The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Old Tobacco Shop, by William Bowen
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere 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
Title: The Old Tobacco Shop
A True Account of What Befell a Little Boy in Search of Adventure
Author: William Bowen
Release Date: October 20, 2008 [EBook #26977]
Language: English
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE OLD TOBACCO SHOP ***
Produced by David Edwards, Katie Ward and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
file was produced from images generously made available
by The Internet Archive)
Transcriber's note:
Archaic and variable spelling preserved as printed.
Author's punctuation style preserved.
Hyphenation standardized.
Passages in italics indicated by underscore _.
[Illustration: _The Old Tobacco Shop_
_By William Bowen_]
The Old Tobacco Shop
Also By
WILLIAM BOWEN
The Enchanted Forest
The Old Tobacco Shop
[Illustration: "Lord bless us!" cried the hunch back. "Look at that!"]
_The Old Tobacco Shop_
_A True Account of What Befell
a Little Boy in Search
of Adventure_
_By
William Bowen_
_Though you believe it not, I care not much: but an honest man, and
of good judgment, believeth still what is told him, and that which
he finds written._--RABELAIS.
New York
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
1921
_All rights reserved_
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
COPYRIGHT, 1921
BY THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
Set up and Electrotyped. Published October, 1921
FERRIS PRINTING COMPANY
NEW YORK
To
BILLY AND JOHN
TWO LITTLE BOYS
PRINCIPAL PERSONS
Freddie
Mr. Toby
Aunt Amanda
Mr. Punch
The Churchwarden
Mr. Hanlon
The Sly Old Fox
The Old Codger with the Wooden Leg
Mr. Lemuel Mizzen
The Cabin-Boy
Marmaduke
Captain Lingo
Ketch the Practitioner
The Third Vice-President
Mr. Matthew Speak
Shiraz the Rug-Merchant
The King and Queen
Robert, Jenny, and James
Mr. Punch's Father
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
1. "Lord bless us!" cried the hunch back. "Look at that!" Frontispiece
2. "I'm Lemuel Mizzen, A.B., that's me!" 50
3. "L-l-Lem!" shrieked the parrot. "Who's your f-f-f-friends?" 86
4. Mr. Hanlon was standing on his feet by the log on
which his head had been cut off 134
5. Shiraz the Rug-Merchant looked at his visitors
with little beady black eyes 188
6. "Ah, yes," said Aunt Amanda, "there's no place like
the Old Tobacco Shop after all" 235
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I. Mr. Punch and the Clock-Tower 1
II. Aunt Amanda and the Two Old Codgers 9
III. Introducing the Churchwarden 22
IV. In which Mr. Hanlon makes a Great Impression 31
V. The Chinaman's Head 39
VI. Lemuel Mizzen, A.B. 48
VII. The Hands of the Clock come Together 54
VIII. Celluloid Cuffs and a Silk Hat 60
IX. The Odour of Sanctity 65
X. Captain Higginson and the Spanish Main 69
XI. A Mixed Company in search of Adventure 74
XII. The Voyage of the Sieve 81
XIII. The Cabin-Boy's Revenge 93
XIV. The Cruise of the Mattresses 107
XV. A Fall in the Dark 111
XVI. Captain Lingo and a Fine Piece of Head-Work 122
XVII. High Dudgeon and Low Dudgeon 139
XVIII. The Society for Piratical Research 146
XIX. A Knock at the Door 160
XX. The City of Towers 171
XXI. Shiraz the Rug-Merchant 178
XXII. Six Enchanted Souls 187
XXIII. From the Fire Back to the Frying-Pan 196
XXIV. Disenchantment Complete 200
XXV. The Old Man of the Mountain 209
XXVI. The King's Tower 216
XXVII. The Sorcerer's Den 222
XXVIII. The Old Tobacco Shop 231
THE OLD TOBACCO SHOP
CHAPTER I
MR. PUNCH AND THE CLOCK-TOWER
When the Little Boy first went to the Old Tobacco Shop, he stood a long
while before going in, to look at the wooden figure which stood beside
the door.
His father was sitting at home in his carpet-slippers, waiting for
tobacco for his pipe, but when the Little Boy saw the wooden figure he
forgot all about hurrying,--"Now don't be long," his mother had said,
and his father had said "Hurry back,"--but he forgot all about hurrying,
and stood and looked at the wooden figure a long time: a little
hunchbacked man, not so very much taller than himself, on a low wooden
box, holding out in one hand a packet of black wooden cigars. His back
was terribly humped up between his shoulders, his face was square and
bony, if wood can be said to be bony, he was bareheaded and bald-headed,
he had a wide mouth, and his high nose curved down over it and his
pointed chin curved up under it; and his breast stuck out in front
almost as much as his shoulders stuck out behind.
The Little Boy's name was Freddie; his mother called him that, and his
father usually called him Fred; but sometimes his father called him
Frederick, in fact whenever he didn't come back after he had been told
to hurry, and then his father looked at him--you know that look--and
said "Frederick!" just like that. But his mother never called him
anything but Freddie, even when he was late.
He grasped his money tight in his hand, as he had been told to do, and
stood and looked at the little hunchbacked wooden man holding out his
packet of black wooden cigars. "I wonder," thought Freddie, "what makes
him so crooked?" He walked around him and looked at his back. He walked
around in front of him again and wondered if the black cigars in his
hand would smoke; he decided he would ask about it. The little man wore
blue knee breeches and black stockings and buckled shoes, and his coat
was cut away in front over his stomach and had two tails behind, down to
his knees. It was easy to see that he wasn't a boy, though, even if he
did wear knee breeches; you only had to look at his face, for he had the
kind of hard boniness in his face that grown-ups have. Freddie made up
his mind that he liked him, anyway; and it must have been hard to have
to stand out there all day without moving, rain or shine, and offer that
bunch of cigars to all the people who went by, and never get a single
soul to take them. Freddie put out his other hand (not the one with the
money in it) towards the cigars, but he quickly drew it back, for he
looked at the little man's face at the same time, and there was
something about his eyes--anyhow, he stood back a little.
"Better be careful o' Mr. Punch, young feller," said a deep voice from
the shop door.
Freddie looked, and in the doorway, leaning against the doorpost, with
his hands in his trousers' pockets, and one foot crossed over the
other, stood a little man, not so very much taller than himself, and
certainly no taller than the figure on the stand, who stared at Freddie
as if he knew all about human boys and did not trust them out of his
sight. Freddie looked at him and then at the wooden figure beside the
door; they might have been brothers. The little man had a hump on his
back, and his breast stuck out in front; his head was big and square,
and he had high cheek-bones; his face was bony and his mouth wide, and
his big nose curved down and his chin curved up; but he did not wear
knee breeches; his trousers were the trousers of grown-ups, and his coat
was a square coat, buttoned tight over his chest from top to bottom. He
was bareheaded, and he had plenty of hair, brushed from the top of his
head down towards his forehead. He looked as if he belonged to the
tobacco shop; or perhaps the tobacco shop belonged to him.
He stared at Freddie without blinking, and there was something in his
eyes--anyway, Freddie stepped back, and held his money tighter in his
hand behind him.
"You'd _better_ stand away from Mr. Punch," said the hunchbacked man,
without moving.
"Yes, sir," said Freddie.
"Did you say 'why'? Because you know I'm terrible deef, and can't never
hear boys when they talk down in their stomicks. I'll _tell_ you why, as
long as you ast me. Do you see that clock on the church-tower over
there?" He nodded his big wooden head up the street, without taking his
hands from his pockets. Freddie looked, and there the clock was, plain
enough. "Well," said the hunchbacked man, "I'll tell you, seeing as you
insist upon it, and won't take no for an answer: but you mustn't never
tell it to no one. Do you promise me that? Cross your heart?"
"Yes, sir," said Freddie.
"Done," said the hunchback. "Mr. Punch's father lives up there behind
that clock. And sometimes, just exactly when the two hands of that clock
come together, one on top of the other, mind you, like you lay one stick
along another, Mr. Punch's father comes out and stands on that there
sill under the clock; he's a little old man with a long white beard; and
he stands there and puts his hand to his mouth and calls down here to
Mr. Punch, and Mr. Punch climbs down off his little perch and goes over
to that church, and climbs up the inside of that tower to the very top
and meets his father! And I've heard tell that they have regular high
jinks up there all by theirselves, and vittles! more vittles and drink
than you ever seen at one time; yes, sir; a regular feast, as sure as
you're born; and they don't only eat vittles; no, sir; if they can only
get hold of a nice plump little boy or two, with plenty o' meat to him,
that's what they like best; and if it happens to be night-time, there's
a lot of queer ones with 'em up there, and all sorts of queer
noises--you ask the sextant over there about it--_he's_ heard 'em; and
if you should just happen to be around when Mr. Punch climbs down off of
this here perch, you'd better look out; for he's just as likely as not
to snatch you up and carry you off with him up there into that
church-tower to his father, and if he does _that_, that's the last of
you; and your ma and your pa could cry their eyes out, and it wouldn't
be no use; you'd be _gone_! And never come back no more. They say
there's many a boy been took up into that tower by Mr. Punch here when
his father comes out and calls him. But he don't _always_ come out when
the hands of the clock come together; nobody ever knows when he's going
to do it, no sirree; Mr. Punch himself never knows when his father's
going to call him. Lord bless us!" cried the little hunchback, looking
up again in alarm at the clock in the church-tower. "Lord bless us,
look at that!"
Freddie stared at the clock. It was twenty-five minutes past five. He
knew how to tell twelve o'clock and ten minutes to ten, but he had never
got as far as twenty-five minutes past five; he could easily see,
however, that the big hand was almost on top of the little hand. He
edged away further from the wooden figure on the box; he was almost sure
that the hand which held the cigars moved a little.
The hunchbacked man in the doorway stood up straight on his two feet and
took his hands out of his pockets.
"Look alive, young feller!" he said. "It's pretty near time! In another
minute! I can't help it if Mr. Punch's father comes out and--Quick, boy!
Come here to me, before it's too late! I'll see if I can save you!"
Freddie gave another look at the clock; the hands were surely almost
together, and quick as a flash he darted to the hunchback and hid behind
him and held on to his coat, peeping around him through the doorway. The
little man put his arm about Freddie and held him close; it was a strong
muscular arm, and Freddie felt quite safe. The little man could not have
been laughing, for his face was as solemn and wooden-looking as ever;
but Freddie could feel his body shaking all over, he couldn't tell why.
"You'd better come in and see Aunt Amanda," he said, "before it's too
late. You'll be safe in there."
He took Freddie by the hand and drew him into the shop.
The Old Tobacco Shop stands at the corner of two streets, as you surely
must know if you have ever been in the city that lies on the river
called Patapsco, which runs along ever so far out of a great bay where
ships sail from all over the world, called Chesapeake Bay. It is an old
brick house, and you go into the shop by the door that opens in the side
just round the corner, not in the front, for there isn't any door at the
front, but only a window with pipes and cigars and tobacco in it, and
the stuffed head of a bull-dog with a pipe in his mouth. The house is
only one story and a half high, and has a steep gabled roof, with two
dormer windows in the slope of the roof above the side of the house, and
one dormer window in the slope of the roof above the shop-window in
front, where the bull-dog is. All the other houses fronting in the row
are good high two-story houses; why this corner house never grew up like
the others, no one knows.
When Freddie was standing at the corner of the street, before he had
seen the wooden figure offering his bundle of wooden cigars there beside
the door, he looked down the street that runs along the side of the
shop, across the street that crosses it, and saw the masts of tall ships
in the harbor beside the wharves; some with their sails up, some with
their sails hanging most untidily, and some with their sails neatly
rolled up and tied; and he would certainly have gone down there, only
his father had told him to hurry.
Freddie lived in a fine two-story brick house in a row like this one, a
long, long way off; three squares off (they say "squares" in that city
when they mean a straight line between two streets and not a square at
all) down the same street on which the Old Tobacco Shop fronts; and it
really takes a good while to go all that way, for there is a boy
half-way down, a big boy, who belongs to a Gang, and likes to bully
little boys, and you have to watch your chance to get out of his way,
and there is a place with a knot-hole in the fence where you can see all
kinds of rusty springs and bed-rails and birdcages and barrel hoops
piled up inside the yard, and a tin-can factory where you can pick up
little round pieces of tin just as good as dollars, and a church (where
the clock is) with a fat old man sitting on the pavement in a chair
tilted back against the church wall smoking a long pipe, who doesn't
mind being stared at from the curbstone, and a street-car track where
you have to look out for the horse-car, which is very dangerous when the
horse begins to trot, and--but Freddie hadn't lived long in his fine
two-story house in that street, and these things were new to him and
took time. But the newest and biggest thing he had yet found (not that
it was really big, you know) was the wooden hunchback outside the door
of the Old Tobacco Shop; and you have seen how much time _that_ took.
Freddie found himself inside the shop, and his hand grasped tight by the
big strong hand of the hunchback, so tight that he wriggled a little to
get loose; but the hunchback only held him tighter. "Come along," he
said, "you'd better come in here and see my Aunt Amanda, or Mr. Punch
may step out and get you; and _then_ where would you be?"
Freddie looked back out of doors over his shoulder, but it did not seem
as if Mr. Punch meant to step out that time. He breathed easier. The
shop was a very little shop, with shelves on the wall behind the
counter, and a window in front where he saw the back of the bull-dog's
head. The two show-cases on the counter were full of pipes of all kinds,
and cigars and tobacco and cigarettes, and piled on the shelves were
boxes of cigars and jars and tins of tobacco, and on the wooden top of
the counter between the two show-cases stood a tobacco-cutter and a
little pair of scales with a scoop lying beside it and little iron
weights in a box. The counter ran from the front window lengthwise to
the back of the shop, and at the back, on your left as you went in, was
a closed door. A wooden chair with arms stood beside the front window.
You could get behind the counter only by a swinging gate at the back
end. There was a delightful warm odour about the place, very much the
same odour Freddie liked to smell when his father opened his old
tobacco-box on the mantel-piece in the sitting-room upstairs and filled
his pipe, when he came home in the evening and put on his
carpet-slippers and spread out that everlasting newspaper that had no
pictures in it. He never could understand why his mother opened all the
windows the next morning.
"All right, young feller," said the hunchback, "we'll get on the other
side of that door, and then we'll be safe. Here we are."
They reached the door at the back of the shop, and the hunchback opened
it and pulled Freddie into the back room and closed the door behind
them. Freddie hung back a little, but his hand was gripped tight, and he
couldn't have got away if he had tugged with all his might. He was not
so much afraid now of Mr. Punch and his father, but he didn't know what
this little man was going to do with him; and besides, his father had
told him to hurry.
In this back room, near a window which looked out on the street, sat a
lady. The hunchback marched Freddie up to her and stopped there before
her, and wagged his head sidewise towards the Little Boy. The hunchback
and the Little Boy stood hand in hand, and the lady looked at them
steadily.
CHAPTER II
AUNT AMANDA AND THE TWO OLD CODGERS
"Here's Aunt Amanda," said the hunchback, standing before the lady who
was sitting near the window, and letting go of Freddie's hand, "and
here's a boy that Mr. Punch pretty near got hold of, if I hadn't come
along just in time and hustled him in here. Just look out of that
window, Aunt Amanda, and see if Mr. Punch has moved yet."
The lady did not look out of the window, but stared at Freddie with her
mouth shut tight. She had very thin lips and she pressed them tight
together; and without opening them more than a wee mite she said to the
hunchback, sternly:
"Obelilackyoomuptwonyerix."
Freddie could not understand this at all. He looked at her closely. She
was very thin, and had a high beaked nose and reddish hair and a reddish
skin, and on the left side of her chin was a mole, with three little
reddish hairs sticking out of it; she wore a rusty black dress, very
tight above the waist and very wide below, and in the bosom of this
dress were sticking dozens, maybe hundreds, for all Freddie could tell,
of pins and needles. She must have been very tall when she stood up. A
cane leaned against the back of her chair; she was a little lame; not
very lame, but enough to make her limp when she walked, and to make her
cane useful in getting about. If she had had a stiff starched ruff about
her neck and a lace thing on her head pointed in front, she would have
done very well for Queen Elizabeth, the one you see the picture of in
that history-book. There was a thimble on the second finger of her right
hand, and a pair of scissors hung by a tape at her waist; and around her
neck she wore a measuring tape. On the floor at her feet lay a pile of
goods, and some of it was in her lap; the kind of goods that Mother has
around her when she is turning and making over that old blue serge, and
gathers up out of Father's way when she hears him coming in towards the
sitting-room.
At Aunt Amanda's elbow stood an oval marble-topped table, and besides a
work-basket there were several fascinating things on it. In the center
was a glass dome, and under the glass dome was the most beautiful basket
of wax flowers--calla lilies mostly, with a wonderful yellow spike like
a finger sticking up out of each one. On one side of the wax flowers was
a thick book with blue plush covers, and the word "Album" across it in
slanting gold letters. On the other side was a kind of a--well, it had a
handle under a piece of wood to hold it up by, and a frame at one end to
stick up a picture in, and two pieces of thick glass in a frame at the
other end to look through at the picture and make the picture look
all--_you_ know!--as if the people in the back of it were a long way
behind, and the people in front right close up in front, and all that;
Freddie's father had one.
The chairs in the room had thin curved legs and those slippery
horse-hair seats which Freddie hated to sit on. On the walls were
portraits in oval frames of men with chin-whiskers and no mustaches, and
ladies in shawls and bonnets; but there was one square frame, and it had
no picture under its glass, but a sheaf of real wheat, standing up as
natural as life, with some kind of curly writing over it; it was simply
beautiful. There was a clock on the marble mantel-piece, tall and
square-cornered, with a clear circle in the glass below where you could
see the round weight of the pendulum go back and forth, and a picture
of the sun on the face, very red, with a big nose and eyes, and stiff
red hair floating off from it.
Aunt Amanda stuck a pin in the goods in her lap and folded her hands.
Freddie, after glancing around the room, looked at her again and
wondered who she was; plain sewing she was, that was sure, also an aunt;
and besides that, although Freddie did not know it, she was an old--I
hate to say it, though it wasn't anything really against her, if you
come to that,--an old--well, you know what you call them behind their
backs, or shout after them as they go down the street and then whip
around the corner when they turn, just simply because they haven't ever
been married, like Mother,--well, then, an Old Maid.
Being an Old Maid, she of course wore no wedding ring; but on her
wedding-finger, the third finger of her left hand, there was a mark at
the place where a wedding ring would have been; a kind of birth-mark,
ruby red, in shape and size like the ruby stone of a ring. Freddie
looked at it often afterwards.
"Now you look here, Aunt Amanda," said her nephew, taking hold of
Freddie's hand again, "you know well enough I can't understand you with
all them pins--"
Aunt Amanda put a hand to her lips and drew out of her mouth a pin and
stuck it in the bosom of her dress. She put her hand to her lips again
and drew forth another pin and stuck it in the bosom of her dress. She
drew forth another and another, and stuck each one in her dress.
Freddie's eyes opened wide; did this lady eat pins? Her mouth seemed to
be full of them; didn't they hurt? It didn't seem possible she could eat
them, and yet there they were. No wonder she couldn't talk plainly.
There seemed to be no end to the pins, but there was, and at last her
mouth was clear of them so that she could talk.
"Toby Littleback," said she, "you're up to one o' your tricks again.
Ain't you ashamed of yourself?" That was what she had meant by saying,
"Obelilackyoomuptwonyerix," with her mouth full of pins.
Toby was quite crestfallen. "Well," he said, "I guess it ain't no
hangin' matter. All I done was to bring the boy in to see you. 'N' this
is what I get fer it every time. I ain't a-going to bring 'em in any
more, that's flat."
"Let go o' the child," said Aunt Amanda, sharply. "Can't you see you're
hurting his hand? Come here, boy."
Mr. Littleback dropped Freddie's hand and walked over to the table
beside his aunt. Freddie came forward timidly and stood at Aunt Amanda's
knee. She examined him carefully.
"It's the best one yet," she said. "Boy, do you know you're as pretty as
a--Well, anyway, what is your name?"
If there was one thing Freddie loathed, it was to be called pretty; he
had heard it before, in the parlor at home, when he had been trotted out
to be inspected by female visitors, and he had tried many a time to
scrub off the rosy redness from his cheeks, but he had found it only
made it worse. He hung his head a little, and could not find his voice.
Aunt Amanda took his chin in her hand and gently held up his head.
"It's all right, my dear," said she. "What is your name, now?"
"Fweddie," said the Little Boy.
"It ain't neither!" cried Mr. Littleback. "There ain't no such name.
It's Freddie! Come on, now, say Freddie!"
"Fweddie," said the Little Boy.
"No, no!" cried Toby. "Try it again, now. Say Freddie!"
"Toby," said Aunt Amanda, "shut up. Freddie, I haven't any little boy,
and I don't get out very much, and I'd like you to come and see me
sometimes. Would you like to do that?"
Freddie stared at her, and said, "Yes'm."
"I hope you will, often. Be sure you do. I suppose you don't like
gingerbread? Toby."
The little hunchback went out briskly through a back door and returned
with a slice of gingerbread. "Baked today," said his aunt. "But what
time is it? Quarter to six. Too near suppertime. You mustn't eat it now,
Freddie. Toby, wrap it up."
Toby went into the shop and returned with a paper sack, and putting the
gingerbread into it gave it to Freddie.
"Now," said Aunt Amanda, "take it home with you and eat it after supper.
Will you come to see me?"
"Yes'm," said Freddie as if he meant it. You couldn't get gingerbread at
home between meals every day in the week.
"That's a good boy. Now run away home."
"Please, sir," said Freddie, holding out the money in his hand, "my
farver wants half a pound of Cage-Roach Mitchner."
"What? Oh!" said Toby. "I see. Half a pound of Stage-Coach Mixture. All
right, young feller, come along into the shop."
"Good-bye, Freddie, and don't break the gingerbread before you get
home," said Aunt Amanda, taking into her mouth a palmful of pins with a
back toss of her head. Had she swallowed them? Freddie stared at her in
alarm.
"Ain't you never comin' for the tobacco?" said Toby. "I can't keep all
them customers in the shop waiting all day."
Freddie followed him into the shop.
"You'll have to wait your turn, young feller," said Toby. "I can't keep
these customers waiting no longer. What'll you have, Mr. Applejohn?"
Freddie looked around for Mr. Applejohn, but so far as he could see
there was no one in the shop but himself and Mr. Littleback. The
hunchback went through the swinging gate and stood behind the counter,
and looked over it (his head and shoulders just came over the top) at
Mr. Applejohn.
"No," said Toby, "we're just out of it. Very sorry. But I have something
just as good. No? Well, then, come around tomorrow; yes, sir; between
ten and eleven. Now, then, Tom, it's your turn. You want what? No, sir,
I won't sell no cigarettes to no boy, so you can clear out. You ought to
be ashamed o' yourself, smoking cigarettes at your age. No use arguin',
I won't do it. You can get right out o' here." The big wooden-looking
head winked an eye at Freddie. "That's the way I treat 'em. Did you see
how he skipped off in a hurry? You saw him go, didn't you?"
Freddie looked at the door. He hadn't seen anybody, but after all that
talk there must have been somebody there; he couldn't be sure; probably
he had been mistaken about it; grown-up people ought to know what they
were talking about; perhaps he _had_ seen somebody. He hesitated.
"I--I think so; I believe so; yes, sir."
"Don't you fool yourself, young man. You can't smoke cigarettes if you
ever want to grow up. Look at me. Do you see this?" He turned his back
and reached over his shoulder to his hump. "Cigarettes. That's what done
it. Cigarettes. I smoked 'em along with my bottle of milk, regular, when
I was a kid, and look at me now, not much bigger than Mr. Punch out
there. Cigarettes. Maybe you might think it was the bottle o' milk done
it, instead of the cigarettes, being as they was at the same time; but
don't you never believe it. Cigarettes! You keep off of 'em. Now
pipe-tobacco! That's a different thing. If I'd only stuck to a pipe,
along with that bottle o' milk, look how high I'd 'a' been now! What
kind o' tobacco did you say your farver wanted? Housewife's Favorite?"
"No, sir," said Freddie. "My farver he wants half a pound of Cage-Roach
Mitchner."
"That's it," said Toby. "I don't see how I come to forget that name.
Your father's a man o' good common sense. Nothing like Cage-Roach. Here
it is." He turned to the shelf behind him and mounted a little ladder
and took down a large tin. While he was scooping out the tobacco at the
counter and weighing it on the scales and doing it up, he was singing to
himself, and Freddie stared at him with rapt attention.
"Some day," said Mr. Littleback, without pausing in his work or looking
at Freddie, "them eyes of yourn will pop right out of your head, if you
ain't careful. Did you ever hear that song?"
"No, sir," said Freddie.
"Would you like to hear it?"
"Yes, sir," said Freddie.
"It's about two old codgers--friends of mine; they come in here regular.
One of 'em's a good customer and pays spot cash; the other one never
buys nothing; and I can't say which one of 'em I like worse. Anyway,
here's how it goes:
"Oh-h-h! There was an old codger, and he had a wooden leg,
And he never bought tobacco when tobacco he could beg."
"Don't you never let yourself get into that habit, young man. Always buy
your tobacco fair and square. I've known 'em--this feller and many
another one--never have a grain o' tobacco left in their pouch--just
used up the very last bit two minutes before, and always a-beggin' a
pipeful, and right here in my own shop too, where I _sell_ tobacco, mind
you--I'd like 'em better if they sneaked in and _stole_ it, I would, any
day. But the other one! I don't know that I'd want to be him neither, if
I had to choose between 'em,--however--
"Another old codger, as sly as a fox!
And he always had tobacco in his old tobacco box.
"Count on him for that! _He_ never begs no tobacco, nor gives away none
either. However, he ain't such a general nuisance as the other one, and
he pays spot cash. I'll have to say that much for him. But in spite o'
everything and all, I can't seem to make myself care for him, much.
Anyway--
"Said the one old codger, Won't ye gimme a chew?
Said the other old codger, I'll be hanged if I do!
"They're a fine pair now, ain't they? One of 'em a nuisance and the
other one a grouch. You'll see 'em here both in my shop one o' these
days, when you're a-visitin' Aunt Amanda, and one of them times--you see
the way I bounced that boy that wanted cigarettes, didn't you? Well,
that's what I'm goin' to do to them two old codgers one of these days,
you watch and see if I don't; yes, sir; both of 'em, as sure as I've got
a hump on my back. But it's pretty good advice, after all, what the song
says,--
"So save up your pennies and put away your rocks,
And you'll always have tobacco in your old tobacco box!
"Here's your Cage-Roach. Gimme your money. There's your change; five,
ten, fifteen, seventeen. Now run along. Come back again; what did you
say your name was?"
"Fweddie."
"You mean Freddie, don't you?"
"Yes, sir."
"Why don't you say what you mean? Well, Freddie, there's plenty of
tobacco left in this shop, so you can come in whenever the old tobacco
box at home runs out. And don't forget to come in to see Aunt Amanda.
Plenty of goods left in the shop whenever--you see all that?" He pointed
up towards the shelves. "I'll tell you something I ain't told to but
mighty few people before. There's a jar of smoking tobacco up there
that's just plain magic. Magic! You know what that means?"
Freddie started, and looked up at the shelves in alarm. He nodded.
"It's that one, on the middle shelf; the Chinaman's head. Do you see
it?"
He pointed to a white porcelain jar, shaped like a human head. Freddie
could see that it was the head of some foreign kind of man, with a
little round blue cap on top, which was probably the lid.
"That tobacco in that Chinaman's head is magic, as sure as you're alive.
I wouldn't smoke it if you'd give me all the plum puddings in this city
next Christmas; no, sir; and I wouldn't allow nobody else to smoke it,
neither: I just naturally wouldn't dare to. Do you know where that
tobacco come from? A sailor off of one them ships down there in the
harbor, that come all the way from China--yes, sir, _China!_--give it to
me once for a quid of plug-cut; what you might call broke, he was, and
it wasn't any use to him because he didn't smoke, but he did chew; and
he told me all about it; he stole it from an old sorcerer in China,
where he'd just come from. Don't you never touch it! I wouldn't want to
be in your boots if you ever smoked that tobacco in that there
Chinaman's head! You can steal anything else in this shop, and it
wouldn't do much harm to anybody; but you keep your hands off of that
Chinaman's tobacco, mind what I'm telling you!"
"Yes, sir," said Freddie. He had never thought about smoking before, in
connection with himself, but now for the first time he began to wish
that he knew how to smoke. It would be worth risking something to take a
whiff or two of the magic tobacco in that Chinaman's head, just to see
what would happen.
"Do you think you'd better go home now?" said Mr. Littleback.
"Yes, sir," said Freddie. "My farver told me to hurry."
"Oh, he did! Indeed!"
The hunchback followed Freddie to the door, and they looked up together
at the clock in the church-tower.
"Ah!" said Toby. "You're safe. Just six o'clock. Mr. Punch's father
can't come out for about half an hour yet."
Freddie looked back as he crossed the street, and saw the live hunchback
leaning against the wooden hunchback, with one foot crossed over the
other; he could hardly tell which was which, except for the coat and
breeches. He went on up the street with his package of tobacco in one
hand and his package of gingerbread in the other. As he passed the
church, he lingered a moment to stare at the great fat man with
spectacles, who was sitting on the pavement in a chair tilted back
against the church-wall, smoking a long pipe and reading a newspaper;
could this be the "sextant" of the church, whom Mr. Toby had mentioned,
and who had heard the queer noises from the top of the tower when Mr.
Punch and his father were up there having their high jinks? He tried to
get up his courage to ask the fat man about it, but he could not get the
words out. He stared so long that the fat man finally put down his paper
and took the pipe from his mouth and looked over his spectacles and
said:
"If you're considerin' making a bid for the property, young man, I'll
see what the senior Churchwarden has to say about it. How much do you
offer?"
"No, sir," said Freddie, blushing in confusion, and went on up the
street. He understood nothing of what the fat man had said, but he
caught the word "churchwarden," and remembered it.
He did not walk very fast, for he had a good deal to think about; so
many things had never happened to him in one day before. He dwelt
especially, in his mind, on the two old codgers who were friends of Mr.
Toby, and he supposed that his own father never saved up his pennies,
otherwise his old tobacco box would not be empty every now and then.
However, he was glad that his father was a spendthrift, because it would
give him a chance to go to the Old Tobacco Shop sometimes for more
tobacco for the box; and apart from Aunt Amanda and her gingerbread, he
was very anxious to look again at the Chinaman's head in which lay the
magic tobacco which he must not touch. One thing was sure; he would
never go without looking carefully first at the hands of the clock. He
wished he knew how to smoke; only not cigarettes; he shivered when he
thought of the terrible consequences.
When he came to the street-car track, the horse-car was going past; at
least, it was coming down the street, and he did not want to be run over
by that horse; he had better wait, for the horse was trotting; his
mother had warned him about it; he sat down on the curb. He had quite a
moment or two to wait, and there would be time to give a hasty glance at
the gingerbread. He laid the tobacco-sack beside him on the curb, and
opened the other package; the car-horse had dropped into a walk and his
bell was hardly jingling; there was no hurry after all; it would never
do to cross in front of that horse even though he was walking. He looked
at the gingerbread; it was fresh and soft, and its smell, when held
close to the nose, was nothing less than heavenly; it was a pity it had
to be hidden away again in the sack, but the horse was going by and the
danger would soon be past. He held the gingerbread under his nose,
merely to smell it; the edge of it touched his upper lip by chance, and
there was something peculiar about the feel of it, he couldn't tell
exactly what; it was very interesting; he touched it with the tip of his
tongue, to see if it felt the same to his tongue as to his lip; it was
just the same; perhaps teeth would be different; his teeth sank into it,
just for a trial. The horse was going by now, and the driver was looking
at him. He forgot what he was about, in watching the horse and his
driver, as they went on past him; the gingerbread completely slipped his
mind, and when he turned his head back from the horse-car and came to
himself he found, to his amazement, that his mouth was full of
gingerbread. He wondered at first how it got there, but there was no use
in wondering; there it was, and it had to be swallowed; his mother would
never approve of his spitting it out; and so, to please his mother, he
swallowed it. The horse-car was nearly a square away; he could cross the
track at any time now; there was no hurry.
When he came into the fine two-story brick house where he lived, with
only one package in his hand, his mother threw up her hands and said:
"Why, Freddie! Where on earth have you been? Did you get lost? Are you
hungry?"
"No'm. Yes'm," said Freddie.
"Frederick," said his father, looking at him with that look, "where have
you been? Didn't I tell you to hurry?"
"Yes, sir, to Mr. Punch's, and I didn't see his farver at all, but the
hands come'd right over on top of each other and he didn't get down off
of his perch, he didn't, so Mr. Toby took me in to see Aunt Namanda and
she eats pins, and it's cigarettes that gives you that hump on the back,
only tobacco's all right 'cause you smoke it in a pipe and it doesn't do
you any harm at all, and that's what Mr. Toby says and he ought to know
'cause he's got one on his back his own self, but you mustn't touch that
tobacco in the head 'cause it's magic and the sailor said so, and here's
the Cage-Roach Mitchner, and that's all."
You will notice that he said nothing about the gingerbread.
CHAPTER III
INTRODUCING THE CHURCHWARDEN
Every time Freddie visited the Old Tobacco Shop after that--and it was
pretty often, whether the tobacco box at home needed tobacco or not, for
there were a good many things that drew him there, and he hardly knew
which was the most fascinating: there was always a chance of
gingerbread, and you could usually depend on seeing Aunt Amanda eat
pins, and you could look through the two pieces of glass at the double
picture and make it all one picture with the people in it standing out
as if they were real, and Mr. Toby would often sing about his friends
the two old Codgers and talk about their mean ways, and Mr. Punch was
always waiting for his father outside the door, so that you had to keep
your eyes on the time, or at least the clock (which is different), and
sometimes Mr. Toby would let you in behind the counter and let you scoop
tobacco into a paper sack, and when his back was turned you could stand
under the Chinaman's head with the magic tobacco in it, and look up at
it and wonder what would happen if you took just one or two little teeny
whiffs--But I forget what I started to tell you. Oh, yes. Every time
Freddie visited the Old Tobacco Shop, Mr. Toby would ask him his name,
in order to see if he was grown up yet.
"What's your name today?" Mr. Toby would say.
"Fweddie," would be the Little Boy's answer.
"Not yet," Mr. Toby would say, shaking his head sadly. "You ain't grown
up yet. I'm very sorry to have to tell you, son, but you've got to wait
a while before you're grown up. I'll tell you what; I'll give you six
months more," said Mr. Toby on one occasion. "If you ain't grown up by
that time, there's no hope for you; I hate to have to say it, but you
might as well know it one time as another." And the very next time the
Little Boy came he said his name was "Fweddie," and Mr. Toby said,
"Well, never mind, you've got five months and twenty-eight days left,
and there's hope yet. I suppose you wouldn't want to be a Little Boy
_all_ the time, and never grow up at all, would you?" Freddie looked up
at him in alarm and said, "No, sir." "Then," said Mr. Toby, "you'd
better mind your P's and Q's."
Freddie wanted to ask about these P's and Q's, but you may have noticed
that he was shy, and he could not make up his mind to do so. He knew all
about P's and Q's in the Alphabet Book at home, but he did not know how
to mind them; he knew how to mind his mother,--sometimes, but how could
you mind letters in a book, that couldn't ever say "Don't do that," like
mother? He was very anxious on this point, for he knew that his time was
growing short, and the idea of never growing up was simply terrifying;
he might as well smoke cigarettes and be done with it. In point of fact,
he now had only about a week left, and he wasn't grown up yet.
But one morning, when the hands of the church clock were wide apart, and
all was safe, he passed by Mr. Punch and opened the shop door. Mr. Toby
was standing behind the counter, tying up a parcel. He went on tying it
up, and said:
"All right, young feller, it's your turn next. This here package is for
the Sly Old Codger, and he'll be back for it pretty soon, and if it
ain't ready,--whew! won't we get blown up, though? Now then, what'll you
have? Pound o' Maiden's Prayer?"
"No, sir," said the Little Boy. "I don't want anything. I just came."
"Oh; you just came. By the way, young man, what is your name today?"
"Freddie!" said the Little Boy.
Mr. Toby dropped his package and leaned across the counter in amazement.
"What's that you say?"
"Freddie!" cried the Little Boy, bursting with pride.
"Well! Bless my soul! If I ever in my life! As sure as the world! Strike
me dead if he didn't say it as plain as--! Young man," said Mr. Toby,
solemnly, and he walked to the end of the counter, opened the swinging
gate, came through, stood in front of Freddie, and shook him by the
hand. "Young man, I congratulate you. It's all right now. But you had an
almighty close shave, I can tell you that. Allow me to congratulate you,
and accept the best wishes of your kind friend, Toby Littleback."
"Please, sir," said Freddie, opening his eyes wide, "am I grown up now?"
Mr. Toby stared without speaking, and then threw out both his arms, and
for a moment it looked as if he were going to hug the Little Boy, but he
evidently thought better of it.
"Are you--? Why, of course you are! Ain't I been telling you? But don't
you go and presume on it too much, young feller! You don't think you can
go and smoke cigarettes now, just because you're grown up, do you?"
"Oh no, sir," said Freddie, earnestly.
"I should hope not. And that there Chinaman's head up there--you don't
think you can go and smoke that magic tobacco now, do you? Because if
you do!"
"No, sir," said Freddie; but he said this a little doubtfully, and he
looked at the Chinaman's head with more interest than ever. What was the
use of being grown up if you couldn't take a little risk now and then?
"All right, then!" cried Mr. Toby. "We've got to have a little
celebration over this here event, and we'd better go in and see Aunt
Amanda about it, right now!"
He grasped Freddie's hand again, and pulled him to the back door, and
through into the back room where Aunt Amanda was sitting by the table
with the wax flowers, sewing.
"Quick! quick! Tell Aunt Amanda your name now, quick! What's your name?"
cried Mr. Toby.
"Freddie!" said the Little Boy, very distinctly, but looking down at the
carpet, for fear he should seem proud.
"We're grown up today," cried Mr. Toby, "and we've got to celebrate!"
Aunt Amanda raised her eyebrows in astonishment, and said:
"Esheeraybysart!"
She put her hand to her mouth and somehow got out into her hand a good
mouthful of pins. She laid them down on the table at her elbow, and
said:
"Bless the dear baby's heart! And are you grown up now?"
"Yes'm," said Freddie, looking up and then down again, for he did not
wish to seem too proud.
Aunt Amanda looked at him for a moment, and took out her handkerchief
and blew her nose very loud.
"Toby," she said, "what did you mean by a celebration?"
"Tomorrow's Saturday," said he.
"Well, what of it?"
Freddie could not understand very well what they were saying after that,
except that he was concerned in it somehow, until he heard Aunt Amanda
say:
"You'd better ask his mother, then."
"Young man," said Mr. Toby, "if I write a letter to your ma, will you
give it to her?"
"Yes, sir," said Freddie, whereupon Mr. Toby sat down at the other side
of the table, with pen and paper and ink, and commenced to write.
"First," said Aunt Amanda, "there's some of that fruit-cake from last
Christmas still in the--"
"Right you are!" cried Toby, jumping up and going out into the kitchen.
Freddie ate the fruit-cake, sitting on a hassock at Aunt Amanda's feet,
while Toby went on with his letter, but in the midst of it Toby went out
again, and finally came back with a tall glass of ice-cold lemonade.
"Don't you go and spill it on the carpet," said he, as he sat down to
his writing.
"No, sir," said Freddie.
Aunt Amanda looked at him, as he sat so seriously on his hassock at her
feet, munching his fruit-cake and sipping his lemonade; and she pulled
out her pocket-handkerchief and blew her nose again, very loud. She
appeared to have a cold. Toby paid no attention to her; his head was
lying sidewise on his left arm on the table, and he was squinting at the
sheet of paper, and every time his pen came down he closed his mouth
tight, and every time his pen went up he opened his mouth wide. Freddie
and Aunt Amanda had plenty of time to talk. Under the softening
influence of fruit-cake and lemonade Freddie found his tongue.
"What's a Churchwarden?" he said suddenly into the lemonade-glass, which
was just under his nose.
"Bless the baby!" said Aunt Amanda.
"It's a long clay pipe, young man," said Toby, chewing the end of his
pen-holder, "like you've seen in the case out there in the shop."
"That ain't what he means," said Aunt Amanda. "You mean a man, don't
you, Freddie?"
"Yes'm," said Freddie, looking at the cake just going into his mouth.
"It's a man," said Aunt Amanda, "it's a man that belongs to a church,
and he stands guard over the church property, and sees to the repairs,
and beats little boys with a cane when they make a noise during service,
and takes care nobody don't run away with the collection money, and----"
"How do you spell 'respectfully'?" said Toby, scratching his head with
the pen. "Yours respectfully."
