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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Jolly Fellowship, by Frank R. Stockton
+
+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: A Jolly Fellowship
+
+Author: Frank R. Stockton
+
+Release Date: February 24, 2007 [EBook #20651]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A JOLLY FELLOWSHIP ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Suzanne Shell, Emmy and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+A JOLLY FELLOWSHIP.
+
+
+
+
+FRANK R. STOCKTON'S WRITINGS
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+_New Uniform Edition_
+
+          RUDDER GRANGE                                 $1.25
+          THE LATE MRS. NULL                             1.25
+          ARDIS CLAVERDEN                                1.50
+          THE WATCHMAKER'S WIFE                          1.25
+          THE RUDDER GRANGERS ABROAD                     1.25
+          THE BEE-MAN OF ORN                             1.25
+          THE LADY, OR THE TIGER?                        1.25
+          THE CHRISTMAS WRECK                            1.25
+          AMOS KILBRIGHT                                 1.25
+          THE HOUSE OF MARTHA                            1.25
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+          AFIELD AND AFLOAT. Illustrated. 12mo          $1.50
+          THE GIRL AT COBHURST. 12mo                     1.50
+          A STORY-TELLER'S PACK. Illustrated. 12mo       1.50
+          MRS. CLIFF'S YACHT. _Illustrated._ 12mo        1.50
+          THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN HORN. 12mo           1.50
+          A CHOSEN FEW. SHORT STORIES.
+            _Cameo Edition_                              1.25
+          RUDDER GRANGE. _With over 100 Illustrations
+            by A. B. Frost._ 12mo                        1.50
+          POMONA'S TRAVELS. _Illustrated by A. B.
+            Frost._ 12mo                                 1.50
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
+
+          A JOLLY FELLOWSHIP. Illustrated. 12mo         $1.50
+          THE STORY OF VITEAU. Illustrated. 12mo         1.50
+          THE TING-A-LING TALES. Illustrated. 12mo       1.00
+          THE FLOATING PRINCE, and Other Fairy Tales.
+            Illustrated. 4to                             1.50
+          ROUNDABOUT RAMBLES IN LANDS OF FACT
+            AND FANCY. Illustrated. 4to                  1.50
+          TALES OUT OF SCHOOL. Illustrated. 4to          1.50
+          PERSONALLY CONDUCTED. Illustrated, square 8vo  2.00
+          THE CLOCKS OF RONDAINE, and Other Stories,
+            Illustrated, square 8vo                      1.50
+
+  [Illustration: "BANG! BANG! BANG!--SEVEN TIMES."
+
+    [Page 105.]]
+
+
+
+
+A JOLLY FELLOWSHIP
+
+BY
+
+FRANK R. STOCKTON
+
+AUTHOR OF "RUDDER GRANGE," ETC.
+
+_ILLUSTRATED_
+
+          NEW-YORK
+          CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
+          1901
+
+
+
+
+          Copyright, 1880, by
+          CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS.
+
+
+
+
+          TROW'S
+          PRINTING AND BOOKBINDING COMPANY,
+          NEW YORK.
+
+
+_This story is told by Will Gordon, a young fellow about sixteen years
+old, who saw for himself everything worth seeing in the course of the
+events he relates, and so knows much more about them than any one who
+would have to depend upon hearsay. Will is a good-looking boy, with
+brown hair and gray eyes, rather large for his age, and very fond of
+being a leader among his young companions. Whether or not he is good at
+that sort of thing, you can judge from the story he tells._
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+          _Chapter._                                  _Page._
+
+              I. WE MAKE A START                         1
+
+             II. GOING BACK WITH THE PILOT              16
+
+            III. RECTUS OPENS HIS EYES                  29
+
+             IV. TO THE RESCUE                          43
+
+              V. STORMING SAN MARCO                     56
+
+             VI. THE GIRL ON THE BEACH                  69
+
+            VII. MR. CHIPPERTON                         88
+
+           VIII. THE STEAM-BOAT IN THE FOREST          100
+
+             IX. THE THREE GRAY BEANS                  116
+
+              X. THE QUEEN ON THE DOOR-STEP            128
+
+             XI. REGAL PROJECTS                        140
+
+            XII. RECTUS LOSES RANK                     154
+
+           XIII. THE CORONATION                        166
+
+            XIV. A HOT CHASE                           178
+
+             XV. A STRANGE THING HAPPENS TO ME         191
+
+            XVI. MR. CHIPPERTON KEEPS PERFECTLY COOL   204
+
+           XVII. WHAT BOY HAS DONE, BOY MAY DO         217
+
+          XVIII. I WAKE UP MR. CHIPPERTON              229
+
+            XIX. THE LIFE-RAFT                         241
+
+             XX. THE RUSSIAN BARK                      252
+
+            XXI. THE TRIP OF THE TUG                   263
+
+           XXII. LOOKING AHEAD                         274
+
+          XXIII. UNCLE CHIPPERTON'S DINNER             285
+
+           XXIV. THE STORY ENDS                        296
+
+
+
+
+LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
+
+
+                                                           _Page._
+          "BANG! BANG! BANG!--SEVEN TIMES."   (_Frontispiece._)
+
+          "SHE SEIZED ME BY BOTH HANDS"                      10
+
+          THE VESSEL IS OFF                                  17
+
+          SCOTT AND THE CAPTAIN                              19
+
+          RECTUS AND THE LEMONS                              27
+
+          "'HOLD YOUR TONGUE!' ROARED MR. RANDALL"           32
+
+          "RECTUS SHOWED ME THE MAP"                         35
+
+          "HOW?"                                             46
+
+          "ANOTHER BEAN"                                     64
+
+          "THE GENTLEMAN WAVED HIS HAT TO US"                80
+
+          "WHY, HOW DO YOU DO?"                              88
+
+          "VOY-EZZ VOWS CETT HOMMY ETT SES DUCKS FEMMYS
+               SEELAH?"                                     110
+
+          "WE SAW HER SLOWLY RISING BENEATH US"             119
+
+          "'ALL RIGHT,' SAID GOLIAH, WITH A SMILE"          157
+
+          A SMALL DIVE                                      170
+
+          "I WOULDN'T LIKE IT MYSELF"                       197
+
+          "WE STRUCK OUT TOGETHER FOR THE BOAT"             224
+
+          "'KEEP PERFECTLY COOL,' SAID MR. CHIPPERTON"      239
+
+          "RECTUS HELPED ME TO FASTEN THE LIFE-PRESERVER"   243
+
+          "YOU'RE A REGULAR YOUNG TRUMP"                    277
+
+
+
+
+A JOLLY FELLOWSHIP.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+WE MAKE A START.
+
+
+I was sitting on the deck of a Savannah steam-ship, which was lying at a
+dock in the East River, New York. I was waiting for young Rectus, and
+had already waited some time; which surprised me, because Rectus was, as
+a general thing, a very prompt fellow, who seldom kept people waiting.
+But it was probably impossible for him to regulate his own movements
+this time, for his father and mother were coming with him, to see him
+off.
+
+I had no one there to see me off, but I did not care for that. I was
+sixteen years old, and felt quite like a man; whereas Rectus was only
+fourteen, and couldn't possibly feel like a man--unless his looks very
+much belied his feelings. My father and mother and sister lived in a
+small town some thirty miles from New York, and that was a very good
+reason for their not coming to the city just to see me sail away in a
+steam-ship. They took a good leave of me, though, before I left home.
+
+I shall never forget how I first became acquainted with Rectus. About a
+couple of years before, he was a new boy in the academy at Willisville.
+One Saturday, a lot of us went down to the river to swim. Our favorite
+place was near an old wharf, which ran out into deep water, and a fellow
+could take a good dive there, when the tide was high. There were some of
+the smaller boys along that day, but they didn't dive any, and if they
+even swam, it was in shallow water near the shore, by the side of the
+wharf. But I think most of them spent their time wading about.
+
+I was a good swimmer, and could dive very well. I was learning to swim
+under water, but had not done very much in that line at the time I speak
+of. We were nearly ready to come out, when I took a dive from a post on
+the end of the wharf, and then turned, under water, to swim in shore. I
+intended to try to keep under until I got into water shallow enough for
+me to touch bottom, and walk ashore. After half a dozen strokes, I felt
+for the bottom and my feet touched it. Then I raised my head, but I
+didn't raise it out of the water. It struck something hard.
+
+In an instant I knew what had happened. There was a big mud-scow lying
+by the side of the wharf, and I had got under that! It was a great flat
+thing, ever so long and very wide. I knew I must get from under it as
+quickly as I could. Indeed, I could hardly hold my breath now. I waded
+along with my head bent down, but I didn't reach the side of it. Then I
+turned the other way, but my hands, which I held up, still touched
+nothing but the hard, slimy bottom of the scow. I must have been wading
+up and down the length of the thing. I was bewildered. I couldn't think
+which way to turn. I could only think of one thing. I would be drowned
+in less than a minute. Scott would be head of the class. My mother, and
+little Helen--but I can't tell what my thoughts were then. They were
+dreadful. But just as I was thinking of Helen and mother, I saw through
+the water some white things, not far from me. I knew by their looks that
+they were a boy's legs.
+
+I staggered toward them, and in a moment my hands went out of water,
+just at the side of the scow. I stood up, and my head with half my body
+came up into the air.
+
+What a breath I drew! But I felt so weak and shaky that I had to take
+hold of the side of the scow, and stand there for a while before I waded
+ashore. The boy who was standing by me was Rectus. He did not have that
+name then, and I didn't know him.
+
+"It must be pretty hard to stay under water so long," he said.
+
+"Hard!" I answered, as soon as I could get my breath; "I should think
+so. Why, I came near being drowned!"
+
+"Is that so?" said he; "I didn't know that. I saw you go down, and have
+been watching for you to come up. But I didn't expect you to come from
+under the scow."
+
+How glad I was that he had been standing there watching for me to come
+up! If he had not been there, or if his legs had been green or the
+color of water, I believe I should have drowned.
+
+I always liked the boy after that, though, of course, there was no
+particular reason for it. He was a boarder. His parents lived in New
+York. Samuel Colbert was his real name, and the title of Rectus he
+obtained at school by being so good. He scarcely ever did anything
+wrong, which was rather surprising to the rest of us, because he was not
+sickly or anything of that kind. After a while, we got into the way of
+calling him Rectus, and as he didn't seem to mind it, the name stuck to
+him. The boys generally liked him, and he got on quite well in the
+school,--in every way except in his studies. He was not a smart boy, and
+did not pretend to be.
+
+I went right through the academy, from the lowest to the highest class,
+and when I left, the professor, as we called our principal, said that I
+was ready to go to college, and urged me very much to do so. But I was
+not in any hurry, and my parents agreed with me that, after four years
+of school-life, I had better wait a while before beginning a new course.
+All this disturbed the professor very much, but he insisted on my
+keeping up my studies, so as not to get rusty, and he came up to our
+house very often, for the purpose of seeing what I was doing in the
+study line, and how I was doing it.
+
+I thought over things a good deal for myself, and a few months after I
+left the academy I made up my mind to travel a little. I talked about it
+at home, and it was generally thought to be a good idea, although my
+sister was in favor of it only in case I took her with me. Otherwise she
+opposed it. But there were a great many reasons why I could not take
+her. She was only eleven.
+
+I had some money of my own, which I thought I would rather spend in
+travel than in any other way, and, as it was not a large sum, and as my
+father could not afford to add anything to it, my journey could not be
+very extensive. Indeed, I only contemplated going to Florida and perhaps
+a few other Southern States, and then--if it could be done--a visit to
+some of the West India islands, and, as it was winter-time, that would
+be a very good trip. My father did not seem to be afraid to trust me to
+go alone. He and the professor talked it over, and they thought that I
+would take good enough care of myself. The professor would have much
+preferred to see me go to college, but, as I was not to do that, he
+thought travelling much better for me than staying at home, although I
+made no promise about taking my books along. But it was pretty well
+settled that I was to go to college in the fall, and this consoled him a
+little.
+
+The person who first suggested this travelling plan was our old
+physician, Dr. Mathews. I don't know exactly what he said about it, but
+I knew he thought I had been studying too hard, and needed to "let up"
+for a while. And I'm sure, too, that he was quite positive that I would
+have no let up as long as I staid in the same town with the professor.
+
+Nearly a year before this time, Rectus had left the academy. He had
+never reached the higher classes,--in fact, he didn't seem to get on
+well at all. He studied well enough, but he didn't take hold of things
+properly, and I believe he really did not care to go through the school.
+But he was such a quiet fellow that we could not make much out of him.
+His father was very rich, and we all thought that Rectus was taken away
+to be brought up as a partner in the firm. But we really knew nothing
+about it: for, as I found out afterward, Rectus spent all his time,
+after he left school, in studying music.
+
+Soon after my trip was all agreed upon and settled, father had to go to
+New York, and there he saw Mr. Colbert, and of course told him of my
+plans. That afternoon, old Colbert came to my father's hotel, and
+proposed to him that I should take his son with me. He had always heard,
+he said, that I was a sensible fellow, and fit to be trusted, and he
+would be very glad to have his boy travel with me. And he furthermore
+said that if I had the care of Samuel--for of course he didn't call his
+son Rectus--he would pay me a salary. He had evidently read about young
+English fellows travelling on the continent with their tutors, and I
+suppose he wanted me to be his son's tutor, or something like it.
+
+When father told me what Mr. Colbert had proposed, I agreed instantly. I
+liked Rectus, and the salary would help immensely. I wrote to New York
+that very night, accepting the proposition.
+
+When my friends in the town, and those at the school, heard that Rectus
+and I were going off together, they thought it an uncommonly good joke,
+and they crowded up to our house to see me about it.
+
+"Two such good young men as you and Rectus travelling together ought to
+have a beneficial influence upon whole communities," said Harry Alden;
+and Scott remarked that if there should be a bad storm at sea, he would
+advise us two to throw everybody else overboard to the whales, for the
+other people would be sure to be the wicked ones. I am happy to say that
+I got a twist on Scott's ear that made him howl, and then mother came in
+and invited them all to come and take supper with me, the Tuesday before
+I started. We invited Rectus to come up from the city, but he did not
+make his appearance. However, we got on first-rate without him, and had
+a splendid time. There was never a woman who knew just how to make boys
+have a good time, like my mother.
+
+I had been a long while on the steamer waiting for Rectus. She was to
+sail at three o'clock, and it was then after two. The day was clear and
+fine, but so much sitting and standing about had made me cold, so that I
+was very glad to see a carriage drive up with Rectus and his father and
+mother. I went down to them. I was anxious to see Rectus, for it had
+been nearly a year since we had met. He seemed about the same as he used
+to be, and had certainly not grown much. He just shook hands with me and
+said, "How d' ye do, Gordon?" Mr. and Mrs. Colbert seemed ever so much
+more pleased to see me, and when we went on the upper deck, the old
+gentleman took me into the captain's room, the door of which stood open.
+The captain was not there, but I don't believe Mr. Colbert would have
+cared if he had been. All he seemed to want was to find a place where we
+could get away from the people on deck. When he had partly closed the
+door, he said:
+
+"Have you got your ticket?"
+
+"Oh, yes!" I answered; "I bought that ten days ago. I wrote for it."
+
+"That's right," said he, "and here is Sammy's ticket. I was glad to see
+that you had spoken about the other berth in your state-room being
+reserved for Sammy."
+
+I thought he needn't have asked me if I had my ticket when he knew that
+I had bought it. But perhaps he thought I had lost it by this time. He
+was a very particular little man.
+
+"Where do you keep your money?" he asked me, and I told him that the
+greater part of it--all but some pocket-money--was stowed away in an
+inside pocket of my vest.
+
+"Very good," said he; "that's better than a pocket-book or belt: but you
+must pin it in. Now, here is Sammy's money--for his travelling expenses
+and his other necessities; I have calculated that that will be enough
+for a four months' trip, and you wont want to stay longer than that. But
+if this runs out, you can write to me. If you were going to Europe, now,
+I'd get you a letter of credit, but for your sort of travelling, you'd
+better have the money with you. I did think of giving you a draft on
+Savannah, but you'd have to draw the money there--and you might as well
+have it here. You're big enough to know how to take care of it." And
+with this he handed me a lot of banknotes.
+
+"And now, what about your salary? Would you like to have it now, or wait
+until you come back?"
+
+This question made my heart jump, for I had thought a great deal about
+how I was to draw that salary. So, quick enough, I said that I'd like to
+have it now.
+
+"I expected so," said he, "and here's the amount for four months. I
+brought a receipt. You can sign it with a lead-pencil. That will do. Now
+put all this money in your inside pockets. Some in your vest, and some
+in your under-coat. Don't bundle it up too much, and be sure and pin it
+in. Pin it from the inside, right through the money, if you can. Put
+your clothes under your pillow at night. Good-bye! I expect they'll be
+sounding the gong directly, for us to get ashore."
+
+And so he hurried out. I followed him, very much surprised. He had
+spoken only of money, and had said nothing about his son,--what he
+wished me to do for him, what plans of travel or instruction he had
+decided upon, or anything, indeed, about the duties for which I was to
+be paid. I had expected that he would come down early to the steamer and
+have a long talk about these matters. There was no time to ask him any
+questions now, for he was with his wife, trying to get her to hurry
+ashore. He was dreadfully afraid that they would stay on board too long,
+and be carried to sea.
+
+Mrs. Colbert, however, did not leave me in any doubt as to what she
+wanted me to do. She rushed up to me, and seized me by both hands.
+
+"Now you will take the greatest and the best care of my boy, wont you?
+You'll cherish him as the apple of your eye? You'll keep him out of
+every kind of danger? Now _do_ take good care of him,--especially in
+storms."
+
+[Illustration: "SHE SEIZED ME BY BOTH HANDS."]
+
+I tried to assure Rectus's mother--she was a wide, good-humored
+lady--that I would do as much of all this as I could, and what I said
+seemed to satisfy her, for she wiped her eyes in a very comfortable sort
+of a way.
+
+Mr. Colbert got his wife ashore as soon as he could, and Rectus and I
+stood on the upper deck and watched them get into the carriage and drive
+away. Rectus did not look as happy as I thought a fellow ought to look,
+when starting out on such a jolly trip as we expected this to be.
+
+I proposed that we should go and look at our state-room, which was
+number twenty-two, and so we went below. The state-room hadn't much
+state about it. It was very small, with two shelves for us to sleep on.
+I let Rectus choose his shelf, and he took the lower one. This suited me
+very well, for I'd much rather climb over a boy than have one climb over
+me.
+
+There wasn't anything else in the room to divide, and we were just about
+to come out and call the thing settled, when I heard a shout at the
+door. I turned around, and there stood Harry Alden, and Scott, and Tom
+Myers and his brother George!
+
+I tell you, I was glad to see them. In spite of all my reasoning that it
+made no difference about anybody coming to see me off, it did make a
+good deal of difference. It was a lonely sort of business starting off
+in that way--especially after seeing Rectus's father and mother come
+down to the boat with him.
+
+"We didn't think of this until this morning," cried Scott. "And then we
+voted it was too mean to let you go off without anybody to see you
+safely on board----"
+
+"Oh, yes!" said I.
+
+"And so our class appointed a committee," Scott went on, "to come down
+and attend to you, and we're the committee. It ought to have been
+fellows that had gone through the school, but there were none of them
+there."
+
+"Irish!" said Harry.
+
+"So we came," said Scott. "We raised all the spare cash there was in the
+class, and there was only enough to send four of us. We drew lots. If it
+hadn't been you, I don't believe the professor would have let us off.
+Any way, we missed the noon train, and were afraid, all the way here,
+that we'd be too late. Do you two fellows have to sleep in those
+'cubby-holes'?"
+
+"Certainly," said I; "they're big enough."
+
+"Don't believe it," said Harry Alden; "they're too short."
+
+"That's so," said Scott, who was rather tall for his age. "Let's try
+'em."
+
+This was agreed to on the spot, and all four of the boys took off their
+boots and got into the berths, while Rectus and I sat down on the little
+bench at the side of the room and laughed at them. Tom Myers and his
+brother George both climbed into the top berth at once, and as they
+found it was a pretty tight squeeze, they both tried to get out at once,
+and down they came on Scott, who was just turning out of the lower
+berth,--which was too long for him, in spite of all his talk,--and then
+there was a much bigger tussle, all around, than any six boys could make
+with comfort in a little room like that.
+
+I hustled Tom Myers and his brother George out into the dining-room, and
+the other fellows followed.
+
+"Is this where you eat?" asked Scott, looking up and down at the long
+tables, with the swinging shelves above them.
+
+"No, this isn't where they eat," said Harry; "this is where they come to
+look at victuals, and get sick at the sight of them."
+
+"Sick!" said I; "not much of it."
+
+But the committee laughed, and didn't seem to agree with me.
+
+"You'll be sick ten minutes after the boat starts," said Scott.
+
+"We wont get into sea-sick water until we're out of the lower bay," I
+said. "And this isn't a boat--it's a ship. You fellows know lots!"
+
+Tom Myers and his brother George were trying to find out why the
+tumblers and glasses were all stuck into holes in the shelves over the
+tables, when Harry Alden sung out:
+
+"What's that swishing?"
+
+"That what?" said I.
+
+"There it goes again!" Harry cried. "Splashing!"
+
+"It's the wheels!" exclaimed Rectus.
+
+"That's so!" cried Scott. "The old thing's off! Rush up! Here! The
+hind-stairs! Quick!"
+
+And upstairs to the deck we all went, one on top of another. The wheels
+were going around, and the steamer was off!
+
+Already she was quite a distance from the wharf. I suppose the tide
+carried her out, as soon as the lines were cast off, for I'm sure the
+wheels had not been in motion half a minute before we heard them. But
+all that made no difference. We were off.
+
+I never saw four such blank faces as the committee wore, when they saw
+the wide space of water between them and the wharf.
+
+"Stop her!" cried Scott to me, as if I could do anything, and then he
+made a dive toward a party of men on the deck.
+
+"They're passengers!" I cried. "We must find the captain."
+
+"No, no!" said Harry. "Go for the steersman. Tell him to steer back! We
+mustn't be carried off!"
+
+Tom Myers and his brother George had already started for the
+pilot-house, when Rectus shouted to them that he'd run down to the
+engineer and tell him to stop the engine. So they stopped, and Rectus
+was just going below when Scott called to him to hold up.
+
+"You needn't be scared!" he said. (He had been just as much scared as
+anybody.) "That man over there says it will be all right. We can go back
+with the pilot. People often do that. It will be all the more fun. Don't
+bother the engineer. There's nothing I'd like better than a trip back
+with a pilot!"
+
+"That's so," said Harry; "I never thought of the pilot."
+
+"But are you sure he'll take you back?" asked Rectus, while Tom Myers
+and his brother George looked very pale and anxious.
+
+"Take us? Of course he will," said Scott. "That's one of the things a
+pilot's for,--to take back passengers,--I mean people who are only
+going part way. Do you suppose the captain will want to take us all the
+way to Savannah for nothing?"
+
+Rectus didn't suppose that, and neither did any of the rest of us, but I
+thought we ought to look up the captain and tell him.
+
+"But, you see," said Scott, "it's just possible he _might_ put back."
+
+"Well, don't you want to go back?" I asked.
+
+"Yes, of course, but I would like a sail back in a pilot-boat," said
+Scott, and Harry Alden agreed with him. Tom Myers and his brother George
+wanted to go back right away.
+
+We talked the matter over a good deal. I didn't wish to appear as if I
+wanted to get rid of the fellows who had been kind enough to come all
+the way from Willisville to see me off, but I couldn't help thinking
+that it didn't look exactly fair and straightforward not to say that
+these boys were not passengers until the pilot was ready to go back. I
+determined to go and see about the matter, but I would wait a little
+while.
+
+It was cool on deck, especially now that the vessel was moving along,
+but we all buttoned up our coats and walked up and down. The sun shone
+brightly, and the scene was so busy and lively with the tug-boats
+puffing about, and the vessels at anchor, and the ferry-boats, and a
+whole bay-full of sights curious to us country boys, that we all enjoyed
+ourselves very much--except Tom Myers and his brother George. They
+didn't look happy.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+GOING BACK WITH THE PILOT.
+
+
+We were pretty near the Narrows when I thought it was about time to let
+the captain, or one of the officers, know that there were some people on
+board who didn't intend to take the whole trip. I had read in the
+newspapers that committees and friends who went part way with
+distinguished people generally left them in the lower bay.
+
+But I was saved the trouble of looking for an officer, for one of them,
+the purser, came along, collecting tickets. I didn't give him a chance
+to ask Scott or any of the other fellows for something that they didn't
+have, but went right up to him and told him how the matter stood.
+
+"I must see the captain about this," he said, and off he went.
+
+"He didn't look very friendly," said Scott, and I had to admit that he
+didn't.
+
+In a few moments the captain came walking rapidly up to us. He was a
+tall man, dressed in blue, with side-whiskers, and an oil-cloth cap.
+The purser came up behind him.
+
+"What's all this?" said the captain. "Are you not passengers, you boys?"
+He did not look very friendly, either, as he asked this question.
+
+[Illustration: THE VESSEL IS OFF.]
+
+"Two of us are," I said, "but four of us were carried off
+accidentally."
+
+"Accident? Fiddlesticks!" exclaimed the captain. "Didn't you know the
+vessel was starting? Hadn't you time to get off? Didn't you hear the
+gong? Everybody else heard it. Are you all deaf?"
+
+This was a good deal to answer at once, so I just said that I didn't
+remember hearing any gong. Tom Myers and his brother George, however,
+spoke up, and said that they had heard a gong, they thought, but did not
+know what it was for.
+
+"Why didn't you ask, then?" said the captain, who was getting worse in
+his humor. I had a good mind to tell him that it would take up a good
+deal of the crew's time if Tom Myers and his brother George asked about
+everything they didn't understand on board this ship, but I thought I
+had better not. I have no doubt the gong sounded when we were having our
+row in the state-room, and were not likely to pay attention to it even
+if we did hear it.
+
+"And why, in the name of common sense," the captain went on, "didn't you
+come and report, the instant you found the vessel had started? Did you
+think we were fast to the pier all this time?"
+
+Then Scott thought he might as well come out square with the truth; and
+he told how they made up their minds, after they found that the steamer
+had really started, with them on board, not to make any fuss about it,
+nor give anybody any trouble to stop the ship, or to put back, but just
+to stay quietly on board, and go back with the pilot. They thought that
+would be most convenient, all around.
+
+"Go back with the pilot!" the captain cried. "Why, you young idiot,
+there _is_ no pilot! Coastwise steamers don't carry pilots. I am my own
+pilot. There is no pilot going back!"
+
+You ought to have seen Scott's face!
+
+[Illustration: SCOTT AND THE CAPTAIN.]
+
+Nobody said anything. We all just stood and looked at the captain. Tears
+began to come into the eyes of Tom Myers and his brother George.
+
+"What are they to do?" asked the purser of the captain. "Buy tickets for
+Savannah?"
+
+"We can't do that," said Scott, quickly. "We haven't any money."
+
+"I don't know what they're to do," replied the captain. "I'd like to
+chuck 'em overboard." And with this agreeable little speech he walked
+away.
+
+The purser now took the two tickets for Rectus and myself, and saying:
+"We'll see what's to be done with the rest of you fellows," he walked
+away, too.
+
+Then we all looked at one another. We were a pretty pale lot, and I
+believe that Rectus and I, who were all right, felt almost as badly as
+the four other boys, who were all wrong.
+
+"We _can't_ go to Savannah!" said Harry Alden. "What right have they to
+take us to Savannah?"
+
+"Well, then, you'd better get out and go home," said Scott. "I don't so
+much mind their taking us to Savannah, for they can't make us pay if we
+haven't any money. But how are we going to get back? That's the
+question. And what'll the professor think? He'll write home that we've
+run away. And what'll we do in Savannah without any money?"
+
+"You'd better have thought of some of these things before you got us
+into waiting to go back with the pilot," said Harry.
+
+As for Tom Myers and his brother George, they just sat down and put
+their arms on the railing, and clapped their faces down on their arms.
+They cried all over their coat-sleeves, but kept as quiet as they could
+about it. Whenever these two boys had to cry before any of the rest of
+the school-fellows, they had learned to keep very quiet about it.
+
+While the rest of us were talking away, and Scott and Harry finding
+fault with each other, the captain came back. He looked in a little
+better humor.
+
+"The only thing that can be done with you boys," he said, "is to put you
+on some tug or small craft that's going back to New York. If we meet
+one, I'll lie to and let you off. But it will put me to a great deal of
+trouble, and we may meet with nothing that will take you aboard. You
+have acted very badly. If you had come right to me, or to any of the
+officers, the moment you found we had started, I could have easily put
+you on shore. There are lots of small boats about the piers that would
+have come out after you, or I might even have put back. But I can do
+nothing now but look out for some craft bound for New York that will
+take you aboard. If we don't meet one, you'll have to go on to
+Savannah."
+
+This made us feel a little better. We were now in the lower bay, and
+there would certainly be some sort of a vessel that would stop for the
+boys. We all went to the forward deck and looked out. It was pretty cold
+there, and we soon began to shiver in the wind, but still we stuck it
+out.
+
+There were a good many vessels, but most of them were big ones. We could
+hardly have the impudence to ask a great three-masted ship, under full
+sail, to stop and give us a lift to New York. At any rate, we had
+nothing to do with the asking. The captain would attend to that. But
+every time we came near a vessel going the other way, we looked about to
+see if we could see anything of an officer with a trumpet, standing all
+ready to sing out, "Sail ho!"
+
+But, after a while, we felt so cold that we couldn't stand it any
+longer, and we went below. We might have gone and stood by the
+smoke-stack and warmed ourselves, but we didn't know enough about ships
+to think of this.
+
+We hadn't been standing around the stove in the dining-room more than
+ten minutes, before the purser came hurrying toward us.
+
+"Come, now," he said, "tumble forward! The captain's hailed a
+pilot-boat."
+
+"Hurrah!" said Scott; "we're going back in a pilot-boat, after all!" and
+we all ran after the purser to the lower forward deck. Our engines had
+stopped, and not far from us was a rough-looking little schooner with a
+big "17" painted in black on her mainsail. She was "putting about," the
+purser said, and her sails were flapping in the wind.
+
+There was a great change in the countenances of Tom Myers and his
+brother George. They looked like a couple of new boys.
+
+"Isn't this capital?" said Scott. "Everything's turned out all right."
+
+But all of a sudden he changed his tune.
+
+"Look here!" said he to me, pulling me on one side; "wont that pilot
+want to be paid something? He wont stop his vessel and take us back for
+nothing, will he?"
+
+I couldn't say anything about this, but I asked the purser, who still
+stood by us.
+
+"I don't suppose he'll make any regular charge," said he; "but he'll
+expect you to give him something,--whatever you please."
+
+"But we haven't anything," said Scott to me. "We have our return tickets
+to Willisville, and that's about all."
+
+"Perhaps we can't go back, after all," said Harry, glumly, while Tom
+Myers and his brother George began to drop their lower jaws again.
+
+I did not believe that the pilot-boat people would ask to see the boys'
+money before they took them on board; but I couldn't help feeling that
+it would be pretty hard for them to go ashore at the city and give
+nothing for their passages but promises, and so I called Rectus on one
+side, and proposed to lend the fellows some money. He agreed, and I
+unpinned a banknote and gave it to Scott. He was mightily tickled to get
+it, and vowed he'd send it back to me in the first letter he wrote (and
+he did it, too).
+
+The pilot-schooner did not come very near us, but she lowered a boat
+with two men in it, and they rowed up to the steamer. Some of our
+sailors let down a pair of stairs, and one of the men in the boat came
+up to see what was wanted. The purser was telling him, when the captain,
+who was standing on the upper deck, by the pilot-house, sung out:
+
+"Hurry up there, now, and don't keep this vessel here any longer. Get
+'em out as quick as you can, Mr. Brown."
+
+The boys didn't stop to have this kind invitation repeated, and Scott
+scuffled down the stairs into the boat as fast as he could, followed
+closely by Harry Alden. Tom Myers and his brother George stopped long
+enough to bid each of us good-bye, and shake hands with us, and then
+they went down the stairs. They had to climb over the railing to the
+platform in front of the wheel-house to get to the stairs, and as the
+steamer rolled a little, and the stairs shook, they went down very
+slowly, backward, and when they got to the bottom were afraid to step
+into the boat, which looked pretty unsteady as it wobbled about under
+them.
+
+"Come, there! Be lively!" shouted the captain.
+
+Just then, Rectus made a step forward. He had been looking very
+anxiously at the boys as they got into the boat, but he hadn't said
+anything.
+
+"Where are you going?" said I; for, as quick as a flash, the thought
+came into my mind that Rectus's heart had failed him, and that he would
+like to back out.
+
+"I think I'll go back with the boys," he said, making another step
+toward the top of the stairs, down which the man from the pilot-boat was
+hurrying.
+
+"Just you try it!" said I, and I put out my arm in front of him.
+
+He didn't try it, and I'm glad he didn't, for I should have been sorry
+enough to have had the boys go back and say that when they last saw
+Rectus and I we were having a big fight on the deck of the steamer.
+
+The vessel now started off, and Rectus and I went to the upper deck and
+stood and watched the little boat, as it slowly approached the
+schooner. We were rapidly leaving them, but we saw the boys climb on
+board, and one of them--it must have been Scott--waved his handkerchief
+to us. I waved mine in return, but Rectus kept his in his pocket. I
+don't think he felt in a wavy mood.
+
+While we were standing looking at the distant pilot-boat, I began to
+consider a few matters; and the principal thing was this: How were
+Rectus and I to stand toward each other? Should we travel like a couple
+of school-friends, or should I make him understand that he was under my
+charge and control, and must behave himself accordingly? I had no idea
+what he thought of the matter, and by the way he addressed me when we
+met, I supposed that it was possible that he looked upon me very much as
+he used to when we went to school together. If he had said Mr. Gordon,
+it would have been more appropriate, I thought, and would have
+encouraged me, too, in taking position as his supervisor. As far as my
+own feelings were concerned, I think I would have preferred to travel
+about on a level with Rectus, and to have a good time with him, as two
+old school-fellows might easily have, even if one did happen to be two
+years older than the other. But that would not be earning my salary.
+After a good deal of thought, I came to the conclusion that I would let
+things go on as they would, for a while, giving Rectus a good deal of
+rope; but the moment he began to show signs of insubordination, I would
+march right on him, and quell him with an iron hand. After that, all
+would be plain sailing, and we could have as much fun as we pleased,
+for Rectus would know exactly how far he could go.
+
+There were but few passengers on deck, for it was quite cold, and it now
+began to grow dark, and we went below. Pretty soon the dinner-bell rang,
+and I was glad to hear it, for I had the appetite of a horse. There was
+a first-rate dinner, ever so many different kinds of dishes, all up and
+down the table, which had ridges running lengthwise, under the
+table-cloth, to keep the plates from sliding off, if a storm should come
+up. Before we were done with dinner the shelves above the table began to
+swing a good deal,--or rather the vessel rolled and the shelves kept
+their places,--so I knew we must be pretty well out to sea, but I had
+not expected it would be so rough, for the day had been fine and clear.
+When we left the table, it was about as much as we could do to keep our
+feet, and in less than a quarter of an hour I began to feel dreadfully.
+I stuck it out as long as I could, and then I went to bed. The old ship
+rolled, and she pitched, and she heaved, and she butted, right and left,
+against the waves, and made herself just as uncomfortable for human
+beings as she could, but, for all that, I went to sleep after a while.
+
+I don't know how long I slept, but when I woke up, there was Rectus,
+sitting on a little bench by the state-room wall, with his feet braced
+against the berth. He was hard at work sucking a lemon. I turned over
+and looked down at him. He didn't look a bit sick. I hated to see him
+eating lemons.
+
+"Don't you feel badly, Rectus?" said I.
+
+"Oh no!" said he; "I'm all right. You ought to suck a lemon. Have one?"
+
+I declined his offer. The idea of eating or drinking anything was
+intensely disagreeable to me. I wished that Rectus would put down that
+lemon. He did throw it away after a while, but he immediately began to
+cut another one.
+
+[Illustration: RECTUS AND THE LEMONS.]
+
+"Rectus," said I, "you'll make yourself sick. You'd better go to bed."
+
+"It's just the thing to stop me from being sick," said he, and at that
+minute the vessel gave her stern a great toss over sideways, which sent
+Rectus off his seat, head foremost into the wash-stand. I was glad to
+see it. I would have been glad of almost anything that stopped that
+lemon business.
+
+But it didn't stop it; and he only picked himself up, and sat down
+again, his lemon at his mouth.
+
+"Rectus!" I cried, leaning out of my berth. "Put down that lemon and go
+to bed!"
+
+He put down the lemon without a word, and went to bed. I turned over
+with a sense of relief. Rectus was subordinate!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+RECTUS OPENS HIS EYES.
+
+
+I was all right the next day, and we staid on deck most of the time,
+standing around the smoke-stack when our noses got a little blue with
+the cold. There were not many other people on deck. I was expecting
+young Rectus to have his turn at sea-sickness, but he disappointed me.
+He spent a good deal of his time calculating our position on a little
+folding-map he had. He inquired how fast we were going, and then he
+worked the whole thing out, from Sandy Hook to Savannah, marking on the
+map the hours at which he ought to be at such and such a place. He tried
+his best to get his map of the course all right, and made a good many
+alterations, so that we were off Cape Charles several times in the
+course of the day. Rectus had never been very good at calculations, and
+I was glad to see that he was beginning to take an interest in such
+things.
+
+The next morning, just after day-break, we were awakened by a good deal
+of tramping about on deck, over our heads, and we turned out, sharp, to
+see what the matter was. Rectus wanted me to wait, after we were
+dressed, until he could get out his map and calculate where we were, but
+I couldn't stop for such nonsense, for I knew that his kind of
+navigation didn't amount to much, and so we scrambled up on deck. The
+ship was pitching and tossing worse than she had done yet. We had been
+practising the "sea-leg" business the day before, and managed to walk
+along pretty well; but this morning our sea-legs didn't work at all, and
+we couldn't take a step without hanging on to something. When we got on
+deck, we found that the first officer, or mate,--his name was
+Randall,--with three or four sailors, was throwing the lead to see how
+deep the water was. We hung on to a couple of stays and watched them. It
+was a rousing big lead, a foot long, and the line ran out over a pulley
+at the stern. A sailor took the lead a good way forward before he threw
+it, so as to give it a chance to get to the bottom before the steamer
+passed over it and began to tow it. When they pulled it in, we were
+surprised to see that it took three men to do it. Then Mr. Randall
+scooped out a piece of tallow that was in a hollow in the bottom of the
+lead, and took it to show to the captain, whose room was on deck. I knew
+this was one way they had of finding out where they were, for they
+examined the sand or mud on the tallow, and so knew what sort of a
+bottom they were going over; and all the different kinds of bottom were
+marked out on their charts.
+
+As Mr. Randall passed us, Rectus sung out to him, and asked him where we
+were now.
+
+"Off Hatteras," said he, quite shortly.
+
+I didn't think Rectus should have bothered Mr. Randall with questions
+when he was so busy; but after he went into the captain's room, the men
+did not seem to have much to do, and I asked one of them how deep it
+was.
+
+"About seventeen fathoms," said he.
+
+"Can we see Cape Hatteras?" I said, trying to get a good look landward
+as the vessel rolled over that way.
+
+"No," said the man. "We could see the light just before day-break, but
+the weather's gettin' thick now, and we're keepin' out."
+
+It was pretty thick to the west, that was true. All that I could see in
+the distance was a very mixed-up picture of wave-tops and mist. I knew
+that Cape Hatteras was one of the most dangerous points on the coast,
+and that sailors were always glad when they had safely rounded it, and
+so I began to take a good deal of interest in what was going on. There
+was a pretty strong wind from the south-east, and we had no sail set at
+all. Every now and then the steamer would get herself up on top of a big
+wave, and then drop down, sideways, as if she were sliding off the top
+of a house. The mate and the captain soon came out on deck together, and
+the captain went forward to the pilot-house, while Mr. Randall came over
+to his men, and they got ready to throw the lead again. It didn't seem
+to me that the line ran out as far as it did the last time, and I think
+I heard Mr. Randall say, "Fourteen." At any rate, a man was sent forward
+to the pilot-house, and directly we heard the rudder-chains creaking,
+and the big iron arms of the rudder, which were on deck, moved over
+toward the landward side of the vessel, and I knew by that that the
+captain was putting her head out to sea. Mr. Randall took out the tallow
+from the lead and laid it in an empty bucket that was lashed to the
+deck. He seemed to be more anxious now about the depth of water than
+about the kind of bottom we were passing over. The lead was just about
+to be thrown again, when Rectus, who had taken the tallow out of the
+bucket, which stood near us, and had examined it pretty closely, started
+off to speak to Mr. Randall, with the tallow in his hand.
+
+[Illustration: "'HOLD YOUR TONGUE!' ROARED MR. RANDALL."]
+
+"Look here!" said Rectus, holding on to the railing. "I'll tell you what
+would be a sight better than tallow for your leads. Just you get some
+fine, white Castile-soap, and----"
+
+"Confound you!" roared Mr. Randall, turning savagely on him. "Hold your
+tongue! For three cents I'd tie you to this line and drag the bottom
+with you!"
+
+Rectus made no answer. He didn't offer him the three cents, but came
+away promptly, and put the piece of tallow back in the bucket. He didn't
+get any comfort from me.
+
+"Haven't you got any better sense," I said to him, "than to go, with
+your nonsense, to the first officer at such a time as this? I never saw
+such a boy!"
+
+"But the soap _is_ better than the tallow," said Rectus. "It's finer and
+whiter, and would take up the sand better."
+
+"No, it wouldn't," I growled at him; "the water would wash it out in
+half a minute. You needn't be trying to tell anybody on this ship what
+they ought to do."
+
+"But supposing----" said he.
+
+"No," I exclaimed, in a way that made him jump, "there's no supposing
+about it. If you know their business better than they do, why, just let
+it stand that way. It wont hurt you."
+
+I was pretty mad, I must say, for I didn't want to see a fellow like
+Rectus trying to run the ship. But you couldn't stay mad with Rectus
+long. He didn't mean any wrong, and he gave no words back, and so, as
+you might expect, we were all right again by breakfast-time.
+
+The next morning we were surprised to feel how warm it was on deck. We
+didn't need our overcoats. The sea was ever so much smoother, too. There
+were two or three ladies on deck, who could walk pretty well.
+
+About noon, I was standing on the upper deck, when I saw Rectus coming
+toward me, looking very pale. He was generally a dark sort of a boy, and
+it made a good deal of difference in him to look pale. I was sure he was
+going to be sick, at last,--although it was rather queer for him to
+knock under when the voyage was pretty nearly over,--and I began to
+laugh, when he said to me, in a nervous sort of way:
+
+"I tell you what it is, I believe that we've gone past the mouth of the
+Savannah River. According to my calculations," said he, pointing to a
+spot on his map, which he held in his hand, "we must be down about here,
+off the Georgia coast."
+
+I have said that I began to laugh, and now I kept on. I just sat down
+and roared, so that the people looked at me.
+
+"You needn't laugh," said Rectus. "I believe it's so."
+
+"All right, my boy," said I; "but we wont tell the captain. Just let's
+wait and have the fun of seeing him turn around and go back."
+
+Rectus didn't say anything to this, but walked off with his map.
+
+[Illustration: "RECTUS SHOWED ME THE MAP."]
+
+Now, that boy was no fool. I believe that he was beginning to feel like
+doing something, and, as he had never done anything before, he didn't
+know how.
+
+About twelve o'clock we reached the mouth of the Savannah (without
+turning back), and sailed twenty miles up the river to the city.
+
+We were the first two persons off that vessel, and we took a hack to the
+hotel that the purser had recommended to us, and had the satisfaction of
+reaching it about ten minutes ahead of the people who came in the
+omnibus; although I don't know that that was of much use to us, as the
+clerk gave us top rooms, any way.
+
+We went pretty nearly all over Savannah that afternoon and the next day.
+It's a beautiful city. There is a little public square at nearly every
+corner, and one of the wide streets has a double row of big trees
+running right down the middle of it, with grass under them, and, what
+seemed stranger yet, the trees were all in leaf, little children were
+playing on the grass, and the weather was warm and splendid. The gardens
+in front of the houses were full of roses and all sorts of flowers in
+blossom, and Rectus wanted to buy a straw hat and get his linen trousers
+out of his trunk.
+
+"No, sir," said I; "I'm not going around with a fellow wearing a straw
+hat and linen breeches in January. You don't see anybody else wearing
+them."
+
+"No," said he; "but it's warm enough."
+
+"You may think so," I answered; "but I guess they know their own
+business best. This is their coldest season, and if they wore straw hats
+and linen clothes now, what would they put on when the scorching hot
+weather comes?"
+
+Rectus didn't know, and that matter was dropped. There is a pretty park
+at the back of the town, and we walked about it, and sat under the
+trees, and looked at the flowers, and the fountain playing, and enjoyed
+it ever so much. If it had been summer, and we had been at home, we
+shouldn't have cared so much for these things; but sitting under trees,
+and lounging about over the green grass, while our folks at home were up
+to their eyes, or thereabouts, in snow and ice, delighted both of us,
+especially Rectus. I never heard him talk so much.
+
+We reached Savannah on Tuesday, and were to leave in the steamer for St.
+Augustine Thursday afternoon. Thursday morning we went out to the
+cemetery of Bonaventure, one of the loveliest places in the whole world,
+where there are long avenues of live-oaks that stretch from one side of
+the road to the other, like great covered arbors, and from every limb of
+every tree hang great streamers of gray moss, four and five feet long.
+It was just wonderful to look at. The whole place seemed dripping with
+waving fringe. Rectus said it looked to him as if this was a graveyard
+for old men, and that every old fellow had had to hang his beard on a
+tree before he went down into his grave.
+
+This was a curious idea for Rectus to have, and the colored man who was
+driving us--we went out in style, in a barouche, but I wouldn't do that
+kind of thing again without making a bargain beforehand--turned around
+to look at him as if he thought he was a little crazy. Rectus was
+certainly in high spirits. There was a sort of change coming over him.
+His eyes had a sparkle in them that I never saw before. No one could
+say that he didn't take interest in things now. I think the warm weather
+had something to do with it.
+
+"I tell you what it is, Gordon," said he,--he still called me Gordon,
+and I didn't insist on "Mr.," because I thought that, on the whole,
+perhaps it wouldn't do,--"I'm waking up. I feel as if I had been asleep
+all my life, and was just beginning to open my eyes."
+
+A graveyard seemed a queer place to start out fresh in this way, but it
+wasn't long before I found that, if Rectus hadn't really wakened up, he
+could kick pretty hard in his sleep.
+
+Nothing much happened on the trip down to St. Augustine, for we
+travelled nearly all the way by night. Early the next morning we were
+lying off that old half Spanish town, wishing the tide would rise so
+that we could go in. There is a bar between two islands that lie in
+front of the town, and you have to go over that to get into the harbor.
+We were on the "Tigris," the Bahama steamer that touched at St.
+Augustine on her way to Nassau, and she couldn't get over that bar until
+high tide. We were dreadfully impatient, for we could see the old town,
+with its trees, all green and bright, and its low, wide houses, and a
+great light-house, marked like a barber's pole or a stick of
+old-fashioned mint-candy, and, what was best of all, a splendid old
+castle, or fort, built by the Spaniards three hundred years ago! We
+declared we would go there the moment we set foot on shore. In fact, we
+soon had about a dozen plans for seeing the town.
+
+If we had been the pilots, we would have bumped that old steamer over
+the bar, somehow or other, long before the real pilot started her in;
+but we had to wait. When we did go in, and steamed along in front of the
+old fort, we could see that it was gray and crumbling, and moss-covered
+in places, and it was just like an oil-painting. The whole town, in
+fact, was like an oil-painting to us.
+
+The moment the stairs were put down, we scuffled ashore, and left the
+steamer to go on to the Bahamas whenever she felt like it. We gave our
+valises and trunk-checks to a negro man with a wagon, and told him to
+take the baggage to a hotel that we could see from the wharf, and then
+we started off for the fort. But on my way along the wharf I made up my
+mind that, as the fort had been there for three hundred years, it would
+probably stand a while longer, and that we had better go along with our
+baggage, and see about getting a place to live in, for we were not going
+to be in any hurry to leave St. Augustine.
+
+We didn't go to any hotel at all. I had a letter of introduction to a
+Mr. Cholott, and on our way up from the wharf, I heard some one call out
+that name to a gentleman. So I remembered my letter, and went up and
+gave it to him. He was a first-rate man, and when we told him where we
+were going, we had quite a talk, and he said he would advise us to go to
+a boarding-house. It would be cheaper, and if we were like most boys
+that he knew, we'd like it better. He said that board could be had with
+several families that he knew, and that some of the Minorcans took
+boarders in the winter.
+
+Of course, Rectus wanted to know, right away, what a Minorcan was. I
+didn't think it was exactly the place to ask questions which probably
+had long answers, but Mr. Cholott didn't seem to be in a hurry, and he
+just started off and told us about the Minorcans. A chap called
+Turnbull, more than a hundred years ago, brought over to Florida a lot
+of the natives of the island of Minorca, in the Mediterranean, and began
+a colony. But he was a mean sort of chap; he didn't care for anything
+but making money out of the Minorcans, and it wasn't long before they
+found it out, for he was really making slaves of them. So they just rose
+up and rebelled, and left old Turnbull to run his colony by himself.
+Served him right, too. They started off on their own accounts, and most
+of them came to this town, where they settled, and have had a good time
+ever since. There are a great many of them here now, descendants of the
+original Minorcans, and they keep pretty much together and keep their
+old name, too. They look a good deal like Spaniards, Mr. Cholott said,
+and many of them are very excellent people.
+
+Rectus took the greatest interest in these Minorcans, but we didn't take
+board with any of them. We went to the house of a lady who was a friend
+of Mr. Cholott, and she gave us a splendid room, that looked right out
+over the harbor. We could see the islands, and the light-house, and the
+bar with the surf outside, and even get a glimpse of the ocean. We saw
+the "Tigris" going out over the bar. The captain wanted to get out on
+the same tide he came in on, and he did not lose any time. As soon as
+she got fairly out to sea, we hurried down, to go to the fort. But
+first, Rectus said, we ought to go and buy straw hats. There were lots
+of men with straw hats in St. Augustine. This was true, for it was just
+as warm here as we have it in June, and we started off to look for a
+straw-hat store.
+
+We found that we were in one of the queerest towns in the world. Rectus
+said it was all back-streets, and it looked something that way. The
+streets were very narrow, and none of them had any pavement but sand and
+powdered shell, and very few had any sidewalks. But they didn't seem to
+be needed. Many of the houses had balconies on the second story, which
+reached toward each other from both sides of the street, and this gave
+the town a sociable appearance. There were lots of shops, and most of
+them sold sea-beans. There were other things, like alligators' teeth,
+and shells, and curiosities, but the great trade of the town seemed to
+be in sea-beans.[A] Rectus and I each bought one for our watch-chains.
+
+I think we tried on every straw hat in town, and we bought a couple in a
+little house, where two or three young women were making them. Rectus
+asked me, in a low voice, if I didn't think one of the young women was a
+Mohican. I hushed him up, for it was none of his business if she was. I
+had a good deal of trouble in making Rectus say "Minorcan." Whenever we
+had met a dark-haired person, he had said to me: "Do you think that is a
+Mohican?" It was a part of his old school disposition to get things
+wrong in this way. But he never got angry when I corrected him. His
+temper was perfect.
+
+I bought a common-sized hat, but Rectus bought one that spread out far
+and wide. It made him look like a Japanese umbrella. We stuffed our felt
+hats into our pockets, and started for the fort. But I looked at my
+watch and found it was supper-time. I had suspected it when I came out
+of the hat-shop. The sea-trip and fine air here had given us tremendous
+appetites, which our walk had sharpened.
+
+So we turned back at once and hurried home, agreeing to begin square on
+the fort the next day.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[A] Sea-beans are seeds of a West Indian tree. They are of different
+colors, very hard, and capable of being handsomely polished. They are
+called "sea-beans" because great numbers of them drift up on the Florida
+and adjacent coasts.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+TO THE RESCUE.
+
+
+The next morning, I was awakened by Rectus coming into the room.
+
+"Hello!" said I; "where have you been? I didn't hear you get up."
+
+"I called you once or twice," said Rectus, "but you were sleeping so
+soundly I thought I'd let you alone. I knew you'd lost some sleep by
+being sick on the steamer."
+
+"That was only the first night," I exclaimed. "I've made up that long
+ago. But what got you up so early?"
+
+"I went out to take a warm salt-water bath before breakfast," answered
+Rectus. "There's an eight-cornered bath-house right out here, almost
+under the window, where you can have your sea-water warm if you like
+it."
+
+"Do they pump it from the tropics?" I asked, as I got up and began to
+dress.
+
+"No; they heat it in the bath-house. I had a first-rate bath, and I saw
+a Minorcan."
+
+"You don't say so!" I cried. "What was he like? Had he horns? And how
+did you know what he was?"
+
+"I asked him," said Rectus.
+
+"Asked him!" I exclaimed. "You don't mean to say that you got up early
+and went around asking people if they were Mohicans!"
+
+"Minorcans, I said."
+
+"Well, it's bad enough, even if you got the name right. Did you ask the
+man plump to his face?"
+
+"Yes. But he first asked me what I was. He was an oldish man, and I met
+him just as I was coming out of the bath-house. He had a basket of clams
+on his arm, and I asked him where he caught them. That made him laugh,
+and he said he dug them out of the sand under the wharf. Then he asked
+me if my name was Cisneros, and when I told him it was not, he said that
+I looked like a Spaniard, and he thought that that might be my name. And
+so, as he had asked me about myself, I asked him if he was a Minorcan,
+and he said 'yes.'"
+
+"And what then?" I asked.
+
+"Nothing," said Rectus. "He went on with his clams, and I came home."
+
+"You didn't seem to make much out of him, after all," said I. "I don't
+wonder he thought you were a Spaniard, with that hat. I told you you'd
+make a show of yourself. But what are you going to do with your
+Minorcans, Rectus, when you catch them?"
+
+He laughed, but didn't mention his plans.
+
+"I didn't know how you got clams," he said. "I thought you caught them
+some way. It would never have entered my head to dig for them."
+
+"There's lots to learn in this town about fish, and ever so many other
+things besides; and I tell you what it is, Rectus, as soon as we get
+through with the fort,--and I don't know how long that will take us, for
+I heard on the steamer that it had underground dungeons,--we'll go off
+on a first-class exploring expedition."
+
+That suited Rectus exactly.
+
+After breakfast we started for the fort. It is just outside of the town,
+and you can walk all the way on the sea-wall, which is about a yard wide
+on top,--just a little too wide for one fellow, but not quite wide
+enough for two.
+
+The United States government holds the fort now, of course, and calls it
+Fort Marion, but the old Spanish name was San Marco, and we disdained to
+call it anything else. When we went over the drawbridge, and across the
+moat, we saw the arms of Spain on a shield over the great gate of the
+fort. We walked right in, into a wide hall, with dark door-ways on each
+side, and then out into a great inclosed space, like a parade-ground, in
+the centre of the fort, and here we saw a whole crowd of Indians. We
+didn't expect to find Indians here, and we were very much surprised.
+They did not wear Indian clothes, but were dressed in United States
+military uniform. They didn't look like anything but Indians, though,
+for all that. I asked one of them if he belonged here, and he smiled
+and said "How?" and held out his hand. We both shook it, but could make
+nothing out of him. A good many of them now came up and said "How?" to
+us, and shook hands, and we soon found that this meant "How d' ye do?"
+and was about all they knew of English.
+
+[Illustration: "HOW?"]
+
+We were lucky enough, before we got through shaking hands with our new
+friends, to see Mr. Cholott coming toward us, and he immediately took us
+in charge, and seemed to be glad to have a job of the kind. There was
+nothing about the fort that he didn't know. He told us that the Indians
+were prisoners, taken in the far West by United States troops, and that
+some of them were the worst Indians in the whole country. They were safe
+enough now, though, and were held here as hostages. Some were chiefs,
+and they were all noted men,--some as murderers, and others in less
+important ways. They had been here for some years, and a few of them
+could speak a little English.
+
+He then took us all over the fort,--up an inclined plane to the top of
+the ramparts, and into the Indian barracks on one of the wide walls,
+where we saw a lot of Cheyennes and Kiowas, and Indians from other
+tribes, sitting around and making bows and arrows, and polishing
+sea-beans to sell to visitors. At each corner of the fort was a "lookout
+tower,"--a little box of a place, stuck out from the top of the wall,
+with loopholes and a long, narrow passage leading to it, with a high
+wall on each side to protect from bullets and arrows the man who went to
+look out. One of the towers had been knocked off, probably by a
+cannon-ball. These towers and slim little passages took our fancy
+greatly. Then Mr. Cholott took us downstairs to see the dungeons. He got
+the key and gave it to a big old Indian, named Red Horse, who went
+ahead with a lighted kerosene-lamp.
+
+We first saw the dungeon where the Indian chief, Osceola, was shut up
+during the Seminole war. It was a dreary place. There was another chief,
+Wild Cat, who was imprisoned with Osceola, and one night Osceola
+"boosted" him to a high window, where he squeezed through the bars and
+got away. If Osceola had had any one to give him a lift, I suppose he
+would have been off, too. Rectus and I wondered how the two Indians
+managed this little question of who should be hoisted. Perhaps they
+tossed up, or perhaps Wild Cat was the lighter of the two. The worst
+dungeon, though, was a place that was discovered by accident about
+thirty years ago. There was nothing there when we went in; but, when it
+was first found, a chained skeleton was lying on the floor. Through a
+hole in the wall we crept into another dungeon, worse yet, in which two
+iron cages were found hung to the wall, with skeletons in them. It
+seemed like being in some other country to stand in this dark little
+dungeon, and hear these dreadful stories, while a big Indian stood
+grinning by, holding a kerosene-lamp.
+
+Mr. Cholott told us that one of the cages and the bones could now be
+seen in Washington.
+
+After Mr. Cholott went home, we tramped all over the fort again by
+ourselves, and that afternoon we sat on the outer wall that runs along
+the harbor-front of the fort, and watched the sail-boats and the
+fishermen in their "dug-outs." There were a couple of sharks swimming up
+and down in front of the town, and every now and then they would come
+up and show themselves. They were the first sharks we had ever seen.
+
+Rectus was worked up about the Indians. We had been told that, while a
+great many of the chiefs and braves imprisoned here were men known to
+have committed crimes, still there were others who had done nothing
+wrong, and had been captured and brought here as prisoners, simply
+because, in this way, the government would have a good hold on their
+tribes.
+
+Rectus thought this was the worst kind of injustice, and I agreed with
+him, although I didn't see what we were going to do about it.
+
+On our way home we met Rectus's Minorcan; he was a queer old fellow.
+
+"Hello!" said he, when he saw Rectus. "Have you been out catching
+clams?"
+
+We stopped and talked a little while about the sharks, and then the old
+man asked Rectus why he wanted to know, that morning, whether he was a
+Minorcan or not.
+
+"I just wanted to see one," said Rectus, as if he had been talking of
+kangaroos or giraffes. "I've been thinking a good deal about them, and
+their bold escape from slavery, and their----"
+
+"Slavery!" sung out the old man. "We were never slaves! What do you mean
+by that? Do you take us for niggers?"
+
+He was pretty mad, and I don't wonder, if that was the way he understood
+Rectus, for he was just as much a white man as either of us.
+
+"Oh no!" said Rectus. "But I've heard all about you, and that tyrant
+Turnbull, and the way you cast off his yoke. I mean your fathers, of
+course."
+
+"I reckon you've heard a little too much, young man," said the Minorcan.
+"Somebody's been stuffin' you. You'd better get a hook and line, and go
+out to catch clams."
