who had been in many countries and had seen many strange things. He had -been in America, much to their delight, and could tell them more than -they knew about New York and Boston. He had been in Bridgeport, too; -but when they asked whether he had been in Huntington he smiled and -shook his head. - -There was no need now to make inquiries about the repairs to the -ascenseurs, for every priest who entered the room had something to say -about the progress of the work, and the visitor kept the boys informed -in English. They would be running again in an hour; in half an hour; in -ten minutes. Then came the news that they were running, but would make -a few trips first to be sure of their safety. It was between eleven and -twelve o’clock when they were told that all was in readiness for them -to descend. - -Outside the door of the little house were two young attendants with -lanterns; and the priests themselves were there to take their visitor -by the arms and help him down through the stormy darkness to the -ascenseurs. And four priests went down with them in the car; and in the -pavilion at the bottom the whole four fell upon their knees around the -stranger to receive his benediction before he left them. And a handsome -carriage was waiting (the priests had taken care of that), in which the -stranger insisted that the boys should drive with him into the city. - -“I am staying at the Hôtel de Louvre et de la Paix,” he said, “so it -will be directly in my way to set you down at the Old Port where your -ship lies.” - -He bade them a fatherly good-by when they got out, and they climbed -aboard the _North Cape_ in the darkness. - -“Just pinch me, will you, Kit,” Harry said, when they were safely on -deck. “I don’t know whether I’m a cabin boy or a sort of graven image -on that big altar.” - -Captain Griffith was still up and reading, and he called the boys into -his room. - -“You made a long visit to that church,” he said. “I was getting a -little alarmed about you.” - -“We have been in good company, sir,” Kit answered. And he briefly told -the story of their adventure. “I really don’t feel quite sure yet that -we have not been dreaming,” he concluded. “Yes, it must have been real, -though, for here is the letter the gentleman gave me.” - -He held the dainty envelope down under the light, and read the -address:-- - - “THE MOST REVEREND - THE BISHOP OF NEW ZEALAND - _Wellington, N.Z._” - -“Well,” the Captain exclaimed, “the letter is not sealed. You can -easily tell by the signature who your distinguished friend was.” - -Kit took the letter out and tried to read it, but soon gave it up. - -“It is all written in Latin, and I can’t make out a word of it,” he -said, handing it to the Captain. - -“Don’t you see that little scarlet emblem up in the corner?” the -Captain asked, as soon as he glanced at it. “That is the emblem of a -cardinal, as I thought everybody knew. Yes, certainly. It is signed -‘Galotti.’ You youngsters have been hobnobbing with Cardinal Galotti. -Get off to bed, Henry; I can’t have my cabin boy fooling around with -Princes of the Church.” - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - -NEWS FROM NEW ZEALAND. - - -The little cottage in Huntington took on a new coat of white while -Kit was seeing the world and earning money beyond the sea. All the -weak spots were mended, the yard was put in order, the trees trimmed, -and in the rear a neat garden was made, where, toward the end of the -afternoons, Mrs. Silburn and Vieve went out in sunbonnets and pulled -weeds and did such other work as women’s hands were able to perform. It -was a very different looking place from the dingy spot it had become a -year before under the shock of its owner’s disappearance. And better -than all, the last cent of indebtedness upon it had been paid off. - -“I am glad you are able to do this, Mrs. Silburn; glad on your own -account,” the lawyer said when she made the last payment. “I hardly -expected it, with the trouble you have had. I was prepared to give you -as much time as you wanted in paying this up.” - -“Oh, you have been very good, Mr. Clarkson,” Mrs. Silburn answered. -“For a time I thought I should have to ask you for an extension. But I -did not know then what a good boy I had. Yes, I knew it of course; but -I did not know that he would be able to do so much for me so soon.” - -“Yes, you have a good boy, and no mistake,” the lawyer assented. “But -you can hardly call him a boy any more. When do you expect him home -again?” - -“In three or four weeks, now, I hope. And you know we have a little -hope of seeing some one else, too. It is a faint chance; but if the -man I told you of in the New Zealand hospital should prove to be my -husband, we want to have everything in order for him when he returns. -That is the reason Kit was so anxious to have the house painted; and -that is why I have struggled to have all the debts paid. We are looking -every day for a letter from the consul in New Zealand.” - -It was putting it very mildly to say that they were “looking” for a -letter from the consul. They were so eager for it that they did not -let a single mail arrive without going to the little post-office on -the hill. Not only that, but they had matters arranged so that as -Vieve came down the hill from the office, she could let her mother -know in advance of her arrival whether she had got any letters. Their -front windows looked across to the diagonal road that went up past the -post-office; and Vieve was to wave the letter, if she got one, as she -came down the hill, so that her mother, sitting sewing by the window, -would see it. - -Vieve was cook and housekeeper, now that her mother was busy all day -sewing, and she took pride in leaving everything in good order when she -started for school. Not that the cooking was very hard work. They often -said, laughingly, that Kit would give them both a good scolding if he -should come home unexpectedly and see what they had for breakfast. A -cup of coffee, a few slices of bread and butter, occasionally some -eggs, or a handful of radishes from the garden, made their usual fare; -and the other meals were equally light, though Mrs. Silburn insisted -that every few days they should have a steak or some chops for health’s -sake. - -“It’s a sinful waste of money!” Vieve always declared. “We don’t need -them half as much as we need the money. Remember you can’t bring a man -home from New Zealand for nothing. Anyhow, it’s a shame for us to eat -up the money that Kit works so hard for--and you sewing, sewing all the -time. I’m going to find a way to earn a little money myself, as soon as -I can. I don’t want to be the only one to make nothing.” - -“Then who will take care of me?” Mrs. Silburn’s invariable answer was. - -One morning she knew there was a letter by the way Vieve came running -down the hill, even before it was waved in the air for her. And Vieve -burst in flushed and breathless. - -“I’m almost afraid to open it,” Mrs. Silburn said. “So much depends -upon this letter, and it may crush all our hopes.” - -“Not _this_ letter!” Vieve laughed. “This is not from that consul -man, this is from Kit; and his letters never crush anybody’s hopes.” - -It was a letter telling of his safe arrival in Marseilles, and his -night in Louis-Philippe’s cell in the Castle d’If, and his visit -to Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde with Harry and their meeting with the -distinguished stranger who proved to be a cardinal. - -“A cardinal!” Vieve exclaimed; “just think of our Kit travelling about -with a cardinal. He’ll be so proud when he gets home we won’t know what -to say to him.” - -“Indeed, I think any cardinal or anybody else ought to be proud to -associate with a young man like Kit,” Mrs. Silburn hastened to answer. -“I don’t know that I want him running about with cardinals, either. -They’re papists, and the papists are all tricky. It would be just -like them to try to make a Catholic of such a young man. That Louise -Phillips, or whatever her name was, can consider herself very much -honored, too, that Kit visited her cell.” - -“Why, mother,” Vieve laughed, “Louis-Philippe was a man; a king, a -prince, or something.” - -“I don’t care,” Mrs. Silburn went on, “Kit’s just as good as any of -them. Don’t bother, now, till I finish the letter. What do I care for -their kings or cardinals when I have a letter from Kit? - -“‘The cardinal gave me a letter to the Bishop of New Zealand,’ she -continued to read from the letter, ‘and it may be of service to us -there. But I hope you have heard from the consul before this. I almost -wish I had asked you to send me a cable despatch telling me when you -got a letter and what it said. But cabling is so expensive--about forty -cents a word to Marseilles--that I shall have to wait in patience -till I get home. That will be in about three weeks after you get this -letter, I think; and I will be out to see you just as soon as I get my -cargo disposed of.’ - -“I do hope we will hear from that consul before Kit gets back,” Mrs. -Silburn said, after finishing the letter; and for the twentieth time -she figured out, as well as she could, how long it ought to take a -letter to go from London to New Zealand, and how long for the reply to -come to America. - -“Well,” she continued, “Kit will find things very much improved here -when he comes home. I never saw the old place look so well. If only -he could stay here longer to enjoy it! He works and works to keep a -comfortable home for us, and then never can stay in it more than a few -days at a time. But you must be off to school, Vieve; and don’t forget -to put on your overshoes, the streets are so muddy. I don’t know how -many times I have told you to go and buy a new pair, but you go on -wearing those old things, full of holes. You’ll catch your death of -cold.” - -“I don’t need new ones, mother,” Vieve replied. “They don’t grow on the -trees, you know, and all these things cost money. I’m not going to be -spending all of Kit’s money for my clothes.” - -“You foolish child, don’t you know that he always likes to buy things -for you? He’d rather get new clothes for you than for himself.” - -“I know it, mother,” Vieve answered. “He slipped some money into my -hand last time he was home, you know, and told me to buy something for -myself. But I’m not going to do it; I’d rather save it; you know what -for.” - -“You don’t want your father to come home and find that you’ve died of -diphtheria, do you?” Mrs. Silburn asked. “Well, you must have your own -way about it, I suppose. Stop at the butcher’s when you come home at -noon, Vieve, and get a slice of ham--not a very thick slice. There are -two or three eggs left, and that will do for our dinner.” - -It was as well that Kit could not see the pinching little ways at -home, or he would have worried over it. It was something new for the -Silburn family to live in this way, for Kit’s father had always made -good pay, and insisted upon the wife and children having plenty of -everything. But when he disappeared there came a change, and there -were grave doubts for a time whether Mrs. Silburn could make both -ends meet, even with the most rigid economy. Then Kit began to earn -a little; but although nearly every cent of his went to his mother, -she was determined that every cent of his little savings should be -set aside for his future use. It was only when there seemed a slight -possibility of her husband’s being alive that she consented to use some -of his money to repair and paint the house and pay the last of the -indebtedness upon it. Her own small income barely sufficed to buy the -plainest food. There was always, now, some of Kit’s money in the house; -but of their own, as they called it, money that they were willing to -spend, they were often reduced to two or three dollars. - -Not long after the receipt of Kit’s letter, Vieve once more waved a -white envelope as she descended the hill from the post-office, and this -proved to be the long-expected answer from the consul in New Zealand. -Mrs. Silburn turned it over and over many times, and examined the -address and the postmarks and the strange stamp on the corner, before -she could raise courage to open it. It was addressed to “Christopher -Silburn, Esq.,” as it was in answer to his letter; and her agitation -was so great that she was half inclined to make this a pretext for -letting it stand unopened until Kit returned. - -“Why, mother,” Vieve urged, “you know that was all arranged. He said -the answer would be addressed to him, but that we should open it just -the same. He would think we took no interest in it if we didn’t open -it.” - -“No, Kit couldn’t think that!” Mrs. Silburn declared; “he knows us too -well for that.” - -With trembling hand she cut off the end of the envelope with her -scissors; but that was as far as she could go. That letter was -destined, probably, either to overwhelm them with joy or fill them with -grief; and she could not bring herself to look at it. - -“Here, you read it,” she said, handing it, still in its envelope, to -Vieve. “My hands shake so I can hardly hold it.” - -Vieve quickly took out the letter and unfolded it. - - U. S. CONSULATE, WELLINGTON, N. Z. [she read]. - - CHRISTOPHER SILBURN, ESQ., Huntington, Conn. - - _Dear Sir_:--Your letter in regard to the supposed American - sailor in the hospital in this place was duly received, and I have - made such investigations as the data you supplied made possible. I - also secured the services of a physician to compare the unfortunate - man with your description, thinking that his larger experience in - such matters would give his opinion greater value than my own. - - But I regret that with all these inquiries my answer must still - leave you in doubt whether this man is your father or not. We - imagine that there is a slight scar upon the left temple, but it - is so indistinct, if there really is one, that we think it hardly - corresponds with the one you describe. Still we are not prepared to - say definitely that it does not. - - This man’s height is about five feet nine and a half inches, and - you say your father was 5, 10½. But he stoops so much that it is - difficult to get his height correctly, and he may in better days - have been 5, 10½. We are not prepared to either say that his eyes - are brown; they are a sort of brownish gray; and his weight is - about 140 pounds, though it was only 127 when he was received in - the hospital. - - The teeth almost answer the description you give, being perfect - except that one incisor on the left side is partly broken off. That - is an accident, however, that might have happened since you last - saw him. - - On the whole, as I said before, I am unable from your description - to decide whether this man is your father or not. I have mentioned - to him all the names and incidents given in your letter, without - the least result. He improves in physical health daily, but there - is no corresponding improvement in his mental condition. His memory - seems entirely dormant. - - I had him photographed some time ago, but before the prints were - made the negative was destroyed in a fire that burned a large - share of the business portion of this city; and as soon as the - photographers are able to resume business I will have a new - negative made and send you a photograph. - - I suggest that you send me as many further particulars as you can; - and meanwhile you may rest assured that this unfortunate man, - whether he prove to be your father or not, is comfortably situated - and receiving all necessary attention. - Yours very truly, - HY. W. W. WILKINS, - _Vice-Consul of the U. S., Wellington, N. Z._ - -“Well, if _that_ ain’t a disappointing letter!” Mrs. Silburn -exclaimed, when Vieve had finished reading. “I should think a man right -there on the spot could tell something about it. Won’t poor Kit be -disappointed when he comes home, after all these weeks of waiting!” - -“And still he has taken a great deal of pains about it,” Vieve -suggested; “even to getting a doctor, and having a photograph taken. We -can’t blame him because he is not able to say yes or no to a certainty. -He knows how awkward it would be if he should say ‘Yes, this is the -man,’ and then after we got him home he should prove to be another man -entirely. I am glad he is so careful about it, at any rate. And it -seems to me there is a great deal in the letter that is encouraging. -Let’s read it over again, and pick out the good points.” - -“But you will be late for school, Vieve,” her mother objected. - -“School!” Vieve cried; “if I hurry, I may learn that Rio Janeiro is on -the east coast of South America; and I don’t care a fig if it’s on the -west coast of Asia, when there may be news about father.” - -Mrs. Silburn looked up in surprise at hearing Vieve speak in this -way, for school was a pleasure to her, not a labor. She saw that the -light-hearted girl was in a great state of excitement, though she tried -hard to suppress it, and the look was the last straw that brought on -the storm. - -“Oh, mamma!” she sobbed, with one arm across her eyes. “I believe that -man--that man--in New Zealand--is my father!” - -With another burst of tears she threw her arms around her mother’s -neck and sobbed till the chair shook. And as such things are always -contagious, Mrs. Silburn was soon crying too; and if tears are a -relief, they must have felt much better, for it was ten or fifteen -minutes before they were able to look at the letter again. - -“Suppose it is your father,” Mrs. Silburn said at length, in a mildly -chiding tone; “that’s nothing to cry about, is it? This unsatisfactory -letter only makes another delay, that’s all. Kit will know what to -do when he comes. He always knows. What is it the man says about your -father’s teeth?” - -“Well, he don’t say they’re father’s teeth,” she answered, trying to -laugh off the remnants of her tears. “But he says that that man’s -teeth--let me see what he does say--” and she turned to the letter -again. - -“‘The teeth almost answer the description you give,’” she read, “‘being -perfect except that one incisor--’ what’s an incisor? oh, yes, I know; -‘that one incisor on the left side is partly broken off.’” - -“Now isn’t that a good point?” she asked. “There ain’t many people have -teeth like father’s, I tell you. And it’s nothing that one of them -should be broken. I guess if we went through such a shipwreck we’d have -more broken than one tooth. It’s easy to see how a mast, or a keel, or -a--a--a breakwater or something might have struck him while he was in -the water. - -“Then there’s that scar,” she went on. “Let me see--” and she found -that part of the letter again. “‘We imagine that there is a slight scar -upon the left temple,’” she read. “Now why should they imagine it if it -wasn’t there? You don’t imagine a scar; you see it. Oh, we couldn’t ask -for anything better than that.” - -There was no school for Vieve that morning; she was too much excited -over the letter. But after it had been read again and well studied she -drew her father’s armchair to his favorite place by the fireside, got -out his slippers and stood them in order in front of the chair, just -ready to be stepped into, and laid in the chair his pocket knife, that -had been one of their treasures ever since Kit brought it home from -London. Then she called in Turk and made him sit down beside the chair. - -“There!” she said; “there’s a beginning. We have the chair, the -slippers, the knife, and Turk waiting to be petted. And in New Zealand -we have got as far as father’s beautiful teeth and the scar on the -temple. Before long we’ll have a whole father sitting here with us, or -I’m very much mistaken. I don’t feel so much as if he was missing now. -We know where he is (at least I think we do), and we have only to get -him home.” - -“Ah, you are very hopeful, Vieve,” her mother sighed. “I only wish I -felt as sure of it as you do.” - -It was only two or three mornings after the receipt of the consul’s -letter that Vieve once more waved an envelope as she hurried down the -post-office hill. - -“It’s another from Kit, mother,” she cried, as she burst into the room; -“and it was registered and I had to sign a receipt for it, so there -must be something important in it.” - -There was no hesitation ever about opening Kit’s letters; they were -always so hopeful and cheery. - -“We are going to get our cargo in a little sooner than we expected,” he -wrote, “and in about two weeks or two and a half after you receive this -you may hear of our arrival in New York. - -“I intended to send you the cardinal’s letter last time I wrote, but I -was interrupted and had to mail it in a hurry, so I waited to send it -in this. And I will register this letter to guard against it’s being -lost in the mails, as a note from so powerful a person might be of -great use to us in New Zealand, and I must not lose it. It is written -in Latin, as you will see; and I am sorry to say that not one of us on -the ship knows enough about Latin to read it. But maybe you can get our -minister in Huntington or Vieve’s teacher to translate it for you. I -should like to know myself what is in it. I shall not be very long, I -tell you, about learning some languages besides English. I did not know -how much use they could be to a man till I came to travel. I am picking -up a little French in dealing with these French people, but have not -had much time for it--for you must not think I have had nothing to do -in Marseilles but look at the sights. I heard a funny little story the -other day about an Englishman who was learning French. You know the -‘sea’ in French is _mer_, pronounced _mare_, and ‘horse’ is -_cheval_. ‘Well,’ said he, after taking a few lessons, I never can -learn such a foolish language as this, where the sea is a mare and a -horse is a shovel.’” - -“Did you ever see such a boy!” Mrs. Silburn exclaimed, handling -Kit’s letter as if it were more precious than gold. “He always finds -something funny wherever he goes.” - -But Vieve was very much interested in the cardinal’s note, and the -little scarlet emblem in the corner. - -“I might take it to school and ask the teacher to translate it,” she -said; “but I think Mr. Wright would be more interested in it. He always -takes such an interest in Kit; and then although he is a minister, -maybe he has never seen a letter from a cardinal.” - -That same afternoon she took the letter to Mr. Wright, the clergyman -who preached in the church across the road, and he readily consented to -translate it. - -“That is, if I can,” he added, smiling. “It is one good thing about the -Catholics that they teach their young men Latin much more thoroughly -than we learn it in our schools. The priests cannot only read and write -it, but they can always converse in it fluently. But I think I can -translate this for you; at any rate, I will write it out for you in -English, for you probably could not remember it all.” - -He read it over first carefully, and then wrote the following -translation:-- - - MOST REVEREND AND WELL BELOVED BROTHER: This will be - presented to you by Mr. Christopher Silburn, a young American in - whom I take an interest. - - His father has been shipwrecked and has disappeared, and it is - hoped that a sailor now in one of your New Zealand hospitals may - prove to be the missing man. - - I bespeak for my young friend your good offices in whatever manner - may be fitting. - - Accept, brother, the assurance of my continued love and esteem. - GALOTTI. - -“Galotti--Galotti,” Mr. Wright said, musingly, as he copied the -signature; “why, there is a celebrated cardinal of that name. This can -hardly be from Cardinal Galotti, I suppose?” - -“Yes, sir,” Vieve answered, swelling a little with pride in her -brother; “that is the man. He is one of Kit’s friends in Marseilles.” - -Such an astonishing statement had to be explained; and in answer to -her pastor’s questions she repeated the story of their meeting in the -strange church as Kit had told it in his letter. - -“I am remarkably glad to hear it,” Mr. Wright said, when she finished. -“Kit is a good boy, and sure to make good friends wherever he goes. -But I imagine you have no idea what a powerful friend he has made this -time. The cardinals hold the very highest position in the Catholic -Church, next to the Pope himself. Such a letter as this from a cardinal -to a bishop is almost equal to a royal command, and may be of the -greatest use to you. Wait a minute; I think I can tell you something -about Cardinal Galotti.” - -He turned to a bookcase and took down a volume, and in a few minutes -continued:-- - -“Yes, Galotti is one of the most eminent of the cardinals, and -may eventually be the Pope himself. All the cardinals are called -ecclesiastical princes, you know; but Galotti is a temporal prince as -well, being a prince of Italy. No wonder he seemed so much at ease in -the little throne they arranged for him in that curious church. I -don’t believe in such things myself; but I am truly glad that Kit has -made so powerful a friend.” - -Whether Vieve had anything to say to the girls at school about “Kit’s -friend the cardinal,” would be hard to tell; but in a little over two -weeks more she ran down the post-office hill so fast one morning that -her mother knew she had some news, though there was no letter in her -hand. - -What she had was a little slip that one of the neighbors she met in the -office had torn out of his New York newspaper for her. It was only one -line of fine type, under the heading “Arrived Yesterday”: - -“_North Cape_, Griffith, from Marseilles.” - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -KIT LEAVES THE “NORTH CAPE.” - - -Though the voyage to and from Marseilles had been a pleasant one, -and the business had been transacted in a way that he knew must be -satisfactory to his employers, Kit was remarkably glad when the -_North Cape_ was inside of Sandy Hook again. It was time, more -than time, for an answer to his letter to New Zealand; and although at -his last news from home no answer had arrived, he felt sure that he -must find one when he reached Huntington. - -“I shall be busy for five or six days getting out my cargo,” he wrote -home when his first rush on arrival was over; “but you can expect to -see me by the beginning of next week. I have so many things to tell -you; and I hope you will have news for me from Wellington.” - -He was to have more things to tell them when he got to Huntington than -he then had any idea of; but he sent some messages and packages home by -Harry Leonard, as before, and worked away at his cargo till the greater -part of it was in the warehouse. - -He had eight hundred boxes of soap among his other cases, for -Marseilles is a great point for the manufacture of soaps; “and it’s a -pity they send so much of it away,” he often said to himself, “when -they’re in such need of it over there.” But his soap needed particular -attention; and he had to make several trips to his employers’ office to -get directions concerning it. On his return from one of these trips he -went into the cabin and found that there was a visitor in the Captain’s -room. - -“Come in, Silburn,” the Captain called through the open door. “Here’s a -friend of yours come to see you.” - -Kit went in, wondering whether his mother could have received important -news and hastened to the city to tell him of it; but his hand was -instantly seized by the rotund purser Clark, of the _Trinidad_, as -fat and bluntly good-natured and short-breathed as ever. - -“Glad to see you again, Silburn,” the purser puffed. “It’s not so long -since we cooled ourselves with ice cream in the ice-house down in -Barbadoes; but I hear you’ve been seeing a good deal of the world since -then.” - -“Oh, a few corners of it,” Kit answered. “It’s hard to find a better -part of it than our own country, though.” - -“You’re right there!” Mr. Clark acquiesced, bringing his hand down on -his fat knee with a bang. “You’re just right there, young man. But it’s -a good plan to see how the other fellows live, to make us appreciate -our own advantages. I’ve not been seeing much of it lately, for my -part; just going up and down, up and down, among those black rascals -in the West Indies. I’ve had a great deal too much work to do; it’s -wearing me down to skin and bone.” - -Kit and the Captain were inclined to laugh at this, considering the -purser’s hearty appearance; but his face was as solemn as a judge’s. - -“The work seems to agree with you pretty well, sir,” Kit suggested. - -“No, it don’t!” the purser declared, giving his knee another sounding -slap. “That’s a mistake; work don’t agree with anybody, in spite of all -the twaddle about it. I don’t believe in work. My theory is that nobody -should have to work at all. Every man should have an income of at least -five thousand dollars a year, and live on his money. The trouble is -things are not arranged right, and some of us get left. No, work is all -humbug.” - -It was impossible to tell from the purser’s round face whether he was -joking or not. He certainly was a hard worker himself. - -“The only concession I will make,” he went on, “is, that being -compelled to work at all, it is better to do it well. I believe you go -on that theory too, Silburn; that’s the reason I’ve come to see you. -Although, as I say, I don’t believe in work, still when it has to be -done I like to see it done well. I believe you have been defrauded by -society, like myself, of the five thousand a year that every man is -entitled to, and have to work a little for a living? And that being the -case, how would you like to leave the _North Cape_ and come and -work for me?” - -“For you, sir?” Kit exclaimed, naturally taken by surprise by the -suddenness of the question. “On the _Trinidad_, do you mean?” - -“Well, I mean for my company, of course,” Mr. Clark replied; “but with -me, on the _Trinidad_. You see the situation is this. Our business -has increased so much down among those islands, both in passengers and -freight, that there is more work for the purser on the _Trinidad_ -than any one man ought to be asked to do. I am away behind in my work -all the time, and that don’t do. So the company has consented to let me -have an assistant. And as my assistant will be with me all the time, -and I will be responsible for his work, it is only fair that I should -have the privilege of selecting him. They see the force of that too; -and the matter being left with me, I said to myself, young Silburn’s -the sort of man I want with me, if I can get him. He attends to his -business without any nonsense, and I’m going to hunt him up. - -“So I have had a talk with the Captain here about you,” the purser went -on; “and if you want to be my assistant purser on the _Trinidad_ -at one hundred dollars a month, you have only to say the word.” - -For a few moments Kit hardly knew how to reply. Mr. Clark had been -jesting, he was sure, in talking about his dislike of work; and he was -still jesting. Kit thought, when he first spoke of Kit’s working for -him. But there was no joke about such an offer as he had just made. -That was sober earnest, and required an answer. - -“Why, I should like to have one hundred dollars a month, sir,” he -replied, “very much indeed. And I should like to be with you. But on -the other hand I should dislike to leave Captain Griffith and the old -_North Cape_. And there is one thing that would interfere with my -going into a new place just now. I don’t know whether I told you about -my father, how he was shipwrecked and has been missing for a long time. -There is a man in New Zealand, in a hospital, who may prove to be my -father; and if he should, it might be necessary for me to go over there -to bring him home.” - -“Yes, Captain Griffith has told me all about that,” Mr. Clark answered, -“and that need not be any objection. It is quite right that you should -do everything possible for your father. But it is not such a long -voyage to New Zealand in these days of steam, and I could put some one -in your place while you were gone. Besides, it takes money for such a -trip, and you would get the money much faster as my assistant than you -can make it as a supercargo.” - -“Yes, sir, that is true,” Kit said; “I thought of that at once. And -it is very kind in you to make me such a liberal offer. But can you -let me have a little time to think of it in, Mr. Clark? Say a week or -ten days? I have always had a sort of horror of changing about from -one place to another, and should not like to do it without consulting -Captain Griffith and my mother.” - -“Take a week and welcome to think it over in, my lad,” the purser -answered. “I can’t say more than a week, because I must have some one -before I start on the next voyage. But you can do a heap of thinking in -a week, if you set about it. And I hope you will make up your mind to -go with me. I think it will be to your advantage and mine too.” - -After the purser was gone Kit had to look after his soap-boxes; but -as soon as they were attended to he returned to the cabin and had a -serious talk with Captain Griffith. - -“I don’t like the idea of your leaving us, Silburn,” the Captain said; -“don’t like it at all. But it would be selfish in me to stand in the -way of your bettering yourself. The Quebec company is a good company, -the _Trinidad_ is a fine ship, and Mr. Clark is a good man to be -with. I have known him slightly for a long time. To be sure, he has -some odd ways, but then most of us have. He is always talking about not -believing in work, yet he works as hard as any man I know. - -“And the one hundred dollars a month is a great object,” he continued. -“It is really large pay, considering that you would live on the -ship and would have hardly any expenses. You would have to wear the -company’s uniform, of course, and keep well dressed on account of the -passengers; but that does not amount to much. And you would likely -become one of their pursers in time, if you gave satisfaction. Much -as I should dislike to lose you, it is only fair for me to say that I -think it is a very fine offer. I don’t see how you can do anything but -accept it.” - -To add to the unsettled state of Kit’s mind, the next day brought him -a letter from Vieve saying that they had heard from the consul at -Wellington. But she did not say whether the man in the hospital had -proved to be their father or not. This he looked upon as a bad sign, -for if there had been good news, she would have been in a hurry to tell -it. So with this matter to be discussed, and his Marseilles experiences -to be related, and his new offer to be considered and decided upon, he -felt as if a week at home would hardly be half long enough. - -“I never had any regret at going ashore before, Captain,” he said, as -he shook the Captain’s hand in bidding him good-by. “But this time it -seems almost like leaving home. It has been so pleasant on the _North -Cape_, and you have always been so kind, I should feel strange to -belong anywhere else. If I accept Mr. Clark’s offer, I’ll not belong on -the old ship any longer, and it makes me feel bad in advance.” - -“I don’t like to think of your going, Kit,” the Captain answered, -returning to the first name as a mark of affection; “but the manner of -your going makes a great difference, you know. If you were going under -compulsion, I should feel downright bad about it. Going to something -better is a different matter entirely. I suppose when a United States -senator is elected President he doesn’t have any great regrets about -leaving his old seat in the Senate Chamber. And it is the same thing -with you, in a smaller way. But we know each other, Kit, and though you -may leave the ship, we will still be friends. Anyhow, when you are in -need of a friend you need not go further than the cabin of the _North -Cape_.” - -There was so much to be done at home that Kit laid out a programme on -his way to Bridgeport. The letter from New Zealand he thought the most -important matter, and that should be considered first. Then the offer -from Mr. Clark. He had pretty much made up his mind that that ought to -be accepted; but if his mother opposed it he was ready to give it up. -Then after all the business was done he could tell about his second -voyage to Europe. This time he caught the stage to Huntington, and so -saved himself a long walk. - -“Why, you folks have grown so grand here I’m almost afraid to go in,” -he laughed, looking up at the freshly painted house as his mother and -Vieve ran out to the gate to meet him. - -“Oh, I’m glad you think so!” Vieve answered, taking possession of the -side opposite her mother. “I thought maybe we would seem too poor and -common for you, since you’ve taken to travelling about with cardinals. -But I know more about your cardinal now than you do, Mr. Supercargo, -for Mr. Wright has translated his letter for me, and told me all about -him.” - -They were all too full of the New Zealand letter to let that stand -long; and before Kit had been in the house many minutes he asked for -it. When they gave it to him he read it carefully, then read it again, -and thought over it for a few minutes without speaking. - -“Well, it is not as bad as I feared,” he said, at length. “When Vieve -wrote that you had received the letter, without saying what was in it, -I thought there must be such bad news that you did not want to tell me. -But this is only more delay. What little news there is in it is good -news, for they seem to have found the scar, though they are not sure -about it, and the teeth correspond with father’s. It looks more hopeful -than ever, only we must wait till we can hear again. And the photograph -ought to settle the question, when that comes. I will write to the -consul again, and give him all the particulars we can all think of.” - -“And that letter from the cardinal,” Mrs. Silburn suggested. “It -seems he is a very great man, and the letter is to the Bishop of New -Zealand--a Catholic of course, but I wouldn’t mind what he was if he -could help us. This is a nice time of life for a God-fearing Protestant -woman to begin talking about cardinals and bishops; but wouldn’t it be -as well to send that letter on and ask the bishop to help us?” - -Kit asked to see the translation before he gave any opinion about it, -for he did not yet know what was in the letter. - -“I am inclined to think it would be better to save this for another -purpose,” he said, after he had read it. “I have never said so before, -but I have often thought, and the same thing must have occurred to you, -that I may have to go on to New Zealand. It is a long journey, but any -of us would go further than that, further than the end of the world, to -have father with us again. If I should go there, this letter would be -a very valuable thing to take with me, and I think it ought to be kept -for that. The only thing is to have some reasonable certainty that the -man in the hospital is really father. With any good evidence of that, -even very slight evidence, I should go over there at once.” - -“Yes,” Mrs. Silburn answered, with tears in her eyes; “I have often -thought of that, Kit. And I knew of course that you would think of it. -If we can get any reasonable evidence that that may be your father, I -think you ought to go. It will take all the money we can borrow on this -little place, and leave us badly in debt again, but we must not stop -for that. All the money in the world is nothing compared with having -your father back again.” - -“Oh, we are not as badly off as all that!” Kit said. Never in his life -before had he felt so proud of being able to earn money. “You don’t -know how easily we sea-faring fellows can get about the world. I think -maybe I can get a job for one round voyage on some vessel bound for -Australia or New Zealand, even if I have to work only for my passage. -Then the only expense will be paying father’s fare home. Captain -Griffith would help me to get such a job, I know; and I have another -friend now who would help me to it, I am sure. You see I have some more -news for you, though I didn’t intend to tell you till to-morrow.” - -Then he told of his offer of one hundred dollars a month from the -Quebec Steamship Company, and how he had consulted Captain Griffith, -and how the Captain had advised him to accept it; and explained that -he thought very favorably of it himself, but waited to hear what his -mother thought. - -“A hundred dollars a month!” Vieve cried, throwing her arms about her -brother’s neck and nearly choking him. “You? Just for writing out those -paper things on a ship? That’s twelve hundred dollars a year! why, Mr. -Wright don’t get more than a thousand, I’m sure, and the parsonage; but -then you’ll have a sort of parsonage too--at least the ship to live in.” - -“Ah! but Mr. Wright don’t travel about with cardinals!” Kit laughed. -“That makes all the difference in the world. What do you think of it, -mother? It is an important matter, and you are the one to decide it.” - -“No, we have got beyond that, Kit,” Mrs. Silburn answered, as well -as her demonstrations of pleasure would allow. “You are the one to -decide questions for us, not we for you. As far as I can see I should -think you would not hesitate at all about it. But you know all the -circumstances better than I do. You must decide for yourself.” - -“Then it is already decided, mother,” he said. “I had made up my mind -to accept it, provided you did not object. You don’t know how much I -love Captain Griffith and the _North Cape_. The Captain is one man -in a thousand; he has been like a father to me. But one hundred dollars -a month is a splendid offer, and the Captain himself advises me to take -it.” - -There was a little feast in the Silburn cottage that evening to -celebrate Kit’s improved prospects. That was what it meant when he -beckoned Vieve into the hall and slipped some money into her hand, and -told her, after making her purchases, to go to Harry Leonard’s and -invite him to come over. Not very much of a feast; if she had had a -purseful of gold to spend she could not have bought the materials for -a banquet in the little shops of Huntington, at such short notice; but -what she found in her hurried trip answered every purpose. - -“Now don’t you be making eyes at Harry Leonard, miss!” Kit warned her, -when she returned with the provisions, and began by unloading a fat -chicken and some bunches of Malaga grapes. “I know you used to be very -fond of him.” - -“At Harry Leonard!” Vieve retorted, assuming her grandest air. “Humph! -I guess when I have a beau (which I won’t have), he’ll be nothing short -of a cardinal.” - -“Then you’ll die an old maid,” Kit laughed; “don’t you know that -cardinals are Catholic priests, and never marry?” - -They were a merry party at supper, though Harry was disconsolate for a -while at hearing that Kit was going to leave the _North Cape_. - -“Why, I don’t know what we’ll do without him on board, Mrs. Silburn!” -he exclaimed. “It will be like a different ship. It will make a great -change for me, I tell you. No more good times on shore now for the -cabin boy, I suppose. The Captain thinks I’m too young and giddy to -go ashore alone in strange ports, though I’m not; but he was always -satisfied when I was with Kit.” - -The whole story of their visit to Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde had to be -told while they were eating, and their meeting with the mysterious -stranger; and Harry kept them in roars of laughter when he described -how the old and young priests always entered the room “on their marrow -bones,” as he called it. Somewhere in Marseilles he had heard the -French pronunciation of Vieve’s name, and he added to the merriment by -insisting upon giving it the French twang whenever he addressed her: -“Miss Zhou-_vay_-ve; Miss Zhou-_vay_-ve.” - -The spectre at the feast did not show itself till all was over and -Harry had gone home, for Kit guarded it carefully as long as he could. -But at last he had to let it out. - -“My change of work will cut short my visit home,” he announced. -“I can’t go off suddenly and leave my employers in the lurch, you -know. They must have time to get some one else in my place; and if -they ask it, I may have to wait another voyage before going on the -_Trinidad_. But if they let me off, I will still have a great deal -to do. My accounts must all be straightened out, and I will have some -business with the tailors. I will have to wear the company’s uniform on -the _Trinidad_, you know.” - -“Ah! that’s it!” Vieve declared, pretending to be hurt at Kit’s leaving -them sooner than he expected, though it was not all pretence. “He wants -to get his new clothes! Won’t he be grand, though, when he comes out in -a new uniform with gold braid!” - -“Yes, you know I always think so much about my clothes,” he answered. -“But I’ll be with you all day to-morrow; and busy enough, too, writing -letters. To-morrow I must write to that New Zealand consul again, and -there are several more to be written. Then the next morning I must -go back to New York. But then this won’t be like those long trips to -Europe. Why, I’ll be back again in no time at all. The _Trinidad_ -only runs to the island of Trinidad and back, stopping at St. Kitts, -Antigua, St. Lucia, Martinique, Dominica, and Barbadoes. She makes the -round trip in twenty-eight days. Being a mail and passenger boat, you -know, she has to make time.” - -It was hard work for Kit to go back to the _North Cape_ to say -good-by, after his employers had generously released him at once, with -many expressions of satisfaction and good will. It was on her that he -had changed from a waif on the docks to a cabin boy, and from cabin -boy to supercargo. In her cabin he had made his start in life, and -every man on board was his friend. He could not bid good-by to Captain -Griffith in the cabin and then go away. The crew crowded around him -to wish him happiness and prosperity. Men who had never shown any -particular interest in him before, seemed grieved to have him go. He -had to shake hands with Mr. Mason and Mr. Hanway, with Tom Haines and -his chief, with the steward, even with Chock Cheevers. - -In four days more, when in all the glory of bright new uniform he stood -on the deck of a faster and handsomer ship, watching once more the -hoisting of the flags as she sped by the Sandy Hook signal station, it -gave him a start when he saw that the uppermost flag did not bear the -familiar number of the _North Cape_. - -“The _Trinidad_,” the signals said this time; “for Trinidad and -intermediate ports.” - - - - -CHAPTER XVII. - -OVERBOARD IN THE PITCH LAKE. - - -The difference between a modern mail and passenger steamer and a vessel -built solely for carrying freight is so great that Kit could hardly -help liking his new surroundings, much as he regretted leaving his -old friend the _North Cape_. On the _Trinidad_ there was a -beautiful little office for the purser, in which Mr. Clark had one -desk and his assistant another; and although the work was ten times as -great as on the freighter, the facilities for doing it were ten times -better. It was vastly more labor to make up the manifest where there -were thousands of miscellaneous packages for different consignees at -different ports; but it had to be written only once, for there was the -copying-press ready to make as many duplicates as might be needed. Kit -had never seen so many facilities before for doing good and rapid work. - -And there was not more change in the office work than there was in -everything else. No more “sea clothes” to be worn now, with forty or -fifty passengers in the cabin, and the necessity of going into the -grand saloon for every meal. It was a finer saloon than Kit had seen -anywhere before, fitted up in marbles and hard woods and shining glass; -and certainly the meals were far beyond anything he had dreamed of. -Mr. Clark’s seat was at the head of one of the tables, and Kit’s at -the foot; and he soon found that being agreeable to the passengers is -an important part of the purser’s work on a large steamer. That part -of the work Mr. Clark was quite willing to do himself, leaving his -assistant to attend to the clerical-business; and Kit was more than -willing to have it so, for he did not feel quite at home yet with so -many passengers on board ship. - -The voyage was no novelty to him, as he had been over precisely the -same route before as far as Barbadoes. But this trip bade fair to give -him a much better knowledge of the intermediate islands, for the purser -told him that he was to do all the “shore work.” - -“There’s no use of my roasting myself on those islands,” Mr. Clark -said, “when I have a young fellow to do it for me. You are accustomed -to that kind of work; you will find this almost the same as the work -you have been doing. You must never let a package get away from you -till somebody else becomes responsible for it and you have his receipt -for it. These fellows down here would steal the tan off your face, -if they didn’t have so much of their own. I have read in books that -there’s a great deal of honesty in the world, but somehow it doesn’t -seem to thrive around the seaports. Maybe you had a little experience -of that in Marseilles.” - -“I rather think I did!” Kit laughed. “But I have learned pretty well -how to hold on to my goods. I don’t think they’re going to rob me much -down here.” - -One of the pleasures of the evening was to have Captain Fraser come -into the office for a chat. In the long run between New York and St. -Kitts, the first island, with fair weather and no land for hundreds of -miles, the Captain had very little to do, and hardly an evening passed -without a visit from him. He was a big, jolly, hearty Nova Scotian, in -manner very much like Mr. Clark, Kit thought, at least in his habit of -saying things with a sober face that he neither believed himself nor -expected others to believe. The speed of the _Trinidad_ was one of -the things that Captain Fraser never tired of joking about. One evening -Kit made some remark about the good day’s run. - -“Oh, I have to hold her back,” the Captain answered. “She’s a very fast -ship when we let her out, but the owners won’t stand it. Coming up -about three months ago we left St. Kitts a day late, and as we had fine -weather the chief engineer kept bothering me to let him make it up. So -at last I got tired hearing about it and told him to let her go. Go! -Well, sir, you never saw anything like it. You’ve been in a fast train -on shore and seen the telegraph poles fly past? That was exactly the -way the light-houses flew past all the way up the coast. We got into -port two days ahead of time; but when the port captain came aboard, the -first thing he said was:-- - -“‘Hello, here! what you been changing her color for? Don’t you know -black’s the color of this line?’ - -“‘Haven’t changed her color,’ said I. - -“‘Look at her,’ said he. - -“Well, sir, I looked over the side, and bless my weather binnacles -if the ship wasn’t a bright lead color. That was strange, you know, -considering that we’d left port black. I jumped ashore and rubbed my -hand over her, and she was smooth as--well, smooth as Clark’s bald head -there. There wasn’t a particle of paint on her; she’d come so fast it -was all stripped off, and the water had polished her steel plates till -they shone like a new quarter. - -“That made her very handsome, but the owners didn’t like it because -they had to dock her to be painted.” - -“She must have made a record that voyage, sir,” Kit suggested. - -“Oh, that was only the beginning of it,” the Captain went on, with -a wink at the purser. “When we started out again and got down off -Hatteras we met a Dutch bark towing the biggest sea-serpent you ever -saw. Whether it was a sea-serpent or a whale they couldn’t quite make -out; but it was about 375 feet long and 35 or 40 feet through. They’d -had it two or three days, and they declared it bellowed all night -long, though that part I wouldn’t ask anybody to believe. - -“I suspected something the minute I saw it, so I went aboard the bark -and said, said I:-- - -“‘I think that’s my property you’ve got there.’ - -“‘Guess not,’ said the skipper. - -“‘I guess yes,’ said I, for I was sure of it now. ‘If you cut into the -beast somewhere abaft the mainmast I think you’ll find my trademark in -him.’ - -“Well, sir, they lowered a boat and sent a man to chop into the critter -with an axe, and with the first blow the whole thing flummixed--just -collapsed, for there was nothing in it but wind. But the man gave two -or three more cuts and laid over the flap, and right across it, in big -gold letters, was, ‘The Trinidad, New York.’ It was nothing in the -world but the paint off our ship, stripped off just like you’d skin an -eel. We sold it to the darkies in Dominica afterwards for waterproof -coats and galoshes; but I’m not going to put her at that speed again.” - -The Captain never repeated his stories, because he always made them up -as he went along; and he was so companionable and full of fun that in -a short time Kit felt well enough acquainted with him to give him an -account of his father’s disappearance and tell him about the man in -the New Zealand hospital. The Captain listened with great interest; -but even in a matter of such importance he could not quite resist the -temptation to crack a joke. - -“Didn’t he have a mark on his arm?” he asked. “In all such stories -that I’ve read, the missing man had a mark on his arm that he could -be identified by. I’ve often thought what an advantage one-legged or -one-armed or one-eyed men have. If one of them goes off missing, it’s -the easiest matter in the world to identify him. - -“But seriously, Silburn,” he went on, “it does look a little as if that -man might be your father. It’s nothing against it that he was picked -up on an island in the Pacific Ocean. When a man is floating about on -a spar, say, or an oar, or anything else that keeps him up, and a ship -comes along, he don’t stop to ask whether she’s bound for China or New -York. Any port in a storm, and a ship’s as likely to be going one way -as another. Then the second ship may be lost, and there you are. If he -was the kind of father you want to bring back, I think you can find out -whether this is the right man or not. I’ve known some fathers who’d -be just as well left at a safe distance of twelve or fifteen thousand -miles.” - -“Oh, mine isn’t that kind of a father, sir,” Kit answered, not quite -knowing whether to laugh or not. “We would do anything in the world to -get him back.” - -“Then why don’t you go out to New Zealand and see for yourself?” the -Captain asked. “You could identify him better than any stranger; and -you can’t get anything done for you as well as you can do it yourself.” - -This was precisely the point that Kit was trying to get the Captain’s -opinion upon. - -“But don’t you think, sir,” he asked, “that it is as well to wait till -we hear something more definite from the consul out there, and till he -sends the photograph?” - -“Yes, I think it is,” the Captain replied. “But let me tell you -something about consuls, young man. I suppose I’ve seen more of them -than you have, for I’ve had business with them nearly all my life. -There are some good men in the business--very good--who will put -themselves out of their way to do you a service. I don’t mean to deny -that. But in general a consul is a man who draws his salary for putting -his heels on the mantel and smoking cigars. They get their appointments -generally not because they are good men for the place, but on account -of some trifling political service. Under that beautiful system we get -consuls in important places who ought to be raising turnips out in -the southwest corner of New Mexico. I don’t know anything about the -consul in Wellington; but as a general rule, don’t you put your trust -in consuls, my boy. When you have important business to be done, go -and do it yourself. It’s the only safe way. If that was my case out in -New Zealand, I’d wait a reasonable time for the photograph, and if it -looked anything like my father, I’d be out there so quick I’d strip all -the paint off myself.” - -“Do you think I would have any chance of getting something to do on -a steamer going to New Zealand and back, sir?” Kit asked. “Say as -supercargo, or purser, or something of that kind?” - -“Not the least in the world!” the Captain answered emphatically; “not -from New York. All of our American trade with New Zealand you might put -in your vest pocket, and you wouldn’t find a steamer going there in -six months. But if you were to say Australia, now, that would be easy -enough. There are plenty of steamers going from New York to Australia, -and when you get there you are not far from New Zealand; you know you -could do that part of the journey on your own hook. Indeed, I know two -or three masters myself engaged in that trade; and if you make up your -mind to go, you let me know and I’ll help you along. Clark here tells -me he’s got the best young assistant in the country, though I suppose -he’s mistaken about that, for all the good pursers die very young. But -this is a case that would be easy to manage, because your father was a -sea-faring man and you’re a sea-faring man yourself going after him, -and most any good-hearted master would lend a hand. It’s all in the -family, you know; we help one another.” - -This conversation seemed to Kit to make things look a little brighter. -If he could get to New Zealand and back without the great expense -of paying his passage, half the difficulties would be removed--yes, -nine-tenths of them. - -“What are you doing so much with that sailor I see you talking to on -deck when you’re off duty, Silburn?” Mr. Clark asked him one day before -the first land was sighted. “You and he are not hatching a plot to -wreck the ship, are you?” - -“No, sir,” Kit laughed; “though we say some very mysterious things. The -last thing I said to him yesterday was ‘my aunt has two apples, and my -uncle has two pears.’ It does sound a little like a plot, doesn’t it? -But the fact is the man is a Frenchman, Mr. Clark, and I have employed -him to teach me a little French in my spare moments. I made up my mind -in Marseilles that a sea-going man ought to know some languages beside -his own, so I bought two primary French books in New York; and this -man, who is quite an intelligent fellow, teaches me the pronunciation. -It may come of use in Martinique when I am able to speak a little, for -I have heard you say they speak nothing but French there.” - -“It’s a capital idea,” the purser agreed. “I’ve always had hard sailing -in Martinique because I couldn’t jabber their miserable language. I’m -glad you’ve taken it up. And you’ll be remarkably glad yourself, some -day, if you stick to it.” - -Kit was not destined to use any of his newly acquired French in -Martinique on that first outward voyage, however; for when they reached -the roadstead in front of St. Pierre, the chief city, where they were -to land both passengers and freight, they found danger signals flying -from the top of the light-house, and all the lighters and smaller -boats drawn far up on the beach. There had been enough of a storm in -those waters to stir up a heavy sea, and more wind was threatened, so -the cautious Frenchmen would allow no boats to go out. The passengers -for Martinique could look right up the hilly streets of their chief -city, almost into some of the windows, but there was no possible way -for them to get ashore. - -“It is all small freight we have for here, Mr. Clark. Couldn’t we land -it and the passengers in our own boats?” Kit asked. - -“Ah, my boy, the authorities on shore would fine us if we tried it -while they have the danger signals set,” the purser answered. “Besides, -we should lose the insurance if anything happened to the cargo. There’s -nothing for it but to wait till the signals come down.” - -Captain Fraser evidently thought differently, however. After trying for -five or six hours in the roadstead he gave the order to go ahead. - -“Why, we are going on!” Kit exclaimed. “What will become of our -passengers and freight for St. Pierre?” - -“Well, they’ll have to go on to Trinidad and come back with us,” the -purser answered. “You know we touch here on the way back. That happens -sometimes, and people who live in this part of the world have to get -used to it. If they _will_ build their cities where there is no -harbor, only an open roadstead, they must take the consequences. We -can’t keep a mail steamer waiting for a storm that is supposed to be -coming.” - -When they reached Barbadoes, Kit felt quite at home again. It was not -worth while, he knew, for him to have any hopes of getting out to the -Sea View plantation to see his friends the Outerbridges, for nearly -half of all their freight was for Barbadoes, and in the few hours that -they lay in the roadstead he was busy every minute, even at night. He -found time, however, to write a hurried note to Mr. Outerbridge, saying -that he was now assistant purser of the _Trinidad_, that they were -on their way to Port of Spain, and that when they returned in a few -days it would be a great pleasure to him if any of them happened to be -in the town. - -Leaving Barbadoes late in the evening, the _Trinidad_ steamed very -slowly across toward the island of Trinidad, as Captain Fraser did not -care to go through the narrow passage before daylight. - -“You’ll have to be out early in the morning if you want to see the -ship run into the muddy water of the Orinoco,” Mr. Clark told Kit that -evening while they were preparing their papers for the last port. -“It’s a curious sight, that you can’t see anywhere else, that I know -of. You know the numerous mouths of the river Orinoco all empty about -here--some into the Gulf of Paria, where we are going, and some below -it. The immense body of muddy water runs along shore with a rush, and -makes--well, I’m not going to tell you what it makes. If you turn out -by daylight you will see for yourself.” - -With this hint Kit was sure to be out early; and he found that he was -not the only watcher, for some of the crew who had seen the curious -thing scores of times were out to see it again. When they were a -short distance above the very narrow entrance to the Gulf of Paria, -a dangerous channel that is called the Dragon’s Mouth, he saw ahead -a distinct line drawn across the water--a wall of water, it looked -like--a wall of muddy water two or three feet higher than the clear -water of the ocean. - -“That’s just what it is, sir,” one of the sailors told him when he -asked a question. “You see that big body of fresh muddy water runs down -out of the Orinoco. When you see the line, that’s where the river water -running north meets the sea water running south. But the ocean’s the -stronger, sir, and it backs the river water up into that ridge you see. -Oh, yes, sir; we’ll run through that and you’ll never know it.” - -So they did, the ship being too large and heavy to be visibly affected -by the slight difference in water levels; and in a few moments more -they were in the Dragon’s Mouth, with the high rocks of Trinidad on one -side and the equally high hills of Venezuela on the other, and both -so close that Kit could easily have thrown a stone against Trinidad -or against the coast of South America. Then in a short time they were -through the dangerous channel and in the broad Gulf of Paria; and by -eleven o’clock they were at anchor in smooth and shallow water about a -mile away from the wharves of the city of Port of Spain, the capital of -Trinidad. - -Kit thought himself pretty well accustomed to the heat of the tropics -after his experiences at Sisal and Barbadoes; but he had never found -anything before that was quite equal to the stifling heat of Port of -Spain. - -“We are on the line of greatest heat here,” Mr. Clark explained -when he went into the city with him to introduce him to the agents. -“It is hotter here than right on the equator. You understand about -the isothermal lines, I suppose! This place is ten degrees north of -the equator, but the ‘line of greatest heat,’ as they call it, runs -directly through here.” - -For two days the assistant purser was continually bathed in -perspiration from his necessary walks into the city and looking after -his goods on the wharf. But by that time the cargo was out and his work -in the port was practically over, for there is very little freight to -carry from Trinidad to New York. - -“I have to go out to La Brea this afternoon to see the superintendent -of the pitch lake,” Mr. Clark said on the third day. “It’s a nuisance, -in this heat, and I wish I could leave it to you. But I have had some -dealings with him, and the company charged me particularly to close a -contract with him this trip if I can. So I suppose I must go myself.” - -“The superintendent of the pitch lake!” Kit exclaimed. “I have read -something about the great pitch lake in Trinidad; but what does it have -a superintendent for?” - -“Because it is a very valuable piece of property,” the purser -answered. “It belongs to the government, you know, and they keep a -superintendent to look after it and sell the pitch. It goes all over -the world; a great many of the streets in New York and other American -cities are paved with it. They call it pitch here, but when it is -boiled down and ready for use we call it asphalt. We are negotiating -with the superintendent to send a freight ship down to carry away two -or three cargoes, and it will be a profitable job if I can close the -contract with him.” - -“It must be a very curious sight--a lake of pitch,” Kit suggested. - -“I believe it is hard enough on the surface to walk over,” the purser -replied; “but I have never seen it. You can go along with me if you -like. It is only twenty or thirty miles down the coast. The train -leaves at three o’clock, and we can be back by a little after dark.” - -Kit was glad to avail himself of this permission, and at three o’clock -they took the train for La Brea. The railway ran through a country -that was given up largely to the cultivation of sugarcane; and at the -stations they passed they saw a great many men who were neither whites -nor negroes, in a curious costume of white stuff so arranged that it -covered one leg to below the knee, but left the other leg almost bare. - -“They are coolies,” Mr. Clark said, seeing that Kit was interested in -these brown, slender people. “They bring a great many of them here -from India to work on the plantations. They have to work so many years -to pay for their passage, and after that they are free. But they’re -a queer lot. When a man is badly treated by his master he doesn’t -complain, but goes out and sticks a knife into himself, and they find -his body lying in the cane-fields.” - -In a little over an hour the train set them down at La Brea, and they -found the pitch works not far from the station, on the edge of the -wonderful black lake. But the superintendent’s house, they learned, -was across one corner of the lake, about half a mile away; and they -immediately set out for it. - -They were both a little cautious about walking over the pitch at first, -particularly where the path led over breaks between the beds of pitch, -and they had to feel their way across narrow planks for bridges. The -moving of the pitch beneath their feet did not tend, either, to give -them confidence. - -“This is a very queer sort of a lake!” Kit declared, stopping at the -edge of one of the round beds to examine it. “I think I can see how -it is made. First there is a lake of water here, with a great bed of -molten pitch somewhere beneath. A column of the pitch shoots up, like -a waterspout, and when it reaches the surface, the top of it flattens -out, like an immense mushroom, held up by the narrow column that -reaches down dear knows how far. This water between the black mushrooms -looks very deep and black; bah! I shouldn’t care to fall in there.” - -“That’s about the way the thing grows,” Mr. Clark agreed. “Some of the -‘mushrooms,’ as you call them, are only a yard or so in diameter, and -some are twelve or fifteen feet. Gradually enough of them have come up -to cover the entire surface of the lake, which must be two or three -thousand acres. What a desolate-looking place, isn’t it? And they tell -me that no matter how much is cut out, a fresh column of pitch shoots -up and fills the hole. I shouldn’t care to wander around here much -after dark.” - -It was not a very safe path even by daylight. In some places the -“mushrooms” not only touched, but crowded and indented each other; but -in other places there were gaps two, three, sometimes even six feet -wide, that had to be crossed on the planks. When they stood in the -middle of one of the big “mushrooms,” it was firm enough; but when they -stood upon its edge, their weight bent it down until the water ran over -its surface. - -They made the passage in safety, however, and Mr. Clark had a long talk -with the superintendent while Kit remained on the lake. It was a very -satisfactory talk, the purser said when he came out, for everything -had been arranged and the contract signed. But Kit had been watching -the sky for some time with uneasiness. Engrossed with his business, -Mr. Clark had given no attention to the passing of time, and it was -with some alarm that Kit had seen the sun set behind the mountains and -darkness begin to gather. - -Mr. Clark was a little uneasy about it, too, when he saw how long he -had stayed. He was not particularly fond of walking, even on a good -pavement; and the prospect of crossing the end of the lake in the -dusk, sometimes on narrow planks across the openings, sometimes on the -yielding pitch beds, did not please him. - -“We’ll have to hurry up, Silburn,” he called to Kit when he reached the -edge of the lake. “You know there’s precious little twilight in this -part of the world; it’s either daylight or it’s dark. One of those old -rattletrap cabs in Bridgetown would be better than walking over these -tarry islands. But come on, youngster! You may think I’m no walker, but -I’ll show you!” - -He started out at a great pace, with Kit following. But Mr. Clark’s -physique was not adapted to severe exercise. After the first hundred -yards he began to breathe hard, and soon he stopped entirely. - -“I’ve got to--to--(hech!) to stop and get my (hech! hech!)--my second -wind!” he panted. “Hang their old (phew! phew!) old pitch lakes! If -they make--make (hech!) streets out of ’em, I wish they’d (phew! phew!) -make some here. It’s getting darker every--every minute, too!” - -“We started out too fast, sir,” Kit answered; “if we take it slower, -I think we’ll get along all right. It’s going to be dark before we get -across, anyhow, so we may as well take our time to it.” - -Mr. Clark was compelled to take his time to it, for he had no more wind -for fast walking. It was not fairly dark yet, but “pretty thick dusk,” -as Kit called it, and they had to feel their way along. The purser -remained in the lead when they set out again, for Kit hesitated to go -ahead, for fear of going too fast for him. - -They were about to cross one of the widest crevices, and Mr. Clark was -half way over on the plank, when Kit heard a startled cry. - -“Silburn!” - -And plank and purser went down together, Mr. Clark disappearing beneath -the black water. - -Kit saw in an instant what had happened. The end of the plank had -slipped from the edge of the opposite bed of pitch. - -Mr. Clark, he knew, could not swim; and besides he might come up -beneath one of those horrible “mushrooms,” and so almost inevitably -be drowned. But Kit was not long in making up his mind what to do. He -instantly threw off his coat and knelt on the edge of the “mushroom” -he was on, with his head close to the water, ready to dive for his -companion as soon as he could get a glimpse of him. - -He had no chance to dive, however. As soon as the impetus of his -fall was over, the purser shot to the surface again like a cork; and -catching a momentary glance at Kit’s head he grabbed at it with all -the energy of a drowning man, and got his arm around the neck before -Kit had time to draw back. - -As he started to go down again, which he did at almost the same -instant, only one result was possible. Kit was overbalanced and dragged -into the water, and they went down together into the black depths, both -in deadly peril from drowning, and Kit with the additional danger of -the arm wound around his throat like a vise. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII. - -A VOYAGE TO BERMUDA. - - -If Kit had been less at home in the water, there is little doubt that -they would both have found their long rest down among the black columns -of pitch. But besides being a strong swimmer he was well versed in all -the arts of managing a drowning companion. He knew that without his -assistance the purser at least must drown, so he quickly brought his -right hand around, and seizing the struggling man’s nose with a grip -of iron, he bent the purser’s head back till it seemed as if his thick -neck must break. But this had the desired effect, as Kit knew from -experience that it would. Mr. Clark let go his hold to save his neck, -and in an instant Kit had him firmly by the waist. - -This was done almost in a second; and when they came to the surface -again, Kit grabbed at the slippery edge of the “mushroom.” His hand -slipped off, but struck against the floating plank, which he had not -seen in the darkness; and that was better still. He guided one of Mr. -Clark’s hands to the plank, and then let go his own hold. - -“Now hold fast for a minute, sir,” he said, “and we’ll be all right.” - -“I’m g-gone, Silburn!” the purser gasped; “I c-can’t (ah!) swim!” - -“You’ll be on shore in a moment, sir, if you hold tight,” Kit answered; -and he scrambled up on the nearest “mushroom” and laid one end of the -plank upon it. But he could not risk the leap to the opposite shore in -the darkness, so he plunged into the water again and swam across and -soon had the other end of the plank in place. - -But getting Mr. Clark out was no easy matter, even with the plank made -firm again. Kit climbed out, and walking the plank till he could reach -the purser’s nearest arm, he grasped it firmly and helped him toward -the shore. - -“Now get one knee on the plank,” he said, when he had him in the corner -between the plank and the edge of the “mushroom”; and stooping down he -seized the knee that his companion was trying in vain to raise high -enough, and pulled it up. - -“Now one grand pull, and we’re all right.” Kit was on the pitch bed -again by this time, with a firm hold under the purser’s arms. He pulled -with all his strength. Mr. Clark got the other knee on the “mushroom,” -and in an instant more he was safe on land, but exhausted with his -efforts, and unable to rise. - -Kit quickly turned the purser over on his face and raised his feet -to let any water run out of his mouth that he might have swallowed; -and that was no light undertaking with so heavy a man. Then he turned -him over again, and finding that he was breathing regularly, though -heavily, he began to urge him to rise. - -“We must get ashore to dry our clothes,” he said. “It won’t do for you -to lie here in the wet.” - -“Oh, I never can walk ashore!” the purser gasped; and putting up his -hand, he added, “I must have struck my face against something down in -that hole; my nose is so sore.” - -In spite of the unpleasant surroundings, it was all that Kit could do -to keep from laughing; for he knew what was the matter with that nose. - -“No, sir,” he answered; “you had me by the throat, and we were both -drowning, and I had to take you by the nose to make you let go.” - -The purser laughed himself at this; and thinking that a good sign, Kit -took hold of him again and half dragged him to his feet. Then he ran -across the plank to get his coat, the only dry garment they had between -them, and with a little more urging Mr. Clark consented to make an -effort to reach the station. - -It was almost totally dark now, and they had to feel their way along, -moving very slowly. - -“I don’t know what put it into my head to bring you with me to-day, -Silburn,” the purser said when they were near enough to shore to feel -safe. “But it was the best thing I ever did in my life. If it hadn’t -been for you, the catfish would be making a supper of me by this time -in this miserable lake.” - -“Oh, you might have taken a different route entirely, if I had not been -with you, sir,” Kit answered. “What we want now is a fire to dry our -clothes by. If we have a little time at the station, we must find one -somewhere, or build one.” - -Finding at the station that they had more than an hour to wait for the -return train, and indoor fires being almost unknown in that part of -the world, they went out to the edge of the road and built a little -camp fire with such stray sticks as they could find, and piece by piece -dried their outer clothing, much to the amazement of a crowd of coolies -that soon gathered and stood watching them. And the station agent, -learning what had happened, brought them each a steaming cup of coffee. - -By the time they reached the ship and put on dry clothes Mr. Clark was -quite ready to crack jokes over his mishap, though he insisted that but -for Kit he should have been drowned. And Captain Fraser refused to see -any but the funny side of it, and declared that such a roll of fat as -the purser could not possibly have been in danger of drowning. - -“I think I shall have to stop going ashore at any of the ports, except -on business,” Kit said, after the accident had been well discussed; -“particularly toward night. In all my voyages I have not had a sign of -an adventure on the water; but as soon as I go ashore, something is -sure to happen. The first night in Marseilles we were imprisoned in -Louis-Philippe’s cell in Monte Cristo’s castle; the second night we -were up in Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde when the elevators broke, and had a -cardinal to entertain us; now here I go ashore for a little ride in the -country, and tumble into the pitch lake.” - -“Don’t you worry about adventures on the water, young man,” Captain -Fraser said, almost precisely as Captain Griffith had once answered -him. “All you have to do is to stick to the sea long enough, and your -adventures are sure to come. I shouldn’t be in any hurry for them, -either, if I were you. Sometimes a man comes out on the top side of an -adventure; but more times he’s on the under side, and don’t come out at -all.” - -On the homeward voyage, whenever he had a few spare moments, Kit tried -to think out what he ought to do. As soon as his cargo was out he would -make a hurried trip home; that was the first thing. There could not -possibly be a second letter from the New Zealand consul yet, but there -might be a photograph. And if--ah! if the photograph proved to be what -he hoped, he would fly back to New York and take his promised leave of -absence, get Captain Fraser’s and Mr. Clark’s help to find a berth on -some steamer going to Australia, and be off for New Zealand as fast as -possible. And Captain Griffith would help him, too, if the _North -Cape_ had not sailed again. What a lucky fellow he was, he thought, -to have three such friends to help him! - -These were all reasonable and natural things for him to think of; -perfectly proper plans for him to make. But when shall we see the happy -time when the best laid plans may not sometimes go wrong? - -When the _Trinidad_ neared her pier on the North River, Mr. Clark -was quite excited and very much annoyed to find that one of her sister -ships, the _Orinoco_, was lying on the other side of the slip. - -“Now that’s going to upset everything,” he exclaimed. - -“Why, what difference does it make, sir,” Kit asked, “whether the -_Orinoco_ is here or not?” - -“Difference!” the purser repeated. “A heap of difference to us all, as -you may find. The _Orinoco_ is running on the Bermuda line, and -she ought to be out there now. Something has broken down about her, or -she wouldn’t be lying here. And if that is the case, we will be put in -her place for Bermuda. That means that we shall have to hustle this -cargo out as fast as steam and men can move it, and get another in -equally fast, and be off to sea again before we have time to say Jack -Robinson.” - -That was precisely what happened. As soon as the _Trinidad_ was -docked they received orders to prepare for a voyage to Bermuda; and as -they must leave port within three days, Kit saw that he should be busy -every minute, without the slightest chance of going home. - -In the hurry of emptying the ship and reloading her in so short a time -he barely had opportunity to write a brief note to Vieve, telling -her of the circumstances and asking her to send him, the moment she -received the letter, a telegram saying whether the photograph or -another letter had arrived from New Zealand. All his plans were of -course upset, but there was nothing for him to do but give himself up -to work and forget, as far as possible, his own affairs. - -The way the old cargo was taken out and the new one put in was very -different from the manner of work he had become accustomed to in -European and West Indian ports. The gangs of ’longshoremen, working by -night under electric lights, were relieved every eight or ten hours; -but only the purser and his assistant could attend to the clerical -labor, and there was no relief for them. - -The _Trinidad_ was almost ready for sea again, and some of the -Bermuda passengers were already on board, when a blue-coated telegraph -messenger inquired his way to the purser’s office and handed Kit a -telegram. He could not hesitate about opening it, for he had no time -now to hesitate about anything; but he understood perfectly well that -its contents might make a great change in his movements. - - CHRISTOPHER SILBURN [the message read], _Assistant Purser_, - S. S. _Trinidad_, New York. - No letter. No photograph. All well. - GENEVIEVE. - -Under other circumstances that would have been a disappointment; but -now it was what he hoped for, for with so much extra work he felt that -it would be unfair for him to leave everything to Mr. Clark until the -ship returned from Bermuda. - -On the second day out, while sitting at his desk working at the -manifest, Kit leaned his head on one hand and took serious counsel with -himself. - -“I have made a good many voyages,” he reflected; “to Sisal, to -Barbadoes, twice across the Atlantic and back, and again to the West -Indies. But I have never--” - -He suddenly resolved to finish his reflections in the open air; and for -greater convenience he leaned heavily against the rail. - -“What’s the matter, Silburn?” Mr. Clark asked through the open door, -catching a glimpse of his assistant’s white face. “You don’t mean to -say that you’re--” - -“Yes, I do, sir!” Kit answered, leaning over the rail again for fresh -thought. “After all my voyages, this little choppy sea has made me just -as sick as a dog!” - -“Ah, you’re not the first victim of the Bermuda voyage!” the purser -laughed. “I get sick myself out here sometimes. It’s the Gulf Stream -that does it, my boy. We cross the stream diagonally, and the current -catches us under the starboard quarter and gives us a nasty little -motion, half pitch and half roll, that sends the oldest sailors to the -rail sometimes. Lie down a few minutes, and you’ll feel better.” - -“No, sir, I’m not going to give in to it,” Kit replied. “I’ll walk the -deck a little in the air. I don’t see a single passenger on deck.” - -“So much the better!” said the purser, with another of his jolly -laughs. “When they’re all sick they can’t be haunting our office to ask -questions. We can do very well without them.” - -Kit’s nausea soon wore off under his open-air treatment; and before -many hours he was too much interested in his first look at Bermuda -to think of being sick. Though he had seen many places, this was -entirely different from any of the others. Here were three hundred and -sixty-five little islands (so report said; and that estimate looked -about right) grouped together in mid-ocean, forming a tiny kingdom far -removed from the rest of the world. - -After taking a pilot, the _Trinidad_ bore down toward one of the -points of the largest island, which was shaped like a horseshoe, with -a large smooth bay in the hollow. There was a town on the point, which -the ship seemed to be heading for; but when near it she coyly circled -away to follow the shoreline in the opposite direction, almost turning -on her course, entered the horseshoe bay, and steamed for several -hours, still skirting the shore, among tiny islets, nearly grazing -half-hidden rocks, turning and twisting in here, out there, till she -reached a smaller bay making in from the large one, on whose shore was -another and larger town. - -“How do you like that for a channel?” Mr. Clark asked. “It is called -the most intricate channel in the world, and I suppose it is. That -first town was St. George’s. We had to go so close to it because the -channel runs that way. This place is Hamilton, the capital. Have you -noticed that most of the people live in white marble houses?” - -“Yes, I have been wondering at that,” Kit answered. “They must have -marble quarries here.” - -“Most strangers wonder at it when they first see the islands,” the -purser went on. “But they are not all millionaires here, as you -might think. Those walls are made of rough stone, plastered over and -whitewashed; and from the sea they look exactly like marble. There are -more queer things here than you could put in a sea-chest, and it’s a -pity we’ll not have more time. They don’t quarry their stone out, you -know, like other people, but cut it out with saws. It’s soft stuff, -like that building-stone you must have seen in Marseilles, but hardens -when exposed to the air. Now if you want to see a novel way of docking -a ship, just watch.” - -On shore was a broad street, with no buildings on the water-side except -a long, low iron shed that was nothing but pillars and roof, with no -walls. A great many colored people waited on the wharf, and a few -whites, and Kit noticed two big round timbers lying near the edge, with -a little pile of planks. The _Trinidad_ was carefully brought to -a stop about thirty feet from the wharf, her further progress being -prevented by a hidden ledge of rocks; and a gang of colored laborers -immediately began to shove out the heavy timbers, with a little help -from the ship’s donkey engine and winches. In a few minutes one end of -each timber rested on the wharf and the other end upon the ship’s deck, -making the skeleton of a substantial bridge. To these large timbers -the men lashed smaller cross-pieces, then laid on the planks for a -flooring, and in about twenty minutes the steamer was connected with -shore by a bridge strong enough for much heavier work than would be -required of it. - -There was part of one afternoon, while the _Trinidad_ lay at -Bermuda, that both the purser and his assistant were at liberty; but -that was not long enough for the favorite drive to St. George’s. - -“There’s one place that we could go, five or six miles from town,” Mr. -Clark said, “and that’s the Walsingham caves and Tom Moore’s house.” - -“Moore’s house!” Kit repeated; “you don’t mean the poet, Thomas Moore, -I suppose.” - -“That’s the man,” the purser answered. “He lived here for some time. -It is just a nice drive out to his house, and the caves are very near -it. But as to going out there with _you_, no I thank you! The -caves are very spooky-looking places, dark and slippery; and you admit -yourself that you are a hoodoo on shore. When you go to Monte Cristo’s -castle, you are locked in a cell. When you go to that church on the -hill, the elevators break down. When you go with me to the pitch lake, -I am all but drowned. If I should go to the caves with you, I’d no -doubt be buried alive. I beg to be excused.” - -“If that is the only objection,” Kit laughed, “maybe we can make a -compromise. I never cared anything about caves, but I should like -to see the house that Mr. Moore lived in. My collection of foreign -curiosities includes a count and a cardinal so far, you know. I should -like to add a poet.” - -After a little bantering, Mr. Clark agreed to go as far as Walsingham, -Mr. Moore’s house, but declared that he would on no account go near the -caves. And it was as well that there were two to divide the expense of -the carriage between, for Bermuda cab fares are “on the American plan,” -not on the cheaper European scale. - -They found the poet’s house to be a plain double two-story edifice of -stone, so blackened by time and weather that it looked gloomy in the -extreme; and the yard in front grown up with bushes, a large lake in -the rear studded with black rocks and bordered with dismal drooping -mangrove trees, and the general dilapidation of the place, added to the -sombreness. - -Kit was much amused at Mr. Clark’s positive refusal to get out of the -carriage, for fear of something happening. But he got out himself and -went all over the place, and was satisfied that nothing but the most -solemn poetry could ever have been written in so gloomy a place. - -“You don’t really mean that you’re afraid of something happening when -you go ashore with me, Mr. Clark, do you?” Kit asked his companion on -the way back to the ship. “You must be joking about that.” - -“Not exactly in the way you mean,” the purser answered. “But some -people are always having adventures of one kind or another; it comes -natural to them; and I think you’re one of that sort. It’s all very -well for youngsters like you. But when you come to be my age, or -especially my weight, you’ll find that a trifling adventure may mean -something serious. To slip into a lake means a bad cold, as I know to -my cost; a fall may mean some broken bones. No; adventures are for the -young and spry, not for the old and fat.” - -“Well, we have certainly had a safe and quiet trip ashore this time, -sir,” Kit said, with a laugh, as, once more on deck, they reached the -door of their office. “This whole voyage is about as quiet a trip as -any one could ask for.” - -At that moment his eye caught sight of a small bluish envelope lying -sealed upon his desk. It was addressed simply to “Silburn, str. -_Trinidad_, Bermuda,” and the printing across the top indicated -that it was a cable message. He hastily tore it open and read: - -“Silburn str Trinidad Bermuda Photograph received very encouraging -Genevieve” - -There was no punctuation, hardly any divisions between the words; but -its meaning was plain enough. - -“Now isn’t that a thoughtful sister of mine!” he exclaimed, handing -the message to Mr. Clark. “She knows that I’ll be in a hurry to set off -if we identify the picture. So she sends me this cable to give me time -to make any arrangements on the way up to New York.” - -“This is important news for you, Silburn,” the purser said, after -reading the few words. “It looks very much as if you would find your -father.” - -“It is the best news I ever got in my life, sir,” Kit answered. “I -don’t quite understand what my sister means by ‘very encouraging,’ but -I imagine they are still in a little doubt after seeing the picture, -though they think it looks like my father.” - -“That is exactly what I anticipated after hearing your story,” the -purser agreed. “You have no idea how hardships and sickness can alter -a man’s appearance in a few months; and from what you tell me, your -father, if this _is_ your father, must have gone through a great -deal. Now what do you propose to do about it?” - -“I think I ought to get out there just as soon as possible, sir,” -Kit answered, “if we are all agreed at home that the picture bears a -reasonable resemblance to my father.” - -“I can’t advise you against it, Silburn; I can’t advise you against -it,” Mr. Clark said, more seriously than was his custom. “If I were out -there in that fix, I should expect one of my boys to come after me just -as fast as a ship would bring him. I don’t want to lose you for a few -months, but it is your duty to go. You must remember, though, that you -are to come back to me. I will get some one to take your place while -you are gone, but I want you back again when you return.” - -On the homeward voyage there were some serious talks in the purser’s -office about how Kit was to be got to New Zealand. - -“It just amounts to this,” Captain Fraser said, after the matter had -been well discussed. “If there is any ship going that way that I know -the master of, or the owners of, I can almost certainly arrange it for -you; and if there isn’t, I can’t. You will have to go without pay, you -understand; just for your passage there and back.” - -“I will willingly do that, sir,” Kit answered. - -“Then I’ll tell you how I think it can be done,” the Captain continued. -“Here’s a steamer, we’ll say, loading for Australia, with a supercargo -at so many dollars a month. Now after seeing the owners or agents and -convincing them that you are a supercargo of experience and understand -your business, and getting their consent, we go to the supercargo and -say, ‘Here’s a seafaring man got a sick father in New Zealand; wants -to go out there and bring him home; willing to make the round voyage -and do your work for the sake of the passage. We have seen your agents -and they are willing. You stay ashore this voyage and draw your pay and -enjoy yourself, and he’ll do your work.’” - -“Well, I wonder that I never thought of that before!” Kit exclaimed. -“It’s the very best plan that could be made.” - -“I think it can be done, if we can strike the right ship,” the Captain -continued. “You couldn’t very well do it for yourself, you understand; -but what’s the use of having friends if they can’t help you along a -little? It’s a different matter if an old shipmaster like myself goes -to the firm and says, ‘I know this young man. I recommend him.’ And I -take Captain Griffith along, if he is in port, and he says, ‘This man -was trained on my ship; he is a good supercargo; I recommend him.’ And -Clark goes along and says, ‘This man is my assistant purser on the -_Trinidad_; he understands his business and will take care of -your interests; I recommend him.’ You see that makes a pretty strong -backing; and if that isn’t enough, I’ll get the Quebec Steamship -Company to put in a word too. Just you go home after you get your cargo -out and leave me your address, and we’ll attend to the rest for you.” - -Kit began to try to thank them both for their good opinion of him; but -seeing what was coming they quickly changed the subject. - -The photograph had caused many a tear to be shed in the Silburn cottage -in Huntington, and there was a fresh flood when Kit reached home. -So old the man looked; so wan and worried; so bent and gray! What -sufferings must he not have endured if that was indeed a picture of -Christopher Silburn! - -“Take off the beard,” Kit declared, “trim the long hair, straighten the -back, smooth out the wrinkles, and there is father! Of course it is not -a certainty, but I feel reasonably sure of it.” - -“So do I!” Vieve echoed. - -“I pray you may both be right!” was all that Mrs. Silburn could say. - -Two days later a neighbor’s boy ran in to say that Kit was wanted at -the telephone office in a hurry. He ran up the hill to the post-office, -in which was a station of the New York and New England telephone line. - -“That you, Silburn?” a familiar voice asked. “Yes, I’m Captain Fraser, -in New York. It’s all arranged for you. You’re to take the supercargo’s -place on the steamer _Brindisi_, sailing for Melbourne next -Thursday. Come in and report to Hayes, Ward, & Burt’s, 82 South Street, -as soon as possible. Got that down? Good luck to you, my boy. Here’s -somebody else wants to speak to you.” - -“That you, Kit?” It was the familiar and beloved voice of Captain -Griffith. “It’s all fixed for you. You’ll be over to the _North -Cape_ to say good-by, of course. Remember what I told you long ago -about money.” - -Before Kit could answer, a third voice came over the wire. - -“Look out for pitch lakes over there!” There was no mistaking the -cheery voice of Mr. Clark. “We’ll be gone before you see us, but never -mind. We’ve done a good day’s work for you to-day, Silburn. A good -voyage to you, and--success!” - -There were so many hundred things to be done at home in so few hours! -And that ever-present, ever-troublesome question of money! The hard -saving of the whole family for months had not been for nothing. Kit -was surprised to find how much his mother had saved for this occasion; -and she was equally surprised to learn that he had nearly two hundred -dollars in his pocket. With the joy of the errand and the sorrow of -parting he hardly remembered just what happened when he said good-by. - -“Be careful of my little parcel!” Vieve called after him as Silas -cracked his whip and the stage rattled down the road. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX. - -KIT FINDS HIS FATHER. - - -It was a beautiful spring-like day in the latter part of September when -Kit stepped ashore on the quay in the city of Wellington, New Zealand. -Fresh new leaves were upon the trees, fresh green grass in the lawns, -bright fresh flowers in the beds. Nature had recently awakened from her -winter sleep, and the young city of the Antipodes was at its brightest -and best. - -During the long voyage he had had ample time to determine just what -he must do on arrival. First, of course, he would go to the American -consul’s and introduce himself; and how often he had hoped that the -consul would not detain him long, for he would be so anxious to get -to the hospital! And then he would hurry to the hospital, and in five -minutes the great question would be decided. - -But now that he was actually on the spot, things did not look, somehow, -exactly as he had expected. No place ever does look just as we expect -when we have long been thinking about it and then go to see it for the -first time. He looked with curiosity at the big buildings, wondering -which was the hospital, which the consulate. He could hardly grasp the -idea that in all probability his father was in one of those buildings -before him. But suppose that, after all, the man in the hospital should -not prove to be his father; suppose he had made this long journey for -nothing? He quickened his steps up the street to walk these useless -fancies away. - -“Will you be kind enough to tell me the way to the American consulate, -sir?” he asked a gentleman whom he met. - -“It is in that red brick building on the other side,” the gentleman -answered. “You cannot very well miss it.” - -In two minutes more he had made himself known to Mr. Wilkins, the -vice-consul and acting consul. - -“I rather thought we should see you here,” Mr. Wilkins said, “but -hardly so soon. My second letter must have made good time over to -America.” - -“Your second letter!” Kit exclaimed; “we had not received a second -letter from you, sir, when I left home. I started as soon as we got the -photograph you sent.” - -“Oh, yes; I see,” said Mr. Wilkins. “Then you recognized your father in -the photograph, did you?” - -“Not with certainty,” Kit replied; “but there was a resemblance. But -was there any further news in your second letter, sir?” - -“Well, I can hardly say any further news, except that there has been -a great improvement in your father--at least in the man in the -hospital. Even since the photograph was taken he has improved very -much. Physically, I mean; he is a great deal stronger, and looks and -acts much younger. And mentally he has improved somewhat, too. He is -not able to give the least account of himself, to be sure; the past -seems to be a perfect blank to him; but in affairs of the present he -takes some intelligent interest. I am glad that you will see him in his -improved condition rather than as he was some months ago. It was a hard -matter for the consulate to deal with. A distressed American sailor -we are allowed to send home at the public expense; but there was no -evidence that this man is an American sailor--or indeed an American at -all.” - -“I think I can soon settle that question when I see him, sir,” Kit -answered. “If he is my father, I shall know him, no matter how much he -is changed. And naturally I am anxious to see him as soon as possible. -If you will be kind enough to give me a line of introduction to the -hospital authorities, I will go there at once.” - -“Of course you are anxious!” the consul assented. “You have been kept -in suspense a terribly long time; but you shall know the best or the -worst without delay. I will go over to the hospital with you at once. -It is only a few steps from here.” - -In the hospital they were shown into the house surgeon’s office; -and when the surgeon entered he was greatly interested to find that -some one had come from the other side of the world in the hope of -identifying the mysterious John Doe. - -“It is a case that we have all taken much interest in,” he said. “If -you could have seen him when he arrived here, you would be assured by -his present appearance that we have taken good care of him. But you -have made a long journey to find a father, and I will not keep you -waiting. For some weeks this patient has been going in and out at his -own pleasure, under the necessary restrictions; but his favorite place -is the sunny courtyard. To avoid exciting him unduly, I think the best -plan will be to induce him to walk in the courtyard; and we three will -then walk quietly through. That will give the best opportunity to see -whether you can identify him, or whether he will recognize you.” - -“You know best about that, sir,” Kit answered. - -The surgeon tapped his bell, and in a moment an attendant entered--the -same one who had held the flags in front of the patient long before. - -“I want you to get John Doe into the courtyard for a walk,” the surgeon -said. “This gentleman hopes to identify him, and in a few minutes we -will walk through the yard. But give the patient no hint that anything -unusual is happening. Just ask him out for a walk; he is always ready -for a walk in the sun.” - -“I must caution you,” the surgeon said to Kit after the attendant had -gone to execute his order, “that in these cases of suspended memory we -have to be prepared for almost anything. Nothing is surprising. If the -patient proves to be your father, he may recognize you at once, and the -shock may restore his lost memory in an instant. On the other hand, he -may not recognize you at all. Or if he does, he may treat you as if -you had left him only a few minutes before--as if your being here was -a perfectly natural thing. If he knows you at all, it is an extremely -favorable indication. With one little beginning, his whole past will -almost certainly come back to him.” - -As they walked through the long corridor toward the door that was to -admit them to the courtyard, Kit felt his heart beating against his -ribs as though trying to break them. The consul said something, but it -made no impression upon him. He heard footsteps on the stone pavement -outside, and tried to recognize them, but could not. The surgeon threw -open the door, and they stepped out. - -At the farther end of the yard, where the sun shone brightest, “John -Doe” was walking slowly up and down, with his hands clasped behind him. - -“That is my father!” Kit said very quietly. - -It surprised him that he could speak so coolly, for he felt anything -but cool. The moisture in his eyes was beyond his control; but he had -firmly made up his mind that he would make no scene, whatever happened. -He had too often been disgusted at seeing bearded Frenchmen hug and -kiss each other like school-girls; he would have none of that--at least -not in public. - -For a moment neither of his companions spoke. They appreciated his -feelings and gave him time to collect himself. But the consul’s hand -stole into his and gave him a warm grip. Then another hand; that was -the surgeon’s. - -After a short delay the surgeon put his arm through Kit’s, and the -three walked across the yard toward the patient. It was a terribly -trying moment for Kit. The impulse to rush forward and clasp his -father’s hands was almost irresistible, but he restrained himself. - -Before they were half way across the yard, “John Doe,” now John Doe -no longer, but Christopher Silburn, hearing footsteps, turned and -looked around. Recognizing the surgeon, he nodded to him, and was about -to resume his walk, when something about their party attracted his -attention. He looked again, and turned his steps toward them--not in -his former aimless way, but as if he had an object in view. In a moment -more Kit and his father were face to face. - -“Now what’s kept you all this time, Kit?” Mr. Silburn asked, in an -annoyed tone. “When I send you on an errand, I want you to do it and -come straight home. I will not have this sort of thing.” - -It was so utterly different from anything he had anticipated that Kit -was completely taken off his guard. But as soon as he recovered himself -he was filled with joy at being recognized at all. He must, he knew, -humor his father’s mood, and lead him gradually along. - -“I got here as soon as I could, father,” he answered, in a tone as -tender as a girl’s. “There were some things I had to do for mother -first.” - -“Where _is_ mother?” Mr. Silburn asked, looking around as if he -expected to find her behind him. - -“She’s in the house--at home,” Kit answered. - -“And Vieve?” he asked. - -“She’s at home, too.” - -“Well, you must do your mother’s errands, of course,” Mr. Silburn went -on. “But I don’t like to have you away so long, Kit. I’ve been wanting -you to bring me my other clothes. I can’t find them anywhere, but they -must be some place around the house. I’m tired of these gray ones.” - -He held out one arm and looked at the sleeve, then down at the legs of -the trousers, as if they were something new to him. - -“Hadn’t we better go down to the tailor’s and get your new ones?” Kit -asked. “They must be done by this time, and you will have to try them -on.” - -He looked at the surgeon as he spoke, and the surgeon gave him an -approving nod, as if to say, “Yes, humor him as much as you can.” - -“Yes, we will go and get the new ones,” Mr. Silburn answered. “I don’t -like these gray ones at all.” - -“In just a minute, father,” Kit said. “I want to run into the house a -minute first.” - -The surgeon took the hint and followed him in, for he saw that Kit -desired to speak to him. - -“Perhaps it will make him feel more like himself to have the kind of -clothes he is accustomed to--a dark blue suit,” he suggested. “If you -think best I will take him out to a tailor’s to buy some. And he would -like to have his hair and beard trimmed in the old way, I am sure.” - -“Yes, the more you can make him look like his old self, the better,” -the surgeon assented. “He is doing famously. Don’t contradict him in -anything. Just let him take his own way as he has been doing, and it -will not be long before he will discover that there has been some -change in his surroundings. Then he will begin to ask questions, and -you can tell him what has happened. - -“I advise you to bring him back here,” the surgeon continued, “at least -for a few days. It would not be well to make everything too strange for -him at first. We will give you a room here with two beds, so that you -can stay with him. By the time you get back from your walk you may find -a great improvement in him; I can see that having you with him makes -him feel happier.” - -When the two Christopher Silburns started down the street for the -tailor’s, the consul went with them, for he was very much interested in -the strange case; and it was not long before the patient was arrayed -in a dark blue suit, with a new derby hat; and after his hair and -beard had been trimmed to the way he was accustomed to wear them, he -looked so much like the old Christopher Silburn that Kit could hardly -help dancing around him for joy. But he held himself in, and made no -demonstrations. It was evident that his father was very much pleased, -too, with the change in his appearance; he admired himself in the -mirror, drew himself up till the stoop was gone from his shoulders, and -was very particular to have the new hat on straight. It was nothing but -the truth when the consul said that he looked like a new man. - -“I should like to go to the cable office for a minute or two,” Kit -said, when they were done with the barber. “I don’t want to keep all -this pleasure to myself.” - -But writing a cable message home, when every word cost more than a -day’s salary, was no easy matter. The first one he wrote contained -sixteen words, and that was far too long. After many trials he got it -reduced to nine, in this fashion:-- - - SILBURN, Huntington, Conn. - Father much improved. Knows me. - KIT. - -“That tells them that I have found him, and that we are both all -right,” he reflected. It was just like Kit that the first real -extravagance he ever committed was for his mother and Vieve, not for -his own pleasure. The message cost him nearly thirty dollars. - -“Who is that to?” his father asked, as he handed the telegram to the -clerk. - -“To mother,” Kit replied. “It’s just to let her know that we are all -right.” - -“And where is mother?” was the next question. - -“Why, at home, in Huntington,” Kit answered, thinking that now were -coming the questions that the doctor had said were sure to come sooner -or later. But he was mistaken. His father looked perplexed, as though -trying hard to think about something, but walked out of the office with -them without saying more, stroking what the barber had left of his -beard. - -On the way up the street to the consul’s office, however, he stopped -and seized Kit by the arm. - -“Kit,” he said, “what place is this?” - -“This is Wellington, New Zealand, father,” Kit replied. - -His father merely nodded his head and went on stroking his beard, but -asked no more. It worried Kit to see how very hard he was trying to -remember something, without succeeding. But it was not till they were -seated in the consul’s office that he spoke again. - -“There is something I don’t understand,” he said then to Kit. “And I -see you don’t want to tell me; but tell me this, is anything wrong at -home?” - -“Not a thing, father,” Kit answered. - -“Nobody dead?” - -“No, indeed; nor sick, either; and in an hour or two they’ll be the -happiest couple in the world, when they get my message.” - -“Well, then I can wait,” Mr. Silburn answered. “I don’t know what it -all means, but it’s all right, since you’re here. You’re such a big -fellow, Kit; I had no idea you were such a big boy. And you’re going -home with me?” - -“In the very first ship,” Kit answered. - -“Then it’s all right,” he said; “you can tell me when you get ready. -Things are all in a muddle, somehow.” - -The consul had a great many questions to ask about Kit’s voyage, and -his business, and how long he was going to stay; and after a little -conversation, of which Mr. Silburn took no notice, he asked one in -which the former patient took a sudden interest. - -“Don’t you both feel as if you could eat something? There is an -excellent restaurant across the street, and I should be glad to have -you eat dinner with me.” - -“Yes, I’m hungry,” Mr. Silburn answered. “I haven’t eaten anything -since--no, I’m getting mixed again. The last thing I ate was a bit of -raw lobster, but I can’t remember where it was.” - -When they were seated at the table, the patient gave ample proof that -his loss of memory did not affect his appetite. - -“That lobster you spoke of,” the consul said, hoping to revive the -subject, “was that on the island?” - -“It seems to me it was on an island somewhere,” Mr. Silburn answered. -“Not much of an island, as far as I can remember; just a little place, -with only a few people on it. I’m glad you spoke of it; though it seems -to put me in mind of something, though I can’t think what it is. Give -me some more of the roast beef, please.” - -When Kit and his father retired to their room in the hospital early -that evening, a room evidently kept for some of the staff rather than -for patients, Kit drew one of the big chairs up to the table, and -seating his father in it, proceeded to open the small package that -Vieve had entrusted to him. - -“You see Vieve hasn’t forgotten you, father,” he said. “She thought you -must miss your slippers, so she made me bring them over to you. And -here’s something else. Do you remember this?” - -He reached into one of the slippers and took out his father’s pocket -knife that the sailor from the _Flower City_ had given him. - -“I’ve been looking everywhere for that knife,” Mr. Silburn said, taking -it as coolly as if he had mislaid it somewhere the day before. “Where -did you find it, Kit?” - -“I got it from the man you handed it to, to cut away one of the -_Flower City’s_ boats with, sir,” Kit answered. “Do you remember -that?” - -“Why shouldn’t I remember it?” Mr. Silburn asked, a little petulantly. -“I handed it to Blinkey, and they got away from the schooner all right. -Has anything been heard from them yet?” - -“Blinkey is safe in England,” Kit replied, as he took off his father’s -shoes and put on his slippers. “But you and he are the only ones who -have been heard of.” - -“Oh, well, they’ll be all right,” Mr. Silburn exclaimed; “they were -good tight boats, and--no, our boat went to pieces, though. I get these -things so mixed. My head’s all in a muddle with trying to remember, -and it tires me. I think you’d better help me get to bed, Kit. I’ll be -rested by morning.” - -“Kit!” he called, as Kit was tucking the bedclothes snugly about him; -“you still here, Kit?” - -“Yes; here I am, father.” - -“And you’ve come all the way to New Zealand to take me home?” - -“Yes; we’re going home just as fast as we can.” - -“And you won’t go without me, Kit?” - -“Do you think I’d be likely to do such a thing, father?” Kit asked. - -“No, you wouldn’t, Kit; you always were a good boy. And I’ll be rested -by morning.” And with Kit’s hand firmly clutched in his he closed his -eyes and gave up trying to remember. - -Kit stood by the bedside for some minutes, till he was sure that his -father was asleep; then he sat down at the table and wrote a long -letter home, knowing that the mails would reach America weeks earlier -than the slow _Brindisi_ could arrive. And a letter to Mr. Clark -too, and another to Captain Griffith. It was nearly midnight before he -got to bed, but the fatigue and excitement of the day insured a good -night’s sleep. - -“Kit, my boy, wake up. I want you to tell me something.” - -When Kit opened his eyes, the sun was streaming in the windows, and -his father, already dressed, was standing by his bed. He sprang up and -began to put on his clothes. - -“I want you to tell me, Kit,” he repeated, seating himself in one of -the big chairs, “how long I have been away from home.” - -“Nearly two years, sir,” Kit answered. - -“Two years!” Mr. Silburn exclaimed, springing from his chair. “You’re -not making game of me, Kit? You wouldn’t do that, my boy!” - -“No, sir,” Kit answered; “it is true. After the wreck of the _Flower -City_ you disappeared, and we almost gave you up. Then after a -long time we heard of an American sailor in the hospital here in New -Zealand, and got them to send us a photograph. We were not sure even -then; but I came on, and found you. So that trouble is all over, and -you mustn’t worry yourself about it.” - -“No, I’ll not worry about it,” his father replied. “But I want to know; -it makes a man feel so foolish not to know where he has been. How did -you get here, my boy?” - -That made a long story; for Kit had to tell how he had been a cabin -boy and a supercargo; how he had become an assistant purser; and how -his good friends on the two ships had paved the way for him to New -Zealand. As he got on with the recital, his father seized his hand and -fondled it; and before he finished, great tears of love and gratitude -were rolling down the old sailor’s cheeks. - -While he was still in this position, the house surgeon called to learn -how his former patient had passed the night. - -“That’s what I want to see,” he said, as he took in the situation. “You -shed no tears while you remembered nothing, Mr. Silburn. This is one -of the best symptoms, to have your emotions aroused. Don’t try to push -your memory now; it will all come back to you; give it time.” - -In the four days that Kit could spend in New Zealand, he saw -improvement every day. Gradually it came back to his father that after -the _Flower City’s_ boat went to pieces, he was a long time in the -water. That when he was about to give up, he was rescued by some ship, -he could not remember her name, that carried him around Cape Horn. That -that ship was also wrecked and abandoned. Then there was a hazy picture -in his mind of a desert island, and terrible suffering from hunger and -thirst. All beyond that was still a blank. - -Kit was so jealous of anything that took him away from his father, that -it was a relief to hear that the Bishop of New Zealand had gone to -Australia on business; so it would be useless for him to present his -letter from the cardinal. That would have been valuable in case of -trouble, but all had been smooth sailing. - -Throughout the long voyage home, in which Mr. Silburn was a passenger -on the _Brindisi_, he continued to improve. There was hardly -anything now about his adventures that he could not remember, except -his long stay in the Wellington Hospital. Every little incident had -been discussed over and over. But it was not till the vessel had passed -Sandy Hook, and was steaming slowly up New York Bay, that he let Kit -know of something that had been worrying him. - -“There was a payment due on the house about the time I ought to have -been home,” he said. “I’m afraid we are going to have trouble about -that.” - -It was worth all the hard work to Kit, all the hard saving, to be able -to tell his father that the indebtedness had been paid to the last -penny. - - - - -CHAPTER XX. - -LOVE’S YOUNG DREAM IN BARBADOES. - - -Old Silas beamed all over as he and Kit tucked the robes around Mr. -Silburn in the Huntington stage, once more on runners. It seemed to the -young supercargo that the very horses had a pleased look. - -“Well, sir, I didn’t expect to see this again!” Silas declared. “Many -a time I’ve took Kit up to Hunt’n’ton, this last year or two. Why, Mr. -Silburn, the first time he went up with me he didn’t have no overcoat -to put on, an’ I had to wrap him in the hoss blanket. But next time -he come home, bless you, his clo’es was good as anybody’s. I says to -myself, says I, ‘That there boy’s a makin’ his way, he is.’ An’ then he -comes with gold braid on his cap; an’ look at him now, will you! But I -swan to goodness, I didn’t expect to see him ridin’ up alongside of his -father any more. We’d all give you up, Mr. Silburn.” - -“No, not quite all!” Mr. Silburn laughed. “Here’s one fellow didn’t -give me up, or I wouldn’t be taking a ride with you to-day, Silas. If -he hadn’t stuck to me through thick and thin” (and he gave Kit a clap -on the shoulder), “I’d still be out in New Zealand eating stewed mutton -in that hospital.” - -“I wasn’t the only one who didn’t give him up,” Kit protested. “We -always kept his chair and slippers ready for him.” - -“And you ain’t brought no baggage, Mr. Silburn?” Silas asked. - -“Baggage?” Mr. Silburn repeated; “this little satchel here, that Kit -got me. The rest of my baggage is pretty well scattered, Silas. Let me -see; I have a chest of clothes somewhere off Hatteras, but they’ve been -on the bottom of the ocean for two years, so I’m afraid they must be -damp. Then there’s a quarter interest in a flag pole on some island in -the Pacific, but I had to leave that behind. And there’s a suit of gray -clothes in the Wellington hospital. I never want to see them again, -whatever happens, though they were very kind to me out there. - -“That’s a pretty good team you have there, Silas,” he went on; “look as -if they could take these Fairfield County hills without losing their -wind. Suppose you let them out once, and show us what they can do.” - -“Ah, you’re in a hurry to see the folks!” Silas declared. “An’ no -wonder, Mr. Silburn. I’ll git you out to Hunt’n’ton jist as quick as -ever the trip was made, if nothin’ don’t give ’way.” - -Kit had a nice little plan arranged to introduce his father as “Mr. -John Doe, of New Zealand,” when they reached the gate; but it fell -through most ingloriously. The truth is there was very little said at -first when they reached the house. Mrs. Silburn and Vieve had hold of -the wanderer before he was out of the sleigh, and in the excitement his -satchel would have been carried away if Silas had not come running in -with it. - -There was not only the joy of seeing him sitting in his own chair again -by the fire, but of seeing him almost as well as ever, only a little -older and grayer. Kit had had no chance to write them from the steamer -of his father’s steady improvement, so it was a fresh pleasure to find -that his memory was fully restored, except that he never could quite -realize that he had been months, instead of days, in the Wellington -hospital. - -They wanted him all to themselves that day, but that was impossible. -The news soon flew through Huntington that Mr. Silburn had returned, -and the neighbors began to pour in at such a rate that Vieve and Kit -had to fly around and start a fire in the parlor stove, to give their -mother a chance to set her grandest dinner table in the sitting-room. -And every visitor had so much to say about Kit that he began to wish -himself a cabin boy on the _North Cape_ again. - -“I’ll have to look out for myself here,” Mr. Silburn laughed, “or I’ll -be of no account in my own house. Everything’s ‘Kit,’ ‘Kit,’ ‘Kit.’ -Well, I must say there ain’t many boys--” - -“Oh, look here, father!” Kit cried; “are you going to begin on that -too! Look at Vieve; nobody stuck to you tighter than Vieve. You don’t -know how she used to encourage us when we were inclined to give you -up.” And he told for the first time how Vieve had sent him one of her -two dollars when he went to New York, and how he had been robbed of the -stamps. - -“Genevieve, come here to your father!” Mr. Silburn said, in a tone of -mock severity. And he put his arm around her to lift her to his knee -as he used to do, but found that was a task that required both hands. -Fathers are so slow to see it when their daughters grow into young -women; it takes the sons of other fathers to make that discovery. - -“Why!” he exclaimed, “you’re as heavy as a kedge anchor, and bigger -than your mother. And you sent one of your dollars to Kit, did you? Now -if I was half a father, I’d have handfuls of gold to shower over you on -coming back from the sea, wouldn’t I? And the fact is I haven’t a cent -but a little money that Kit made me put in my clothes--the clothes that -he bought me, too. He--” - -“Oh, Vieve has turned miser since you went away,” Kit interrupted, -fearing that his father might go back to the old subject. “She wouldn’t -spend a cent for fear we might not have enough money to get you home. -She wants a rich husband, too. She has her eye on a cardinal that I met -over in--” - -Of course Vieve would not let him finish the sentence; and in the -midst of the playful quarrel she was called to help her mother with -dinner; and if any one should ask just how the reunited family spent -that first day, not one of them could give anything like an exact -account. - -After a few days Vieve declared that the family reminded her of three -kittens, so pleased with everything that they sat around the fire -purring. - -“You’d better enjoy it while you can,” her father answered. “Kit -will soon have to be going back to his ship; and for my part, I’m -not going to sit here the rest of my life doing nothing. You needn’t -think it. It’s just the time for a man to go to sea again, after being -shipwrecked; lightning don’t strike twice in the same place, you know.” - -“Oh, Christopher!” Mrs. Silburn exclaimed. “You wouldn’t think of going -to sea again, would you?” - -“I’ve got to do something,” he answered, “and navigation don’t go very -well on shore. But no more long voyages, likely. Maybe you’ve forgotten -what I told you before I went away about a firm in Bridgeport that -wanted me to take charge of a schooner line between there and New York? -You see my memory works all smooth now, don’t it? Well, if they’re -still of the same mind, I may do some business with them. You’re not -going to lay me away on the shelf yet awhile, anyhow.” - -“Oh, then I’d have a chance to go to New York with you some time!” -Vieve cried. “You know I’ve never been there yet.” - -“That’s just where I shall have to go to-morrow,” Kit announced. “I see -by the paper that the _Trinidad_ is due this afternoon, and it’s -not fair to stay away too long. I’ll be back again for a few days, you -know, but I must be on hand for the next voyage.” - -It was purely by accident that he mentioned it just as Vieve showed -how anxious she was to see the metropolis; but the coincidence set him -to thinking. Here he had been half over the world, and Vieve had never -been further than Bridgeport. Why shouldn’t he give her a trip to New -York? - -“How would you like to go along with me, Vieve?” he asked. “I’ll show -you my ship, and bring you back in two or three days.” - -“Oh, Kit!” his mother exclaimed; “that’s just like a boy. How can the -child go to New York without any clothes fit to wear?” - -“Bother the clothes,” Kit retorted, still just like a boy. “She’s not -going to set the fashions, is she? I’ll lend her one of my blue suits.” - -It was so quickly settled that Vieve was to go, that Mr. Silburn was -led to exclaim:-- - -“There’s no parental discipline at all in this family, is there?” - -“Well, there’s none needed, that’s one thing,” Mrs. Silburn answered; -and she sat up half the night getting Vieve ready. She was relieved to -find that they would not have to go to a hotel, for there would be any -number of vacant staterooms on the _Trinidad_. - -That trip to New York with Vieve was one of the greatest pleasures that -Kit had ever enjoyed, next to finding his father. Everything was so -new to her. She had never even been in a railway train before. And Mr. -Clark was so kind to her, and took her all over the ship, and she was -so delighted with everything. And in the evening he had a talk with the -purser in their office that must have been very satisfactory, for next -morning he said to Vieve:-- - -“Vieve, do they have tailor shops for girls? I mean places where a girl -can buy things all ready to put on, the way a man can?” - -“Oh, do they!” Vieve answered. “To think that anybody shouldn’t know -that! Why, dozens of them.” - -“Well,” he went on, “I heard a great piece of news last night, and feel -like celebrating a little to-day. We’ll get the stewardess directly and -go out and see whether you can find anything to fit you. You can buy -the whole business, can you? Hat, coat, dress, shoes, and all?” - -“Yes, when you have money enough,” Vieve laughed. “But what is it, Kit? -What is this great piece of news? Ah, now, Kit, you ought to tell me; I -always tell you everything.” - -“Not till we get home, Miss Curiosity,” he answered. “When we get home -I’ll tell you all about it.” - -Kit wisely declined to go further than the door of any of the big -bazaars that the stewardess led them to. But Vieve’s first experiment -in “shopping” must have been successful, for when Kit took her over the -Brooklyn Bridge toward evening to see Captain Griffith and the _North -Cape_, her appearance was so changed that her mother would hardly -have known her. - -And to tell the good news about his father to Captain Griffith was -almost equal to telling it at home, the Captain took such an interest. -He had to go over the whole story of his voyage to Melbourne and then -across to Wellington, and describe his first meeting with his father, -and everything that happened afterwards. - -“Well, Miss Silburn,” the Captain said, when Kit concluded--“or I think -I’ll have to call you Miss Vieve,--I’m almost one of the family, you -know, and one of the first things I did when I got hold of Christopher -was to read a letter you wrote him--” - -“Oh, yes, sir, I hope you’ll call me Vieve,” Vieve interrupted; “I -shouldn’t know who you meant if you called me Miss Silburn.” - -“Well, I was going to say,” the Captain went on, “that I took an -interest in you all from the time Christopher read me those letters -from home on the first evening I knew him. And when I heard about the -dollar’s worth of stamps you sent him, and the way he was robbed of -them, I came very near handing him a greenback to send in his letter -to you. But I was afraid it might spoil him. Boys are very easily -spoiled; specially cabin boys. I don’t suppose he’s ever told you -about how I had to train him in, in the first voyage or two.” - -“Don’t you believe it, Vieve!” Kit laughed; “the Captain wouldn’t hurt -a cat.” - -“I gave him plenty of work to do, at any rate,” the Captain went on. -“I don’t want to make him conceited by saying he did it well; but he -seems to have turned out pretty well, like most of my boys. The great -point about your brother was that he made up his mind to do his work -well, and push his way ahead. Boys who start with that idea generally -succeed, even when they have no great brains to begin with.” - -“Ahem!” Kit interrupted. “Can’t we find something more interesting to -talk about than me? Where do you go next time, Captain?” - -“To Barbadoes again,” the Captain answered. “We went there last voyage. -You fellows in the big mail steamers mustn’t think you are the only -ones to go to the West Indies. And I saw a friend of yours there, too. -Do you remember any one named Outerbridge, in Barbadoes?” - -Kit began to blush so hard that the Captain immediately added:-- - -“Oh, not the young lady. It was her father that I saw. He wanted to -be remembered to you, and hoped to see you next time you visited the -island.” - -“Ah!” Vieve exclaimed, “he never told us anything about a young lady in -Barbadoes, Captain. You’re getting so you don’t tell me anything, any -more, Kit. Do you know, Captain, he heard some great piece of news last -night, and he won’t tell me what it was.” - -“No, I won’t tell even Captain Griffith what it was, not at present,” -Kit retorted. “And he will say that I’m right not to tell the business -affairs of the company I work for.” - -“It would be very unlike you to do it, I’ll say that,” the Captain -assented; “and very improper besides. But you are going right back to -the _Trinidad_, of course? and I may expect to see you while we -are lying at Barbadoes?” - -“I’m off in her next Saturday, sir,” Kit answered. “That’s the reason I -have to start for home to-morrow morning, and can’t make you a longer -visit. But my sister was anxious to come over and see Harry Leonard, -and--” - -“Why, _Kit_!” Vieve cried, with a blush that made her look -prettier than ever; “I never mentioned his name, or thought of him.” - -“Of course you both want to see Henry,” the Captain laughed; and in -answer to his bell Harry soon appeared, and Kit had to retell his -latest adventures in brief. But it was growing late, and they could -not prolong their stay, and they crossed the East River on a Fulton -ferryboat to give Vieve a view of the big bridge by night. - -Such a trip was like delving into an Arabian Nights palace for the -young Huntington girl, and for weeks afterward she could talk of -little but the wonderful things she had seen. And from what Kit heard -while he was home, he imagined that the most wonderful things of all, -the most beautiful, most lovely and enchanting, were not the busy -streets or tall buildings, not the big ships, the great bridge, or the -crowds, but the fascinating things she saw in the big bazaars, which -she described with more technical terms than he thought she had ever -heard of. - -But Kit’s great news had to be told before they could let him go. He -intended to tell it in the home circle, but he would have been more -than human if he had not let Vieve tease him a little for it just after -seeing how anxious she was. - -“It is not to be mentioned outside of the family,” he said, “because I -mustn’t be telling office secrets; but Mr. Clark told me I could tell -it at home. You must know, then, that--ahem--ahem--” - -“Oh, Kit, do go on!” Vieve burst out. “I’ll tell all about that -Barbadoes girl if you don’t.” - -“You can’t,” Kit retorted; “you don’t know anything about her. -But to come back to business, the company is building a fine new -steamer, larger and better than any of the others, to be called the -_Maida_. She is under way now, and when she is finished, Captain -Fraser is to command her, because he is the senior captain of the line; -and Mr. Clark is to be her purser, because he is the senior purser. -That, as you can see, will leave the _Trinidad_ without a purser; -or _would_, rather. But if the present arrangements are carried -out, the new purser of the _Trinidad_ will be--” - -“Oh, Kit!” Mrs. Silburn cried. - -“I see you’ve guessed it, mother,” he went on. “His name is Kit -Silburn. But I only said _if_ present arrangements are carried -out, mind you. There’s many a slip ’twixt the cup and the lip. The -company may change its mind, or--or lots of other things may happen -meanwhile. A purser gets exactly fifty per cent more pay than an -assistant purser, and that part I should be very well satisfied with. -But the _Trinidad_ would seem strange without Captain Fraser or -Mr. Clark.” - -“Lots of other things,” as Kit predicted, did happen in the ten or -eleven months that passed before the new _Maida_ was ready for -sea. The Silburn residence, for one thing, grew from a little story -and a half cottage into a pretty two-story house, one of the best in -Huntington. The new line of schooners between Bridgeport and New York, -of which Mr. Silburn was manager and one of the stockholders, proved a -profitable venture. Harry Leonard became a supercargo himself, and felt -six inches taller from that minute. And it happened in the strangest -way that the dinner-parties given at Sea View plantation, in Barbadoes, -always fell upon the days when the _Trinidad_ was in port. - -Kit did not hesitate to speak at home about Miss Blanche Outerbridge, -and for a time Vieve was inclined to be jealous of “that Barbadoes -girl,” as she insisted upon calling her. But after a while Mr. -Outerbridge brought his family to America for a visit, and upon -becoming well acquainted with her, she had to say that Barbadoes -produced some very pretty and companionable young ladies. - -It was not till long after Kit became purser of the _Trinidad_, -however,--not till the day came when there was neither need nor excuse -for his spending any more of his earnings in Huntington,--that in one -of his confidential talks with Vieve he told her how good the prospect -was that she might in course of time be suitably provided with a -sister-in-law. - - - - -_W. A. Wilde & Co., Publishers._ - -War of the Revolution Series. - -By Everett T. Tomlinson. - - _THREE COLONIAL BOYS._ A Story of the Times of ’76. 368 pp. - Cloth, $1.50. - - It is a story of three boys who were drawn into the events of - the times, is patriotic, exciting, clean, and healthful, and - instructs without appearing to. The heroes are manly boys, - and no objectionable language or character is introduced. - The lessons of courage and patriotism especially will be - appreciated in this day.--_Boston Transcript._ - - _THREE YOUNG CONTINENTALS._ A Story of the American - Revolution. 364 pp. Cloth, $1.50. - - This story is historically true. It is the best kind of a - story either for boys or girls, and is an attractive method of - teaching history.--_Journal of Education, Boston._ - - _WASHINGTON’S YOUNG AIDS._ A Story of the New Jersey Campaign, - 1776-1777. 391 pp. Cloth, $1.50. - - The book has enough history and description to give - value to the story which ought to captivate enterprising - boys.--_Quarterly Book Review._ - - The historical details of the story are taken from old records. - These include accounts of the life on the prison ships and - prison houses of New York, the raids of the pine robbers, - the tempting of the Hessians, the end of Fagan and his band, - etc.--_Publisher’s Weekly._ - - Few boys’ stories of this class show so close a study of - history combined with such genial story-telling power.--_The - Outlook._ - - _TWO YOUNG PATRIOTS._ A Story of Burgoyne’s Invasion. 366 pp. - Cloth, $1.50. - - The crucial campaign in the American struggle for independence - came in the summer of 1777, when Gen. John Burgoyne marched - from Canada to cut the rebellious colonies asunder and join - another British army which was to proceed up the valley of the - Hudson. The American forces were brave, hard fighters, and they - worried and harassed the British and finally defeated them. The - history of this campaign is one of great interest and is well - brought out in the part which the “two young patriots” took in - the events which led up to the surrender of General Burgoyne - and his army. - -The set of four volumes in a box, $6.00. - - * * * * * - - _SUCCESS_. BY ORISON SWETT MARDEN. Author of “Pushing - to the Front,” “Architects of Fate,” etc. 317 pp. Cloth, $1.25. - - It is doubtful whether any success books for the young have - appeared in modern times which are so thoroughly packed from - lid to lid with stimulating, uplifting, and inspiring material - as the self-help books written by Orison Swett Marden. There is - not a dry paragraph nor a single line of useless moralizing in - any of his books. - - To stimulate, inspire, and guide is the mission of his latest - book, “Success,” and helpfulness is its keynote. Its object - is to spur the perplexed youth to act the Columbus to his own - undiscovered possibilities; to urge him not to wait for great - opportunities, but to seize common occasions and make them - great, for he cannot tell when fate may take his measure for a - higher place. - -_W. A. Wilde & Co., Boston and Chicago._ - - - - -_W. A. Wilde & Co., Publishers._ - -Brain and Brawn Series. - -By William Drysdale. - - _THE YOUNG REPORTER._ A Story of Printing House Square. - 300 pp. Cloth, $1.50. - - I commend the book unreservedly.--_Golden Rule._ - - “The Young Reporter” is a rattling book for boys.--_New York - Recorder._ - - The best boys’ book I ever read.--_Mr. Phillips, Critic for New - York Times._ - - _THE FAST MAIL._ A Story of a Train Boy. 328 pp. Cloth, $1.50. - - “The Fast Mail” is one of the very best American books for - boys brought out this season. Perhaps there could be no better - confirmation of this assertion than the fact that the little - sons of the present writer have greedily devoured the contents - of the volume, and are anxious to know how soon they are to get - a sequel.--_The Art Amateur, New York._ - - _THE BEACH PATROL._ A Story of the Life-Saving Service. 318 - pp. Cloth, $1.50. - - The style of narrative is excellent, the lesson inculcated of - the best, and, above all, the boys and girls are real.--_New - York Times._ - - A book of adventure and daring, which should delight as well as - stimulate to higher ideals of life every boy who is so happy as - to possess it.--_Examiner._ - - It is a strong book for boys and young men.--_Buffalo - Commercial._ - - _THE YOUNG SUPERCARGO._ A Story of the Merchant Marine. 352 - pp. Cloth, $1.50. - - Kit Silburn is a real “Brain and Brawn” boy, full of sense - and grit and sound good qualities. Determined to make his way - in life, and with no influential friends to give him a start, - he does a deal of hard work between the evening when he first - meets the stanch Captain Griffith, and the proud day when he - becomes purser of a great ocean steamship. His sea adventures - are mostly on shore; but whether he is cleaning the cabin of - the _North Cape_, or landing cargo in Yucatan, or hurrying the - spongers and fruitmen of Nassau, or exploring London, or sight - seeing with a disguised prince in Marseilles, he is always the - same busy, thoroughgoing, manly Kit. Whether or not he has a - father alive is a question of deep interest throughout the - story; but that he has a loving and loyal sister is plain from - the start. - -The set of four volumes in a box, $6.00. - - _SERAPH, THE LITTLE VIOLINISTE._ BY MRS. C. V. JAMIESON. 300 pp. - Cloth, $1.50. - - The scene of the story is the French quarter of New - Orleans, and charming bits of local color add to its - attractiveness.--_The Boston Journal._ - - Perhaps the most charming story she has ever written is that - which describes Seraph, the little violiniste.--_Transcript, - Boston._ - -_W. A. Wilde & Co., Boston and Chicago._ - - - - -_W. A. Wilde & Co., Publishers._ - -Travel-Adventure Series. - - _IN WILD AFRICA._ Adventures of Two Boys in the Sahara Desert, - etc. BY THOS. W. KNOX. 325 pp. Cloth, $1.50. - - A story of absorbing interest.--_Boston Journal._ - - Our young people will pronounce it unusually good.--_Albany - Argus._ - - Col. Knox has struck a popular note in his latest - volume.--_Springfield Republican._ - - _THE LAND OF THE KANGAROO._ BY THOS. W. KNOX. Adventures of Two - Boys in the Great Island Continent. 318 pp. Cloth, $1.50. - - His descriptions of the natural history and botany of the - country are very interesting.--_Detroit Free Press._ - - The actual truthfulness of the book needs no gloss to add to - its absorbing interest.--_The Book Buyer, New York._ - - _OVER THE ANDES; or, Our Boys in New South America._ BY - HEZEKIAH BUTTERWORTH. 368 pp. Cloth, $1.50. - - No writer of the present century has done more and better - service than Hezekiah Butterworth in the production of helpful - literature for the young. In this volume he writes, in his own - fascinating way, of a country too little known by American - readers.--_Christian Work._ - - Mr. Butterworth is careful of his historic facts, and then - he charmingly interweaves his quaint stories, legends, and - patriotic adventures as few writers can.--_Chicago Inter-Ocean._ - - The subject is an inspiring one, and Mr. Butterworth has done - full justice to the high ideals which have inspired the men of - South America.--_Religious Telescope._ - - _LOST IN NICARAGUA; or, The Lands of the Great Canal._ BY - HEZEKIAH BUTTERWORTH. 295 pp. Cloth, $1.50. - - The book pictures the wonderful land of Nicaragua and continues - the story of the travelers whose adventures in South America - are related in “Over the Andes.” In this companion book to - “Over the Andes,” one of the boy travelers who goes into the - Nicaraguan forests in search of a quetzal, or the royal bird of - the Aztecs, falls into an ancient idol cave, and is rescued in - a remarkable way by an old Mosquito Indian. The narrative is - told in such a way as to give the ancient legends of Guatemala, - the story of the chieftain, Nicaragua, the history of the - Central American Republics, and the natural history of the - wonderlands of the ocelot, the conger, parrots, and monkeys. - - Since the voyage of the _Oregon_, of 13,000 miles to reach Key - West the American people have seen what would be the value of - the Nicaragua Canal. The book gives the history of the projects - for the canal, and facts about Central America, and a part of - it was written in Costa Rica. It enters a new field. - -The set of four volumes in a box, $6.00. - - _QUARTERDECK AND FOK’SLE._ BY MOLLY ELLIOTT SEAWELL. - 272 pp. Cloth, $1.25. - - Miss Seawell has done a notable work for the young people of - our country in her excellent stories of naval exploits. They - are of the kind that causes the reader, no matter whether young - or old, to thrill with pride and patriotism at the deeds of - daring of the heroes of our navy. - -_W. A. Wilde & Co., Boston and Chicago._ - - - - -_W. A. Wilde & Co., Publishers._ - -Fighting for the Flag Series. - -By Chas. Ledyard Norton. - - _JACK BENSON’S LOG; or, Afloat with the Flag in ’61._ 281 pp. - Cloth, $1.25. - - An unusually interesting historical story, and one that will - arouse the loyal impulses of every American boy and girl. The - story is distinctly superior to anything ever attempted along - this line before.--_The Independent._ - - A story that will arouse the loyal impulses of every American - boy and girl.--_The Press._ - - _A MEDAL OF HONOR MAN; or, Cruising Among Blockade Runners._ - 280 pp. Cloth, $1.25. - - A bright, breezy sequel to “Jack Benson’s Log.” The book has - unusual literary excellence.--_The Book Buyer, New York._ - - A stirring story for boys.--_The Journal, Indianapolis._ - - _MIDSHIPMAN JACK._ 290 pp. Cloth, $1.25. - - Jack is a delightful hero, and the author has made his - experiences and adventures seem very real.--_Congregationalist._ - - It is true historically and full of exciting war scenes and - adventures.--_Outlook._ - - A stirring story of naval service in the Confederate waters - during the late war.--_Presbyterian._ - -The set of three volumes in a box, $3.75. - - _A GIRL OF ’76._ BY AMY E. BLANCHARD. 331 pp. Cloth, $1.50. - - “A Girl of ’76” lays its scene in and around Boston where the - principal events of the early period of the Revolution were - enacted. Elizabeth Hall, the heroine, is the daughter of a - patriot who is active in the defense of his country. The story - opens with a scene in Charlestown, where Elizabeth Hall and her - parents live. The emptying of the tea in Boston Harbor is the - means of giving the little girl her first strong impression - as to the seriousness of her father’s opinions, and causes a - quarrel between herself and her schoolmate and playfellow, Amos - Dwight. - - _A SOLDIER OF THE LEGION._ BY CHAS. LEDYARD NORTON. 300 pp. - Cloth, $1.50. - - Two boys, a Carolinian and a Virginian, born a few years apart - during the last half of the eighteenth century, afford the - groundwork for the incidents of this tale. - - The younger of the two was William Henry Harrison, sometime - President of the United States, and the elder, his companion - and faithful attendant through life, was Carolinus Bassett, - Sergeant of the old First Infantry, and in an irregular sort of - a way Captain of Virginian Horse. He it is who tells the story - a few years after President Harrison’s death, his granddaughter - acting as critic and amanuensis. - - The story has to do with the early days of the Republic, when - the great, wild, unknown West was beset by dangers on every - hand, and the Government at Washington was at its wits’ end - to provide ways and means to meet the perplexing problems of - national existence. - -_W. A. Wilde & Co., Boston and Chicago._ - - - - -_W. A. Wilde & Co., Publishers._ - - _THE ORCUTT GIRLS; or, One Term at the Academy._ BY CHARLOTTE M. - VAILE. 316 pp. Cloth, $1.50. - - A well-told story of school life which will interest its - readers deeply, and hold before them a high standard of living. - The heroines are charming girls and their adventures are - described in an entertaining way.--_Pilgrim Teacher._ - - Mrs. Vaile gives us a story here which will become famous as a - description of a phase of New England educational history which - has now become a thing of the past, with an exception here and - there.--_Boston Transcript._ - - _SUE ORCUTT._ A Sequel to “The Orcutt Girls.” BY CHARLOTTE M. - VAILE. 330 pp. Cloth, $1.50. - - It is a charming story from beginning to end and is written in - that easy flowing style which characterizes the best stories of - our best writers.--_Christian Work._ - - It is wholly a piece of good fortune for young folks that - brings this book to market in such ample season for the - selection of holiday gifts.--_Denver Republican._ - - The story teaches a good moral without any preaching, in fact - it is as good in a way as Miss Alcott’s books, which is high - but deserved praise.--_Chronicle._ - - _THE M. M. C._ A Story of the Great Rockies. BY CHARLOTTE M. - VAILE. 232 pp. Cloth, $1.25. - - The pluck of the little school teacher, struggling against - adverse circumstances, to hold for her friend the promising - claim, which he has secured after years of misfortune in other - ventures, is well brought out. The almost resistless bad luck - which has made “Old Hopefull’s” nickname a hollow mockery - still followed him when a fortune was almost within his grasp. - The little school teacher was, however, a new element in “Old - Hopefull’s” experience, and the result, as the story shows, was - most satisfactory. - - _THE ROMANCE OF DISCOVERY; or, a Thousand Years of Exploration, - etc._ BY WILLIAM ELLIOT GRIFFIS. 305 pp. Cloth, $1.50. - - It is a book of profit and interest involving a variety of - correlated instances and influences which impart the flavor of - the unexpected.--_Philadelphia Presbyterian._ - - An intensely interesting narrative following well-authenticated - history.--_Telescope._ - - Boys will read it for the romance in it and be delighted, and - when they get through, behold! they have read a history of - America.--_Awakener._ - - _THE ROMANCE OF AMERICAN COLONIZATION; or, How the Foundations of - Our Country Were Laid._ BY WILLIAM ELLIOT GRIFFIS. 295 pp. - Cloth, $1.50. - - To this continent, across a great ocean, came two distinct - streams of humanity and two rival civilizations,--the one - Latin, led and typified by the Spanish, with Portuguese and - French also, and the other Germanic, or Anglo-Saxon, led and - typified by the English and reinforced by Dutch, German, and - British people. - - _A SON OF THE REVOLUTION._ An Historical Novel of the Days of - Aaron Burr. BY ELBRIDGE S. BROOKS. 301 pp. Cloth, $1.50. - - The story of Tom Edwards, adventurer, as it is connected with - Aaron Burr, is in every way faithful to the facts of history. - As the story progresses the reader will wonder where the line - between fact and fiction is to be drawn. Among the characters - that figure in it are President Jefferson, Gen. Andrew Jackson, - General Wilkinson, and many other prominent government and army - officials. - -_W. A. Wilde & Co., Boston and Chicago._ - - - - -_W. A. Wilde & Co., Publishers._ - - _MALVERN, A NEIGHBORHOOD STORY._ BY ELLEN DOUGLAS DELAND. 341 pp. - Cloth, $1.50. - - Her descriptions of boys and girls are so true, and her - knowledge of their ways is so accurate, that one must feel an - admiration for her complete mastery of her chosen field.--_The - Argus, Albany._ - - Miss Deland was accorded a place with Louisa M. Alcott and Nora - Perry as a successful writer of books for girls. We think this - praise none too high.--_The Post._ - - _A SUCCESSFUL VENTURE._ BY ELLEN DOUGLAS DELAND. 340 pp. Cloth, - $1.50. - - One of the many successful books that have come from her pen, - which is certainly the very best.--_Boston Herald._ - - It is a good piece of work and its blending of good sense and - entertainment will be appreciated.--_Congregationalist._ - - _KATRINA._ BY ELLEN DOUGLAS DELAND. 340 pp. Cloth, $1.50. - - “Katrina” is the story of a girl who was brought up by an aunt - in a remote village of Vermont. Her life is somewhat lonely - until a family from New York come there to board during the - summer. Katrina’s aunt, who is a reserved woman, has told her - little of her antecedents, and she supposes that she has no - other relatives. Her New York friends grow very fond of her and - finally persuade her to visit them during the winter. There new - pleasures and new temptations present themselves, and Katrina’s - character develops through them to new strength. - - _ABOVE THE RANGE._ BY THEODORA R. JENNESS. 332 pp. Cloth, $1.25. - - The quaintness of the characters described will be sure to make - the story very popular.--_Book News, Philadelphia._ - - A book of much interest and novelty.--_The Book Buyer, New - York._ - - _BIG CYPRESS._ BY KIRK MUNROE. 164 pp. Cloth, 1.00. - - If there is a man who understands writing a story for boys - better than another, it is Kirk Munroe.--_Springfield - Republican._ - - A capital writer of boys’ stories is Mr. Kirk Munroe.--_Outlook._ - - _FOREMAN JENNIE._ BY AMOS R. WELLS. A Young Woman of Business. - 268 pp. Cloth, $1.25. - - It is a delightful story.--_The Advance, Chicago._ - - It is full of action.--_The Standard, Chicago._ - - A story of decided merit.--_The Epworth Herald, Chicago._ - - _MYSTERIOUS VOYAGE OF THE DAPHNE._ BY LIEUT. H. P. WHITMARSH. - 305 pp. Cloth, $1.25. - - One of the best collections of short stories for boys and - girls that has been published in recent years. Such writers as - Hezekiah Butterworth, Wm. O. Stoddard, and Jane G. Austin have - contributed characteristic stories which add greatly to the - general interest of the book. - -_W. A. Wilde & Co., Boston and Chicago._ - - - - -_W. A. Wilde & Co., Publishers._ - - _PHILLIP LEICESTER._ BY JESSIE E. WRIGHT. 264 pp. Cloth, $1.25. - - The book ought to make any reader thankful for a good home, and - thoughtful for the homeless and neglected.--_Golden Rule._ - - The story is intensely interesting.--_Christian Inquirer._ - - _CAP’N THISTLETOP._ BY SOPHIE SWETT. 282 pp. Cloth, $1.25. - - Sophie Swett knows how to please young folks as well as old; - for both she writes simple, unaffected, cheerful stories with - a judicious mingling of humor and plot. Such a story is “Cap’n - Thistletop.”--_The Outlook._ - - _LADY BETTY’S TWINS._ BY E. M. WATERWORTH. 117 pp. With 12 - illustrations. 75 cents. - - The story of a little boy and girl who did not know the meaning - of the word “obedience.” They learned the lesson, however, - after some trying experiences. - - _THE MOONSTONE RING._ BY JENNIE CHAPPELL. 118 pp. With 6 - illustrations. 75 cents. - - A home story with the true ring to it. The happenings of the - story are somewhat out of the usual run of events. - - _THE BEACON LIGHT SERIES._ Edited by NATALIE L. RICE. 5 vols. - Fully Illustrated. The Set, $2.50. - - The stories contained in this set of books are all by - well-known writers, carefully selected and edited, and they - cannot, therefore, fail to be both helpful and instructive. - - _THE ALLAN BOOKS._ Edited by MISS LUCY WHEELOCK. 10 vols. Over - 400 illustrations. The set in a box, $2.50. - - One of the best and most attractive sets of books for little - folks ever published. They are full of bright and pleasing - illustrations and charming little stories just adapted to young - children. - - _THE MARJORIE BOOKS._ Edited by MISS LUCY WHEELOCK. 6 vols. Over - 200 illustrations. The set, $1.50. - - A very attractive set of books for the little folks, full of - pictures and good stories. - - _DOTS LIBRARY._ Edited by MISS LUCY WHEELOCK. 10 vols. Over 400 - illustrations. The set, $2.50. - - In every way a most valuable set of books for the little - people. Miss Wheelock possesses rare skill in interesting and - entertaining the little ones. - -_W. A. Wilde & Co., Boston and Chicago._ - - - - -Transcriber’s Note: - -Punctuation has been standardised. ~H~ has been used for the character -used in the original publication to represent “diamond H”. Hyphenation -has been retained as it appears in the original publication. There is -perhaps confusion between the names “Harry” and “Henry” but these also -have been retained as they appear in the original publication. - -Changes have been made as follows: - - Facing page 48 - YOU ARE YOUNG FOR A SUPERCARGO, SENOR _changed to_ - YOU ARE YOUNG FOR A SUPERCARGO, SEÑOR - - Page 69 - loquats, sappadillos, sour sops, _changed to_ - loquats, sapadillos, sour sops, - - Page 119 - men were trying to lassoo _changed to_ - men were trying to lasso - - Page 142 - _The Flower City_ _changed to_ - The _Flower City_ - - Page 167 - be done by the great num- _changed to_ - be done by the great number - - Page 173 - advice it sure to be good _changed to_ - advice is sure to be good - - Page 196 - some of our American millionnaires _changed to_ - some of our American millionaires - - Page 198 - sighted the Belearic Isles _changed to_ - sighted the Balearic Isles - - Page 209 - in a large store-paved courtyard _changed to_ - in a large stone-paved courtyard - - Page 226 - Captain Grffith had always treated him _changed to_ - Captain Griffith had always treated him - - Page 269 - treasures ever since Kit bought it home _changed to_ - treasures ever since Kit brought it home - - Page 305 - his throat like a vice _changed to_ - his throat like a vise - - Page 317 - not all millionnaires here _changed to_ - not all millionaires here - - Page 350 - easily spoiled; sp cially cabin boys _changed to_ - easily spoiled; specially cabin boys - - Page v of the advertisements - Portugese and French also _changed to_ - Portuguese and French also - - Page vii of the advertisements - EDITED BY NATALIE L. 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font-size: x-small; - font-weight: normal; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; - letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration: none;} - .footnote {border: 1px dashed; margin-left: 0; padding-left: 1.5em; text-indent: -1.5em;} - - @media print { - hr.divider, hr.divider2 {border-width: 0; margin: 0;} - a:link, a:visited, a:hover, a:active {text-decoration: none; color: inherit;} - } - - /* ebookmaker */ - body.x-ebookmaker {margin: .5em; padding: 0; width: 98%;} - .x-ebookmaker p {margin-top: .1em; margin-bottom: .1em;} - .x-ebookmaker table {width: 98%;} - .x-ebookmaker img {width: 80%;} - .x-ebookmaker .prelim-container {width: 80%; margin-left: 7%; margin-right: 13%;} - .x-ebookmaker .width500 {width: 31em;} - .x-ebookmaker .width140 {width: 8em;} - .x-ebookmaker .width100 {width: 10em;} - /*.x-ebookmaker .poetry {display: block;}*/ - x-ebookmaker-drop, .x-ebookmaker-drop {} - </style> - </head> -<body> -<p style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Young Supercargo, by William Drysdale</p> -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: The Young Supercargo</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:0; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:1em;'>A Story of the Merchant Marine</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: William Drysdale</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Illustrator: Charles Copeland</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: November 16, 2021 [eBook #66747]</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: davidkpark; Sue Clark; the image following page 211 provided by The Young Supercargo: a Story of the Merchant Marine. 1898. Courtesy of Baldwin Library of Historical Children's Literature, Special and Area Studies Collections, George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida; and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)</p> -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE YOUNG SUPERCARGO ***</div> - -<hr class="divider" /> -<h1>THE YOUNG SUPERCARGO</h1> -<hr class="divider2" /> - -<div class="x-ebookmaker-drop figcenter width500" id="cover2"> - <img src="images/cover2.jpg" width="500" height="747" alt="Cover" /> -</div> - - -<div class="section"> -<p class="center p140">BRAIN AND BRAWN SERIES.</p> -</div> - -<p class="center smcap">By William Drysdale.</p> - -<p class="center smcap">Illustrations by Charles Copeland.</p> - -<hr class="tiny" /> - -<div class="prelim-container"> - -<p class="hang"><span class="bold"><cite class="book-title">THE YOUNG REPORTER. A Story of Printing House Square.</cite></span> 300 -pages. With five full-page Illustrations. Cloth. 12mo. $1.50.</p> - -<p class="hang"><span class="bold"><cite class="book-title">THE FAST MAIL. The Story of a Train Boy.</cite></span> 330 pages. With -five full-page Illustrations. Cloth. 12mo. $1.50.</p> - -<p class="hang"><span class="bold"><cite class="book-title">THE BEACH PATROL. A Story of the Life-Saving Service.</cite></span> 318 -pages. With five full-page Illustrations. Cloth. 12mo. $1.50.</p> - -<p class="hang"><span class="bold"><cite class="book-title">THE YOUNG SUPERCARGO. A Story of the Merchant Marine.</cite></span> 352 -pages. With five full-page Illustrations. Cloth. 12mo. $1.50.</p> -</div> - -<hr class="tiny" /> - -<p class="center p9">*<sub>*</sub>* <span class="italic">Other volumes in preparation.</span></p> - - - -<div class="section"> -<hr class="x-ebookmaker-drop divider" /> - -<div class="figcenter width500" id="frontispiece"> - <img src="images/frontis.jpg" width="500" height="843" alt="Frontispiece" /> - <div class="caption">“‘WHY, THIS IS NO WHARF-RAT, OFFICER.’”</div> -</div> -</div> - - - - -<div class="section"> -<hr class="x-ebookmaker-drop divider" /> - -<p class="center p180 lh"><span class="p6">THE</span><br /> -<span class="smcap">Young Supercargo</span></p> - -<p class="center p140 mt2">A Story of the Merchant Marine</p> - -<p class="center p120 mt3 lh"><span class="p6">BY</span><br /> -WILLIAM DRYSDALE</p> - -<p class="center p9"><span class="italic">Author of “The Young Reporter,” “The Fast Mail,” -“The Beach Patrol,” etc., etc.</span></p> - -<p class="center mt2 lh"><span class="p6">ILLUSTRATED BY</span><br /> -CHARLES COPELAND</p> - -<div class="figcenter width140 mt2" id="colophon"> - <img src="images/colophon.png" width="140" height="139" - alt="Docendo discimus, By teaching we learn" /> -</div> - -<p class="center lh">BOSTON AND CHICAGO<br /> -W. A. WILDE & COMPANY</p> -</div> - - - -<div class="section"> -<hr class="x-ebookmaker-drop divider2" /> -<p class="center smcap">Copyright, 1898,<br /> -By W. A. Wilde & Company.</p> - -<p class="center"><span class="italic">All rights reserved.</span></p> - -<hr class="tiny" /> - -<p class="center">THE YOUNG SUPERCARGO.</p> -</div> - - - - -<div class="section"> -<hr class="x-ebookmaker-drop divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_5"></a>5</span> -</div> - -<h2 id="contents">CONTENTS.</h2> - -<table summary=""> -<tr> -<th class="tdr">CHAPTER</th> -<th class="tdl"> </th> -<th class="tdr2">PAGE</th> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">I.</td> -<td class="tdl smcap">Kit Silburn’s Start in Life</td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#i">9</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">II.</td> -<td class="tdl smcap">A Voyage to Yucatan</td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#ii">26</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">III.</td> -<td class="tdl smcap">A Norther on the Gulf</td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#iii">44</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">IV.</td> -<td class="tdl smcap">Kit’s Connecticut Home</td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#iv">61</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">V.</td> -<td class="tdl smcap">A Burglar in the Cabin</td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#v">78</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">VI.</td> -<td class="tdl smcap">The Strange Case of John Doe</td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#vi">97</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">VII.</td> -<td class="tdl smcap">Kit becomes a Supercargo</td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#vii">109</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">VIII.</td> -<td class="tdl smcap">News from the Wrecked Schooner</td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#viii">129</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">IX.</td> -<td class="tdl smcap">Kit inspects London</td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#ix">149</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">X.</td> -<td class="tdl smcap">A Letter from the State Department</td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#x">168</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">XI.</td> -<td class="tdl smcap">A Voyage to Marseilles</td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#xi">186</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">XII.</td> -<td class="tdl smcap">Imprisoned in the Castle D’If</td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#xii">203</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">XIII.</td> -<td class="tdl smcap">A Visit to Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde</td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#xiii">221</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">XIV.</td> -<td class="tdl smcap">The Mysterious Stranger from Rome</td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#xiv">237</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">XV.</td> -<td class="tdl smcap">News from New Zealand</td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#xv">256</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">XVI.</td> -<td class="tdl smcap">Kit leaves the “North Cape”</td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#xvi">272</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">XVII.</td> -<td class="tdl smcap">Overboard in the Pitch Lake</td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#xvii">287</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">XVIII.</td> -<td class="tdl smcap">A Voyage to Bermuda</td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#xviii">306</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">XIX.</td> -<td class="tdl smcap">Kit finds his Father</td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#xix">324</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">XX.</td> -<td class="tdl smcap">Love’s Young Dream in Barbadoes</td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#xx">340</a><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_6"></a>6</span></td> -</tr> -</table> - - -<div class="section"> -<hr class="x-ebookmaker-drop divider2" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_7"></a>7</span> -</div> - -<h2 id="illustrations">ILLUSTRATIONS.</h2> - -<table summary=""> -<tr> -<th class="tdl"> </th> -<th class="tdr2">PAGE</th> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">“‘Why, this is no wharf-rat, officer’” <span class="italic">Frontispiece</span></td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#frontispiece">14</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">“‘You are young for a supercargo, Señor’”</td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#i-048">48</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">“‘Can you take me to No. 32 Fenchurch Street?’”</td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#i-136">136</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">“‘Here—is the hole he cut through into the priest’s -cell’”</td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#i-211">211</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">“They had a beautiful view of the Mediterranean”</td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#i-240">240</a><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_8"></a>8</span></td> -</tr> -</table> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="x-ebookmaker-drop divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_9"></a>9</span> -</div> - -<p class="center p180" id="top">THE YOUNG SUPERCARGO.</p> - -<hr class="tiny" /> - -<h2 id="i">CHAPTER I.<br /> -<span>KIT SILBURN’S START IN LIFE.</span></h2> - -<p class="noi"><span class="dropcap">A</span> BIG black steamship lay beside the wharf in front of Martin’s Stores, -in Brooklyn. The cold November night was so dark that from the brick -warehouse, a hundred feet away, hardly anything could be seen of her -but the lantern that swung in her rigging, a faint light that shone -through her cabin portholes, and occasionally one of her tall top-masts -standing out against the pale moon that tried with little success to -show itself between the scudding clouds. It was bitterly cold, for -November; and a stiff wind from the northeast was driving the black -clouds seaward at the rate of thirty or forty miles an hour.</p> - -<p>The steamer was the <span class="italic">North Cape</span>, arrived the week before from -Sisal, in Yucatan, with a cargo of hemp in bales. Though everything was -dark and quiet about her on that wintry night, evidences of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_10"></a>10</span> hard work -in unloading lay all around. The bales had been taken out of her hold -faster than the warehousemen could trundle them into the building, and -the hundred feet of space between wharf and warehouse was littered with -them. Some were piled up in tiers, and others lay scattered about in -confusion.</p> - -<p>That open space between the warehouse and the harbor was well sheltered -from the cutting wind; and patrolman McSweeny, of the Brooklyn police, -with ears and fingers tingling found it a warm corner, and made more -frequent visits to it than his duty really required. If he had gone -into one of the neighboring coffee-houses to warm himself, he might -have been caught by the roundsman and fined; but in going through the -brick archway under the building and prowling among the goods on the -wharf in search of tramps or thieves he was strictly obeying orders. So -on the cold November night he paid particular attention to the wharf -of Martin’s Stores, and visited it so often that no burglar in the -neighborhood would have had the least chance.</p> - -<p>Patrolman McSweeny had been a Brooklyn policeman long enough to -understand all the favorite police ways of stirring out homeless tramps -who are so desperately wicked as to go to sleep in the warmest corner -they can find. Among such goods as bales of hemp, for instance, he -took his long nightclub and jabbed it into all the dark spaces that -were wide enough for a boy or man to squeeze into. That way, he found, -was certain to produce results,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_11"></a>11</span> if anybody was there. Either the soft -feeling at the end of the club told him that he had found a victim, or -the vigor with which he poked it made the victim cry out with pain.</p> - -<p>For a policeman weighing nearly two hundred pounds, and armed with a -big club and a revolver, patrolman McSweeny, it must be admitted, made -his rounds among the bales with great caution. The ordinary tramp is a -mere bag of dirt for the average policeman to prod and cuff and shake -as he likes; but about ten days before Mr. McSweeny had stirred up two -tramps on that same wharf who had more muscle than most of their clan, -and in their anger they had turned upon him and thrown him overboard. -So he felt that his dignity needed a little polishing up, and he was -ready to polish it up on the next tramp he caught.</p> - -<p>And tramps were not his only victims along the wharves. Sometimes he -came across a boy,—a frowsy, ragged, shivering, homeless boy; and -that always gave him great delight, for a boy, unless he is a big one, -is not as troublesome to handle as a hungry and desperate man. Some -policemen have big hearts, and would rather buy a cup of coffee and a -roll for a hungry boy than take him to the station house and lock him -up; but patrolman McSweeny was not of that kind. He was trying to make -a record on “the foorce,” and every arrest added to his laurels.</p> - -<p>It was about eleven o’clock when the patrolman<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_12"></a>12</span> made his fourth trip -that evening among the hemp bales. Never very good-natured, he was -particularly cross that night. Something at the station had annoyed -him; and with his aching fingers and one or two draughts of a stronger -beverage than coffee, he was rather a dangerous person to be trusted -at large with a club and a revolver and the authority of law. His next -victim on the wharf of Martin’s Stores was pretty sure to have an -unpleasant time.</p> - -<p>He went from pile to pile of the bales, poking his club viciously into -every dark nook and corner, always ready for a sudden attack. And he -had not gone far before he poked something soft, lying between two -bales, and heard a voice cry out, in startled but still sleepy tones:—</p> - -<p>“Hey! who’s there?”</p> - -<p>The voice was a relief to him, for it was the voice of a boy.</p> - -<p>“Git up here, ye young thafe, till I show ye who it is. Will ye come -out or shall I fan yer carcase wid me club?”</p> - -<p>In answer to this gentle summons a boy’s head and shoulders appeared -above the bales, and the big policeman seized the section of coat -collar that was visible and snatched the rest of the boy out with a -jerk.</p> - -<p>“Stop that! Let go of me!” said the boy.</p> - -<p>Such resistance as that almost took the policeman’s breath away. He -was accustomed to having boys beg him to let them off, and promise -to go<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_13"></a>13</span> home, or go to work, or almost anything else, to get out of -his clutches. But here was a boy who demanded his liberty instead -of begging for it. In such a case it would have made no difference, -probably, even if it had been light enough for him to see that instead -of an ordinary vagabond or river thief this boy was clean and well -dressed.</p> - -<p>“Lit go av ye, then, is it!” he repeated, giving his prisoner another -shake; “it’s in the cells I’ll lit go av ye, an’ not before, ye young -thafe. Yer caught in de act, an I’ll run yer in.”</p> - -<p>“I am no thief,” said the boy, “and you have no business to poke me -with your club or shake me. If you want to arrest me, I will go with -you peaceably; but I have done nothing to be arrested for.”</p> - -<p>“Done nothin’!” the policeman exclaimed, letting go of the boy’s collar -and taking him by the sleeve; “didn’t I ketch ye stealin’?”</p> - -<p>“What was I stealing?” the boy asked.</p> - -<p>“Hemp, av coorse,” said the officer.</p> - -<p>Indignant as he was, the boy could hardly help laughing at the idea of -his stealing five hundred pound bales of hemp.</p> - -<p>“I was sleeping there,” the boy answered, “because I had nowhere else -to sleep.”</p> - -<p>“Thin I’ll give yer a safe place ter slape!” the policeman declared. -“You come wid me;” and he started toward the archway, still holding his -prisoner by the sleeve.</p> - -<p>They were just about to turn from the outer end<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_14"></a>14</span> of the arch into the -almost deserted street when they nearly ran into a man who came along -the sidewalk at a swinging gait and turned short about to enter the -dark tunnel.</p> - -<p>“Hello, officer; what’s this?” said the man, stopping to look at the -young prisoner under the gas lamp.</p> - -<p>“Good avenin’ to you, Captain Griffith,” the policeman answered, in a -very different tone from the one he had used in speaking to the boy. -“It’s one of them loafin’ wharf rats I’ve caught among your bales of -hemp, sir. But I’ll put him where he won’t be sn’akin’ around the -wharves for one while, sure.”</p> - -<p>“Why, this is no wharf rat, officer,” the newcomer said, taking the boy -by the shoulder and turning him around under the lamp to have a better -view of him. “He looks like a respectable boy. What were you doing on -the wharf, my boy?”</p> - -<p>“I went there to sleep between two of the bales, sir,” the boy replied, -“because I had nowhere else to go.”</p> - -<p>“Well, that’s no crime,” said the man; “we all have to sleep somewhere, -I suppose. I think I wouldn’t lock him up just for that, officer. He’s -a decent-looking boy, and I can give him a place to sleep aboard the -ship. It’s no wonder a youngster hunts a warm place on such a night as -this.”</p> - -<p>“Af ye think best, Captain,” the policeman readily answered, releasing -his hold on the boy’s<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_15"></a>15</span> arm. “It’s in luck ye are, bye, that Captain -Griffith of the <span class="italic">North Cape</span> put in a good word for ye, or ye’d a -been in a cell by this toime. Then I lave the bye with you, Cap’n.”</p> - -<p>“Very good,” said the Captain. “Good night, officer; you’ll have cold -work to-night. Come along, my boy.”</p> - -<p>The next minute the boy was retracing his steps through the tunnel, -no longer a prisoner, but sure of a warm place to pass the night. He -had no time to wonder why it was that the captain of a freight steamer -had so much influence with the Brooklyn police; and no matter how much -he had wondered he could hardly have guessed the truth, that every -time the <span class="italic">North Cape</span> lay at Martin’s Stores policeman McSweeny -received a five-dollar tip for keeping extra watch over her at night. -The big patrolman was too shrewd not to oblige his patron whenever he -could.</p> - -<p>Captain Griffith led the way up an inclined gangway to a lower part of -the deck, then up an iron ladder to a higher deck amidships, then down -a companionway to the snug little cabin of the <span class="italic">North Cape</span>, where -he turned up the big cabin lamp that had been burning dimly. That done, -he threw off his overcoat, sat down in a revolving-chair at the head -of the cabin table, and looked at the boy for several minutes as if he -intended to look right through him, clothes and all.</p> - -<p>What he saw standing by the cabin table, hat in<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_16"></a>16</span> hand, was a -manly-looking boy of about sixteen or seventeen, perhaps a little -large for his age, strong of build, with a good honest face and bright -bluish-gray eyes, and wavy dark brown hair, and hands and face bronzed -by the sun.</p> - -<p>“No place to sleep, eh?” the Captain asked, at length.</p> - -<p>“No, sir,” said the boy.</p> - -<p>“What are you doing in Brooklyn without a place to sleep?” the Captain -went on.</p> - -<p>“I came to New York to look for work, sir,” the boy replied. “This -afternoon I answered an advertisement in Brooklyn, but did not get the -place.”</p> - -<p>“Where do you live?” the Captain asked.</p> - -<p>“In Huntington, Connecticut, sir,” the boy replied.</p> - -<p>“What’s your name?”</p> - -<p>“Christopher Silburn, sir; they call me Kit.”</p> - -<p>“And how did you happen to come to New York to look for work without -any money?” the Captain continued.</p> - -<p>“I had some money when I came, sir,” Kit answered, “but I have been -here for three days, and it is nearly all gone. What little is left I -am saving to buy food with.”</p> - -<p>“Have you no friends?” the Captain asked, looking at Kit’s clothes, -which though evidently not of city make, were clean and whole.</p> - -<p>“I have a mother and sister, sir,” he answered, “and it is on their -account that I have come to the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_17"></a>17</span> city, for they need what I can earn. -My father is dead—at least, I am afraid he is.”</p> - -<p>“Afraid he is!” the Captain repeated; “don’t you know whether he is -dead or not?”</p> - -<p>“Not for certain, sir,” Kit replied. “He was first mate of the schooner -<span class="italic">Flower City</span>, which sailed from Bridgeport for New Orleans with -machinery nearly a year ago. She was sighted by a steamer off Hatteras, -but she has never been heard from since, nor any of her crew. She was -given up long ago, and there is hardly any hope.”</p> - -<p>“Lost at sea!” the Captain said thoughtfully; and it was evident that -from that moment he took a greater interest in the boy he had rescued. -“The old story, I suppose. No money; family at home; wife and children -left to starve.”</p> - -<p>“Not quite as bad as that, sir,” Kit answered, “but very nearly. My -father left us a little house in Huntington, nearly all paid for, and -my mother earns some money by sewing. It is a hard pull; but if I can -find something to do, it will make things a little easier.”