"R-e--" began Aunt Amanda, "s-p-e-c-k--no, that ain't right,--r-e-s--"
"There's one over at that church," said Freddie, pointing towards the
window, "and he smokes one, too."
"One what, Freddie?" said Aunt Amanda.
"A Churchwarden. There's a Churchwarden sits out on the pavement and he
smokes a Churchwarden, he does." Freddie was rather proud that he had
mastered that difficult word, and he liked to hear himself say it.
"Oh," said Toby, "I reckon he means the sextant over there. Well, 'Yours
respectfully.' I don't give a--hum!--how you spell it. There she goes.
Done. 'Yours respectfully, Toby Littleback.' It's blotted up some, by
crackey, that's a fact; but I ain't a-goin' to write all that over
again, not by a jugful." And he took out his handkerchief and wiped the
perspiration from his forehead.
"He's a Churchwarden," insisted Freddie, swallowing the last of the
lemonade after the last of the cake.
"All right," said Toby, "have it your own way. But a sextant's as good
as a Churchwarden, in _my_ opinion, any day of the week,--except Sunday,
of course."
Aunt Amanda inspected the letter, and declared herself horrified by the
blots; but Toby positively refused to go through that exhausting labor
again, so she passed it grudgingly, and handed it to Freddie in an
envelope, and told him to give it to his mother as soon as he got home.
"Do you want some more cake and lemonade?" said she.
"Yes'm," said he.
"Well, you won't get it, so trot along home."
In the shop Mr. Toby showed him the churchwarden pipes in the show-case.
Freddie wondered how it would taste to smoke some of that magic tobacco
in the Chinaman's head in a churchwarden pipe.
As he passed the church on his way home, he looked for the fat old man
who usually sat in his chair tilted back against the wall, but he was
not there. Freddie wished to ask him about those noises up in the tower
when Mr. Punch and his father were having their high jinks; he had never
been able to screw up his courage to the point of asking about this, but
now that he was grown up he thought he might be able.
He gave the letter to his mother, and she read it; but she said nothing
to him about it. When his father came home in the evening, she showed
the letter to him, and they talked about it, and Freddie could not
understand very well what they were saying. Finally his father said:
"Well, I don't think there would be any harm in it."
"I suppose not," said his mother. "I'll see them in the morning. He had
better wear his Sunday suit and his new shoes."
This was bad, because it sounded like Sunday-school, and the shoes
squeaked. Freddie thought he had better change the subject, so he said:
"I'm grown up. I can say Freddie. Mr. Toby says so."
His father laughed, but his mother took him up in her arms and hugged
him close to her breast.
The next day was in fact Saturday, and after lunch Freddie's mother
helped him, or rather forced him, into his Sunday suit and his new
shoes, after a really outrageous piece of washing, which went not only
behind the ears but actually into them. She put his cap on his head--he
always had to move it a trifle afterwards,--looked at his finger-nails
again, pulled down his jacket in front and buttoned every button,
straightened out each of the four wings of his bow tie, took off his cap
to see if his hair was mussed and put it on again, pulled down his
jacket in front, straightened his tie, altered the position of his cap,
put both her arms around him and kissed him, and told him it was nearly
two o'clock and he had better hurry. As soon as she had gone in, after
watching him go off down the street, he unbuttoned every button of his
jacket, put his cap on the back of his head, and in crossing the
street-car track deliberately walked his shiny squeaking shoes into a
pile of street-sweepings; he then felt better, and went on towards the
Old Tobacco Shop.
As he came to the church, he stopped to look at the hands of the clock;
he was in luck; the hands would not be together for ever so long, for it
was ten minutes to two. The Churchwarden was sitting in his chair tilted
back against the wall, keeping guard over his church; and he was smoking
his churchwarden pipe. Freddie walked by very slowly, and his shoes
squeaked aloud on the brick pavement. The fat old man gazed at him
solemnly, and Freddie looked at the fat old man. The Churchwarden's
chair came down on the pavement with a thump.
"Look here!" he said. "This ain't Sunday! What's the meaning of all
this? It's against the rules to wear them squeaking shoes of a Saturday!
The Dean and Chapter has made that rule, by and with the advice and
consent of the City Council, don't you know that? And all that big red
necktie, too! Did you think it was Sunday?"
"No, sir," said Freddie, for he was always honest, even in the face of
danger. "I couldn't help it. I didn't want to, but mother made me----"
"Ah! that's it. I thought maybe you'd made a mistake in the day; then it
wouldn't 'a' been so bad. Look here; it's my duty to report this here
violation of the Sunday law, but as long as--you're sure you ain't
_particeps criminis_?"
"No, sir," said the Little Boy earnestly. "My name's Freddie."
"Well, that makes it different. I though you was another party; young
party-ceps; but if you ain't, why--Here; you'll need something to show,
in case you should meet the Archdeacon, and he'd want to know why I
hadn't reported you--Show him this, and he'll know it's all right."
The fat Churchwarden fished in his vest pocket and drew out, between a
fat thumb and a fat forefinger, a round shining piece of metal, and put
it in Freddie's hand. Freddie saw that it was a bright new five-cent
piece, commonly called a nickel. He felt better.
"If you don't meet the Archdeacon between here and Littleback's Tobacco
Shop," went on the Churchwarden, "you don't need to keep it any longer;
I don't care what you do with it then; only not pickles, mind you!"
"No sir," said Freddie.
This was his chance to inquire about Mr. Punch's father and the noises
in the tower, but it was out of his power to stay longer; he was too
glad to escape without being reported; and he accordingly went off down
the street, squeaking worse than ever, and positively hurrying.
CHAPTER IV
IN WHICH MR. HANLON MAKES A GREAT IMPRESSION
Freddie found no one in the Tobacco Shop, so he knocked on the door of
the back room, and it was instantly opened by Mr. Littleback himself;
but a Mr. Littleback so resplendent that Freddie hardly knew him.
The suit of clothes which Mr. Littleback wore was beyond any doubt a
brand new suit. The ground color of it was a rich mauve, if you know
what that is; not exactly purple, nor violet, but somewhere in between;
and up and down and across were stripes of brown, making good-sized
squares all over him; it was extremely beautiful. His collar was a high
white collar, very stiff, and it held up his chin in front like a
whitewashed fence. His necktie was of a pale-blue satin, with little
pink roses painted on it, yes sir, painted! mind you, by hand! It was
not one of those troublesome things that come in a single long piece and
take you hours before the glass to twist and turn over and under before
you can get them to look like a necktie; no indeed; it was far better
than that; it was tied already, by somebody who could do it better than
you ever could, and when you bought it, all you had to do was to put it
on; fasten those two rubber bands behind with a hook, and there you
were; perfect. As to hair, the hand of the barber was yet upon him; his
hair, parted on one side, was of a slickness which his own soap never
could have accomplished; on the wide side, it lay flat down over his
forehead, and there gave a sudden curl backward, like the curve of a
hairpin, but much more graceful; it is only the most studious barbers
who ever learn to do it just right. There were creases down the arms of
Mr. Toby's coat and down the front of his trouser-legs. A yellow silk
handkerchief showed itself, not boldly, but quietly, from his breast
pocket.
As he let Freddie in, and in doing so turned his back to Aunt Amanda,
she screamed and cried out:
"Toby! Look behind you! Merciful heavens!"
Freddie, in the midst of his admiration of the magnificent creature, saw
him whirl about and look behind himself in alarm. His aunt pointed at
his coat and said sternly, "Come here."
Freddie saw on the back of Mr. Toby's coat, near the bottom, as he
whirled about, a little square white tag.
Mr. Toby backed up to his aunt, and stood before her, trying to look at
his back over his shoulder, while she took her scissors and clipped the
threads by which the white tag was sewed to the back of his coat. She
held up the tag; it had numbers printed and written on it.
"Now ain't that just like you, Toby Littleback," she said, "going out
with your tag on your back, with your size on it and your height and
age, too, for all I know, for anybody to see that you've got on a
splittin' brand new suit right out o' the shop. If you'd 'a' gone out
with that on your back, I'd 'a' died with shame right here in this
chair. Ain't you even able to dress yourself?"
"By crickets, that _would_ 'a' been bad," said Toby, considerably upset.
"However, you caught it in time, so there ain't no use cryin' over it.
Good-bye, Aunt; come along, Freddie, or we'll be late."
"Ain't you goin' to wear a hat?" said Aunt Amanda. "I declare the man's
so excited he don't know what he's doing."
"Blamed if I didn't come near going without a hat," said Toby. "Here she
is."
He produced his hat from a cupboard in the room, and put it on. It would
have been a pity indeed for him to have gone without it. It was a white
derby; yes, a _white_ derby. It was the kind of a hat which was known in
that city as a "pinochle"; pronounced "pea-knuckle" by all well-informed
boys. With the mauve suit and the hand-painted necktie and the
whitewashed fence, the white derby set him off to perfection, especially
as he wore it a little towards the back of his head, so as to show the
loveliest part of the plastered curl of his hair on the forehead. Aunt
Amanda could not restrain her admiration.
"You'll do now," she said. "I don't know that I ever seen you look so
genteel before."
Toby, in the embarrassment of being considered genteel, put his hands in
his trousers pockets.
"Take them hands out of your pockets," said Aunt Amanda sharply, and he
took them out in a hurry.
"Now, Freddie," she said, "come here a minute, and I'll set you to
rights."
Freddie stood before her knee, not very willingly, and she buttoned his
jacket from top to bottom, and put his cap squarely on his head.
"Now you'd better be off," she said.
"Good-bye, Aunt, and I wish you were going too," said Toby, his hand on
the door-knob.
"Good-bye, Freddie," said she.
"Good-bye," said Freddie.
"Good-bye what?" said she.
"Aunt Amanda," said he.
When they were out in the street, and she heard Toby lock the shop door
behind him, she took out her handkerchief and blew her nose; her cold
was evidently worse, because she blew her nose several times; and then,
tucking her handkerchief away in her dress, she put her head down on
her arm on the table, and cried.
The first thing Freddie did, as they went up the street, was to put his
cap back again on the back of his head, and the next thing he did was to
unbutton every button of his jacket, from top to bottom.
The little hunchback was in a great hurry, and he dragged the Little Boy
along by the hand so fast that he could hardly keep up. As they hurried
along, several naughty boys, observing Mr. Toby's white derby hat,
called after him, very rudely, "Pea-knuckle! pea-knuckle!" But Mr. Toby
paid no attention, and dragged Freddie along faster than ever.
"We don't want to miss any of it," said Mr. Toby. "Hurry up, boy."
They did not have far to go; only four or five "squares." They stopped
before a great grimy brick building with a great wide entrance-way.
"Here we are," said Toby.
"What does that say up there?" said Freddie.
"Gaunt Street Theatre," said Toby. "Hurry up."
Freddie hung back before a signboard on which was a picture of a slender
man dressed up in white clothing, very tight, with red and black squares
on it; he was leaning against a table; his head and face were a dead
white, except for red eyebrows, and a red spot in each cheek, and he had
no hair, but a smooth dead-white skin from his forehead to the back of
his neck. The peculiar thing was, that his head was on the table beside
him, and not on his neck. Freddie pointed to the writing underneath the
picture, and said:
"What does that say?"
"Hanlon's Superba," said Toby, pulling him along. "Hurry up! We'll be
late."
Mr. Littleback went to a little window in the wall, inside the
entrance-way, and spoke to a man in there, and evidently asked
permission to go in, and evidently got it; and they did go in, up a
flight of stairs, and found themselves suddenly among thousands and
thousands of people, as it seemed, all sitting in chairs facing the same
way, in a vast house lit up by gas light so that it was almost as bright
as day; and Toby and Freddie sat down in the very front row of these
people, and looked down over a railing in front of them on the heads of
thousands and thousands, as it seemed, of other people, all sitting in
chairs facing the same way. Everybody was facing towards a straight wall
at the other side of the house, which had pictures painted on it. At the
foot of this wall, in a kind of trench, there was a man at a piano, and
there were other men with fiddles big and little, and still others with
brass things, and they were all playing a tremendous tune together, but
just after Toby and Freddie had sat down, they stopped playing and Toby
nudged Freddie with his elbow, and said:
"Now, then, young feller, what do you think of this, eh? Just you wait!
Keep your eye on that curtain!"
He had no sooner said this than somewhere in the house somebody gave a
piercing whistle between his fingers, and in a minute there was such a
racket that it was impossible to talk. There must have been people above
them, and they must certainly have all been boys; for from up there
Freddie heard a clapping of hands and a stamping of feet, all in a
regular time, which spread to the whole house, and in the midst of it
the boys up there began to shout and call and whistle, and in a few
minutes there was such a hubbub as only boys could make, with whistling
between the fingers leading the riot. Toby nudged Freddie again with his
elbow, and to Freddie's surprise began to clap his hands and stamp his
feet with the rest; and as Freddie thought he ought to be polite, he
clapped his hands, too, though he did not know very well what it was all
about.
Suddenly the men in the trench at the foot of the painted wall struck up
again, and that quieted the other noise for a moment; but only for a
moment; someone whistled through his fingers, and in an instant those
fiddlers might as well have been sawing away at their fiddles out at the
Park, for all you could hear them; and right in the midst of it all,
while Freddie was trying to shout the word "Peanuts" into Toby's ear,
suddenly the lights went out and you could have heard a pin drop.
"Now then! now then!" whispered Mr. Toby, in great excitement. "Now
you'll see! Watch the curtain! It's going up!"
From down there in that dark trench came the sound of a soft twittery
kind of music, and at the same time the painted wall that Freddie had
been looking at was rising! going up! And it went on up and up out of
sight into the ceiling, and there behind it, in a dim light, there
behind it, mysterious and fearsome and delicious,--Well, there behind it
was Fairyland. Just Fairyland.
I can't describe it to you. Freddie never forgot it. If you haven't seen
Hanlon's Superba, in some old Gaunt Street Theatre or other, on a
Saturday afternoon, with the galleries wild with boys, you have not
lived. When Freddie tried to tell his mother and his father about it
that night, it was such a whirling mass of wonders and glories that they
could not make head nor tail of it. It is useless to speak of the Fairy
Queen in her glittering white, coming to the rescue in the nick of time
with her diamond sceptre, or of the horrible demons, or the trouble and
excitement they made for everybody, or of the beautiful young lady
who--and such leapings and twistings and climbings and tumblings as no
mere human beings with bones in them could ever have performed--it is no
use; it is best not to try to describe it. But there was one part
which, although it may seem to you the most unlikely thing in the world,
really had a good deal to do with Freddie afterwards. There was the same
man whose picture he had seen outside on the signboard; and he could
climb straight walls and leap through high windows and tumble across
floors in a way which passed belief; but there was one thing he could
not do; he could not talk; he never spoke a word from beginning to end.
Once, after having escaped from a parcel of wicked red imps, he sat
down, tired out and starved to death, before a table loaded with food,
and he commenced to make a hearty meal; but just as he was about to
sample each plate it disappeared, vanished, completely out of sight,
right under his nose. His distress was pitiable, and Freddie thought it
cruel of everybody to laugh, as everybody did. On his plate were
sausages, and he nearly got them; but just as he thought he had them,
they actually jumped off the table and ran along the floor and up the
wall; and the poor man had to climb the wall after them, which he did
like a cat, and even then he never came up with them; he was terribly
disappointed; and to finish off his miseries, at last a wicked creature
with a sword came up behind him, as he was leaning his head down on the
table in despair, and cut off his head before your very eyes; really and
truly cut it off; there was no doubt about it; the head was on the table
and the poor man was in the chair; Freddie was terrified, and clutched
Mr. Toby's arm. But when the wicked murderer had gone away, back popped
the head onto the dead man's neck, his eyes opened, he grinned from ear
to ear, and there he was on his feet, skipping and tumbling, as lively
as ever; and at that Freddie and all the others in the house roared and
shouted and clapped their hands.
"Is that Mr. Hanlon?" whispered Freddie into Mr. Toby's ear.
"Reckon it is," said Toby, too excited himself to pay much attention to
Freddie.
But it could not last forever. Even the peanuts, which Toby bought for
Freddie between the first and second acts, were all gone, and the
curtain was down for the last time, and the crowd crushed through the
doors, and Mr. Toby put on his white derby hat.
They were in the street, and the speechless Mr. Hanlon was a thing of
the past. Freddie did not believe that he would ever see that dumb and
loose-headed man again; but in that he was mistaken, as you shall see.
Toby left him at the corner near his father's house.
"What I say is," said Toby, "three cheers for our growing-up party!"
"Yes," said Freddie, "and three cheers for Mr. Hanlon!"
CHAPTER V
THE CHINAMAN'S HEAD
For a long time afterwards, Freddie dreamed at night of a hunchbacked
man whose head came off and popped on again, and wicked red demons who
chased a poor man with a white face who tried to cry for help and could
not speak a word, and of a Chinaman's head without a body, smoking a
long clay pipe. In the daytime, he thought a good deal about the people
he was now acquainted with: Mr. Toby with his white derby hat, Aunt
Amanda swallowing pins, the sailorman from China, Mr. Punch and his
father, Mr. Hanlon with his head on the table, the Churchwarden smoking
his churchwarden pipe, and the two old Codgers, one so sly and the other
so beggarly; but that which occupied his mind more than anything else
was the Chinaman's head on Mr. Toby's shelf.
Freddie was older now, and as time went on it might be thought that he
would have grown accustomed to all these strange things; but he had not;
far from it; he thought about them more and more, and most of all about
the Chinaman's head and the magic tobacco. He really could not get that
Chinaman's head out of his mind. Here was magic just within reach of
your hand, and you were told that you mustn't touch it. You might as
well have Aladdin's lamp in your bureau drawer, and be told to keep away
from the bureau; even parents ought to know better than to expect such a
thing. Anyway, what harm could just one or two little whiffs do? You
needn't smoke a whole pipeful, if you didn't want to. However, Mr. Toby
would not be pleased, and Freddie did not intend to do anything to
displease Mr. Toby. Still, it did seem a pity, with such a chance right
over your head--Oh, well, he would think no more about it; he fixed his
mind on other things; he thought especially about a hymn they sang
nearly every Sunday in Sunday-school; it was a great help; he knew it by
heart, and it went like this:
"Yield not to temptation,
For yielding is sin,
Each vict'ry will help you
Some other to win."
He resolved he would never think about the magic tobacco again; he went
to sleep saying over to himself, "Yield not to temptation," and dreamed
all night about the Chinaman's head, and thought about it all the next
day.
In order to get it out of his mind, he called on Aunt Amanda. It was
late in the afternoon; he sat on his hassock and watched Aunt Amanda
sewing. Mr. Toby was in the shop, waiting on customers. Freddie watched
for a long time, and then said:
"What are you doing?"
"Basting," said Aunt Amanda.
"I thought that was what you did to a turkey," said Freddie.
"So it is," said Aunt Amanda.
"That isn't a turkey," said Freddie.
"No," said Aunt Amanda, "you baste a turkey with gravy."
"That isn't gravy," said Freddie.
"It's different," said Aunt Amanda. "You see, I have to sew this up with
needle and thread, and----"
"You sew up a turkey with needle and thread, too," said Freddie.
"But that's different," said Aunt Amanda. "You couldn't baste a turkey
with needle and thread, and you couldn't baste dress-goods with
gravy----"
"Why not?" said Freddie.
"Well," said Aunt Amanda, "well, you see, they don't do it that way;
it's _different_; it ain't the same thing at all; it's like this; when
you baste a turkey----"
"Have you ever had any children?" said Freddie.
Aunt Amanda put her hand to her heart suddenly, as if she had received a
shot there, and caught her breath; then she looked out of the window,
and then round at the wax flowers on the table, and then at the door,
and she really seemed to be thinking of running away. But she was too
lame to do that, and she at last clasped her fingers together tight in
her lap, and looked hard at Freddie. He was gazing at her calmly,
waiting for information.
"No," said Aunt Amanda, "I have never--had--any--children."
"Why not?" said Freddie.
"I have--never--been married," said Aunt Amanda.
Freddie thought about this for a moment.
"Didn't anybody ever want you?" said he.
"No," said she, "nobody--ever--wanted--me."
Freddie was puzzled.
"But you're nice," said he.
"That ain't enough," said Aunt Amanda.
"What else do you have to be?"
"You have to be pretty."
"Weren't you ever pretty?"
"I thought--so--once, but--but--I must have been mistaken. I guess I
never was."
Freddie thought it over, and announced his decision seriously.
"_I_ would want you, anyway."
Aunt Amanda stretched out a trembling hand to him and ran her fingers
through his hair; then she threw both her arms around him and pressed
him against her knee. He was much annoyed. He was afraid she might be
going to kiss him; but she did not; instead, she pulled out her
handkerchief and blew her nose.
"How many children were there that you didn't have?" said Freddie, to
change the subject. Aunt Amanda did not understand this at first, but
she finally saw what he meant. What _did_ he mean? you may say. What he
meant was--well, it is perfectly clear, but it is hard to explain.
Anyway, Aunt Amanda understood him. "Three," said she. "Bobby was the
oldest, and Jenny next, and James was the littlest one."
"Did they all go to school?"
"Oh dear no. Only Bobby. And once he played hookey, and was gone
all day, and didn't come home until after dark, all muddy. I
was terribly worried. He was a very mischievous boy, but he was
his--mother's--own----"
"Did he play marbles for keeps?"
"Yes, but he went to Sunday-school just as regular, and liked it,
and----"
"He _liked_ it?"
"Yes, of course, and he always took good care of Jenny----. She had
little yellow curls. They went to Sunday-school together hand in hand,
and he didn't even mind her carrying her dolly with her; she wouldn't go
without it. He was so careful of her at street-crossings. She loved her
dollies. She used to pretend that James was one of them."
"Did James like that?"
"Not very well, but he put up with it for quite a few minutes at a time.
He couldn't be still very long. But he was pretty lonesome when Jenny
had the measles."
"I've had the chicken-pox. Did Bobby know how to mind his P's and Q's?"
"He didn't mind anybody very well. Once I had a note from his teacher,
and it said----"
But Freddie never learned what sin Bobby had committed in school; for at
that moment the shop door opened, and Mr. Toby thrust in his head and
said:
"Just got to get around to the barber-shop right away this minute; can't
put it off no longer. Won't be gone twenty minutes. Freddie!"
"Yes, sir," said Freddie, standing up.
"Do you think you could look after the shop for twenty minutes, while
I'm gone?"
Now Freddie did not know it, but this was in fact the most important
question that had ever been put to him in his life. Everything depended
on his answer; if he said no, we might as well stop this story right
here; if he said yes----
"Yes, sir," said Freddie.
"All right. If anybody comes in, just tell 'em to wait."
Freddie left Aunt Amanda, sitting very still, and gazing out of the
window, with her hands folded in her lap, and followed Mr. Toby into the
shop.
"All right, sonny," said Mr. Toby, "make yourself comfortable. I'll be
back in a jiffy. If anybody comes in, you tell 'em to wait." And with
that he went out of the door and up the street. Freddie was left alone
in the shop.
Everything was very quiet now, for it was beginning to be twilight, and
all the people seemed to be indoors. He knew he ought to be going home,
but he had promised to mind the shop, and it would never do to leave
before Mr. Toby came back. The street door and the door to Aunt Amanda's
room were both closed. He sat down on the chair by the front window and
looked out across the bull-dog's head. He thought of Bobby and his
little sister in Sunday-school, and that led him to think of the hymn
that did him so much good:
"Yield not to temptation,
For yielding is sin."
He sang that tune to himself for a while, and he found himself singing
other tunes, and finally one which began:
"There was an old codger, and he had a wooden leg,
And he never bought tobacco when tobacco he could beg."
Tobacco! There was a world of tobacco on those shelves. Smoking tobacco,
and churchwarden pipes. He strolled around behind the counter, and let
down the back of the show-case. There were the churchwarden pipes; he
selected one and took it out. It tasted cold and clammy when he put it
in his mouth, and he wondered what it would taste like with tobacco in
it. He brought the little ladder and got up on it, facing the shelves,
and to his surprise he found himself looking directly into the slanting
eyes of the porcelain Chinaman's head. He stood there gazing
thoughtfully into those eyes, and singing to himself the verse which was
always such a help to him:
"Yield not to temptation,
For yielding is sin,
Each vict'ry will help you
Some other to win."
It was growing a little darker now, and he could not examine the
Chinaman's head very well without bringing it closer. He took the head
in his hands, lifted it from the shelf, got down off the ladder, and sat
down on the floor with his back against the counter; and while he was
doing this he hummed to himself the next part of his tune:
"Fight manfully onward,
Dark passions subdue."
He put the head on his knees, and took off the Chinaman's little round
cap, which proved to be in fact a lid. He put his hand inside and drew
out a good fistful of absolutely black tobacco, fine and powdery like
coal-dust; he held it to his nose, and it smelt very sweet, in fact much
like brown sugar. He wondered if it would taste like brown sugar through
the pipe-stem; and humming quietly to himself, "Each vict'ry will help
you," he poured the tobacco into the bowl of the pipe. He was
disappointed, on sucking in through the pipe-stem, to find that there
was no brown-sugar taste at all. Of course, the only way to give tobacco
any taste was to light it; he reached up and got a match off the counter
behind him, and sitting down again struck the match on the floor. It
made a very pretty glow in the twilight, and he watched it as it burned
away in his fingers; it would be burnt out in another second, so,
humming to himself those ever-helpful words, "Yield not to temptation,"
he put the pipe in his mouth and touched the lighted match to the
tobacco.
It is painful to have to tell these things, but it can't be helped; for
the consequences were so strange, and so important to Freddie and his
friends, that----
Anyway, he lit the pipe and drew in a long breath through the stem. He
nearly choked to death. Smoke got into his nose and his eyes and his
throat, and he coughed and coughed; but he remembered the words, "Fight
manfully onward," and he determined that he would not give up so soon.
He stopped coughing and pulled again at the pipe; this time he did not
swallow the smoke, but blew it out of his mouth as he had seen it done a
thousand times. He gave another pull, and blew the smoke out again; it
did indeed taste like brown sugar; it was extremely pleasant; he puffed
again and again. He was astonished that he could have produced so much
smoke in a few whiffs; there was quite a cloud over his head. He gave
another puff, and when he blew out the smoke the white cloud above him
was so thick that he could not see through it. It began to settle down
on him. He put the Chinaman's head on the floor, and looked up into this
cloud.
It was growing thicker and thicker, and it was beginning to churn about
as if in a whirlwind; it turned all sorts of colours, mostly yellow and
green, and parts of it looked like barber's poles revolving at a
terrific speed. He became dizzy as he gazed at it; his head began to
swim; the cloud was coming down closer and closer upon him, and whirling
about more and more wildly; he crouched down lower, and became dizzier
and dizzier. The counter and the shelves began to go round and round, so
that he had to put his hand on the floor to steady himself; in another
moment the shop disappeared altogether, and there was nothing under him
but a little square of floor, and nothing over him but the wild,
churning cloud, now sparkling with jets of fire. He felt himself
falling, falling, and as he came to the bottom with a crash, he heard
the shop door open and close, and found himself sitting on the floor
with his back to the counter as before, with no smoke anywhere to be
seen; and he was aware that a hoarse voice was speaking on the other
side of the counter, and it was saying these words, very loud and brisk:
"Avast, there! Belay that piping! All snug, sir, hatches battened down,
makin' way under skysails and royals, hands piped to quarters, and
here's your humble servant ready for orders! Shiver my timbers, where's
the skipper? Piped me up with a 'baccy pipe, he did, and where's he
gone? Skipper ahoy! Come for orders, I be, and ever yours to command,
Lemuel Mizzen! That's me!"
Freddie put the pipe down on the floor, rose to his feet, and looked
over the counter.
Leaning on his elbow on the other side of the counter was a Sailorman,
with a wide blue collar open at the throat, a flat blue cap with a black
ribbon on the back of his head, and a green patch over his right eye.
CHAPTER VI
LEMUEL MIZZEN, A.B.
Freddie looked at the Sailorman, and the Sailorman straightened up and
touched his cap. His face was brown as weathered oak, and creased like
bark; his one eye was black and glittering; the hand which he raised to
his cap was of the shape and nearly the size of a ham; and the chest and
throat which emerged from his wide-open shirt-collar was as brown as his
face, and big with muscles. There was a delicious odour of tar about
him; you positively could not look at him without hearing wind whistling
through ropes. He hitched up his trousers with his other hand and said:
"Ay, ay, skipper! Here I be as big as life, all ready fer orders!"
As Freddie gazed at him, the Little Boy slowly collected his wits, and a
light began to dawn upon him.
"Have you been to China?" said he.
"Right-o!" cried the Sailorman. "To China I have been----" in a queer
sing-song, as if he might have been marching in time to it round a
capstan, hauling in an anchor: "To China I have been, and a many ports
I've seen, near and far; I can sail before the mast or behind it just as
fast, I'm a tar, I'm a tar, I'm a tar!"
Freddie continued to stare at him with increasing astonishment.
"Are you a sailor, sir?" said he.
"Wot, me? I'm Lemuel Mizzen, A.B., that's me, and I sail the deep blue
sea from Maine to Afrikee, and round again on an even keel to Cochin
China for cochineal, and back to Chili for Chili sauce, and home again
to Banbury Cross--that's me! Lemuel Mizzen, able seaman! Fed on hard
tack or soft tack, or a starboard tack or a port tack, it's all the same
to me! Now then, skipper, you piped me up, wot's the orders?"
"Please, sir," said Freddie, "would you mind telling me what it is you
would like to have?"
"_Me?_ Douse my binnacle light, wot I want is a chew o' terbacker; but
the question before the chart-house is, wot do _you_ want, skipper?"
"I don't want anything," said Freddie.
"Wot? You piped me up, didn't you? Piped me up with a pipe?"
"No, sir," said Freddie.
"Sorry to entertain a different opinion from the skipper! Didn't you
smoke the Chinaman's 'baccy, _in_ a pipe?"
"Yes, sir," said Freddie, hanging his head.
"Then you did pipe me up with a pipe, and I hope I knows better than to
come aft without bein' piped. Didn't you know I've got to come when you
smoke the pipe with the Chinaman's 'baccy in it?"
"No, sir," said Freddie.
The Able Seaman fixed his black eye on Freddie in amazement.
"Well, bust my locker if this ain't the--Beggin' your pardon, skipper,
and no offense meant! Called me off from the China Sea, and don't want
me after all! Didn't go fer to do it, not him! And me off in the China
Sea amongst the Boxers, a-v'yaging hither and thither to pick up a cargo
o' boxes to box compasses with! Ye've brought me a fair long journey fer
nothin', skipper!"
[Illustration: "I'm Lemuel Mizzen, A.B., that's me!"]
"I'm very sorry, sir," said Freddie, "I didn't know you had to come when
the Chinaman's tobacco was smoked. Are you the one that brought that
tobacco here?"
"Ay, ay! That's me! Lemuel Mizzen, A.B.! And a fine long trip from the
China Sea, to come to a lad in Amerikee when I hears in my ears the
skipper's call, and all fer nothin' at all, at all! Ain't you got
nothin' to offer in extenuation?"
Freddie did not know what "extenuation" meant, but he could see by the
Sailorman's face that that gentleman was a good deal put out. He
remembered that Mr. Mizzen wanted a chew of tobacco.
"Would a little tobacco make you feel better?" said he.
"Now you've got yer hand on the right rope!" said the Able Seaman, his
face brightening. "I don't smoke. I chew. If you're goin' to offer a bit
of a chew, why then, says I, I don't care if I do."
Freddie took a long plug of chewing tobacco from the shelf behind him.
He knew that Mr. Toby would not mind making a little gift to the
sailorman after his long journey. He put the plug under the cutter on
the counter, and was about to press down the handle, to cut off a
portion, when the Able Seaman hitched up his trousers and said:
"Belay there, skipper! Put the whole cargo aboard! This here craft needs
ballast; hoist her over the side!" And he reached out his hand for the
whole plug of tobacco and took it from Freddie, and gnawed off a corner
with his teeth.
"Ah!" said he, his right cheek bulging out. "Too much ballast to
starboard." And he gnawed off another corner, so that his left cheek
bulged out like his right.
"All snug!" said he. "I'll just pay fer my cargo before I set sail, with
a bit of a draft on the owners, in a manner of speakin'. Here y'are,
sir. Stow that bit o' paper in yer sea-chest, and it'll come in handy
one o' these days. Pay as you go, says I."
He placed in Freddie's hand a folded sheet of soiled paper. It was
greasy with handling, and was evidently very old; it was folded small
and tight, and was beginning to break with age at the creases. On the
outside, it was blank; but there might have been writing inside.
"Got it in the Caribbean off a runaway sailor, fer a set of false
whiskers and a tattoo needle. Will it do to pay fer the cargo with?"
"Yes, sir; thank you," said Freddie, holding the paper in his hand
without unfolding it.
"Then all I got to say is, before I weighs anchor,--take good keer o'
that there bit o' paper. Aloft and alow, don't ye never let go; round
the yard take a bight and hold on to it tight; let the harricane blow
till yer fingers is blue, but wotever you do, don't ye never let go. And
skipper, mind wot I'm a-tellin' you; if you ever needs Lemuel Mizzen,
A.B., fer to give him his orders, all you got to do is to smoke a couple
o' whiffs of the Chinaman's 'baccy, and Lemuel Mizzen, A.B., he'll be on
deck before the smoke's cleared away. That's clear?"
"Yes, sir," said Freddie, with eyes wide open.
"And now as I see there's no orders to give, I'm off to my tight little
bark called The Sieve, and when I'm aboard I'll close all the shutters,
and lock up the parrot that sneezes and stutters, and wake all the
skippers, and put on my slippers, and get into bed while the mates
overhead are swabbing the decks and heaving the lead and baling the
bilge-water up with their dippers; and when they have gotten the vessel
to going, and settled all down to their knitting and sewing, and the
twenty-third mate, who is always so late, has learned what is meant by a
third and last warning, I'll turn up the gas, take a look at the glass,
and read me the Life of Old Chew until morning!----And so, sir,"
continued Mr. Mizzen, walking towards the street door, "I must give you
a view of my little stern-light, and bid you, dear sir, a very good
night."
So saying, he turned squarely towards Freddie, with one hand on the
door-knob, and with the other hand touched his cap respectfully. Freddie
saw that his trousers were very wide at the ankles and very tight at the
hips, and that he rolled a little when he walked. Having touched his cap
respectfully, he opened the door and went out, and disappeared in the
darkness outside.
Freddie stood looking after him with his mouth wide open.
CHAPTER VII
THE HANDS OF THE CLOCK COME TOGETHER
It was some minutes before Freddie recovered from his astonishment.
Certainly this was a strange Sailorman. And he had come all the way from
the China Sea at a puff of the Chinaman's tobacco! Certainly magic
tobacco, that! But it was a pity that Mr. Mizzen had been called away
from the China Sea, all for nothing, while he was so busy gathering
boxes to box compasses with! No wonder he had felt put out about it. And
it must have been a queer sort of ship, with its shutters, and all those
skippers and mates--did they really like to knit and sew after they had
got the ship to going? It would be a wonderful thing to sail in a ship
like that; he wished he had thought to ask Mr. Mizzen more about it. He
must tell Aunt Amanda at once.
He ran to the back door and burst into the back room, crying out "Aunt
Amanda!"
Aunt Amanda was sound asleep in her chair, with her head back and her
mouth open; the gas was burning brightly overhead, and the clock was
ticking away distinctly on the mantel-piece.
"Aunt Amanda!" cried Freddie.
She awoke with a jump, blinked her eyes, and said:
"Hah! Where's the--what's the--who said--Where's Toby? What's the
matter?"
"It's me, Aunt Amanda," cried Freddie, breathlessly, "and the
Sailorman's just been here and gone, and I called him with the pipe, and
I can call him whenever I want him, and he gave me a piece of paper,
and he talks like a singing-book, and there's a parrot that stutters,
and they have to bale out the water with dippers because the ship's
named The Sieve, and we mustn't lose the paper because the runaway
sailor wore false whiskers, and he feeds on tacks instead of pins, and
we have to hold on tight to the paper, and one of the men on the ship is
always late, and we mustn't lose the paper, because----"
"Stop! Stop!" said Aunt Amanda. "What on earth is the child talking
about? What's all this about a Sailorman and a paper?"
"He's the one that brought the Chinaman's tobacco from China, and he
gave me a piece of paper, and here it is, and we mustn't lose it,
because----"
"One minute, Freddie! Now you just stand right there, perfectly still,
and tell me about it slowly. Now, then; what about this Sailorman? Slow,
slow."
It was a long time before Freddie made her understand exactly what had
happened, but at last she did understand, from beginning to end. She was
grieved and horrified that he had smoked the tobacco, but there was no
help for it now, and she was too much excited by his tale to scold him
very long.
"What's the paper he give you?" said she, when he had told her
everything.
Freddie put the paper in her hand, and she unfolded it carefully.
"Why," said she, "it's a map!"
"What kind of a map?" said Freddie.
"It's a map of an Island," said Aunt Amanda. "Where's Toby? I wish he
would come home. It looks like an Island, and there's writing here on
it. Looks like some sailorman might have drawn it, maybe; it's certainly
pretty old. I wish Toby would come."
"What's the writing on it, Aunt Amanda?" said Freddie.
"Well, here at the top it says, 'Correction Island,' and under that it
says, 'Spanish Main.' Bless me; that's where the pirates used to----"
"Pirates?" said Freddie, his eyes sparkling.
"Yes, pirates, of course. You've heard of the Spanish Main, haven't
you?"
"Yes'm. It's a long way off. You have to go there in a ship. Have you
ever been there?"
"Me? Me been to the Spanish Main? Mercy sakes, no, child! What would I
be doing on the Spanish Main? I ain't been outside of this town since I
was born."
"Wouldn't I like to go there! Pirates!" said Freddie. "Oh jiminy!"
"You mustn't use such dreadful language," said Aunt Amanda. "I wonder
where Toby is? Just look at that clock! Why, bless me, it's twenty-seven
minutes to seven."
Freddie looked, and saw that the hands of the clock were together, one
on top of the other. It was the hour for Mr. Punch's father to call Mr.
Punch from the church-tower.
"Toby's got to talkin' with that barber again, as sure as you live; when
they once begin, they never know when to leave off. I wish he'd----"
As she said this, the door opened, and in walked Mr. Toby himself.
"Sorry I'm so late," he cried, "but the barber got to talking
about--What, young feller, are you still here?" He turned and called
through the open door to someone behind him in the shop. "Come in! Make
you acquainted with my aunt and a young chap here--Don't be bashful,
come right in! Nobody's goin' to eat you!"
Mr. Toby held the door wide open, and made way for a little gentleman
who now advanced into the room. He was a hunchbacked man, of the same
height as Toby, and he was holding out in one hand a bunch of black
cigars; he was bareheaded and bald-headed; he had high cheek-bones and a
big chin and a hooked nose; he wore blue knee breeches and black
stockings and buckled shoes, and his coat was cut away in front over his
stomach and had two tails behind, down to his knees. His joints creaked
a little as he walked. He made a stiff bow to Aunt Amanda, and another
one to Freddie.
"Come in, Mr. Punch," said Toby, "you don't need to hold them cigars any
longer. Give 'em to me." And he took them from Mr. Punch and laid them
on the table. He then went to Mr. Punch and linked his arm in his, and
the two hunchbacks stepped forward together and stood before Aunt
Amanda.
"Allow me to present my friend Mr. Punch," said Toby. "Just as I was
coming in, I heard a voice sing out 'Punch!' from the church-tower, and
Mr. Punch stepped down from his perch, and I invited him to come in, and
here we are."
"Good hevening, marm," said Mr. Punch. His voice sounded harsh, as if
his throat were rusty. "Good hevening, young sir. Hit's wery pleasant
within-doors, wery pleasant indeed; Hi carn't s'y it's so blooming
agreeable hout there on my box, hall d'y and hall night; the gaslight is
wery welcome to me poor heyes, I assure you, marm. Hi trust I see you
well, marm."
"Mercy on us!" said Aunt Amanda, who had been speechless with
astonishment. "Freddie, it's Mr. Punch himself, bless me if it ain't!"
Freddie edged a little closer to Aunt Amanda, for he was afraid Mr.
Punch might snatch him up and carry him off to his father in the tower.
Mr. Punch noticed this.