+
+"Why, you don't understand me!" cried Rectus. "I honor you for it."
+
+The old man looked at him and then at me, and then he laughed. "All
+right, bub," said he. "If ever you want to hire a boat, I've got one. My
+name is Menendez. Just ask for my boat at the club-house wharf." And
+then he went on.
+
+"That's all you get for your sympathy with oppressed people," said
+Rectus. "They call you bub."
+
+"Well, that old fellow isn't oppressed," I said; "and if any of his
+ancestors were, I don't suppose he cares about remembering it. We ought
+to hire his boat some time."
+
+That evening we took a walk along the sea-wall. It was a beautiful
+starlight night, and a great many people were walking about. When we got
+down near the fort,--which looked bigger and grayer than ever by the
+starlight,--Rectus said he would like to get inside of it by night, and
+I agreed that it would be a good thing to do. So we went over the
+drawbridge (this place has a drawbridge, and portcullises, and
+barbicans, and demi-lunes, and a moat, just as if it were a castle or a
+fort of some old country in Europe),--but the big gate was shut. We
+didn't care to knock, for all was dark, and we came away. Rectus
+proposed that we should reconnoitre the place, and I agreed, although,
+in reality, there wasn't anything to reconnoitre. We went down into the
+moat, which was perfectly dry, and very wide, and walked all around the
+fort.
+
+We examined the walls, which were pretty jagged and rough in some
+places, and we both agreed that if we _had_ to do it, we believed we
+could climb to the top.
+
+As we walked home, Rectus proposed that we should try to climb in some
+night.
+
+"What's the good?" I asked.
+
+"Why, it would be a splendid thing," said he, "to scale the walls of an
+old Middle-Age fort, like that. Let's try it, anyway."
+
+I couldn't help thinking that it would be rather a fine thing to do, but
+it did seem rather foolish to risk our necks to get over the walls at
+night, when we could walk in, whenever we pleased, all day.
+
+But it was of no use to say anything like that to Rectus. He was full of
+the idea of scaling the walls, and I found that, when the boy did get
+worked up to anything, he could talk first-rate, and before we went to
+sleep I got the notion of it, too, and we made up our minds that we
+would try it.
+
+The next day we walked around the walls two or three times, and found a
+place where we thought we could get up, if we had a rope fastened to the
+top of the wall. When General Oglethorpe bombarded the fort,--at the
+time the Spaniards held it,--he made a good many dents in the wall, and
+these would help us. I did climb up a few feet, but we saw that it would
+never do to try to get all the way up without a rope.
+
+How to fasten the rope on the top of the wall was the next question. We
+went in the fort, and found that if we could get a stout grapnel over
+the wall, it would probably catch on the inside of the coping, and give
+us a good enough hold. There is a wide walk on top, with a low wall on
+the outside, just high enough to shelter cannon, and to enable the
+garrison to dodge musketry and arrows.
+
+We had a good deal of trouble finding a rope, but we bought one, at
+last, which was stout enough,--the man asked us if we were going to fish
+for sharks, and didn't seem to believe us when we said no,--and we took
+it to our room, and made knots in it about a foot apart. The fort walls
+are about twenty feet high, and we made the rope plenty long enough,
+with something to spare. We didn't have much trouble to find a grapnel.
+We bought a small one, but it was strong enough. We talked the matter
+over a great deal, and went to the fort several times, making
+examinations, and measuring the height of the wall, from the top, with a
+spool of cotton.
+
+It was two or three days before we got everything ready, and in our
+trips to the fort we saw a good deal of the Indians. We often met them
+in the town, too, for they were frequently allowed to go out and walk
+about by themselves. There was no danger, I suppose, of their trying to
+run away, for they were several thousand miles from their homes, and
+they probably would not care to run to any other place with no larger
+stock of the English language than one word, "How?" Some of them,
+however, could talk a little English. There was one big fellow--he was
+probably the largest of them all--who was called "Maiden's Heart." I
+couldn't see how his name fitted, for he looked like an out-and-out
+savage, and generally wore a grin that seemed wicked enough to frighten
+settlers out of his part of the country. But he may have had a tender
+spot, somewhere, which entitled him to his name, and he was certainly
+very willing to talk to us, to the extent of his ability, which was not
+very great. We managed, however, to have some interesting, though rather
+choppy, conversations.
+
+There was another fellow, a young chief, called Crowded Owl, that we
+liked better than any of the others, although we couldn't talk to him at
+all. He was not much older than I was, and so seemed to take to us. He
+would walk all around with us, and point out things. We had bought some
+sea-beans of him, and it may be that he hoped to sell us some more. At
+any rate, he was very friendly.
+
+We met Mr. Cholott several times, and he told us of some good places to
+go to, and said he'd take us out fishing before long. But we were in no
+hurry for any expedition until we had carried out our little plan of
+surprising the fort. I gave the greater part of our money, however, to
+Mr. Cholott to lock up in his safe. I didn't like old Mr. Colbert's plan
+of going about with your capital pinned to your pockets. It might do
+while we were travelling, but I would rather have had it in drafts or
+something else not easily lost.
+
+We had a good many discussions about our grapnel. We did not know
+whether there was a sentinel on duty in the fort at night or not, but
+supposed there was, and, if so, he would be likely to hear the grapnel
+when we threw it up and it hit the stones. We thought we could get over
+this difficulty by wrapping the grapnel in cotton wool. This would
+deaden the sound when it struck, but would not prevent the points of the
+hooks from holding to the inner edge of the wall. Everything now seemed
+all right, except that we had no object in view after we got over the
+wall. I always like to have some reason for doing a thing, especially
+when it's pretty hard to do. I said this to Rectus, and he agreed with
+me.
+
+"What I would like to do," said he, "would be to benefit the innocent
+Indian prisoners."
+
+"I don't know what we can do for them," said I. "We can't let them out,
+and they'd all go back again if we did."
+
+"No, we can't do that," said he; "but we ought to do something. I've
+been around looking at them all carefully, and I feel sure that there
+are at least forty men among those Indians who haven't done a thing to
+warrant shutting them up."
+
+"Why, how do you know?" I exclaimed.
+
+"I judge from their faces," said Rectus.
+
+Of course this made me laugh, but he didn't care.
+
+"I'll tell you what we could do," said he; "we could enter a protest
+that might be heard of, and do some good. We could take a pot of black
+paint and a brush with us, and paint on one of the doors that open into
+the inner square,--where everybody could see it,--something like this:
+'Let the righteous Indian go free.' That would create talk, and
+something might be done."
+
+"Who'd do it?" said I. "The captain in command couldn't. He has no power
+to let any of them go free."
+
+"Well, we might address the notice to the President of the United
+States--in big black letters. They could not conceal such a thing."
+
+"Well, now, look here, Rectus," said I; "this thing is going to cost too
+much money. That rope was expensive, and the grapnel cost a good deal
+more than we thought it would; and now you want a big pot of black
+paint. We mustn't spend our money too fast, and if we've got to
+economize, let's begin on black paint. You can write your proclamation
+on paper, and stick it on the door with tacks. They could send that
+easier to the President than they could send a whole door."
+
+"You may make as much fun as you please," said Rectus, "but I'm going to
+write it out now."
+
+And so he did, in big letters, on half a sheet of foolscap.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+STORMING SAN MARCO.
+
+
+We started out on our storming expedition on a Tuesday night, about nine
+o'clock; we had a latch-key, so we could come home when we pleased.
+Rectus carried the rope, and I had the grapnel, wrapped in its cotton
+wool. We put newspapers around these things, and made pretty respectable
+packages of them. We did not go down the sea-wall, but walked around
+through some of the inner streets. It seemed to us like a curious
+expedition. We were not going to do anything wrong, but we had no idea
+what the United States government would think about it. We came down to
+the fort on its landward side, but our attack was to be made upon the
+waterfront, and so we went around that way, on the side farthest from
+the town. There were several people about yet, and we had to wait. We
+dropped our packages into the moat, and walked about on the
+water-battery, which is between the harbor and the moat, and is used as
+a sort of pleasure-ground by the people of the town. It was a pretty
+dark night, although the stars were out, and the last of the promenaders
+soon went home; and then, after giving them about ten minutes to get
+entirely out of sight and hearing, we jumped down into the moat, which
+is only five or six feet below the water-battery, and, taking our
+packages, went over to that part of the wall which we had fixed upon for
+our assault.
+
+We fastened the rope to the grapnel, and then Rectus stood back while I
+made ready for the throw. It was a pretty big throw, almost straight up
+in the air, but I was strong, and was used to pitching, and all that
+sort of thing. I coiled the rope on the ground, took the loose end of it
+firmly in my left hand, and then, letting the grapnel hang from my right
+hand until it nearly touched the ground, I swung it round and round,
+perpendicularly, and when it had gone round three or four times, I gave
+it a tremendous hurl upward.
+
+It rose beautifully, like a rocket, and fell inside of the ramparts,
+making only a little thud of a sound.
+
+"First-rate!" said Rectus, softly; and I felt pretty proud myself.
+
+I pulled on the rope, and found the grapnel had caught. I hung with my
+whole weight on it, but it held splendidly.
+
+"Now, then," said I to Rectus, "you can climb up. Go slowly, and be very
+careful. There's no hurry. And mind you take a good hold when you get to
+the top."
+
+We had arranged that Rectus was to go first. This did not look very
+brave on my part, but I felt that I wanted to be under him, while he was
+climbing, so that I could break his fall if he should slip down. It
+would not be exactly a perpendicular fall, for the wall slanted a
+little, but it would be bad enough. However, I had climbed up worse
+places than that, and Rectus was very nimble; so I felt there was no
+great danger.
+
+Up he went, hand over hand, and putting his toes into nicks every now
+and then, thereby helping himself very much. He took it slowly and
+easily, and I felt sure he would be all right. As I looked at him,
+climbing up there in the darkness, while I was standing below, holding
+the rope so that it should not swing, I could not help thinking that I
+was a pretty curious kind of a tutor for a boy. However, I was taking
+all the care of him that I could, and if he came down he'd probably hurt
+me worse than he would hurt himself. Besides, I had no reason to suppose
+that old Mr. Colbert objected to a little fun. Then I began to think of
+Mrs. Colbert, and while I was thinking of her, and looking up at Rectus,
+I was amazed to see him going up quite rapidly, while the end of the
+rope slipped through my fingers. Up he went, and when I ran back, I
+could see a dark figure on the wall, above him. Somebody was pulling him
+up.
+
+In a very few moments he disappeared over the top, rope and all!
+
+Now, I was truly frightened. What might happen to the boy?
+
+I was about to shout, but, on second thoughts, decided to keep quiet;
+yet I instantly made up my mind that, if I didn't see or hear from him
+pretty soon, I would run around to the gate and bang up the people
+inside. However, it was not necessary for me to trouble myself, for, in
+a minute, the rope came down again, and I took hold of it. I pulled on
+it and found it all firm, and then I went up. I climbed up pretty fast,
+and two or three times I felt a tug, as if somebody above was trying to
+pull me up. But it was of no use, for I was a great deal stouter and
+heavier than Rectus, who was a light, slim boy. But as I neared the top,
+a hand came down and clutched me by the collar, and some one, with a
+powerful arm and grip, helped me over the top of the wall. There stood
+Rectus, all right, and the fellow who had helped us up was the big
+Indian, "Maiden's Heart."
+
+I looked at Rectus, and he whispered:
+
+"He says there's a sentinel down there in the square."
+
+At this, Maiden's Heart bobbed his head two or three times, and,
+motioning to us to crouch down, he crept quietly over to the inner wall
+of the ramparts and looked down.
+
+"What shall we say we came for?" I whispered, quickly.
+
+"I don't know," said Rectus.
+
+"Well, we must think of something," I said, "or we shall look like
+fools."
+
+But before he had time to think, Maiden's Heart crept back. He put his
+finger on his lips, and, beckoning us to follow him, he led the way to a
+corner of the fort near one of the lookout towers. We followed as
+quietly as we could, and then we all three slipped into the narrow
+entrance to the tower, the Indian motioning us to go first. When we two
+stood inside of the little round tower, old Maiden's Heart planted
+himself before us in the passage, and waited to hear what we had to say.
+
+But we couldn't think of anything to say. Directly, however, I thought I
+must do something, so I whispered to the Indian:
+
+"Does the sentry ever come up here?"
+
+He seemed to catch my meaning.
+
+"I go watch," he said. "Come back. Tell you." And off he stole, making
+no more noise than a cat.
+
+"Bother on him!" said Rectus. "If I'd known he was up here, I would
+never have come."
+
+"I reckon not," said I. "But now that we have come, what are we going to
+do or say? That fellow evidently thinks we have some big project on
+hand, and he's ready to help us; we must be careful, or he'll rush down
+and murder the sentinel."
+
+"I'm sure I don't know what to say to him," said Rectus. "We ought to
+have thought of this before. I suppose it would be of no use to mention
+my poster to him."
+
+"No, indeed," said I; "he'd never understand that. And, besides, there's
+a man down there. Let's peep out and see what he's doing."
+
+So we crept to the entrance of the passage, and saw Maiden's Heart,
+crouched near the top of the inclined plane which serves as a stairway
+from the square to the ramparts, and looking over the low wall,
+evidently watching the sentry.
+
+"I'll tell you what let's do," said Rectus. "Let's make a rush for our
+rope, and get out of this."
+
+"No, sir!" said I. "We'd break our necks if we tried to hurry down that
+rope. Don't think of anything of that kind. And, besides, we couldn't
+both get down before he'd see us."
+
+In a few minutes, Maiden's Heart crept quickly back to us, and seemed
+surprised that we had left our hiding-place. He motioned us farther back
+into the passage, and slipped in himself.
+
+We did not have time to ask any questions before we heard the sentry
+coming up the stairway, which was near our corner. When he reached the
+top, he walked away from us over toward the Indian barracks, which were
+on the ramparts, at the other end of the fort. As soon as he reached the
+barracks, Maiden's Heart took me by the arm and Rectus by the collar,
+and hurried us to the stairway, and then down as fast as we could go. He
+made no noise himself, but Rectus and I clumped a good deal. We had to
+wear our shoes, for the place was paved with rough concrete and
+oyster-shells.
+
+The sentry evidently heard the clumping, for he came running down after
+us, and caught up to us almost as soon as we reached the square.
+
+"Eugh!" said he, for he was an Indian; and he ran in front of us, and
+held his musket horizontally before us. Of course we stopped. And then,
+as there was nothing else that seemed proper to do, we held out our
+hands and said "How?" The sentinel took his gun in his left hand, and
+shook hands with us. Then Maiden's Heart, who probably remembered that
+he had omitted this ceremony, also shook hands with us and said "How?"
+
+The two Indians now began to jabber to each other, in a low voice; but
+we could not, of course, make out what they said, and I don't think they
+were able to imagine what we intended to do. We were standing near the
+inner door of the great entrance-way, and into this they now marched us.
+There was a lamp burning on a table.
+
+Said Rectus: "I guess they're going to put us out of the front door;"
+but he was mistaken. They walked us into a dark room, on one side of the
+hall, and Maiden's Heart said to us: "Stay here. Him mad. I come back.
+Keep still," and then he went out, probably to discuss with the sentinel
+the nature of our conspiracy. It was very dark in this room, and, at
+first, we couldn't see anything at all; but we soon found, from the
+smell of the bread, that we were in the kitchen or bakery. We had been
+here before, and had seen the head-cook, a ferocious Indian squaw, who
+had been taken in the act of butchering a poor emigrant woman on the
+plains. She always seemed sullen and savage, and never said a word to
+anybody. We hoped she wasn't in here now.
+
+"I didn't know they had Indian sentinels," said Rectus. "That seems a
+little curious to me. I suppose they set the innocent ones to watch the
+guilty."
+
+"I don't believe that would work," said I, "for the innocent chaps
+would want to get away, just as much as the others. I guess they make
+'em take turns to stand guard. There has to be a sentinel in a fort, you
+know, and I suppose these fellows are learning the business."
+
+We didn't settle this question, nor the more important one of our reason
+for this visit; for, at this moment, Maiden's Heart came back, carrying
+the lamp. He looked at us in a curious way, and then he said:
+
+"What you want?"
+
+I couldn't think of any good answer to this question, but Rectus
+whispered to me:
+
+"Got any money with you?"
+
+"Yes," said I.
+
+"Let's buy some sea-beans," said Rectus.
+
+"All right," I answered.
+
+"Sea-beans?" said Maiden's Heart, who had caught the word; "you want
+sea-beans?"
+
+"Yes," said Rectus, "if you have any good ones."
+
+At this, the Indian conducted us into the hall, put the lamp on the
+table, and took three or four sea-beans from his pocket. They were very
+nice ones, and beautifully polished.
+
+"Good," said I; "we'll take these. How much, Maiden's Heart?"
+
+"Fifty cents," said the Indian.
+
+"For all?" I asked.
+
+"No. No. For one. Four bean two dollar."
+
+We both exclaimed at this, for it was double the regular price of the
+beans.
+
+"All right," said Maiden's Heart. "Twenty-five cents, daytime. Fifty
+cents, night."
+
+We looked at each other, and concluded to pay the price and depart. I
+gave him two dollars, and asked him to open the gate and let us out.
+
+[Illustration: "ANOTHER BEAN."]
+
+He grinned.
+
+"No. No. We got no key. Captain got key. Come up wall. Go down wall."
+
+At this, we walked out into the square, and were about to ascend the
+inclined plane when the sentinel came up and stopped us. Thereupon a low
+conversation ensued between him and Maiden's Heart, at the end of which
+the sentry put his hand into his pocket and pulled out three beans,
+which he held out to us. I did not hesitate, but gave him a dollar and a
+half for them. He took the money and let us pass on,--Maiden's Heart at
+my side.
+
+"You want more bean?" said he.
+
+"Oh, no!" I answered. "No, indeed," said Rectus.
+
+When we reached the place where we had left our apparatus, I swung the
+rope over the wall, and, hooking the grapnel firmly on the inside,
+prepared to go down, for, as before, I wished to be under Rectus, if he
+should slip. But Maiden's Heart put his hand on my shoulder.
+
+"Hold up!" he said. "I got 'nother bean. Buy this."
+
+"Don't want it," said I.
+
+"Yes. Yes," said Maiden's Heart, and he coolly unhooked the grapnel from
+the wall.
+
+I saw that it was of no use to contend with a big fellow like that, as
+strong as two common men, and I bought the bean.
+
+I took the grapnel from Maiden's Heart, who seemed to give it up
+reluctantly, and as I hooked it on the wall, I felt a hand upon my
+shoulder. I looked around, and saw the sentinel. He held out to me
+another bean. It was too dark to see the quality of it, but I thought it
+was very small. However, I bought it. One of these fellows must be
+treated as well as the other.
+
+Maiden's Heart and the sentry were now feeling nervously in their
+pockets.
+
+I shook my head vigorously, and saying, "No more! no more!" threw myself
+over the wall, and seized the rope, Rectus holding the grapnel in its
+place as I did so. As I let myself down from knot to knot, a thought
+crossed my mind: "How are we going to get that grapnel after we both are
+down?"
+
+It was a frightening thought. If the two Indians should choose, they
+could keep the rope and grapnel, and, before morning, the whole posse of
+red-skins might be off and away! I did not think about their being so
+far from home, and all that. I only thought that they'd be glad to get
+out, and that they would all come down our rope.
+
+These reflections, which ran through my mind in no time at all, were
+interrupted by Rectus, who called down from the top of the wall, in a
+voice that was a little too loud to be prudent:
+
+"Hurry! I think he's found another bean!"
+
+I was on the ground in a few moments, and then Rectus came down. I
+called to him to come slowly and be very careful, but I can't tell how
+relieved I was when I saw him fairly over the wall and on his way down.
+
+When we both stood on the ground, I took hold of the rope and shook it.
+I am not generally nervous, but I was a little nervous then. I did not
+shake the grapnel loose. Then I let the rope go slack, for a foot or
+two, and gave it a big sweep to one side. To my great delight, over came
+the grapnel, nearly falling on our heads. I think I saw Maiden's Heart
+make a grab at it as it came over, but I am not sure. However, he poked
+his head over the wall and said:
+
+"Good-bye! Come again."
+
+We answered, "Good-bye," but didn't say anything about coming again.
+
+As we hurried along homeward, Rectus said:
+
+"If one of those Indians had kept us up there, while the other one ran
+into the barracks and got a fresh stock of sea-beans, they would have
+just bankrupted us."
+
+"No, they wouldn't," I said. "For I hadn't much more change with me. And
+if I had had it, I wouldn't have given them any more. I'd have called up
+the captain first. The thing was getting too expensive."
+
+"Well, I'm glad I'm out of it," said Rectus. "And I don't believe much
+in any of those Indians being very innocent. I thought Maiden's Heart
+was one of the best of them, but he's a regular rascal. He knew we
+wanted to back out of that affair, and he just fleeced us."
+
+"I believe he would rather have had our scalps than our money, if he had
+had us out in his country," I said.
+
+"That's so," said Rectus. "A funny kind of a maiden's heart he's got."
+
+We were both out of conceit with the noble red man. Rectus took his
+proclamation out of his pocket as we walked along the sea-wall, and,
+tearing it into little pieces, threw it into the water. When we reached
+the steam-ship wharf, we walked out to the end of it, to get rid of the
+rope and grapnel. I whirled the grapnel round and round, and let the
+whole thing fly far out into the harbor. It was a sheer waste of a good
+strong rope, but we should have had a dreary time getting the knots out
+of it.
+
+After we got home I settled up our accounts, and charged half the
+sea-beans to Rectus, and half to myself.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+THE GIRL ON THE BEACH.
+
+
+I was not very well satisfied with our trip over the walls of San Marco.
+In the first place, when the sea-beans, the rope and the grapnel were
+all considered, it was a little too costly. In the second place, I was
+not sure that I had been carrying out my contract with Mr. Colbert in
+exactly the right spirit; for although he had said nothing about my
+duties, I knew that he expected me to take care of his son, and paid me
+for that. And I felt pretty sure that helping a fellow climb up a
+knotted rope into an old fort by night was not the best way of taking
+care of him. The third thing that troubled me in regard to this matter
+was the feeling I had that Rectus had led me into it; that he had been
+the leader and not I. Now, I did not intend that anything of that kind
+should happen again. I did not come out on this expedition to follow
+Rectus around; indeed, it was to be quite the other way. But, to tell
+the truth, I had not imagined that he would ever try to make people
+follow him. He never showed at school that such a thing was in him. So,
+for these three reasons, I determined that there were to be no more
+scrapes of that sort, which generally came to nothing, after all.
+
+For the next two or three days we roved around the old town, and into
+two or three orange-groves, and went out sailing with Mr. Cholott, who
+owned a nice little yacht, or sail-boat, as we should call it up north.
+
+The sailing here is just splendid, and, one morning, we thought we'd
+hire a boat for ourselves and go out fishing somewhere. So we went down
+to the yacht-club wharf to see about the boat that belonged to old
+Menendez--Rectus's Minorcan. There were lots of sail-boats there as well
+as row-boats, but we hunted up the craft we were after, and, by good
+luck, found Menendez in her, bailing her out.
+
+So we engaged her, and he said he'd take us over to the North Beach to
+fish for bass. That suited us,--any beach and any kind of
+fish,--provided he'd hurry up and get his boat ready. While he was
+scooping away, and we were standing on the wharf watching him, along
+came Crowded Owl, the young Indian we had always liked--that is, ever
+since we had known any of them. He came up, said "How?" and shook hands,
+and then pulled out some sea-beans. The sight of these things seemed to
+make me sick, and as for Rectus, he sung out:
+
+"Do' wan' 'em!" so suddenly that it seemed like one word, and a pretty
+savage one at that.
+
+Crowded Owl looked at me, but I shook my head, and said, "No, no, no!"
+Then he drew himself up and just stood there. He seemed struck dumb; but
+that didn't matter, as he couldn't talk to us, anyway. But he didn't go
+away. When we walked farther up the wharf, he followed us, and again
+offered us some beans. I began to get angry, and said "No!" pretty
+violently. At this, he left us, but as we turned at the end of the
+wharf, we saw him near the club-house, standing and talking with
+Maiden's Heart.
+
+"I think it's a shame to let those Indians wander about here in that
+way," said Rectus. "They ought to be kept within bounds."
+
+I couldn't help laughing at this change of tune, but said that I
+supposed only a few of them got leave of absence at a time.
+
+"Well," said Rectus, "there are some of them that ought never to come
+out."
+
+"Hello!" said old Menendez, sticking his head up above the edge of the
+wharf. "We're ready now. Git aboard."
+
+And so we scrambled down into the sail-boat, and Menendez pushed off,
+while the two Indians stood and watched us as we slowly moved away.
+
+When we got fairly out, our sail filled, and we went scudding away on a
+good wind. Then said old Menendez, as he sat at the tiller:
+
+"What were you hollerin' at them Injuns about?"
+
+"I didn't know that we were hollerin'," said I, "but they were bothering
+us to buy their sea-beans."
+
+"That's curious," he said. "They aint much given to that sort of thing.
+But there's no tellin' nothin' about an Injun. If I had my way, I'd
+hang every one of 'em."
+
+"Rather a blood-thirsty sentiment," said I. "Perhaps some of them don't
+deserve hanging."
+
+"Well, I've never seen one o' that kind," said he, "and I've seen lots
+of Injuns. I was in the Seminole war, in this State, and was fightin'
+Injuns from the beginnin' to the end of it. And I know all about how to
+treat the rascals. You must hang 'em, or shoot 'em, as soon as you get
+hold of 'em."
+
+This aroused all the old sympathy for the oppressed red man that dwelt
+in the heart of young Rectus, and he exclaimed:
+
+"That would be murder! There are always two kinds of every sort of
+people--all are not bad. It is wrong to condemn a whole division of the
+human race that way."
+
+"You're right about there bein' two kinds of Injuns," said the old
+fellow. "There's bad ones and there's wuss ones. I know what I've seen
+for myself. I'd hang 'em all."
+
+We debated this matter some time longer, but we could make no impression
+on the old Minorcan. For some reason or other, probably on account of
+his sufferings or hardships in the war, he was extremely bitter against
+all Indians. "You can't tell me," he replied to all of our arguments,
+and I think he completely destroyed all the sympathy which Rectus had
+had for the once down-trodden and deceived Minorcans, by this animosity
+toward members of another race who were yet in captivity and bondage. To
+be sure, there was a good deal of difference in the two cases, but
+Rectus wasn't in the habit of turning up every question to look at the
+bottom of it.
+
+The North Beach is the seaward side of one of the islands that enclose
+the harbor, or the Matanzas River, as it is called. We landed on the
+inland side, and then walked over to the beach, which is very wide and
+smooth. Here we set to work to fish. Old Menendez baited our lines, and
+told us what to do. It was new sport to us.
+
+First, we took off our shoes and stockings, and rolled up our trousers,
+so as to wade out in the shallow water. We each had a long line, one end
+of which we tied around our waists. Menendez had his tied to a
+button-hole of his coat, but he thought he had better make our lines
+very safe, as they belonged to him. There was a big hook and a heavy
+lead to the other end of the line, with a piece of fish for bait, and we
+swung the lead around our heads, and threw it out into the surf as far
+as we could. I thought I was pretty good on the throw, but I couldn't
+begin to send my line out as far as Menendez threw his. As for Rectus,
+he didn't pretend to do much in the throwing business. He whirled his
+line around in such a curious way that I was very much afraid he would
+hook himself in the ear. But Menendez put his line out for him. He
+didn't want me to do it.
+
+Then we stood there in the sand, with the water nearly up to our knees
+every time the waves came in, and waited for a bite. There wasn't much
+biting. Menendez said that the tide was too low, but I've noticed that
+something is always too something, every time any one takes me out
+fishing, so I didn't mind that.
+
+Menendez did hook one fellow, I think, for he gave a tremendous jerk at
+his line, and began to skip inshore as if he were but ten years old; but
+it was of no use. The fish changed his mind.
+
+Then we stood and waited a while longer, until, all of a sudden, Rectus
+made a skip. But he went the wrong way. Instead of skipping out of the
+water, he skipped in. He went in so far that he got his trousers
+dripping wet.
+
+"Hello!" I shouted. "What's up?"
+
+He didn't say anything, but began to pull back, and dig his heels into
+the sand. Old Menendez and I saw, at the same moment, what was the
+matter, and we made a rush for him. I was nearest, and got there first.
+I seized Rectus by the shoulder, and pulled him back a little.
+
+"Whew-w!" said he; "how this twine cuts!"
+
+Then I took hold of the line in front of him, and there was no mistaking
+the fact--he had a big fish on the other end of it.
+
+"Run out!" cried Menendez, who thought there was no good of three
+fellows hauling on the line; and out we ran.
+
+When we had gone up the beach a good way, I looked back and saw a
+rousing big fish flopping about furiously in the shallow water.
+
+"Go on!" shouted Menendez; and we ran on until we had pulled it high and
+dry up on the sand.
+
+Then Menendez fell afoul of it to take out the hook, and we hurried back
+to see it. It was a whopping big bass, and by the powerful way it threw
+itself around on the sand, I didn't wonder that Rectus ran into the
+water when he got the first jerk.
+
+Now, this was something like sport, and we all felt encouraged, and went
+to work again with a will, only Menendez untied the line from Rectus's
+waist and fastened it to his button-hole.
+
+"It may pull out," he said; "but, on the whole, it's better to lose a
+fishin'-line than a boy."
+
+We fished quietly and steadily for some time, but got no more bites,
+when suddenly I heard some one say, behind me:
+
+"They don't ever pull in!"
+
+I turned around, and it was a girl. She was standing there with a
+gentleman,--her father, I soon found out,--and I don't know how long
+they had been watching us. She was about thirteen years old, and came
+over with her father in a sail-boat. I remembered seeing them cruising
+around as we were sailing over.
+
+"They haven't got bites," said her father; "that's the reason they don't
+pull in."
+
+It was very disagreeable to me, and I know it was even more so to
+Rectus, to stand here and have those strangers watch us fishing. If we
+had not been barefooted and bare-legged, we should not have minded it so
+much. As for the old Minorcan, I don't suppose he cared at all. I began
+to think it was time to stop.
+
+"As the tide's getting lower and lower," I said to Menendez, "I suppose
+our chances are getting less and less."
+
+"Yes," said he; "I reckon we'd better shut up shop before long."
+
+"Oh!" cried out the girl, "just look at that fish! Father! Father! Just
+look at it. Did any of you catch it? I didn't see it till this minute. I
+thought you hadn't caught any. If I only had a fishing-line now, I would
+like to catch just one fish. Oh, father! why didn't you bring a
+fishing-line?"
+
+"I didn't think of it, my dear," said he. "Indeed, I didn't know there
+were any fish here."
+
+Old Menendez turned around and grinned at this, and I thought there was
+a good chance to stop fishing; so I offered to let the girl try my line
+for a while, if she wanted to.
+
+It was certain enough that she wanted to, for she was going to run right
+into the water to get it. But I came out, and as her father said she
+might fish if she didn't have to walk into the water, old Menendez took
+a spare piece of line from his pocket and tied it on to the end of mine,
+and he put on some fresh bait and gave it a tremendous send out into the
+surf. Then he put the other end around the girl and tied it. I suppose
+he thought that it didn't matter if a girl should be lost, but he may
+have considered that her father was there to seize her if she got jerked
+in.
+
+She took hold of the line and stood on the edge of the dry sand, ready
+to pull in the biggest kind of a fish that might come along. I put on my
+shoes and stockings, and Rectus his; he'd had enough glory for one day.
+Old Menendez wound up his line, too, but that girl saw nothing of all
+this. She just kept her eyes and her whole mind centred on her line. At
+first, she talked right straight ahead, asking what she should do when
+it bit; how big we thought it would be; why we didn't have a cork, and
+fifty other things, but all without turning her head to the right or the
+left. Then said her father:
+
+"My dear, you mustn't talk; you will frighten the fish. When persons
+fish, they always keep perfectly quiet. You never heard me talking while
+I was fishing. I fish a good deal when I am at home," said he, turning
+to us, "and I always remain perfectly quiet."
+
+Menendez laughed a little at this, and said that he didn't believe the
+fish out there in the surf would mind a little quiet chat; but the
+gentleman said that he had always found it best to be just as still as
+possible. The girl now shut her mouth tight, and held herself more
+ready, if possible, than ever, and I believe that if she had got a bite
+she would have jerked the fish's head off. We all stood around her, and
+her father watched her as earnestly as if she was about to graduate at a
+normal school.
+
+We stood and waited and waited, and she didn't move, and neither did the
+line. Menendez now said he thought she might as well give it up. The
+tide was too low, and it was pretty near dinner-time, and, besides this,
+there was a shower coming on.
+
+"Oh, no!" said she; "not just yet. I feel sure I'll get a bite in a
+minute or two now. Just wait a little longer."
+
+And so it went on, every few minutes, until we had waited about half an
+hour, and then Menendez said he must go, but if the gentleman wanted to
+buy the line, and stay there until the tide came in again, he'd sell it
+to him. At this, the girl's father told her that she must stop, and so
+she very dolefully let Menendez untie the line.
+
+"It's too bad!" she said, almost with tears in her eyes. "If they had
+only waited a few minutes longer!" And then she ran up to Rectus and me,
+and said:
+
+"When are you coming out here again? Do you think you will come
+to-morrow, or next day?"
+
+"I don't know," said I. "We haven't settled our plans for to-morrow."
+
+"Oh, father! father!" she cried, "perhaps they will come out here
+to-morrow, and you must get me a fishing-line, and we will come and fish
+all day."
+
+We didn't stay to hear what her father said, but posted off to our boat,
+for we were all beginning to feel pretty hungry. We took Rectus's fish
+along, to give to our landlady. The gentleman and the girl came close
+after us, as if they were afraid to be left alone on the island. Their
+boat was hauled up near ours, and we set off at pretty much the same
+time.
+
+We went ahead a little, and Menendez turned around and called out to the
+gentleman that he'd better follow us, for there were some bad shoals in
+this part of the harbor, and the tide was pretty low.
+
+"All right, my hearty!" called out the gentleman. "This isn't the first
+time I've sailed in this harbor. I guess I know where the shoals are,"
+and just at that minute he ran his boat hard and fast on one of them.
+
+He jumped up, and took an oar and pushed and pushed: but it was of no
+good--he was stuck fast. By this time we had left him pretty far behind;
+but we all had been watching, and Rectus asked if we couldn't go back
+and help him.
+
+"Well, I s'pose so," said Menendez; "but it's a shame to keep three
+decent people out of their dinner for the sake of a man like that, who
+hasn't got sense enough to take good advice when it's give to him."
+
+"We'd better go," said I, and Menendez, in no good humor, put his boat
+about. We found the other boat aground, in the very worst way. The old
+Minorcan said that he could see that sand-bar through the water, and
+that they might as well have run up on dry land. Better, for that
+matter, because then we could have pushed her off.
+
+"There aint nuthin' to be done," he said, after we had worked at the
+thing for a while, "but to jist wait here till the tide turns. It's
+pretty near dead low now, an' you'll float off in an hour or two."
+
+This was cold comfort for the gentleman, especially as it was beginning
+to rain; but he didn't seem a bit cast down. He laughed, and said:
+
+"Well, I suppose it can't be helped: but I am used to being out in all
+weathers. I can wait, just as well as not. But I don't want my daughter
+here to get wet, and she has no umbrella. Would you mind taking her on
+your boat? When you get to the town, she can run up to our hotel by
+herself. She knows the way."
+
+Of course we had no objection to this, and the girl was helped aboard.
+Then we sailed off, and the gentleman waved his hat to us. If I had been
+in his place, I don't think I should have felt much like waving my hat.
+
+[Illustration: "THE GENTLEMAN WAVED HIS HAT TO US."]
+
+Menendez now said that he had an oil-skin coat stowed away forward, and
+I got it and put it around the girl. She snuggled herself up in it as
+comfortably as she could, and began to talk.
+
+"The way of it was this," she said. "Father, he said we'd go out
+sailing, and mother and I went with him, and when we got down to the
+wharf, there were a lot of boats, but they all had men to them, and so
+father, he said he wanted to sail the boat himself, and mother, she said
+that if he did she wouldn't go; but he said pooh! he could do it as well
+as anybody, and wasn't going to have any man. So he got a boat without a
+man, and mother, she didn't want me to go; but I went, and he stuck fast
+coming back, because he never will listen to anything anybody tells him,
+as mother and I found out long ago. And here we are, almost at the
+wharf! I didn't think we were anywhere near it."
+
+"Well, you see, sis, sich a steady gale o' talkin', right behind the
+sail, is bound to hurry the boat along. And now, s'pose you tell us your
+name," said Menendez.
+
+"My name's Cornelia; but father, he calls me Corny, which mother hates
+to hear the very sound of," said she; "and the rest of it is Mary
+Chipperton. Father, he came down here because he had a weak lung, and
+I'm sure I don't see what good it's going to do him to sit out there in
+the rain. We'll take a man next time. And father and I'll be sure to be
+here early to-morrow to go out fishing with you. Good-bye!"
+
+And with this, having mounted the steps to the pier, off ran Miss
+Corny.
+
+"I wouldn't like to be the ole man o' that family," said Mr. Menendez.
+
+That night, after we had gone to bed, Rectus began to talk. We generally
+went to sleep in pretty short order; but the moon did not shine in our
+windows now until quite late, and so we noticed for the first time the
+curious way in which the light-house--which stood almost opposite on
+Anastasia Island--brightened up the room, every minute or two. It is a
+revolving light, and when the light got on the landward side it gave us
+a flash, which produced a very queer effect on the furniture, and on
+Rectus's broad hat, which hung on the wall right opposite the window. It
+seemed exactly as if this hat was a sort of portable sun of a very mild
+power, which warmed up, every now and then, and lighted the room.
+
+But Rectus did not talk long about this.
+
+"I think," said he, "that we have had about enough of St. Augustine.
+There are too many Indians and girls here."
+
+"And sea-beans, too, perhaps," said I. "But I don't think there's any
+reason for going so soon. I'm going to settle those Indians, and you've
+only seen one girl, and perhaps we'll never see her again."
+
+"Don't you believe that," said Rectus, very solemnly, and he turned
+over, either to ponder on the matter, or to go to sleep. His remarks
+made me imagine that perhaps he was one of those fellows who soon get
+tired of a place and want to be moving on. But that wasn't my way, and I
+didn't intend to let him hurry me. I think the Indians worried him a
+good deal. He was afraid they would keep on troubling us. But, as I had
+said, I had made up my mind to settle the Indians. As for Corny, I know
+he hated her. I don't believe he spoke a word to her all the time we
+were with her.
+
+The next morning, we talked over the Indian question, and then went down
+to the fort. We hadn't been there for three or four days, but now we had
+decided not to stand nagging by a couple of red-skinned savages, but to
+go and see the captain and tell him all about it. All except the
+proclamation--Rectus wouldn't agree to have that brought in at all. Mr.
+Cholott had introduced us to the captain, and he was a first-rate
+fellow, and when we told him how we had stormed his old fort, he laughed
+and said he wondered we didn't break our necks, and that the next time
+we did it he'd put us in the guard-house, sure.
+
+"That would be cheaper for you than buying so many beans," he said.
+
+As to the two Indians, he told us he would see to it that they let us
+alone. He didn't think that Maiden's Heart would ever harm us, for he
+was more of a blower than anything else; but he said that Crowded Owl
+was really one of the worst-tempered Indians in the fort, and he advised
+us to have nothing more to do with him, in any way.
+
+All of this was very good of the captain, and we were very glad we had
+gone to see him.
+
+"I tell you what it is," said Rectus, as we were coming away, "I don't
+believe that any of these Indians are as innocent as they try to make
+out. Did you ever see such a rascally set of faces?"
+
+Somehow or other, I seldom felt sorry when Rectus changed his mind. I
+thought, indeed, that he ought to change it as much as he could. And
+yet, as I have said, he was a thoroughly good fellow. The trouble with
+him was that he wasn't used to making up his mind about things, and
+didn't make a very good beginning at it.
+
+The next day, we set out to explore Anastasia Island, right opposite the
+town. It is a big island, but we took our lunch and determined to do
+what we could. We hired a boat and rowed over to the mouth of a creek in
+the island. We went up this creek quite a long way, and landed at a
+little pier, where we made the boat fast. The man who owned the boat
+told us just how to go. We first made a flying call at the coquina
+quarries, where they dig the curious stuff of which the town is built.
+This is formed of small shells, all conglomerated into one solid mass
+that becomes as hard as stone after it is exposed to the air. It must
+have taken thousands of years for so many little shell-fish to pile
+themselves up into a quarrying-ground. We now went over to the
+light-house, and climbed to the top of it, where we had a view that made
+Rectus feel even better than he felt in the cemetery at Savannah.
+
+When we came down, we started for the beach and stopped a little while
+at the old Spanish light-house, which looked more like a cracker-bakery
+than anything else, but I suppose it was good enough for all the ships
+the Spaniards had to light up. We would have cared more for the old
+light-house if it had not had an inscription on it that said it had been
+destroyed, and rebuilt by some American. After that, we considered it
+merely in the light of a chromo.
+
+We had a good time on the island, and stayed nearly all day. Toward the
+end of the afternoon, we started back for the creek and our boat. We had
+a long walk, for we had been exploring the island pretty well, and when,
+at last, we reached the creek, we saw that our boat was gone!
+
+This was astounding. We could not make out how the thing could have
+happened. The boatman, from whom we had hired it, had said that it would
+be perfectly safe for us to leave the boat at the landing if we tied her
+up well and hid the oars. I had tied her up very well and we had hidden
+the oars so carefully, under some bushes, that we found them there when
+we went to look for them.
+
+"Could the old thing have floated off of itself?" said Rectus.
+
+"That couldn't have happened," I said. "I tied her hard and fast."
+
+"But how could any one have taken her away without oars?" asked Rectus.
+
+"Rectus," said I, "don't let us have any more riddles. Some one may have
+cut a pole and poled her away, up or down the creek, or----"
+
+"I'll tell you," interrupted Rectus. "Crowded Owl!"
+
+I didn't feel much like laughing, but I did laugh a little.
+
+"Yes," I said. "He probably swam over with a pair of oars on purpose to
+steal our boat. But, whether he did it or not, it's very certain that
+somebody has taken the boat, and there isn't any way, that I see, of
+getting off this place to-night. There'll be nobody going over so late
+in the afternoon--except, to be sure, those men we saw at the other end
+of the island with a flat-boat."
+
+"But that's away over at the upper end of the island," said Rectus.
+
+"That's not so very far," said I. "I wonder if they have gone back yet?
+If one of us could run over there and ask them to send a boatman from
+the town after us, we might get back by supper-time."
+
+"Why not both of us?" asked Rectus.
+
+"One of us should stay here to see if our boat does come back. It must
+have been some one from the island who took it, because any one from the
+mainland would have brought his own boat."
+
+"Very well," said Rectus. "Let's toss up to see who goes. The winner
+stays."
+
+I pitched up a cent.
+
+"Heads," said Rectus.
+
+"Tails," said I.
+
+Tails it was, and Rectus started off like a good fellow.
+
+I sat down and waited. I waited a long, long time, and then I got up and
+walked up and down. In about an hour I began to get anxious. It was more
+than time for Rectus to return. The walk to the end of the island and
+back was not much over a mile--at least, I supposed it was not. Could
+anything have happened to the boy? It was not yet sunset, and I couldn't
+imagine what there was to happen.
+
+After waiting about half an hour longer, I heard a distant sound of
+oars. I ran to the landing and looked down the creek. A boat with a man
+in it was approaching. When it came nearer, I saw plainly that it was
+our boat. When it had almost reached the landing, the man turned around,
+and I was very much surprised, indeed, to see that he was Mr.
+Chipperton.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+MR. CHIPPERTON.
+
+
+I took hold of the boat, and pulled the bow up on the beach. Mr.
+Chipperton looked around at me.
+
+"Why, how do you do?" said he.
+
+[Illustration: "WHY, HOW DO YOU DO?"]
+
+For an instant I could not answer him, I was so angry, and then I said:
+
+"What did you----? How did you come to take our boat away?"
+
+"Your boat!" he exclaimed. "Is this your boat? I didn't know that. But
+where is my boat? Did you see a sail-boat leave here? It is very
+strange--remarkably strange! I don't know what to make of it."
+
+"I know nothing about a sail-boat," said I. "If we had seen one leave
+here, we should have gone home in her. Why did you take our boat?"
+
+Mr. Chipperton had now landed.
+
+"I came over here," he said, "with my wife and daughter. We were in a
+sail-boat, with a man to manage it. My wife would not come otherwise. We
+came to see the light-house, but I do not care for light-houses,--I have
+seen a great many of them. I am passionately fond of the water. Seeing a
+small boat here which no one was using, I let the man conduct my wife
+and Corny--my daughter--up to the light-house, while I took a little
+row. I know the man. He is very trustworthy. He would let no harm come
+to them. There was a pair of oars in the sail-boat, and I took them, and
+rowed down the creek, and then went along the river, below the town;
+and, I assure you, sir, I went a great deal farther than I intended, for
+the tide was with me. But it wasn't with me coming back, of course, and
+I had a very hard time of it. I thought I never should get back. This
+boat of yours, sir, seems to be an uncommonly hard boat to row."
+
+"Against a strong tide, I suppose it is," said I; "but I wish you hadn't
+taken it. Here I have been waiting ever so long, and my friend----"
+
+"Oh! I'm sorry, too," interrupted Mr. Chipperton, who had been looking
+about, as if he expected to see his sail-boat somewhere under the trees.
+"I can't imagine what could have become of my boat, my wife, and my
+child. If I had staid here, they could not have sailed away without my
+knowing it. It would even have been better to go with them, although, as
+I said before, I don't care for light-houses."
+
+"Well," said I, not quite as civilly as I generally speak to people
+older than myself, "your boat has gone, that is plain enough. I suppose,
+when your family came from the light-house, they thought you had gone
+home, and so went themselves."
+
+"That's very likely," said he,--"very likely indeed. Or, it may be that
+Corny wouldn't wait. She is not good at waiting. She persuaded her
+mother to sail away, no doubt. But now I suppose you will take me home
+in your boat, and the sooner we get off the better, for it is growing
+late."
+
+"You needn't be in a hurry," said I, "for I am not going off until my
+friend comes back. You gave him a good long walk to the other end of the
+island."
+
+"Indeed!" said Mr. Chipperton. "How was that?"
+
+Then I told him all about it.
+
+"Do you think that the flat-boat is likely to be there yet?" he asked.
+
+"It's gone, long ago," said I; "and I'm afraid Rectus has lost his way,
+either going there or coming back."
+
+I said this as much to myself as to my companion, for I had walked back
+a little to look up the path. I could not see far, for it was growing
+dark. I was terribly worried about Rectus, and would have gone to look
+for him, but I was afraid that if I left Mr. Chipperton he would go off
+with the boat.
+
+Directly Mr. Chipperton set up a yell.
+
+"Hi! hi! hi!" he cried.
+
+I ran down to the pier, and saw a row-boat approaching.
+
+"Hi!" cried Mr. Chipperton. "Come this way! Come here! Boat ahoy!"
+
+"We're coming!" shouted a man from the boat. "Ye needn't holler for us."
+
+And in a few more strokes the boat touched land. There were two men in
+it.
+
+"Did you come for me?" cried Mr. Chipperton.
+
+"No," said the man who had spoken. "We came for this other party, but I
+reckon you can come along."
+
+"For me?" said I. "Who sent you?"
+
+"Your pardner," said the man. "He came over in a flat-boat, and he said
+you was stuck here, for somebody had stole your boat, and so he sent us
+for you."
+
+"And he's over there, is he?" said I.
+
+"Yes, he's all right, eatin' his supper, I reckon. But isn't this here
+your boat?"
+
+"Yes, it is," I said, "and I'm going home in it. You can take the other
+man."
+
+And, without saying another word, I picked up my oars, which I had
+brought from the bushes, jumped into my boat, and pushed off.
+
+"I reckon you're a little riled, aint ye?" said the man; but I made him
+no answer, and left him to explain to Mr. Chipperton his remark about
+stealing the boat. They set off soon after me, and we had a race down
+the creek. I _was_ "a little riled," and I pulled so hard that the other
+boat did not catch up to me until we got out into the river. Then it
+passed me, but it didn't get to town much before I did.
+
+The first person I met on the pier was Rectus. He had had his supper,
+and had come down to watch for me. I was so angry that I would not speak
+to him. He kept by my side, though, as I walked up to the house,
+excusing himself for going off and leaving me.
+
+"You see, it wasn't any use for me to take that long walk back there to
+the creek. I told the men of the fix we were in, and they said they'd
+send somebody for us, but they thought I'd better come along with them,
+as I was there."
+
+I had a great mind to say something here, but I didn't.
+
+"It wouldn't have done you any good for me to come back through the
+woods in the dark. The boat wouldn't get over to you any faster. You
+see, if there'd been any good at all in it, I would have come back--but
+there wasn't."
+
+All this might have been very true, but I remembered how I had sat and
+walked and thought and worried about Rectus, and his explanation did me
+no good.
+
+When I reached the house, I found that our landlady, who was one of the
+very best women in all Florida, had saved me a splendid supper--hot and
+smoking. I was hungry enough, and I enjoyed this meal until there didn't
+seem to be a thing left. I felt in a better humor then, and I hunted up
+Rectus, and we talked along as if nothing had happened. It wasn't easy
+to keep mad with Rectus, because he didn't get mad himself. And,
+besides, he had a good deal of reason on his side.
+
+It was a lovely evening, and pretty nearly all the people of the town
+were out-of-doors. Rectus and I took a walk around the "Plaza,"--a
+public square planted thick with live-oak and pride-of-India trees, and
+with a monument in the centre with a Spanish inscription on it, stating
+how the king of Spain once gave a very satisfactory charter to the town.
+Rectus and I agreed, however, that we would rather have a pride-of-India
+tree than a charter, as far as we were concerned. These trees have on
+them long bunches of blossoms, which smell deliciously.
+
+"Now, then," said I, "I think it's about time for us to be moving along.
+I'm beginning to feel about that Corny family as you do."
+
+"Oh, I only objected to the girl," said Rectus, in an off-hand way.
+
+"Well, I object to the father," said I. "I think we've had enough,
+anyway, of fathers and daughters. I hope the next couple we fall in with
+will be a mother and a son."
+
+"What's the next place on the bill?" asked Rectus.
+
+"Well," said I, "we ought to take a trip up the Oclawaha River. That's
+one of the things to do. It will take us two or three days, and we can
+leave our baggage here and come back again. Then, if we want to stay, we
+can, and if we don't, we needn't."
+
+"All right," said Rectus. "Let's be off to-morrow."
+
+The next morning, I went to buy the Oclawaha tickets, while Rectus staid
+home to pack up our handbags, and, I believe, to sew some buttons on his
+clothes. He could sew buttons on so strongly that they would never come
+off again without bringing the piece out with them.
+
+The ticket-office was in a small store, where you could get any kind of
+alligator or sea-bean combination that the mind could dream of. We had
+been in there before to look at the things. I found I was in luck, for
+the storekeeper told me that it was not often that people could get
+berths on the little Oclawaha steam-boats without engaging them some
+days ahead; but he had a couple of state-rooms left, for the boat that
+left Pilatka the next day. I took one room as quick as lightning, and I
+had just paid for the tickets when Mr. Chipperton and Corny walked in.
+
+"How d' ye do?" said he, as cheerfully as if he had never gone off with
+another fellow's boat. "Buying tickets for the Oclawaha?"
+
+I had to say yes, and then he wanted to know when we were going. I
+wasn't very quick to answer; but the storekeeper said:
+
+"He's just taken the last room but one in the boat that leaves Pilatka
+to-morrow morning."
+
+"And when do you leave here to catch that boat?" said Mr. Chipperton.
+
+"This afternoon,--and stay all night at Pilatka."
+
+"Oh, father! father!" cried Corny, who had been standing with her eyes
+and ears wide open, all this time, "let's go! let's go!"
+
+"I believe I will," said Mr. Chipperton,--"I believe I will. You say you
+have one more room. All right. I'll take it. This will be very pleasant,
+indeed," said he, turning to me. "It will be quite a party. It's ever so
+much better to go to such places in a party. We've been thinking of
+going for some time, and I'm so glad I happened in here now. Good-bye.
+We'll see you this afternoon at the d�p�t."
+
+I didn't say anything about being particularly glad, but just as I left
+the door Corny ran out after me.
+
+"Do you think it would be any good to take a fishing-line?" she cried.
+
+"Guess you'd better," I shouted back, and then I ran home, laughing.
+
+"Here are the tickets!" I cried out to Rectus, "and we've got to be at
+the station by four o'clock this afternoon. There's no backing out now."
+
+"Who wants to back out?" said Rectus, looking up from his trunk, into
+which he had been diving.
+
+"Can't say," I answered. "But I know one person who wont back out."
+
+"Who's that?"
+
+"Corny," said I.
+
+Rectus stood up.
+
+"Cor----!" he exclaimed.
+
+"Ny," said I, "and father and mother. They took the only room
+left,--engaged it while I was there."
+
+"Can't we sell our tickets?" asked Rectus.
+
+"Don't know," said I. "But what's the good? Who's going to be afraid of
+a girl,--or a whole family, for that matter? We're in for it now."
+
+Rectus didn't say anything, but his expression saddened.
+
+We had studied out this trip the night before, and knew just what we had
+to do. We first went from St. Augustine, on the sea-coast, to Tocoi, on
+the St. John's River, by a railroad fifteen miles long. Then we took a
+steam-boat up the St. John's to Pilatka, and the next morning left for
+the Oclawaha, which runs into the St. John's about twenty-five miles
+above, on the other side of the river.
+
+We found the Corny family at the station, all right, and Corny
+immediately informed me that she had a fishing-line, but didn't bring a
+pole, because her father said he could cut her one, if it was needed. He
+didn't know whether it was "throw-out" fishing or not, on that river.
+
+There used to be a wooden railroad here, and the cars were pulled by
+mules. It was probably more fun to travel that way, but it took longer.
+Now they have steel rails and everything that a regular grown-up
+railroad has. We knew the engineer, for Mr. Cholott had introduced us to
+him one day, on the club-house wharf. He was a first-rate fellow, and
+let us ride on the engine. I didn't believe, at first, that Rectus would
+do this; but there was only one passenger car, and after the Corny
+family got into that, he didn't hesitate a minute about the engine.
+
+We had a splendid ride. We went slashing along through the woods the
+whole way, and as neither of us had ever ridden on an engine before, we
+made the best of our time. We found out what every crank and handle was
+for, and kept a sharp look-out ahead, through the little windows in the
+cab. If we had caught an alligator on the cow-catcher, the thing would
+have been complete. The engineer said there used to be alligators along
+by the road, in the swampy places, but he guessed the engine had
+frightened most of them away.
+
+The trip didn't take forty minutes, so we had scarcely time to learn the
+whole art of engine-driving, but we were very glad to have had the ride.
+
+We found the steam-boat waiting for us at Tocoi, which is such a little
+place that I don't believe either of us noticed it, as we hurried
+aboard. The St. John's is a splendid river, as wide as a young lake; but
+we did not have much time to see it, as it grew dark pretty soon, and
+the supper-bell rang.
+
+We reached Pilatka pretty early in the evening, and there we had to stay
+all night. Mr. Chipperton told me, confidentially, that he thought this
+whole arrangement was a scheme to make money out of travellers. The boat
+we were in ought to have kept on and taken us up the Oclawaha; "but,"
+said he, "I suppose that wouldn't suit the hotel-keepers. I expect they
+divide the profits with the boats."
+
+By good luck, I thought, the Corny family and ourselves went to
+different hotels to spend the night. When I congratulated Rectus on this
+fact, he only said:
+
+"It don't matter for one night. We'll catch 'em all bad enough
+to-morrow."
+
+And he was right. When we went down to the wharf the next morning, to
+find the Oclawaha boat, the first persons we saw were Mr. Chipperton,
+with his wife and daughter. They were standing, gazing at the steam-boat
+which was to take us on our trip.
+
+"Isn't this a funny boat?" said Corny, as soon as she saw us. It _was_ a
+very funny boat. It was not much longer than an ordinary tug, and quite
+narrow, but was built up as high as a two-story house, and the wheel was
+in the stern. Rectus compared her to a river wheelbarrow.
+
+Soon after we were on board she started off, and then we had a good
+chance to see the St. John's. We had been down to look at the river
+before, for we got up very early and walked about the town. It is a
+pretty sort of a new place, with wide streets and some handsome houses.
+The people have orange-groves in their gardens, instead of
+potato-patches, as we have up north. Before we started, we hired a
+rifle. We had been told that there was plenty of game on the river, and
+that most gentlemen who took the trip carried guns. Rectus wanted to get
+two rifles, but I thought one was enough. We could take turns, and I
+knew I'd feel safer if I had nothing to do but to keep my eye on Rectus
+while he had the gun.
+
+There were not many passengers on board, and, indeed, there was not room
+for more than twenty-five or thirty. Most of them who could find places
+sat out on a little upper deck, in front of the main cabin, which was in
+the top story. Mrs. Chipperton, however, staid in the saloon, or
+dining-room, and looked out of the windows. She was a quiet woman, and
+had an air as if she had to act as shaft-horse for the team, and was
+pretty well used to holding back. And I reckon she had a good deal of it
+to do.
+
+One party attracted our attention as soon as we went aboard. It was made
+up of a lady and two gentlemen-hunters. The lady wasn't a hunter, but
+she was dressed in a suitable costume to go about with fellows who had
+on hunting-clothes. The men wore long yellow boots that came ever so far
+up their legs, and they had on all the belts and hunting-fixings that
+the law allows. The lady wore yellow gloves, to match the men's boots.
+As we were going up the St. John's, the two men strode about, in an easy
+kind of a way, as if they wanted us to understand that this sort of
+thing was nothing to them. They were used to it, and could wear that
+style of boots every day if they wanted to. Rectus called them "the
+yellow-legged party," which wasn't a bad name.
+
+After steaming about twenty-five miles up the St. John's River, we went
+in close to the western shore, and then made a sharp turn into a narrow
+opening between the tall trees, and sailed right into the forest.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+THE STEAM-BOAT IN THE FOREST.
+
+
+We were in a narrow river, where the tall trees met overhead, while the
+lower branches and the smaller trees brushed against the little boat as
+it steamed along. This was the Oclawaha River, and Rectus and I thought
+it was as good as fairy-land. We stood on the bow of the boat, which
+wasn't two feet above the water, and took in everything there was to
+see.
+
+The river wound around in among the great trees, so that we seldom could
+see more than a few hundred yards ahead, and every turn we made showed
+us some new picture of green trees and hanging moss and glimpses into
+the heart of the forest, while everything was reflected in the river,
+which was as quiet as a looking-glass.
+
+"Talk of theatres!" said Rectus.
+
+"No, don't," said I.
+
+At this moment we both gave a little jump, for a gun went off just
+behind us. We turned around quickly, and saw that the tall yellow-legs
+had just fired at a big bird. He didn't hit it.
+
+"Hello!" said Rectus; "we'd better get our gun. The game is beginning to
+show itself." And off he ran for the rifle.
+
+I didn't know that Rectus had such a bloodthirsty style of mind; but
+there were a good many things about him that I didn't know. When he came
+back, he loaded the rifle, which was a little breech-loader, and began
+eagerly looking about for game.
+
+Corny had been on the upper deck; but in a minute or two she came
+running out to us.
+
+"Oh! do you know," she called out, "that there are alligators in this
+river? Do you think they could crawl up into the boat? We go awfully
+near shore sometimes. They sleep on shore. I do hope I'll see one soon."
+
+"Well, keep a sharp look-out, and perhaps you may," said I.
+
+She sat down on a box near the edge of the deck, and peered into the
+water and along the shore as if she had been sent there to watch for
+breakers ahead. Every now and then she screamed out:
+
+"There's one! There! There! There!"