</p> - -<p>“Well, Mr. Kit Silburn, of Huntington,” the Captain said, after another -long look at him, “you tell a very straight story. I thought out in the -street that you looked like an honest boy; that’s the reason I got you -away from the policeman. But I don’t judge boys by their faces; some of -the best faces are owned by the biggest rogues. I have a sure way of -my own of finding out whether a boy is likely to steal my<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_18"></a>18</span> spoons and -cushions. I judge a bank by what it has in its safes, and a boy by what -he has in his pockets. Empty out your pockets here on the table, till I -see what you carry.”</p> - -<p>Kit was a little surprised at this request, which was delivered more -like an order on deck; but he obeyed promptly. He began with the -trousers pocket on the right-hand side, and laid out an old knife, a -key-ring without any keys on it, and a small foot rule. Then from the -left-hand pocket he took a well-worn pocket-book.</p> - -<p>“What’s in the purse?” the Captain asked.</p> - -<p>Instead of replying in words, Kit opened it and held it upside down -over the table, and there rolled out a half-dollar, a bright quarter, a -five-cent piece, and two pennies.</p> - -<p>“That your whole stock?” the Captain asked.</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir, that is all the money I have left,” Kit answered. Then he -began on his vest. From the upper pocket on the left-hand side he took -a toothbrush, and a pocket comb fastened to the back of a small mirror. -In a lower pocket, on one side, he had four collar buttons; and on -the other side a card with his name and home address written upon it, -prepared by his mother, as he explained, in case anything should happen -to him.</p> - -<p>Then he began to empty the pockets of his coat. From the breast pocket -he took his handkerchief, and two clean handkerchiefs, folded, that -were beneath it.</p> - -<p>From one of the lower pockets he took a morning<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_19"></a>19</span> newspaper, with -several of the advertisements marked with pencil. Then he put his hand -up to the inside breast pocket, but paused.</p> - -<p>“Well, go on,” said the Captain.</p> - -<p>With a little hesitation Kit took from the pocket two clean collars, -folded in the middle, and laid them on the table. Then a little -pocket testament with gilt edges. Then a letter that had been opened, -addressed to “Mr. Christopher Silburn, General Post Office, New York.”</p> - -<p>“That’s all, sir,” he said.</p> - -<p>“Where do you carry your matches?” the Captain asked.</p> - -<p>“I don’t carry any matches, sir,” Kit answered.</p> - -<p>“Nor cigarettes?”</p> - -<p>“No, sir, I never smoke.”</p> - -<p>The Captain picked up the testament and opened it at the fly-leaf -and read, written in a neat womanly hand, “Christopher Silburn, from -Mother. ‘The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.’”</p> - -<p>“Now, my boy,” the Captain continued, “I see you have a letter there. -Letters always tell their own story. If you want to tell me more about -yourself, you can read that letter to me. But you need not do it unless -you choose.”</p> - -<p>“I am quite willing to read it, sir,” Kit replied, taking up the -letter. “It is from my sister, with a few lines added by my mother.”</p> - -<p>He took it from the envelope and stepped up closer to the light. The -body of the letter was in a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_20"></a>20</span> scrawly, girlish hand, and the postscript -was written evidently by the same hand that wrote the inscription in -the testament.</p> - -<blockquote> -<p><span class="smcap">My dear Kit</span> [he read]: We are so worried about you for -fear something will happen to you in that big city. Mamma says it -is more than fifty times as big as Bridgeport, and I am always a -little afraid when I go there. I cried half the night last night, -and I know Mamma was crying for you in the evening, though she -didn’t think that I saw her. Dear old Turk was so quiet all day, I -know he missed you, too.</p> - -<p>I do hope you will find some situation you like, and get a good -start. But if you don’t find one, we want you to come home, Kit; -Mamma says so.</p> - -<p>I bought stamps with one of my dollars to-day and send them to -you in this, for fear you may run out of money. If you don’t get -anything to do, send me a postal card, and I will send you the -other one too, so you can come home in the boat. I do wish you were -here this evening.</p> - -<p class="center mt0 mb0">Your loving sister,</p> -<p class="center smcap mt0 pl6">Genevieve.</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>Then he read the postscript:—</p> - -<blockquote> -<p><span class="smcap">My darling Boy</span>: Sister has written for me, as my eyes ache -in the evening. We hope to hear from you by to-morrow. Be sure we -both miss you very much. God bless you, my boy, and take care of -you. Remember what I told you before you started.</p> - -<p class="center smcap mt0">Mother.</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>“And you have spent your sister’s stamps, I suppose?” the Captain -asked, when Kit, having finished, refolded the letter.</p> - -<p>“No, sir, I was robbed of them,” he replied. “I<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_21"></a>21</span> took them into a -little shop in one of the avenues to have them changed into money, -and the man put them in the drawer, but would not pay me for them. -He accused me of stealing them. ‘You’re not the first office boy has -stolen his boss’s stamps and come here to sell them,’ he said. ‘Go and -bring your boss, till I give him back his stamps.’”</p> - -<p>“And being a country boy, you did not think of taking the address of -the shop, I suppose?” the Captain asked.</p> - -<p>“No, sir,” Kit answered. “He threatened to call a policeman if I didn’t -go away, so I went.”</p> - -<p>“Looks as if the shopkeeper was the thief himself,” said the Captain, -smiling at Kit’s innocence. “Well, put your things back in your -pockets. How old are you?”</p> - -<p>“Sixteen, sir,” Kit answered; “nearly seventeen.”</p> - -<p>“Ever been to sea?”</p> - -<p>“No, sir. I know very little about the water, for a sailor’s boy. -Huntington is ten miles back from the Sound, and a good many of the -people there are seafaring men, but the boys don’t see much of salt -water.”</p> - -<p>“Would you like to go to sea?” the Captain asked, looking up at him -suddenly.</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir; I should like it very much indeed,” Kit answered promptly.</p> - -<p>“Well, I haven’t taken all this trouble with you just for amusement,” -the Captain went on. “I am in need of a cabin boy; and when I saw you -in the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_22"></a>22</span> hands of the policeman I rather thought that fate had sent me -one without farther trouble. I never take a boy who has run away from -home, and for that reason I wanted to find out about you by what you -had in your pockets. And I find that you have not run away, and that -you have very good references. A boy with a Bible in his pocket and a -letter from his mother and sister has as good references as I want. I’m -not very much of a church man myself; know more about log books than -prayer books, maybe; but I like to see a boy who’s started out right. -Would you like to be my cabin boy?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir; I should like very much to have the place,” Kit replied.</p> - -<p>“Then I’ll tell you what the place is, so you’ll know what you’re -about,” the Captain continued. “You know what a tramp steamer is, I -suppose?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir,” Kit answered. “It is a steamer that belongs to no regular -line, but goes wherever she can get freight to carry.”</p> - -<p>“That’s it,” the Captain assented. “And the <span class="italic">North Cape</span> is a -tramp steamer. She belongs to no regular line, but goes wherever she -can get freight to carry. She is chartered for one more voyage to Sisal -after hemp, and after that she will go wherever business offers. It may -be on one side of the world and it may be on the other. So if you go -with me, you are just as likely to be in China six months from now, as -to be in New York.”</p> - -<p>Such a prospect made Kit’s eyes sparkle.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_23"></a>23</span> -“I should like that very much, sir,” he answered.</p> - -<p>“Very well, then,” the Captain resumed. “Your pay will be six dollars -a month, and you are not to go ashore without leave. That is not very -much pay, but on the ship you will get your board, so you will have -more money at the end of the month than you would have with more pay on -shore. Your work will be to do whatever you’re told, and you’ll have -to walk a very straight line. Don’t think because I have talked to you -so much to-night that I’m going to pet you, for I’m not. When a ship -leaves port, there is only one law for everybody on board, and that is -the captain’s orders.”</p> - -<p>He paused a moment, and then went on:—</p> - -<p>“There is another boy on this ship, the engineers’ mess-room boy. -You’ve heard the old saying, I suppose, that one boy is half a boy and -two boys are no boy at all. But it’s not so on the <span class="italic">North Cape</span>. -Each boy has to be a whole boy here, from the top of his head to the -soles of his boots. I don’t allow any skylarking, or any quarrelling.”</p> - -<p>Kit saw that he was expected to make some reply, so he said, “I will -try to please you, sir.”</p> - -<p>“I think you will,” said the Captain. “Now you have a start,—not a -very big one, but as good as most boys have,—and the rest lies with -yourself. You can push your way up in the world, or you can make a fool -of yourself and go to the dogs. Nobody but yourself can say which it -shall be.”</p> - -<p>“I am very much obliged to you, sir,” Kit answered.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_24"></a>24</span> “I found it pretty -hard to get the start, but now that I have it I shall try to make the -most of it.”</p> - -<p>“It’s time to turn in,” said the Captain, glancing at the cabin clock -and seeing that it was almost midnight. “To-morrow you must write home -for whatever clothes you have. No matter what they are, they will -be good enough when we are at sea. And you must ask your mother’s -permission to go; I won’t take you without that, but as soon as you -get it, I will let you sign the crew list; and you can begin your work -to-morrow morning, while you’re waiting for it. We’ll not be away from -here for a week yet, and there’s plenty of time. You can sleep on one -of the cabin sofas to-night.”</p> - -<p>With that the Captain turned the big lamp down low, picked up his -overcoat, and disappeared through a door at the end of the cabin, -leading, as Kit learned afterward, to his own stateroom.</p> - -<p>Kit was a little dazed at first by the rapidity with which things were -happening. Late in the afternoon he had concluded to go without any -supper, because he was not very hungry and he could not afford to eat -just because it was meal time. Then he had looked about for a place to -sleep outdoors, having no idea how many thousand homeless people in -New York are doing that same thing every night, nor how vigilant the -police are to drive them away or arrest them. He had spent two nights -in cheap lodging-houses in the Bowery, but everything was so foul and -uncomfortable there that he preferred<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_25"></a>25</span> the open air. Then he had gone -to sleep between the hemp bales, only to be poked with a club and -shaken and put under arrest. And now here he was an hour later with as -good a situation as he had hoped to find; and a chance to sleep in as -snug and comfortable a cabin as he ever dreamed of; and a prospect of -breakfast in the morning that would not have to be paid for out of his -poor little eighty-two cents.</p> - -<p>He went around the table to the longest of the three sofas in the -cabin, and found it covered with soft leather cushions. There was even -a leather pillow at the end. He lay down and tried to think things -over. He had no doubt that his mother would consent to his going, for -it had always been intended that he should go to sea with his father. -Then he thought about Genevieve and her stamps, and about Turk, and in -five minutes he was fishing in his dreams, in Bonnibrook, the stream -that runs through Huntington.</p> - -<p>A noise in the cabin awoke him. It was the steward giving the place its -morning cleaning; and half asleep as he still was, Kit saw that the sun -was streaming through the port-holes.</p> - -<p>“Hello, there,” said the steward, “where did you come from?”</p> - -<p>Kit sat up and looked around. He had to think a moment before he could -tell where he did come from.</p> - -<p>“I’m the new cabin boy, sir,” he said.</p> - -<p>“Get up, then, and stir yourself,” said the steward.</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="x-ebookmaker-drop divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_26"></a>26</span> -</div> - -<h2 id="ii">CHAPTER II.<br /> -<span>A VOYAGE TO YUCATAN.</span></h2> - -<p class="noi"><span class="dropcap">F</span>OR five days after Kit’s arrival on board the <span class="italic">North Cape</span> -the steam winches were at work ten hours a day with their deafening -clatter, first in hoisting the remainder of the hemp bales out of the -hold, then in taking in what shipping men call a “general cargo,” -consisting in part of barrels of flour, boxes of tea, cases of cloth, -hats, shoes, and other things necessary in a country where little but -hemp is produced.</p> - -<p>On the fifth day there came indications that the ship was about to -sail. The last of the piles of merchandise on the wharf disappeared, -the winches stopped, and two of the hatches were battened down. Kit was -prepared for this, for he was now a legal member of the ship’s family, -having signed the crew list. He had written home and had received his -mother’s permission to go to sea, coupled with many loving expressions -and much good advice; and had received, too, an affectionate letter -from Genevieve, and a little bundle containing the clothing he had left -at home.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_27"></a>27</span> -Early in the afternoon the Captain’s bell rang, and it was Kit’s -business to answer it.</p> - -<p>“Go tell the chief I want steam at eight o’clock,” he ordered.</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir,” Kit answered, and ran up to the chief engineer’s room to -deliver the order. When he left the chief’s room he was stopped near -the engine-room skylights by the boatswain.</p> - -<p>“Here, youngster,” said he, “run up for’ard and ask the first officer -to send me the load-water-line; I’ve got to take soundings.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir,” Kit answered again, and was about to start on the -errand when he was stopped by Tom Haines, the fourth engineer, a -pleasant-faced young Scotchman of about twenty, who was leaning against -the skylights.</p> - -<p>“Don’t go, young ’un,” Haines said; “he’s trying to make a fool of you. -The load-water-line is painted on the side of the ship; besides, we -don’t take soundings lying at a wharf.”</p> - -<p>Kit laughed good-naturedly at the joke, and Haines added:—</p> - -<p>“They’ll soon get tired of playing tricks on you, as you don’t get mad. -Just keep your eyes open and your mouth shut, and you’ll soon know as -much about the ship as any of them.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I don’t intend to let them make me mad,” Kit answered, “no matter -how many tricks they play on me. A new boy has to expect that sort of -thing, I suppose.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_28"></a>28</span> -Before he reached the cabin companionway he was stopped by “Chocolate” -Cheevers, the engineer’s mess-room boy, whose nickname was generally -abbreviated to “Chock.” This boy had already played more tricks upon -Kit than all the rest of the crew combined, and the new cabin boy -felt sure that he would not be a pleasant companion on the voyage. -The curious nickname that the sailors had given him came, it was easy -to see, from the brown hue of his skin; and this and his tight-curled -black hair and velvety brown eyes marked him for a light West Indian -mulatto. He was about a year older than Kit, tall and slender.</p> - -<p>“Say, farmer,” he said, laying a hand on Kit’s shoulder (disliking his -own nickname, he was anxious to attach one to Kit), “don’t you want to -go ashore with me and have a look at the town to-night? This will be -our last night in port.”</p> - -<p>“Why, we’re going to sail at eight o’clock,” Kit answered.</p> - -<p>“Well, you are a green one!” Chock laughed. “How can we sail before we -get our crew on board? We’ll not leave the wharf before midnight, and -then she’ll anchor out in the harbor till morning.”</p> - -<p>“But I can’t go on shore without leave,” Kit protested, “nor you -either.”</p> - -<p>“We can get leave fast enough, on the last night. Come along, and we’ll -take in some of the shows on the Bowery. It’s a gay old place, that -Bowery.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, that’s what you mean by taking a look at<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_29"></a>29</span> the town, is it?” Kit -laughed. “I don’t care about that kind of a look, thank you. I saw a -little of the Bowery when I was looking for a job, and I’m not fond of -it; and I have no money to throw away on such things. We’d better both -stay on board and attend to our business.”</p> - -<p>“Ah, the cabin boy is a preacher as well as a farmer, is he?” Chock -sneered. “Service of song every Sunday morning.”</p> - -<p>“No, I am no preacher,” Kit answered pleasantly; “but I am not fool -enough to spend my money on Bowery shows, either.”</p> - -<p>The Captain’s bell rang again, and he had to hurry away before Chock -had a chance to retort. He was wanted this time to help the Captain -get ready to go ashore; and after the Captain had gone he took the -opportunity to write his last letter home before sailing, as he always -had less to do when the Captain was away. There were writing-materials -on the big cabin table, and he sat down and wrote:—</p> - -<blockquote> -<p><span class="smcap">Dear Mother and Vieve</span>:—We are getting up steam and will -be off to-night or to-morrow morning, so this is the last letter -you will get from me till I am back from Yucatan. And won’t I be a -regular old sailor by that time!</p> - -<p>The Captain has gone ashore, and we expect the rest of the crew -this evening. You see only about half the crew stay by the ship -all the time; the rest are shipped new for every voyage. The -regular ones are the Captain, the first and second mates, the -chief engineer and his three assistants, the boatswain, the cabin -steward, cabin boy (that’s the undersigned!), cook, galley boy -(that boy is about thirty!), and the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_30"></a>30</span> engineers’ mess-room boy. -Then before sailing we ship six men “before the mast,” and four -firemen, or stokers. That will make twenty-three of us on board -when we sail.</p> - -<p>I think I have given the Captain satisfaction so far, and I like -it first-rate. Of course we are only in port yet, but I shall like -it at sea too. We have a beautiful little cabin, and the Captain’s -room is about half as large as the cabin. I have to take care of -his room, keep it clean, and keep his clothes in order; clean the -cabin every morning, fill and polish the big lamp, run when the -Captain’s bell rings, and, as he says, “do whatever I’m told,” -which of course I do.</p> - -<p>At the other end of the cabin, across a little alley, are three -good staterooms. The first and second mates have one together, and -the cabin steward and I have another. He sleeps in the lower berth, -and I in the upper. It makes fine quarters for us; but we would -have to move out if there were passengers on board.</p> - -<p>At meal times the Captain and first mate eat together first, then -the second mate comes down and eats, and after he is done the -steward and I eat together. The engineers have their own mess-room. -Of course there is plenty to eat, and our china is all marked N. -C., for <span class="italic">North Cape</span>. You wouldn’t think things would be -so grand on a freight ship. Why, the cabin is all furnished in -mahogany, with soft leather cushions. Oh, I forgot to say that I -have to help the steward wash the dishes, so it’s well you taught -me how.</p> - -<p>Don’t think I am off on a pleasure trip. I didn’t leave you -both for that. I have lots of work to do; and I hope to do it -faithfully, so that before long I may be something better than a -cabin boy. But cabin boy isn’t so bad for just now.</p> - -<p>The <span class="italic">North Cape</span>’s size is 2850 tons, and she is a very strong -iron ship; so you need not be worried about me. Shake dear old -Turk’s paw good-by for me. You know how much love I send to you -both. Good-by for a month or six weeks.</p> - -<p class="center mt0 mb0">Your loving</p> -<p class="center mt0 smcap pl6">Kit.</p> -</blockquote> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_31"></a>31</span> -That was the longest letter he had ever written; and by the time it was -finished he had to help set the supper table, for the ship’s meals must -go on whether the Captain was on board or not. Then the dishes were -hardly washed and put away after supper before the Captain returned, -to be followed in a few minutes by a shipping agent who brought the -crew—the six sailors and four stokers, most of whom had been supplied -with enough liquor to make them willing to sign orders for advances on -their pay, for the benefit of the agent and boarding-house keeper. Some -of them were quite sober, however, and there was one young man of good -appearance whom Kit thought he should like.</p> - -<p>It was nine o’clock by the time the sailors were aboard and quartered -down in the forecastle, but still there were no further signs of the -ship’s moving; on the contrary, the Captain went ashore again, and the -usual harbor lights were kept burning in the rigging. About eleven -o’clock, having nothing to do, but feeling too much excited over the -start to turn in, Kit went up on deck, and was glad to find Tom Haines -taking the air while he waited for his watch to begin at midnight.</p> - -<p>“I wonder why we don’t get off, sir,” Kit said, going up to the young -engineer.</p> - -<p>“You mustn’t say ‘sir’ to me, young ’un,” Haines laughed. “It’s only -the Captain and the two mates and the chief engineer that you’re to say -‘sir’ to. But we’ll be off in a few minutes now.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_32"></a>32</span> -“Then we’ll be out at sea in two or three hours!” Kit exclaimed.</p> - -<p>“Not a bit of it,” Haines answered. “We’d hardly go to sea without the -Captain, and he is spending the night on shore. We’ll drop down below -the Statue of Liberty and anchor there, and some time to-morrow we’ll -get off.”</p> - -<p>“What delays us so long, when everything is ready?” Kit asked.</p> - -<p>“Everything is not ready,” Haines replied. “We have to give the crew -a few hours to sober up in, for one thing; they are not fit for duty -now. It’s an outrageous shame the way the sailors are brought on board -drunk; but that’s always the way, so I suppose there’s no use worrying -about it. Then we can’t go till the charterers of the ship tell us to; -the minute they say go, we’re off. You may as well turn in, young ’un, -for you’ll not see her fairly under way much before noon to-morrow.”</p> - -<p>Kit went down to the cabin and did such odd jobs as he could find, for -he knew it was useless for him to try to sleep when the ship was about -to move. When everything was straightened up, he sat down by the big -table under the lamp and took out the little book in which his mother -had written his name.</p> - -<p>“I wish they’d had steamships in these Bible times,” he said to -himself; “I’d like to see what they had to say about them. There’s a -good deal here about ships, but they were all such little ones;<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_33"></a>33</span> and I -don’t see anything about cabin boys; maybe they didn’t have any cabins.”</p> - -<p>He had not been reading long before the blowing of the big whistle -and the noise on deck told him that the ship was about to move, and -he hurried out. But that first little stage of the journey was a -disappointment. She merely crawled over to the Statue of Liberty and -dropped her anchor, and there was nothing to be seen but the great -blazing torch over the statue, and the twinkling lights on shore.</p> - -<p>It was hardly daylight in the morning when Kit felt himself roughly -shaken, and heard the voice of the steward saying:—</p> - -<p>“Come, hustle out here, boy. We’re away from the wharf now, and you’ve -got to stir yourself. Don’t lie there and say ‘yes, sir,’ but jump. -I’ll have no lazy boys about my cabin.”</p> - -<p>Kit sprang up and dressed as fast as he could, but nothing he did -satisfied the steward, who ordered him here and there apparently for -the sake of showing his authority, scolded him, and once took him by -the shoulders and shook him.</p> - -<p>“I’d rather hate to sail with the steward for captain!” Kit said to -himself, laughing inwardly at the little man’s feeble attempt at -violence. He did not even know the man’s name, for he was always -addressed as “steward”; but he was a middle-aged, dried-up little -fellow, his yellowish face marked from small-pox, and his body so -thin that his coat always hung like a bag. He spoke with a strong -foreign<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_34"></a>34</span> accent, and Kit had noticed already that the Captain did not -seem to like to have him about him; but he was a capital steward, and -understood his business from top to bottom.</p> - -<p>“I ought to have brought a note-book along to keep a list of the things -I learn,” Kit said to himself after several hours of this nagging; -“I’ve learned a fresh thing this morning, anyhow—not to make a show -of myself by giving unnecessary orders if I’m ever put in any little -position of authority.”</p> - -<p>How differently the Captain managed things! About ten o’clock a little -tug came alongside, and the Captain and the pilot climbed aboard.</p> - -<p>“Put her under way, Mr. Mason,” he said to the first mate as he passed -him, as quietly as if he had been saying “It’s a fine day.” The steward -would have made more fuss over having the carving-knife cleaned.</p> - -<p>It was a grand thing to be steaming out to sea in a fine ship like the -<span class="italic">North Cape</span>; but now that the moment had come Kit felt a little -more serious over it than he expected. He had never been away from home -before, and a thousand recollections of the old place crowded into -his mind. What were his mother and Vieve doing, and how long would it -be before he should see them again? Having little to do in the middle -of the morning, he went up on deck and leaned over the rail while the -steamer ran down through the Narrows and into the lower bay. Everything -was new and beautiful to him; but he would<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_35"></a>35</span> have enjoyed it more if -there had not been, somehow, a little bit of a haze before his eyes. -Suddenly he felt a friendly clap on the back, and heard the kindly -voice of Tom Haines:—</p> - -<p>“Brace up, young ’un. You might as well start your first voyage -laughing as crying.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I’m not crying,” Kit protested; and he proved it by wiping the -back of his hand across his eyes. “You’ll think I’m a big baby, won’t -you?”</p> - -<p>“Not at all,” Haines answered; “I salted the ocean myself a little when -I first left home. You’ll soon get used to being away.”</p> - -<p>“It’s not only that,” Kit said thoughtfully. “This is the first time -I’ve ever seen the big ocean, and I can’t help thinking that my father -is lying at the bottom of it somewhere. He was lost at sea about a year -ago.”</p> - -<p>“All the more reason for you to keep up a bold front, young ’un,” -Haines insisted. “If you have no father, you have to shift for -yourself, and for your family too, like enough. Keep at work and don’t -stop to think about such things. If you want to send a line home to let -them know you’re all right, you can send it ashore by the pilot, you -know, when we’re outside the Hook.”</p> - -<p>Captain Griffith was not the man to leave his ship in the hands of the -pilot, as some captains do. He was up on the bridge, glass in hand, and -remained there till he had seen the flags run up that announced to the -signal station at Sandy Hook, “<span class="italic">North Cape</span>,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_36"></a>36</span> for Sisal,” so that -her departure would be announced to the owners and all interested. Then -he went below, and the chief mate took his place on the bridge.</p> - -<p>Kit was surprised, perhaps almost disappointed, to find that the sea -was as smooth as the bay. It was one of those days that come sometimes -even in winter, when there is hardly a ripple on the surface. There was -not a sign of the seasickness he expected, and while the Captain was on -the bridge he had an opportunity to write another “last line” home.</p> - -<p>“Dear Mother,” he wrote with pencil, “I can write you another line to -send by the pilot. We are at sea now, just outside Sandy Hook, and it -is as smooth as Bonnibrook. I am not the least seasick. A little bit -homesick, but I’ll soon work that off. I have to help set the dinner -table now. Love to all. Kit.”</p> - -<p>In another half-hour the pilot was gone, and they were fairly cut off -from the world till they reached the coast of Yucatan. The Atlantic -Highlands loomed up, and Seabright, and Long Branch, and so many more -places on the New Jersey coast, that it looked to Kit as if it must be -one continuous town. When darkness came they could still see the lights -on shore.</p> - -<p>An hour after supper the Captain went into his stateroom, sat down at -his desk that had a bookcase over the top, and called Kit. He had a -bundle of very large sheets closely written in columns before him, and -more sheets of the same paper, blank.</p> - -<p>“Can you read writing, my boy?” he asked.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_37"></a>37</span> “Oh, yes, I know you can,” -he added, “for you read a letter to me. See whether you can read this -writing to me while I copy it,” and he handed Kit one of the big sheets.</p> - -<p>Kit took it and began with the first line across the broad page:—</p> - -<p>“‘Hernandez & Co., Merida,’” he read; “‘1 case dry goods; weight 168 -pounds;’ then here’s some sort of a mark—a square with an <span class="antiqua">H</span> -inside of it.”</p> - -<p>“That’s what we call a diamond <span class="antiqua">H</span>,” the Captain explained; “when -it’s in a circle, we call it a circle <span class="antiqua">H</span>. Now go on.”</p> - -<p>Kit read several more of the lines without difficulty, till the Captain -stopped him.</p> - -<p>“You’ve been to school, then, have you?” he asked.</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes, sir!” Kit answered. “I always went to school till about six -months ago. Since then I’ve been doing whatever work I could get.”</p> - -<p>“Study geography?” the Captain asked.</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir.”</p> - -<p>“What do you know about the place we’re going to—Sisal?”</p> - -<p>“It is a small place on the coast of Yucatan, sir,” Kit answered -promptly; “a seaport for the city of Merida, which lies about twenty -miles inland. But I have learned most of that from your books here -since I came aboard, sir,” he added, blushing a little.</p> - -<p>“Well, I am glad to see you are honest about it,” the Captain said, -with a smile. “I think you can<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_38"></a>38</span> stand there and read some of these -manifests to me while I copy them. These things are the plague of my -life. I have to make three copies of them before we reach Sisal, and -I’d rather navigate a ship around the world than do it. Go ahead, now, -and be very careful; for the least mistake will make no end of trouble.”</p> - -<p>Kit began and read line by line with great care, while the Captain -laboriously copied. After fifteen or twenty minutes of the work the -Captain laid down the pen, and began to open and shut his hand and to -rub it.</p> - -<p>“Ah, my fingers are not as nimble as they once were,” he said. “It -gives me cramp in the hand.”</p> - -<p>For some time Kit had been revolving something in his mind while he -read, but could not quite determine to speak it out. This pause of the -Captain’s, however, decided him.</p> - -<p>“I write a plain hand, sir,” he said; “if you could trust me, I think I -could copy them for you.”</p> - -<p>The Captain looked up at him with one of the piercing looks that seemed -to go through him, and Kit was a little alarmed. Maybe it was presuming -too much for the cabin boy to suggest such a thing. Even then, though, -under that sharp gaze he thought it was worth the venture, for if he -succeeded, it would show that he was good for something better than -scouring the knives.</p> - -<p>“Sit down here and let me see your handwriting,” the Captain said at -length, laying a bit of plain paper on top of the manifests.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_39"></a>39</span> -Kit sat down and took up the pen, and had just begun to write when -something happened that gave him so much satisfaction that he could -hardly keep a straight face. There came a knock at the door, and the -engineers’ mess-room boy stepped in with the engineer’s report of the -number of tons of coal in the bunkers. For this boy to see him seated -in the Captain’s stateroom, writing at the Captain’s desk, with the -Captain himself standing by watching him, was the best answer he could -give to the assertion that he was a “farmer” and a “preacher.” Chock -Cheevers could not have looked more astonished if he had seen one of -the stokers on the bridge taking an observation.</p> - -<p>The little interruption over, Kit wrote, as neatly and plainly as he -could, “Christopher Silburn, cabin boy, steamship <span class="italic">North Cape</span>, -for Sisal.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, that is a good plain hand,” the Captain said, taking the paper. -“I will let you try it, at any rate. You can go ahead while I go up on -the bridge. Remember that you can’t be too careful.”</p> - -<p>He hooked the stateroom door open as he went out; and he had hardly -been gone five minutes before Mr. Hanway, the big, powerful second -mate, went down to his room for a reefing jacket. Seeing the new boy at -the Captain’s desk, and being fond of a little quiet fun, he went up to -the open door, touched his cap in mock politeness, and said,</p> - -<p>“She’s heading sou-sou-west, sir.”</p> - -<p>Kit hardly knew whether he dared joke with the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_40"></a>40</span> second mate or not; but -with an inspiration he looked up from his work without the least change -of countenance, and, returning the salute, replied,</p> - -<p>“Very good, sir; keep her so, sir.”</p> - -<p>More than an hour passed before the Captain returned from the bridge, -and in the interval Kit nearly filled one of the large sheets.</p> - -<p>“That will do for to-night,” the Captain said, looking over the page. -“You have done it very well; but there’s more than one night; you can -do a little at it every evening.”</p> - -<p>Then the steward had something to say when Kit went into the pantry, -which also opened from the cabin. The steward was not pleased to see -the new boy taken into the Captain’s favor.</p> - -<p>“I want that cabin cleaned before six o’clock in the morning,” he -growled. “You needn’t think you’re going to shirk your work because you -write for the Captain.”</p> - -<p>“Very well, sir,” Kit answered. “I don’t intend to shirk any work.”</p> - -<p>It did not seem quite right, on his first voyage, that the sea should -be so smooth all the way down the coast. Even when the <span class="italic">North -Cape</span> passed Hatteras there was no more than a little swell. When -she reached the Florida coast, in about four days, she kept so well in -shore that the sandy beach could be seen plainly, and the palm trees -just as he had seen them in pictures. He learned from Tom Haines that -steamers bound for the Gulf always run as close to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_41"></a>41</span> the Florida coast -as they dare, to be inside of the Gulf Stream, which flows northward at -the rate of about four miles an hour, and retards a south-bound steamer -just that much when she runs against it.</p> - -<p>On the seventh day they sighted the eastern cliffs of Yucatan; and -after two days of steaming along the coast, but so far out that they -could see nothing but the outlines of the low hills, Kit learned that -they were approaching Sisal. By that time he had made three copies of -the long manifest, working at it a little nearly every evening on the -cabin table.</p> - -<p>It was early in a hot afternoon that they dropped anchor off Sisal; -and nowhere in the world is it more appropriate to say of a ship that -she lies “off” a port, for at Sisal a ship of any size must lie at -least three miles off. There is no harbor, and the shore slopes off so -gradually that no ship can approach the town.</p> - -<p>“That must have been as smooth a voyage as ever a ship made,” Kit said -to Tom Haines, as they stood by the rail together when the anchor went -down. “I didn’t know it ever was so smooth for ten days at a time.”</p> - -<p>“The Atlantic is a treacherous old pond,” Tom answered. “To-day it -makes you believe it’s only a big lake; to-morrow it knocks you all to -pieces. And this is a bad part of the coast we’re on, this south side -of the Gulf; when we get any bad weather here, we have to hoist anchor -and run to sea. But<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_42"></a>42</span> you want to keep your eyes open now; you’ll see -some queer people in a few minutes.”</p> - -<p>“What are all those little boats coming out to us?” Kit asked; -“lighters to take off the cargo?”</p> - -<p>“No indeed!” Tom laughed. “They don’t begin work as fast as that here. -Everything is ‘mañana’ here, which means ‘to-morrow’ in Spanish; these -people all speak Spanish, you know. That first boat, the one with the -flag at the stern and rowed by four men, is the government boat, that -brings out the Captain of the port, the health officer, and a lot of -custom-house men. After they have examined our papers and found that -we’re all well, the other boats will come up. They are what we call -‘bum-boats,’ with things to sell—cigars and tobacco, bead work, canes -plated with tortoise-shell, all sorts of nonsense; and they will be -on the lookout for passengers who may want to go ashore. But it’s the -officers in the first boat I want you to see; they’ll be aboard in a -minute.”</p> - -<p>The gangway had been lowered, and after a great deal of shouting in -Spanish the government boat came up to it and made fast. Then there -came up the steps a dozen swarthy men whose appearance gave Kit more -surprise than anything else he had seen on the voyage. Each one, as -far as he could see, wore nothing but a white shirt and a high black -silk hat, with a belt around the waist with a big revolver stuck in -each side. They carried themselves with great dignity, which made their -costume<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_43"></a>43</span> all the more grotesque; and as they stood on deck shaking -hands with Captain Griffith, it was as much as Kit could do to restrain -his laughter.</p> - -<p>“Don’t they wear trousers in this country?” he whispered to Tom.</p> - -<p>“They all have trousers on—white linen ones,” Tom answered; “but they -roll them clear up so they won’t get wet in the boat. And it’s the -fashion in Yucatan to wear the end of the shirt outside instead of -inside the trousers. It wouldn’t be so bad in this hot climate, with -their bare feet and legs, if they didn’t wear the high black hats to -look stylish.”</p> - -<p>The Captain took his visitors down into the cabin; and next minute his -bell rang, and Kit had to run.</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="x-ebookmaker-drop divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_44"></a>44</span> -</div> - -<h2 id="iii">CHAPTER III.<br /> -<span>A NORTHER ON THE GULF.</span></h2> - -<p class="noi"><span class="dropcap">W</span>HEN the port officers returned to shore they left behind four of the -custom-house men, who were to stay on board the <span class="italic">North Cape</span> as -long as she lay there; and these men deposited their high hats in the -cabin and put on dark blue caps that they carried in their pockets, -rolled down their trousers, and thus, though still in their bare feet, -transformed themselves into respectable-looking citizens.</p> - -<p>Kit heard the order given from the bridge, “Lower away the captain’s -gig!” and in a few minutes Captain Griffith followed the officers -ashore to arrange for lighters to land his cargo. He returned in time -for supper, bringing along a package of letters that had been handed -him at the custom-house—some for himself, and some for members of the -crew.</p> - -<p>“I think I have something here for you, Christopher,” he said as he -passed through the cabin, where Kit was setting the table. “Yes,” -he went on, pausing under the lamp to look over the letters, “‘Mr. -Christopher Silburn, S. S. <span class="italic">North Cape</span>, Sisal,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_45"></a>45</span> Yucatan.’ There’s -news from home for you. The mail steamer left three days behind us, but -she has beaten us down and gone on to Vera Cruz; so you will have a -chance to answer your letter when she comes back, in about a week.”</p> - -<p>“Thank you, sir,” Kit answered, as the Captain handed him a letter -addressed in his mother’s familiar handwriting. He was delighted to -hear from home, but still the letter frightened him a little, for he -had not expected to hear while he was away, and his first thought was -that there must be something the matter. He hastily cut the envelope -open and read far enough to see that no one was sick, then put the -letter in his pocket till his work was done. It was not till the supper -dishes were washed and put away that he had any leisure, and then he -sat down under the cabin lamp and read it. The main letter was from his -mother, and there was a shorter one from Genevieve.</p> - -<blockquote> -<p><span class="smcap">My dear Boy</span> [his mother wrote]: Though I have no news to -tell you, I want to send you a few lines by the first mail steamer, -for I don’t want you to feel that you are entirely cut off from -home and family. No matter how far away you are, you know we are -always thinking about you.</p> - -<p>And I don’t want to tire you with a lot of advice, but I do hope, -my dear boy, that you will take care of yourself in every way. It -may be selfish in me to say so, but I want you to remember that you -have not only yourself, but your mother and sister too, to think -about and work for. You are all we have. I am sure you will do your -best wherever you are, but I want you to take great care of your -health. That is an unhealthy<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_46"></a>46</span> country you are in, and you must not -expose yourself to the hot sun. I will try to have some new shirts -ready for you when you get back to New York; and I think you had -better buy a few handkerchiefs, for you have not enough. And don’t -forget the little book I gave you, Kit.</p> - -<p class="center mt0 mb0">Your Loving Mother.</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>Then he unfolded the note from Genevieve.</p> - -<blockquote> -<p><span class="smcap">Dear Kit</span> [she wrote]: This is the first note I ever wrote -without mother’s seeing it, but I do not want her to see this, -because I am going to write to you about father, and that always -troubles her.</p> - -<p>I want you always, when you are travelling about the world, to keep -your ears open for news of the <span class="italic">Flower City</span> or some of her -boats. It may be foolish, but I never can believe that we shall not -see him any more. You know how many people have been shipwrecked -and then come home again years afterwards. You’ll do this, won’t -you?</p> - -<p class="mb0">Dear old Turk is trying to write to you. He heard me say that I was -going to write, so he sits here beside me, putting up first one paw -and then the other. I am sure he would write if he could. With love,</p> - -<p class="center mt0 mb0">Vieve.</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>He was about to read the letters over again, when the Captain’s bell -rang. All the doors and port-holes were left open now, for the heat was -intense even after dark, and he went into the Captain’s room without -knocking.</p> - -<p>“Shut the door, my boy,” the Captain said; “I have something to say to -you;” and as Kit obeyed, he could not help wondering whether he had -done anything that he was to be scolded for. But the Captain’s first -words relieved his mind.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_47"></a>47</span> -“I am going to put you at a job to-morrow that will require all your -brains,” he said. “The lighters will be here in the morning after -cargo, and I am going to send you ashore to make a list of every -package landed. I have to keep a sharp eye on these boatmen, or they -rob me. Everything will be checked off as it leaves the ship, and you -will keep a list on shore, and the goods go into the hands of our agent -in Sisal immediately, and he receipts for them.</p> - -<p>“Now I want you to understand,” he continued, “that this is very -important work. I have never trusted such work to a cabin boy before. -If you miss a package, it may cost me a great many dollars. But I see -you have some brains, and I want you to use them, and do the work -carefully.”</p> - -<p>“Thank you, sir,” Kit answered. “I will certainly do my best.”</p> - -<p>Kit returned to the cabin, with a little flush on his face. He had seen -for some days that his position on the ship was much better than when -he started, but he had not dreamed of such an important commission as -this. It would give him a great amount of extra work to do, but what -of that? He was not afraid of work. Nearly any one in the crew would -jump at the chance to go ashore and do what he was to do. Copying the -manifests had given him extra work, but it had paid many times over by -giving the Captain a good opinion of him.</p> - -<p>Immediately after breakfast next morning the gig<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_48"></a>48</span> was lowered again, -and the Captain was rowed ashore by two of the men, with Kit sitting in -the stern by his side. Kit knew how some of the crew were wondering to -see him going off in this style, but he had no chance to speak to them. -On the way they passed three of the lighters going out—open boats -about thirty feet long, very strongly built, with a single mast, each -with a large crew of half-clad Mexicans ready for work.</p> - -<p>The Captain waited till the first of the lighters arrived with its -load, and showed Kit where he was to stand on the mole, as the Mexicans -call the wharf, and how he was to keep his list. Then he returned to -the ship, and the cabin boy was left to his own resources.</p> - -<p>“I’m going to be roasted and broiled and frizzled here,” he said to -himself, “under this sun. But I can stand it if these fellows can. And -when there’s no lighter in sight I can get into the shade there beside -the warehouse.”</p> - -<p>He soon found that he was to have company in the hot sun; for as the -agent had to receipt for the goods, he sent one of his own clerks -to check them off on one of the manifests that Kit had copied. The -clerk was a slender young man in a broad-brimmed Panama hat; and Kit -was greatly amused when he touched his hat to him, and called him -“Señor.” But the young man spoke a little English, and they soon became -acquainted.</p> - -<p>“You are young for a supercargo, Señor,” the clerk said, in a lull in -the work.</p> - -<div class="figcenter width500" id="i-048"> - <img src="images/i-048.jpg" width="500" height="827" alt="" /> - <div class="caption">“‘YOU ARE YOUNG FOR A SUPERCARGO, - <a id="SENOR"></a><ins title="Original has 'SENOR'">SEÑOR</ins>.’”</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_49"></a>49</span> -Kit had read enough sea stories to know something about supercargoes, -though he did not know that he was doing the work of one at that minute.</p> - -<p>“I’m not the supercargo, sir,” he replied; “I’m the cabin boy; we have -no supercargo.”</p> - -<p>“Ah!” said the clerk; and it was still more amusing to see how -dignified he immediately became, and what a superior air he assumed. -But another trifling incident soon made him friendly again, for the -agent himself came down to the mole to inquire about something, and he, -too, touched his hat to Kit and called him Señor, whereupon the clerk -said something in Spanish that must have explained that Kit was only -the cabin boy, for the agent immediately replied, “Oh, cabin boy is he? -Well, he must be a good one, or he wouldn’t be put at this work. Bring -him up to the house to breakfast.”</p> - -<p>Kit was under the impression that he had had his breakfast several -hours before, on board ship; but he followed Tom Haines’s advice to -“keep his eyes open and his mouth shut,” and before long he learned -that the southern custom is to take only a cup of coffee and a roll -in the early morning, and to wait till midday for the full breakfast, -which is really an early dinner.</p> - -<p>About twelve o’clock there were no lighters in sight, for the boatmen -were eating their breakfast too, and the clerk took Kit through a -narrow street to a big one-story stone warehouse, the agent’s business -place, where, on a shady rear verandah, a long<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_50"></a>50</span> table was spread. -This was “the house” the agent had referred to; and by keeping both -eyes and ears open, Kit learned that it is the custom in Yucatan for -the proprietors and all the employees of large business houses to -eat together in the warehouses, a cook and waiters being kept on the -premises.</p> - -<p>He was a little embarrassed to find that he was to be seated at the -right hand of Mr. Ysnard, the agent, near the head of the table; for he -was bright enough to see that the seats were arranged according to rank -in the firm, with the proprietor at the top of the table, the cashier -and chief clerks next, then the minor clerks, and the porters and boys -near the foot.</p> - -<p>“Hadn’t I better go lower down, sir?” he asked. “I don’t think I belong -up here.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes, you do!” Mr. Ysnard laughed; “you are my guest to-day, and my -guests always belong in the seat of honor.”</p> - -<p>While the many courses were brought on, soup, fish, roasts, dessert, -and fruits, Mr. Ysnard asked Kit enough questions to keep him busy -answering—how long he had been on the <span class="italic">North Cape</span>, how he liked -it, where he lived, and all about himself. But when, after the meal was -finished, they all sat talking, and most of them smoking, he began to -grow uneasy.</p> - -<p>“I shall have to ask you to excuse me, sir,” he said to Mr. Ysnard. “I -am afraid some of the lighters will be coming in, and I must not miss -anything.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_51"></a>51</span> -“Very true, my boy, you must attend to business,” Mr. Ysnard answered. -“And you can safely follow the example, Michel,” he called down the -table to Kit’s fellow-clerk on the wharf, who sat about the middle.</p> - -<p>Together they returned to their work, and up to dark they had little -chance for conversation, for eight lighters were now busy bringing -cargo. When it was too dark to see longer, the gig was sent to take Kit -on board.</p> - -<p>“Make way for the supercargo!” Chock Cheevers cried, as he stepped on -board. “Clear a gangway there. Don’t you see who’s come aboard?”</p> - -<p>But the second mate had something more important to say.</p> - -<p>“Bring your list into the chart-room,” he ordered, “and compare it with -my tally.” The second mate had been keeping the tally of everything -that left the ship; and when the comparison was made they corresponded -exactly, showing that on his first day, at any rate, Kit had made no -mistakes.</p> - -<p>It seemed a little odd to go to washing dishes again after being a -clerk all day; but they were soon done, and next morning he was out -bright and early to clean the cabin and set the table. After breakfast -he was rowed ashore as before, but dressed this time in his thinnest -clothes. Even at eight o’clock the sun was burning hot, and the -cloudless sky seemed to indicate an intensely hot day. He was soon -to learn, however, that tropical skies change<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_52"></a>52</span> very rapidly. Five or -six of the lighters had come in with loads and returned to the ship, -when there came a single puff of wind from off the water that reminded -Kit of home. It was the first really cool thing he had felt since his -arrival in Yucatan; and this little puff, lasting only a few seconds, -was more than cool—it was actually chilly.</p> - -<p>“Ah, that’s good!” he said to the clerk; “I wish they’d give us more of -that.”</p> - -<p>The clerk shivered in his linen clothes, and pointed with one hand -toward the sky. There far in the north was a big dark-gray cloud, that -seemed to grow larger and darker as they looked at it.</p> - -<p>“El Norte!” Michel exclaimed; and shivered again.</p> - -<p>“What’s that?” Kit asked.</p> - -<p>“A norther, you call it in English,” the clerk replied; “a great cold -storm from the north. That puts an end to our work for some days. -There’ll be a heavy sea on in a few minutes.”</p> - -<p>“Then I ought to get back to the ship,” Kit said half to himself.</p> - -<p>“You couldn’t do it,” said the clerk. “Look.”</p> - -<p>He pointed seaward, and Kit saw all the lighters scudding toward shore -before a wind that they hardly felt yet on the mole. Thick black smoke -was pouring from the <span class="italic">North Cape’s</span> funnel, and across the water -he heard the “click, click, click,” of the steam windlass.</p> - -<p>“Why, she’s going off!” Kit cried; “she’s hoisting anchor!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_53"></a>53</span> -“Of course she is,” Michel laughed; “she’ll have to put to sea; she -can’t lie there in a norther, and you’ll see no more of her till the -storm is over. That often happens here.”</p> - -<p>“And what becomes of a cabin boy who happens to be left on shore?” Kit -asked, half inclined to laugh at the predicament he was in.</p> - -<p>“You’re better off here than on the ship,” Michel answered, “and we -won’t let you starve.”</p> - -<p>By this time the whole sky was overcast, and frequent blasts of the -cold wind struck them. The foremost of the lighters arrived, and their -men worked like beavers to land what cargo they had. All about were -men on the beach drawing their boats far up on shore out of reach of -the heavy sea that they knew was coming. As fast as the lighters were -unloaded, they too were drawn up. It was as much too cold now as before -it had been too hot, but they had to stay on the mole till everything -was checked off.</p> - -<p>“Now make a run for it to the warehouse!” It was the voice of Mr. -Ysnard, who had come down to see that all was left snug, and who -saw that both the youngsters were shivering. Already the spray was -beginning to fly over the mole, and in one glance seaward Kit saw that -the <span class="italic">North Cape</span> was standing out into the Gulf. He was left alone -in Yucatan; but instead of waiting to worry over it, he took to his -heels and beat Michel to the warehouse by several yards.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_54"></a>54</span> -There he hardly knew the place, it was so dark; for all the shutters on -the seaward side had been closed to keep out the wind, as there was no -glass in the windows. People were hurrying through the streets, and the -sky was growing blacker every minute.</p> - -<p>“Now we’ll catch it, my boy,” Mr. Ysnard laughed, as he followed them -in, half soaked with spray. “Three days these things last, generally, -and then it takes two or three more for the sea to go down so that the -lighters can go out. So you are a prisoner in Mexico for five days at -least, and you will be my guest longer than you expected.”</p> - -<p>“Thank you, sir,” Kit answered; “but I hope the ship will not be in any -danger.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, no more than from any other storm. There is plenty of sea room, -and she will run out fifty or a hundred miles and keep her nose in the -wind. No, she will be all right.”</p> - -<p>The breakfast table had to be set in the warehouse, as the verandah -was too much exposed to the wind; and Kit noticed that the norther -interfered with business and upset everything just about as much as an -earthquake would at home. The clerks really suffered from cold, though -Kit found it warm enough in the shelter of the building. The storm -increased every minute, and they soon began to hear the roar of the sea -breaking against the mole.</p> - -<p>It was a relief to everybody when closing time came, five o’clock. -Mr. Ysnard’s open carriage arrived<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_55"></a>55</span> to carry him to his home in the -country, and he told Kit that he was to go along.</p> - -<p>“But you must have something around you, in this wind,” he said; “I -think I can lend you a Mexican overcoat.” And he went into the office -and returned in a minute with two large red blankets, one for himself -and one for Kit.</p> - -<p>“This is what we call a ‘serape,’”<a id="FNanchor_1" href="#Footnote_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> -he explained. “See, there is a -slit cut in the middle for the head to go through,” and he slipped the -blanket over Kit’s head and put his own on in the same way; and Kit -could not help laughing to see himself so suddenly transformed into a -young Mexican.</p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a id="Footnote_1" href="#FNanchor_1" class="label">[1]</a> Pronounced ser-rap-pa.</p> -</div> - -<p>As they were driven through the streets he saw that Sisal was a -desolate little place of few houses, some of them of stone plastered -over and some covered with corrugated iron; and the streets were nearly -deserted on account of the norther, and most of the shutters closed. -The few men to be seen were all wrapped in serapes, which warmed the -shoulders, but could not warm the bare feet, nor heads covered with -straw hats.</p> - -<p>Mr. Ysnard’s house was on the brow of a low hill overlooking the town -and the sea, and after the late dinner he took Kit into his “den,” as -he called it, and they had a long talk before bedtime.</p> - -<p>“As you copied the manifests,” the agent said in the course of the -conversation, “you are familiar with all the marks on the cargo. You -may see some<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_56"></a>56</span> cases coming ashore without any marks at all. Those are -little private ventures by some of the officers or crew; and when you -see one of them all you have to do is let it pass without putting it on -your list, you know. They escape paying duty by slipping them through -that way.”</p> - -<p>“No, sir; I have no instructions of that kind,” Kit answered. “My -orders are to make a list of everything brought ashore.”</p> - -<p>“But if there should be a little profit in it for you?” Mr. Ysnard -suggested. “Suppose you were paid a small commission on everything that -slipped through without your seeing it?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t think you ought to ask it of me, Mr. Ysnard,” Kit replied. -“The Captain trusts me, and I should be ashamed to betray him. I -couldn’t possibly do it.”</p> - -<p>“Ah, my boy, I was just trying you,” Mr. Ysnard laughed, giving Kit -a hearty clap on the shoulder. “I am glad to see that you are not to -be tempted. That is just what we want to avoid, the landing of such -smuggled cases, for they get both the ship and the agent into a lot of -trouble. I suppose the Captain sent you ashore because he was sure he -could trust you.</p> - -<p>“There is always room for bright young fellows who can be trusted,” -he added; “in fact, I could make room in my own business for a young -American of about your age. How would you like to leave the ship and -make more money in Sisal?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_57"></a>57</span> -The question came so suddenly that it almost staggered Kit; but he soon -made up his mind how to answer.</p> - -<p>“I think it is very pleasant here, sir,” he said, “but I don’t believe -in changing. I have a good start on the ship, and don’t think I ought -to leave it; but I am very much obliged to you, sir, for the offer.”</p> - -<p>When he went out in the morning, he saw that the Gulf was almost white; -partly with foam, and partly from the white sand that was stirred up -from the bottom. Tremendous seas were breaking over the mole, and great -sheets of spray were flying over several of the warehouses.</p> - -<p>The norther prophets were right in saying that the norther would last -for three days. Every night Kit went home with Mr. Ysnard, but without -meeting his wife, as she was an invalid and seldom left her room. On -the fourth day the dark clouds drifted gradually away, the wind lulled, -and the tropical sun shone hot again. About noon he was delighted to -see the <span class="italic">North Cape</span> steam back to her old place and drop her -anchor.</p> - -<p>“But you’ll not get out to her for a day or two yet,” Mr. Ysnard told -him; “no small boat could go out till this heavy sea subsides. I am -going into the country in a few minutes to see how much my plantations -have suffered, and if you like, you can go along and learn something -about this hemp you are going to be loaded with.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_58"></a>58</span> -The carriage came early that day, and they were soon driving between -broad fields of cactus plants.</p> - -<p>“That’s the stuff,” Mr. Ysnard told him; “it is the leaves of this -cactus that yield the hemp. You see some of the leaves are six feet -long and four or five inches broad. We cut off the leaves and soak them -in water, then run them through a machine that extracts the fibre. That -fibre is the hemp. Another machine cleans and straightens it, and we -dry it and press it into bales, and it is ready to go north to be made -into ropes and matting. Now you know something about the cargo you are -to carry.</p> - -<p>“But you have no idea,” he continued, “of the condition of the workmen -who raise this hemp. We call them peons, and on most of the plantations -they are little better than slaves, though I am glad to say that it -is not so on mine. In this country a peon cannot leave the land he -belongs on while he is in debt to his master; and as they earn only -about twelve and one-half cents a day they are always in debt. A son -is responsible also for his father’s debts, so they are practically -slaves, with no chance of ever freeing themselves. It is a terrible -system.”</p> - -<p>“Your plants do not seem to have suffered much from the wind, sir,” -said Kit; “maybe it is because you treat your men better.”</p> - -<p>“Well,” Mr. Ysnard laughed, “there is no great merit in that. They do -better work for me because I treat them well, and it pays better in the -end. Slave labor is always the poorest.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_59"></a>59</span> -The next day the lighters ventured out again, and there was more work -for Kit on the mole. Then when the cargo was all landed the loading -began, and he was kept on deck to keep tally of the number of bales -received. That took six full days, and still there was no sign of the -mail steamer returning.</p> - -<p>“The storm must have delayed her,” Captain Griffith said. “No use -to send letters home now; for she has to touch at Havana, and we go -direct, and we’ll beat her up. We’ll be off to-morrow.”</p> - -<p>Kit asked and received permission to go ashore to say good-by to the -agent who had been so hospitable to him. He had spent so much time in -the little town that it almost seemed like leaving home again. Mr. -Ysnard shook his hand warmly at parting.</p> - -<p>“I have enjoyed having you here,” he said. “I like to see a bright, -faithful young chap like you. Our young Mexicans are slow coaches -beside you American boys. I was going to send you out a barrel of -Mexican fruit that I had put up for you, so I’ll have it put in your -boat. Keep pulling, my boy, and some day you may be down here in a -better position than cabin boy.”</p> - -<p>Kit tried to think it over as he returned to the ship, but he could -not explain to himself what he had done to make Mr. Ysnard take such -an interest in him. There was something about him, he could not help -seeing, that pleased both the Captain and the agent; and he was glad of -it, though he did not know what it was.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_60"></a>60</span> -When the ship passed the Sandy Hook signal station, eight days later, -the flags that she set told the brief story of the homeward voyage.</p> - -<p>“<span class="italic">North Cape</span>,” they said, “eight days from Sisal, with hemp. -Smooth passage.”</p> - -<p>And when a few hours afterwards she lay at her old place in front of -Martin’s Stores, her bow almost rubbed against the stern of a little -tug.</p> - -<p>“Why, that’s the <span class="italic">Triton</span>!” Kit said to himself, when he saw the -tug’s name. “That’s Captain Judson’s boat, from Bridgeport, and Captain -Judson is our near neighbor in Huntington. If he is going back, maybe -he will take my barrel of fruit up to Bridgeport.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, going back to-night,” Captain Judson said, when Kit found him. “I -towed a yacht down yesterday. Take up a barrel of fruit for you? Aye, -that I will, lad—and take you too, if you can get off. I know somebody -up there who’d be glad to see you. Eh, my boy?”</p> - -<p>Take him too! That was something that Kit had not thought of; but what -a surprise it would be for the folks at home to see him come walking -in! Within five minutes he had seen Captain Griffith and had readily -been granted a week’s leave of absence.</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="x-ebookmaker-drop divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_61"></a>61</span> -</div> - -<h2 id="iv">CHAPTER IV.<br /> -<span>KIT’S CONNECTICUT HOME.</span></h2> - -<p class="noi"><span class="dropcap">T</span>HE Huntington stage was the same old weather-beaten stage that Kit had -left a month before, but its wheels were gone. Fairfield County, all -the way from Bridgeport back to Huntington and beyond, was white with -snow, and the frozen roads were packed hard. The body of the stage had -been lifted from its wheels and put on runners, and the bells on its -two gaunt horses jingled merrily through the Bridgeport streets and -over the Connecticut hills.</p> - -<p>“My folks all well, Silas?” was the first question that Kit asked when -he found the stage nearly ready to start.</p> - -<p>“They was right peart when I come down this mornin’,” the driver -replied, “so I guess they hain’t gone into a decline since. Sakes -alive, but won’t they be surprised to see you, though! They was lookin’ -for a letter. But what’s this, Kit? No overcoat! Here, wrap this hoss -blanket ’round you snug.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, you don’t know how good the cold feels, Silas,” Kit laughed, -though he was glad enough to accept the blanket. “I’ve just come from a -country<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_62"></a>62</span> where the sun burns like a hot iron, and the trees were full -of fruit, ten days ago.”</p> - -<p>Involuntarily he looked around to see that his barrel was safe.</p> - -<p>“Now don’t you give yourself no consarn ’bout that thar bar’l!” the -driver exclaimed. “When Silas lashes a bar’l on behind his sleigh, you -can just make up your mind it’s thar to stay. While you youngsters -goes out an’ sees the world, old Silas he stays to hum an’ ’tends to -business, an’ carries your letters back to Hunt’n’ton.”</p> - -<p>The only other passenger was Henry Steele, the Huntington shoemaker, -who had been down to Bridgeport to buy leather, and had it in a big -roll beside his feet; and he and the driver plied Kit with so many -questions about his travels that he was kept busy answering.</p> - -<p>“What was you aboard this <span class="italic">North Cape</span>?” Silas asked.</p> - -<p>Kit felt for a moment that considering the work he had been doing he -was entitled to lay claim to some higher position than the one he -really occupied; but he soon smothered that down.</p> - -<p>“Cabin boy,” he answered; and added to himself, “There’s no use of a -fellow being ashamed of a good honest job, and one that he likes.”</p> - -<p>“And you got good and seasick at the start, I’ll warrant!” Mr. Steele -laughed.</p> - -<p>“No, sir, I wasn’t sick a single minute on the whole voyage,” Kit -answered.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_63"></a>63</span> -“Well, Kit,” said the shoemaker, “if some boys were to tell me that, -I’d think they were drawing the long bow. But I’ve known you since you -were knee-high to a grasshopper, and I must say I’ve never known you to -speak anything but the truth.”</p> - -<p>“Th-th-thank you!” Kit tried to say it with a laugh, but the laugh -turned into a shiver. It was all very well to feel at home in the -cold, but there were some holes in the horse blanket. And he was -growing impatient to see the familiar faces. He had not felt so down in -Yucatan, because there he knew it was impossible; but now that every -minute took him nearer, the minutes became dreadfully long.</p> - -<p>Manly young sailor as he was, his heart beat faster as the stage -drew into the outskirts of Huntington—if so small a place can be -said to have outskirts. He had had already a glimpse of the white -church steeple from a distant hilltop. And now there was the church -itself! And he could have told with his eyes shut just how the land -lay opposite the church. First there was a little store, with some -empty barrels and boxes always in front. Then there was Dr. Thomas’s -big white house, with the white fence in front. And then came a small -house a story and a half high, with a light piazza across the front, -standing about thirty feet back from the street, with a weather-beaten -picket fence in front, and some big trees on each side extending their -thick limbs over its mossy roof. House and fence had once been brown, -but both were sadly in need of paint, and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_64"></a>64</span> one end of the cornice was -coming loose. But in Kit’s eyes, that was the cosiest place of all; for -that was home!</p> - -<p>There were no tracks in the deep snow between the road and the walk -in front of the house, and when Silas guided the horses in toward the -sidewalk they sank halfway to their knees. Then Kit unwrapped his -blanket and sprang out. Some one in the front room of the house saw -the stage stop, and that was a matter to be inquired into. All the -neighbors take an interest in it when the Huntington stage stops in -front of a house. The door opened, and a rosy-cheeked young girl of -about fourteen looked out.</p> - -<p>“Hello, Vieve!” Kit cried, waving his hand to her. A tropical hurricane -could not have made his heart jump like that.</p> - -<p>The girl paused long enough to cry out:—</p> - -<p>“Mother! Mother! Quick! Here’s Kit!”</p> - -<p>And the next moment she was down the walk, and the sailor boy was -smothered with hugs and kisses in a way that made old Silas and the -shoemaker feel quite young again, and Turk was barking a noisy welcome. -In another minute Mrs. Silburn joined them, and all the hugging was -repeated.</p> - -<p>“Now don’t trouble yourself about the bar’l,” Silas insisted when Kit -at length made his way back to the stage. “’Taint no weight at all;” -and he took it by the rims and carried it to the piazza, then rolled it -into the house.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_65"></a>65</span> -“I’ve brought you something better than the letter you was lookin’ for, -Mrs. Silburn,” he said, as he returned to the stage.</p> - -<p>But Mrs. Silburn hardly heard. She had eyes only for Kit, ears only for -what he said.</p> - -<p>“You’re not sick, Kit, that you’ve come home?” she asked, when the -three were in the sitting-room together. “No,” she added, “I need -hardly ask that; I never saw you look better. Why, you’re as brown as -an Indian.”</p> - -<p>“Never was ‘weller’ in my life,” Kit answered as well as he could, for -his mother was holding fast to him while Vieve was trying to drag him -up to the stove to warm him. “A week’s leave of absence, that’s all, -while the ship discharges cargo.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, a whole week!” Vieve cried, jumping around him in her glee. -“That’s the reason you’ve brought your baggage!” and she glanced toward -the barrel.</p> - -<p>“Did he bring that in here?” Kit asked. “That won’t do. It came from a -hot place, but it must stay in the cool up here. Have you got a cool -room we can put it in?”</p> - -<p>“I think you’ll find all the other side of the house cool enough,” Mrs. -Silburn laughed. “We don’t keep any fires across the hall now; it saves -both wood and trouble.”</p> - -<p>Kit rolled the barrel across the hall into the cold parlor, and hurried -back to the stove. But he could not stay in one place long—not for -the first hour or two. He had to go to the windows to see how the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_66"></a>66</span> -yard looked, and into the kitchen to look at the familiar pans hanging -against the wall, and upstairs to the little room with the sloping -ceiling where he had slept so many years. When he came down again, -Vieve was putting on her hat and coat.</p> - -<p>“Say, avast there, now,” he cried; “you’ll have to take another tack. -(I suppose you’ll expect me to talk sea talk, now I’m a sailor.) I know -what you’re after, Vieve, and it won’t do. No going out to buy more -things for supper. I’m not the prodigal calf, you know—the prodigal -son, I mean. Whatever you were going to have for your own suppers is -just what I want.”</p> - -<p>“Just put yourself in that chair, Mr. Silburn,” Vieve laughed, pointing -to her father’s armchair, that she had drawn up to the fire for him, -“and don’t begin to interfere so soon;” and she was gone before he -could stop her. And Mrs. Silburn brought her husband’s slippers, that -were carefully laid away, and would have untied Kit’s shoes if he had -let her.</p> - -<p>“You’ve had a hard time of it, Kit,” she said, “and we must make you -comfortable at home.”</p> - -<p>“Indeed, I’ve not, mother,” he answered; “you mustn’t spoil me on that -account. I’ve had a splendid time, and enjoyed every minute. I’ve made -some good friends, too, since I went away.”</p> - -<p>“I’m sure you would do that, Kit,” she answered, her face full of -motherly pride. “And you’ve grown so, too!”</p> - -<p>It was not long before supper was ready, for Vieve<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_67"></a>67</span> was both cook and -errand girl while her mother was busy sewing.</p> - -<p>“You’ll not mind eating in the kitchen, Kit?” his mother asked. “We eat -there now, while we’re alone.”</p> - -<p>“Mind it!” Kit exclaimed; “it’s just what I wanted to do. Oh, look -here, Vieve!” he went on, as he took his mother by the arm and led -her into the kitchen, “have you cooked all these things so quick? -Beefsteak, and fried potatoes, and ham and eggs, and coffee? Why, we -ought to have you for cook aboard ship.”</p> - -<p>“Ah, you don’t know how good it all tastes!” he declared, when they -had set to work at the eatables. “We have good fare on the ship, first -rate; but it’s not like home. No such coffee as this, I tell you. -Coffee is always bad at sea, they say.”</p> - -<p>“And do you have to eat out of a little mess pan, like the other -sailors?” Vieve asked.</p> - -<p>“Do I!” Kit laughed. “I guess you don’t know what a dignified position -your big brother holds, my child. Why, I eat in the cabin, with silver -forks and spoons, and a monogram on all the dishes. And in the evening -I sit at the Captain’s desk and do my writing.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, Kit!” Mrs. Silburn expostulated. She was not quite sure whether he -was joking with them or not.</p> - -<p>“It’s a fact,” he answered, laughing to think how grand he could make -everything appear if he felt inclined to boast. “And I wash the dishes -afterwards,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_68"></a>68</span> and clean the spoons; but that part we don’t speak of in -polite society.”</p> - -<p>They were done eating, but still busy talking, when Vieve suddenly -asked:—</p> - -<p>“What’s in that barrel, Kit?”</p> - -<p>“Ah, Miss Curiosity!” he laughed. “You’re the same old Vieve, ain’t -you? I suppose that’s the way your relation Eve prodded poor Adam on to -his ruin. But to tell you the truth, Vieve, I don’t exactly know what’s -in it myself. Suppose I bring it in and we find out.”</p> - -<p>No sooner said than done; the barrel was rolled in, and Vieve had the -hammer and chisel ready.</p> - -<p>“Now shut all the doors, Vieve,” he said, as he unfastened the head; -“if it should be anything alive, it might get away.”</p> - -<p>Vieve hastened to obey, but seeing him laughing at her, she threw them -open again.</p> - -<p>When the head was raised from the barrel, the room was instantly filled -with a delightful tropical aroma that was familiar enough to Kit, but -that is seldom found in a house in Huntington.</p> - -<p>“Just crush these in your hands, and then smell them,” he said to both, -taking up a handful of the fragrant lemon leaves with which the top -of the barrel was covered; and they thought they had never smelled -anything so sweet.</p> - -<p>When he brushed the leaves aside, he found more than half a bushel -of lemons, limes, and oranges. Then a little partition nailed in, -and beneath it a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_69"></a>69</span> great assortment of southern fruits—sugar apples, -loquats, <a id="sapadillos"></a><ins title="Original has 'sappadillos'">sapadillos</ins>, -sour sops, jelly cocoanuts, tamarinds, guavas, and bananas. Then -another partition, and beneath that a dozen of the largest and finest -pineapples he had ever seen. By the time the barrel was emptied, every -table and chair in the kitchen was covered with luscious fruit.</p> - -<p>“Where in the world did you get all these things, Kit?” his mother -asked.</p> - -<p>“A present from one of my friends in Yucatan,” he replied; and then he -had to tell all about Mr. Ysnard and how kind he had been. While he -talked he was busy gathering up the fruit and laying it on the pantry -shelves, where it would neither freeze nor be too warm, and Vieve and -her mother fell to and washed the dishes.</p> - -<p>“We’ll try one of these pineapples in the sitting-room,” he said; and -he took a sharp knife and began to pare off the rough outer skin. “I -want you to taste a real pine fresh from the orchard. They’re very -different from the hard little things we buy here.” When it was peeled -he took two forks and tore it apart into small pieces, as he had been -taught on the ship; and around the sitting-room stove they were all -agreed that no better or sweeter fruit could be grown.</p> - -<p>But alas for Kit’s intentions to tell all his adventures that evening! -He had had little sleep on the tug, and before the pineapple was -finished, he caught himself nodding several times.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_70"></a>70</span> -“There’s no use talking,” he laughed; “I’ve got to go to bed. The -wonderful adventures and hairbreadth escapes of Christopher Silburn, -Esq., will keep for another time. I guess I’m in a hurry to feel my old -bed.”</p> - -<p>And before many minutes he was sound asleep in it, to know no more of -ships, or tropics, or home, till he sprang up in the morning, thinking -that he must hurry to clean the cabin.</p> - -<p>Breakfast was hardly over before Harry Leonard, one of Kit’s old chums, -called to see him; for by that time it was known all over Huntington -that Kit was home. Harry was a good companion in every respect but one: -the boys called him the biggest boaster in Fairfield County.</p> - -<p>“I’m thinking of going to sea myself,” he said, after they had talked -a few minutes. “I know where I can get a berth as second mate of a -bark, after I’ve made a voyage or two. What do you do on the <span class="italic">North -Cape</span>, Kit?”</p> - -<p>“I’m assistant to the Captain,” Kit answered, with a sly wink at Vieve; -“I write out the manifests and such things. He and I were the only ones -who went ashore, and I spent several days with our agent in Sisal. I -want you to try an orange out of the barrel of fruit the agent sent out -to the ship for me. Oh, yes, I have to be back in five days more. I -don’t know who’d make out all the papers if I didn’t get there.”</p> - -<p>With Vieve hiding her face and shaking, it was hard for Kit to keep -from laughing, but he did.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_71"></a>71</span> -“Didn’t I give him a dose?” he roared, after Harry was gone. “He’s such -an awful bragger I thought I’d pay him in his own coin. But isn’t it -funny how you can change things by telling only one side of a story. -Everything I said was true, only I didn’t tell it all.”</p> - -<p>That afternoon Kit was out in the snow with a ladder and hammer and -nails, fastening the end of the cornice that was loose; and before dark -he had mended the shaky front gate, and replaced some missing pickets, -and put a new hinge on the kitchen door.</p> - -<p>“I’m not going to let you work so when you come home for a little -holiday, Kit,” his mother said in the evening when they were sitting -around the fire again. “You must rest.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, that’s nothing at all,” Kit retorted. “I want the place to look -shipshape for a particular reason. Somebody may be coming home one -of these days, and he must find everything in good order. I know you -don’t like to talk about that, mother, but it has to be talked about -sometimes. As long as there is the least chance, we must not lose -hope; and both Captain Griffith and Mr. Ysnard think there is still -a possibility of father’s being alive. Of course it is a very slight -chance, but still it is a chance, and we must not give up.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, Kit, I am so glad to hear you say so!” Vieve exclaimed. “You know -that’s what I have always said. And your Captain thinks so too!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_72"></a>72</span> -“Ah, don’t deceive yourselves, children,” Mrs. Silburn sighed. “How -could your father be alive without coming home or even sending us word -for nearly a year? And we know that his ship was lost.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, there is no doubt his ship was lost, mother,” Kit admitted, “but -still there are many things that may have happened through which he may -be alive and yet not be able to get home, or even to write to us. Mr. -Ysnard has a friend whose ship was lost at sea, but who got home more -than two years after he had been given up. They took to the boats, of -course, and all the boats were swamped but the one he was in. That one -was picked up by a Norwegian brig bound for Honolulu. When they got -into the Pacific, after going around Cape Horn, the brig was wrecked -also, and the crew got to one of the little desert islands in the -Pacific where ships never touch. They were there over a year before -they got away. And there was an ending to that that won’t be likely to -happen in our case. When the man got home, he found his ‘widow’ just -about to be married to some other man.”</p> - -<p>“No, I don’t think that will happen in our case!” Mrs. Silburn said, -smiling in spite of herself. “Such remarkable escapes happen sometimes -at sea, but we have no right to expect them. You may as well make up -your mind that you will have to be the head of the family, Kit.”</p> - -<p>“A poor head at present, I am afraid,” Kit answered.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_73"></a>73</span> “But I think the -day will come when I shall be able to take care of you both, if father -doesn’t come back. That’s what I am planning for, at any rate. It’s not -much of a position to be a cabin boy, but I expect to have a better one -some day. It sha’n’t be my fault if I don’t. If I can show them that I -am fit for a better place, I think I will get it in time. But even now -I can do a little bit toward helping things along; I nearly forgot that -part of the business.”</p> - -<p>He put his hand in his pocket and took out some money, and laid a -bright new two-dollar note in Genevieve’s lap.</p> - -<p>“You know the dollar’s worth of stamps you sent me, Vieve. I was -awfully glad to get them, too, for I felt pretty poor just then. So -there’s the dollar, with a little interest added.”</p> - -<p>He had not the heart to tell her that he had been robbed of the stamps. -In all his accounts of his adventures he had not said a word about the -hardships he had gone through. When he told about how nearly he had -been arrested, it was only to turn it into a joke.</p> - -<p>“No, I don’t want it, Kit,” Vieve protested, trying to hand him back -the note. “I sent you that for a present.”</p> - -<p>“No back talk to the head of the family, miss!” he laughed, giving -his sister’s wavy hair a playful pull. “And here’s a little for you, -mother. I can leave you only three dollars this time, as it will cost<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_74"></a>74</span> -me a dollar to get back to the ship. But I hope before long to do -better than that. If I could only make a little more money, I’d like to -have some paint put on the house.”</p> - -<p>“I’m not going to touch a cent of it,” Mrs. Silburn declared. “I don’t -need it, but you do. I want you to buy a cheap overcoat with that -money; you can’t be going about in winter without an overcoat.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t need one,” Kit protested. “I tried on my old one up in my room -this morning, and it fits first rate. It’s plenty good enough till I -get in with the ‘Four Hundred’ in New York, and none of the Vanderbilts -or Astors have invited me to dinner so far. But I don’t need an -overcoat at all unless we go to some cold country next voyage.”</p> - -<p>“And where do you expect to go next time?” Vieve interrupted.</p> - -<p>“There’s no telling,” Kit answered; “it just depends upon who charters -the ship. We might go to China, or to Australia, or Bombay, or most any -seaport in the world. Maybe it will be back to Sisal, for all I know. -Even the Captain did not know, when I left.”</p> - -<p>Kit had his own way about the money in the end, and made his mother -accept the three dollars.</p> - -<p>“I’d be a nice head of a family if I couldn’t leave you any money!” -he argued. “You know I have no expenses like other fellows; and if -I should need money at any time I could draw against my wages. The -sailors nearly all do that; indeed, they have<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_75"></a>75</span> generally spent their -pay for the voyage before they start, so they have to work to pay the -bill.”</p> - -<p>He was acting very much like the head of the family when he looked over -the old house one morning and announced that he thought it could be -made very comfortable for them as soon as he had more money.</p> - -<p>“I like the arrangement of it,” he said; “this sitting-room in front -with the kitchen behind it is very handy. Then the parlor across the -hall and your bedroom behind that is very handy, too. When father comes -back, Vieve can take the other room upstairs.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, it’s a shame to let you work so hard just to make us comfortable!” -Vieve exclaimed. “Other boys have such good times with their skating -and swimming and football and such things. I’m going to work myself -just as soon as I get a chance.”