"'Ave no fear, me good sir," said Mr. Punch, his wide mouth expanding
in a smile, almost to his ears. "Hi sharn't see me father this night,
hif me kind friends will permit me to enjoy their society for a brief
period, together with their charmin' gaslight, which it is wery dim hall
night in the street and quite hunsatisfactory, accordingly most pleased
to haccept me friend Toby's kind 'ospitality, Hi assure you. One grows
quite cramped in one's legs and one's harms when one 'as to remain in
one position on one's box hall night, unless one's father should tyke
hit into 'is 'ead to call one hup for a bit of a lark, and one can never
be sure of one's father's 'aving it in 'is 'ead to call one hup, to s'y
nothing of one's fingers coming stiffer and stiffer with one's parcel of
cigars 'eld out in one's 'and, and no 'at on one's 'ead, and no 'air on
one's 'ead to defend one against the hevening hair, with one's nose
dropping hicicles in winter, so that one never knows when one will lose
one's nose off of one's fyce----"
"Excuse me," said Aunt Amanda. It was evident that Mr. Punch was a
talkative person. "Are you an Englishman?"
"Ho lor' miss, indeed!" said Mr. Punch. "A Henglishman as ever was, Hi
assure you. But I 'opes I give myself no hairs."
Freddie gave up trying to understand the difference between air and
hair; it was plain enough that the bald-headed man had never given
himself any hair, so it couldn't be that. Anyway, this was an
Englishman, and Freddie was glad that he would now probably have a
chance to hear English spoken, which he had never heard before.
"Toby," said Aunt Amanda, "Freddie has seen the Sailorman from China,
and he has a map. I'll tell you about it."
Thereupon she related the story of Mr. Lemuel Mizzen, as she had got it
from Freddie. Mr. Toby and Mr. Punch were both tremendously impressed.
"It's too bad," said Mr. Toby, "this young feller here had to go and
smoke the Chinaman's tobacco after I told him not to; it's too bad,
that's what it is. What did you mean by it, sir?"
"Hit's a wery naughty haction indeed," said Mr. Punch. "Wery
reprehensible. Wery. Hi carn't s'y as I ever 'eard of a thing so
hextremely reprehensible. Now when Hi was a lad----"
"You don't say so!" said Mr. Toby. "Well, I don't see anything so very
bad about it. I'd a' done it myself if I'd been in his place. What do
you mean by saying that my Freddie's reprehensible? I won't have nobody
callin' him names, I won't, and what's more----"
"No offense, Toby! No offense!" cried Mr. Punch. "Sorry, Hi assure you.
Wery reprehensible of me to s'y such a thing. Wery. Pray be calm; be
calm."
"Well, then," grumbled Toby, "don't you go and say nothing about
Freddie, because--Anyway, let's have a look at the map."
At that moment there came a timid knock upon the door.
"Who next?" said Toby. "Come in!"
CHAPTER VIII
CELLULOID CUFFS AND A SILK HAT
The door opened, and there entered a poor-looking elderly man, bowing
and scraping as he came, and saluting the company with an old rusty
dented tall hat which he carried in his hand. The most striking thing
about him was that he had a wooden leg. His hair was grey and thin, and
his face was not very clean; there were signs of tobacco at the corners
of his mouth. His clothes were frayed and patched, and there was a good
deal of grease on his vest; he wore a celluloid collar without any
necktie, and round celluloid cuffs; his coat-sleeves were much too
short, and his cuffs hung out certainly three inches. Strange to say,
his collar and cuffs were spotlessly clean, and presented quite a
contrast to his very untidy face and clothes; but then, celluloid is
easy to clean; much less trouble than washing the face. As he stumped
into the room, he kept bowing humbly from one to another, and bobbing
his old hat up and down in his hand.
"Ahem!" he said, making another bow. "I was just going by, and I thought
I would drop in to--er--ahem!--I hope I am not in the way?"
"Oh, come in," said Toby, not very graciously. "As long as you are here,
you might as well stay. This is Mr. Punch, and this is Freddie."
The elderly man bowed to Freddie, and went up to Mr. Punch and shook him
cordially by the hand. He put his mouth quite close to Mr. Punch's ear,
and lowered his voice, and said:
"Ahem! I'm delighted to know you, sir. I trust you are well. I have seen
you often, but not to speak to. Ahem!" He lowered his voice again, and
spoke very confidentially into Mr. Punch's ear. "The fact is, sir, that
as I was going by, I suddenly found that I had left my tobacco pouch at
home; most unfortunate; and I came in with the hope that
perhaps--er--ahem! Very seldom forget my tobacco; very seldom indeed;
perfectly lost without it; do you--er, ahem!--do you happen to have such
a thing about you as a--er--ahem!--a small portion of--er--smoking
tobacco? I should be very much obliged!"
"Sorry," said Mr. Punch, stiffly, backing away. "Hi never use tobacco in
any way, shape or form."
The elderly man looked much disappointed, and sighed. He turned to Toby,
and bowed and smiled hopefully.
"Perhaps Mr. Littleback--" he began.
"Not on your life," said Toby. "You don't get no tobacco out of me, and
that's flat."
The elderly man sighed again, and looked steadily at Freddie; but he
evidently thought there was no hope in that quarter, and he said
nothing.
Freddie now realized who the elderly gentleman was. He had a wooden leg,
and he never bought tobacco when tobacco he could beg--It was the Old
Codger whom Mr. Toby had now and then sung a song about; one of his two
friends, the one who was always begging tobacco, and never had any of
his own. Freddie looked at him, and felt rather sorry for him.
"Ahem!" said the Old Codger with the Wooden Leg. "Very sorry to intrude,
Miss Amanda. I hope I'm not in the way. It's very mild weather we're
having."
"Now, then," said Toby, briskly, "let's look at this map."
As he said this, another knock was heard at the door; a firm and
confident knock this time.
"Confound it!" said Toby. "Who next? Come in!"
The door opened, and another elderly man stepped in; a tall slim man,
with very white hair and a long narrow face; he carried a tall shiny
black silk hat in his hand; he wore a black suit, all of broadcloth, and
his coat hung to his knees and was buttoned to the top; his cuffs and
collar and shirt were of beautiful white linen with a gloss, and his tie
was a little white linen bow. He came forward with an air of warm
benevolence.
"My dear, _dear_ friends!" he said, and stretched out both hands towards
the company, as if to clasp them all to his heart. "What a beautiful,
beautiful scene! So homelike, so cosy, so sociable, so--so--What can be
so beautiful as the gathering together of friends about the family
hearth! _So_ beautiful!" There was a Latrobe stove in the room, but no
hearth; however, that made no difference; he went, with his hands
outstretched, to Aunt Amanda, and pressed one of hers in both of his.
The Old Codger with the Wooden Leg immediately sidled up to him, and
while he was still pressing Aunt Amanda's hand, said, in a confidential
tone:
"Ahem! I'm delighted to see you again. I trust you are well. The fact
is, I find that I have--er--left my tobacco pouch at home,--most
unfortunate; very seldom forget it; completely lost without it; I was
wondering--er--ahem!--if you happened to have such a thing about you as
a--"
"No!" said the other old man, changing at once from beaming benevolence
to stern severity. "I'll be hanged if I do!" And he released Aunt
Amanda's hand, and turned his back on the Old Codger with the Wooden
Leg.
"Now," said Toby, "let's look at the map. This here is Mr. Punch, and
this is Freddie."
The newcomer took Mr. Punch's hand in both of his and squeezed it
softly; he then took Freddie's hand in both of his and pressed it
tenderly. Freddie knew him. He was the "other Old Codger, as sly as a
fox, who always had tobacco in his old tobacco-box." Freddie could
hardly believe that that white-haired old gentleman could be as sly as a
fox.
"My dear, _dear_ friends!" said the Sly Old Fox. "What is so beautiful
as the love of friends?" He stopped to glare at the Old Codger with the
Wooden Leg, who looked away nervously. "The love of friends! Gathered
together around the family hearth! How beautiful! It touches me, my
friends, it touches me----"
"That's all right about that," said Toby. "For heaven's _sake_, let's
look at the map!"
Aunt Amanda spread out the map on the table beside her, and the others
gathered round.
"It's an island!" cried Toby.
"On the Spanish Main," said Aunt Amanda.
"The Spanish Main!" said the Sly Old Fox. "A beautiful country! Full of
palms,--and grape-nuts,--What you might call a real work of nature! Full
of parrots, and monkeys, and lagoons, and other wild creatures; a work
of nature, my dear friends, a real work of nature."
"And pirates," said Freddie, earnestly.
"I _said_ parrots," said the Sly Old Fox.
"_I_ said pirates," said Freddie.
"Just what I said," said the Sly Old Fox. "That live in trees, my
little friend, in trees; and have red and blue feathers, and----"
"Pirates don't have feathers," said Freddie.
"Dear, dear!" said the Sly Old Fox. "How _can_ you say such a thing? How
_can_ you----?"
"Did you ever see a pirate in a tree?"
"In cages, my dear little friend! Hundreds of them!"
"That's enough!" said Mr. Toby. "Quit wrangling for a minute, will you?
What about this here map? I tell you what, though. I'd like the
Churchwarden to see this map. Freddie, will you run down the street and
get the Churchwarden?"
"Yes, sir," said Freddie, moving towards the door.
"And tell him to bring along his Odour of Sanctity with him. He always
carries a bottle of it in his pocket, and we may need it. Don't forget
it."
"No, sir," said Freddie.
"Hold on a minute," said Mr. Toby, snatching up his hat. "I'll go for
him myself. I can do it quicker." And in a moment he was out of the
door.
CHAPTER IX
THE ODOUR OF SANCTITY
While Toby was gone, Aunt Amanda explained to the two old men about the
Sailorman from China, and about his gift of the map which was lying on
the table. They were just at the end of their discussion when Toby
returned, bringing with him the Churchwarden, puffing and blowing with
the unusual exertion of walking, and without his pipe. Toby introduced
him to Mr. Punch and the two old Codgers, and drew him up to the table
and showed him the map, explaining at the same time how it came there.
The Churchwarden examined the map carefully, while the others all looked
at him. He finally put down the map, settled himself in a chair, folded
his hands across his fat stomach, blew out his cheeks, and said:
"My opinion is, that what we ought to do is to--I've considered the
matter carefully, from all sides, and I think we ought to--Of course you
may not agree with me, but I think the best thing to do would be
to--Unless, of course, some of you may think of something better, but if
you don't, then I can't say as there's anything better to do than
to----"
At this moment there came a sound from the street outside which made
everyone but Aunt Amanda jump to his feet. It was the sound of running
feet, mixed with strange cries, not very loud, but somehow
blood-curdling. It was evident that someone was in trouble. Freddie and
the five men rushed from the room and through the shop and into the
street.
The street was very dark, except for a gas-lamp at the opposite corner.
A white figure was running down the pavement towards the shop-door, with
frantic speed; and behind him, evidently chasing him, came a crowd of
little dark creatures, hard to make out in the dim light. It was these
creatures who were making the little blood-curdling cries. In a moment
they had come so near that the party about the shop-door could see what
they were. In front, running desperately with leaps and bounds, and
panting for breath, came a tall slim man all in tight-fitting white
clothes, with a dead white face and a white hairless head; and after
him, tumbling on pell-mell, was a perfect riot of little red imps, with
little horns on their foreheads, and little tails behind them, all
trying to spear the white man with the wicked little pitchforks which
they carried, and to seize him with their claws. Freddie thought they
were precisely like the imps he had seen at Hanlon's Superba. When the
white man reached the shop-door they had nearly caught him. He paused at
that moment, looked wildly about him, saw the open door of the shop, and
dashed in and banged the door to behind him. The imps came tumbling up
and hesitated an instant before the men at the door; and in that instant
the Churchwarden showed the most unexpected presence of mind. He quickly
reached behind him and drew a small bottle out of his pocket and pulled
out the cork and sprinkled a few drops of its contents on the ground
before him. A sharp penetrating odour immediately filled the air; it was
so intense that it made the tears come into Freddie's eyes; but what it
did to the wild mob of imps was almost beyond belief. As they got their
first whiff of it, they tumbled back over one another in a mad effort
to get away; but they could not get away from the odour quick enough; it
caught them and held them, so that in a moment they could not move; they
stood fixed and fast and silent; in another moment they began to melt
away, and in two minutes they had vanished; actually vanished where they
stood, each and every one, before the very eyes of the astonished party
before the door.
"Blimy hif I ever see the like!" said Mr. Punch.
"Never knew my Odour of Sanctity to fail once," said the Churchwarden,
coolly. "Hardly ever go out without it. There ain't a witch or an imp or
a bad spirit of any kind whatever can stand up against my Odour of
Sanctity, if he once gets a couple of good whiffs of it out of this
little bottle. Just a few drops from the bottle, and a few sniffs, and
whoof! they're done for! No, sir! there ain't no perfumery in the world
like Odour of Sanctity!"
On the floor of the shop they found the poor white man lying completely
exhausted. They asked him to explain, but he could not speak. Mr. Toby
and Mr. Punch, one on each side, supported him into the back room, and
sat him down in a chair before Aunt Amanda. She held up her hands in
astonishment. The man was certainly a strange-looking man. They plied
him with questions, but he touched his tongue with his finger and shook
his head. He could not speak; he was dumb. Freddie, after one long look
at him under the gaslight, knew who he was.
"It's Mr. Hanlon!" he cried, in great excitement. "It's Mr. Hanlon!"
The dumb man looked at Freddie and smiled, and nodded his head. He rose
to his feet, shook Freddie's hand, and made a graceful bow to the whole
company.
"It's Mr. Hanlon sure enough," said Toby, "still being chased by the
imps. Pretty near got him that time, too! But he got away safe and
sound after all, didn't he, eh?" And all the party, including Mr. Hanlon
himself, laughed with delight. And when the Churchwarden pulled out his
little perfume bottle and showed it around, and explained to Mr. Hanlon
what it had done, the poor man was so overcome that he put his head down
on the Churchwarden's shoulder and wept.
"This'll never do!" cried Toby. "Ain't we never, _never_, going to get
down to this here map? I never _see_ such a time as I've had, trying to
examine this here map! One thing right after another! Mr. Hanlon, I'll
tell you what it's about, and then you can see it for yourself. Would
you like to stay here with our little party? It's a good deal safer than
out-of-doors."
Mr. Hanlon nodded eagerly and smiled, and Toby explained everything to
him and showed him the map.
"Now," said Toby, when that was done, "speak up, Warden, and finish what
you was a-saying!"
CHAPTER X
CAPTAIN HIGGINSON AND THE SPANISH MAIN
The Churchwarden, having put back into his pocket the bottle of Odour of
Sanctity, folded his hands across his fat stomach and began again:
"As I was saying----"
"Never mind that," said Toby. "Tell us what we had better do."
"Well, as I was saying," went on the Churchwarden, paying no attention
to Toby, "the best idea that occurs to me, after thinking it over
considerable, is that--But I ain't saying there's none better, and I
don't lay claim to being any wiser than--Anyway, it seems to me we ought
to----"
"Just listen to this!" broke in Aunt Amanda. She had been studying the
map all this time, and she was holding it in her hands. She was much
excited. "I've just made out all this handwriting at the bottom of the
map, and I'll read it to you. Do you want to hear it?" Her voice shook
and her hands trembled. Everybody except the Churchwarden begged her to
go on. "Oh! do you think it could be true? If it only could! Oh, if it
_could_ only be true!"
"Maybe if you'd read it, Aunt Amanda----" said Toby.
"Yes, yes, I will," said she, all of a twitter. "I'll read it. Don't
hurry me. This is what it says. If it could only be true! 'Correction
Island: By dead Reckoning, latitude 12° 32' 14" N., longitude 61° 45'
13" W.,' whatever that means. But I'll read it to you just as it's
written. It's a queer kind of language--Anyway, this is what it says:
"'Lately discovered by me, Reuben Higginson, Master Mariner, Brig Cotton
Mather: New Bedford.
"'Notify Elizabeth Higginson, Spinster: or Else the acknowledged Elder
of the Society of Friends: New Bedford.
"'Now off course in heavy gale on return Voyage to fetch my Sister
aforesaid to Correction Island with as Many others as are Minded to
come.
"'Leaking badly below line: pumps Given over: Water mounting in hold:
decks Awash: Both masts gone By the board: whale-oil, no use: Down with
all hands in another Hour.
"'This Map shall be cast Overboard in a stout Bottel as we go down, with
a Paper of directions how to Gain correction in the Island.'"
"Where's the paper of directions?" said Toby.
"It ain't here," said Aunt Amanda. "I suppose Captain Higginson lost it,
or else he didn't have time to put it in the bottle. Anyway, this is
what the writing on the map says:
"'Let him that Finds the Bottel remember these Mariners: Also, let him
take heed to Search out the Island diligently.
"'For this Island'--Listen to what it says now," said Aunt Amanda,
trembling with excitement. "Oh, do you suppose it could really be true?
And yet this Reuben Higginson was a good Quaker captain, I'm sure, and I
don't believe he would say what wasn't true, and especially when he was
on his way home to get his own sister----"
"Why don't you read it, instead of talking about it?" said Toby.
"I would, if you'd let me," said Aunt Amanda. "Here's what it says:
"'For this Island is Refuge to such as be afflicted: And in this Island
shall be Corrected'--oh! listen to this! I wouldn't believe it from
anybody but Reuben Higginson--'shall be Corrected whatever Errors,
Disappointments, Miscarriages, Faylures, Preventions, and the like, this
mortal Life may have afflicted Any withal: Wherefore I have called it
Correction Island.
"'There be Perils enough in coming at Compleat Correction: But let
Courage halt not By the way, so shall he Arrive presently.
"'If any be Crooked'--this is the part! it's too wonderful! but Captain
Higginson wouldn't have said it, when he was so near going down with his
ship, and especially on his way home to get his own sister----"
"Me dear lydy," said Mr. Punch, "_hif_ you would be so wery kind as
to----"
"Yes, yes; give me time. I declare you make me so nervous--Now just
listen to this, every one of you, and don't speak:
"'If any be Crooked, he shall there be made Straight.'"
She paused, and looked hard at Toby. Mr. Punch started at the same time,
and he and Toby looked hard at each other.
"'If any be Blind, he shall see: If any Dumb, he shall speak.'"
At the word "dumb," Mr. Hanlon, whose elbow was resting on the table,
jumped so violently that he knocked the Album onto the floor. Aunt
Amanda nodded her head to him, and all the others stared at him.
"'If any be Old, he shall be Young again: If any Fat, he shall be as
Lean as he will.'"
At the word "fat", the Churchwarden gave a questioning grunt, and
settled down deeper in his chair.
"'If any be Poor, whether in Purse or in Mind, he shall seek Alms no
longer.'"
The Old Codger with the Wooden Leg, who had been resting his wooden leg
on the chair opposite, dropped it to the floor and sat up very straight.
Toby, who was standing beside him, clapped him heartily on the shoulder.
"'If any be Mean, or Cunning, or Despiteful, he shall be given a new
heart.'"
Aunt Amanda looked directly at the Sly Old Codger, who was sitting
smiling, with his tall silk hat on his knees; and everyone else in the
room, except Mr. Hanlon, looked very intently at him. He noticed it, and
glanced around inquiringly, smiling more benevolently than ever.
"How beautiful that would be," he said. "How beautiful! If some of my
dear, dear friends could only have a new heart,--how beautiful!"
"Don't interrupt," said Aunt Amanda. "Freddie, listen to this:
"'If any be Little in stature, against his desire, he shall be Great.'"
Freddie opened his eyes very wide. Would it be possible to be big at
once, without waiting all that long dreary time? How glorious that would
be!
"But this," said Aunt Amanda, "this is the last and the best. I don't
know--whether I can--read it right--" her voice broke, and she blew her
nose and cleared her throat--"but I will try. Oh! do you suppose it
_could_ be true? Would a good Quaker captain, with a sister in New
Bedford, say it if it wasn't true? With the sea raging and both masts
gone, and the ship filling up with water, and----"
"Aunt Amanda," said Toby, "if you don't read the rest of it this
minute----"
"Ah, yes, Toby, I will," said Aunt Amanda. "It must be true, or a good
man like that wouldn't have said it. This is the last part, and the
best:
"'If any be Prevented unjustly of Beauty or of Children or of Love or of
Other like desires, there shall be found for him of these a great Store:
So that there shall be an End of repining, and none in that Place shall
say, Thus and thus might I have been also, had I been but justly
entreated.
"'And so I commit my Body to the sea, and my soul to----'"
"Go on! go on!" cried the company--excepting, of course, Mr. Hanlon.
Aunt Amanda blew her nose again, and laid down the map on the table.
"That's all," she said. "I suppose he didn't have time to finish it."
CHAPTER XI
A MIXED COMPANY IN SEARCH OF ADVENTURE
After Aunt Amanda had stopped reading, it was a moment or two before
anyone spoke. "If all those things," said Mr. Toby thoughtfully, "could
be done in that Island, I'd be in favor of going there."
There was a general murmur of assent, and Mr. Hanlon nodded his head.
"Well," went on Mr. Toby, "we'd better make up our minds what we want to
do about it. The Churchwarden ain't had his say yet, what with all these
interruptions, and I move we give him a chance to have his say, right
now. Speak up, Warden; what do you think we ought to do?"
"As I was saying," said the Churchwarden, looking around solemnly,
"while I don't hold to my own opinion if anybody else can think up
something better, still it seems to me--But maybe you'd ruther hear from
the others first."
"No, no!" cried the whole company,--except Mr. Hanlon, who shook his
head vigorously.
"Well, then, being as you've asked me so particular, and having thought
about it considerable,--as I was saying, it appears to me that the best
thing to do would be to--This is only the way it looks to me, you
understand, and I ain't speaking for nobody but myself, and I don't
pretend that my opinion is worth----"
"By crackey!" cried Mr. Toby, very rudely. "Ain't you the most maddening
old feller that ever was in the world? Come on, now, tell us what to
do, and be quick about it!"
"Call up the Able Seaman!"
This was so unexpected that nobody spoke for a moment.
"Hurrah!" cried Toby. "Now you've said it. We'll call up Mr. Lemuel
Mizzen--is that his name? That's the thing to do! Do you all agree to
that?" Everybody approved, and Mr. Toby turned to Freddie. "He's your
man, Freddie, and if you've done it once, I reckon it won't be any harm
for you to do it again. Wait a minute." And he ran into the shop, and
immediately returned with the Chinaman's head and a churchwarden pipe.
"Now, then, Freddie," he said. "Will you do it again?"
"No, sir," said Freddie. "I'd rather not."
"You shouldn't make him do it," said Aunt Amanda.
"Nonsense, Aunt Amanda!" cried Toby. "He's as bad now as he'll ever be,
and it ain't a-going to do him no harm. I'll fill the pipe."
"Hit's quite a lark," said Mr. Punch, laughing heartily. "Fancy the
little beggar's smoking a pipe!"
"My dear little friend," began the Sly Old Fox, beaming upon Freddie.
"You must always remember that your elders know best----"
"Here, Freddie," said Mr. Toby, having filled the pipe, "sit down here."
And he pushed Freddie gently down upon his accustomed hassock at Aunt
Amanda's feet.
Freddie shook his head, but Mr. Toby put the pipe into his mouth and lit
a match. All the others sat in silence, watching Freddie intently.
"Now, then!" said Toby. "Pull away!" And he touched the lighted match to
the pipeful of black tobacco.
Freddie gave a pull, and blew out a cloud of smoke. He did not choke
this time. He gave another pull, and blew out another cloud. The white
smoke lay above the heads of the company in a thick mass; it grew
thicker, so that he could not see through it; it began to move, as if in
a high wind. He drew on the pipe once more, and blew out another cloud
of smoke. He knew what was coming, and in fact the same thing happened
that had happened to him before. The white cloud churned about, with its
barber-poles and jets of fire, coming down closer and closer upon him,
and in a jiffy he was sitting in midair on his hassock, and then he felt
himself falling, falling; and as he struck the bottom with a jar, he
heard, very distinctly, a knock on the door; and he was sitting again on
his hassock at Aunt Amanda's feet in the quiet room, with no sign of a
cloud anywhere to be seen.
"Come in!" he heard Mr. Toby cry.
The door opened, and in walked Mr. Lemuel Mizzen, A.B., as cool as a
cucumber.
He took off his flat blue cap with the black ribbon, and made a bow to
the company.
"Piped me aft again, and good evening to you all!" said he, in his
hoarse voice. "Lemuel Mizzen, A.B.! That's me! What'll it be? All ready
for orders, skipper! It was just half past by the starboard watch, and
the skippers their apples were quietly peeling, when I locked up the
last of the lemons and Scotch, and lay on my bed looking up at the
ceiling, to snatch forty winks, as I foolishly reckoned; but just as I
thinks, 'Thirty-first, thirty-second,' there's a ring at the bell of the
big front-door, and the mates come and yell that I'm wanted ashore; so I
tucks in my cap the eight points of my nap, and just before stopping to
turn down the lights, I runs to the dresser and puts it to rights, and
then before giving a last look behind, I goes to the bed and takes off
the spread, and lays out to air the three sheets in the wind! And here I
be," concluded the Able Seaman, "all ready for orders." And he looked
very hard at Freddie.
"Well!" said Aunt Amanda, gasping. "I never in my life heard such a----"
"I'll tell you what it is, Mr. Mizzen," said Toby. "It's about
Correction Island, on the Spanish Main."
"Ay, ay, sir!" said Mr. Mizzen. "Would you like to go there?"
"Ah!" said everyone at once, except Mr. Hanlon, who nodded his head.
"No trouble at all," said Mr. Mizzen. "Just step into The Sieve, and
we'll be off. A sweet little bark is The Sieve, provided there's plenty
of dippers; but we always go well provided. Is the whole party going?"
"One moment, if you please," said the Sly Old Codger. "There is one
little point on which I--that is to say--Will there be any expense?"
"Not a penny," said Mr. Mizzen. "Everything's found. Orders from the
skipper. What he says goes."
"Ah!" said the Sly Old Fox. "The Spanish Main! With all the little
parrots and monkeys flitting about in the branches of the upas trees!--I
think I will join."
"I reckon we're all going," said Mr. Toby. "Is everybody agreed? All
right. It's settled. And my vote is, to go right now, while we've got
hold of our Able Seaman here."
"Shouldn't I tell mother first?" asked Freddie.
"I'll write her a note in the morning," said Toby. "I'll fix it; you
leave it to me."
"I suppose I really ought to finish this sewing," said Aunt Amanda.
"No time," said Toby, who seemed to be managing everything. "Where's the
ship, Mr. Mizzen?"
"Made fast to the wharf at the foot of this street," said Mr. Mizzen.
"Then let's go," said Toby.
He ran out of the room, and returned with his white derby hat on his
head, and his hand-painted necktie neatly in its place. He helped Aunt
Amanda to get up, and brought her her little black bonnet, which she put
on and tied under her chin, and her cashmere shawl, which she put around
her shoulders.
"All right!" cried Toby. "We're off! Come along!"
"We're off to the Spanish Main," said Mr. Mizzen, in his curious
sing-song, "to the wet Antipodee; but dry or wet we need not fret, for
we are bold as bold can be; and on the way at Botany Bay we'll probably
stay a week or two, to gather ferns as the Botanists do, and then we'll
stop at the door of Spain, to ask the way to the Spanish Main, and so
without any more delay, on the Spanish Main we'll all alight, where the
star-fish shines in the sea all night, and the dog-star barks in the sky
all day--Here, skipper, put this in your pocket, and hold fast to it."
He handed Freddie the map, and Freddie put it away safely in his pocket.
"Have you got the Odour of Sanctity?" said Mr. Toby to the Churchwarden.
"Right here," said the fat man, tapping his back pocket.
"I'll carry the Chinaman's tobacco," said Toby. "We may need it." And he
tucked the Chinaman's head under his arm.
In a few moments the whole party were standing on the pavement outside,
and Toby locked the shop-door behind them. They crossed the street, and
as they did so they heard a faint voice halloing from the top of the
church tower, and they could make out that it said, "Punch! Punch!" But
Mr. Punch only sniffed and shrugged his shoulders, and made no answer.
It was very dark. The gas-lamps at the corners only made the darkness
gloomier. The only sound they heard, after Mr. Punch's father's voice
had died away behind them, was the stump-stump of the Old Codger's
wooden leg on the brick pavement. All the dwelling-houses were closed,
and as they came nearer to the wharves all the warehouses were dark and
awful. Not a soul was to be seen, except that once they saw the back of
a policeman as he disappeared around a dark corner in advance. At the
sight of this policeman's back, and in the shadow of a great gloomy
building alongside an alley, Freddie slipped his hand into the Able
Seaman's big paw. He wondered if he were doing quite right in leaving
home without saying a word to his mother, but Mr. Toby had promised to
do whatever was necessary, and anyway, he was going aboard a ship! If he
should stop to speak to his mother about going away on a voyage in a
ship, he felt somehow that he might never go. He could already smell the
delicious odour of tarred ropes.
Their progress was very slow, on account of Aunt Amanda's lameness.
First came Mr. Mizzen, leading the way with Freddie by his side. Next
came Aunt Amanda, limping with her cane, and supported on one side by
Mr. Toby and on the other by Mr. Punch. Behind them walked the
Churchwarden and the Sly Old Fox, and last of all Mr. Hanlon and the Old
Codger with the Wooden Leg.
They could see not far before them the ghost-like masts and shrouds of
ships, looking as if they were growing up from the street among the
buildings; and in another moment they found themselves standing in a
group on a wide wharf, piled up with bales and boxes, and before them,
against the edge of the wharf, where the black water was lapping the
piles, stood a tall ship with most of her sails set. Freddie thrilled in
every vein of his body. At that moment he did not think of his father or
mother; he thought of nothing but the smell of brackish water and tarred
ropes, and the deck of a ship on the open sea under a cloud of canvas,
and the far-away Spanish Main.
The Able Seaman led the company of adventurers forward between the bales
and boxes, until they stood beside the dark hull of the ship. He turned
round and faced them and touched his cap respectfully.
"Come aboard," said he.
CHAPTER XII
THE VOYAGE OF THE SIEVE
When Freddie awoke the next morning, he leaned up on his elbow, rubbing
his eyes, and was surprised to see the floor of the little room in which
he found himself settling slowly down at one side. In a moment the floor
rose again on that side, and the other side settled down. Then the whole
room tilted sideways and back again. It made him dizzy, and he closed
his eyes, wondering what kind of a house he had gotten into. He decided
he would get up and find out about it.
He carefully rose, and tried to walk across the floor to the window. As
he stepped out, the floor seemed to go down under him, and he quickly
grasped the bed; he put out his foot again, and the floor rose up; he
was dizzier than before, and he had a queer sinking feeling in his
stomach. As the floor tilted down sideways again, he made a dash to the
opposite wall, and held on there by the window; but the floor sank
again, and he made another dash, back to bed. He was cold and hot, and
his head ached, and there was a feeling in his stomach as if--oh dear!
He decided he would lie in bed for a few moments until he felt better.
He remained there for two days.
What occurred during those two days he could not remember very well
afterwards. He slept a great deal, and it seemed that some one with a
green patch over his eye came in now and then; but he paid very little
attention. All he wanted was to go to sleep and stay asleep.
On the morning after his third night he sat up wide awake. He was
hungry. He jumped up and dressed in a hurry. As the floor tilted and
sank and rose with him he thought he had never felt so delicious a
sensation. He wondered if there would be bacon and eggs for breakfast.
In a moment he had thrown open the door and he was running up a short
flight of steps. He was weak and tottery, but he paid no attention to
that. He was at the top of the steps, and he drew in a deep breath of
the cool morning air.
He was standing on the deck of a great ship. Over his head clouds and
clouds of beautiful white canvas swelled out to the breeze. The sun was
sparkling merrily on the water, and there was no land to be seen
anywhere. Up forward, the bow of the ship was dipping and rising
regularly. There were three tall masts, and on the first two the sails
were set square to the masts, and on the third lengthwise; every sail
seemed to be up. It was glorious.
He walked forward up the deck. Here and there were men in blue overalls,
cleaning the deck, coiling ropes, and polishing metal; and in a little
house with windows a man was standing beside an upright wheel. Near the
first mast, in a group, were Aunt Amanda, Mr. Toby, the Churchwarden,
and the two old Codgers. Freddie hailed them with a shout.
"All right, young feller," cried Mr. Toby, as Freddie came up, "here we
are! How is this for a corking spree? Beats all the Tolchester
excursions you ever see, that's what I say! Blamed if it don't. I ain't
been out of bed for two days."
"No more has any of us," said Aunt Amanda. "Do you feel well, Freddie?
I declare I'm quite excited. Isn't the air invigorating?"
"Yes'm," said Freddie. "What did you say in your note, Mr. Toby?"
"What note?" said Toby.
"Why, your note to my mother, explaining about me and----"
"By crackey!" cried Toby. "Blamed if I didn't clean forget all about it!
Now ain't that too bad! What on earth are we going to do about it?"
"Well!" said Aunt Amanda. "Now ain't that just like you, Toby
Littleback? I declare if your head wasn't fastened on you'd----"
"Wery reprehensible," said Mr. Punch. "Wery."
"My dear friends," said the Sly Old Codger, "let us not be disquieted on
such a morning as this. Everything is so beautiful. _So_ beautiful! And
without any expense whatever. It is a precious thought. How pleasant it
is to hear the breeze blowing so gently among all the little capstans up
there!"
He took off his high silk hat and looked up among the sails with a rapt
expression on his face, and all the others looked up too, trying to see
the capstans fluttering in the breeze.
"Look!" cried Aunt Amanda. "Why, there's Mr. Hanlon!"
Far, far up, near the top of the second mast, was a white figure,
standing on a rope under the topmost sail, and holding on with one hand
and waving the other down at the passengers. Mr. Toby waved his white
derby, and Mr. Hanlon began to come down. Freddie trembled with alarm,
but Mr. Hanlon was obviously having the time of his life. He skipped
swiftly along his dangerous perch, and sliding down and along the spars
of wood that held the sails, and actually leaping from one to another,
and tripping lightly down ladders of rope, while the whole top swayed
dizzily from side to side, he at length came down on the deck with a
bounce, and bowing to everybody shook Freddie by the hand.
"Here comes the Able Seaman!" cried Toby. "And see what he's got on his
wrist!"
Mr. Lemuel Mizzen came rolling down the deck, and as he approached he
took off his cap with his left hand and made a bow. On his right wrist
was a blue and red parrot, who cocked his head sideways at the
strangers, and then looked up inquiringly at the Able Seaman.
"Good morning, all!" said Mr. Mizzen. "Glad to see the passengers come
to life again! Nothing like the open sea, lady and gentlemen!"
"Are you sure it's perfectly safe?" said Aunt Amanda.
"Perfectly safe, ma'am. A tight little bark is The Sieve, provided the
dippers hold out. Most of the men is below now, baling out the water
with their dippers, and the ship ain't leaking more than ordinary--yet.
Of course you never can tell what may happen, but there's plenty of
dippers, unless we should founder in a storm, or split up on the rocks,
or----"
"Mercy on us!" cried Aunt Amanda. "I wish we hadn't come. If I only had
some sewing with me."
"Would you mend socks, ma'am?"
"Oh, that would be lovely! And I could look after the men's shirts, too,
and count the laundry when it comes home, and--I'm sure we are going to
have a delightful voyage! I feel better already. I don't believe there's
any danger after all. It's all nonsense about the ship's leaking."
"Who's your f-f-f-friends, L-l-lem?" shrieked a voice from Mr. Mizzen's
wrist.
Everyone started, and looked in amazement at the parrot, whose head was
perked sideways up at Mr. Mizzen's face.
"L-l-lem!" shrieked the parrot, stuttering terribly. "Who's your
f-f-f-friends?"
"Never you mind," said Lemuel, "you'll find out soon enough. Breakfast's
ready. Anybody want breakfast?"
Before anyone had a chance to reply, the parrot opened his mouth wide
and gave a loud laugh, and cried out:
"Th-th-three ch-cheers! Th-th-there's ch-ch-chops, s-s-steak, b-b-bacon
and eggs! I'll have l-l-l-liver and onions! Ha! ha! ha! Th-th-three
ch-cheers for l-l-l-liver and onions!"
"Be quiet, Marmaduke," said the Able Seaman. "I'll lock you up again, if
you ain't careful."
"K-k-k-ker-_choo_!" said Marmaduke, giving a loud sneeze; and rubbed his
beak with his foot and fluttered his feathers. "L-l-l-lock me up in the
a-a-after hold, till I g-g-g-get all over this d-d-d-dreadful cold!
Th-th-three ch-cheers for hay f-f-f-fever! K-k-k-ker-_choo_!"
"I'll lock you up in the after hold, if you don't quit being so fresh
and bold; I'll learn you manners before I'm through, and if ever I hear
one little--"
"Ker-_choo_!" said Marmaduke, finishing Mr. Mizzen's sentence for him
very neatly.
Everyone laughed, except the Able Seaman.
"All right," said he, "just wait till I've had my chow, I'll attend to
you proper; now off with you--now!" And he tossed Master Marmaduke off
his wrist up into the air. The parrot lit on a spar overhead, just under
a sail, and peered down at the company without the least appearance of
embarrassment.
"If there's b-b-b-bacon and eggs," he cried, "I'll take l-l-l-liver!
Th-th-three ch-ch-cheers for l-l-l-liver!"
[Illustration: "L-l-lem!" shrieked the parrot. "Who's your
f-f-f-friends?"]
Freddie burst into a merry laugh, and all his friends joined; all except
Mr. Punch, who looked puzzled.
"'Ow could 'e 'ave liver," said he, "hif there was only bycon an'
heggs?"
At this everyone laughed louder than before, and Mr. Punch was
completely perplexed.
"I'll explain that to you some day," said Toby. "Didn't you never hear a
joke?"
"Ho, yes," said Mr. Punch. "Hi 'eard a wery good joke once; a wery good
one indeed. Hi'll relate it to you. When I was a lad--"
"There's the breakfast bell," said Mr. Mizzen. "Sorry to interrupt, but
we mustn't let it get cold. We'll hold the election afterwards."
No one waited to hear Mr. Punch's joke. The Able Seaman led the way, and
all the others followed him down the deck, towards a kind of three-sided
box which opened on a stairway below.
In a moment or two they found themselves in the dining-saloon, and in
another moment they were seated about a round table, set for breakfast.
The passengers insisted on the Able Seaman's sitting down with them, and
he consented to do so.
A lad of about eighteen entered, to wait on the table. He had a shock of
bright red hair, and a kind of frightened look in his eyes, as if he
were afraid he would do everything wrong, and would always be in hot
water about it. He stood behind the Able Seaman's chair, and began to
make a queer contortion of the face, in an effort to speak.
"Th-th-th-there's--" he began.
"Skipper first," interrupted Mr. Mizzen, nodding towards Freddie.
The Cabin-boy (for that was what he was) went to Freddie's chair, and
began to speak again, with the same contortion of the face.
"Th-th-th-there's ch-ch-chops, s-s-s-steak, b-b-b-bacon and eggs," he
said.
"Yes, sir," said Freddie.
The Cabin-boy stared in bewilderment, and began again.
"Th-th-th-there's ch-ch-chops, s-s-s-steak, b-b-b-bacon and eggs," said
he.
"Yes, sir," said Freddie, much embarrassed.
"I don't blame you, skipper," said the Able Seaman. "I would too, if I
hadn't eaten for two days. Next!"
The Cabin-boy stood behind Aunt Amanda's chair, and began:
"Th-th-th-there's ch-ch-chops, s-s-s-steak, b-b-b-bacon
and--Ker-_choo_!" He gave a hearty sneeze, and pulled out his
pocket-handkerchief; so he had to begin all over again:
"Th-th-th-there's ch-ch-chops, s-s-s-s-s--"
"Chops, thank you," said Aunt Amanda.
The Cabin-boy took his stand behind Toby's chair, and began:
"There's--there's--th-th-th-th--Ker-_choo_! Th-th-there's
ch-ch-ch-chops, s-s-s-s-s--"
"Chops and steak," said Toby.
The Cabin-boy stood behind each of the other chairs in turn, and
repeated each time his entire list. Everybody gave a different order,
and the boy became so bewildered at last that he wiped his forehead with
his pocket-handkerchief, brushed a tear from his eye, and when he had
taken the last order dashed out of the door with a kind of sob.
As soon as he was gone, sounds came through the door by which he had
left, as if a dreadful row was going on in the next room.
"Frightful temper, that cook," said the Able Seaman, "but the boy
certainly does get on his nerves."
In a short time the Cabin-boy came in with four plates at once, and as
he reached Freddie's chair the ship gave a deep lurch downward, and the
four plates shot out of his arms across the room, showering the floor
with chops, steak, bacon and eggs.
The boy gave a wild cry and burst into tears, and fled through the door.
From the next room came the sound of a row more violent than before.
"Never mind," said Mr. Mizzen, "he'll be back."
He came back presently, his eyes very red, and stumbling in and out
managed to put down before each one a plate. Every plate contained
chops, steak, bacon and eggs.