+
+But it was generally a log, or a reflection, or something else that was
+not an alligator.
+
+Of course we were very near both shores at all times, for the river is
+so narrow that a small boy could throw a ball over it; but occasionally
+the deeper part of the channel flowed so near one shore that we ran
+right up close to the trees, and the branches flapped up against the
+people on the little forward deck, making the ladies, especially the
+lady belonging to the yellow-legged party, crouch and scream as if some
+wood-demon had stuck a hand into the boat and made a grab for their
+bonnets.
+
+This commotion every now and then, and the almost continual reports from
+the guns on board, and Corny's screams when she thought she saw an
+alligator, made the scene quite lively.
+
+Rectus and I took a turn every half-hour at the rifle. It was really a
+great deal more agreeable to look out at the beautiful pictures that
+came up before us every few minutes; but, as we had the gun, we couldn't
+help keeping up a watch for game, besides.
+
+"There!" I whispered to Rectus; "see that big bird! On that limb! Take a
+crack at him!"
+
+It was a water-turkey, and he sat placidly on a limb close to the
+water's edge, and about a boat's length ahead of us.
+
+Rectus took a good aim. He slowly turned as the boat approached the
+bird, keeping his aim upon him, and then he fired.
+
+The water-turkey stuck out his long, snake-like neck, and said:
+
+"Quee! Quee! Quee!"
+
+And then he ran along the limb quite gayly.
+
+"Bang! bang!" went the guns of the yellow-legs, and the turkey actually
+stopped and looked back. Then he said:
+
+"Quee! Quee!" again, and ran in among the thick leaves.
+
+I believe I could have hit him with a stone.
+
+"It don't seem to be any use," said Mr. Chipperton, who was standing
+behind us, "to fire at the birds along this river. They know just what
+to do. I'm almost sure I saw that bird wink. It wouldn't surprise me if
+the fellows that own the rifles are in conspiracy with these birds. They
+let out rifles that wont hit, and the birds know it, and sit there and
+laugh at the passengers. Why, I tell you, sir, if the people who travel
+up and down this river were all regular shooters, there wouldn't be a
+bird left in six months."
+
+At this moment Corny saw an alligator,--a real one. It was lying on a
+log, near shore, and just ahead of the boat. She set up such a yell that
+it made every one of us jump, and her mother came rushing out of the
+saloon to see if she was dead. The alligator, who was a good-sized
+fellow, was so scared that he just slid off his log without taking time
+to get decently awake, and before any one but Rectus and myself had a
+chance to see him. The ladies were very much annoyed at this, and urged
+Corny to scream softly the next time she saw one. Alligators were pretty
+scarce this trip, for some reason or other. For one thing, the weather
+was not very warm, and they don't care to come out in the open air
+unless they can give their cold bodies a good warming up.
+
+Corny now went up on the upper deck, because she thought that she might
+see alligators farther ahead if she got up higher. In five minutes, she
+had her hat taken off by a branch of a tree, which swept upon her, as
+she was leaning over the rail. She called to the pilot to stop the boat
+and go back for her hat, but the captain, who was up in the pilot-house,
+stuck out his head and said he reckoned she'd have to wait until they
+came back. The hat would hang there for a day or two. Corny made no
+answer to this, but disappeared into the saloon.
+
+In a little while, she came out on the lower deck, wearing a seal-skin
+hat. She brought a stool with her, and put it near the bow of the boat,
+a little in front and on one side of the box on which Rectus and I were
+sitting. Then she sat quietly down and gazed out ahead. The seal-skin
+cap was rather too warm for the day, perhaps, but she looked very pretty
+in it.
+
+Directly she looked around at us.
+
+"Where do you shoot alligators?" said she.
+
+"Anywhere, where you may happen to see them," said I, laughing. "On the
+land, in the water, or wherever they may be."
+
+"I mean in what part of their bodies?" said she.
+
+"Oh! in the eye," I answered.
+
+"Either eye?" she asked.
+
+"Yes; it don't matter which. But how are you going to hit them?"
+
+"I've got a revolver," said she.
+
+And she turned around, like the turret of an iron-clad, until the muzzle
+of a big seven-shooter pointed right at us.
+
+"My conscience!" I exclaimed; "where did you get that? Don't point it
+this way!"
+
+"Oh! it's father's. He let me have it. I am going to shoot the first
+alligator I see. You needn't be afraid of my screaming this time," and
+she revolved back to her former position.
+
+"One good thing," said Rectus to me, in a low voice; "her pistol isn't
+cocked."
+
+I had noticed this, and I hoped also that it wasn't loaded.
+
+"Which eye do you shut?" said Corny, turning suddenly upon us.
+
+"Both!" said Rectus.
+
+She did not answer, but looked at me, and I told her to shut her left
+eye, but to be very particular not to turn around again without lowering
+her pistol.
+
+She resumed her former position, and we breathed a little easier,
+although I thought that it might be well for us to go to some other part
+of the boat until she had finished her sport.
+
+I was about to suggest this to Rectus, when suddenly Corny sprang to her
+feet, and began blazing away at something ahead. Bang! bang! bang! she
+went, seven times.
+
+"Why, she didn't stop once to cock it!" cried Rectus, and I was amazed
+to see how she had fired so rapidly. But as soon as I had counted seven,
+I stepped up to her and took her pistol. She explained to me how it
+worked. It was one of those pistols in which the same pull of the
+trigger jerks up the hammer and lets it down,--the most unsafe things
+that any one can carry.
+
+"Too bad!" she exclaimed. "I believe it was only a log! But wont you
+please load it up again for me? Here are some cartridges."
+
+"Corny," said I, "how would you like to have our rifle? It will be
+better than a pistol for you."
+
+She agreed, instantly, to this exchange, and I showed her how to hold
+and manage the gun. I didn't think it was a very good thing for a girl
+to have, but it was a great deal safer than the pistol for the people on
+board. The latter I put in my pocket.
+
+Corny made one shot, but did no execution. The other gunners on board
+had been firing away, for some time, at two little birds that kept ahead
+of us, skimming along over the water, just out of reach of the shot that
+was sent scattering after them.
+
+"I think it's a shame," said Corny, "to shoot such little birds as that.
+They can't eat 'em."
+
+"No," said I; "and they can't hit 'em, either, which is a great deal
+better."
+
+But very soon after this, the shorter yellow-legged man did hit a bird.
+It was a water-turkey, that had been sitting on a tree, just as we
+turned a corner. The big bird spread out its wings, made a doleful
+flutter, and fell into the underbrush by the shore.
+
+"Wont they stop to get him?" asked Corny, with her eyes open as wide as
+they would go.
+
+One of the hands was standing by, and he laughed.
+
+"Stop the boat when a man shoots a bird? I reckon not. And there isn't
+anybody that would go into all that underbrush and water only for a bird
+like that, anyway."
+
+"Well, I think it's murder!" cried Corny. "I thought they ate 'em. Here!
+Take your gun. I'm much obliged; but I don't want to kill things just
+to see them fall down and die."
+
+I took the gun very willingly,--although I did not think that Corny
+would injure any birds with it,--but I asked her what she thought about
+alligators. She certainly had not supposed that they were killed for
+food.
+
+"Alligators are wild beasts," she said. "Give me my pistol. I am going
+to take it back to father."
+
+And away she went. Rectus and I did not keep up our rifle practice much
+longer. We couldn't hit anything, and the thought that, if we should
+wound or kill a bird, it would be of no earthly good to us or anybody
+else, made us follow Corny's example, and we put away our gun. But the
+other gunners did not stop. As long as daylight lasted a ceaseless
+banging was kept up.
+
+We were sitting on the forward deck, looking out at the beautiful scenes
+through which we were passing, and occasionally turning back to see that
+none of the gunners posted themselves where they might make our
+positions uncomfortable, when Corny came back to us.
+
+"Can either of you speak French?" she asked.
+
+Rectus couldn't; but I told her that I understood the language tolerably
+well, and asked her why she wished to know.
+
+"It's just this," she said. "You see those two men with yellow boots,
+and the lady with them? She's one of their wives."
+
+"How many wives have they got?" interrupted Rectus, speaking to Corny
+almost for the first time.
+
+"I mean she is the wife of one of them, of course," she answered, a
+little sharply; and then she turned herself somewhat more toward me.
+"And the whole set try to make out they're French, for they talk it
+nearly all the time. But they're not French, for I heard them talk a
+good deal better English than they can talk French; and every time a
+branch nearly hits her, that lady sings out in regular English. And,
+besides, I know that their French isn't French French, because I can
+understand a great deal of it, and if it was I couldn't do it. I can
+talk French a good deal better than I can understand it, anyway. The
+French people jumble everything up so that I can't make head or tail of
+it. Father says he don't wonder they have had so many revolutions, when
+they can't speak their own language more distinctly. He tried to learn
+it, but didn't keep it up long, and so I took lessons. For, when we go
+to France, one of us ought to know how to talk, or we shall be cheated
+dreadfully. Well, you see, over on the little deck, up there, is that
+gentleman with his wife and a young lady, and they're all travelling
+together, and these make-believe French people have been jabbering about
+them ever so long, thinking that nobody else on board understands
+French. But I listened to them. I couldn't make out all they said, but I
+could tell that they were saying all sorts of things about those other
+people, and trying to settle which lady the gentleman was married to,
+and they made a big mistake, too, for they said the small lady was the
+one."
+
+"How do you know they were wrong?" I said.
+
+"Why, I went to the gentleman and asked him. I guess he ought to know.
+And now, if you'll come up there, I'd just like to show those people
+that they can't talk out loud about the other passengers and have nobody
+know what they're saying."
+
+"You want to go there and talk French, so as to show them that you
+understand it?" said I.
+
+"Yes," answered Corny, "that's just it."
+
+"All right; come along," said I. "They may be glad to find out that you
+know what they're talking about."
+
+And so we all went to the upper deck, Rectus as willing as anybody to
+see the fun.
+
+Corny seated herself on a little stool near the yellow-legged party, the
+men of which had put down their guns for a time. Rectus and I sat on the
+forward railing, near her. Directly she cleared her throat, and then,
+after looking about her on each side, said to me, in very distinct
+tones:
+
+"_Voy-ezz vows cett hommy ett ses ducks femmys seelah?_"[B]
+
+I came near roaring out laughing, but I managed to keep my face
+straight, and said: "_Oui._"
+
+"Well, then,--I mean _Bean donk lah peetit femmy nest pah lah femmy due
+hommy. Lah oter femmy este sah femmy._"[C]
+
+[Illustration: "VOY-EZZ VOWS CETT HOMMY ETT SES DUCKS FEMMYS SEELAH?"]
+
+At this, there was no holding in any longer. I burst out laughing, so
+that I came near falling off the railing; Rectus laughed because I did;
+the gentleman with the wife and the young lady laughed madly, and Mr.
+Chipperton, who came out of the saloon on hearing the uproar, laughed
+quite cheerfully, and asked what it was all about. But Corny didn't
+laugh. She turned around short to see what effect her speech had had on
+the yellow-legged party. It had a good deal of effect. They reddened
+and looked at us. Then they drew their chairs closer together, and
+turned their backs to us. What they thought, we never knew; but Corny
+declared to me afterward that they talked no more French,--at least when
+she was about.
+
+The gentleman who had been the subject of Corny's French discourse
+called her over to him, and the four had a gay talk together. I heard
+Corny tell them that she never could pronounce French in the French way.
+She pronounced it just as it was spelt, and her father said that ought
+to be the rule with every language. She had never had a regular teacher;
+but if people laughed so much at the way she talked, perhaps her father
+ought to get her one.
+
+I liked Corny better the more I knew of her. It was easy to see that she
+had taught herself all that she knew. Her mother held her back a good
+deal, no doubt; but her father seemed more like a boy-companion than
+anything else, and if Corny hadn't been a very smart girl, she would
+have been a pretty bad kind of a girl by this time. But she wasn't
+anything of the sort, although she did do and say everything that came
+into her head to say or do. Rectus did not agree with me about Corny. He
+didn't like her.
+
+When it grew dark, I thought we should stop somewhere for the night, for
+it was hard enough for the boat to twist and squeeze herself along the
+river in broad daylight. She bumped against big trees that stood on the
+edge of the stream, and swashed through bushes that stuck out too far
+from the banks; but she was built for bumping and scratching, and
+didn't mind it. Sometimes she would turn around a corner and make a
+short cut through a whole plantation of lily-pads and spatterdocks,--or
+things like them,--and she would scrape over a sunken log as easily as a
+wagon-wheel rolls over a stone. She drew only two feet of water, and was
+flat-bottomed. When she made a very short turn, the men had to push her
+stern around with poles. Indeed, there was a man with a pole at the bow
+a good deal of the time, and sometimes he had more pushing off to do
+than he could manage by himself.
+
+When Mr. Chipperton saw what tight places we had to squeeze through, he
+admitted that it was quite proper not to try to bring the big
+steam-boats up here.
+
+But the boat didn't stop. She kept right on. She had to go a hundred and
+forty miles up that narrow river, and if she made the whole trip from
+Pilatka and back in two days, she had no time to lose. So, when it was
+dark, a big iron box was set up on top of the pilot-house, and a fire
+was built in it of pine-knots and bits of fat pine. This blazed finely,
+and lighted up the river and the trees on each side, and sometimes threw
+out such a light that we could see quite a distance ahead. Everybody
+came out to see the wonderful sight. It was more like fairy-land than
+ever. When the fire died down a little, the distant scenery seemed to
+fade away and become indistinct and shadowy, and the great trees stood
+up like their own ghosts all around us; and then, when fresh knots were
+thrown in, the fire would blaze up, and the whole scene would be
+lighted up again, and every tree and bush, and almost every leaf, along
+the water's edge would be tipped with light, while everything was
+reflected in the smooth, glittering water.
+
+Rectus and I could hardly go in to supper, and we got through the meal
+in short order. We staid out on deck until after eleven o'clock, and
+Corny staid with us a good part of the time. At last, her father came
+down after her, for they were all going to bed.
+
+"This is a grand sight," said Mr. Chipperton. "I never saw anything to
+equal it in any transformation scene at a theatre. Some of our theatre
+people ought to come down here and study it up, so as to get up
+something of the kind for exhibition in the cities."
+
+Just before we went into bed, our steam-whistle began to sound, and away
+off in the depths of the forest we could hear every now and then another
+whistle. The captain told us that there was a boat coming down the
+river, and that she would soon pass us. The river did not look wide
+enough for two boats; but when the other whistle sounded as if it were
+quite near, we ran our boat close into shore among the spatterdocks, in
+a little cove, and waited there, leaving the channel for the other boat.
+
+Directly, it came around a curve just ahead of us, and truly it was a
+splendid sight. The lower part of the boat was all lighted up, and the
+fire was blazing away grandly in its iron box, high up in the air.
+
+To see such a glowing, sparkling apparition as this come sailing out of
+the depths of the dark forest, was grand! Rectus said he felt like
+bursting into poetry; but he didn't. He wasn't much on rhymes. He had
+opportunity enough, though, to get up a pretty good-sized poem, for we
+were kept awake a long time after we went to bed by the boughs of the
+trees on shore scratching and tapping against the outside of our
+state-room.
+
+When we went out on deck the next morning, the first person we saw was
+Corny, holding on to the flag-staff at the bow and looking over the edge
+of the deck into the water.
+
+"What are you looking at?" said I, as we went up to her.
+
+"See there!" she cried. "See that turtle! And those two fishes! Look!
+look!"
+
+We didn't need to be told twice to look. The water was just as clear as
+crystal, and you could see the bottom everywhere, even in the deepest
+places, with the great rocks covered with some glittering green
+substance that looked like emerald slabs, and the fish and turtles
+swimming about as if they thought there was no one looking at them.
+
+I couldn't understand how the water had become so clear; but I was told
+that we had left the river proper and were now in a stream that flowed
+from Silver Spring, which was the end of our voyage into the cypress
+woods. The water in the spring and in this stream was almost
+transparent,--very different from the regular water of the river.
+
+About ten o'clock, we reached Silver Spring, which is like a little
+lake, with some houses on the bank. We made fast at a wharf, and, as we
+were to stop here some hours, everybody got ready to go ashore.
+
+Corny was the first one ready. Her mother thought she ought not to go,
+but her father said there was no harm in it.
+
+"If she does," said Mrs. Chipperton, "she'll get herself into some sort
+of a predicament before she comes back."
+
+I found that in such a case as this Mrs. Chipperton was generally
+right.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[B] "_Voyez-vous cet homme et ces deux femmes cel�?_"--Do you see that
+man and those two women there?
+
+[C] "_Bien donc, la petite femme n'est pas la femme du homme. La autre
+femme est sa femme._"--Well, then, the little woman is not the wife of
+the man. The other woman is his wife. [Of course, the French in this,
+and the preceding, foot-note is Corny's.--THE AUTHOR.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+THE THREE GRAY BEANS.
+
+
+Corny went ashore, but she did not stay there three minutes. From the
+edge of the wharf we could see that Silver Spring was better worth
+looking at than anything we should be likely to see on shore. The little
+lake seemed deeper than a three-story house, and yet, even from where we
+stood, we could see down to the very bottom.
+
+There were two boys with row-boats at the wharf. We hired one of the
+boats right off, and Corny gave me such a look, that I told her to get
+in. After she was in the boat, she asked her mother, who was standing on
+the deck of the steam-boat, if she might go. Mrs. Chipperton said she
+supposed so, and away we went. When we had rowed out to the middle of
+the spring, I stopped rowing, and we looked down into the depths. It was
+almost the same as looking into air. Far down at the bottom we could see
+the glittering sand and the green rocks, and sometimes a fish, as long
+as my arm, would slowly rise and fall, and paddle away beneath us. We
+dropped nickels and copper cents down to the bottom, and we could
+plainly see them lying there. In some parts of the bottom there were
+"wells," or holes, about two feet in diameter, which seemed to go down
+indefinitely. These, we were told, were the places where the water came
+up from below into the spring. We could see the weeds and grasses that
+grew on the edges of these wells, although we could not see very far
+down into them.
+
+"If I had only known," said Rectus, "what sort of a place we were coming
+to, I should have brought something to lower down into these wells. I
+tell you what would have been splendid!--a heavy bottle filled with
+sweet oil and some phosphorus, and a long cord. If we shook up the
+bottle it would shine, so that, when we lowered it into the wells, we
+could see it go down to the very bottom, that is, if the cord should be
+long enough."
+
+At this instant, Corny went overboard! Rectus made a grab at her, but it
+was too late. He sprang to his feet, and I thought he was going over
+after her, but I seized him.
+
+"Sit down!" said I. "Watch her! She'll come up again. Lean over and be
+ready for her!"
+
+We both leaned over the bow as far as was safe. With one hand I gently
+paddled the boat, this way and that, so as to keep ourselves directly
+over Corny. It would have been of no use to jump in. We could see her as
+plainly as anything.
+
+She was going down, all in a bunch, when I first saw her, and the next
+instant she touched the bottom. Her feet were under now, and I saw her
+make a little spring. She just pushed out her feet.
+
+Then she began to come right up. We saw her slowly rising beneath us.
+Her face was turned upward, and her eyes were wide open. It was a
+wonderful sight. I trembled from head to foot. It seemed as if we were
+floating in the air, and Corny was coming up to us from the earth.
+
+Before she quite reached the surface, I caught her, and had her head out
+of water in an instant. Rectus then took hold, and with a mighty jerk,
+we pulled her into the boat.
+
+Corny sat down hard and opened her mouth.
+
+"There!" she said; "I didn't breathe an inch!"
+
+And then she puffed for about two minutes, while the water ran off her
+into the bottom of the boat. I seized the oars to row to shore.
+
+"How did you fall over?" said Rectus, who still shook as if he had had a
+chill.
+
+"Don't know," answered Corny. "I was leaning far over, when my hand must
+have slipped, and the first thing I knew I was into it. It's good I
+didn't shut my eyes. If you get into water, with your eyes shut, you
+can't open them again." She still puffed a little. "Coming up was the
+best. It's the first time I ever saw the bottom of a boat."
+
+"Weren't you frightened?" I asked.
+
+"Hadn't time at first. And when I was coming up, I saw you reaching out
+for me."
+
+[Illustration: "WE SAW HER SLOWLY RISING BENEATH US."]
+
+"Did you think we'd get you?" said Rectus, his face flushing.
+
+"Yes," said Corny, "but if you'd missed me that time, I'd never have
+trusted you again."
+
+The gentleman-with-a-wife-and-a-young-lady was in another boat, not very
+far off, but it was nearer the upper end of the little lake, and none of
+the party knew of our accident until we were pulling Corny out of the
+water. Then they rowed toward us as fast as they could, but they did
+not reach us until we were at the wharf. No one on shore, or on the
+steam-boat, seemed to have noticed Corny's dive. Indeed, the whole thing
+was done so quietly, and was so soon over, that there was not as much of
+a show as the occasion demanded.
+
+"I never before was in deep water that seemed so little like real
+water," said Corny, just before we reached the wharf. "This was cold,
+and that was the only thing natural about it."
+
+"Then this is not the first time you've been in deep water?" I asked.
+
+"No," said Corny, "not the very first time;" and she scrambled up on the
+wharf, where her mother was standing, talking to some ladies.
+
+"Why, Cornelia!" exclaimed Mrs. Chipperton, as soon as she saw the
+dripping girl, "have you been in the water again?"
+
+"Yes, ma'am," said Corny, drawing her shoulders up to her ears, "and I
+must be rubbed down and have dry clothes as quick as lightning."
+
+And with this, she and her mother hurried on board the steam-boat.
+
+Rectus and I went back on the lake, for we had not gone half over it
+when Corny went into it. We had rowed about for half an hour or so, and
+were just coming in, when Corny appeared on the deck of the steam-boat,
+with a handkerchief tied around her head.
+
+"Are you going to take a walk on shore?" she called out.
+
+"Yes!" we shouted.
+
+"All right," said she; "if you'll let me, I'll go with you, for mother
+says I must take a good run in the sun. I look funny, don't I? but I
+haven't any more hats."
+
+We gave her a good run, although it was not altogether in the sun. The
+country hereabout was pretty well wooded, but there were roads cut
+through the woods, and there were some open places, and everywhere,
+underfoot, the sand was about six inches deep. Rectus took Corny by one
+hand, and I took her by the other, and we made her trot through that
+sand, in sunshine and shade, until she declared she was warm enough to
+last for a week. The yellow-legged party and some of the other
+passengers were wandering about, gathering the long gray moss,--from
+limbs where they could reach it,--and cutting great palmetto leaves
+which grew on low bushes all through the woods, and carrying them about
+as fans or parasols; but although Corny wanted to join in this fun, we
+would not stop. We just trotted her until she was tired, and then we ran
+her on board the boat, where her mother was waiting for her.
+
+"Now, then," said Mrs. Chipperton, "immediately to bed."
+
+The two disappeared, and we saw no more of Corny until supper-time. Her
+mother was certainly good at cure, if she didn't have much of a knack at
+prevention.
+
+Just as the boat was about to start off on her return trip, and after
+she had blown her whistle two or three times, Mr. Chipperton appeared,
+carrying an immense arm-load of gray moss. He puffed and blew as he
+threw it down on deck. When his wife came out and told him of Corny's
+disaster, he stopped dusting his clothes, and looked up for an instant.
+
+"I declare," said he, "Corny must keep out of the water. It seems to me
+that I can never leave her but she gets into some scrape. But I'm sure
+our friends here have proved themselves good fellows, indeed," and he
+shook hands with both of us.
+
+"Now then, my dear," said he to his wife, "I've enough moss here for the
+parlor and sitting-room, and the little back-room, upstairs. I didn't
+get any for the dining-room, because it might blow about and get into
+the food."
+
+"Do you mean to take that moss all the way home?" asked Mrs. Chipperton,
+in surprise. "Why, how will you ever carry it?"
+
+"Of course I mean to take it home," said he. "I gathered this with my
+own hands from the top of one of the tallest trees on the banks of this
+famous Silver Spring."
+
+"Mr. Chipperton!" exclaimed his wife.
+
+"To be sure, the tree was cut down, but that makes no difference in the
+fact. It is both an ornament and a trophy of travel. If necessary, I'll
+buy a trunk for it. What did you do with Corny after they got her out?"
+
+Our journey home was very much like our trip up the river, but there
+were a few exceptions. There was not so much firing, for I think the
+ammunition got pretty low; we saw more alligators, and the yellow-legged
+party, which had joined us at Pilatka, went all the way to St.
+Augustine with us. There was still another difference, and that was in
+Rectus. He was a good deal livelier,--more in the spirit that had
+hatched out in him in the cemetery at Savannah. He seemed to be all
+right with Corny now, and we had a good time together. I was going to
+say to him, once, that he had changed his mind about girls, but I
+thought I wouldn't. It would be better to let well enough alone, and he
+was a ticklish customer.
+
+The day after we returned to St. Augustine, we were walking on the
+sea-wall, when we met Corny. She said she had been looking for us. Her
+father had gone out fishing with some gentlemen, and her mother would
+not walk in the sun, and, besides, she had something to say to us.
+
+So we all walked to the fort and sat down on the wide wall of the
+water-battery. Rectus bestrode one of the cannon that stood pointing out
+to sea, but Corny told him she wanted him to get down and sit by her, so
+that she wouldn't have to shout.
+
+"Now then," said she, after pausing a little, as if she wanted to be
+sure and get it right, "you two saved my life, and I want to give you
+something to remember me by."
+
+We both exclaimed against this.
+
+"You needn't do that," said I, "for I'm sure that no one who saw you
+coming up from the bottom, like the fairy-women float up on wires at the
+theatre, could ever forget you. We'll remember you, Corny, without your
+giving us anything."
+
+"But that wont do," said she. "The only other time that I was ever
+really saved was by a ferryman, and father gave him some money, which
+was all right for him, but wouldn't do for you two, you know; and
+another time there wasn't really any danger, and I'm sorry the man got
+anything; but he did.
+
+"We brought scarcely anything with us, because we didn't expect to need
+things in this way; but this is my own, and I want to give it to you
+both. One of you can't use it by himself, and so it will be more like a
+present for both of you together, than most things would be." And she
+handed me a box of dominoes.
+
+"I give it to you because you're the oldest, but, remember, it's for
+both of you."
+
+Of course we took it, and Corny was much pleased. She was a good little
+girl and, somehow or other, she seemed to be older and more sensible
+when she was with us than when she was bouncing around in the bosom of
+her family.
+
+We had a good deal of talk together, and, after a while, she asked how
+long we were going to stay in St. Augustine.
+
+"Until next Tuesday," I said, "and then we shall start for Nassau in the
+'Tigris.'"
+
+"Nassau!" she exclaimed, "where's that?"
+
+"Right down there," I said, pointing out to sea with a crook of my
+finger, to the south. "It's on one of the Bahamas, and they lie off the
+lower end of Florida, you know."
+
+"No," said she; "I don't remember where they are. I always get the
+Bahamas mixed up with the Bermudas, anyway. So does father. We talked
+of going to one of those places, when we first thought of travelling
+for his lung, but then they thought Florida would be better. What is
+there good about Nassau? Is it any better than this place?"
+
+"Well," said I, "it's in the West Indies, and it's semi-tropical, and
+they have cocoa-nuts and pineapples and bananas there; and there are
+lots of darkeys, and the weather is always just what you want----"
+
+"I guess that's a little stretched," said Corny, and Rectus agreed with
+her.
+
+"And it's a new kind of a place," I continued; "an English colony, such
+as our ancestors lived in before the Revolution, and we ought to see
+what sort of a thing an English colony is, so as to know whether
+Washington and the rest of them should have kicked against it."
+
+"Oh, they were all right!" said Corny, in a tone which settled that
+little matter.
+
+"And so, you see," I went on, "Rectus and I thought we should like to go
+out of the country for a while, and see how it would feel to live under
+a queen and a cocoa-nut tree."
+
+"Good!" cried Corny. "We'll go."
+
+"Who?" I asked.
+
+"Father and mother and I," said Corny, rising. "I'll tell them all about
+it; and I'd better be going back to the hotel, for if the steamer leaves
+on Tuesday, we'll have lots to do."
+
+As we were walking homeward on the sea-wall, Rectus looked back and
+suddenly exclaimed:
+
+"There! Do you see that Crowded Owl following us? He's been hanging
+round us all the afternoon. He's up to something. Don't you remember the
+captain told us he was a bad-tempered fellow?"
+
+"What did he do?" asked Corny, looking back at the Indian, who now stood
+in the road, a short distance from the wall, regarding us very
+earnestly.
+
+"Well, he never did anything, much," I said. "He seemed to be angry,
+once, because we would not buy some of his things, and the captain said
+he'd have him told not to worry us. That may have made him madder yet."
+
+"He don't look mad," said Corny.
+
+"Don't you trust him," said Rectus.
+
+"I believe all these Indians are perfectly gentle, now," said Corny,
+"and father thinks so, too. He's been over here a good deal, and talked
+to some of them. Let's go ask him what he wants. Perhaps he's only
+sorry."
+
+"If he is, we'll never find it out," I remarked, "for he can only speak
+one word of English."
+
+I beckoned to Crowded Owl, and he immediately ran up to the wall, and
+said "How?" in an uncertain tone, as if he was not sure how we should
+take it. However, Corny offered him her hand, and Rectus and I followed
+suit. After this, he put his hand into his pocket, and pulled out three
+sea-beans.
+
+"There!" said Rectus. "At it again. Disobeying military orders."
+
+"But they're pretty ones," said Corny, taking one of the beans in her
+hand.
+
+They were pretty. They were not very large, but were beautifully
+polished, and of a delicate gray color, the first we had seen of the
+kind.
+
+"These must be a rare kind," said Rectus. "They are almost always brown.
+Let's forgive him this once, and buy them."
+
+"Perhaps he wants to make up with you," said Corny, "and has brought
+these as a present."
+
+"I can soon settle that question," said I, and I took the three beans,
+and pulled from my pocket three quarter-dollars, which I offered to the
+Indian.
+
+Crowded Owl took the money, grinned, gave a bob of his head, and went
+home happy.
+
+If he had had any wish to "make up" with us, he had shown it by giving
+us a chance at a choice lot of goods.
+
+"Now," said I, reaching out my hand to Corny, "here's one for each of
+us. Take your choice."
+
+"For me?" said Corny. "No, I oughtn't to. Yes, I will, too. I am ever so
+much obliged. We have lots of sea-beans, but none like this. I'll have a
+ring fastened to it, and wear it, somehow."
+
+"That'll do to remember us by," said I.
+
+"Yes," said Rectus, "and whenever you're in danger, just hold up that
+bean, and we'll come to you."
+
+"I'll do it," said Corny. "But how about you? What can I do?"
+
+"Oh, I don't suppose we shall want you to help us much," I said.
+
+"Well, hold up your beans, and we'll see," said Corny.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+THE QUEEN ON THE DOOR-STEP.
+
+
+We found that Corny had not been mistaken about her influence over her
+family, for the next morning, before we were done breakfast, Mr.
+Chipperton came around to see us. He was full of Nassau, and had made up
+his mind to go with us on Tuesday. He asked us lots of questions, but he
+really knew as much about the place as we did, although he had been so
+much in the habit of mixing his Bahamas and his Bermudas.
+
+"My wife is very much pleased at the idea of having you two with us on
+the trip over," said he; "although, to be sure, we may have a very
+smooth and comfortable voyage."
+
+I believe that, since the Silver Spring affair, he regarded Rectus and
+me as something in the nature of patent girl-catchers, to be hung over
+the side of the vessel in bad weather.
+
+We were sorry to leave St. Augustine, but we had thoroughly done up the
+old place, and had seen everything, I think, except the Spring of Ponce
+de Leon, on the other side of the St. Sebastian River. We didn't care
+about renewing our youth,--indeed, we should have objected very much to
+anything of the kind,--and so we felt no interest in old Ponce's spring.
+
+On Tuesday morning, the "Tigris" made her appearance on time, and Mr.
+Cholott and our good landlady came down to see us off. The yellow-legged
+party also came down, but not to see us off. They, too, were going to
+Nassau.
+
+Rectus had gone on board, and I was just about to follow him, when our
+old Minorcan stepped up to me.
+
+"Goin' away?" said he.
+
+"Yes," said I, "we're off at last."
+
+"Other feller goin'?"
+
+"Oh, yes," I answered, "we keep together."
+
+"Well now, look here," said he, drawing me a little on one side. "What
+made him take sich stock in us Minorcans? Why, he thought we used to be
+slaves; what put that in his head, I'd like to know? Did he reely think
+we ever was niggers?"
+
+"Oh, no!" I exclaimed. "He had merely heard the early history of the
+Minorcans in this country, their troubles and all that, and he----"
+
+"But what difference did it make to him?" interrupted the old man.
+
+I couldn't just then explain the peculiarities of Rectus's disposition
+to Mr. Menendez, and so I answered that I supposed it was a sort of
+sympathy.
+
+"I can't see, for the life of me," said the old man, reflectively, "what
+difference it made to him."
+
+And he shook hands with me, and bade me good-bye. I don't believe he has
+ever found anybody who could give him the answer to this puzzle.
+
+The trip over to Nassau was a very different thing from our voyage down
+the coast from New York to Savannah. The sea was comparatively smooth,
+and, although the vessel rolled a good deal in the great swells, we did
+not mind it much. The air was delightful, and after we had gone down the
+Florida coast, and had turned to cross the Gulf Stream to our islands,
+the weather became positively warm, even out here on the sea, and we
+were on deck nearly all the time.
+
+Mr. Chipperton was in high spirits. He enjoyed the deep blue color of
+the sea; he went into ecstasies over the beautiful little nautiluses
+that sailed along by the ship; he watched with wild delight the
+porpoises that followed close by our side, and fairly shouted when a big
+fellow would spring into the air, or shoot along just under the surface,
+as if he had a steam-engine in his tail. But when he saw a school of
+flying-fish rise up out of the sea, just a little ahead of us, and go
+skimming along like birds, and then drop again into the water, he was so
+surprised and delighted that he scarcely knew how to express his
+feelings.
+
+Of course, we younger people enjoyed all these things, but I was
+surprised to see that Corny was more quiet than usual, and spent a good
+deal of her time in reading, although she would spring up and run to the
+railing whenever her father announced some wonderful discovery. Mr.
+Chipperton would have been a splendid man for Columbus to have taken
+along with him on his first trip to these islands. He would have kept up
+the spirits of the sailors.
+
+I asked Corny what she was reading, and she showed me her book. It was a
+big, fat pamphlet about the Bahamas, and she was studying up for her
+stay there. She was a queer girl. She had not been to school very much,
+her mother said, for they had been travelling about a good deal of late
+years; but she liked to study up special things, in which she took an
+interest. Sometimes she was her own teacher, and sometimes, if they
+staid in any one place long enough, she took regular lessons.
+
+"I teach her as much as I can," said her mother, "although I would much
+rather have her go regularly to school. But her father is so fond of her
+that he will not have her away from him, and as Mr. Chipperton's lung
+requires him to be moving from place to place, we have to go, too. But I
+am determined that she shall go to a school next fall."
+
+"What is the matter with Mr. Chipperton's lung?" I asked.
+
+"I wish we knew," said Mrs. Chipperton, earnestly. "The doctors don't
+seem to be able to find out the exact trouble, and besides, it isn't
+certain which lung it is. But the only thing that can be done for it is
+to travel."
+
+"He looks very well," said I.
+
+"Oh, yes!" said she. "But"--and she looked around to see where he
+was--"he doesn't like people to tell him so."
+
+After a while, Rectus got interested in Corny's book, and the two read a
+good deal together. I did not interrupt them, for I felt quite sure that
+neither of them knew too much.
+
+The captain and all the officers on the steamer were good, sociable men,
+and made the passengers feel at home. I had got somewhat acquainted with
+them on our trip from Savannah to St. Augustine, and now the captain let
+me come into his room and showed me the ship's course, marked out on a
+chart, and pointed out just where we were, besides telling me a good
+many things about the islands and these waters.
+
+I mentioned to Corny and Rectus, when I went aft again,--this was the
+second day out,--that we should see one end of the Great Bahama early in
+the afternoon.
+
+"I'm glad of that," said Corny; "but I suppose we sha'n't go near enough
+for us to see its calcareous formation."
+
+"Its what?" I exclaimed.
+
+"Its cal-car-e-ous formation," repeated Corny, and she went on with her
+reading.
+
+"Oh!" said I, laughing, "I guess the calcareous part is all covered up
+with grass and plants,--at least it ought to be in a semi-tropical
+country. But when we get to Nassau you can dig down and see what it's
+like."
+
+"Semi-tropical!" exclaimed Mr. Chipperton, who just came up; "there is
+something about that word that puts me all in a glow," and he rubbed his
+hands as if he smelt dinner.
+
+Each of us wore a gray bean. Rectus and I had ours fastened to our
+watch-guards, and Corny's hung to a string of beads she generally wore.
+We formed ourselves into a society--Corny suggested it--which we called
+the "Association of the Three Gray Beans," the object of which was to
+save each other from drowning, and to perform similar serviceable acts,
+if circumstances should call for them. We agreed to be very faithful,
+and, if Corny had tumbled overboard, I am sure that Rectus and I would
+have jumped in after her; but I am happy to say that she did nothing of
+the kind on this trip.
+
+Early the next morning, we reached Nassau, the largest town in the
+Bahamas, on one of the smallest islands, and found it semi-tropical
+enough to suit even Mr. Chipperton.
+
+Before we landed, we could see the white, shining streets and
+houses,--just as calcareous as they could be; the black negroes; the
+pea-green water in the harbor; the tall cocoa-nut trees, and about five
+million conch-shells, lying at the edges of the docks. The colored
+people here live pretty much on the conch-fish, and when we heard that,
+it accounted for the shells. The poorer people on these islands often go
+by the name of "conchs."
+
+As we went up through the town we found that the darkeys were nearly as
+thick as the conch-shells, but they were much more lively. I never saw
+such jolly, dont-care-y people as the colored folks that were scattered
+about everywhere. Some of the young ones, as joyful skippers, could have
+tired out a shrimp.
+
+There is one big hotel in the town, and pretty nearly all our passengers
+went there. The house is calcareous, and as solid as a rock. Rectus and
+I liked it very much, because it reminded us of pictures we had seen of
+Algiers, or Portugal, or some country where they have arches instead of
+doors; but Mr. Chipperton wasn't at all satisfied when he found that
+there was not a fireplace in the whole house.
+
+"This is coming the semi-tropical a little too strong," he said to me;
+but he soon found, I think, that gathering around the hearth-stone could
+never become a popular amusement in this warm little town.
+
+Every day, for a week, Mr. Chipperton hired a one-horse barouche, and he
+and his wife and daughter rode over the island. Rectus and I walked, and
+we saw a good deal more than they did. Corny told us this, the first
+walk she took with us. We went down a long, smooth, white road that led
+between the queer little cottages of the negroes, where the cocoa-nut
+and orange trees and the bananas and sappadilloes, and lots of other
+trees and bushes stood up around the houses just as proudly as if they
+were growing on ten-thousand-dollar lots. Some of these trees had the
+most calcareous foundations anybody ever saw. They grew almost out of
+the solid rock. This is probably one of the most economical places in
+the world for garden mould. You couldn't sweep up more than a bucketful
+out of a whole garden, and yet the things grow splendidly. Rectus said
+he supposed the air was earthy.
+
+Corny enjoyed this walk, because we went right into the houses and
+talked to the people, and bought cocoa-nuts off the trees, and ate the
+inside custard with a spoon, and made the little codgers race for
+pennies, and tried all the different kinds of fruits. She said she would
+like to walk out with us always, but her mother said she must not be
+going about too much with boys.
+
+"But there are no girls on the island," said she; "at least, no white
+ones,--as far as I have seen."
+
+I suppose there were white children around, but they escaped notice in
+the vast majority of little nigs.
+
+The day after this walk, the shorter "yellow-legs" asked me to go out
+fishing with him. He couldn't find anybody else, I suppose, for his
+friend didn't like fishing. Neither did Rectus; and so we went off
+together in a fishing-smack, with a fisherman to sail the boat and
+hammer conch for bait. We went outside of Hog Island,--which lies off
+Nassau, very much as Anastasia Island lies off St. Augustine, only it
+isn't a quarter as big,--and fished in the open sea. We caught a lot of
+curious fish, and the yellow-legs, whose name was Burgan, turned out to
+be a very good sort of a fellow. I shouldn't have supposed this of a man
+who had made such a guy of himself; but there are a great many different
+kinds of outsides to people.
+
+When we got back to the hotel, along came Rectus and Corny. They had
+been out walking together, and looked hot.
+
+"Oh," cried Corny, as soon as she saw me. "We have something to talk to
+you about! Let's go and sit down. I wish there was some kind of an
+umbrella or straw hat that people could wear under their chins to keep
+the glare of these white roads out of their eyes. Let's go up into the
+silk-cotton tree."
+
+I proposed that I should go to my room and clean up a little first, but
+Corny couldn't wait. As her father had said, she wasn't good at waiting;
+and so we all went up into the silk-cotton tree. This was an enormous
+tree, with roots like the partitions between horse-stalls; it stood at
+the bottom of the hotel grounds, and had a large platform built up among
+the branches, with a flight of steps leading to it. There were seats up
+here, and room enough for a dozen people.
+
+"Well," said I, when we were seated, "what have you to tell? Anything
+wonderful? If it isn't, you'd better let me tell you about my fish."
+
+"Fish!" exclaimed Rectus, not very respectfully.
+
+"Fish, indeed!" said Corny. "_We_ have seen a _queen_!"
+
+"Queen of what?" said I.
+
+"Queen of Africa," replied Corny. "At least a part of it,--she would be,
+I mean, if she had stayed there. We went over that way, out to the very
+edge of the town, and there we found a whole colony of real native
+Africans,--just the kind Livingstone and Stanley discovered,--only they
+wear clothes like us."
+
+"Oh, my!" exclaimed Rectus.
+
+"I don't mean exactly that," said Corny; "but coats and trousers and
+frocks, awfully old and patched. And nearly all the grown-up people
+there were born in Africa, and rescued by an English man-of-war from a
+slave-ship that was taking them into slavery, and were brought here and
+set free. And here they are, and they talk their own language,--only
+some of them know English, for they've been here over thirty years,--and
+they all keep together, and have a governor of their own, with a
+flag-pole before his house, and among them is a real queen, of royal
+blood!"
+
+"How did you find out that?" I asked.
+
+"Oh, we heard about the African settlement this morning, at the hotel,
+and we went down there, right after dinner. We went into two or three of
+the houses and talked to the people, and they all told us the same
+thing, and one woman took us to see the queen."
+
+"In her palace?" said I.
+
+"No," said Corny, "she don't live in a palace. She lives in one of the
+funniest little huts you ever saw, with only two rooms. And it's too
+bad; they all know she's a queen, and yet they don't pay her one bit of
+honor. The African governor knows it, but he lives in his house with his
+flag-pole in front of it, and rules her people, while she sits on a
+stone in front of her door and sells red peppers and bits of
+sugar-cane."
+
+"Shameful!" said I; "you don't mean that?"
+
+"Yes, she does," put in Rectus. "We saw her, and bought some sugar-cane.
+She didn't think we knew her rank, for she put her things away when the
+women told her, in African, why we came to see her."
+
+"What did she say to you?" I asked, beginning to be a good deal
+interested in this royal colored person.
+
+"Nothing at all," said Corny; "she can't talk a word of English. If she
+could, she might get along better. I suppose her people want somebody
+over them who can talk English. And so they've just left her to sell
+peppers, and get along as well as she can."
+
+"It's a good deal of a come-down, I must say," said I. "I wonder how she
+likes it?"
+
+"Judging from her looks," said Rectus, "I don't believe she likes it at
+all."
+
+"No, indeed!" added Corny. "She looks woe-begone, and I don't see why
+she shouldn't. To be taken captive with her people--may be she was
+trying to save them--and then to have them almost cut her acquaintance
+after they all get rescued and settled down!"
+
+"Perhaps," said I, "as they are all living under Queen Victoria, they
+don't want any other queen."
+
+"That's nothing," said Corny, quickly. "There's a governor of this whole
+island, and what do they want with another governor? If Queen Victoria
+and the governor of this island were Africans, of course they wouldn't
+want anybody else. But as it is, they do, don't you see?"
+
+"They don't appear to want another queen," I said, "for they wont take
+one that is right under their noses."
+
+Corny looked provoked, and Rectus asked me how I knew that.
+
+"I tell you," said Corny, "it don't make any difference whether they
+want her or not, they haven't any right to make a born queen sit on a
+stone and sell red-peppers. Do you know what Rectus and I have made up
+our minds to do?"
+
+"What is it?" I asked.
+
+Corny looked around to see that no one was standing or walking near the
+tree, and then she leaned toward me and said:
+
+"We are going to seat her on her throne!"
+
+"You?" I exclaimed, and began to laugh.
+
+"Yes, we are," said Rectus; "at least, we're going to try to."
+
+"You needn't laugh," said Corny. "You're to join."
+
+"In an insurrection,--a conspiracy," said I. "I can't go into that
+business."
+
+"You must!" cried Corny and Rectus, almost in a breath.
+
+"You've made a promise," said Corny.
+
+"And are bound to stick to it," said Rectus, looking at Corny.
+
+Then, both together, as if they had settled it all beforehand, they held
+up their gray sea-beans, and said, in vigorous tones:
+
+"Obey the bean!"
+
+I didn't hesitate a moment. I held up my bean, and we clicked beans all
+around.
+
+I became a conspirator!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+REGAL PROJECTS.
+
+
+The next morning, we all went around to see the queen, and on the way we
+tried to arrange our affair. I was only sorry that my old school-fellows
+were not there, to go into the thing with us. There couldn't have been
+better fun for our boys, than to get up a revolution and set up a
+dethroned queen. But they were not there, and I determined to act as
+their representative as well as I could.
+
+We three--Corny, Rectus and I--were agreed that the re-enthronement--we
+could think of no better word for the business--should be done as
+quietly and peacefully as possible. It was of no use, we thought, to
+make a great fuss about what we were going to do. We would see that this
+African ex-sovereigness was placed in a suitable regal station, and then
+we would call upon her countrymen to acknowledge her rank.
+
+"It isn't really necessary for her to do any governing," said Rectus.
+"Queens do very little of that. Look at Queen Victoria! Her Prime
+Minister and Parliament run the country. If the African governor here is
+a good man, the queen can take him for a Prime Minister. Then he can
+just go along and do what he always did. If she is acknowledged to be
+the queen, that's all she need want."
+
+"That's so," said Corny. "And, above all, there must be no blood shed."
+
+"None of yours, any way," said I; and Rectus tapped his bean,
+significantly.
+
+Rectus had been chosen captain of this revolutionary coalition, because
+Corny, who held the controlling vote, said that she was afraid I had not
+gone into the undertaking heart and soul, as Rectus had. Otherwise, she
+would have voted for me, as the oldest of the party. I did not make any
+objections, and was elected Treasurer. Corny said that the only office
+she had ever held was that of Librarian, in a girls' society, but as we
+did not expect to need a Librarian in this undertaking, we made her
+Secretary and Manager of Restoration, which, we thought, would give her
+all the work that she could stand under.
+
+I suggested that there was one sub-officer, or employ�, that we should
+be sure to need, and who should be appointed before we commenced
+operations. This was an emissary. Proper communications between
+ourselves and the populace would be difficult, unless we obtained the
+service of some intelligent and whole-souled darkey. My
+fellow-revolutionists agreed with me, and, after a moment of reflection,
+Corny shouted that she had thought of the very person.
+
+"It's a girl!" she cried. "And it's Priscilla!"
+
+We all knew Priscilla. It would have been impossible to be at the hotel
+for a week and not know her. After breakfast, and after dinner, there
+was always a regular market at the entrance of the hotel, under the
+great arched porch, where the boarders sat and made themselves
+comfortable after meals. The dealers were negroes of every age,--men,
+women, boys, and girls, and they brought everything they could scrape
+up, that they thought visitors might buy,--fruit, shells, sponges,
+flowers, straw hats, canes, and more traps than I can remember. Some of
+them had very nice things, and others would have closed out their stock
+for seven cents. The liveliest and brightest of all these was a tall,
+slim, black, elastic, smooth-tongued young girl, named Priscilla. She
+nearly always wore shoes, which distinguished her from her
+fellow-countrywomen. Her eyes sparkled like a fire-cracker of a dark
+night, and she had a mind as sharp as a fish-hook. The moment Corny
+mentioned her she was elected emissary.
+
+We determined, however, to be very cautious in disclosing our plans to
+her. We would sound her, first, and make a regular engagement with her.
+
+"It will be a first-rate thing for me," said Corny, "to have a girl to
+go about with me, for mother said, yesterday, that it wouldn't do for me
+to be so much with boys. It looked tomboyish, she said, though she
+thought you two were very good for boys."
+
+"Are you going to tell your father and mother about this?" asked
+Rectus.
+
+"I think I'll tell mother," said Corny, "because I ought to, and I don't
+believe she'll object, if I have a girl along with me. But I don't think
+I'll say anything to father just yet. I'm afraid he'd join."
+
+Rectus and I agreed that it might be better to postpone saying anything
+to Mr. Chipperton.
+
+It was very true that the queen did not live in a palace. Her house was
+nearly large enough to hold an old-fashioned four-posted bedstead, such
+as they have at my Aunt Sarah's. The little room that was cut off from
+the main apartment was really too small to count. The queen was hard at
+work, sitting on her door-stone by the side of her bits of sugar-cane
+and pepper-pods. There were no customers. She was a good-looking old
+body, about sixty, perhaps, but tall and straight enough for all queenly
+purposes.
+
+She arose and shook hands with us, and then stepped into her door-way
+and courtesied. The effect was very fine.
+
+"This is dreadful!" said Corny. "She ought to give up this pepper-pod
+business right away. If I could only talk to her, I'd make her
+understand. But I must go get somebody for an interpreter."
+
+And she ran off to one of the neighboring huts.
+
+"If this thing works," said Rectus, "we ought to hire a regular
+interpreter."
+
+"It wont do to have too many paid officials," said I, "but we'll see
+about that."
+
+Corny soon returned with a pleasant-faced woman, who undertook to
+superintend our conversation with the queen.
+
+"What's her name--to begin with?" asked Corny, of the woman.
+
+"Her African name is Poqua-dilla, but here they call her Jane Henderson,
+when they talk of her. She knows that name, too. We all has to have
+English names."
+
+"Well, we don't want any Jane Henderson," said Corny. "Poqua-dilla!
+that's a good name for a queen. But what we first want is to have her
+stop selling things at the front door. We'll do better for her than
+that."
+
+"Is you goin' to sen' her to the 'sylum?" asked the woman.
+
+"The asylum!" exclaimed Corny. "No, indeed! You'll see. She's to live
+here, but she's not to sell pepper-pods, or anything else."
+
+"Well, young missy," said the woman, "you better buy 'em of her. I
+reckon she'll sell out for 'bout fourpence."
+
+This was a sensible proposition, and, as treasurer, I bought the stock,
+the queen having signified her willingness to the treaty by a dignified
+nod and a courtesy. She was very much given to style, which encouraged
+us a good deal.
+
+"Now, then," said Rectus, who thought it was about time that the captain
+should have something to say, "you must tell her that she isn't to lay
+in any more stock. This is to be the end of her mercantile life."
+
+I don't believe the woman translated all of this speech, but the queen
+gave another nod and courtesy, and I pocketed the peppers to keep as
+trophies. The other things we kept, to give to the children and make
+ourselves popular.
+
+"How much do you think it would cost," asked Corny of me, "to make this
+place a little more like a palace?"
+
+I made a rough sort of a calculation, and came to the conclusion that
+the room could be made a little more like a palace for about eight
+dollars.
+
+"That's cheap enough," said Rectus to me. "You and I will each give four
+dollars."
+
+"No, indeed!" said Corny. "I'm going to give some. How much is three
+into eight?"
+
+"Two and two-thirds," said I, "or, in this case, two dollars, sixty-six
+cents and some sixes over."
+
+"All right!" said Corny; "I'll ask father for three dollars. There ought
+to be something for extras. I'll tell mother what I want it for, and
+that will satisfy him. He can know afterward. I don't think he ought to
+worry his lung with anything like this."
+
+"She wont want a throne," said Rectus, turning the conversation from Mr.
+Chipperton, "for she has a very good rocking-chair, which could be fixed
+up."
+
+"Yes," said I, "it could be cushioned. She might do it herself."
+
+At this, the colored woman made a remark to the queen, but what it was
+we did not know.
+
+"Of course she could," said Corny. "Queens work. Queen Victoria etches
+on steel."
+
+"I don't believe Porker-miller can do that," said Rectus, "but I guess
+she can pad her chair."
+
+"Do thrones rock?" asked Corny.
+
+"Some of 'em do," I said. "There was the throne of France, you know."
+
+"Well, then, that will be all right," said Corny; "and how about a crown
+and sceptre?"
+
+"Oh, we wont want a sceptre," I said; "that sort of thing's pretty
+old-fashioned. But we ought to have a crown, so as to make a difference
+between her and the other people."
+
+"How much are crowns?" asked Corny, in a thoughtful tone.
+
+"Various prices," I answered; "but I think we can make one, that will do
+very well, for about fifty cents. I'll undertake to make the brass part,
+if you'll cushion it."
+
+"Brass!" exclaimed Corny, in astonishment.
+
+"You don't suppose we can get gold, do you?" I asked, laughing.
+
+"Well, no," she said, but not quite satisfied.
+
+"And there must be a flag and a flag-pole," said Rectus. "But what sort
+of a flag are we going to have?"
+
+"The African flag," said Corny, confidently.
+
+None of us knew what the African flag was, although Corny suggested that
+it was probably black. But I told her that if we raised a black flag
+before the queen's palace, we should bring down the authorities on us,
+sure. They'd think we had started a retail piratical establishment.
+
+We now took leave of the queen, and enjoined her neighbor to impress on
+her mind the necessity of not using her capital to lay in a new stock
+of goods. Leaving a quarter of a dollar with her, for contingent
+expenses during the day, we started for home.
+
+"I'll tell you what it is," said I, "we must settle this matter of
+revenue pretty soon. If she don't sell peppers and sugar-cane, she'll
+have to be supported in some way, and I'm sure we can't do it."
+
+"Her subjects ought to attend to that," said Rectus.
+
+"But she hasn't got any yet," I answered.
+
+"That's a fact," said Corny. "We must get her a few, to start with."
+
+"Hire 'em, do you mean?" asked Rectus.
+
+"No; call upon them in the name of their country and their queen," she
+replied.
+
+"I think it would be better, at first," said I, "to call upon them in
+the name of about twopence a head. Then, when we get a nice little body
+of adherents to begin with, the other subjects will fall in, of their
+own accord, if we manage the thing right."
+
+"There's where the emissary will come in," said Rectus. "She can collect
+adherents."
+
+"We must engage her this very day," said Corny. "And now, what about the
+flag? We haven't settled that yet."
+
+"I think," said I, "that we'd better invent a flag. When we get back to
+the hotel, we can each draw some designs, and the one we choose can
+easily be made up. We can buy the stuff anywhere."
+
+"I'll sew it," said Corny.
+
+"Do you think," said Rectus, who had been reflecting, "that the
+authorities of this place will object to our setting up a queen?"
+
+"Can't tell," I said. "But I hardly think they will. They don't object
+to the black governor, and our queen wont interfere with them in any way
+that I can see. She will have nothing to do with anybody but those
+native Africans, who keep to themselves, anyway."
+
+"If anybody should trouble us, who would it be? Soldiers or the
+policemen? How many soldiers have they here?" asked Corny.
+
+"There's only one company now in the barracks," said Rectus. "I was down
+there. There are two men-of-war in the harbor, but one of them's a
+Spanish vessel, and I'm pretty sure she wouldn't bother us."
+
+"Is that all?" said Corny, in a tone of relief.
+
+I didn't want to dash her spirits, but I remarked that there were a good
+many policemen in the town.
+
+"And they're all colored men," said Corny. "I'd hate to have any of them
+coming after us."
+
+"The governor of the colony is at the head of the army, police and all,
+isn't he?" said Rectus.
+
+"Yes," I answered.
+
+"And I know where he lives," put in Corny. "Let's go and see him,
+sometime, and ask him about it."
+
+This was thought to be a good idea, and we agreed to consider it at our
+next meeting.
+
+"As to revenue," said Rectus, just before we reached the hotel, "I don't
+believe these people have much money to give for the support of a
+queen, and so I think they ought to bring in provisions. The whole thing
+might be portioned out. She ought to have so many conchs a week, so many
+sticks of sugar-cane, and so many yams and other stuff. This might be
+fixed so that it wouldn't come hard on anybody."
+
+Corny said she guessed she'd have to get a little book to put these
+things down, so that we could consider them in order.
+
+I could not help noticing that there was a good deal of difference
+between Corny and Rectus, although they were much alike, too. Corny had
+never learned much, but she had a good brain in her head, and she could
+reason out things pretty well, when she had anything in the way of a
+solid fact to start with. Rectus was better on things he'd heard
+reasoned out. He seemed to know a good thing when it came before him,
+and he remembered it, and often brought it in very well. But he hadn't
+had much experience in reasoning on his own account, although he was
+getting more in practice every day.
+
+Corny was just as much in earnest as she was the first day we saw her,
+but she seemed to have grown more thoughtful. Perhaps this was on
+account of her having important business on hand. Her thoughtfulness,
+however, did not prevent her from saying some very funny things. She
+spoke first and did her thinking afterward. But she was a good girl, and
+I often wished my sister knew her. Helen was older, to be sure, but she
+could have learned a great deal from Corny.
+
+That afternoon, we had a meeting up in the silk-cotton tree, and
+Priscilla, who had sold out her small stock of flowers in the hotel-door
+market, was requested to be present. A variety-show, consisting of about
+a dozen young darkeys with their baskets and strings of sponges,
+accompanied her up the steps; but she was ordered to rout them, and she
+did it in short order. When we were alone, Rectus, as captain, began to
+state to her what we desired of her; but he was soon interrupted by
+Corny, who could do a great deal more talking in a given time than he
+could, and who always felt that she ought to begin early, in order to
+get through in good season.
+
+"Now, Priscilla," said Corny, "in the first place, you must promise
+never to tell what we are going to say to you."
+
+Priscilla promised in a flash.
+
+"We want you, then," continued Corny, "to act as our emissary, or
+general agent, or errand-girl, if you don't know what the other two
+things mean."
+
+"I'll do dat, missy," said Priscilla. "Whar you want me to go?"
+
+"Nowhere just now," said Corny. "We want to engage you by the day, to do
+whatever we tell you."
+
+"Cahn't do dat, missy. Got to sell flowers and roses. Sell 'em for de
+fam'ly, missy."
+
+"But in the afternoon you can come," said Corny. "There isn't any
+selling done then. We'll pay you."
+
+"How much?" asked Priscilla.
+
+This question was referred to me, and I offered sixpence a day.
+
+The money in this place is English, of course, as it is an English
+colony; but there are so many visitors from the United States, that
+American currency is as much in use, for large sums, as the
+pounds-shillings-and-pence arrangement. But all sums under a quarter are
+reckoned in English money,--pennies, half-pennies, four, six and
+eight-pences, and that sort of thing. One of our quarters passes for a
+shilling, but a silver dime wont pass in the shops. The darkeys will
+take them--or almost anything else--as a gift. I didn't have to get our
+money changed into gold. I got a draft on a Nassau house, and generally
+drew greenbacks. But I saw, pretty plainly, that I couldn't draw very
+much for this new monarchical undertaking, and stay in Nassau as long as
+we had planned.
+
+"A whole afternoon," exclaimed Priscilla, "for sixpence!"
+
+"Why not?" I asked. "That's more than you generally make all day."