</p> - -<p>“I hope you will,” Kit laughed. “Go to school and work there just as -hard as you can. If mother hadn’t made me go to school and attend -to my lessons, I’d be just an ordinary cabin boy now. I mean,” he -explained, blushing a little at the way he had put it, “I shouldn’t be -able to copy manifests for the Captain, or do a supercargo’s work for -him on shore. We don’t see at the time how much good study does us, -but I tell you we see it afterward, Vieve. And skating and football -and such things! Pshaw, don’t you think I got enough of them when I -was at home? When a fellow gets to my age”<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_76"></a>76</span> (and he drew himself up a -little taller, which made Vieve smile), “he has other things to think -of. I want to push myself ahead, Vieve, and earn enough to take care -of you both. And swimming, did you say? Who do you think has a better -chance for swimming than a sailor when his ship is in port? Oh, you -needn’t sympathize with me, my child. I’d rather go off and see foreign -countries than play football.”</p> - -<p>On Sunday morning he and Vieve went together to the old white church -across the broad street, “just like old times,” as they said; and after -Sunday school he had to explain to a score of friends where he had been -and what he had been doing. His boy friends, he noticed, did not seem -to think it any hardship to go to sea in a fine steamship; most of them -would have jumped at the chance to go with him.</p> - -<p>A whole week seemed so long when he left the <span class="italic">North Cape</span> to go -home! And it seemed so short when the last day came! But the stage was -coming down the hill, and Kit had his old overcoat on, which was a -trifle short, but very warm. And under his arm was a little bundle of -shirts and things that his mother had made for him.</p> - -<p>“I may have a chance to get home after the next voyage,” he said, when -they were half smothering him with good-bys in the cold hall, “and I -may be gone for six months; there’s no telling. But I’ll write whenever -I can, you may be sure, and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_77"></a>77</span> tell you where to send letters. Turk, -you’re pawing me all to pieces, old fellow. Good-by, Vieve; good-by, -mother. I’d keep father’s chair and things ready for him, if I were -you, for he might walk in most any day. Good-by, Turk. He knows I’m -going away, doesn’t he?”</p> - -<p>In a minute more he was in the stage, his mother waving to him from the -door, Vieve throwing kisses to him from the gate, and Turk jumping in -the snow, barking furiously.</p> - -<p>“That’s a pretty little sister you’ve got,” said Silas, when a turn in -the road hid the old house from sight.</p> - -<p>“I’m glad you think so,” Kit laughed, “for everybody says she is the -image of me!”</p> - -<p>He was not the first boy who has tried to laugh on leaving home, to -conceal very different feelings.</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="x-ebookmaker-drop divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_78"></a>78</span> -</div> - -<h2 id="v">CHAPTER V.<br /> -<span>A BURGLAR IN THE CABIN.</span></h2> - -<p class="noi"><span class="dropcap"><span class="dropcap2">“</span>O</span>H, this is ahead of being a cabin passenger on one of the big -liners!” Kit said to himself, as he hurried through the brick tunnel -that led to the wharf of Martin’s Stores. “The passenger knows where -he’s going, so he doesn’t have the fun of wondering. But I don’t know. -Maybe the ship has been chartered for China while I’ve been away; or it -might be for Russia, to carry grain. There’s no seaport in the world -that we mightn’t go to. I think one will suit me just about as well as -another, though I’d rather like to cross the ocean.”</p> - -<p>Tom Haines was one of the first men he met on deck.</p> - -<p>“Well, have you made up your mind where you’re going to take the yacht -to this voyage?” Kit asked, as they shook hands.</p> - -<p>“Don’t call her a yacht!” Tom laughed. “We’d have too many big bills to -pay if she was our yacht. It’s better as it is: we get a salary and a -sea-voyage at the same time. Yes, we’re chartered for Nassau this trip, -to bring back pineapples and sponges; and we’ll be off in four or five -days.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_79"></a>79</span> -“For Nassau!” Kit repeated; “why, that’s—” but there he stopped.</p> - -<p>“That’s right,” Tom said, still laughing. “Stick to your old rule and -never say you don’t know a thing, but go and find it out. I know what -you’re thinking about. You want to go down in the cabin and look at the -map to see where Nassau is. But I’ll save you the trouble. It’s the -capital of the Bahama Islands, in the northern West Indies, and about -a thousand miles from New York; so that will make a short voyage. But -there’s more news for you: you have a new cabin steward.”</p> - -<p>“No!” Kit answered, not at all sorry to hear it. “Where’s the old -steward?”</p> - -<p>“I should think in Bellevue Hospital by this time,” Tom replied, -“unless he’s reformed. He got on a terrible spree and fell to breaking -the crockery, so the Captain sent him off in a hurry. The new man is -a Scotchman named MacNish, and that’s all I can tell you about him. -There’s a new galley boy, too; but that doesn’t count for much.”</p> - -<p>“Not to you,” Kit declared, “but it does to me, because now I’m not the -newest hand on the ship. But I must go down and report myself.”</p> - -<p>He did not see the new steward, who was at work in the pantry; but -Captain Griffith called him into his stateroom.</p> - -<p>“I am glad you are back promptly,” he said, “for to-morrow we begin -taking in cargo for Nassau, and I want you to keep tally as it comes on -board. It is<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_80"></a>80</span> not exactly cabin boy’s work, but you do it carefully, -and it is good experience for you.”</p> - -<p>“I am only too glad to do it, sir,” Kit answered. “I want to make -myself useful.”</p> - -<p>“I thought of raising your pay two or three dollars a month for this -extra work,” the Captain went on, “but I have concluded not to do it at -present. I don’t want to make a pet of you; it’s better that you should -work your way gradually like other people. You can go to the steward -now and see whether he has anything for you to do.”</p> - -<p>There was nothing to be done at the moment, for the new steward had -everything in order. Kit had never seen the pantry so clean, nor the -cabin brass-work so well polished. Mr. MacNish was apparently about -forty years old, a plump man of medium height, his florid round face -smooth except for a little tuft of iron-gray whiskers under each ear.</p> - -<p>“Looks more like an Englishman than a Scotchman,” Kit said to himself; -and his accent certainly was more English than Scotch; but his manner -was much pleasanter than the other steward’s, and he used so many -biblical quotations when he talked that Kit thought he must be a very -devout man.</p> - -<p>For the next four days the cabin boy was busy keeping tally of the -general cargo as it came aboard, and after the same performance as -before of anchoring by the Liberty statue and the Captain coming out in -a tug, the <span class="italic">North Cape</span> got under way for Nassau. There was not -much to be seen of the New Jersey<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_81"></a>81</span> coast this time, for she stood out -to the southeastward all the first night, and in two days and a half -crossed the Gulf Stream and ran into warmer weather. And every day Kit -thought more and more of the new steward. He was so kind and gentle, -so willing to do things himself rather than give Kit trouble, so neat -and industrious, and above all so pious in his conversation, that it -worried the cabin boy to see that Captain Griffith treated him rather -abruptly, as if he did not care much for him.</p> - -<p>“Was that a little Bible I saw you have last night, my boy?” Mr. -MacNish asked Kit one morning. “Ah, I thought so. I like to see boys -read their Bible. And maybe you’d lend it to me sometimes. Mine must -have been stolen, I’m afraid, for I always carry it in my satchel. Oh, -it’s a great comfort, lad, in times of trouble. My good old father” -(his voice grew a little husky) “taught me to read my chapter every -day, and I don’t like to miss it. I hope to see the day when we’ll have -morning and evening service on every ship afloat.”</p> - -<p>On the sixth day after leaving New York they sighted Nassau, and Kit -was delighted with the appearance of the place from the water. The big -square stone houses, with their upper and lower balconies enclosed with -green Venetian blinds; the red tiled roofs, white streets running up a -steep hill, palm trees waving gracefully over many of the roofs, old -forts, half in ruins, to the right and left of the town, and the warm -summer weather in midwinter, made<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_82"></a>82</span> it seem like a little fairy-land. -But these things had to be seen from a distance, for the <span class="italic">North -Cape</span> drew too much water to cross the bar. She anchored outside, -half a mile from the town, close under the long narrow strip of rock -called Hog Island, where she was exposed to the north wind and would -have to hoist anchor and put to sea if a gale came.</p> - -<p>By the next day the lighters were ready, for the cargo had to be landed -in lighters as it had been in Sisal, though the distance was not as -great, and Kit was set ashore early to check off every package as it -was put on the wharf. He was no beginner at this work now, and as the -people spoke English he found it much easier than at Sisal, though the -boatmen and ’longshoremen were all negroes, and spoke a mixed jargon of -Congo African and Colonial English that was sometimes almost as hard -to understand as the Spanish. The day was intensely hot, and there was -no tree or building on the wharf to give him shelter, and the lighters -arrived so fast that he not only had no chance to see anything of the -city, but had not even time to stop for dinner.</p> - -<p>The only break in the long day was when the mail steamer, the -<span class="italic">Santiago</span>, arrived from New York. She also was too large to cross -the bar, and a little tug went out to her and carried her passengers -and mails ashore.</p> - -<p>When the day’s work was over, Kit was quite ready to return to the ship -and eat his supper; but while they were washing dishes the steward -proposed<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_83"></a>83</span> that they should get permission and spend the evening on -shore.</p> - -<p>“I feel so lost without the Holy Scriptures I brought from home,” he -said, “and the precious hymn book I used when I was younger than you -are. Ah, how many times they have made my heart light when it was sore -with trouble. I can buy new ones on shore, but they’ll not be like the -ones I used so long. And I want to mail a letter to my dear old father. -I think the Captain would let us go if you were to ask him.”</p> - -<p>Kit was rapidly gaining experience of the world, but he still had a -great deal to learn about the people who live in it. That there are men -who try to hide their wickedness under a cloak of deep piety he had no -suspicion. It was very nice in the new steward, he thought, to take the -first opportunity to replace his lost Bible and mail a letter to his -aged father; and though he felt more like going to bed, he went to the -Captain and readily got permission for them both to go ashore, without -the least suspicion that the steward would much have preferred to go -alone, but was using him as a cat’s-paw because the Captain would be -more likely to oblige him.</p> - -<p>They were taken to the landing-steps in the gig, with the understanding -that the boat would return for them at half-past ten, Mr. MacNish -carrying along a small leather satchel, strongly mounted with brass, -that looked quite luxurious for the steward of a tramp steamship.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_84"></a>84</span> -“I want to make a few trifling purchases,” he explained, “and this will -be handy to carry them aboard in. Perhaps I can’t find what I want, but -I’ll not worry over it; ‘sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.’”</p> - -<p>As they climbed up the slippery stone steps Kit noticed two men who -looked like Americans sitting on a bench in the little park, and -imagined that they looked very hard and sharp at him and his companion. -And he saw that the steward noticed them too; indeed there was little -that Mr. MacNish did not notice, now that they were ashore. He looked -around as if there might be highwaymen behind the trees, and clutched -his satchel a little tighter, though it was too dark for him to see the -men distinctly.</p> - -<p>When they crossed the small park they were in Bay Street, the main -business street of the place; and they had not gone far before they -were in front of a dingy saloon, with doors standing wide open.</p> - -<p>“I feel the chill of the night air,” Mr. MacNish said, stopping before -the door, “and it is dangerous to be chilled in the tropics. Let us go -in and get something to warm us.”</p> - -<p>“I am warm enough, thank you,” Kit answered; “I don’t care for -anything.”</p> - -<p>“You know the apostle advises us to take a little wine for the -stomach’s sake,” the steward urged.</p> - -<p>“My stomach’s all right!” Kit laughed. “I suppose they didn’t have any -quinine in those days; quinine’s much better.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_85"></a>85</span> -“Then hold my satchel till I come out,” the steward said, putting it in -Kit’s hands; and a minute later he stood in front of the bar, pouring -out a tumblerful of something that looked stronger than wine.</p> - -<p>While the steward was in the saloon, the two men who had been sitting -in the park passed by on the other side of the street, and Kit noticed -again that they were looking sharply at him and at Mr. MacNish. He was -positive now that they were watched, and it startled him; but he was -relieved to see that the two men paused and exchanged a few words with -a Nassau policeman a little further up the street. They could hardly -be highwaymen, he thought, if they were known to the police. When Mr. -MacNish came out of the saloon he spoke about them.</p> - -<p>“Two men who look like Americans seem to be taking a great interest in -us,” he said. “They watched us pretty closely when we landed, and they -just walked past here, looking at us again.”</p> - -<p>“What’s that!” MacNish exclaimed; “two men! What did they look like?”</p> - -<p>Kit wondered that such a trifling thing should excite him so much, but -he described the men as well as he could.</p> - -<p>“Oh, it’s nothing,” MacNish said, though his manner belied his words. -“You just imagine it. Here, we’ll turn up this way toward the hill; I -think the stores are better in the street above. You carry the satchel -for me a bit, my lad.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_86"></a>86</span> -They turned into a dark side street, and were no sooner around the -corner than the steward quickened the pace almost to a run. His manner -was so changed that Kit for the first time became suspicious, and -thought that he had better have nothing to do with the satchel.</p> - -<p>“Here, you take your satchel, Mr. MacNish,” he said; “I can keep up -with you better if I have nothing to carry. We don’t need to hurry so -much, do we?”</p> - -<p>MacNish snatched the satchel from his hands without replying, and -before they had taken ten steps more Kit was almost knocked down by two -men who sprang out from an alley and seized the steward by both arms -as if they were used to such work. By the dim light from a neighboring -shop window Kit saw that they were the men who had been in the park.</p> - -<p>“Now, then, Slippery Jim, we want you,” one of the men said. “No -nonsense, unless you want some lead in you.”</p> - -<p>Kit was too much astonished to speak, but the steward was equal to the -emergency. With a powerful jerk he wrenched himself free, and the next -moment Kit saw the gleam of a revolver in his hand and heard a shot -fired. It was done so quickly, however, that the bullet flew wide; and -the next minute two policemen in uniform emerged from the alley, and -all four men grappled with the desperate steward and bore him down.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_87"></a>87</span> -His language as he lay struggling on his back on the sidewalk was -anything but pious; but he submitted to the inevitable when the -officers put handcuffs on his wrists and stood him on his feet.</p> - -<p>“I am afraid you have made a mistake, gentlemen,” Kit at length said; -“this man is Mr. MacNish, steward of the steamship <span class="italic">North Cape</span>.”</p> - -<p>“Steward nothing!” one of the men answered, contemptuously. “This man -is Slippery Jim, with fifty other names, and one of the slickest bank -burglars in the world. He’s the man that tapped the North Western bank -for a hundred and forty thousand dollars ten days ago, and I only hope -he’s got it in that satchel. Steward, indeed! He’s smart enough to turn -his hand to anything, and he took that way to escape from New York with -his booty. See here.”</p> - -<p>As he spoke the man took hold of the whiskers on both sides of -MacNish’s face, and being false ones they came off very easily. Then he -rubbed his handkerchief across the steward’s face, and wiped off a big -patch of the pink stain that had given him a florid appearance.</p> - -<p>“We got on his track just after you sailed,” the man continued, “and -followed him in the mail steamer. We are detectives from New York, and -you are a lucky boy that we don’t take you in as an accomplice.”</p> - -<p>Meanwhile the other stranger had been trying to open the satchel. -Finding it securely locked, he impatiently<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_88"></a>88</span> took his knife and cut a -long slit in the leather and thrust in his hand.</p> - -<p>“Here we have it!” he exclaimed, “or some of it. We’ll count it over at -the police station.”</p> - -<p>Kit’s eyes bulged when he saw a big handful of greenbacks and bonds -taken from the satchel; not covetously, but in awe when he thought of -the great amount of stolen money he had been carrying.</p> - -<p>The steward, seeing that his game had reached an end, was inclined to -laugh over his experiences on the <span class="italic">North Cape</span>.</p> - -<p>“You’ll be wanting a new steward on the ship, Spooney,” he laughed, -“for I’ve accepted a steady situation on shore. I hope you’ll lend -your Bible to the next man; I found it awfully comforting. But I guess -I’ll not mail that letter to-night to my dear old papa; the old chap -was hanged about thirty years ago. I kept your blooming cabin in good -shape, anyhow, for a man with a hundred and forty thousand dollars in -his satchel.”</p> - -<p>It was a relief to Kit when the officers took his former companion -away. He had heard of such desperate criminals, but had never been face -to face with one before. He had an hour yet before the boat would come, -and spent the time walking the streets, feeling sick at heart and a -little out of patience with himself.</p> - -<p>“I don’t wonder he called me ‘Spooney,’” he reflected. “I ought to -have been smart enough to see through the man at once, as I think the -Captain did,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_89"></a>89</span> to some extent. How easily he might have got me into a -heap of trouble if it had been worth his while! Even a poor boy with -nothing to be robbed of, has to be careful whom he associates with. So -remember that in the future, Mr. Kit Silburn!”</p> - -<p>The Captain’s only remark, when he returned to the ship and told what -had happened, put Kit in a little better spirits.</p> - -<p>“So that leaves us without a cabin steward,” the Captain said, “in a -small port where we can’t get another. I wish I could cut you right -straight in two, Christopher, for I want you in two places at once. As -soon as we have the cargo out you must act as steward till we get back -to New York; but for the present I must have you on shore.”</p> - -<p>“I think I can manage with the steward’s work, sir,” Kit answered; “and -the cargo ought to be out in two or three days now.”</p> - -<p>“And till then the engineers’ boy must look after the cabin too,” the -Captain added.</p> - -<p>That night Kit had many things to think of as he lay in his berth. -Everybody feels a little sheepish to be so thoroughly deceived, and -he was no exception. But there were more important things to consider -than that. It was only a wretched burglar who had called him a spooney, -and his employer liked him well enough to want him in two places at -once. Kit was a good fellow, but he was human, like the rest of us, and -that remark of the Captain’s made him feel pretty well satisfied with -himself. And here was<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_90"></a>90</span> the steward’s place vacant. If he did good work -there for a week or two, he could get the place permanently, he felt -almost sure of that. But did he want it? He was not quite sure about -that. On the one hand it would bring him better pay, and on the other -hand if he became a steward he probably would never get any higher. And -after all, maybe the Captain would think him too young; and a dozen -more ifs and ands, and in the midst of it all he fell asleep.</p> - -<p>For the next week he was the busiest boy in the Bahama Islands. As far -as possible he set things right for the day in the cabin before he went -ashore, then stood all day in the sun, checking off cargo, and was back -to the ship again in time to attend to supper. In the evening he washed -the dishes and cleaned up the pantry, and turned in early because he -had to turn out early. In those days it was only by good management -that he could get ten minutes of his own to write a short letter home.</p> - -<p>“Well, you <em>are</em> a softy!” Chock Cheevers said to him one morning -in the cabin—for it was Chock who had to wait on the Captain in Kit’s -absence. “Here you’re doing the steward’s work, and the cabin boy’s, -and the supercargo’s, all for six dollars a month. I’d strike for -double pay, anyhow, if I was you. I’m going to strike, myself, pretty -soon if this double work keeps on.”</p> - -<p>“My child,” Kit laughed (he hardly noticed it himself, but he always -spoke to the mess-room boy<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_91"></a>91</span> now as if he were indeed the supercargo, -instead of only the cabin boy), “if I had time I would tell you how -many millions strikes cost every year without doing any good, for I -read it one day in an old newspaper. But I haven’t time; the boat is -waiting for me. You do the striking, and I’ll do the working. The -fellows who work don’t generally need to strike. Besides, I like to do -it.”</p> - -<p>That evening Captain Griffith called Kit into his stateroom when his -work in the pantry was done.</p> - -<p>“I want you to make me out a complete list of everything that has been -landed so far,” he said, “so that the agent ashore can receipt for the -goods. I suppose you see by this time something of what a supercargo’s -work is on board ship.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir,” Kit answered; “he has to see that the whole cargo is taken -out and landed, and receipted for by the agent.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, that and much more,” the Captain continued. “He is the agent on -board of the parties that charter the ship, and must look after their -interests in every way. He is not an employee of the ship, but of the -charterers. Suppose the <span class="italic">North Cape</span> is chartered by John Smith & -Co. to carry a cargo to Rio Janeiro. They deliver their goods on the -wharf, and we load them and carry them to Rio, but beyond loading, -carrying, and unloading them, we legally have nothing to do with them. -It is the supercargo’s business to tally the goods delivered on the -wharf and put on board, see them safely landed at their<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_92"></a>92</span> destination, -and take the consignee’s receipt for them. But more than that, he -must take care of the cargo on the voyage. If there is live stock, he -sees that it is fed and cared for. If there are fruits or vegetables, -he takes care that they are kept cool in hot climates, and kept -from freezing in northern latitudes. In short,” he concluded, “the -supercargo must take as great care of the cargo as if it belonged to -him, always under the owners’ orders. And he is a passenger on the -ship, living in the cabin with the captain, and having nothing to -do, of course, with the management of the vessel. There are always -two interests on a chartered ship,—the interest of the ship, which -the captain takes care of, and the interest of the cargo, which is -the supercargo’s work. Unfortunately we have had only small charters -lately, that did not warrant the employment of a supercargo, so his -work has been left for me to do. When we are chartered for large and -valuable cargoes, the charterers always put a supercargo on board.”</p> - -<p>Kit’s work on shore did not end when the small general cargo was -discharged, as he expected. Nassau business men have an easy way of -thinking that things can be done just as well to-morrow as to-day; -and when the <span class="italic">North Cape</span> was empty her return cargo of sponges -and pineapples was not ready. He had to make frequent visits to Mr. -Johnson, the pineapple man, and Mr. Sawyer, the sponge man, to hurry -them up.</p> - -<p>“I am just going out to the pine fields now,” Mr.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_93"></a>93</span> Johnson said when -Kit first visited him; “come along, and see for yourself how things -are.”</p> - -<p>Kit climbed into the carriage with him, and they drove out about two -miles back of the city to the nearest fields, where he saw for the -first time how pineapples grow. The field was a large one of twenty or -thirty acres, very rocky, but with soil between the protruding rocks -that was almost as red as bricks, and covered with plants from three to -four feet high, each plant with many long, narrow, stiff “leaves,” and -each leaf sharp with spines along its sides and a needle-like point. -The score of colored men who were cutting the pines all wore leather -leggings, he noticed, to protect them from the sharp points.</p> - -<p>“And only one pineapple to a plant!” Kit exclaimed; “I thought they -would bear more than that.”</p> - -<p>“Only one,” Mr. Johnson laughed. “The pine is a very large fruit to -grow on so small a plant, and each plant produces only one. When it is -ripe, we cut it, and that plant’s usefulness is over, except that it -sends out a great many little shoots, called slips, which we take up -and plant for next year’s crop. You see the pine grows on a long stalk -in the middle of the plant, and shoots up like a big cabbage head out -of a bush.”</p> - -<p>With the promise of enough pines to begin loading next day, Kit went -to Mr. Sawyer’s sponge yard to hurry matters there, and was told that -Mr. Sawyer<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_94"></a>94</span> was at the Sponge Exchange; and through going there to find -him he learned enough about sponges to make him open his eyes wide. -The Exchange was a large stone building on one of the wharves, with a -series of broad open arches on each side, so that it seemed to have no -walls; and its concrete floor was covered with separate heaps of sponge.</p> - -<p>“This is the most important industry we have in Nassau,” Mr. Sawyer -explained, “and this Exchange is the largest sponge market in the -world. The merchants fit out small sailboats for sponging, and the -colored men who navigate them get the sponges sometimes by diving, -sometimes by grasping them with long-handled rakes, like oyster tongs. -The sponges are cleaned with lime and sea-water, and then are brought -here and sold by auction. The members of the Exchange are so expert at -the business that for a pile of sponges worth two hundred dollars, the -bids frequently do not vary more than five or six cents. From here they -go to the sponge yard of the purchaser, where they are cleaned again -and sorted, and pressed into bales. I will go up to my yard with you -and see what the prospects are.”</p> - -<p>The ground of the sponge yard was covered a foot deep with bits of -waste sponge, and a dozen colored men and women were sitting about with -scissors in their hands, examining the sponges, feeling them, cutting -out rough bits of stone or coral, and sometimes sewing loose ends -together to give the sponge a better shape. A rough, ragged, shapeless -sponge,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_95"></a>95</span> after it went through these black hands, came out smooth and -shapely.</p> - -<p>“Here is where we make the bales,” Mr. Sawyer explained, leading Kit -into a shed where a pile of sponge as big as a room was put under a -powerful press and squeezed down to the size of a cotton bale. “Sponge -is very compressible, of course. Some of these colored men take a -sponge as big as a bushel basket, and with crude levers press it into a -small cigar box. It is not only my own sponge, of course, that you are -to be loaded with; I buy wherever I can, and I think I can promise you -five hundred bales by two o’clock to begin on.”</p> - -<p>With his mission successfully accomplished, Kit returned to the ship -and began his new duties as steward.</p> - -<p>“Two more things to stow away in my knowledge box,” he said to himself. -“I’ve had precious little time to learn from books, but my work has -taught me some things from experience; all about Sisal hemp, to begin -with, and now about pineapples and sponges. And maybe a little about -people, too, for I’ve seen some queer ones.”</p> - -<p>In the two weeks more that the <span class="italic">North Cape</span> lay at Nassau, waiting -for a cargo that was made ready for her very slowly, Kit managed the -steward’s work in such a way that no complaints were made; and that he -reasonably considered a sure sign that he gave satisfaction, for the -officers of a freight ship are not slow to find fault when anything -goes wrong. While<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_96"></a>96</span> the loading was still in progress the mail steamer -returned from her visit to the south side of Cuba, and after touching -at Nassau went on to New York, carrying northward for trial and -punishment the man of many names and crimes, MacNish, the steward, who -had been lying in the Nassau prison. And when the <span class="italic">North Cape</span> -once more lay in front of Martin’s Stores, the newspapers were printing -long accounts of his attempted escape as steward of a freight steamer, -and his arrest in the West Indies.</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="x-ebookmaker-drop divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_97"></a>97</span> -</div> - -<h2 id="vi">CHAPTER VI.<br /> -<span>THE STRANGE CASE OF JOHN DOE.</span></h2> - -<p class="noi"><span class="dropcap">W</span>HILE Kit was picking his way through the pineapple fields and watching -the processes in the sponge yards of Nassau, something was happening on -the other side of the world that would have made the blood jump in his -veins if he could have known of it.</p> - -<p>Though it was midwinter in New York, it was then, in January, midsummer -in the city of Wellington, New Zealand, which lies south of the -equator. Doors and windows stood open, and men and animals alike -sheltered themselves as far as possible from the burning rays of the -sun. Even the New Zealand boys, who are not little brown savages with -feathers in their hair, but white boys who speak English and go to -school and wear clothes made after London and Paris fashions—even the -boys found it too hot to enjoy their usual Saturday games.</p> - -<p>On the very day that Kit was trying to hurry the pineapple men and -sponge men of Nassau, there was an unusual stir in the big public -hospital of Wellington.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_98"></a>98</span> Not in the wards where the patients lay; no -matter what happened outside, they were always kept quiet and tranquil. -But downstairs in the Board room, where the Board of Governors of the -hospital meets four times a year to inquire into the management and -arrange the financial affairs, the windows were open and the big table -and soft armchairs all freshly dusted; and in the banqueting-hall -beyond, which the patients never see, but where the governors regale -themselves after their quarterly labors, a long table was spread as if -for a banquet.</p> - -<p>Occasionally a carriage drove through the big gates, and one or two -gentlemen stepped out and disappeared in the house surgeon’s private -office. It was evident, to every one who knew the hospital routine, -that the quarterly meeting day had come, and that the governors were -arriving. They were to audit the accounts, to hear complaints, to make -any necessary changes in the staff, and last but by no means least to -eat the good dinner that almost invariably follows the meeting of any -board of charities.</p> - -<p>At two o’clock precisely the chairman rapped on the big table and -called the Board to order; and the ten other gentlemen, five on each -side of the table, listened with more or less patience to the reading -of the minutes of the last meeting. Then came a batch of reports; for -the reading of reports and the appointment of committees to consider -them form a large part of the business of such meetings. The house -surgeon’s report gave a favorable account of the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_99"></a>99</span> hospital’s work in -the last quarter. So many patients had been received, so many had been -discharged cured, and not so many but so few had died. If any stranger -had been allowed to be present, he must have thought it the most -remarkable hospital in the world. In the surgical ward, particularly, -not a single patient had died while undergoing an operation; every -operation had been successful. Some of the medical members of the Board -smiled faintly when they heard this, being familiar with the cheerful -medical custom of calling every operation successful when the patient -does not die on the spot; he may die that night or the next day, but -still the operation is called successful. There was a hush of interest -about the table when the clerk read:—</p> - -<p>“The strange case of John Doe need not be further mentioned here, as -the house surgeon will ask the privilege of making a verbal report in -his case at the pleasure of the Board.”</p> - -<p>Then followed the steward’s report, showing how many barrels of flour -and sugar and other eatables had been consumed and what they had cost; -and the apothecary’s report of the medicines used, and a dozen more; -and, after a half-hour’s discussion of these matters, that part of the -business was finished, and the chairman announced that he was “now -ready to hear the house surgeon’s report on what has appropriately been -called the strange case of John Doe.”</p> - -<p>At this the house surgeon stepped forward with a small memorandum-book -open in his hand. He was<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_100"></a>100</span> a tall, slender man with iron-gray hair and -an extremely professional appearance, slow and accurate in his speech.</p> - -<p>“Although this case has already been brought to the attention of the -Board, Mr. Chairman,” he began, “I will briefly rehearse the principal -facts for your further information. This man to whom we have given -the name of John Doe, because his real name is totally unknown to us, -was brought to this port six months ago by the British ship <span class="italic">Prince -Albert</span>; and being both physically and mentally incapacitated, he -was immediately brought to the hospital. The log of the <span class="italic">Prince -Albert</span> showed that on the 27th of last June their lookout saw -a signal of distress flying from a pole on a small unnamed and -uninhabited island in the Pacific Ocean, the latitude and longitude of -which I have a minute of, but do not at the moment remember. The ship -was immediately put about and a boat lowered, and sent ashore under -command of the second mate. The mate found what he at first supposed to -be the dead bodies of four men, all scantily clothed; but on examining -the bodies faint signs of life were found in one, the man whom we now -know as John Doe, who wore nothing whatever but a pair of trousers, -and, like the others, was much emaciated. The only property found -on the island was the small spar which had been set up for a signal -pole; and the plain inference was that the four men had escaped from -some wreck on the spar, without an opportunity to save any of their -property.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_101"></a>101</span> -“The three men who were certainly dead were decently buried, and John -Doe, who was unable to speak or even to open his eyes, was taken -on board the <span class="italic">Prince Albert</span>, where under kind and judicious -treatment he improved so far physically that by the time she reached -this port he was able to walk a few steps, though still extremely weak. -But there was no corresponding improvement in his mental condition. He -was not able to speak, and apparently understood nothing that was said -to him. Such was his state when he was received in the hospital.</p> - -<p>“It was my opinion, and that of the entire staff, that he was broken -down by the terrible hardships and privations that had caused the death -of his companions, starvation and exposure doubtless chief among them. -Under our treatment he has gained greatly in strength, so that he is -able to move about slowly; and if he were mentally sound I should feel -warranted in discharging him as convalescent. But mentally he is still -incapacitated. His memory is so utterly gone that he does not even know -his own name or country. We have tried every means to arouse him from -his stupor, but he has been able to articulate only six words, and -those indistinctly. They are: ‘I don’t know. I cannot remember.’</p> - -<p>“Those few words are sufficient, however, to show that he belongs to -some English-speaking nation, probably either to our own country or -to America, or perhaps to some of the British colonies. And my object -in laying the case before you at this length is<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_102"></a>102</span> to enable the Board -to determine whether under the circumstances he is a fit subject for -further treatment in the hospital. Some question has been raised on -that point on account of the doubt whether the man is even a British -subject.”</p> - -<p>“This is indeed an interesting case—a most interesting case!” the -chairman said, when the house surgeon sat down. “I do not remember -that such a problem has ever been presented to us before. Whether this -man, being no longer bodily ill, is entitled to our further treatment -and support, is what we are called upon to decide. I understand from -our worthy chief of staff that he is now strong enough to walk about -without assistance. Would it not be well to bring him into the room, -that we may see for ourselves?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, yes; bring him in!” was echoed by several voices. “Let us see -whether we can make him out.”</p> - -<p>“And if we find that he is an American,” one of the governors said, “he -should be taken in charge by the consul of his own country.”</p> - -<p>“One word more, Mr. Chairman,” said the house surgeon, taking the floor -again. “I must explain that there <em>is</em> some slight ground for -believing that the man is an American rather than a British subject. -The orderly on duty in the exercise yard reported to me several weeks -ago that a ship had that day come into the harbor, flying the American -flag; and that this John Doe, seeing it over the top of the wall,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_103"></a>103</span> -showed more interest in it than in anything else since his arrival. He -extended his arm toward it, and tried to mutter some words that the -orderly could not make out. With this hint I have had it in mind to try -upon him the effect of the flags of other nations; but anticipating -your desire to see the result for yourselves, I have postponed the -trial until to-day, and have also asked the American consul to be -present—subject, of course, to your wishes. The consul is now waiting -in my office.”</p> - -<p>“Let us see John Doe first,” said the chairman; and the house surgeon -pressed a bell button and gave some instructions to the orderly who -answered.</p> - -<p>In a few minutes the door opened again, and the orderly escorted into -the room what seemed at first to be a bent and stiffened old man, -leaning heavily on a cane and making his way along with difficulty. His -hair and beard were almost white, and he shuffled in without raising -his eyes from the floor, as if he took no interest whatever in the -proceedings. Led to a chair, he sat down heavily, and half-closed his -eyes. But the professional eyes present saw that it was not age, but -suffering and illness, that had reduced him to this condition. The aged -look in his face was caused rather by pain than by years, for there -were few of the wrinkles in the forehead or about the eyes or mouth -that come with advanced age; and his hands were those of a man in the -prime of life, “sixty-five or seventy,” an unprofessional person would -have pronounced him; but the physicians<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_104"></a>104</span> present knew that he was very -little, if at all, past forty.</p> - -<p>“Well, my good man, how are you feeling to-day?” the chairman asked.</p> - -<p>“I don’t know,” John Doe answered, without raising his eyes, and with a -dazed look on his countenance.</p> - -<p>“When did you leave London?” one of the governors asked; but the man -merely shook his head.</p> - -<p>“Or did you come from New York?” another said; but still there was -no answer but a feeble shake of the head. It was too evident that he -understood very little of what was said, and could not answer even that -little intelligently.</p> - -<p>Several of the medical members of the Board went up to him and felt -his pulse, examined the hue of his skin, raised the lids and looked -searchingly into his eyes, and felt his scalp carefully for traces of -an old injury, but could find none.</p> - -<p>“Suppose that we see whether any of our flags will have an effect upon -him to-day,” the chairman suggested; and turning to the house surgeon -he added, “and invite the American consul to come in and see the -result.”</p> - -<p>The surgeon went after the consul, and when they entered the room, they -were followed by an orderly, bearing an armful of folded flags. The -consul was invited to take a chair, after replying to the chairman’s -question that he was acquainted with the circumstances of the case; and -the orderly was directed<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_105"></a>105</span> to unfold one of the flags and show it to the -mysterious patient.</p> - -<p>“Try the British flag first,” the chairman said; and the room was as -quiet as death while the orderly shook out the flag, and held it close -to John Doe’s face. But the feeble man paid no more attention to it -than he had paid to the questions.</p> - -<p>“Now the French flag,” the chairman ordered; and still John Doe did not -raise his eyes from the floor.</p> - -<p>“The American flag,” said the chairman. This was the test; and as the -orderly held out his arm with the beautiful stars and stripes hanging -over it, the members of the Board leaned forward eagerly to watch the -result.</p> - -<p>For a moment John Doe did not seem to see the flag. But presently his -sunken eyes caught the brilliant red and white stripes, and instantly a -change was noticed in his face. A look of semi-intelligence came over -it that none present had seen there before. Leaning the cane between -his knees, he stretched out one hand and drew the orderly closer to -him, and with the other hand stroked the stripes as lovingly and gently -as he might have stroked a kitten or the head of a pet child. His lips -moved, and it was plain that he was trying to utter words that would -not come. And the hush in the room became still deeper when after a few -moments of this the feeble man drew the back of his hand across his -eyes to wipe away the moisture.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_106"></a>106</span> -“That will do, Mr. Orderly; you can take the flags away,” the chairman -said; and every man in the room noticed that John Doe kept his eyes -fixed upon the flag until it was folded and carried away.</p> - -<p>“If this remarkable experiment has had the same effect upon you as -upon me, gentlemen,” the chairman continued, “you have seen that the -sight of an old friend has for a moment roused the slumbering faculties -of this poor man’s brain. I have no longer any doubt that he is an -American; and I should like to hear the American consul’s opinion of -this strange case.”</p> - -<p>“This is one of the most touching things that I have ever seen, Mr. -Chairman,” the consul said, stepping forward. “That this stricken and -unfortunate man, a stranger in a strange land, sick, destitute, almost -bereft of reason, should show this emotion at the sight of my flag, an -emotion that nothing else excites in him, leaves me no room to doubt -that he is my countryman. And yet I am compelled to say that this is -not legal proof of his nationality, and to explain, what most of you -doubtless know, that a consul is only permitted to give substantial aid -to distressed seamen who are beyond doubt citizens of his country. Still -I should be glad to strain a point and send this man home, if I only -knew where to send him; but that is yet one of the mysteries.</p> - -<p>“What we have just seen, however, convinces me that his reason is not -dead, only sleeping. Any<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_107"></a>107</span> familiar sight, the face of a member of his -family, even the mention of a familiar name, might restore his lost -memory in an instant. I think you medical gentlemen will agree with -me in this, for you have seen such cases. We shall have within a few -weeks reports from our respective governments giving the names of all -the British and American vessels that were lost last year. It is highly -probable that the mention of the name of this man’s ship may awaken his -memory sufficiently to give us a clue to his identity; and I shall of -course lay the facts before the State Department at once. But meanwhile -I am so firmly convinced that this unfortunate man is my countryman -that I will willingly take upon myself personally the responsibility of -his support.”</p> - -<p>The consul had hardly resumed his chair before one of the members of -the Board sprang to his feet.</p> - -<p>“Mr. Chairman,” he almost shouted, “it is about two months, as you -know, since I returned from America. While there my interest in -hospital work naturally led me to visit the great hospitals in many of -the large cities. In New York, in Boston, in Chicago, in San Francisco, -in New Orleans, I found that at least ten per cent of all the patients -were British subjects, receiving every possible care and kindness -without question of their nationality. In that land they do not ask -whether a man is an American or a Briton or a Hottentot; the only -question is whether he is sick and in need of help, and if he needs it -they give it to him. I do not<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_108"></a>108</span> wonder that this unfortunate man shed -tears at the sight of his flag. And if we turn him out into the streets -to starve because he is a foreigner, we ought to shed tears at the -sight of ours, though for a widely different reason.”</p> - -<p>As the speaker took his seat there was such a furious clapping of hands -that the chairman had to rap on the table for order.</p> - -<p>“The Board seems to be so much of one mind,” he said, “that it is -not necessary to put a motion. John Doe will remain an inmate of the -hospital until the Board’s further orders. And now, gentlemen, the -orderly informs me that dinner is waiting. We hope, Mr. Consul, that -you will do us the honor to dine with us.”</p> - -<p>At the precise moment when the Board went in to dinner, and the -tottering John Doe was led back to his favorite seat in the sunny yard, -Kit, in happy ignorance of his father’s condition, was learning that a -sponge as big as a bushel basket could be pressed into a small cigar -box.</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="x-ebookmaker-drop divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_109"></a>109</span> -</div> - -<h2 id="vii">CHAPTER VII.<br /> -<span>KIT BECOMES A SUPERCARGO.</span></h2> - -<p class="noi"><span class="dropcap">T</span>O have another run out to Huntington when the <span class="italic">North Cape</span> -returned from Nassau, was something that Kit had been looking forward -to. Not for a week this time, for he could not expect to have a week’s -holiday at the end of every voyage; but for two nights and a day, -perhaps; long enough to see the familiar faces and the old place.</p> - -<p>But three days, four days, passed, and he was still acting as steward; -and he could not ask for leave of absence while he had that work to -do. And whether he ought to ask for the place permanently or not, he -could hardly make up his mind. He felt the need, more than ever before, -of some one to go to for advice and counsel. Tom Haines was a good -friend, but Tom could hardly advise him in such a matter; and to apply -to the Captain was out of the question. So he did not know whether to -feel glad or sorry when on the fourth day Captain Griffith brought a -stranger into the cabin and introduced him as the new steward.</p> - -<p>“You know the lay of the land in the pantry,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_110"></a>110</span> Christopher,” he said, -“so you can show him where things are kept.”</p> - -<p>And that was the end of his dream of becoming steward of the <span class="italic">North -Cape</span>!</p> - -<p>“I think I am rather glad than sorry,” he soon said to himself; “but if -I had really wanted the place, this would really serve me just right -for not making up my mind about it. Chances don’t wait for a fellow -if he does not seize them when they offer. So I am still the cabin -boy, and will still have a chance to copy the manifests and go ashore -to check off cargo. And maybe this will give me a chance for my visit -home.”</p> - -<p>That evening he walked the deck a little in the cold moonlight, -deliberating whether he should ask for a furlough or not; and he had -no sooner made up his mind to do it than he started for the Captain’s -room, having seen enough of the dangers of delay. But before he reached -the head of the companionway the Captain’s bell rang for him.</p> - -<p>“Come in and shut the door, Christopher,” Captain Griffith said. “I -have something to say to you.” Then when the door was closed, he -continued, “How old did you tell me you are?”</p> - -<p>“I am past seventeen now, sir,” Kit answered.</p> - -<p>“You have done very good work for me, Christopher,” the Captain went -on, “but still I am going to take your name off the crew list. I shall -have to have a new cabin boy.”</p> - -<p>“I hope not, sir!” Kit answered; “I have tried to give you -satisfaction.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_111"></a>111</span> -“You have done very well, I must admit,” the Captain said; “but you are -not exactly fitted to the place. You are too bright for a cabin boy, -and there is no better berth in the crew that I can give you.”</p> - -<p>So saying, he took out the book in which he kept the crew list and the -wages account, ran his finger down to Kit’s name, and took up his pen.</p> - -<p>“I see there is seven dollars and a half due you,” he went on, “but we -will call it ten dollars on account of the extra work you have been -doing. So now I erase your name, and you are no longer a member of the -crew;” and he ran his pen through Kit’s name with a big, broad mark.</p> - -<p>For a moment Kit felt as if a flash of lightning had come into the -stateroom and struck him.</p> - -<p>“I hope you will tell me what I have done, to be sent away, Captain,” -he said, in a voice that was not altogether steady.</p> - -<p>“Well, sit down, Christopher, and I will tell you,” the Captain said, -swinging his chair around as Kit took a seat. “I could not well invite -my cabin boy to sit down here for a talk, but as you are my cabin boy -no longer, I can invite you now. I see you take it very much to heart, -so I will tell you in few words.”</p> - -<p>It seemed to Kit at first as if a judge were about to pronounce -sentence upon him; but something in the Captain’s face gave him a -little hope.</p> - -<p>“The <span class="italic">North Cape</span> has been chartered by the big firm of Hunter & -Hitchley for a long voyage. She<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_112"></a>112</span> is to go first to Barbadoes with a -general cargo, there take on a cargo of sugar for London, and return -from London to New York with another general cargo. Such a voyage -requires a supercargo; and when the firm asked me to recommend one I -recommended Christopher Silburn. So it means that instead of being the -cabin boy you will be the supercargo as soon as you go over to Hunter & -Hitchley’s office and sign the contract.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, Captain!” Kit exclaimed; he did not see how he could say anything -more at the moment.</p> - -<p>“Your pay will be only eighteen dollars a month for the present, on -account of your youth; and that is small pay for supercargo; but it is -better than six dollars as a cabin boy.”</p> - -<p>“I should think so, sir!” Kit declared; “and I don’t know how I can -ever thank you for such a kindness.”</p> - -<p>“Never mind about that,” the Captain laughed. “And now, Mr. Supercargo, -you must leave me to my work, for I have a great deal to do to-night. -Do you think you could find me a good cabin boy to take your place?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir, I think I could,” Kit answered; and he thought immediately -of Harry Leonard, of Huntington.</p> - -<p>“Then I will leave that matter with you,” the Captain said, turning -again to his work.</p> - -<p>Kit had to go on deck again for a little fresh air after this sudden -change in his fortunes, and in his<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_113"></a>113</span> rapid march to and fro he met Tom -Haines, and was on the point of telling him the news, but stopped -himself. “I must tell the folks at home first of all,” he thought; and -after a little chat with Tom about other matters, in which Kit hardly -knew what he was talking about, he went down to the cabin to write a -letter.</p> - -<p>“I hoped to be with you in Huntington by this time,” he began, “but you -will have to put up with a ten-dollar note and a bit of good news.”</p> - -<p>Then he told the story of his promotion as plainly as his excited mind -would permit, and added, “Don’t mind taking the money, for I have a -little more, and of course I will get an advance for a long voyage like -that. I shall need some new clothes; for what is good enough for a -cabin boy would hardly be decent for a supercargo.”</p> - -<p>And at the end he sent a message for Vieve to take to Harry Leonard. -“If he’s not second mate of that bark yet, maybe he would like to be -cabin boy of the <span class="italic">North Cape</span> at six dollars a month. I can get -him the place if he wants it, but he must come or let me know the very -day you get this, or it will be too late. And now for Barbadoes, folks, -and London! across the big ocean and back again! I was hoping for that, -you know. I’ll write again, of course, before we sail.”</p> - -<p>Kit’s interview with Hunter & Hitchley next day was something of an -ordeal, for after the contract was signed they had endless instructions -to give him.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_114"></a>114</span> A hundred things he must attend to with the greatest -care; and another hundred things he must avoid; and such and such firms -must be seen in New York, and so and so in Barbadoes, and in London.</p> - -<p>“You are very young for this work,” Mr. Hitchley told him, “but Captain -Griffith has recommended you highly. We take you altogether on his -recommendation.”</p> - -<p>“I will do my best to give satisfaction, sir,” Kit answered. He had -made the same promise on becoming a cabin boy, and kept it, and was -determined to keep it again.</p> - -<p>His new position brought many minor changes that he had not had time to -think of yet. When the cabin dinner bell rang that day he did not quite -know what to do, so he wisely waited and did nothing, and in a few -minutes the Captain sent for him to come down to dinner.</p> - -<p>“The supercargo eats with the Captain, Silburn,” Captain Griffith said. -“I neglected to tell you that. And he is always ‘Mister’ to the crew; -but for my part I shall call you Silburn, because you are so young.”</p> - -<p>It was odd enough to be eating there with the Captain and first -officer at the table he had helped to wait on before, but he soon -grew accustomed to it, just as he did to being called Mr. Silburn by -everybody but the Captain. In a few days he appeared in a new suit of -dark blue cloth and a cap to match, with a single gilt button on each -side; a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_115"></a>115</span> costume in which he looked as nautical and business-like as -any young supercargo could desire.</p> - -<p>Doing the clerical work in getting together and loading the cargo was -mere routine business for him now, thanks to the experience he had had -in former voyages; and by the time the <span class="italic">North Cape</span> was ready -for sea again he felt considerable confidence in himself in his new -position. The non-arrival of Harry Leonard made him a little uneasy, -for it would not do to fail to have a cabin boy ready on sailing day. -Harry had written that he would be on at once, but nearly a week had -passed. He arrived, however, just as Kit was thinking of looking for -another boy.</p> - -<p>“Oh, say, what a swell you are, Kit!” he exclaimed, “in that uniform. I -must have one like that some day. But I’ll take a shy at your old place -first, for a voyage or two. That’s good enough to begin on, I suppose. -Say, what does a fellow get promoted to from there? Does supercargo -come next?”</p> - -<p>“Not always,” Kit answered. He could not help seeing that Harry’s ideas -were up too near the top-masts, and would have to come down nearer the -keel before long. “But it’s very pleasant work in the cabin of the -<span class="italic">North Cape</span>, as long as you don’t give the Captain any occasion -to use his rope’s-end on you.” Kit did not believe much in teasing the -new boys on board, but Harry was so full of his own importance that he -could not resist the temptation to frighten him a little.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_116"></a>116</span> -“No! say, does he though?” Harry asked, in alarm. “Does he whack you -very hard?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, not so very!” Kit laughed; “anyhow, you don’t mind it much after -you get used to it. Come down to the cabin; he told me to bring you -down to him when you came.”</p> - -<p>“This is the boy I spoke to you about, sir,” Kit said to the Captain. -“His name is Harry Leonard.”</p> - -<p>“I tried to come as soon as I got Kit’s letter,” Harry broke in, “but I -had to have some clothes made.”</p> - -<p>“What’s that!” Captain Griffith exclaimed, looking at the new boy -sharply. “If you mean the supercargo, his name is Mr. Silburn. Don’t -forget that. Do you understand?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir,” Harry answered quite meekly; and Kit thought that a good -time for him to withdraw, when the interesting process of training a -willing but conceited boy was beginning.</p> - -<p>There was a large streak of good nature in Harry, however, as well as a -stock of humor; and he felt that he had wiped out this rebuff when he -went up to Kit on deck on the third day out, and, touching his hat very -formally, said:—</p> - -<p>“Mr. Silburn, the Captain wishes to see you below, sir, if you please;” -then drew his left eye down into a wink that was big enough for a dozen -winks, stuffed his hands into his pockets, and strutted off whistling -“Yankee Doodle.”</p> - -<p>Every day Kit was busy for some hours with his<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_117"></a>117</span> manifests, which he -worked at in the afternoons now instead of the evenings. And it was -fortunate for him that he wasted no time at the start; for on the -eighth day, when they were expecting every moment to sight Sombrero -Key, the first land since leaving New York, they ran into a little -tropical hurricane that tossed up a tremendous sea, and kept Captain -Griffith on the bridge for nearly ten hours without rest. He did not -stop his writing when the confusion on deck told him that they were -preparing the ship for rough weather; but in a few minutes his head -began to ache, and he closed his eyes to rest them. Then a chilly -feeling ran down the back of his neck; he felt as if he must have taken -a mixture of chicken salad, mince pie, ice cream, and soda water for -dinner, and began to wonder whether a siege of illness was coming on. -A minute later, however, Harry Leonard ran out of the pantry, holding -both hands against his stomach.</p> - -<p>“Oh, Kit!” he cried, “or Mr. Silburn, or Supercargo, or whatever your -blessed name is, I’m so sick! oh, I wish you’d let me stay at home!” -and he threw himself on one of the sofas and lay moaning.</p> - -<p>That told Kit what was the matter with him; it was no tropical fever -coming on, but a plain case of sea-sickness! On his third voyage, when -he had risen to be a supercargo, he was desperately seasick for the -first time, simply because it was the first really rough weather he had -encountered.</p> - -<p>The heavy rolling and pitching of the ship in that<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_118"></a>118</span> howling wind and -tremendous sea, the incessant rattling and breaking of dishes in the -pantry, the creaking of joiner work, the shouting of orders on deck, -the men running to and fro to execute them, the whir and jar of the -screw when a lunge of the bow raised it out of the water, combined to -give Kit his first real idea of bad weather at sea. He went on deck, -and the fresh air made him feel better; and he exercised his privilege -as supercargo and went up on the bridge, where he instantly saw by the -anxious faces of the Captain and first officer that they were worried. -He knew that the storm alone was not sufficient to put the ship in -danger; but they were in the neighborhood of Sombrero and other small -islands of that group, night was coming on, and as there was no sun -that day for an observation they were not sure of their position, and -the outlook was not encouraging.</p> - -<p>No supper was prepared in the cabin that evening, for neither the -Captain nor his mate had time to eat; but sandwiches and hot coffee -were put on the table; and when the Captain came down to swallow a cup -of coffee in haste he merely shook his head in reply to Kit’s questions.</p> - -<p>Late in the evening Harry still lay groaning on the sofa, and Kit was -in and out, for neither of the boys felt inclined to turn in. About -eleven o’clock a terrible pounding began on deck. It sounded almost as -if one of the iron masts had fallen and was rolling about the deck. -First there was a thumping from<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_119"></a>119</span> port to starboard that seemed enough -to crush in the deck, followed by a moment of quiet, and then, as the -ship rolled again, the rolling went from starboard to port. Harry -sprang up in alarm.</p> - -<p>“Kit, we’re goners!” he exclaimed; “the ship’s going down!”</p> - -<p>“I don’t believe it,” Kit answered, “but something has carried away.”</p> - -<p>They both ran for the companionway and scrambled on deck, where the -terrific wind almost tore them off their feet. Everything was dark as -pitch except for the light of a solitary lantern, and by that faint -light they saw that in the heavy rolling one of the winches had broken -loose and was rolling from side to side of the deck, to the imminent -danger of both deck and rail; and men were trying to -<a id="lasso"></a><ins title="Original has 'lassoo'">lasso</ins> -it with heavy ropes, for no one could approach it without risking his -life. While they watched, the winch was caught and secured, and they -returned to the cabin.</p> - -<p>About two o’clock Captain Griffith came down with the relieved look of -a man who had just rid himself of an aching tooth. “We’re all right,” -he said, as the steward brought him another cup of coffee. “We’ve just -sighted Sombrero light, so we’ll not visit Davy Jones’s locker just -yet. It’s time for you to turn in, Henry.”</p> - -<p>Harry started off for his berth, and Kit and the Captain had a little -chat over their coffee.</p> - -<p>“I don’t like being off a rocky coast on a bad<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_120"></a>120</span> night,” the Captain -said. “The <span class="italic">North Cape</span> is good for any kind of weather, but the -ship has not been built yet that will stand a night’s pounding on the -rocks. Now by afternoon we should be off St. Kitts, and from that -all the way down to Barbadoes you will see some of the finest sights -you ever saw in your life. I have seen the Alps and most of the best -scenery in Europe, but never anything to equal these beautiful islands -we will soon pass—St. Kitts, Nevis, Montserrat, Martinique, Dominica, -and several more. Most of them are mountain peaks rising from the sea -and touching the clouds. Barbadoes itself is flat and uninteresting, -except for being the most thickly populated bit of land on the globe. -It contains only about forty square miles, and has forty thousand -inhabitants, or a thousand to a square mile, mostly negroes. But you -will soon see for yourself. I feel quite ready for a sleep. Good-night, -Silburn.”</p> - -<p>“Good-night, sir,” Kit answered; and he made his way across the -unsteady cabin by holding on to the backs of seats, and was soon in his -own berth.</p> - -<p>By the middle of the afternoon the young supercargo learned another of -the advantages of being in his new position. They were then skirting -the coast of the British island of St. Kitts, having left the storm and -the worst of the rough sea in their wake. Instead of taking a hurried -look at the shore over the rail, with both ears open for the Captain’s -bell, as the cabin boy must generally do, he could go up on the bridge -and take a good look through the Captain’s<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_121"></a>121</span> glasses; and he was soon -convinced that Captain Griffith had not at all exaggerated the beauty -of the scenery. He was used to high hills, for Huntington is surrounded -by them, but not hills like these.</p> - -<p>“To think of a mountain coming right up out of the water,” he said to -himself, “and going on up and up till the peak is in the clouds, and -looking as green and smooth as the grass in a park—though I know it’s -not grass, for the Captain says it is fields of sugarcane below, and -trees toward the top. And the way those clouds gather around the peak! -It seems to catch them as they float by, and they grow thicker and -blacker every minute till there is more water than they can hold, and -it comes down without warning in a deluge of rain, and then the sun -shines again! I never saw anything like it.”</p> - -<p>Then the next day he was equally enthusiastic over the French island -of Martinique, which is much larger and has many peaks instead of a -single one; and soon afterward the British Dominica, with scarcely -any inhabitants in its high mountains but the fragments of the -once-powerful race of Caribs, who live now by making baskets so tight -that they will hold water and are used for trunks. As they passed -the little port of Roseau, the capital of Dominica, they saw a large -steamer lying at anchor, which Kit learned was the New York mail -steamer the <span class="italic">Trinidad</span>, bound like themselves for Barbadoes; and -within the next hour she was under way and following in their wake.</p> - -<p>In a longer race the <span class="italic">North Cape</span> would have had<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_122"></a>122</span> little chance -against the speedier <span class="italic">Trinidad</span>; but the distance from Dominica -to the roadstead off Bridgetown, Barbadoes, is so small that the -two vessels dropped anchor there almost at the same moment, the -<span class="italic">North Cape</span> as near to the breakwater as safety allowed, and the -<span class="italic">Trinidad</span> farther out. As the day was about closing, Captain -Griffith was in no hurry to enter his ship at the Custom House, for -in any case he could not begin unloading until the next day; but it -was different with the other steamer, which had passengers on board -who were anxious to land. So it happened that the boat in which -Kit was set ashore to pay an early visit to his agent, reached the -landing-steps almost at the same moment as the boat that carried the -<span class="italic">Trinidad’s</span> purser.</p> - -<p>Kit was first up the steps, followed by the well-fed purser, who, -although not a tall man, weighed something over two hundred pounds.</p> - -<p>“Just my luck!” the fat purser panted, as he looked about the large -open square. “If I—huh, ahuh, huh—if I didn’t want a—huh, huh—want -a carriage, the square would be full of them; but when I want one in -a—ah!—in a hurry, there’s none here. Here it’s four minutes to six; -and how’s a man of my—huh, huh—of my size going to get to the Custom -House before they close at six o’clock, I’d like to know!”</p> - -<p>“Maybe I can be of use to you, sir,” Kit said, stepping up to him. “I -am supercargo of the <span class="italic">North Cape</span>, and I’m a pretty good runner. -I’ll take your<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_123"></a>123</span> papers up to the Custom House for you if you like.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, thank you,” the purser panted, looking very much relieved. “I’ll -be a thousand times obliged to you. Here they are, then, all ready; all -you have to do is to shove them under the clerk’s nose.”</p> - -<p>Kit made a hurried inquiry about the direction of the Custom House and -started on a run, and had the satisfaction of delivering the papers -just half a minute before business closed for the day. He next visited -his agent and arranged for lighters in the morning; and an hour later -he met the <span class="italic">Trinidad’s</span> purser again, not quite so short-breathed -and red in the face this time.</p> - -<p>“Here we are again, supercargo!” he exclaimed, seizing Kit’s hand. He -had a very jolly manner, and seemed as free with Kit as if they had -been acquainted for years. “You can’t miss anybody in this hole of a -place. They call it a town, but I call it a hole. I’m just going in -here to get something to cool me off, and I want you to come along.”</p> - -<p>“I’m just as much obliged,” Kit answered; “but I suppose you mean -something to drink, and I never drink anything.”</p> - -<p>“I suppose you’ve made a mistake, for the first time in your life,” -the purser rejoined, with a laugh that shook him all over. “I mean -something to eat; a big heaped-up plate of the coldest ice cream this -side of New York. We’re right in front of the ice-house, where I always -eat a lot of ice cream for the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_124"></a>124</span> fun of hearing it sizzle as it goes -down. By the way, my name’s Clark; what’s yours?”</p> - -<p>“Silburn,” Kit replied. “But the ice-house? This looks like a store.”</p> - -<p>“So it is,” said the purser, as they climbed the stairs to a big -restaurant where scores of people were eating. “It’s store, restaurant, -ice-house, furniture-shop, a dozen things combined. I thought everybody -knew the Bridgetown ice-house. Ice is a government monopoly here, you -know, and these fellows buy the privilege of selling all that is used -on the island. Hello here, Snowflake” (to one of the black waiters; he -seemed to know every one in the place), “bring us two platters of your -best ice cream; platters, do you hear? Not saucers, or plates, but the -biggest platters you have.”</p> - -<p>Kit found the ice cream excellent, and the purser a very entertaining -companion. He was full of good sea-stories, and knew how to tell them -in an interesting way. And he wanted to know all about the young -supercargo.</p> - -<p>“You’re very young for such a place,” he said; “at your age I was -sweeping the cabin and brushing the Captain’s clothes.”</p> - -<p>“So was I,” Kit laughed, “until this voyage;” and he had to tell how he -became a supercargo, after describing his rescue by Captain Griffith -from a Brooklyn policeman.</p> - -<p>“Well, you’ll make your way, if you take care of yourself,” Mr. Clark -said, after Kit had finished his<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_125"></a>125</span> story and his ice cream together. -“Just you let drink alone and don’t get anything into your pockets -that belongs to some other fellow. It’s rum that spoils a good many -young fellows at sea, and you can’t keep too far away from it. I know -appearances are rather against me” (and his fat sides shook again); -“they tell me a man with my red face has no business to give temperance -lectures; but to tell the truth, I never drink any liquor, though I’ll -own up to being fond of good eating. Here, Snowflake, two more platters -of ice cream; and don’t stop to warm it.”</p> - -<p>Kit soon found that notwithstanding his free-and easy manner and his -almost continual laughter, his new companion was a man of great sense -and good judgment, thoroughly acquainted with the work of both purser -and supercargo.</p> - -<p>“I’m glad we ran across each other,” Mr. Clark said, as he shook the -young supercargo’s hand. “We’ll meet again sometime, certain sure. -Don’t forget me; and remember that when you need a friend you’ll always -find one in the purser of the <span class="italic">Trinidad</span>.”</p> - -<p>That was another of the advantages of being a supercargo; he could -make friends and associate with people who would not have paid much -attention to a cabin boy. But he had more things to learn before -the day was over; for when he returned to the ship he found Captain -Griffith preparing to go ashore, and the Captain invited him to go -along<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_126"></a>126</span> and meet some of the merchants with whom he would have to do -business. They went to the Mercantile Club, where he found the latest -English and American newspapers, and news telegrams posted from London -and New York, and met some of the principal business men of Bridgetown, -and several large sugar planters who went “in to town” in the evenings -to hear what was going on in the big outside world. The conversation -was all about business and the price of sugar and the state of the -crops and the price of freights; and it did not take him long to -realize that with his new associations he was no longer a boy, but a -young man of affairs who must keep his eyes and ears open and inform -himself about a great many things that he had paid no attention to -before.</p> - -<p>For nearly a week the young supercargo was so busy with getting his -cargo ashore and delivered that he had no further chance of seeing the -city or the island; but when it came to loading he had more time to -himself. The sugar came in slowly, and there were days when there was -not enough on the wharf to keep the lighters busy. On such days he had -several times to drive out to large plantations to hurry the work, and -the planters always treated him with the greatest hospitality. Every -night he had some new entry to make in the journal that he began to -keep when he became a supercargo—a journal that he refused to call -a diary, because he had no intention of writing in it regularly, but -only<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_127"></a>127</span> when he had something worth writing. Captain Griffith found -the little book lying on his desk one day and wrote on the fly-leaf, -“Kit Silburn, His Log”; and after that it was always known as “The -Supercargo’s Log.” Some of his entries tell in very few words the story -of part of his first long voyage.</p> - -<p>“Feb. 12.—Still at Bridgetown, Barbadoes. Took in 146 hogsheads of -sugar to-day, with 12 lighters. The sugar is all done up in hogsheads, -weighing something over a ton each. It is black-looking stuff as it -comes from the mills, and has a sweet, sickish smell. The colored -people like to lie on the wharf in the sun and lick up the molasses -that leaks out of the casks. We have now 821 hogsheads on board.</p> - -<p>“Feb. 13.—Still at Bridgetown. No lighters at work to-day, as there -was no sugar ready. Went out to three plantations to hurry things. At -the Sea View plantation Mr. Outerbridge took me all over the place, and -made me stay to dinner. (P.S. He has a beautiful young daughter, Miss -Blanche, and after dinner we had a pony race. She beat me.) They say -this sun would kill a white man in three months if he worked in the -cane-fields, but it does not hurt the negroes. Saw how they squeeze out -the cane-juice between big rollers, and then boil it down into sugar. -The planters promised me 150 hogsheads by to-morrow.</p> - -<p>“Feb. 14.—Got 122 hogsheads sugar on board, and plenty promised for -to-morrow. Very curious thing happened to me to-day. When I came -aboard<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_128"></a>128</span> ship to supper, found a letter for me, though no mail steamer -in. Opened it, and found a handsome valentine. Can’t imagine who could -have sent it.</p> - -<p>“Feb. 15.—Only 30 hogsheads loaded to-day, on account of heavy rain.</p> - -<p>“Feb. 20.—Loaded 82 hogsheads. Have now 1455 on board. We hope to sail -for London on Saturday. Miss Blanche Outerbridge has invited me to a -lawn party at their plantation to-morrow. Half afraid to go, for never -was at a lawn party in my life.</p> - -<p>“Feb. 21.—No sugar to-day. Went to the lawn party, and had splendid -time. The Governor was there, and Mr. Outerbridge introduced me to him.</p> - -<p>“Feb. 23.—Loaded 160 hogsheads to-day. Sugar coming with a rush now.</p> - -<p>“Feb. 25.—Sailed for London at two o’clock this afternoon, with 2415 -hogsheads of sugar, making about $120,000 worth of cargo that I have to -look after. Must keep my eyes open. Will see no more land now till we -sight the Scilly Islands, off the English coast.</p> - -<p>“March 15.—Expect to sight the Scillys to-morrow morning. Have had a -fairly good voyage so far, with some bad weather, but no hard gales. A -long stretch of water, this, from Barbadoes to England; but the seas -are no higher in the middle than along the coast. Cargo in good order.”</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="x-ebookmaker-drop divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_129"></a>129</span> -</div> - -<h2 id="viii">CHAPTER VIII.<br /> -<span>NEWS FROM THE WRECKED SCHOONER.</span></h2> - -<p class="noi"><span class="dropcap">S</span>OON after daylight on a raw and chilly March morning the masthead -lookout cried “Land-ho!” And the officers and crew of the <span class="italic">North -Cape</span> knew that their voyage across the Atlantic had reached its -last stage. Captain Griffith was on the bridge, as most careful -commanders are on entering the busy English Channel; and Kit was there -too, eager for a first sight of the Old World. An hour later the Scilly -Islands could be seen plainly without a glass, though at that distance -they looked like a single island with ships’ masts growing upon it like -trees. Kit had read as much as possible in the Captain’s books about -the places he was to see, so he knew that the group is composed of -about fifty small islands, and that what looked like ships’ masts were -the signal poles upon which are announced the arrival and departure of -more vessels than are signalled at any other place in the world.</p> - -<p>The second officer was busy on deck making fast a series of six or -eight signal flags to a line, and at a word from the Captain they were -hoisted. A moment<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_130"></a>130</span> later a large black ball was run up on one of the -poles on shore, and the flags were lowered, folded, and returned to -the flag locker. It was done so quickly that Kit could hardly believe -that those few stripes of bunting had accomplished so much in so short -a time; but he knew that the flags said to the signalman on shore, -“<span class="italic">North Cape</span>, from Barbadoes for London, eighteen days, with -sugar”; and that when the signalman hoisted his black ball it said, -“All right; I understand you.” And he knew, too, that almost before the -flags were lowered a telegraphic message had gone to London, announcing -the ship’s arrival, to be posted in the Maritime Exchange, where her -agents would see it as soon as the Exchange opened for the day; and -that long before that the news would have gone under the ocean by cable -to be posted in the Exchange in New York, where it would appear a few -hours later in the afternoon newspapers. So by the hoisting of those -few flags the whole world was informed that the <span class="italic">North Cape</span> had -made her voyage safely, and was approaching her destination.</p> - -<p>“What’s the matter, Silburn?” the Captain asked, bringing his hand down -on Kit’s shoulder. “You look sorry to have the voyage nearly ended. -Would you rather turn round and go back?”</p> - -<p>“No, sir!” Kit replied; “I’m anything but sorry. But I was just -thinking what a tremendous lot there is to learn in this world. Here we -have seen nothing but sky and water for eighteen days, and with only<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_131"></a>131</span> -the sun and stars to guide you, you knew almost the exact minute when -we should be here beside the Scilly Islands. Then you hoist a flag, -and in ten minutes they know in New York and in Barbadoes that we have -arrived. It is the most wonderful thing I ever saw.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, no, Christopher,” the Captain answered; “you have seen stranger -things than that. Do you see the sun coming up out of the water there -to eastward? That is rather more wonderful, isn’t it? Every leaf on -every tree is more wonderful than anything that man has done. If we -knew half as much as we think we do, there would be no more sickness -in the world, because we would have a cure for every disease; no more -poverty, for the earth is full of wealth and we should know how to get -it out; and instead of merely sending a few dots and dashes by a wire -across the ocean, we should be able to see what they are doing over in -New York, and talk to them. We may come to that some day.”</p> - -<p>“I wish we had come to that now, sir!” Kit exclaimed. “If we could see -all over the world, I should know where my father is, if he is alive.”</p> - -<p>“It’s better as it is, my boy,” the Captain went on. “To see over the -world would gratify your curiosity, but it would give you a great deal -of worry. No, there are some mysteries of nature that we are better -off not to understand, at least until we have advanced enough in all -directions to understand that everything that happens is for the best. -Still,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_132"></a>132</span> we must always make the best of what we do know. Some people, -for instance, know enough to go below when the breakfast bell rings. -Come along.</p> - -<p>“This is a great coast to learn history from,” the Captain continued, -while they were eating breakfast. “A large share of the modern history -of the world has been made in this channel. We don’t want to see a -storm to-day, but if it had not been for a storm in this channel, you -would most likely be a Catholic, and we should have an image of the -Virgin Mary in the cabin.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes, sir, I know about that,” Kit interrupted. “You mean the storm -that broke up the great Spanish Armada. But the British say they had -the Armada whipped before the storm came.”</p> - -<p>“Trust the British for that!” the Captain laughed; “they won’t let even -nature have any of the credit. But that is only one thing in a hundred. -Here is Land’s End just off our port bow, on the coast of Cornwall. A -few years ago they were all singing a song beginning:—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="verse"> - <div class="line outdent">“‘And must Trelawny bleed? And must Trelawny die?</div> - <div class="line">Then twenty thousand Cornishmen will know the reason why.’</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Now who was Trelawny, and why must he die? No, I’m not going to tell -you; you can hunt it up in some of my books. Then in a few hours we -will be passing a little town called Lyme Regis—a town that never -amounted to much, but some years ago the whole world was anxious about -what was happening<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_133"></a>133</span> there. Who was the prince who landed there with an -army, and tried to make himself King of England? You can hardly name a -spot along this whole coast, but has some important events connected -with it.”</p> - -<p>Within the next twenty-four hours Kit saw a great many places that -before had existed for him only on paper. His father had often -brought home some of Clark Russell’s sea-stories, and Kit had read -them without stopping to think that the places mentioned in them -were real places. But here was “The Lizard,” a high point surmounted -by a light-house that looked like an old castle; and Bolt Head, and -Portland Bill, then St. Alban’s Head, and St. Catherine’s Point. He -had read of all of those. Then by the next morning they were well up -the Channel; and although the French coast was near enough to be seen -indistinctly, they were so close to the British shore that they had -a good view of Brighton, Eastbourne, Hastings, and Dungeness, all of -which Kit had heard of. Then they ran into the narrow straits of Dover, -past Folkestone, South Foreland, Deal, Ramsgate, Broadstairs, North -Foreland, and Margate, and headed straight for the mouth of the Thames.</p> - -<p>“Now, then, Silburn,” Captain Griffith said, when they were fairly in -the river, “your work will soon begin. I don’t know where this cargo is -to be landed, and it’s your place to find out. I shall run up as far as -Gravesend and wait there for orders from the agents. They ought to have -a tug there to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_134"></a>134</span> meet us; but if they don’t, you will have to go on to -London and find out where we are to discharge. They may order us up to -the docks, or keep us below here.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir,” Kit answered, as if “running up to London” were an everyday -affair with him.</p> - -<p>“They have a saying over here,” the Captain went on, “that it’s not -worth while to do your own barking when you keep a dog; so as you are -the supercargo, you’d better do the barking, which, in this case, is to -find out where we are to unload. I’ll lower the gig and set you ashore -at Tilbury, just across the river from Gravesend, and you can get a -train from there up to London, and go to the agents’ office; that is, -of course, if they do not send some one to Gravesend to meet us.”</p> - -<p>Kit went down to his room to make his papers ready, feeling anything -but comfortable over this prospect. How was he to go to London alone, -knowing nothing of the city, and make his way through strange streets -to the office of a strange agent? Going to make the acquaintance of -strangers was hard work for him at first, but he had grown used to that -now; but to make his way about London was another matter. However, he -did not let this worry him long.</p> - -<p>“If I am going to be a child, afraid to go into a new city,” he said to -himself, “I’d better be a cabin boy again. When a fellow undertakes to -do man’s work, he must go at it like a man. Other youngsters<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_135"></a>135</span> have gone -to London, I suppose, without being eaten.”</p> - -<p>Notwithstanding his brave ideas, he looked with some anxiety for the -agent when the <span class="italic">North Cape</span> came to a stop in the Thames opposite -Gravesend and near the Tilbury shore. But no tug appeared, and it was -plain that he was destined to make the trip to London.