"Now," said Mr. Mizzen, when the breakfast was over, "we'll go up and
hold the election."
When they came on deck, they were astonished to see a considerable
number of men in blue overalls, who were sitting on the deck in a group.
As the passengers approached, they stood up respectfully, and one of
them said something privately to Mr. Mizzen.
"They've held the election already," said the Able Seaman, turning to
the passengers. "There's three dozen of 'em, and they've elected the
captains and mates for the voyage; thirteen captains and twenty-three
mates. They went right ahead without waiting for me, so I'm the only
Able Seaman left on the ship."
"What!" said Aunt Amanda. "Do you mean to tell me--?"
"It's all right, madam," said Mr. Mizzen in an undertone. "You see,
they're all free and equal, and everything goes by voting. They won't
have it any other way. It's lucky they didn't all want to be captains.
It's all right, anyway, because there's none of 'em knows anything about
navigation, and I'm the only one on board that _does_ know; so it comes
to the same thing as if they had elected _me_ captain. But of course
_they_ don't think of that. Not a word. I'll send 'em about their
business now, as soon as they've put on their uniforms."
"Well!" said Aunt Amanda, gasping. "I never in my life--!"
The thirteen captains and the twenty-three mates disappeared from the
deck in a hurry, and in a very few minutes reappeared. Each one of them
wore, in place of his blue overalls, a smart blue suit with brass
buttons and gold braid, and a jaunty blue cap with gold braid around it;
the mates having only nine instead of ten rows of braid around their
sleeves.
The Able Seaman led them aside, and after a few words with them returned
to his passengers.
"Everything's settled," said he. "Some of them are going below with
their dippers, and the rest of them are to look after handling the ship.
The navigation is left to me. We'll get along fine now, provided the
leaks don't get any worse."
Freddie wandered off by himself, to inspect the ship. He could walk very
well now, in spite of the roll of the ship, and he went everywhere. He
found himself finally on the after deck, leaning over the rail and
watching the wake of the ship boiling away so white and beautiful
behind. He was more and more delighted with this strange adventure. It
was too bad that Mr. Toby had forgotten to write the note to his mother,
but it couldn't be helped now, and they would sometime find a place
somewhere or other where they could post a letter. It was so entrancing
to be actually at sea on a ship, with the deck rising and falling, and
the wake boiling away behind, and land nowhere in sight, that it would
seem a pity ever to arrive at the Spanish Main; but the thought of
adventures there--! However, he was in no hurry to have the voyage over.
Aunt Amanda was sitting somewhere with a pile of sailors' socks in her
lap, perfectly contented. Mr. Hanlon was swinging his feet away up
yonder from the topmost yard of the second mast. The Churchwarden, Mr.
Punch, Toby, and the Sly Old Fox were engaged in an earnest discussion
in chairs beside the deck-house. The Old Codger with the Wooden Leg was
speaking confidentially in the ear of the twenty-first mate, in an
effort to borrow a pipeful of tobacco.
Suddenly Freddie heard behind him the loud harsh laughter of Marmaduke
the parrot. Turning round, he saw the parrot perched on the ship's rail,
and before him was the Cabin-boy, shaking his finger in the parrot's
face, and storming away at him angrily. Freddie immediately went over to
them.
"I w-w-w-won't s-s-s-s-stand it no l-l-l-l-longer!" the Cabin-boy was
bawling, his face nearly as red as his hair. "I w-w-w-won't! W-w-w-what
do you m-m-m-mean by m-m-m-mocking me all the t-t-t-ime?"
"Who? M-m-m-m-m-me?" said the parrot.
"Y-y-y-yaas, y-y-y-you!" cried the Cabin-boy. "Just because I
s-s-s-s-s-stutter, do you--do you--do you have to--have
to--s-s-s-s-stut-stutter too?"
"M-m-m-m-me? You're entirely m-m-m-m-mistaken. You're the one that
s-s-s-stut-s-s-s-stutters."
"Ain't you always s-s-saying--saying--ch-ch-chops, s-s-s-steak,
b-b-b-b-bacon and eggs? Ain't you? You've got to k-k-k-k-quit--r-r-right
_now_, d'you _hear_? I w-w-w-won't s-s-s-stand it no l-l-l-l-longer, and
you b-b-b-better b-b-b-believe it!"
"Highty-tighty! Sixty, ninety! Uncle Sam! Pop pop! Th-th-there's
ch-ch-chops, s-s-s-steak, b-b-b-bacon and eggs! Th-th-three ch-ch-cheers
for l-l-l-liver and onions!"
The poor Cabin-boy burst out crying.
"All ri-i-i-ight," he sobbed, stamping his foot. "All ri-i-i-ight. I
c-c-can't help it--if--I do s-s-stutter. But there ain't no
p-p-p-p-parrot going to m-m-m-m-mock me, M-m-m-m-mizzen nor no
M-m-m-m-mizzen. I'll wring--your--bla-a-a-asted--neck first, you
ornery--l-l-l-little--varmint, you s-s-s-see if I--see if
I--d-d-d-don't!"
"Marmaduke's my name!" shrieked the parrot. "Please to note the same!
Pop, pop, pop! I'll have l-l-l-liver and onions, l-l-l-l-liver and
onions, l-l-l-l-liver and onions, pop, pop, pop!"
The Cabin-boy, shaking with sobs, raised his hand threateningly.
"D-d-d-d-don't you d-d-d-dare t-t-t-to--Ker-_choo_!" He sneezed, and out
came his handkerchief.
"Ker-_choo_!" sneezed the parrot, and rubbed his beak with his foot.
This was the last straw. The Cabin-boy reached for Marmaduke's neck, and
would surely have choked him then and there, if Freddie had not caught
his arm and pulled him away.
The Cabin-boy allowed himself to be led off, and Freddie drew him along
towards the companion-way.
"Come along down to my room," said Freddie.
"All r-r-right," said the Cabin-boy, wiping his eyes and sniffling.
"I'll c-c-c-come, b-b-b-but there's going to be trouble--trouble--on
this sh-sh-sh-ship along o' that p-p-p-parrot before this--before this
v-v-v-voyage--is over, you m-m-m-mark m-m-m-m-my w-w-w-w-words!"
CHAPTER XIII
THE CABIN-BOY'S REVENGE
It was a soft moonlight night in southern seas. Our party of
adventurers, with Mr. Mizzen in their midst, were sitting quietly on the
after part of the deck, enjoying the balmy air and watching the bright
track which the full moon made on the water. The sea was very calm.
There was only a light breeze, and The Sieve was hardly moving.
Mr. Mizzen was scratching the head of Marmaduke the parrot, who was
perched on the Able Seaman's wrist. From the forward part of the deck,
where the skippers and mates were sitting in a party of their own, could
be heard the tinkle of a guitar and the sound of a voice singing.
"One always enjoys," said Mr. Punch, "a bit of singing by moonlight on
the water. Hi remember when I was a lad--"
"Why don't you sing for us yourself?" said Toby.
"Oh, do!" cried several of the others.
Mr. Punch looked down at the deck bashfully. "Hi should be wery glad to
oblige," said he, "but I 'ave a slight cold, and besides, Hi only know
one song."
"What is the name of it?" said Aunt Amanda.
"Kathleen Mavourneen," said Mr. Punch.
"That's a very good song," said Aunt Amanda. "Sing it."
"Wait a minute," said Mr. Mizzen, "and I'll get the guitar. I can play
it."
While he was gone, and while the others were talking, Freddie felt a
hand on his arm, and looking down saw the Cabin-boy sitting on the deck
beside his chair, and winking up at him with a strange excited look on
his face. The Cabin-boy pulled Freddie's head down, and whispered in his
ear.
"S-s-s-sh! K-k-keep your eyes o-o-ope-open! Something's going to happen
to-to-tonight! You'll see! Down with M-m-mizzen and M-m-marmaduke!"
Freddie gazed at the Cabin-boy in some alarm, and was about to ask a
question, when Mr. Mizzen returned with the guitar.
"Now we're ready," said he, taking his seat and putting Marmaduke on the
rail of the ship. "Here's the chord. All right, Mr. Punch."
"Hi really 'ave such a cold--" said Mr. Punch.
"That's understood," said Toby. "Now then, strike up."
Mr. Punch cleared his throat very loud, and coughed once or twice, and
began to sing:
"Kathleen Mavourneen, the gr'y dorn is bryking,
The 'orn of the 'unter is 'eard on the 'ill."
"Ha! ha! ha! ha!" roared Toby. "The 'orn of the 'unter! Blamed if I ever
hear the like of that before! My stars! What's the matter, Mr. Punch,
can't you put in a little 'h' now and then? The 'orn of the 'unter! Oh
my stars! Ha! ha! ha! ha!"
Mr. Punch was deeply offended. "Hit is quite sufficient," said he. "Hi
shall sing no more." And nothing that anybody could say could induce him
to go on.
"Toby Littleback," said Aunt Amanda, "it's just like you, all over. Now
you ask Mr. Punch's pardon, right this minute."
Toby apologized, and Mr. Punch said that it was of no consequence
whatever; but he would not sing.
"Then I guess you'll have to sing for us yourself, Mizzen," said Toby.
"Right-o," said Mr. Mizzen, thrumming on his guitar. "What'll it be?"
The Cabin-boy sniffed and spoke in an undertone close to Freddie's ear.
"He'll be s-s-singing on the other s-s-side of his f-f-face before this
night's o-o-over, you mark m-m-m-my wo-wo-words!"
"Lady and gentlemen"--began Mr. Mizzen.
"Ker-choo!" sneezed the parrot. "A wet sh-sh-sheet and a f-f-flowing
s-s-s-sea! Three cheers f-f-for the--Ker-choo! Three cheers f-f-for hay
f-f-fe-fever!"
"Down with b-b-b-both of 'em!" whispered the Cabin-boy fiercely in
Freddie's ear.
"Suppose you sing us something about yourself," said Aunt Amanda.
"Ay, ay, ma'am," said Mr. Mizzen; and after playing a few chords and
quivers on the guitar, he began to sing, in a voice like a fog-horn
muffled by a heavy fog, the following song concerning the
LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF L. MIZZEN
"When I was a lad I was bad as I could be,
Wouldn't say 'Thank you' nor 'Please,' not me,
And at church I wouldn't kneel but only on one knee,
And at school I wouldn't study my A B C,
And I couldn't conscientious with the Golden Rule agree,
Nor understand the secret of its popularitee,
Nor get a ounce of pleasure from the Rule of Three,--
I was bad right through; sweared 'hully gee,'
And worse sometimes, like 'jiminee;'
Scrawled with a pencil on my jographee,
Stole birds' eggs in the huckleberry tree,--
Oh, I was bad; tried to learn a flea
How to keep his balance on a rolling pea,--
Oh, regular bad; and my ma, said she,
'If you don't be better than what you be,
I'll put you in the cupboard and turn the key.'
But I wouldn't and I wouldn't, no sirree,
So I ran away to sea;
Yes, I ran away to sea;
With a little gingham, bottle of cambric tea,
And a penny wrapped up in my hankerchee,
For I wanted to be free,
So I ran away to sea."
Mr. Mizzen stopped, and looked towards the stern of the ship. "I
thought," said he, "I kind of noticed something queer about the stern
rail; looked as if it was lower. But I guess I'm mistaken."
Everyone looked, but saw nothing amiss. The Cabin-boy tittered into
Freddie's ear.
"Would you like to hear the second verse?" said the Able Seaman.
"Yes, yes! Go on!" said several voices at once.
"Here goes, then," said Mr. Mizzen, thrumming on the guitar. "After I
ran away to sea, I had a good many adventures, and some of 'em--anyway--
"When I was young I followed the Equator
From Pole to Pole in the ship Perambulator,
A four-wheeled schooner, a smoky old freighter,
Loaded with sulphur for an old dead crater
In the Andes Mountains, and a night or two later
With a three-knot gale blowing loud and rude
As the dark grows darker and the gale increases
Of a sudden we strike and we goes all to pieces
On the forty-seventh parallel of latitude.
And then and there we formed a committee
And went in a body up to London City
And walked up the steps and pulled the little bell,
And spoke out bold to the Lords of Creation
Where they sat in their wigs making rules of navigation,
And explained to 'em the dangers of the Deadly Parallel.
'Take 'em down and pull 'em in,'
That's the way we did begin:
''Tisn't leaks nor 'tisn't whiskey
Makes the sailor's life so risky,
It's the parallel as lies acrost our track.
It's the Deadly Parallel, lying there so long and black,
Is the subject of our moderate petition;
'Tisn't much that we are wishin',
But we humbly beg permission
To implore,--
Coil 'em up, we implore, where they won't be in the way,
Out of sight, safe ashore, we humbly pray;
For there's many a tidy bark
Strikes against 'em in the dark
And is never never heard of any more.
So we'll thank you heartilee
If so very kind you'll be
And remove this awful danger from the sea.'
But we couldn't make 'em do it;
No, they simply wouldn't do it;
And the bailiff shoved us gently from the door.
And we wept uncommon salty,
For their reason did seem faulty,
Any way that we could view it:
And the reason which they gave us
Why they really couldn't save us
Was because the thing had ne'er been done before;
No, such a thing had ne'er been done before."
Mr. Mizzen stopped again, and looked along the deck and up at the masts,
and said, "I can't get it out of my head that the deck is slanting a
little more than usual; the ship doesn't seem to come up well at the
stern. However,--would you like to hear any more of this song?"
Everybody begged him to go on.
The Cabin-boy plucked Freddie's sleeve. "I've done it. You'll s-s-s-see!
Won't that M-m-marmaduke and that M-m-m-mizzen sing another tune when
they f-f-f-find out?" Freddie looked at him in amazement; but the Able
Seaman was commencing the third verse of his song:
"When I was older, and bold as you please,
I shipped on the good ship Firkin of Cheese,
For a v'yage of discovery in the far South Seas,
To gather up a cargo of ambergris
That grows in a cave on the amber trees
Where the medicine men, all fine M.D.'s,
For the sake of the usual medical fees,
Crawl in by night on their hands and knees
In a strictly ethical manner to seize
The amber fruit that is used to grease
The itching palm in Shekel's Disease,--
On a long long v'yage, as busy as bees,
Never stopping for a moment to take our ease,
Never changing our course, except when the breeze
Took to blowing to windward,--we had slipped by degrees
Down the oozy slopes of the Hebrides,
And passed through the locks of the Florida Keys,
Which in getting through was a rather tight squeeze,
But danger is nothing to men like these,
When suddenly the lookout, a Portuguese
Who had better been below a-shelling peas,
Shrieked out, 'They are coming! By twos and threes!
On the starboard bow! We are lost!--"
"We're lost! we're lost! we're lost!" came a terrible cry from the
forward part of the ship, as if in echo of Mr. Mizzen's song. "We're
lost! The dippers! The dippers!"
Everyone jumped up, even Aunt Amanda. The Cabin-boy whispered in
Freddie's ear, in great excitement, "N-n-n-now you'll s-see!"
A man came running down the deck, followed by all the skippers and
mates. As he halted before Mr. Mizzen, he was evidently the Cook, by the
white cook's cap he wore on his head. He took off his cap and wiped his
forehead with his hand. He was in a state of mixed alarm and anger.
"We're lost!" he cried, and actually tore his hair with his hands. "It's
that rascally Cabin-boy! The dippers is gone! Every last one of them!
And the ship leakin' by the barrelful! Let me get at that boy once, and
I'll learn him! Fryin' on a slow fire would be too good for him! Swore
he'd get even, he did, and now he's gone and done it! Stole all the
dippers--he's the one that done it, you can bet your last biscuit! There
ain't a dipper left in the ship, and the water pourin' in by the
barrelful! I just found it out, while them lazy skippers and mates was
lying around doing nothing! Gimme one sea-cook for all the skippers on
the ocean, that's what I say! Every last dipper gone! gone! We're lost!"
Everyone looked around for the Cabin-boy. He was nowhere to be seen, but
his laugh was heard overhead, and his face was then seen looking down
from the rigging just above.
"I've d-d-d-done it," he cried, shrieking with laughter. "I'm even with
you n-n-n-n-now! M-m-m-m-mizzen he l-l-l-learned the parrot to
m-m-m-mock me, he did, and Cook he b-b-b-basted me in the g-g-g-galley
all the t-t-t-t-time, and now I'm e-e-e-even with all of 'em. They ain't
g-g-g-going to t-t-t-torment me no m-m-m-m-more! I stole the dippers and
th-th-th-threw 'em overboard, every last one of 'em, and n-n-n-now
you're g-g-g-going to s-s-sink, sink, si-i-_ink_, d-d-d-down, down,
d-d-d-_down_, to the bottom of the--bottom of the s-s-s-_sea_!"
He laughed louder than before, and the angry Cook sprang forward to
climb up after him, but just then the ship gave a violent lurch
backwards, nearly upsetting everyone, and settled down by the stern, so
that that end of the boat was completely under water.
Aunt Amanda screamed. Toby and Mr. Punch came to her at once and
supported her on each side. There was a great hubbub. Everyone tried to
speak at once. Freddie felt his hand grasped in the strong hand of Mr.
Toby, and he began to feel somewhat less afraid. Over the hubbub could
be heard the Cabin-boy's wild laugh.
"Everybody quiet!" shouted Mr. Mizzen. "We must think what we had better
do."
"Yes, yes," cried a number of voices. "What are we going to do?"
"I wish," said Mr. Mizzen, thoughtfully, "I wish we had thought to bring
a rowboat with us."
"What!" cried Aunt Amanda. "Do you mean to tell me that you came away
on this long journey without an extra boat?"
"We didn't think of it," said Mr. Mizzen. "We had plenty of dippers, and
we never thought of anybody's throwing them overboard."
"No! no!" cried all the skippers and mates together. "We never thought
of that!"
"Then bring out the life-preservers at once!" said Aunt Amanda. "And be
quick about it!"
"We haven't any," said Mr. Mizzen. "What would have been the use of
life-preservers if the dippers were all on board? We never thought we
would need them."
"No! no!" cried all the skippers and mates together. "We never thought
of that!"
"Then think of something now," said Aunt Amanda. "Don't you see the
ship's settling deeper in the water?"
The ship was in fact deeper in the water. It was sinking rapidly. The
deck began to list so much towards the stern that it was difficult to
stand on it. The ship was making no headway whatever. The breeze was
even lighter than before, and the sails were hanging limp. It would have
taken a stiff wind indeed to have moved that water-logged boat; and it
lay as if moored to a float, going up and down heavily in the long
swell.
"Do you--er--think," said the Old Codger with the Wooden Leg, "that we
are in--er--danger?"
"Danger!" cried Aunt Amanda. "Something must be done! Are you going to
let us drown without turning a hand?"
"There's only one thing to do," said Mr. Mizzen, "and I don't know
whether it will work or not; but we can try it. Boys, bring up all the
mattresses from the cabins, and a coil of rope! Look alive, now!"
The skippers and mates ran off in great haste and disappeared down the
hatchways. In a few minutes they had laid on the deck a great pile of
mattresses. While this was being done, Aunt Amanda, whose bonnet and
shawl had been brought to her by one of the men, tied her bonnet-strings
under her chin and put her shawl about her shoulders, in readiness for
departure.
"Now then," said Mr. Mizzen, "lash the mattresses together."
The men proved themselves very handy with ropes. With Mr. Mizzen's help,
they lashed together securely a good number of the mattresses, and the
first result of their work was a mattress raft some fifteen feet square,
and some four or five feet thick. A supply of oil-cloth was found in the
store-room, and this was bound by ropes all over and under and around
the raft.
"I don't know whether it will do," said Mr. Mizzen, "but anyway there's
nothing else that _will_ do. Now, lads, over the side with her!"
All the men lent a hand, and the mattress raft was hoisted over the side
and on to the water. To the satisfaction of everyone, it floated there
quietly and easily, with its top well above the surface of the sea.
"Lucky it's a smooth sea," said Mr. Mizzen. "We ought to be pleased with
the state of the weather; couldn't be better; I feel quite joyful about
it."
"Oh, you do," said Aunt Amanda. "Well, I don't feel joyful about it.
What next?"
"Put the provisions aboard," said the Able Seaman; whereupon some of the
men placed on the raft a small barrel of water and some tins of meat,
soup, biscuit, and other things.
"If you please," said Mr. Mizzen, when this had been done, "I think the
passengers had better get aboard. When you're aboard, we'll make another
raft for ourselves. Are you ready?"
The passengers were helped aboard the raft, one after another. Although
the raft bobbed up and down on the swell, it was not a difficult matter
for the men and the boy to get on, for it was held fast against the side
of the ship at a point where it was about even with the deck-rail.
Freddie gave a good spring, and was on in no time; Mr. Hanlon, who did
not seem in the least uneasy, got aboard with the agility of a cat;
there was no trouble with anyone except Aunt Amanda, whose lameness
impeded her movements a good deal.
As the Sly Old Fox, with his high silk hat on his head, was about to
step over the side, he turned and said:
"I feel it my duty, Mr. Mizzen, to register a complaint against the
outrageous treatment to which we are being subjected. I submit under
protest, sir; under protest. If I had for one moment imagined--"
"Oh bosh," said Toby. "Push him over, Mizzen." And the Sly Old Fox was
in fact somewhat rudely pushed over on to the raft.
None of the others made any objection. Mr. Punch, who usually talked a
good deal, was noticeably silent; and when Toby offered him a hand to
help him over, he said stiffly:
"Hi thank you sir, but I do not require any hassistance."
When the Churchwarden took his seat in the middle of the raft, it went
down alarmingly; but nothing happened, and when the Old Codger with the
Wooden Leg was aboard, the party was complete. All the others sat around
the Churchwarden, as close as they could huddle. It was evident that the
raft would float them, at least until it should become water-logged, or
a gale of wind should blow. The men on the ship now let go of the raft,
and proceeded to lash together the remaining mattresses for themselves.
The raft floated quietly away from the ship.
Aunt Amanda's arm was about Freddie. He did not feel, however, that he
needed her protection. He had already forgotten his first alarm, and he
was feeling most of all what an extraordinary adventure it was that had
befallen him; the men from the ship would be nearby on the other rafts,
the sea was calm, the air was warm, and they would probably be picked up
by some vessel before the food gave out. He supposed there were very few
boys who had ever sailed the open sea on a mattress.
"Well, Freddie," said Mr. Toby, as the raft continued to float slowly
away from the ship, "what do you think of this, eh? Have you got the map
of Correction Island with you?"
"Yes, sir, I have. It's in my pocket."
"Good! Don't lose it. We may get to the Island after all, some day; you
never can tell. By the way, Warden, have you got your Odour of
Sanctity?"
"Safe in my pocket," said the Churchwarden. "What about you? Have you
got the Chinaman's head?"
"What? Me? The Chinaman's head? Oh merciful fathers! I clean forgot it!"
cried Toby. "Blamed if I didn't leave it in my room on the ship! Never
thought about it once! If that don't beat all! What'll we do? We can't
get back! We're floating away! Great jumping Joan! What'll we do?"
"Well!" gasped Aunt Amanda. "Won't you never get a head on your
shoulders, you Toby Littleback? Can't you never remember anything? I
declare, Toby Littleback, you are the most addlepated, exasperating,--Oh
dear, we'd better hail the ship, quick!"
The party on the raft set up a loud cry, which was answered from the
ship.
"The Chinaman's head!" shouted Toby. "On the dresser in my cabin! I
forgot it! Run and get it! Quick! We're floating away!"
"Ay, ay, sir!" came a voice from the ship.
The company on the raft waited anxiously. In a very few moments, which
seemed like a great many, a hail came from the side of the ship, and
they could see the Cabin-boy standing at a point of the deck where it
was now sloped high out of the water, and he was holding the Chinaman's
head aloft in both hands, as if about to throw it towards the raft.
"Don't throw it!" shouted Toby. "Tie a rope to it first!"
But he was too late. The Cabin-boy raised the Chinaman's head higher,
swinging his body sideways, and as a dark figure came up behind him and
tried to seize his arm, he gave a mighty heave and toss, and sent the
Chinaman's head flying through the air in the direction of the raft.
For a second it glistened in the moonlight. In another second it
descended towards the raft, and almost reached it; but not quite; it
came down within five feet of it, and fell like a shot plump into the
ocean. It splashed, and that was all. The Chinaman's head was gone.
A wail went up from the company on the raft at this terrible disaster.
How terrible it really was they did not even yet understand, but they
were soon to learn. Freddie was almost ready to burst into tears. Aunt
Amanda was so exasperated that she could scarcely speak. The others
seemed to be stupefied.
"Oh! oh! oh!" cried Aunt Amanda. "You Toby, you! Now you've done it for
good. Why, why, _why_ can't you never remember anything? It's your
fault, and don't you never try to lay it to that Cabin-boy! And now
what'll we do if we ever get separated from Mr. Mizzen? How'll we ever
call him up to help us out of trouble if we get into it? Here's a
pretty kettle of fish, now ain't it? I hope and pray we can stick close
to Mr. Mizzen until we're all safe and--"
"Look there!" cried Mr. Punch. "Bless me heyes, what do I see? Look at
the ship!"
It was high time to look at the ship. No sooner had the Chinaman's head
disappeared into the depths of the ocean, than a change began to come
over the ship. It grew paler and thinner in the moonlight. The green
shutters along the side faded away one by one. The dark hull became
lighter; the sails grew so thin that at last the watchers could see the
stars shining through them. The whole ship seemed to waver and dissolve
into a pale mist. It did not sink; no, the bow was still high out of the
water, and all the masts and sails were visible. It simply faded away
where it stood.
As it was becoming more and more vague, the voice of Marmaduke the
parrot came across the water out of the rigging; a far-away voice, which
grew fainter and fainter as the ship grew dimmer, until it died away as
if in the distance.
"Th-th-th-three ch-ch-cheers!" it said. "Th-th-th-three ch-ch-cheers for
l-l-l-l-liver and onions--th-th-three ch-ch-cheers--l-l-l-liver--and--"
As Marmaduke's voice died away, the ship dissolved like a pale ghost and
vanished. The Sieve was gone.
The party of adventurers sat on their mattress raft in the midst of the
wide ocean, with never a ship to be seen; the long sea-swell rolled
placidly over the place where their ship had been. They sat huddled
together in silence around the Churchwarden, too horrified to speak a
word.
The moon glistened on the Sly Old Codger's high silk hat.
CHAPTER XIV
THE CRUISE OF THE MATTRESSES
"I wish," said Aunt Amanda, "that I had brought some sewing with me. I
don't suppose I could sew very well by moonlight on a mattress in the
middle of the ocean, but I don't believe this would have happened if I'd
had my sewing with me."
"Hi carn't see 'ow that would 'ave--" began Mr. Punch.
"Now look here," said Toby. "We've got to sit in the middle of this here
raft, or else she'll tilt over. Why don't you sit in the middle,
Warden?"
"I _am_ sitting in the middle," said the Churchwarden. "I wonder what
the Vestry would say if they could--"
"I wish it distinctly understood," said the Sly Old Fox, "that I am here
under protest. If I had for one moment imagined--"
"Now listen to me," said Aunt Amanda. "There's got to be a captain of
this expedition, and as there's nobody here but a lot of helpless
men-creatures, I suppose I've got to be the captain myself. All those in
favor say aye. I'm elected. That's done. Warden, sit a little bit over
to the right."
"Ay, ay, sir; ay, ay, ma'am; certainly," said the Warden.
"Now everybody sit up close to the Warden," said Aunt Amanda. "There. Is
the raft balanced now?"
"Ay, ay, sir," said the Churchwarden. "I mean, ay, ay, ma'am."
"Then my orders as captain is, to sit still and see what's going to
happen."
Nothing happened. Freddie grew sleepy, and leaned his head against Aunt
Amanda's shoulder. As he was falling off to sleep, a slim dark object
rose from the sea near by and whirred across the ocean and plopped into
the water.
"Bless me heyes," said Mr. Punch, "hit's a flying-fish, as ever was."
"Is it, really?" said Freddie. "Did he really fly?"
"How wonderful is nature!" said the Sly Old Codger. "Such an opportunity
to improve the mind! My little friend, I trust you will profit by what
you have seen. It is very educational; very educational indeed."
"Ahem!" said the Old Codger with the Wooden Leg. "What do you
suppose--er--ahem!--if you will pardon me--what are those little things
sparkling out there on the surface of the water?"
"Hit's a school of sardines!" said Mr. Punch. "Hi know them wery well;
when I was a lad--"
"There must be millions of them," said Freddie. "Just look!"
The tiny fish were leaping by thousands on the surface of the water,
immediately in the path of moonlight; and they flashed and sparkled as
they leaped.
"Hi believe there's a great fish arfter them," said Mr. Punch.
"Maybe a whole regiment of big fish," said Toby. "By crackey, there's
one now!"
As he spoke, a black fin cut the water near the sardines, and they
became more agitated than ever; from the size of the fin, it must have
been a very great fish indeed; and along the upper edge of the fin was
a row of long sharp saw-teeth, looking big and strong enough to have
sawed through a wooden plank.
"There's another one!" cried Freddie.
"And another! and another!" cried Aunt Amanda.
There must have been five or six of the great fish.
"I hope they won't come near this boat," said Toby. "One of 'em would
just about turn us upside down if he struck us."
"Mercy!" said Aunt Amanda. "Don't say such a terrible thing."
At that moment a great round black back appeared above the surface of
the water, some hundred yards or so away, and in another moment a great
black blunt head joined itself to the back, and a spout of white vapor
rose from the head.
"A whale!" cried several voices at once.
"Oh!" said Aunt Amanda. "Suppose he should come this way?"
The five or six fins of the great fish near the sardines now
disappeared. The whale threw up his enormous tail, and went down head
first beneath the water. Almost immediately, one of the saw-toothed fins
reappeared, much nearer the raft than before.
"Merciful heavens!" cried Aunt Amanda. "He's coming towards us! Oh
dear!"
The great fish was in fact evidently making straight towards the raft.
Freddie clutched Aunt Amanda's arm. The fin cut the water at a high
speed; it disappeared at times, but on each reappearance it was still
pointed towards the raft.
"He's nearly on us!" cried Aunt Amanda. "Hold on tight, Freddie!"
The great fish came on with a rush, and as he reached the raft struck it
with his back and slid under it. There was a tremendous bump, which
nearly sent the company flat; then there was a rubbing under the raft,
and everything was quiet again.
"He's gone," said Toby.
"No, 'e isn't," said Mr. Punch. "Look at 'is tail!"
A great tail could be seen beyond the edge of the raft, just below the
surface of the water. It thrashed about and churned up the water
violently for a few seconds, and then waved back and forth quietly; but
it did not disappear.
"By crackey," said Toby, "he's stuck! His fin has got stuck into the
bottom of the raft! He's got the whole kit and bilin' of us on his
back!"
"Mercy on us!" said Aunt Amanda.
"Is it really true?" said Freddie.
"On due consideration," said the Churchwarden, "I think Toby's right."
"Hi believe 'e is!" said Mr. Punch. "Blimy if I ever rode on the back of
a fish before! Now 'e's got us on 'is back, what's 'e going to do with
us?"
"We're moving!" cried Freddie.
"So we are!" said Aunt Amanda.
"Blamed if we ain't," said Toby.
The mattress craft was in fact moving; very slowly, indeed, but still
moving; and it was moving in the opposite direction to the fish's tail,
which could be seen now and then under the water, waving back and forth
like the tail of a swimming fish.
"If this don't beat all," said Toby. "That fish down there has certainly
got his fin hooked into our mattress, and he's swimming along with us on
top of him. I've seen a snail crawlin' with his shell on top of him, but
a fish with a load of mattresses and live-stock is a new thing to me!"
"I'm the captain," said Aunt Amanda, "and my orders is to sit as still
as you can and see where he's taking us to."
"Ay, ay, sir," said the Churchwarden. "I mean, ay, ay, ma'am."
The party huddled on top of the mattresses sat as still as mice, hardly
daring to breathe. Their little craft continued to move gently through
the water. They expected each moment that the fish would free himself,
but evidently his fin had embedded itself so firmly in one of the bottom
mattresses that he could not get loose; he went on swimming with his
load on his back.
Hour after hour they waited to feel their craft stop; but hour after
hour it moved gently and slowly across the surface of the sea. They
settled themselves more comfortably against each other, and spoke very
little. No one noticed that their raft was now much lower in the water.
The air was warm, the moonlight and the silence were extremely soothing,
and the motion of the raft was gentle and languorous. Freddie's head
sank against Aunt Amanda's shoulder, and his eyes closed; and in another
moment he was asleep. Aunt Amanda herself nodded, and her eyes closed;
she was asleep too. Toby yawned, and leaned heavily against the Sly Old
Codger; his eyes closed, and--in short, every eye closed, and every
frame relaxed heavily against its neighbor, and at last, doubled over in
a closely huddled group in the exact center of their mattresses, the
whole party slept; each and every one.
The raft went on steadily and quietly through the water, the moon
glittered on the sea, the raft settled deeper and deeper, and there was
absolute silence on the ocean, except for a slight groan which came
regularly and gently from the nose of the Churchwarden.
CHAPTER XV
A FALL IN THE DARK
Freddie was the first to be awake in the morning. He was cramped and
stiff. He sat up straight, rubbed his eyes, and stretched his arms. He
looked abroad, and the sight which met him caused him to grasp Aunt
Amanda's hand in excitement.
"Land!" he cried, so loud that everyone awoke.
"Blamed if it ain't," said Toby, and put on his white derby hat,
considering that he had thereby dressed himself for the day.
All the others sat bolt upright, and stared across the smooth blue sea,
sparkling in the sunlight.
Not more than a quarter of a mile away rose a tall black cliff straight
up out of the water. It stretched away on either hand for miles and
miles, and came to an end in the ocean at the right hand and the left,
so that it was probably the side of an island. The sea rolled up and
down at the foot of the cliff, making a beautiful white splash against
the rocks.
"But how on earth," said Aunt Amanda, "are we ever to get ashore on such
a place as that?"
"We're moving towards it," said Freddie.
"Blamed if we ain't," said Toby. "We'll soon know whether we can get
ashore or not."
They moved very slowly, and it was a long time before they came close
enough to the cliff to see what their chances of a landing might be.
They floated at last within two or three hundred yards of the cliff. It
was very dangerous looking; the waves rolled over huge black rocks at
its foot and broke in white foam against its side; it seemed the last
place in the world for a landing.
A great swell rolled in from the sea and brought them nearer the
breakers.
"My word!" cried Mr. Punch, excitedly. "There's a harch!"
"A what?" said Toby.
"See!" said Aunt Amanda. "There's a little archway in the rock, like the
mouth of a cave, over there to the right! Don't you see? With the water
pouring in! Over there!"
It was true. There was an archway, like the mouth of a cave; and into
this the water was streaming in a strong current, making a kind of
passage-way, more or less smooth, through the breakers.
"Yes!" said Freddie. "And I believe we're headed towards it!"
Their course changed a little to the right, as if the fish who was
piloting them had now taken a correct bearing. They found themselves in
a passage through the breakers where the water swirled in towards the
arch. They were caught in this current and were swept to a point close
under the towering black rocks, and in another moment they were directly
before the opening. The current seized the raft as if with strong hands
and drew it in.
They were in a cavern, narrow and high, whose interior was lost in
darkness. The current carried them onward into the dark. The roar of the
breakers suddenly ceased, and as they looked behind them the archway was
no more than a speck of light. Their raft turned slightly to the left,
and at that moment the speck of light disappeared, as if they had
turned a corner; and the darkness became so black that no one could see
even the person sitting next to him.
"I wonder," said Toby, "if there are any matches and candles on board
this boat. I'm going to see."
He was silent for a while, and it was evident from the tilting of the
raft that he had moved his position. Finally he said "Ah!" and a match
spluttered and went out in the breeze which was blowing past them; but
after it went out there remained a glimmer, and Toby was holding up a
lighted candle, and shielding it from the draught with his hand.
"Found 'em in the tin with the biscuits," said Toby.
He held the candle on high so that its little beam searched out the
darkness in front and on both sides.
They were in a narrow passage-way. On each side was a wall of solid
rock, not ten feet beyond the edge of the raft. How high the wall was
they could not tell, for it was lost in the darkness overhead. They were
slipping along a narrow alley-way of water. Toby held the candle higher,
and everyone peered into the darkness ahead; but it was impossible to
see more than a few yards.
"I wish it distinctly understood," said the Sly Old Codger, "that I am
here under--"
"Never mind," said Aunt Amanda, "my orders as captain is, to say nothing
and wait and see what will happen."
The raft turned a corner to the right, and slipped on silently in that
direction for a long distance, probably for more than a mile. Then the
raft turned again, this time to the left; and after about ten minutes
longer Toby suddenly said, "S-sh! What's that?" They all listened, and
heard afar off a sound as of rushing water, very faint, but
unmistakable.
"Er--excuse me," said the Old Codger with the Wooden Leg. "Do you
think--ahem!--there is any--er--_danger_?"
"I don't like it," said Aunt Amanda. "I don't think it's safe in here."
"I think we are lower in the water," said Freddie.
"So we are," said Toby. "The water's coming up over the top now, and if
we don't get on dry land soon, we'll all be sitting in a puddle."
In spite of its being water-logged and lower in the water, the raft was
beginning to go faster, for the current had suddenly become swifter. The
wind blew stronger; it swept through the narrow passage-way so briskly
that Toby put his hat over the candle; but he was too late; the light
wavered and went out. A groan went up from the company.
"I can hear that rushing sound plainer," said Aunt Amanda.
"Hit's wery like a water-fall," said Mr. Punch.
"I wish it understood," said the Sly Old Fox, "distinctly understood,
that I am here under protest. If I had ever for one moment imagined--"
"O-o-oh!" screamed Aunt Amanda. "We're going--faster--o-o-oh!"
She threw her arm around Freddie and held him tight. The current
suddenly became swifter; the raft, almost under water, was leaping
forward at a frightful speed. Directly ahead of them, growing louder and
louder, was the roar of rushing water.
"Hold--on--tight, Freddie!" cried Aunt Amanda.
"We'll all be done for," shouted Toby, "in another--minute, I
reckon,--hold--on--tight!"
As Toby said this, the raft almost galloped. The roar of falling water
burst on them from close ahead. The raft seemed to rise up and then to
sink down. Its nose slanted downward. The roar of falling water was all
about them. Aunt Amanda screamed, but no one could hear her. The raft
paused and teetered for an instant; then it pointed downward, almost
straight, and the whole party, the raft, and the fish under the raft,
plunged downward through the darkness on a cascade of tumbling water;
down, down, down; the raft shot from under and the passengers shot off;
in a twinkling they were going down the water-fall on their backs. Would
they never reach the bottom? There did not seem to be any bottom; but--
In another moment, there were Aunt Amanda and Freddie (her arm still
about him) standing on their feet in about twenty-four inches of quiet
water on a solid bottom. Dark forms appeared, one after another, beside
them, and almost at once all the party were standing together in a
group, in about two feet of quiet water, on a solid bottom.
"I fear," said the voice of the Sly Old Codger, "that I have lost my
hat."
They could see that they were in a great chamber, whose walls they could
make out dimly on each side. They could not see the top of the
water-fall, but they could see its lower part very plainly. Through the
tumbling water of the fall, near the bottom, sunlight was shining.
Behind the water was an opening some six feet high, and as the water
fell across this opening the sunlight from without shone through it,
making it glow with green and sparkle with white. The water-fall hung
over this opening like a curtain.
"Well," said Aunt Amanda, "I'm pretty near drowned, and my clothes are a
sight to behold. But I'm the captain of this expedition, and my orders
is, that we go ashore."
The water proved to be shallow all about them, and they waded to a strip
of dry ground beside the wall which rose at their left as they faced the
fall. Aunt Amanda, whose cane was gone, was assisted by Mr. Toby and
Mr. Punch.
"Blamed if my hat ain't gone too," said Toby. "She was a good hat, I'll
have to say that for her."
The party walked along the edge of the water, and came to the end wall
of the chamber, opposite the fall. There lay the wreck of the raft, with
the tail of the great fish sticking out from beneath.
"I fear," said the Sly Old Codger, "that the faithful creature has
departed this life."
"He's dead as a doornail," said Toby.
"Poor thing," said Aunt Amanda. "Anyway, my orders is to explore this
cavern, and see what we can find."
At this end of the cavern the water was slipping away under the wall,
and this outlet explained why the water inside remained so shallow. The
party commented on it, and then walked along the side wall towards the
other end where the fall was. When they were midway along this wall, a
cry from Toby, who had left Aunt Amanda to the care of Mr. Punch,
startled the others.
"What's this?" he cried. "Look here!"
He was stooping over something, and as the others gathered round, they
saw that he was stooping over a pile of small square boxes, standing in
several long rows along the wall.