+
+"Only sixpence!" said Priscilla, looking as if her tender spirit had
+been wounded. Corny glanced at me with an air that suggested that I
+ought to make a rise in the price, but I had dealt with these darkeys
+before.
+
+"That's all," I said.
+
+"All right, then, boss," said Priscilla. "I'll do it. What you want me
+to do?"
+
+The colored people generally gave the name "boss" to all white men, and
+I was pleased to see that Priscilla said boss to me much more frequently
+than to Rectus.
+
+We had a talk with her about her duties, and each of us had a good deal
+to say. We made her understand--at least we hoped so--that she was to be
+on hand, every afternoon, to go with Corny, if necessary, whenever we
+went out on our trips to the African settlement; and, after giving her
+an idea of what we intended doing with the queen,--which interested her
+very much indeed, and seemed to set her on pins and needles to see the
+glories of the new reign,--we commissioned her to bring together about
+twenty sensible and intelligent Africans, so that we could talk to them,
+and engage them as subjects for the re-enthroned queen.
+
+"What's ole Goliah Brown goin' to say 'bout dat?" said Priscilla.
+
+"Who's he?" we asked.
+
+"He's de Afrikin gubner. He rule 'em all."
+
+"Oh!" said Rectus, "he's all right. We're going to make him prime
+minister."
+
+I was not at all sure that he was all right, and proposed that Rectus
+and I should go to his house in the evening, when he was at home, and
+talk to him about it.
+
+"Yes, and we'll all go and see the head governor to-morrow morning,"
+said Corny.
+
+We had our hands completely full of diplomatic business.
+
+The meeting of the adherents was appointed for the next afternoon. We
+decided to have it on the Queen's Stair-way, which is a long flight of
+steps, cut in the solid limestone, and leading up out of a deep and
+shadowy ravine, where the people of the town many years ago cut out the
+calcareous material for their houses. There has been no stone cut here
+for a long time, and the walls of the ravine, which stand up as straight
+as the wall of a house, are darkened by age and a good deal covered up
+by vines. At the bottom, on each side of the pathway which runs through
+the ravine to the town, bushes and plants of various semi-tropical kinds
+grow thick and close. At the top of the flight of stairs are open fields
+and an old fort. Altogether, this was considered a quiet and suitable
+place for a meeting of a band of revolutionists. We could not have met
+in the silk-cotton tree, for we should have attracted too much
+attention, and, besides, the hotel-clerk would have routed us out.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+RECTUS LOSES RANK.
+
+
+After supper, Rectus and I went to see the African governor, Goliah
+Brown. He was a good-natured old colored man, who lived in a house a
+trifle better than most of those inhabited by his fellow-countrymen. The
+main room was of a fair size, and there was a centre-table, with some
+books on it.
+
+When we saw this, we hesitated. Could we ask a man who owned books, and
+could probably read, to play second fiddle to a woman who could not
+speak the English language, and who for years, perhaps, had devoted the
+energies of her soul to the sale of pepper-pods?
+
+However, the office of prime minister was no trifle, and many more
+distinguished and more learned men than Goliah Brown have been glad to
+get it. Besides this, we considered that blood is blood, and, in
+monarchical countries, a queen is a queen. This was a colony of a
+monarchy, and we would push forward the claims of Poqua-dilla the First.
+We called her "The First," because, although she may have had a good
+many ancestors of her name in Africa, she certainly started the line in
+the Bahamas.
+
+Goliah proved himself a steady-going talker. He seemed pleased to have
+us call on him, and told us the whole story of the capture of himself
+and the rest of the Africans. We had heard pretty much all of it before,
+but, of course, we had to politely listen to it again.
+
+When he finished, we asked a few questions about the queen, and finding
+that Goliah admitted her claims to royal blood, we told him what we
+proposed to do, and boldly asked him to take the position of prime
+minister in the African community.
+
+At first, he did not understand, and we had to go over the thing two or
+three times before he saw into it. Then, it was evident that he could
+not see what business this was of ours, and we had to explain our
+motives, which was some trouble, because we had not quite straightened
+them out in our own minds.
+
+Then he wanted to know which was the head person, a queen or a prime
+minister. We set forth the strict truth to him in this matter. We told
+him that although a queen in a well-regulated monarchy actually occupies
+the highest place, that the prime minister is the fellow who does the
+real governing. He thought this might all be so, but he did not like the
+idea of having any one, especially Jane Henderson, as he called her, in
+a position higher than his own. We did not say anything to him, then,
+about giving the queen her English name, because we supposed that he
+had been used to speak of her in that way, to white people, but we
+determined to refer to this when matters should be settled.
+
+He was so set in his own opinion on this point of position, that we were
+afraid we should be obliged to give the thing up. He used very good
+arguments, too. He said that he had been elected to his present office
+by his fellow Africans; that he had held it a long time; that he didn't
+think the rest of his people wanted him to give it up, and he didn't
+think he wanted to give it up himself. A prime minister might be all
+very well, but he didn't know anything about it. He knew what it was to
+be governor, and was very well satisfied to leave things as they were.
+
+This was dampening. Just as the old fellow thought he had settled the
+matter, a happy thought struck me: we might make the monarchy an
+independent arrangement. Perhaps Goliah would have no objection to that,
+provided we did not interfere with his governorship. If Poqua-dilla
+should be recognized as a queen, and crowned, and provided with an
+income sufficient to keep her out of any retail business, it was about
+all she could expect, at her time of life. She certainly would not care
+to do any governing. The few subjects that we should enlist would be
+more like courtiers than anything else.
+
+I called Rectus to the door, and suggested this arrangement to him. He
+thought it would be better than nothing, and that it would be well to
+mention it.
+
+We did this, and Goliah thought a while.
+
+"Ef I lets her be call' queen," he said, "an' she jist stay at home an'
+min' her own business, an' don' run herse'f agin me, no way, how much
+you s'pose she able to gib fur dat?"
+
+[Illustration: "'ALL RIGHT,' SAID GOLIAH, WITH A SMILE."]
+
+Rectus and I went again to the front door to consult, and when we came
+back, we said we thought she would be able to give a dollar.
+
+"All right," said Goliah, with a smile. "She kin jist go ahead, and be
+queen. Only don' let her run herse'f ag'in me."
+
+This suited us, and we paid the dollar, and came away.
+
+"More cash!" said Rectus, as we walked home.
+
+"Yes," said I, "but what troubles me is that queen's income. I don't see
+now where it's to come from, for old Goliah wont allow his people to be
+taxed for her, that's certain."
+
+Rectus agreed that things looked a little bluish, but he thought we
+might pay the income ourselves, until after the coronation, and then we
+could see what else could be done. This wasn't much of a plan, but I
+couldn't think of anything better.
+
+The next day, about noon, we all went to see the real governor of the
+colony. Rectus and I didn't care much about doing this, but Corny
+insisted on it. She was afraid of the police,--and probably of the army
+and navy, although she made light of them,--and so she thought it would
+be a good thing to see whether or not we should have to combat with all
+these forces, if we should carry out our plans. We took Priscilla along
+with us on Corny's account. It would look respectable for her to have an
+attendant. This being an extra job, Priscilla earned two sixpences that
+day.
+
+The governor lived in a fine house, on the hill back of the town, and
+although we all knew where it was, Priscilla was of great use to us
+here, for she took us in at a side gate, where we could walk right up to
+the door of the governor's office, without going to the grand entrance,
+at the front of the house, where the English flag was flying. There was
+a red-coated soldier standing just in the door-way, and when we saw him,
+we put ourselves on our stiffest behavior. We told Priscilla to wait
+outside, in the path, and try and behave so that people would think
+there was a pretty high-toned party inside. We then went up to the
+red-coat, and asked to see the governor. The soldier looked at us a
+little queerly, and went back into the house.
+
+He staid a good while, but when he came out he told us to follow him,
+and took us through a hall into a room where two gentlemen were sitting
+at desks. One of these jumped up and came to meet us.
+
+"There is the secretary," said the soldier, in a low voice to me, and
+then he left us.
+
+We now had to ask the secretary if we could see the governor. He
+inquired our business, but we didn't seem anxious to tell him.
+
+"Anything private?" he said, with a smile.
+
+"Well, sir," said I, "it's not exactly private, but it's not a very easy
+thing to put straight before anybody, and if it don't make any
+difference, we'd rather not have to tell it twice."
+
+He hesitated for a minute, and then he said he'd see, and went into
+another room.
+
+"Now, look here," I whispered to Rectus, "if you're captain, you've got
+to step up and do the talking. It isn't my place."
+
+The secretary now returned, and said the governor could give us a few
+minutes. I think the probability was that he was curious to know what
+two boys and a girl could want with him.
+
+The governor's office, into which we now were shown, was a large room,
+with plenty of book-cases and shelves against the walls, and in the
+middle of the floor a big table, which was covered with papers, packages
+of manuscript tied up with tape, and every kind of thing necessary to
+make matters look as if business was brisk in these islands. The
+governor himself was a tall, handsome gentleman, not old a bit, as Corny
+put it afterward, and dressed all in white linen, which gave him an air
+of coolness and cleanness that was quite agreeable to us after our walk
+in the sun. He was sitting at one end of the long table, and he politely
+motioned us to seats at one side of him. I expect the secretary arranged
+the chairs before we came in. We made our manners and sat down.
+
+"Well," said he, "what can I do for you?"
+
+If Corny hadn't been along, I don't believe he would have seen us at
+all. There can be nothing attractive to a governor about two boys. But
+almost any one would take an interest in a girl like Corny. The
+secretary was very polite to her.
+
+Rectus now gave his throat a little clearing, and pushed off.
+
+"Our business with you, sir, is to see about doing something for a poor
+queen, a very good and honest woman----"
+
+"A poor but honest queen!" interrupted the governor, with a smile.
+
+"Oh, he don't mean a common queen," said Corny, quickly. "He means a
+black queen,--an African,--born royal, but taken prisoner when young,
+and brought here, and she lives over there in the African settlements,
+and sells peppers, but is just as much a queen as ever, you know, sir,
+for selling things on a door-step can't take the royal blood out of a
+person."
+
+"Oh no, indeed!" said the governor, and he looked very much tickled.
+
+"And this poor woman is old, now, and has no revenue, and has to get
+along as well as she can, which is pretty poorly, I know, and nobody
+ever treats her any better than if she had been born a common person,
+and we want to give her a chance of having as many of her rights as she
+can before she dies."
+
+"At any rate," said Rectus, who had been waiting for a chance to make a
+fresh start, "if we can't give her all her royal rights, we want to let
+her know how it feels to be a queen, and to give her a little show among
+her people."
+
+"You are talking of an old native African woman?" said the governor,
+looking at Corny. "I have heard of her. It seems to be generally agreed
+that she belonged to a royal family in one of the African tribes. And
+you want to restore her to her regal station?"
+
+"We can't do that, of course," said Corny; "but we do think she's been
+shamefully used, and all we want to do is to have her acknowledged by
+her people. She needn't do any ruling. We'll fix her up so that she'll
+look enough like a queen for those dreadfully poor people."
+
+"Yes," put in Rectus, who had been getting warm on the subject, "they
+are dreadfully poor, but she's the poorest of the lot, and it's a shame
+to see how she, a regular queen, has to live, while a governor, who
+wasn't anybody before he got his place, lives in the best house, with
+tables and books, and everything he wants, for all I know, and a big
+flag in front of his door, as if he was somebody great, and----"
+
+"What?" said the governor, pretty quick and sharp, and turning around
+square on Rectus.
+
+"Oh, he don't mean you!" said Corny. "He's talking about the black
+governor, Goliah Brown."
+
+"Ah, indeed!" said he, turning away from Rectus as if he didn't like his
+looks. "And what does Brown think of all this?"
+
+I thought I'd better say a word or two now, because I didn't know where
+Rectus would fetch us up next, if we should give him another chance, and
+so I said to the governor that I knew Goliah Brown would make no
+objections to the plan, because we had talked it over with him, and he
+had agreed to it.
+
+"Well, then, what do you want that I should do for you?" said the
+governor to Corny.
+
+"Oh, nothing sir," said she, "but just to make it all safe for us. We
+didn't know exactly what the rules were on this island, and so we
+thought we'd come and see you about it. We don't want the policemen, or
+the soldiers or sailors, or anybody, to get after us."
+
+"There is no rule here against giving a queen her rights," said the
+governor, who seemed to be in a good humor as long as he talked to
+Corny, "and no one shall interfere with you, provided you do not commit
+any disorder, and I'm sure you will not do that."
+
+"Oh, no!" said Corny; "we just intend to have a little coronation, and
+to ask the people to remember that she's a queen and not a pepper-pod
+woman; and if you could just give us a paper commission, and sign it, we
+should--at least I should--feel a good deal easier."
+
+"You shall have it," said the governor, and he took some paper and a
+pen.
+
+"It seems a little curious," said he to Corny, as he dipped his pen in
+the ink, "that I should serve a queen, and have a queen under me at the
+same time, doesn't it?"
+
+"Kind o' sandwiched," remarked Rectus, who had a face like frozen brass.
+
+The governor went on writing, and Corny and I looked at Rectus as if we
+would singe his hair.
+
+"You are all from the States, I suppose," said the governor.
+
+I said we were.
+
+"What are your names?" he asked, looking at Corny first.
+
+"Cornelia V. Chipperton," said Corny, and he wrote that down. Then he
+looked at me.
+
+"William Taylor Gordon," said I. When the governor had put that on his
+paper, he just gave his head a little wag toward Rectus. He didn't look
+at him.
+
+"My name is Samuel Colbert," said Rectus.
+
+Corny turned short on him, with eyes wide open.
+
+"Samuel!" she said, in a sort of theatre-whisper.
+
+"Now, then," said the governor, "this paper will show that you have full
+permission to carry out your little plans, provided that you do nothing
+that may create any disorder. If the woman--your queen, I mean--has been
+in the habit of earning her own livelihood, don't make a pauper of her."
+And he gave us a general look as if the time had come to say good-bye.
+So we got up and thanked him, and he shook hands with us, Rectus and
+all, and we came away.
+
+We found Priscilla sitting cross-legged on the grass outside, pitching
+pennies.
+
+"That thar red-coat he want to sen' me off," said she, "but I tole him
+my missy and bosses was inside, and I boun' to wait fur 'em, or git
+turned off. So he le' me stay."
+
+Corny, for a wonder, did not reprove Priscilla for giving the sentinel
+the idea that her employers hired penny-pitchers to follow them around,
+but she walked on in silence until we were out of the grounds. Then she
+turned to Rectus and said:
+
+"I thought your name was Rectus!"
+
+"It isn't," said he. "It's Samuel."
+
+This was no sort of an answer to give Corny, and so I explained that
+Rectus was his school name; that he was younger than most of us, and
+that we used to call him Young Rectus; but that I had pretty much
+dropped the "young" since we had been travelling together. It didn't
+appear to be needed.
+
+"But why did you call him Rectus, when his name's Samuel?" asked Corny.
+
+"Well," said I, laughing, "it seemed to suit him."
+
+This was all that was said about the matter, for Priscilla came up and
+said she must hurry home, and that she'd like to have her sixpence, and
+that changed the subject, for we were out of small money and could only
+make up eleven half-pence among us. But Priscilla agreed to trust us
+until evening for the other "hoppenny."
+
+Corny didn't say much on the way home, and she looked as if she was
+doing some private thinking. I suppose, among other things, she thought
+that as I considered it all right to call Rectus Rectus, she might as
+well do it herself, for she said:
+
+"Rectus, I don't think you're as good at talking as Will is. I move we
+have a new election for captain."
+
+"All right," said Rectus; "I'm agreed."
+
+You couldn't make that boy angry. We held a meeting just as we got to
+the hotel, and he and Corny both voted for me.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+THE CORONATION.
+
+
+In the afternoon, we had our grand rally at the Queen's Stair-way. Corny
+couldn't come, because her mother said she must not be running around so
+much. So she staid at home and worked on the new flag for the
+coronation. We designed this flag among us. It had a black ground, with
+a yellow sun just rising out of the middle of it. It didn't cost much,
+and looked more like a yellow cog-wheel rolling in deep mud than
+anything else. But we thought it would do very well.
+
+Rectus and I had barely reached the stairs, by the way of the old fort,
+when Priscilla made her appearance in the ravine at the head of a crowd
+of whooping barefooted young rascals, who came skipping along as if they
+expected something to eat.
+
+"I'd never be a queen," said Rectus, "if I had to have such a lot of
+subjects as that."
+
+"Don't think you would," said I; "but we mustn't let 'em come up the
+stairs. They must stay at the bottom, so that we can harangue 'em." So
+we charged down the stairs, and made the adherents bunch themselves on
+the level ground.
+
+Then we harangued them, and they laughed, and hurrahed, and whistled,
+and jumped, while Priscilla, as an active emissary, ran around among
+them, punching them, and trying to make them keep still and listen.
+
+But as they all promised to stick to us and the royal queen through
+thick and thin, we didn't mind a little disorder.
+
+The next day but one was to be coronation day, and we impressed it on
+the minds of the adherents that they must be sure to be on hand about
+ten in the morning, in front of the queen's hut. We concluded not to
+call it a palace until after the ceremony.
+
+When we had said all we had to say, we told the assemblage that it might
+go home; but it didn't seem inclined to do anything of the kind.
+
+"Look a here, boss," said one of them,--a stout, saucy fellow, with the
+biggest hat and the biggest feet on the island,--"aint you agoin' to
+give us nothin' for comin' round here?"
+
+"Give you anything!" cried Rectus, blazing up suddenly. "That's a pretty
+way to talk! It's the subjects that have to give. You'll see pretty
+soon----"
+
+Just here I stopped him. If he had gone on a few minutes longer, he
+would have wound up that kingdom with a snap.
+
+"We didn't bring you here," said I, "to give you anything, for it ought
+to be enough pay to any decent fellow to see a good old person like
+Queen Poqua-dilla get her rights."
+
+"Who's him?" asked several of the nearest fellows.
+
+"He means Jane Henderson," said Priscilla. "You keep quiet."
+
+"Jane Henderson! Dat's all right. Don' call her no names. Go ahead,
+boss!" they cried, laughing and shouting. I went ahead.
+
+"We can't pay you any money; but if you will all promise again to be on
+hand before ten o'clock day after to-morrow, we'll take you down to the
+harbor now and give you a small dive."
+
+A wild promise rang up the sides of the ravine.
+
+A "small dive" is a ceremony somewhat peculiar to this island. A
+visitor--no native white man would ever think of such a thing--stands on
+the edge of a pier, or anywhere, where the water is quite deep, and
+tosses in a bit of money, while the darkey boys--who are sure to be all
+ready when a visitor is standing on a pier--dive for it. It's a lot of
+fun to see them do this, and Rectus and I had already chucked a good
+deal of small change into the harbor, and had seen it come up again,
+some of it before it got to the bottom. These dives are called "small,"
+because the darkeys want to put the thing mildly. They couldn't coax
+anybody down to the water to give them a big dive.
+
+"You see," said I to Rectus, as we started down the ravine toward the
+river, with the crowd of adherents marching in front, "we've got to have
+these fellows at the coronation. So it wont do to scare 'em off now."
+
+We went down to a little public square in front of the town, where there
+was a splendid diving-place. A good many people were strolling about
+there, but I don't suppose that a single person who saw those darkey
+fellows, with nothing on but their cotton trousers,--who stood in a line
+on the edge of the sea-wall, and plunged in, head foremost, like a lot
+of frogs, when I threw out a couple of "big coppers,"--ever supposed
+that these rascals were diving for monarchical purposes. The water was
+so clear that we could see them down at the bottom, swimming and
+paddling around after the coppers. When a fellow found one he'd stick it
+in his mouth, and come up as lively as a cricket, and all ready for
+another scramble at the bottom.
+
+Sometimes I threw in a silver "check," which is no bigger than a
+three-cent piece; but, although the water was about fifteen feet deep,
+it was never lost. The fellows seemed just as much at home in the water
+as on land, and I suppose they don't know how to get drowned. We tried
+to toss the money in such a way that each one of them would have
+something, but some of them were not smart enough to get down to the
+bottom in time; and when we thought we had circulated enough specie, we
+felt sure that there were two or three, and perhaps more, who hadn't
+brought up a penny.
+
+So when they all climbed out, with their brown shoulders glistening, I
+asked which one of them had come out without getting anything. Every
+man-jack of them stepped forward and said he hadn't got a copper. We
+picked out three little fellows, gave them a few pennies apiece, and
+came home.
+
+[Illustration: A FAMILY DIVE]
+
+The next day we were all hard at work. Corny and her mother went down to
+the queen's house, and planned what they could get to fit up the place
+so that it would be a little more comfortable. Mrs. Chipperton must have
+added something to our eight dollars, for she and Corny came up into the
+town, and bought a lot of things, which made Poqua-dilla's best room
+look like another place. The rocking-chair was fixed up quite royally.
+Mrs. Chipperton turned out to be a better kind of a woman than I
+thought she was at first.
+
+We hired a man to cut a pole and set it up in the queen's front yard,
+for the flag; and then Rectus and I started out to get the crown. I had
+thought that if we could find some sheet-brass, I could manage to make a
+pretty good crown, but there didn't seem to be anything of the kind in
+the place. But, after a good deal of looking, we found a brass saucepan,
+in a store, which I thought would do very well for the foundation of a
+crown. We bought this, and took it around to a shop where a man mended
+pots and kettles. For a shilling we hired the use of his tools for an
+hour, and then Rectus and I went to work. We unriveted the handle, and
+then I held the bottom edge of the saucepan to the grindstone, while
+Rectus turned, and we soon ground the bottom off. This left us a deep
+brass band, quite big enough for a crown, and as the top edge was
+rounded off, it could be turned over on a person's head, so as to sit
+quite comfortably. With a cold-chisel I cut long points in what would be
+the upper part of the crown, and when I had filed these up a little, the
+crown looked quite nobby. We finished it by punching a lot of holes in
+the front part, making them in the form of stars and circles. With
+something red behind these, the effect would be prodigious.
+
+At ten o'clock, sharp, the next morning, we were all at the queen's
+house. Mrs. Chipperton was with us, for she wished very much to see the
+ceremony. I think Mr. Chipperton would have been along, but a gentleman
+took him out in his yacht that morning, and I must admit that we all
+breathed a little bit freer without him. There was a pretty fair crowd
+sitting around in the front yard when we reached the house, and before
+long a good many more people came to see what was going on. They were
+all negroes; but I don't believe half of them were genuine native
+Africans. The queen was sitting inside, with a red shawl on, although it
+was a pretty warm day, and wearing a new turban.
+
+We had arranged, on the way, to appoint a lot of court officials,
+because there was no use of our being stingy in this respect, when it
+didn't cost anything to do up the thing right. So we picked out a good
+looking man for Lord High Chancellor, and gave him a piece of red ribbon
+to tie in his button-hole. He hadn't any button-hole anywhere, except in
+his trousers, so he tied it to the string which fastened his shirt
+together at the collar. Four old men we appointed to be courtiers, and
+made them button up their coats. For a wonder, they all had coats. We
+also made a Lord High Sheriff and a Royal Beadle, and an Usher of the
+White Wand, an officer Mrs. Chipperton had read about, and to whom we
+gave a whittled stick, with strict instructions not to jab anybody with
+it. Corny had been reading a German novel, and she wanted us to appoint
+a "Hof-rath," who is a German court officer of some kind. He was a nice
+fellow in the novel, and so we picked out the best-looking young darkey
+we could find, for the position.
+
+We each had our posts. Corny was to do the crowning, and I was to make
+the speech. Rectus had his place by the flag, which he was to haul up at
+the proper moment. Mrs. Chipperton undertook to stand by the old
+lady,--that is, the queen,--and give her any support she might happen to
+need during the ceremony.
+
+We intended having the coronation in the house; but we found the crowd
+too large for this, so we brought the rocking-chair out-of-doors, and
+set it in front of the only window in the palace. The yard was large
+enough to accommodate a good many people, and those who could not get in
+had plenty of room out in the road. We tried to make Poqua-dilla take
+off her turban, because a crown on a turban seemed to us something
+entirely out of order; but she wouldn't listen to it. We had the
+pleasant-faced neighbor-woman as an interpreter, and she said that it
+wasn't any use; the queen would almost as soon appear in public without
+her head as without her turban. So we let this pass, for we saw very
+plainly that it wouldn't do to try to force too much on Poqua-dilla, for
+she looked now as if she thought we had come there to perform some
+operation on her,--perhaps to cut off her leg.
+
+About half-past ten, we led her out, and made her sit down in the
+rocking-chair. Mrs. Chipperton stood on one side of her, holding one of
+her hands, while the neighbor-woman stood on the other side, and held
+the other hand. This arrangement, however, did not last long, for
+Poqua-dilla soon jerked her hands away, thinking, perhaps, that if
+anything was done that hurt, it might be better to be free for a jump.
+
+Corny stood in front, a little at one side, holding the crown, which she
+had padded and lined with red flannel. I took my place just before Mrs.
+Chipperton, facing the crowd. Rectus was at the flag-pole, near the
+front of the yard, holding the halyards in his hands, ready to haul. The
+_Hof-rath_ was by him, to help if anything got tangled, and the four
+courtiers and the other officials had places in the front row of the
+spectators, while Priscilla stood by Corny, to be on hand should she be
+needed.
+
+When all was ready, and Corny had felt in her pocket to see that the
+"permission paper" was all right, I began my speech. It was the second
+regular speech I had ever made,--the first one was at a school
+celebration,--and I had studied it out pretty carefully. It was
+intended, of course, for the negroes, but I really addressed the most of
+it to Mrs. Chipperton, because I knew that she could understand a speech
+better than any one else in the yard. When I had shown the matter up as
+plainly as I knew how, and had given all the whys and wherefores, I made
+a little stop for applause. But I didn't get any. They all stood waiting
+to see what would happen next. As there was nothing more to say, I
+nodded to Corny to clap on the crown. The moment she felt it on her
+head, the queen stood up as straight as a hoe-handle, and looked quickly
+from side to side. Then I called out in my best voice:
+
+"Africans! Behold your queen!"
+
+At this instant Rectus ran up the black flag with the yellow cog-wheel,
+and we white people gave a cheer. As soon as they got a cue, the darkeys
+knew what to do. They burst out into a wild yell, they waved their hats,
+they laid down on the grass and kicked, they jumped, and danced, and
+laughed, and screamed. I was afraid the queen would bolt, so I took a
+quiet hold of her shawl. But she stood still until the crowd cooled down
+a little, and then she made a courtesy and sat down.
+
+"Is that all?" asked the neighbor-woman, after she had waited a few
+moments.
+
+"Yes," said I. "You can take her in."
+
+When the queen had been led within doors, and while the crowd was still
+in a state of wild commotion, I took a heavy bag of coppers from my
+coat-pocket--where it had been worrying me all through the ceremony--and
+gave it to Priscilla.
+
+"Scatter that among the subjects," said I.
+
+"Give 'em a big scr_ah_mble in the road?" said she, her eyes crackling
+with delight.
+
+"Yes," said I, and out she ran, followed by the whole kingdom. We white
+folk stood inside to watch the fun. Priscilla threw out a handful of
+pennies, and the darkeys just piled themselves up in the road on top of
+the money. You could see nothing but madly waving legs. The mass heaved
+and tossed and moved from one side of the road to the other. The Lord
+High Chancellor was at the bottom of the heap, while the _Hof-rath_
+wiggled his bare feet high in the air. Every fellow who grabbed a penny
+had ten fellows pulling at him. The women and small fry did not get
+into this mess, but they dodged around, and made snatches wherever they
+could get their hands into the pile of boys and men.
+
+They all yelled, and shouted and tussled and scrambled, until Priscilla,
+who was dancing around with her bag, gave another throw into a different
+part of the road. Then every fellow jerked himself loose from the rest,
+and a fresh rush was made, and a fresh pile of darkeys arose in a
+minute.
+
+We stood and laughed until our backs ached, but, as I happened to look
+around at the house, I saw the queen standing on her door-step looking
+mournfully at the fun. She was alone, for even her good neighbor had
+rushed out to see what she could pick up. I was glad to find that the
+new monarch, who still wore her crown,--which no one would have imagined
+to have ever been a saucepan,--had sense enough to keep out of such a
+scrimmage of the populace, and I went back and gave her a shilling. Her
+face shone, and I could see that she felt that she never could have
+grabbed that much.
+
+When there had been three or four good scrambles, Priscilla ran up the
+road, a little way, and threw out all the pennies that were left in the
+bag. Then she made a rush for them, and, having a good start, she got
+there first, and had both hands full of dust and pennies before any one
+else reached the spot. She was not to be counted out of that game.
+
+After this last scramble, we came away. The queen had taken her throne
+indoors, and we went in and shook hands with her, telling her we would
+soon come and see how she was getting along. I don't suppose she
+understood us, but it didn't matter. When we had gone some distance, we
+looked back, and there was still a pile of darkeys rolling and tumbling
+in the dust.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+A HOT CHASE.
+
+
+That afternoon, Rectus and I went over to the African settlement to see
+how the kingdom worked. It was rather soon, perhaps, to make a call on
+the new queen, but we were out for a walk, and might as well go that way
+as any other.
+
+When we came near the house, we heard a tremendous uproar, and soon saw
+that there was a big crowd in the yard. We couldn't imagine what was
+going on, unless the queen had changed her shilling, and was indulging
+in the luxury of giving a scramble. We ran up quickly, but the crowd was
+so large that we could not get into the yard, nor see what all the
+commotion was about. But we went over to the side of the yard,
+and--without being noticed by any of the people, who seemed too much
+interested to turn around--we soon found out what the matter was.
+
+Priscilla had usurped the throne!
+
+The rocking-chair had been brought out and placed again in front of the
+window, and there sat Priscilla, leaning back at her ease, with the
+crown on her head, a big fan--made of calf-skin--in her hand, and a
+general air of superiority pervading her whole being. Behind her, with
+her hand on the back of the chair, stood Poqua-dilla, wearing her new
+turban, but without the red shawl. She looked as if something had
+happened.
+
+In front of the chair was the Lord High Chancellor. He had evidently
+gone over to the usurper. His red ribbon, very dusty and draggled, still
+hung from his shirt-collar. The four courtiers sat together on a bench,
+near the house, with their coats still buttoned up as high as
+circumstances would allow. They seemed sad and disappointed, and
+probably had been deprived of their rank. The _Hof-rath_ stood in the
+front of the crowd. He did not appear happy; indeed, he seemed a good
+deal ruffled, both in mind and clothes. Perhaps he had defended his
+queen, and had been roughly handled.
+
+Priscilla was talking, and fanning herself, gracefully and lazily, with
+her calf-skin fan. I think she had been telling the people what she
+intended to do, and what she intended them to do; but, almost
+immediately after our arrival, she was interrupted by the _Hof-rath_,
+who said something that we did not hear, but which put Priscilla into a
+wild passion.
+
+She sprang to her feet and stood up in the chair, while poor Poqua-dilla
+held it firmly by the back so that it should not shake. I supposed from
+this that Priscilla had been standing up before, and that our old friend
+had been appointed to the office of chair-back-holder to the usurper.
+
+Priscilla waved her fan high in air, and then, with her right hand, she
+took off the crown, held it up for a minute, and replaced it on her
+head.
+
+"Afrikins, behole yer queen!" said she, at the top of her voice, and
+leaning back so far that the rightful sovereign had a good deal of
+trouble to keep the chair from going over.
+
+"Dat's me!" she cried. "Look straight at me, an' ye see yer queen. An'
+how you dar', you misribble Hop-grog, to say I no queen! You 'serve to
+be killed. Take hole o' him, some uv you fellers! Grab dat Hop-grog!"
+
+At this, two or three men seized the poor _Hof-rath_, while the crowd
+cheered and laughed.
+
+"Take him an' kill him!" shouted Priscilla. "Chop his head off!"
+
+At this, a wild shout of laughter arose, and one of the men who held the
+_Hof-rath_ declared, as soon as he got his breath, that they couldn't do
+that,--they had no hatchet big enough.
+
+Priscilla stood quiet for a minute. She looked over the crowd, and then
+she looked at the poor _Hof-rath_, who now began to show that he was a
+little frightened.
+
+"You, Hop-grog," said she, "how much money did you grab in dem
+scrahmbles?"
+
+The _Hof-rath_ put his hand in his pocket and pulled out some pennies.
+
+"Five big coppers," said he, sullenly.
+
+"Gim me dem," said she, and he brought them to her.
+
+"Now den, you kin git out," said she, pocketing the money. Then she
+again raised her crown and replaced it on her head.
+
+"Afrikins, behole your queen!" she cried.
+
+This was more than we could stand. To see this usurpation and robbery
+made our blood boil. We, by ourselves, could do nothing; but we could
+get help. We slipped away and ran down the road in the direction of the
+hotel. We had not gone far before we saw, coming along a cross-road, the
+two yellow-leg men. We turned, hurried up to them, and hastily told them
+of the condition of things, and asked if they would help us put down
+this usurpation. They did not understand the matter, at first, but when
+we made them see how it stood, they were greatly interested, and
+instantly offered to join us.
+
+"We can go down here to the police-station," said I, "and get some
+help."
+
+"No, no!" said the tall yellow-leg. "Don't tell those fellows. They'll
+only make a row of it, and get somebody into trouble. We're enough to
+capture that usurper. Let's go for her."
+
+And we went.
+
+When we neared the crowd, the shorter yellow-leg, Mr. Burgan, said that
+he would go first; then his friend would come close behind him, while
+Rectus and I could push up after them. By forming a line we could rush
+right through the crowd. I thought I ought to go first, but Mr. Burgan
+said he was the stoutest, and could better stand the pressure if the
+crowd stood firm.
+
+But the crowd didn't stand firm. The moment we made our rush, and the
+people saw us, they scattered right and left, and we pushed right
+through, straight to the house. Priscilla saw us before we reached her,
+and, quick as lightning, she made a dive for the door. We rushed after
+her, but she got inside, and, hurling the crown from her head, dashed
+out of a back-door. We followed hotly, but she was out of the yard, over
+a wall, and into a side lane, almost before we knew it.
+
+Then a good chase began. Priscilla had a long start of us, for we had
+bungled at the wall, but we were bound to catch her.
+
+I was a good runner, and Rectus was light and active, although I am not
+sure that he could keep up the thing very long; but the two yellow-legs
+surprised me. They took the lead of us, directly, and kept it. Behind us
+came a lot of darkeys, not trying to catch Priscilla, but anxious, I
+suppose, to see what was going to happen.
+
+Priscilla still kept well ahead. She had struck out of the lane into a
+road which led toward the outskirts of the town. I think we were
+beginning to gain on her when, all of a sudden, she sat down. With a
+shout, we rushed on, but before we reached her she had jerked off both
+her shoes,--she didn't wear any stockings,--and she sprang to her feet
+and was off again. Waving the shoes over her head, she jumped and leaped
+and bounded like an India-rubber goat. Priscilla, barefooted, couldn't
+be caught by any man on the island: we soon saw that. She flew down the
+road, with the white dust flying behind her, until she reached a big
+limestone quarry, where the calcareous building-material of the town is
+sawn out in great blocks, and there she made a sharp turn and dashed
+down in among the stones. We reached the place just in time to see her
+run across the quarry, slip in between two great blocks that were
+standing up like statue pedestals on the other side, and disappear.
+
+We rushed over, we searched and looked, here and there and everywhere,
+and all the darkeys searched and looked, but we found no Priscilla. She
+had gone away.
+
+Puffing and blowing like four steam-fire-engines, we sat down on some
+stones and wiped our faces.
+
+"I guess we just ran that upstart queen out of her possessions," said
+the tall yellow-legs, dusting his boots with his handkerchief. He was
+satisfied.
+
+We walked home by the road at the edge of the harbor. The cool air from
+the water was very pleasant to us. When we reached the hotel, we found
+Mr. and Mrs. Chipperton and Corny sitting outside, in the entrance
+court, waiting for supper-time. A lot of arm-chairs always stood there,
+so that people might sit and wait for meals, or anything else that they
+expected. When Corny heard the dreadful news of the fall of our kingdom,
+she was so shocked that she could scarcely speak; and as for Mrs.
+Chipperton, I thought she was going to cry. Corny wanted to rush right
+down to Poqua-dilla's house and see what could be done, but we were all
+against that. No harm would come to the old woman that night from the
+loss of her crown, and it was too near supper-time for any attempt at
+restoration, just then.
+
+"Only to think of it!" said Mrs. Chipperton. "After all we did for her!
+I don't believe she was queen more than an hour. It's the shortest reign
+I ever heard of."
+
+"And that Priscilla!" cried Corny. "The girl we trusted to do so much,
+and----"
+
+"Paid every night," said I.
+
+"Yes," she continued, "and gave a pair of mother's shoes to, for the
+coronation! And to think that _she_ should deceive us and do the
+usurping!"
+
+The shorter yellow-legs, who had been standing by with his friend, now
+made a remark. He evidently remembered Corny, on the Oclawaha
+steam-boat, although he had never become acquainted with her or her
+family.
+
+"Did your queen talk French?" he asked, with a smile; "or was not that
+the language of the Court?"
+
+"No, it wasn't," said Corny, gravely. "African was the language of the
+Court. But the queen was too polite to use it before us, because she
+knew we did not understand it, and couldn't tell what she might be
+saying about us."
+
+"Good!" said the tall yellow-legs. "That's very good indeed. Burgan, you
+owe her one."
+
+"One what?" asked Corny.
+
+"Another answer as good as that, if I can ever think of it," said Mr.
+Burgan.
+
+Corny did not reply. I doubt if she heard him. Her soul still ached for
+her fallen queen.
+
+"I tell you what it is," said Mr. Chipperton, who had kept unaccountably
+quiet, so far. "It's a great pity that I did not know about this. I
+should have liked nothing better than to be down there when that usurper
+girl was standing on that throne, or rocking-chair, or whatever it
+was----"
+
+"Oh, my dear!" said Mrs. Chipperton. "It would never have done for you
+to have exposed your lung to such a scene of turmoil and confusion."
+
+"Bother my lung!" cried Mr. Chipperton, who was now growing quite
+excited. "I would never have stood tamely by, and witnessed such vile
+injustice----"
+
+"We didn't stand tamely by," said I. "We ran wildly after the unjust
+one."
+
+"I would have stood up before that crowd," continued Mr. Chipperton,
+"and I would have told the people what I thought of them. I would have
+asked them how, living in a land like this, where the blue sky shines on
+them for nothing, where cocoa-nut and the orange stand always ready for
+them to stretch forth their hands and take them, where they need but a
+minimum of clothes, and where the very sea around them freely yields up
+its fish and its conchs,--or, that is to say, they can get such things
+for a trifling sum,--I would have asked them, I say, how--when free
+citizens of a republic, such as we are, come from our shores of liberty,
+where kings and queens are despised and any throne that is attempted to
+be set up over us is crushed to atoms,--that when we, I say, come over
+here, and out of the pure kindness and generosity of our souls raise
+from the dust a poverty-stricken and down-trodden queen, and place her,
+as nearly as possible, on the throne of her ancestors, and put upon her
+head a crown,--a bauble which, in our own land, we trample under
+foot----"
+
+At this I shuddered, remembering the sharp points I had filed in our
+crown.
+
+"And grind into the dust," continued Mr. Chipperton,--"I would ask them,
+I say, how they could think of all this, and then deliberately subvert,
+at the behest of a young and giddy colored hireling, the structure we
+had upraised. And what could they have said to that, I would like to
+know?" he asked, looking around from one to another of us.
+
+"Give us a small dive, boss?" suggested Rectus.
+
+"That's so," said Mr. Chipperton, his face beaming into a broad smile;
+"I believe they would have said that very thing. You have hit it
+exactly. Let's go in to supper."
+
+The next day, Rectus and I, with Corny and Mrs. Chipperton, walked down
+to the queen's house, to see how she fared and what could be done for
+her.
+
+When we reached Poqua-dilla's hut, we saw her sitting on her door-step.
+By her side were several joints of sugar-cane, and close to them stood
+the crown, neatly filled with scarlet pepper-pods, which hung very
+prettily over the peaked points of brass. She was very still, and her
+head rested on her breast.
+
+"Asleep!" whispered Corny.
+
+"Yes," said Mrs. Chipperton, softly, "and don't let's waken her. She's
+very well off as she is, and now that her house is a little more
+comfortable, it would be well to leave her in peace, to peddle what she
+pleases on her door-step. Her crown will worry her less where it is than
+on her head."
+
+Corny whispered to her mother, who nodded, and took out her pocket-book.
+In a moment, Corny, with some change in her hand, went quietly up to the
+yard and put the money in the queen's lap. Then we went away and left
+her, still asleep.
+
+A day or two after this, the "Tigress" came in, bringing the mail. We
+saw her, from one of the upper porticoes, when she was just on the edge
+of the horizon, and we knew her by the way she stood up high in the
+water, and rolled her smoke-stack from side to side. She was the
+greatest roller that ever floated, I reckon, but a jolly good ship for
+all that; and we were glad enough to see her.
+
+There were a lot of letters for us in her mail. I had nine from the boys
+at home, not to count those from the family.
+
+We had just about finished reading our letters when Corny came up to us
+to the silk-cotton tree, where we were sitting, and said, in a doleful
+tone:
+
+"We've got to go home."
+
+"Home?" we cried out together. "When?"
+
+"To-morrow," said Corny, "on the 'Tigress.'"
+
+All our good news and pleasant letters counted for nothing now.
+
+"How?--why?" said I. "Why do you have to go? Isn't this something new?"
+
+Rectus looked as if he had lost his knife, and I'm sure I had never
+thought that I should care so much to hear that a girl--no relation--was
+going away the next day.
+
+"Yes, it is something new," said Corny, who certainly had been crying,
+although we didn't notice it at first. "It's a horrid old lawsuit.
+Father just heard of it in a letter. There's one of his houses, in New
+York, that's next to a lot, and the man that owns the lot says father's
+house sticks over four inches on his lot, and he has sued him for
+that,--just think of it! four inches only! You couldn't do anything with
+four inches of dirt if you had it; and father didn't know it, and he
+isn't going to move his wall back, now that he does know it, for the
+people in the house would have to cut all their carpets, or fold them
+under, which is just as bad, and he says he must go right back to New
+York, and, of course, we've all got to go, too, which is the worst of
+it, and mother and I are just awfully put out."
+
+"What's the good of his going," asked Rectus. "Can't he get a lawyer to
+attend to it all?"
+
+"Oh, you couldn't keep him here now," said Corny. "He's just wild to be
+off. The man who sued him is a horrid person, and father says that if he
+don't go right back, the next thing he'll hear will be that old Colbert
+will be trying to get a foot instead of four inches."
+
+"Old Colbert!" ejaculated Rectus, "I guess that must be my father."
+
+If I had been Rectus, I don't think I should have been so quick to guess
+anything of that kind about my father; but perhaps he had heard things
+like that before. He took it as coolly as he generally took everything.
+
+Corny was as red as a beet.
+
+"Your father!" she exclaimed. "I don't believe it. I'll go this very
+minute and see."
+
+Rectus was right. The stingy hankerer after what Corny called four
+inches of dirt was his father. Mr. Chipperton came up to us and talked
+about the matter, and it was all as plain as daylight. When he found
+that Mr. Colbert was the father of Rectus, Mr. Chipperton was very much
+surprised, and he called no more names, although I am sure he had been
+giving old Colbert a pretty disagreeable sort of a record. But he sat
+down by Rectus, and talked to him as if the boy were his own father
+instead of himself, and proved to him, by every law of property in
+English, Latin, or Sanscrit, that the four inches of ground were
+legally, lawfully, and without any manner of doubt, his own, and that it
+would have been utterly and absolutely impossible for him to have built
+his house one inch outside of his own land. I whispered to Rectus that
+the house might have swelled, but he didn't get a chance to put in the
+suggestion.
+
+Rectus had to agree to all Mr. Chipperton said--or, at least, he
+couldn't differ with him,--for he didn't know anything on earth about
+the matter, and I guess he was glad enough when he got through. I'm sure
+I was. Rectus didn't say anything except that he was very sorry that the
+Chipperton family had to go home, and then he walked off to his room.
+
+In about half an hour, when I went upstairs, I found Rectus had just
+finished a letter to his father.
+
+"I guess that'll make it all right," he said, and he handed me the
+letter to read. It was a strictly business letter. No nonsense about the
+folks at home. He said that was the kind of business letter his father
+liked. It ran like this:
+
+          DEAR FATHER: Mr. Chipperton has told me about your
+          suing him. If he really has set his house over on
+          four inches of your lot, I wish you would let it
+          stand there. I don't care much for him, but he has
+          a nice wife and a pleasant girl, and if you go on
+          suing him the whole lot of them will leave here
+          to-morrow, and they're about the only people I
+          know, except Gordon. If you want to, you can take
+          a foot off any one of my three lots, and that
+          ought to make it all right.
+
+                     Your affectionate son, SAMUEL COLBERT.
+
+"Have you three lots?" I asked, a good deal surprised, for I didn't know
+that Rectus was a property-owner.
+
+"Yes," said he; "my grandmother left them to me."
+
+"Are they right next to your father's lot, which Chipperton cut into?"
+
+"No, they're nowhere near it," said Rectus.
+
+I burst out laughing.
+
+"That letter wont do any good," I said.
+
+"You'll see," said Rectus, and he went off to mail it.
+
+I don't know what kind of a business man Mr. Chipperton was, but when
+Rectus told him that he had written a letter to his father which would
+make the thing all right, he was perfectly satisfied; and the next day
+we all went out in a sail-boat to the coral-reef, and had a splendid
+time, and the "Tigress" went off without any Chippertons. I think Mr.
+Chipperton put the whole thing down as the result of his lecture to
+Rectus up in the silk-cotton tree.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+A STRANGE THING HAPPENS TO ME.
+
+
+For several days after our hot chase after Priscilla, we saw nothing of
+this ex-emissary. Indeed, we began to be afraid that something had
+happened to her. She was such a regular attendant at the
+hotel-door-market, that people were talking about missing her black face
+and her chattering tongue. But she turned up one morning as gay and
+skippy as ever, and we saw her leaning against the side of one of the
+door-ways of the court in her favorite easy attitude, with her head on
+one side and one foot crossed over the other, which made her look like a
+bronze figure such as they put under kerosene lamps. In one hand she had
+her big straw hat, and in the other a bunch of rose-buds. The moment she
+saw Corny she stepped up to her.
+
+"Wont you buy some rose-buds, missy?" she said. "De puttiest rose-buds I
+ever brought you yit."
+
+Corny looked at her with a withering glare, but Priscilla didn't wither
+a bit. She was a poor hand at withering.
+
+"Please buy 'em, missy. I kep' 'em fur you. I been a-keepin' 'em all de
+mornin'."
+
+"I don't see how you dare ask me to buy your flowers!" exclaimed Corny.
+"Go away! I never want to see you again. After all you did----"
+
+"Please, missy, buy jist this one bunch. These is the puttiest red-rose
+buds in dis whole town. De red roses nearly all gone."
+
+"Nearly all gone," said I. "What do you mean by telling such a fib?"--I
+was going to say "lie," which was nearer the truth (if that isn't a
+bull); but there were several ladies about, and Priscilla herself was a
+girl. "You know that there are red roses here all the year."
+
+"Please, boss," said Priscilla, rolling her eyes at me like an innocent
+calf, "wont you buy dese roses fur missy? They's the puttiest roses I
+ever brought her yit."
+
+"I guess you've got a calcareous conscience, haven't you?" said Rectus.
+
+Priscilla looked at him, for a moment, as if she thought that he might
+want to buy something of that kind, but as she hadn't it to sell, she
+tried her flowers on him.
+
+"Please, boss, wont you buy dese roses fur----"
+
+"No," said Rectus, "I wont."
+
+And we all turned and walked away. It was no use to blow her up. She
+wouldn't have minded it. But she lost three customers.
+
+I said before that I was the only one in our party who liked fishing,
+and for that reason I didn't go often, for I don't care about taking
+trips of that kind by myself. But one day Mr. Burgan and the other
+yellow-legs told me that they were going to fish in Lake Killarney, a
+lovely little lake in the interior of the island, about five miles from
+the town, and that if I liked I might go along. I did like, and I went.
+
+I should have been better pleased if they had gone there in a carriage;
+but this wouldn't have suited these two fellows, who had rigged
+themselves up in their buck-skin boots, and had all the tramping and
+fishing rigs that they used in the Adirondacks and other sporting places
+where they told me they had been. It was a long and a warm walk, and
+trying to find a good place for fishing, after we got to the lake, made
+the work harder yet. We didn't find any good place, and the few fish we
+caught didn't pay for the trouble of going there; but we walked all over
+a big pineapple plantation and had a splendid view from the highest hill
+on the whole island.
+
+It was pretty late in the afternoon when we reached home, and I made up
+my mind that the next time I went so far to fish, in a semi-tropical
+country, I'd go with a party who wore suits that would do for riding.
+
+Rectus and Corny and Mrs. Chipperton were up in the silk-cotton tree
+when I got home, and I went there and sat down. Mrs. Chipperton lent me
+her fan.
+
+Corny and Rectus were looking over the "permission paper" which the
+English governor had given us.
+
+"I guess this isn't any more use, now," said Corny, "as we've done all
+we can for kings and queens, but Rectus says that if you agree I can
+have it for my autograph book. I never had a governor's signature."
+
+"Certainly, you can have it," I said. "And he's a different governor
+from the common run. None of your State governors, but a real British
+governor, like those old fellows they set over us in our colony-days."
+
+"Indeed!" said Mrs. Chipperton, smiling. "You must be able to remember a
+long way back."
+
+"Well, you needn't make fun of this governor," said Corny, "for he's a
+real nice man. We met him to-day, riding in the funniest carriage you
+ever saw in your life. It's like a big baby-carriage for twins, only
+it's pulled by a horse, and has a man in livery to drive it. The top's
+straw, and you get in in the middle, and sit both ways."
+
+"Either way, my dear," said Mrs. Chipperton.
+
+"Yes, either way," continued Corny. "Did you ever see a carriage like
+that?"
+
+"I surely never did," said I.
+
+"Well, he was in it, and some ladies, and they stopped and asked Rectus
+and I how we got along with our queen, and when I told them all about
+it, you ought to have heard them laugh, and the governor, he said, that
+Poqua-dilla shouldn't suffer after we went away, even if he had to get
+all his pepper-pods from her. Now, wasn't that good?"
+
+I admitted that it was, but I thought to myself that a good supper and a
+bed would be better, for I was awfully tired and hungry. But I didn't
+say this.
+
+I slept as sound as a rock that night, and it was pretty broad daylight
+when I woke up. I don't believe that I would have wakened then, but I
+wanted to turn over and couldn't, and that is enough to make any fellow
+wake up.
+
+When I opened my eyes, I found myself in the worst fix I had ever been
+in in my life. I couldn't move my arms or my legs, for my arms were tied
+fast to my body, at the elbows and wrists, and my feet and my knees were
+tied together. I was lying flat on my back, but I could turn my head
+over to where Rectus' bed stood--it was a small one like mine--and he
+wasn't there. I sung out:
+
+"Rectus!" and gave a big heave, which made the bed rattle. I was scared.
+
+In a second, Rectus was standing by me. He had been sitting by the
+window. He was all dressed.
+
+"Don't shout that way again," he said, in a low voice, "or I'll have to
+tie this handkerchief over your mouth," and he showed me a clean linen
+handkerchief all folded up, ready. "I wont put it so that it will stop
+your breathing," he said, as coolly as if this sort of thing was nothing
+unusual. "I'll leave your nose free."
+
+"Let me up, you little rascal!" I cried. "Did you do this?"
+
+At that he deliberately laid the handkerchief over my mouth and fastened
+it around my head. He was careful to leave my nose all right, but I was
+so mad that I could scarcely breathe. I knew by the way he acted that he
+had tied me, and I had never had such a trick played on me before. But
+it was no use to be mad. I couldn't do anything, though I tugged and
+twisted my very best. He had had a good chance to tie me up well, for I
+had slept so soundly. I was regularly bandaged.
+
+He stood by me for a few minutes, watching to see if I needed any more
+fixing, but when he made up his mind that I was done up securely, he
+brought a chair and sat down by the side of the bed and began to talk to
+me. I never saw anything like the audacity of the boy.
+
+"You needn't think it was mean to tie you, when you were so tired and
+sleepy, for I intended to do it this morning, any way, for you always
+sleep sound enough in the mornings to let a fellow tie you up as much as
+he pleases. And I suppose you'll say it was mean to tie you, any way,
+but you know well enough that it's no use for me to argue with you, for
+you wouldn't listen. But now you've got to listen, and I wont let you up
+till you promise never to call me Rectus again."
+
+"The little rascal!" I thought to myself. I might have made some noise
+in spite of the handkerchief, but I thought it better not, for I didn't
+know what else he might pile on my mouth.
+
+"It isn't my name, and I'm tired of it," he continued. "I didn't mind it
+at school, and I didn't mind it when we first started out together, but
+I've had enough of it now, and I've made up my mind that I'll make you
+promise never to call me by that name again."
+
+I vowed to myself that I would call him Rectus until his hair was gray.
+I'd write letters to him wherever he lived, and direct them: "Rectus
+Colbert."
+
+[Illustration: "I WOULDN'T LIKE IT MYSELF."]
+
+"There wasn't any other way to do it, and so I did it this way," he
+said. "I'm sorry, really, to have to tie you up so, because I wouldn't
+like it myself, and I wouldn't have put that handkerchief over your
+mouth if you had agreed to keep quiet, but I don't want anybody coming
+in here until you've promised."
+
+"Promise!" I thought; "I'll never promise you that while the world rolls
+round."
+
+"I know you can't say anything with that handkerchief over your mouth;
+but you don't have to speak. Your toes are loose. When you're ready to
+promise never to call me Rectus again, just wag your big toe, either
+one."
+
+I stiffened my toes, as if my feet were cast in brass. Rectus moved his
+chair a little around, so that he could keep an eye on my toes. Then he
+looked at his watch, and said:
+
+"It's seven o'clock now, and that's an hour from breakfast time. I don't
+want to keep you there any longer than I can help. You'd better wag your
+toe now, and be done with it. It's no use to wait."
+
+"Wag?" I thought to myself. "Never!"
+
+"I know what you're thinking," he went on. "You think that if you lie
+there long enough, you'll be all right, for when the chambermaid comes
+to do up the room, I must let her in, or else I'll have to say you're
+sick, and then the Chippertons will come up."
+
+That was exactly what I was thinking.
+
+"But that wont do you any good," said he, "I've thought of all that."
+
+He was a curious boy. How such a thing as this should have come into his
+mind, I couldn't imagine. He must have read of something of the kind.
+But to think of his trying it on _me_! I ground my teeth.
+
+He sat and watched me for some time longer. Once or twice he fixed the
+handkerchief over my mouth, for he seemed anxious that I should be as
+comfortable as possible. He was awfully kind, to be sure!
+
+"It isn't right that anybody should have such a name sticking to them
+always," he said. "And if I'd thought you'd have stopped it, I wouldn't
+have done this. But I knew you. You would just have laughed and kept
+on."
+
+The young scoundrel! Why didn't he try me?
+
+"Yesterday, when the governor met us, Corny called me Rectus, and even
+he said that was a curious name, and he didn't remember that I gave it
+to him, when he wrote that paper for us."
+
+Oh, ho! That was it, was it? Getting proud and meeting governors! Young
+prig!
+
+Now Rectus was quiet a little longer, and then he got up.
+
+"I didn't think you'd be so stubborn," he said, "but perhaps you know
+your own business best. I'm not going to keep you there until breakfast
+is ready, and people want to come in."
+
+Then he went over to the window, and came back directly with a little
+black paint-pot, with a brush in it.
+
+"Now," said he, "if you don't promise, in five minutes, to never call me
+Rectus again, I'm going to paint one-half of your face black. I got this
+paint yesterday from the cane-man, on purpose."
+
+Oil-paint! I could smell it.
+
+"Now, you may be sure I'm going to do it," he said.
+
+Oh, I was sure! When he said he'd do a thing, I knew he'd do it. I had
+no doubts about that. He was great on sticking to his word.
+
+He had put his watch on the table near by, and was stirring up the
+paint.
+
+"You've only three minutes more," he said. "This stuff wont wash off in
+a hurry, and you'll have to stay up here by yourself, and wont need any
+tying. It's got stuff mixed with it to make it dry soon, so that you
+needn't lie there very long after I've painted you. You mustn't mind if
+I put my finger on your mouth when I take off the handkerchief; I'll be
+careful not to get any in your eyes or on your lips if you hold your
+head still. One minute more. Will you promise?"
+
+What a dreadful minute! He turned and looked at my feet. I gave one big
+twist in my bandages. All held. I wagged my toe.
+
+"Good!" said he. "I didn't want to paint you. But I would have done it,
+sure as shot, if you hadn't promised. Now I'll untie you. I can trust
+you to stick to your word,--I mean your wag," he said, with a grin.
+
+It took him a long time to undo me. The young wretch had actually pinned
+long strips of muslin around me, and he had certainly made a good job of
+it, for they didn't hurt me at all, although they held me tight enough.
+He said, as he was working at me, that he had torn up two old shirts to
+make these bandages, and had sewed some of the strips together the
+afternoon before. He said he had heard of something like this being done
+at a school. A pretty school that must have been!
+
+He unfastened my arms first,--that is, as soon as he had taken the
+handkerchief off my mouth,--and the moment he had taken the bandage from
+around my ankles, he put for the door. But I was ready. I sprang out of
+bed, made one jump over his bed, around which he had to go, and caught
+him just at the door.
+
+He forgot that he should have left my ankles for me to untie for myself.
+
+I guess the people in the next rooms must have thought there was
+something of a rumpus in our room when I caught him.
+
+There was considerable coolness between Colbert and me after that. In
+fact, we didn't speak. I was not at all anxious to keep this thing up,
+for I was satisfied, and was perfectly willing to call it square; but
+for the first time since I had known him, Colbert was angry. I suppose
+every fellow, no matter how good-natured he may be, must have some sort
+of a limit to what he will stand, and Colbert seemed to have drawn his
+line at a good thrashing.
+
+It wasn't hard for me to keep my promise to him, for I didn't call him
+anything; but I should have kept it all the same if we had been on the
+old terms.
+
+Of course, Corny soon found out that there was something the matter
+between us two, and she set herself to find out what it was.
+
+"What's the matter with you and Rectus?" she asked me the next day. I
+was standing in the carriage-way before the hotel, and she ran out to
+me.
+
+"You mustn't call him Rectus," said I. "He doesn't like it."
+
+"Well, then, I wont," said she. "But what is it all about? Did you
+quarrel about calling him that? I hate to see you both going about, and
+not speaking to each other."
+
+I had no reason to conceal anything, and so I told her the whole affair,
+from the very beginning to the end.
+
+"I don't wonder he's mad," said she, "if you thrashed him."
+
+"Well, and oughtn't I to be mad after the way he treated me?" I asked.
+
+"Yes," she said. "It makes me sick just to think of being tied up in
+that way,--and the black paint, too! But then you are so much bigger
+than he is, that it don't seem right for you to thrash him."
+
+"That's one reason I did it," said I. "I didn't want to fight him as I
+should have fought a fellow of my own size. I wanted to punish him. Do
+you think that when a father wants to whip his son he ought to wait
+until he grows up as big as he is?"
+
+"No," said Corny, very gravely. "Of course not. But Rectus isn't your
+son. What shall I call him? Samuel, or Sam? I don't like either of them,
+and I wont say Mr. Colbert. I think 'Rectus' is a great deal nicer."
+
+"So do I," I said; "but that's his affair. To be sure, he isn't my son,
+but he's under my care, and if he wasn't, it would make no difference.
+I'd thrash any boy alive who played such a trick on me."
+
+"Unless he was bigger than you are," said Corny.
+
+"Well, then I'd get you to help me. You'd do it; wouldn't you, Corny?"