</p> - -<p>“Now listen sharp to what I tell you,” Captain Griffith said, “and you -will come through all right. We will set you ashore at Tilbury, and -the railway station is right at the wharf. Buy a second-class ticket, -and the train will carry you about twenty-five miles and set you down -in Fenchurch Street station, in London. The agents, as you know, are -Topping, Forwood & Hauts, at 32 Fenchurch Street, and that is only -three or four blocks from the station. But that part of the city is -greatly crowded, and rather than waste time by your losing yourself, I -want you to go up in a hansom. You will find scores of them in front -of the station, and the fare will be one shilling. Here is a pound in -English silver change, which I will charge to you. And before doing -your own business with the agents, have them send me a telegram saying -where we are to discharge cargo. Is that all plain?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir,” Kit answered; “I think I can carry that through without -making any slips.”</p> - -<p>The gig landed him at Tilbury wharf, and he immediately found himself -in a different world. His<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_136"></a>136</span> ticket he bought at the “booking-office,” -and when he went through to the train its antiquated appearance made -him smile. The cars were like little square boxes, not much bigger -than a street car, but divided into compartments holding eight persons -each, with the doors on the sides; and the engine looked like the small -locomotives of the elevated railroads in New York.</p> - -<p>The hour’s ride took him first through open fields that looked -strangely green for the time of year, then past a settlement of immense -gas tanks, through several small towns, and then among such a maze of -houses that he knew he must be in London. When the train stopped in -Fenchurch Street station, he had no need to inquire his way to the -street, for he had only to follow the crowd. Down the long steps he -went through the lower part of the station, and found himself for the -first time in a crowded London street.</p> - -<p>The Captain was right about the hansoms; there stood a row of them -reaching almost out of sight, and he went up to one of the nearest and -asked the driver:—</p> - -<p>“Can you take me to No. 32 Fenchurch Street?”</p> - -<div class="figcenter width500" id="i-136"> - <img src="images/i-136.jpg" width="500" height="829" alt="" /> - <div class="caption">“‘CAN YOU TAKE ME TO NO. 32 FENCHURCH STREET?’”</div> -</div> - -<p>The driver looked at him a moment, and shook his head doubtfully.</p> - -<p>“I s’pose it kin be done, sir,” he answered, “but it’s a-goin’ to be -consid’able of a job, h’account of this ’ere crowd. It’s all a-owin’ to -the funeral. You see the Prince o’ Wiles’s mother-in-law she’s<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_137"></a>137</span> gone an’ died, sir, an’ they’re a-buryin’ of ’er hin the Temple -this harternoon, an’ the streets is blocked. But Hi kin tike you ’round -cirkewetous-like, sir.”</p> - -<p>“Well, get me there as soon as you can,” Kit said; and he stepped -in, and the driver shut the two little half-doors, and they set off. -Certainly he had never before seen streets so crowded. The driver -turned off at the first corner, but even in the side streets he could -barely make his way through the crush. On and on they went, turning -here and turning there, but everywhere the crowd was the same; and in -every street Kit kept his eyes open for a look at the procession, but -saw nothing of it. A quarter of an hour passed, a half hour, and still -they were dodging through the throng.</p> - -<p>Suddenly Kit gave one of his knees a tremendous slap and began to laugh.</p> - -<p>“Didn’t they come near doing me for a countryman!” he said to himself. -“The Prince of Wales’s mother-in-law, indeed! Why, she was the Queen of -Denmark, and must have died before I was born. Anyhow, she wouldn’t be -buried in London; and this is no funeral crowd in the streets; it’s all -hansoms and ’busses and trucks—the usual London crowd, no doubt. The -cabby sees I am a stranger and will get as much out of me as he can.”</p> - -<p>At length the hansom drew up in front of No. 32 Fenchurch Street, and -Kit stepped out, and handed the driver a shilling.</p> - -<p>“Wot’s this for?” cabby asked, pretending to be<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_138"></a>138</span> very much surprised -“It’s six shillin’, sir, by the wiy we ’ad to come. Hi ought to say -ten, but Hi’m willin’ to make it six.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I guess not,” Kit laughed. “A shilling’s a good big fare for the -distance. It’s too bad about the poor Prince of Wales, isn’t it?”</p> - -<p>Although cabby had climbed down from his high seat and was assuming -a very belligerent look, Kit felt bold to make this mention of the -funeral because he saw a big policeman walking slowly toward them on -the sidewalk, and he felt sure that the driver would not care to have -the question referred to the authorities. And he was right about this; -cabby growled a moment about a poor man having to live, but accepted -the shilling, and drove away before the officer reached them.</p> - -<p>It was surprising how easily and quickly the business was done with the -agents. They sent a telegram at once to Captain Griffith, informing -him that he was to unload at Gravesend; and in a few minutes Kit was -talking with them as freely as if he had been taking cargoes to London -for years. He could not help noticing how much easier it was for him -now to become acquainted with people than it had been at first. The -rough edges were wearing off, and instead of a ship’s boy he was -becoming a man of business. It was easier, he found, to manage a cargo -in London than in the West Indian ports, because everything was done -in a more business-like way; and a cargo of sugar, being all in large -parcels, was<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_139"></a>139</span> much easier to handle than a miscellaneous cargo. When -he had received all the instructions the agents had to give him about -the sugar, he found that a young clerk from the office was to accompany -him back to Gravesend to arrange for storing the sugar in a bonded -warehouse.</p> - -<p>“This is Mr. Watkins, one of our junior clerks,” the head of the firm -said. “Mr. Silburn, supercargo of the <span class="italic">North Cape</span>, Watkins. -You can travel to Gravesend together, as Mr. Watkins has to see the -warehousemen.”</p> - -<p>Kit was a little surprised at the appearance of his new companion. -Mr. Watkins was about his own age, perhaps a trifle older and taller, -with rosy cheeks, and a voice that seemed, whenever he spoke, to come -up from the very soles of his shoes. He wore a long black frock coat, -rubbed a little shiny on the shoulders and elbows, and a shiny high -silk hat; and as they went down the stairs together, he drew on a pair -of leather-colored kid gloves.</p> - -<p>“You’re—ah—aren’t you very young, you know, to be a supercargo, Mr. -Silburn?” the young clerk asked.</p> - -<p>“Well, I’m growing a little older every day,” Kit answered.</p> - -<p>“You must have paid—aw—aw—a heavy premium to get into such a place -at your age,” Watkins went on.</p> - -<p>“Premium?” Kit repeated; he did not understand the English system of -paying a premium to have a boy apprenticed to any business.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_140"></a>140</span> -“Y-a-a-s,” Watkins continued. “My father had to pay a hundred pounds to -get me into this office, and I’ll not earn enough to pay my board for -the next two or three years.”</p> - -<p>“We don’t pay any premiums in our country,” Kit exclaimed. “A boy or -young man gets a salary there for working, and the more he’s worth the -more he gets.”</p> - -<p>“Aw, really!” Mr. Watkins exclaimed. “No wonder America is such a good -country for young men. I’ve often thought of going over there, don’t -you know, if I could only get the chance.”</p> - -<p>At first Kit felt something of a dislike for the young Englishman, -perhaps on account of his peculiar style of dress and strange manner of -talking. But when he came to know him better, the dislike melted away, -for he found Watkins to be a very clever fellow.</p> - -<p>Instead of going to the railway station they went in the other -direction, down to the end of London Bridge, and there took one of the -little river steamers for Gravesend.</p> - -<p>“I want to show you some of the sights of London,” Watkins said, “and -when I go over to America, you can show me around New York.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I’ll do that,” Kit readily promised, “if I am at home. So this -is London Bridge, is it? I’ve often heard of it, and the great crowds -continually crossing it.”</p> - -<p>“Have you any bridges as large as that in America?” Watkins asked.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_141"></a>141</span> -Kit was on the point of replying that there were a great many very much -larger; but he caught himself in time, remembering that it is not well -to boast of one’s own country in a foreign land.</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes,” he said, “we have some as large as that; and some of our -rivers are quite as large as the Thames, I think.”</p> - -<p>“Really!” Mr. Watkins exclaimed; “I should hardly have thought it. -But here comes the boat.” And they stepped aboard a steamer that Kit -thought a very small one, compared with the American boats; and his -companion soon began to point out places of interest.</p> - -<p>“There is the Tower of London,” he said. “I will take you in there some -day, if you like. And there is St. Catherine’s dock, and next are the -London docks, and then the East India docks—you must have heard of -them. Here on the other side is the great Greenwich observatory. That -ought to interest you, for more than half the ships afloat take their -time from the big Greenwich clock. You see the river is very crooked. -These straight places between the bends we call ‘reaches.’ We have come -through Greenwich Reach and Woolwich Reach, and now we get to Barking -Reach, Halfway Reach, and Long Reach.”</p> - -<p>By the time they got to Gravesend Kit felt that he had seen a great -deal of London for a first visit of two or three hours. And he had made -one acquaintance at least, and had done his supercargo’s business<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_142"></a>142</span> -with the agents as far as it could be done on the first day. There was -hardly any spot he had seen that he had not heard of before; for his -father had made many voyages to the great European city, and had often -told them stories about London.</p> - -<p>When they landed, Mr. Watkins went in search of the warehousemen, and -Kit found that he had not far to go, for on receipt of the telegram the -<span class="italic">North Cape</span> had moved up to one of the Gravesend wharves. He went -into the cabin and exchanged a few words with the Captain, and soon -afterward he met Tom Haines on deck.</p> - -<p>“Say, Silburn,” Tom asked, “what did you say was the name of the -schooner your father was on when he was wrecked?”</p> - -<p>“<a id="The"></a><ins title="Original has 'italic The'">The</ins> -<span class="italic">Flower City</span>,” Kit answered, much surprised at the -question.</p> - -<p>“I thought so,” Tom went on. “Then I have some news for you.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t keep me in suspense over it, Tom,” Kit begged. “You know how you -would feel about it if it was your own father.” In spite of his efforts -to remain cool he felt his hand shaking a little.</p> - -<p>“Oh, don’t be excited about it,” Tom continued. “I haven’t found your -father, you know, or anything of that kind. But there’s a man aboard -the ship who was before the mast on the <span class="italic">Flower City</span> when she was -lost.”</p> - -<p>“No!” Tom exclaimed. “Then he’s the first one<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_143"></a>143</span> of the crew who has ever -been heard of! Now don’t keep me waiting, Tom; where is the man?”</p> - -<p>“He’s on deck, up forward,” Tom answered. “It’s an old sailor they call -Blinkey, because he has such a squint. He has a friend in our crew -and came aboard to see him, and I happened to overhear him telling -about his shipwreck in the <span class="italic">Flower City</span>. I thought that was your -father’s vessel, so I got into a talk with him and told him about you, -and made him promise to wait till you came back. He knew your father -very well.”</p> - -<p>“Blinkey!” Kit repeated. “Why, the very last time father was home he -told us some funny stories about an old Irish sailor called Blinkey. It -must be the same man.”</p> - -<p>He hurried forward, and soon found the old man talking to a group of -the sailors, still telling of his adventures in the Western World.</p> - -<p>“And you’re Mr. Silburn’s lad!” Blinkey exclaimed, when Kit went up to -him. “A fine, well-growed lad, too, with the look of your daddy in your -eyes. And you’re a-learnin’ this bad trade, are you?”</p> - -<p>One of the men nudged the old man and whispered that he was talking to -the supercargo, whereupon he scraped the deck with one foot in lieu of -a nod, pulled the peak of his cap, and gave the band of his trousers a -nautical hitch.</p> - -<p>“It’s beggin’ yer pardon I am,” he went on, “me not knowin’ as how I -was speakin’ to a officer.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_144"></a>144</span> But it’s the fine man yer father is, lad—I -mean Mr. Silburn. I never shipped with a better mate.”</p> - -<p>“Is!” Kit exclaimed. “Then do you know whether he is alive?”</p> - -<p>“It’s not me that’s knowin’, sir,” Blinkey replied. “He was in a good -tight boat the last I set eyes on ’im, but there’s no sayin’. I was -drownded mesilf in that wreck, an’ that was the third time. But a -sailor havin’ nine lives, like a cat, I’ve six yet to dispose of.”</p> - -<p>Kit was kept in agony by the slowness of the old man in coming to the -point and the frequent interruptions of the sailors, so he took Blinkey -up to his stateroom, where they could talk in peace.</p> - -<p>“Now tell me about the voyage, Mr.—Mr.—”</p> - -<p>“Blinkey,” the old man interrupted. “It’s so long since I’ve had any -other I’ve forgot what it was. Well, sir, as I was a-sayin’, I shipped -for Ameriky in the bark <span class="italic">Margate</span>, and she took fire an’ burnt in -New York bay, so there was Blinkey out of a job. But I wasn’t a man in -them days to stay long on shore, sir, so I looks about—”</p> - -<p>“Yes!” Kit interrupted, fearing that another long yarn was coming. “But -the <span class="italic">Flower City</span>.”</p> - -<p>“I was a-gettin’ to that, sir,” the old man went on, without hastening -in the least. “So I looks about, as I was a-sayin’, an’ a berth offers -on the <span class="italic">Flower City</span>, an’ I ships on her. Well, sir, we made two -v’yages down the coast, an’ then we loaded with machinery for New -Orleans. Ah, it was that there<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_145"></a>145</span> machinery as done us up, sir. All went -well till we run into a gale off Hatteras; an’ we’d ’a’ pulled through -that if the cargo’d been better stowed. But we had a heavy load on -deck, an’ some of the big machines carried loose. Ah, it oughtn’t to be -allowed, sir, that it oughtn’t, to carry heavy cargo on deck.”</p> - -<p>“And then?” Kit asked. It was to him the most interesting thing he had -ever listened to; and the old man was so slow in coming to the point!</p> - -<p>“Then we give a lurch, sir, and over we went. Both our starboard -boats was under water, but we’d two on the port side, an’ we took -to them. Your father steered one, and the Captain the other, an’ I -was in the Captain’s boat. Night was a-comin’ on, an’ the last I see -of Mr. Silburn he was a-headin’ his boat about sou-sou-east, an us -a-followin’. That was the last, sir.”</p> - -<p>“And you?” Kit asked.</p> - -<p>“Me, is it? I was drownded. Nex’ mornin’ we was all dead. The sea -was too heavy for a small boat well loaded, an’ that night a wave -struck her an’ she went to pieces. I don’t know what I laid hold of -when everything went from under us, but it must ’a’ been some of the -wreckage; for some time next day I found myself on board a Spanish -brig, with a hole stove in the side of my head, an’ no notion of what -had happened to me arter the boat went to pieces. The brig took me -across the ocean to Barcelona, an’ after a while in hospital there I -worked my way back<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_146"></a>146</span> to London. Since that crack on the head I haven’t -been no use on a wessel, so I’ve got a job here in the big warehouses. -An’ that’s the whole story, sir. What became o’ that there other boat -is more nor I can say. But if it was my father as was in her, sir, I’d -be a-lookin’ any day fer him to come home. She was a better boat than I -was in, an’ you see I’m safe on shore, though I was drownded as dead as -ever anybody was. Leastways, I hope Christopher Silburn didn’t come to -no harm, for he was always werry kind to me, lad—always werry kind to -me.”</p> - -<p>“Thank you,” Kit said, in a husky voice, seeing that the old man seemed -to feel badly over the probable loss of his former mate. “But I have -very little hope left, after what you tell me. Your being saved was -almost a miracle, and we can hardly look for two miracles in the same -shipwreck. You saw the <span class="italic">Flower City</span> go down, did you?”</p> - -<p>“Went down right before our eyes, sir,” Blinkey answered, “less than -five minutes after we left her. She couldn’t do nothin’ else, sir, with -them iron castin’s in her.”</p> - -<p>“Was there water in either boat?” Kit asked; “or provisions, or a -compass?”</p> - -<p>“Nothin’ in neither boat but the seats an’ oars, sir,” Blinkey replied; -“there wasn’t no time. Why, we couldn’t even lower the boats; had to -just cut ’em away, sir. An’ that reminds me. Did you ever see that -before, sir?”</p> - -<p>As he spoke the old sailor put one hand into his<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_147"></a>147</span> trousers pocket and -drew forth a large iron-handled pocket knife, such as sailors often -carry. The handle was polished bright by long rubbing against the -pocket and its other contents.</p> - -<p>“See it before!” Kit exclaimed; and his eyes moistened as he took the -knife in his hand. “I should think I had seen it before! My father -carried that knife as long as I can remember, and I often used to -whittle with it when he was at home. Here’s a scar on the palm of my -left hand now where I once cut myself with it.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir, that was your father’s knife,” the old sailor answered. “He -handed it to me that last night to cut the boat’s lashings with. But -he couldn’t wait to get it back, and I put it in my pocket. The knife -belongs to you, my boy—Mr. Silburn, I mean. You must take it, sir.”</p> - -<p>“Thank you,” Kit murmured, very willing to accept the gift. “I am glad -to have even that much from the wreck of the <span class="italic">Flower City</span>, though -I hope for more. And I want to take down your address, so that I can -find you in the future if necessary. Where will a letter reach you?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t exactly know, sir,” the sailor replied, “for I haven’t -had such a thing for many a day. I think if you was to direct it -to Blinkey, an’ send it to the ‘Star an’ Garter’ public house in -Gravesend, though, sir, they’d know who it was for an’ git it to me.”</p> - -<p>While the old man was bowing and scraping himself<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_148"></a>148</span> out, Kit slipped -into his hand all the change he had left from the pound the Captain had -given him, and then hurried through his supper. He had devoted that -evening to a long letter home, giving an account of the voyage and what -he had seen in London. But now he had even a longer letter to write, -and on a very different subject.</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="x-ebookmaker-drop divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_149"></a>149</span> -</div> - -<h2 id="ix">CHAPTER IX.<br /> -<span>KIT INSPECTS LONDON.</span></h2> - -<p class="noi"><span class="dropcap">T</span>HE unloading of a steamer in England, the young supercargo soon found, -is not the rapid process that it is in America, though much cheaper. -The workmen receive smaller pay and move more slowly, the machinery is -not so modern, none of the facilities as good.</p> - -<p>“This is about halfway between New York and the West Indies,” Kit was -forced to conclude, “in the way they do work. It must be true, as I -have often heard, that ‘New York is the quickest unloading port in the -world, and the most expensive.’”</p> - -<p>He tried at first to hurry the men up and so save money for his -employers; but it was uphill work for one young American to change -the customs of centuries, and he had to let things take their course. -Even the agents, he noticed, were in no hurry. When the sugar was -all unloaded, there was no new cargo ready to take its place, and -the four or five days that might have sufficed to make the <span class="italic">North -Cape</span> ready for sea again, expanded into several weeks. So in spite -of himself Kit had a good deal<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_150"></a>150</span> of idle time while the ship lay at -Gravesend—idle, that is, as far as his work was concerned; there were -too many new things to be seen all around him, too many facts about -London to be learned from the Captain’s books, for much of his time to -be really unemployed. Frequently he had to go to the agents’ office in -Fenchurch Street, and on those occasions whenever he had an hour or -two to spare he took a “’bus” to some other part of the city, taking -care to remain in the same one till it reached its destination and then -return in it, for fear of losing himself.</p> - -<p>One morning when there was no cargo to load and no prospect of any -arriving, Captain Griffith suggested that they should go up together -and have a look at the city.</p> - -<p>“I speak of ‘the city’ in the same way as I should speak of it at -home,” he added, “meaning the whole town. I suppose you have learned -that in London the part they call ‘the city’ is a very small section -where most of the financial business is done; so when a Londoner says -he is going into the city, he means into that small and crowded part of -the town. But I mean it in the larger sense, including the whole place, -or as much of it as we have time to see.”</p> - -<p>“Why, that will be fine, sir,” Kit replied. “I have an appointment for -this morning with young Mr. Watkins, one of our agents’ clerks. He is -going to show me something of London, and we will both enjoy it if you -will go along.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_151"></a>151</span> -“Well, if you youngsters won’t think an old man in the road,” the -Captain laughed, “I will go with you. I once knew London pretty well; -but it is fifteen or eighteen years since I have seen much of it, and -perhaps I will need a guide as much as you do.”</p> - -<p>On the way up in the train (it is always “up” when you go to London; no -matter if you start from the top of the highest mountain in Scotland, -you speak of going “up to London”) Kit told the Captain about the old -sailor from the <span class="italic">Flower City</span>, and showed his father’s knife.</p> - -<p>“Do not set your hopes too high,” the Captain said after he had heard -the story; “but I should look upon that as a very encouraging piece of -news. It shows that their boats were sound and that the crew were still -afloat after the schooner went down. As one man was saved, another may -have been. There is still great doubt, of course; but I should continue -to hope.”</p> - -<p>When they reached the Fenchurch Street office, they found Mr. Watkins -waiting for Kit, still arrayed in a long black coat and high silk -hat, but much newer and brighter ones than he wore while at work, and -looking so stiff and starched that Kit had to laugh to himself to think -what a figure he would cut in any American city at that hour of the -morning.</p> - -<p>“Now where shall we go first?” the clerk asked, when they reached the -street.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_152"></a>152</span> -“I don’t want to interfere with any plans you may have made,” Captain -Griffith answered, “but if you have not settled upon any place, I -suggest that we go first to see the Temple. That I consider one of the -greatest curiosities of London—like a quiet country village set down -in the very heart of the largest city in the world.”</p> - -<p>“Is it a church, sir?” Kit asked.</p> - -<p>“No, indeed!” the Captain laughed; “quite the opposite; it is one of -the headquarters of the London lawyers, though there is a fine old -church in the grounds. But it is so different from anything we have -in America that I can hardly explain it to you. You will soon see for -yourself, if we go there.”</p> - -<p>“We can easily walk as far as the Temple,” Mr. Watkins said, “and you -can always see more in walking than in riding. This way, right up -Fenchurch Street. The way we give the same street different names in -London is puzzling to strangers, but you soon grow used to it. Now this -is one of the chief thoroughfares running east and west; and when you -learn the principal ones, you can easily find your way about. I believe -in your country each street bears the same name through its entire -length, but it is not so here. For instance, this is Fenchurch Street. -We keep right along in this street for miles, if we choose, but it has -a great many different names. In a short distance the name changes -to Lombard Street, then Cheapside, then Newgate Street, then Holborn -Viaduct, then New Oxford Street, then<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_153"></a>153</span> Oxford Street, then away out in -the West End it becomes Bayswater Road, though it is really the same -street all the way through. But we do not go as far as that. We will -have a look at the Bank of England as we pass King William Street, then -when we get to the end of Cheapside we will see the Post Office and -St. Paul’s Cathedral, and cut through St. Paul’s Churchyard to Ludgate -Hill, which will take us to Fleet Street, and there is the Temple.”</p> - -<p>“I believe I have heard of every one of those places before,” Kit -exclaimed, as they made their way along the crowded street; “and I am -glad we are going through St. Paul’s Churchyard. I have heard so much -about the old London graveyards, and that must be one of the best of -them.”</p> - -<p>Why did the Captain and Mr. Watkins look at each other and smile when -he said this, Kit wondered.</p> - -<p>“You will find that nearly every London name is familiar,” said the -Captain, “if you have heard or read much about the place. But I am -afraid you will be disappointed in St. Paul’s Churchyard, for it is not -a burying-ground. It is only the name of a street; all the graves were -emptied long ago and the ground sold for business purposes.”</p> - -<p>“Why, there are no windows in the Bank of England!” Kit cried, when -they reached that great, low, square building occupying a whole block.</p> - -<p>“Plenty of them,” Mr. Watkins answered, “but not on the outside. These -outer walls that you see are not really part of the building. The real -building<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_154"></a>154</span> is inside these walls, and separate. It has to be very strong -and well guarded, you see, because so much money is kept there.”</p> - -<p>“And that crowd in front of the big doors!” Kit went on. “Why, it looks -as if the bank had failed, and the depositors were trying to get their -money.”</p> - -<p>“Ah, that crowd ought to remind you of home,” said Mr. Watkins, -laughing. “We often see such a crowd in front of the bank. The people -are generally American tourists, ‘Cook’s personally Conducted,’ we call -them, and they are visiting the banks among the other sights. They are -led about from one place to another like flocks of sheep.”</p> - -<p>“You are seeing something of the world without being a ‘personally -conducted tourist,’ Silburn,” the Captain said. “We sailors have some -advantages, after all.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t think I should like to be led about like a sheep,” Kit -laughed, “though I suppose it is cheaper and saves a lot of time. You -must see a great many Americans in London, Mr. Watkins; though of -course you do not always know them when you see them.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, don’t we!” the clerk exclaimed. “They say there are always about -forty thousand Americans here, and we can tell one the minute we lay -eyes on him. They dress a little differently, you know; and then when -they speak they have such a different accent. I hope you’ll not mind my -saying so.”</p> - -<p>“Not a bit of it!” the Captain answered; “give it to us. Turn about is -only fair play, and we always<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_155"></a>155</span> poke a little fun at the Englishmen in -America; when we see a stranger arrive with three or four big leather -satchels, a leather hat-box, a tin bath-tub, and two or three steamer -rugs, we know he is an Englishman before we hear him speak. We have a -great many of them, too, and generally disappointed because they can’t -shoot Indians in Broadway, or go buffalo hunting on Boston Common. You -English, somehow, are never happy unless you are shooting something. -But if I am not mistaken that group of large buildings is the Post -Office.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir, that is the Post Office,” Mr. Watkins answered. “And I think -you will have to admit that it is the best-managed Post Office you ever -saw.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I admit that cheerfully,” said the Captain. “It is the very best -in the world. I can send a letter from Gravesend in the morning to the -further end of London, and have an answer the same afternoon. I could -not do that in any city in America.”</p> - -<p>“What, better than the New York Post Office, sir!” Kit exclaimed, in -surprise.</p> - -<p>“Much better managed,” the Captain replied; “very much better. And -the police force here is much better than in any American city. Here, -wait on this corner a minute, and see the ‘bobby,’ as they call him, -manage the great crush of vehicles and people. There, see that! He -just raises a finger, and every vehicle stops to let the people who -have been waiting get across. And now that they have crossed he gives -the slightest wave of the hand, and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_156"></a>156</span> the vehicles start again. We have -nothing like that at home. But wait a minute longer. There! You see -by raising a finger again he stops the whole line of vehicles going -north and south, to let those pass that are going east or west; and -by another slight motion he stops the east and west ones, and opens -the north and south street. Oh, it is beautifully done. Without such -control there would be an endless block in the streets. By the way, -Silburn, I want you to watch this great ‘traffic,’ as they call it, in -the streets, and tell me to-night what you think are the peculiarities -of it; and at the same time keep an eye on the public buildings, and -tell me what you think of them.”</p> - -<p>“Very well, sir,” Kit answered. “But I can tell you now what I think -of St. Paul’s. Oh, what a tremendous pile of stone! Why, I never saw -anything like it! What a handsome cathedral it would be if they would -scrub it! But it looks as dirty as if there had been a shower of ink.”</p> - -<p>The others laughed at this odd description, but had to admit that -it was quite accurate—for St. Paul’s looks as if it needed a good -scouring. Contenting themselves for the time with admiring the outside -of the great building, they went on as far as Ludgate Circus, and -turned southward into New Bridge Street instead of going on into Fleet -Street.</p> - -<p>“They have a circus here sometimes in this open space, I suppose?” Kit -asked as they were crossing Ludgate Circus.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_157"></a>157</span> -“Oh, no,” Mr. Watkins replied. “There are a number of these ‘circuses’ -in London—Regent’s Circus, Finsbury Circus, and so on. That does not -mean that there is ever a circus in them. It is simply the old Roman -way of designating a circle.”</p> - -<p>A short distance down New Bridge Street, which leads to Blackfriars -Bridge, they turned to the right into Tudor Street, and in a few -minutes went through one of the big gateways into the grounds of the -Temple. It was indeed, as the Captain had said, like going into a -country village, in the green grass, the noble trees, the delicious -quiet, though separated only by a wall from the busiest part of the -world’s busiest city.</p> - -<p>“This is historical ground we are on,” Mr. Watkins said as they walked -in. “Though given up to the lawyers now, this was originally the -quarters of the Knights Templars of Jerusalem—the order established -for the defence of the Holy Sepulchre, you know. That was nearly nine -hundred years ago, and of course there were not as many buildings here -in those days. Then it was taken from them and fell into the hands -of the Knights of St. John, and later on it became the property of -the lawyers of the higher courts, who still hold it. They have their -offices in these buildings, and many of them live here with their -families. Some of the buildings are nearly a thousand years old, and -some are quite modern. A beautiful place to live, isn’t it, almost in a -park, but with the city just outside the gate?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_158"></a>158</span> -“Why, there must be fifteen or twenty of these big buildings!” Kit -exclaimed; “and are they all full of lawyers?”</p> - -<p>“All full of lawyers,” the clerk answered, smiling. “And there goes -one of the lawyers. He is on his way to court, as you can tell by his -wearing his wig. You know the barristers always wear a big wig in -court. Do you see that little shop over there by the arches? That is -the shop of a wig-maker who does business here and makes most of the -wigs. He has to pay well for the privilege of doing business here, too.”</p> - -<p>“But wigs!” Kit asked. “What do they wear wigs for? They’re not all -bald, are they?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, no!” Watkins laughed. “They wear them because that has been the -custom for hundreds of years—wigs and long black gowns, whenever they -appear in court. We never change old custom here, you know. If our -great-grandfathers did a thing, we think that sufficient reason for -our doing it too. But turn up this way; I want to show you the Temple -Church. I think it will interest you, for it is the Church the old -Templars used to worship in; it was built in 1185.”</p> - -<p>They went through the big Gothic doorway of the Temple Church, where a -guide took them in hand and pointed out all the curiosities. Under the -dome at the front was a large open space, where there lay stretched -full length on the floor a dozen or more life-size figures of men clad -in armor, and all black like tarnished bronze.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_159"></a>159</span> -“Some have their legs crossed, you will notice,” the guide explained, -“and others lie out straight. Those with crossed legs were the Knights -of the Cross, the others their squires and followers. The legs are -crossed so as to make the sign of the cross, you know. You would hardly -believe that the figures are made of white marble, would you? Yes, sir, -all white marble; they are so old that they have turned black.”</p> - -<p>In the other part of the church, nearer the pulpit, he showed them the -handsomely carved pews that the lawyers sit in, and explained that -after attending service on Sunday mornings the occupants go into the -great hall to dine together in state. “It is always a fine banquet,” he -added, “so they are pretty regular in their attendance at church. Do -you see that little tower on the side, with just a slit for a window? -That was once the Temple prison where unruly knights were confined; -sometimes they were left there to starve.”</p> - -<p>After inspecting the church they turned to the right into a narrow -court between the church and some other large buildings, where a number -of tombstones marked the graves of eminent persons. Most of the stones -were carved with armorial bearings, showing that the persons beneath -had been lords or dukes or other noblemen; but one tomb without any -such pompous tracing attracted Kit’s attention.</p> - -<p>“Why, look here!” he cried. “This says, ‘Here lies Oliver Goldsmith!’ -One of the best books I ever read (it was called the ‘Vicar of -Wakefield’)<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_160"></a>160</span> was by a man named Oliver Goldsmith. I don’t suppose it -can be the same one, though.”</p> - -<p>“It is the very one,” the Captain told him. “There may have been a -thousand Oliver Goldsmiths in the world, but still there was only -one. See what a beautiful inscription it is. All the coronets and -coats-of-arms in the world could not make a tomb as interesting at -those simple words, ‘Here lies Oliver Goldsmith.’ A man could hardly -pass that tomb without stopping to look at it.”</p> - -<p>“Well!” Kit exclaimed, “I never thought I should see his grave.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, a great many celebrated men have been associated with these -Temples,” Mr. Watkins explained. “Dr. Johnson once lived here, you -know, and one of the newer buildings is called Dr. Johnson’s building.”</p> - -<p>“By the way,” the Captain interrupted, “that reminds me. It is time we -had something to eat, and I want you both to take lunch with me after -we go down and have a look at the gardens.”</p> - -<p>While they walked through the beautiful Temple gardens, with their -fountains, flower-beds, and gigantic trees, with the Thames flowing -in front and the great series of Temple buildings in the rear, Kit -wondered how speaking of Dr. Johnson reminded the Captain of eating -lunch. He could not at the time see any connection between them, but he -saw it a few minutes later.</p> - -<p>“Let us go out this way,” the Captain said, “into the Strand. I have -not been here for many years,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_161"></a>161</span> but these old places do not change much. -I know of a very good restaurant not far from here.”</p> - -<p>In the Strand they turned to the right, and a few steps took them into -Fleet Street, where the Captain soon stopped and guided them into a -narrow alley bearing the sign, “Wine Office Court.” A few feet up the -court, on the right-hand side, they went through a doorway that looked -nearly as old as anything about the Temple, and so into a restaurant -with old-fashioned high-backed benches, stiff old chairs, heavy oak -tables, and a fireplace that looked as if it might have been used by -the Crusaders.</p> - -<p>“You take that seat at the end of the table, in the corner, Silburn,” -the Captain said, “and Mr. Watkins and I will take the sides. We don’t -have to consider here about what we will eat, because the great dish -is a chop and a baked potato, with some of the baked Cheshire cheese -to finish up on. You know the name of this place is ‘The Olde Cheshire -Cheese.’ I was reminded of it as soon as Mr. Watkins spoke of Dr. -Johnson.”</p> - -<p>“This is one of the famous old eating-houses of London, Silburn,” -the Captain continued. “I wanted to bring you here because I saw you -reading my ‘Boswell’s Life of Johnson’ the other day, so I thought it -would interest you.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, he must have been a great man, sir,” Kit answered. “I am very much -interested in that book.”</p> - -<p>“Well, look at that brass plate on the wall just over your head,” the -Captain laughed.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_162"></a>162</span> -Kit turned his head and read the words, cut in a small brass plate that -was screwed to the wall, “The seat of Dr. Samuel Johnson.”</p> - -<p>“Why, what does that mean, sir!” Kit exclaimed. “That can’t be the man -I have been reading about!”</p> - -<p>“It is the very man,” the Captain declared. “This restaurant is so old -that it was here in his day, and it was his favorite eating-place. And -that exact seat where you are sitting was his favorite place, where he -sat every day to eat his dinner while he talked with many of the famous -men you read of in the book. You see you are on the track of famous -people to-day.”</p> - -<p>“I feel as if I were a sort of character in a book,” Kit replied, -“instead of a real American eating chops and baked potatoes; -<em>such</em> chops, too! this is a great country for chops, but I don’t -think much of their oysters. I tried some a few days ago, and they -tasted soapy, as if they had been raised in a wash-tub. Then when I -went into a drug store to look at a directory they charged me a penny -for the privilege. Think of paying two cents to look at a directory! -But those are small matters. It is an event in a fellow’s life to be -sitting where the great Dr. Johnson used to sit, and to see the grave -of such a man as Oliver Goldsmith. I can hardly realize it.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, we will associate with some more noted people before we stop,” the -Captain replied. “If you both feel like it, we will take a hansom down -to Westminster Abbey when we finish here, where you<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_163"></a>163</span> can see the tombs -of more celebrated Englishmen than you have ever heard of. It is a good -place for a young man to go, for he naturally begins to inquire about -the great people who are buried there, and to read about them.”</p> - -<p>When the lunch was concluded and they were about to go, Mr. Watkins -made a remark. It was something that he had been thinking about half -through the meal; for it was intended to be a joke, and an Englishman -approaches a joke as cautiously as a good driver nearing a railway -crossing.</p> - -<p>“I suppose there will be a new plate on the wall next time you come -here, Mr. Silburn,” he said.</p> - -<p>“Why so?” Kit asked.</p> - -<p>“Well,” said Watkins, “you see that plate says, ‘The seat of Dr. Samuel -Johnson.’ Now they will have another one under it, I have no doubt, -adding, ‘Also of Mr. Supercargo Silburn.’”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I’ve no doubt of it,” Kit replied. “I ought to laugh at the joke, -but I really cawn’t, don’t you know, after that big chop and potato.” -He tried to imitate the English manner of speaking; but if that was -another joke, it was all lost on Mr. Watkins.</p> - -<p>The three crowded into a hansom and were soon set down in front of -Westminster Abbey, and for the next hour Kit had eyes for nothing but -the long rows of tombs. The architecture might have surprised him -under other circumstances, but no architecture was as interesting to -him as the burial-place of so many famous people he had heard of. The<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_164"></a>164</span> -tomb of David Livingstone was one of the first that caught his eye. -Then he found Sir Isaac Newton’s, and those of Browning and Tennyson -side by side, and Shakespeare, Dr. Johnson, Lord Macaulay, a bust of -Longfellow, and scores, hundreds of others whose names he had at least -heard.</p> - -<p>“Shall we go in among the tombs of the kings?” Captain Griffith asked -at length.</p> - -<p>“Not on my account, sir,” Kit replied; “I don’t want to spoil the -effect of these great people by looking at a lot of mere kings.”</p> - -<p>“You mustn’t mind my young friend’s disparagement of your kings, Mr. -Watkins,” the Captain laughed; “he is a thorough young American, and -we don’t raise kings over there to any great extent. But it will suit -me not to spend any more time here. What do you say to having a look -at the town from the top of Primrose Hill, with just a glance into the -British Museum as we pass it?”</p> - -<p>Both “the boys,” as the Captain called them, were pleased with this -proposition, and he called another hansom to take them first to -the British Museum. There Mr. Watkins took pains to show them the -interesting parts, and Kit was particularly interested in the mummies -and their curious casings. What he wanted most to see, however, was the -great library, one of the largest in the world; and he was disappointed -when told that it was impossible to get into the reading-room without a -ticket, which could be had only with a deal of red tape.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_165"></a>165</span> -“I don’t believe they would let the Prince of Wales in without a -ticket,” the young clerk said, “so I am sure we have no chance.”</p> - -<p>There was no disappointment, however, about the view from the summit of -Primrose Hill. They drove around through Hampstead to reach the hill -from the rear, and when they stood on its very top the whole of London -seemed to lie at their feet.</p> - -<p>“Ah, it is a grand sight!” Mr. Watkins exclaimed. “We Londoners never -tire of looking at it, though it is an old story with us. You see what -a deep valley the city lies in, with the Thames running through the -middle of it. The hills on the other side of the valley are in Surrey -and Kent, two of our English counties. And do you see that blazing fire -near the top of the Surrey Hills? It looks like fire, but that is the -Crystal Palace with the sun shining upon it.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, it is a grand sight,” the Captain said. “And you must not forget, -Silburn, that you are looking at this moment at the homes of more -people than you can see from any other spot on earth. Here are six -millions of people living between us and those opposite hills—more -people than there are in the kingdom of Belgium, and nearly as many as -there are in the whole of Canada. You never saw such a view as this -before.”</p> - -<p>“No, sir, I never did,” Kit admitted; “it is a great sight; but I can’t -help wondering why they built such a big city down in such a hollow. -No<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_166"></a>166</span> wonder they have such thick fogs here. I suppose you’ll laugh at -me for it, but I think our hills out in Fairfield County are much -handsomer. I should rather live in Huntington than in London.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I like to hear you tell the truth about it,” the Captain -laughed. “Some Americans who come over here think they must praise -everything because it is the fashion to do so. These Europeans like to -boast of their own countries, but they seem to immigrate to America -pretty fast. Eh, how is that, Mr. Watkins?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir, they do,” the young clerk answered. “And I am one of them. -If I had half a chance, I should go to America myself.”</p> - -<p>The setting sun gave warning to the sight-seers that it was time -to bring their excursion to an end. Both Kit and the Captain urged -Watkins to return to Gravesend and eat supper with them on the <span class="italic">North -Cape</span>; but he still had work to do in the office, and the party -separated in Trafalgar Square, Captain Griffith and Kit taking a ’bus -to the Fenchurch Street station, whence a train soon carried them to -Tilbury, opposite Gravesend.</p> - -<p>“Now, Silburn,” the Captain said that evening while they sat in the -cabin, “I want you to answer those questions I asked you to-day. What -have you to say about the traffic in the London streets?”</p> - -<p>“They are the most crowded streets I ever saw, sir,” Kit answered; -“but it does not seem to me that there is any more business done in -them than in a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_167"></a>167</span> great many other streets I have seen. I looked out for -big trucks, express wagons, baggage vans, and such things, but did not -see a great many. The crowding seemed to me to be done by the great -<a id="number"></a><ins title="Original has 'num-'">number</ins> of ’buses and hansoms. If the ’buses were taken away, -there would be no great crowd in the London streets. So if they had the -same modern means of transit that we have in our American cities, fast -cable and electric cars and such things, there would be plenty of room.”</p> - -<p>“And the public buildings?” the Captain asked.</p> - -<p>“Some of them must have been very fine when they were new, sir,” Kit -replied; “but they are so dark with smoke and dirt and age that they -make a fellow feel gloomy. I should think the Londoners would have the -blues most all the time, with their dark buildings and those terrible -fogs. It is a great place, of course; but somehow it doesn’t seem to me -exactly like a city. It seems more like a lot of big villages that have -grown together.”</p> - -<p>“Ah, they’re not going to make an Englishman of you, that’s certain!” -the Captain laughed. “But you are right in both the opinions you have -given. It is the lack of quick transit that crowds the streets; and -modern London is not exactly a city, but a collection of large towns -that have grown together. You will be quite an expert in cities some -day, if you study their points so carefully.”</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="x-ebookmaker-drop divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_168"></a>168</span> -</div> - -<h2 id="x">CHAPTER X.<br /> -<span>A LETTER FROM THE STATE DEPARTMENT.</span></h2> - -<p class="noi"><span class="dropcap"><span class="dropcap2">“</span>I</span> THINK it’s a mean way to treat a fellow, Kit,” Harry Leonard -complained when they were alone together. “Oh, you needn’t think I’m -going to be calling you Mr. Silburn when nobody else can hear. I want -a chance to see something of London, and you know very well it’s only -fair I should have. I haven’t been allowed ashore since we came into -the Thames. You always used to go ashore when you were cabin boy, for -you’ve told me so.”</p> - -<p>“That was a little different,” Kit exclaimed. “I was doing a -supercargo’s work when I was cabin boy, and I had to go ashore on -business. But I think the Captain will let you go up to town if you ask -him. I know he likes you, from the way he speaks of you. You’re a very -different boy, Harry, if you don’t mind my saying so, from what you -were when you came on board. We all have to learn, I suppose, that we -don’t get things for favors, but by working for them, and you are doing -your work well.”</p> - -<p>“Thawnk you very much, Mr. Supercargo!” Harry<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_169"></a>169</span> retorted, taking off his -cap in mock humility. “I like to be appreciated by my superiors.”</p> - -<p>“Well, it’s a fact,” Kit laughed. “I’ll tell you what I’ll do. All this -stuff on the wharf will be aboard by two or three o’clock, and if you -like I will ask the Captain to let you go up to London with me after -that. You know it is daylight here till eight or nine o’clock in the -evening.”</p> - -<p>“Hooray for you!” Harry shouted. “If you ask, it’s a sure thing, for -you get whatever you want. I wish I had such a pull with the Captain as -you have.”</p> - -<p>“I have no ‘pull’ at all—” Kit started to say; but he was interrupted -by footsteps on the companionway, and a moment later Captain Griffith -entered the cabin with a handful of letters.</p> - -<p>“There seems to be something for most everybody in this lot,” he said, -laying the letters upon the big table and looking them over. “Captain -Griffith, Captain Griffith, Mr. Mason, Mr. Christopher Silburn, Mr. -Hanway, Mr. Christopher Silburn—here are two for you, Silburn, so your -folks have not forgotten you.”</p> - -<p>Kit saw at a glance that one of the letters was from his mother and the -other from Vieve; and the one from his mother was so large and thick -that it rather alarmed him. He went to the corner of the long sofa and -hurriedly opened it, and found two enclosures, besides a page or two in -his mother’s handwriting.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_170"></a>170</span> -“We are so flustered by these letters that we don’t know what to do,” -Mrs. Silburn wrote. “But your sister and I both think that the best -thing will be to send them right over to you, so that you will be sure -to get them before you leave London. We have kept copies, in case they -should be lost. Oh, Kit, do you think there is any chance that this man -may be your dear father? I am afraid it is only exciting our hopes in -vain, but we ought to do something about it, though we don’t know what. -How could we ever get along without a great, big <em>man</em> like our -Kit to advise us?”</p> - -<p>After reading this mysterious introduction Kit turned hurriedly to -the enclosures. The first was on a sheet headed “Bryant & Williams, -Bridgeport, Conn.,” whom he immediately recognized as the owners of his -father’s schooner, the <span class="italic">Flower City</span>.</p> - -<blockquote> -<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Christopher Silburn</span>, Huntington, Conn. [the letter began]:</p> - -<p>Please find enclosed a copy of a letter we have just received from -the State Department at Washington, which explains itself. We have -sent similar copies to the families of all the members of the crew -of the schooner <span class="italic">Flower City</span>, as far as they are known. While -we have slight hopes that the person referred to in the letter -may have been a member of that unfortunate crew, we deem it only -right to lay the information before you, that you may take whatever -measures seem to you proper.</p> - -<p class="center mt0 mb0">Very respectfully yours,</p> -<p class="center smcap mt0">Bryant & Williams.</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>Kit was beginning by this time to chafe over the delay in getting at -the mysterious information. But<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_171"></a>171</span> the other enclosure must give it, and -he quickly unfolded the sheet.</p> - -<blockquote> -<p class="right4 mb0"><span class="smcap">State Department</span>, Washington, D. C. [it began].</p> -<p class="right smcap mt0 mb0">Office of the Fourth Assistant Secretary.</p> -<p class="right5 mt0">Folio G x R. No. 2814 F.</p> - -<p class="noi"><span class="smcap">Messrs. Bryant & Williams</span>, Bridgeport, Conn.</p> - -<p><span class="italic">Dear Sirs</span>: The department is informed by the Consulate at -Wellington, New Zealand, that a patient who has been in the public -hospital there for some months is supposed to be a shipwrecked -American sailor. This man was landed in Wellington from the -British ship, <span class="italic">Prince Albert</span>, having been picked up by that -ship on the 27th of June last on a small unnamed island in the -Pacific Ocean, where his three companions had died of hardship and -starvation, and where he was reduced to such a mental and physical -condition that he was unable to move or give any account of himself.</p> - -<p>Since his reception in the hospital he has been restored to -physical health, but he is still unable to give his name or place -of residence, though from certain tests that have been applied it -is believed that he is a native-born American citizen. He is of -medium height with gray hair and beard, and looks sixty years old, -though he is probably much younger.</p> - -<p>The Life Saving Service has supplied this department with a list of -all the American vessels that have been lost within the last two -years; and a copy of this letter is sent to the owners of each of -such lost vessels, as far as they can be traced, to enable them to -communicate with the families of the lost crews.</p> - -<p>Requests for information on the subject should be addressed to the -Chairman of the Board of Governors, Public Hospital, Wellington, -New Zealand; or to the American Consulate at that port.</p> - -<p class="right8 mb0">Yours, etc.,</p> -<p class="right5 smcap mt0 mb0">H. R. Battaway,</p> -<p class="right mt0 mb0"><span class="italic">Chief Clerk to Fourth Assistant Secretary</span>.</p> -</blockquote> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_172"></a>172</span> -On opening the letter from Vieve he found that it was full of questions -and surmises about the mysterious man in New Zealand, so he put that -in his pocket to be read later on. The State Department letter was -too important to let anything interfere with it. He read it again and -again, and tried to estimate what the chances were that this man might -be his missing father. Suppose there were twenty lost vessels, each -with a crew of twenty men? That would give only one chance in four -hundred. But one chance in forty thousand, he thought, would be a great -thing. Sixty years old? His father was not nearly as old as that; and -there was not a gray hair in his head. But who could say what suffering -he might have gone through, or what changes it might have made in his -appearance?</p> - -<p>It was hard work to put those letters into his pocket and go on quietly -checking his lists as the cargo came aboard; but it was necessary, and -Kit did it. The engagement he had just made with Harry Leonard must be -postponed, for he must have time to think, and then time to write some -letters. But what was he to write?</p> - -<p>All through the morning and until the last case of cargo on the wharf -was put in the hold and duly checked off, the young supercargo stuck -manfully to his work. Harry Leonard was disappointed when told that his -trip to London would have to be put off, but when Kit explained the -reason Harry was more than willing to wait.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_173"></a>173</span> -“Why, they’d give him a big reception in Huntington,” he exclaimed, “if -your father should come home alive.”</p> - -<p>With all his thinking Kit could not decide upon a better course than to -show the letters to Captain Griffith and ask his advice. “He knows more -in five minutes than I know in a week,” he said to himself, “and his -advice <a id="is"></a><ins title="Original has 'it'">is</ins> -sure to be good. It’s a valuable thing to have good friends -to go to when you need advice.”</p> - -<p>Captain Griffith, as he expected, was very much interested when he -heard the contents of Kit’s letter. First he listened while Kit read -the letter from the State Department, and then took it and read it -carefully over himself. Then he got out a map to look at the position -of Wellington, New Zealand.</p> - -<p>For some minutes he leaned back in his revolving-chair, looking hard at -the ceiling, deep in thought.</p> - -<p>“It’s a strange case, Silburn,” he said at length. “I’ve been trying to -figure out what happened to your father when his schooner went down. -They took to the boats, and in the heavy sea your father’s boat went to -pieces. He kept afloat on some piece of wreckage, and in the morning -he was seen and picked up by a passing ship. She was an American ship, -I should say, bound ’round the Horn for San Francisco or the northwest -coast. But when they got into the Pacific that second ship was wrecked, -and your father and three others made their way to a little island, -where he was afterwards picked up<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_174"></a>174</span> by the British vessel and carried to -New Zealand. Yes, it is all plain enough.”</p> - -<p>“Why, Captain!” Kit cried; “do you really think so, sir?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t say that I think so, or that I don’t think so,” the Captain -answered. “I wanted to see whether there was any reasonable theory -by which I could account for your father’s being found on a desolate -little island in the Pacific. I see that there is; it might easily have -happened just as I have described it. So we begin by knowing that it -is possible that this man may be your father. And having reached that -point we came to a sudden stop through somebody’s remarkable stupidity. -Do you see how badly this inquiry has been managed?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir,” Kit answered, “I think I do. They ought to have sent a -photograph of the man and a full description.”</p> - -<p>“Of course they ought!” the Captain declared, thumping his fist down on -the desk. “The fullest description possible—his height, weight, color -of his eyes, condition of his teeth, marks on his body, every possible -particular. I suppose we must be satisfied that the State Department -has taken the trouble to give even this much information about the -case; but it would have been easy to give a little more. However, this -oversight does not put an end to the business; it only entails a great -waste of time. Now you have been thinking about this thing all day; -what has it occurred to you ought to be done?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_175"></a>175</span> -“Well, sir,” Kit answered, “it seemed to me that the best way would be -to write to the American consul at Wellington, and ask him to send a -description of the man. If it is my father, he is nothing like sixty -years old, but what he has gone through may make him look much older -than he really is.”</p> - -<p>“That’s it,” the Captain agreed. “That is exactly the proper thing for -you to do. And write from here, at once; but have the answer sent to -your home in America, for there is no telling where you may be. Now -tell me something about your father. How tall a man was he?”</p> - -<p>“He was just five feet ten and a half inches, sir,” Kit replied. “I -remember that very well, because he used to measure me when I was -little and say, ‘I wonder whether you will ever be as tall as your -father, youngster?’ It hardly looked likely then, but I am within about -an inch of that now, and still growing.”</p> - -<p>“Very well; put that down on this slip of paper; height, five feet ten -and a half inches. Was he stout, or slender?”</p> - -<p>“Just about medium, sir,” Kit went on; “I think he weighed about one -hundred and sixty pounds. And he was dark in the hands and face, from -the sun, and had dark brown eyes and hair to match, the hair just a -little bit curly, like mine.”</p> - -<p>“Put it all down,” the Captain said. “Were his teeth good or bad?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, he had beautiful teeth, sir,” Kit declared. “He never had to go -to the dentist’s, and they were<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_176"></a>176</span> as white and regular—well, I used to -tell him they were almost as handsome as a set of false ones.”</p> - -<p>“Put it down,” the Captain repeated. “And do you know whether there -were any marks on his body that he could be identified by?”</p> - -<p>“The only mark I know of was a long scar on his left temple, sir,” Kit -answered, “running down like this;” and he drew a finger across his own -temple to show the direction. “He got that when he had such a narrow -escape from being killed. A block fell from aloft and came just near -enough to make a gash in his skin. A quarter of an inch more would have -killed him on the spot, of course; but he only laughed at it when he -told us about it.”</p> - -<p>“Ah, that is a good point; put it down. A man may lose his teeth, or -grow fat or thin, or his hair turn gray, but he never can get rid of a -scar. That cut on the temple will go further than anything else to tell -us whether this is your father or not. Now when you write to the consul -tell him all these things that you have told me, and as much more as -you can think of. And there is another thing. To make such an inquiry -as this, and get your father home, if it proves to be your father, will -cost some money. You are willing to spend whatever you can afford, I -suppose?”</p> - -<p>“Why, Captain,” Kit exclaimed, “what would I care for money in exchange -for my father! I would sell the last shirt off my back just to hear -that he is alive. And we could raise a little money in Huntington,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_177"></a>177</span> if -it came to the worst. I know mother would spend her last cent to find -him. But I think I can manage it myself, if it does not cost too much.”</p> - -<p>“Well, Silburn,” the Captain said, laying his hand on Kit’s shoulder, -“you have a good name, and that is always something to fall back on. I -have a little money that I have saved year after year, and if you need -more than you think, I will lend you a few hundred, and you can pay me -interest on it and pay it off gradually. I should consider it quite as -safe in your hands as if it remained in the bank.”</p> - -<p>“Thank you, Captain,” Kit answered. “I am more grateful to you than I -can tell you. But it will be months before we can hear from the consul, -and by that time I shall have a little more money of my own. I want to -send him a little money in the letter and ask him to have a photograph -taken of the man in the hospital. If it is my father, I think we should -recognize him, no matter how much he is changed.”</p> - -<p>“That is a capital idea,” the Captain assented; “and by writing from -here your letter will get to New Zealand much sooner than if you sent -it from America.”</p> - -<p>That evening Kit had his hands full with letter-writing. There was one -to be written to his mother, and one to Vieve, and a note to Bryant & -Williams, thanking them for their letter, and last of all, a long one -to the consul at Wellington, in which he gave the fullest possible -description of his father.</p> - -<p>“The mention of some familiar names,” he wrote,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_178"></a>178</span> “might cause him to -remember things that he has forgotten, if, as I hope, it proves to be -my father. He lives in Huntington, Connecticut, opposite the church, -and my mother’s name is Emily Silburn. His two children are Genevieve -and Christopher Silburn; he always called us Vieve and Kit. Our dog’s -name is Turk. The <span class="italic">Flower City</span> was the schooner he was wrecked -on. The scar I have mentioned looks whiter than the rest of his face. -If he seems to recognize any of these names, that will be pretty good -evidence that he is Christopher Silburn.”</p> - -<p>“Ah, my!” Kit said to himself, rubbing his eyes after finishing the -long letter, “this not knowing whether you have a father or not is bad -business. But just suppose we should see him sitting again in his old -chair in Huntington! I mustn’t think of that, though, for it may be -only preparing for a disappointment.”</p> - -<p>Captain Griffith approved of the letter to the consul when he read it; -and when Kit asked permission for Harry Leonard to go up to London with -him next day, it was given immediately.</p> - -<p>“I don’t like to have my boys going into these big towns alone, -getting into mischief,” he said; “but if Harry goes with you, that -is a different matter. You know you are not a boy any more, but a -supercargo; and you must keep Harry straight. By the way, Silburn, -stand out there in the light a minute till I look at you. There; that -is just the way I stood you out the night I rescued you from the -policeman<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_179"></a>179</span> in Brooklyn. Do you know it occurred to me while you were -describing your father this afternoon that you were giving almost an -exact description of yourself? You must be very much like him.”</p> - -<p>“I am glad to hear it, sir,” Kit laughed, “for he was always called a -fine-looking man.”</p> - -<p>When the Captain’s two “boys” took the ferryboat over to Tilbury in the -morning, Harry was like a young colt in a spring pasture. No wonder, -either, for he had not set foot off the <span class="italic">North Cape’s</span> deck before -since she left New York. He was full of fun now that he was away from -the restraint of the ship, and, like Kit, he was not disposed to admire -everything simply because it was in a foreign country; on the contrary, -most things he saw he regarded as fair game for ridicule.</p> - -<p>“And they call these things cars, do they?” he asked, when they were -seated alone in one of the compartments of the train. “Well, they look -to me very much like our coal cars in America, with roofs put on them. -I suppose they have such little windows because larger ones would be -of no use; you never can see more than fifty yards in this country, -on account of the fog. Did you ever see such a foggy hole? I know now -why the sun never sets on the Queen’s dominions: it’s because it never -rises, ‘don-cher-know?’ What do they want with an old Queen here, -anyhow? I guess if a President’s good enough for us, it’s good enough -for them.”</p> - -<p>“I always thought you were an Irishman, Harry,”<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_180"></a>180</span> Kit laughed; “now I’m -sure of it, from the way you find fault with the English. Wait till you -see London; you may change your mind then.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, London!” Harry sneered. “You’d think the sun rose out of the -Thames and set in Buckingham Palace, to hear these Britishers talk. -I’ll bet it’s not as fine a city as Bridgeport. Look at the big -factories they have there, and the new court-house, and the—”</p> - -<p>“We may as well get out here,” Kit interrupted, “as this is Fenchurch -Street station and the end of the line. I don’t believe they’ll carry -us any further.” He found it very entertaining and novel to act as -a guide to London, particularly with a companion who looked upon -everything from such original standpoints as Harry, and who was so -determined to see nothing equal to America in the British capital.</p> - -<p>Harry was so much interested in Kit’s accounts of the mummies and other -curiosities in the British Museum, that they took a hansom and drove to -the Museum first.</p> - -<p>“This sort of thing will do occasionally in London,” Kit said, “where a -cab costs a shilling. But we’ll have to come down to street cars again, -or walking, when we get back to America.”</p> - -<p>“Where are the high buildings, Kit?” Harry asked, after they had gone -a few blocks. “These are all small affairs, so far. Can’t we have him -drive past some of the tall buildings?”</p> - -<p>“I’m afraid we should have hard work to find<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_181"></a>181</span> any,” Kit answered. “I -have seen no buildings here more than six or eight stories high.”</p> - -<p>“Six or eight stories!” Harry cried; “and they call this a great city! -Why, there are some buildings in New York twenty-six stories high, and -lots of them from twenty to twenty-five stories. Yes, it’s just as I -expected: they brag so much about London, but I don’t believe it’s -‘in it’ at all beside America. They can’t fool me with their mummies, -either, for I saw some in a museum in New York when I was there. I know -a thing or two about dried Egyptians.”</p> - -<p>As he was prepared to find fault with the mummies, it was not hard to -be disappointed in them. “They’re a very ordinary lot,” he declared -when he saw them. “Those in New York were all kings and emperors and -such things, but these are just common people. They don’t look as -life-like, either. Why, those fellows in New York seemed just ready to -sit up and eat their dinner.”</p> - -<p>Some mention being made of Buckingham Palace, Harry immediately -became anxious to see it. “Not that I suppose it amounts to much,” he -explained, “but we may as well see what sort of tenement houses they -lodge their royal family in. Royal family, indeed! Why, in our country -we’d elect a new queen every year or two if we had to have one at all.”</p> - -<p>“Very well,” Kit assented; “I should rather like to see Buckingham -Palace, too, and we can have a look at the Thames Embankment at the -same time.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_182"></a>182</span> We can walk over to Gower Street station and take the -underground road to St. James Park station, and that is near the -Palace. We both want to see the great underground railway, of course.”</p> - -<p>Feeling surer of making his way in the main streets, Kit led Harry to -Tottenham Court Road, and turned up Euston Road to the Gower Street -station. In Euston Road they found a great many openings in the -street and in the yards on each side, through which poured clouds of -sulphurous smoke.</p> - -<p>“Bah!” Harry cried, as one of the dirty clouds enveloped and half -choked them; “there must be a sulphur mine underneath here, and it’s -caught fire. Or do you suppose it’s a match factory?”</p> - -<p>“I suppose these must be airholes for the underground road,” Kit -replied; “for it runs under this street. But I don’t see how the people -can stand such rank smoke, that’s a fact. And it’s cheerful to think -that that’s the air we will have to breathe in the underground train.”</p> - -<p>They bought their tickets for St. James Park station and went down -two long and dirty stairways into the bowels of the earth, where they -found a long cave arched with smoky bricks, dimly lighted with a -half-dozen gas-jets, with a very dirty platform on each side and two -tracks between them. Twenty or thirty other persons were waiting for -the train, all breathing the thick smoky atmosphere, that coated their -throats and made them cough.</p> - -<p>In two or three minutes a faint rumbling began in<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_183"></a>183</span> one of the dark -tunnels leading out of each end of the cave; and the rumbling grew -louder and louder till it became a roar, and the train drew up. There -was a great banging of doors, people got out and others got in, Kit and -Harry scrambled into an empty compartment, and in a few seconds the -lights of the platform faded away and they were in darkness save for a -very dim gas-jet in the roof of the car.</p> - -<p>“Now this is real luxury!” Harry laughed. “Everything you touch is -black as a chimney, and the air you breathe is thick enough to cut. -These tunnels would make good sewers, Kit. But do you think our folks -would believe the Londoners really ride through such holes in the -ground? Ain’t it simply frightful?”</p> - -<p>“I shall have to agree with you this time,” Kit answered. “I had no -idea the underground roads were as bad as this. It would be a terrible -place for an accident, wouldn’t it, in these dark caves?”</p> - -<p>They went on and on past station after station, and after half an hour -of jolting and half suffocating Kit began to suspect that he must have -made some mistake, for it was less than a mile from Gower Street to St. -James Park. He took out his map and examined it as well as he could -under the feeble light.</p> - -<p>“See here, I’ll tell you what we’ve done,” he explained, “we’ve taken -an outer circle train. You know this underground road runs in a small -inner<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_184"></a>184</span> circle and a big outer circle. And we’re in the wrong train, -that is carrying us away round the city. But no matter, it will bring -us to St. James after a while. That’s rather a good joke on us, Harry, -for a hansom would have taken us across in half the time and for half -the money.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, well,” Harry answered, “no matter. It’s just as well to get a good -dose of the underground this time, for I never want to see the thing -again. One dose is enough, well shaken and taken.”</p> - -<p>It took them fifty minutes to reach the St. James Park station; and -after they had climbed the long stairs to the surface they stood awhile -on the edge of the park to get some fresh air into their lungs.</p> - -<p>“It’s just as I expected,” Harry declared, “only a good deal worse. -They don’t half know how to do things over here. And that’s Buckingham -Palace, is it, where the Queen lives? Why, it’s only two stories high, -and a basement! Now, Kit, you know as well as I do that this palace -ain’t a patch to Mr. Barnum’s house out in Seaside Park, in Bridgeport. -No, sir, it doesn’t compare with it.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, Harry, you can’t please a fellow who’s determined not to be -pleased,” Kit laughed. “When you come to London, you must make up your -mind that things are better than anywhere else, and tell the people -so. Then they’ll pat you on the back and say the Americans are their -cousins.”</p> - -<p>“How could I tell them?” Harry asked; “they don’t understand me when -I speak to them, and I<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_185"></a>185</span> never half know what they say. I should think -they might know how to speak their own language.”</p> - -<p>By the time night came they had seen the new Thames Embankment, and -Madame Tussaud’s waxworks show, Trafalgar Square, and Pall Mall, St. -Paul’s Cathedral, and several of the curious old churches, and had -walked through the Strand and Fleet Street, and many more of the busy -parts of the city. And within forty-eight hours the Scilly signals were -set in motion again, and over the wires flashed the brief announcement, -“Passed, steamer <span class="italic">North Cape</span>, for New York.”</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="x-ebookmaker-drop divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_186"></a>186</span> -</div> - -<h2 id="xi">CHAPTER XI.<br /> -<span>A VOYAGE TO MARSEILLES.</span></h2> - -<p class="noi"><span class="dropcap">B</span>ETWEEN being a cabin boy with no responsibility beyond setting the -table straight and keeping the cabin clean, and being a supercargo with -a large and valuable cargo to look after, there is a wide step, as -Kit realized when the <span class="italic">North Cape</span> lay once more at the wharf in -front of Martin’s Stores. Harry Leonard set off gayly for home before -the ship was fairly moored in her berth; but for his own part, with -nominally far more liberty, he could not think of going further away -than his employers’ office till all the cargo was out; and he could not -tell whether even then he should be able to take a long enough holiday -for a run out to Huntington.</p> - -<p>“You see these things work both ways, Harry,” he said to the cabin boy -before the latter set off. “You complained in London about not being -able to go ashore, but I am just as badly off here, where I have so -much to do that I cannot leave the wharf for a week at any rate.”</p> - -<p>“But you don’t complain about it, Kit,” Harry answered. “I don’t -believe you ever complain about anything.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_187"></a>187</span> -“Why should I complain about this,” Kit asked, “when it is my work that -keeps me and I am glad to have the work to do? What would the owners -think of the Captain if he said he could not sail on the day they -ordered, because he had some business of his own to attend to? No, I am -not complaining about it, but just telling you the fact. And I spoke of -it because I want you to take a little bundle up to Huntington for me, -and tell my folks that nothing but my work keeps me from going home at -once. I shall know in a few days whether I can get home this trip, and -of course I have written.”</p> - -<p>There was no reason why the supercargo should explain to the cabin boy -that the “little bundle” he sent home was the result of many visits to -Peter Robinson’s, in Regent Street, and to another London place known -as “Louise’s,” in the same street; and that it contained some things -whose buying required as much care on his part as the stowing of a -cargo. It was not such a little bundle, either, nor so light; but Harry -took it cheerfully, and promised to deliver all of Kit’s messages.</p> - -<p>Instead of Kit applying to the Captain now for information about the -ship’s movements, it was rather the other way. As supercargo it was his -business to know what the next cargo was to be, and where it was to be -taken. But for some days neither of them knew, and it was impossible to -learn, because the charterers did not yet know, themselves.</p> - -<p>“I imagine from what I heard in the office to-day,”<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_188"></a>188</span> Kit said to the -Captain one evening, “that they are thinking of sending us next to -Marseilles.”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” the Captain answered, “they are talking of it, I know. But -nothing is settled yet.”</p> - -<p>“I hope they will,” Kit went on; “that would give us a fine voyage -into the Mediterranean and past Gibraltar. Marseilles must be a little -further than London, of course.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, it is just about four thousand miles,” the Captain answered. -“It would be a good thing for you, for several reasons. The <span class="italic">North -Cape</span> ought to go into dry-dock to be scraped and painted before -crossing the ocean again, for one thing, and that would give you -time to go home. For another thing, Marseilles is one of the most -interesting places in the world. But our firm won’t take those things -into consideration in making up their minds,” he added, laughing.</p> - -<p>“What cargo should we probably take if we went to Marseilles, sir?” Kit -asked.</p> - -<p>“Oil,” the Captain replied; “and as Marseilles is one of the great -olive-oil shipping ports, that would be carrying coals to Newcastle -with a vengeance, wouldn’t it?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t quite understand, sir,” Kit answered.</p> - -<p>“Well, you will soon see into it,” the Captain said, “if we go to -Marseilles. You see they make a great deal of olive-oil all along that -part of the Mediterranean coast. And it is shipped from Marseilles. -Olive-oil, you understand, is a very expensive product.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_189"></a>189</span> We make a -great deal of cotton-seed oil in this country, and that is a very cheap -product. So they buy our cotton-seed oil, and we take it over to them.”</p> - -<p>“But you don’t mean that they mix our cotton-seed oil with their -olive-oil, and sell it for pure oil, do you, sir?”</p> - -<p>“I never saw them mix it,” the Captain said, laughing quietly to -himself. “But when you put this and that together, and considering that -they have no other use for cotton-seed oil over there, it certainly -looks very much like it, doesn’t it?</p> - -<p>“However, I don’t think you need worry your mind about our share in -the transaction,” the Captain went on, seeing that Kit looked very -thoughtful over it. “If they pay us for carrying the oil, we have -nothing to do with the use they make of it. We might carry a cargo of -cotton to Manchester; and if some dishonest cloth-maker there mixes -a lot of it with his wool, that dishonesty cannot be laid on our -shoulders.”</p> - -<p>“Captain, do you think there is a really honest man in the world?” Kit -asked.</p> - -<p>“Yes, two,” the Captain laughed; “Christopher Silburn and Captain -Griffith.”</p> - -<p>The uncertainty about their next destination could not last long, -for the cargo was nearly out; and on the same day that Kit was told -definitely that he was to go to Marseilles, the Captain induced his -charterers to let him have a week in dry-dock first for overhauling the -ship. The supercargo, however,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_190"></a>190</span> could not arrange for more than four -days’ leave of absence, there being many things to see to; and that -would give him only two full days at home.</p> - -<p>Going out by train this time, for greater speed, Kit reached Bridgeport -too late for the stage; but without hesitation he set off over the -hills on foot, glad of the chance to see so much of the country just as -the trees and grass were putting on their new spring suits; and when he -stepped without warning into the little house opposite the church, his -mother and Vieve were at the supper table.</p> - -<p>“You gave me a great start when you came in, Kit,” Mrs. Silburn -declared after the first greetings were over. “You walk exactly as your -father did; my first thought was that he had come home. And upon my -word you are just his size. My, my, what a man you have grown! I have -no little Kit any more, but a big grown man.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t speak of growing!” Kit retorted. “Where’s the little sister I -left at home? What have you done with her? This great big girl can’t be -Vieve, can she? And you are looking so much better, too, mother. I’m -afraid those little things I got you in London are about four sizes too -small.</p> - -<p>“I wanted to get you some really good things in England,” he went on, -“but those letters you sent me from Bridgeport and Washington made -me more careful of my money. If that mysterious man in New Zealand -should really prove to be father, we would need all the money we could -possibly raise to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_191"></a>191</span> bring him home comfortably. I don’t feel as if my -wages belonged to myself, exactly, till that thing is settled.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, it was such a comfort, Kit, the way you managed those letters,” -his mother declared. “We did not know what to do at all. I don’t feel -so much now as if I had no one to depend upon.”</p> - -<p>“Well, the Captain advised me,” Kit modestly answered. “He always knows -what ought to be done. You must not set your heart too much upon it, -but still there is a chance. Since one man escaped from the wreck of -the <span class="italic">Flower City</span>, why not another? It will take weeks and weeks, -perhaps months, to get an answer from the consul at Wellington; and -until it comes, we can do nothing but wait patiently.”</p> - -<p>The next morning Kit settled himself in his father’s armchair by the -window, with a big volume in his hands.</p> - -<p>“It’s a good thing father bought this set of cyclopædias,” he said, -“for I think it will give me just the information I want. Our next -voyage is to be to Marseilles (did I tell you last evening?), and I -want to find out something about the place. You’ve no idea what a help -it is in going to a new city to read everything you can find about it -beforehand. All the way over to London, when I had any spare time, I -read the Captain’s books about it and studied the maps, and by the time -I got there I knew a great deal about it.”</p> - -<p>“Harry Leonard must have been a great help to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_192"></a>192</span> you there,” Vieve -suggested slyly; “he says he showed you around so much.”</p> - -<p>“Does he?” Kit laughed. “That’s just like Harry! He makes a very good -cabin boy, but he hasn’t quite got over his boasting habit yet. The -only visit he made to London was when I got leave for him one day and -took him for a trip on the underground railway. We took the wrong -train, too, by the way, and went about fifteen miles round to get a -mile across town. But let’s see about this place in France. M-a-r; here -we are—‘Marseilles, the third city of France, population about four -hundred and fifty thousand. Well situated in a valley on the shore of -the Mediterranean. Chief city of the Department of Bouches-du-Rhone. -Marseilles is one of the oldest cities in Europe, having been founded -about 600 <span class="allsmcap">B.C.</span>’</p> - -<p>“Think of that, mother! This place I am going to was founded six -hundred years before the time of our Saviour!</p> - -<p>“‘The first settlement,’” he continued to read, “‘is usually ascribed -to the Phœnicians. Lazarus is said to have been one of the early -bishops of Marseilles, and a skull purporting to be his is still -preserved in a portion of the original church in which Lazarus -preached. Aside from this, the most remarkable building in Marseilles -is the church of Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde, which, standing on the -summit of a high hill, is church and fort combined, and is reached by -hydraulic elevators. Marseilles is the scene of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_193"></a>193</span> the principal part -of Alexander Dumas’ remarkable story of the “Count of Monte Cristo.” -The Castle d’If, in which Monte Cristo was confined in a dungeon for -fourteen years, stands on a rocky islet in the harbor, and is still -in a good state of preservation. The chief articles of commerce are -olive-oil, figs, dates, almonds, and wine. Marseilles is one of the -principal ports of the Mediterranean, from thirty to fifty vessels -entering or leaving daily. The Peninsular and Oriental steamers call -here on their way to and from India and Australia.’</p> - -<p>“I tell you there’s going to be something to see, in a place like -that!” Kit exclaimed, as he closed the book. “Six hundred years before -those things happened that we read about in the New Testament! A fellow -can hardly get that into his head. I hope I’ll have a chance to see -that church on the hill, that’s both church and fort. And Lazarus! -That’s going it a little strong, it seems to me; I don’t remember -reading anything in the Bible about Lazarus being a bishop. But I -should like to see that old church.