Mr. Hanlon lifted one of the boxes, with a great effort, and shook it. A
jingling sound came from within.
"Aha!" said the Sly Old Fox. "That beautiful music! It is the sound,
dear friends, the sound of--of Money!"
"Bless my soul!" cried Aunt Amanda. "Is it?"
"My opinion is," said the Churchwarden, "that there is gold in that
box."
"Then open it!" said Aunt Amanda.
Mr. Hanlon shook his head. The box was locked tight, and it was bound
with iron bands. All the boxes were locked, and they were all bound with
iron bands.
"Come along this way," said Toby. "There's something more here."
Further along the wall, leaning against it, was a row of large
coffee-sacks, each bound around the mouth by strong twine. One of these
sacks Mr. Hanlon quickly opened. He tilted it over and poured out its
contents on the ground. The party of onlookers gasped with astonishment.
From the mouth of the bag fell pearl necklaces; diamond rings; ruby
rings; emerald rings; all kinds of rings; gold bracelets and chains;
silver forks and spoons; gold toothpicks; gold cups; silver vases; and a
great variety of other things of the same sort.
It was a moment or two before anyone spoke. Then the Churchwarden said,
"It's my opinion that this is pirates' treasure."
"Mercy on us!" said Aunt Amanda. "And they may be in here on us any
minute!"
Mr. Hanlon opened others of the bags. Each was filled with rare and
costly articles of gold, silver, and precious stones.
"Do you think it's really pirates?" said Freddie, in an awed whisper.
"Not a doubt of it!" said Toby, in a voice much lower than before. "Look
at this!"
He pointed to a placard on the wall above the sacks. The light was
almost too dim for reading, but the writing on the placard was very
large, and Toby, by standing on one of the bags, was able to make it
out. He read it aloud.
"Beware! Hands Off! Whoever Shall Touch
it He Shall Die by the Hand of Lingo!
With a Knife in the Throat! Long Live
King James and the Jolly Roger!"
"There a skull and cross-bones under it," said Toby. "Pirates, as sure
as you're born."
"We'd better be getting away from here," said Aunt Amanda.
"Better not speak so loud," said Toby. "How are we to----?"
"S-sh!" said the Old Codger with the Wooden Leg, in a frightened
whisper. "Excuse me--look--I saw something under the water-fall. What's
that?"
"Stand close back against the wall," whispered Toby, "and don't speak a
word."
They crowded back against the wall, alongside of the treasure, and
looked towards the water-fall.
A dark object was rising from the shallow water at the foot of the fall.
As they watched, another dark object appeared to come through from under
the fall and apparently from behind it; and this object rose also from
the shallow water near the foot of the fall, and took its place beside
the other. One after another, five more of these dark objects came from
under the fall and apparently from behind it, and stood upright in the
shallow water.
There were now seven in all. They moved in a group towards the shore.
Each of them had two legs, and each was muffled from top to toe in a
single loose garment with baggy legs; they walked somewhat like a
company of bears. They stood on the dry ground, and one of them
proceeded to take off the loose garment with which he was muffled, while
the others assisted him with evident deference.
First came off a close hood which covered his head, cheeks, and neck. As
the watchers by the wall saw his head, they held their breath in
terror, and Aunt Amanda clutched Freddie's arm. Around the head was a
tight-fitting kerchief, knotted behind; in his ears were great round
ear-rings; and gripped between his teeth was a long pointed knife.
Aunt Amanda gave a sign as if she was about to scream, but Toby quickly
put his hand over her mouth.
As the man with the ear-rings got himself out of the legs of his loose
garment, the party by the wall saw that he was a short and burly man, of
a ferocious aspect. In a sash which he wore was stuck on one side a
cutlass, and on the other a long pistol. He wore no coat, and his shirt
was open at the throat. His arms showed from the elbows down, and they
were thick with muscles. His trousers were knee breeches, buckled just
below the knee, and he was very bow-legged; his calves were big and
knotted.
When his outer covering had been removed, it was plain that he was
perfectly dry from head to foot, except for water on his face and hands;
and while the others were taking off their coverings, he withdrew with
one hand the knife from between his teeth, and with the other hand wiped
the water from his eyes and face. He then stuck the knife in his sash,
waved his hands somewhat daintily in the air as if to dry them, took
from his breeches pocket a large white handkerchief, completed with this
handkerchief the drying of his face and hands, examined his finger-nails
carefully, blew on them, and proceeded to polish them delicately with
his pocket-handkerchief, at the same time swearing two dreadful oaths,
in a low tone of voice, at the six men who were struggling with their
coverings. When these had been removed, the six appeared in much the
same style of dress as the first, and each bore a cutlass and a pistol;
but their clothing was much ruder than his, and they had no ear-rings;
instead of sashes they wore leather belts.
"Kerchoo!" rang out a sneeze as sharp as a pistol-shot, from the party
by the wall.
"Dear me," said the Sly Old Codger, out loud, "I do believe I'm catching
cold."
At the sudden discharge of the sneeze, the seven men jumped as if they
had in fact been shot. Each one snatched out his cutlass with his right
hand and his pistol with his left, and faced in the direction of the
sneeze.
"Confound your cold," whispered Toby fiercely to the Sly Old Codger,
"now we're done for."
The seven men with their cutlasses and pistols, with the ear-ringed man
in the lead, tiptoed stealthily in the direction of the sneeze.
As they came closer to the party who were crouched against the wall,
Aunt Amanda slipped down quietly to the ground at Toby's feet. The
captain of the expedition had fainted.
CHAPTER XVI
CAPTAIN LINGO AND A FINE PIECE OF HEAD-WORK
The man with the ear-rings muttered something in a fierce undertone to
his six followers. They spread out behind him in a wide line. With a
stealthy step they came forward noiselessly. The party by the wall held
their breath in terror. Nearer and nearer came the seven men, still in
perfect silence. They reached the cowering company by the wall, leveled
their pistols at their breasts, held up their cutlasses ready to strike,
and looked at their leader for the command to kill.
At this moment the man with the ear-rings observed the form of Aunt
Amanda on the ground. He stooped down and examined her, and stood up
again. Then he eyed the company of travellers with a hard cold eye, and
spoke deliberately and in a low voice. His manner of speech was somewhat
stilted and precise, and scarcely what might have been expected of a
pirate.
"The ceremony," said he, "will be deferred for the moment. I commend you
meanwhile to perfect quietness; one movement, and the consequences may
be fatal. A hint is sufficient. I perceive here a lady in distress. 'Tis
a monstrous pity, indeed. I regret that we were unaware of the presence
of a lady; had we known, we should certainly have taken our measures
more fittingly. I crave your pardon. No one has yet accused Captain
Lingo of rudeness to a lady. Ketch, put up thy cutlass and go
straightway to the pool and wet this pocket-handkerchief. Be brisk, thou
muddle-pated son of a sea-cook! Haste!"
The man called Ketch jumped as though he had been stung, and took from
Captain Lingo's hand a fine white cambric handkerchief which the captain
had produced from his breeches pocket, and running to the water
moistened it and returned in great haste.
While this was going on, the poor captives were able to examine their
chief captor more carefully. They remarked with surprise the fine
quality of the handkerchief which he had handed to his man, and they
were even more surprised to note the whiteness and fineness of the linen
of his shirt. His breeches were of blue velvet, and his sash and the
kerchief which bound his head were of crimson silk. On the fingers of
each hand he wore three or four diamond rings, which sparkled
brilliantly in the half-darkness. His stockings were plainly of silk,
and the buckles at his knees and on his shoes were of polished silver,
outlined in diamonds. His face was hard and cruel, but its
unpleasantness may have been due to a long scar which crossed his mouth
from his right cheek to his chin. When he smiled, as he did in referring
to the lady in distress, the scar gave to his face a singularly evil
expression.
Taking the wet handkerchief from Ketch's hand, he knelt beside Aunt
Amanda and bathed her face and wrists, slapping her cheeks and temples
smartly now and then with the handkerchief, and changing her position so
that her head lay lower than her body. After he had worked over her with
much care for a few moments, Aunt Amanda opened her eyes. She was
staring at the frightful crooked smile of a strange man with rings in
his ears and a kerchief on his head. She started up, bewildered.
"Where's Toby? Where am I? Who are you?"
"Captain Lingo, ma'am," said the strange man, "at your service."
"Let me up," said Aunt Amanda. She struggled to her feet, rejecting the
assistance offered by the ear-ring'd man, and stood facing him, her
bedraggled bonnet very much over her right ear. "Who are you?" she said
again.
"Your humble servant, ma'am," said the strange man, smiling his crooked
smile. "Captain Lingo, by name. A gentleman adventurer of the high seas.
Owner of the treasure which you have discovered here in our little
retreat. Known here on the Spanish Main as the Scourge of Ships, and
loyal servant of his blessed Majesty King James, whom the saints defend.
Your obedient humble servant to command." He made the lady a very
courtly bow.
Toby whispered into Freddie's ear. "He can't be so terrible bad, not
with all that polite way of talking. Don't be afraid. We'll be all right
with this pirate. Who on earth is King James?"
Aunt Amanda was also much relieved by the pirate's polite address.
"As long as you are my obedient servant," said she, "I'll thank you to
help us to get out of here as soon as possible. We didn't want to come
in the first place, and we are in a hurry to get out."
Captain Lingo laughed heartily. "They are in a hurry to get out, lads,"
he said to his companions; and at this they all laughed uproariously.
"I don't see anything to laugh at," said Aunt Amanda. "If we don't get
out of here soon, we'll catch our death of cold."
This made Captain Lingo laugh more heartily than before. "Ha! ha! ha!
Their death of cold! That would be a rare fine thing, but a bit too
slow, lads, eh?" And the other six laughed again, so that the walls of
the chamber echoed with their mirth.
"What do you mean by too slow?" said Aunt Amanda.
"Madam," said Captain Lingo, "we are a little pressed for time. We
really could not wait for you to die of colds."
"What?" said Aunt Amanda faintly, her feeling of confidence beginning to
ooze away. "Do you mean to say----?"
"Madam," said the pirate, seriously, "I will put it to you plainly.
Our treasure, which you have discovered, has taken a great deal of
hard work to accumulate. We really couldn't bear to lose it. The
people of this island, and a great many other people besides, have
been trying for many years to find it. You have not only found it,
but you have even gone so far as to open certain of our bags, in
spite of the warning posted above your heads. Now picture to
yourselves, dear madam and gentlemen, what consequences would
certainly ensue if you were to leave--here--ahem!--alive."
"Oh!" gasped Aunt Amanda. "Leave--here--alive!"
"All the fruits of our industry would be lost, and our own safety would
be imperilled. You will readily see that, of course. 'Tis a pity so many
will have to die at once, for it will mess up the place very badly, and
I always endeavor to be neat. But why, _why_ did so many of you come at
once? Couldn't you have come, say two at a time? It would have made so
much less trouble."
"Ho!" said Mr. Punch. "Hif we 'ad only stopped at 'ome, hall of us!"
"However, I do not wish you to feel too keenly the trouble you are
putting us to; my brave lads will cheerfully put up with the
inconvenience, though I must confess the amount of blood will be quite
unusual, and so many bodies will be troublesome to bury. I wish it were
possible to have you walk the plank. However, pray do not bother too
much on our account."
"We weren't thinking about you at all," said Toby. "We were thinking
about ourselves."
"Oh," said Captain Lingo, in a tone of disappointment. "I beg your
pardon; I misunderstood. At any rate, we will now prepare for our little
ceremony. If there are any trifling articles of jewelry and the like, I
will be pleased to----"
"But this boy!" cried Toby. "And this lady! You don't mean to--you can't
mean----"
"Not for worlds," said Captain Lingo, "would I be rude to a lady. I
trust you will find my conduct towards the lady beyond reproach. There
shall be no rudeness of any kind. Merely a quick stroke, and all will be
over. No violence, no roughness of any kind; not a word to offend the
most sensitive ears. A single stroke, and the affair is done. And let me
tell you, I have here with me a Practitioner who is very expert in this
sort of business: our friend Ketch, in fact, who was so kind as to wet
the handkerchief for the lady. I assure you that you are in great luck
to fall into the hands of such a Practitioner; he will make it as
pleasant for you as possible; one stroke only, I promise you. With one
stroke of a cutlass, he is able to slice off a head as neatly as you
could do it with a broadaxe; there are very few who can do it with a
cutlass, let me tell you that. Many men have become famous by being
operated on by Ketch. I remember a case--However," he said, looking
about him as if considering something, and speaking rather to himself
than to the others, "it would be difficult to bury the bodies here, and
the light is not very good. I think, yes, I think it had better be done
outside. You are already wet, and I trust that another immersion will
not inconvenience you too much. Lads," he said to his six men, "put on
the rubber suits, and help our friends under the fall. Look alive, now."
The six men immediately ran to their rubber suits and began to put them
on. While they were doing this, Toby put one arm about Freddie and the
other about Aunt Amanda. She lowered her head to his shoulder for a
moment, but she soon raised it, and standing very erect she said, "Very
well, if it must be, it must. It's easy to see that this bloodthirsty
villain means every word he says; but I ain't going to whimper; I'm the
captain, and I order that everybody keep up his courage, and wait and
see what will happen."
"Ay, ay, ma'am," said the Churchwarden.
"Do you know," whispered the Old Codger with the Wooden Leg, "I believe
that we are in a good deal of--er--danger."
Freddie put his hand in Toby's, and held it tight. "You keep close to me
if you can," said Toby, squeezing his hand. "We may be rescued at the
last minute; you never can tell. Don't lose your nerve."
Freddie was trembling with fear, and the hand which held Toby's was as
cold as ice; but he said nothing; the others were being brave, and he
resolved that he would be as brave as the rest, up to the very last. He
began to think of his mother and his father, and to wonder what would
become of them if he should be--but he forced himself not to think of
that; he pressed his lips tight together, and commanded himself to be
brave.
The six pirates returned, clad in their baggy rubber suits, and looking
very much like bears walking on their hind legs. They brought with them
Captain Lingo's suit, and helped him to get into it. When he was encased
like the others, with only his hands and face showing, he said:
"Now, madam, I will assist you to the fall."
"We'll attend to that," put in Toby, quickly. "Come on, Mr. Punch."
Aunt Amanda's cane having been lost, she found more difficulty in
walking than formerly, but Toby and Mr. Punch supported her to such
good effect that she kept up with the others very well on their march
into the water towards the fall. All, except the pirates, shivered as
the cold water came again around their knees, and they looked with fear
upon the tumbling cataract which they were required to go under. There
was no help for it, however; the seven pirates surrounded them and
persuaded them to go on. They stood in a forlorn group in the quiet
water near the foot of the fall.
"Now, madam," said Captain Lingo, "I will help you under."
Toby and Mr. Punch, feeling that the pirate knew the way better than
they did, resigned Aunt Amanda to his care, not without some fear that
the villain might deliberately drown her on the way through. He made her
kneel in the water, and then lie flat; and with a strong arm he pulled
her under the water-fall and out of sight.
"You're next," said a deep voice to Freddie, and Ketch the Practitioner
seized him and plunged with him under the water; and in an instant they
had disappeared beyond the fall.
One after another the miserable, shivering victims were assisted by the
pirates under the water, and one by one disappeared. The Old Codger with
the Wooden Leg was the last, and one of the pirates returned for him.
When he had followed the others, the great half-dark chamber remained as
it had been before, in its empty solitude and gloom, without an ear to
hear the steady rush of water pouring incessantly down its fall.
On the outer side of that rushing fall was a scene very different
indeed. The pirates and their captives stood under a blazing sun,
looking across a wide and beautiful landscape. Behind them, in the side
of a high hill overgrown with bushes, was the hole by which they had
come forth, and across the inside of this hole was the curtain of
falling water. Freddie wondered how anyone had ever had the courage to
plunge for the first time through that curtain into the unknown dark.
The heat of the sun was very grateful, and the clothing of the soaked
travellers began to dry perceptibly at once. The pirates took off their
rubber suits.
Beneath the observers the ground sloped down into a broad valley,
chequered with grass meadows and dotted with trees. To their left, as
they gazed out across the landscape, the ground rose from the valley by
easy stages to a great height, no doubt forming the landward side of the
black cliff which bordered the ocean.
To the right, the country rolled gently away from the valley in a vast
unbroken forest, a shimmering green ocean of tree-tops as far as the eye
could see. Far, far off where the forest rose in a kind of mound,
Freddie thought he could see what looked like the top of a round tower,
just emerging above the haze of trees.
The pirates and their captives were standing on a little grassy plateau,
on which were great boulders here and there, and a few wide leafy trees.
Two or three fallen logs were lying near the edge of the plateau, where
it began to slope downward.
Captain Lingo stepped out of his rubber suit, spread out his fine white
handkerchief on a boulder to dry, and twiddled his moist fingers
daintily in the air, after which he blew on his finger-nails and
polished them on his shirt-sleeves.
"We are now ready," said he, "for the ceremony. Ketch, thy cutlass."
Ketch drew his cutlass from his belt and handed it to the captain. It
glittered wickedly in the sunlight. The captain ran his thumb along its
edge, and nodded his head with satisfaction.
"It will do," said he. "One stroke for each will be quite sufficient.
We will now proceed with the ceremony."
He restored the cutlass to the Practitioner, who raised it high and gave
a swinging slash downward with it, as if to test his eye and arm. The
Practitioner then rolled his right shirt-sleeve up to his shoulder; he
was the largest man in the party, and his arm was the arm of a
blacksmith.
"Stop!" cried Mr. Punch. "One moment! Captain Lingo! You are a
Henglishman, aren't you?"
"I am an Englishman," said the Captain, swelling out his chest. "Long
live King James!"
"Hi am a Henglishman also," said Mr. Punch, swelling out _his_ chest.
"You carn't murder a fellow-countryman in cold blood, now can you? Hi
s'y, you couldn't do that, you know. We're both subjects of her gracious
Majesty, we are. Long live Queen Victoria!"
"Who?" said Captain Lingo.
"Queen Victoria!" cried Mr. Punch. "She'd never, never forgive you
hif----"
"Never heard of her," said Captain Lingo calmly. "I'm a loyal subject of
his Catholic Majesty King James the Second,--may all the saints defend
him!"
"King James the Second!" cried Mr. Punch. "Why, 'e's been dead these two
'undred year, nearly! 'E's as dead as Christopher Columbus!"
Captain Lingo started violently, and his face became dark with anger.
"Dead? King James dead? Do you mark that, lads? He calls his blessed
Majesty dead! Aha! thou renegade Englishman, thou hast imagined the
death of the king! A felony, by St. George! And the punishment is death!
What, thou reprobate, dost thou not know 'tis a felony, punishable by
death, to imagine the death of the King?"
"But 'e _is_ dead. One carn't live two 'undred years, you know."
"You hear!" said Captain Lingo, his voice quivering with rage. "He
imagines the death of the King! Any judge in the kingdom would sentence
him to die for that! 'Tis the law! But enough talk. Captain Lingo is not
the man to stand by and see the law defied! For that, my pretty
Englishman, thou shalt die the death twice over. There shall be violence
in thy case. Thou shalt wish thou hadst never been born. Thou shalt be
kept for the last. Ay, ay; there shall be fine sport at his taking off,
eh, lads? Enough! Proceed with the ceremony. To imagine the death of the
King! Ketch, art thou ready?"
"Ay, ay, Captain," said the Practitioner.
The captain cast his angry eye over the terrified group shivering in
their damp garments. "One of you must be first. Who shall be first? Let
me see." Each person quailed as the pirate's eye rested on him. "One
moment. We will decide it by chance."
He plucked seven sprigs of grass, and broke them into varying lengths.
He then held them in his hand so that only the even ends showed. "Now
choose," said he. "The longest blade shall be first."
Each drew a blade of grass, except Mr. Punch, who had already been
reserved for the last. "Thou shalt be quartered alive," said the captain
to him. "To dare imagine the death of the King!"
Freddie trembled as he drew his sprig of grass; but he did not draw the
longest; the longest blade fell to Mr. Hanlon, and the next to Freddie.
Mr. Toby was third, the Churchwarden fourth, the Sly Old Codger fifth,
Aunt Amanda sixth, and the Old Codger with the Wooden Leg seventh.
"We will use that fallen log," said the captain, and led the way towards
it. He was now very stern; all his politeness had been dissipated by
the offense of Mr. Punch.
"Toby," said Aunt Amanda, as they were moving towards the place of the
ceremony, "I hope you will excuse me for all the cross words I have ever
spoken to you."
"Oh, nonsense, Aunt Amanda," said Toby, sniffling a little, "I've been a
trial enough, I know it. What will become of the shop?"
"Poor Freddie!" said Aunt Amanda. "It just breaks my heart to see him so
brave. He's so young to have to--to--And his poor mother! Oh dear, oh
dear!"
"Now then," said Captain Lingo, "you may sit down on the grass until
your turns come."
Toby helped Aunt Amanda to sit down. Freddie sat beside her and pressed
his white face against her shoulder. The others grouped themselves on
the grass about them; all except Mr. Hanlon, who, knowing that his time
had come, stepped forward and stood before Ketch the Practitioner, who
was feeling the edge of his cutlass.
One of the pirates produced from his pocket some strong twine, and bound
Mr. Hanlon's arms behind him. On a sign from Captain Lingo, this man led
Mr. Hanlon to the fallen log, and made him kneel beside it and rest his
head face down upon it, so that there was a good view from above of the
back of his neck.
The dreadful moment had arrived.
Ketch the Practitioner took his place by Mr. Hanlon's side, planted his
feet firmly, wide apart, tucked in his right shirt-sleeve at the
shoulder, and raised his gleaming cutlass high above his head.
A scream from Aunt Amanda made him hesitate for an instant, but only for
an instant; as Aunt Amanda and Freddie closed their eyes and buried
their faces in their hands, the cutlass flashed twice around the head
of Ketch and came down with a swift and horrible slash straight upon the
back of Mr. Hanlon's neck.
A single stroke was enough; Mr. Hanlon's head rolled off upon the
ground.
"Well done, Ketch," said Captain Lingo, quietly. "I doubt if there's
another hand on the Spanish Main could have done it."
Ketch blushed with honest pride at these gracious words. He swung his
bloody cutlass in embarrassment. All the pirates turned towards the pale
group on the grass, and Captain Lingo said, "Next!"
Freddie stood up. His knees began to tremble under him, and his heart
was beating so fast that he could hardly breathe. Aunt Amanda flung her
arms about him as he stood beside her, and cried "No, no, no!" in a
voice of anguish.
All eyes were on the Little Boy, as he stood awaiting his dreadful fate,
with Aunt Amanda's arms about him. His time had come. His friends were
waiting to see if he would be brave, and though his face was white his
courage did not fail him. He looked at them in farewell, and each one
gave him a tearful gaze in return.
He turned his eyes towards the warm and friendly landscape, for a last
look at the world he was about to leave. It would be hard to go, and he
would need all his strength to bear the--A loud cry from Freddie
startled all the others. "Look!" he cried, and pointed a shaking finger.
They looked, and what they saw was Mr. Hanlon.
By the log on which his head had been cut off, Mr. Hanlon was standing,
his hands behind his back, and his head in its proper place on his
shoulders. He was smiling and bowing, and as the astonished spectators
gazed at him with their mouths open, he sprang lightly into the air and
clicked his heels together as he came down.
[Illustration: Mr. Hanlon was standing by the log on which his head had
been cut off.]
"Ha! ha! ha!" laughed Toby in spite of himself. "Freddie, we've seen
that little act before, haven't we?"
Freddie nodded. He remembered very well the first time he had seen Mr.
Hanlon's head cut off, at the Gaunt Street Theatre at home; he wondered
that he had not thought of it before.
Captain Lingo was plainly very angry. His face turned a purple hue, and
the scar across his mouth showed very white. He fingered his knife
dangerously, and at the same time glared at Ketch, who was scratching
his head in bewilderment. The captain did not raise his voice, but he
spoke with deadly earnestness.
"A fine workman thou, friend Ketch," said he. "Truly a pretty hand with
a cutlass, thou son of a sea-cook. I've a mind to let a little of thy
blood with this knife, thou scurvy knave. But I will give thee one more
chance. If thou fail again, by St. George thou shalt die the death. Once
more, now! And remember!"
It was Ketch's turn now to tremble. He knew very well that Captain Lingo
would do as he had said, if he should fail a second time. His own life
hung on a thread now.
"Ay, ay, Captain," he said huskily, and led Mr. Hanlon back to the
fallen log and made him kneel as before.
As Mr. Hanlon's head lay across the log, he turned it round towards his
friends, and gave them a long slow wink.
Ketch's cutlass flashed as before. Round his head it swung twice, and
down it came with a slashing stroke straight and true on the back of Mr.
Hanlon's neck. Off rolled Mr. Hanlon's head upon the ground.
Everyone watched breathlessly; and Ketch did not breathe at all.
For a second Mr. Hanlon's body continued to kneel headless beside the
log. Then the head on the ground popped like a flash to the neck it
belonged to, and fastened itself accurately there in place. Ketch turned
ghastly pale.
Mr. Hanlon sprang up, opened his mouth wide in a soundless laugh, bowed
to Captain Lingo, jumped lightly into the air, and clicked his heels
together three times as he came down.
Captain Lingo's face was a terrible sight to see. He gazed steadily at
Ketch. The unfortunate Practitioner was shaking like a leaf. Captain
Lingo slowly drew his knife, and held it behind him in his right hand.
With the other hand he pointed to the ground before him.
"Hither, dog," he said, in a quiet, even voice.
Ketch hesitated, gave a wild look about him, and advanced slowly towards
his captain. When he reached him, he fell on his knees and held up his
shaking hands.
"No! no! no! captain," he cried. "Don't do it! Oh, please don't do it! I
done my duty always, and I ain't never failed before! Remember my poor
old mother, captain! Give me one chance, captain, just one! Don't kill
me! Captain! Captain!"
The expression on Lingo's face did not change; but the glitter in his
eye became even more murderous than before. He said not a word, but with
his left hand snatched off the kerchief which bound Ketch's head, and
seized him by the hair; and with his other hand he brought the knife
swiftly around in front and lowered it to plunge it into Ketch's heart.
At that moment Aunt Amanda, forgetting her lameness, struggled to her
feet, hobbled to the kneeling man, and throwing her body between him
and the knife, shrieked at Captain Lingo.
"Stop! stop! you bloodthirsty villain! Ain't you got no shame? What are
you going to murder him for? Ain't he done the best he could? You're a
big bully, that's all you are! You ain't a man at all, you're a monster!
Put up that knife, and take your hand out of his hair! Ain't you ashamed
of yourself?"
Captain Lingo was taken completely by surprise. His eyes opened wide and
his jaw dropped; he was so astonished that he took his hand from Ketch's
hair and put up his knife.
"That's the idea," said Aunt Amanda. "You're more of a man than I
thought. Mr. Ketch, you had better get up."
"Madam," said Captain Lingo, making her a bow, "'tis a bold action and
generous. I trust I am able to respond to it in kind. My duty to you,
ma'am; your obedient humble servant. Ketch, thou white-livered dog, get
up, and thank this lady for thy life."
Ketch, still pale and trembling, stood up, and seizing one of Aunt
Amanda's hands in both of his, made a low bow over it and kissed it
fervently. By the look in his eyes it was plain to see that he was from
that moment her devoted slave.
"Madam and gentlemen," said Captain Lingo, "I am sorry to inform you
that the ceremony is over, until I can obtain another Practitioner to
take the place of Ketch. I blush with shame when I think how I boasted
of his skill. I hope you will not think I meant to deceive you. I assure
you I am more disappointed than you can possibly be. I am provoked and
disgusted and irritated; I am annoyed; I can't deny it. There is nothing
to do but to retire to our home in High Dudgeon."
"What's that?" said Aunt Amanda. "Is it a place, or is it just the way
you feel?"
"Ask me no more," said Captain Lingo, turning away. "I must confer with
my lads about our next step."
"Are you going to take us with you?" asked Aunt Amanda.
"We shall certainly give ourselves that pleasure, madam," said the
captain, rather stiffly. "Lads, come with me."
On a sign from the captain, one of the pirates cut the twine which bound
Mr. Hanlon's hands, and the restored one joined his friends on the
grass. The seven pirates moved away to a spot some score of yards apart,
where they all sat down on the ground and engaged at once in animated
talk.
"I conclude," said the Churchwarden, "though I don't know as I'm right
about it, and other people may have a different opinion, that we're a
good deal better off--"
"What I say is," said Toby, clapping Freddie on the shoulder, "what I
say is, three cheers for Mr. Hanlon!"
"Yes!" said Freddie. "That's just what I said that day after the
theatre!"
"I wonder," said the Old Codger with the Wooden Leg, "I wonder
if--er--ahem!--if Captain Lingo has--er--such a thing as a pinch of
snuff about him."
CHAPTER XVII
HIGH DUDGEON AND LOW DUDGEON
The pirate captain and his men rose from the ground, and Captain Lingo,
in his politest manner, requested his captives to follow him. The entire
party moved down the slope into the valley, and after a walk of some
quarter of a mile entered a grove of trees. In this grove were tethered
ten handsome mules, of which seven were saddled and three were laden
with packs.
One of the pack-mules was quickly unladen, a fire was built, and in ten
minutes the hungry guests and their hosts were making a very good
breakfast of bacon, fried by Mr. Leatherbread, as the captain called
him, one of the pirates to whom the business of the frying-pan was left
by general consent. When the bacon had been washed down with clear cold
water from a spring near by, and the mule had been packed again, Freddie
and Aunt Amanda were assisted into the saddles of the two smallest
mules, and the captain mounted into the saddle of the largest.
"Now look here, Captain Lingo," said Aunt Amanda, "I want to know where
we are going and all about it. The idea of me sitting here a-straddle of
a mule! And this bonnet simply ruined, and my dress just about fit to go
to the rag-bone man, and my hair--Look here, Captain Lingo, I ain't
going a step on this mule until you tell me what--"
"Pardon me, my dear lady," said the captain, "but I must ask you to put
up with my little whims a short while longer. I beg the pleasure of your
society upon a little journey; nothing more. I assure you the country
is very interesting. May I not promise myself the bliss of your
approval?" He turned to the six pirates with a scowl. "Mount the rest of
them, scoundrels!"
Four of the captives were mounted by the pirates on the remaining mules,
and the procession moved out of the grove into the open valley.
Freddie had never ridden a mule before, and he was delighted. When they
entered, as they soon did, the great forest which they had seen from the
plateau, Freddie was more than ever delighted. After the blazing sun of
the open country, the shade of the forest was delicious. The trees were
huge, and while the trunks were far apart, their branches made a leafy
roof overhead which was almost unbroken. Flowering plants grew
everywhere; vines climbed the trees; little streams murmured here and
there; and the only sound which disturbed the repose of the forest was
the occasional screech of a parrot and the occasional chatter of
monkeys. The first time Freddie heard the sudden scream of a parrot in
the stillness he was thoroughly alarmed, but when he learned what it
was, and saw the flash of the bird's plumage between the trees, he
forgot all about his danger, and for the rest of the day he gave himself
up to the pleasure of watching for parrots and monkeys among the
branches.
The Sly Old Codger turned in his saddle and said to Toby, who was riding
behind, with Mr. Punch walking between:
"A work of nature, my dear friend, a real work of nature. _So_
beautiful! Parrots and monkeys flitting about overhead, the primeval
forest stretching its bosky arms above us in all directions--_so_ bosky!
What one might call a real work of nature; so very, very bosky."
"Right you are," said Toby. "It puts our Druid Hill Park in the shade,
that's a fact; makes it take a back seat and play second fiddle, as sure
as you're born."
"Hi beg your pardon," said Mr. Punch. "'Ow can a park sit down and play
a fiddle?"
All day long they moved onward, single file, further and further into
the depths of the forest. At noon they halted for a luncheon of fried
bacon, prepared by Mr. Leatherbread. The afternoon wore on, and the
forest became gloomier and gloomier about them as they marched; the
silence grew almost terrifying; and all the pleasure which Freddie had
felt in the morning vanished. Night fell, and the procession entered a
little clearing, and there the pirates made camp for the night.
After a supper of fried bacon, prepared by Mr. Leatherbread, the whole
party retired to rest, each on a mattress of green branches and leaves,
covered with blankets. The night was mild, and when the last blanket had
been made ready the moon rose and tinged the tops of the trees with
silver; and while Freddie was watching the moon as it climbed higher, he
fell asleep. Aunt Amanda did not go to sleep so soon.
Ketch the Practitioner had devoted himself very specially to her in
preparing her resting-place. While he was spreading the branches and
blankets for her, she said to him:
"Ketch, where are we going?"
"Not so loud, ma'am," said he. "We are going to High Dudgeon."
"High Dudgeon! What's that?"
"S-sh! When we're disappointed, or disgusted, or vexed, we always go to
our home in High Dudgeon."
"Is that where you live?"
"Part of the time, ma'am. Mostly we are away at sea or on the Island;
but when anything goes wrong, and we're angry about it, we always go
home and stay there, in High Dudgeon. Yes, ma'am."
"And what are they going to do with us when they get us there?"
"S-sh! You'll be in great danger there. If you can find any way to
escape from there, I advise you--S-sh! Not another word. Captain Lingo
is looking this way. I must go."
Aunt Amanda did not sleep very well that night.
In the morning, after a breakfast of fried bacon, prepared by Mr.
Leatherbread, the company resumed its march.
At noon, a halt was made beside a spring for rest and food, and here Mr.
Leatherbread prepared a luncheon of fried bacon.
In the evening, as the travellers were plodding onward, Ketch walked for
a time at the head of Aunt Amanda's mule. Aunt Amanda leaned forward and
said to him:
"Ketch, are we going to have more bacon tonight?"
"No, ma'am," said he, in a low voice. "We'll have supper in High
Dudgeon. My old mother's the cook there. You heard me mention her
yesterday morning. I've an idea there'll be pigeon pies for supper. And
mark what I'm saying to you, ma'am." His voice sank to a whisper. "If
you get a pigeon pie for supper, look careful to see what's inside of it
before you eat it."
"Mercy on us!" said Aunt Amanda. "Are they going to poison us?"
But Ketch slipped away in the gathering darkness, and said no more.
They had gone but a few hundred yards further, when, at the moment when
the darkness of night was making ready to blot out everything, they
suddenly emerged into a round grassy clearing enclosed by the forest,
where the light was better, and over which a star or two could be seen
glimmering in a pale blue sky. In the midst of this clearing rose a
tower.
It was a round tower, built of stone; its top came scarcely to the top
of the surrounding trees, and it was in fact not more than two stories
high; it appeared, with its wide girth, low and squat. Its sides were
pierced here and there with deep and narrow slits, for windows, and on
one side was a heavy oaken door, with great iron hinges and an iron
lock. Through two or three of the upper slits in the wall glimmered a
light from within. It was otherwise dark and forbidding.
Aunt Amanda found Ketch at her mule's head again. She leaned forward and
said to him:
"Is that High Dudgeon?"
"No, ma'am. That's Low Dudgeon."
"Low Dudgeon? What do you mean by Low Dudgeon?"
Ketch looked at the tower and shuddered. "I don't like to talk about it,
ma'am. I don't like the place. It's the place where we used to live long
ago, before we built High Dudgeon. There's none of us wants to live
there now. We haven't lived there since--" Ketch paused, and shuddered
again, and evidently decided not to go on.
"There's a light up there," said Aunt Amanda. "Does anybody live there?"
"No, ma'am," said Ketch. "Nobody _lives_ there."
"But there's a light," said Aunt Amanda. "Surely there must be somebody
there."
"There is, ma'am; there is; thirteen of 'em."
"Thirteen what?"
But Ketch only shuddered again, and would say no more.
Aunt Amanda noticed that instead of going straight onward past the door
of Low Dudgeon, the pirates led the file in a wide course away from it,
along the edge of the clearing, as if to avoid coming near to it; and
when the procession had thus skirted the clearing and entered the forest
again on the other side, leaving the low tower behind, a sigh, as if of
relief, went up from Ketch and all the other pirates; except, however,
from Captain Lingo himself, who appeared to be wholly indifferent.
"How much further?" said Aunt Amanda to Ketch.
"About a mile, ma'am," said he.
The last mile of their journey was a long mile, and it was traversed in
perfect darkness. The moon had not yet risen. Not a word was spoken, and
there was no sound except the pad of the mules' feet and the breaking of
twigs and branches as the travellers pushed their way through. The
prisoners were in a state of greater nervousness and anxiety than
before, and as they neared the place where their lives were to be
disposed of in one way or another, their sense of uncertainty became
almost unbearable. When it seemed that they must be close to the fateful
place, the procession suddenly halted, and at the same instant the
screech of a parrot startled the silence and made each of the prisoners
jump.
"It's only the captain," said Ketch. "It's a signal."
Immediately, as if in response, there came from a distance in advance
the note of a cuckoo, three times repeated. The procession moved
forward.
A moment or two later, the whole company came forth from the forest
under the stars, and stood on the edge of a wide round clearing, grown
high with grass and weeds. In the midst of this clearing rose a tower.
"High Dudgeon," said Ketch over his shoulder.
This also was a round tower, built of stone; but it was very tall, much
taller than the highest trees, and from the top there must have been a
view of all the surrounding country, even as far as the hill within
which was the treasure cave; from the number of deep and narrow slits
which served as windows it must have been six or seven stories high. The
top of the tower was flat, with battlements around the rim. As a
fortress, it seemed to be impregnable; as a dwelling-house, it was very
dismal indeed. It was totally dark. The captives trembled at the thought
of being imprisoned in such a place.
The wayfarers proceeded in their single file directly to the great
iron-bound oaken door of the tower, and those who were mounted got down.
Ketch assisted Aunt Amanda and Freddie to alight, and having done so he
took charge of the mules and led them away.
Captain Lingo took from his breeches pocket a small key and unlocked the
door.
"Be so kind as to enter," he said, and made way for the captives and his
men.
When all were within, including Ketch, who had now returned, the captain
locked the door on the inside and restored the key to his pocket.
CHAPTER XVIII
THE SOCIETY FOR PIRATICAL RESEARCH
They were in a dark and narrow passage-way. As they stood huddled there
together, a candle glimmered at the end of the passage, held in a
tremulous hand, and lighting up the face of a very old woman. She
advanced towards the party by the door, and holding her candle high
above her head inspected the strangers with little blinking watery eyes.
She was short and bent; she hobbled as she came forward; her face was
seamed with deep wrinkles, and the hand which held the candle was
knotted and gnarled; wisps of dirty grey hair hung over her eyes.
"Aha! Mother Ketch," said Captain Lingo. "I wager thou didst not expect
us so soon. What's in the larder? We are famished."
Old Mother Ketch looked at her son, the Practitioner, and nodded her
head at him once or twice, blinking her eyes. Then she fixed her eyes on
Aunt Amanda, and seemed to forget everybody else.
"Well? well?" said Captain Lingo, impatiently. "Art going to keep us
here all night? Come, woman! Speak up directly! What's for supper, eh?"
Mother Ketch slowly removed her eyes from Aunt Amanda, and looked at the
captain steadily.
"There's nought but pigeons and mushrooms and--" said she.
"Good!" said the captain. "Then we will have pigeon pies; one for each;
and well filled, mind you. Now haste; be off."
Mother Ketch turned and hobbled slowly down the passage, and the glimmer
of her candle disappeared.
"Follow me," said Captain Lingo.
The six pirates vanished somewhere in the darkness, and the others
followed Captain Lingo up a winding stair. At the top was a heavy door,
which he unlocked with his key, and locked again on the inside after his
guests had passed through. He then led them down a dark passage-way, and
turning to the right unlocked a door with his key and threw it open.
They were in a large dining-room, on the table of which were numerous
candles, which the captain lighted. In one wall was an opening for a
dumb-waiter for sending up food from the kitchen below. The party seated
themselves at the table, and after a considerable time Ketch entered, a
napkin on his arm, and at the same time the dumb-waiter rose from the
kitchen, and the meal commenced.
Ketch waited on the table. Besides pigeon pies there were mushrooms, a
lettuce salad, hot biscuit, and excellent coffee. Ketch placed the first
pigeon pie before the captain, and Aunt Amanda noticed that he examined
the top of it carefully as he did so. She observed that he examined the
top of each pie carefully before he placed it, until he had put one
before herself, after which he put the others about without looking at
them. She examined the top of her own pie herself, to see what Ketch
could have been looking at. She saw in the center of it a tiny figure
made of very brown dough, and as she looked closer it seemed to have the
shape of a tiny key. She glanced at the other pies, and none of them
bore any mark of this kind.