+
+She laughed.
+
+"I guess I couldn't help much, and I suppose you're both right to be
+angry at each other; but I'm awful sorry if things are going on this
+way. It didn't seem like the same place yesterday. Nobody did anything
+at all."
+
+"I tell you what it is, Corny," said I. "You're not angry with either of
+us; are you?"
+
+"No, indeed," said she, and her face warmed up and her eyes shone.
+
+"That's one comfort," said I, and I gave her a good hand-shake.
+
+It must have looked funny to see a boy and a girl shaking hands there in
+front of the hotel, and a young darkey took advantage of our good-humor,
+and, stealing out from a shady corner of the court, sold us seven little
+red and black liquorice-seed for fourpence,--the worst swindle that had
+been worked on us yet.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+MR. CHIPPERTON KEEPS PERFECTLY COOL.
+
+
+It's of no use to deny the fact that Nassau was a pretty dull place,
+just about this time. At least Corny and I found it so, and I don't
+believe young Mr. Colbert was very happy, for he didn't look it. It's
+not to be supposed that our quarrel affected the negroes, or the sky, or
+the taste of bananas; but the darkeys didn't amuse me, and my
+recollection of those days is that they were cloudy, and that I wasn't a
+very good customer down in the market-house by the harbor, where we used
+to go and buy little fig-bananas, which they didn't have at the hotel,
+but which were mighty good to eat.
+
+Colbert and I still kept up a frigid reserve toward each other. He
+thought, I suppose, that I ought to speak first, because I was the
+older, and I thought that he ought to speak first because he was the
+younger.
+
+One evening, I went up into my room, having absolutely nothing else to
+do, and there I found Colbert, writing. I suppose he was writing a
+letter, but there was no need of doing this at night, as the mail would
+not go out for several days, and there would be plenty of time to write
+in the daytime. He hadn't done anything but lounge about for two or
+three days. Perhaps he came up here to write because he had nothing else
+to do.
+
+There was only one table, and I couldn't write if I had wanted to, so I
+opened my trunk and began to put some of my things in order. We had
+arranged, before we had fallen out, that we should go home on the next
+steamer, and Mr. and Mrs. Chipperton were going too. We had been in
+Nassau nearly a month, and had seen about as much as was to be seen--in
+an ordinary way. As for me, I couldn't afford to stay any longer, and
+that had been the thing that had settled the matter, as far as Colbert
+and I were concerned. But now he might choose to stay, and come home by
+himself. However, there was no way of my knowing what he thought, and I
+supposed that I had no real right to make him come with me. At any rate,
+if I had, I didn't intend to exercise it.
+
+While I was looking over the things in my trunk, I came across the box
+of dominoes that Corny had given us to remember her by. It seemed like a
+long time ago since we had been sitting together on the water-battery at
+St. Augustine! In a few minutes I took the box of dominoes in my hand
+and went over to Colbert. As I put them on the table he looked up.
+
+"What do you say to a game of dominoes?" I said. "This is the box Corny
+gave us. We haven't used it yet."
+
+"Very well," said he, and he pushed away his paper and emptied the
+dominoes out on the table. Then he picked up some of them, and looked at
+them as if they were made in some new kind of a way that he had never
+noticed before; and I picked up some, too, and examined them. Then we
+began to play. We did not talk very much, but we played as if it was
+necessary to be very careful to make no mistakes. I won the first game,
+and I could not help feeling a little sorry, while Colbert looked as if
+he felt rather glad. We played until about our ordinary bed-time, and
+then I said:
+
+"Well, Colbert, I guess we might as well stop," and he said:
+
+"Very well."
+
+But he didn't get ready to go to bed. He went to the window and looked
+out for some time, and then he came back to the table and sat down. He
+took his pen and began to print on the lid of the domino-box, which was
+of smooth white wood. He could print names and titles of things very
+neatly, a good deal better than I could.
+
+When he had finished, he got up and began to get ready for bed, leaving
+the box on the table. Pretty soon I went over to look at it, for I must
+admit I was rather curious to see what he had put on it. This was the
+inscription he had printed on the lid:
+
+                "GIVEN TO
+              WILL AND RECTUS
+                    BY
+                  CORNY.
+          ST. AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+There was a place left for the date, which I suppose he had forgotten. I
+made no remark about this inscription, for I did not know exactly what
+remark was needed; but the next morning I called him "Rectus," just the
+same as ever, for I knew he had printed our names on the box to show me
+that he wanted to let me off my promise. I guess the one time I called
+him Colbert was enough for him.
+
+When we came down stairs to breakfast, talking to each other like common
+people, it was better than most shows to see Corny's face. She was
+standing at the front door, not far from the stairs, and it actually
+seemed as if a candle had been lighted inside of her. Her face shone.
+
+I know I felt first-rate, and I think Rectus must have felt pretty much
+the same, for his tongue rattled away at a rate that wasn't exactly
+usual with him. There was no mistaking Corny's feelings.
+
+After breakfast, when we all got together to talk over the plans of the
+day,--a thing we hadn't done for what seemed to me about a week,--we
+found out--or rather remembered--that there were a lot of things in
+Nassau that we hadn't seen yet, and that we wouldn't miss for anything.
+We had been wasting time terribly lately, and the weather was now rather
+better for going about than it had been since we came to the place.
+
+We agreed to go to Fort Charlotte that morning, and see the subterranean
+rooms and passage-ways, and all the underground dreariness of which we
+had heard so much. The fort was built about a hundred years ago, and
+has no soldiers in it. To go around and look at the old forts in this
+part of the world might make a person believe the millennium had come.
+They seem just about as good as ever they were, but they're all on a
+peace-footing. Rectus said they were played out, but I'd rather take my
+chances in Fort Charlotte, during a bombardment, than in some of the
+new-style forts that I have seen in the North. It is almost altogether
+underground, in the solid calcareous, and what could any fellow want
+better than that? The cannon-balls and bombs would have to plow up about
+an acre of pretty solid rock, and plow it deep, too, before they would
+begin to scratch the roof of the real strongholds of this fort. At
+least, that's the way I looked at it.
+
+We made up a party and walked over. It's at the western end of the town,
+and about a mile from the hotel. Mr. and Mrs. Chipperton were with us,
+and a lady from Chicago, and Mr. Burgan. The other yellow-legs went out
+riding with his wife, but I think he wanted to go with us. The fort is
+on the top of a hill, and a colored shoemaker is in command. He sits and
+cobbles all day, except when visitors come, and then he shows them
+around. He lighted a lamp and took us down into the dark, quiet rooms
+and cells, that were cut out of the solid rock, down deep into the hill,
+and it was almost like being in a coal-mine, only it was a great deal
+cleaner and not so deep. But it seemed just as much out of the world. In
+some of the rooms there were bats hanging to the ceilings. We didn't
+disturb them. One of the rooms was called the governor's room. There
+wasn't any governor there, of course, but it had been made by the jolly
+old earl who had the place cut out,--and who was governor here at the
+time,--as a place where he might retire when he wanted to be private. It
+was the most private apartment I ever saw. This earl was the same old
+Dunmore we used to study about in our histories. He came over here when
+the Revolution threw him out of business in our country. He had some
+good ideas about chiselling rock.
+
+This part of the fort was so extremely subterranean and solemn that it
+wasn't long before Mrs. Chipperton had enough of it, and we came up. It
+was fine to get out into the open air, and see the blue sky and the
+bright, sparkling water of the harbor just below us, and the islands
+beyond, and still beyond them the blue ocean, with everything so bright
+and cheerful in the sunlight. If I had been governor of this place, I
+should have had my private room on top of the fort, although, of course,
+that wouldn't do so well in times of bombardment.
+
+But the general-in-chief did not let us off yet. He said he'd show us
+the most wonderful thing in the whole place, and then he took us
+out-of-doors again, and led us to a little shed or enclosed door-way
+just outside of the main part of the fort, but inside of the
+fortifications, where he had his bench and tools. He moved away the
+bench, and then we saw that it stood on a wooden trap-door. He took hold
+of a ring, and lifted up this door, and there was a round hole about as
+big as the hind wheel of a carriage. It was like a well, and was as
+dark as pitch. When we held the lamp over it, however, we could see that
+there were winding steps leading down into it. These steps were cut out
+of the rock, as was the hole and the pillar around which the steps
+wound. It was all one piece. The general took his lamp and went down
+ahead, and we all followed, one by one. Those who were most afraid and
+went last had the worst of it, for the lamp wasn't a calcium light by
+any means, and their end of the line was a good deal in the dark. But we
+all got to the bottom of the well at last, and there we found a long,
+narrow passage leading under the very foundation or bottom floor of the
+whole place, and then it led outside of the fort under the moat, which
+was dry now, but which used to be full of water, and so, on and on, in
+black darkness, to a place in the side of the hill, or somewhere, where
+there had been a lookout. Whether there were any passages opening into
+this or not, I don't know, for it was dark in spite of the lamp, and we
+all had to walk in single file, so there wasn't much chance for
+exploring sidewise. When we got to the end, we were glad enough to turn
+around and come back. It was a good thing to see such a place, but there
+was a feeling that if the walls should cave in a little, or a big rock
+should fall from the top of the passage, we should all be hermetically
+canned in very close quarters. When we came out, we gave the shoemaker
+commander some money, and came away.
+
+"Isn't it nice," said Corny, "that he isn't a queen, to be taken care
+of, and we can just pay him and come away, and not have to think of him
+any more?"
+
+We agreed to that, but I said I thought we ought to go and take one more
+look at our old queen before we left. Mrs. Chipperton, who was a really
+sensible woman when she had a chance, objected to this, because, she
+said, it would be better to let the old woman alone now. We couldn't do
+anything for her after we left, and it would be better to let her depend
+on her own exertions, now that she had got started again on that track.
+I didn't think that the word exertion was a very good one in
+Poqua-dilla's case, but I didn't argue the matter. I thought that if
+some of us dropped around there before we left, and gave her a couple of
+shillings, it would not interfere much with her mercantile success in
+the future.
+
+I thought this, but Corny spoke it right out--at least, what she said
+amounted to pretty much the same thing.
+
+"Well," said her mother, "we might go around there once more, especially
+as your father has never seen the queen at all. Mr. Chipperton, would
+you like to see the African queen?"
+
+Mr. Chipperton did not answer, and his wife turned around quickly. She
+had been walking ahead with the Chicago lady.
+
+"Why, where is he?" she exclaimed. We all stopped and looked about, but
+couldn't see him. He wasn't there. We were part way down the hill, but
+not far from the fort, and we stopped and looked back, and then Corny
+called him. I said that I would run back for him, as he had probably
+stopped to talk with the shoemaker. Rectus and I both ran back, and
+Corny came with us. The shoemaker had put his bench in its place over
+the trap-door, and was again at work. But Mr. Chipperton was not talking
+to him.
+
+"I'll tell you what I believe,"--said Corny, gasping.
+
+But it was of no use to wait to hear what she believed. I believed it
+myself.
+
+"Hello!" I cried to the shoemaker before I reached him. "Did a gentleman
+stay behind here?"
+
+"I didn't see none," said the man, looking up in surprise, as we charged
+on him.
+
+"Then," I cried, "he's shut down in that well! Jump up and open the
+door!"
+
+The shoemaker did jump up, and we helped him move the bench, and had the
+trap-door open in no time. By this, the rest of the party had come back,
+and when Mrs. Chipperton saw the well open and no Mr. Chipperton about,
+she turned as white as a sheet. We could hardly wait for the man to
+light his lamp, and as soon as he started down the winding stairs,
+Rectus and I followed him. I called back to Mrs. Chipperton and the
+others that they need not come; we would be back in a minute and let
+them know. But it was of no use; they all came. We hurried on after the
+man with the light, and passed straight ahead through the narrow passage
+to the very end of it.
+
+There stood Mr. Chipperton, holding a lighted match, which he had just
+struck. He was looking at something on the wall. As we ran in, he
+turned and smiled, and was just going to say something, when Corny threw
+herself into his arms, and his wife, squeezing by, took him around his
+neck so suddenly that his hat flew off and bumped on the floor, like an
+empty tin can. He always wore a high silk hat. He made a grab for his
+hat, and the match burned his fingers.
+
+"Aouch!" he exclaimed, as he dropped the match. "What's the matter?"
+
+"Oh, my dear!" exclaimed his wife. "How dreadful to leave you here! Shut
+up alone in this awful place! But to think we have found you!"
+
+"No trouble about that, I should say," remarked Mr. Chipperton, going
+over to the other side of the den after his hat. "You haven't been gone
+ten minutes, and it's a pretty straight road back here."
+
+"But how did it happen?" "Why did you stay?" "Weren't you frightened?"
+"Did you stay on purpose?" we all asked him at pretty much one and the
+same time.
+
+"I did stay on purpose," said he; "but I did not expect to stay but a
+minute, and had no idea you would go and leave me. I stopped to see what
+in the name of common sense this place was made for. I tried my best to
+make some sort of an observation out of this long, narrow loop-hole, but
+found I could see nothing of importance whatever, and so I made up my
+mind it was money thrown away to cut out such a place as this to so
+little purpose. When I had entirely made up my mind, I found, on turning
+around, that you had gone, and although I called I received no answer.
+
+"Then I knew I was alone in this place. But I was perfectly composed. No
+agitation, no tremor of the nerves. Absolute self-control. The moment I
+found myself deserted, I knew exactly what to do. I did precisely the
+same thing that I would have done had I been left alone in the Mammoth
+Cave, or the Cave of Fingal, or any place of the kind.
+
+"I stood perfectly still!
+
+"If you will always remember to do that," and he looked as well as he
+could from one to another of us, "you need never be frightened, no
+matter how dark and lonely a cavern you may be left in. Strive to
+reflect that you will soon be missed, and that your friends will
+naturally come back to the place where they saw you last. Stay there!
+Keep that important duty in your mind. Stay just where you are! If you
+run about to try and find your way out, you will be lost. You will lose
+yourself, and no one can find you.
+
+"Instances are not uncommon where persons have been left behind in the
+Mammoth Cave of Kentucky, and who were not found by searching parties
+for a day or two, and they were almost invariably discovered in an
+insane condition. They rushed wildly about in the dark; got away from
+the ordinary paths of tourists; couldn't be found, and went crazy,--a
+very natural consequence. Now, nothing of the kind happened to me. I
+remained where I was, and here, you see, in less than ten minutes, I am
+rescued!"
+
+And he looked around with a smile as pleasant as if he had just invented
+a new sewing-machine.
+
+"But were you not frightened,--awe-struck in this dark and horrible
+place, alone?" inquired Mrs. Chipperton, holding on to his arm.
+
+"No," said he. "It was not very dark just here. That slit let in a
+little light. That is all it is good for, though why light should be
+needed here, I cannot tell. And then I lighted matches and examined the
+wall. I might find some trace of some sensible intention on the part of
+the people who quarried this passage. But I could find nothing. What I
+might have found, had I moved about, I cannot say. I had a whole box of
+matches in my pocket. But I did not move."
+
+"Well," said Mr. Burgan, "I think you'd better move now. I, for one, am
+convinced that this place is of no use to me, and I don't like it."
+
+I think Mr. Burgan was a little out of temper.
+
+We now started on our way out of the passage, Mrs. Chipperton holding
+tight to her husband, for fear, I suppose, that he might be inclined to
+stop again.
+
+"I didn't think," said she, as she clambered up the dark and twisting
+steps, "that I should have this thing to do, so soon again. But no one
+can ever tell what strange things may happen to them, at any time."
+
+"When father's along," added Corny.
+
+This was all nuts to the shoemaker, for we gave him more money for his
+second trip down the well. I hope this didn't put the idea into his head
+of shutting people down below, and making their friends come after them,
+and pay extra.
+
+"There are some things about Mr. Chipperton that I like," said Rectus,
+as we walked home together.
+
+"Yes," said I, "some things."
+
+"I like the cool way in which he takes bad fixes," continued Rectus, who
+had a fancy for doing things that way himself. "Don't you remember that
+time he struck on the sand-bank. He just sat there in the rain, waiting
+for the tide to rise, and made no fuss at all. And here, he kept just as
+cool and comfortable, down in that dungeon. He must have educated his
+mind a good deal to be able to do that."
+
+"It may be very well to educate the mind to take things coolly," said I,
+"but I'd a great deal rather educate my mind not to get me into such
+fixes."
+
+"I suppose that would be better," said Rectus, after thinking a minute.
+
+And now we had but little time to see anything more in Nassau. In two
+days the "Tigris" would be due, and we were going away in her. So we
+found we should have to bounce around in a pretty lively way, if we
+wanted to be able to go home and say we had seen the place.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+WHAT BOY HAS DONE, BOY MAY DO.
+
+
+There was one place that I wished, particularly, to visit before I left,
+and that was what the people in Nassau called the Coral-reef. There were
+lots of coral-reefs all about the islands, but this one was easily
+visited, and for this reason, I suppose, was chosen as a representative
+of its class. I had been there before, and had seen all the wonders of
+the reef through a water-glass,--which is a wooden box, with a pane of
+glass at one end and open at the other. You hold the glass end of this
+box just under the water, and put your face to the open end, and then
+you can see down under the water, exactly as if you were looking through
+the air. And on this coral-reef, where the water was not more than
+twelve or fourteen feet deep, there were lots of beautiful things to
+see. It was like a submarine garden. There was coral in every form and
+shape, and of different colors; there were sea-feathers, which stood up
+like waving purple trees, most of them a foot or two high, but some a
+good deal higher; there were sea-fans, purple and yellow, that spread
+themselves up from the curious bits of coral-rock on the bottom, and
+there were ever so many other things that grew like bushes and vines,
+and of all sorts of colors. Among all these you could see the fishes
+swimming about, as if they were in a great aquarium. Some of these
+fishes were very large, with handsome black bands across their backs,
+but the prettiest were some little fellows, no bigger than sardines,
+that swam in among the branches of the sea-feathers and fans. They were
+colored bright blue, and yellow and red; some of them with two or three
+colors apiece. Rectus called them "humming-fishes." They did remind me
+of humming-birds, although they didn't hum.
+
+When I came here before, I was with a party of ladies and gentlemen. We
+went in a large sail-boat, and took several divers with us, to go down
+and bring up to us the curious things that we would select, as we looked
+through the water-glass. There wasn't anything peculiar about these
+divers. They wore linen breeches for diving dresses, and were the same
+kind of fellows as those who dived for pennies at the town.
+
+Now, what I wanted to do, was to go to the coral-reef and dive down and
+get something for myself. It would be worth while to take home a sea-fan
+or something of that kind, and say you brought it up from the bottom of
+the sea yourself. Any one could get things that the divers had brought
+up. To be sure, the sea wasn't very deep here, but it had a bottom, all
+the same. I was not so good a swimmer as these darkeys, who ducked and
+dived as if they had been born in the water, but I could swim better
+than most fellows, and was particularly good at diving. So I determined,
+if I could get a chance, to go down after some of those things on the
+coral-reef.
+
+I couldn't try this, before, because there were too many people along,
+but Rectus, who thought the idea was splendid, although he didn't intend
+to dive himself, agreed to hire a sail-boat with me, and go off to the
+reef, with only the darkey captain.
+
+We started as early as we could get off, on the morning after we had
+been at Fort Charlotte. The captain of the yacht--they give themselves
+and their sail-boats big titles here--was a tall colored man, named
+Chris, and he took two big darkey boys with him, although we told him we
+didn't want any divers. But I suppose he thought we might change our
+minds. I didn't tell him _I_ was going to dive. He might not have been
+willing to go in that case.
+
+We had a nice sail up the harbor, between the large island upon which
+the town stands, and the smaller ones that separate the harbor from the
+ocean. After sailing about five miles, we turned out to sea between two
+islands, and pretty soon were anchored over the reef.
+
+"Now, then, boss," said Captain Chris, "don't ye want these here boys to
+do some divin' for ye?"
+
+"I told you I wouldn't want them," said I. "I'm going to dive, myself."
+
+"_You_ dive, boss!" cried all three of the darkeys at once, and the two
+boys began to laugh.
+
+"Ye can't do that, boss," said the captain. "Ef ye aint used to this
+here kind o' divin', ye can't do nothin' at all, under this water. Ye
+better let the boys go for ye."
+
+"No," said I, "I'm going myself," and I began to take off my clothes.
+
+The colored fellows didn't like it much, for it seemed like taking their
+business away from them; but they couldn't help it, and so they just sat
+and waited to see how things would turn out.
+
+"You'd better take a look through the glass, before you dive," said
+Rectus, "and choose what you're going to get."
+
+"I'm not going to be particular," I replied. "I shall get whatever I
+can."
+
+"The tide's pretty strong," said the captain. "You've got to calkelate
+fur that."
+
+I was obliged for this information, which was generous on his part,
+considering the circumstances, and I dived from the bow, as far out as I
+could jump. Down I went, but I didn't reach the bottom, at all. My legs
+grazed against some branches and things, but the tide had me back to the
+boat in no time, and I came up near the stern, which I seized, and got
+on board.
+
+Both the colored boys were grinning, and the captain said:
+
+"Ye can't dive that-a-way, boss. You'll never git to the bottom, at all,
+that-a-way. You must go right down, ef you go at all."
+
+I knew that, but I must admit I didn't care much to go all the way down
+when I made the first dive. Just as I jumped, I thought of the hard
+sharp things at the bottom, and I guess I was a little too careful not
+to dive into them.
+
+But now I made a second dive, and I went down beautifully. I made a grab
+at the first thing my hand touched. It was a purple knob of coral. But
+it stuck tight to its mother-rock, and I was ready to go up before it
+was ready to come loose, and so I went up without it.
+
+"'T aint easy to git them things," said the captain, and the two boys
+said:
+
+"No indeed, boss, ye cahn't git them things dat-a-way."
+
+I didn't say anything, but in a few minutes I made another dive. I
+determined to look around a little, this time, and seize something that
+I could break off or pull up. I found that I couldn't stay under water,
+like the darkeys could. That required practice, and perhaps more fishy
+lungs.
+
+Down I went, and I came right down on a small sea-fan, which I grabbed
+instantly. That ought to give way easily. But as I seized it, I brought
+down my right foot into the middle of a big round sponge. I started, as
+if I had had an electric shock. The thing seemed colder and wetter than
+the water; it was slimy and sticky and horrid. I did not see what it
+was, and it felt as if some great sucker-fish, with a cold woolly mouth,
+was trying to swallow my foot. I let go of everything, and came right
+up, and drew myself, puffing and blowing, on board the boat.
+
+How Captain Chris laughed! He had been watching me through the
+water-glass, and saw what had scared me.
+
+"Why, boss!" said he, "sponges don't eat people! That was nice and sof'
+to tread on. A sight better than cuttin' yer foot on a piece o' coral."
+
+That was all very well, but I'm sure Captain Chris jumped the first time
+he ever put his bare foot into a sponge under water.
+
+"I s'pose ye're goin' to gib it up now, boss," said the captain.
+
+"No, I'm not," I answered. "I haven't brought up anything yet. I'm going
+down again."
+
+"You'd better not," said Rectus. "Three times is all that anybody ever
+tries to do anything. If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.
+One, two, three. You're not expected to try four times. And, besides,
+you're tired."
+
+"I'll be rested in a minute," said I, "and then I'll try once more. I'm
+all right. You needn't worry."
+
+But Rectus did worry. I must have looked frightened when I came up, and
+I believe he had caught the scare. Boys will do that. The captain tried
+to keep me from going in again, but I knew it was all nonsense to be
+frightened. I was going to bring up something from the bottom, if it was
+only a pebble.
+
+So, after resting a little while, and getting my breath again, down I
+went. I was in for anything now, and the moment I reached the bottom, I
+swept my arm around and seized the first thing I touched. It was a
+pretty big thing, for it was a sea-feather over five feet high,--a
+regular tree. I gave a jerk at it, but it held fast. I wished, most
+earnestly, that I had taken hold of something smaller, but I didn't like
+to let go. I might get nothing else. I gave another jerk, but it was of
+no use. I felt that I couldn't hold my breath much longer, and must go
+up. I clutched the stem of the thing with both hands; I braced my feet
+against the bottom; I gave a tremendous tug and push, and up I came to
+the top, sea-feather and all!
+
+With both my hands full I couldn't do much swimming, and the tide
+carried me astern of the boat before I knew it.
+
+Rectus was the first to shout to me.
+
+"Drop it, and strike out!" he yelled; but I didn't drop it. I took it in
+one hand and swam with the other. But the tide was strong, and I didn't
+make any headway. Indeed, I floated further away from the boat.
+
+Directly, I heard a splash, and in a moment afterward, it seemed, the
+two darkey divers were swimming up to me.
+
+"Drop dat," said one of them, "an' we'll take ye in."
+
+"No, I wont," I spluttered, still striking out with my legs and one arm.
+"Take hold of this, and we can all go in together."
+
+I thought that if one of them would help me with the sea-feather, which
+seemed awfully heavy, two of us could certainly swim to the boat with
+four legs and two arms between us.
+
+But neither of them would do it. They wanted me to drop my prize, and
+then they'd take hold of me and take me in. We were disputing and
+puffing, and floating further and further away, when up came Captain
+Chris, swimming like a shark. He had jerked off his clothes and jumped
+in, when he saw what was going on. He just put one hand under my right
+arm, in which I held the sea-feather, and then we struck out together
+for the boat. It was like getting a tow from a tug-boat. We were
+alongside in no time. Captain Chris was the strongest and best swimmer I
+ever saw.
+
+[Illustration: "WE STRUCK OUT TOGETHER FOR THE BOAT."]
+
+Rectus was leaning over, ready to help, and he caught me by the arm as I
+reached up for the side of the boat.
+
+"No," said I, "take this," and he seized the sea-feather and pulled it
+in. Then the captain gave me a hoist, and I clambered on board.
+
+The captain had some towels under the little forward deck, and I gave
+myself a good rub down and dressed. Then I went to look at my prize. No
+wonder it was heavy. It had a young rock, a foot long, fast to its root.
+
+"You sp'iled one o' de puttiest things in that garden down there," said
+the captain. "I allus anchored near that tall feather, and all de
+vis'tors used to talk about it. I didn't think you'd bring it up when I
+seed you grab it. But you must 'a' give a powerful heave to come up with
+all that stone."
+
+"I don't think you ought to have tried to do that," said Rectus, who
+looked as if he hadn't enjoyed himself. "I didn't know you were so
+obstinate."
+
+"Well," said I, "the truth of the matter is that I am a fool, sometimes,
+and I might as well admit it. But now let's see what we've got on this
+stone."
+
+There was a lot of curious things on the piece of rock which had come up
+with the sea-feather. There were small shells, of different shapes and
+colors, with the living creatures inside of them, and there were mosses,
+and sea-weed, and little sponges, and small sea-plants, tipped with red
+and yellow, and more things of the kind than I can remember. It was the
+handsomest and most interesting piece of coral-rock that I had seen yet.
+
+As for the big purple sea-feather, it was a whopper, but too big for me
+to do anything with it. When we got home, Rectus showed it around to
+the Chippertons, and some of the people at the hotel, and told them that
+I dived down and brought it up, myself, but I couldn't take it away with
+me, for it was much too long to go in my trunk. So I gave it next day to
+Captain Chris, to sell, if he chose, but I believe he took it back and
+planted it again in the submarine garden, so that his passengers could
+see how tall a sea-feather could grow, when it tried. I chipped off a
+piece of the rock, however, to carry home as a memento. I was told that
+the things growing on it--I picked off all the shells--would make the
+clothes in my trunk smell badly, but I thought I'd risk it.
+
+"After all," said Rectus, that night, "what was the good of it? That
+little piece of stone don't amount to anything, and you might have been
+drowned."
+
+"I don't think I could have been drowned," said I, "for I should have
+dropped the old thing, and floated, if I had felt myself giving out. But
+the good of it was this: It showed me what a disagreeable sort of place
+a sea-garden is, when you go down into it to pick things."
+
+"Which you wont do again, in a hurry, I reckon," said Rectus.
+
+"You're right there, my boy," I answered.
+
+The next day, the Chippertons and ourselves took a two-horse barouche,
+and rode to the "caves," some six or seven miles from the town. We had a
+long walk through the pineapple fields before we came to the biggest
+cave, and found it wasn't very much of a cave, after all, though there
+was a sort of a room, on one side, which looked like a church, with
+altar, pillars and arches. There was a little hole, on one side of this
+room, about three feet wide, which led, our negro guide said, to a great
+cave, which ran along about a mile, until it reached the sea. There was
+no knowing what skeletons, and treasures, and old half-decayed boxes of
+coins, hidden by pirates, and swords with jewels in the handles, and
+loose jewels, and silver plate, and other things we might have found in
+that cave, if we had only had a lantern or some candles to light us
+while we were wandering about in it. But we had no candles or lantern,
+and so did not become a pirate's heirs. It was Corny who was most
+anxious to go in. She had read about Blackbeard, and the other pirates
+who used to live on this island, and she felt sure that some of their
+treasures were to be found in that cave. If she had thought of it, she
+would have brought a candle.
+
+The only treasures we got were some long things, like thin ropes, which
+hung from the roof to the floor of the cave we were in. This cave wasn't
+dark, because nearly all of one side of it was open. These ropes were
+roots or young trunks from banyan-trees, growing on the ground above,
+and which came through the cracks in the rocks, and stretched themselves
+down so as to root in the floor of the cave, and make a lot of
+underground trunks for the tree above. The banyan-tree is the most
+enterprising trunk-maker I ever heard of.
+
+We pulled down a lot of these banyan ropes, some of them more than
+twenty feet long, to take away as curiosities. Corny thought it would
+be splendid to have a jumping-rope made of a banyan root, or rather
+trunklet. The banyans here are called wild fig-trees, which they really
+are, wherever they grow. There is a big one, not far from the town,
+which stands by itself, and has a lot of trunks coming down from the
+branches. It would take the conceit out of a hurricane, I think, if it
+tried to blow down a banyan-tree.
+
+The next day was Sunday, and our party went to a negro church to hear a
+preacher who was quite celebrated as a colored orator. He preached a
+good sensible sermon, although he didn't meddle much with grammar. The
+people were poorly dressed, and some of the deacons were barefooted, but
+they were all very clean and neat, and they appeared to be just as
+religious as if they had all ridden in carriages to some Fifth Avenue
+church in New York.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+I WAKE UP MR. CHIPPERTON.
+
+
+About nine o'clock, on Monday morning, the "Tigris" came in. When we
+boarded her, which we did almost as soon as the stairs had been put down
+her side, we found that she would make a shorter stay than usual, and
+would go out that evening, at high tide. So there was no time to lose.
+After the letters had been delivered at the hotel, and we had read ours,
+we sent our trunks on board, and went around to finish up Nassau. We
+rowed over to Hog Island, opposite the town, to see, once more, the surf
+roll up against the high, jagged rocks; we ran down among the negro
+cottages and the negro cabins to get some fruit for the trip; and we
+rushed about to bid good-bye to some of our old friends--Poqua-dilla
+among them. Corny went with us, this time. Every darkey knew we were
+going away, and it was amazing to see how many of them came to bid us
+good-bye, and ask for some coppers.
+
+After supper, we went on board the steamer, and about ten o'clock she
+cast loose, and as she slowly moved away, we heard the old familiar
+words:
+
+"Give us a small dive, boss!"
+
+They came from a crowd of darkey boys on the wharf. But, although the
+moon was shining brightly, we didn't think they could see coppers on the
+bottom that night. They might have found a shilling or a half-dollar,
+but we didn't try them.
+
+There were a couple of English officers on board, from the barracks, and
+we thought that they were going to take a trip to the United States; but
+the purser told us that they had no idea of doing that themselves, but
+were trying to prevent one of the "red-coats," as the common soldiers
+were generally called, from leaving the island. He had been missed at
+the barracks, and it was supposed that he was stowed away somewhere on
+the vessel. The steamer had delayed starting for half an hour, so that
+search might be made for the deserter, but she couldn't wait any longer
+if she wanted to get over the bar that night, and so the lieutenants, or
+sergeants, or whatever they were, had to go along, and come back in the
+pilot-boat.
+
+When we got outside we lay to, with the pilot-boat alongside of us, and
+the hold of the vessel was ransacked for the deserter. Corny openly
+declared that she hoped they wouldn't find him, and I'm sure I had a
+pretty strong feeling that way myself. But they did find him. He was
+pulled out from behind some barrels, in a dark place in the hold, and
+hurried up on deck. We saw him, as he was forced over the side of the
+vessel and almost dropped into the pilot-boat, which was rising and
+falling on the waves by the side of the ship. Then the officers
+scrambled down the side and jumped into the boat. The line was cast off,
+the negro oarsmen began to pull away, and the poor red-coat took his
+doleful journey back to Nassau. He must have felt pretty badly about it.
+I have no doubt that when he hid himself down there in that dark hold,
+just before the vessel started, he thought he had made a pretty sure
+thing of it, and that it would not be long before he would be a free
+man, and could go where he pleased and do what he pleased in the wide
+United States. But the case was very different now. I suppose it was
+wrong, of course, for him to desert, and probably he was a mean sort of
+a fellow to do it; but we were all very sorry to see him taken away.
+Corny thought that he was very likely a good man, who had been imposed
+upon, and that, therefore, it was right to run away. It was quite
+natural for a girl to think that.
+
+The moment the pilot-boat left us, the "Tigris" started off in good
+earnest, and went steaming along on her course. And it was not long
+before we started off, also in good earnest, for our berths. We were a
+tired set.
+
+The trip back was not so pleasant as our other little voyage, when we
+were coming to the Bahamas. The next day was cloudy, and the sea was
+rough and choppy. The air was mild enough for us to be on deck, but
+there was a high wind which made it uncomfortable. Rectus thought he
+could keep on his wide straw hat, but he soon found out his mistake, and
+had to get out his Scotch cap, which made him look like a very different
+fellow.
+
+There were not very many passengers on board, as it was scarcely time
+for the majority of people to leave Nassau. They generally stay until
+April, I think. Besides our party of five, there were several gentlemen
+and ladies from the hotel; and as we knew them all tolerably well, we
+had a much more sociable time than when we came over. Still, for my
+part, I should have preferred fair weather, bright skies, and plenty of
+nautiluses and flying-fish.
+
+The "yellow-legged" party remained at Nassau. I was a little sorry for
+this, too, as I liked the men pretty well, now that I knew them better.
+They certainly were good walkers.
+
+Toward noon the wind began to blow harder, and the waves ran very high.
+The "Tigris" rolled from side to side as if she would go over, and some
+of the ladies were a good deal frightened; but she always came up again,
+all right, no matter how far over she dipped, and so in time they got
+used to it. I proved to Mrs. Chipperton that it would be impossible for
+the vessel to upset, as the great weight of ballast, freight, machinery,
+etc., in the lower part of her would always bring her deck up again,
+even if she rolled entirely over on her side, which, sometimes, she
+seemed as if she was going to do, but she always changed her mind just
+as we thought the thing was going to happen. The first mate told me that
+the reason we rolled so was because we had been obliged to take in all
+sail, and that the mainsail had steadied the vessel very much before the
+wind got so high. This was all very well, but I didn't care much to know
+why the thing was. There are some people who think a thing's all right,
+if they can only tell you the reason for it.
+
+Before dark, we had to go below, for the captain said he didn't want any
+of us to roll overboard, and, besides, the spray from the high waves
+made the deck very wet and unpleasant. None of us liked it below. There
+was no place to sit but in the long saloon, where the dining-tables
+were, and after supper we all sat there and read. Mr. Chipperton had a
+lot of novels, and we each took one. But it wasn't much fun. I couldn't
+get interested in my story,--at least, not in the beginning of it. I
+think that people who want to use up time when they are travelling ought
+to take what Rectus called a "begun" novel along with them. He had got
+on pretty well in his book while he was in Nassau, and so just took it
+up now and went right along.
+
+The lamps swung so far backward and forward above the table that we
+thought they would certainly spill the oil over us in one of their wild
+pitches; the settees by the table slid under us as the ship rolled, so
+that there was no comfort, and any one who tried to walk from one place
+to another had to hang on to whatever he could get hold of, or be
+tumbled up against the tables or the wall. Some folks got sea-sick and
+went to bed, but we tried to stick it out as long as we could.
+
+The storm grew worse and worse. Sometimes a big wave would strike the
+side of the steamer, just behind us, with a tremendous shock. The ladies
+were always sure she had "struck something" when this happened; but when
+they found it was only water that she had struck, they were better
+satisfied. At last, things grew to be so bad that we thought we should
+have to go to bed and spend the night holding on to the handles at the
+back of our berths, when, all of a sudden, there was a great change. The
+rolling stopped, and the vessel seemed to be steaming along almost on an
+even keel. She pitched somewhat forward and aft,--that is, her bow and
+her stern went up and down by turns,--but we didn't mind that, as it was
+so very much better than the wild rolling that had been kept up so long.
+
+"I wonder what this means?" said Mr. Chipperton, actually standing up
+without holding on to anything. "Can they have got into a current of
+smooth water?"
+
+I didn't think this was possible, but I didn't stop to make any
+conjectures about it. Rectus and I ran up on the forward deck, to see
+how this agreeable change had come about. The moment we got outside, we
+found the wind blowing fearfully and the waves dashing as high as ever,
+but they were not plunging against our sides. We carefully worked our
+way along to the pilot-house, and looked in. The captain was inside, and
+when he saw us he opened the door and came out. He was going to his own
+room, just back of the pilot-house, and he told us to come with him.
+
+He looked tired and wet, and he told us that the storm had grown so bad
+that he didn't think it would be right to keep on our course any longer.
+We were going to the north-west, and the storm was coming from the
+north-east, and the waves and the wind dashed fair against the side of
+the vessel, making her roll and careen so that it began to be unsafe. So
+he had put her around with her head to the wind, and now she took the
+storm on her bow, where she could stand it a great deal better. He put
+all this in a good deal of sea-language, but I tell it as I got the
+sense of it.
+
+"Did you think she would go over, Captain?" asked Rectus.
+
+"Oh no!" said he, "but something might have been carried away."
+
+He was a very pleasant man, and talked a good deal to us.
+
+"It's all very well to lie to, this way," he went on, "for the comfort
+and safety of the passengers and the ship, but I don't like it, for
+we're not keeping on to our port, which is what I want to be doing."
+
+"Are we stopping here?" I asked.
+
+"Pretty much," said the captain. "All that the engines are working for
+is just to keep her head to the wind."
+
+I felt the greatest respect for the captain. Instead of telling us why
+the ship rolled, he just stopped her rolling. I liked that way of doing
+things. And I was sure that every one on board that I had talked to
+would be glad to have the vessel lie to, and make herself comfortable
+until the storm was over.
+
+We did not stay very long with the captain, for he wanted to take a nap,
+and when we went out, we stood a little while by the railing, to see the
+storm. The wind nearly took our heads off, and the waves dashed right up
+over the bow of the ship, so that if any one had been out there, I
+suppose they would have been soaked in a few minutes, if not knocked
+down. But we saw two men at the wheel, in the pilot-house, steadily
+holding her head to the wind, and we felt that it was all right. So we
+ran below and reported, and then we all went to bed.
+
+Although there was not much of the rolling that had been so unpleasant
+before, the vessel pitched and tossed enough to make our berths,
+especially mine, which was the upper one, rather shaky places to rest
+in; and I did not sleep very soundly. Sometime in the night, I was
+awakened by a sound of heavy and rapid footfalls on the deck above my
+head. I lay and listened for a moment, and felt glad that the deck was
+steady enough for them to walk on. There soon seemed to be a good deal
+more running, and as they began to drag things about, I thought that it
+would be a good idea to get up and find out what was going on. If it was
+anything extraordinary, I wanted to see it. Of course, I woke up Rectus,
+and we put on our clothes. There was now a good deal of noise on deck.
+
+"Perhaps we have run into some vessel and sunk her," said Rectus,
+opening the door, with his coat over his arm. He was in an awful hurry
+to see.
+
+"Hold up here!" I said. "Don't you go on deck in this storm without an
+overcoat. If there has been a collision, you can't do any good, and you
+needn't hurry so. Button up warm."
+
+We both did that, and then we went up on deck. There was no one aft,
+just then, but we could see in the moonlight, which was pretty strong,
+although the sky was cloudy, that there was quite a crowd of men
+forward. We made our way in that direction as fast as we could, in the
+face of the wind, and when we reached the deck, just in front of the
+pilot-house, we looked down to the big hatchway, where the freight and
+baggage were lowered down into the hold, and there we saw what was the
+matter.
+
+The ship was on fire!
+
+The hatchway was not open, but smoke was coming up thick and fast all
+around it. A half-dozen men were around a donkey-engine that stood a
+little forward of the hatch, and others were pulling at hose. The
+captain was rushing here and there, giving orders. I did not hear
+anything he said. No one said anything to us. Rectus asked one of the
+men something, as he ran past him, but the man did not stop to answer.
+
+But there is no need to ask any questions. There was the smoke coming
+up, thicker and blacker, from the edges of the hatch.
+
+"Come!" said I, clutching Rectus by the arm. "Let's wake them up."
+
+"Don't you think they can put it out?" he asked, as we ran back.
+
+"Can't tell," I answered. "But we must get ready,--that's what we've got
+to do."
+
+I am sure I did not know how we were to get ready, or what we were to
+do, but my main idea was that no time was to be lost in doing something.
+The first thing was to awaken our friends.
+
+We found the steward in the saloon. There was only one lamp burning
+there, and the place looked dismal, but there was light enough to see
+that he was very pale.
+
+"Don't you intend to wake up the people?" I said to him.
+
+"What's the good?" he said. "They'll put it out."
+
+"They may, and they mayn't," I answered, "and it wont hurt the
+passengers to be awake."
+
+With this I hurried to the Chippertons' state-room--they had a double
+room in the centre of the vessel--and knocked loudly on the door. I saw
+the steward going to other doors, knocking at some and opening others
+and speaking to the people inside.
+
+Mr. Chipperton jumped right up and opened the door. When he saw Rectus
+and me standing there, he must have seen in our faces that something was
+the matter, for he instantly asked:
+
+"What is it? A wreck?"
+
+I told him of the fire, and said that it might not be much, but that we
+thought we'd better waken him.
+
+"That's right," he said; "we'll be with you directly. Keep perfectly
+cool. Remain just where you are. You'll see us all in five minutes," and
+he shut the door.
+
+[Illustration: "'KEEP PERFECTLY COOL,' SAID MR. CHIPPERTON."]
+
+But I did not intend to stand there. A good many men were already
+rushing from their rooms and hurrying up the steep stairs that led from
+the rear of the saloon to the deck, and I could hear ladies calling out
+from their rooms as if they were hurrying to get ready to come out. The
+stewardess, a tall colored woman, was just going to one of these ladies,
+who had her head out of the door. I told Rectus to run up on deck, see
+how things were going on, and then to come back to the Chippertons'
+door. Then I ran to our room, jerked the cork life-preservers from under
+the pillows, and came out into the saloon with them. This seemed to
+frighten several persons, who saw me as I came from our room, and they
+rushed back for their life-preservers, generally getting into the wrong
+room, I think. I did not want to help to make a fuss and confusion, but
+I thought it would be a good deal better for us to get the
+life-preservers now, than to wait. If we didn't need them, no harm would
+be done. Some one had turned up several lamps in the saloon, so that we
+could see better. But no one stopped to look much. Everybody, ladies and
+all,--there were not many of these,--hurried on deck. The Chippertons
+were the last to make their appearance. Just as their door opened,
+Rectus ran up to me.
+
+"It's worse than ever!" he said.
+
+"Here!" said I, "take this life-preserver. Have you life-preservers in
+your room?" I asked, quickly, of Mr. Chipperton.
+
+"All right," said he, "we have them on. Keep all together and come on
+deck,--and remember to be perfectly cool."
+
+He went ahead with Mrs. Chipperton, and Rectus and I followed, one on
+each side of Corny. Neither she nor her mother had yet spoken to us; but
+while we were going up the stairs, Corny turned to me, as I came up
+behind her, and said:
+
+"Is it a real fire?"
+
+"Oh, yes," I answered; "but they may put it out."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+THE LIFE-RAFT.
+
+
+When we came out on deck, we saw in a moment that the fire was thought
+to be a serious affair. Men were actually at work at the boats, which
+hung from their davits on each side of the deck, not far from the stern.
+They were getting them ready to be lowered. I must confess that this
+seemed frightful to me. Was there really need of it?
+
+I left our party and ran forward for a moment, to see for myself how
+matters were going. People were hard at work. I could hear the pumps
+going, and there was a great deal of smoke, which was driven back by the
+wind. When I reached the pilot-house and looked down on the hatchway, I
+saw, not only smoke coming up, but every now and then a tongue of flame.
+The hatch was burning away at the edges. There must be a great fire
+under it, I thought.
+
+Just then the captain came rushing up from below. I caught hold of him.
+
+"Is there danger?" I said. "What's to be done?"
+
+He stopped for a moment.
+
+"We must all save ourselves," he said, hurriedly. "I am going to the
+passengers. We can't save the ship. She's all afire below." And then he
+ran on.
+
+When I got back to our group, I told them what the captain had said, and
+we all instantly moved toward the boat nearest to us. Rectus told me to
+put on my life-preserver, and he helped me fasten it. I had forgotten
+that I had it under my arm. Most of the passengers were at our boat, but
+the captain took some of them over to the other side of the deck.
+
+[Illustration: "RECTUS HELPED ME TO FASTEN THE LIFE-PRESERVER."]
+
+When our boat was ready, there was a great scramble and rush for it.
+Most of the ladies were to get into this boat, and some of the officers
+held back the men who were crowding forward. Among the others held back
+were Rectus and I, and as Corny was between us, she was pushed back,
+too. I do not know how the boat got to the water, nor when she started
+down. The vessel pitched and tossed; we could not see well, for the
+smoke came in thick puffs over us, and I did not know that the boat was
+really afloat until a wave lifted it up by the side of the vessel where
+we stood, and I heard Mr. Chipperton call for Corny. I could see him in
+the stern of the boat, which was full of people.
+
+"Here she is!" I yelled.
+
+"Here I am, father!" cried Corny, and she ran from us to the railing.
+
+"Lower her down," said Mr. Chipperton, from below. He did not seem
+flurried at all, but I saw that no time was to be lost, for a man was
+trying to cut or untie a rope which still held the boat to the steamer.
+Then she would be off. There was a light line on the deck near me--I
+had caught my foot in it, a minute before. It was strong enough to hold
+Corny. I got hold of one end of it and tied it around her, under her
+arms. She had a great shawl, as well as a life-preserver, tied around
+her, and looked dreadfully bundled up.
+
+She did not say a word, but let Rectus and me do as we chose, and we got
+her over the railing in no time. I braced myself against the seat that
+ran around the deck, and lowered. Rectus leaned over and directed,
+holding on to the line as well. I felt strong enough to hold two of her,
+with the rope running over the rail. I let her go down pretty fast, for
+I was afraid the boat would be off; but directly Rectus called to me to
+stop.
+
+"The boat isn't under her," he cried. "They've pushed off. Haul up a
+little! A wave nearly took her, just then!"
+
+With that, we hauled her up a little, and almost at the same moment I
+saw the boat rising on a wave. By that time, it was an oar's length from
+the ship.
+
+"They say they can't pull back," shouted Mr. Chipperton. "Don't let her
+down any further."
+
+"All right!" I roared back at him. "We'll bring her in another boat,"
+and I began to pull up with all my might.
+
+Rectus took hold of the rope with me, and we soon had Corny on deck. She
+ran to the stern and held out her arms to the boat.
+
+"Oh, father!" she cried. "Wait for me!"
+
+I saw Mr. Chipperton violently addressing the men in the boat, but they
+had put out their oars and were beginning to pull away. I knew they
+would not come back, especially as they knew, of course, that there were
+other boats on board. Then Mr. Chipperton stood up again, put his hands
+to his mouth, and shouted back to us:
+
+"Bring her--right after us. If we get--parted--meet--at Savannah!"
+
+He was certainly one of the coolest men in the world. To think--at such
+a time--of appointing a place to meet! And yet it was a good idea. I
+believe he expected the men in his boat to row directly to the Florida
+coast, where they would find quick dispatch to Savannah.
+
+Poor Corny was disconsolate, and cried bitterly. I think I heard her
+mother call back to her, but I am not sure about it. There was so much
+to see and hear. And yet I had been so busy with what I had had to do
+that I had seen comparatively little of what was going on around me.
+
+One thing, however, I had noticed, and it impressed me deeply even at
+the time. There was none of the wailing and screaming and praying that I
+had supposed was always to be seen and heard at such dreadful times as
+this. People seemed to know that there were certain things that they had
+to do if they wanted to save themselves, and they went right to work and
+did them. And the principal thing was to get off that ship without any
+loss of time. Of course, it was not pleasant to be in a small boat,
+pitching about on those great waves, but almost anywhere was a better
+place than a ship on fire. I heard a lady scream once or twice, but I
+don't think there was much of that sort of thing. However, there might
+have been more of it than I thought. I was driving away at my own
+business.
+
+The moment I heard the last word from Mr. Chipperton, I rushed to the
+other side of the deck, dragging Corny along with me. But the boat was
+gone from there.
+
+I could see them pulling away some distance from the ship. It was easy
+to see things now, for the fire was blazing up in front. I think the
+vessel had been put around, for she rolled a good deal, and the smoke
+was not coming back over us.
+
+I untied the line from Corny, and stood for a moment looking about me.
+There seemed to be no one aft but us three. We had missed both boats.
+Mr. Chipperton had helped his wife into the boat, and had expected to
+turn round and take Corny. No doubt he had told the men to be perfectly
+cool, and not to hurry. And while we were shouting to him and lowering
+Corny, the other boat had put off.
+
+There was a little crowd of men amidships, hard at work at something. We
+ran there. They were launching the life-raft. The captain was among
+them.
+
+"Are there no more boats?" I shouted.
+
+He turned his head.
+
+"What! A girl left?" he cried. "No. The fire has cut off the other
+boats. We must all get on the raft. Stand by with the girl, and I'll see
+you safe."
+
+The life-raft was a big affair that Rectus and I had often examined. It
+had two long, air-tight cylinders, of iron, I suppose, kept apart by a
+wide framework. On this framework, between the cylinders, canvas was
+stretched, and on this the passengers were to sit. Of course it would be
+impossible to sink a thing like this.
+
+In a very short time, the raft was lifted to the side of the vessel and
+pushed overboard. It was bound to come right side up. And as soon as it
+was afloat, the men began to drop down on it. The captain had hold of a
+line that was fastened to it, and I think one of the mates had another
+line.
+
+"Get down! Get down!" cried the captain to us.
+
+I told Rectus to jump first, as the vessel rolled that way, and he
+landed all right, and stood up as well as he could to catch Corny. Over
+she went at the next roll, with a good send from me, and I came right
+after her. I heard the captain shout:
+
+"All hands aboard the raft!" and then, in a minute, he jumped himself.
+Some of the men pushed her off with a pole. It was almost like floating
+right on the surface of the water, but I felt it was perfectly safe.
+Nothing could make those great cylinders sink. We floated away from the
+ship, and we were all glad enough of it, for the air was getting hot.
+The whole front part of the vessel was blazing away like a house on
+fire. I don't remember whether the engines were still working or not,
+but at any rate we drifted astern, and were soon at quite a little
+distance from the steamer.
+
+It was safe enough, perhaps, on the raft, but it was not in the least
+comfortable. We were all crowded together, crouching on the canvas, and
+the water just swashed about us as if we were floating boards. We went
+up and down on the waves with a motion that wouldn't have been so bad
+had we not thought we might be shuffled off, if a big wave turned us
+over a little too much. But there were lots of things to hold on to, and
+we all stuck close together. We three were in the middle. The captain
+told us to get there. There is no way of telling how glad I was that the
+captain was with us. I was well satisfied, anyway, to be with the party
+on the raft. I might have liked it better in a boat, but I think most of
+the men in the boats were waiters, or stewards, or passengers--fellows
+who were in a hurry to get off. The officers and sailors who remained
+behind to do their best for the ship and the passengers were the men on
+the raft; and these I felt we could trust. I think there were ten of
+them, besides the captain, making fourteen of us in all.
+
+There we all sat, while the ship blazed and crackled away, before us.
+She drifted faster than we did, and so got farther and farther away from
+us. The fire lighted up the sea for a good distance, and every time we
+rose on the top of a wave, some of us looked about to see if we could
+see anything of the other boats. But we saw nothing of them. Once I
+caught sight of a black spot on a high wave at quite a distance, which I
+thought might be a boat, but no one else saw it, and it was gone in an
+instant. The captain said it made no real difference to us whether we
+saw the other boats or not; they could not help us. All the help we had
+to expect was from some passing ship, which might see us, and pick us
+up. He was very encouraging, though, about this, for he said we were
+right in the track of vessels bound North, which all sought the Gulf
+Stream; and, besides, a burning ship at night would attract the
+attention of vessels at a great distance, and some of them would be sure
+to make for us.
+
+"We'll see a sail in the morning," said he; "make up your minds to that.
+All we've got to do is to stick together on the raft, and we're almost
+sure to be picked up."
+
+I think he said things like this to give courage to us three, but I
+don't believe we needed it, particularly. Rectus was very quiet, but I
+think that if he could have kept himself dry he would have been pretty
+well satisfied to float until daylight, for he had full faith in the
+captain, and was sure we should be picked up. I was pretty much of the
+same mind, but poor Corny was in a sad way. It was no comfort to her to
+tell her that we should be picked up, unless she could be assured that
+the same ship would pick up her father and mother. But we could say
+nothing positive about this, of course, although we did all that we
+could, in a general way, to make her feel that everything would turn out
+all right. She sat wrapped up in her shawl, and seldom said a word. But
+her eyes were wandering all over the waves, looking for a boat.
+
+The ship was now quite a long way off, still burning, and lighting up
+the tops of the waves and the sky. Just before day-break, her light
+suddenly went out.
+
+"She's gone down!" said the captain, and then he said no more for a long
+time. I felt very sorry for him. Even if he should be saved, he had lost
+his ship,--had seen it burn up and sink before his eyes. Such a thing
+must be pretty hard on a captain. Even I felt as if I had lost a friend.
+The old "Tigris" seemed so well known to us.
+
+It was now more dismal than ever. It was darker; and although the
+burning ship could do us no good, we were sorry to have her leave us.
+Nobody said much, but we all began to feel pretty badly. Morning came
+slowly, and we were wet and cold, and getting stiff. Besides, we were
+all very thirsty, and I, for one, was hungry; but there was no good
+reason for that, for it was not yet breakfast-time. Fortunately, after a
+while, Corny went to sleep. We were very glad of it, though how she
+managed to sleep while the raft was rising and falling and sliding and
+sloshing from one wave to another, I can't tell. But she didn't have
+much holding on to do. We did that for her.
+
+At last daylight came, and then we began to look about in good earnest.
+We saw a top-sail off on the horizon, but it was too far for our raft to
+be seen from it, and it might be coming our way or it might not. When we
+were down in the trough of the waves we could see nothing, and no one
+could have seen us. It was of no use to put up a signal, the captain
+said, until we saw a vessel near enough to see it.
+
+We waited, and we waited, and waited, until it was well on in the
+morning, and still we saw no other sail. The one we had seen had
+disappeared entirely.
+
+We all began to feel miserable now. We were weak and cold and wretched.
+There wasn't a thing to eat or drink on the raft. The fire had given no
+time to get anything. Some of the men began to grumble. It would have
+been better, they said, to have started off as soon as they found out
+the fire, and have had time to put something to eat and drink on the
+raft. It was all wasted time to try to save the ship. It did no good,
+after all. The captain said nothing to this. He knew that he had done
+his duty in trying to put out the fire, and he just kept his mouth shut,
+and looked out for a sail. There was one man with us--a red-faced,
+yellow-haired man--with a curly beard, and little gold rings in his
+ears. He looked more like a sailor than any other of the men, and Rectus
+and I always put him down for the sailor who had been longer at sea, and
+knew more about ships and sailing, than any other of the crew. But this
+man was the worst grumbler of the lot, now, and we altered our opinion
+about him.
+
+Corny woke up every now and then, but she soon went to sleep again, when
+she found there was no boat or sail in sight. At least, I thought she
+went to sleep, but she might have been thinking and crying. She was so
+crouched up that we could not see whether she was awake or not.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+THE RUSSIAN BARK.
+
+
+We soon began to think the captain was mistaken in saying there would be
+lots of ships coming this way. But then, we couldn't see very far. Ships
+may have passed within a few miles of us, without our knowing anything
+about it. It was very different from being high up on a ship's deck, or
+in her rigging. Sometimes, though, we seemed high enough up, when we got
+on the top of a wave.
+
+It was fully noon before we saw another sail. And when we saw this one
+for the second or third time (for we only caught a glimpse of it every
+now and then), a big man, who had been sitting on the edge of the raft,
+and hardly ever saying a word, sung out:
+
+"I believe that's a Russian bark."
+
+And after he had had two or three more sights at her, he said:
+
+"Yes, I know she is."
+
+"That's so," said the captain; "and she's bearing down on us."
+
+Now, how in the world they knew what sort of a ship that was, and which
+way it was sailing, I couldn't tell for the life of me. To me it was a
+little squarish spot on the lower edge of the sky, and I have always
+thought that I could see well enough. But these sailors have eyes like
+spy-glasses.
+
+Now, then, we were all alive, and began to get ready to put up a signal.
+Fortunately, the pole was on the raft,--I believe the captain had it
+fastened on, thinking we might want it,--and now all we had to do was to
+make a flag. We three got out our handkerchiefs, which were wet, but
+white enough yet, and the captain took out his. We tied them together by
+the corners, and made a long pennant of them. When we tied one end of
+this to the pole, it made quite a show. The wind soon dried it, after
+the pole was hoisted and held up, and then our flag fluttered finely.
+
+The sun had now come out quite bright and warm, which was a good thing
+for us, for it dried us off somewhat, and made us more comfortable. The
+wind had also gone down a good deal. If it had not been for these two
+things, I don't know how we could have stood it. But the waves were
+still very high.
+
+Every time we saw the ship, she seemed to look bigger and bigger, and we
+knew that the captain was right, and that she was making for us. But she
+was a long time coming. Even after she got so near that we could plainly
+see her hull and masts and sails, she did not seem to be sailing
+directly toward us. Indeed, sometimes I thought she didn't notice us.
+She would go far off one way, and then off the other way.
+
+"Oh, why don't she come right to us?" cried Corny, beating her hands on
+her knees. "She isn't as near now as she was half an hour ago."
+
+This was the first time that Corny had let herself out in this way, but
+I don't wonder she did it. The captain explained that the ship couldn't
+sail right to us, because the wind was not in the proper direction for
+that. She had to tack. If she had been a steamer, the case would have
+been different. We all sat and waited, and waved our flag.
+
+She came nearer and nearer, and it was soon plain enough that she saw
+us. The captain told us that it was all right now--all we had to do was
+to keep up our courage, and we'd soon be on board the bark. But when the
+men who were holding the pole let it down, he told them to put it up
+again. He wanted to make sure they should see us.
+
+At last, the bark came so near that we could see the people on board,
+but still she went past us. This was the hardest to bear of all, for she
+seemed so near. But when she tacked and came back, she sailed right down
+to us. We could see her all the time now, whether we were up or down.
+
+"She'll take us this time," said the captain.
+
+I supposed that when the ship came near us she would stop and lower a
+boat, but there seemed to be no intention of the kind. A group of men
+stood in her bow, and I saw that one of them held a round life-preserver
+in his hand,--it was one of the India-rubber kind, filled with air, and
+to it a line was attached. When the ship was just opposite to us, this
+man shouted something which I did not hear, and threw the
+life-preserver. It fell close to the raft. I thought, indeed, it was
+coming right into the midst of us. The red-faced man with the gold
+ear-rings was nearest to it. He made a grab at it, and missed it. On
+went the ship, and on went the life-preserver, skipping and dancing over
+the waves. They let out lots of line, but still the life-preserver was
+towed away.