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I wish they had ‘cabin girls’ on ships!” Vieve declared; “I’d like -to go and see these queer places the way you do. Girls never have a -chance to see anything.”</p> - -<p>“They’re a very lucky lot,” Kit answered. “They only have to stay at -home and be comfortable, while their fathers and brothers go away to -work for them.”</p> - -<p>“Now, children, I’ll have to punish you both if<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_194"></a>194</span> you begin to quarrel,” -Mrs. Silburn laughed. “The most important thing is when you will be -back from this next voyage, Kit; and that you haven’t told us yet.”</p> - -<p>“We can safely say in about two months,” Kit replied, “if all goes -well. And by that time I think we ought to have an answer from New -Zealand.”</p> - -<p>Those two days at home were many hours too short, but there was no help -for it. Kit had nearly two months’ wages to hand over to his mother, -and after taking a good look at the outside of the house he suggested -that she should get some one to mend the two or three broken places and -then have it painted.</p> - -<p>“That will not cost very much,” he said, “for it is a small house. And -if—if that should—well, you know what I mean. We want everything -looking nice if he comes home.”</p> - -<p>Silas did not go down to Bridgeport with his stage in time to catch the -9.15 train, the one that Kit wanted to take; so he walked down as he -had walked up, glad to have another two or three hours among the green -fields after so much blue water.</p> - -<p>From the time of his reaching New York again the young supercargo had -very little time to himself until the <span class="italic">North Cape</span> cleared for -Marseilles, for the cargo began to arrive next day, and he had to give -his attention to it.</p> - -<p>“It hardly seems to me as if we had been home,” he said to Captain -Griffith as they stood on the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_195"></a>195</span> bridge, watching the gradual fading -away of the Navesink Highlands. “They keep us going so fast; to-day in -Barbadoes, to-morrow in London, next day in Marseilles. I see you have -the ‘Count of Monte Cristo’ among your books, Captain. I will get you -to let me read it when I am through with my work. I have been reading -everything I could find about Marseilles.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes, you can take it,” the Captain answered. “You will find it a -very interesting story, particularly when you are bound for Marseilles. -But there is something about it that to me is of more interest than the -story itself. I won’t tell you what it is; you can find that out for -yourself.”</p> - -<p>For four or five days Kit was busy with his manifests, but after that -his time was his own, except for an occasional visit to the hold to see -that his cargo was in good order—his “magic oil,” he called it; for as -far as he could make out it was to go into Marseilles nothing but plain -cotton-seed oil, and return to New York “pure olive-oil,” worth two -dollars a gallon.</p> - -<p>The ocean seemed a vast desert of water on this voyage. They were far -out of the usual track of vessels crossing the Atlantic, except those -bound for the far East by way of the Suez Canal; and in the eighteen -days before Gibraltar was sighted they passed only three sails. But in -those days Kit put all his papers in order and read the “Count of Monte -Cristo” with great care.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_196"></a>196</span> -“I should not have spent so much time on an ordinary story,” he said -when it was finished, “but this tells so much about Marseilles. And I -wanted to find out what you considered of more interest about it than -the story itself.”</p> - -<p>“And did you find it out?” the Captain asked.</p> - -<p>“I think so, sir,” Kit replied. “The story was evidently written about -the middle of this century, or less than fifty years ago. I think the -author wanted to show what wonderful things could be accomplished by -a man with fabulous wealth. So after the hero had been imprisoned -in that Castle d’If a great many years, he made his way through the -walls to the dungeon of a very wise priest who was confined there. -The priest became so attached to him that before he died he told him -of the secret hiding-place of an immense treasure; and after the hero -escaped he went to the island and got the treasure. As nearly as I -can make out, the treasure amounted to about three million dollars, -and he did all his wonderful things with that money. The interesting -thing is, as I understand it, that less than fifty years ago, a great -author, living in Paris, when he wanted to write about a man with -as much money as anybody could imagine, much less really have, gave -him only three million dollars, which in those days seemed beyond -belief; whereas now within a single lifetime, some of our American -<a id="millionaires1"></a><ins title="Original has 'millionnaires'">millionaires</ins> -are so much richer that three million -dollars would seem like a small sum to them.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_197"></a>197</span> -“That’s it, exactly,” the Captain replied; “I am glad you caught the -idea. It just shows how the wealth of the world has increased in the -last fifty years—or perhaps how it has fallen into comparatively few -hands. Half a century ago three millions was as great a fortune as -could be imagined; now when a man gets three he is not satisfied till -he turns it into thirty.”</p> - -<p>“It has made me anxious to see that Castle d’If and its dungeons,” Kit -said.</p> - -<p>“I hope to have another look at it myself,” the Captain answered. “I -was there once, but it was many years ago—long before you were born. -We will go out together some day.”</p> - -<p>When Gibraltar was reached, the hoisting of two or three flags caused -a telegraphic message to be sent by cable to London and thence to New -York, “Passed, steamer <span class="italic">North Cape</span>, New York for Marseilles. All -well,” so that the ship’s owners and the crew’s friends knew within a -few hours that she had once more crossed the Atlantic in safety.</p> - -<p>“I should hardly like to be sailing past here in a ship that that -tremendous fort was trying to keep out,” Kit declared. “It looks as if -nothing could get past, with those great tiers of guns commanding this -narrow passage. This is the strangest thing I have seen yet—Africa -just across the channel, Spain on this side, and that great tall rock -at the end of the peninsula belonging to England. I have read how the -rock is full of underground passages<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_198"></a>198</span> and hidden batteries. They call -it the impregnable fortress; don’t they, sir?”</p> - -<p>“Impregnable is a very good word, Silburn,” the Captain answered, “but -no place is impregnable in these days. That rock has been taken and -retaken a number of times, so it cannot be impregnable. The English -have fortified it very strongly, because it is an important point; but -in case of attack they would have to depend largely upon their navy to -defend it. A few dynamite cartridges thrown against the rock would soon -reduce it.”</p> - -<p>“Well, it doesn’t really look as if the English had any business with a -big fort right on the best corner of Spain,” Kit went on.</p> - -<p>“You will soon find yourself in deep water if you go into such -questions as that, young man,” Captain Griffith laughed. “What business -have the English in India, or Egypt, or Africa? What business have the -Spaniards in Cuba? What business have we in America, for that matter, -which belonged to the Indians? You will save yourself trouble by taking -things as you find them. You’ll be saying next that the Phœnicians -ought to own Marseilles, instead of the French, because they founded -it.”</p> - -<p>After two days of skirting the Spanish coast the <span class="italic">North Cape</span> -sighted the <a id="Balearic"></a><ins title="Original has 'Belearic'">Balearic</ins> -Isles; and two days more took her into the Gulf of -Lyons, within a few hours of Marseilles. The last half of her journey -in the Mediterranean, however, was not as pleasant as the first; for -a heavy wind from the northwest<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_199"></a>199</span> made the air raw and chilly, even in -that warm climate, and stirred up a heavy sea.</p> - -<p>“It is the Mistral,” the Captain explained. “That is the name they give -the cold north wind all along this coast. It comes up very suddenly -once every six or eight weeks, and makes the natives shiver. I am just -as well satisfied to have it now, for it only lasts a day or two, and -we will be pretty sure of fine weather in port.”</p> - -<p>As they approached Marseilles, Kit recognized many of the points -from what he had read. There was the semicircle of mountains at the -rear, forming a vast amphitheatre in which the city lay—desolate, -barren-looking mountains of grayish-white rock, with hardly any traces -of vegetation. And there was the church on the summit of a high hill -rising from the valley, with a great gilded statue of the Virgin -Mary on top; he knew that must be Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde, from the -descriptions of it, and imagined that the long straight lines running -up the side of the hill must be the track of the elevators. Then when -they drew nearer he saw the long breakwater, extending a mile or -more along the shore, which makes Marseilles one of the best ports -in Europe. And to the right lay a group of three rocky islands, some -distance apart, one of which he was sure must be the island of the -Castle d’If.</p> - -<p>“I suppose we run in behind the breakwater, Captain?” he asked. “I see -there is quite a forest of masts in there.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_200"></a>200</span> -“No,” the Captain answered, “we go into the Old Port—the Vieux -Port, as they call it here, <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">vieux</i> being the French word for -<span class="italic">old</span>. That was the original port, of course, that was the making -of Marseilles; and a very curious place it is; a natural basin running -right up into the heart of the city, with a narrow entrance. However, -you will soon see it all for yourself.”</p> - -<p>It was before ten o’clock in the morning that the ship ran between -the two old-fashioned forts, one on each side of the narrow entrance, -and ploughed her way slowly up the Old Port. It did not look to Kit -as if there could possibly be room for another steamer on any of the -three sides, so thickly were the vessels crowded in—big steamers and -little, sailing-ships, tugs, beautiful yachts, fishing-boats, excursion -boats, every sort of craft he could think of. All around, except at the -entrance, were broad streets full of people, lined with tall buildings -of light stone, many of them looking as if they might have stood since -the old Phœnician days. But room was found on the east side for the -<span class="italic">North Cape</span>, and as soon as she was made fast, both the Captain -and Kit went ashore—the former to attend to his custom-house business, -and Kit to find his agents.</p> - -<p>Within ten minutes they were both back at the ship, each with a -disgusted look in his face.</p> - -<p>“Well, did you find your agents, Silburn?” the Captain asked. “Just -about as much as I got into the Custom House, I suppose. Every business -place<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_201"></a>201</span> is shut up tight as a drum. This is some saint’s day or other, -and all business is stopped; the only places open are the cafés and -tobacco shops. They don’t care very much for Sundays in these Catholic -countries, except as a time for bull-fights and the opera; but just -give them a saint’s day, and you couldn’t induce one of them to work. -This is a wasted day for us, and I don’t like it.”</p> - -<p>“Nor I,” Kit answered; “but I suppose we must put up with it. It -wouldn’t be so bad if we had some work to do on board.”</p> - -<p>“No, there is nothing to do,” the Captain growled. It was not hard to -see that he was very much annoyed at the delay. “We might as well go -out and see some of the sights, I suppose. How would you like to go up -to that church on the hill? or would you rather go out to Castle d’If?”</p> - -<p>“Why, I should much rather go out to Monte Cristo’s castle, sir,” Kit -answered, wondering that circumstances had made the trip possible on -his very first day in port.</p> - -<p>“Then Monte Cristo it is!” the Captain exclaimed. “I’ll be getting -angry at these saintly Frenchmen pretty soon if I don’t do something -to work it off. Then you step ashore, Silburn, and find out how we can -get there. There used to be a little steamboat or two going out, and I -suppose they still run. Just find out what time they start.”</p> - -<p>Kit returned in a few minutes with a longer face than before.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_202"></a>202</span> -“No boats to-day, Captain,” he reported. “They are all afraid of the -rough water outside.”</p> - -<p>“Right enough for them,” the Captain answered, “since they are small -excursion boats and made for smooth water. But there’s nothing outside -to-day to hurt a good sea-boat. Step over there to the head of the port -where you see those sail-boats to hire, and see whether you can get a -boatman to take us over.”</p> - -<p>Kit was gone longer this time, but once more he returned with bad news.</p> - -<p>“I’m afraid we’ll have to give it up, Captain,” he said. “Not one of -the boatmen will venture outside the port. I made them understand by -saying ‘Castle d’If,’ and pointing out; but they only shook their heads -and answered ‘Le Mistral! le Mistral!’”</p> - -<p>“Well,” the Captain exclaimed, with an expressive shrug of the -shoulders, “this town is pretty well closed to-day, isn’t it? But I -think I can find a way to get to that island. Lower away the longboat, -Mr. Mason.”</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="x-ebookmaker-drop divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_203"></a>203</span> -</div> - -<h2 id="xii">CHAPTER XII.<br /> -<span>IMPRISONED IN THE CASTLE D’IF.</span></h2> - -<p class="noi"><span class="dropcap">T</span>HERE was a great deal of the boy left in Captain Griffith, as Kit had -long suspected; though he attended so thoroughly to his business that -it did not often have a chance to show itself. But having made up his -mind to enjoy a little holiday at the Castle d’If, he entered fully -into the spirit of it. His ordering the longboat lowered was sufficient -indication that he intended to sail out to the island, for it would -have taken six or eight men to row it against the heavy sea, and it was -the only one of the ship’s boats that was fitted with a mast and sail.</p> - -<p>“We can hardly be back in time for dinner,” the Captain said, looking -at his watch. “Put us up a good big basket of lunch, steward—enough -for five or six men, for I must have some passengers along for ballast, -in this breeze. Suppose you step up and ask the chief engineer whether -he would like to go out to the castle, Silburn; and you can bring your -friend Haines too, if he likes to come. I will take you along, Henry, -to look after the lunch.”</p> - -<p>The little trip to the castle was developing into a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_204"></a>204</span> regular picnic, -much to Kit’s delight. With the Captain and Tom Haines and Harry along, -they were sure to have a lively time. Both the chief engineer and Tom -Haines were glad to go, and in a few minutes they were all ready for -the start.</p> - -<p>“Now let me see,” said the Captain, before he went down the ladder to -the little boat, in which the mast had been stepped. “We must have -everything we are likely to need, for there’s no telling how we may -find things out there. The island belongs to the government, and they -used to keep a man there to show the castle to visitors, but I don’t -know how it is now. Plenty of lunch in the basket, steward?”</p> - -<p>“Enough for twice as many, sir,” the steward answered, “and dishes too. -You’ll not go hungry, sir.”</p> - -<p>“Then I don’t know of anything else we want.”</p> - -<p>“Water, sir?” Kit suggested; “hadn’t we better take some water along?”</p> - -<p>“There’s always a keg of water in the boat,” the Captain answered. -“See that it’s full, Henry. Besides, there is a big well or tank in -the castle, enough to supply a whole garrison. But we may need some -candles, for some of those dungeons are so dark you can hardly see your -hand before your face. Put a good package of candles in the basket, -steward.”</p> - -<p>The steward ran back to the cabin for the candles, and in another -minute they were off, the five men making just about a proper ballast -for the boat when the sail began to draw. The Captain took the helm<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_205"></a>205</span> -and the main sheet, Harry and Tom Haines were sent up forward to keep -her a little down by the head, and Kit and the chief engineer seated -themselves amidships.</p> - -<p>“This is Fort St. John on the right,” the Captain said, as they sped -through the harbor entrance, “and on the left is Fort St. Nicholas. Now -look at this big building on the high point to the left—the one that -stands in the handsome park. They call that the Château de Pharo. It -belonged to the Emperor Napoleon III., and he presented it to the city. -In the great cholera epidemic of 1885 they used it for a hospital, -and it has since been turned into a medical school with a hospital -attached. That is the handsomest site in Marseilles; trust an emperor -for picking out the choice spots. Now look out for a little tossing -when we round the point.”</p> - -<p>It was more than “a little tossing” that they got when they were once -out in the big bay. Great waves chased their stern, and occasionally -the boat tumbled down from the crest of a billow with a violent slap. -But there was no fear in any of the party to mar the pleasure of the -sail. They not only felt perfectly safe with the Captain at the helm, -but knew, too, that he would not have taken them out if there had been -any danger in so stanch a boat.</p> - -<p>“Now you have a fine view of Marseilles,” he said, when they were well -out. “Off to the left there the breakwater runs so far that you can -barely see the end of it. And to the right of the point is what they -call ‘the Corniche.’ That is a long, smooth, winding<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_206"></a>206</span> drive along the -shore, and one of the handsomest places to be found anywhere. When you -go out there two or three miles you come to the end of the Prado; and -by turning into that you come to the heart of the city again.”</p> - -<p>“See how old Notre-Dame stands out on the hilltop,” he went on. “You -would hardly think that statue of the Virgin, on the summit, was -thirty feet high, would you? But it is. They have to gild it every -few years to keep it bright, and it costs twelve thousand dollars to -cover it with gold-leaf. It is so windy up there that they have to -build a little house around it for the painters to work in. That is the -favorite church with the Marseilles sailors. Many of them go up there -to say their prayers before setting out on a voyage. Then when they are -in danger at sea they promise an offering to the Virgin if their lives -are saved, and when they get back to port they present a little toy -ship to the church, or a tablet to be put on the walls. It is full of -such things.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t you think, sir, it would be better for them to give their -attention to navigating their ship, when they are in danger?” Haines -asked.</p> - -<p>“Well, that is their form of religion,” the Captain answered; “we must -not ridicule them for living up to their faith. But what do you think -of this boat for a sailer, boys? It is two miles from the port out -to the castle, and we shall be there in five minutes more. Why, she -deserves to be taken up to Nice and entered in the spring regattas.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_207"></a>207</span> -At this mention of the castle they all looked toward it and saw that -it was a large and very old building of stone, with battlements on the -top, and a high tower rising far above the rest, the whole standing -upon a great rock that rose from the water’s edge to a height of thirty -or forty feet.</p> - -<p>“That must have been a very strong place before the days of heavy -guns,” Kit suggested.</p> - -<p>“It was one of the strongest forts in France,” the Captain replied. -“For centuries the most important political prisoners were confined -here. There was not the least chance for them to escape or for their -friends to rescue them. Do you see that high battlement that runs up -almost straight from the water? That is where Monte Cristo, according -to the story, was thrown into the sea when he pretended to be dead and -was sewn up in a sack. And if I’m not mistaken he was no wetter then -than we are going to be before we get ashore, for there is a heavy sea -running against this rock.</p> - -<p>“There is the landing-place, just at the foot of that rocky path,” -he continued, standing up in the stern to look about. “It is a wharf -of natural rock, with three or four fathoms of water. But there’s no -landing there to-day, with this sea breaking over it. We must get -around to leeward and try to find a bit of beach.”</p> - -<p>The island offers very little in the way of beach, but on the sheltered -side they found a smooth slope that answered their purpose, and in a -few minutes<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_208"></a>208</span> they were safely on shore and had dragged the boat well up -out of harm.</p> - -<p>“Now this way,” the Captain directed. “One of you youngsters help Henry -carry the basket. We’ve got to get around to that path we saw, for the -gate at the top of it is the only entrance.”</p> - -<p>By scrambling over the rocks they soon reached the path, and followed -it over rough and slippery rocks, up a steep incline, to the heavy -gate, which was closed, but not locked. Once through the gate, the path -showed more evidences of care, though it was still rough and difficult, -rising in a sort of rude stairway, with a step followed by four or -five feet of steep incline, then another step and another incline. On -the right was a thick stone wall, with long narrow slanting slits for -firing muskets through.</p> - -<p>Up and up the path led, growing rougher the nearer it approached the -castle, till it ran across a large open yard and ended at the moat, -over which a heavy wooden drawbridge was lowered.</p> - -<p>“There’s a sample of old times for you,” the Captain said, when they -reached the drawbridge and paused for breath. “Two or three days’ work -would make a good path of that; but in two or three centuries not one -commander of the place had ambition enough to repair it.”</p> - -<p>Crossing the bridge over the dry and rocky and weedy moat, they reached -the entrance to the castle proper, where the massive doors stood -hospitably open, and they walked in without challenge or<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_209"></a>209</span> hindrance. It -was soon evident that there was no other person on the island, for they -hallooed and shouted, but received no reply.</p> - -<p>“Strange that they leave such a historical place without any one to -take care of it,” said the chief engineer. And it did look odd, but the -fact was that the man in charge had gone ashore on some errand, and the -heavy sea had prevented his return.</p> - -<p>Having passed through the main portal, they were in a large -<a id="stone"></a><ins title="Original has 'store-paved'">stone-paved</ins> -courtyard, nearly in the centre of which stood an -old-fashioned well-curb. A heavy stone stairway on the opposite side -led to a solid gallery of iron and stone running completely around the -court, both stairs and gallery having a strong rail of wrought iron. -Numerous doors opened from both the ground floor and the gallery, some -closed and some standing open, and over several of the doors were small -signs bearing the names of their former occupants.</p> - -<p>“Put your lunch basket here in the corner,” the Captain directed -Harry. “There doesn’t seem to be any one here to disturb it. But get -out some candles, and we’ll have a look at these lower dungeons first. -Nearly every one of these solid doors leads to a dungeon, I suppose -you understood, and some of them to a series of dungeons. Silburn is -anxious to see Monte Cristo’s late residence, I am sure. Do you see his -name on the sign there under the stairway, Silburn?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir, I saw that the first thing,” Kit answered.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_210"></a>210</span> “But there is -so much to see here a fellow hardly knows where to look. It is like -going back two or three hundred years at a single step. Even in the old -buildings of London I saw nothing like this. It is a regular feudal -castle, such as we see sometimes in pictures.”</p> - -<p>“It adds a little to the romance of the thing to have the place -entirely to ourselves,” said the Captain. “We are as safe from -intrusion as if we raised the drawbridge and bolted the big doors, for -you may be sure none of the French boatmen will come out in this sea. -Now, then, if you are all ready, we will visit Monte Cristo first. Give -me a candle, and I will lead the way.”</p> - -<p>With a lighted candle in his hand the Captain went through a broad but -low arched doorway, followed by all the others, into a small dark cell, -paved with stone, to which a few faint rays of light were admitted by -a slit a foot long and about two inches wide in the upper part of one -wall.</p> - -<p>“And did Monte Cristo spend fourteen years in such a dark hole as -this!” Kit exclaimed, with a shudder.</p> - -<p>“No, indeed,” the Captain answered; “he was in a far worse place than -this. Now look out for your footing on this slant and for your heads in -the low doorway.”</p> - -<p>He led the way to another and smaller doorway in the darkest corner, -not high enough to stand erect under, and reached by going down a dark -and dangerous incline of a few feet.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_211"></a>211</span> -“This,” said he, “is Monte Cristo’s dungeon. You see it is lower than -the other, and even darker. Here on the side is the hole that he cut -through into the priest’s cell. Do you see where a large stone has been -removed? We could crawl through there into the other cell, but it is -not worth while, as they are much the same. Well, Mr. Supercargo, how -do you like this sort of a residence?”</p> - -<p>“Terrible!” Kit answered. “The only good thing I see about it is that -it is entirely dry. There does not seem to be any of the dampness that -we expect in a dungeon.”</p> - -<p>“That is because these dungeons are all above ground, and founded on -rock,” the Captain explained. “And this Monte Cristo cell is the worst -of all. It is not more than ten or twelve feet square, you see, and the -ceiling is low. In fact, it is no better than a dark cellar. But in the -upper tier there are some fine cells. Occasionally they caught a king -or prince and caged him here, you know, and they had better quarters.”</p> - -<p>“Then let us go and see them!” the chief engineer exclaimed. “It’s -enough to give a man the shivers to look at such holes as these.”</p> - -<p>Cautiously they crawled out of the lower dungeons and went to the -stairway. As they passed the well-curb, Harry stopped and raised the -lid and looked down.</p> - -<p>“Water!” he cried; “I should say so. Here’s a big square tank with -water enough to float a ship.”</p> - -<div class="figcenter width500" id="i-211"> - <img src="images/i-211.jpg" width="500" height="820" alt="" /> - <div class="caption">“‘HERE—IS THE HOLE HE CUT THROUGH INTO THE PRIEST’S -CELL.’”</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_212"></a>212</span> -They went up the broad, heavy stairs to the gallery, and the Captain -paused before a door that was marked “Louis-Philippe, 1792.”</p> - -<p>“Hello!” Kit cried; “did they have Louis-Philippe in here? Why, he was -one of the kings of France!”</p> - -<p>“This was not the king, if I remember rightly,” the Captain replied, -“but the Duke of Orleans, and father of the king of the same name. You -will see a very different cell here from Monte Cristo’s, if the door is -not locked.”</p> - -<p>The huge door opened readily, and they stepped into a large and lofty -room, moderately well lighted by a window that overlooked the court, -but that was not quite wide enough to offer a chance of escape. The -stone floor and heavy stone walls gave the apartment, to be sure, -something of the air of a prison; but it was eighteen or twenty feet -square, and on one side was a handsome fireplace, with a broad stone -seat on each side, and a carved mantel of stone that evidently had once -been a work of art, but that was badly chipped and broken by time, -perhaps with the assistance of some of the royal prisoners. When they -looked up the chimney, through which they had a glimpse of the scudding -clouds, they saw that although the opening was nearly four feet across, -it was not more than five or six inches wide, so that a prisoner could -not escape through it.</p> - -<p>“You see they had better quarters for their distinguished prisoners -than they gave to poor sailors like<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_213"></a>213</span> Monte Cristo,” the Captain said. -“Just imagine this room fitted up with rugs and hangings and handsome -furniture, as no doubt it was when Louis-Philippe occupied it. A man -could hardly want a better place. There are more such rooms on this -tier, that you can look at later on. Some of them were occupied by -Albert del Campo, Bernardot, a rich armorer of Marseilles who was mixed -up with the Duc de Richelieu. The Man in the Iron Mask, the Count de -Mirabeau, the Abbé Peretti, and a great many more famous men of their -times. Now if you want a good view of the bay, come up to the top of -the tower.”</p> - -<p>The Captain led the way up the iron stairs of the tower, all the -others following. But before Kit and Harry Leonard, who brought up the -rear, reached the top, they heard an exclamation of surprise from the -Captain, who hurriedly began to descend the steps.</p> - -<p>“Make for the boat, boys, as fast as you can!” he cried. “The wind has -shifted, and the sea is tumbling in on that side hard enough to break -her to pieces. We must get her further up in a hurry, or we’ll lose a -good boat.”</p> - -<p>The party made a scramble down the stairs, across the court, and down -the rough steps outside, then along the jagged rocks, till they reached -the boat, which, by their united strength, was soon dragged out of -reach of the waves. But the spot where they had landed in comparatively -smooth water was now<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_214"></a>214</span> beaten by heavy seas that wet them with their -spray.</p> - -<p>“That was a narrow escape!” Kit exclaimed. “It wouldn’t have taken many -minutes to break her up, where she lay. But she’s all right now.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, the boat is all right now,” Captain Griffith answered; “but -that’s about all we can say. There’s no such thing as launching her -from these rocks while the wind holds in this quarter. We’re as safely -imprisoned in Castle d’If as ever Monte Cristo was. We are in for a -night of it here, at any rate; you can make up your minds to that.”</p> - -<p>“Hurrah!” Harry Leonard cried, waving his arms. “Ain’t that a jolly -lark! We have plenty of provisions and lights and a big tank of water, -and I wish the Mistral would last a week.”</p> - -<p>But the Captain gave him such a look that Harry suddenly made his face -as serious as if the voice had come from the blackened rocks.</p> - -<p>“It would make bad work for us if this wind should hold too long,” the -Captain said. “But I think we can look for a change in the night; and -for the present we have no great cause to complain. We may consider -it settled, at any rate, that we must spend the night in the castle. -Chief, you and Haines bring along the sail and hang it somewhere to -dry; we may need it to-night to lie on. And we will all go back to the -court till I organize you into a proper garrison and set the watches.</p> - -<p>“Now I am going to establish a headquarters,”<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_215"></a>215</span> he went on, when they -were in the court again. “Shall we be romantic and take Monte Cristo’s -cell, or be comfortable and camp in Louis-Philippe’s big room?”</p> - -<p>“Let us be kings while we can,” the chief engineer answered, as the -Captain looked at him for a reply. “It looks a little rheumatic in -Monte Cristo’s place, and the other is a fine large room.”</p> - -<p>“Very well, then,” the Captain decided; “headquarters established in -room No. 14, formerly the residence of the Duke of Orleans. Henry, you -are appointed quartermaster; you and Silburn bring up the provisions.”</p> - -<p>He led the way again to Louis-Philippe’s cell, and looked about to see -what they most needed.</p> - -<p>“Chief,” he soon said, “I am going to put you in charge of a foraging -expedition. If you will take Haines and Henry with you down to the -big yard across the moat, you will find the remains of an old shed or -something that has collapsed there. I noticed it as we came in. Let -them bring up a good stock of the old boards. It will be cold to-night, -and we shall need a fire, and some of them can be made into seats.”</p> - -<p>The departure of the other three left Kit and the Captain alone in the -cell.</p> - -<p>“This is more of an adventure than we bargained for, sir,” Kit said. “I -didn’t think when I was reading that story, that I should be a prisoner -myself in Castle d’If. None of us will forget it in a hurry, and I -think I am rather glad it has happened.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_216"></a>216</span> -“So am I, to tell the truth,” said the Captain. “It won’t do us any -harm if the weather lets us away in the morning. I don’t go in for this -sort of thing very often; but now that we <em>are</em> in for it, we may -as well enjoy it.”</p> - -<p>Within the next hour the big cell bore a more homelike look than it -had had for many a day. With two of the boards a rough table was -made between the chimney-place and the inner wall. More boards were -converted into two rough benches; still others were arranged slantingly -against a wall to make a springy bed; and by resting one end of the -remainder on the stone seats and jumping upon them they were soon -converted into a formidable heap of firewood.</p> - -<p>“How many candles, Mr. Quartermaster?” the Captain asked.</p> - -<p>“Eleven, sir,” Harry answered, “besides one that was partly burned when -we were in Monte Cristo’s cell.”</p> - -<p>“Very good. The fire will give us light enough most of the time. And -the provisions?”</p> - -<p>“I’ll see, sir,” Harry replied; and taking the napkin from the top of -the basket he spread it upon the improvised table and began to lay the -food out upon it.</p> - -<p>“Here’s more than half of a boiled ham, sir,” he began, “and a roast -chicken, and three loaves of bread and some rolls, butter, pickles, -some cold roast beef, a big pot of cold coffee, pepper and salt, and a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_217"></a>217</span> -lot of dishes and knives and forks. That’s all, sir.”</p> - -<p>“All!” the Captain laughed. “The castle is provisioned for a siege. -It’s a good thing the <span class="italic">North Cape</span> has such a liberal-minded -steward. I was afraid we might only have enough for one meal; but if -we take a good sandwich apiece now, we will have plenty for supper and -breakfast. Make us five big ham sandwiches, Mr. Quartermaster.”</p> - -<p>“Aye, aye, sir!” Harry replied. He was so excited over being at once a -shipwrecked mariner and a prisoner in a celebrated old castle, that it -was well for him to have something to do.</p> - -<p>With the sandwiches in their hands they strolled among the dismal -cells, finding something on every hand to interest them. Afterward they -went out to explore the island outside the castle walls, and found -caves made by the angry water, and in several places steps cut in the -rock, where small boats could land passengers. When the first signs of -dusk appeared they returned to the castle; and Kit in wandering about -found two things that excited his curiosity.</p> - -<p>“There are some locked doors down on the ground tier,” he said to the -Captain, “that may lead to places of interest. And I have found a very -small narrow cell, hardly high enough for a man to stand up in, without -any window at all. I wonder what that can have been for.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know about the locked doors,” the Captain answered, “but most -likely they lead to the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_218"></a>218</span> rooms occupied by the people who take care of -the place. There must be somebody in charge of it, and they may have -gone ashore and been kept there by the storm. It is very natural that -they should lock the doors of their rooms on going away. The small dark -cell that you have discovered, however, was the death chamber. When a -prisoner was condemned to death he was taken there without any warning, -generally in the night or early morning. A guillotine was set up there, -and the man never came out alive. I suppose this castle could tell some -terrible tales if it could talk. But we must be thinking of supper. -Haines, you and Henry bring up a few more loads of boards first; that -light wood burns up very rapidly, and it is growing chilly.”</p> - -<p>The bare old cell soon looked quite cheerful, with a rousing blaze in -the fireplace, and its five occupants seated on the benches, eating a -good supper and drinking coffee that they had heated over the fire. The -Captain announced during the meal that Silburn was to stand watch from -six to ten, Haines from ten to two, and Harry Leonard from two till six.</p> - -<p>“And the watchman must take care of the fire,” he added, “and keep an -eye on the weather. If the wind shifts, I am to be called immediately.”</p> - -<p>Kit’s watch carried them through one of the most enjoyable evenings -he had ever spent. With the benches drawn up in front of the fire the -Captain began to spin sea-yarns, and told them tales of adventure and -hairbreadth escape in many seas in various<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_219"></a>219</span> parts of the world. The -chief engineer, too, had a good stock of such stories; and Haines spun -two or three yarns that kept them in roars of laughter.</p> - -<p>“I can’t do my share at this business,” Kit lamented. “I’ve hardly seen -a real gale yet, much less had any adventures.”</p> - -<p>“That would be no drawback, if you were a real Jack Tar instead of -a supercargo,” the Captain said, laughing. “When Jack is short of -adventures he invents a few. Some of the imaginary yarns are better -than the true ones, too. But you can spin a real yarn some time about -the night you were imprisoned in the Castle d’If.”</p> - -<p>By ten o’clock the stories were pretty much all told, the sail, now -thoroughly dry, was spread over the bed of boards, and all but Haines, -the next watch, prepared for sleep. There was no covering, to be sure; -but the blazing fire promised to give them a warm and comfortable -night. Before turning in, the Captain went to the top of the tower, and -found the night intensely dark, but no change in the weather.</p> - -<p>When two o’clock came, and Haines aroused Harry Leonard to relieve -him on watch, the others were all fast asleep; but the slight noise -woke the Captain, and he went out quietly to look at the sky, without -finding any change in the wind.</p> - -<p>Harry began his watch by putting on more wood, and making a blaze that -illuminated the stone cell beautifully. But about four o’clock the -watchful Captain stirred, turned over, raised his head, and asked:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_220"></a>220</span> -“Any change yet in the weather, Henry?”</p> - -<p>The cell was dark and chilly, the fire burned down, and no answer came -from the watch.</p> - -<p>Thoroughly awake in an instant, the Captain sprang up and found Harry -sitting sound asleep on one of the stone seats in the chimney-place.</p> - -<p>Surprised and angered at this disobedience of orders, he stepped to -the door to look at the sky again before awaking the watchman in the -emphatic way that he contemplated. He put his thumb on the heavy -wrought-iron latch and pushed against the door, but it would not open.</p> - -<p>He pushed harder and shook the door, but instead of its opening, the -shaking only gave him a still greater surprise. He could tell by the -feel and the rattling that the door was held fast by the heavy bolt on -the outside. Somebody or something had shot the bolt!</p> - -<p>He went to the window and looked out, but all was black as ink. Then, -hardly able to believe his senses, he returned to the door and shook it -again.</p> - -<p>It was so plain that he had to believe it. The bolt was shot, and they -were all securely imprisoned in the cell of Louis-Philippe, in the -Castle d’If.</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="x-ebookmaker-drop divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_221"></a>221</span> -</div> - -<h2 id="xiii">CHAPTER XIII.<br /> -<span>A VISIT TO NOTRE-DAME-DE-LA-GARDE.</span></h2> - -<p class="noi"><span class="dropcap">T</span>HE noise made by the Captain in shaking the door aroused Harry, and he -sprang up, looking very much frightened.</p> - -<p>“It’s not six o’clock yet, is it, sir?” he asked; “I must have fallen -asleep just a minute ago.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, you are a very valuable man on watch,” the Captain answered. “The -fire burned out in that minute while you were asleep, I suppose? And it -must have been in the same minute that some one came along and fastened -the door and locked us all in here, no doubt.”</p> - -<p>“Locked us in, sir!” Harry exclaimed. “Why, there is no one on the -island to lock us in. I shut the door some time ago because it was -growing colder. But no one could have locked it.”</p> - -<p>He went up to the door and shook it, but of course could not open it.</p> - -<p>“The bolt must have slipped when I shut it, sir,” he said. “The wind -was blowing in so hard.”</p> - -<p>“No matter what fastened it,” the Captain replied; “it is enough for -us to know that it is fastened. It is much more important to know why -you<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_222"></a>222</span> were asleep when I put you on watch. Don’t you know that that is -one of the most serious offences you could commit? But I shall have -something to say to you about that later on. Start up the fire, and put -the remainder of the coffee on to warm.”</p> - -<p>It was in no very pleasant frame of mind that Harry set to work at -building the fire. There was something in the Captain’s manner that -looked ominous. Though it was plain that he was greatly displeased at -such a breach of discipline, and the results that had followed it, he -was cool and quiet, and that promised worse things for the offender -than if he had stormed and blustered. And even in his own mind, Harry -could not excuse himself. He had been left on watch and had gone to -sleep, and while he slept they had been locked in. He could not help -thinking of the death chamber below, and the prisoners called from -sleep to be guillotined. He felt, he imagined, very much as they must -have felt while walking down the stone steps, chained and guarded, to -enter the gloomy chamber.</p> - -<p>The noise soon awakened Kit and the chief and Haines, and they could -not believe at first that they were really prisoners. But very little -experimenting with the door convinced each in turn that it was only too -true.</p> - -<p>“The bolt must have slipped when the door slammed,” the chief engineer -decided, bringing his mechanical mind to bear on the problem. “Maybe we -can shove it back with a thin strip of board.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_223"></a>223</span> -He found a bit that he thought might answer the purpose and went to the -window with it, but one or two trials convinced him that the bolt could -not be reached in that way.</p> - -<p>“Don’t waste your strength on that idea,” the Captain said. “These -heavy bolts cannot slip so easily. Indeed, I should be very sorry to -think that it had slipped of itself, for in that case we might possibly -be kept here for days, without sufficient provisions. Evidently some -one has fastened the bolt. Either there was some one else on the island -from the beginning, or the guardian of the castle has returned and shut -us in. I hope that is the case, for whoever shut us in will let us out. -At any rate, we will eat some breakfast before doing anything else. By -that time it will be daylight.”</p> - -<p>Somehow it did not seem quite so romantic to be encamped in -Louis-Philippe’s cell when they were actually prisoners. Kit could not -help making a mental picture of some visitor opening the door after -weeks had passed, and finding them all lying starved to death. The -coffee was comforting in the raw morning, but the breakfast was not as -jolly a meal as the supper had been.</p> - -<p>“Now,” said the Captain, when they were done eating, “we will see what -we can do toward getting out. It is growing light outside. You reach -a piece of board through the window, Haines, and pound it against the -wall, and halloo at the same time. If there is any one in the castle, -he will be pretty sure to hear it.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_224"></a>224</span> -Haines followed these directions, and made such a racket that it seemed -as if it must have been heard across the water in Marseilles.</p> - -<p>“Somebody’s coming!” he exclaimed, after a minute or two of pounding. -“I hear a footstep on the stones below.”</p> - -<p>“Halloo!” he shouted. “Halloo there! Come and unfasten the door! We -want to get out!”</p> - -<p>“Here he comes!” Haines cried, a moment later. “It’s a soldier. He’s -coming up the stairs.”</p> - -<p>“Then let me take your place,” the Captain said; “I will do the -talking.”</p> - -<p>The footsteps came nearer and nearer around the gallery, and in another -moment a young soldier in the French uniform stood before the window.</p> - -<p>“Good morning,” said the Captain. “Just slide that bolt back, please; -we are fastened in here.”</p> - -<p>The soldier gave a military salute, but did not stir.</p> - -<p>“Oh, he speaks French, of course,” the Captain exclaimed; “and I don’t -know enough of the language to talk to him. Do any of you speak French?”</p> - -<p>“I can struggle with it a little,” the chief engineer answered, “though -I know very little about it.” He took the Captain’s place at the -window, and bowed to the soldier.</p> - -<p>“Bon jour, monsieur,” he said. “Nous avons une grand desir to—to—(oh, -what a dreadful language!) to sortie. Ouvrir la porte, s’il vous plait.”</p> - -<p>The soldier shook his head and made some reply in French.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_225"></a>225</span> -“What does he say?” the Captain asked.</p> - -<p>“He says why don’t we keep quiet,” the chief answered. “Oh, no; hold -on; I got mixed with that. He says why did we come in?”</p> - -<p>“Tell him we came to see the castle,” the Captain said, “and could not -get away on account of the storm.”</p> - -<p>The chief put this into French as well as he could, and the soldier -immediately began a long and very rapid tirade, in which they caught -the words “deux cent kilos de bois,” “hier soir,” and “batteau des -gendarmes.” But he showed no inclination to open the door.</p> - -<p>“What’s all that?” the Captain asked.</p> - -<p>“As well as I can make it out,” the chief replied, “he says that he is -the keeper of the castle, and he was detained on shore by the storm. -When the wind abated early this morning he got a boatman to bring him -out, and seeing a light in this cell he came up and found us here. That -we came without permission, and burned up two hundred kilos of his wood -(that’s nearly four hundred pounds), and that he is going to signal for -the police boat and have us taken in charge.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, that’s what he is after, is it?” the Captain laughed. “Then I know -a language he will understand. Let me get there a moment.”</p> - -<p>Again at the window, the Captain put his hand in his pocket and -drew out a ten-franc gold piece which he held between his thumb and -forefinger where the soldier could see it, and pointed toward the door.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_226"></a>226</span> -Evidently that was the language he understood best. He immediately -began to smile and reached for the gold, which the Captain handed him; -and in thirty seconds more the big door was unbolted, and they all -slipped out. The gold piece changed the aspect of affairs entirely. -Instead of being their jailer the soldier tried to show them every -attention; and while the chief exchanged a few polite words with him, -Captain Griffith climbed the tower again, and found that the worst of -the wind had died out, what was left coming from another quarter, so -that there was no longer any difficulty about launching the boat.</p> - -<p>It took some time to prepare to start, replacing the sail, packing -the dishes, and getting the boat into the water; but the sun was just -nicely up over the Corniche when they sailed into the Old Port again.</p> - -<p>After reaching the <span class="italic">North Cape</span>, Kit soon went ashore to find -the agents; but it was still much too early for the Captain to do any -business at the Custom House, and he remained on board. Harry set about -cleaning the cabin, making a great show of industry, but wondering all -the time what the Captain would say or do to him. He had not forgotten -the remark that Kit had made to him, long before, about the rope’s-end -in the Captain’s room. To be sure, Captain -<a id="Griffith"></a><ins title="Original has 'Grffith'">Griffith</ins> had -always treated him very kindly; but he had never before done anything -quite as bad as to go to sleep on watch. The thought of the rope’s-end -troubled him; and it was still troubling him when the Captain’s bell -rang.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_227"></a>227</span> -“Now I’m in for it!” he said to himself. “I’m glad there’s nobody else -down here but the steward, anyhow.”</p> - -<p>“Come in here and shut the door, Henry,” the Captain said, when he -answered the call.</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes, I’m in for it now,” he thought. “This is the death chamber, -sure.”</p> - -<p>“Come up here where I can look at you,” the Captain said. He was seated -in front of his desk. “I want to see whether you realize what it means -for a man to go to sleep on watch. If we had been left locked in that -cell, and had all starved there, who would have been responsible for -it?”</p> - -<p>“It would have been my fault, sir,” Harry answered.</p> - -<p>“It would have been your fault,” the Captain repeated. “If a sailor -goes to sleep on watch, and a collision results, and lives are lost, he -is responsible for it, and the law would punish him. The man on watch -often holds the lives of his comrades in his hand, and he should always -feel the responsibility.”</p> - -<p>The Captain stood up as he spoke and stepped toward Harry, but the -cabin boy did not shrink. He had made up his mind to take whatever -came, without flinching.</p> - -<p>“I think you understand what a grave fault you committed,” the Captain -went on, laying his hand on Harry’s shoulder, “and feel sorry for it. -That is not all the punishment you deserve, but it is all you will get -this time, as we were on shore and on a pleasure trip.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_228"></a>228</span> -But never let me catch you asleep on watch again. Now get out about your -business.”</p> - -<p>Harry was not the first cabin boy who had gone into Captain Griffith’s -room expecting something unpleasant, and had come out feeling that he -would swim through stormy seas to serve such a captain as that. Perhaps -that was the reason that nearly every one of the Captain’s cabin boys -had turned out well.</p> - -<p>It was almost noon when Kit returned to the ship, feeling rather -dissatisfied with the way his affairs had gone on shore.</p> - -<p>“What’s the matter, Silburn?” the Captain asked him while they sat at -dinner. “Have they been doing you up? You have to look out for them -here, or they’ll get the strings right out of your shoes. This place is -famous for that. They have a large population in Marseilles from Italy, -Spain, Turkey, Greece, Syria, all over creation, all in a hurry to -make money without caring much how it is made. They tell me that when -Marseilles people buy anything in a store they very often won’t let the -shopkeeper wrap it up, for fear he will change it.”</p> - -<p>“No, sir,” Kit answered, “they haven’t been robbing me; they have had -no chance. But our agents here are curious sort of people, and I am -afraid they will give me as much trouble as they can. Indeed, they have -given me a great deal more trouble already than there was any need of. -One of the first things they said was that they would smooth the way -for<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_229"></a>229</span> me to get my stuff through, and I could do the same for what they -would send over to New York.”</p> - -<p>“Did they, though?” the Captain asked, laughing. “And what did you say -to that?”</p> - -<p>“Why, I was green enough not to know what they meant, sir. I supposed -they referred to the cargo, so I said it had been properly entered and -there would be no trouble about getting it through, and it would be the -same thing in New York. I can see now, from the way they looked at me, -that they could not quite make out whether I was really so innocent, or -only pretending to be. At any rate, I soon found that they supposed I -had brought some goods on my own account, which I would want to smuggle -ashore, and that they wanted to send some in the same way when we go -back.”</p> - -<p>“That was what they meant, and no mistake,” the Captain said. “There is -a great deal of that kind of business done.”</p> - -<p>“Not by me, sir,” Kit went on. “I told them very plainly that I had -brought nothing but what was on my manifests, and that if they wanted -to smuggle anything into New York they would have to try some other -ship. That offended them, I am afraid, for they became very cool, and -left me to find my way about and make my own arrangements. If they can -find any fault here with my work, and give a bad account of me to my -employers, I think they will be pretty sure to do it.”</p> - -<p>“Well, you have the satisfaction of being in the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_230"></a>230</span> right,” the Captain -answered, “and they are very clearly in the wrong. They will hardly be -likely to expose their dishonest intentions by making any complaints -in New York. At any rate, your work will show for itself when you get -back, if you carry it through well.”</p> - -<p>“I have got along all right so far without their assistance,” Kit -continued; “but it is a new experience to deal with agents who are -disposed to hinder rather than help.”</p> - -<p>“Y-e-s,” said the Captain, dryly. “You will find that you have still -one or two things to learn in the world. Well?”</p> - -<p>“I have picked up more information than I should have got if I had been -depending upon them. If they think I can’t land a cargo of oil without -their help, they are very much mistaken.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, ho!” the Captain laughed; “my young supercargo is beginning to -feel his oats! Quite right, lad. And if they don’t have the homeward -cargo ready for you promptly, their principals will have something to -say to them. You may be sure of that.”</p> - -<p>“This wharf that we are at,” Kit went on, “they call the ‘Quai de la -Fratérnité.’ The oil is to go into that warehouse just across the -street. They talked about keeping us a week before their stevedore -could take out our cargo, so I found one myself and made a contract -with him, and his men are to begin work to-morrow morning.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_231"></a>231</span> -“Good for the young American!” the Captain cried. “If these people get -too high, just remember that there is such a thing as a cable under the -ocean, and that in a few hours you can get orders from New York that -they are bound to obey as well as you.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir; but I hope it will not come to that. That square stone -building across the port,” Kit went on, “is the Hôtel de Ville, or -City Hall. You see I am getting to be quite a Frenchman. And this -wide street that runs down to the end of the port is the Cannebiere, -the main street of Marseilles, that is mentioned so often in ‘Monte -Cristo.’ And when you follow it up a little ways, it changes into the -Allée Meilhan, where Monte Cristo’s father died, you know. Then over at -that corner of the port there begins a wide street called the Rue de la -République, which runs diagonally down to the breakwater.</p> - -<p>“Well, you have made good use of your morning,” the Captain declared.</p> - -<p>“Oh, that is only a beginning, sir,” Kit laughed. “I hear that this is -considered the unhealthiest city in Europe, because it is so dirty. -Why, only three or four years ago all the sewers emptied into this -basin, and they say the smell of it was something frightful.”</p> - -<p>“I can testify to that,” the Captain interrupted. “Last time I was -here it was a standing joke that no ship need take in ballast in -Marseilles—the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_232"></a>232</span> smell of the harbor was strong enough for ballast. It -is none too sweet yet, for that matter.”</p> - -<p>“And still it is a very fine city,” Kit said; “the most interesting -place I have ever seen. There are so many strange things here. That -church of Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde keeps staring at me from its hilltop -wherever I go. I have a strong notion to go to see it this afternoon, -for I shall be very busy after we begin work.”</p> - -<p>“You will have plenty of time after dinner,” the Captain replied. “And -I can promise you that you will not be disappointed. We don’t hear much -about it in America, because Marseilles is very little known there; but -to my mind that church is one of the greatest sights in Europe. I won’t -go with you this time, for I lost too much sleep last night and want a -nap. But this will be a capital day to go. The Mistral is rising again, -and on the top of that hill you will learn something about the force of -the wind. You can take Henry with you if you want him, for sight-seeing -alone is stupid work.”</p> - -<p>Kit was very glad for this permission, both on Harry’s account and his -own; and toward the middle of the afternoon they went ashore and took -an omnibus to the “Garden of the Ascenseurs,” as the starting-point for -the church is called.</p> - -<p>“Well, if this is an omnibus, then I never saw a street car,” Harry -declared. “It’s exactly like a street car. Why do they call it an -omnibus, I wonder?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_233"></a>233</span> -“Because it does not run on tracks,” Kit explained. “You see there are -no rails; it goes right over the paving-stones. It does look like a -street car, that’s a fact, and has the same small wheels.”</p> - -<p>“Everything is different here from anywhere else,” Harry went on. “Just -look at the names of the streets! First we came up the Cannebiere, -then up Rue Paradis. Then we turned up the Cours Pierre Puget into Rue -Breteuil, and now we are going up the Rue Dragon. What would they think -of such names in Huntington, Kit? But the ascenseurs! That’s what takes -me. What are they, Kit? some kind of animals?”</p> - -<p>“Why, the word is almost English,” Kit laughed. “We call them -elevators, in London they call them lifts, and in France they are -called ascenseurs. They are elevators, that’s all, to take us up the -hill.”</p> - -<p>“Say, old man, I don’t see where you learn so many things!” Harry -exclaimed. “We only got here yesterday, and you travel about this town -like a native.”</p> - -<p>“What do you think my eyes are for?” Kit asked. “But here we are. This -seems to be the end of navigation.”</p> - -<p>The omnibus had run through a big gateway into a small garden, and -could go no further because at the end of the garden an immense hill of -rock rose almost straight into the air. As they stepped out, an old man -held a tin box in front of them, with a hole in the top to drop coins -through.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_234"></a>234</span> -“No, thank you,” said Harry, “I don’t care for any to-day. They have a -good stock of beggars in this town,” he added to Kit, “but that’s the -first one I ever saw in uniform.”</p> - -<p>“He begs for the sailors’ hospital, so the guidebook says,” Kit -answered, as he dropped a ten-centime piece into the box. “There, what -do you think of going up the hill in that thing?”</p> - -<p>He pointed, as he spoke, to a great pile of masonry that rose almost -straight up the side of the hill, with two tracks, one on each side, -and near the top a series of dark and forbidding arches. The whole -thing had an uncanny look; and they heard the rapid flow of a stream of -water, but could not see it.</p> - -<p>“Phew!” Harry exclaimed. “I don’t like the looks of it very much. I’ve -never made a practice of going to church in an elevator, you know. But -I suppose it must be safe enough, as other people use it.”</p> - -<p>At the foot of the masonry was a small open pavilion where a man -sold tickets for the elevators; and after paying their fares, eighty -centimes, or sixteen cents, each, which entitled them to go up and come -down, they passed through a turnstile and stepped into a car nearly as -large as a small room, with a seat across the back, large windows in -the front, and before the windows a narrow platform, on which stood the -brakeman.</p> - -<p>The only other occupant of the car was a priest<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_235"></a>235</span> dressed in the garb -of his order—a low black hat, with broad brim turned up at the sides, -long black robe with a cape, and the usual black bow trimmed with a -narrow edge of white at the throat—the common costume of a Continental -priest. He was a pleasant-looking old man with nearly white hair; and -it was plain that he was accustomed to making the ascent, for he paid -no attention to the strange surroundings, but sat quietly reading a -small book.</p> - -<p>“If you tell me what it is, you can have it,” Harry said, nudging Kit -with his elbow and directing his eyes toward the priest. “I suppose -it’s a man, though it’s dressed like a woman. What in the world do they -put black petticoats on their priests for in this part of the world? -But take a look at the hat, will you? Nobody could invent an uglier hat -than that, not if he sat up nights thinking about it.”</p> - -<p>Before Kit could reply a bell tapped, the brakeman turned the little -iron wheel by his side, and the car began to ascend—not quietly and -smoothly, like most elevators, but with an oscillating motion and the -noise of a great rush of water.</p> - -<p>In half a minute, as they went up, they were far above the roof of the -pavilion, above everything about them but the hill, and Marseilles -seemed to lie at their feet. It was a grand sight from the very -beginning, and grew grander every moment.</p> - -<p>“Yes, it’s a big thing, Kit,” Harry cried. “It’s<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_236"></a>236</span> the greatest sight -we’ve seen yet. London hadn’t anything like this to offer.”</p> - -<p>At this minute the priest closed his little book and leaned over toward -the boys.</p> - -<p>“Is this your first visit to the Church of Our Lady, my young friends?” -he asked, very pleasantly and in excellent English. “You seem to be -strangers. You must let me be your guide when we get to the top, for I -am quite familiar with the place.”</p> - -<p>It was such a surprise to the boys that they barely had presence of -mind to answer politely. And Harry could hardly look at the wonderful -view for thinking of the remarks he had made about the obliging -priest’s clothes.</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="x-ebookmaker-drop divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_237"></a>237</span> -</div> - -<h2 id="xiv">CHAPTER XIV.<br /> -<span>THE MYSTERIOUS STRANGER FROM ROME.</span></h2> - -<p class="noi"><span class="dropcap">W</span>HEN the car reached the summit, the priest stepped out, and the boys -followed.</p> - -<p>“Here,” he said, stepping up to the parapet and making a sweep around -the horizon with one arm, “you have one of the grandest views in -Europe. It is not as extensive as the view from the Eiffel Tower in -Paris, and of course there is not such a wilderness of buildings around -us. But here you have what is lacking there, a great body of water -for a background. You do not see much of the Mediterranean from this -terrace, because the remainder of the hill is in the way; we still have -a considerable part of the hill to climb, you know. But from the level -of the church there is a grand view of the sea.”</p> - -<p>“There could hardly be a better view of the city, sir, than there is -from here,” Kit answered. “The entire place seems to be just below us, -and the hills by which it is enclosed. The Old Port looks from here -like a little pond. But I can make out our ship very plainly, though -she looks like a toy boat from this distance. It is the third steamer -from the end, on this side, sir.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_238"></a>238</span> -“Ah, then you are sailors, are you?” the priest asked. “And I know from -your manner of speech that you are Americans.”</p> - -<p>“Not exactly sailors, sir,” Harry said, thinking it time for him to -take a little part in the conversation. “Mr. Silburn is supercargo of -that steamer he showed you, the <span class="italic">North Cape</span>, and I am the cabin -boy.”</p> - -<p>“Then you have a great opportunity to see many parts of the world,” the -priest answered. “But in all your travels you will hardly see anything -more unusual than the church we are about to visit. There are other -churches on hilltops, but none with as many curious phases as this. I -have remained for several weeks in Marseilles solely for the sake of -becoming well acquainted with it.”</p> - -<p>“Then you do not live in Marseilles, sir?” Kit asked. “I suppose that -according to the custom of the country we ought to call you ‘father’; -but we are Americans and Protestants, and not accustomed to such -things.”</p> - -<p>“It is not of the least consequence,” the priest answered, with a -smile. “I would not have you depart from what you believe to be right. -It is not a good plan to be Protestant in America and a Catholic in -Europe and a Mohammedan in Turkey, and a Confucian in China. Whatever -you are, stick to it wherever you go. No,” he went on, “I do not live -in Marseilles. My home overlooks this same beautiful blue sea, but it -is many leagues from here. I live in Rome.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_239"></a>239</span> -“We need not linger here,” the priest continued, “for the view is much -broader from the church. Come this way, and we will ascend to the -summit.”</p> - -<p>He led the way under a heavy stone arch to a long, broad stone viaduct, -like a bridge, extending from the column of masonry to the hill beyond. -Then the wide stone walk went up, up, with occasional flights of five -or six steps. At the further end of this was a longer flight of stone -steps, then a turn and another flight, and they were in front of the -entrance to a solid stone fort, with a soldier on guard at the gate. -At this level the gale was so strong that they could hardly keep their -feet. But still they kept on, up more stone steps, till they came to -the portico of the church.</p> - -<p>“We seem to be the only visitors this afternoon,” the priest said, -“though generally there are a number of persons here. I suppose they do -not like the high wind.”</p> - -<p>Instead of ascending the last flight of steps, leading to the interior -of the church, they turned to the left on a broad stone promenade -extending around the building. On one side of this was a low stone -house with several doors, and over one of the doors a sign bearing the -words, “Café, chocolat, vins fins et ordinaire, spiriteaux, tabac.”</p> - -<p>“Look at the gin-mill!” Harry exclaimed. “Who ever heard of a—” But he -recollected himself before he went any further, and stopped suddenly.</p> - -<p>“Do not stop on my account,” the priest said, with<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_240"></a>240</span> a low, pleasant -little laugh. “It looks odd to you, I know, to see a liquor shop -attached to a church. But every country has its own customs, you know. -And here the conditions are very unusual. This is not only a church, -but a fort too, as well as a signal station. All the ships that enter -the harbor are signalled from the poles on the other side of the -building.”</p> - -<p>When they turned the corner, they had a beautiful view of the -Mediterranean for many miles, and the harbor with its forts and -breakwater, and the long range of minor hills and valleys lying between -the city and its encircling mountains.</p> - -<p>“This little house, I believe,” the priest said as they turned again, -pointing to a small stone building that stood on the edge of the -promenade, almost overhanging the precipice, “is for the use of the -clergy attached to the church. But I have not made the acquaintance of -any of them, so I cannot take you in. Perhaps we had better go up now -into the church.”</p> - -<p>They stopped, however, in front of the church door while the priest -pointed out the moat, crossed by a heavy drawbridge, which they had -come over without noticing.</p> - -<p>“On account of the fort it was necessary to make the church capable of -defence also,” he explained. “In case of need the church could make -a very strong defence, with the bridge drawn up. I think you have no -fortified churches in your country?”</p> - -<div class="figcenter width500" id="i-240"> - <img src="images/i240.jpg" width="500" height="828" alt="" /> - <div class="caption">“THEY HAD A BEAUTIFUL VIEW OF THE MEDITERRANEAN.”</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_241"></a>241</span> -“No, sir,” Kit replied; “I never saw one before. There are a great many -things in Europe that we do not have in America.”</p> - -<p>“Ah, but you are modest about it!” the priest laughed. “You have also a -great many things there that we do not have here.”</p> - -<p>As they ascended the inner steps they found a little shop on each side -of the entrance, kept by elderly women who were evidently sisters of -some order, as they were clad from head to foot in white nuns’-cloth. -The goods they sold were crosses, medallions, strings of beads, -pictures of the church, and other sacred emblems. And just outside, in -full view, was the office where masses for the repose of the souls of -the dead could be arranged for and the bills paid, and where large and -small candles for church use were also sold.</p> - -<p>A big doorway on the first landing opened into a crypt or lower chapel; -but the iron gate across was locked, and they went up another flight -of steps to the church proper—a church of no unusual size, but one of -the handsomest and most artistic in France, with walls and pillars of -marble, red jasper, and other costly materials. Near the doors were -two large stands with innumerable holders for candles, in which many -were burning, some as tall as a man, others not much larger than the -ordinary household candles.</p> - -<p>The priest had pointed out the curious toy ships hanging from the -ceiling, all offerings from mariners<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_242"></a>242</span> who had been delivered from -peril; the hundreds of tablets on the walls, “like peppermint lozenges -with blue borders,” as Harry whispered to Kit; and the costly altar -decorations, when he suddenly stopped and looked at his watch.</p> - -<p>“I think we had better go out a moment,” he said, “and learn how late -the ascenseurs run. It would be awkward to be left up here after they -had made their last trip for the night.”</p> - -<p>When they reached the stone promenade they saw several men running at -great speed toward the ascenseurs; but whether something had happened -or whether the men were trying to catch the car, was more than they -could tell. The priest, however, asked the attendant who sat near the -church door, and so learned the truth.</p> - -<p>“There is some trouble with the ascenseurs,” he explained, after a -short conversation in French with the attendant. “Not exactly an -accident, but some part of the engine was broken down, and they cannot -run till it is repaired. They think all will be in order again in half -an hour, so we need give ourselves no uneasiness about it.”</p> - -<p>“That is a capital illustration of the fallibility of all things -human,” he continued, as they stepped back out of the wind. “Those -ascenseurs are supposed to be as nearly perfect as such mechanism can -be made. It was thought that nothing could possibly happen to them. -They operate on what is known as the ‘water balance’ system. As one car -goes down<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_243"></a>243</span> the other goes up; and there is a water tank under each car. -Before a car starts from the top, its tank is filled with water by an -engine that forces the water up through a pipe, and the added weight of -the water makes it so much heavier that it easily draws the other car -up. Then there are four large wire cables attached to each car, besides -the usual devices for bringing the cars to a stop in case the cables -should break. That looks as if every possible danger had been guarded -against, doesn’t it? Yet some trifling thing about the engine gives -way, and the whole beautiful mechanism is for the time made useless. -You will find all through life, my boys, that no matter how carefully -you lay your plans, they will sometimes miscarry. It is only those -things that the great Creator arranges for us that always go right. -This solid church may crumble, but the skies above it will still be as -blue, the wind still sweep as furiously across the summit of this hill. -Remember that, my children. Whether you follow the faith that I love, -or the newer forms that I hope you love equally well, you must find in -the end that all rests upon the one foundation, the great Creator who -makes no mistakes, whose love is eternal, who doeth all things well.”</p> - -<p>Kit looked up in surprise to hear a priest speak in this way. There -were few Catholics in his part of Fairfield County, and he had never -given the subject much attention; but from what he had heard of them he -rather imagined that they—well, not that<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_244"></a>244</span> they would eat him exactly, -or insist upon burning candles in front of his face, but that at any -rate they would not be likely to see good in any religion except their -own. But this man was very different from the hazy ideas he had had -of Catholic priests. He did not look or speak like a bigot. As Kit -examined his face more closely he thought it one of the most kindly -and most intellectual faces he had ever seen. And certainly he was a -man of great knowledge. Whatever subject came up in the conversation, -he was familiar with. He had even talked about the management of a -steamship as knowingly as if he had been a sailor. He spoke English -and French with equal ease; as a priest he must also speak Latin; and -as a resident of Rome he must speak Italian. Kit noticed, too, that -although his outer clothing was shaped in the usual priestly fashion, -it was made of very fine materials. His boots were delicate and highly -polished.</p> - -<p>The greater part of the half-hour they spent in examining the curious -objects in the church, and what the boys did not understand the priest -explained to them. He was an invaluable guide and a pleasant companion, -and they were sorry when he said that they had better go out again to -see whether the ascenseurs were yet running.</p> - -<p>They were surprised to find that it was pitch dark when they went out -into the air, for the church was lighted with gas. And the wind had -increased and was blowing even a worse gale than before. They<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_245"></a>245</span> groped -their way down the steps as far as the entrance to the fort, and the -priest held a short conversation with the guard.</p> - -<p>“He says the break has proved more serious than was thought,” their -guide said, “and the ascenseurs will not be able to move for several -hours. But workmen are busy making repairs, and they will be in running -order again some time during the evening. So under the circumstances I -think it will be safer for us to wait. Of course there is a path down -the hill, as I know to my cost, for I walked down it a few days ago, -lost my way, and had to do more climbing than I have done since I was -about your age. But it would be extremely difficult and dangerous in -this darkness, and on such a night. We cannot well wait so long in -the church; but if you will come with me, I will see whether I cannot -induce the authorities to give us more comfortable quarters.”</p> - -<p>“You must not put yourself to any trouble on our account, sir,” Kit -answered, though he was rather pleased at the idea of spending a few -hours more with so agreeable a companion, as well as with having -another little adventure on his second night in Marseilles. “We can get -along very well in any sheltered place; and as you are a stranger here -it might put you to some inconvenience.”</p> - -<p>“I am not a stranger in any church dedicated to the Holy Mother of -God,” the priest answered; and from the movement of his hands the boys -imagined that he was crossing himself, though it was too dark<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_246"></a>246</span> for them -to see. And he spoke as if he felt as sure of finding a welcome there -as though he were about to open the door of his own house.</p> - -<p>The priest led the way up the steps again to the church door, and said -a few words in French to the attendant, which of course the boys did -not understand. But as he drew a silver card-case from an inner pocket -and handed a card to the man, they rightly judged that he was inquiring -for the clergyman in charge, and sending his card to him.</p> - -<p>“I did not intend to introduce myself in Marseilles,” he said, after -the man had disappeared with the card; “but my poor old throat is too -weak to risk long exposure on such a night, and I must find shelter. -And you shall share it with me, for I am your guide, philosopher, and -friend on this occasion. You need not be surprised at anything you may -see. You are in the house of God, and in company of one of the humblest -of his servants.”</p> - -<p>Kit would have given a great deal for a chance to exchange a few -words with Harry. But as that was impossible he had to do his own -thinking unassisted. He began to feel somehow as if he was on the -brink of another adventure, perhaps stranger even than the night in -Louis-Philippe’s cell. This was no ordinary priest, he was sure. -Instead of acting like a man asking for shelter, he seemed rather to be -waiting for something that he was entitled to.</p> - -<p>And what could he mean by telling them not to be surprised at anything -they might see? Surprised!<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_247"></a>247</span> the boys were surprised enough already. -Their weird surroundings thrilled them. The hill of Notre-Dame, with -all its strange accessories, is thrilling under the broad noonday sun; -but on this night of inky darkness, with the lights of Marseilles -twinkling far beneath them, and the church walls, though solid as the -fort itself, trembling under the thundering blasts of the gale, it was -enough to stir the blood of older men than Kit or Harry, without the -addition of a mysterious priest warning them against surprise.</p> - -<p>In a few minutes they heard footsteps coming down one of the long, -gloomy aisles, and the attendant returned, accompanied by a priest -dressed precisely like their companion, except that he carried no -hat. He looked around for a moment in the semi-darkness, this second -priest, approached the little group, and immediately dropped upon his -knees before the stranger. As he did so, the latter put out both hands -as if to help him rise, and the boys noticed that their companion had -removed his gloves, that his hands were beautifully small and white, -and that upon one of his fingers was a large and sparkling seal ring. -The kneeling priest took the hands in his and either kissed one of them -or kissed the ring, it was impossible to tell which.</p> - -<p>The boys disobeyed instructions at once. They were both surprised -already.</p> - -<p>Before rising the priest received the benediction from the newcomer, -and in another moment they were conversing in Latin; not, it seemed -to Kit, like<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_248"></a>248</span> equals talking together, but more like an inferior -speaking to a superior. The conversation lasted for some minutes; -and at its conclusion the priest of the church, with a profound bow, -led the way down the steps, across the stone promenade, and into the -small house in which, as their guide had told them, the clergy made -their headquarters. It was not, as the boys soon saw, a place where -the priests lived, but simply where they could sit and read and make -themselves comfortable while waiting for the numerous services during -the day and evening; and an adjoining room, the door of which stood -open when they entered, was evidently devoted to the uses of the -sisters in white.</p> - -<p>The room was in darkness at first, but the priest began to light the -wax candles that seemed to be kept more for ornament than use, and -it was soon bright as day. He drew up chairs for the visitor and his -companions, and then, with many low bows, excused himself and went out. -The apartment looked somewhat bare, but its scant furniture was heavy -and solid.</p> - -<p>“This will answer our purpose while we are detained here,” their friend -said when they were alone. “I have asked them to let us have a fire, -for the wind makes the air chilly.”</p> - -<p>In an incredibly short time, the priest returned with a number of -attendants, each bearing a load of some kind—attendants, who were -evidently young men in training for the priesthood, for they all wore<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_249"></a>249</span> -semi-priestly costumes. Two of them carried a large and handsomely -carved armchair from the church. Another had a large purple cloth over -his arm. Another bore a footstool, and still another brought an armful -of wood.</p> - -<p>Surprising as all this was, the boys were still more surprised to see -that each person as he entered the room immediately dropped upon his -knees, and rose only when their guide motioned them to do so, which he -did immediately. The two with the big chair had to set it down before -they could kneel; but the young man with the armful of wood had the -hardest time getting down and up again.</p> - -<p>The big chair was placed by the side of the hearth, and with the heavy -purple cloth thrown over it, and the footstool in front, it began -to look, the boys thought, very much like a throne. But their guide -seated himself in it as readily as if a throne was his customary seat, -and talked in Latin again with the priest, while one of the young men -started a blazing fire. When the priest withdrew again, as he did in a -few minutes, accompanied by the young men, it was with many low bows, -and walking backward toward the door.</p> - -<p>“Some of them are going to break their necks if this thing keeps on,” -Harry said to himself. He was fairly tingling for a chance to talk to -Kit, but that was still impossible. “But I’d like to know what sort of -a Grand High Panjandrum this is we’re travelling with. It must be an -awful nuisance to be<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_250"></a>250</span> such a big gun that people have to get down on -their knees to you. Why, I don’t believe you have to kneel when you go -to see the Governor of Connecticut; no, nor the President.”</p> - -<p>“They are going to bring us some trifling refreshment,” their guide -said, “as we shall lose our dinners through this accident to the -ascenseurs.” Then seeing that the boys hardly knew how to conduct -themselves in what was for them a very awkward situation, he skilfully -led them into conversation. How long had they been in Marseilles, and -what had they seen?</p> - -<p>Kit was soon started with the story of their visit to the Castle -d’If and what befell them there, in which their friend was very much -interested. Then he was led on and on, almost without knowing it, to -tell something of his own history; and that took him naturally to the -disappearance of his father, and the possibility that he might be the -strange man in the New Zealand hospital.</p> - -<p>“It is a great trial to be kept in such suspense,” their guide said; -“but whatever comes of it you must always feel that it is for the best. -I am glad to know that I may perhaps be of a little assistance to you -in such a matter. We may never meet again, but I shall be happy if I -can give you cause to remember your visit to Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde -with the stranger from Rome. I have a very dear friend in New Zealand -who may be of the greatest assistance to you in identifying the man in -the hospital,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_251"></a>251</span> or in providing suitably for him if he proves to be your -father—as indeed I hope he may. I will give you a line to my friend, -and you must not hesitate to use it if occasion arises.”</p> - -<p>He took from an inner pocket, as he spoke, a small letter-case with -silver clasp and corners, opened it, and with the fountain pen it -contained wrote a brief letter, resting the case upon his knee, -enclosed it in an envelope which he addressed, and handed it to Kit.</p> - -<p>“If you should go to New Zealand to make inquiries for yourself,” he -said, “do not fail to present it, or if you send it by mail, write a -letter of your own to accompany it, explaining the case. You will find -it of use to you.”</p> - -<p>“Thank you very much, sir,” Kit answered, as he took the letter. “I -cannot tell what will be best to do till we hear from the consul there.”</p> - -<p>The letter-case was hardly restored to its place before the priest -returned, bringing again several attendants who carried a large tray -loaded with silver eating and drinking utensils, a silver urn of -steaming tea, bread, meats, cakes, fruit, nuts, and cheese. Again they -all went through the kneeling process; and they were shortly followed -by several more priests, who were duly introduced to the distinguished -visitor.</p> - -<p>While they were eating, all the priests and attendants withdrew; and -the “they” included the boys as well as the stranger, for he had -thoughtfully<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_252"></a>252</span> asked for food for his friends as well as for himself. -After a suitable interval the priests returned, kneeling as before, the -tray was removed, and the priests, at the stranger’s bidding, drew up -chairs, and a conversation followed, sometimes in Latin, sometimes in -French.</p> - -<p>The boys could easily see that they were as much of a mystery to the -priests as the whole thing was to them. Here were two young men, whose -dress showed that they were not in holy orders, who did not even speak -the language of the country, but who sat and talked and ate with the -distinguished stranger as if with an equal; who did not kneel to him, -did not even bow when they stood before him, but spoke to him and asked -him questions as freely as if he had been their father. If the boys -could have understood a few words of the conversation, their situation -would have been much less awkward; but it was all as bad as Greek to -them, and they could do nothing but sit and listen.