Everyone set to with a good will, and Aunt Amanda opened her pie. She
remembered Ketch's caution, and she prodded it secretly with her fork
before taking a bite. At the bottom her fork touched something hard. She
immediately began to put the contents of her pie on her plate, and she
did so in such a way as to leave the hard object beneath the rest. In
the course of the meal, she dropped a portion of the pie to the floor,
and stooped to pick it up. As she did so, she managed to take the hard
object from her plate and conceal it in her lap. It was a key.
When the meal was over, the captain led his guests forth to their
respective bedrooms, each carrying a lighted candle from the table. At
the top of a stair was a closed door, which he unlocked with his key,
and locked after the others had passed through. Along the passage which
ran from this door were doors at intervals in the walls, and these he
opened, one after another, showing one of his guests each time into a
bedroom and leaving him there. On the stair, Aunt Amanda had whispered
into Toby's ear the words, "Don't go to bed. Pass it along." And these
words had been passed in a whisper from one to another of the captives.
Aunt Amanda, in her own room, now sat herself down to wait. She blew out
her candle, and sat watching the shaft of moonlight which came through
the slit that served for a window. She must have fallen asleep, for she
came to herself with a start, and found the shaft of moonlight gone. She
limped to the door, and found it locked. She took from her dress the
pigeon-pie key and unlocked the door. The passage-way outside was silent
and dark. She felt her way along the wall to the next door, and found it
locked. She quietly unlocked it with her key. Toby was sitting within,
waiting. He rose without a word, and followed her. They tiptoed from
door to door, finding each one locked, and silently released each of the
prisoners.
The key fitted every lock on their way down stairs. They reached the
ground floor without an accident, and there in the passage which they
had first seen they stopped to listen. They heard the click of a latch
at the rear; a door there opened quietly on a crack and a light shone
through; every heart stopped beating for a moment. The door opened
wider, and a lighted candle appeared, and over it the wrinkled face of
an old woman; she peered out into the passage, shading the candle with a
trembling hand; the party of quaking runaways stood as still as mice,
and held their breath; the old woman blinked for a moment into the
darkness, and blew out her candle. All was dark again, and the latch of
the door clicked.
The runaways lost no time. They crept silently but rapidly to the
entrance door. Aunt Amanda unlocked and opened it, and they pressed out
hurriedly. They were standing on the grass in a flood of moonlight.
Aunt Amanda, whose lameness had been almost forgotten in her excitement,
now leaned on Toby, who was holding Freddie's hand, and who led the way
to the rim of the forest where the trail lay. There was some difficulty
in finding the trail, but they did find it at last, and they filed into
the forest. They had not gone more than twenty yards when Toby, who was
in advance, saw a great black object directly across their path. He went
forward cautiously, in spite of his alarm, and breathed a sigh of joy
when he saw what it was: it was a mule, saddled and bridled, and tied to
a bush. Further on were other mules, all tethered; there were ten in
all, of which eight were saddled and two were laden with packs.
"Blessings on that Ketch," whispered Aunt Amanda.
In a moment the entire party were mounted. In another moment they were
going along the trail at a fast walk. The mules knew the way, and there
was now no danger of going astray in the forest. Only, where were they
to go, after all? If the pirates should catch them, everything would
soon be over. If they should manage to elude the pirates, they would
still be lost in the wilderness of this unknown Island. What was to
become of them not one could tell. The future seemed very dark indeed.
Once or twice they paused, to listen for sounds of pursuit; but they
heard nothing; not a sound disturbed the stillness; and the little
moonlight which filtered here and there through the trees seemed to make
the darkness more intense.
They had gone about half a mile, and were plodding along in drowsy
silence, when suddenly, out of the tall bushes beside the trail, seven
dark figures sprang upon them and seized the bridles of their mules.
"Ah!" cried Toby. "We are lost! The pirates!"
The mules stood stock still.
"It's no use," said Toby. "We can't escape. They are armed, and we are
not. All right, Captain Lingo, don't strike; we surrender. We'll go back
with you; don't strike."
"I beg your pardon," said a voice which none of them had ever heard
before. "Are you pirates?"
"Ain't you pirates yourselves?" cried Aunt Amanda.
"What?" said the voice. "Is there a lady here? In that case, you are
probably not pirates. Perhaps we have been too hasty. I beg your
pardon."
"Who are you?" said Aunt Amanda.
"Do you admit that you are not pirates?" said the voice.
"Admit it!" said Aunt Amanda. "We vow and declare it! The very idea!"
"I am sorry to hear it," said the voice. "We are deeply disappointed. We
of course cannot doubt the word of a lady, but we were almost sure we
had found them. We have been searching for pirates for a long time, and
we were advised that they lived somewhere near here. We must have missed
our way. Could you perhaps direct us? It is a place called High
Dudgeon."
"You bet we could," said Toby, "but we won't. We are running away from
there, and you had better run too."
"Then perhaps you happen to know the whereabouts of a place called Low
Dudgeon, where the pirates formerly lived?"
"We do," said Toby. "You are about half-way now between High Dudgeon and
Low Dudgeon; and you had better get out of this neighborhood as fast as
you can."
"This is very interesting," said the voice. "I feel that you will be
able to give us some valuable information. If you have no objection, we
will walk behind you until we come to a place where there is more light,
when we will have a few minutes' conversation on this interesting
subject."
The seven dark figures stood aside, and the mules moved onward. The
seven figures walked behind.
In five minutes they reached a patch of ground where the moon shone
brightly through the trees, and the riders drew in their animals, and
turned to look at the figures who now marched sedately up beside them.
These figures stood in a row facing the riders, and six of them turned
their heads to the right, looking towards the first in the row, who was
probably their leader.
They were seven tall men, dressed in black frock coats and striped
trousers, with pearl-gray spats; but instead of high silk hats each wore
a small black skull-cap, as more convenient, no doubt, for their rough
life in the forest. It could be seen that they were no ordinary men;
they looked like professors at college; their faces were thoughtful and
even intellectual; each one wore spectacles; they squinted as if from
too much poring over books by lamplight. The one at the head of the row
was fat, with mutton-chop whiskers, and his frock coat was buttoned
tight over a round stomach. He spoke in the same voice which they had
heard in the dark.
"I beg your pardon," said he. "If you will be so kind as to direct us
either to High Dudgeon or to Low Dudgeon, we will not fail to gratefully
acknowledge--"
"Aha!" said one of the others, in a playful tone. "A split infinitive,
Professor!"
"I beg your pardon. A slight inadvertence. To acknowledge gratefully
your kind--"
"There's no time to talk now," said Toby. "We are running away from
these bloodthirsty cut-throats, and if they catch us we are dead, as
sure as you're born. I'll tell you what we will do. We'll all keep on to
Low Dudgeon, and we'll go in there, if we can get in, and decide there
what we had better do. It looked like a strong tower, and we would
certainly be as safe inside there as out of doors, if the pirates should
come along."
The Professor looked down the line of his companions. "What is the sense
of the Committee on this proposal?" said he. "Ah. Very good. We are
agreed. Proceed, my dear sir."
"One minute," said Aunt Amanda. "Excuse my asking, but I should like to
know who you are, anyway."
The Professor waved a fat hand towards his companions, and looking at
Aunt Amanda, said:
"We belong, madam, to the Society for Piratical Research, under the
patronage of his gracious Majesty, the King of this Island. You behold
before you a committee of that Society; the Committee on Doubtful and
Fabulous Tales, sometimes called for the sake of brevity, from the
initials of its title, the Daft Committee. As Third Vice-President of
the Society for Piratical Research, I have the honour to be Chairman of
the Daft Committee. The seat of our Society is far from here, in the
principal city of this kingdom, the famous City of Towers, blest as the
residence of his gracious Majesty, the most learned and liberal of
princes. Our camp, which we made only late this evening, lies at no
great distance from this spot. We did not wish to delay our researches
until morning, and so, as Third Vice-President of the Society for
Piratical Research, and Chairman of the Daft Committee, I--"
"Much obliged," said Toby. "We've no time to listen to any more. We must
get on."
The Daft Committee, led by the Third Vice-President, fell in behind the
mules, and the whole party moved forward, as rapidly as the mules and
the committee could walk.
Aunt Amanda felt far from easy at the prospect of entering Low Dudgeon;
but she had told Toby something of Ketch's strange words and manner
regarding that place, and she was glad to leave the responsibility to
him. Their dark and silent progress through the forest continued, and
when they had gone what they thought must have been about half a mile,
they knew they must be near their destination. Every eye was watchful
and every ear was alert. A grunt from Toby in advance notified the
others that they had arrived, and they filed out of the forest into the
clearing, and saw before them the squat tower of Low Dudgeon in the
moonlight.
The same light as before appeared from within, through the upper slits
in the side of the tower. As they drew in their mules at the edge of the
clearing, the Daft Committee came up, and the Third Vice-President spoke
in a low voice.
"I presume," he said, "that this is Low Dudgeon. I have heard of it, but
I have never seen it. It was formerly, some hundred years ago, the
headquarters of the pirates. But something occurred here, I do not know
what, which impelled the pirates to move. They accordingly built
themselves a much better residence, known as High Dudgeon, where I
understand they now live. I do not believe that Low Dudgeon has been
occupied since. Gentlemen," he said, turning to his companions, "we are
fortunate in having found this interesting place at last, after so much
trouble. It is the very spot in which to begin our researches."
A murmur of approval arose from the other members of the committee.
"I don't know whether it's occupied or not," said Aunt Amanda. "Ketch
told me that no one lives there, and that there's thirteen of 'em; and
he seemed to be afraid of the place. And there's a light up there. I
don't understand it."
"Gentlemen," said the Third Vice-President, "is it the sense of the
committee that we begin our researches in Low Dudgeon?"
Every member of the Daft Committee murmured his assent.
"If we go into the forest," said Toby, "we may be caught; if we go in
here, we are safe for a while, anyway, and we can decide there what we
had better do; maybe these gentlemen can send for help. Anyway, let's
get in if we can."
The riders dismounted from their mules and tied them to trees; in
another moment the whole party were standing before the door of the
tower.
"Better knock," said Toby.
They knocked, and knocked again; there was no answer.
"Aunt Amanda," said Toby, "try your key."
Aunt Amanda tried the key, and it fitted; she turned it, and the lock
snapped back. Toby thrust open the door.
The company entered, and Toby took the key and locked the door behind
them. They were in a dark passage, near the foot of a winding stair.
"We had better go up where the light is," said Toby, in a whisper.
They went cautiously and noiselessly up the stair to the landing. There
they found themselves in a hall, and at a little distance down the hall
they saw a dim light shining under a closed door. "There it is," said
Toby. "Come on."
With the same breathless caution they tiptoed to the door. It had no
lock, and Toby turned the knob and slowly pushed it open.
"Ah!" said Toby, in a frightened gasp, and started back.
The others crowded at his back and pushed him forward. The Third
Vice-President of the Society for Piratical Research brushed past him
into the room, and the other six members followed him. The party of
fugitives moved slowly in after them.
In the middle of the room was a large round table. In the center of this
table stood some twenty wax tapers in silver candlesticks, burning
brightly; and seated around the table were thirteen men.
Not one of these men moved as the party came into the room. Not a limb
nor muscle stirred. The Third Vice-President coughed aloud. Still none
of the men moved so much as a finger. The whole party came forward to
the table and stood close behind the thirteen men and examined them.
They were dead.
They were sitting in all positions. Food was before them, as if they
were in the midst of a meal. Some were leaning across the table as if in
conversation. Some were in the act of cutting meat on their plates, some
in the act of putting forks to their mouths. Every face was ghastly
white, and every eye was fixed in a vacant stare.
"See!" said Toby, in a whisper, pointing to their backs.
From the back of each was sticking the handle of a knife, the blade of
which was buried in the flesh to the hilt.
Aunt Amanda sank on Toby's shoulder for a moment, but she soon
recovered. Freddie grasped Toby's hand.
"Look," said Toby. "They must be pirates."
Each head was bound with a bright-colored kerchief, and as the horrified
company examined the dead men closer, it was seen that they all wore
knee breeches. A long dagger was sticking upright in the table, just
under the candles. Pinned by this dagger to the table was a large sheet
of white paper, and there was evidently writing on it.
The Third Vice-President had apparently little fear of thirteen dead
men; he went directly to the table, and reaching across between two of
the stiff figures drew the dagger from the table and took from the
dagger's point the sheet of paper. He adjusted his spectacles, turned
his back to the candles so as to obtain a good light on the paper, and
read from it aloud:
"Thus does Captain Lingo serve All Traitors."
For a moment there was silence. Then Aunt Amanda spoke sharply.
"The wicked villain!" said she. "Thirteen of his men dead at once, by
his own hand! No wonder the six that are left are afraid of him! No
wonder they don't like this place! Oh the wicked scoundrel! If I had him
here, I declare I would--"
She paused suddenly and listened. There was a stealthy creaking on the
stairs. It grew more distinct; then it stopped, and there was silence.
The thirteen in their chairs made no motion whatever; but the living
turned with one accord towards the open doorway of the room. They waited
with bated breath. In another moment Captain Lingo himself was standing
in the doorway, a pistol in his right hand and a knife in his left.
Without a word he advanced into the room, and behind him came his six
men, shrinking obviously away from the sight of their thirteen murdered
friends.
As Captain Lingo came to a stand before his recent prisoners, his eyes
blazed, and with his right thumb he cocked his pistol. Each of his men
held a pistol in his right hand and a cutlass in his left, and each
cocked his pistol with his thumb.
The Third Vice-President of the Society for Piratical Research, who
seemed in no wise disconcerted, stepped forward and addressed the
pirate.
"Captain Lingo, I presume?"
"Ay, ay; be quick. I must finish this business quickly."
"My committee and myself have been long anxious, sir, in the interest of
science, to make your acquaintance. I rejoice at this opportunity."
"Oh, indeed," said Captain Lingo, drily.
"Yes, sir; I assure you I am delighted. I believe I have the pleasure of
speaking to a subject of King James the Second."
"Ay, ay," said Lingo, eyeing him suspiciously. "What then?"
"Then the records of our Society are vindicated. They go back, my dear
sir, some two hundred years; and they contain, from various sources, an
unbroken account of Captain Lingo and his exploits from the time of
James the Second to the present. But the sources of our information were
not always reliable; some doubts were thrown upon our records by jealous
persons outside the Society; and as it is the special business of the
Committee on Doubtful and Fabulous Tales to look into such matters, the
Committee is here before you at the present moment in the interest of
truth. No member of our Society has ever seen Captain Lingo, and the
jealous persons I have mentioned pretend that no such person has ever
existed. The chief mission of our Committee is to vindicate our records
by a sight of Captain Lingo himself. Thanks to you, sir, that has now
been done. Our next mission is to determine for our Society this most
important question: are you alive or dead?"
At this, the captain's brows came together in a terrible frown; the scar
across his cheek and chin turned very white; and he glared under his
eyebrows dangerously at the complacent Third Vice-President. His lips
parted, showing his white teeth clenched tight together. He started to
speak through his clenched teeth, and leveled his pistol straight at the
Third Vice-President's breast; but at that moment a cry from the
Churchwarden startled everybody.
"Bless my soul! Why didn't I never once think of this before? These men
ain't real persons at all! How could they be, after two hundred years?
They're no better than wicked spirits! That's what they are, wicked
spirits! Why didn't we think of that before? Aha! my fine friends, I've
got a little medicine here for you! Ha! ha!"
He drew forth from his back pocket a little perfume bottle, and waved it
over his head.
"Hurrah!" he cried. "Hurrah for the Odour of Sanctity!" And with these
words the Churchwarden uncorked the bottle and sprinkled a few drops of
his perfume on the floor, directly at the feet of Captain Lingo.
A sharp odour instantly filled the air; so sharp that it brought tears
to the eyes of everyone. Captain Lingo and his men stepped quickly
backward, but it was too late. A look of pained surprise crept over
their faces, and remained fixed there. Their feet stood rooted to the
floor, and the hands which held the cutlasses and pistols stiffened and
became rigid. Not one of them could move an eye-lash. Their outlines
began to waver; their faces began to be dim and vague, as if covered
with close white veils; from their outsides inward they slowly faded,
melted, dissolved; nothing remained of any of them but a wraith, a
vapor, a puff of smoke, remotely in the shape of a human being; and then
that also vanished; nothing remained; the place where they had been was
empty.
All eyes turned to the table where the thirteen murdered pirates had
been sitting. They were gone. Their chairs were vacant.
The Churchwarden calmly put the stopper in his bottle and restored it to
his pocket.
"Humph!" said he. "Nothing like Odour of Sanctity. Never knew it to
fail. No harm to human persons, but no wicked spirit as ever lived can
stand against it; and a blessed good thing the bottle didn't break as we
came down the water-fall. No perfumery in this world like Odour of
Sanctity!"
CHAPTER XIX
A KNOCK AT THE DOOR
The Third Vice-President and his fellow-members of the Daft Committee
seated themselves in the chairs just vacated by the thirteen murdered
pirates. Nothing could have persuaded any of the others to sit in those
dreadful seats; but no feeling of this sort appeared to disturb the
Committee, and they evidently saw no reason why they should not be
comfortable.
The Third Vice-President drummed on the table with his fingers, and
frowned to himself in silence. One of the Committee, taking his
skull-cap from his head and smoothing it thoughtfully with his hand,
glanced up at the Chairman and said:
"I fear, Professor, that our hopes are dashed. It is nothing less than
disastrous."
"You are right, my dear sir," said the Chairman. "It is a terrible
misfortune; terrible indeed. And just when we were on the point of--"
"What!" exclaimed Toby in astonishment. "Do you mean to say you are
sorry those rascally pirates are gone?"
"My dear sir," said the Chairman, very patiently, "I am finding no
fault. I do not wish to blame anyone. The loss of these pirates to
science is one that can never be compensated. The Society for Piratical
Research is now at an end. There are no other pirates on this island,
and you must see for yourselves that without pirates our society must
perish. It is a woful--"
"Well, I never!" said Aunt Amanda. "Of all things! Do you dare to sit
there and tell me you'd rather see us all murdered by pirates than--"
"Be calm, my friends," said the Third Vice-President, placidly. "I have
already said that I do not wish to find fault. I desire to be generous.
It is my wish. In fact, I forgive you freely. Whatever bitterness you
may have caused us, we are willing to believe that it was not
intentional. The Daft Committee forgives you; freely. Let us be
peaceful. It only remains to decide what steps we shall take to meet the
future. I submit to you this question: whether we shall first go to the
pirates' home in High Dudgeon, or return at once to the City of Towers,
to confess our failure and receive our--Hark! I thought I heard a
knock."
Everyone listened. There was indeed the sound of knocking, muffled but
quite audible. The group standing about the table looked from one to
another in silence. Was this some new danger? Were there other pirates
to be reckoned with? The Churchwarden put his hand to his back pocket,
to be ready with his bottle.
"I think it comes from within this room," said the Third Vice-President.
All eyes examined the room. The walls were unbroken, except by
window-slits on one side, the open doorway on another, and on a third a
closed door, which no one had before observed. Toby walked over to this
closed door, and placed his ear against it. A muffled knock sounded from
within.
Toby nodded his head to the others, and tried the door. It was locked.
"Lend me your key, Aunt Amanda," said he; and when she had given it to
him he inserted it in the lock and turned it and threw wide the door.
Inside was a dark closet hung with cloaks. On the floor sat a man.
Toby stepped back in amazement. The man sat motionless, his legs
crossed, gazing out into the lighted room. After a second or two he
rose, and stood in the doorway, rubbing his eyes. He said not a word,
but continued to rub his eyes until they evidently became used to the
light, and gave two or three sniffs, as if he smelt an odour, and found
it far from agreeable.
He was a thickset man, dressed in sailor's clothes, in no way like the
clothes the pirates had worn. His eyes were small and very close
together; his nose was broken and flat; his lower jaw stuck out beyond
his upper; an unpleasant fellow enough, if looks were anything. In his
belt he carried a long knife. His sailor collar was cut low in front,
and his chest was tattooed in red and blue ink.
As he hesitated in the doorway, sniffing the air uneasily and blinking
his eyes, the Chairman of the Daft Committee spoke in his calm voice.
"Come in, my good sir," said he. "I should like to take the liberty of
asking you a few questions."
The sailorman walked slowly into the room and looked about him.
"What's that there smell in the air?" said he.
"Nothing only my Odour of Sanctity," said the Churchwarden.
"I don't like it," said the sailorman.
"I can't say that I like it much myself," said the Third Vice-President,
"but it is too faint now to be disagreeable. Pray be seated, sir." One
of the Committee rose and offered the sailorman his chair. The sailor
sat down and gazed at the Third Vice-President, who went on with his
speech. "You need have no fear, sir; if Captain Lingo causes you any
uneasiness, I may tell you that he is gone, never to return; and all his
men with him; even the thirteen dead men who were sitting in these
chairs until a few minutes ago."
"What!" said the sailor. "Has them thirteen men been a-sitting here all
these years?"
"My dear sir," said the Third Vice-President, "I assure you we saw them
with our own eyes. But you will perhaps be kind enough to tell us who
you are, and how you came to be locked up in that closet."
"Humph!" said the sailor, hesitating. "I don't know who you are, nor
what you're doing in this here place. However, if Lingo's gone, and--Oh
well, I might as well tell you. By the looks of you, I ain't got much
cause to be afraid."
"Your courtesy under the circumstances will be much appreciated," said
the Third Vice-President.
"Courtesy be blowed," said the sailorman. "Well, here goes. I'm Matthew
Speak, able-bodied seaman, of the brig Cotton Mather, out of New
Bedford, Reuben Higginson, master."
"What!" cried Aunt Amanda, almost shrieking. "Are you--? The Cotton
Mather! Reuben Higginson! Did you know him? It ain't possible! I can't
believe it!"
"It ain't nothing to me whether you believes it or not. I shipped with
Reuben Higginson at New Bedford and landed here with him and his crew on
this same identical Island, all tight and safe; here on Correction
Island, as the cap'n called it."
"What!" cried Aunt Amanda again. "Is this Correction Island? Well, I
never! Here we are on Correction Island after all, and we never knew it!
Are you sure?"
"That's what he called it, believe me or not. It ain't nothing to me,
but I seen it on the map I sold to Mizzen, and the cap'n wrote it there
in his own handwrite; that's all I know; but maybe if you'd hunt up this
here Lemuel Mizzen, a sailor with a patch on one eye and--"
"Well, of all things!" exclaimed Aunt Amanda.
"By crackey," said Toby, "I wouldn't 'a' believed it. Lemuel Mizzen!"
"Perhaps you will be so good as to tell us--" began the Third
Vice-President.
"Freddie," said Aunt Amanda, "have you got the map?"
"Yes'm," said Freddie, and produced it from his pocket.
Aunt Amanda took it from him and spread it open on the table before
Matthew Speak. The sailorman glanced at it and nodded his head.
"That's it," said he. "I don't know how you come by it, but that's it.
Higginson was lost with the Cotton Mather in a storm on his way back to
New Bedford, and a lucky chance for me I wasn't aboard. A good while
afterwards a fisherman off of this here Island picked up the map at sea
in a bottle, and I got it off'n him; he squealed a good bit when I stuck
him, but I got it, right enough. And then along comes Mizzen, me being
in hiding, and I sold it to him for a set of false whiskers and a
tattoo-needle."
"Yes, yes," said Freddie eagerly. "Mr. Mizzen told me about it."
"When Higginson sailed away from here in the Cotton Mather, I didn't go
with him. I ran away. Ay, a runaway sailor, that's what I am. I liked
the Spanish Main, and I didn't like Higginson; nor yet he didn't like
me, neither. But before he sailed, I left my mark on him, I did; four of
his teeth out and a black eye; and I won't say but what he broke my nose
for me too, right enough. For a Quaker, he hit pretty good. And I stole
this bit of writing from him; probably it ain't no account, but
Higginson he seemed to set great store by it, so I stole it, and here it
is." He took from his pocket a sheet of folded paper and laid it on the
table beside the map; it was much soiled, and was evidently very old. He
sniffed the air once or twice, and frowned. "I don't like this here
smell. It's no good. I say I don't like it. It makes me feel queer.
Well, I guess the old man thought this here bit of writing was safe in
his locker right up to the last; I expect he never missed it until he
went to put it into the bottle with the map and throw it overboard." He
shook the paper in his hand and dropped it again on the table. "And
then," he went on, "I fell in with Lingo, and joined his crew."
"Look here," said Toby, "how long ago was all this?"
"How do I know?" said Speak. "I've been shut up in that there cupboard
so long I ain't got no account of time. But I remember just before we
sailed from New Bedford there was a lot of crazy people talkin' about
getting up a fight with England and breakin' loose from her, and being
free and independent and what not--a great pack of foolish nonsense--and
something or other about some kind of a tea-party in Boston--I dunno. I
ain't never heard what come of it. Most likely nothin' at all. I guess
it must have been a good while ago. I dunno."
The Churchwarden started, and put his hand to his back pocket. "Are you
as old as that?" said he.
"No older nor what you be, old fat-chaps," said Speak. "You attend to
your own age, and I'll attend to mine."
"Never mind," said the Third Vice-President, hastily. "Pray tell us how
you came to be locked up in that closet."
"Gimme a chanc't," said Speak. "I'd tell you if you'd gimme a chanc't. I
joined Lingo. I served him true and faithful, and many a prize we've
taken together, and watched many a smart lad walk the plank, that's a
fact. Well, thirteen of his men laid a plan to go to his treasure-cave
where all his treasure was hid, and make off with it; steal it; ay, ay;
steal it, mind you; as bad as that. Now me, I ain't got no patience
with dishonesty; I'm all for being honest, I am; so, being as I had
learned about this here plan, I went and told the captain. He never
winked an eye, not him, but off he sent his other six men, out of the
way, and made a fine supper here for them thirteen and sat down with
them to it; ay, that he did. But first he gets a little white powder out
of a silver box and takes it to Mother Ketch and orders her to put it in
their food; and she won't, not she, and nothing he can do can make her;
so he comes to me, and being as I hates dishonesty, I puts the powder in
their food, and they eats it. Only, being kind of nervous, as you might
say, I spills about two-thirds of it on my way upstairs in the dark; and
there ain't enough left to do the work complete. What was left I put in
the food on the table, and at that minute up the stairs comes the whole
thirteen with the captain at their head, and I whips into that there
cupboard and shuts the door, a-trembling in my boots for fear of what
the captain's going to do to me when he finds out the powder won't work
only partly. I can hear 'em all set down to the table laughin' hearty,
and the captain's voice a-crackin' jokes and makin' 'em feel at home;
but after a bit I don't hear nobody's voice but only the captain's,
because of the white powder actin' on the others as far as it could, and
them probably a-settin' up stiff and tongue-tied in their chairs, unable
to move a hand, because of the mite of powder, d'ye see, and me
a-settin' quiet in the dark cupboard, a-quakin' all over and wonderin'
what the captain was a-goin' to do to me. And after a bit I don't hear
the captain's voice no more, and there ain't no sound at all. And I
guess the party is over. And in another minute I hears a key turn in the
lock of my cupboard door, very soft and easy, and there I am shut up and
locked in as tight as pitch; and there I've been ever since."
"And serve you jolly well right, too, hif you arsk me," said Mr. Punch,
with great disgust.
"It's the wickedest piece of business all round I ever heard of in my
life," said Aunt Amanda, indignantly. "It's my opinion you're as bad as
any of them."
"Worse, if anything," said the Churchwarden, whose hand was still on his
back pocket.
"It's a pity the captain didn't knife you in the back with the rest of
'em," said Toby, angrily.
Speak's little eyes flashed fire. He drew his knife and held it out
threateningly in his hand, and started to rise. But he did not rise. He
remained fixed in his chair, though it was easy to see that he was
trying to get up. He sniffed the air, and his head remained fixed in the
act of sniffing. The hand which held the knife continued to hold it out,
without moving. A look of alarm came into his eyes. It was evident that
he had smelled the Odour of Sanctity, which yet lingered faintly in the
room. His outline began to waver; his face became vague; his features
ran together; he took on the appearance of vapor; and there in the chair
by the table, in place of the thick and solid sailorman, was an almost
transparent form of mist or smoke, remotely in the shape of a man.
Everyone waited to see him vanish. The form still lingered; it did not
disappear; it continued to sit in its chair with its hand extended,
holding out a shadowy knife. The Odour of Sanctity had lost its full
power, and what remained of it was insufficient to make him disappear.
The Churchwarden pulled out his bottle, and commenced to uncork it.
"Stay," said the Third Vice-President, holding up his hand. "I pray you
stay. Do not spill any more of that deadly fluid. There has been enough
destruction here tonight. I propose that we leave the late Matthew Speak
as he is. He belongs to the Society for Piratical Research. He is the
Last of the Pirates, and I beg leave to claim him for the Society. As an
exhibit, he will be highly valued. We shall from time to time conduct
hither parties of the learned or the curious to view the Last of the
Pirates. Nothing could be better. Our Society is now revived. I am
immensely gratified. Low Dudgeon shall be known as the only Museum in
the world with but a single Exhibit. Let the late Matthew Speak repose
here in his chair as a permanent relic of a bygone age; the sole Exhibit
in a Museum all his own. The interest of such an Exhibit will doubtless
warrant a small charge at the door."
The Committee murmured an earnest approval. The Churchwarden looked at
his companions, and put the bottle back into his pocket with a sigh.
"I thank you," said the Third Vice-President. "We will now proceed to
consider our next step."
"I simply can't stay in this room," exclaimed Aunt Amanda, "with that
thing sitting in that chair."
"It is nothing, madam, I assure you," said the Third Vice-President.
"See!"
He leaned over and passed his hand directly through the body in the
chair; in at the breast and out at the back.
"Oh!" cried Aunt Amanda; and her friends all gasped; but the Committee
only nodded their heads in token of their interest.
"You see it is nothing," said the Third Vice-President. "We will now
look at the paper which our departed friend has left."
He picked up the paper from the table where Speak had left it, adjusted
his spectacles, turned his back to the candles so as to get a good
light, and read the paper through to himself. He then glanced at the
company and read aloud:
"Shiraz the Rug-Merchant.
"Outside the Gate of Wanderers, six hundred Paces to the Right, along
the Wall.
"Thee shall know his Shop by certain Numbers, to wit: 3101310.
"If he Hide himself, say these words: Shagli Jamshid Shahriman.
"Thee shall buy of his Wares; not that which he shall offer First, nor
Second; but that which he shall offer Third, that thee shall Buy; and
for that thee shall Pay whatever he shall Demand.
"Thereafter thee shall do whatever he shall Direct.
"But enter not into the City but by the Shop of Shiraz the
Rug-Merchant."
There was silence for a moment, then Aunt Amanda said:
"That's the way we are to get those wonderful things the map speaks of.
It doesn't seem to tell us much, though. Where do you suppose is this
Gate of Wanderers?"
"That, dear madam," said the Third Vice-President, "is one of the gates
of our City of Towers. We know it very well, of course."
"Then," said Aunt Amanda, "as captain of my party, my orders is that we
go there at once."
"Much good would that do," said Toby. "We've got to buy something of
this here Shiraz, if that's his name, and pay anything he asks, too. And
there ain't a penny amongst us. How could we buy anything?"
"The pirates' treasure!" cried Freddie. "The pirates' treasure in the
cave!"
"By crackey!" said Toby. "I clean forgot all about it. Good for you,
Freddie! Talk about money to buy things with! We'll buy out that old
Shiraz's whole shop! The treasure belongs to us, as sure as you're born.
By crickets, we're in luck."
"If you will pardon me," said the Third Vice-President, "we know
nothing of any treasure, and if you would be so good as to----"
"I will," said Aunt Amanda, and she quickly explained the whole matter.
The Daft Committee, including its Chairman, was much impressed.
"We do not wish to intrude," said the Chairman, "but if we could be of
any service----"
"Of course!" cried Toby. "You've got to help us get the treasure out of
the cave, and then help us to find the City of Towers. And if you'll
help us, why what I say is, the Committee ought to have a share of the
treasure. Is that right?"
Toby's friends willingly agreed, and the Committee gladly consented to
go with them to the Treasure Cave and then to the City of Towers.
"The Society for Piratical Research," said the Third Vice-President, "is
coming back to life! We now have a Museum with one Exhibit, and we are
about to acquire a Fund of Money. Come, my friends, it is time to
depart. If you will go out first, I will remain and blow out the
candles. We must remember to close the door behind us, for a draught of
air would probably blow the late Mr. Matthew Speak out of the window."
In a few moments the whole party was standing in the moonlight on the
grass before the deserted tower of Low Dudgeon. Not quite deserted,
however; in every mind was a picture of a misty and vapory form,
remotely in the shape of a man, sitting motionless in a chair beside a
table in a dark and silent room.
"All right," said Toby, "now for the Treasure Cave and the City of
Towers."
CHAPTER XX
THE CITY OF TOWERS
At the Pirates' Cave, the task of getting out the treasure proved very
difficult, but it was done at last.
The Committee's camp in the forest had supplied abundance of provisions,
and a great number of animals; the Committee traveled in luxury.
On the level ground where Mr. Hanlon had given his exhibition of
head-work, the toilers were now resting in the hot sun, and drying their
garments, thoroughly soaked by their trips in and out of the cave, under
the water-fall. They looked with intense delight on the boxes and bags
which lay before them.
"What I say is," said Toby, "let's divide the treasure now, so we won't
have to bother about it when we get to the City of Towers."
"How beautiful is nature!" said the Sly Old Codger. "Behold that wide
expanse of field and forest resting so--so--expansively beneath the orb
of day! A true, true work of nature! At such a moment as this, dear
friends, a warm feeling invades my heart, a feeling of--of--Did I hear a
suggestion to divide the treasure?"
The division was carefully made, and when it was done, and each person
had declared himself well satisfied, each share was packed separately,
and the treasure loaded on the backs of the extra mules. It was a
princely fortune.
"Do you suppose," said the Old Codger with the Wooden Leg, "that--er--I
shall be able to obtain, in the City of Towers, such a thing as a
pipeful--ahem!--a pipeful of tobacco?"
"Never fear," said the Third Vice-President. "I fancy you will be able
to buy there all the tobacco you can use."
"Wery sorry I am to 'ear it," said Mr. Punch. "Hi regard the tobacco
'abit as a wery reprehensible 'abit. Wery."
"Oh, you do!" said Toby, glaring at him.
"Wery reprehensible indeed," went on Mr. Punch, calmly. "My conscience
'as troubled me for a long time by reason of my position in the tobacco
trade. Being posted, as one may s'y, in a wery hadwantageous position
for hobserwation, I 'ave seen too much, entirely too much, of the sad
effects of the hobnoxious weed. Many a time 'ave I wept to myself, when
the hobserver may 'ave thought it was only rain on me cheek, to see 'em,
young and hold, going in and hout of Toby Littleback's shop, knowing
what would come of it sooner or later, and me a-standing there
hencouraging of 'em in, as one may s'y, with me packet of cigars in me
'and. Hoften enough 'ave I wished to give it hup and embark in a
hoccupation less reprehensible; many a time 'ave I said to myself, 'Ho,
hif I could only be hinnocent once, just once.' And now Hi shall put
be'ind me hall the d'ys of me sinful past, and with my share of the
treasure Hi shall open a shop for the purveying of tripe."
"There's a deal more harm been done by tripe than ever there was by
tobacco," said Toby.
"There is a total absence of nicotine in tripe," said Mr. Punch,
loftily. "At least, such is my hinformation. And I carn't 'elp 'oping
that my friend Littleback will reform hisself, now that 'e can afford
it, and engage in some pursuit less 'armful to the young. Hif I was
arsked, I would suggest pinking and pleating."
"You ain't been asked," said Toby. "I can see myself pinking and
pleating. When I want advice what to do with my money, I'll ask you.
Tobacco is my line, and tobacco is going to be my line to the end of the
chapter, and that's flat. Pinking and pleating! Humph."
"It's my belief," said the Churchwarden, "after listening to what's been
said, pro and con, backwards and forwards, up and down, that if we don't
start for the City of Towers, we'll never get there."
"And what's more," said Toby, "when I get back I'm going to have an
_Indian_ outside my door, instead of a tripe-seller."
"Excuse me," said the Third Vice-President. "I am sorry to interrupt
this interesting discussion, but we really ought to be going.
Gentlemen," to the Committee, "our steeds are waiting. To the City of
Towers!"
The journey which now commenced proved to be a very long one. Day after
day the pilgrims plodded through a wilderness of forest and field, over
streams, across mountains, down into deep valleys and up again, camping
at night wherever they happened to find water and wood, and sleeping
under the stars in blankets on beds of boughs. The moon was gone before
their journey was over.
One morning the trail brought them down on a mountain-side to a
well-paved road. This road they followed for some hours, and it brought
them finally to the top of a gentle hill, covered with trees. From the
top of this hill they saw a striking scene.
Stretching away from the foot of the hill lay a great rolling valley, up
which the road ran as straight as a ribbon. Far away, at the end of the
road, against a dark wooded mountain, stood a great city, walled around
with a high wall, and shining in the sun with white and gold domes and
turrets and towers. The rear of the city rose along the lower slope of
the mountain, and on the top of the mountain, concealing its peak, lay
a cloud; black below, and glittering with sunlight at the edges. It hung
there motionless during the time when the watchers sat watching the
scene. Directly under the cloud, on the slope where the farthest portion
of the city lay, was an open space among the buildings, like a great
garden or park, and in the midst of it a vast white building with a flat
roof, great enough for the palace of a king. That which struck the
strangers most, at their first look, was the great number of towers
which rose at all points in the city; surely so many towers had never
been gotten together in one place before; and the most remarkable one of
them was the tower which rose from just behind the great white building
in the park. It was dull in colour, and doubtless of brick; it was round
in shape, tapering gradually upwards. It rose to a height which none of
the strangers would have thought possible, had they not seen it with
their own eyes; it rose straight to the cloud which hung motionless upon
the mountain; it pierced the cloud, and its top was lost to view in the
cloud or above it.
"The City of Towers!" said the Third Vice-President, waving his arm in
that direction. "The Gate of Wanderers is before us, at the end of the
road."
The party urged their animals forward down the hill-side, and pressed on
until noon, when they halted for rest and refreshment in a wood beside
the road. There they sat at their ease on the grass, and the Third
Vice-President looked from one to another, and spoke as follows:
"My friends, I must tell you the story of the Towers. Our King, you must
know, is a handsome and amiable man, in appearance about thirty years of
age. When I tell you that he has been our king for more than forty
years, you will be surprised. His wife was a princess of some few years
less than his own, and of a beauty unequalled in the kingdom. Her
wedding ring, the gift of her husband, was a single ruby in a plain gold
band, and this ring she was never known to remove from her
wedding-finger for a single moment. She was blessed with three beautiful
children, two boys and a girl, the oldest of whom was nearly nine years
of age.
"When the prince, our present King, was thirty years old, his father the
King, who was then alive, gave a great ball at the palace, and at this
ball the old King declared to the assembled court that he desired to
build a tower; a mighty tower, higher than any other in the world, where
he might seek repose from time to time; a tower so tall that it would
reach the cloud that hangs perpetually on the mountain. To him who
should build such a tower in the shortest time the King would give any
reward which the fortunate bidder might ask. The old King laughed as he
made his offer, and it was plain that he was only half serious; but many
of the richest of his nobility desired the prize, and contended for it
earnestly. One proposed to erect the tower in ten years, another in
eight, and one was found who was willing to promise it in six years and
a half; but these terms were all too long. The King was old, and he
would not wait so long.
"'Is there no one,' said the old King at last, 'who will build me my
tower in less than six years and a half?'
"'I will build it in one night,' said a voice from the rear of the
ball-room.
"An old man came forward and stood before the King; an old man, dressed
in a short gown tied in with a cord about the middle, with sandals on
his feet, a lantern with a lighted candle in one hand, and a staff in
the other. No one in that place had ever seen him before, and no one
knew how he had gotten in amongst that glittering company.
"'I will build your tower in one night,' said the old man.
"The old King laughed outright, but he accepted the offer then and
there. 'In the morning,' said he, 'if we find the tower finished, you
shall have any gift which may be in my power to give.'
"The old man bowed, and made his way slowly out of the palace. A great
shout of laughter went up from the company, and in this the King himself
joined heartily; but the joke was, as I must tell you, my friends, that
in the morning when the King rose, there stood the tower in fact, behind
the palace, so tall that its top could not be seen in the cloud that
hung upon the mountain; and there, my friends, the tower stands to this
day.
"That evening the old man returned for his reward. He stood before the
King, and on the King's right and left stood the prince and the prince's
wife and children. The King asked the old man what reward he desired.
"'I ask nothing,' replied the other, with a sly smile, 'except the ruby
ring upon the finger of the Princess.'