+
+A regular howl went up from our raft. I thought some of the men would
+jump into the sea and swim after the ship, which was now rapidly leaving
+us. We heard a shout from the vessel, but what it meant I did not know.
+On she went, and on, as if she was never coming back.
+
+"She'll come back," said the captain. "She'll tack again."
+
+But it was hard to believe him. I don't know whether he believed
+himself. Corny was wildly crying now, and Rectus was as white as a
+sheet. No one seemed to have any hope or self-control except the
+captain. Some of the men looked as if they did not care whether the ship
+ever came back or not.
+
+"The sea is too high," said one of them. "She'd swamp a boat, if she'd
+put it out."
+
+"Just you wait!" said the captain.
+
+The bark sailed away so far that I shut my eyes. I could not look after
+her any more. Then, as we rose on the top of a wave, I heard a rumble of
+words among the men, and I looked out, and saw she was tacking. Before
+long, she was sailing straight back to us, and the most dreadful moments
+of my life were ended. I had really not believed that she would ever
+return to us.
+
+Again she came plowing along before us, the same group on her bow; again
+the life-preserver was thrown, and this time the captain seized it.
+
+In a moment the line was made fast to the raft. But there was no sudden
+tug. The men on the bark knew better than that. They let out some two or
+three hundred feet of line and lay to, with their sails fluttering in
+the wind.
+
+Then they began to haul us in. I don't remember much more of what
+happened just about this time. It was all a daze of high black hull and
+tossing waves, and men overhead, and ropes coming down, and seeing Corny
+hauled up into the air. After a while, I was hauled up, and Rectus went
+before me. I was told afterward that some of the stoutest men could
+scarcely help themselves, they were so cramped and stiff, and had to be
+hoisted on board like sheep.
+
+I know that when I put my feet on the deck, my knees were so stiff that
+I could not stand. Two women had Corny between them, and were carrying
+her below. I was so delighted to see that there were women on board.
+Rectus and I were carried below, too, and three or four rough looking
+fellows, who didn't speak a word that we could understand, set to work
+at us and took off our clothes, and rubbed us with warm stuff, and gave
+us some hot tea and gruel, and I don't know what else, and put us into
+hammocks, and stuffed blankets around us, and made me feel warmer, and
+happier, and more grateful and sleepy than I thought it was in me to
+feel. I expect Rectus felt the same. In about five minutes, I was fast
+asleep.
+
+I don't know how long it was before I woke up. When I opened my eyes, I
+just lay and looked about me. I did not care for times and seasons. I
+knew I was all right. I wondered when they would come around again with
+gruel. I had an idea they lived on gruel in that ship, and I remembered
+that it was very good. After a while, a man did come around, and he
+looked into my hammock. I think from his cap that he was an
+officer,--probably a doctor. When he saw that I was awake, he said
+something to me. I had seen some Russian words in print, and the letters
+all seemed upside down, or lying sideways on the page. And that was
+about the way he spoke. But he went and got me a cup of tea, and some
+soup, and some bread, and I understood his food very well.
+
+After a while, our captain came around to my hammock. He looked a great
+deal better than when I saw him last, and said he had had a good sleep.
+He told me that Corny was all right, and was sleeping again, and that
+the mate's wife had her in charge. Rectus was in a hammock near me, and
+I could hear him snore, as if he were perfectly happy. The captain said
+that these Russian people were just as kind as they could be; that the
+master of the bark, who could speak English, had put his vessel under
+his--our captain's--command, and told him to cruise around wherever he
+chose in search of the two boats.
+
+"And did you find them?" I asked.
+
+"No," said he. "We have been on the search now for twenty-four hours,
+and can see nothing of them. But I feel quite sure they have been picked
+up. They could row, and they could get further into the course of
+vessels than we were. We'll find them when we get ashore."
+
+The captain was a hopeful man, but I could not feel as cheerfully as he
+spoke. All that I could say was: "Poor Corny!"
+
+He did not answer me, but went away; and soon, in spite of all my doubts
+and fears, I fell asleep.
+
+The next time I woke up, I got out of my hammock, and found I was pretty
+much all right. My clothes had been dried and ironed, I reckon, and were
+lying on a chest all ready for me. While Rectus and I were dressing, for
+he got up at the same time that I did, our captain came to us, and
+brought me a little package of greenbacks.
+
+"The master of the bark gave me these," said the captain, "and said they
+were pinned in your watch-pocket. He has had them dried and pressed out
+for you."
+
+There it was, all the money belonging to Rectus and myself, which,
+according to old Mr. Colbert's advice, I had carefully pinned in the
+watch-pocket of my trousers before leaving Nassau. I asked the captain
+if we should not pay something for our accommodations on this vessel,
+but he said we must not mention anything of the kind. The people on the
+ship would not listen to it. Even our watches seemed to have suffered
+no damage from the soaking they had had in our wet clothes.
+
+As soon as we were ready, we went up on deck, and there we saw Corny.
+She was sitting by herself near the stern, and looked like a different
+kind of a girl from what she had been two or three days before. She
+seemed several years older.
+
+"Do you really think the other boats were picked up?" she said, the
+moment she saw us.
+
+Poor thing! She began to cry as soon as she began to speak. Of course,
+we sat down and talked to her, and said everything we could think of to
+reassure her. And in about half an hour she began to be much more
+cheerful, and to look as if the world might have something satisfactory
+in it after all.
+
+Our captain and the master of the bark now came to us. The Russian
+master was a pleasant man, and talked pretty good English. I think he
+was glad to see us, but what we said in the way of thanks embarrassed
+him a good deal. I suppose he had never done much at rescuing people.
+
+He and our captain both told us that they felt quite sure that the boats
+had either reached the Florida coast or been picked up; for we had
+cruised very thoroughly over the course they must have taken. We were a
+little north of Cape Canaveral when the "Tigris" took fire.
+
+About sundown that day, we reached the mouth of the Savannah river and
+went on board a tug to go up to the city, while our bark would proceed
+on her voyage. There were fourteen grateful people who went down the
+side of that Russian bark to the little tug that we had signalled; and
+some of us, I know, were sorry we could not speak Russian, so we could
+tell our rescuers more plainly what we thought of them.
+
+When we reached Savannah, we went directly to the hotel where Rectus and
+I had stopped on our former visit, and there we found ourselves the
+objects of great attention,--I don't mean we three particularly, but the
+captain and all of us. We brought the news of the burning of the
+"Tigris," and so we immediately knew that nothing had been heard of the
+two boats. Corny was taken in charge by some of the ladies in the hotel,
+and Rectus and I told the story of the burning and the raft twenty or
+thirty times. The news created a great sensation, and was telegraphed to
+all parts of the country. The United States government sent a revenue
+cutter from Charleston, and one from St. Augustine, to cruise along the
+coast, and endeavor to find some traces of the survivors, if there were
+any.
+
+But two days passed and no news came. We thought Corny would go crazy.
+
+"I know they're dead," she said. "If they were alive, anywhere, we'd
+hear from them."
+
+But we would not admit that, and tried, in every way, to prove that the
+people in the boats might have landed somewhere where they could not
+communicate with us, or might have been picked up by a vessel which had
+carried them to South America, or Europe, or some other distant place.
+
+"Well, why don't we go look for them, then, if there's any chance of
+their being on some desert island? It's dreadful to sit here and wait,
+and wait, and do nothing."
+
+Now I began to see the good of being rich. Rectus came to me, soon after
+Corny had been talking about going to look for her father and mother,
+and he said:
+
+"Look here, Will,"--he had begun to call me "Will," of late, probably
+because Corny called me so,--"I think it _is_ too bad that we should
+just sit here and do nothing. I spoke to Mr. Parker about it, and he
+says, we can get a tug-boat, he thinks, and go out and do what looking
+we can. If it eases our minds, he says, there's no objection to it. So
+I'm going to telegraph to father to let me hire a tug-boat."
+
+I thought this was a first-class idea, and we went to see Messrs. Parker
+and Darrell, who were merchants in the city, and the owners of the
+"Tigris." They had been very kind to us, and told us now that they did
+not suppose it would do any real good for us to go out in a tug-boat and
+search along the coast, but that if we thought it would help the poor
+girl to bear her trouble they were in favor of the plan. They were
+really afraid she would lose her reason if she did not do something.
+
+Corny was now staying at Mr. Darrell's house. His wife, who was a
+tip-top lady, insisted that she should come there. When we went around
+to talk to Corny about making a search, she said that that was exactly
+what she wanted to do. If we would take her out to look for her father
+and mother, and we couldn't find them after we had looked all we could,
+she would come back, and ask nothing more.
+
+Then we determined to go. We hadn't thought of taking Corny along, but
+Mr. Darrell and the others thought it would be best; and Mrs. Darrell
+said her own colored woman, named Celia, should go with her, and take
+care of her. I could not do anything but agree to things, but Rectus
+telegraphed to his father, and got authority to hire a tug; and Mr.
+Parker attended to the business himself; and the tug was to be ready
+early the next morning. We thought this was a long time to wait. But it
+couldn't be helped.
+
+I forgot to say that Rectus and I had telegraphed home to our parents as
+soon as we reached Savannah, and had answers back, which were very long
+ones for telegrams. We had also written home. But we did not say
+anything to Corny about all this. It would have broken her heart if she
+had thought about any one writing to his father and mother, and hearing
+from them.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI.
+
+THE TRIP OF THE TUG.
+
+
+The tug-boat was a little thing, and not very clean; but she was strong
+and sea-worthy, we were told, and therefore we were satisfied. There was
+a small deck aft, on which Corny and Rectus and I sat, with Celia, the
+colored woman; and there were some dingy little sleeping-places, which
+were given up for our benefit. The captain of the tug was a white man,
+but all the rest, engineer, fireman and hands--there were five or six in
+all--were negroes.
+
+We steamed down the Savannah River in pretty good style, but I was glad
+when we got out of it, for I was tired of that river. Our plan was to go
+down the coast and try to find tidings of the boats. They might have
+reached land at points where the revenue cutters would never have heard
+from them. When we got out to sea, the water was quite smooth, although
+there was a swell that rolled us a great deal. The captain said that if
+it had been rough he would not have come out at all. This sounded rather
+badly for us, because he might give up the search, if a little storm
+came on. And besides, if he was afraid of high waves in his tug, what
+chance could those boats have had?
+
+Toward noon, we got into water that was quite smooth, and we could see
+land on the ocean side of us. I couldn't understand this, and went to
+ask the captain about it. He said it was all right, we were going to
+take the inside passage, which is formed by the islands that lie along
+nearly all the coast of Georgia. The strips of sea-water between these
+islands and the mainland make a smooth and convenient passage for the
+smaller vessels that sail or steam along this coast. Indeed, some quite
+good-sized steamers go this way, he said.
+
+I objected, pretty strongly, to our taking this passage, because, I
+said, we could never hear anything of the boats while we were in here.
+But he was positive that if they had managed to land on the outside of
+any of these islands, we could hear of them better from the inside than
+from the ocean side. And besides, we could get along a great deal better
+inside. He seemed to think more of that than anything else.
+
+We had a pretty dull time on that tug. There wasn't a great deal of
+talking, but there was lots of thinking, and not a very pleasant kind of
+thinking either. We stopped quite often and hailed small boats, and the
+captain talked to people whenever he had a chance, but he never heard
+anything about any boats having run ashore on any of the islands, or
+having come into the inside passage, between any of them. We met a few
+sailing vessels, and toward the close of the afternoon we met a big
+steamer, something like northern river steamers. The captain said she
+ran between the St. John's River and Savannah, and always took the
+inside passage as far as she could. He said this as if it showed him to
+be in the right in taking the same passage, but I couldn't see that it
+proved anything. We were on a different business.
+
+About nine o'clock we went to bed, the captain promising to call us if
+anything turned up. But I couldn't sleep well--my bunk was too close and
+hot, and so I pretty soon got up and went up to the pilot-house, where I
+found the captain. He and one of the hands were hard at work putting the
+boat around.
+
+"Hello!" said he. "I thought you were sound asleep."
+
+"Hello!" said I. "What are you turning round for?"
+
+It was bright starlight, and I could see that we were making a complete
+circuit in the smooth water.
+
+"Well," said he, "we're going back."
+
+"Back!" I cried. "What's the meaning of that? We haven't made half a
+search. I don't believe we've gone a hundred miles. We want to search
+the whole coast, I tell you, to the lower end of Florida."
+
+"You can't do it in this boat," he said; "she's too small."
+
+"Why didn't you say so when we took her?"
+
+"Well, there wasn't any other, in the first place, and besides, it
+wouldn't be no good to go no further. It's more 'n four days, now, since
+them boats set out. There's no chance fur anybody on 'em to be livin'."
+
+"That's not for you to decide," I said, and I was very angry. "We want
+to find our friends, dead or alive, or find some news of them, and we
+want to cruise until we know there's no further chance of doing so."
+
+"Well," said he, ringing the bell to go ahead, sharp, "I'm not decidin'
+anything. I had my orders. I was to be gone twenty-four hours; an' it'll
+be more 'n that by the time I get back."
+
+"Who gave you those orders?"
+
+"Parker and Darrell," said he.
+
+"Then this is all a swindle," I cried. "And we've been cheated into
+taking this trip for nothing at all!"
+
+"No, it isn't a swindle," he answered, rather warmly. "They told me all
+about it. They knew, an' I knew, that it wasn't no use to go looking for
+two boats that had been lowered in a big storm four days ago, 'way down
+on the Florida coast. But they could see that this here girl would never
+give in till she'd had a chance of doin' what she thought she was called
+on to do, and so they agreed to give it to her. But they told me on no
+account to keep her out more 'n twenty-four hours. That would be long
+enough to satisfy her, and longer than that wouldn't be right. I tell
+you they know what they're about."
+
+"Well, it wont be enough to satisfy her," I said, and then I went down
+to the little deck. I couldn't make the man turn back. I thought the tug
+had been hired to go wherever we chose to take her, but I had been
+mistaken. I felt that we had been deceived; but there was no use in
+saying anything more on the subject until we reached the city.
+
+I did not wake Rectus to tell him the news. It would not do any good,
+and I was afraid Corny might hear us. I wanted her to sleep as long as
+she could, and, indeed, I dreaded the moment when she should awake, and
+find that all had been given up.
+
+We steamed along very fast now. There was no stopping anywhere. I sat on
+the deck and thought a little, and dozed a little; and by the time it
+was morning, I found we were in the Savannah River. I now hated this
+river worse than ever.
+
+Everything was quiet on the water, and everything, except the engine,
+was just as quiet on the tug. Rectus and Corny and Celia were still
+asleep, and nobody else seemed stirring, though, of course, some of the
+men were at their posts. I don't think the captain wanted to be about
+when Corny came out on deck, and found that we had given up the search.
+I intended to be with her when she first learned this terrible fact,
+which I knew would put an end to all hope in her heart; but I was in no
+hurry for her to wake up. I very much hoped she would sleep until we
+reached the city, and then we could take her directly to her kind
+friends.
+
+And she did sleep until we reached the city. It was about seven o'clock
+in the morning, I think, when we began to steam slowly by the wharves
+and piers. I now wished the city were twenty miles further on. I knew
+that when we stopped I should have to wake up poor Corny.
+
+The city looked doleful. Although it was not very early in the morning,
+there were very few people about. Some men could be seen on the decks of
+the vessels at the wharves, and a big steamer for one of the northern
+ports was getting up steam. I could not help thinking how happy the
+people must be who were going away in her. On one of the piers near
+where we were going to stop--we were coming in now--were a few darkey
+boys, sitting on a wharf-log, and dangling their bare feet over the
+water. I wondered how they dared laugh, and be so jolly. In a few
+minutes Corny must be wakened. On a post, near these boys, a lounger sat
+fishing with a long pole,--actually fishing away as if there were no
+sorrows and deaths, or shipwrecked or broken-hearted people in the
+world. I was particularly angry at this man--and I was so nervous that
+all sorts of things made me angry--because he was old enough to know
+better, and because he looked like such a fool. He had on green
+trousers, dirty canvas shoes and no stockings, a striped linen coat, and
+an old straw hat, which lopped down over his nose. One of the men called
+to him to catch the line which he was about to throw on the wharf, but
+he paid no attention, and a negro boy came and caught the line. The man
+actually had a bite, and couldn't take his eyes from the cork. I wished
+the line had hit him and knocked him off the post.
+
+The tide was high, and the tug was not much below the wharf when we
+hauled up. Just as we touched the pier, the man, who was a little
+astern of us, caught his fish. He jerked it up, and jumped off his post,
+and, as he looked up in delight at his little fish, which was swinging
+in the air, I saw he was Mr. Chipperton!
+
+I made one dash for Corny's little cubby-hole. I banged at the door. I
+shouted:
+
+"Corny! Here's your father!"
+
+She was out in an instant. She had slept in her clothes. She had no
+bonnet on. She ran out on deck, and looked about, dazed. The sight of
+the wharves and the ships seemed to stun her.
+
+"Where?" she cried.
+
+I took her by the arm and pointed out her father, who still stood
+holding the fishing-pole in one hand, while endeavoring to clutch the
+swinging fish with the other.
+
+The plank had just been thrown out from the little deck. Corny made one
+bound. I think she struck the plank in the middle, like an India-rubber
+ball, and then she was on the wharf; and before he could bring his eyes
+down to the earth, her arms were around her father's neck, and she was
+wildly kissing and hugging him.
+
+Mr. Chipperton was considerably startled, but when he saw who it was who
+had him, he threw his arms around Corny, and hugged and kissed her as if
+he had gone mad.
+
+Rectus was out by this time, and as he and I stood on the tug, we could
+not help laughing, although we were so happy that we could have cried.
+There stood that ridiculous figure, Mr. Chipperton, in his short green
+trousers and his thin striped coat, with his arms around his daughter,
+and the fishing-pole tightly clasped to her back, while the poor little
+fish dangled and bobbed at every fresh hug.
+
+Everybody on board was looking at them, and one of the little black
+boys, who didn't appear to appreciate sentiment, made a dash for the
+fish, unhooked it, and put like a good fellow. This rather broke the
+spell that was on us all, and Rectus and I ran on shore.
+
+We did not ask any questions, we were too glad to see him. After he had
+put Corny on one side, and had shaken our hands wildly with his left
+hand, for his right still held the pole, and had tried to talk and found
+he couldn't, we called a carriage that had just come up, and hustled him
+and Corny into it. I took the pole from his hand, and asked him where he
+would go to. He called out the name of the hotel where we were staying,
+and I shut the door, and sent them off. I did not ask a word about
+Corny's mother, for I knew Mr. Chipperton would not be sitting on a post
+and fishing if his wife was dead.
+
+I threw the pole and line away, and then Rectus and I walked up to the
+hotel. We forgot all about Celia, who was left to go home when she
+chose.
+
+It was some hours before we saw the Chippertons, and then we were called
+into their room, where there was a talking and a telling things, such as
+I never heard before.
+
+It was some time before I could get Mr. and Mrs. Chipperton's story
+straight, but this was about the amount of it: They were picked up
+sooner than we were--just after day-break. When they left the ship, they
+rowed as hard as they could, for several hours, and so got a good
+distance from us. It was well they met with a vessel as soon as they
+did, for all the women who had been on the steamer were in this boat,
+and they had a hard time of it. The water dashed over them very often,
+and Mr. Chipperton thought that some of them could not have held out
+much longer (I wondered what they would have done on our raft).
+
+The vessel that picked them up was a coasting schooner bound to one of
+the Florida Keys, and she wouldn't put back with them, for she was under
+some sort of a contract, and kept right straight on her way. When they
+got down there, they chartered a vessel which brought them up to
+Fernandina, where they took the steamer for Savannah. They were on the
+very steamer we passed in the inside passage. If we had only known that!
+
+They telegraphed the moment they reached Fernandina, and proposed
+stopping at St. Augustine, but it was thought they could make better
+time by keeping right on to Fernandina. The telegram reached Savannah
+after we had left on the tug.
+
+Mr. Chipperton said he got his fancy clothes on board the schooner. He
+bought them of a man--a passenger, I believe--who had an extra suit.
+
+"I think," said Mr. Chipperton, "he was the only man on that mean little
+vessel who had two suits of clothes. I don't know whether these were his
+weekday or his Sunday clothes. As for my own, they were so wet that I
+took them off the moment I got on board the schooner, and I never saw
+them again. I don't know what became of them, and, to tell the truth, I
+haven't thought of 'em. I was too glad to get started for Savannah,
+where I knew we'd meet Corny, if she was alive. You see, I trusted in
+you boys."
+
+Just here, Mrs. Chipperton kissed us both again. This made several times
+that she had done it. We didn't care so much, as there was no one there
+but ourselves and the Chippertons.
+
+"When we got here, and found you had gone to look for us, I wanted to
+get another tug and go right after you, but my wife was a good deal
+shaken up, and I did not want to leave her; and Parker and Darrell said
+they had given positive orders to have you brought back this morning, so
+I waited. I was only too glad to know you were all safe. I got up early
+in the morning, and went down to watch for you. You must have been
+surprised to see me fishing, but I had nothing else to do, and so I
+hired a pole and line of a boy. It helped very much to pass the time
+away."
+
+"Yes," said Rectus, "you didn't notice us at all, you were so much
+interested."
+
+"Well, you see," said Mr. Chipperton, "I had a bite just at that minute;
+and, besides, I really did not look for you on such a little boat. I had
+an idea you would come on something more respectable than that."
+
+"As if we should ever think of respectability at such a time!" said Mrs.
+Chipperton, with tears in her eyes.
+
+"As for you boys," said Mr. Chipperton, getting up and taking us each by
+the hand, "I don't know what to say to you."
+
+I thought, for my part, that they had all said enough already. They had
+praised and thanked us for things we had never thought of.
+
+"I almost wish you were orphans," he continued, "so that I might adopt
+you. But a boy can't have more than one father. However, I tell you! a
+boy can have as many uncles as he pleases. I'll be an uncle to each of
+you as long as I live. Ever after this call me Uncle Chipperton. Do you
+hear that?"
+
+We heard, and said we'd do it.
+
+Soon after this, lots of people came in, and the whole thing was gone
+over again and again. I am sorry to say that, at one or two places in
+the story, Mrs. Chipperton kissed us both again.
+
+Before we went down to dinner, I asked Uncle Chipperton how his lung had
+stood it, through all this exposure.
+
+"Oh, bother the lung!" he said. "I tell you; boys, I've lost faith in
+that lung,--at least, in there being anything the matter with it. I
+shall travel for it no more."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII.
+
+LOOKING AHEAD.
+
+
+"We have made up our minds," said Uncle Chipperton, that afternoon, "to
+go home and settle down, and let Corny go to school. I hate to send her
+away from us, but it will be for her good. But that wont be until next
+fall. We'll keep her until then. And now, I'll tell you what I think
+we'd all better do. It's too soon to go North yet. No one should go from
+the soft climate of the semi-tropics to the Northern or Middle States
+until mild weather has fairly set in there. And that will not happen for
+a month yet.
+
+"Now, this is my plan. Let us all take a leisurely trip homeward by the
+way of Mobile, and New Orleans and the Mississippi River. This will be
+just the season, and we shall be just the party. What do you say?"
+
+Everybody, but me, said it would be splendid. I had exactly the same
+idea about it, but I didn't say so, for there was no use in it. I
+couldn't go on a trip like that. I had been counting up my money that
+morning, and found I would have to shave pretty closely to get home by
+rail,--and I wanted, very much, to go that way--although it would be
+cheaper to return by sea,--for I had a great desire to go through North
+and South Carolina and Virginia, and see Washington. It would have
+seemed like a shame to go back by sea, and miss all this. But, as I
+said, I had barely enough money for this trip, and to make it I must
+start the next day. And there was no use writing home for money. I knew
+there was none there to spare, and I wouldn't have asked for it if there
+had been. If there was any travelling money, some of the others ought to
+have it. I had had my share.
+
+It was very different with Rectus and the Chippertons. They could afford
+to take this trip, and there was no reason why they shouldn't take it.
+
+When I told them this, Uncle Chipperton flashed up in a minute, and said
+that that was all stuff and nonsense,--the trip shouldn't cost me a
+cent. What was the sense, he said, of thinking of a few dollars when
+such pleasure was in view? He would see that I had no money-troubles,
+and if that was all, I could go just as well as not. Didn't he owe me
+thousands of dollars?
+
+All this was very kind, but it didn't suit me. I knew that he did not
+owe me a cent, for if I had done anything for him, I made no charge for
+it. And even if I had been willing to let him pay my expenses,--which I
+wasn't,--my father would never have listened to it.
+
+So I thanked him, but told him the thing couldn't be worked in that
+way, and I said it over and over again, until, at last, he believed it.
+Then he offered to lend me the money necessary, but this offer I had to
+decline, too. As I had no way of paying it back, I might as well have
+taken it as a gift. There wasn't anything he could offer, after this,
+except to get me a free pass; and as he had no way of doing that, he
+gave up the job, and we all went down to supper. That evening, as I was
+putting a few things into a small valise which I had bought,--as our
+trunks were lost on the "Tigris," I had very little trouble in packing
+up,--I said to Rectus that by the time he started off he could lay in a
+new stock of clothes. I had made out our accounts, and had his money
+ready to hand over to him, but I knew that his father had arranged for
+him to draw on a Savannah bank, both for the tug-boat money and for
+money for himself. I think that Mr. Colbert would have authorized me to
+do this drawing, if Rectus had not taken the matter into his own hands
+when he telegraphed. But it didn't matter, and there wasn't any tug-boat
+money to pay, any way, for Uncle Chipperton paid that. He said it had
+all been done for his daughter, and he put his foot down hard, and
+wouldn't let Rectus hand over a cent.
+
+"I wont have any more time than you will have," replied Rectus, "for I'm
+going to-morrow."
+
+"I didn't suppose they'd start so soon," I said "I'm sure there's no
+need of any hurry."
+
+"I'm not going with them," said Rectus, putting a lonely shirt into a
+trunk that he had bought. "I'm going home with you."
+
+I was so surprised at this that I just stared at him.
+
+"What do you mean?" said I.
+
+"Mean?" said he. "Why, just what I say. Do you suppose I'd go off with
+them, and let you straggle up home by yourself? Not any for me, thank
+you. And besides, I thought you were to take charge of me. How would you
+look going back and saying you'd turned me over to another party?"
+
+[Illustration: "YOU'RE A REGULAR YOUNG TRUMP."]
+
+"You thought I was to take charge of you, did you?" I cried. "Well,
+you're a long time saying so. You never admitted that before."
+
+"I had better sense than that," said Rectus, with a grin. "But I don't
+mind saying so now, as we're pretty near through with our travels. But
+father told me expressly that I was to consider myself in your charge."
+
+"You young rascal!" said I. "And he thought that you understood it so
+well that there was no need of saying much to me about it. All that he
+said expressly to me was about taking care of your money. But I tell you
+what it is, Rectus, you're a regular young trump to give up that trip,
+and go along with me."
+
+And I gave him a good slap on the back.
+
+He winced at this, and let drive a pillow at me, so hard that it nearly
+knocked me over a chair.
+
+The next morning, after an early breakfast, we went to bid the
+Chippertons good-bye. We intended to walk to the d�p�t, and so wanted to
+start early. I was now cutting down all extra expenses.
+
+"Ready so soon!" cried Uncle Chipperton, appearing at the door of his
+room. "Why, we haven't had our breakfast yet."
+
+"We have to make an early start, if we go by the morning train," said I,
+"and we wanted to see you all before we started."
+
+"Glad to see you at any hour of the night or day,--always very glad to
+see you; but I think we had better be getting our breakfast, if the
+train goes so early."
+
+"Are you going to start to-day?" I asked, in surprise.
+
+"Certainly," said he. "Why shouldn't we? I bought a new suit of clothes
+yesterday, and my wife and Corny look well enough for travelling
+purposes. We can start as well as not, and I'd go in my green trousers
+if I hadn't any others. My dear," he said, looking into the room, "you
+and Corny must come right down to breakfast."
+
+"But perhaps you need not hurry," I said. "I don't know when the train
+for Mobile starts."
+
+"Mobile!" he cried. "Who's going to Mobile? Do you suppose that _we_
+are? Not a bit of it. When I proposed that trip, I didn't propose it for
+Mrs. Chipperton, or Corny, or myself, or you, or Rectus, or Tom, or
+Dick, or Harry. I proposed it for all of us. If all of us cannot go,
+none of us can. If you must go north this morning, so must we. We've
+nothing to pack, and that's a comfort. Nine o'clock, did you say? You
+may go on to the d�p�t, if you like, and we'll eat our breakfasts, take
+a carriage, and be there in time."
+
+They were there in time, and we all went north together.
+
+We had a jolly trip. We saw Charleston, and Richmond, and Washington,
+and Baltimore, and Philadelphia; and at last we saw Jersey City, and our
+folks waiting for us in the great d�p�t of the Pennsylvania railroad.
+
+When I saw my father and mother and my sister Helen standing there on
+the stone foot-walk, as the cars rolled in, I was amazed. I hadn't
+expected them. It was all right enough for Rectus to expect his father
+and mother, for they lived in New York, but I had supposed that I should
+meet my folks at the station in Willisville. But it was a capital idea
+in them to come to New York. They said they couldn't wait at home, and
+besides, they wanted to see and know the Chippertons, for we all seemed
+so bound together, now.
+
+Well, it wasn't hard to know the Chippertons. Before we reached the
+hotel where my folks were staying, and where we all went to take
+luncheon together, any one would have thought that Uncle Chipperton was
+really a born brother to father and old Mr. Colbert. How he did talk!
+How everybody talked! Except Helen. She just sat and listened and looked
+at Corny--a girl who had been shipwrecked, and had been on a little raft
+in the midst of the stormy billows. My mother and the two other ladies
+cried a good deal, but it was a sunshiny sort of crying, and wouldn't
+have happened so often, I think, if Mrs. Chipperton had not been so
+ready to lead off.
+
+After luncheon we sat for two or three hours in one of the parlors, and
+talked, and talked, and talked. It was a sort of family congress.
+Everybody told everybody else what he or she was going to do, and took
+information of the same kind in trade. I was to go to college in the
+fall, but as that had been pretty much settled long ago, it couldn't be
+considered as news. I looked well enough, my father said, to do all the
+hard studying that was needed; and the professor was anxiously waiting
+to put me through a course of training for the happy lot of Freshman.
+
+"But he's not going to begin his studies as soon as he gets home," said
+my mother. "We're going to have him to ourselves for a while." And I did
+not doubt that. I hadn't been gone very long, to be sure, but then a
+ship had been burned from under me, and that counted for about a year's
+absence.
+
+Corny's fate had been settled, too, in a general way, but the discussion
+that went on about a good boarding-school for her showed that a
+particular settlement might take some time. Uncle Chipperton wanted her
+to go to some school near his place on the Hudson River, so that he
+could drive over and see her every day or two, and Mrs. Colbert said she
+thought that that wouldn't do, because no girl could study as she ought
+to, if her father was coming to see her all the time, and Uncle
+Chipperton wanted to know what possible injury she thought he would do
+his daughter by going to see her; and Mrs. Colbert said, none at all, of
+course she didn't mean that, and Mrs. Chipperton said that Corny and her
+father ought really to go to the same school, and then we all laughed,
+and my father put in quickly, and asked about Rectus. It was easy to see
+that it would take all summer to get a school for Corny.
+
+"Well," said Mr. Colbert, "I've got a place for Sammy. Right in my
+office. He's to be a man of business, you know. He never took much to
+schooling. I sent him travelling so that he could see the world, and get
+himself in trim for dealing with it. And that's what we have to do in
+our business. Deal with the world."
+
+I didn't like this, and I don't think Rectus did, either. He walked over
+to one of the windows, and looked out into the street.
+
+"I'll tell you what I think, sir," said I. "Rectus--I mean your son
+Samuel, only I shall never call him so--has seen enough of the world to
+make him so wide awake that he sees more in schooling than he used to.
+That's my opinion!"
+
+I knew that Rectus rather envied my going to college, for he had said as
+much on the trip home; and I knew that he had hoped his father would let
+him make a fresh start with the professor at our old school.
+
+"Sammy," cried out Mrs. Colbert,--"Sammy, my son, do you want to go to
+school, and finish up your education, or go into your father's office,
+and learn to be a merchant?"
+
+Rectus turned around from the window.
+
+"There's no hurry about the merchant," he said. "I want to go to school
+and college, first."
+
+"And that's just where you're going," said his mother, with her face
+reddening up a little more than common.
+
+Mr. Colbert grinned a little, but said nothing. I suppose he thought it
+would be of no use, and I had an idea, too, that he was very glad to
+have Rectus determine on a college career. I know the rest of us were.
+And we didn't hold back from saying so, either.
+
+Uncle Chipperton now began to praise Rectus, and he told what
+obligations the boy had put him under in Nassau, when he wrote to his
+father, and had that suit about the property stopped, and so relieved
+him--Uncle Chipperton--from cutting short his semi-tropical trip, and
+hurrying home to New York in the middle of winter.
+
+"But the suit isn't stopped," said Mr. Colbert. "You don't suppose I
+would pay any attention to a note like the one Sammy sent me, do you? I
+just let the suit go on, of course. It has not been decided yet, but I
+expect to gain it."
+
+At this, Uncle Chipperton grew very angry indeed. It was astonishing to
+see how quickly he blazed up. He had supposed the whole thing settled,
+and now to find that the terrible injustice--as he considered it--was
+still going on, was too much for him.
+
+"Do you sit there and tell me that, sir?" he exclaimed, jumping up and
+skipping over to Mr. Colbert. "Do you call yourself----"
+
+"Father!" cried Corny. "Keep perfectly cool! Remain just where you are!"
+
+Uncle Chipperton stopped as if he had run against a fence. His favorite
+advice went straight home to him.
+
+"Very good, my child," said he, turning to Corny. "That's just what I'll
+do."
+
+And he said no more about it.
+
+Now, everybody began to talk about all sorts of things, so as to seem as
+if they hadn't noticed this little rumpus, and we agreed that we must
+all see each other again the next day. Father said he should remain in
+the city for a few days, now that we were all here, and Uncle Chipperton
+did not intend to go to his country-place until the weather was warmer.
+We were speaking of several things that would be pleasant to do
+together, when Uncle Chipperton broke in with a proposition:
+
+"I'll tell you what I am going to do. I am going to give a dinner to
+this party. I can't invite you to my house, but I shall engage a parlor
+in a restaurant, where I have given dinners before (we always come to
+New York when I want to give dinners--it's so much easier for us to come
+to the city than for a lot of people to come out to our place), and
+there I shall give you a dinner, to-morrow evening. Nobody need say
+anything against this. I've settled it, and I can't be moved."
+
+As he couldn't be moved, no one tried to move him.
+
+"I tell you what it is," said Rectus privately to me. "If Uncle
+Chipperton is going to give a dinner, according to his own ideas of
+things in general, it will be a curious kind of a meal."
+
+It often happened that Rectus was as nearly right as most people.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII.
+
+UNCLE CHIPPERTON'S DINNER.
+
+
+The next day was a busy one for father and mother and myself. All the
+morning we were out, laying in a small stock of baggage, to take the
+place of what I had lost on the "Tigris." But I was very sorry,
+especially on my sister Helen's account, that I had lost so many things
+in my trunk which I could not replace, without going back myself to
+Nassau. I could buy curiosities from those regions that were ever so
+much better than any that I had collected; but I could not buy shells
+that I myself had gathered, nor great seed-pods, like bean-pods two feet
+long, which I had picked from the trees, nor pieces of rock that I
+myself had brought up from a coral-reef.
+
+But these were all gone, and I pacified Helen by assuring her that I
+would tell her such long stories about these things that she could
+almost see them in her mind's eye. But I think, by the way she smiled,
+that she had only a second-rate degree of belief in my power of
+description. She was a smart little thing, and she believed that Corny
+was the queen of girls.
+
+While I am speaking of the "Tigris" and our losses, I will just say that
+the second boat which left the burning steamer was never heard from.
+
+We reached our hotel about noon, pretty tired, for we had been rushing
+things, as it was necessary for father to go home early the next day. On
+the front steps we found Uncle Chipperton, who had been waiting for us.
+He particularly wanted to see me. He lunched with us, and then he took
+me off to the place where he was to have his dinner, at six o'clock that
+evening. He wanted to consult with me about the arrangements of the
+table; where each person should sit, and all that sort of thing. I
+couldn't see the use in this, because it was only a kind of family
+party, and we should all be sure to get seated, if there were chairs and
+places enough. But Uncle Chipperton wanted to plan and arrange
+everything until he was sure it was just right. That was his way.
+
+After he had settled these important matters, and the head-waiter and
+the proprietor had become convinced that I was a person of much
+consequence, who had to be carefully consulted before anything could be
+done, we went down stairs, and at the street-door Uncle Chipperton
+suddenly stopped me.
+
+"See here," said he, "I want to tell you something. I'm not coming to
+this dinner."
+
+"Not--coming!" I exclaimed, in amazement.
+
+"No," said he, "I've been thinking it over, and have fully made up my
+mind about it. You see, this is intended as a friendly reunion,--an
+occasion of good feeling and fellowship among people who are bound
+together in a very peculiar manner."
+
+"Yes," I interrupted, "and that seems to me, sir, the very reason why
+you should be there."
+
+"The very reason why I should not be there," he said. "You see, I
+couldn't sit down with that most perverse and obstinate man, Colbert,
+and feel sure that something or other would not occur which would make
+an outbreak between us, or, at any rate, bad feeling. In fact, I know I
+could not take pleasure in seeing him enjoy food. This may be wrong, but
+I can't help it. It's in me. And I wont be the means of casting a shadow
+over the happy company which will meet here to-night. No one but your
+folks need know I'm not coming. The rest will not know why I am
+detained, and I shall drop in toward the close of the meal, just before
+you break up. I want you to ask your father to take the head of the
+table. He is just the man for such a place, and he ought to have it,
+too, for another reason. You ought to know that this dinner is really
+given to you in your honor. To be sure, Rectus is a good
+fellow--splendid--and does everything that he knows how; but my wife and
+I know that we owe all our present happiness to your exertions and good
+sense."
+
+He went on in this way for some time, and although I tried to stop him,
+I couldn't do it.
+
+"Therefore," he continued, "I want your father to preside, and all of
+you to be happy, without a suspicion of a cloud about you. At any rate,
+I shall be no cloud. Come around here early, and see that everything is
+all right. Now I must be off."
+
+And away he went.
+
+I did not like this state of affairs at all. I would have much preferred
+to have no dinner. It was not necessary, any way. If I had had the
+authority, I would have stopped the whole thing. But it was Uncle
+Chipperton's affair, he paid for it, and I had no right to interfere
+with it.
+
+My father liked the matter even less than I did. He said it was a
+strange and unwarrantable performance on the part of Chipperton, and he
+did not understand it. And he certainly did not want to sit at the head
+of the table in another man's place. I could not say anything to him to
+make him feel better about it. I made him feel worse, indeed, when I
+told him that Uncle Chipperton did not want his absence explained, or
+alluded to, any more than could be helped. My father hated to have to
+keep a secret of this kind.
+
+In the afternoon, I went around to the hotel where the Chippertons
+always staid, when they were in New York, to see Corny and her mother. I
+found them rather blue. Uncle Chipperton had not been able to keep his
+plan from them, and they thought it was dreadful. I could not help
+letting them see that I did not like it, and so we didn't have as lively
+a time as we ought to have had.
+
+I supposed that if I went to see Rectus, and told him about the matter,
+I should make him blue, too. But, as I had no right to tell him, and
+also felt a pretty strong desire that some of the folks should come
+with good spirits and appetites, I kept away from him. He would have
+been sure to see that something was the matter.
+
+I was the first person to appear in the dining-room of the restaurant
+where the dinner-table was spread for us. It was a prettily furnished
+parlor in the second story of the house, and the table was very
+tastefully arranged and decorated with flowers. I went early, by myself,
+so as to be sure that everything was exactly right before the guests
+arrived. All seemed perfectly correct; the name of each member of the
+party was on a card by a plate. Even little Helen had her plate and her
+card. It would be her first appearance at a regular dinner-party.
+
+The guests were not punctual. At ten minutes past six, even my father,
+who was the most particular of men in such things, had not made his
+appearance. I waited five, ten, fifteen, twenty minutes more, and became
+exceedingly nervous.
+
+The head-waiter came in and asked if my friends understood the time that
+had been set. The dinner would be spoiled if it were kept much longer. I
+said that I was sure they knew all about the time set, and that there
+was nothing to be done but to wait. It was most unaccountable that they
+should all be late.
+
+I stood before the fireplace and waited, and thought. I ran down to the
+door, and looked up and down the street. I called a waiter and told him
+to look into all the rooms in the house. They might have gone into the
+wrong place. But they were not to be seen anywhere.
+
+Then I went back to the fireplace, and did some more thinking. There was
+no sense in supposing that they had made a mistake. They all knew this
+restaurant, and they all knew the time. In a moment, I said to myself:
+
+"I know how it is. Father has made up his mind that he will not be mixed
+up in any affair of this kind, where a quarrel keeps the host of the
+party from occupying his proper place, especially as he--my father--is
+expected to occupy that place himself. So he and mother and Helen have
+just quietly staid in their rooms at the hotel. Mrs. Chipperton and
+Corny wont come without Uncle Chipperton. They might ride right to the
+door, of course, but they are ashamed, and don't want to have to make
+explanations; and it is ridiculous to suppose that they wont have to be
+made. As for Rectus and his people, they could not have heard anything,
+but,--I have it. Old Colbert got his back up, too, and wouldn't come,
+either for fear a quarrel would be picked, or because he could take no
+pleasure in seeing Uncle Chipperton enjoying food. And Rectus and his
+mother wouldn't come without him."
+
+It turned out, when I heard from all the parties, that I had got the
+matter exactly right.
+
+"We shall have to make fresh preparations, sir, if we wait any longer,"
+said the head-waiter, coming in with an air of great mental disturbance.
+
+"Don't wait," said I. "Bring in the dinner. At least, enough for me. I
+don't believe any one else will be here."
+
+The waiter looked bewildered, but he obeyed. I took my seat at the place
+where my card lay, at the middle of one side of the table, and spread my
+napkin in my lap. The head-waiter waited on me himself, and one or two
+other waiters came in to stand around, and take away dishes, and try to
+find something to do.
+
+It was a capital dinner, and I went carefully through all the courses. I
+was hungry. I had been saving up some extra appetite for this dinner,
+and my regular appetite was a very good one.
+
+I had raw oysters,
+
+And soup,
+
+And fish, with delicious sauce,
+
+And roast duck,
+
+And croquettes, made of something extraordinarily nice,
+
+And beef _� la mode_,
+
+And all sorts of vegetables, in their proper places,
+
+And ready-made salad,
+
+And orange pie,
+
+And wine-jelly,
+
+And ice-cream,
+
+And bananas, oranges and white grapes,
+
+And raisins, and almonds and nuts,
+
+And a cup of coffee.
+
+I let some of these things off pretty easy, toward the last; but I did
+not swerve from my line of duty. I went through all the courses, quietly
+and deliberately. It was a dinner in my honor, and I did all the honor I
+could to it.
+
+I was leaning back in my chair, with a satisfied soul, and nibbling at
+some raisins, while I slowly drank my coffee, when the outer door
+opened, and Uncle Chipperton entered.
+
+He looked at me in astonishment. Then he looked at the table, with the
+clean plates and glasses at every place, but one. Then he took it all
+in, or at least I supposed he did, for he sat down on a chair near the
+door, and burst out into the wildest fit of laughing. The waiters came
+running into the room to see what was the matter; but for several
+minutes Uncle Chipperton could not speak. He laughed until I thought
+he'd crack something. I laughed, too, but not so much.
+
+"I see it all," he gasped, at last. "I see it all. I see just how it
+happened."
+
+And when we compared our ideas of the matter, we found that they were
+just the same.
+
+I wanted him to sit down and eat something, but he would not do it. He
+said he wouldn't spoil such a unique performance for anything. It was
+one of the most comical meals he had ever heard of.
+
+I was glad he enjoyed it so much, for he paid for the whole dinner for
+ten, which had been prepared at his order.
+
+When we reached the street, Uncle Chipperton put on a graver look.
+
+"This is all truly very funny," he said, "but, after all, there is
+something about it which makes me feel ashamed of myself. Would you
+object to take a ride? It is only about eight o'clock. I want to go up
+to see old Colbert."
+
+I agreed to go, and we got into a street-car. The Colberts lived in one
+of the up-town streets, and Uncle Chipperton had been at their house, on
+business.
+
+"I never went to see them in a friendly way before," he said.
+
+It was comforting to hear that this was to be a friendly visit.
+
+When we reached the house, we found the family of three in the parlor.
+They had probably had all the dinner they wanted, but they did not look
+exactly satisfied with the world or themselves.
+
+"Look here, Colbert," said Uncle Chipperton, after shaking hands with
+Mrs. Colbert, "why didn't you go to my dinner?"
+
+"Well," said Mr. Colbert, looking him straight in the face, "I thought
+I'd better stay where I was. I didn't want to make any trouble, or pick
+any quarrels. I didn't intend to keep my wife and son away; but they
+wouldn't go without me."
+
+"No, indeed," said Mrs. Colbert.
+
+"Oh, well!" said Uncle Chipperton, "you needn't feel bad about it. I
+didn't go, myself."
+
+At this, they all opened their eyes as wide as the law allowed.
+
+"No," he continued, "I didn't want to make any disturbance, or
+ill-feeling, and so I didn't go, and my wife and daughter didn't want to
+go without me, and so they didn't go, and I expect Will's father and
+mother didn't care to be on hand at a time when bad feeling might be
+shown, and so they didn't go. There was no one there but Will. He ate
+all of the dinner that was eaten. He went straight through it, from one
+end to the other. And there was no ill-feeling, no discord, no cloud of
+any kind. All perfectly harmonious, wasn't it, Will?"
+
+"Perfectly," said I.
+
+"I just wish I had known about it," said Rectus, a little sadly.
+
+"And now, Mr. Colbert," said Uncle Chipperton, "I don't want this to
+happen again. There may be other reunions of this kind, and we may want
+to go. And there ought to be such reunions between families whose sons
+and daughter have been cast away together, on a life-raft, in the middle
+of the ocean."
+
+"That's so," said Mrs. Colbert, warmly.
+
+"I thought they were _saved_ on a life-raft," said old Colbert, dryly.
+"And I didn't know it was in the middle of the ocean."
+
+"Well, fix that as you please," said Uncle Chipperton. "What I want to
+propose is this: Let us settle our quarrel. Let's split our difference.
+Will you agree to divide that four inches of ground, and call it square?
+I'll pay for two inches."
+
+"Do you mean you'll pay half the damages I've laid?" asked old Colbert.
+
+"That's what I mean," said Uncle Chipperton.
+
+"All right," said Mr. Colbert; "I'll agree." And they shook hands on it.
+
+"Now, then," said Uncle Chipperton, who seemed unusually lively, "I must
+go see the Gordons, and explain matters to them. Wont you come along,
+Rectus?" And Rectus came.
+
+On the way to our hotel, we stopped for Corny and her mother. We might
+as well have a party, Uncle Chipperton said.
+
+We had a gay time at our rooms. My father and mother were greatly amused
+at the way the thing had turned out, and very much pleased that Mr.
+Colbert and Uncle Chipperton had become reconciled to each other.
+
+"I thought he had a good heart," said my mother, softly, to me, looking
+over to Uncle Chipperton, who was telling my father, for the second
+time, just how I looked, as I sat alone at the long table.
+
+Little Helen had not gone to bed yet, and she was sorry about the dinner
+in the same way that Rectus was. So was Corny, but she was too glad that
+the quarrel between her father and Mr. Colbert was over, to care much
+for the loss of the dinner. She was always very much disturbed by
+quarrels between friends or friends' fathers.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV.
+
+THE STORY ENDS.
+
+
+Three letters came to me the next morning. I was rather surprised at
+this, because I did not expect to get letters after I found myself at
+home; or, at least, with my family. The first of these was handed to me
+by Rectus. It was from his father. This is the letter:
+
+          "MY DEAR BOY:" (This opening seemed a little
+          curious to me, for I did not suppose the old
+          gentleman thought of me in that way.) "I shall not
+          be able to see you again before you leave for
+          Willisville, so I write this note just to tell you
+          how entirely I am satisfied with the way in which
+          you performed the very difficult business I
+          intrusted to you--that of taking charge of my son
+          in his recent travels. The trip was not a very
+          long one, but I am sure it has been of great
+          service to him; and I also believe that a great
+          deal of the benefit he has received has been due
+          to you." (I stopped here, and tried to think what
+          I had done for the boy. Besides the thrashing I
+          gave him in Nassau, I could not think of
+          anything.) "I have been talking a great deal with
+          Sammy, in the last day or two, about his doings
+          while he was away, and although I cannot exactly
+          fix my mind on any particular action, on your
+          part, which proves what I say" (he was in the same
+          predicament here in which I was myself), "yet I
+          feel positively assured that your companionship
+          and influence have been of the greatest service to
+          him. Among other things, he really wants to go to
+          college. I am delighted at this. It was with much
+          sorrow that I gave up the idea of making him a
+          scholar: but, though he was a good boy, I saw that
+          it was useless to keep him at the academy at
+          Willisville, and so made up my mind to take him
+          into my office. But I know you put this college
+          idea into his head, though how, I cannot say, and
+          I am sure that it does not matter. Sammy tells me
+          that you never understood that he was to be
+          entirely in your charge; but since you brought him
+          out so well without knowing this, it does you more
+          credit. I am very grateful to you. If I find a
+          chance to do you a real service, I will do it.
+
+                       "Yours very truly,
+                                     "SAMUEL COLBERT, SR."
+
+The second letter was handed to me by Corny, and was from her mother. I
+shall not copy that here, for it is much worse than Mr. Colbert's. It
+praised me for doing a lot of things which I never did at all; but I
+excused Mrs. Chipperton for a good deal she said, for she had passed
+through so much anxiety and trouble, and was now going to settle down
+for good, with Corny at school, that I didn't wonder she felt happy
+enough to write a little wildly. But there was one queer resemblance
+between her letter and old Mr. Colbert's. She said two or three
+times--it was an awfully long letter--that there was not any particular
+thing that she alluded to when she spoke of my actions. That was the
+funny part of it. They couldn't put their fingers on anything really
+worth mentioning, after all.
+
+My third letter had come by mail, and was a little old. My mother gave
+it to me, and told me that it had come to the post-office at Willisville
+about a week before, and that she had brought it down to give it to me,
+but had totally forgotten it until that morning. It was from St.
+Augustine, and this is an exact copy of it:
+
+          "My good friend Big Little Man. I love you. My
+          name Maiden's Heart. You much pious. You buy
+          beans. Pay good. Me wants one speckled shirt.
+          Crowded Owl want one speckled shirt, too. You send
+          two speckled shirts. You good Big Little Man. You
+          do that. Good-bye.
+
+                             "MAIDEN'S HEART, Cheyenne Chief.
+
+          "Written by me, James R. Chalott, this seventh day
+          of March, 187-, at the dictation of the
+          above-mentioned Maiden's Heart. He has requested
+          me to add that he wants the speckles to be red,
+          and as large as you can get them."
+
+During the morning, most of our party met to bid each other good-bye.
+Corny, Rectus and I were standing together, having our little winding-up
+talk, when Rectus asked Corny if she had kept her gray bean, the
+insignia of our society.
+
+"To be sure I have," she said, pulling it out from under her cloak. "I
+have it on this little chain which I wear around my neck. I've worn it
+ever since I got it. And I see you each have kept yours on your
+watch-guards."
+
+"Yes," I said, "and they're the only things of the kind we saved from
+the burning 'Tigris.' Going to keep yours?"
+
+"Yes, indeed," said Corny, warmly.
+
+"So shall I," said I.
+
+"And I, too," said Rectus.
+
+And then we shook hands, and parted.
+
+
+THE END.
+
+
+
+
+Scribner's New Books for Young People
+
+1901 and 1902
+
+
+By the author of "Wild Animals I Have Known"
+
+LIVES OF THE HUNTED
+
+          =By Ernest Seton-Thompson. Profusely illustrated
+          by the author. Square 12mo, $1.75 net.=
+
+The most important work of Mr. Seton-Thompson since his "WILD ANIMALS I
+HAVE KNOWN," fully equalling that most popular book in size, and
+resembling it closely in character, solidity, illustration and general
+worth.
+
+It includes all the animal stories Mr. Seton-Thompson has written since
+his last book together with several that have never appeared in serial
+form. It is more fully and richly illustrated than any previous book
+with his own inimitable drawings. There will be many full page
+illustrations, and nearly every type page will be ornamented with the
+delightful marginal sketches characteristic of this artist's latest
+works.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+          THE IMP AND THE ANGEL
+
+          =By Josephine Dodge Daskam, author of "Sister's
+          Vocation," "Smith College Stories," etc. Profusely
+          illustrated. $1.25 net.=
+
+In her portrayal of the "Imp," the seven-year-old hero of this series of
+seven stories, Miss Daskam has added a most captivating character to the
+gallery of child fiction.
+
+
+A SON OF SATSUMA
+
+          =Or, with Perry in Japan. By Kirk Munroe. 12mo,
+          $1.00 net=
+
+A vigorous story for boys dealing with one of the most romantic episodes
+in the history of our country. From the beginning Japan has been a land
+of mystery. It was Commodore Perry who solved the mystery of the ages,
+and in this thrilling story, the spirit as well as the history of this
+great achievement, is ably set forth.
+
+
+HANS BRINKER
+
+          =Or, The Silver Skates. By Mary Mapes Dodge. With
+          100 illustrations by Allen B. Doggett. 12mo,
+          $1.50=
+
+In order to give a still wider circulation to Mrs. Dodge's celebrated
+American classic for young readers, the publishers have reduced the
+price of the New Amsterdam edition from $2.50 to $1.50, retaining all of
+Mr. Doggett's illustrations. No handsomer or more appropriate gift book
+for boy or girl can be found than this story of life in Holland, the
+vitality and popularity of which seem to increase year by year.
+
+
+THE STORY OF MANHATTAN
+
+          =By Charles Hemstreet, author of "Nooks and
+          Corners of Old New York." Illustrated. 12mo, $1.00
+          net=
+
+Mr. Hemstreet becomes in this charming young people's work the annalist
+as well as the antiquary of the city of his affection. He recounts its
+picturesque history with a most sympathetic pen. No New York boy or girl
+can gain elsewhere so readily and pleasantly the familiarity with the
+city they should know most about.
+
+
+FIRST ACROSS THE CONTINENT
+
+          =By Noah Brooks. Fully illustrated. $1.50 net.=
+
+The absorbing story of the famous Lewis and Clark exploration of the
+vast northwestern territory acquired under the Louisiana purchase is
+here compiled with a special view of interesting young readers. The
+journey up the Missouri, over the Rockies, and down the Columbia to the
+Pacific, together with descriptions of the Indian tribes of the region
+makes fascinating material.
+
+
+LEM--A NEW ENGLAND BOY
+
+          =His Adventures and Mishaps. By Noah Brooks.
+          Illustrated by H. C. Edwards. $1.00 net.=
+
+Boy life in a New England village forty or fifty years ago has never
+been portrayed more faithfully or more vividly than in this wholesome
+tale of Lem Parker and his chums. Full of fun and adventure, the story
+has that atmosphere of reality that makes the strongest appeal to boys.
+
+
+THE OUTCASTS
+
+          =By W. A. Fraser, author of "Mooswa." Illustrated
+          by Arthur Heming. $1.25 net.=
+
+Another inimitable animal book by the author and artist of "Mooswa." It
+is the story of the strange friendship between a buffalo and a wolf, and
+the author's wonderful insight into the workings of the minds of animals
+is here used with extraordinary charm.
+
+
+THE OUTLAWS OF HORSE-SHOE HOLE
+
+          =A Story of the Montana Vigilants. By Francis
+          Hill. Illustrated by R. F. Zogbaum. $1.00 net.=
+
+A stirring book for boys and men by a new writer of the fascinating life
+of the western frontier a decade or two ago. The book is full of the
+traditional romantic spirit of good old western yarns and yarners.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Three New Books by G. A. HENTY
+
+Each Illustrated, 12mo, $1.25 _net_
+
+
+AT THE POINT OF THE BAYONET
+
+=A Story of the British Conquest of India=
+
+
+WITH ROBERTS TO PRETORIA
+
+=A Story of the Boer War=
+
+
+TO HERAT AND CABUL
+
+=A Story of the First Afghan War=
+
+          "Wherever English is spoken one imagines that Mr.
+          Henty's name is known. Mr. Henty is no doubt the
+          most successful writer for boys, and the one to
+          whose new volumes they look forward every
+          Christmas with most pleasure."--_Review of
+          Reviews._
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+Three Famous Books for Boys by JAMES BALDWIN
+
+New Editions of these Standard Books, each, 12mo, $1.50
+
+
+THE STORY OF THE GOLDEN AGE
+
+=With a series of full-page illustrations by Howard Pyle=
+
+
+THE STORY OF SIEGFRIED
+
+=With a series of full-page illustrations by Howard Pyle=
+
+
+THE STORY OF ROLAND
+
+=With a series of full-page illustrations by R. B. Birch=
+
+          In these books Mr. Baldwin presents respectively
+          the legends relating to the Trojan War, the great
+          Siegfried myth of Northern Europe, and the
+          medi�val romance of Roland and Charlemagne,
+          bringing before the reader, with great spirit,
+          with scholarly accuracy and with unfailing taste
+          these heroic figures and the times in which their
+          adventures are supposed to have occurred.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS, NEW YORK CITY
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Transcriber's Notes:
+
+Obvious punctuation errors repaired.
+
+The word "won't" is spelled "wont" consistently in the original. This
+was retained.
+
+Page 26, word "with" added to text. (done with dinner)
+
+Page 95, "depot" changed to "d�p�t" to conform to rest of text. (at the
+d�p�t)
+
+Page 259, "Canavaral" changed to "Canaveral". (Cape Canaveral)
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of A Jolly Fellowship, by Frank R. Stockton
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A JOLLY FELLOWSHIP ***
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+    <title>
+      The Project Gutenberg eBook of A Jolly Fellowship, by Frank R. Stockton.