</p> - -<p>For the next hour or two the priests were in and out, bowing themselves -out backwards always as they retired, kneeling always as they entered; -and in the intervals the boys enjoyed the conversation of their guide, -who had been in many countries and had seen many strange things. He had -been in America, much to their delight, and could tell them more than -they knew about New York and Boston. He had been in Bridgeport, too; -but when they asked whether he had been in Huntington he smiled and -shook his head.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_253"></a>253</span> -There was no need now to make inquiries about the repairs to the -ascenseurs, for every priest who entered the room had something to say -about the progress of the work, and the visitor kept the boys informed -in English. They would be running again in an hour; in half an hour; in -ten minutes. Then came the news that they were running, but would make -a few trips first to be sure of their safety. It was between eleven and -twelve o’clock when they were told that all was in readiness for them -to descend.</p> - -<p>Outside the door of the little house were two young attendants with -lanterns; and the priests themselves were there to take their visitor -by the arms and help him down through the stormy darkness to the -ascenseurs. And four priests went down with them in the car; and in the -pavilion at the bottom the whole four fell upon their knees around the -stranger to receive his benediction before he left them. And a handsome -carriage was waiting (the priests had taken care of that), in which the -stranger insisted that the boys should drive with him into the city.</p> - -<p>“I am staying at the Hôtel de Louvre et de la Paix,” he said, “so it -will be directly in my way to set you down at the Old Port where your -ship lies.”</p> - -<p>He bade them a fatherly good-by when they got out, and they climbed -aboard the <span class="italic">North Cape</span> in the darkness.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_254"></a>254</span> -“Just pinch me, will you, Kit,” Harry said, when they were safely on -deck. “I don’t know whether I’m a cabin boy or a sort of graven image -on that big altar.”</p> - -<p>Captain Griffith was still up and reading, and he called the boys into -his room.</p> - -<p>“You made a long visit to that church,” he said. “I was getting a -little alarmed about you.”</p> - -<p>“We have been in good company, sir,” Kit answered. And he briefly told -the story of their adventure. “I really don’t feel quite sure yet that -we have not been dreaming,” he concluded. “Yes, it must have been real, -though, for here is the letter the gentleman gave me.”</p> - -<p>He held the dainty envelope down under the light, and read the -address:—</p> - -<p class="center">“THE MOST REVEREND<br /> -THE BISHOP OF NEW ZEALAND<br /> -<span class="italic">Wellington, N.Z.</span>”</p> - -<p>“Well,” the Captain exclaimed, “the letter is not sealed. You can -easily tell by the signature who your distinguished friend was.”</p> - -<p>Kit took the letter out and tried to read it, but soon gave it up.</p> - -<p>“It is all written in Latin, and I can’t make out a word of it,” he -said, handing it to the Captain.</p> - -<p>“Don’t you see that little scarlet emblem up in the corner?” the -Captain asked, as soon as he glanced at it. “That is the emblem of a -cardinal, as I thought<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_255"></a>255</span> everybody knew. Yes, certainly. It is signed -‘Galotti.’ You youngsters have been hobnobbing with Cardinal Galotti. -Get off to bed, Henry; I can’t have my cabin boy fooling around with -Princes of the Church.”</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="x-ebookmaker-drop divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_256"></a>256</span> -</div> - -<h2 id="xv">CHAPTER XV.<br /> -<span>NEWS FROM NEW ZEALAND.</span></h2> - -<p class="noi"><span class="dropcap">T</span>HE little cottage in Huntington took on a new coat of white while -Kit was seeing the world and earning money beyond the sea. All the -weak spots were mended, the yard was put in order, the trees trimmed, -and in the rear a neat garden was made, where, toward the end of the -afternoons, Mrs. Silburn and Vieve went out in sunbonnets and pulled -weeds and did such other work as women’s hands were able to perform. It -was a very different looking place from the dingy spot it had become a -year before under the shock of its owner’s disappearance. And better -than all, the last cent of indebtedness upon it had been paid off.</p> - -<p>“I am glad you are able to do this, Mrs. Silburn; glad on your own -account,” the lawyer said when she made the last payment. “I hardly -expected it, with the trouble you have had. I was prepared to give you -as much time as you wanted in paying this up.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, you have been very good, Mr. Clarkson,” Mrs. Silburn answered. -“For a time I thought I should have to ask you for an extension. But I -did<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_257"></a>257</span> not know then what a good boy I had. Yes, I knew it of course; but -I did not know that he would be able to do so much for me so soon.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, you have a good boy, and no mistake,” the lawyer assented. “But -you can hardly call him a boy any more. When do you expect him home -again?”</p> - -<p>“In three or four weeks, now, I hope. And you know we have a little -hope of seeing some one else, too. It is a faint chance; but if the -man I told you of in the New Zealand hospital should prove to be my -husband, we want to have everything in order for him when he returns. -That is the reason Kit was so anxious to have the house painted; and -that is why I have struggled to have all the debts paid. We are looking -every day for a letter from the consul in New Zealand.”</p> - -<p>It was putting it very mildly to say that they were “looking” for a -letter from the consul. They were so eager for it that they did not -let a single mail arrive without going to the little post-office on -the hill. Not only that, but they had matters arranged so that as -Vieve came down the hill from the office, she could let her mother -know in advance of her arrival whether she had got any letters. Their -front windows looked across to the diagonal road that went up past the -post-office; and Vieve was to wave the letter, if she got one, as she -came down the hill, so that her mother, sitting sewing by the window, -would see it.</p> - -<p>Vieve was cook and housekeeper, now that her<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_258"></a>258</span> mother was busy all day -sewing, and she took pride in leaving everything in good order when she -started for school. Not that the cooking was very hard work. They often -said, laughingly, that Kit would give them both a good scolding if he -should come home unexpectedly and see what they had for breakfast. A -cup of coffee, a few slices of bread and butter, occasionally some -eggs, or a handful of radishes from the garden, made their usual fare; -and the other meals were equally light, though Mrs. Silburn insisted -that every few days they should have a steak or some chops for health’s -sake.</p> - -<p>“It’s a sinful waste of money!” Vieve always declared. “We don’t need -them half as much as we need the money. Remember you can’t bring a man -home from New Zealand for nothing. Anyhow, it’s a shame for us to eat -up the money that Kit works so hard for—and you sewing, sewing all the -time. I’m going to find a way to earn a little money myself, as soon as -I can. I don’t want to be the only one to make nothing.”</p> - -<p>“Then who will take care of me?” Mrs. Silburn’s invariable answer was.</p> - -<p>One morning she knew there was a letter by the way Vieve came running -down the hill, even before it was waved in the air for her. And Vieve -burst in flushed and breathless.</p> - -<p>“I’m almost afraid to open it,” Mrs. Silburn said. “So much depends -upon this letter, and it may crush all our hopes.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_259"></a>259</span> -“Not <em>this</em> letter!” Vieve laughed. “This is not from that consul -man, this is from Kit; and his letters never crush anybody’s hopes.”</p> - -<p>It was a letter telling of his safe arrival in Marseilles, and his -night in Louis-Philippe’s cell in the Castle d’If, and his visit -to Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde with Harry and their meeting with the -distinguished stranger who proved to be a cardinal.</p> - -<p>“A cardinal!” Vieve exclaimed; “just think of our Kit travelling about -with a cardinal. He’ll be so proud when he gets home we won’t know what -to say to him.”</p> - -<p>“Indeed, I think any cardinal or anybody else ought to be proud to -associate with a young man like Kit,” Mrs. Silburn hastened to answer. -“I don’t know that I want him running about with cardinals, either. -They’re papists, and the papists are all tricky. It would be just -like them to try to make a Catholic of such a young man. That Louise -Phillips, or whatever her name was, can consider herself very much -honored, too, that Kit visited her cell.”</p> - -<p>“Why, mother,” Vieve laughed, “Louis-Philippe was a man; a king, a -prince, or something.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t care,” Mrs. Silburn went on, “Kit’s just as good as any of -them. Don’t bother, now, till I finish the letter. What do I care for -their kings or cardinals when I have a letter from Kit?</p> - -<p>“‘The cardinal gave me a letter to the Bishop of New Zealand,’ she -continued to read from the letter,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_260"></a>260</span> ‘and it may be of service to us -there. But I hope you have heard from the consul before this. I almost -wish I had asked you to send me a cable despatch telling me when you -got a letter and what it said. But cabling is so expensive—about forty -cents a word to Marseilles—that I shall have to wait in patience -till I get home. That will be in about three weeks after you get this -letter, I think; and I will be out to see you just as soon as I get my -cargo disposed of.’</p> - -<p>“I do hope we will hear from that consul before Kit gets back,” Mrs. -Silburn said, after finishing the letter; and for the twentieth time -she figured out, as well as she could, how long it ought to take a -letter to go from London to New Zealand, and how long for the reply to -come to America.</p> - -<p>“Well,” she continued, “Kit will find things very much improved here -when he comes home. I never saw the old place look so well. If only -he could stay here longer to enjoy it! He works and works to keep a -comfortable home for us, and then never can stay in it more than a few -days at a time. But you must be off to school, Vieve; and don’t forget -to put on your overshoes, the streets are so muddy. I don’t know how -many times I have told you to go and buy a new pair, but you go on -wearing those old things, full of holes. You’ll catch your death of -cold.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t need new ones, mother,” Vieve replied. “They don’t grow on the -trees, you know, and all<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_261"></a>261</span> these things cost money. I’m not going to be -spending all of Kit’s money for my clothes.”</p> - -<p>“You foolish child, don’t you know that he always likes to buy things -for you? He’d rather get new clothes for you than for himself.”</p> - -<p>“I know it, mother,” Vieve answered. “He slipped some money into my -hand last time he was home, you know, and told me to buy something for -myself. But I’m not going to do it; I’d rather save it; you know what -for.”</p> - -<p>“You don’t want your father to come home and find that you’ve died of -diphtheria, do you?” Mrs. Silburn asked. “Well, you must have your own -way about it, I suppose. Stop at the butcher’s when you come home at -noon, Vieve, and get a slice of ham—not a very thick slice. There are -two or three eggs left, and that will do for our dinner.”</p> - -<p>It was as well that Kit could not see the pinching little ways at -home, or he would have worried over it. It was something new for the -Silburn family to live in this way, for Kit’s father had always made -good pay, and insisted upon the wife and children having plenty of -everything. But when he disappeared there came a change, and there -were grave doubts for a time whether Mrs. Silburn could make both -ends meet, even with the most rigid economy. Then Kit began to earn -a little; but although nearly every cent of his went to his mother, -she was determined that every cent of his little savings should be -set aside for his future use. It was only when there<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_262"></a>262</span> seemed a slight -possibility of her husband’s being alive that she consented to use some -of his money to repair and paint the house and pay the last of the -indebtedness upon it. Her own small income barely sufficed to buy the -plainest food. There was always, now, some of Kit’s money in the house; -but of their own, as they called it, money that they were willing to -spend, they were often reduced to two or three dollars.</p> - -<p>Not long after the receipt of Kit’s letter, Vieve once more waved a -white envelope as she descended the hill from the post-office, and this -proved to be the long-expected answer from the consul in New Zealand. -Mrs. Silburn turned it over and over many times, and examined the -address and the postmarks and the strange stamp on the corner, before -she could raise courage to open it. It was addressed to “Christopher -Silburn, Esq.,” as it was in answer to his letter; and her agitation -was so great that she was half inclined to make this a pretext for -letting it stand unopened until Kit returned.</p> - -<p>“Why, mother,” Vieve urged, “you know that was all arranged. He said -the answer would be addressed to him, but that we should open it just -the same. He would think we took no interest in it if we didn’t open -it.”</p> - -<p>“No, Kit couldn’t think that!” Mrs. Silburn declared; “he knows us too -well for that.”</p> - -<p>With trembling hand she cut off the end of the envelope with her -scissors; but that was as far as<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_263"></a>263</span> she could go. That letter was -destined, probably, either to overwhelm them with joy or fill them with -grief; and she could not bring herself to look at it.</p> - -<p>“Here, you read it,” she said, handing it, still in its envelope, to -Vieve. “My hands shake so I can hardly hold it.”</p> - -<p>Vieve quickly took out the letter and unfolded it.</p> - -<blockquote> -<p class="center"><span class="smcap">U. S. Consulate, Wellington, N. Z.</span> [she read].</p> - -<p class="noi"><span class="smcap">Christopher Silburn, Esq.</span>, Huntington, Conn.</p> - -<p><span class="italic">Dear Sir</span>:—Your letter in regard to the supposed American -sailor in the hospital in this place was duly received, and I have -made such investigations as the data you supplied made possible. I -also secured the services of a physician to compare the unfortunate -man with your description, thinking that his larger experience in -such matters would give his opinion greater value than my own.</p> - -<p>But I regret that with all these inquiries my answer must still -leave you in doubt whether this man is your father or not. We -imagine that there is a slight scar upon the left temple, but it -is so indistinct, if there really is one, that we think it hardly -corresponds with the one you describe. Still we are not prepared to -say definitely that it does not.</p> - -<p>This man’s height is about five feet nine and a half inches, and -you say your father was 5, 10½. But he stoops so much that it is -difficult to get his height correctly, and he may in better days -have been 5, 10½. We are not prepared to either say that his eyes -are brown; they are a sort of brownish gray; and his weight is -about 140 pounds, though it was only 127 when he was received in -the hospital.</p> - -<p>The teeth almost answer the description you give, being perfect -except that one incisor on the left side is partly broken off. That -is an accident, however, that might have happened since you last -saw him.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_264"></a>264</span> -On the whole, as I said before, I am unable from your description -to decide whether this man is your father or not. I have mentioned -to him all the names and incidents given in your letter, without -the least result. He improves in physical health daily, but there -is no corresponding improvement in his mental condition. His memory -seems entirely dormant.</p> - -<p>I had him photographed some time ago, but before the prints were -made the negative was destroyed in a fire that burned a large -share of the business portion of this city; and as soon as the -photographers are able to resume business I will have a new -negative made and send you a photograph.</p> - -<p>I suggest that you send me as many further particulars as you can; -and meanwhile you may rest assured that this unfortunate man, -whether he prove to be your father or not, is comfortably situated -and receiving all necessary attention.</p> - -<p class="right mb0 right8">Yours very truly,</p> -<p class="smcap right4 mt0 mb0">Hy. W. W. Wilkins,</p> -<p class="right mt0"><span class="italic">Vice-Consul of the U. S., Wellington, N. Z.</span></p> -</blockquote> - -<p>“Well, if <em>that</em> ain’t a disappointing letter!” Mrs. Silburn -exclaimed, when Vieve had finished reading. “I should think a man right -there on the spot could tell something about it. Won’t poor Kit be -disappointed when he comes home, after all these weeks of waiting!”</p> - -<p>“And still he has taken a great deal of pains about it,” Vieve -suggested; “even to getting a doctor, and having a photograph taken. We -can’t blame him because he is not able to say yes or no to a certainty. -He knows how awkward it would be if he should say ‘Yes, this is the -man,’ and then after we got him home he should prove to be another man -entirely. I am glad he is so careful about it, at any rate. And<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_265"></a>265</span> it -seems to me there is a great deal in the letter that is encouraging. -Let’s read it over again, and pick out the good points.”</p> - -<p>“But you will be late for school, Vieve,” her mother objected.</p> - -<p>“School!” Vieve cried; “if I hurry, I may learn that Rio Janeiro is on -the east coast of South America; and I don’t care a fig if it’s on the -west coast of Asia, when there may be news about father.”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Silburn looked up in surprise at hearing Vieve speak in this -way, for school was a pleasure to her, not a labor. She saw that the -light-hearted girl was in a great state of excitement, though she tried -hard to suppress it, and the look was the last straw that brought on -the storm.</p> - -<p>“Oh, mamma!” she sobbed, with one arm across her eyes. “I believe that -man—that man—in New Zealand—is my father!”</p> - -<p>With another burst of tears she threw her arms around her mother’s -neck and sobbed till the chair shook. And as such things are always -contagious, Mrs. Silburn was soon crying too; and if tears are a -relief, they must have felt much better, for it was ten or fifteen -minutes before they were able to look at the letter again.</p> - -<p>“Suppose it is your father,” Mrs. Silburn said at length, in a mildly -chiding tone; “that’s nothing to cry about, is it? This unsatisfactory -letter only makes another delay, that’s all. Kit will know what<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_266"></a>266</span> to -do when he comes. He always knows. What is it the man says about your -father’s teeth?”</p> - -<p>“Well, he don’t say they’re father’s teeth,” she answered, trying to -laugh off the remnants of her tears. “But he says that that man’s -teeth—let me see what he does say—” and she turned to the letter -again.</p> - -<p>“‘The teeth almost answer the description you give,’” she read, “‘being -perfect except that one incisor—’ what’s an incisor? oh, yes, I know; -‘that one incisor on the left side is partly broken off.’”</p> - -<p>“Now isn’t that a good point?” she asked. “There ain’t many people have -teeth like father’s, I tell you. And it’s nothing that one of them -should be broken. I guess if we went through such a shipwreck we’d have -more broken than one tooth. It’s easy to see how a mast, or a keel, or -a—a—a breakwater or something might have struck him while he was in -the water.</p> - -<p>“Then there’s that scar,” she went on. “Let me see—” and she found -that part of the letter again. “‘We imagine that there is a slight scar -upon the left temple,’” she read. “Now why should they imagine it if it -wasn’t there? You don’t imagine a scar; you see it. Oh, we couldn’t ask -for anything better than that.”</p> - -<p>There was no school for Vieve that morning; she was too much excited -over the letter. But after it had been read again and well studied she -drew her father’s armchair to his favorite place by the fireside,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_267"></a>267</span> got -out his slippers and stood them in order in front of the chair, just -ready to be stepped into, and laid in the chair his pocket knife, that -had been one of their treasures ever since Kit -<a id="brought"></a><ins title="Original has 'bought'">brought</ins> it -home from London. Then she called in Turk and made him sit down beside -the chair.</p> - -<p>“There!” she said; “there’s a beginning. We have the chair, the -slippers, the knife, and Turk waiting to be petted. And in New Zealand -we have got as far as father’s beautiful teeth and the scar on the -temple. Before long we’ll have a whole father sitting here with us, or -I’m very much mistaken. I don’t feel so much as if he was missing now. -We know where he is (at least I think we do), and we have only to get -him home.”</p> - -<p>“Ah, you are very hopeful, Vieve,” her mother sighed. “I only wish I -felt as sure of it as you do.”</p> - -<p>It was only two or three mornings after the receipt of the consul’s -letter that Vieve once more waved an envelope as she hurried down the -post-office hill.</p> - -<p>“It’s another from Kit, mother,” she cried, as she burst into the room; -“and it was registered and I had to sign a receipt for it, so there -must be something important in it.”</p> - -<p>There was no hesitation ever about opening Kit’s letters; they were -always so hopeful and cheery.</p> - -<p>“We are going to get our cargo in a little sooner than we expected,” he -wrote, “and in about two weeks or two and a half after you receive this -you may hear of our arrival in New York.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_268"></a>268</span> -“I intended to send you the cardinal’s letter last time I wrote, but I -was interrupted and had to mail it in a hurry, so I waited to send it -in this. And I will register this letter to guard against it’s being -lost in the mails, as a note from so powerful a person might be of -great use to us in New Zealand, and I must not lose it. It is written -in Latin, as you will see; and I am sorry to say that not one of us on -the ship knows enough about Latin to read it. But maybe you can get our -minister in Huntington or Vieve’s teacher to translate it for you. I -should like to know myself what is in it. I shall not be very long, I -tell you, about learning some languages besides English. I did not know -how much use they could be to a man till I came to travel. I am picking -up a little French in dealing with these French people, but have not -had much time for it—for you must not think I have had nothing to do -in Marseilles but look at the sights. I heard a funny little story the -other day about an Englishman who was learning French. You know the -‘sea’ in French is <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">mer</i>, pronounced <span class="italic">mare</span>, and ‘horse’ is -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">cheval</i>. ‘Well,’ said he, after taking a few lessons, I never can -learn such a foolish language as this, where the sea is a mare and a -horse is a shovel.’”</p> - -<p>“Did you ever see such a boy!” Mrs. Silburn exclaimed, handling -Kit’s letter as if it were more precious than gold. “He always finds -something funny wherever he goes.”</p> - -<p>But Vieve was very much interested in the cardinal’s<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_269"></a>269</span> note, and the -little scarlet emblem in the corner.</p> - -<p>“I might take it to school and ask the teacher to translate it,” she -said; “but I think Mr. Wright would be more interested in it. He always -takes such an interest in Kit; and then although he is a minister, -maybe he has never seen a letter from a cardinal.”</p> - -<p>That same afternoon she took the letter to Mr. Wright, the clergyman -who preached in the church across the road, and he readily consented to -translate it.</p> - -<p>“That is, if I can,” he added, smiling. “It is one good thing about the -Catholics that they teach their young men Latin much more thoroughly -than we learn it in our schools. The priests cannot only read and write -it, but they can always converse in it fluently. But I think I can -translate this for you; at any rate, I will write it out for you in -English, for you probably could not remember it all.”</p> - -<p>He read it over first carefully, and then wrote the following -translation:—</p> - -<blockquote> -<p><span class="smcap">Most Reverend and Well Beloved Brother</span>: This will be -presented to you by Mr. Christopher Silburn, a young American in -whom I take an interest.</p> - -<p>His father has been shipwrecked and has disappeared, and it is -hoped that a sailor now in one of your New Zealand hospitals may -prove to be the missing man.</p> - -<p>I bespeak for my young friend your good offices in whatever manner -may be fitting.</p> - -<p>Accept, brother, the assurance of my continued love and esteem.</p> - -<p class="smcap right8">Galotti.</p> -</blockquote> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_270"></a>270</span> -“Galotti—Galotti,” Mr. Wright said, musingly, as he copied the -signature; “why, there is a celebrated cardinal of that name. This can -hardly be from Cardinal Galotti, I suppose?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir,” Vieve answered, swelling a little with pride in her -brother; “that is the man. He is one of Kit’s friends in Marseilles.”</p> - -<p>Such an astonishing statement had to be explained; and in answer to -her pastor’s questions she repeated the story of their meeting in the -strange church as Kit had told it in his letter.</p> - -<p>“I am remarkably glad to hear it,” Mr. Wright said, when she finished. -“Kit is a good boy, and sure to make good friends wherever he goes. -But I imagine you have no idea what a powerful friend he has made this -time. The cardinals hold the very highest position in the Catholic -Church, next to the Pope himself. Such a letter as this from a cardinal -to a bishop is almost equal to a royal command, and may be of the -greatest use to you. Wait a minute; I think I can tell you something -about Cardinal Galotti.”</p> - -<p>He turned to a bookcase and took down a volume, and in a few minutes -continued:—</p> - -<p>“Yes, Galotti is one of the most eminent of the cardinals, and -may eventually be the Pope himself. All the cardinals are called -ecclesiastical princes, you know; but Galotti is a temporal prince as -well, being a prince of Italy. No wonder he seemed so much at ease in -the little throne they arranged for him in that<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_271"></a>271</span> curious church. I -don’t believe in such things myself; but I am truly glad that Kit has -made so powerful a friend.”</p> - -<p>Whether Vieve had anything to say to the girls at school about “Kit’s -friend the cardinal,” would be hard to tell; but in a little over two -weeks more she ran down the post-office hill so fast one morning that -her mother knew she had some news, though there was no letter in her -hand.</p> - -<p>What she had was a little slip that one of the neighbors she met in the -office had torn out of his New York newspaper for her. It was only one -line of fine type, under the heading “Arrived Yesterday”:</p> - -<p>“<span class="italic">North Cape</span>, Griffith, from Marseilles.”</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="x-ebookmaker-drop divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_272"></a>272</span> -</div> - -<h2 id="xvi">CHAPTER XVI.<br /> -<span>KIT LEAVES THE “NORTH CAPE.”</span></h2> - -<p class="noi"><span class="dropcap">T</span>HOUGH the voyage to and from Marseilles had been a pleasant one, -and the business had been transacted in a way that he knew must be -satisfactory to his employers, Kit was remarkably glad when the -<span class="italic">North Cape</span> was inside of Sandy Hook again. It was time, more -than time, for an answer to his letter to New Zealand; and although at -his last news from home no answer had arrived, he felt sure that he -must find one when he reached Huntington.</p> - -<p>“I shall be busy for five or six days getting out my cargo,” he wrote -home when his first rush on arrival was over; “but you can expect to -see me by the beginning of next week. I have so many things to tell -you; and I hope you will have news for me from Wellington.”</p> - -<p>He was to have more things to tell them when he got to Huntington than -he then had any idea of; but he sent some messages and packages home by -Harry Leonard, as before, and worked away at his cargo till the greater -part of it was in the warehouse.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_273"></a>273</span> -He had eight hundred boxes of soap among his other cases, for -Marseilles is a great point for the manufacture of soaps; “and it’s a -pity they send so much of it away,” he often said to himself, “when -they’re in such need of it over there.” But his soap needed particular -attention; and he had to make several trips to his employers’ office to -get directions concerning it. On his return from one of these trips he -went into the cabin and found that there was a visitor in the Captain’s -room.</p> - -<p>“Come in, Silburn,” the Captain called through the open door. “Here’s a -friend of yours come to see you.”</p> - -<p>Kit went in, wondering whether his mother could have received important -news and hastened to the city to tell him of it; but his hand was -instantly seized by the rotund purser Clark, of the <span class="italic">Trinidad</span>, as -fat and bluntly good-natured and short-breathed as ever.</p> - -<p>“Glad to see you again, Silburn,” the purser puffed. “It’s not so long -since we cooled ourselves with ice cream in the ice-house down in -Barbadoes; but I hear you’ve been seeing a good deal of the world since -then.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, a few corners of it,” Kit answered. “It’s hard to find a better -part of it than our own country, though.”</p> - -<p>“You’re right there!” Mr. Clark acquiesced, bringing his hand down on -his fat knee with a bang. “You’re just right there, young man. But it’s -a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_274"></a>274</span> good plan to see how the other fellows live, to make us appreciate -our own advantages. I’ve not been seeing much of it lately, for my -part; just going up and down, up and down, among those black rascals -in the West Indies. I’ve had a great deal too much work to do; it’s -wearing me down to skin and bone.”</p> - -<p>Kit and the Captain were inclined to laugh at this, considering the -purser’s hearty appearance; but his face was as solemn as a judge’s.</p> - -<p>“The work seems to agree with you pretty well, sir,” Kit suggested.</p> - -<p>“No, it don’t!” the purser declared, giving his knee another sounding -slap. “That’s a mistake; work don’t agree with anybody, in spite of all -the twaddle about it. I don’t believe in work. My theory is that nobody -should have to work at all. Every man should have an income of at least -five thousand dollars a year, and live on his money. The trouble is -things are not arranged right, and some of us get left. No, work is all -humbug.”</p> - -<p>It was impossible to tell from the purser’s round face whether he was -joking or not. He certainly was a hard worker himself.</p> - -<p>“The only concession I will make,” he went on, “is, that being -compelled to work at all, it is better to do it well. I believe you go -on that theory too, Silburn; that’s the reason I’ve come to see you. -Although, as I say, I don’t believe in work, still when it has to be -done I like to see it done well. I believe you have been defrauded by -society, like<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_275"></a>275</span> myself, of the five thousand a year that every man is -entitled to, and have to work a little for a living? And that being the -case, how would you like to leave the <span class="italic">North Cape</span> and come and -work for me?”</p> - -<p>“For you, sir?” Kit exclaimed, naturally taken by surprise by the -suddenness of the question. “On the <span class="italic">Trinidad</span>, do you mean?”</p> - -<p>“Well, I mean for my company, of course,” Mr. Clark replied; “but with -me, on the <span class="italic">Trinidad</span>. You see the situation is this. Our business -has increased so much down among those islands, both in passengers and -freight, that there is more work for the purser on the <span class="italic">Trinidad</span> -than any one man ought to be asked to do. I am away behind in my work -all the time, and that don’t do. So the company has consented to let me -have an assistant. And as my assistant will be with me all the time, -and I will be responsible for his work, it is only fair that I should -have the privilege of selecting him. They see the force of that too; -and the matter being left with me, I said to myself, young Silburn’s -the sort of man I want with me, if I can get him. He attends to his -business without any nonsense, and I’m going to hunt him up.</p> - -<p>“So I have had a talk with the Captain here about you,” the purser went -on; “and if you want to be my assistant purser on the <span class="italic">Trinidad</span> -at one hundred dollars a month, you have only to say the word.”</p> - -<p>For a few moments Kit hardly knew how to reply. Mr. Clark had been -jesting, he was sure, in talking<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_276"></a>276</span> about his dislike of work; and he was -still jesting. Kit thought, when he first spoke of Kit’s working for -him. But there was no joke about such an offer as he had just made. -That was sober earnest, and required an answer.</p> - -<p>“Why, I should like to have one hundred dollars a month, sir,” he -replied, “very much indeed. And I should like to be with you. But on -the other hand I should dislike to leave Captain Griffith and the old -<span class="italic">North Cape</span>. And there is one thing that would interfere with my -going into a new place just now. I don’t know whether I told you about -my father, how he was shipwrecked and has been missing for a long time. -There is a man in New Zealand, in a hospital, who may prove to be my -father; and if he should, it might be necessary for me to go over there -to bring him home.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, Captain Griffith has told me all about that,” Mr. Clark answered, -“and that need not be any objection. It is quite right that you should -do everything possible for your father. But it is not such a long -voyage to New Zealand in these days of steam, and I could put some one -in your place while you were gone. Besides, it takes money for such a -trip, and you would get the money much faster as my assistant than you -can make it as a supercargo.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir, that is true,” Kit said; “I thought of that at once. And -it is very kind in you to make me such a liberal offer. But can you -let me have a little time to think of it in, Mr. Clark? Say a week<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_277"></a>277</span> or -ten days? I have always had a sort of horror of changing about from -one place to another, and should not like to do it without consulting -Captain Griffith and my mother.”</p> - -<p>“Take a week and welcome to think it over in, my lad,” the purser -answered. “I can’t say more than a week, because I must have some one -before I start on the next voyage. But you can do a heap of thinking in -a week, if you set about it. And I hope you will make up your mind to -go with me. I think it will be to your advantage and mine too.”</p> - -<p>After the purser was gone Kit had to look after his soap-boxes; but -as soon as they were attended to he returned to the cabin and had a -serious talk with Captain Griffith.</p> - -<p>“I don’t like the idea of your leaving us, Silburn,” the Captain said; -“don’t like it at all. But it would be selfish in me to stand in the -way of your bettering yourself. The Quebec company is a good company, -the <span class="italic">Trinidad</span> is a fine ship, and Mr. Clark is a good man to be -with. I have known him slightly for a long time. To be sure, he has -some odd ways, but then most of us have. He is always talking about not -believing in work, yet he works as hard as any man I know.</p> - -<p>“And the one hundred dollars a month is a great object,” he continued. -“It is really large pay, considering that you would live on the -ship and would have hardly any expenses. You would have to wear the -company’s uniform, of course, and keep well<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_278"></a>278</span> dressed on account of the -passengers; but that does not amount to much. And you would likely -become one of their pursers in time, if you gave satisfaction. Much -as I should dislike to lose you, it is only fair for me to say that I -think it is a very fine offer. I don’t see how you can do anything but -accept it.”</p> - -<p>To add to the unsettled state of Kit’s mind, the next day brought him -a letter from Vieve saying that they had heard from the consul at -Wellington. But she did not say whether the man in the hospital had -proved to be their father or not. This he looked upon as a bad sign, -for if there had been good news, she would have been in a hurry to tell -it. So with this matter to be discussed, and his Marseilles experiences -to be related, and his new offer to be considered and decided upon, he -felt as if a week at home would hardly be half long enough.</p> - -<p>“I never had any regret at going ashore before, Captain,” he said, as -he shook the Captain’s hand in bidding him good-by. “But this time it -seems almost like leaving home. It has been so pleasant on the <span class="italic">North -Cape</span>, and you have always been so kind, I should feel strange to -belong anywhere else. If I accept Mr. Clark’s offer, I’ll not belong on -the old ship any longer, and it makes me feel bad in advance.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t like to think of your going, Kit,” the Captain answered, -returning to the first name as a mark of affection; “but the manner of -your going makes a great difference, you know. If you were<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_279"></a>279</span> going under -compulsion, I should feel downright bad about it. Going to something -better is a different matter entirely. I suppose when a United States -senator is elected President he doesn’t have any great regrets about -leaving his old seat in the Senate Chamber. And it is the same thing -with you, in a smaller way. But we know each other, Kit, and though you -may leave the ship, we will still be friends. Anyhow, when you are in -need of a friend you need not go further than the cabin of the <span class="italic">North -Cape</span>.”</p> - -<p>There was so much to be done at home that Kit laid out a programme on -his way to Bridgeport. The letter from New Zealand he thought the most -important matter, and that should be considered first. Then the offer -from Mr. Clark. He had pretty much made up his mind that that ought to -be accepted; but if his mother opposed it he was ready to give it up. -Then after all the business was done he could tell about his second -voyage to Europe. This time he caught the stage to Huntington, and so -saved himself a long walk.</p> - -<p>“Why, you folks have grown so grand here I’m almost afraid to go in,” -he laughed, looking up at the freshly painted house as his mother and -Vieve ran out to the gate to meet him.</p> - -<p>“Oh, I’m glad you think so!” Vieve answered, taking possession of the -side opposite her mother. “I thought maybe we would seem too poor and -common for you, since you’ve taken to travelling<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_280"></a>280</span> about with cardinals. -But I know more about your cardinal now than you do, Mr. Supercargo, -for Mr. Wright has translated his letter for me, and told me all about -him.”</p> - -<p>They were all too full of the New Zealand letter to let that stand -long; and before Kit had been in the house many minutes he asked for -it. When they gave it to him he read it carefully, then read it again, -and thought over it for a few minutes without speaking.</p> - -<p>“Well, it is not as bad as I feared,” he said, at length. “When Vieve -wrote that you had received the letter, without saying what was in it, -I thought there must be such bad news that you did not want to tell me. -But this is only more delay. What little news there is in it is good -news, for they seem to have found the scar, though they are not sure -about it, and the teeth correspond with father’s. It looks more hopeful -than ever, only we must wait till we can hear again. And the photograph -ought to settle the question, when that comes. I will write to the -consul again, and give him all the particulars we can all think of.”</p> - -<p>“And that letter from the cardinal,” Mrs. Silburn suggested. “It -seems he is a very great man, and the letter is to the Bishop of New -Zealand—a Catholic of course, but I wouldn’t mind what he was if he -could help us. This is a nice time of life for a God-fearing Protestant -woman to begin talking about cardinals and bishops; but wouldn’t it be<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_281"></a>281</span> -as well to send that letter on and ask the bishop to help us?”</p> - -<p>Kit asked to see the translation before he gave any opinion about it, -for he did not yet know what was in the letter.</p> - -<p>“I am inclined to think it would be better to save this for another -purpose,” he said, after he had read it. “I have never said so before, -but I have often thought, and the same thing must have occurred to you, -that I may have to go on to New Zealand. It is a long journey, but any -of us would go further than that, further than the end of the world, to -have father with us again. If I should go there, this letter would be -a very valuable thing to take with me, and I think it ought to be kept -for that. The only thing is to have some reasonable certainty that the -man in the hospital is really father. With any good evidence of that, -even very slight evidence, I should go over there at once.”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” Mrs. Silburn answered, with tears in her eyes; “I have often -thought of that, Kit. And I knew of course that you would think of it. -If we can get any reasonable evidence that that may be your father, I -think you ought to go. It will take all the money we can borrow on this -little place, and leave us badly in debt again, but we must not stop -for that. All the money in the world is nothing compared with having -your father back again.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, we are not as badly off as all that!” Kit said. Never in his life -before had he felt so proud of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_282"></a>282</span> being able to earn money. “You don’t -know how easily we sea-faring fellows can get about the world. I think -maybe I can get a job for one round voyage on some vessel bound for -Australia or New Zealand, even if I have to work only for my passage. -Then the only expense will be paying father’s fare home. Captain -Griffith would help me to get such a job, I know; and I have another -friend now who would help me to it, I am sure. You see I have some more -news for you, though I didn’t intend to tell you till to-morrow.”</p> - -<p>Then he told of his offer of one hundred dollars a month from the -Quebec Steamship Company, and how he had consulted Captain Griffith, -and how the Captain had advised him to accept it; and explained that -he thought very favorably of it himself, but waited to hear what his -mother thought.</p> - -<p>“A hundred dollars a month!” Vieve cried, throwing her arms about her -brother’s neck and nearly choking him. “You? Just for writing out those -paper things on a ship? That’s twelve hundred dollars a year! why, Mr. -Wright don’t get more than a thousand, I’m sure, and the parsonage; but -then you’ll have a sort of parsonage too—at least the ship to live in.”</p> - -<p>“Ah! but Mr. Wright don’t travel about with cardinals!” Kit laughed. -“That makes all the difference in the world. What do you think of it, -mother? It is an important matter, and you are the one to decide it.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_283"></a>283</span> -“No, we have got beyond that, Kit,” Mrs. Silburn answered, as well -as her demonstrations of pleasure would allow. “You are the one to -decide questions for us, not we for you. As far as I can see I should -think you would not hesitate at all about it. But you know all the -circumstances better than I do. You must decide for yourself.”</p> - -<p>“Then it is already decided, mother,” he said. “I had made up my mind -to accept it, provided you did not object. You don’t know how much I -love Captain Griffith and the <span class="italic">North Cape</span>. The Captain is one man -in a thousand; he has been like a father to me. But one hundred dollars -a month is a splendid offer, and the Captain himself advises me to take -it.”</p> - -<p>There was a little feast in the Silburn cottage that evening to -celebrate Kit’s improved prospects. That was what it meant when he -beckoned Vieve into the hall and slipped some money into her hand, and -told her, after making her purchases, to go to Harry Leonard’s and -invite him to come over. Not very much of a feast; if she had had a -purseful of gold to spend she could not have bought the materials for -a banquet in the little shops of Huntington, at such short notice; but -what she found in her hurried trip answered every purpose.</p> - -<p>“Now don’t you be making eyes at Harry Leonard, miss!” Kit warned her, -when she returned with the provisions, and began by unloading a fat -chicken and some bunches of Malaga grapes. “I know you used to be very -fond of him.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_284"></a>284</span> -“At Harry Leonard!” Vieve retorted, assuming her grandest air. “Humph! -I guess when I have a beau (which I won’t have), he’ll be nothing short -of a cardinal.”</p> - -<p>“Then you’ll die an old maid,” Kit laughed; “don’t you know that -cardinals are Catholic priests, and never marry?”</p> - -<p>They were a merry party at supper, though Harry was disconsolate for a -while at hearing that Kit was going to leave the <span class="italic">North Cape</span>.</p> - -<p>“Why, I don’t know what we’ll do without him on board, Mrs. Silburn!” -he exclaimed. “It will be like a different ship. It will make a great -change for me, I tell you. No more good times on shore now for the -cabin boy, I suppose. The Captain thinks I’m too young and giddy to -go ashore alone in strange ports, though I’m not; but he was always -satisfied when I was with Kit.”</p> - -<p>The whole story of their visit to Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde had to be -told while they were eating, and their meeting with the mysterious -stranger; and Harry kept them in roars of laughter when he described -how the old and young priests always entered the room “on their marrow -bones,” as he called it. Somewhere in Marseilles he had heard the -French pronunciation of Vieve’s name, and he added to the merriment by -insisting upon giving it the French twang whenever he addressed her: -“Miss Zhou-<em>vay</em>-ve; Miss Zhou-<em>vay</em>-ve.”</p> - -<p>The spectre at the feast did not show itself till all<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_285"></a>285</span> was over and -Harry had gone home, for Kit guarded it carefully as long as he could. -But at last he had to let it out.</p> - -<p>“My change of work will cut short my visit home,” he announced. -“I can’t go off suddenly and leave my employers in the lurch, you -know. They must have time to get some one else in my place; and if -they ask it, I may have to wait another voyage before going on the -<span class="italic">Trinidad</span>. But if they let me off, I will still have a great deal -to do. My accounts must all be straightened out, and I will have some -business with the tailors. I will have to wear the company’s uniform on -the <span class="italic">Trinidad</span>, you know.”</p> - -<p>“Ah! that’s it!” Vieve declared, pretending to be hurt at Kit’s leaving -them sooner than he expected, though it was not all pretence. “He wants -to get his new clothes! Won’t he be grand, though, when he comes out in -a new uniform with gold braid!”</p> - -<p>“Yes, you know I always think so much about my clothes,” he answered. -“But I’ll be with you all day to-morrow; and busy enough, too, writing -letters. To-morrow I must write to that New Zealand consul again, and -there are several more to be written. Then the next morning I must -go back to New York. But then this won’t be like those long trips to -Europe. Why, I’ll be back again in no time at all. The <span class="italic">Trinidad</span> -only runs to the island of Trinidad and back, stopping at St. Kitts, -Antigua, St. Lucia, Martinique, Dominica, and Barbadoes. She makes the -round<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_286"></a>286</span> trip in twenty-eight days. Being a mail and passenger boat, you -know, she has to make time.”</p> - -<p>It was hard work for Kit to go back to the <span class="italic">North Cape</span> to say -good-by, after his employers had generously released him at once, with -many expressions of satisfaction and good will. It was on her that he -had changed from a waif on the docks to a cabin boy, and from cabin -boy to supercargo. In her cabin he had made his start in life, and -every man on board was his friend. He could not bid good-by to Captain -Griffith in the cabin and then go away. The crew crowded around him -to wish him happiness and prosperity. Men who had never shown any -particular interest in him before, seemed grieved to have him go. He -had to shake hands with Mr. Mason and Mr. Hanway, with Tom Haines and -his chief, with the steward, even with Chock Cheevers.</p> - -<p>In four days more, when in all the glory of bright new uniform he stood -on the deck of a faster and handsomer ship, watching once more the -hoisting of the flags as she sped by the Sandy Hook signal station, it -gave him a start when he saw that the uppermost flag did not bear the -familiar number of the <span class="italic">North Cape</span>.</p> - -<p>“The <span class="italic">Trinidad</span>,” the signals said this time; “for Trinidad and -intermediate ports.”</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="x-ebookmaker-drop divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_287"></a>287</span> -</div> - -<h2 id="xvii">CHAPTER XVII.<br /> -<span>OVERBOARD IN THE PITCH LAKE.</span></h2> - -<p class="noi"><span class="dropcap">T</span>HE difference between a modern mail and passenger steamer and a vessel -built solely for carrying freight is so great that Kit could hardly -help liking his new surroundings, much as he regretted leaving his -old friend the <span class="italic">North Cape</span>. On the <span class="italic">Trinidad</span> there was a -beautiful little office for the purser, in which Mr. Clark had one -desk and his assistant another; and although the work was ten times as -great as on the freighter, the facilities for doing it were ten times -better. It was vastly more labor to make up the manifest where there -were thousands of miscellaneous packages for different consignees at -different ports; but it had to be written only once, for there was the -copying-press ready to make as many duplicates as might be needed. Kit -had never seen so many facilities before for doing good and rapid work.</p> - -<p>And there was not more change in the office work than there was in -everything else. No more “sea clothes” to be worn now, with forty or -fifty passengers in the cabin, and the necessity of going into the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_288"></a>288</span> -grand saloon for every meal. It was a finer saloon than Kit had seen -anywhere before, fitted up in marbles and hard woods and shining glass; -and certainly the meals were far beyond anything he had dreamed of. -Mr. Clark’s seat was at the head of one of the tables, and Kit’s at -the foot; and he soon found that being agreeable to the passengers is -an important part of the purser’s work on a large steamer. That part -of the work Mr. Clark was quite willing to do himself, leaving his -assistant to attend to the clerical-business; and Kit was more than -willing to have it so, for he did not feel quite at home yet with so -many passengers on board ship.</p> - -<p>The voyage was no novelty to him, as he had been over precisely the -same route before as far as Barbadoes. But this trip bade fair to give -him a much better knowledge of the intermediate islands, for the purser -told him that he was to do all the “shore work.”</p> - -<p>“There’s no use of my roasting myself on those islands,” Mr. Clark -said, “when I have a young fellow to do it for me. You are accustomed -to that kind of work; you will find this almost the same as the work -you have been doing. You must never let a package get away from you -till somebody else becomes responsible for it and you have his receipt -for it. These fellows down here would steal the tan off your face, -if they didn’t have so much of their own. I have read in books that -there’s a great deal of honesty in the world, but somehow it doesn’t -seem<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_289"></a>289</span> to thrive around the seaports. Maybe you had a little experience -of that in Marseilles.”</p> - -<p>“I rather think I did!” Kit laughed. “But I have learned pretty well -how to hold on to my goods. I don’t think they’re going to rob me much -down here.”</p> - -<p>One of the pleasures of the evening was to have Captain Fraser come -into the office for a chat. In the long run between New York and St. -Kitts, the first island, with fair weather and no land for hundreds of -miles, the Captain had very little to do, and hardly an evening passed -without a visit from him. He was a big, jolly, hearty Nova Scotian, in -manner very much like Mr. Clark, Kit thought, at least in his habit of -saying things with a sober face that he neither believed himself nor -expected others to believe. The speed of the <span class="italic">Trinidad</span> was one of -the things that Captain Fraser never tired of joking about. One evening -Kit made some remark about the good day’s run.</p> - -<p>“Oh, I have to hold her back,” the Captain answered. “She’s a very fast -ship when we let her out, but the owners won’t stand it. Coming up -about three months ago we left St. Kitts a day late, and as we had fine -weather the chief engineer kept bothering me to let him make it up. So -at last I got tired hearing about it and told him to let her go. Go! -Well, sir, you never saw anything like it. You’ve been in a fast train -on shore and seen the telegraph poles fly past? That was exactly the -way<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_290"></a>290</span> the light-houses flew past all the way up the coast. We got into -port two days ahead of time; but when the port captain came aboard, the -first thing he said was:—</p> - -<p>“‘Hello, here! what you been changing her color for? Don’t you know -black’s the color of this line?’</p> - -<p>“‘Haven’t changed her color,’ said I.</p> - -<p>“‘Look at her,’ said he.</p> - -<p>“Well, sir, I looked over the side, and bless my weather binnacles -if the ship wasn’t a bright lead color. That was strange, you know, -considering that we’d left port black. I jumped ashore and rubbed my -hand over her, and she was smooth as—well, smooth as Clark’s bald head -there. There wasn’t a particle of paint on her; she’d come so fast it -was all stripped off, and the water had polished her steel plates till -they shone like a new quarter.</p> - -<p>“That made her very handsome, but the owners didn’t like it because -they had to dock her to be painted.”</p> - -<p>“She must have made a record that voyage, sir,” Kit suggested.</p> - -<p>“Oh, that was only the beginning of it,” the Captain went on, with -a wink at the purser. “When we started out again and got down off -Hatteras we met a Dutch bark towing the biggest sea-serpent you ever -saw. Whether it was a sea-serpent or a whale they couldn’t quite make -out; but it was about 375 feet long and 35 or 40 feet through. They’d -had it two or three days, and they declared it bellowed<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_291"></a>291</span> all night -long, though that part I wouldn’t ask anybody to believe.</p> - -<p>“I suspected something the minute I saw it, so I went aboard the bark -and said, said I:—</p> - -<p>“‘I think that’s my property you’ve got there.’</p> - -<p>“‘Guess not,’ said the skipper.</p> - -<p>“‘I guess yes,’ said I, for I was sure of it now. ‘If you cut into the -beast somewhere abaft the mainmast I think you’ll find my trademark in -him.’</p> - -<p>“Well, sir, they lowered a boat and sent a man to chop into the critter -with an axe, and with the first blow the whole thing flummixed—just -collapsed, for there was nothing in it but wind. But -the man gave two or three more cuts and laid over the flap, and right -across it, in big gold letters, was, ‘The Trinidad, New York.’ It was -nothing in the world but the paint off our ship, stripped off just like -you’d skin an eel. We sold it to the darkies in Dominica afterwards for -waterproof coats and galoshes; but I’m not going to put her at that -speed again.”</p> - -<p>The Captain never repeated his stories, because he always made them up -as he went along; and he was so companionable and full of fun that in -a short time Kit felt well enough acquainted with him to give him an -account of his father’s disappearance and tell him about the man in -the New Zealand hospital. The Captain listened with great interest; -but even in a matter of such importance he could not quite resist the -temptation to crack a joke.</p> - -<p>“Didn’t he have a mark on his arm?” he asked.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_292"></a>292</span> “In all such stories -that I’ve read, the missing man had a mark on his arm that he could -be identified by. I’ve often thought what an advantage one-legged or -one-armed or one-eyed men have. If one of them goes off missing, it’s -the easiest matter in the world to identify him.</p> - -<p>“But seriously, Silburn,” he went on, “it does look a little as if that -man might be your father. It’s nothing against it that he was picked -up on an island in the Pacific Ocean. When a man is floating about on -a spar, say, or an oar, or anything else that keeps him up, and a ship -comes along, he don’t stop to ask whether she’s bound for China or New -York. Any port in a storm, and a ship’s as likely to be going one way -as another. Then the second ship may be lost, and there you are. If he -was the kind of father you want to bring back, I think you can find out -whether this is the right man or not. I’ve known some fathers who’d -be just as well left at a safe distance of twelve or fifteen thousand -miles.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, mine isn’t that kind of a father, sir,” Kit answered, not quite -knowing whether to laugh or not. “We would do anything in the world to -get him back.”</p> - -<p>“Then why don’t you go out to New Zealand and see for yourself?” the -Captain asked. “You could identify him better than any stranger; and -you can’t get anything done for you as well as you can do it yourself.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_293"></a>293</span> -This was precisely the point that Kit was trying to get the Captain’s -opinion upon.</p> - -<p>“But don’t you think, sir,” he asked, “that it is as well to wait till -we hear something more definite from the consul out there, and till he -sends the photograph?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I think it is,” the Captain replied. “But let me tell you -something about consuls, young man. I suppose I’ve seen more of them -than you have, for I’ve had business with them nearly all my life. -There are some good men in the business—very good—who will put -themselves out of their way to do you a service. I don’t mean to deny -that. But in general a consul is a man who draws his salary for putting -his heels on the mantel and smoking cigars. They get their appointments -generally not because they are good men for the place, but on account -of some trifling political service. Under that beautiful system we get -consuls in important places who ought to be raising turnips out in -the southwest corner of New Mexico. I don’t know anything about the -consul in Wellington; but as a general rule, don’t you put your trust -in consuls, my boy. When you have important business to be done, go -and do it yourself. It’s the only safe way. If that was my case out in -New Zealand, I’d wait a reasonable time for the photograph, and if it -looked anything like my father, I’d be out there so quick I’d strip all -the paint off myself.”</p> - -<p>“Do you think I would have any chance of getting<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_294"></a>294</span> something to do on -a steamer going to New Zealand and back, sir?” Kit asked. “Say as -supercargo, or purser, or something of that kind?”</p> - -<p>“Not the least in the world!” the Captain answered emphatically; “not -from New York. All of our American trade with New Zealand you might put -in your vest pocket, and you wouldn’t find a steamer going there in -six months. But if you were to say Australia, now, that would be easy -enough. There are plenty of steamers going from New York to Australia, -and when you get there you are not far from New Zealand; you know you -could do that part of the journey on your own hook. Indeed, I know two -or three masters myself engaged in that trade; and if you make up your -mind to go, you let me know and I’ll help you along. Clark here tells -me he’s got the best young assistant in the country, though I suppose -he’s mistaken about that, for all the good pursers die very young. But -this is a case that would be easy to manage, because your father was a -sea-faring man and you’re a sea-faring man yourself going after him, -and most any good-hearted master would lend a hand. It’s all in the -family, you know; we help one another.”</p> - -<p>This conversation seemed to Kit to make things look a little brighter. -If he could get to New Zealand and back without the great expense -of paying his passage, half the difficulties would be removed—yes, -nine-tenths of them.</p> - -<p>“What are you doing so much with that sailor<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_295"></a>295</span> I see you talking to on -deck when you’re off duty, Silburn?” Mr. Clark asked him one day before -the first land was sighted. “You and he are not hatching a plot to -wreck the ship, are you?”</p> - -<p>“No, sir,” Kit laughed; “though we say some very mysterious things. The -last thing I said to him yesterday was ‘my aunt has two apples, and my -uncle has two pears.’ It does sound a little like a plot, doesn’t it? -But the fact is the man is a Frenchman, Mr. Clark, and I have employed -him to teach me a little French in my spare moments. I made up my mind -in Marseilles that a sea-going man ought to know some languages beside -his own, so I bought two primary French books in New York; and this -man, who is quite an intelligent fellow, teaches me the pronunciation. -It may come of use in Martinique when I am able to speak a little, for -I have heard you say they speak nothing but French there.”</p> - -<p>“It’s a capital idea,” the purser agreed. “I’ve always had hard sailing -in Martinique because I couldn’t jabber their miserable language. I’m -glad you’ve taken it up. And you’ll be remarkably glad yourself, some -day, if you stick to it.”</p> - -<p>Kit was not destined to use any of his newly acquired French in -Martinique on that first outward voyage, however; for when they reached -the roadstead in front of St. Pierre, the chief city, where they were -to land both passengers and freight, they found danger signals flying -from the top of the light-house,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_296"></a>296</span> and all the lighters and smaller -boats drawn far up on the beach. There had been enough of a storm in -those waters to stir up a heavy sea, and more wind was threatened, so -the cautious Frenchmen would allow no boats to go out. The passengers -for Martinique could look right up the hilly streets of their chief -city, almost into some of the windows, but there was no possible way -for them to get ashore.</p> - -<p>“It is all small freight we have for here, Mr. Clark. Couldn’t we land -it and the passengers in our own boats?” Kit asked.</p> - -<p>“Ah, my boy, the authorities on shore would fine us if we tried it -while they have the danger signals set,” the purser answered. “Besides, -we should lose the insurance if anything happened to the cargo. There’s -nothing for it but to wait till the signals come down.”</p> - -<p>Captain Fraser evidently thought differently, however. After trying for -five or six hours in the roadstead he gave the order to go ahead.</p> - -<p>“Why, we are going on!” Kit exclaimed. “What will become of our -passengers and freight for St. Pierre?”</p> - -<p>“Well, they’ll have to go on to Trinidad and come back with us,” the -purser answered. “You know we touch here on the way back. That happens -sometimes, and people who live in this part of the world have to get -used to it. If they <em>will</em> build their cities where there is no -harbor, only an open roadstead, they must take the consequences. We -can’t keep a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_297"></a>297</span> mail steamer waiting for a storm that is supposed to be -coming.”</p> - -<p>When they reached Barbadoes, Kit felt quite at home again. It was not -worth while, he knew, for him to have any hopes of getting out to the -Sea View plantation to see his friends the Outerbridges, for nearly -half of all their freight was for Barbadoes, and in the few hours that -they lay in the roadstead he was busy every minute, even at night. He -found time, however, to write a hurried note to Mr. Outerbridge, saying -that he was now assistant purser of the <span class="italic">Trinidad</span>, that they were -on their way to Port of Spain, and that when they returned in a few -days it would be a great pleasure to him if any of them happened to be -in the town.</p> - -<p>Leaving Barbadoes late in the evening, the <span class="italic">Trinidad</span> steamed very -slowly across toward the island of Trinidad, as Captain Fraser did not -care to go through the narrow passage before daylight.</p> - -<p>“You’ll have to be out early in the morning if you want to see the -ship run into the muddy water of the Orinoco,” Mr. Clark told Kit that -evening while they were preparing their papers for the last port. -“It’s a curious sight, that you can’t see anywhere else, that I know -of. You know the numerous mouths of the river Orinoco all empty about -here—some into the Gulf of Paria, where we are going, and some below -it. The immense body of muddy water runs along shore with a rush, and -makes—well, I’m not going to tell you what it makes. If<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_298"></a>298</span> you turn out -by daylight you will see for yourself.”</p> - -<p>With this hint Kit was sure to be out early; and he found that he was -not the only watcher, for some of the crew who had seen the curious -thing scores of times were out to see it again. When they were a -short distance above the very narrow entrance to the Gulf of Paria, -a dangerous channel that is called the Dragon’s Mouth, he saw ahead -a distinct line drawn across the water—a wall of water, it looked -like—a wall of muddy water two or three feet higher than the clear -water of the ocean.</p> - -<p>“That’s just what it is, sir,” one of the sailors told him when he -asked a question. “You see that big body of fresh muddy water runs down -out of the Orinoco. When you see the line, that’s where the river water -running north meets the sea water running south. But the ocean’s the -stronger, sir, and it backs the river water up into that ridge you see. -Oh, yes, sir; we’ll run through that and you’ll never know it.”</p> - -<p>So they did, the ship being too large and heavy to be visibly affected -by the slight difference in water levels; and in a few moments more -they were in the Dragon’s Mouth, with the high rocks of Trinidad on one -side and the equally high hills of Venezuela on the other, and both -so close that Kit could easily have thrown a stone against Trinidad -or against the coast of South America. Then in a short time they were -through the dangerous channel and in the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_299"></a>299</span> broad Gulf of Paria; and by -eleven o’clock they were at anchor in smooth and shallow water about a -mile away from the wharves of the city of Port of Spain, the capital of -Trinidad.</p> - -<p>Kit thought himself pretty well accustomed to the heat of the tropics -after his experiences at Sisal and Barbadoes; but he had never found -anything before that was quite equal to the stifling heat of Port of -Spain.</p> - -<p>“We are on the line of greatest heat here,” Mr. Clark explained -when he went into the city with him to introduce him to the agents. -“It is hotter here than right on the equator. You understand about -the isothermal lines, I suppose! This place is ten degrees north of -the equator, but the ‘line of greatest heat,’ as they call it, runs -directly through here.”</p> - -<p>For two days the assistant purser was continually bathed in -perspiration from his necessary walks into the city and looking after -his goods on the wharf. But by that time the cargo was out and his work -in the port was practically over, for there is very little freight to -carry from Trinidad to New York.</p> - -<p>“I have to go out to La Brea this afternoon to see the superintendent -of the pitch lake,” Mr. Clark said on the third day. “It’s a nuisance, -in this heat, and I wish I could leave it to you. But I have had some -dealings with him, and the company charged me particularly to close a -contract with him this trip if I can. So I suppose I must go myself.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_300"></a>300</span> -“The superintendent of the pitch lake!” Kit exclaimed. “I have read -something about the great pitch lake in Trinidad; but what does it have -a superintendent for?”</p> - -<p>“Because it is a very valuable piece of property,” the purser -answered. “It belongs to the government, you know, and they keep a -superintendent to look after it and sell the pitch. It goes all over -the world; a great many of the streets in New York and other American -cities are paved with it. They call it pitch here, but when it is -boiled down and ready for use we call it asphalt. We are negotiating -with the superintendent to send a freight ship down to carry away two -or three cargoes, and it will be a profitable job if I can close the -contract with him.”</p> - -<p>“It must be a very curious sight—a lake of pitch,” Kit suggested.</p> - -<p>“I believe it is hard enough on the surface to walk over,” the purser -replied; “but I have never seen it. You can go along with me if you -like. It is only twenty or thirty miles down the coast. The train -leaves at three o’clock, and we can be back by a little after dark.”</p> - -<p>Kit was glad to avail himself of this permission, and at three o’clock -they took the train for La Brea. The railway ran through a country -that was given up largely to the cultivation of sugarcane; and at the -stations they passed they saw a great many men who were neither whites -nor negroes, in a curious costume of white stuff so arranged that it -covered one<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_301"></a>301</span> leg to below the knee, but left the other leg almost bare.</p> - -<p>“They are coolies,” Mr. Clark said, seeing that Kit was interested in -these brown, slender people. “They bring a great many of them here -from India to work on the plantations. They have to work so many years -to pay for their passage, and after that they are free. But they’re -a queer lot. When a man is badly treated by his master he doesn’t -complain, but goes out and sticks a knife into himself, and they find -his body lying in the cane-fields.”</p> - -<p>In a little over an hour the train set them down at La Brea, and they -found the pitch works not far from the station, on the edge of the -wonderful black lake. But the superintendent’s house, they learned, -was across one corner of the lake, about half a mile away; and they -immediately set out for it.</p> - -<p>They were both a little cautious about walking over the pitch at first, -particularly where the path led over breaks between the beds of pitch, -and they had to feel their way across narrow planks for bridges. The -moving of the pitch beneath their feet did not tend, either, to give -them confidence.</p> - -<p>“This is a very queer sort of a lake!” Kit declared, stopping at the -edge of one of the round beds to examine it. “I think I can see how -it is made. First there is a lake of water here, with a great bed of -molten pitch somewhere beneath. A column of the pitch shoots up, like -a waterspout, and when it reaches the surface, the top of it flattens -out, like an<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_302"></a>302</span> immense mushroom, held up by the narrow column that -reaches down dear knows how far. This water between the black mushrooms -looks very deep and black; bah! I shouldn’t care to fall in there.”</p> - -<p>“That’s about the way the thing grows,” Mr. Clark agreed. “Some of the -‘mushrooms,’ as you call them, are only a yard or so in diameter, and -some are twelve or fifteen feet. Gradually enough of them have come up -to cover the entire surface of the lake, which must be two or three -thousand acres. What a desolate-looking place, isn’t it? And they tell -me that no matter how much is cut out, a fresh column of pitch shoots -up and fills the hole. I shouldn’t care to wander around here much -after dark.”</p> - -<p>It was not a very safe path even by daylight. In some places the -“mushrooms” not only touched, but crowded and indented each other; but -in other places there were gaps two, three, sometimes even six feet -wide, that had to be crossed on the planks. When they stood in the -middle of one of the big “mushrooms,” it was firm enough; but when they -stood upon its edge, their weight bent it down until the water ran over -its surface.</p> - -<p>They made the passage in safety, however, and Mr. Clark had a long talk -with the superintendent while Kit remained on the lake. It was a very -satisfactory talk, the purser said when he came out, for everything -had been arranged and the contract signed. But Kit had been watching -the sky for some time with uneasiness. Engrossed with his<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_303"></a>303</span> business, -Mr. Clark had given no attention to the passing of time, and it was -with some alarm that Kit had seen the sun set behind the mountains and -darkness begin to gather.</p> - -<p>Mr. Clark was a little uneasy about it, too, when he saw how long he -had stayed. He was not particularly fond of walking, even on a good -pavement; and the prospect of crossing the end of the lake in the -dusk, sometimes on narrow planks across the openings, sometimes on the -yielding pitch beds, did not please him.</p> - -<p>“We’ll have to hurry up, Silburn,” he called to Kit when he reached the -edge of the lake. “You know there’s precious little twilight in this -part of the world; it’s either daylight or it’s dark. One of those old -rattletrap cabs in Bridgetown would be better than walking over these -tarry islands. But come on, youngster! You may think I’m no walker, but -I’ll show you!”</p> - -<p>He started out at a great pace, with Kit following. But Mr. Clark’s -physique was not adapted to severe exercise. After the first hundred -yards he began to breathe hard, and soon he stopped entirely.</p> - -<p>“I’ve got to—to—(hech!) to stop and get my (hech! hech!)—my second -wind!” he panted. “Hang their old (phew! phew!) old pitch lakes! If -they make—make (hech!) streets out of ’em, I wish they’d (phew! phew!) -make some here. It’s getting darker every—every minute, too!”</p> - -<p>“We started out too fast, sir,” Kit answered; “if<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_304"></a>304</span> we take it slower, -I think we’ll get along all right. It’s going to be dark before we get -across, anyhow, so we may as well take our time to it.”</p> - -<p>Mr. Clark was compelled to take his time to it, for he had no more wind -for fast walking. It was not fairly dark yet, but “pretty thick dusk,” -as Kit called it, and they had to feel their way along. The purser -remained in the lead when they set out again, for Kit hesitated to go -ahead, for fear of going too fast for him.</p> - -<p>They were about to cross one of the widest crevices, and Mr. Clark was -half way over on the plank, when Kit heard a startled cry.</p> - -<p>“Silburn!”</p> - -<p>And plank and purser went down together, Mr. Clark disappearing beneath -the black water.</p> - -<p>Kit saw in an instant what had happened. The end of the plank had -slipped from the edge of the opposite bed of pitch.</p> - -<p>Mr. Clark, he knew, could not swim; and besides he might come up -beneath one of those horrible “mushrooms,” and so almost inevitably -be drowned. But Kit was not long in making up his mind what to do. He -instantly threw off his coat and knelt on the edge of the “mushroom” -he was on, with his head close to the water, ready to dive for his -companion as soon as he could get a glimpse of him.</p> - -<p>He had no chance to dive, however. As soon as the impetus of his -fall was over, the purser shot to the surface again like a cork; and -catching a momentary<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_305"></a>305</span> glance at Kit’s head he grabbed at it with all -the energy of a drowning man, and got his arm around the neck before -Kit had time to draw back.</p> - -<p>As he started to go down again, which he did at almost the same -instant, only one result was possible. Kit was overbalanced and dragged -into the water, and they went down together into the black depths, both -in deadly peril from drowning, and Kit with the additional danger of -the arm wound around his throat like a <a id="vise"></a><ins title="Original has 'vice'">vise</ins>.</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="x-ebookmaker-drop divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_306"></a>306</span> -</div> - -<h2 id="xviii">CHAPTER XVIII.<br /> -<span>A VOYAGE TO BERMUDA.</span></h2> - -<p class="noi"><span class="dropcap">I</span>F Kit had been less at home in the water, there is little doubt that -they would both have found their long rest down among the black columns -of pitch. But besides being a strong swimmer he was well versed in all -the arts of managing a drowning companion. He knew that without his -assistance the purser at least must drown, so he quickly brought his -right hand around, and seizing the struggling man’s nose with a grip -of iron, he bent the purser’s head back till it seemed as if his thick -neck must break. But this had the desired effect, as Kit knew from -experience that it would. Mr. Clark let go his hold to save his neck, -and in an instant Kit had him firmly by the waist.</p> - -<p>This was done almost in a second; and when they came to the surface -again, Kit grabbed at the slippery edge of the “mushroom.” His hand -slipped off, but struck against the floating plank, which he had not -seen in the darkness; and that was better still. He guided one of Mr. -Clark’s hands to the plank, and then let go his own hold.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_307"></a>307</span> -“Now hold fast for a minute, sir,” he said, “and we’ll be all right.”</p> - -<p>“I’m g-gone, Silburn!” the purser gasped; “I c-can’t (ah!) swim!”</p> - -<p>“You’ll be on shore in a moment, sir, if you hold tight,” Kit answered; -and he scrambled up on the nearest “mushroom” and laid one end of the -plank upon it. But he could not risk the leap to the opposite shore in -the darkness, so he plunged into the water again and swam across and -soon had the other end of the plank in place.</p> - -<p>But getting Mr. Clark out was no easy matter, even with the plank made -firm again. Kit climbed out, and walking the plank till he could reach -the purser’s nearest arm, he grasped it firmly and helped him toward -the shore.</p> - -<p>“Now get one knee on the plank,” he said, when he had him in the corner -between the plank and the edge of the “mushroom”; and stooping down he -seized the knee that his companion was trying in vain to raise high -enough, and pulled it up.</p> - -<p>“Now one grand pull, and we’re all right.” Kit was on the pitch bed -again by this time, with a firm hold under the purser’s arms. He pulled -with all his strength. Mr. Clark got the other knee on the “mushroom,” -and in an instant more he was safe on land, but exhausted with his -efforts, and unable to rise.</p> - -<p>Kit quickly turned the purser over on his face and raised his feet -to let any water run out of his mouth<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_308"></a>308</span> that he might have swallowed; -and that was no light undertaking with so heavy a man. Then he turned -him over again, and finding that he was breathing regularly, though -heavily, he began to urge him to rise.</p> - -<p>“We must get ashore to dry our clothes,” he said. “It won’t do for you -to lie here in the wet.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I never can walk ashore!” the purser gasped; and putting up his -hand, he added, “I must have struck my face against something down in -that hole; my nose is so sore.”</p> - -<p>In spite of the unpleasant surroundings, it was all that Kit could do -to keep from laughing; for he knew what was the matter with that nose.</p> - -<p>“No, sir,” he answered; “you had me by the throat, and we were both -drowning, and I had to take you by the nose to make you let go.”</p> - -<p>The purser laughed himself at this; and thinking that a good sign, Kit -took hold of him again and half dragged him to his feet. Then he ran -across the plank to get his coat, the only dry garment they had between -them, and with a little more urging Mr. Clark consented to make an -effort to reach the station.</p> - -<p>It was almost totally dark now, and they had to feel their way along, -moving very slowly.</p> - -<p>“I don’t know what put it into my head to bring you with me to-day, -Silburn,” the purser said when they were near enough to shore to feel -safe. “But it was the best thing I ever did in my life. If it<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_309"></a>309</span> hadn’t -been for you, the catfish would be making a supper of me by this time -in this miserable lake.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, you might have taken a different route entirely, if I had not been -with you, sir,” Kit answered. “What we want now is a fire to dry our -clothes by. If we have a little time at the station, we must find one -somewhere, or build one.”</p> - -<p>Finding at the station that they had more than an hour to wait for the -return train, and indoor fires being almost unknown in that part of -the world, they went out to the edge of the road and built a little -camp fire with such stray sticks as they could find, and piece by piece -dried their outer clothing, much to the amazement of a crowd of coolies -that soon gathered and stood watching them. And the station agent, -learning what had happened, brought them each a steaming cup of coffee.</p> - -<p>By the time they reached the ship and put on dry clothes Mr. Clark was -quite ready to crack jokes over his mishap, though he insisted that but -for Kit he should have been drowned. And Captain Fraser refused to see -any but the funny side of it, and declared that such a roll of fat as -the purser could not possibly have been in danger of drowning.</p> - -<p>“I think I shall have to stop going ashore at any of the ports, except -on business,” Kit said, after the accident had been well discussed; -“particularly toward night. In all my voyages I have not had a sign of -an adventure on the water; but as soon as I go ashore, something is -sure to happen. The first<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_310"></a>310</span> night in Marseilles we were imprisoned in -Louis-Philippe’s cell in Monte Cristo’s castle; the second night we -were up in Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde when the elevators broke, and had a -cardinal to entertain us; now here I go ashore for a little ride in the -country, and tumble into the pitch lake.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t you worry about adventures on the water, young man,” Captain -Fraser said, almost precisely as Captain Griffith had once answered -him. “All you have to do is to stick to the sea long enough, and your -adventures are sure to come. I shouldn’t be in any hurry for them, -either, if I were you. Sometimes a man comes out on the top side of an -adventure; but more times he’s on the under side, and don’t come out at -all.”</p> - -<p>On the homeward voyage, whenever he had a few spare moments, Kit tried -to think out what he ought to do. As soon as his cargo was out he would -make a hurried trip home; that was the first thing. There could not -possibly be a second letter from the New Zealand consul yet, but there -might be a photograph. And if—ah! if the photograph proved to be what -he hoped, he would fly back to New York and take his promised leave of -absence, get Captain Fraser’s and Mr. Clark’s help to find a berth on -some steamer going to Australia, and be off for New Zealand as fast as -possible. And Captain Griffith would help him, too, if the <span class="italic">North -Cape</span> had not sailed again. What a lucky fellow he was, he thought, -to have three such friends to help him!</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_311"></a>311</span> -These were all reasonable and natural things for him to think of; -perfectly proper plans for him to make. But when shall we see the happy -time when the best laid plans may not sometimes go wrong?</p> - -<p>When the <span class="italic">Trinidad</span> neared her pier on the North River, Mr. Clark -was quite excited and very much annoyed to find that one of her sister -ships, the <span class="italic">Orinoco</span>, was lying on the other side of the slip.</p> - -<p>“Now that’s going to upset everything,” he exclaimed.</p> - -<p>“Why, what difference does it make, sir,” Kit asked, “whether the -<span class="italic">Orinoco</span> is here or not?”</p> - -<p>“Difference!” the purser repeated. “A heap of difference to us all, as -you may find. The <span class="italic">Orinoco</span> is running on the Bermuda line, and -she ought to be out there now. Something has broken down about her, or -she wouldn’t be lying here. And if that is the case, we will be put in -her place for Bermuda. That means that we shall have to hustle this -cargo out as fast as steam and men can move it, and get another in -equally fast, and be off to sea again before we have time to say Jack -Robinson.”</p> - -<p>That was precisely what happened. As soon as the <span class="italic">Trinidad</span> was -docked they received orders to prepare for a voyage to Bermuda; and as -they must leave port within three days, Kit saw that he should be busy -every minute, without the slightest chance of going home.</p> - -<p>In the hurry of emptying the ship and reloading her in so short a time -he barely had opportunity to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_312"></a>312</span> write a brief note to Vieve, telling -her of the circumstances and asking her to send him, the moment she -received the letter, a telegram saying whether the photograph or -another letter had arrived from New Zealand. All his plans were of -course upset, but there was nothing for him to do but give himself up -to work and forget, as far as possible, his own affairs.