"The Princess turned pale, and hid her hand behind her. She would not
give up her wedding-ring; nothing the King could say could move her. He
offered the old man anything else he might demand; a dozen ruby rings; a
box of ruby rings; anything; but the old man would have nothing but the
ring upon the Princess's finger. The Princess grew paler still, as if
with fear; but she would not give up the ring. The old man smiled his
sly smile again, and went away.
"The next morning the Princess and her three children were gone. Search
was made everywhere, but they were not to be found. The King and the
Prince, mounting the winding stair of the tower, stopped at last when
they were all but exhausted, and at that moment heard a sound of weeping
from above. They climbed higher, and on the stair they found the
children sitting, huddled together and weeping bitterly. Their mother
was gone, they knew not where; and they did not know how they came to be
in the tower. The strongest climbers in the city mounted as far as they
could ascend, but the top of the tower was far beyond their reach; they
found no Princess. She has never been seen from that day.
"Soon after, the old King died, and his son came to the throne. As for
him, our present King, and his three children, time stopped for them
from the day on which the Princess disappeared. They are no older now
than when she left them. It is supposed that they are awaiting her
return unchanged, in order that she may not find them old on her return,
if she should still be young. There are those who say that she has lived
all these years, and still lives, somewhere, in some strange form,
perhaps far from here, bewitched by the old man, and waiting for release
from her enchantment. I do not know."
"And what was her name?" said Aunt Amanda.
"She was named," said the Third Vice-President, "the Princess Miranda."
"And what are all those other towers in the city?" said Aunt Amanda.
"It was the fashion, after the King's Tower was built, to build towers.
The King, as you may suppose, sets the fashion in all things. But no
more pleasure-towers are built nowadays; the thing had its day, and died
out. There is a fashion now in pleasure-domes. They are modeled after
the pleasure-dome built by Kubla Khan in Xanadu."
"Well," said Toby, "I don't see what we've got to do with all this. The
party I want to see is Shiraz the Rug-Merchant."
CHAPTER XXI
SHIRAZ THE RUG-MERCHANT
The wayfarers came to a halt before the Wanderers' Gate. The wall of the
city stood before them, and stretched away to a great distance on either
hand. People were going in and out at the gate; some on foot, driving
donkeys before them, some on horseback, some in wagons, and all brisk
and talkative. The Third Vice-President received a respectful greeting
from several of those on horseback. He turned to his companions with a
wave of the hand, and said:
"The Wanderers' Bazaar!"
On each side of the open gate, at the foot of the high thick wall, was
what appeared to be a fair. As far as the eye could see, the base of the
wall was lined with booths, each with an awning over it from the wall
behind, gaily striped in orange and blue and yellow and brown. In these
booths was spread out in disorderly profusion a mass of merchandise of
all kinds; gold and silver ornaments, brass and copper vessels, rugs and
carpets, spectacles and clocks, toys and games, herbs and ointments,
fish-nets and sailors' instruments, canes and crutches, ribbons and
laces, perfumery, precious stones--things innumerable; even parrots and
monkeys, in cages; in one booth was a potter, twirling his potter's
wheel; in another a fortune-teller, laying little sticks down in curious
patterns on his table; in another a man pasting on cards bits of
coloured feathers, in the form of tiny birds and fowls, most life-like;
in another a glass-blower, delicately twining a thread of spun glass for
the rigging of a ship; in another a man sitting on a rug with a snake
before him, whose flat head stood stiffly up from his coil, and waved a
little to the motion of his master's finger; in another, a man was
bending over a flower-pot with a wand in his hand, and as he moved the
wand a stalk grew from the pot and at its end a bud appeared and
unfolded into a flower before the very eyes of his audience; in another
a great ape was marking down figures with chalk as his master called
them; in another a shuttle was weaving back and forth in a loom; there
seemed to be no end to the curious and diverting things to be seen in
those booths. The people in them were apparently of all the nations of
the earth; there were brown men and yellow men and black men, as well as
white; men with slant eyes, with round eyes, with flat noses, with
beak-noses, with wooly hair, with straight hair; there were turbans, and
fezzes, and hoods, and white gowns, and coloured robes, and velvet
jackets, and cotton blouses; and from all the venders rose such a hubbub
as Freddie had never in his life heard before, except once in the Gaunt
Street Theatre at home. A lively crowd chaffered with the venders and
walked in the paved street before their booths. It was a scene full of
life and colour, and Freddie was transported with delight.
"Oh!" he said, "can't we get down here and see all those sights? I
should like to spend the whole day here!"
"We've got other fish to fry just now, Freddie," said Toby. "We'll have
to see this some other time."
"It is a precious thought," said the Sly Old Fox, "that we have here
with us on our mules enough treasure to buy this whole bazaar, if we
wished to do it. It is a beautiful thought."
"Six 'undred paces to the right!" said Mr. Punch.
"Shiraz the Rug-Merchant!" said Toby. "By the looks of it, there must be
about five hundred rug-merchants along there."
"What was the number we were to find him by?" said Aunt Amanda.
"It's 3103101," said Toby.
"You are quite mistaken," said Mr. Punch. "Hit's 3013101."
"That's exactly what I said," said Toby.
"Excuse me," said the Old Codger with the Wooden Leg, "it seems to me
that it is--er--3101301."
"My recollection is," said the Churchwarden, "that it is 3031010."
"I am sorry to differ," said the Sly Old Codger, "but I am perfectly
sure it is 3013010."
"Why don't you look at the paper?" said Aunt Amanda, in an exasperated
tone.
Everyone looked at everyone else to produce the paper, but no one
produced it.
"I regret to confess it," said the Third Vice-President, placidly, "but
I have a distinct recollection of having left it on the table at Low
Dudgeon. Never mind, it is perfectly safe."
"Well!" said Aunt Amanda. "Isn't that a perfect shame! Whatever are we
going to do? And where's the map? Freddie, have you got the map?"
Freddie looked in all his pockets. "No'm," said he. "It isn't here."
"I recall distinctly," said the Third Vice-President, without any sign
of worry, "that the map was left on the table at Low Dudgeon with the
other paper."
"Merciful fathers!" exclaimed Aunt Amanda. "And you've left the map
behind too! I never yet see a man that had a head on him worth a--Now
listen to me; is there anyone that remembers the words the paper said we
had to say to the----"
"Ah! madam," said the Third Vice-President. "There I can be of
assistance, I fancy. The words are derived from the Persian, and I am
accordingly familiar with them. 'Shagli Jamshid Shahriman.' Am I right,
gentlemen?"
The Daft Committee nodded their heads in assent.
"Then I see no reason," said the Third Vice-President, "why we should
not proceed."
"Come on then," said Toby. "I'll get down and pace off the six hundred
steps, and see where we come to."
The party moved slowly through the crowd, along the booths, while Toby
walked beside them, carefully counting his steps.
"Five hundred and eighty," said he. "Five hundred and ninety.
Ninety-five. Six hundred"; and stopped. The procession stopped also, and
all of the riders got down from their mules. Many of the passers-by
gazed curiously at them, and some paused for a moment before going on;
but no one seemed to take more than a passing interest. One of the
Committee led the mules to the open side of the street, where they would
be out of the way, and stood guard over them. The others joined Toby in
front of the booth at which he was now standing.
It was not the kind of booth they were seeking at all. There were no
rugs nor carpets of any kind; only clocks and watches, a great number of
them, and a few sundials and hour-glasses. Behind the counter stood a
lad of about twenty, very dark of skin, with snapping black eyes and
shining white teeth which showed as he now bowed and smiled; a white
turban on his head, and a loose white robe hanging from his shoulders.
He was slim and sleek, and his fingers were very long and delicate. He
rubbed his hands together as the riders dismounted, and commenced to
chatter to them in an unknown tongue, bowing and smiling the while. His
wares were displayed about him on shelves and boxes and tables, as well
as on the counter, and the clocks and watches, as usual in such places,
showed all hours of the twelve. A striped awning of orange and blue,
fastened at the rear to the side of the city wall, shielded him and his
booth from the sun. Behind him in the wall was a closed iron door.
"We're in the wrong shop," said Toby to his companions. "Some mistake.
Anyway, here goes." And addressing the young man behind the counter, he
said: "Good-afternoon. We are looking for Mr. Shiraz the Rug-Merchant.
This don't look much like a rug shop, but maybe you can tell us. Shiraz;
that's his name."
"No understand," said the young man, rubbing his hands and bowing
pleasantly.
"Shiraz," said Toby. "Think. Shiraz. Easy word, Shiraz. You understand?"
"Clocks and watches," said the young man. "Sundials. You buy?"
"No, no," said Toby. "We no buy. Want Shiraz. Confound it, that's an
easy word, ain't it? Shiraz! Can't you understand that?"
"No sell Shiraz," said the young man. "Clocks and watches."
"Look here," said Toby, "what's the number of this place?"
"No number," said the young man, looking puzzled and shaking his head.
"Clocks and watches."
"By crackey," said Toby, "we're in the wrong place sure enough."
Now while this talk was going on, Freddie had made a discovery. He had
noticed, on a box at the rear, against the wall, a row of seven old
clocks. They were battered and broken, and were evidently long since out
of repair; two of them had no hands. Like most of the clocks in the
place, they were stopped, and had probably, from the looks of them,
ceased many years before to keep time. He noted idly the time shown by
each of these clocks, and started in surprise. The hour shown by the
first clock at the left was three o'clock. That shown by the next was
one o'clock. The next had no hands, and showed no time at all. The next
showed one o'clock, the next three o'clock, the next one o'clock, and
the seventh had no hands. He ran his eye over them again, and the
numbers which resulted were 3101310.
"Come along," said Toby. "We might as well ask at some of these other
shops. There ain't no use wasting time here."
He moved away, and the others followed him towards the adjoining booth.
The teeth of the dark young man shone white, and he bowed politely to
the departing strangers.
Freddie pulled at Toby's coat, and whispered in his ear. Toby listened,
and without a word led the party back to the booth.
"Now see here, young feller," said he, "I've got your number, and I
don't want no nonsense. I reckon you can understand numbers, if you
can't understand anything else." He fixed his eyes on the row of old
clocks at the rear. "Listen to this, my young friend: 3-1-0-1-3-1-0."
The smile left the young man's face. He seemed a trifle uneasy. His long
fingers rested on the counter, and he leaned forward intently.
"No understand," said he.
"By crackey," said Toby, "this beats all. Where's Shiraz? We're in the
right place, and we want Shiraz. Out with him!"
"Clocks and watches," said the young man, but this time somewhat
nervously. "You buy?"
"Buy nothing!" cried Toby. "We want to see Shiraz the Rug-Merchant.
Professor," said he, turning round, "what's the words to bring out
Shiraz the Rug-Merchant?"
"Shagli Jamshid Shahriman!" said the Third Vice-President, in a loud
voice.
Instantly the manner of the young man changed. Crossing his arms upon
his breast, he made a low salaam, and spoke with the utmost deference.
"I trust you will pardon," said he, "my seeming lack of courtesy. It is
necessary to exercise a certain caution. There are wicked spirits,
assuming from time to time the most unlikely forms, who seek to gain
access to my great-great-grandfather. His life is continually in danger,
for he possesses secrets which enable him constantly to interfere with
their designs. By reason of this danger, he was obliged many years ago
to retire from the rug business, and he has lived ever since in deep
seclusion. It is your wish to see Shiraz the Persian?"
"You seem to speak English pretty good," said Toby.
"Perfectly, my lord. And twelve other tongues as well. You desire to see
my great-great-grandfather?"
"That's the exact idea," said Toby.
"Then I will beg your indulgence for a few moments."
The young man bowed again, and disappeared through the doorway in the
wall, closing the door behind him. After a considerable absence he
returned.
"If you will follow me," said he, "I will conduct you to my
great-great-grandfather."
"We will await your return here," said the Third Vice-President to Toby
and his companions. "It is unnecessary for us to pursue this adventure
further."
The Third Vice-President and his friends returned to the mules, and the
others followed the young man to the door behind him in the wall. The
door was closed and locked behind them, and they found themselves in
darkness. "If you will come to me here," said the voice of the young
man, a little in advance, "I will show you the way down." When they felt
themselves near him, they heard his voice again. "Be good enough to step
carefully forward, until you feel the first step of a descending stair.
Then descend cautiously, if you please." Each one put out a foot, and in
a moment they were all going down a stairway, of which the treads were
evidently of stone, much worn.
When they had gone down some thirty steps, they were aware that the
stair had ended, and that they were on a landing. "You will now cross
the bridge, one by one, holding on to the railing," said the voice of
the young man. One by one the party stepped forward, feeling the way
cautiously, and as each in turn found with his hand a slight wooden
railing, a breath of fresh air blew upon his face and the sound of
rushing water came from below. Instead of the firm stone they had just
been treading, they were conscious of wooden planking under their feet,
and it gave beneath their pressure most uneasily. The bridge was a long
one, and the sound of rushing water followed them its entire length.
They walked again, however, on firm ground, and heard the young man's
voice before them. "Be good enough to follow the right hand wall," it
said, "and turn with the wall."
Each right hand touched the surface of a wall, and in a moment the wall
made a turning to the right. In another moment their progress was barred
by a wall in advance, and the voice of the young man spoke from their
midst. "You will kindly stoop as you go in," said he, and at the same
moment a round opening appeared before them, dimly lit from within. It
was only large enough to admit a single person, stooping. The young man
entered first, and the others followed, one by one. When they were all
on the other side of the door, the young man swung it noiselessly to,
on its hinges, and it was seen that it fitted accurately, so that it was
impossible to distinguish it from the wall.
They were in a small room, unfurnished except for a table in the center,
on which burned an oil lamp of silver, in shape like a boat; the walls
were bare, except for certain shelves containing bottles of coloured
liquids, other bottles of coloured powders, mortars, retorts,
gas-burners, and huge dusty books. There appeared to be no outlet from
the room, but the young man pressed his finger on a spot behind one of
the bottles on a shelf, and a circular door, like the one by which they
had entered, swung slowly open in the opposite wall.
"We have arrived," said the young man. "Please to follow."
He stooped and entered the circular doorway, and the others, one by one,
followed. They found themselves in a rich and luxurious apartment,
softly lighted by a hanging lamp; in the center was a table, littered
with open books and scrolls of paper, and bearing notably a great round
globe of solid crystal.
Beside the table, on a divan, reclined what appeared to be a dry and
shriveled mummy.
CHAPTER XXII
SIX ENCHANTED SOULS
"This is my great-great-grandfather," said the young man.
The room in which they stood was hung about on all the walls with rare
and beautiful rugs, and similar rugs covered the floor. Richly
embroidered cushions and delicate silk and cashmere shawls lay on the
few easy chairs that were disposed about the room. The bowl of the
hanging lamp, above the table, was of bits of amber and orange and ruby
glass, through which shone a subdued and mellow light. Near the ceiling
were three or four small openings, covered with iron gratings, and the
air in the apartment was pure, except for the odour of tobacco. The
figure on the divan was smoking a pipe; a water-pipe, whose long
flexible stem reached to the floor, where its bowl rested.
Shiraz the Rug-Merchant looked at his visitors with little beady black
eyes. His skin was very dark, and shriveled and wrinkled like the skin
of a dried apple. His cheek-bones seemed as if about to break through
his cheeks, and his lips were stretched back from his teeth, which were
black and broken. His hands were like the claws of a bird. Thin white
hair straggled over his tight dark scalp. He wore a robe of some soft
material, harmoniously mottled upon a ground of maroon, and on his feet
were slippers of red morocco, pointed upwards at the toes. His turban
lay upon the table beside him.
[Illustration: Shiraz the Rug-Merchant looked at his visitors with
little beady black eyes.]
He was the smallest man the strangers had ever seen. After a searching
look at them with his beady eyes, he rose from the divan, laid down the
stem of his pipe, and stood up. He was not taller than Freddie. As he
stood by the divan, looking up at his visitors, he seemed indeed a mere
mummy of a man, likely to fall to pieces at a breath of air.
"You are welcome," he said, in a voice surprisingly strong. "I perceive
that you have come from a great distance. Permit me to inquire what
errand has brought you to your servant's poor habitation."
"I reckon we want to buy something," said Toby. "I don't know what,
exactly, but a chap by the name of Higginson, Captain Reuben Higginson,
he give us the direction, as you might say."
"Ah, yes," said Shiraz the Persian. "I remember him very well. I was
sorry to learn of his misfortune. An excellent man; a member of some
strange sect----"
"A Quaker," said Toby. "The paper he left said we might buy something
here, and here we are, ready to buy."
"I have long since retired from the rug business," said Shiraz, "but I
have brought with me here, as you may see, some of my choicest
treasures, as a slight solace in my seclusion." He glanced towards the
rugs on the walls. "I am reluctant to part with any of them, but I am
willing to make an exception, in view of your having made so long a
journey to see me. My son," said he to the young man, "bring hither the
Omar prayer-rug."
The young man took from one of the walls a small rug, and laid it at the
feet of Shiraz.
"You will immediately perceive," said the Persian, "the extreme beauty
of this rug. It is one of my rarest treasures. It is a prayer-rug from
the mosque of Omar at Isfahan; a Kalicheh of cut-pile fabric, with the
Sehna knot, as I need not tell you; made in Kurdistan three hundred
years ago; observe, if you please, the delicacy of the design and the
harmony of the colouring. Its possession is as a spring of water to the
desert Bedouin; as a palm with dates on the road to Mecca; as a word to
the believer from the mouth of the Prophet. Its price, to those who have
journeyed across the sea to buy it, is twelve copper pennies."
The Sly Old Fox stooped down and examined it. His eyes lit up with
pleasure. "Beautiful!" said he. "I have never seen a rug more beautiful;
it is a real work of--of--I will take it. At twelve pennies. It is
mine."
"No, no!" said Aunt Amanda. "You'll do nothing of the kind. It is
certainly the finest piece of carpet I have ever seen, and the price is
low enough, in all conscience. But we are not going to buy it. I am
sorry, sir, but we can't buy your rug. Show us something else."
Shiraz displayed his teeth more plainly than ever in a sly smile.
"Your servant is desolated," he replied. "I crave your pardon for
showing a trifle so far beneath your notice. My son, take it away. If
your excellencies will deign to overlook my error, I will produce an
article more worthy of your attention. This time I promise myself the
ecstasy of your approval."
"Pretty good line of talk," whispered Toby in Mr. Punch's ear.
"My son," continued Shiraz, "bring hither the Wishing Rug."
The young man took away the prayer-rug, and brought another from the
wall; a much larger one, large enough, indeed, for twenty people to
stand on. It was dingy and frayed, and in no way beautiful like the
other.
"A rug of the Tomb of Rustam," said Shiraz, "gained by the hero in
battle from the genie Akhnavid. It is the last of the Wishing Rugs. Its
property is, that it will transport to the farthest regions of the
earth, in the twinkling of an eye, those who sit upon it and but name
aloud the place of their desire. Excellencies," he said, addressing his
visitors very earnestly, "if it is your wish to return home, the moment
has arrived; you have only to sit upon this rug and wish yourselves at
home, and you will find yourselves there, safe and sound, before the
words shall have well left your lips. And the price is only twenty
pennies."
Every one of the party hesitated. A vision of the Old Tobacco Shop
entered each mind. It had never seemed so cozy, so quiet, so secure as
at that moment. How or when they would ever get there, in the natural
course of events, no one knew. If they did not seize this opportunity,
they might be lost forever. It was a chance such as they could scarcely
have hoped for.
"Could we take our belongings with us?" said the Sly Old Fox.
"All that can be piled on the rug," said Shiraz.
"Then I will buy it," said the Sly Old Codger. "I do not consider twenty
pennies too much for such a rug. The rug is mine."
"It's nothing of the sort," said Aunt Amanda, waking from deep thought.
"Nobody's going to buy the rug. I'm captain of this expedition, and my
orders is, to wait and see what's going to happen next. I'm sorry, sir,
but the rug ain't exactly what we want. You must show us something
else."
The Rug-Merchant appeared greatly mortified. "I do not know how I could
have made such a mistake," he said. "I should have known that these
little trifles could not interest you. I trust you will believe that I
meant no offense. I fear there is nothing in my poor collection which
merits your notice. Permit me to wish you a safe journey. Do you intend
to remain long in the City of Towers?"
"That won't do," said Toby. "You must show us something else."
The Rug-Merchant looked intently at Aunt Amanda. "You command it?" said
he.
"I do," said she.
"To hear is to obey," said Shiraz. "I tremble to think how contemptible
are the baubles I shall now offer you, but I trust you will not be angry
with your servant." He turned to the young man, and spoke to him in an
unknown tongue. "Be not offended, excellencies," he went on, "by your
poor servant's ignorance in the art of pleasing."
The young man disappeared behind one of the hanging rugs, and in a
moment returned with certain small objects, which he stood upon the
table in a row. They were eight hour-glasses, of a very ordinary kind,
much like those already seen in the booth outside. The sand in each one
was wholly in the upper glass, and was just beginning to trickle down
into the lower. The strangers were obviously disappointed.
"I fear your displeasure," said Shiraz, "but apart from my trifling
rugs, these are all I have to offer."
"And what," said the Sly Old Fox, "what may be the price of these
interesting objects?"
"The price," said Shiraz, fixing his beady eyes on Aunt Amanda, "the
price is this and nothing less: your treasure on the mules outside; your
share of the treasure on the mules."
Everyone gasped. The treasure which they had gone through so many perils
to secure, for these indifferent trinkets! A life of ease and plenty for
an hour-glass!
"Ahem!" said the Old Codger with the Wooden Leg. "Excuse me for saying
it, but the--er--price appears to be a little bit high."
"It is too high for me," said the Sly Old Fox, positively. "I regret to
say it, but I am compelled to withdraw; I cannot go on at such a
figure. Please consider me out of it."
"And--er--me too," said the Old Codger with the Wooden Leg.
"Well," said Toby, doubtfully, "it's a blamed hard thing to give up all
that treasure for one of these here little toys. I don't see my way
clear to doing it. What do you say, Aunt Amanda?"
"I'll do it," said Aunt Amanda, looking at Shiraz, whose eyes were still
on her. "I've come all this way to do it, and I'll do it. I ain't going
to back out now at the last minute. My mind's made up. Mr. Shiraz, I'll
buy an hour-glass."
"By crackey," said Toby, "then I will too. What about you, Freddie?"
"Oh, yes, indeed," said Freddie.
"Hi'll 'ave one myself," said Mr. Punch.
"After due consideration," said the Churchwarden, "I think I will buy
one also."
Mr. Hanlon nodded a vigorous assent.
The two Old Codgers, however, were firm in their refusal. They could not
be persuaded. They retired from the enterprise then and there.
Under the conduct of the young man, the two Old Codgers left the room,
and returned to the Committee who were waiting with the mules outside;
and with them went Toby and Mr. Punch and Mr. Hanlon, to bring back that
portion of the treasure which was to pay for the six hour-glasses.
This was a work of much difficulty, and occupied a great deal of time.
While it was going on, the Rug-Merchant, having first asked permission,
reclined again on the divan and resumed his pipe, while Aunt Amanda,
Freddie, and the Churchwarden seated themselves, at his invitation, and
watched him in silence.
The treasure was at length piled, complete, in a corner of the room.
Toby, Mr. Punch, and Mr. Hanlon returned for the last time, and without
the great-great-grandson of the Rug-Merchant.
"The others will wait outside for an hour," said Toby. "If we don't come
back by that time, they'll go on into the city without us."
Shiraz the Rug-Merchant laid down the stem of his pipe, and rising bowed
to Aunt Amanda with great deference.
"Permit me, most gracious lady," said he, "to see the fingers of your
left hand."
He took in his own right hand the third finger of Aunt Amanda's left,
and bent his eyes close over it. He straightened himself up with a long
breath, and crossing his arms upon his breast, made a low salaam.
"It is as I thought," said he. "The mark is here, on the third finger of
the left hand. Highness," said he, bowing lower, "I pray you accept your
servant's salutation on your return." And raising her hand to his lips,
he kissed it in a very courtly manner.
"Goodness alive!" said Aunt Amanda, turning as red as a rose, "you make
me feel too foolish for anything."
"You have been away a long time," said Shiraz, "but you have returned.
Happy am I to be the first to greet you on your return. You and the
others have all been enchanted. You are six enchanted souls, and in your
present shapes not one of you is himself. I suppose you do not know that
you are enchanted; you think that you are yourselves; is it not so? I
assure you it is a mistake; but I can put you in the way of correcting
your errors, and restoring yourselves to your true shapes, if you desire
it. Madam," said he, bowing again to Aunt Amanda, "I await your
commands."
"I reckon we all want to be corrected," said Aunt Amanda. "It's what
we've come here for. We've come a long way to this island, and for
nothing on earth but to be corrected, if there's any way to do it. If
you can do it, go ahead."
"Hearing is obedience," said Shiraz. "Please to take the hour-glasses."
Each one took up an hour-glass from the table and held it in his hand.
"It is necessary," said Shiraz, "to destroy the sands in the glasses. If
they can be destroyed, the enchantment will be over. There is no power
on earth which can destroy the sands but one, and that is the White Fire
of the Preserver. Will you risk the fire?"
"I will," said Aunt Amanda, now somewhat pale; and the others nodded
assent.
"Then I will give you the White Robes," said Shiraz. "Without them you
can not withstand the Fire."
He went to a wall and drew from behind the hangings a box, which he
opened on the table. From this box he took six white linen gowns, and at
his direction each put on one of the gowns. Freddie's was much too long,
and he was obliged to hold it up.
"Well," said Toby, "I always did look ridiculous in a night-gown, but
this beats--"
"Peace," said Shiraz. "The Fire will not harm you now. Two things only
are necessary: to fear nothing, and to hold tight to the hour-glasses."
With these words he clapped his hands, and from behind the hangings on
the rear wall stepped a black man, clad in a robe similar to the others.
To this man the Persian spoke in some strange tongue, and the man bowed.
"Now," said Shiraz, "you will follow my servant. Farewell, and peace be
with you."
CHAPTER XXIII
FROM THE FIRE BACK TO THE FRYING PAN
The white-robed figures, having left the room by a small circular door
behind the hangings, followed the black servant along a pitch-dark
passage, and in a few moments came to a bridge, similar to the one they
had crossed before. As they felt their way over it cautiously one by
one, the sound of rushing water came to them from below, and a cold
breeze fanned their cheeks. A little further on they touched the first
step of a stair, and began to ascend its worn stone treads. They mounted
some thirty steps, and touching the wall with their hands, moved onward
along a passage. This passage made an abrupt turn to the left, and when
they had cleared the corner they saw in its sides before them a gleam of
light here and there.
"The Master's work-rooms," said the black servant. "Please to follow."
They passed now and then beneath a lighted window, too high to be seen
through, and at the end of the passage the servant paused before a
closed iron door. He opened this door with a key, and led them forth.
Before them was a garden, the most beautiful that any of them had ever
seen. High over it was a dome of pale green and amber glass, through
which the sunlight streamed in mild and parti-coloured rays. The walls
which supported the dome were so high that it was impossible to see
beyond. In the center was a fountain, dropping in a sparkling shower
into a marble basin; around it spread a well-ordered carpet of flowers,
of all the colours, as it seemed, of the rainbow; along the walls were
cocoa palms, banana trees, and the feathery bamboo; white cockatoos
sailed across from palm to palm; the air was heavy with a warm odour of
moist earth and blossoms. The whole party drew a deep breath of
pleasure. The dark place from which they had come seemed to fade away
like a dream before the soft beauty of the garden.
The servant led them to the opposite side, and unlocked a door in the
wall, making way for them to pass in before him. They entered, and heard
the door locked behind them; the servant was no longer with them; they
were alone in a small square room, of stone walls and an earthen floor;
there was no opening, but in the opposite wall was a closed door. A pale
light pervaded the place, from what source they could not discover. In
the earthen floor from wall to wall grew a thicket of stiff stalks,
higher than Freddie's head, and clustered closely around each stalk from
bottom to top were flowers of a waxen whiteness.
"It seems a real pity," said Aunt Amanda, "to break those pretty plants,
but I reckon we've got to wade into them. I'm mighty curious to see
what's on the other side of that door. Probably the fire the old man was
talking about. Oh, dear, I don't like fire. But we've got to get to that
door, so come along."
The whole party moved in a body into the thicket of waxen stalks.
As they stepped in, the stalks broke around them with sharp reports.
They moved on again, and the reports, as the stalks broke, became louder
and louder; and now each one felt the hour-glass in his hand being
tugged at, and found that wherever his hand touched a flower, the petals
flattened themselves on the hand and the glass, and clung so tight that
it took a hard jerk to get them loose. There was danger of losing the
glasses, and with one accord they held the glasses high above their
heads. The moment they did so, the conduct of the stalks became
terrifying indeed.
As if in anger, the broken stalks spouted forth, with a hiss and a rush,
blinding jets of liquid white fire, which tore at the ceiling angrily
and roared and crackled. From the broken stalks it spread to the others,
and in a moment jets of liquid white fire were blazing and crackling
upward from all the stalks in the room, and the terrified captives were
in the very midst of it.
It ran up their robes and showered on them from the ceiling; it became
denser and angrier; it was all but unbearable, though they felt it in
only a tiny fraction of its real strength; in another instant the frail
white gowns must surely be consumed. But in some strange way the gowns
shed off the liquid fire, and remained unscorched.
For a moment the sufferers were stupefied. They were unable to move.
Freddie tried to scream, but he could make no sound; he almost fainted
away; but he felt, through it all, the sturdy arm of Mr. Toby tight
about him.
They pushed on in a close body and passed the center of the room; the
white glare became more blinding, the roar and crackle more deafening;
they were surrounded, cut off, in the midst of destruction; they were
bewildered; they stopped again; there was no use in going back; they
must get forward through the furnace at any cost; they made a new start;
and in a frenzy of terror, their hands before their eyes, with a rush
they gained the door. They crowded against it; they pushed and beat upon
it; it gave way before them; they rushed through, and it closed behind
them of its own accord.
They were standing in broad daylight on the sidewalk of a city street,
under a high blank wall, with shops on the opposite side; each with an
hour-glass, empty of sand, in his right hand, and each clad only in a
long white night-gown.
CHAPTER XXIV
DISENCHANTMENT COMPLETE
They looked behind them. A high stone wall rose at their backs, and in
it was no sign of a door.
They looked across the street. It was a narrow street, paved with
cobble-stones; on the opposite side, where a row of little low shops
stretched away on either hand, a few people were going in and out at the
doors, and a few others were walking at some distance, before the
shop-windows. An ox-cart was coming slowly down the street.
Freddie had sometimes dreamed of being out among people in broad
daylight in his night-gown, and he now felt the same terror he had felt
in those dreams; he looked anxiously at the shops for a place in which
to hide. No one appeared to observe them yet, but they would soon be
seen, and it would be dreadful, unless they could find shelter without a
moment's delay.
"We had better run into one of those shops," said he, breathlessly, "and
ask them to hide us until we can get some clothes."
"Ah, no," said a soft voice beside him, at his right. "It is not a shop
that I must go to now. I must hurry home."
Freddie looked around at his right for Aunt Amanda. There was no Aunt
Amanda. In her place, holding an empty hour-glass in her right hand, was
a lady, the fairest whom Freddie had ever seen. She was young; her eyes
were of the blue of summer skies; her hair was golden yellow; on her
soft white cheek was a tinge of pink; two heavy braids of hair hung
almost to her knees; her eyes were sparkling with happiness, and a
tender and wistful smile curved her lips. As Freddie gazed at her, he
thought that there could not be in the world another so radiantly
beautiful. She looked about her as one who sees familiar things after a
long absence.
Freddie's eyes fell to the hand which was nearest him, her left. On the
third finger of her left hand was a ruby ring.
"Are you," he faltered, "are you--Aunt Amanda?"
"I think," she said, smiling on him, "I think I was, once. I think I can
remember that name. And you are--let me see; what was your name? Ah,
yes, your name was Freddie. But we must hurry; we must not keep them
waiting."
Freddie turned, and saw beside him four strange men, all gazing at the
beautiful lady in amazement. In the right hand of each was an empty
hour-glass.
Freddie looked down on the two men who stood nearest him; he looked
_down_ on them; he was suddenly aware that he was not looking up. They
were short, for full-grown men, and of precisely the same height; their
faces were square, their cheek-bones prominent, and their noses hooked;
the head of one was bald, and the hair of the other's head lay flat down
on his forehead where it curved back like a hairpin; except for their
heads, they were in all respects twins. There was no hump on the back of
either of them.
"Mr. Punch and Mr. Toby!" said Freddie.
"The wery same," said the bald-headed one.
"That's me," said the other.
Behind Mr. Toby stood a lean man in spectacles. His night-gown hung upon
him very loosely, and he was very spare indeed. His smooth-shaven cheeks
were somewhat hollow; his eyes behind his glasses were deep and solemn;
his frame was the frame of one who subdues the flesh by fasting;
snow-white hair, curling inward at the back of his neck, made a kind of
aureole around his thin face; he looked for all the world as he stood
barefoot in his long white gown, like one of those saints you see in
painted glass windows in a church.
"Is it," said Freddie, hesitating, "is it--the Churchwarden?"
"I have reason to believe," said the saintly looking man, "that I have
been known by that name. But I am in reality, and always have been, in
reality, something far more lowly than a churchwarden; I am, and always
have been, at heart, a meek and humble follower of the holy Thomas à
Kempis, whose life of serene and cloistered sanctity I have always
wished to imitate. Now that I am myself, it is my ambition to be known,
if it is not too presumptuous to say so, as Thomas the Inferior. Pax
vobiscum."
"I ain't got the least idea what that means," said Toby, "but anyway
it's the Churchwarden's voice, whether he calls himself Thomas the
Inferior or Daniel the Deleterious. You're heartily welcome, Warden, and
I hope you won't mind my saying that a good meal wouldn't do you any
harm, from the looks of you. I'm pretty near starved to death myself.
Mr. Punch, we've got rid of our humps, as sure as you're born. We're as
straight in our bodies as we've always been in our minds, and that's as
straight as a string. By crackey, I never felt so fine in my life;
blamed if I couldn't lick my weight in wildcats."
"Hi 'ave no wish to do so," said Mr. Punch. "Hi do not desire to engage
in any conflict whatever; Hi should regard such conduct as wery
reprehensible; wery. But one cannot but admit, harfter one's back 'as
been so long out of correct proportion, as one may s'y, that one enjoys
a wery pronounced satisfaction when one feels one's self restored to
one's rightful position as a hupright person, in common with one's
fellow--"
"What about Mr. Hanlon?" said Toby, turning around.
"Michael Hanlon, prisent!" said a cheerful voice.
Behind the Inferior Thomas stood a tall and handsome man, the picture of
an athlete in the prime of condition. Short curling black hair clustered
on his head; his eyes were of a humorous dark blue; his cheeks were like
red apples; his shoulders were muscular, his back was straight, his
figure slim; and he wore his night-gown as a Greek runner in ancient
times might have worn his robe after the games.
"What!" said Freddie. "Can you talk?"
"Faith," said Mr. Hanlon, "I've a tongue in me head that can wag with
anny that iver come off the blarney stone, and it's no lies I'm tellin'
ye. For an Irish gintleman to have to listen and listen, and kape his
tongue still in his head and say niver a worrd at all, at all, 'tis a
hard life, me frinds, a hard life, and it's plaised I am to be mesilf at
last, and the nate bit of tongue doin' his duty like a thrue son of
Erin--I could tell ye a swate little shtory that comes to me mind, of a
dumb Irishman that could not spake at all, at all, and the deaf wife of
him that could not hear, and their twelve pigs all lyin' down in the mud
with wan of thim standing up and crying out that the wolf was comin' in
through the gate, and the good wife unable to hear and the good man
unable to spake--"
"I reckon you've got your tongue, all right," said Toby. "I wish we had
time to hear that story, but we haven't. Now, Freddie, what do you think
we'd better--Why, Freddie! What's that you've got on your lip?"
Freddie put his hand to his upper lip. What he felt there was a tiny
silken mustache. He blushed.
"And 'e's taller than any of us except Mr. 'Anlon!" exclaimed Mr. Punch.
"My word!"
Freddie looked down at Mr. Punch, and realized his own height. He looked
at his hands, and they were almost as large as Mr. Hanlon's. His
night-gown came to his ankles, and he realized that he was no longer
holding it up.
"Why," he said, "I must be grown up!"
"Grown up is the word," said Toby, "but I'd 'a' known you anywhere.
Twenty-one years old, I should say."
"Twenty-two," said Mr. Punch.
Everyone now fell silent. The young and lovely lady, who had said
nothing during their talk, was smiling from one to another. She seemed
to feel no embarrassment nor concern, nor anything indeed but happiness.
She looked at Toby with a smile, and all the men looked at her.
"Do you know me?" she said to Toby.
"You are changed," said he, "that's a fact. But I always knew that Aunt
Amanda was like that, down deep inside of her. If she could only have
looked like what she was, that's the way she would have looked, and I
always knew it. I'm glad you've come to look like yourself at last."
"Ah!" said the beautiful lady. "I am glad you don't feel that I am
strange to you. I know you all now, better than I have ever known you.
You have been with me a long while, under disguise. I don't seem to
remember very well what your disguises were, for I seem to have known
you always as you are: my loyal knight," (turning to Freddie), "my
body-guard," (turning to Mr. Toby and Mr. Punch), "my confessor,"
(turning to Thomas the Inferior), "and my courier," (turning to Mr.
Hanlon). "In my exile you have been with me, and in my homecoming you
shall be with me still."
"We hope to be with you always," said the tall young knight who used to
be Freddie. "But we are beginning to be noticed. I have seen one or two
people stare from the shop windows. We had better hurry to one of those
shops and seek refuge until we can find proper clothes."
"Ah, no!" said the lady, with a radiant smile. "I must hasten home. They
have been waiting a long time, and I must not lose a moment. I know the
way! This street is changed since I was here, but I know it! I know the
way! Come with me! I am going home!"
She placed her empty hour-glass in Freddie's hand, and led the way up
the street. Her bare feet trod the pavement swiftly; she walked as if
she had never known what it was to be lame; she went swimmingly, with a
motion of infinite grace. The others looked about them, uneasily, as
they followed, but she seemed to care nothing for the eyes of the
people. The ox-cart stopped as it came to them, and the driver who was
walking beside it stopped also, and gazed at them with his mouth open.
Faces appeared at shop-windows as they went by, and figures appeared at
shop-doors. Two or three foot-passengers passed them, and after they had
gone, went to the nearest shop-door and stood there for a moment in talk
with the shop-keeper. They then began to follow the strange white-clad
group up the street. In a few moments others joined them. Freddie looked
behind, and wished to run; but the lady who was leading paid no
attention.
A little further on she turned a corner, and the party found themselves
in a much busier street. The sidewalks were alive with people. In a
moment there was a great silence. When the six figures first appeared,
some of the people began to laugh. Then they looked at the face of the
lady who swept along in advance of her attendants, and they laughed no
more. They began to whisper one to another. They fell apart, and made
way for her and her attendants. They stopped; they forgot their own
affairs; some ran into the shops and called out the persons who were
within; they gaped, and whispered, and nodded, and held up their hands,
and with one accord began to follow.
Further on, heads appeared from the windows of pleasure-towers and
pleasure-domes; doors opened; all who could walk joined themselves to
the crowd which was following the wondrous lady and her five strange
companions.
Deeper and deeper into the city; on past the region of shops into the
region of gardens and mansions; up by a gradual ascent to the place of
the largest and tallest towers and domes; on they went, the six
white-gowned and bare-footed figures before, and the crowd behind; and
the further they went, the greater became the crowd; and still there was
no sound from the people, except the sound of an awestruck whispering.
The dark cloud on the mountain-top was now plainly in view before them
between the towers and domes, and they could see the great mass of the
King's Tower where it rose to the cloud and lost itself within it. At
the end of the street which they were now following a majestic gateway
could be seen, and beyond it a park.
Behind them the street was choked from wall to wall with a vast
multitude. From every house, as the multitude passed, its people poured
forth and joined the throng; business was forgotten; shops and houses
were deserted; it seemed as if the whole city was in the street,
following the lady and her five attendants. She looked not behind her
once. She seemed to be unaware of anything in the world about her; her
eyes shone like stars; she had forgotten even her companions; she spoke
not a word, but looked forward to the stately gateway and the park
beyond. Still no sound came from the multitude, except a sound of
whispering.
They reached the gateway. On each side was a great stone pillar,
supporting a gate of massive bronze. The gates were open. Without an
instant's hesitation she led the way within, and as she did so placed
her left hand on her heart. The throng seemed to waver a moment, and
then as the six barefoot and white-gowned figures moved swiftly up the
driveway into the park, it flowed in silently between the gates, and
followed at a respectful distance.
Before them, at a distance, on a knoll from which terraces of velvet
grass descended, stood the palace of the King; white and broad and
flat-roofed.