+    </title>
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+<pre>
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Jolly Fellowship, by Frank R. Stockton
+
+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: A Jolly Fellowship
+
+Author: Frank R. Stockton
+
+Release Date: February 24, 2007 [EBook #20651]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A JOLLY FELLOWSHIP ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Suzanne Shell, Emmy and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 271px;">
+<img src="images/cover.jpg" width="271" height="400" alt="Cover" title="Cover" />
+</div>
+
+
+<h1>A JOLLY FELLOWSHIP.</h1>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>FRANK R. STOCKTON'S WRITINGS</h2>
+
+<hr style='width: 25%;' />
+
+<div class='center'><i>New Uniform Edition</i></div>
+
+
+
+<div class='center'>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="Stockton's Writings">
+<tr><td align='left'>RUDDER GRANGE</td><td align='right'>$1.25</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>THE LATE MRS. NULL</td><td align='right'>1.25</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>ARDIS CLAVERDEN</td><td align='right'>1.50</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>THE WATCHMAKER'S WIFE</td><td align='right'>1.25</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>THE RUDDER GRANGERS ABROAD&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </td><td align='right'>1.25</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>THE BEE-MAN OF ORN</td><td align='right'>1.25</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>THE LADY, OR THE TIGER?</td><td align='right'>1.25</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>THE CHRISTMAS WRECK</td><td align='right'>1.25</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>AMOS KILBRIGHT</td><td align='right'>1.25</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>THE HOUSE OF MARTHA</td><td align='right'>1.25</td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+
+<hr style='width: 25%;' />
+
+
+
+<div class='center'>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="Stockton's Writings 2">
+<tr><td align='left'>AFIELD AND AFLOAT. Illustrated. 12mo</td><td align='right'>$1.50</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>THE GIRL AT COBHURST. 12mo</td><td align='right'>1.50</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>A STORY-TELLER'S PACK. Illustrated. 12mo</td><td align='right'>1.50</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>MRS. CLIFF'S YACHT. <i>Illustrated.</i> 12mo</td><td align='right'>1.50</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN HORN. 12mo</td><td align='right'>1.50</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>A CHOSEN FEW. SHORT STORIES. <i>Cameo Edition</i>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </td><td align='right'>1.25</td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+<hr style='width: 25%;' />
+
+
+<div class='center'>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="Stockton's Writings 3">
+<tr><td align='left'>RUDDER GRANGE. <i>With over 100 Illustrations by A. B. Frost.</i> 12mo&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</td><td align='right'>1.50</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>POMONA'S TRAVELS. <i>Illustrated by A. B. Frost.</i> 12mo&nbsp;  </td><td align='right'>1.50</td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+
+<hr style='width: 25%;' />
+
+<h3>BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE</h3>
+
+
+
+<div class='center'>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="Stockton's Writings 4">
+<tr><td align='left'>A JOLLY FELLOWSHIP. Illustrated. 12mo</td><td align='right'>$1.50</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>THE STORY OF VITEAU. Illustrated. 12mo</td><td align='right'>1.50</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>THE TING-A-LING TALES. Illustrated. 12mo</td><td align='right'>1.00</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>THE FLOATING PRINCE, and Other Fairy Tales. Illustrated. 4to</td><td align='right'>1.50</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>ROUNDABOUT RAMBLES IN LANDS OF FACT AND FANCY. Illustrated. 4to&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </td><td align='right'>1.50</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>TALES OUT OF SCHOOL. Illustrated. 4to</td><td align='right'>1.50</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>PERSONALLY CONDUCTED. Illustrated, square 8vo</td><td align='right'>2.00</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>THE CLOCKS OF RONDAINE, and Other Stories, Illustrated, square 8vo</td><td align='right'>1.50</td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 308px;"><a name="frontis" id="frontis"></a>
+<img src="images/gs01.jpg" width="308" height="391" alt="&quot;BANG! BANG! BANG!&mdash;SEVEN TIMES.&quot;" title="&quot;BANG! BANG! BANG!&mdash;SEVEN TIMES.&quot;" />
+<span class="caption">&quot;BANG! BANG! BANG!&mdash;SEVEN TIMES.&quot; [Page <a href='#Page_105'>105</a>]</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h1>A JOLLY FELLOWSHIP</h1>
+
+<h3>BY</h3>
+
+<h2>FRANK R. STOCKTON</h2>
+
+<div class='center'><small>AUTHOR OF "RUDDER GRANGE," ETC.</small><br />
+<br /><br /><br /><br />
+<i>ILLUSTRATED</i><br />
+<br /><br /><br /><br />
+
+NEW-YORK<br />
+CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS<br />
+1901<br />
+</div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+
+<div class='center'>
+<small>Copyright, 1880, by</small><br />
+<span class="smcap"><small>Charles Scribner's Sons.</small></span><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<small>TROW'S</small><br />
+<small>PRINTING AND BOOKBINDING COMPANY,</small><br />
+<small>NEW YORK.</small><br />
+</div>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<div class='blockquot'><p><i>This story is told by Will Gordon, a young fellow about sixteen years
+old, who saw for himself everything worth seeing in the course of the
+events he relates, and so knows much more about them than any one who
+would have to depend upon hearsay. Will is a good-looking boy, with
+brown hair and gray eyes, rather large for his age, and very fond of
+being a leader among his young companions. Whether or not he is good at
+that sort of thing, you can judge from the story he tells.</i></p></div>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_ix" id="Page_ix">[ix]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>CONTENTS.</h2>
+
+
+<div class='center'>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="Table of Contents">
+<tr><td align='left'><img src="images/spine01.jpg" width="81" height="400" alt="Spine" title="Spine" />
+</td><td align='left'><div class='center'>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="Contents">
+<tr><td align='right'><i>Chapter.</i></td><td align='left'>&nbsp;</td><td align='center'><i>Page.</i></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>I.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">We Make a Start</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_1'>1</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>II.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Going Back with the Pilot</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_16'>16</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>III.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Rectus Opens His Eyes</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_29'>29</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>IV.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">To the Rescue</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_43'>43</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>V.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Storming San Marco</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_56'>56</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>VI.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Girl on the Beach</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_69'>69</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>VII.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Mr. Chipperton</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_88'>88</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>VIII.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Steam-boat in the Forest</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_100'>100</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>IX.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Three Gray Beans</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_116'>116</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>X.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Queen on the Door-step</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_128'>128</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XI.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Regal Projects</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_140'>140</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XII.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Rectus Loses Rank</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_154'>154</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XIII.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Coronation</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_166'>166</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XIV.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">A Hot Chase</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_178'>178</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XV.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">A Strange Thing Happens to Me</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_191'>191</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XVI.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Mr. Chipperton Keeps Perfectly Cool&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_204'>204</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XVII.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">What Boy Has Done, Boy May Do</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_217'>217</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_x" id="Page_x">[x]</a></span>XVIII.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">I Wake Up Mr. Chipperton</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_229'>229</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XIX.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Life-raft</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_241'>241</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XX.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Russian Bark</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_252'>252</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XXI.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Trip of the Tug</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_263'>263</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XXII.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Looking Ahead</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_274'>274</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XXIII.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Uncle Chipperton's Dinner</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_285'>285</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XXIV.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Story Ends</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_296'>296</a></td></tr>
+</table></div>
+</td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+
+
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xi" id="Page_xi">[xi]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.</h2>
+
+
+
+<div class='center'>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="Illustrations">
+<tr><td align='left'>&nbsp;</td><td align='right'><i>Page.</i></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>"<span class="smcap">Bang! Bang! Bang!&mdash;Seven Times</span>."</td><td align='right'>(<a href='#frontis'><i>Frontispiece.</i></a>)</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>"<span class="smcap">She Seized Me by Both Hands</span>"</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_10'>10</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Vessel is Off</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_17'>17</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Scott and the Captain</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_19'>19</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Rectus and the Lemons</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_27'>27</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>"'<span class="smcap">Hold Your Tongue!' Roared Mr. Randall</span>"</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_32'>32</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>"<span class="smcap">Rectus Showed Me the Map</span>"</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_35'>35</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>"<span class="smcap">How</span>?"</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_46'>46</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>"<span class="smcap">Another Bean</span>"</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_64'>64</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>"<span class="smcap">The Gentleman Waved His Hat to Us</span>"</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_80'>80</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>"<span class="smcap">Why, How Do You Do</span>?"</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_88'>88</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>"<span class="smcap">Voy-ezz Vows cett Hommy ett ses Ducks Femmys seelah</span>?"&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_110'>110</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>"<span class="smcap">We Saw Her Slowly Rising Beneath Us</span>"</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_119'>119</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>"'<span class="smcap">All Right,' said Goliah, with a Smile</span>"</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_157'>157</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">A Small Dive</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_170'>170</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>"<span class="smcap">I Wouldn't Like it Myself</span>"</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_197'>197</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>"<span class="smcap">We Struck Out together for the Boat</span>"</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_224'>224</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>"'<span class="smcap">Keep Perfectly Cool,' said Mr. Chipperton</span>"</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_239'>239</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>"<span class="smcap">Rectus Helped Me to Fasten the Life-Preserver</span>"</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_243'>243</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>"<span class="smcap">You're a Regular Young Trump</span>"</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_277'>277</a></td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[1]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>A JOLLY FELLOWSHIP.</h2>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>CHAPTER I.</h2>
+
+<h3>WE MAKE A START.</h3>
+
+
+<p>I was sitting on the deck of a Savannah steam-ship, which was lying at a
+dock in the East River, New York. I was waiting for young Rectus, and
+had already waited some time; which surprised me, because Rectus was, as
+a general thing, a very prompt fellow, who seldom kept people waiting.
+But it was probably impossible for him to regulate his own movements
+this time, for his father and mother were coming with him, to see him
+off.</p>
+
+<p>I had no one there to see me off, but I did not care for that. I was
+sixteen years old, and felt quite like a man; whereas Rectus was only
+fourteen, and couldn't possibly feel like a man&mdash;unless his looks very
+much belied his feelings. My father and mother and sister lived in a
+small town some thirty miles from New York, and that was a very good
+reason for their not coming to the city just to see me sail away in a
+steam-ship. They took a good leave of me, though, before I left home.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[2]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>I shall never forget how I first became acquainted with Rectus. About a
+couple of years before, he was a new boy in the academy at Willisville.
+One Saturday, a lot of us went down to the river to swim. Our favorite
+place was near an old wharf, which ran out into deep water, and a fellow
+could take a good dive there, when the tide was high. There were some of
+the smaller boys along that day, but they didn't dive any, and if they
+even swam, it was in shallow water near the shore, by the side of the
+wharf. But I think most of them spent their time wading about.</p>
+
+<p>I was a good swimmer, and could dive very well. I was learning to swim
+under water, but had not done very much in that line at the time I speak
+of. We were nearly ready to come out, when I took a dive from a post on
+the end of the wharf, and then turned, under water, to swim in shore. I
+intended to try to keep under until I got into water shallow enough for
+me to touch bottom, and walk ashore. After half a dozen strokes, I felt
+for the bottom and my feet touched it. Then I raised my head, but I
+didn't raise it out of the water. It struck something hard.</p>
+
+<p>In an instant I knew what had happened. There was a big mud-scow lying
+by the side of the wharf, and I had got under that! It was a great flat
+thing, ever so long and very wide. I knew I must get from under it as
+quickly as I could. Indeed, I could hardly hold my breath now. I waded
+along with my head bent down, but I didn't reach the side of it. Then I
+turned the other way, but my hands, which I held up, still touched
+nothing but the hard, slimy bottom of the scow.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[3]</a></span> I must have been wading
+up and down the length of the thing. I was bewildered. I couldn't think
+which way to turn. I could only think of one thing. I would be drowned
+in less than a minute. Scott would be head of the class. My mother, and
+little Helen&mdash;but I can't tell what my thoughts were then. They were
+dreadful. But just as I was thinking of Helen and mother, I saw through
+the water some white things, not far from me. I knew by their looks that
+they were a boy's legs.</p>
+
+<p>I staggered toward them, and in a moment my hands went out of water,
+just at the side of the scow. I stood up, and my head with half my body
+came up into the air.</p>
+
+<p>What a breath I drew! But I felt so weak and shaky that I had to take
+hold of the side of the scow, and stand there for a while before I waded
+ashore. The boy who was standing by me was Rectus. He did not have that
+name then, and I didn't know him.</p>
+
+<p>"It must be pretty hard to stay under water so long," he said.</p>
+
+<p>"Hard!" I answered, as soon as I could get my breath; "I should think
+so. Why, I came near being drowned!"</p>
+
+<p>"Is that so?" said he; "I didn't know that. I saw you go down, and have
+been watching for you to come up. But I didn't expect you to come from
+under the scow."</p>
+
+<p>How glad I was that he had been standing there watching for me to come
+up! If he had not been<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[4]</a></span> there, or if his legs had been green or the
+color of water, I believe I should have drowned.</p>
+
+<p>I always liked the boy after that, though, of course, there was no
+particular reason for it. He was a boarder. His parents lived in New
+York. Samuel Colbert was his real name, and the title of Rectus he
+obtained at school by being so good. He scarcely ever did anything
+wrong, which was rather surprising to the rest of us, because he was not
+sickly or anything of that kind. After a while, we got into the way of
+calling him Rectus, and as he didn't seem to mind it, the name stuck to
+him. The boys generally liked him, and he got on quite well in the
+school,&mdash;in every way except in his studies. He was not a smart boy, and
+did not pretend to be.</p>
+
+<p>I went right through the academy, from the lowest to the highest class,
+and when I left, the professor, as we called our principal, said that I
+was ready to go to college, and urged me very much to do so. But I was
+not in any hurry, and my parents agreed with me that, after four years
+of school-life, I had better wait a while before beginning a new course.
+All this disturbed the professor very much, but he insisted on my
+keeping up my studies, so as not to get rusty, and he came up to our
+house very often, for the purpose of seeing what I was doing in the
+study line, and how I was doing it.</p>
+
+<p>I thought over things a good deal for myself, and a few months after I
+left the academy I made up my mind to travel a little. I talked about it
+at home, and it was generally thought to be a good idea, although<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[5]</a></span> my
+sister was in favor of it only in case I took her with me. Otherwise she
+opposed it. But there were a great many reasons why I could not take
+her. She was only eleven.</p>
+
+<p>I had some money of my own, which I thought I would rather spend in
+travel than in any other way, and, as it was not a large sum, and as my
+father could not afford to add anything to it, my journey could not be
+very extensive. Indeed, I only contemplated going to Florida and perhaps
+a few other Southern States, and then&mdash;if it could be done&mdash;a visit to
+some of the West India islands, and, as it was winter-time, that would
+be a very good trip. My father did not seem to be afraid to trust me to
+go alone. He and the professor talked it over, and they thought that I
+would take good enough care of myself. The professor would have much
+preferred to see me go to college, but, as I was not to do that, he
+thought travelling much better for me than staying at home, although I
+made no promise about taking my books along. But it was pretty well
+settled that I was to go to college in the fall, and this consoled him a
+little.</p>
+
+<p>The person who first suggested this travelling plan was our old
+physician, Dr. Mathews. I don't know exactly what he said about it, but
+I knew he thought I had been studying too hard, and needed to "let up"
+for a while. And I'm sure, too, that he was quite positive that I would
+have no let up as long as I staid in the same town with the professor.</p>
+
+<p>Nearly a year before this time, Rectus had left the academy. He had
+never reached the higher classes,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[6]</a></span>&mdash;in fact, he didn't seem to get on
+well at all. He studied well enough, but he didn't take hold of things
+properly, and I believe he really did not care to go through the school.
+But he was such a quiet fellow that we could not make much out of him.
+His father was very rich, and we all thought that Rectus was taken away
+to be brought up as a partner in the firm. But we really knew nothing
+about it: for, as I found out afterward, Rectus spent all his time,
+after he left school, in studying music.</p>
+
+<p>Soon after my trip was all agreed upon and settled, father had to go to
+New York, and there he saw Mr. Colbert, and of course told him of my
+plans. That afternoon, old Colbert came to my father's hotel, and
+proposed to him that I should take his son with me. He had always heard,
+he said, that I was a sensible fellow, and fit to be trusted, and he
+would be very glad to have his boy travel with me. And he furthermore
+said that if I had the care of Samuel&mdash;for of course he didn't call his
+son Rectus&mdash;he would pay me a salary. He had evidently read about young
+English fellows travelling on the continent with their tutors, and I
+suppose he wanted me to be his son's tutor, or something like it.</p>
+
+<p>When father told me what Mr. Colbert had proposed, I agreed instantly. I
+liked Rectus, and the salary would help immensely. I wrote to New York
+that very night, accepting the proposition.</p>
+
+<p>When my friends in the town, and those at the school, heard that Rectus
+and I were going off together, they thought it an uncommonly good<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[7]</a></span> joke,
+and they crowded up to our house to see me about it.</p>
+
+<p>"Two such good young men as you and Rectus travelling together ought to
+have a beneficial influence upon whole communities," said Harry Alden;
+and Scott remarked that if there should be a bad storm at sea, he would
+advise us two to throw everybody else overboard to the whales, for the
+other people would be sure to be the wicked ones. I am happy to say that
+I got a twist on Scott's ear that made him howl, and then mother came in
+and invited them all to come and take supper with me, the Tuesday before
+I started. We invited Rectus to come up from the city, but he did not
+make his appearance. However, we got on first-rate without him, and had
+a splendid time. There was never a woman who knew just how to make boys
+have a good time, like my mother.</p>
+
+<p>I had been a long while on the steamer waiting for Rectus. She was to
+sail at three o'clock, and it was then after two. The day was clear and
+fine, but so much sitting and standing about had made me cold, so that I
+was very glad to see a carriage drive up with Rectus and his father and
+mother. I went down to them. I was anxious to see Rectus, for it had
+been nearly a year since we had met. He seemed about the same as he used
+to be, and had certainly not grown much. He just shook hands with me and
+said, "How d' ye do, Gordon?" Mr. and Mrs. Colbert seemed ever so much
+more pleased to see me, and when we went on the upper deck, the old
+gentleman took me into the captain's room, the door of which stood open.
+The<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[8]</a></span> captain was not there, but I don't believe Mr. Colbert would have
+cared if he had been. All he seemed to want was to find a place where we
+could get away from the people on deck. When he had partly closed the
+door, he said:</p>
+
+<p>"Have you got your ticket?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, yes!" I answered; "I bought that ten days ago. I wrote for it."</p>
+
+<p>"That's right," said he, "and here is Sammy's ticket. I was glad to see
+that you had spoken about the other berth in your state-room being
+reserved for Sammy."</p>
+
+<p>I thought he needn't have asked me if I had my ticket when he knew that
+I had bought it. But perhaps he thought I had lost it by this time. He
+was a very particular little man.</p>
+
+<p>"Where do you keep your money?" he asked me, and I told him that the
+greater part of it&mdash;all but some pocket-money&mdash;was stowed away in an
+inside pocket of my vest.</p>
+
+<p>"Very good," said he; "that's better than a pocket-book or belt: but you
+must pin it in. Now, here is Sammy's money&mdash;for his travelling expenses
+and his other necessities; I have calculated that that will be enough
+for a four months' trip, and you wont want to stay longer than that. But
+if this runs out, you can write to me. If you were going to Europe, now,
+I'd get you a letter of credit, but for your sort of travelling, you'd
+better have the money with you. I did think of giving you a draft on
+Savannah, but you'd have to draw the money there&mdash;and you might as well
+have it here. You're big enough to know how to take<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</a></span> care of it." And
+with this he handed me a lot of banknotes.</p>
+
+<p>"And now, what about your salary? Would you like to have it now, or wait
+until you come back?"</p>
+
+<p>This question made my heart jump, for I had thought a great deal about
+how I was to draw that salary. So, quick enough, I said that I'd like to
+have it now.</p>
+
+<p>"I expected so," said he, "and here's the amount for four months. I
+brought a receipt. You can sign it with a lead-pencil. That will do. Now
+put all this money in your inside pockets. Some in your vest, and some
+in your under-coat. Don't bundle it up too much, and be sure and pin it
+in. Pin it from the inside, right through the money, if you can. Put
+your clothes under your pillow at night. Good-bye! I expect they'll be
+sounding the gong directly, for us to get ashore."</p>
+
+<p>And so he hurried out. I followed him, very much surprised. He had
+spoken only of money, and had said nothing about his son,&mdash;what he
+wished me to do for him, what plans of travel or instruction he had
+decided upon, or anything, indeed, about the duties for which I was to
+be paid. I had expected that he would come down early to the steamer and
+have a long talk about these matters. There was no time to ask him any
+questions now, for he was with his wife, trying to get her to hurry
+ashore. He was dreadfully afraid that they would stay on board too long,
+and be carried to sea.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Colbert, however, did not leave me in any doubt as to what she
+wanted me to do. She rushed up to me, and seized me by both hands.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Now you will take the greatest and the best care of my boy, wont you?
+You'll cherish him as the apple of your eye? You'll keep him out of
+every kind of danger? Now <i>do</i> take good care of him,&mdash;especially in
+storms."</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 201px;">
+<img src="images/gs02.jpg" width="201" height="200" alt="&quot;SHE SEIZED ME BY BOTH HANDS.&quot;" title="&quot;SHE SEIZED ME BY BOTH HANDS.&quot;" />
+<span class="caption">&quot;SHE SEIZED ME BY BOTH HANDS.&quot;</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>I tried to assure Rectus's mother&mdash;she was a wide, good-humored
+lady&mdash;that I would do as much of all<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span> this as I could, and what I said
+seemed to satisfy her, for she wiped her eyes in a very comfortable sort
+of a way.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Colbert got his wife ashore as soon as he could, and Rectus and I
+stood on the upper deck and watched them get into the carriage and drive
+away. Rectus did not look as happy as I thought a fellow ought to look,
+when starting out on such a jolly trip as we expected this to be.</p>
+
+<p>I proposed that we should go and look at our state-room, which was
+number twenty-two, and so we went below. The state-room hadn't much
+state about it. It was very small, with two shelves for us to sleep on.
+I let Rectus choose his shelf, and he took the lower one. This suited me
+very well, for I'd much rather climb over a boy than have one climb over
+me.</p>
+
+<p>There wasn't anything else in the room to divide, and we were just about
+to come out and call the thing settled, when I heard a shout at the
+door. I turned around, and there stood Harry Alden, and Scott, and Tom
+Myers and his brother George!</p>
+
+<p>I tell you, I was glad to see them. In spite of all my reasoning that it
+made no difference about anybody coming to see me off, it did make a
+good deal of difference. It was a lonely sort of business starting off
+in that way&mdash;especially after seeing Rectus's father and mother come
+down to the boat with him.</p>
+
+<p>"We didn't think of this until this morning," cried Scott. "And then we
+voted it was too mean to let you go off without anybody to see you
+safely on board&mdash;&mdash;"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Oh, yes!" said I.</p>
+
+<p>"And so our class appointed a committee," Scott went on, "to come down
+and attend to you, and we're the committee. It ought to have been
+fellows that had gone through the school, but there were none of them
+there."</p>
+
+<p>"Irish!" said Harry.</p>
+
+<p>"So we came," said Scott. "We raised all the spare cash there was in the
+class, and there was only enough to send four of us. We drew lots. If it
+hadn't been you, I don't believe the professor would have let us off.
+Any way, we missed the noon train, and were afraid, all the way here,
+that we'd be too late. Do you two fellows have to sleep in those
+'cubby-holes'?"</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly," said I; "they're big enough."</p>
+
+<p>"Don't believe it," said Harry Alden; "they're too short."</p>
+
+<p>"That's so," said Scott, who was rather tall for his age. "Let's try
+'em."</p>
+
+<p>This was agreed to on the spot, and all four of the boys took off their
+boots and got into the berths, while Rectus and I sat down on the little
+bench at the side of the room and laughed at them. Tom Myers and his
+brother George both climbed into the top berth at once, and as they
+found it was a pretty tight squeeze, they both tried to get out at once,
+and down they came on Scott, who was just turning out of the lower
+berth,&mdash;which was too long for him, in spite of all his talk,&mdash;and then
+there was a much bigger tussle, all around, than any six boys could make
+with comfort in a little room like that.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>I hustled Tom Myers and his brother George out into the dining-room, and
+the other fellows followed.</p>
+
+<p>"Is this where you eat?" asked Scott, looking up and down at the long
+tables, with the swinging shelves above them.</p>
+
+<p>"No, this isn't where they eat," said Harry; "this is where they come to
+look at victuals, and get sick at the sight of them."</p>
+
+<p>"Sick!" said I; "not much of it."</p>
+
+<p>But the committee laughed, and didn't seem to agree with me.</p>
+
+<p>"You'll be sick ten minutes after the boat starts," said Scott.</p>
+
+<p>"We wont get into sea-sick water until we're out of the lower bay," I
+said. "And this isn't a boat&mdash;it's a ship. You fellows know lots!"</p>
+
+<p>Tom Myers and his brother George were trying to find out why the
+tumblers and glasses were all stuck into holes in the shelves over the
+tables, when Harry Alden sung out:</p>
+
+<p>"What's that swishing?"</p>
+
+<p>"That what?" said I.</p>
+
+<p>"There it goes again!" Harry cried. "Splashing!"</p>
+
+<p>"It's the wheels!" exclaimed Rectus.</p>
+
+<p>"That's so!" cried Scott. "The old thing's off! Rush up! Here! The
+hind-stairs! Quick!"</p>
+
+<p>And upstairs to the deck we all went, one on top of another. The wheels
+were going around, and the steamer was off!</p>
+
+<p>Already she was quite a distance from the wharf. I suppose the tide
+carried her out, as soon as the lines<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span> were cast off, for I'm sure the
+wheels had not been in motion half a minute before we heard them. But
+all that made no difference. We were off.</p>
+
+<p>I never saw four such blank faces as the committee wore, when they saw
+the wide space of water between them and the wharf.</p>
+
+<p>"Stop her!" cried Scott to me, as if I could do anything, and then he
+made a dive toward a party of men on the deck.</p>
+
+<p>"They're passengers!" I cried. "We must find the captain."</p>
+
+<p>"No, no!" said Harry. "Go for the steersman. Tell him to steer back! We
+mustn't be carried off!"</p>
+
+<p>Tom Myers and his brother George had already started for the
+pilot-house, when Rectus shouted to them that he'd run down to the
+engineer and tell him to stop the engine. So they stopped, and Rectus
+was just going below when Scott called to him to hold up.</p>
+
+<p>"You needn't be scared!" he said. (He had been just as much scared as
+anybody.) "That man over there says it will be all right. We can go back
+with the pilot. People often do that. It will be all the more fun. Don't
+bother the engineer. There's nothing I'd like better than a trip back
+with a pilot!"</p>
+
+<p>"That's so," said Harry; "I never thought of the pilot."</p>
+
+<p>"But are you sure he'll take you back?" asked Rectus, while Tom Myers
+and his brother George looked very pale and anxious.</p>
+
+<p>"Take us? Of course he will," said Scott. "That's one of the things a
+pilot's for,&mdash;to take back passen<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span>gers,&mdash;I mean people who are only
+going part way. Do you suppose the captain will want to take us all the
+way to Savannah for nothing?"</p>
+
+<p>Rectus didn't suppose that, and neither did any of the rest of us, but I
+thought we ought to look up the captain and tell him.</p>
+
+<p>"But, you see," said Scott, "it's just possible he <i>might</i> put back."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, don't you want to go back?" I asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, of course, but I would like a sail back in a pilot-boat," said
+Scott, and Harry Alden agreed with him. Tom Myers and his brother George
+wanted to go back right away.</p>
+
+<p>We talked the matter over a good deal. I didn't wish to appear as if I
+wanted to get rid of the fellows who had been kind enough to come all
+the way from Willisville to see me off, but I couldn't help thinking
+that it didn't look exactly fair and straightforward not to say that
+these boys were not passengers until the pilot was ready to go back. I
+determined to go and see about the matter, but I would wait a little
+while.</p>
+
+<p>It was cool on deck, especially now that the vessel was moving along,
+but we all buttoned up our coats and walked up and down. The sun shone
+brightly, and the scene was so busy and lively with the tug-boats
+puffing about, and the vessels at anchor, and the ferry-boats, and a
+whole bay-full of sights curious to us country boys, that we all enjoyed
+ourselves very much&mdash;except Tom Myers and his brother George. They
+didn't look happy.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>CHAPTER II.</h2>
+
+<h3>GOING BACK WITH THE PILOT.</h3>
+
+
+<p>We were pretty near the Narrows when I thought it was about time to let
+the captain, or one of the officers, know that there were some people on
+board who didn't intend to take the whole trip. I had read in the
+newspapers that committees and friends who went part way with
+distinguished people generally left them in the lower bay.</p>
+
+<p>But I was saved the trouble of looking for an officer, for one of them,
+the purser, came along, collecting tickets. I didn't give him a chance
+to ask Scott or any of the other fellows for something that they didn't
+have, but went right up to him and told him how the matter stood.</p>
+
+<p>"I must see the captain about this," he said, and off he went.</p>
+
+<p>"He didn't look very friendly," said Scott, and I had to admit that he
+didn't.</p>
+
+<p>In a few moments the captain came walking rapidly up to us. He was a
+tall man, dressed in blue, with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span> side-whiskers, and an oil-cloth cap.
+The purser came up behind him.</p>
+
+<p>"What's all this?" said the captain. "Are you not passengers, you boys?"
+He did not look very friendly, either, as he asked this question.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 205px;">
+<img src="images/gs03.png" width="205" height="300" alt="THE VESSEL IS OFF." title="THE VESSEL IS OFF." />
+<span class="caption">THE VESSEL IS OFF.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Two of us are," I said, "but four of us were carried off
+accidentally."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Accident? Fiddlesticks!" exclaimed the captain. "Didn't you know the
+vessel was starting? Hadn't you time to get off? Didn't you hear the
+gong? Everybody else heard it. Are you all deaf?"</p>
+
+<p>This was a good deal to answer at once, so I just said that I didn't
+remember hearing any gong. Tom Myers and his brother George, however,
+spoke up, and said that they had heard a gong, they thought, but did not
+know what it was for.</p>
+
+<p>"Why didn't you ask, then?" said the captain, who was getting worse in
+his humor. I had a good mind to tell him that it would take up a good
+deal of the crew's time if Tom Myers and his brother George asked about
+everything they didn't understand on board this ship, but I thought I
+had better not. I have no doubt the gong sounded when we were having our
+row in the state-room, and were not likely to pay attention to it even
+if we did hear it.</p>
+
+<p>"And why, in the name of common sense," the captain went on, "didn't you
+come and report, the instant you found the vessel had started? Did you
+think we were fast to the pier all this time?"</p>
+
+<p>Then Scott thought he might as well come out square with the truth; and
+he told how they made up their minds, after they found that the steamer
+had really started, with them on board, not to make any fuss about it,
+nor give anybody any trouble to stop the ship, or to put back, but just
+to stay quietly on board, and go back with the pilot. They thought that
+would be most convenient, all around.</p>
+
+<p>"Go back with the pilot!" the captain cried. "Why,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span> you young idiot,
+there <i>is</i> no pilot! Coastwise steamers don't carry pilots. I am my own
+pilot. There is no pilot going back!"</p>
+
+<p>You ought to have seen Scott's face!</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 216px;">
+<img src="images/gs04.png" width="216" height="300" alt="SCOTT AND THE CAPTAIN." title="SCOTT AND THE CAPTAIN." />
+<span class="caption">SCOTT AND THE CAPTAIN.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Nobody said anything. We all just stood and looked at the captain. Tears
+began to come into the eyes of Tom Myers and his brother George.</p>
+
+<p>"What are they to do?" asked the purser of the captain. "Buy tickets for
+Savannah?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"We can't do that," said Scott, quickly. "We haven't any money."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know what they're to do," replied the captain. "I'd like to
+chuck 'em overboard." And with this agreeable little speech he walked
+away.</p>
+
+<p>The purser now took the two tickets for Rectus and myself, and saying:
+"We'll see what's to be done with the rest of you fellows," he walked
+away, too.</p>
+
+<p>Then we all looked at one another. We were a pretty pale lot, and I
+believe that Rectus and I, who were all right, felt almost as badly as
+the four other boys, who were all wrong.</p>
+
+<p>"We <i>can't</i> go to Savannah!" said Harry Alden. "What right have they to
+take us to Savannah?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, then, you'd better get out and go home," said Scott. "I don't so
+much mind their taking us to Savannah, for they can't make us pay if we
+haven't any money. But how are we going to get back? That's the
+question. And what'll the professor think? He'll write home that we've
+run away. And what'll we do in Savannah without any money?"</p>
+
+<p>"You'd better have thought of some of these things before you got us
+into waiting to go back with the pilot," said Harry.</p>
+
+<p>As for Tom Myers and his brother George, they just sat down and put
+their arms on the railing, and clapped their faces down on their arms.
+They cried all over their coat-sleeves, but kept as quiet as they could
+about it. Whenever these two boys had to cry before any of the rest of
+the school-fellows, they had learned to keep very quiet about it.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>While the rest of us were talking away, and Scott and Harry finding
+fault with each other, the captain came back. He looked in a little
+better humor.</p>
+
+<p>"The only thing that can be done with you boys," he said, "is to put you
+on some tug or small craft that's going back to New York. If we meet
+one, I'll lie to and let you off. But it will put me to a great deal of
+trouble, and we may meet with nothing that will take you aboard. You
+have acted very badly. If you had come right to me, or to any of the
+officers, the moment you found we had started, I could have easily put
+you on shore. There are lots of small boats about the piers that would
+have come out after you, or I might even have put back. But I can do
+nothing now but look out for some craft bound for New York that will
+take you aboard. If we don't meet one, you'll have to go on to
+Savannah."</p>
+
+<p>This made us feel a little better. We were now in the lower bay, and
+there would certainly be some sort of a vessel that would stop for the
+boys. We all went to the forward deck and looked out. It was pretty cold
+there, and we soon began to shiver in the wind, but still we stuck it
+out.</p>
+
+<p>There were a good many vessels, but most of them were big ones. We could
+hardly have the impudence to ask a great three-masted ship, under full
+sail, to stop and give us a lift to New York. At any rate, we had
+nothing to do with the asking. The captain would attend to that. But
+every time we came near a vessel going the other way, we looked about to
+see if we<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span> could see anything of an officer with a trumpet, standing all
+ready to sing out, "Sail ho!"</p>
+
+<p>But, after a while, we felt so cold that we couldn't stand it any
+longer, and we went below. We might have gone and stood by the
+smoke-stack and warmed ourselves, but we didn't know enough about ships
+to think of this.</p>
+
+<p>We hadn't been standing around the stove in the dining-room more than
+ten minutes, before the purser came hurrying toward us.</p>
+
+<p>"Come, now," he said, "tumble forward! The captain's hailed a
+pilot-boat."</p>
+
+<p>"Hurrah!" said Scott; "we're going back in a pilot-boat, after all!" and
+we all ran after the purser to the lower forward deck. Our engines had
+stopped, and not far from us was a rough-looking little schooner with a
+big "17" painted in black on her mainsail. She was "putting about," the
+purser said, and her sails were flapping in the wind.</p>
+
+<p>There was a great change in the countenances of Tom Myers and his
+brother George. They looked like a couple of new boys.</p>
+
+<p>"Isn't this capital?" said Scott. "Everything's turned out all right."</p>
+
+<p>But all of a sudden he changed his tune.</p>
+
+<p>"Look here!" said he to me, pulling me on one side; "wont that pilot
+want to be paid something? He wont stop his vessel and take us back for
+nothing, will he?"</p>
+
+<p>I couldn't say anything about this, but I asked the purser, who still
+stood by us.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I don't suppose he'll make any regular charge," said he; "but he'll
+expect you to give him something,&mdash;whatever you please."</p>
+
+<p>"But we haven't anything," said Scott to me. "We have our return tickets
+to Willisville, and that's about all."</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps we can't go back, after all," said Harry, glumly, while Tom
+Myers and his brother George began to drop their lower jaws again.</p>
+
+<p>I did not believe that the pilot-boat people would ask to see the boys'
+money before they took them on board; but I couldn't help feeling that
+it would be pretty hard for them to go ashore at the city and give
+nothing for their passages but promises, and so I called Rectus on one
+side, and proposed to lend the fellows some money. He agreed, and I
+unpinned a banknote and gave it to Scott. He was mightily tickled to get
+it, and vowed he'd send it back to me in the first letter he wrote (and
+he did it, too).</p>
+
+<p>The pilot-schooner did not come very near us, but she lowered a boat
+with two men in it, and they rowed up to the steamer. Some of our
+sailors let down a pair of stairs, and one of the men in the boat came
+up to see what was wanted. The purser was telling him, when the captain,
+who was standing on the upper deck, by the pilot-house, sung out:</p>
+
+<p>"Hurry up there, now, and don't keep this vessel here any longer. Get
+'em out as quick as you can, Mr. Brown."</p>
+
+<p>The boys didn't stop to have this kind invitation repeated, and Scott
+scuffled down the stairs into the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span> boat as fast as he could, followed
+closely by Harry Alden. Tom Myers and his brother George stopped long
+enough to bid each of us good-bye, and shake hands with us, and then
+they went down the stairs. They had to climb over the railing to the
+platform in front of the wheel-house to get to the stairs, and as the
+steamer rolled a little, and the stairs shook, they went down very
+slowly, backward, and when they got to the bottom were afraid to step
+into the boat, which looked pretty unsteady as it wobbled about under
+them.</p>
+
+<p>"Come, there! Be lively!" shouted the captain.</p>
+
+<p>Just then, Rectus made a step forward. He had been looking very
+anxiously at the boys as they got into the boat, but he hadn't said
+anything.</p>
+
+<p>"Where are you going?" said I; for, as quick as a flash, the thought
+came into my mind that Rectus's heart had failed him, and that he would
+like to back out.</p>
+
+<p>"I think I'll go back with the boys," he said, making another step
+toward the top of the stairs, down which the man from the pilot-boat was
+hurrying.</p>
+
+<p>"Just you try it!" said I, and I put out my arm in front of him.</p>
+
+<p>He didn't try it, and I'm glad he didn't, for I should have been sorry
+enough to have had the boys go back and say that when they last saw
+Rectus and I we were having a big fight on the deck of the steamer.</p>
+
+<p>The vessel now started off, and Rectus and I went to the upper deck and
+stood and watched the little<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span> boat, as it slowly approached the
+schooner. We were rapidly leaving them, but we saw the boys climb on
+board, and one of them&mdash;it must have been Scott&mdash;waved his handkerchief
+to us. I waved mine in return, but Rectus kept his in his pocket. I
+don't think he felt in a wavy mood.</p>
+
+<p>While we were standing looking at the distant pilot-boat, I began to
+consider a few matters; and the principal thing was this: How were
+Rectus and I to stand toward each other? Should we travel like a couple
+of school-friends, or should I make him understand that he was under my
+charge and control, and must behave himself accordingly? I had no idea
+what he thought of the matter, and by the way he addressed me when we
+met, I supposed that it was possible that he looked upon me very much as
+he used to when we went to school together. If he had said Mr. Gordon,
+it would have been more appropriate, I thought, and would have
+encouraged me, too, in taking position as his supervisor. As far as my
+own feelings were concerned, I think I would have preferred to travel
+about on a level with Rectus, and to have a good time with him, as two
+old school-fellows might easily have, even if one did happen to be two
+years older than the other. But that would not be earning my salary.
+After a good deal of thought, I came to the conclusion that I would let
+things go on as they would, for a while, giving Rectus a good deal of
+rope; but the moment he began to show signs of insubordination, I would
+march right on him, and quell him with an iron hand. After that, all
+would be plain sailing, and we<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span> could have as much fun as we pleased,
+for Rectus would know exactly how far he could go.</p>
+
+<p>There were but few passengers on deck, for it was quite cold, and it now
+began to grow dark, and we went below. Pretty soon the dinner-bell rang,
+and I was glad to hear it, for I had the appetite of a horse. There was
+a first-rate dinner, ever so many different kinds of dishes, all up and
+down the table, which had ridges running lengthwise, under the
+table-cloth, to keep the plates from sliding off, if a storm should come
+up. Before we were done <ins title="Transcriber's Note: original omits this word">with</ins> dinner the shelves above the table began to
+swing a good deal,&mdash;or rather the vessel rolled and the shelves kept
+their places,&mdash;so I knew we must be pretty well out to sea, but I had
+not expected it would be so rough, for the day had been fine and clear.
+When we left the table, it was about as much as we could do to keep our
+feet, and in less than a quarter of an hour I began to feel dreadfully.
+I stuck it out as long as I could, and then I went to bed. The old ship
+rolled, and she pitched, and she heaved, and she butted, right and left,
+against the waves, and made herself just as uncomfortable for human
+beings as she could, but, for all that, I went to sleep after a while.</p>
+
+<p>I don't know how long I slept, but when I woke up, there was Rectus,
+sitting on a little bench by the state-room wall, with his feet braced
+against the berth. He was hard at work sucking a lemon. I turned over
+and looked down at him. He didn't look a bit sick. I hated to see him
+eating lemons.</p>
+
+<p>"Don't you feel badly, Rectus?" said I.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Oh no!" said he; "I'm all right. You ought to suck a lemon. Have one?"</p>
+
+<p>I declined his offer. The idea of eating or drinking anything was
+intensely disagreeable to me. I wished that Rectus would put down that
+lemon. He did throw it away after a while, but he immediately began to
+cut another one.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 188px;">
+<img src="images/gs05.png" width="188" height="225" alt="RECTUS AND THE LEMONS." title="RECTUS AND THE LEMONS." />
+<span class="caption">RECTUS AND THE LEMONS.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Rectus," said I, "you'll make yourself sick. You'd better go to bed."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"It's just the thing to stop me from being sick," said he, and at that
+minute the vessel gave her stern a great toss over sideways, which sent
+Rectus off his seat, head foremost into the wash-stand. I was glad to
+see it. I would have been glad of almost anything that stopped that
+lemon business.</p>
+
+<p>But it didn't stop it; and he only picked himself up, and sat down
+again, his lemon at his mouth.</p>
+
+<p>"Rectus!" I cried, leaning out of my berth. "Put down that lemon and go
+to bed!"</p>
+
+<p>He put down the lemon without a word, and went to bed. I turned over
+with a sense of relief. Rectus was subordinate!<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>CHAPTER III.</h2>
+
+<h3>RECTUS OPENS HIS EYES.</h3>
+
+
+<p>I was all right the next day, and we staid on deck most of the time,
+standing around the smoke-stack when our noses got a little blue with
+the cold. There were not many other people on deck. I was expecting
+young Rectus to have his turn at sea-sickness, but he disappointed me.
+He spent a good deal of his time calculating our position on a little
+folding-map he had. He inquired how fast we were going, and then he
+worked the whole thing out, from Sandy Hook to Savannah, marking on the
+map the hours at which he ought to be at such and such a place. He tried
+his best to get his map of the course all right, and made a good many
+alterations, so that we were off Cape Charles several times in the
+course of the day. Rectus had never been very good at calculations, and
+I was glad to see that he was beginning to take an interest in such
+things.</p>
+
+<p>The next morning, just after day-break, we were<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span> awakened by a good deal
+of tramping about on deck, over our heads, and we turned out, sharp, to
+see what the matter was. Rectus wanted me to wait, after we were
+dressed, until he could get out his map and calculate where we were, but
+I couldn't stop for such nonsense, for I knew that his kind of
+navigation didn't amount to much, and so we scrambled up on deck. The
+ship was pitching and tossing worse than she had done yet. We had been
+practising the "sea-leg" business the day before, and managed to walk
+along pretty well; but this morning our sea-legs didn't work at all, and
+we couldn't take a step without hanging on to something. When we got on
+deck, we found that the first officer, or mate,&mdash;his name was
+Randall,&mdash;with three or four sailors, was throwing the lead to see how
+deep the water was. We hung on to a couple of stays and watched them. It
+was a rousing big lead, a foot long, and the line ran out over a pulley
+at the stern. A sailor took the lead a good way forward before he threw
+it, so as to give it a chance to get to the bottom before the steamer
+passed over it and began to tow it. When they pulled it in, we were
+surprised to see that it took three men to do it. Then Mr. Randall
+scooped out a piece of tallow that was in a hollow in the bottom of the
+lead, and took it to show to the captain, whose room was on deck. I knew
+this was one way they had of finding out where they were, for they
+examined the sand or mud on the tallow, and so knew what sort of a
+bottom they were going over; and all the different kinds of bottom were
+marked out on their charts.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>As Mr. Randall passed us, Rectus sung out to him, and asked him where we
+were now.</p>
+
+<p>"Off Hatteras," said he, quite shortly.</p>
+
+<p>I didn't think Rectus should have bothered Mr. Randall with questions
+when he was so busy; but after he went into the captain's room, the men
+did not seem to have much to do, and I asked one of them how deep it
+was.</p>
+
+<p>"About seventeen fathoms," said he.</p>
+
+<p>"Can we see Cape Hatteras?" I said, trying to get a good look landward
+as the vessel rolled over that way.</p>
+
+<p>"No," said the man. "We could see the light just before day-break, but
+the weather's gettin' thick now, and we're keepin' out."</p>
+
+<p>It was pretty thick to the west, that was true. All that I could see in
+the distance was a very mixed-up picture of wave-tops and mist. I knew
+that Cape Hatteras was one of the most dangerous points on the coast,
+and that sailors were always glad when they had safely rounded it, and
+so I began to take a good deal of interest in what was going on. There
+was a pretty strong wind from the south-east, and we had no sail set at
+all. Every now and then the steamer would get herself up on top of a big
+wave, and then drop down, sideways, as if she were sliding off the top
+of a house. The mate and the captain soon came out on deck together, and
+the captain went forward to the pilot-house, while Mr. Randall came over
+to his men, and they got ready to throw the lead again. It didn't seem
+to me that the line ran out as far as it did<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span> the last time, and I think
+I heard Mr. Randall say, "Fourteen." At any rate, a man was sent forward
+to the pilot-house, and directly we heard the rudder-chains creaking,
+and the big iron arms of the rudder, which were on deck, moved over
+toward the landward side of the vessel, and I knew by that that the
+captain was putting her head out to sea. Mr. Randall took out the tallow
+from the lead and laid it in an empty bucket that was lashed to the
+deck. He seemed to be more anxious now about the depth of water than<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span>
+about the kind of bottom we were passing over. The lead was just about
+to be thrown again, when Rectus, who had taken the tallow out of the
+bucket, which stood near us, and had examined it pretty closely, started
+off to speak to Mr. Randall, with the tallow in his hand.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 299px;">
+<img src="images/gs06.png" width="299" height="300" alt="&quot;&#39;HOLD YOUR TONGUE!&#39; ROARED MR. RANDALL.&quot;" title="&quot;&#39;HOLD YOUR TONGUE!&#39; ROARED MR. RANDALL.&quot;" />
+<span class="caption">&quot;&#39;HOLD YOUR TONGUE!&#39; ROARED MR. RANDALL.&quot;</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Look here!" said Rectus, holding on to the railing. "I'll tell you what
+would be a sight better than tallow for your leads. Just you get some
+fine, white Castile-soap, and&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Confound you!" roared Mr. Randall, turning savagely on him. "Hold your
+tongue! For three cents I'd tie you to this line and drag the bottom
+with you!"</p>
+
+<p>Rectus made no answer. He didn't offer him the three cents, but came
+away promptly, and put the piece of tallow back in the bucket. He didn't
+get any comfort from me.</p>
+
+<p>"Haven't you got any better sense," I said to him, "than to go, with
+your nonsense, to the first officer at such a time as this? I never saw
+such a boy!"</p>
+
+<p>"But the soap <i>is</i> better than the tallow," said Rectus. "It's finer and
+whiter, and would take up the sand better."</p>
+
+<p>"No, it wouldn't," I growled at him; "the water would wash it out in
+half a minute. You needn't be trying to tell anybody on this ship what
+they ought to do."</p>
+
+<p>"But supposing&mdash;&mdash;" said he.</p>
+
+<p>"No," I exclaimed, in a way that made him jump, "there's no supposing
+about it. If you know their<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span> business better than they do, why, just let
+it stand that way. It wont hurt you."</p>
+
+<p>I was pretty mad, I must say, for I didn't want to see a fellow like
+Rectus trying to run the ship. But you couldn't stay mad with Rectus
+long. He didn't mean any wrong, and he gave no words back, and so, as
+you might expect, we were all right again by breakfast-time.</p>
+
+<p>The next morning we were surprised to feel how warm it was on deck. We
+didn't need our overcoats. The sea was ever so much smoother, too. There
+were two or three ladies on deck, who could walk pretty well.</p>
+
+<p>About noon, I was standing on the upper deck, when I saw Rectus coming
+toward me, looking very pale. He was generally a dark sort of a boy, and
+it made a good deal of difference in him to look pale. I was sure he was
+going to be sick, at last,&mdash;although it was rather queer for him to
+knock under when the voyage was pretty nearly over,&mdash;and I began to
+laugh, when he said to me, in a nervous sort of way:</p>
+
+<p>"I tell you what it is, I believe that we've gone past the mouth of the
+Savannah River. According to my calculations," said he, pointing to a
+spot on his map, which he held in his hand, "we must be down about here,
+off the Georgia coast."</p>
+
+<p>I have said that I began to laugh, and now I kept on. I just sat down
+and roared, so that the people looked at me.</p>
+
+<p>"You needn't laugh," said Rectus. "I believe it's so."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"All right, my boy," said I; "but we wont tell the captain. Just let's
+wait and have the fun of seeing him turn around and go back."</p>
+
+<p>Rectus didn't say anything to this, but walked off with his map.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 217px;">
+<img src="images/gs07.png" width="217" height="300" alt="&quot;RECTUS SHOWED ME THE MAP.&quot;" title="&quot;RECTUS SHOWED ME THE MAP.&quot;" />
+<span class="caption">&quot;RECTUS SHOWED ME THE MAP.&quot;</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Now, that boy was no fool. I believe that he was beginning to feel like
+doing something, and, as he had never done anything before, he didn't
+know how.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>About twelve o'clock we reached the mouth of the Savannah (without
+turning back), and sailed twenty miles up the river to the city.</p>
+
+<p>We were the first two persons off that vessel, and we took a hack to the
+hotel that the purser had recommended to us, and had the satisfaction of
+reaching it about ten minutes ahead of the people who came in the
+omnibus; although I don't know that that was of much use to us, as the
+clerk gave us top rooms, any way.</p>
+
+<p>We went pretty nearly all over Savannah that afternoon and the next day.
+It's a beautiful city. There is a little public square at nearly every
+corner, and one of the wide streets has a double row of big trees
+running right down the middle of it, with grass under them, and, what
+seemed stranger yet, the trees were all in leaf, little children were
+playing on the grass, and the weather was warm and splendid. The gardens
+in front of the houses were full of roses and all sorts of flowers in
+blossom, and Rectus wanted to buy a straw hat and get his linen trousers
+out of his trunk.</p>
+
+<p>"No, sir," said I; "I'm not going around with a fellow wearing a straw
+hat and linen breeches in January. You don't see anybody else wearing
+them."</p>
+
+<p>"No," said he; "but it's warm enough."</p>
+
+<p>"You may think so," I answered; "but I guess they know their own
+business best. This is their coldest season, and if they wore straw hats
+and linen clothes now, what would they put on when the scorching hot
+weather comes?"</p>
+
+<p>Rectus didn't know, and that matter was dropped.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span> There is a pretty park
+at the back of the town, and we walked about it, and sat under the
+trees, and looked at the flowers, and the fountain playing, and enjoyed
+it ever so much. If it had been summer, and we had been at home, we
+shouldn't have cared so much for these things; but sitting under trees,
+and lounging about over the green grass, while our folks at home were up
+to their eyes, or thereabouts, in snow and ice, delighted both of us,
+especially Rectus. I never heard him talk so much.</p>
+
+<p>We reached Savannah on Tuesday, and were to leave in the steamer for St.
+Augustine Thursday afternoon. Thursday morning we went out to the
+cemetery of Bonaventure, one of the loveliest places in the whole world,
+where there are long avenues of live-oaks that stretch from one side of
+the road to the other, like great covered arbors, and from every limb of
+every tree hang great streamers of gray moss, four and five feet long.
+It was just wonderful to look at. The whole place seemed dripping with
+waving fringe. Rectus said it looked to him as if this was a graveyard
+for old men, and that every old fellow had had to hang his beard on a
+tree before he went down into his grave.</p>
+
+<p>This was a curious idea for Rectus to have, and the colored man who was
+driving us&mdash;we went out in style, in a barouche, but I wouldn't do that
+kind of thing again without making a bargain beforehand&mdash;turned around
+to look at him as if he thought he was a little crazy. Rectus was
+certainly in high spirits. There was a sort of change coming over him.
+His<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span> eyes had a sparkle in them that I never saw before. No one could
+say that he didn't take interest in things now. I think the warm weather
+had something to do with it.</p>
+
+<p>"I tell you what it is, Gordon," said he,&mdash;he still called me Gordon,
+and I didn't insist on "Mr.," because I thought that, on the whole,
+perhaps it wouldn't do,&mdash;"I'm waking up. I feel as if I had been asleep
+all my life, and was just beginning to open my eyes."</p>
+
+<p>A graveyard seemed a queer place to start out fresh in this way, but it
+wasn't long before I found that, if Rectus hadn't really wakened up, he
+could kick pretty hard in his sleep.</p>
+
+<p>Nothing much happened on the trip down to St. Augustine, for we
+travelled nearly all the way by night. Early the next morning we were
+lying off that old half Spanish town, wishing the tide would rise so
+that we could go in. There is a bar between two islands that lie in
+front of the town, and you have to go over that to get into the harbor.
+We were on the "Tigris," the Bahama steamer that touched at St.
+Augustine on her way to Nassau, and she couldn't get over that bar until
+high tide. We were dreadfully impatient, for we could see the old town,
+with its trees, all green and bright, and its low, wide houses, and a
+great light-house, marked like a barber's pole or a stick of
+old-fashioned mint-candy, and, what was best of all, a splendid old
+castle, or fort, built by the Spaniards three hundred years ago! We
+declared we would go there the moment we set foot on shore. In fact, we
+soon had about a dozen plans for seeing the town.</p>
+
+<p>If we had been the pilots, we would have bumped<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span> that old steamer over
+the bar, somehow or other, long before the real pilot started her in;
+but we had to wait. When we did go in, and steamed along in front of the
+old fort, we could see that it was gray and crumbling, and moss-covered
+in places, and it was just like an oil-painting. The whole town, in
+fact, was like an oil-painting to us.</p>
+
+<p>The moment the stairs were put down, we scuffled ashore, and left the
+steamer to go on to the Bahamas whenever she felt like it. We gave our
+valises and trunk-checks to a negro man with a wagon, and told him to
+take the baggage to a hotel that we could see from the wharf, and then
+we started off for the fort. But on my way along the wharf I made up my
+mind that, as the fort had been there for three hundred years, it would
+probably stand a while longer, and that we had better go along with our
+baggage, and see about getting a place to live in, for we were not going
+to be in any hurry to leave St. Augustine.</p>
+
+<p>We didn't go to any hotel at all. I had a letter of introduction to a
+Mr. Cholott, and on our way up from the wharf, I heard some one call out
+that name to a gentleman. So I remembered my letter, and went up and
+gave it to him. He was a first-rate man, and when we told him where we
+were going, we had quite a talk, and he said he would advise us to go to
+a boarding-house. It would be cheaper, and if we were like most boys
+that he knew, we'd like it better. He said that board could be had with
+several families that he knew, and that some of the Minorcans took
+boarders in the winter.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Of course, Rectus wanted to know, right away, what a Minorcan was. I
+didn't think it was exactly the place to ask questions which probably
+had long answers, but Mr. Cholott didn't seem to be in a hurry, and he
+just started off and told us about the Minorcans. A chap called
+Turnbull, more than a hundred years ago, brought over to Florida a lot
+of the natives of the island of Minorca, in the Mediterranean, and began
+a colony. But he was a mean sort of chap; he didn't care for anything
+but making money out of the Minorcans, and it wasn't long before they
+found it out, for he was really making slaves of them. So they just rose
+up and rebelled, and left old Turnbull to run his colony by himself.
+Served him right, too. They started off on their own accounts, and most
+of them came to this town, where they settled, and have had a good time
+ever since. There are a great many of them here now, descendants of the
+original Minorcans, and they keep pretty much together and keep their
+old name, too. They look a good deal like Spaniards, Mr. Cholott said,
+and many of them are very excellent people.</p>
+
+<p>Rectus took the greatest interest in these Minorcans, but we didn't take
+board with any of them. We went to the house of a lady who was a friend
+of Mr. Cholott, and she gave us a splendid room, that looked right out
+over the harbor. We could see the islands, and the light-house, and the
+bar with the surf outside, and even get a glimpse of the ocean. We saw
+the "Tigris" going out over the bar. The captain wanted to get out on
+the same tide he came in on, and he did<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span> not lose any time. As soon as
+she got fairly out to sea, we hurried down, to go to the fort. But
+first, Rectus said, we ought to go and buy straw hats. There were lots
+of men with straw hats in St. Augustine. This was true, for it was just
+as warm here as we have it in June, and we started off to look for a
+straw-hat store.</p>
+
+<p>We found that we were in one of the queerest towns in the world. Rectus
+said it was all back-streets, and it looked something that way. The
+streets were very narrow, and none of them had any pavement but sand and
+powdered shell, and very few had any sidewalks. But they didn't seem to
+be needed. Many of the houses had balconies on the second story, which
+reached toward each other from both sides of the street, and this gave
+the town a sociable appearance. There were lots of shops, and most of
+them sold sea-beans. There were other things, like alligators' teeth,
+and shells, and curiosities, but the great trade of the town seemed to
+be in sea-beans.<a name="FNanchor_A_1" id="FNanchor_A_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_1" class="fnanchor">[A]</a> Rectus and I each bought one for our watch-chains.</p>
+
+<p>I think we tried on every straw hat in town, and we bought a couple in a
+little house, where two or three young women were making them. Rectus
+asked me, in a low voice, if I didn't think one of the young women was a
+Mohican. I hushed him up, for it was none of his business if she was. I
+had a good deal<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span> of trouble in making Rectus say "Minorcan." Whenever we
+had met a dark-haired person, he had said to me: "Do you think that is a
+Mohican?" It was a part of his old school disposition to get things
+wrong in this way. But he never got angry when I corrected him. His
+temper was perfect.</p>
+
+<p>I bought a common-sized hat, but Rectus bought one that spread out far
+and wide. It made him look like a Japanese umbrella. We stuffed our felt
+hats into our pockets, and started for the fort. But I looked at my
+watch and found it was supper-time. I had suspected it when I came out
+of the hat-shop. The sea-trip and fine air here had given us tremendous
+appetites, which our walk had sharpened.</p>
+
+<p>So we turned back at once and hurried home, agreeing to begin square on
+the fort the next day.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTE:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_A_1" id="Footnote_A_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_1"><span class="label">[A]</span></a> Sea-beans are seeds of a West Indian tree. They are of different
+colors, very hard, and capable of being handsomely polished. They are
+called "sea-beans" because great numbers of them drift up on the Florida
+and adjacent coasts.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>CHAPTER IV.</h2>
+
+<h3>TO THE RESCUE.</h3>
+
+
+<p>The next morning, I was awakened by Rectus coming into the room.</p>
+
+<p>"Hello!" said I; "where have you been? I didn't hear you get up."</p>
+
+<p>"I called you once or twice," said Rectus, "but you were sleeping so
+soundly I thought I'd let you alone. I knew you'd lost some sleep by
+being sick on the steamer."</p>
+
+<p>"That was only the first night," I exclaimed. "I've made up that long
+ago. But what got you up so early?"</p>
+
+<p>"I went out to take a warm salt-water bath before breakfast," answered
+Rectus. "There's an eight-cornered bath-house right out here, almost
+under the window, where you can have your sea-water warm if you like
+it."</p>
+
+<p>"Do they pump it from the tropics?" I asked, as I got up and began to
+dress.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"No; they heat it in the bath-house. I had a first-rate bath, and I saw
+a Minorcan."</p>
+
+<p>"You don't say so!" I cried. "What was he like? Had he horns? And how
+did you know what he was?"</p>
+
+<p>"I asked him," said Rectus.</p>
+
+<p>"Asked him!" I exclaimed. "You don't mean to say that you got up early
+and went around asking people if they were Mohicans!"</p>
+
+<p>"Minorcans, I said."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, it's bad enough, even if you got the name right. Did you ask the
+man plump to his face?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes. But he first asked me what I was. He was an oldish man, and I met
+him just as I was coming out of the bath-house. He had a basket of clams
+on his arm, and I asked him where he caught them. That made him laugh,
+and he said he dug them out of the sand under the wharf. Then he asked
+me if my name was Cisneros, and when I told him it was not, he said that
+I looked like a Spaniard, and he thought that that might be my name. And
+so, as he had asked me about myself, I asked him if he was a Minorcan,
+and he said 'yes.'"</p>
+
+<p>"And what then?" I asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Nothing," said Rectus. "He went on with his clams, and I came home."</p>
+
+<p>"You didn't seem to make much out of him, after all," said I. "I don't
+wonder he thought you were a Spaniard, with that hat. I told you you'd
+make a show of yourself. But what are you going to do with your
+Minorcans, Rectus, when you catch them?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>He laughed, but didn't mention his plans.</p>
+
+<p>"I didn't know how you got clams," he said. "I thought you caught them
+some way. It would never have entered my head to dig for them."</p>
+
+<p>"There's lots to learn in this town about fish, and ever so many other
+things besides; and I tell you what it is, Rectus, as soon as we get
+through with the fort,&mdash;and I don't know how long that will take us, for
+I heard on the steamer that it had underground dungeons,&mdash;we'll go off
+on a first-class exploring expedition."</p>
+
+<p>That suited Rectus exactly.</p>
+
+<p>After breakfast we started for the fort. It is just outside of the town,
+and you can walk all the way on the sea-wall, which is about a yard wide
+on top,&mdash;just a little too wide for one fellow, but not quite wide
+enough for two.</p>
+
+<p>The United States government holds the fort now, of course, and calls it
+Fort Marion, but the old Spanish name was San Marco, and we disdained to
+call it anything else. When we went over the drawbridge, and across the
+moat, we saw the arms of Spain on a shield over the great gate of the
+fort. We walked right in, into a wide hall, with dark door-ways on each
+side, and then out into a great inclosed space, like a parade-ground, in
+the centre of the fort, and here we saw a whole crowd of Indians. We
+didn't expect to find Indians here, and we were very much surprised.