</p> - -<p>The way the old cargo was taken out and the new one put in was very -different from the manner of work he had become accustomed to in -European and West Indian ports. The gangs of ’longshoremen, working by -night under electric lights, were relieved every eight or ten hours; -but only the purser and his assistant could attend to the clerical -labor, and there was no relief for them.</p> - -<p>The <span class="italic">Trinidad</span> was almost ready for sea again, and some of the -Bermuda passengers were already on board, when a blue-coated telegraph -messenger inquired his way to the purser’s office and handed Kit a -telegram. He could not hesitate about opening it, for he had no time -now to hesitate about anything; but he understood perfectly well that -its contents might make a great change in his movements.</p> - -<blockquote> -<p><span class="smcap">Christopher Silburn</span> [the message read], <span class="italic">Assistant Purser</span>, -S. S. <span class="italic">Trinidad</span>, New York.</p> - -<p class="mb0">No letter. No photograph. All well.</p> - -<p class="center smcap mt0">Genevieve.</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>Under other circumstances that would have been a disappointment; but -now it was what he hoped<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_313"></a>313</span> for, for with so much extra work he felt that -it would be unfair for him to leave everything to Mr. Clark until the -ship returned from Bermuda.</p> - -<p>On the second day out, while sitting at his desk working at the -manifest, Kit leaned his head on one hand and took serious counsel with -himself.</p> - -<p>“I have made a good many voyages,” he reflected; “to Sisal, to -Barbadoes, twice across the Atlantic and back, and again to the West -Indies. But I have never—”</p> - -<p>He suddenly resolved to finish his reflections in the open air; and for -greater convenience he leaned heavily against the rail.</p> - -<p>“What’s the matter, Silburn?” Mr. Clark asked through the open door, -catching a glimpse of his assistant’s white face. “You don’t mean to -say that you’re—”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I do, sir!” Kit answered, leaning over the rail again for fresh -thought. “After all my voyages, this little choppy sea has made me just -as sick as a dog!”</p> - -<p>“Ah, you’re not the first victim of the Bermuda voyage!” the purser -laughed. “I get sick myself out here sometimes. It’s the Gulf Stream -that does it, my boy. We cross the stream diagonally, and the current -catches us under the starboard quarter and gives us a nasty little -motion, half pitch and half roll, that sends the oldest sailors to the -rail sometimes. Lie down a few minutes, and you’ll feel better.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_314"></a>314</span> -“No, sir, I’m not going to give in to it,” Kit replied. “I’ll walk the -deck a little in the air. I don’t see a single passenger on deck.”</p> - -<p>“So much the better!” said the purser, with another of his jolly -laughs. “When they’re all sick they can’t be haunting our office to ask -questions. We can do very well without them.”</p> - -<p>Kit’s nausea soon wore off under his open-air treatment; and before -many hours he was too much interested in his first look at Bermuda -to think of being sick. Though he had seen many places, this was -entirely different from any of the others. Here were three hundred and -sixty-five little islands (so report said; and that estimate looked -about right) grouped together in mid-ocean, forming a tiny kingdom far -removed from the rest of the world.</p> - -<p>After taking a pilot, the <span class="italic">Trinidad</span> bore down toward one of the -points of the largest island, which was shaped like a horseshoe, with -a large smooth bay in the hollow. There was a town on the point, which -the ship seemed to be heading for; but when near it she coyly circled -away to follow the shoreline in the opposite direction, almost turning -on her course, entered the horseshoe bay, and steamed for several -hours, still skirting the shore, among tiny islets, nearly grazing -half-hidden rocks, turning and twisting in here, out there, till she -reached a smaller bay making in from the large one, on whose shore was -another and larger town.</p> - -<p>“How do you like that for a channel?” Mr. Clark<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_315"></a>315</span> asked. “It is called -the most intricate channel in the world, and I suppose it is. That -first town was St. George’s. We had to go so close to it because the -channel runs that way. This place is Hamilton, the capital. Have you -noticed that most of the people live in white marble houses?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I have been wondering at that,” Kit answered. “They must have -marble quarries here.”</p> - -<p>“Most strangers wonder at it when they first see the islands,” the -purser went on. “But they are not all -<a id="millionaires2"></a><ins title="Original has 'millionnaires'">millionaires</ins> -here, as you might think. Those walls are made of rough stone, -plastered over and whitewashed; and from the sea they look exactly -like marble. There are more queer things here than you could put in a -sea-chest, and it’s a pity we’ll not have more time. They don’t quarry -their stone out, you know, like other people, but cut it out with -saws. It’s soft stuff, like that building-stone you must have seen in -Marseilles, but hardens when exposed to the air. Now if you want to see -a novel way of docking a ship, just watch.”</p> - -<p>On shore was a broad street, with no buildings on the water-side except -a long, low iron shed that was nothing but pillars and roof, with no -walls. A great many colored people waited on the wharf, and a few -whites, and Kit noticed two big round timbers lying near the edge, with -a little pile of planks. The <span class="italic">Trinidad</span> was carefully brought to -a stop about thirty feet from the wharf, her further progress being -prevented by a hidden ledge of rocks; and a gang of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_316"></a>316</span> colored laborers -immediately began to shove out the heavy timbers, with a little help -from the ship’s donkey engine and winches. In a few minutes one end of -each timber rested on the wharf and the other end upon the ship’s deck, -making the skeleton of a substantial bridge. To these large timbers -the men lashed smaller cross-pieces, then laid on the planks for a -flooring, and in about twenty minutes the steamer was connected with -shore by a bridge strong enough for much heavier work than would be -required of it.</p> - -<p>There was part of one afternoon, while the <span class="italic">Trinidad</span> lay at -Bermuda, that both the purser and his assistant were at liberty; but -that was not long enough for the favorite drive to St. George’s.</p> - -<p>“There’s one place that we could go, five or six miles from town,” Mr. -Clark said, “and that’s the Walsingham caves and Tom Moore’s house.”</p> - -<p>“Moore’s house!” Kit repeated; “you don’t mean the poet, Thomas Moore, -I suppose.”</p> - -<p>“That’s the man,” the purser answered. “He lived here for some time. -It is just a nice drive out to his house, and the caves are very near -it. But as to going out there with <em>you</em>, no I thank you! The -caves are very spooky-looking places, dark and slippery; and you admit -yourself that you are a hoodoo on shore. When you go to Monte Cristo’s -castle, you are locked in a cell. When you go to that church on the -hill, the elevators break down. When you go with me to the pitch lake, -I am all but<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_317"></a>317</span> drowned. If I should go to the caves with you, I’d no -doubt be buried alive. I beg to be excused.”</p> - -<p>“If that is the only objection,” Kit laughed, “maybe we can make a -compromise. I never cared anything about caves, but I should like -to see the house that Mr. Moore lived in. My collection of foreign -curiosities includes a count and a cardinal so far, you know. I should -like to add a poet.”</p> - -<p>After a little bantering, Mr. Clark agreed to go as far as Walsingham, -Mr. Moore’s house, but declared that he would on no account go near the -caves. And it was as well that there were two to divide the expense of -the carriage between, for Bermuda cab fares are “on the American plan,” -not on the cheaper European scale.</p> - -<p>They found the poet’s house to be a plain double two-story edifice of -stone, so blackened by time and weather that it looked gloomy in the -extreme; and the yard in front grown up with bushes, a large lake in -the rear studded with black rocks and bordered with dismal drooping -mangrove trees, and the general dilapidation of the place, added to the -sombreness.</p> - -<p>Kit was much amused at Mr. Clark’s positive refusal to get out of the -carriage, for fear of something happening. But he got out himself and -went all over the place, and was satisfied that nothing but the most -solemn poetry could ever have been written in so gloomy a place.</p> - -<p>“You don’t really mean that you’re afraid of something<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_318"></a>318</span> happening when -you go ashore with me, Mr. Clark, do you?” Kit asked his companion on -the way back to the ship. “You must be joking about that.”</p> - -<p>“Not exactly in the way you mean,” the purser answered. “But some -people are always having adventures of one kind or another; it comes -natural to them; and I think you’re one of that sort. It’s all very -well for youngsters like you. But when you come to be my age, or -especially my weight, you’ll find that a trifling adventure may mean -something serious. To slip into a lake means a bad cold, as I know to -my cost; a fall may mean some broken bones. No; adventures are for the -young and spry, not for the old and fat.”</p> - -<p>“Well, we have certainly had a safe and quiet trip ashore this time, -sir,” Kit said, with a laugh, as, once more on deck, they reached the -door of their office. “This whole voyage is about as quiet a trip as -any one could ask for.”</p> - -<p>At that moment his eye caught sight of a small bluish envelope lying -sealed upon his desk. It was addressed simply to “Silburn, str. -<span class="italic">Trinidad</span>, Bermuda,” and the printing across the top indicated -that it was a cable message. He hastily tore it open and read:</p> - -<p>“Silburn str Trinidad Bermuda Photograph received very encouraging -Genevieve”</p> - -<p>There was no punctuation, hardly any divisions between the words; but -its meaning was plain enough.</p> - -<p>“Now isn’t that a thoughtful sister of mine!” he<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_319"></a>319</span> exclaimed, handing -the message to Mr. Clark. “She knows that I’ll be in a hurry to set off -if we identify the picture. So she sends me this cable to give me time -to make any arrangements on the way up to New York.”</p> - -<p>“This is important news for you, Silburn,” the purser said, after -reading the few words. “It looks very much as if you would find your -father.”</p> - -<p>“It is the best news I ever got in my life, sir,” Kit answered. “I -don’t quite understand what my sister means by ‘very encouraging,’ but -I imagine they are still in a little doubt after seeing the picture, -though they think it looks like my father.”</p> - -<p>“That is exactly what I anticipated after hearing your story,” the -purser agreed. “You have no idea how hardships and sickness can alter -a man’s appearance in a few months; and from what you tell me, your -father, if this <em>is</em> your father, must have gone through a great -deal. Now what do you propose to do about it?”</p> - -<p>“I think I ought to get out there just as soon as possible, sir,” -Kit answered, “if we are all agreed at home that the picture bears a -reasonable resemblance to my father.”</p> - -<p>“I can’t advise you against it, Silburn; I can’t advise you against -it,” Mr. Clark said, more seriously than was his custom. “If I were out -there in that fix, I should expect one of my boys to come after me just -as fast as a ship would bring him. I don’t want to lose you for a few -months, but it is your duty to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_320"></a>320</span> go. You must remember, though, that you -are to come back to me. I will get some one to take your place while -you are gone, but I want you back again when you return.”</p> - -<p>On the homeward voyage there were some serious talks in the purser’s -office about how Kit was to be got to New Zealand.</p> - -<p>“It just amounts to this,” Captain Fraser said, after the matter had -been well discussed. “If there is any ship going that way that I know -the master of, or the owners of, I can almost certainly arrange it for -you; and if there isn’t, I can’t. You will have to go without pay, you -understand; just for your passage there and back.”</p> - -<p>“I will willingly do that, sir,” Kit answered.</p> - -<p>“Then I’ll tell you how I think it can be done,” the Captain continued. -“Here’s a steamer, we’ll say, loading for Australia, with a supercargo -at so many dollars a month. Now after seeing the owners or agents and -convincing them that you are a supercargo of experience and understand -your business, and getting their consent, we go to the supercargo and -say, ‘Here’s a seafaring man got a sick father in New Zealand; wants -to go out there and bring him home; willing to make the round voyage -and do your work for the sake of the passage. We have seen your agents -and they are willing. You stay ashore this voyage and draw your pay and -enjoy yourself, and he’ll do your work.’”</p> - -<p>“Well, I wonder that I never thought of that<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_321"></a>321</span> before!” Kit exclaimed. -“It’s the very best plan that could be made.”</p> - -<p>“I think it can be done, if we can strike the right ship,” the Captain -continued. “You couldn’t very well do it for yourself, you understand; -but what’s the use of having friends if they can’t help you along a -little? It’s a different matter if an old shipmaster like myself goes -to the firm and says, ‘I know this young man. I recommend him.’ And I -take Captain Griffith along, if he is in port, and he says, ‘This man -was trained on my ship; he is a good supercargo; I recommend him.’ And -Clark goes along and says, ‘This man is my assistant purser on the -<span class="italic">Trinidad</span>; he understands his business and will take care of -your interests; I recommend him.’ You see that makes a pretty strong -backing; and if that isn’t enough, I’ll get the Quebec Steamship -Company to put in a word too. Just you go home after you get your cargo -out and leave me your address, and we’ll attend to the rest for you.”</p> - -<p>Kit began to try to thank them both for their good opinion of him; but -seeing what was coming they quickly changed the subject.</p> - -<p>The photograph had caused many a tear to be shed in the Silburn cottage -in Huntington, and there was a fresh flood when Kit reached home. -So old the man looked; so wan and worried; so bent and gray! What -sufferings must he not have endured if that was indeed a picture of -Christopher Silburn!</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_322"></a>322</span> -“Take off the beard,” Kit declared, “trim the long hair, straighten the -back, smooth out the wrinkles, and there is father! Of course it is not -a certainty, but I feel reasonably sure of it.”</p> - -<p>“So do I!” Vieve echoed.</p> - -<p>“I pray you may both be right!” was all that Mrs. Silburn could say.</p> - -<p>Two days later a neighbor’s boy ran in to say that Kit was wanted at -the telephone office in a hurry. He ran up the hill to the post-office, -in which was a station of the New York and New England telephone line.</p> - -<p>“That you, Silburn?” a familiar voice asked. “Yes, I’m Captain Fraser, -in New York. It’s all arranged for you. You’re to take the supercargo’s -place on the steamer <span class="italic">Brindisi</span>, sailing for Melbourne next -Thursday. Come in and report to Hayes, Ward, & Burt’s, 82 South Street, -as soon as possible. Got that down? Good luck to you, my boy. Here’s -somebody else wants to speak to you.”</p> - -<p>“That you, Kit?” It was the familiar and beloved voice of Captain -Griffith. “It’s all fixed for you. You’ll be over to the <span class="italic">North -Cape</span> to say good-by, of course. Remember what I told you long ago -about money.”</p> - -<p>Before Kit could answer, a third voice came over the wire.</p> - -<p>“Look out for pitch lakes over there!” There was no mistaking the -cheery voice of Mr. Clark.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_323"></a>323</span> “We’ll be gone before you see us, but never -mind. We’ve done a good day’s work for you to-day, Silburn. A good -voyage to you, and—success!”</p> - -<p>There were so many hundred things to be done at home in so few hours! -And that ever-present, ever-troublesome question of money! The hard -saving of the whole family for months had not been for nothing. Kit -was surprised to find how much his mother had saved for this occasion; -and she was equally surprised to learn that he had nearly two hundred -dollars in his pocket. With the joy of the errand and the sorrow of -parting he hardly remembered just what happened when he said good-by.</p> - -<p>“Be careful of my little parcel!” Vieve called after him as Silas -cracked his whip and the stage rattled down the road.</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="x-ebookmaker-drop divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_324"></a>324</span> -</div> - -<h2 id="xix">CHAPTER XIX.<br /> -<span>KIT FINDS HIS FATHER.</span></h2> - -<p class="noi"><span class="dropcap">I</span>T was a beautiful spring-like day in the latter part of September when -Kit stepped ashore on the quay in the city of Wellington, New Zealand. -Fresh new leaves were upon the trees, fresh green grass in the lawns, -bright fresh flowers in the beds. Nature had recently awakened from her -winter sleep, and the young city of the Antipodes was at its brightest -and best.</p> - -<p>During the long voyage he had had ample time to determine just what -he must do on arrival. First, of course, he would go to the American -consul’s and introduce himself; and how often he had hoped that the -consul would not detain him long, for he would be so anxious to get -to the hospital! And then he would hurry to the hospital, and in five -minutes the great question would be decided.</p> - -<p>But now that he was actually on the spot, things did not look, somehow, -exactly as he had expected. No place ever does look just as we expect -when we have long been thinking about it and then go to see it for the -first time. He looked with curiosity at the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_325"></a>325</span> big buildings, wondering -which was the hospital, which the consulate. He could hardly grasp the -idea that in all probability his father was in one of those buildings -before him. But suppose that, after all, the man in the hospital should -not prove to be his father; suppose he had made this long journey for -nothing? He quickened his steps up the street to walk these useless -fancies away.</p> - -<p>“Will you be kind enough to tell me the way to the American consulate, -sir?” he asked a gentleman whom he met.</p> - -<p>“It is in that red brick building on the other side,” the gentleman -answered. “You cannot very well miss it.”</p> - -<p>In two minutes more he had made himself known to Mr. Wilkins, the -vice-consul and acting consul.</p> - -<p>“I rather thought we should see you here,” Mr. Wilkins said, “but -hardly so soon. My second letter must have made good time over to -America.”</p> - -<p>“Your second letter!” Kit exclaimed; “we had not received a second -letter from you, sir, when I left home. I started as soon as we got the -photograph you sent.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes; I see,” said Mr. Wilkins. “Then you recognized your father in -the photograph, did you?”</p> - -<p>“Not with certainty,” Kit replied; “but there was a resemblance. But -was there any further news in your second letter, sir?”</p> - -<p>“Well, I can hardly say any further news, except that there has been -a great improvement in your<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_326"></a>326</span> father—at least in the man in the -hospital. Even since the photograph was taken he has improved very -much. Physically, I mean; he is a great deal stronger, and looks and -acts much younger. And mentally he has improved somewhat, too. He is -not able to give the least account of himself, to be sure; the past -seems to be a perfect blank to him; but in affairs of the present he -takes some intelligent interest. I am glad that you will see him in his -improved condition rather than as he was some months ago. It was a hard -matter for the consulate to deal with. A distressed American sailor -we are allowed to send home at the public expense; but there was no -evidence that this man is an American sailor—or indeed an American at -all.”</p> - -<p>“I think I can soon settle that question when I see him, sir,” Kit -answered. “If he is my father, I shall know him, no matter how much he -is changed. And naturally I am anxious to see him as soon as possible. -If you will be kind enough to give me a line of introduction to the -hospital authorities, I will go there at once.”</p> - -<p>“Of course you are anxious!” the consul assented. “You have been kept -in suspense a terribly long time; but you shall know the best or the -worst without delay. I will go over to the hospital with you at once. -It is only a few steps from here.”</p> - -<p>In the hospital they were shown into the house surgeon’s office; -and when the surgeon entered he was greatly interested to find that -some one had<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_327"></a>327</span> come from the other side of the world in the hope of -identifying the mysterious John Doe.</p> - -<p>“It is a case that we have all taken much interest in,” he said. “If -you could have seen him when he arrived here, you would be assured by -his present appearance that we have taken good care of him. But you -have made a long journey to find a father, and I will not keep you -waiting. For some weeks this patient has been going in and out at his -own pleasure, under the necessary restrictions; but his favorite place -is the sunny courtyard. To avoid exciting him unduly, I think the best -plan will be to induce him to walk in the courtyard; and we three will -then walk quietly through. That will give the best opportunity to see -whether you can identify him, or whether he will recognize you.”</p> - -<p>“You know best about that, sir,” Kit answered.</p> - -<p>The surgeon tapped his bell, and in a moment an attendant entered—the -same one who had held the flags in front of the patient long before.</p> - -<p>“I want you to get John Doe into the courtyard for a walk,” the surgeon -said. “This gentleman hopes to identify him, and in a few minutes we -will walk through the yard. But give the patient no hint that anything -unusual is happening. Just ask him out for a walk; he is always ready -for a walk in the sun.”</p> - -<p>“I must caution you,” the surgeon said to Kit after the attendant had -gone to execute his order, “that in these cases of suspended memory we -have<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_328"></a>328</span> to be prepared for almost anything. Nothing is surprising. If the -patient proves to be your father, he may recognize you at once, and the -shock may restore his lost memory in an instant. On the other hand, he -may not recognize you at all. Or if he does, he may treat you as if -you had left him only a few minutes before—as if your being here was -a perfectly natural thing. If he knows you at all, it is an extremely -favorable indication. With one little beginning, his whole past will -almost certainly come back to him.”</p> - -<p>As they walked through the long corridor toward the door that was to -admit them to the courtyard, Kit felt his heart beating against his -ribs as though trying to break them. The consul said something, but it -made no impression upon him. He heard footsteps on the stone pavement -outside, and tried to recognize them, but could not. The surgeon threw -open the door, and they stepped out.</p> - -<p>At the farther end of the yard, where the sun shone brightest, “John -Doe” was walking slowly up and down, with his hands clasped behind him.</p> - -<p>“That is my father!” Kit said very quietly.</p> - -<p>It surprised him that he could speak so coolly, for he felt anything -but cool. The moisture in his eyes was beyond his control; but he had -firmly made up his mind that he would make no scene, whatever happened. -He had too often been disgusted at seeing bearded Frenchmen hug and -kiss each other like school-girls; he would have none of that—at least -not in public.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_329"></a>329</span> -For a moment neither of his companions spoke. They appreciated his -feelings and gave him time to collect himself. But the consul’s hand -stole into his and gave him a warm grip. Then another hand; that was -the surgeon’s.</p> - -<p>After a short delay the surgeon put his arm through Kit’s, and the -three walked across the yard toward the patient. It was a terribly -trying moment for Kit. The impulse to rush forward and clasp his -father’s hands was almost irresistible, but he restrained himself.</p> - -<p>Before they were half way across the yard, “John Doe,” now John Doe -no longer, but Christopher Silburn, hearing footsteps, turned and -looked around. Recognizing the surgeon, he nodded to him, and was about -to resume his walk, when something about their party attracted his -attention. He looked again, and turned his steps toward them—not in -his former aimless way, but as if he had an object in view. In a moment -more Kit and his father were face to face.</p> - -<p>“Now what’s kept you all this time, Kit?” Mr. Silburn asked, in an -annoyed tone. “When I send you on an errand, I want you to do it and -come straight home. I will not have this sort of thing.”</p> - -<p>It was so utterly different from anything he had anticipated that Kit -was completely taken off his guard. But as soon as he recovered himself -he was filled with joy at being recognized at all. He must, he knew, -humor his father’s mood, and lead him gradually along.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_330"></a>330</span> -“I got here as soon as I could, father,” he answered, in a tone as -tender as a girl’s. “There were some things I had to do for mother -first.”</p> - -<p>“Where <em>is</em> mother?” Mr. Silburn asked, looking around as if he -expected to find her behind him.</p> - -<p>“She’s in the house—at home,” Kit answered.</p> - -<p>“And Vieve?” he asked.</p> - -<p>“She’s at home, too.”</p> - -<p>“Well, you must do your mother’s errands, of course,” Mr. Silburn went -on. “But I don’t like to have you away so long, Kit. I’ve been wanting -you to bring me my other clothes. I can’t find them anywhere, but they -must be some place around the house. I’m tired of these gray ones.”</p> - -<p>He held out one arm and looked at the sleeve, then down at the legs of -the trousers, as if they were something new to him.</p> - -<p>“Hadn’t we better go down to the tailor’s and get your new ones?” Kit -asked. “They must be done by this time, and you will have to try them -on.”</p> - -<p>He looked at the surgeon as he spoke, and the surgeon gave him an -approving nod, as if to say, “Yes, humor him as much as you can.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, we will go and get the new ones,” Mr. Silburn answered. “I don’t -like these gray ones at all.”</p> - -<p>“In just a minute, father,” Kit said. “I want to run into the house a -minute first.”</p> - -<p>The surgeon took the hint and followed him in, for he saw that Kit -desired to speak to him.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_331"></a>331</span> -“Perhaps it will make him feel more like himself to have the kind of -clothes he is accustomed to—a dark blue suit,” he suggested. “If you -think best I will take him out to a tailor’s to buy some. And he would -like to have his hair and beard trimmed in the old way, I am sure.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, the more you can make him look like his old self, the better,” -the surgeon assented. “He is doing famously. Don’t contradict him in -anything. Just let him take his own way as he has been doing, and it -will not be long before he will discover that there has been some -change in his surroundings. Then he will begin to ask questions, and -you can tell him what has happened.</p> - -<p>“I advise you to bring him back here,” the surgeon continued, “at least -for a few days. It would not be well to make everything too strange for -him at first. We will give you a room here with two beds, so that you -can stay with him. By the time you get back from your walk you may find -a great improvement in him; I can see that having you with him makes -him feel happier.”</p> - -<p>When the two Christopher Silburns started down the street for the -tailor’s, the consul went with them, for he was very much interested in -the strange case; and it was not long before the patient was arrayed -in a dark blue suit, with a new derby hat; and after his hair and -beard had been trimmed to the way he was accustomed to wear them, he -looked so much like the old Christopher Silburn that Kit could<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_332"></a>332</span> hardly -help dancing around him for joy. But he held himself in, and made no -demonstrations. It was evident that his father was very much pleased, -too, with the change in his appearance; he admired himself in the -mirror, drew himself up till the stoop was gone from his shoulders, and -was very particular to have the new hat on straight. It was nothing but -the truth when the consul said that he looked like a new man.</p> - -<p>“I should like to go to the cable office for a minute or two,” Kit -said, when they were done with the barber. “I don’t want to keep all -this pleasure to myself.”</p> - -<p>But writing a cable message home, when every word cost more than a -day’s salary, was no easy matter. The first one he wrote contained -sixteen words, and that was far too long. After many trials he got it -reduced to nine, in this fashion:—</p> - -<blockquote> -<p class="mb0"><span class="smcap">Silburn</span>, Huntington, Conn.</p> - -<p class="mt0 mb0 pl6">Father much improved. Knows me.</p> - -<p class="center smcap mt0">Kit.</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>“That tells them that I have found him, and that we are both all -right,” he reflected. It was just like Kit that the first real -extravagance he ever committed was for his mother and Vieve, not for -his own pleasure. The message cost him nearly thirty dollars.</p> - -<p>“Who is that to?” his father asked, as he handed the telegram to the -clerk.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_333"></a>333</span> -“To mother,” Kit replied. “It’s just to let her know that we are all -right.”</p> - -<p>“And where is mother?” was the next question.</p> - -<p>“Why, at home, in Huntington,” Kit answered, thinking that now were -coming the questions that the doctor had said were sure to come sooner -or later. But he was mistaken. His father looked perplexed, as though -trying hard to think about something, but walked out of the office with -them without saying more, stroking what the barber had left of his -beard.</p> - -<p>On the way up the street to the consul’s office, however, he stopped -and seized Kit by the arm.</p> - -<p>“Kit,” he said, “what place is this?”</p> - -<p>“This is Wellington, New Zealand, father,” Kit replied.</p> - -<p>His father merely nodded his head and went on stroking his beard, but -asked no more. It worried Kit to see how very hard he was trying to -remember something, without succeeding. But it was not till they were -seated in the consul’s office that he spoke again.</p> - -<p>“There is something I don’t understand,” he said then to Kit. “And I -see you don’t want to tell me; but tell me this, is anything wrong at -home?”</p> - -<p>“Not a thing, father,” Kit answered.</p> - -<p>“Nobody dead?”</p> - -<p>“No, indeed; nor sick, either; and in an hour or two they’ll be the -happiest couple in the world, when they get my message.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_334"></a>334</span> -“Well, then I can wait,” Mr. Silburn answered. “I don’t know what it -all means, but it’s all right, since you’re here. You’re such a big -fellow, Kit; I had no idea you were such a big boy. And you’re going -home with me?”</p> - -<p>“In the very first ship,” Kit answered.</p> - -<p>“Then it’s all right,” he said; “you can tell me when you get ready. -Things are all in a muddle, somehow.”</p> - -<p>The consul had a great many questions to ask about Kit’s voyage, and -his business, and how long he was going to stay; and after a little -conversation, of which Mr. Silburn took no notice, he asked one in -which the former patient took a sudden interest.</p> - -<p>“Don’t you both feel as if you could eat something? There is an -excellent restaurant across the street, and I should be glad to have -you eat dinner with me.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I’m hungry,” Mr. Silburn answered. “I haven’t eaten anything -since—no, I’m getting mixed again. The last thing I ate was a bit of -raw lobster, but I can’t remember where it was.”</p> - -<p>When they were seated at the table, the patient gave ample proof that -his loss of memory did not affect his appetite.</p> - -<p>“That lobster you spoke of,” the consul said, hoping to revive the -subject, “was that on the island?”</p> - -<p>“It seems to me it was on an island somewhere,” Mr. Silburn answered. -“Not much of an<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_335"></a>335</span> island, as far as I can remember; just a little place, -with only a few people on it. I’m glad you spoke of it; though it seems -to put me in mind of something, though I can’t think what it is. Give -me some more of the roast beef, please.”</p> - -<p>When Kit and his father retired to their room in the hospital early -that evening, a room evidently kept for some of the staff rather than -for patients, Kit drew one of the big chairs up to the table, and -seating his father in it, proceeded to open the small package that -Vieve had entrusted to him.</p> - -<p>“You see Vieve hasn’t forgotten you, father,” he said. “She thought you -must miss your slippers, so she made me bring them over to you. And -here’s something else. Do you remember this?”</p> - -<p>He reached into one of the slippers and took out his father’s pocket -knife that the sailor from the <span class="italic">Flower City</span> had given him.</p> - -<p>“I’ve been looking everywhere for that knife,” Mr. Silburn said, taking -it as coolly as if he had mislaid it somewhere the day before. “Where -did you find it, Kit?”</p> - -<p>“I got it from the man you handed it to, to cut away one of the -<span class="italic">Flower City’s</span> boats with, sir,” Kit answered. “Do you remember -that?”</p> - -<p>“Why shouldn’t I remember it?” Mr. Silburn asked, a little petulantly. -“I handed it to Blinkey, and they got away from the schooner all right. -Has anything been heard from them yet?”</p> - -<p>“Blinkey is safe in England,” Kit replied, as he<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_336"></a>336</span> took off his father’s -shoes and put on his slippers. “But you and he are the only ones who -have been heard of.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, well, they’ll be all right,” Mr. Silburn exclaimed; “they were -good tight boats, and—no, our boat went to pieces, though. I get these -things so mixed. My head’s all in a muddle with trying to remember, -and it tires me. I think you’d better help me get to bed, Kit. I’ll be -rested by morning.”</p> - -<p>“Kit!” he called, as Kit was tucking the bedclothes snugly about him; -“you still here, Kit?”</p> - -<p>“Yes; here I am, father.”</p> - -<p>“And you’ve come all the way to New Zealand to take me home?”</p> - -<p>“Yes; we’re going home just as fast as we can.”</p> - -<p>“And you won’t go without me, Kit?”</p> - -<p>“Do you think I’d be likely to do such a thing, father?” Kit asked.</p> - -<p>“No, you wouldn’t, Kit; you always were a good boy. And I’ll be rested -by morning.” And with Kit’s hand firmly clutched in his he closed his -eyes and gave up trying to remember.</p> - -<p>Kit stood by the bedside for some minutes, till he was sure that his -father was asleep; then he sat down at the table and wrote a long -letter home, knowing that the mails would reach America weeks earlier -than the slow <span class="italic">Brindisi</span> could arrive. And a letter to Mr. Clark -too, and another to Captain Griffith. It was nearly midnight before he -got to bed, but the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_337"></a>337</span> fatigue and excitement of the day insured a good -night’s sleep.</p> - -<p>“Kit, my boy, wake up. I want you to tell me something.”</p> - -<p>When Kit opened his eyes, the sun was streaming in the windows, and -his father, already dressed, was standing by his bed. He sprang up and -began to put on his clothes.</p> - -<p>“I want you to tell me, Kit,” he repeated, seating himself in one of -the big chairs, “how long I have been away from home.”</p> - -<p>“Nearly two years, sir,” Kit answered.</p> - -<p>“Two years!” Mr. Silburn exclaimed, springing from his chair. “You’re -not making game of me, Kit? You wouldn’t do that, my boy!”</p> - -<p>“No, sir,” Kit answered; “it is true. After the wreck of the <span class="italic">Flower -City</span> you disappeared, and we almost gave you up. Then after a -long time we heard of an American sailor in the hospital here in New -Zealand, and got them to send us a photograph. We were not sure even -then; but I came on, and found you. So that trouble is all over, and -you mustn’t worry yourself about it.”</p> - -<p>“No, I’ll not worry about it,” his father replied. “But I want to know; -it makes a man feel so foolish not to know where he has been. How did -you get here, my boy?”</p> - -<p>That made a long story; for Kit had to tell how he had been a cabin -boy and a supercargo; how he had become an assistant purser; and how -his good<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_338"></a>338</span> friends on the two ships had paved the way for him to New -Zealand. As he got on with the recital, his father seized his hand and -fondled it; and before he finished, great tears of love and gratitude -were rolling down the old sailor’s cheeks.</p> - -<p>While he was still in this position, the house surgeon called to learn -how his former patient had passed the night.</p> - -<p>“That’s what I want to see,” he said, as he took in the situation. “You -shed no tears while you remembered nothing, Mr. Silburn. This is one -of the best symptoms, to have your emotions aroused. Don’t try to push -your memory now; it will all come back to you; give it time.”</p> - -<p>In the four days that Kit could spend in New Zealand, he saw -improvement every day. Gradually it came back to his father that after -the <span class="italic">Flower City’s</span> boat went to pieces, he was a long time in the -water. That when he was about to give up, he was rescued by some ship, -he could not remember her name, that carried him around Cape Horn. That -that ship was also wrecked and abandoned. Then there was a hazy picture -in his mind of a desert island, and terrible suffering from hunger and -thirst. All beyond that was still a blank.</p> - -<p>Kit was so jealous of anything that took him away from his father, that -it was a relief to hear that the Bishop of New Zealand had gone to -Australia on business; so it would be useless for him to present his -letter from the cardinal. That would have been valuable<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_339"></a>339</span> in case of -trouble, but all had been smooth sailing.</p> - -<p>Throughout the long voyage home, in which Mr. Silburn was a passenger -on the <span class="italic">Brindisi</span>, he continued to improve. There was hardly -anything now about his adventures that he could not remember, except -his long stay in the Wellington Hospital. Every little incident had -been discussed over and over. But it was not till the vessel had passed -Sandy Hook, and was steaming slowly up New York Bay, that he let Kit -know of something that had been worrying him.</p> - -<p>“There was a payment due on the house about the time I ought to have -been home,” he said. “I’m afraid we are going to have trouble about -that.”</p> - -<p>It was worth all the hard work to Kit, all the hard saving, to be able -to tell his father that the indebtedness had been paid to the last -penny.</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="x-ebookmaker-drop divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_340"></a>340</span> -</div> - -<h2 id="xx">CHAPTER XX.<br /> -<span>LOVE’S YOUNG DREAM IN BARBADOES.</span></h2> - -<p class="noi"><span class="dropcap">O</span>LD Silas beamed all over as he and Kit tucked the robes around Mr. -Silburn in the Huntington stage, once more on runners. It seemed to the -young supercargo that the very horses had a pleased look.</p> - -<p>“Well, sir, I didn’t expect to see this again!” Silas declared. “Many -a time I’ve took Kit up to Hunt’n’ton, this last year or two. Why, Mr. -Silburn, the first time he went up with me he didn’t have no overcoat -to put on, an’ I had to wrap him in the hoss blanket. But next time -he come home, bless you, his clo’es was good as anybody’s. I says to -myself, says I, ‘That there boy’s a makin’ his way, he is.’ An’ then he -comes with gold braid on his cap; an’ look at him now, will you! But I -swan to goodness, I didn’t expect to see him ridin’ up alongside of his -father any more. We’d all give you up, Mr. Silburn.”</p> - -<p>“No, not quite all!” Mr. Silburn laughed. “Here’s one fellow didn’t -give me up, or I wouldn’t be taking a ride with you to-day, Silas. If -he hadn’t stuck<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_341"></a>341</span> to me through thick and thin” (and he gave Kit a clap -on the shoulder), “I’d still be out in New Zealand eating stewed mutton -in that hospital.”</p> - -<p>“I wasn’t the only one who didn’t give him up,” Kit protested. “We -always kept his chair and slippers ready for him.”</p> - -<p>“And you ain’t brought no baggage, Mr. Silburn?” Silas asked.</p> - -<p>“Baggage?” Mr. Silburn repeated; “this little satchel here, that Kit -got me. The rest of my baggage is pretty well scattered, Silas. Let me -see; I have a chest of clothes somewhere off Hatteras, but they’ve been -on the bottom of the ocean for two years, so I’m afraid they must be -damp. Then there’s a quarter interest in a flag pole on some island in -the Pacific, but I had to leave that behind. And there’s a suit of gray -clothes in the Wellington hospital. I never want to see them again, -whatever happens, though they were very kind to me out there.</p> - -<p>“That’s a pretty good team you have there, Silas,” he went on; “look as -if they could take these Fairfield County hills without losing their -wind. Suppose you let them out once, and show us what they can do.”</p> - -<p>“Ah, you’re in a hurry to see the folks!” Silas declared. “An’ no -wonder, Mr. Silburn. I’ll git you out to Hunt’n’ton jist as quick as -ever the trip was made, if nothin’ don’t give ’way.”</p> - -<p>Kit had a nice little plan arranged to introduce his father as “Mr. -John Doe, of New Zealand,” when<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_342"></a>342</span> they reached the gate; but it fell -through most ingloriously. The truth is there was very little said at -first when they reached the house. Mrs. Silburn and Vieve had hold of -the wanderer before he was out of the sleigh, and in the excitement his -satchel would have been carried away if Silas had not come running in -with it.</p> - -<p>There was not only the joy of seeing him sitting in his own chair again -by the fire, but of seeing him almost as well as ever, only a little -older and grayer. Kit had had no chance to write them from the steamer -of his father’s steady improvement, so it was a fresh pleasure to find -that his memory was fully restored, except that he never could quite -realize that he had been months, instead of days, in the Wellington -hospital.</p> - -<p>They wanted him all to themselves that day, but that was impossible. -The news soon flew through Huntington that Mr. Silburn had returned, -and the neighbors began to pour in at such a rate that Vieve and Kit -had to fly around and start a fire in the parlor stove, to give their -mother a chance to set her grandest dinner table in the sitting-room. -And every visitor had so much to say about Kit that he began to wish -himself a cabin boy on the <span class="italic">North Cape</span> again.</p> - -<p>“I’ll have to look out for myself here,” Mr. Silburn laughed, “or I’ll -be of no account in my own house. Everything’s ‘Kit,’ ‘Kit,’ ‘Kit.’ -Well, I must say there ain’t many boys—”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_343"></a>343</span> -“Oh, look here, father!” Kit cried; “are you going to begin on that -too! Look at Vieve; nobody stuck to you tighter than Vieve. You don’t -know how she used to encourage us when we were inclined to give you -up.” And he told for the first time how Vieve had sent him one of her -two dollars when he went to New York, and how he had been robbed of the -stamps.</p> - -<p>“Genevieve, come here to your father!” Mr. Silburn said, in a tone of -mock severity. And he put his arm around her to lift her to his knee -as he used to do, but found that was a task that required both hands. -Fathers are so slow to see it when their daughters grow into young -women; it takes the sons of other fathers to make that discovery.</p> - -<p>“Why!” he exclaimed, “you’re as heavy as a kedge anchor, and bigger -than your mother. And you sent one of your dollars to Kit, did you? Now -if I was half a father, I’d have handfuls of gold to shower over you on -coming back from the sea, wouldn’t I? And the fact is I haven’t a cent -but a little money that Kit made me put in my clothes—the clothes that -he bought me, too. He—”</p> - -<p>“Oh, Vieve has turned miser since you went away,” Kit interrupted, -fearing that his father might go back to the old subject. “She wouldn’t -spend a cent for fear we might not have enough money to get you home. -She wants a rich husband, too. She has her eye on a cardinal that I met -over in—”</p> - -<p>Of course Vieve would not let him finish the sentence;<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_344"></a>344</span> and in the -midst of the playful quarrel she was called to help her mother with -dinner; and if any one should ask just how the reunited family spent -that first day, not one of them could give anything like an exact -account.</p> - -<p>After a few days Vieve declared that the family reminded her of three -kittens, so pleased with everything that they sat around the fire -purring.</p> - -<p>“You’d better enjoy it while you can,” her father answered. “Kit -will soon have to be going back to his ship; and for my part, I’m -not going to sit here the rest of my life doing nothing. You needn’t -think it. It’s just the time for a man to go to sea again, after being -shipwrecked; lightning don’t strike twice in the same place, you know.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, Christopher!” Mrs. Silburn exclaimed. “You wouldn’t think of going -to sea again, would you?”</p> - -<p>“I’ve got to do something,” he answered, “and navigation don’t go very -well on shore. But no more long voyages, likely. Maybe you’ve forgotten -what I told you before I went away about a firm in Bridgeport that -wanted me to take charge of a schooner line between there and New York? -You see my memory works all smooth now, don’t it? Well, if they’re -still of the same mind, I may do some business with them. You’re not -going to lay me away on the shelf yet awhile, anyhow.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, then I’d have a chance to go to New York with you some time!” -Vieve cried. “You know I’ve never been there yet.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_345"></a>345</span> -“That’s just where I shall have to go to-morrow,” Kit announced. “I see -by the paper that the <span class="italic">Trinidad</span> is due this afternoon, and it’s -not fair to stay away too long. I’ll be back again for a few days, you -know, but I must be on hand for the next voyage.”</p> - -<p>It was purely by accident that he mentioned it just as Vieve showed -how anxious she was to see the metropolis; but the coincidence set him -to thinking. Here he had been half over the world, and Vieve had never -been further than Bridgeport. Why shouldn’t he give her a trip to New -York?</p> - -<p>“How would you like to go along with me, Vieve?” he asked. “I’ll show -you my ship, and bring you back in two or three days.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, Kit!” his mother exclaimed; “that’s just like a boy. How can the -child go to New York without any clothes fit to wear?”</p> - -<p>“Bother the clothes,” Kit retorted, still just like a boy. “She’s not -going to set the fashions, is she? I’ll lend her one of my blue suits.”</p> - -<p>It was so quickly settled that Vieve was to go, that Mr. Silburn was -led to exclaim:—</p> - -<p>“There’s no parental discipline at all in this family, is there?”</p> - -<p>“Well, there’s none needed, that’s one thing,” Mrs. Silburn answered; -and she sat up half the night getting Vieve ready. She was relieved to -find that they would not have to go to a hotel, for there would be any -number of vacant staterooms on the <span class="italic">Trinidad</span>.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_346"></a>346</span> -That trip to New York with Vieve was one of the greatest pleasures that -Kit had ever enjoyed, next to finding his father. Everything was so -new to her. She had never even been in a railway train before. And Mr. -Clark was so kind to her, and took her all over the ship, and she was -so delighted with everything. And in the evening he had a talk with the -purser in their office that must have been very satisfactory, for next -morning he said to Vieve:—</p> - -<p>“Vieve, do they have tailor shops for girls? I mean places where a girl -can buy things all ready to put on, the way a man can?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, do they!” Vieve answered. “To think that anybody shouldn’t know -that! Why, dozens of them.”</p> - -<p>“Well,” he went on, “I heard a great piece of news last night, and feel -like celebrating a little to-day. We’ll get the stewardess directly and -go out and see whether you can find anything to fit you. You can buy -the whole business, can you? Hat, coat, dress, shoes, and all?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, when you have money enough,” Vieve laughed. “But what is it, Kit? -What is this great piece of news? Ah, now, Kit, you ought to tell me; I -always tell you everything.”</p> - -<p>“Not till we get home, Miss Curiosity,” he answered. “When we get home -I’ll tell you all about it.”</p> - -<p>Kit wisely declined to go further than the door of any of the big -bazaars that the stewardess led them<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_347"></a>347</span> to. But Vieve’s first experiment -in “shopping” must have been successful, for when Kit took her over the -Brooklyn Bridge toward evening to see Captain Griffith and the <span class="italic">North -Cape</span>, her appearance was so changed that her mother would hardly -have known her.</p> - -<p>And to tell the good news about his father to Captain Griffith was -almost equal to telling it at home, the Captain took such an interest. -He had to go over the whole story of his voyage to Melbourne and then -across to Wellington, and describe his first meeting with his father, -and everything that happened afterwards.</p> - -<p>“Well, Miss Silburn,” the Captain said, when Kit concluded—“or I think -I’ll have to call you Miss Vieve,—I’m almost one of the family, you -know, and one of the first things I did when I got hold of Christopher -was to read a letter you wrote him—”</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes, sir, I hope you’ll call me Vieve,” Vieve interrupted; “I -shouldn’t know who you meant if you called me Miss Silburn.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I was going to say,” the Captain went on, “that I took an -interest in you all from the time Christopher read me those letters -from home on the first evening I knew him. And when I heard about the -dollar’s worth of stamps you sent him, and the way he was robbed of -them, I came very near handing him a greenback to send in his letter -to you. But I was afraid it might spoil him. Boys are very<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_348"></a>348</span> easily -spoiled; <a id="specially"></a><ins title="Original has 'sp cially'">specially</ins> -cabin boys. I don’t suppose he’s ever -told you about how I had to train him in, in the first voyage or two.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t you believe it, Vieve!” Kit laughed; “the Captain wouldn’t hurt -a cat.”</p> - -<p>“I gave him plenty of work to do, at any rate,” the Captain went on. -“I don’t want to make him conceited by saying he did it well; but he -seems to have turned out pretty well, like most of my boys. The great -point about your brother was that he made up his mind to do his work -well, and push his way ahead. Boys who start with that idea generally -succeed, even when they have no great brains to begin with.”</p> - -<p>“Ahem!” Kit interrupted. “Can’t we find something more interesting to -talk about than me? Where do you go next time, Captain?”</p> - -<p>“To Barbadoes again,” the Captain answered. “We went there last voyage. -You fellows in the big mail steamers mustn’t think you are the only -ones to go to the West Indies. And I saw a friend of yours there, too. -Do you remember any one named Outerbridge, in Barbadoes?”</p> - -<p>Kit began to blush so hard that the Captain immediately added:—</p> - -<p>“Oh, not the young lady. It was her father that I saw. He wanted to -be remembered to you, and hoped to see you next time you visited the -island.”</p> - -<p>“Ah!” Vieve exclaimed, “he never told us anything about a young lady in -Barbadoes, Captain.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_349"></a>349</span> You’re getting so you don’t tell me anything, any -more, Kit. Do you know, Captain, he heard some great piece of news last -night, and he won’t tell me what it was.”</p> - -<p>“No, I won’t tell even Captain Griffith what it was, not at present,” -Kit retorted. “And he will say that I’m right not to tell the business -affairs of the company I work for.”</p> - -<p>“It would be very unlike you to do it, I’ll say that,” the Captain -assented; “and very improper besides. But you are going right back to -the <span class="italic">Trinidad</span>, of course? and I may expect to see you while we -are lying at Barbadoes?”</p> - -<p>“I’m off in her next Saturday, sir,” Kit answered. “That’s the reason I -have to start for home to-morrow morning, and can’t make you a longer -visit. But my sister was anxious to come over and see Harry Leonard, -and—”</p> - -<p>“Why, <em>Kit</em>!” Vieve cried, with a blush that made her look -prettier than ever; “I never mentioned his name, or thought of him.”</p> - -<p>“Of course you both want to see Henry,” the Captain laughed; and in -answer to his bell Harry soon appeared, and Kit had to retell his -latest adventures in brief. But it was growing late, and they could -not prolong their stay, and they crossed the East River on a Fulton -ferryboat to give Vieve a view of the big bridge by night.</p> - -<p>Such a trip was like delving into an Arabian Nights palace for the -young Huntington girl, and for weeks<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_350"></a>350</span> afterward she could talk of -little but the wonderful things she had seen. And from what Kit heard -while he was home, he imagined that the most wonderful things of all, -the most beautiful, most lovely and enchanting, were not the busy -streets or tall buildings, not the big ships, the great bridge, or the -crowds, but the fascinating things she saw in the big bazaars, which -she described with more technical terms than he thought she had ever -heard of.</p> - -<p>But Kit’s great news had to be told before they could let him go. He -intended to tell it in the home circle, but he would have been more -than human if he had not let Vieve tease him a little for it just after -seeing how anxious she was.</p> - -<p>“It is not to be mentioned outside of the family,” he said, “because I -mustn’t be telling office secrets; but Mr. Clark told me I could tell -it at home. You must know, then, that—ahem—ahem—”</p> - -<p>“Oh, Kit, do go on!” Vieve burst out. “I’ll tell all about that -Barbadoes girl if you don’t.”</p> - -<p>“You can’t,” Kit retorted; “you don’t know anything about her. -But to come back to business, the company is building a fine new -steamer, larger and better than any of the others, to be called the -<span class="italic">Maida</span>. She is under way now, and when she is finished, Captain -Fraser is to command her, because he is the senior captain of the line; -and Mr. Clark is to be her purser, because he is the senior purser. -That, as you can see, will leave the <span class="italic">Trinidad</span> without a purser; -or <em>would</em>, rather. But if the present arrangements are<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_351"></a>351</span> carried -out, the new purser of the <span class="italic">Trinidad</span> will be—”</p> - -<p>“Oh, Kit!” Mrs. Silburn cried.</p> - -<p>“I see you’ve guessed it, mother,” he went on. “His name is Kit -Silburn. But I only said <em>if</em> present arrangements are carried -out, mind you. There’s many a slip ’twixt the cup and the lip. The -company may change its mind, or—or lots of other things may happen -meanwhile. A purser gets exactly fifty per cent more pay than an -assistant purser, and that part I should be very well satisfied with. -But the <span class="italic">Trinidad</span> would seem strange without Captain Fraser or -Mr. Clark.”</p> - -<p>“Lots of other things,” as Kit predicted, did happen in the ten or -eleven months that passed before the new <span class="italic">Maida</span> was ready for -sea. The Silburn residence, for one thing, grew from a little story -and a half cottage into a pretty two-story house, one of the best in -Huntington. The new line of schooners between Bridgeport and New York, -of which Mr. Silburn was manager and one of the stockholders, proved a -profitable venture. Harry Leonard became a supercargo himself, and felt -six inches taller from that minute. And it happened in the strangest -way that the dinner-parties given at Sea View plantation, in Barbadoes, -always fell upon the days when the <span class="italic">Trinidad</span> was in port.</p> - -<p>Kit did not hesitate to speak at home about Miss Blanche Outerbridge, -and for a time Vieve was inclined to be jealous of “that Barbadoes -girl,” as<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_352"></a>352</span> she insisted upon calling her. But after a while Mr. -Outerbridge brought his family to America for a visit, and upon -becoming well acquainted with her, she had to say that Barbadoes -produced some very pretty and companionable young ladies.</p> - -<p>It was not till long after Kit became purser of the <span class="italic">Trinidad</span>, -however,—not till the day came when there was neither need nor excuse -for his spending any more of his earnings in Huntington,—that in one -of his confidential talks with Vieve he told her how good the prospect -was that she might in course of time be suitably provided with a -sister-in-law.</p> - - - - -<div class="section"> -<hr class="x-ebookmaker-drop divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_i"></a>1</span> -<p class="center"><span class="italic">W. A. Wilde & Co., Publishers.</span></p> -<hr /> -</div> - -<p class="center p140 bold">War of the Revolution Series.</p> - -<p class="center p120 bold">By Everett T. Tomlinson.</p> - -<p class="noi"><cite><span class="dropcap">T</span>HREE COLONIAL BOYS.</cite> A Story of the Times of ’76. 368 pp. -Cloth, $1.50.</p> - -<p>It is a story of three boys who were drawn into the events of the -times, is patriotic, exciting, clean, and healthful, and instructs -without appearing to. The heroes are manly boys, and no objectionable -language or character is introduced. The lessons of courage and -patriotism especially will be appreciated in this day.—<cite>Boston -Transcript.</cite></p> - -<p class="noi"><cite><span class="dropcap">T</span>HREE YOUNG CONTINENTALS.</cite> A Story of the American -Revolution. 364 pp. Cloth, $1.50.</p> - -<p>This story is historically true. It is the best kind of a story -either for boys or girls, and is an attractive method of teaching -history.—<cite>Journal of Education, Boston.</cite></p> - -<p class="noi"><cite><span class="dropcap">W</span>ASHINGTON’S YOUNG AIDS.</cite> A Story of the New Jersey Campaign, -1776–1777. 391 pp. Cloth, $1.50.</p> - -<p>The book has enough history and description to give value to the -story which ought to captivate enterprising boys.—<cite>Quarterly Book -Review.</cite></p> - -<p>The historical details of the story are taken from old records. These -include accounts of the life on the prison ships and prison houses of -New York, the raids of the pine robbers, the tempting of the Hessians, -the end of Fagan and his band, etc.—<cite>Publisher’s Weekly.</cite></p> - -<p>Few boys’ stories of this class show so close a study of history -combined with such genial story-telling power.—<cite>The Outlook.</cite></p> - -<p class="noi"><cite><span class="dropcap">T</span>WO YOUNG PATRIOTS.</cite> A Story of Burgoyne’s Invasion. 366 pp. -Cloth, $1.50.</p> - -<p>The crucial campaign in the American struggle for independence came in -the summer of 1777, when Gen. John Burgoyne marched from Canada to cut -the rebellious colonies asunder and join another British army which was -to proceed up the valley of the Hudson. The American forces were brave, -hard fighters, and they worried and harassed the British and finally -defeated them. The history of this campaign is one of great interest -and is well brought out in the part which the “two young patriots” took -in the events which led up to the surrender of General Burgoyne and his -army.</p> - -<p class="center bold">The set of four volumes in a box, $6.00.</p> - -<hr class="tiny" /> - -<p class="noi"><cite><span class="dropcap">S</span>UCCESS</cite>. <span class="smcap">By Orison Swett Marden.</span> Author of “Pushing -to the Front,” “Architects of Fate,” etc. 317 pp. Cloth, $1.25.</p> - -<p>It is doubtful whether any success books for the young have appeared -in modern times which are so thoroughly packed from lid to lid with -stimulating, uplifting, and inspiring material as the self-help books -written by Orison Swett Marden. There is not a dry paragraph nor a -single line of useless moralizing in any of his books.</p> - -<p>To stimulate, inspire, and guide is the mission of his latest book, -“Success,” and helpfulness is its keynote. Its object is to spur -the perplexed youth to act the Columbus to his own undiscovered -possibilities; to urge him not to wait for great opportunities, but to -seize common occasions and make them great, for he cannot tell when -fate may take his measure for a higher place.</p> - -<p class="center"><span class="italic">W. A. Wilde & Co., Boston and Chicago.</span></p> - - - - -<div class="section"> -<hr class="x-ebookmaker-drop divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_ii"></a>2</span> -<p class="center"><span class="italic">W. A. Wilde & Co., Publishers.</span></p> -<hr /> -</div> - -<p class="center p140 bold">Brain and Brawn Series.</p> - -<p class="center p120 bold">By William Drysdale.</p> - -<p class="noi"><cite><span class="dropcap">T</span>HE YOUNG REPORTER.</cite> A Story of Printing House Square. 300 -pp. Cloth, $1.50.</p> - -<p>I commend the book unreservedly.—<cite>Golden Rule.</cite></p> - -<p>“The Young Reporter” is a rattling book for boys.—<cite>New York -Recorder.</cite></p> - -<p>The best boys’ book I ever read.—<cite>Mr. Phillips, Critic for New York -Times.</cite></p> - -<p class="noi"><cite><span class="dropcap">T</span>HE FAST MAIL.</cite> A Story of a Train Boy. 328 pp. Cloth, $1.50.</p> - -<p>“The Fast Mail” is one of the very best American books for boys brought -out this season. Perhaps there could be no better confirmation of this -assertion than the fact that the little sons of the present writer have -greedily devoured the contents of the volume, and are anxious to know -how soon they are to get a sequel.—<cite>The Art Amateur, New York.</cite></p> - -<p class="noi"><cite><span class="dropcap">T</span>HE BEACH PATROL.</cite> A Story of the Life-Saving Service. 318 -pp. Cloth, $1.50.</p> - -<p>The style of narrative is excellent, the lesson inculcated of the best, -and, above all, the boys and girls are real.—<cite>New York Times.</cite></p> - -<p>A book of adventure and daring, which should delight as well as -stimulate to higher ideals of life every boy who is so happy as to -possess it.—<cite>Examiner.</cite></p> - -<p>It is a strong book for boys and young men.—<cite>Buffalo Commercial.</cite></p> - -<p class="noi"><cite><span class="dropcap">T</span>HE YOUNG SUPERCARGO.</cite> A Story of the Merchant Marine. 352 -pp. Cloth, $1.50.</p> - -<p>Kit Silburn is a real “Brain and Brawn” boy, full of sense and grit and -sound good qualities. Determined to make his way in life, and with no -influential friends to give him a start, he does a deal of hard work -between the evening when he first meets the stanch Captain Griffith, -and the proud day when he becomes purser of a great ocean steamship. -His sea adventures are mostly on shore; but whether he is cleaning -the cabin of the <span class="italic">North Cape</span>, or landing cargo in Yucatan, or -hurrying the spongers and fruitmen of Nassau, or exploring London, or -sight seeing with a disguised prince in Marseilles, he is always the -same busy, thoroughgoing, manly Kit. Whether or not he has a father -alive is a question of deep interest throughout the story; but that he -has a loving and loyal sister is plain from the start.</p> - -<p class="center bold">The set of four volumes in a box, $6.00.</p> - -<hr class="tiny" /> - -<p class="noi"><cite><span class="dropcap">S</span>ERAPH, THE LITTLE VIOLINISTE.</cite> <span class="smcap">By Mrs. C. V. -Jamieson.</span> 300 pp. Cloth, $1.50.</p> - -<p>The scene of the story is the French quarter of New Orleans, and -charming bits of local color add to its attractiveness.—<cite>The Boston -Journal.</cite></p> - -<p>Perhaps the most charming story she has ever written is that which -describes Seraph, the little violiniste.—<cite>Transcript, Boston.</cite></p> - -<p class="center"><span class="italic">W. A. Wilde & Co., Boston and Chicago.</span></p> - - - - -<div class="section"> -<hr class="x-ebookmaker-drop divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_iii"></a>3</span> -<p class="center"><span class="italic">W. A. Wilde & Co., Publishers.</span></p> -<hr /> -</div> - -<p class="center p140 bold">Travel-Adventure Series.</p> - -<p class="noi"><cite><span class="dropcap">I</span>N WILD AFRICA.</cite> Adventures of Two Boys in the Sahara Desert, -etc. <span class="smcap">By Thos. W. Knox.</span> 325 pp. Cloth, $1.50.</p> - -<p>A story of absorbing interest.—<cite>Boston Journal.</cite></p> - -<p>Our young people will pronounce it unusually good.—<cite>Albany Argus.</cite></p> - -<p>Col. Knox has struck a popular note in his latest -volume.—<cite>Springfield Republican.</cite></p> - -<p class="noi"><cite><span class="dropcap">T</span>HE LAND OF THE KANGAROO.</cite> <span class="smcap">By Thos. W. Knox.</span> -Adventures of Two Boys in the Great Island Continent. 318 pp. -Cloth, $1.50.</p> - -<p>His descriptions of the natural history and botany of the country are -very interesting.—<cite>Detroit Free Press.</cite></p> - -<p>The actual truthfulness of the book needs no gloss to add to its -absorbing interest.—<cite>The Book Buyer, New York.</cite></p> - -<p class="noi"><cite><span class="dropcap">O</span>VER THE ANDES; or, Our Boys in New South America.</cite> <span class="smcap">By -Hezekiah Butterworth.</span> 368 pp. Cloth, $1.50.</p> - -<p>No writer of the present century has done more and better service -than Hezekiah Butterworth in the production of helpful literature for -the young. In this volume he writes, in his own fascinating way, of a -country too little known by American readers.—<cite>Christian Work.</cite></p> - -<p>Mr. Butterworth is careful of his historic facts, and then he -charmingly interweaves his quaint stories, legends, and patriotic -adventures as few writers can.—<cite>Chicago Inter-Ocean.</cite></p> - -<p>The subject is an inspiring one, and Mr. Butterworth has done full -justice to the high ideals which have inspired the men of South -America.—<cite>Religious Telescope.</cite></p> - -<p class="noi"><cite><span class="dropcap">L</span>OST IN NICARAGUA; or, The Lands of the Great Canal.</cite> <span class="smcap">By -Hezekiah Butterworth.</span> 295 pp. Cloth, $1.50.</p> - -<p>The book pictures the wonderful land of Nicaragua and continues the -story of the travelers whose adventures in South America are related -in “Over the Andes.” In this companion book to “Over the Andes,” one -of the boy travelers who goes into the Nicaraguan forests in search of -a quetzal, or the royal bird of the Aztecs, falls into an ancient idol -cave, and is rescued in a remarkable way by an old Mosquito Indian. -The narrative is told in such a way as to give the ancient legends of -Guatemala, the story of the chieftain, Nicaragua, the history of the -Central American Republics, and the natural history of the wonderlands -of the ocelot, the conger, parrots, and monkeys.</p> - -<p>Since the voyage of the <span class="italic">Oregon</span>, of 13,000 miles to reach Key -West the American people have seen what would be the value of the -Nicaragua Canal. The book gives the history of the projects for the -canal, and facts about Central America, and a part of it was written in -Costa Rica. It enters a new field.</p> - -<p class="center bold">The set of four volumes in a box, $6.00.</p> - -<hr class="tiny" /> - -<p class="noi"><cite><span class="dropcap">Q</span>UARTERDECK AND FOK’SLE.</cite> <span class="smcap">By Molly Elliott Seawell.</span> -272 pp. Cloth, $1.25.</p> - -<p>Miss Seawell has done a notable work for the young people of our -country in her excellent stories of naval exploits. They are of the -kind that causes the reader, no matter whether young or old, to thrill -with pride and patriotism at the deeds of daring of the heroes of our -navy.</p> - -<p class="center"><span class="italic">W. A. Wilde & Co., Boston and Chicago.</span></p> - - - - -<div class="section"> -<hr class="x-ebookmaker-drop divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_iv"></a>4</span> -<p class="center"><span class="italic">W. A. Wilde & Co., Publishers.</span></p> -<hr /> -</div> - -<p class="center p140 bold">Fighting for the Flag Series.</p> - -<p class="center p120 bold">By Chas. Ledyard Norton.</p> - -<p class="noi"><cite><span class="dropcap">J</span>ACK BENSON’S LOG; or, Afloat with the Flag in ’61.</cite> 281 pp. -Cloth, $1.25.</p> - -<p>An unusually interesting historical story, and one that will arouse the -loyal impulses of every American boy and girl. The story is distinctly -superior to anything ever attempted along this line before.—<cite>The -Independent.</cite></p> - -<p>A story that will arouse the loyal impulses of every American boy and -girl.—<cite>The Press.</cite></p> - -<p class="noi"><cite><span class="dropcap">A</span> MEDAL OF HONOR MAN; or, Cruising Among Blockade Runners.</cite> -280 pp. Cloth, $1.25.</p> - -<p>A bright, breezy sequel to “Jack Benson’s Log.” The book has unusual -literary excellence.—<cite>The Book Buyer, New York.</cite></p> - -<p>A stirring story for boys.—<cite>The Journal, Indianapolis.</cite></p> - -<p class="noi"><cite><span class="dropcap">M</span>IDSHIPMAN JACK.</cite> 290 pp. Cloth, $1.25.</p> - -<p>Jack is a delightful hero, and the author has made his experiences and -adventures seem very real.—<cite>Congregationalist.</cite></p> - -<p>It is true historically and full of exciting war scenes and -adventures.—<cite>Outlook.</cite></p> - -<p>A stirring story of naval service in the Confederate waters during the -late war.—<cite>Presbyterian.</cite></p> - -<p class="center bold">The set of three volumes in a box, $3.75.</p> - -<hr class="tiny" /> - -<p class="noi"><cite><span class="dropcap">A</span> GIRL OF ’76.</cite> <span class="smcap">By Amy E. Blanchard.</span> 331 pp. Cloth, -$1.50.</p> - -<p>“A Girl of ’76” lays its scene in and around Boston where the principal -events of the early period of the Revolution were enacted. Elizabeth -Hall, the heroine, is the daughter of a patriot who is active in the -defense of his country. The story opens with a scene in Charlestown, -where Elizabeth Hall and her parents live. The emptying of the tea in -Boston Harbor is the means of giving the little girl her first strong -impression as to the seriousness of her father’s opinions, and causes a -quarrel between herself and her schoolmate and playfellow, Amos Dwight.</p> - -<p class="noi"><cite><span class="dropcap">A</span> SOLDIER OF THE LEGION.</cite> <span class="smcap">By Chas. Ledyard Norton.</span> -300 pp. Cloth, $1.50.</p> - -<p>Two boys, a Carolinian and a Virginian, born a few years apart during -the last half of the eighteenth century, afford the groundwork for the -incidents of this tale.</p> - -<p>The younger of the two was William Henry Harrison, sometime President -of the United States, and the elder, his companion and faithful -attendant through life, was Carolinus Bassett, Sergeant of the old -First Infantry, and in an irregular sort of a way Captain of Virginian -Horse. He it is who tells the story a few years after President -Harrison’s death, his granddaughter acting as critic and amanuensis.</p> - -<p>The story has to do with the early days of the Republic, when the -great, wild, unknown West was beset by dangers on every hand, and the -Government at Washington was at its wits’ end to provide ways and means -to meet the perplexing problems of national existence.</p> - -<p class="center"><span class="italic">W. A. Wilde & Co., Boston and Chicago.</span></p> - - - - -<div class="section"> -<hr class="x-ebookmaker-drop divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_v"></a>5</span> -<p class="center"><span class="italic">W. A. Wilde & Co., Publishers.</span></p> -<hr /> -</div> - -<p class="noi"><cite><span class="dropcap">T</span>HE ORCUTT GIRLS; or, One Term at the Academy.</cite> <span class="smcap">By -Charlotte M. Vaile.</span> 316 pp. Cloth, $1.50.</p> - -<p>A well-told story of school life which will interest its readers -deeply, and hold before them a high standard of living. The heroines -are charming girls and their adventures are described in an -entertaining way.—<cite>Pilgrim Teacher.</cite></p> - -<p>Mrs. Vaile gives us a story here which will become famous as a -description of a phase of New England educational history which -has now become a thing of the past, with an exception here and -there.—<cite>Boston Transcript.</cite></p> - -<p class="noi"><cite><span class="dropcap">S</span>UE ORCUTT.</cite> A Sequel to “The Orcutt Girls.” <span class="smcap">By Charlotte -M. Vaile.</span> 330 pp. Cloth, $1.50.</p> - -<p>It is a charming story from beginning to end and is written in that -easy flowing style which characterizes the best stories of our best -writers.—<cite>Christian Work.</cite></p> - -<p>It is wholly a piece of good fortune for young folks that brings this -book to market in such ample season for the selection of holiday -gifts.—<cite>Denver Republican.</cite></p> - -<p>The story teaches a good moral without any preaching, in fact it is -as good in a way as Miss Alcott’s books, which is high but deserved -praise.—<cite>Chronicle.</cite></p> - -<p class="noi"><cite><span class="dropcap">T</span>HE M. M. C.</cite> A Story of the Great Rockies. <span class="smcap">By Charlotte -M. Vaile.</span> 232 pp. Cloth, $1.25.</p> - -<p>The pluck of the little school teacher, struggling against adverse -circumstances, to hold for her friend the promising claim, which he has -secured after years of misfortune in other ventures, is well brought -out. The almost resistless bad luck which has made “Old Hopefull’s” -nickname a hollow mockery still followed him when a fortune was almost -within his grasp. The little school teacher was, however, a new element -in “Old Hopefull’s” experience, and the result, as the story shows, was -most satisfactory.</p> - -<p class="noi"><cite><span class="dropcap">T</span>HE ROMANCE OF DISCOVERY; or, a Thousand Years of Exploration, -etc.</cite> <span class="smcap">By William Elliot Griffis.</span> 305 pp. Cloth, $1.50.</p> - -<p>It is a book of profit and interest involving a variety of -correlated instances and influences which impart the flavor of the -unexpected.—<cite>Philadelphia Presbyterian.</cite></p> - -<p>An intensely interesting narrative following well-authenticated -history.—<cite>Telescope.</cite></p> - -<p>Boys will read it for the romance in it and be delighted, and -when they get through, behold! they have read a history of -America.—<cite>Awakener.</cite></p> - -<p class="noi"><cite><span class="dropcap">T</span>HE ROMANCE OF AMERICAN COLONIZATION; or, How the Foundations of -Our Country Were Laid.</cite> <span class="smcap">By William Elliot Griffis.</span> 295 -pp. Cloth, $1.50.</p> - -<p>To this continent, across a great ocean, came two distinct streams of -humanity and two rival civilizations,—the one Latin, led and typified -by the Spanish, with <a id="Portuguese"></a><ins title="Original has 'Portugese'">Portuguese</ins> -and French also, and the -other Germanic, or Anglo-Saxon, led and typified by the English and -reinforced by Dutch, German, and British people.</p> - -<p class="noi"><cite><span class="dropcap">A</span> SON OF THE REVOLUTION.</cite> An Historical Novel of the Days of -Aaron Burr. <span class="smcap">By Elbridge S. Brooks.</span> 301 pp. Cloth, $1.50.</p> - -<p>The story of Tom Edwards, adventurer, as it is connected with Aaron -Burr, is in every way faithful to the facts of history. As the story -progresses the reader will wonder where the line between fact and -fiction is to be drawn. Among the characters that figure in it are -President Jefferson, Gen. Andrew Jackson, General Wilkinson, and many -other prominent government and army officials.</p> - -<p class="center"><span class="italic">W. A. Wilde & Co., Boston and Chicago.</span></p> - - - - -<div class="section"> -<hr class="x-ebookmaker-drop divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_vi"></a>6</span> -<p class="center"><span class="italic">W. A. Wilde & Co., Publishers.</span></p> -<hr /> -</div> - -<p class="noi"><cite><span class="dropcap">M</span>ALVERN, A NEIGHBORHOOD STORY.</cite> <span class="smcap">By Ellen Douglas -Deland.</span> 341 pp. Cloth, $1.50.</p> - -<p>Her descriptions of boys and girls are so true, and her knowledge of -their ways is so accurate, that one must feel an admiration for her -complete mastery of her chosen field.—<cite>The Argus, Albany.</cite></p> - -<p>Miss Deland was accorded a place with Louisa M. Alcott and Nora Perry -as a successful writer of books for girls. We think this praise none -too high.—<cite>The Post.</cite></p> - -<p class="noi"><cite><span class="dropcap">A</span> SUCCESSFUL VENTURE.</cite> <span class="smcap">By Ellen Douglas Deland.</span> 340 -pp. Cloth, $1.50.</p> - -<p>One of the many successful books that have come from her pen, which is -certainly the very best.—<cite>Boston Herald.</cite></p> - -<p>It is a good piece of work and its blending of good sense and -entertainment will be appreciated.—<cite>Congregationalist.</cite></p> - -<p class="noi"><cite><span class="dropcap">K</span>ATRINA.</cite> <span class="smcap">By Ellen Douglas Deland.</span> 340 pp. Cloth, -$1.50.</p> - -<p>“Katrina” is the story of a girl who was brought up by an aunt in a -remote village of Vermont. Her life is somewhat lonely until a family -from New York come there to board during the summer. Katrina’s aunt, -who is a reserved woman, has told her little of her antecedents, and -she supposes that she has no other relatives. Her New York friends grow -very fond of her and finally persuade her to visit them during the -winter. There new pleasures and new temptations present themselves, and -Katrina’s character develops through them to new strength.</p> - -<p class="noi"><cite><span class="dropcap">A</span>BOVE THE RANGE.</cite> <span class="smcap">By Theodora R. Jenness.</span> 332 pp. -Cloth, $1.25.</p> - -<p>The quaintness of the characters described will be sure to make the -story very popular.—<cite>Book News, Philadelphia.</cite></p> - -<p>A book of much interest and novelty.—<cite>The Book Buyer, New York.</cite></p> - -<p class="noi"><cite><span class="dropcap">B</span>IG CYPRESS.</cite> <span class="smcap">By Kirk Munroe.</span> 164 pp. Cloth, 1.00.</p> - -<p>If there is a man who understands writing a story for boys better than -another, it is Kirk Munroe.—<cite>Springfield Republican.</cite></p> - -<p>A capital writer of boys’ stories is Mr. Kirk Munroe.—<cite>Outlook.</cite></p> - -<p class="noi"><cite><span class="dropcap">F</span>OREMAN JENNIE.</cite> <span class="smcap">By Amos R. Wells.</span> A Young Woman of -Business. 268 pp. Cloth, $1.25.</p> - -<p>It is a delightful story.—<cite>The Advance, Chicago.</cite></p> - -<p>It is full of action.—<cite>The Standard, Chicago.</cite></p> - -<p>A story of decided merit.—<cite>The Epworth Herald, Chicago.</cite></p> - -<p class="noi"><cite><span class="dropcap">M</span>YSTERIOUS VOYAGE OF THE DAPHNE.</cite> <span class="smcap">By Lieut. H. P. -Whitmarsh.</span> 305 pp. Cloth, $1.25.</p> - -<p>One of the best collections of short stories for boys and girls -that has been published in recent years. Such writers as Hezekiah -Butterworth, Wm. O. Stoddard, and Jane G. Austin have contributed -characteristic stories which add greatly to the general interest of the -book.</p> - -<p class="center"><cite>W. A. Wilde & Co., Boston and Chicago.</cite></p> - - - - -<div class="section"> -<hr class="x-ebookmaker-drop divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_vii"></a>7</span> -<p class="center"><span class="italic">W. A. Wilde & Co., Publishers.</span></p> -<hr /> -</div> - -<p class="noi"><cite><span class="dropcap">P</span>HILLIP LEICESTER.</cite> <span class="smcap">By Jessie E. Wright.</span> 264 pp. -Cloth, $1.25.</p> - -<p>The book ought to make any reader thankful for a good home, and -thoughtful for the homeless and neglected.—<cite>Golden Rule.</cite></p> - -<p>The story is intensely interesting.—<cite>Christian Inquirer.</cite></p> - -<p class="noi"><cite><span class="dropcap">C</span>AP’N THISTLETOP.</cite> <span class="smcap">By Sophie Swett.</span> 282 pp. Cloth, -$1.25.</p> - -<p>Sophie Swett knows how to please young folks as well as old; for both -she writes simple, unaffected, cheerful stories with a judicious -mingling of humor and plot. Such a story is “Cap’n Thistletop.”—<cite>The -Outlook.</cite></p> - -<p class="noi"><cite><span class="dropcap">L</span>ADY BETTY’S TWINS.</cite> <span class="smcap">By E. M. Waterworth.</span> 117 pp. -With 12 illustrations. 75 cents.</p> - -<p>The story of a little boy and girl who did not know the meaning of the -word “obedience.” They learned the lesson, however, after some trying -experiences.</p> - -<p class="noi"><cite><span class="dropcap">T</span>HE MOONSTONE RING.</cite> <span class="smcap">By Jennie Chappell.</span> 118 pp. -With 6 illustrations. 75 cents.</p> - -<p>A home story with the true ring to it. The happenings of the story are -somewhat out of the usual run of events.</p> - -<p class="noi"><cite><span class="dropcap">T</span>HE BEACON LIGHT SERIES.</cite> -<a id="Edited"></a><ins title="Original has 'Edited by in small caps'">Edited by</ins> -<span class="smcap">Natalie L. Rice.</span> 5 vols. Fully Illustrated. The Set, $2.50.</p> - -<p>The stories contained in this set of books are all by well-known -writers, carefully selected and edited, and they cannot, therefore, -fail to be both helpful and instructive.</p> - -<p class="noi"><cite><span class="dropcap">T</span>HE ALLAN BOOKS.</cite> Edited by <span class="smcap">Miss Lucy Wheelock</span>. 10 -vols. Over 400 illustrations. The set in a box, $2.50.</p> - -<p>One of the best and most attractive sets of books for little folks -ever published. They are full of bright and pleasing illustrations and -charming little stories just adapted to young children.</p> - -<p class="noi"><cite><span class="dropcap">T</span>HE MARJORIE BOOKS.</cite> Edited by <span class="smcap">Miss Lucy Wheelock</span>. 6 -vols. Over 200 illustrations. The set, $1.50.</p> - -<p>A very attractive set of books for the little folks, full of pictures -and good stories.</p> - -<p class="noi"><cite><span class="dropcap">D</span>OTS LIBRARY.</cite> Edited by <span class="smcap">Miss Lucy Wheelock</span>. 10 -vols. Over 400 illustrations. The set, $2.50.</p> - -<p>In every way a most valuable set of books for the little people. Miss -Wheelock possesses rare skill in interesting and entertaining the -little ones.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p class="center"><span class="italic">W. A. Wilde & Co., Boston and Chicago.</span></p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="x-ebookmaker-drop divider" /> -</div> -<div class="tn"> -<p class="center">Transcriber’s Note:</p> - -<p class="noi">Punctuation has been standardised. Hyphenation has been retained as it -appears in the original publication. There is perhaps confusion between -the names “Harry” and “Henry” but these also have been retained as they -appear in the original publication. Changes have been made as follows:</p> - -<ul> -<li>Facing page 48<br /> -YOU ARE YOUNG FOR A SUPERCARGO, SENOR <span class="italic">changed to</span><br /> -YOU ARE YOUNG FOR A SUPERCARGO, <a href="#SENOR">SEÑOR</a></li> - -<li>Page 69<br /> -loquats, sappadillos, sour sops, <span class="italic">changed to</span><br /> -loquats, <a href="#sapadillos">sapadillos</a>, sour sops,</li> - -<li>Page 119<br /> -men were trying to lassoo <span class="italic">changed to</span><br /> -men were trying to <a href="#lasso">lasso</a></li> - -<li>Page 142<br /> -<span class="italic">The Flower City</span> <span class="italic">changed to</span><br /> -<a href="#The">The</a> <span class="italic">Flower City</span></li> - -<li>Page 167<br /> -be done by the great num- <span class="italic">changed to</span><br /> -be done by the great <a href="#number">number</a></li> - -<li>Page 173<br /> -advice it sure to be good <span class="italic">changed to</span><br /> -advice <a href="#is">is</a> sure to be good</li> - -<li>Page 196<br /> -some of our American millionnaires <span class="italic">changed to</span><br /> -some of our American <a href="#millionaires1">millionaires</a></li> - -<li>Page 198<br /> -sighted the Belearic Isles<span class="italic">changed to</span><br /> -sighted the <a href="#Balearic">Balearic</a> Isles</li> - -<li>Page 209<br /> -in a large store-paved courtyard <span class="italic">changed to</span><br /> -in a large <a href="#stone">stone-paved</a> courtyard</li> - -<li>Page 226<br /> -Captain Grffith had always treated him <span class="italic">changed to</span><br /> -Captain <a href="#Griffith">Griffith</a> had always treated him</li> - -<li>Page 269<br /> -treasures ever since Kit bought it home <span class="italic">changed to</span><br /> -treasures ever since Kit <a href="#brought">brought</a> it home</li> - -<li>Page 305<br /> -his throat like a vice <span class="italic">changed to</span><br /> -his throat like a <a href="#vise">vise</a></li> - -<li>Page 317<br /> -not all millionnaires here <span class="italic">changed to</span><br /> -not all <a href="#millionaires2">millionaires</a> here</li> - -<li>Page 350<br /> -easily spoiled; sp cially cabin boys <span class="italic">changed to</span><br /> -easily spoiled; <a href="#specially">specially</a> cabin boys</li> - -<li>Page v of the advertisements<br /> -Portugese and French also <span class="italic">changed to</span><br /> -<a href="#Portuguese">Portuguese</a> and French also</li> - -<li>Page vii of the advertisements<br /> -<span class="smcap">Edited by Natalie L. Rice.</span> <span class="italic">changed to</span><br /> -<a href="#Edited">Edited by</a> <span class="smcap">Natalie L. Rice.</span></li> -</ul> -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE YOUNG SUPERCARGO ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg™ electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG™ -concept and trademark. 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