Passing a grove of trees, the lady left the roadway and stepped into the
smooth grass of a lawn, and sped across it directly towards the terraces
before the palace of the King. She mounted the gentle slope, her five
friends following her; and the vast throng, filling the park to the
gates, came on behind. She reached the first terrace; her hand was still
on her heart. A dog barked.
Windows in the palace front began to go up, and faces to appear. From an
archway sprang a pack of beautiful tall white curly-haired dogs, and
rushed on the lady, barking. Freddie made as if to protect her, but she
waved him back with a smile. The dogs sprang up as if to devour her, but
they did no harm; they barked as if their throats would burst; they
leaped and gambolled about her; they thrust their noses into her hand;
they almost spoke; and in the midst of it there appeared upon the wide
steps before the palace door a noble-looking man, and beside him three
children.
At sight of this man and the children, the lady covered her eyes for an
instant with her hands, and gave a sob; but she quickly looked up, and
sped on more swiftly than before, her hands hanging beside her, and a
bright misty look in her eyes.
The man upon the palace steps shaded his eyes with his hands, and gazed
upon her and the multitude spread out across the park behind her. One of
the children, a tiny boy, he took by the hand, and another, a girl a
little older, he grasped with his other hand; and with the third, a boy
of something over nine, beside them, they all four came down the steps
and crossed the terrace to meet the radiant lady.
On the next terrace they met. He dropped his children's hands, and
stopped. He was a man of some thirty years, richly clad, and handsome
beyond measure. As he stopped, the multitude found its voice. A mighty
shout went up.
"Long live the King! Long live the King!"
He paid no attention. His eyes were on the fair lady before him. A cry
from the oldest boy rang out clear and sharp in the silence.
"Mother!"
The King held out his arms.
"My darling!" he cried. "At last! At last!"
"Beloved!" she cried, and rushed into his arms, and buried her face in
his shoulder.
The children clung to her, weeping, and with one arm she pressed them
close against her side.
The multitude found its voice again.
"Long live Queen Miranda! Long live Queen Miranda!"
CHAPTER XXV
THE OLD MAN OF THE MOUNTAIN
"There's an Old Man," said Robert to Freddie. "He lives on the mountain.
I saw him once."
They were sitting on the palace lawn, looking up at the mountain which
rose behind the King's tower. The sun was directly overhead, and was
accordingly hidden by the cloud. The lower slopes of the mountain were
easy and gradual, but they grew steeper as they ascended, and at the
point where the mountain entered the cloud it was a straight and smooth
wall of granite, plainly impossible to climb. The King's eldest child
fixed his big eyes on the tall young man beside him.
"I like you," said he. "I wish you would take me up the mountain some
time for blackberries. Will you?"
"If the Queen permits," said Freddie, "we will go tomorrow."
A long time had passed since the Queen's return; a happy time, during
which the five who had come with the Queen were made to feel as if they
had lived all their lives in a palace. The two Old Codgers were found by
Toby, comfortably established in a double shop of their own, on one side
of which the Old Codger with the Wooden Leg sold tobacco, and on the
other side of which the Sly Old Fox sold jewelry; each of them entirely
contented with his fortune, and settled down for life. The Third
Vice-President had paid his respects at the palace, and was unable to
talk of anything but his Museum, for which he was devising many plans,
including a method whereby the late Mr. Matthew Speak might be assured
against ever being blown out of the window.
The saintly person who had once been the Churchwarden was occupied
nowadays, in a little room in the basement of the palace, in copying in
beautiful letters an ancient book belonging to the King.
Mr. Punch and Mr. Toby spent their time in exploring the city, arm in
arm, very inquisitive, very talkative, and making friends with
everybody.
Mr. Hanlon's work in life was, it appeared, the climbing of the King's
Tower. Every day he disappeared within, and every day he declared that
he would mount to the top before he finished; but he had not yet got to
the top, and there did not seem much prospect of his ever doing so.
As for Freddie,--not that he was called Freddie now; the King had given
him a high-sounding name,--the Chevalier Frederick; and by that name he
was spoken of by everybody, except that Toby sometimes forgot and called
him the Chandelier. As for the Chevalier Frederick, his interest was
mainly in the Queen's three children, Robert, Genevieve, and James; and
at the present moment the oldest, Robert, was sitting with the Chevalier
on the palace lawn, gossiping.
"We will go tomorrow," the Chevalier was saying, and then the little boy
Robert went on about the old man he had seen on the mountain.
"I saw him once," said Robert. "Just before Mother went away. I ran away
from home, I did, and I was gone all day. Mother was terribly worried. I
ran away to the mountain, and I was muddy all over when I got back, and
it was dark, too! Mother was terribly worried. I was gone all day, I
was; and I didn't get back until after dark, I didn't; and I was muddy
all over. Oh, but it was dark. Mother, she was terribly worried." He
stopped to think it over, and then went on again. "There wasn't any
Tower then. It was just before the old chap came and built the Tower in
a night; you know about that, don't you? I ran away and didn't come home
until after dark, I didn't; Mother was worried; and Jenny--I never call
her Genevieve, because Jenny's shorter--and Jenny wouldn't go because
she was afraid, and James was too little, so I went all by myself; and
it was getting pretty dark, and I was starting home down the mountain,
because I knew Mother would be worried, and I saw the Old Man coming
down the mountain, and he didn't see me, and he had a pack on his back
and a long stick in his hand, and a gown belted in about the middle, and
he was kind of fat and bald-headed; and he didn't see me but I saw him,
and pretty soon he went down into a gully and I didn't see him any more,
and I came on home, because it was getting dark, and I knew Mother would
be worried."
"Then perhaps we had better not go up there," said Freddie.
"Oh no," said Robert. "It's a grand place to climb and gather berries
and flowers. And I'd like to see the Old Man again. Will you take me
there today?"
"Tomorrow," said Freddie, "if the Queen will permit."
At this moment Mr. Hanlon appeared, somewhat out of breath, and he and
Freddie went into the palace together. He was quite jubilant.
"Faith," said he, "'tis a tower indade, that tower, and a swate little
bit of a journey to the top of it, if there's iver a top at all. But
it's Michael Hanlon will do it, by the bones of St. Patrick, and don't
ye forget what I'm tellin' ye, me b'y. I've been up there this day, so
high, so high--! I'll niver tell ye how high. It's comin' better; me
wind and me legs are better; in a wake, or two wakes, 'tis meself will
be fit for the grand ascent, and then there'll be news from the top, and
a proud look in the eye of Michael Hanlon, Esquire! Wait and see, me
b'y!"
The next morning, Queen Miranda having given her consent, Freddie and
Robert left the palace for their day on the mountain. All day they
wandered up the trails, and in the afternoon, when their luncheon was
all gone and they were tired, they began to descend. It was growing
dark; they had had a glorious day, and they were sorry it would soon be
over. They stretched themselves on the ground beneath a mountain oak,
and looked below them, past the Tower, across the roof of the palace to
the city. There was no living thing in sight, except a bird which sailed
across their view and disappeared. "Well, Robert," said Freddie, "I
suppose the Old Man who used to be here is gone. Come; we must go; your
mother will be worried."
They got to their feet. As they did so, a kind of groan startled them.
They listened. It came again, from some point near by. Freddie thought
he could make out a weak human voice, trying to call for help. Drawing
Robert after him, he climbed over a number of boulders and mounted to
the top of a rise in the ground, and looked down into a deep gully,
covered on its sides with rocks and bushes. What he saw there gave him a
start of alarm.
At the bottom was an old man, lying on his back, with one leg doubled
under him, his face up to the sky. From his lips came a groan, followed
by a faint cry for help. His head was bald, he was rather stout, he wore
a long white beard, and he was clad in a short dark gown, belted about
the middle. His legs were bare, and on the foot which was visible he
wore a sandal.
Robert looked over Freddie's shoulder, and whispered in his ear.
"That's him! He's fallen down and hurt himself."
It was true. The old man had evidently fallen, and he was plainly
suffering. Freddie clambered down to him, and knelt beside him. The old
man looked into the young man's eyes, and said, in a feeble whisper:
"My leg. Broken. Help me home."
Freddie assisted him into a sitting position, and then lifted him up and
held him.
"I cannot walk," said the old man. "Unless you can carry me, I must die
here."
Freddie was properly proud of his new strength, and he believed that he
could carry the old man.
"Where do you live?" said he.
"Up the mountain. I will show you. I beg you to carry me home."
"I will do my best," said Freddie.
He turned his back to the old man, and supporting him at the same time
put the old man's arms about his neck, and by a great effort got the
poor creature on his back. Carrying him thus, he began to go haltingly
up the side of the gully. The little boy watched them wonderingly.
It was a terrible journey. The old man directed Freddie from moment to
moment, and the way led steadily up the mountain, by a course which
Freddie had not seen that day. The burden on Freddie's back became
heavier and heavier; he panted harder and harder under it; he stumbled
from time to time, and every instant told himself that he could go no
further. The old man seemed to think of nothing but of getting home. The
little boy followed, staring with big eyes.
Freddie had gone but a short way up the mountain-side when he felt
through all his back, where it touched the old man, a chill; his
shoulders and throat, where the arms of the old man touched them,
became cold; as he struggled on, the chill increased; he felt as if he
were hugging to his back a burden of ice.
"Are we nearly there?" he asked, trying to wipe a cold perspiration from
his forehead.
"No, no," said the old man. "Go on. A long way yet. You can't be tired
so soon."
The cold upon Freddie's back and shoulders and throat became a dead
numbness; he was too cold to shiver; his arms too were now becoming
numb, and he felt that he could hold his burden no longer. He stopped.
"I must put you down," he said. "I must rest a moment. I don't know what
makes me so cold."
"No, no," said the old man. "Too soon! too soon! Keep on!"
"I cannot," said Freddie. "I am freezing. My strength is gone. I must
rest."
With these words he let the old man carefully down, and laid him on the
ground. He stood there panting and rubbing his frozen hands together.
"Stupid weakling," said the old man, staring up at him, "go and search
upon the mountain-side and bring me hither seeds of the fennel which you
will there find, and be quick; for I perish."
Freddie and the little boy hastened away together, and at a distance on
the mountain-side found, after a long search, a few plants of the
fennel, with which they hurried back to the old man.
He was gone.
They looked far and near; they examined every nook and cranny; the
mountain was steep at this point, and difficult for any sound man; for
an old man, crippled, it seemed impossible, but he was nowhere to be
found; he was gone.
Freddie and Robert turned homeward, and made hard work of it. The little
boy became extremely heated with his labor; but Freddie remained as
cold as ever. It is true that he perspired, but the beads upon his
forehead were like the beads upon ice-cold glass. His hands were so numb
that when he cut them slightly on a rock he felt no pain. His back,
where the old man had clung to it with his body, was coldest of all; he
was so stiff that he could scarcely bend his arms or body; many times
the little boy had to help him down; the chill spread; at the foot of
the mountain his legs were nearly as cold as his arms; when they passed
the Tower, his knees were as if frozen, and would not bend; the little
boy put his arm about him and tried to help him walk; he began to lose
knowledge of his whereabouts; he held out a stiff arm before him, like a
blind man, and dragged one foot after the other like a man whose legs
are made of stone. The little boy, weeping to himself, took his icy
outstretched hand, and led him home.
The palace door was thrown open. The little boy rushed in with a cry,
and turned around to his companion. The white-faced rigid creature which
was Freddie stood in the doorway, staring vacantly, and fell slowly
forward on its face upon the floor.
CHAPTER XXVI
THE KING'S TOWER
Freddie was very ill. He was so ill that after a week the King gave up
all hope, and believed he would die. The Queen wept bitterly; she
scarcely left his side; at night she did not sleep for weeping, and by
day she sat by his bed and watched his cold white face. His friends were
not allowed to see him, and of these it appeared that Mr. Hanlon had
been gone for some days up the Tower.
All that the best doctors in the city could do had been done, but the
Chevalier was no better. He lay under the blankets, cold as ice and
motionless as stone; and his eyes, big round eyes like the eyes of a
child, stared up strangely out of deep sockets. They looked up at the
King, who was bending down over the bed and smiling encouragingly. The
Queen and her three children, Robert, Genevieve, and James, were
standing close by, but they could not smile.
"Come, Chevalier," said the King, "you will be well soon, I am sure."
A faint voice came from the pale lips; not the voice of a grown man, but
the voice of a child.
"That isn't my name," it said, "my name is--Fweddie."
The King went away, and took his children with him; and after they had
gone the Queen heard the childish voice again from the bed.
"I want to see Aunt Amanda."
The Queen went to him, and stood beside the bed. He looked up at her.
"You aren't Aunt Amanda," he said. "I want to see Aunt Amanda."
"I think that was my name once," said the Queen. "Will you talk to me?"
He looked at her again, and she saw that he did not know her.
"My farver sent me," he said. "Mr. Toby has gone to the barber-shop, and
my farver he wants a pound of Cage-Roach Mitchner."
"Mr. Toby is here in the palace now, and I'm sure he--"
"I don't know about any palace. I can't wait long. My farver told me to
hurry."
The Queen said no more, and Freddie appeared to go to sleep. The night
came on, and the Queen still sat by his side. It grew very late; her
children had long since gone to bed, and even the King was asleep in his
own apartments. The palace was silent, and there was scarcely a light
anywhere in the great place except the light of a taper on a table in
Freddie's room. The Queen was bending forward, watching the face on the
pillow. The eyes were closed, the lips were together, and there was no
sign of breathing. She knew that it could not be much longer; she buried
her face in her hands and wept bitterly.
A gentle tap upon the door aroused her. She rose and admitted Mr. Toby
and Mr. Punch, Thomas the Inferior, and Mr. Hanlon.
"Quick, ma'am," said Mr. Hanlon. "There's not a minute to be lost. If
you plase, I'll ask ye to put on yer bonnet in a hurry, ma'am. We're off
on a journey, and the poor sick young lad's coming along with us. If
you'll just be in a hurry with the bonnet, ma'am!"
The Queen, scarcely realizing what she was doing, left the room, and
went first to the nursery, where she bent over her three sleeping
children and kissed them each, and murmured a loving good-bye above
them, as if she were going to leave them; and for a long, long time she
gazed at each rosy face, as if to fix it in her memory forever.
When she returned to the room, wearing a shawl over her head and
shoulders, she was startled to see that the sick youth was sitting
upright in a chair, thickly wrapped in blankets. His round childlike
eyes were wide open, and to her surprise a faint smile seemed to hover
about his lips.
She looked at the others. Each held, in his hand an empty hour-glass.
"Plase to get your hour-glass, ma'am," said Mr. Hanlon, "and Freddie's
too."
Freddie's hour-glass was soon found in a drawer in the same room; the
Queen's she brought in a moment from another room.
Mr. Hanlon picked up from the floor, where he had previously laid it, a
small canvas bag, and placed it on the table under the candle. All of
the empty hour-glasses he placed upon the table, and unscrewed the part
of each by which it was designed to receive its load of sand. He lifted
his bag, and out of it poured into each glass a quantity of fine white
sand. "A little more or less won't matter a mite," said he, when he had
filled them all. "A foine time I've had getting the sand, 'tis sure, but
it's the true article, straight from the hand of the old crayture
himself, and 'tis him we're going to this very minute, and the young lad
with us. By the sand in the hour-glasses we'll get back to the old
crayture in one-tinth the time it took me to find him without it, and by
the same we'll get him to save for us the poor lad's life, or me name's
not Michael."
Each now took his hour-glass in his hand. They were the same
hour-glasses they had bought of Shiraz the Persian, and the sand which
was now in them was the same sort of fine white sand which had been in
them before their ordeal in the fire.
Mr. Punch and Mr. Toby lifted the sick youth from his chair, and carried
him between them, in a sitting position, towards the door. Mr. Hanlon
looked at him anxiously, and commanded haste.
In a moment the whole party were in the hall, and in a few moments more
they were crossing the lawn towards King's Tower. It was a clear night,
and the sky was spangled with stars.
Mr. Hanlon opened the door of the Tower, and when they were all within
closed it again.
"Madam and gintlemen," said he, "we are going to the top of the Tower. I
have been there meself; and there's wan at the top who can bring back
our young frind to life, if he's a mind to do it."
"Oh!" gasped the Queen in terror. "I must not go to the top of this
tower. Ah!" she stopped suddenly and went on in a determined voice. "I
will, though. If it is to be, then it must be. Our young Chevalier came
here for me, and I will go with him! If my strength holds out, I will go
even to the top of the Tower, whatever evil may befall me there!"
"'Tis not strength that's needed, madam," said Mr. Hanlon, "for the old
crayture that give me the sand was willing to help us up to him, and the
sand will make the travellin' easy, or else the old haythen has much
desayved me. 'Twas all I could do to get to the top, belave me, and ye'd
niver do it without the sand in the glasses, let alone carry up the
young lad in your arms besides. Now we'll be going up the stairs, and if
the old crayture didn't desayve me, you're to hold your hour-glasses in
your hands, and see what happens."
Mr. Hanlon went up first; then came the Queen, and after her Mr. Punch
and Mr. Toby, bearing between them in an upright position the stiff cold
form of the young Chevalier; and last of all came Thomas the Inferior,
in his long brown gown and sandals.
Each climbed slowly, but the steps appeared to flow downward under their
feet with great rapidity. They were not conscious of selecting any
particular tread to step on; but while a foot was rising from one step
to the next, it seemed as if a thousand steps were passing downward,
until the foot came down and found itself on a perfectly motionless
tread. Undoubtedly they were mounting, without unusual exertion, a
thousand steps at a time.
Even at that rate of progress, the journey upward seemed an endless one.
They paused sometimes to go into one of the rooms on a landing for a
moment's rest, and at those times they looked out of a window. It was
not long before they were so high that on looking out, the City's lights
were no more than a glowing blur. At the last window on their upward
progress they looked up at the cloud; it was immediately above their
heads. After that there were no more windows. They went on upward in
silence, aware in the darkness of the swift flow of steps downward under
them as they raised their feet. Each observed that as he raised his foot
the sand in his hour-glass flowed downward a thousand times more
rapidly, as if time were suddenly running faster than it was used to
running.
The walls of the tower were by this time coming closer together, and the
stair was even steeper than before. They were panting for breath, and
Mr. Punch and Mr. Toby seemed to be all but exhausted. "We are almost at
the top," said Mr. Hanlon. "Keep on. Don't give up."
It was now, because there were no more rooms nor windows, completely
dark. The face of the sick youth could not be seen, and no one knew
whether he was still living. Even the sand in their hour-glasses they
were now unable to see.
"We are almost there," said Mr. Hanlon. "Only another minute or two.
'Tis easy work to what I had in coming up alone."
Mr. Punch gave a groan. "Hi carn't go another step," said he. "Hi'm
completely--"
At this moment Mr. Hanlon stopped upon a landing. It had been a long
while since there had been a landing, and they were all glad to rest
upon it. They crowded about Mr. Hanlon in the dark.
"The door is over there," said he. "Keep close to me."
He walked a few feet forward across the level floor, and came to a stop
again.
"'Tis the top of the tower," said he. "I hope we're not too late to save
the young lad's life. Stand close behind me."
He moved forward again, and stopped; he was evidently feeling a wall
with his hands.
"Ah!" said he. "'Tis the door itself. Now, thin, we'll see!"
He knocked upon the door with his knuckles.
There was no response.
He knocked again.
There was a sound upon the other side of the door, as of the rattling of
a chain and the sliding of a bolt.
A slit of light appeared up and down in the dark wall; it became wider;
it was apparent that the door was opening; and in another moment the
door was flung wide, and in the doorway stood an Old Man, holding up in
his right hand a lantern in which glimmered a candle.
CHAPTER XXVII
THE SORCERER'S DEN
He was an old man, rather stout, dressed in a short gown tied in with a
cord about the middle, and wearing sandals on his feet. He stooped
somewhat; a white beard hung to his waist; his head was bald, except for
a forelock of white hair which drooped over his forehead towards his
eyes. There was a humorous twinkle in his eye, and a smile overspread
his broad round face.
"'Tis the old parrty who will cure the Chivalier," said Mr. Hanlon,
behind his hand.
"It's the Old Man of the Mountain," whispered Toby.
"It's the Magician who built the Tower," whispered Queen Miranda, in
alarm.
"Hit's me own father, as ever was!" cried Mr. Punch, aloud. "Greetings,
old dear! 'Ere's a surprise, what? 'Owever did you come 'ere? Hi'm no
end glad to see you, and the larst person Hi should 'ave thought to see
in this--My word, what a lark!"
"Come in, Punch," said the old gentleman, affably, "and your friends
too. I'm very glad to see you, my boy. I've had some trouble in getting
you here, but here you are at last, thanks to my good friend Hanlon, and
you are now well out of the hands of Shiraz. Put the Little Boy down in
that chair, and we'll see what we can do for him!"
To speak of a grown-up youth with a mustache as a Little Boy seemed
hardly respectful, but Freddie did not seem to mind it; indeed, his big
round childlike eyes dwelt fondly on the old man, and there was
something like a smile about his lips. He was seated gently in a chair
within the room, and while Mr. Punch's father set down his lantern on a
table, the others looked about them.
They were in a small square room with a low ceiling. By the dim light of
the candle they could see that it was bare and dusty; cobwebs hung in
all the corners; there seemed to be no windows, but set upright in one
wall was what looked like the back of a clock, as tall as a man.
Opposite the door by which they had entered was another door. Around the
walls were shelves, from floor to ceiling, crowded with hour-glasses of
all sizes.
The old gentleman observed the look which Toby cast at the shelves.
"One of my store-rooms," said he. "I've got a good many of 'em, all
told, and in fact you'll find a store-room of mine in the top of nearly
every clock-tower in the world. It takes a deal of space to keep all the
hour-glasses in, I can tell you. If you'll give me yours, I'll put 'em
away for you. Shiraz got 'em away from me once, but he won't do it
again. He manages to steal one now and then, when I'm away, but I
usually get 'em back, sooner or later."
He collected the hour-glasses from his visitors, and put them away on a
shelf.
"Look 'ere, parent," said Mr. Punch, "hif I didn't know better, I'd s'y
as I'd seen this room before. There's the back of the clock, and the
door over there looks like--"
"You've a sharp eye, Punch, my boy," said the old gentleman. "Quite a
detective you are, my son. Now, then, we'd better get busy. Aunt Amanda,
do you want me to cast off your enchantment?"
"Why do you call me that?" asked Queen Miranda.
"Because that's your name. Don't you know who you are?"
"I know I was enchanted once, under the name of Aunt Amanda."
"No, no. You're enchanted _now_, under the name of Queen Miranda."
"But Shiraz the Persian told us he would disenchant us, and he did."
"No, no. You were yourselves before, and _now_ you are enchanted."
"My brain is in a whirl," said Queen Miranda. "Are we ourselves now, or
were we ourselves before?"
"By crackey," said Toby, "it's too much for me, and I give it up.
Anyway, what we want to know is, can you cure the Chevalier?"
"I can, and I will," said the old man. "There's nothing the matter with
him, except that he isn't himself. As soon as he's himself again, he'll
be well. He was given the chance once before, but he didn't know how to
use it; he made a great mistake."
"What mistake?" said Toby.
"He made the mistake of carrying the Old Man of the Mountain on his
back. If he had only lifted him up in his arms before him, the Old Man
would have been as light as a feather, and Freddie would have been
himself again in a flash. But of course he didn't know. We've got to
correct his mistake."
"Well, by crickets," said Toby, "this is Correction Island, right
enough. Blamed if I know which is the mistake and which is the
correction. It looks to me as if it was a mistake to be corrected, and
we've got to correct the correction back again."
"Something like that," said the old man, smiling. "I'm going to undo the
correction of each one of you, and then you'll all be yourselves once
more, instead of these false things you now are."
Queen Miranda looked at the ruby ring on her finger, and wept quietly to
herself. As for Freddie, his eyes never left the face of the old man.
The old man stooped over Freddie, and laid his cheek against the young
Chevalier's pale forehead, and then against the young man's cheeks; he
then threw aside the blankets and sat himself down on Freddie's knees.
His body pressed the young man's breast, and his cheek touched the young
man's cheeks one after the other. It was some moments before there was
any change. The others watched anxiously. A red glow began to appear in
Freddie's cheeks, and his eyes became brighter. He raised his hands; he
moved his head; he looked about him; he smiled into the face of the old
man.
"You are better?" said the old man.
"I'm very well," said Freddie, in a clear voice. "But I think I must
have been sick. Have I been sick?"
"Rather," said the old man. "But you are going to be yourself again in
another minute. Now, then; put your arms around me and lift me off. Can
you do that?"
"Easily," said Freddie, and he lifted the old man in his arms, and
rising to his feet at the same time, tossed the old man off with an easy
gesture.
As the old man touched the floor, there was no longer any Chevalier.
Freddie was standing before the chair in his own person; the Little Boy
once more, with sparkling eyes and rosy cheeks. He looked around in
surprise.
"Where are Aunt Amanda and the others?" said the Little Boy.
"Wait just a minute, Freddie," said the old man. "Now, madam," he said
to Queen Miranda, "if you will be kind enough to lift me up and toss me
away--"
Queen Miranda looked at him doubtfully. He was a solid-looking person,
and it seemed absurd to think of lifting him. But she did as he
directed, and placing her hands under his arms she found that he weighed
no more than a baby. She held him up off the floor.
"Now cast me off," said he.
She tossed him away with an easy gesture, and he alighted on his feet
with a bound.
"Aunt Amanda!" cried Freddie, and rushed into her arms.
"Land sakes!" said she. "I thought you were never coming. Where are all
the others? I'm glad there's nobody but this old man to see me in this
bedraggled bonnet. Why don't that Toby Littleback come? Now ain't it
like him to keep me waiting here all night? I never see such an
exasperatin'--"
"Wait just one moment, Aunt Amanda," said the old man. "I'll have him
here immediately."
He stood before Toby, and directed him what to do. Toby seized him in
his strong hands and lifted him up over his head like a feather pillow;
and such a toss did Toby give him as sent him flying across the room
almost to the wall. The old man came down on his feet with a bound.
"You Toby Littleback!" said Aunt Amanda. "Ain't it just like you to keep
me and Freddie waiting here all night, while--And where's Mr. Punch and
all the rest of 'em?"
Toby stood before her, with his hands in his pockets. His hump was on
his back in its rightful place, and he looked exactly as he had looked
the first time Freddie had seen him, standing in the doorway of the Old
Tobacco Shop.
"I ain't been nowhere, Aunt Amanda," said Toby. "And I don't know where
Mr. Punch is, neither. I ain't his guardian, anyway. The last I seen of
him, as far as I remember, was in Shiraz's garden, lookin' round at the
flowers. By crackey, if he can't take care of himself, I ain't a-going
to do it for him. Maybe the old gentleman here can tell you, if you want
to know."
"Wait just a moment," said the old man. "I'll have him here
immediately."
Mr. Punch laughed immoderately as he picked up his own father and tossed
him in the air and hurled him across the room. The old man did not seem
to mind it a bit, but joined in the laugh as he came down on his feet
with a bounce. Mr. Punch was immediately himself again; his hump was on
his back, his breast stuck out, his long-tailed coat and knee breeches
were as before, and he looked as if he might just have stepped down from
his wooden box beside the Tobacco Shop's door.
"Wery glad," said he, "to myke you acquainted with me old parent; and a
wery good parent too, hif----"
"That's enough, Punch," said his father. "Now we'll bring on the
Churchwarden."
In another moment the thin and saintly-looking Thomas the Inferior was
gone, and in his place was the fat and comfortable Churchwarden,
blinking at his friends through his round spectacles.
"I have been considering," said he, "that it would be highly desirable,
after all I have passed through lately, to sit in my chair on the
pavement against the wall of my church with a pipe and a newspaper; and
I have concluded that----"
"We will now call Mr. Hanlon," said the old man.
From the time Mr. Hanlon placed his hands under the old man's arms his
tongue was rattling on at a prodigious speed; and as he tossed the old
man lightly away like a doll he was saying, "And niver once did the
spacheless man and the deaf wife have anny worrds except once; and 'twas
then that----." But he spoke no more. He was himself again. He was
dumb. Toby greeted him warmly, but he only nodded his head vigorously,
and smiled his old-time cheerful smile.
"That's all," said the old man.
"But the two Old Codgers----" began Toby.
"They will not be here," said the old man. "No use waiting. They made
their choice some time ago. They are as much themselves now as they ever
were, and they will remain where they are in perfect contentment. No
need to bother about them. All that remains now is to bid you farewell,
and wish you a pleasant journey."
"Have we far to go?" said Toby.
"You'll see," said the old gentleman, going to the door, that was
opposite the one by which they had entered, and throwing it open.
He stood aside as they passed, and smiled upon each with a kind and
fatherly smile. He placed his hand on Freddie's head, and turned the
Little Boy's face up so that he could look down into his eyes.
"Remember!" he said. "Never carry the Old Man of the Mountain on your
back. Carry him before you in your hands, and he will be as light as a
feather. Now farewell."
He gently pushed them out and closed the door behind them, and they went
slowly down a dark stair. Toby held Freddie's hand, and Mr. Punch helped
Aunt Amanda. They could see very little, and they knew very little where
they were, until they found themselves after a time on a level floor,
and feeling the wall with their hands came to a pair of swinging doors.
Through these doors they passed, and Toby knocked his knee against
something in the dark.
"It's a long bench!" said Toby. "And here's a sight of other long
benches! Blamed if they don't seem like pews in a church!"
A dim light as of tall windows was visible at some distance on their
left.
The Churchwarden pushed forward and walked swiftly here and there with
the step of one who knows the way. In a moment he returned.
"It's a church," he said, calmly. "It's _my_ church. This way, madam and
gentlemen."
He led the way to the left. Under a great round window which could be
dimly seen in the wall was a wide door, before which they all paused.
"As captain of this party," said Aunt Amanda, "my orders is that we open
the door and see what will happen next."
"Ay, ay, ma'am," said the Churchwarden, and opened the door.
In a moment they were standing under the stars on a brick pavement
before a church, and on the pavement against the church wall was an
empty chair.
"Ah!" said the Churchwarden, and sat down in the chair.
"Mercy on us!" cried Aunt Amanda. "We're _home_!"
"Blamed if we ain't!" said Toby. "It's our own street, and I can almost
see the Tobacco Shop from here!"
"Harfter a life of adventure," said Mr. Punch, "one will find it wery
pleasant to stand quietly on one's little perch and rest one's legs and
see one's old friends go in and hout at the Old Tobacco Shop once more,
watching for the 'ands of the clock to come together for a bit of
relaxation with one's----"
"All right, young feller!" cried Toby to Freddie. "Come with me. Mr.
Punch, take Aunt Amanda home. I'll be with you as soon as I've got
Freddie safe."
Aunt Amanda and Mr. Punch went off together towards the Old Tobacco
Shop. Mr. Hanlon, after shaking hands all round, departed for the Gaunt
Street Theatre, where he would be no longer troubled by the imps, who
had long since been destroyed by the Odour of Sanctity. The
Churchwarden preferred to enjoy for awhile the comfort of his old chair
by the Church wall, and Toby and Freddie left him there, his hands
folded placidly across his stomach.
Freddie and Toby crossed the street-car track, hand in hand together.
The horse had gone to bed for the night, and there was no danger. All
the houses were dark. It was very late. No light was to be seen
anywhere, except a gas-lamp at the next corner. The streets were silent
and deserted. Freddie yawned.
Freddie's house was dark, like all the rest. A narrow brick passage-way
followed a fence to the rear, between this house and the next, and a
gate opened from the sidewalk into this passage. Freddie and Toby went
through this gate and crept quietly to the backyard of Freddie's house.
The kitchen-door was locked, but Toby found a window which was
unfastened. He raised it noiselessly, and helped Freddie to climb in.
With a whispered good-night the Little Boy left his friend and tiptoed
into the house and up the back stairs in the dark to his own room.
His bed was there in its old place, and the covers were turned down. He
did not stop to say his prayers. He yawned and stretched his arms. He
wanted nothing now but to lie snug and safe under the cool sheets. He
threw off his clothes and left them on the floor. He knew where his
night-gown was. He crept into bed; he pulled the covers up to his ears;
he nestled his head into the pillow, and breathed a deep sigh.
CHAPTER XXVIII
THE OLD TOBACCO SHOP
The next morning, when Freddie awoke, his mother and father were
standing over his bed.
"I think he had better not go there anymore," his father was saying.
"Oh, I don't think it will do him any harm now," said his mother.
"It all comes of his staying away so long," said his father. "I always
told him to hurry back, and just see how long he stayed this time. If he
can't come back in less than six months or six years or heaven knows how
long, he'd better not go at all."
"Oh," said his mother, "I'm sure he'll come back promptly after this."
"I couldn't," said Freddie. "It took such a long time to get to the
Island, and there was all the trouble with the pirates, and it was a
terrible long journey before we got to the palace, and of course we
couldn't run away from the queen after we'd gone all that long way with
her, and the queen's children didn't want me to go anyway, and there
wasn't any way to get back, except for finding out how to get to the top
of the tower, and maybe I wouldn't have got back at all if I hadn't met
the Old Man of the Mountain, and got sick and cured again by Mr. Punch's
father, and I might have got drowned when the ship disappeared, or I
might have had my head cut off by the pirates, and then you wouldn't
have seen me any more, and you'd have been sorry."
His father looked at his mother, and nodded his head.
"He'd better stay in bed today," said he. "We won't talk to him about it
until tomorrow."
"Yes," said his mother, "that will be much better. Poor little Freddie!"
Freddie did not know why he should be called poor, but he was still
tired from the adventurous life he had recently lived, and he was very
glad to remain in bed all day.
The next morning, after his father had said good-bye for the day, his
mother allowed him to get up, and a little later to go out into the
sunshine. He strolled down the street, enjoying the familiar sights
after his long absence. He found his legs a little weak; he must have
been very ill indeed at the King's palace, and he could not expect to
get over it in one day. He crossed the street-car track, and on the
pavement before the church he saw a well-known figure.
The Churchwarden was sitting in his chair tilted back against the wall,
smoking a long pipe and reading a newspaper. As Freddie approached he
put down his paper and looked at him over his spectacles.
"Good morning," said he. "I'm glad to see you back again. I hear you've
been away." And he winked his eye at Freddie in a very knowing manner.
"Yes, sir," said Freddie. "I guess I must have been pretty sick."
"No doubt about it, my son. But of course I knew all the time you'd pull
through."
Freddie did not believe it for a moment; obviously the Churchwarden was
bragging.
"The street looks pretty good," said Freddie, "after being away so long.
Would you rather sit here on the pavement than do anything else?"
"I believe you, son. I'd rather sit here on a sunny day with a pipe and
a newspaper than have all the treasure of the Incas."
Freddie was glad to hear that the Churchwarden did not regret the loss
of his share of the treasure, though whether Captain Lingo belonged to
the Incas he did not know.
"I don't care anything about the treasure myself," said he. "I'm too
glad to be well again and back in our own street."
"I'm glad I'm here myself, son. And if you happen to see Toby Littleback
this morning, tell him I'm alive and resting well, considering."
"Yes, sir," said Freddie, and continued his stroll.
The Old Tobacco Shop, when he arrived, looked as it had looked on the
fateful day when he had last seen it. He paused before the door, and
gazed at Mr. Punch. He half expected the little man to step down and
shake hands with him; but Mr. Punch did not move a muscle; he did not
even look at Freddie; he held out in one hand a packet of black cigars,
and his wooden face, if it expressed anything at all, showed the great
calm which he must have felt when he got back to his little perch.
Freddie looked up at the clock in the tower, with some thought that the
hands might be together; but it was a quarter past ten, and anyway Mr.
Punch's father was probably by this time far away in some other of his
store-rooms about the world.
Freddie entered the shop. Mr. Toby was behind the counter, opening a
package of tobacco.
"Aha! young feller!" he cried. "Back again, sure enough! Blamed if it
don't seem as if you'd been away from here for a year. And a mighty sick
chap you were, that's a fact. I reckon we all thought you were going to
die, maybe; by crackey, I never seen anyone so pale in my life. Are you
all right now?"
"Yes, sir," said Freddie. "And I'm glad to be back. Are you glad to be
here in the shop, the same as ever?"
"Me? You bet I am. You couldn't buy me to leave this shop, not if you
offered me all the money that Captain Kidd ever buried. No, sir. And
look here, young man; I reckon you ain't surprised to see that the
Chinaman's head is gone; eh?"
Freddie looked at the shelf behind Toby, and sure enough, the Chinaman's
head was gone. He knew, of course, that it was lying at the bottom of
the ocean.
"I kind of lost it one day," said Toby, winking his eye. "Mislaid it,
you know, or lost it, one or the other, I don't know which,--but,
anyway, I reckon it won't never be found. It's gone. I hope you don't
mind it now, do you?"
"No, sir," said Freddie. He was glad to know that Mr. Toby was not still
feeling disturbed because he had left it on board The Sieve.
"All right, then," said Toby. "You'd better go in and see Aunt Amanda."
Freddie opened the door at the rear of the shop and went into the back
room. Aunt Amanda was sitting by the table, sewing.
On the table were the wax flowers and the album and the double glasses
through which you looked at the twin pictures. The room was just as if
they had never left it.
"Eshyereerilart," said Aunt Amanda, taking a handful of pins from her
mouth. "Bless your dear little heart, I'm glad you're back again. Are
you well? Sit down on the hassock."
Freddie took his customary place on the hassock at her feet. He looked
up at her and wondered if she were sorry she had been a queen once and
was a queen no more.
"Yes'm," said he. "I'm all well now."
"And glad to be back here in the shop again?"
"Yes'm; I cert'n'y am."
[Illustration: "Ah, yes," said Aunt Amanda, "there's no place like the
Old Tobacco Shop, after all."]
"Ah, yes," said Aunt Amanda, "there's no place like the Old Tobacco
Shop, after all. I wouldn't exchange it for a palace if you'd give it to
me."
"Wouldn't you?" said Freddie, a little surprised at this.
"I should say not. I wouldn't be myself in a palace. I'm pretty well
satisfied here."
"But what about the children?" said Freddie.
"The children?" asked Aunt Amanda.
"Yes. Robert and Jenny and James. _You_ know."
Aunt Amanda looked at him for a moment, and then nodded her head and
sighed.
"Yes," she said. "You know about them, don't you? I forgot that you
knew. Yes, I miss them a good deal, and I suppose I even cry sometimes
because I haven't got them. But I love to think about them. I'm happy
thinking about them, even if I can't have them."
"James was the littlest," said Freddie.
"Yes," said Aunt Amanda, nodding her head to herself as if at a gentle
memory.
"He was too little to go out much with the others," said Freddie.
"Yes," said Aunt Amanda, "he was too little."
"And Jenny," said Freddie, "she wouldn't go with Robert the day he ran
away. He wanted her to, but she wouldn't."
"No," said Aunt Amanda, "she wouldn't."
"He was gone all day," said Freddie.
"Yes," said Aunt Amanda, "he was gone all day, and he didn't get back
until after dark. I didn't know where he was. When he got back it was
dark, and he was muddy all over. I was terribly worried."
THE END.
End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Old Tobacco Shop, by William Bowen
*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE OLD TOBACCO SHOP ***
***** This file should be named 26977-8.txt or 26977-8.zip *****
This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
http://www.gutenberg.org/2/6/9/7/26977/
Produced by David Edwards, Katie Ward and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
file was produced from images generously made available
by The Internet Archive)
Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
will be renamed.
Creating the works from public domain print editions 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-tm electronic works to
protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project
Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you
do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is
subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
redistribution.
*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
http://gutenberg.org/license).
Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
electronic works
1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all
the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be
used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few
things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See
paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
works. See paragraph 1.E below.
1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the
collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an
individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in
a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check
the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning
the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
States.
1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
copied or distributed:
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere 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
1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
1.E.9.
1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked
to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
Gutenberg-tm License.
1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or
distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
that
- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is
owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments
must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
License. You must require such a user to return or
destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
Project Gutenberg-tm works.
- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
of receipt of the work.
- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the
Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
1.F.
1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
your equipment.
1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
DAMAGE.
1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you
received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with
the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy
is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
opportunities to fix the problem.
1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER
WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any
provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists
because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
people in all walks of life.
Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org.
Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
Foundation
The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
http://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at
809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
[email protected]. Email contact links and up to date contact
information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
page at http://pglaf.org
For additional contact information:
Dr. Gregory B. Newby
Chief Executive and Director
[email protected]
Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
Literary Archive Foundation
Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations
($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
status with the IRS.
The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations
where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To
SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
particular state visit http://pglaf.org
While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
approach us with offers to donate.
International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other
ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations.
To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate
Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
works.
Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily
keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
http://www.gutenberg.org
This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