+They did not wear Indian clothes, but were dressed in United States
+military uniform. They didn't look like anything but Indians, though,
+for all that. I<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span> asked one of them if he belonged here, and he smiled
+and said "How?" and held out his hand. We both shook it, but could make
+nothing out of him. A good many of them now came up and said "How?" to
+us, and shook hands, and we soon found that this<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span> meant "How d' ye do?"
+and was about all they knew of English.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 226px;">
+<img src="images/gs08.png" width="226" height="300" alt="&quot;HOW?&quot;" title="&quot;HOW?&quot;" />
+<span class="caption">&quot;HOW?&quot;</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>We were lucky enough, before we got through shaking hands with our new
+friends, to see Mr. Cholott coming toward us, and he immediately took us
+in charge, and seemed to be glad to have a job of the kind. There was
+nothing about the fort that he didn't know. He told us that the Indians
+were prisoners, taken in the far West by United States troops, and that
+some of them were the worst Indians in the whole country. They were safe
+enough now, though, and were held here as hostages. Some were chiefs,
+and they were all noted men,&mdash;some as murderers, and others in less
+important ways. They had been here for some years, and a few of them
+could speak a little English.</p>
+
+<p>He then took us all over the fort,&mdash;up an inclined plane to the top of
+the ramparts, and into the Indian barracks on one of the wide walls,
+where we saw a lot of Cheyennes and Kiowas, and Indians from other
+tribes, sitting around and making bows and arrows, and polishing
+sea-beans to sell to visitors. At each corner of the fort was a "lookout
+tower,"&mdash;a little box of a place, stuck out from the top of the wall,
+with loopholes and a long, narrow passage leading to it, with a high
+wall on each side to protect from bullets and arrows the man who went to
+look out. One of the towers had been knocked off, probably by a
+cannon-ball. These towers and slim little passages took our fancy
+greatly. Then Mr. Cholott took us downstairs to see the dungeons. He got
+the key and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span> gave it to a big old Indian, named Red Horse, who went
+ahead with a lighted kerosene-lamp.</p>
+
+<p>We first saw the dungeon where the Indian chief, Osceola, was shut up
+during the Seminole war. It was a dreary place. There was another chief,
+Wild Cat, who was imprisoned with Osceola, and one night Osceola
+"boosted" him to a high window, where he squeezed through the bars and
+got away. If Osceola had had any one to give him a lift, I suppose he
+would have been off, too. Rectus and I wondered how the two Indians
+managed this little question of who should be hoisted. Perhaps they
+tossed up, or perhaps Wild Cat was the lighter of the two. The worst
+dungeon, though, was a place that was discovered by accident about
+thirty years ago. There was nothing there when we went in; but, when it
+was first found, a chained skeleton was lying on the floor. Through a
+hole in the wall we crept into another dungeon, worse yet, in which two
+iron cages were found hung to the wall, with skeletons in them. It
+seemed like being in some other country to stand in this dark little
+dungeon, and hear these dreadful stories, while a big Indian stood
+grinning by, holding a kerosene-lamp.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Cholott told us that one of the cages and the bones could now be
+seen in Washington.</p>
+
+<p>After Mr. Cholott went home, we tramped all over the fort again by
+ourselves, and that afternoon we sat on the outer wall that runs along
+the harbor-front of the fort, and watched the sail-boats and the
+fishermen in their "dug-outs." There were a couple of sharks swimming up
+and down in front of the town, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span> every now and then they would come
+up and show themselves. They were the first sharks we had ever seen.</p>
+
+<p>Rectus was worked up about the Indians. We had been told that, while a
+great many of the chiefs and braves imprisoned here were men known to
+have committed crimes, still there were others who had done nothing
+wrong, and had been captured and brought here as prisoners, simply
+because, in this way, the government would have a good hold on their
+tribes.</p>
+
+<p>Rectus thought this was the worst kind of injustice, and I agreed with
+him, although I didn't see what we were going to do about it.</p>
+
+<p>On our way home we met Rectus's Minorcan; he was a queer old fellow.</p>
+
+<p>"Hello!" said he, when he saw Rectus. "Have you been out catching
+clams?"</p>
+
+<p>We stopped and talked a little while about the sharks, and then the old
+man asked Rectus why he wanted to know, that morning, whether he was a
+Minorcan or not.</p>
+
+<p>"I just wanted to see one," said Rectus, as if he had been talking of
+kangaroos or giraffes. "I've been thinking a good deal about them, and
+their bold escape from slavery, and their&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Slavery!" sung out the old man. "We were never slaves! What do you mean
+by that? Do you take us for niggers?"</p>
+
+<p>He was pretty mad, and I don't wonder, if that was the way he understood
+Rectus, for he was just as much a white man as either of us.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Oh no!" said Rectus. "But I've heard all about you, and that tyrant
+Turnbull, and the way you cast off his yoke. I mean your fathers, of
+course."</p>
+
+<p>"I reckon you've heard a little too much, young man," said the Minorcan.
+"Somebody's been stuffin' you. You'd better get a hook and line, and go
+out to catch clams."</p>
+
+<p>"Why, you don't understand me!" cried Rectus. "I honor you for it."</p>
+
+<p>The old man looked at him and then at me, and then he laughed. "All
+right, bub," said he. "If ever you want to hire a boat, I've got one. My
+name is Menendez. Just ask for my boat at the club-house wharf." And
+then he went on.</p>
+
+<p>"That's all you get for your sympathy with oppressed people," said
+Rectus. "They call you bub."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, that old fellow isn't oppressed," I said; "and if any of his
+ancestors were, I don't suppose he cares about remembering it. We ought
+to hire his boat some time."</p>
+
+<p>That evening we took a walk along the sea-wall. It was a beautiful
+starlight night, and a great many people were walking about. When we got
+down near the fort,&mdash;which looked bigger and grayer than ever by the
+starlight,&mdash;Rectus said he would like to get inside of it by night, and
+I agreed that it would be a good thing to do. So we went over the
+drawbridge (this place has a drawbridge, and portcullises, and
+barbicans, and demi-lunes, and a moat, just as if it were a castle or a
+fort of some old country in Europe),&mdash;but<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span> the big gate was shut. We
+didn't care to knock, for all was dark, and we came away. Rectus
+proposed that we should reconnoitre the place, and I agreed, although,
+in reality, there wasn't anything to reconnoitre. We went down into the
+moat, which was perfectly dry, and very wide, and walked all around the
+fort.</p>
+
+<p>We examined the walls, which were pretty jagged and rough in some
+places, and we both agreed that if we <i>had</i> to do it, we believed we
+could climb to the top.</p>
+
+<p>As we walked home, Rectus proposed that we should try to climb in some
+night.</p>
+
+<p>"What's the good?" I asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, it would be a splendid thing," said he, "to scale the walls of an
+old Middle-Age fort, like that. Let's try it, anyway."</p>
+
+<p>I couldn't help thinking that it would be rather a fine thing to do, but
+it did seem rather foolish to risk our necks to get over the walls at
+night, when we could walk in, whenever we pleased, all day.</p>
+
+<p>But it was of no use to say anything like that to Rectus. He was full of
+the idea of scaling the walls, and I found that, when the boy did get
+worked up to anything, he could talk first-rate, and before we went to
+sleep I got the notion of it, too, and we made up our minds that we
+would try it.</p>
+
+<p>The next day we walked around the walls two or three times, and found a
+place where we thought we could get up, if we had a rope fastened to the
+top of the wall. When General Oglethorpe bombarded the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span> fort,&mdash;at the
+time the Spaniards held it,&mdash;he made a good many dents in the wall, and
+these would help us. I did climb up a few feet, but we saw that it would
+never do to try to get all the way up without a rope.</p>
+
+<p>How to fasten the rope on the top of the wall was the next question. We
+went in the fort, and found that if we could get a stout grapnel over
+the wall, it would probably catch on the inside of the coping, and give
+us a good enough hold. There is a wide walk on top, with a low wall on
+the outside, just high enough to shelter cannon, and to enable the
+garrison to dodge musketry and arrows.</p>
+
+<p>We had a good deal of trouble finding a rope, but we bought one, at
+last, which was stout enough,&mdash;the man asked us if we were going to fish
+for sharks, and didn't seem to believe us when we said no,&mdash;and we took
+it to our room, and made knots in it about a foot apart. The fort walls
+are about twenty feet high, and we made the rope plenty long enough,
+with something to spare. We didn't have much trouble to find a grapnel.
+We bought a small one, but it was strong enough. We talked the matter
+over a great deal, and went to the fort several times, making
+examinations, and measuring the height of the wall, from the top, with a
+spool of cotton.</p>
+
+<p>It was two or three days before we got everything ready, and in our
+trips to the fort we saw a good deal of the Indians. We often met them
+in the town, too, for they were frequently allowed to go out and walk
+about by themselves. There was no danger, I suppose, of their trying to
+run away, for they were<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span> several thousand miles from their homes, and
+they probably would not care to run to any other place with no larger
+stock of the English language than one word, "How?" Some of them,
+however, could talk a little English. There was one big fellow&mdash;he was
+probably the largest of them all&mdash;who was called "Maiden's Heart." I
+couldn't see how his name fitted, for he looked like an out-and-out
+savage, and generally wore a grin that seemed wicked enough to frighten
+settlers out of his part of the country. But he may have had a tender
+spot, somewhere, which entitled him to his name, and he was certainly
+very willing to talk to us, to the extent of his ability, which was not
+very great. We managed, however, to have some interesting, though rather
+choppy, conversations.</p>
+
+<p>There was another fellow, a young chief, called Crowded Owl, that we
+liked better than any of the others, although we couldn't talk to him at
+all. He was not much older than I was, and so seemed to take to us. He
+would walk all around with us, and point out things. We had bought some
+sea-beans of him, and it may be that he hoped to sell us some more. At
+any rate, he was very friendly.</p>
+
+<p>We met Mr. Cholott several times, and he told us of some good places to
+go to, and said he'd take us out fishing before long. But we were in no
+hurry for any expedition until we had carried out our little plan of
+surprising the fort. I gave the greater part of our money, however, to
+Mr. Cholott to lock up in his safe. I didn't like old Mr. Colbert's plan
+of going about with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</a></span> your capital pinned to your pockets. It might do
+while we were travelling, but I would rather have had it in drafts or
+something else not easily lost.</p>
+
+<p>We had a good many discussions about our grapnel. We did not know
+whether there was a sentinel on duty in the fort at night or not, but
+supposed there was, and, if so, he would be likely to hear the grapnel
+when we threw it up and it hit the stones. We thought we could get over
+this difficulty by wrapping the grapnel in cotton wool. This would
+deaden the sound when it struck, but would not prevent the points of the
+hooks from holding to the inner edge of the wall. Everything now seemed
+all right, except that we had no object in view after we got over the
+wall. I always like to have some reason for doing a thing, especially
+when it's pretty hard to do. I said this to Rectus, and he agreed with
+me.</p>
+
+<p>"What I would like to do," said he, "would be to benefit the innocent
+Indian prisoners."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know what we can do for them," said I. "We can't let them out,
+and they'd all go back again if we did."</p>
+
+<p>"No, we can't do that," said he; "but we ought to do something. I've
+been around looking at them all carefully, and I feel sure that there
+are at least forty men among those Indians who haven't done a thing to
+warrant shutting them up."</p>
+
+<p>"Why, how do you know?" I exclaimed.</p>
+
+<p>"I judge from their faces," said Rectus.</p>
+
+<p>Of course this made me laugh, but he didn't care.</p>
+
+<p>"I'll tell you what we could do," said he; "we<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span> could enter a protest
+that might be heard of, and do some good. We could take a pot of black
+paint and a brush with us, and paint on one of the doors that open into
+the inner square,&mdash;where everybody could see it,&mdash;something like this:
+'Let the righteous Indian go free.' That would create talk, and
+something might be done."</p>
+
+<p>"Who'd do it?" said I. "The captain in command couldn't. He has no power
+to let any of them go free."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, we might address the notice to the President of the United
+States&mdash;in big black letters. They could not conceal such a thing."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, now, look here, Rectus," said I; "this thing is going to cost too
+much money. That rope was expensive, and the grapnel cost a good deal
+more than we thought it would; and now you want a big pot of black
+paint. We mustn't spend our money too fast, and if we've got to
+economize, let's begin on black paint. You can write your proclamation
+on paper, and stick it on the door with tacks. They could send that
+easier to the President than they could send a whole door."</p>
+
+<p>"You may make as much fun as you please," said Rectus, "but I'm going to
+write it out now."</p>
+
+<p>And so he did, in big letters, on half a sheet of foolscap.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>CHAPTER V.</h2>
+
+<h3>STORMING SAN MARCO.</h3>
+
+
+<p>We started out on our storming expedition on a Tuesday night, about nine
+o'clock; we had a latch-key, so we could come home when we pleased.
+Rectus carried the rope, and I had the grapnel, wrapped in its cotton
+wool. We put newspapers around these things, and made pretty respectable
+packages of them. We did not go down the sea-wall, but walked around
+through some of the inner streets. It seemed to us like a curious
+expedition. We were not going to do anything wrong, but we had no idea
+what the United States government would think about it. We came down to
+the fort on its landward side, but our attack was to be made upon the
+waterfront, and so we went around that way, on the side farthest from
+the town. There were several people about yet, and we had to wait. We
+dropped our packages into the moat, and walked about on the
+water-battery, which is between the harbor and the moat, and is used as
+a sort of pleasure-ground by the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span> people of the town. It was a pretty
+dark night, although the stars were out, and the last of the promenaders
+soon went home; and then, after giving them about ten minutes to get
+entirely out of sight and hearing, we jumped down into the moat, which
+is only five or six feet below the water-battery, and, taking our
+packages, went over to that part of the wall which we had fixed upon for
+our assault.</p>
+
+<p>We fastened the rope to the grapnel, and then Rectus stood back while I
+made ready for the throw. It was a pretty big throw, almost straight up
+in the air, but I was strong, and was used to pitching, and all that
+sort of thing. I coiled the rope on the ground, took the loose end of it
+firmly in my left hand, and then, letting the grapnel hang from my right
+hand until it nearly touched the ground, I swung it round and round,
+perpendicularly, and when it had gone round three or four times, I gave
+it a tremendous hurl upward.</p>
+
+<p>It rose beautifully, like a rocket, and fell inside of the ramparts,
+making only a little thud of a sound.</p>
+
+<p>"First-rate!" said Rectus, softly; and I felt pretty proud myself.</p>
+
+<p>I pulled on the rope, and found the grapnel had caught. I hung with my
+whole weight on it, but it held splendidly.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, then," said I to Rectus, "you can climb up. Go slowly, and be very
+careful. There's no hurry. And mind you take a good hold when you get to
+the top."</p>
+
+<p>We had arranged that Rectus was to go first. This<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span> did not look very
+brave on my part, but I felt that I wanted to be under him, while he was
+climbing, so that I could break his fall if he should slip down. It
+would not be exactly a perpendicular fall, for the wall slanted a
+little, but it would be bad enough. However, I had climbed up worse
+places than that, and Rectus was very nimble; so I felt there was no
+great danger.</p>
+
+<p>Up he went, hand over hand, and putting his toes into nicks every now
+and then, thereby helping himself very much. He took it slowly and
+easily, and I felt sure he would be all right. As I looked at him,
+climbing up there in the darkness, while I was standing below, holding
+the rope so that it should not swing, I could not help thinking that I
+was a pretty curious kind of a tutor for a boy. However, I was taking
+all the care of him that I could, and if he came down he'd probably hurt
+me worse than he would hurt himself. Besides, I had no reason to suppose
+that old Mr. Colbert objected to a little fun. Then I began to think of
+Mrs. Colbert, and while I was thinking of her, and looking up at Rectus,
+I was amazed to see him going up quite rapidly, while the end of the
+rope slipped through my fingers. Up he went, and when I ran back, I
+could see a dark figure on the wall, above him. Somebody was pulling him
+up.</p>
+
+<p>In a very few moments he disappeared over the top, rope and all!</p>
+
+<p>Now, I was truly frightened. What might happen to the boy?</p>
+
+<p>I was about to shout, but, on second thoughts, decided to keep quiet;
+yet I instantly made up my<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span> mind that, if I didn't see or hear from him
+pretty soon, I would run around to the gate and bang up the people
+inside. However, it was not necessary for me to trouble myself, for, in
+a minute, the rope came down again, and I took hold of it. I pulled on
+it and found it all firm, and then I went up. I climbed up pretty fast,
+and two or three times I felt a tug, as if somebody above was trying to
+pull me up. But it was of no use, for I was a great deal stouter and
+heavier than Rectus, who was a light, slim boy. But as I neared the top,
+a hand came down and clutched me by the collar, and some one, with a
+powerful arm and grip, helped me over the top of the wall. There stood
+Rectus, all right, and the fellow who had helped us up was the big
+Indian, "Maiden's Heart."</p>
+
+<p>I looked at Rectus, and he whispered:</p>
+
+<p>"He says there's a sentinel down there in the square."</p>
+
+<p>At this, Maiden's Heart bobbed his head two or three times, and,
+motioning to us to crouch down, he crept quietly over to the inner wall
+of the ramparts and looked down.</p>
+
+<p>"What shall we say we came for?" I whispered, quickly.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know," said Rectus.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, we must think of something," I said, "or we shall look like
+fools."</p>
+
+<p>But before he had time to think, Maiden's Heart crept back. He put his
+finger on his lips, and, beckoning us to follow him, he led the way to a
+corner of the fort near one of the lookout towers. We followed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span> as
+quietly as we could, and then we all three slipped into the narrow
+entrance to the tower, the Indian motioning us to go first. When we two
+stood inside of the little round tower, old Maiden's Heart planted
+himself before us in the passage, and waited to hear what we had to say.</p>
+
+<p>But we couldn't think of anything to say. Directly, however, I thought I
+must do something, so I whispered to the Indian:</p>
+
+<p>"Does the sentry ever come up here?"</p>
+
+<p>He seemed to catch my meaning.</p>
+
+<p>"I go watch," he said. "Come back. Tell you." And off he stole, making
+no more noise than a cat.</p>
+
+<p>"Bother on him!" said Rectus. "If I'd known he was up here, I would
+never have come."</p>
+
+<p>"I reckon not," said I. "But now that we have come, what are we going to
+do or say? That fellow evidently thinks we have some big project on
+hand, and he's ready to help us; we must be careful, or he'll rush down
+and murder the sentinel."</p>
+
+<p>"I'm sure I don't know what to say to him," said Rectus. "We ought to
+have thought of this before. I suppose it would be of no use to mention
+my poster to him."</p>
+
+<p>"No, indeed," said I; "he'd never understand that. And, besides, there's
+a man down there. Let's peep out and see what he's doing."</p>
+
+<p>So we crept to the entrance of the passage, and saw Maiden's Heart,
+crouched near the top of the inclined plane which serves as a stairway
+from the square to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span> the ramparts, and looking over the low wall,
+evidently watching the sentry.</p>
+
+<p>"I'll tell you what let's do," said Rectus. "Let's make a rush for our
+rope, and get out of this."</p>
+
+<p>"No, sir!" said I. "We'd break our necks if we tried to hurry down that
+rope. Don't think of anything of that kind. And, besides, we couldn't
+both get down before he'd see us."</p>
+
+<p>In a few minutes, Maiden's Heart crept quickly back to us, and seemed
+surprised that we had left our hiding-place. He motioned us farther back
+into the passage, and slipped in himself.</p>
+
+<p>We did not have time to ask any questions before we heard the sentry
+coming up the stairway, which was near our corner. When he reached the
+top, he walked away from us over toward the Indian barracks, which were
+on the ramparts, at the other end of the fort. As soon as he reached the
+barracks, Maiden's Heart took me by the arm and Rectus by the collar,
+and hurried us to the stairway, and then down as fast as we could go. He
+made no noise himself, but Rectus and I clumped a good deal. We had to
+wear our shoes, for the place was paved with rough concrete and
+oyster-shells.</p>
+
+<p>The sentry evidently heard the clumping, for he came running down after
+us, and caught up to us almost as soon as we reached the square.</p>
+
+<p>"Eugh!" said he, for he was an Indian; and he ran in front of us, and
+held his musket horizontally before us. Of course we stopped. And then,
+as there was nothing else that seemed proper to do, we<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span> held out our
+hands and said "How?" The sentinel took his gun in his left hand, and
+shook hands with us. Then Maiden's Heart, who probably remembered that
+he had omitted this ceremony, also shook hands with us and said "How?"</p>
+
+<p>The two Indians now began to jabber to each other, in a low voice; but
+we could not, of course, make out what they said, and I don't think they
+were able to imagine what we intended to do. We were standing near the
+inner door of the great entrance-way, and into this they now marched us.
+There was a lamp burning on a table.</p>
+
+<p>Said Rectus: "I guess they're going to put us out of the front door;"
+but he was mistaken. They walked us into a dark room, on one side of the
+hall, and Maiden's Heart said to us: "Stay here. Him mad. I come back.
+Keep still," and then he went out, probably to discuss with the sentinel
+the nature of our conspiracy. It was very dark in this room, and, at
+first, we couldn't see anything at all; but we soon found, from the
+smell of the bread, that we were in the kitchen or bakery. We had been
+here before, and had seen the head-cook, a ferocious Indian squaw, who
+had been taken in the act of butchering a poor emigrant woman on the
+plains. She always seemed sullen and savage, and never said a word to
+anybody. We hoped she wasn't in here now.</p>
+
+<p>"I didn't know they had Indian sentinels," said Rectus. "That seems a
+little curious to me. I suppose they set the innocent ones to watch the
+guilty."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't believe that would work," said I, "for the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a></span> innocent chaps
+would want to get away, just as much as the others. I guess they make
+'em take turns to stand guard. There has to be a sentinel in a fort, you
+know, and I suppose these fellows are learning the business."</p>
+
+<p>We didn't settle this question, nor the more important one of our reason
+for this visit; for, at this moment, Maiden's Heart came back, carrying
+the lamp. He looked at us in a curious way, and then he said:</p>
+
+<p>"What you want?"</p>
+
+<p>I couldn't think of any good answer to this question, but Rectus
+whispered to me:</p>
+
+<p>"Got any money with you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said I.</p>
+
+<p>"Let's buy some sea-beans," said Rectus.</p>
+
+<p>"All right," I answered.</p>
+
+<p>"Sea-beans?" said Maiden's Heart, who had caught the word; "you want
+sea-beans?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Rectus, "if you have any good ones."</p>
+
+<p>At this, the Indian conducted us into the hall, put the lamp on the
+table, and took three or four sea-beans from his pocket. They were very
+nice ones, and beautifully polished.</p>
+
+<p>"Good," said I; "we'll take these. How much, Maiden's Heart?"</p>
+
+<p>"Fifty cents," said the Indian.</p>
+
+<p>"For all?" I asked.</p>
+
+<p>"No. No. For one. Four bean two dollar."</p>
+
+<p>We both exclaimed at this, for it was double the regular price of the
+beans.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"All right," said Maiden's Heart. "Twenty-five cents, daytime. Fifty
+cents, night."</p>
+
+<p>We looked at each other, and concluded to pay the price and depart. I
+gave him two dollars, and asked him to open the gate and let us out.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 241px;">
+<img src="images/gs09.png" width="241" height="250" alt="&quot;ANOTHER BEAN.&quot;" title="&quot;ANOTHER BEAN.&quot;" />
+<span class="caption">&quot;ANOTHER BEAN.&quot;</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>He grinned.</p>
+
+<p>"No. No. We got no key. Captain got key. Come up wall. Go down wall."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>At this, we walked out into the square, and were about to ascend the
+inclined plane when the sentinel came up and stopped us. Thereupon a low
+conversation ensued between him and Maiden's Heart, at the end of which
+the sentry put his hand into his pocket and pulled out three beans,
+which he held out to us. I did not hesitate, but gave him a dollar and a
+half for them. He took the money and let us pass on,&mdash;Maiden's Heart at
+my side.</p>
+
+<p>"You want more bean?" said he.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, no!" I answered. "No, indeed," said Rectus.</p>
+
+<p>When we reached the place where we had left our apparatus, I swung the
+rope over the wall, and, hooking the grapnel firmly on the inside,
+prepared to go down, for, as before, I wished to be under Rectus, if he
+should slip. But Maiden's Heart put his hand on my shoulder.</p>
+
+<p>"Hold up!" he said. "I got 'nother bean. Buy this."</p>
+
+<p>"Don't want it," said I.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes. Yes," said Maiden's Heart, and he coolly unhooked the grapnel from
+the wall.</p>
+
+<p>I saw that it was of no use to contend with a big fellow like that, as
+strong as two common men, and I bought the bean.</p>
+
+<p>I took the grapnel from Maiden's Heart, who seemed to give it up
+reluctantly, and as I hooked it on the wall, I felt a hand upon my
+shoulder. I looked around, and saw the sentinel. He held out to me
+another bean. It was too dark to see the quality of it, but I thought it
+was very small. However, I<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span> bought it. One of these fellows must be
+treated as well as the other.</p>
+
+<p>Maiden's Heart and the sentry were now feeling nervously in their
+pockets.</p>
+
+<p>I shook my head vigorously, and saying, "No more! no more!" threw myself
+over the wall, and seized the rope, Rectus holding the grapnel in its
+place as I did so. As I let myself down from knot to knot, a thought
+crossed my mind: "How are we going to get that grapnel after we both are
+down?"</p>
+
+<p>It was a frightening thought. If the two Indians should choose, they
+could keep the rope and grapnel, and, before morning, the whole posse of
+red-skins might be off and away! I did not think about their being so
+far from home, and all that. I only thought that they'd be glad to get
+out, and that they would all come down our rope.</p>
+
+<p>These reflections, which ran through my mind in no time at all, were
+interrupted by Rectus, who called down from the top of the wall, in a
+voice that was a little too loud to be prudent:</p>
+
+<p>"Hurry! I think he's found another bean!"</p>
+
+<p>I was on the ground in a few moments, and then Rectus came down. I
+called to him to come slowly and be very careful, but I can't tell how
+relieved I was when I saw him fairly over the wall and on his way down.</p>
+
+<p>When we both stood on the ground, I took hold of the rope and shook it.
+I am not generally nervous, but I was a little nervous then. I did not
+shake the grapnel loose. Then I let the rope go slack, for a foot<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span> or
+two, and gave it a big sweep to one side. To my great delight, over came
+the grapnel, nearly falling on our heads. I think I saw Maiden's Heart
+make a grab at it as it came over, but I am not sure. However, he poked
+his head over the wall and said:</p>
+
+<p>"Good-bye! Come again."</p>
+
+<p>We answered, "Good-bye," but didn't say anything about coming again.</p>
+
+<p>As we hurried along homeward, Rectus said:</p>
+
+<p>"If one of those Indians had kept us up there, while the other one ran
+into the barracks and got a fresh stock of sea-beans, they would have
+just bankrupted us."</p>
+
+<p>"No, they wouldn't," I said. "For I hadn't much more change with me. And
+if I had had it, I wouldn't have given them any more. I'd have called up
+the captain first. The thing was getting too expensive."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I'm glad I'm out of it," said Rectus. "And I don't believe much
+in any of those Indians being very innocent. I thought Maiden's Heart
+was one of the best of them, but he's a regular rascal. He knew we
+wanted to back out of that affair, and he just fleeced us."</p>
+
+<p>"I believe he would rather have had our scalps than our money, if he had
+had us out in his country," I said.</p>
+
+<p>"That's so," said Rectus. "A funny kind of a maiden's heart he's got."</p>
+
+<p>We were both out of conceit with the noble red man. Rectus took his
+proclamation out of his pocket<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span> as we walked along the sea-wall, and,
+tearing it into little pieces, threw it into the water. When we reached
+the steam-ship wharf, we walked out to the end of it, to get rid of the
+rope and grapnel. I whirled the grapnel round and round, and let the
+whole thing fly far out into the harbor. It was a sheer waste of a good
+strong rope, but we should have had a dreary time getting the knots out
+of it.</p>
+
+<p>After we got home I settled up our accounts, and charged half the
+sea-beans to Rectus, and half to myself.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>CHAPTER VI.</h2>
+
+<h3>THE GIRL ON THE BEACH.</h3>
+
+
+<p>I was not very well satisfied with our trip over the walls of San Marco.
+In the first place, when the sea-beans, the rope and the grapnel were
+all considered, it was a little too costly. In the second place, I was
+not sure that I had been carrying out my contract with Mr. Colbert in
+exactly the right spirit; for although he had said nothing about my
+duties, I knew that he expected me to take care of his son, and paid me
+for that. And I felt pretty sure that helping a fellow climb up a
+knotted rope into an old fort by night was not the best way of taking
+care of him. The third thing that troubled me in regard to this matter
+was the feeling I had that Rectus had led me into it; that he had been
+the leader and not I. Now, I did not intend that anything of that kind
+should happen again. I did not come out on this expedition to follow
+Rectus around; indeed, it was to be quite the other way. But, to tell
+the truth, I had not imagined that he would ever try to make people
+follow him. He<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span> never showed at school that such a thing was in him. So,
+for these three reasons, I determined that there were to be no more
+scrapes of that sort, which generally came to nothing, after all.</p>
+
+<p>For the next two or three days we roved around the old town, and into
+two or three orange-groves, and went out sailing with Mr. Cholott, who
+owned a nice little yacht, or sail-boat, as we should call it up north.</p>
+
+<p>The sailing here is just splendid, and, one morning, we thought we'd
+hire a boat for ourselves and go out fishing somewhere. So we went down
+to the yacht-club wharf to see about the boat that belonged to old
+Menendez&mdash;Rectus's Minorcan. There were lots of sail-boats there as well
+as row-boats, but we hunted up the craft we were after, and, by good
+luck, found Menendez in her, bailing her out.</p>
+
+<p>So we engaged her, and he said he'd take us over to the North Beach to
+fish for bass. That suited us,&mdash;any beach and any kind of
+fish,&mdash;provided he'd hurry up and get his boat ready. While he was
+scooping away, and we were standing on the wharf watching him, along
+came Crowded Owl, the young Indian we had always liked&mdash;that is, ever
+since we had known any of them. He came up, said "How?" and shook hands,
+and then pulled out some sea-beans. The sight of these things seemed to
+make me sick, and as for Rectus, he sung out:</p>
+
+<p>"Do' wan' 'em!" so suddenly that it seemed like one word, and a pretty
+savage one at that.</p>
+
+<p>Crowded Owl looked at me, but I shook my head,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span> and said, "No, no, no!"
+Then he drew himself up and just stood there. He seemed struck dumb; but
+that didn't matter, as he couldn't talk to us, anyway. But he didn't go
+away. When we walked farther up the wharf, he followed us, and again
+offered us some beans. I began to get angry, and said "No!" pretty
+violently. At this, he left us, but as we turned at the end of the
+wharf, we saw him near the club-house, standing and talking with
+Maiden's Heart.</p>
+
+<p>"I think it's a shame to let those Indians wander about here in that
+way," said Rectus. "They ought to be kept within bounds."</p>
+
+<p>I couldn't help laughing at this change of tune, but said that I
+supposed only a few of them got leave of absence at a time.</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Rectus, "there are some of them that ought never to come
+out."</p>
+
+<p>"Hello!" said old Menendez, sticking his head up above the edge of the
+wharf. "We're ready now. Git aboard."</p>
+
+<p>And so we scrambled down into the sail-boat, and Menendez pushed off,
+while the two Indians stood and watched us as we slowly moved away.</p>
+
+<p>When we got fairly out, our sail filled, and we went scudding away on a
+good wind. Then said old Menendez, as he sat at the tiller:</p>
+
+<p>"What were you hollerin' at them Injuns about?"</p>
+
+<p>"I didn't know that we were hollerin'," said I, "but they were bothering
+us to buy their sea-beans."</p>
+
+<p>"That's curious," he said. "They aint much given to that sort of thing.
+But there's no tellin' nothin'<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span> about an Injun. If I had my way, I'd
+hang every one of 'em."</p>
+
+<p>"Rather a blood-thirsty sentiment," said I. "Perhaps some of them don't
+deserve hanging."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I've never seen one o' that kind," said he, "and I've seen lots
+of Injuns. I was in the Seminole war, in this State, and was fightin'
+Injuns from the beginnin' to the end of it. And I know all about how to
+treat the rascals. You must hang 'em, or shoot 'em, as soon as you get
+hold of 'em."</p>
+
+<p>This aroused all the old sympathy for the oppressed red man that dwelt
+in the heart of young Rectus, and he exclaimed:</p>
+
+<p>"That would be murder! There are always two kinds of every sort of
+people&mdash;all are not bad. It is wrong to condemn a whole division of the
+human race that way."</p>
+
+<p>"You're right about there bein' two kinds of Injuns," said the old
+fellow. "There's bad ones and there's wuss ones. I know what I've seen
+for myself. I'd hang 'em all."</p>
+
+<p>We debated this matter some time longer, but we could make no impression
+on the old Minorcan. For some reason or other, probably on account of
+his sufferings or hardships in the war, he was extremely bitter against
+all Indians. "You can't tell me," he replied to all of our arguments,
+and I think he completely destroyed all the sympathy which Rectus had
+had for the once down-trodden and deceived Minorcans, by this animosity
+toward members of another race who were yet in captivity and bondage. To
+be<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span> sure, there was a good deal of difference in the two cases, but
+Rectus wasn't in the habit of turning up every question to look at the
+bottom of it.</p>
+
+<p>The North Beach is the seaward side of one of the islands that enclose
+the harbor, or the Matanzas River, as it is called. We landed on the
+inland side, and then walked over to the beach, which is very wide and
+smooth. Here we set to work to fish. Old Menendez baited our lines, and
+told us what to do. It was new sport to us.</p>
+
+<p>First, we took off our shoes and stockings, and rolled up our trousers,
+so as to wade out in the shallow water. We each had a long line, one end
+of which we tied around our waists. Menendez had his tied to a
+button-hole of his coat, but he thought he had better make our lines
+very safe, as they belonged to him. There was a big hook and a heavy
+lead to the other end of the line, with a piece of fish for bait, and we
+swung the lead around our heads, and threw it out into the surf as far
+as we could. I thought I was pretty good on the throw, but I couldn't
+begin to send my line out as far as Menendez threw his. As for Rectus,
+he didn't pretend to do much in the throwing business. He whirled his
+line around in such a curious way that I was very much afraid he would
+hook himself in the ear. But Menendez put his line out for him. He
+didn't want me to do it.</p>
+
+<p>Then we stood there in the sand, with the water nearly up to our knees
+every time the waves came in, and waited for a bite. There wasn't much
+biting. Menendez said that the tide was too low, but I've<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span> noticed that
+something is always too something, every time any one takes me out
+fishing, so I didn't mind that.</p>
+
+<p>Menendez did hook one fellow, I think, for he gave a tremendous jerk at
+his line, and began to skip inshore as if he were but ten years old; but
+it was of no use. The fish changed his mind.</p>
+
+<p>Then we stood and waited a while longer, until, all of a sudden, Rectus
+made a skip. But he went the wrong way. Instead of skipping out of the
+water, he skipped in. He went in so far that he got his trousers
+dripping wet.</p>
+
+<p>"Hello!" I shouted. "What's up?"</p>
+
+<p>He didn't say anything, but began to pull back, and dig his heels into
+the sand. Old Menendez and I saw, at the same moment, what was the
+matter, and we made a rush for him. I was nearest, and got there first.
+I seized Rectus by the shoulder, and pulled him back a little.</p>
+
+<p>"Whew-w!" said he; "how this twine cuts!"</p>
+
+<p>Then I took hold of the line in front of him, and there was no mistaking
+the fact&mdash;he had a big fish on the other end of it.</p>
+
+<p>"Run out!" cried Menendez, who thought there was no good of three
+fellows hauling on the line; and out we ran.</p>
+
+<p>When we had gone up the beach a good way, I looked back and saw a
+rousing big fish flopping about furiously in the shallow water.</p>
+
+<p>"Go on!" shouted Menendez; and we ran on until we had pulled it high and
+dry up on the sand.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Then Menendez fell afoul of it to take out the hook, and we hurried back
+to see it. It was a whopping big bass, and by the powerful way it threw
+itself around on the sand, I didn't wonder that Rectus ran into the
+water when he got the first jerk.</p>
+
+<p>Now, this was something like sport, and we all felt encouraged, and went
+to work again with a will, only Menendez untied the line from Rectus's
+waist and fastened it to his button-hole.</p>
+
+<p>"It may pull out," he said; "but, on the whole, it's better to lose a
+fishin'-line than a boy."</p>
+
+<p>We fished quietly and steadily for some time, but got no more bites,
+when suddenly I heard some one say, behind me:</p>
+
+<p>"They don't ever pull in!"</p>
+
+<p>I turned around, and it was a girl. She was standing there with a
+gentleman,&mdash;her father, I soon found out,&mdash;and I don't know how long
+they had been watching us. She was about thirteen years old, and came
+over with her father in a sail-boat. I remembered seeing them cruising
+around as we were sailing over.</p>
+
+<p>"They haven't got bites," said her father; "that's the reason they don't
+pull in."</p>
+
+<p>It was very disagreeable to me, and I know it was even more so to
+Rectus, to stand here and have those strangers watch us fishing. If we
+had not been barefooted and bare-legged, we should not have minded it so
+much. As for the old Minorcan, I don't suppose he cared at all. I began
+to think it was time to stop.</p>
+
+<p>"As the tide's getting lower and lower," I said to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span> Menendez, "I suppose
+our chances are getting less and less."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said he; "I reckon we'd better shut up shop before long."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh!" cried out the girl, "just look at that fish! Father! Father! Just
+look at it. Did any of you catch it? I didn't see it till this minute. I
+thought you hadn't caught any. If I only had a fishing-line now, I would
+like to catch just one fish. Oh, father! why didn't you bring a
+fishing-line?"</p>
+
+<p>"I didn't think of it, my dear," said he. "Indeed, I didn't know there
+were any fish here."</p>
+
+<p>Old Menendez turned around and grinned at this, and I thought there was
+a good chance to stop fishing; so I offered to let the girl try my line
+for a while, if she wanted to.</p>
+
+<p>It was certain enough that she wanted to, for she was going to run right
+into the water to get it. But I came out, and as her father said she
+might fish if she didn't have to walk into the water, old Menendez took
+a spare piece of line from his pocket and tied it on to the end of mine,
+and he put on some fresh bait and gave it a tremendous send out into the
+surf. Then he put the other end around the girl and tied it. I suppose
+he thought that it didn't matter if a girl should be lost, but he may
+have considered that her father was there to seize her if she got jerked
+in.</p>
+
+<p>She took hold of the line and stood on the edge of the dry sand, ready
+to pull in the biggest kind of a fish that might come along. I put on my
+shoes and stockings, and Rectus his; he'd had enough glory<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span> for one day.
+Old Menendez wound up his line, too, but that girl saw nothing of all
+this. She just kept her eyes and her whole mind centred on her line. At
+first, she talked right straight ahead, asking what she should do when
+it bit; how big we thought it would be; why we didn't have a cork, and
+fifty other things, but all without turning her head to the right or the
+left. Then said her father:</p>
+
+<p>"My dear, you mustn't talk; you will frighten the fish. When persons
+fish, they always keep perfectly quiet. You never heard me talking while
+I was fishing. I fish a good deal when I am at home," said he, turning
+to us, "and I always remain perfectly quiet."</p>
+
+<p>Menendez laughed a little at this, and said that he didn't believe the
+fish out there in the surf would mind a little quiet chat; but the
+gentleman said that he had always found it best to be just as still as
+possible. The girl now shut her mouth tight, and held herself more
+ready, if possible, than ever, and I believe that if she had got a bite
+she would have jerked the fish's head off. We all stood around her, and
+her father watched her as earnestly as if she was about to graduate at a
+normal school.</p>
+
+<p>We stood and waited and waited, and she didn't move, and neither did the
+line. Menendez now said he thought she might as well give it up. The
+tide was too low, and it was pretty near dinner-time, and, besides this,
+there was a shower coming on.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, no!" said she; "not just yet. I feel sure I'll get a bite in a
+minute or two now. Just wait a little longer."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>And so it went on, every few minutes, until we had waited about half an
+hour, and then Menendez said he must go, but if the gentleman wanted to
+buy the line, and stay there until the tide came in again, he'd sell it
+to him. At this, the girl's father told her that she must stop, and so
+she very dolefully let Menendez untie the line.</p>
+
+<p>"It's too bad!" she said, almost with tears in her eyes. "If they had
+only waited a few minutes longer!" And then she ran up to Rectus and me,
+and said:</p>
+
+<p>"When are you coming out here again? Do you think you will come
+to-morrow, or next day?"</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know," said I. "We haven't settled our plans for to-morrow."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, father! father!" she cried, "perhaps they will come out here
+to-morrow, and you must get me a fishing-line, and we will come and fish
+all day."</p>
+
+<p>We didn't stay to hear what her father said, but posted off to our boat,
+for we were all beginning to feel pretty hungry. We took Rectus's fish
+along, to give to our landlady. The gentleman and the girl came close
+after us, as if they were afraid to be left alone on the island. Their
+boat was hauled up near ours, and we set off at pretty much the same
+time.</p>
+
+<p>We went ahead a little, and Menendez turned around and called out to the
+gentleman that he'd better follow us, for there were some bad shoals in
+this part of the harbor, and the tide was pretty low.</p>
+
+<p>"All right, my hearty!" called out the gentleman. "This isn't the first
+time I've sailed in this harbor. I<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79]</a></span> guess I know where the shoals are,"
+and just at that minute he ran his boat hard and fast on one of them.</p>
+
+<p>He jumped up, and took an oar and pushed and pushed: but it was of no
+good&mdash;he was stuck fast. By this time we had left him pretty far behind;
+but we all had been watching, and Rectus asked if we couldn't go back
+and help him.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I s'pose so," said Menendez; "but it's a shame to keep three
+decent people out of their dinner for the sake of a man like that, who
+hasn't got sense enough to take good advice when it's give to him."</p>
+
+<p>"We'd better go," said I, and Menendez, in no good humor, put his boat
+about. We found the other boat aground, in the very worst way. The old
+Minorcan said that he could see that sand-bar through the water, and
+that they might as well have run up on dry land. Better, for that
+matter, because then we could have pushed her off.</p>
+
+<p>"There aint nuthin' to be done," he said, after we had worked at the
+thing for a while, "but to jist wait here till the tide turns. It's
+pretty near dead low now, an' you'll float off in an hour or two."</p>
+
+<p>This was cold comfort for the gentleman, especially as it was beginning
+to rain; but he didn't seem a bit cast down. He laughed, and said:</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I suppose it can't be helped: but I am used to being out in all
+weathers. I can wait, just as well as not. But I don't want my daughter
+here to get wet, and she has no umbrella. Would you mind taking her on
+your boat? When you get to the town,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[80]</a></span> she can run up to our hotel by
+herself. She knows the way."</p>
+
+<p>Of course we had no objection to this, and the girl was helped aboard.
+Then we sailed off, and the gentleman waved his hat to us. If I had been
+in his place, I don't think I should have felt much like waving my hat.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 229px;">
+<img src="images/gs10.png" width="229" height="300" alt="&quot;THE GENTLEMAN WAVED HIS HAT TO US.&quot;" title="&quot;THE GENTLEMAN WAVED HIS HAT TO US.&quot;" />
+<span class="caption">&quot;THE GENTLEMAN WAVED HIS HAT TO US.&quot;</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Menendez now said that he had an oil-skin coat stowed away forward, and
+I got it and put it around<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</a></span> the girl. She snuggled herself up in it as
+comfortably as she could, and began to talk.</p>
+
+<p>"The way of it was this," she said. "Father, he said we'd go out
+sailing, and mother and I went with him, and when we got down to the
+wharf, there were a lot of boats, but they all had men to them, and so
+father, he said he wanted to sail the boat himself, and mother, she said
+that if he did she wouldn't go; but he said pooh! he could do it as well
+as anybody, and wasn't going to have any man. So he got a boat without a
+man, and mother, she didn't want me to go; but I went, and he stuck fast
+coming back, because he never will listen to anything anybody tells him,
+as mother and I found out long ago. And here we are, almost at the
+wharf! I didn't think we were anywhere near it."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, you see, sis, sich a steady gale o' talkin', right behind the
+sail, is bound to hurry the boat along. And now, s'pose you tell us your
+name," said Menendez.</p>
+
+<p>"My name's Cornelia; but father, he calls me Corny, which mother hates
+to hear the very sound of," said she; "and the rest of it is Mary
+Chipperton. Father, he came down here because he had a weak lung, and
+I'm sure I don't see what good it's going to do him to sit out there in
+the rain. We'll take a man next time. And father and I'll be sure to be
+here early to-morrow to go out fishing with you. Good-bye!"</p>
+
+<p>And with this, having mounted the steps to the pier, off ran Miss
+Corny.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I wouldn't like to be the ole man o' that family," said Mr. Menendez.</p>
+
+<p>That night, after we had gone to bed, Rectus began to talk. We generally
+went to sleep in pretty short order; but the moon did not shine in our
+windows now until quite late, and so we noticed for the first time the
+curious way in which the light-house&mdash;which stood almost opposite on
+Anastasia Island&mdash;brightened up the room, every minute or two. It is a
+revolving light, and when the light got on the landward side it gave us
+a flash, which produced a very queer effect on the furniture, and on
+Rectus's broad hat, which hung on the wall right opposite the window. It
+seemed exactly as if this hat was a sort of portable sun of a very mild
+power, which warmed up, every now and then, and lighted the room.</p>
+
+<p>But Rectus did not talk long about this.</p>
+
+<p>"I think," said he, "that we have had about enough of St. Augustine.
+There are too many Indians and girls here."</p>
+
+<p>"And sea-beans, too, perhaps," said I. "But I don't think there's any
+reason for going so soon. I'm going to settle those Indians, and you've
+only seen one girl, and perhaps we'll never see her again."</p>
+
+<p>"Don't you believe that," said Rectus, very solemnly, and he turned
+over, either to ponder on the matter, or to go to sleep. His remarks
+made me imagine that perhaps he was one of those fellows who soon get
+tired of a place and want to be moving on. But that wasn't my way, and I
+didn't intend to let him hurry me. I think the Indians worried him a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[83]</a></span>
+good deal. He was afraid they would keep on troubling us. But, as I had
+said, I had made up my mind to settle the Indians. As for Corny, I know
+he hated her. I don't believe he spoke a word to her all the time we
+were with her.</p>
+
+<p>The next morning, we talked over the Indian question, and then went down
+to the fort. We hadn't been there for three or four days, but now we had
+decided not to stand nagging by a couple of red-skinned savages, but to
+go and see the captain and tell him all about it. All except the
+proclamation&mdash;Rectus wouldn't agree to have that brought in at all. Mr.
+Cholott had introduced us to the captain, and he was a first-rate
+fellow, and when we told him how we had stormed his old fort, he laughed
+and said he wondered we didn't break our necks, and that the next time
+we did it he'd put us in the guard-house, sure.</p>
+
+<p>"That would be cheaper for you than buying so many beans," he said.</p>
+
+<p>As to the two Indians, he told us he would see to it that they let us
+alone. He didn't think that Maiden's Heart would ever harm us, for he
+was more of a blower than anything else; but he said that Crowded Owl
+was really one of the worst-tempered Indians in the fort, and he advised
+us to have nothing more to do with him, in any way.</p>
+
+<p>All of this was very good of the captain, and we were very glad we had
+gone to see him.</p>
+
+<p>"I tell you what it is," said Rectus, as we were coming away, "I don't
+believe that any of these<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</a></span> Indians are as innocent as they try to make
+out. Did you ever see such a rascally set of faces?"</p>
+
+<p>Somehow or other, I seldom felt sorry when Rectus changed his mind. I
+thought, indeed, that he ought to change it as much as he could. And
+yet, as I have said, he was a thoroughly good fellow. The trouble with
+him was that he wasn't used to making up his mind about things, and
+didn't make a very good beginning at it.</p>
+
+<p>The next day, we set out to explore Anastasia Island, right opposite the
+town. It is a big island, but we took our lunch and determined to do
+what we could. We hired a boat and rowed over to the mouth of a creek in
+the island. We went up this creek quite a long way, and landed at a
+little pier, where we made the boat fast. The man who owned the boat
+told us just how to go. We first made a flying call at the coquina
+quarries, where they dig the curious stuff of which the town is built.
+This is formed of small shells, all conglomerated into one solid mass
+that becomes as hard as stone after it is exposed to the air. It must
+have taken thousands of years for so many little shell-fish to pile
+themselves up into a quarrying-ground. We now went over to the
+light-house, and climbed to the top of it, where we had a view that made
+Rectus feel even better than he felt in the cemetery at Savannah.</p>
+
+<p>When we came down, we started for the beach and stopped a little while
+at the old Spanish light-house, which looked more like a cracker-bakery
+than anything else, but I suppose it was good enough for all the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</a></span> ships
+the Spaniards had to light up. We would have cared more for the old
+light-house if it had not had an inscription on it that said it had been
+destroyed, and rebuilt by some American. After that, we considered it
+merely in the light of a chromo.</p>
+
+<p>We had a good time on the island, and stayed nearly all day. Toward the
+end of the afternoon, we started back for the creek and our boat. We had
+a long walk, for we had been exploring the island pretty well, and when,
+at last, we reached the creek, we saw that our boat was gone!</p>
+
+<p>This was astounding. We could not make out how the thing could have
+happened. The boatman, from whom we had hired it, had said that it would
+be perfectly safe for us to leave the boat at the landing if we tied her
+up well and hid the oars. I had tied her up very well and we had hidden
+the oars so carefully, under some bushes, that we found them there when
+we went to look for them.</p>
+
+<p>"Could the old thing have floated off of itself?" said Rectus.</p>
+
+<p>"That couldn't have happened," I said. "I tied her hard and fast."</p>
+
+<p>"But how could any one have taken her away without oars?" asked Rectus.</p>
+
+<p>"Rectus," said I, "don't let us have any more riddles. Some one may have
+cut a pole and poled her away, up or down the creek, or&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"I'll tell you," interrupted Rectus. "Crowded Owl!"</p>
+
+<p>I didn't feel much like laughing, but I did laugh a little.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Yes," I said. "He probably swam over with a pair of oars on purpose to
+steal our boat. But, whether he did it or not, it's very certain that
+somebody has taken the boat, and there isn't any way, that I see, of
+getting off this place to-night. There'll be nobody going over so late
+in the afternoon&mdash;except, to be sure, those men we saw at the other end
+of the island with a flat-boat."</p>
+
+<p>"But that's away over at the upper end of the island," said Rectus.</p>
+
+<p>"That's not so very far," said I. "I wonder if they have gone back yet?
+If one of us could run over there and ask them to send a boatman from
+the town after us, we might get back by supper-time."</p>
+
+<p>"Why not both of us?" asked Rectus.</p>
+
+<p>"One of us should stay here to see if our boat does come back. It must
+have been some one from the island who took it, because any one from the
+mainland would have brought his own boat."</p>
+
+<p>"Very well," said Rectus. "Let's toss up to see who goes. The winner
+stays."</p>
+
+<p>I pitched up a cent.</p>
+
+<p>"Heads," said Rectus.</p>
+
+<p>"Tails," said I.</p>
+
+<p>Tails it was, and Rectus started off like a good fellow.</p>
+
+<p>I sat down and waited. I waited a long, long time, and then I got up and
+walked up and down. In about an hour I began to get anxious. It was more
+than time for Rectus to return. The walk to the end of the island and
+back was not much over a mile&mdash;at least,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[87]</a></span> I supposed it was not. Could
+anything have happened to the boy? It was not yet sunset, and I couldn't
+imagine what there was to happen.</p>
+
+<p>After waiting about half an hour longer, I heard a distant sound of
+oars. I ran to the landing and looked down the creek. A boat with a man
+in it was approaching. When it came nearer, I saw plainly that it was
+our boat. When it had almost reached the landing, the man turned around,
+and I was very much surprised, indeed, to see that he was Mr.
+Chipperton.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[88]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>CHAPTER VII.</h2>
+
+<h3>MR. CHIPPERTON.</h3>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 231px;">
+<img src="images/gs11.png" width="231" height="100" alt="&quot;WHY, HOW DO YOU DO?&quot;" title="&quot;WHY, HOW DO YOU DO?&quot;" />
+<span class="caption">&quot;WHY, HOW DO YOU DO?&quot;</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>I took hold of the boat, and pulled the bow up on the beach. Mr.
+Chipperton looked around at me.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, how do you do?" said he.</p>
+
+
+
+<p>For an instant I could not answer him, I was so angry, and then I said:</p>
+
+<p>"What did you&mdash;&mdash;? How did you come to take our boat away?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Your boat!" he exclaimed. "Is this your boat? I didn't know that. But
+where is my boat? Did you see a sail-boat leave here? It is very
+strange&mdash;remarkably strange! I don't know what to make of it."</p>
+
+<p>"I know nothing about a sail-boat," said I. "If we had seen one leave
+here, we should have gone home in her. Why did you take our boat?"</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Chipperton had now landed.</p>
+
+<p>"I came over here," he said, "with my wife and daughter. We were in a
+sail-boat, with a man to manage it. My wife would not come otherwise. We
+came to see the light-house, but I do not care for light-houses,&mdash;I have
+seen a great many of them. I am passionately fond of the water. Seeing a
+small boat here which no one was using, I let the man conduct my wife
+and Corny&mdash;my daughter&mdash;up to the light-house, while I took a little
+row. I know the man. He is very trustworthy. He would let no harm come
+to them. There was a pair of oars in the sail-boat, and I took them, and
+rowed down the creek, and then went along the river, below the town;
+and, I assure you, sir, I went a great deal farther than I intended, for
+the tide was with me. But it wasn't with me coming back, of course, and
+I had a very hard time of it. I thought I never should get back. This
+boat of yours, sir, seems to be an uncommonly hard boat to row."</p>
+
+<p>"Against a strong tide, I suppose it is," said I; "but I wish you hadn't
+taken it. Here I have been waiting ever so long, and my friend&mdash;&mdash;"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Oh! I'm sorry, too," interrupted Mr. Chipperton, who had been looking
+about, as if he expected to see his sail-boat somewhere under the trees.
+"I can't imagine what could have become of my boat, my wife, and my
+child. If I had staid here, they could not have sailed away without my
+knowing it. It would even have been better to go with them, although, as
+I said before, I don't care for light-houses."</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said I, not quite as civilly as I generally speak to people
+older than myself, "your boat has gone, that is plain enough. I suppose,
+when your family came from the light-house, they thought you had gone
+home, and so went themselves."</p>
+
+<p>"That's very likely," said he,&mdash;"very likely indeed. Or, it may be that
+Corny wouldn't wait. She is not good at waiting. She persuaded her
+mother to sail away, no doubt. But now I suppose you will take me home
+in your boat, and the sooner we get off the better, for it is growing
+late."</p>
+
+<p>"You needn't be in a hurry," said I, "for I am not going off until my
+friend comes back. You gave him a good long walk to the other end of the
+island."</p>
+
+<p>"Indeed!" said Mr. Chipperton. "How was that?"</p>
+
+<p>Then I told him all about it.</p>
+
+<p>"Do you think that the flat-boat is likely to be there yet?" he asked.</p>
+
+<p>"It's gone, long ago," said I; "and I'm afraid Rectus has lost his way,
+either going there or coming back."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[91]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>I said this as much to myself as to my companion, for I had walked back
+a little to look up the path. I could not see far, for it was growing
+dark. I was terribly worried about Rectus, and would have gone to look
+for him, but I was afraid that if I left Mr. Chipperton he would go off
+with the boat.</p>
+
+<p>Directly Mr. Chipperton set up a yell.</p>
+
+<p>"Hi! hi! hi!" he cried.</p>
+
+<p>I ran down to the pier, and saw a row-boat approaching.</p>
+
+<p>"Hi!" cried Mr. Chipperton. "Come this way! Come here! Boat ahoy!"</p>
+
+<p>"We're coming!" shouted a man from the boat. "Ye needn't holler for us."</p>
+
+<p>And in a few more strokes the boat touched land. There were two men in
+it.</p>
+
+<p>"Did you come for me?" cried Mr. Chipperton.</p>
+
+<p>"No," said the man who had spoken. "We came for this other party, but I
+reckon you can come along."</p>
+
+<p>"For me?" said I. "Who sent you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Your pardner," said the man. "He came over in a flat-boat, and he said
+you was stuck here, for somebody had stole your boat, and so he sent us
+for you."</p>
+
+<p>"And he's over there, is he?" said I.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, he's all right, eatin' his supper, I reckon. But isn't this here
+your boat?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, it is," I said, "and I'm going home in it. You can take the other
+man."</p>
+
+<p>And, without saying another word, I picked up my oars, which I had
+brought from the bushes, jumped into my boat, and pushed off.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[92]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I reckon you're a little riled, aint ye?" said the man; but I made him
+no answer, and left him to explain to Mr. Chipperton his remark about
+stealing the boat. They set off soon after me, and we had a race down
+the creek. I <i>was</i> "a little riled," and I pulled so hard that the other
+boat did not catch up to me until we got out into the river. Then it
+passed me, but it didn't get to town much before I did.</p>
+
+<p>The first person I met on the pier was Rectus. He had had his supper,
+and had come down to watch for me. I was so angry that I would not speak
+to him. He kept by my side, though, as I walked up to the house,
+excusing himself for going off and leaving me.</p>
+
+<p>"You see, it wasn't any use for me to take that long walk back there to
+the creek. I told the men of the fix we were in, and they said they'd
+send somebody for us, but they thought I'd better come along with them,
+as I was there."</p>
+
+<p>I had a great mind to say something here, but I didn't.</p>
+
+<p>"It wouldn't have done you any good for me to come back through the
+woods in the dark. The boat wouldn't get over to you any faster. You
+see, if there'd been any good at all in it, I would have come back&mdash;but
+there wasn't."</p>
+
+<p>All this might have been very true, but I remembered how I had sat and
+walked and thought and worried about Rectus, and his explanation did me
+no good.</p>
+
+<p>When I reached the house, I found that our land<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[93]</a></span>lady, who was one of the
+very best women in all Florida, had saved me a splendid supper&mdash;hot and
+smoking. I was hungry enough, and I enjoyed this meal until there didn't
+seem to be a thing left. I felt in a better humor then, and I hunted up
+Rectus, and we talked along as if nothing had happened. It wasn't easy
+to keep mad with Rectus, because he didn't get mad himself. And,
+besides, he had a good deal of reason on his side.</p>
+
+<p>It was a lovely evening, and pretty nearly all the people of the town
+were out-of-doors. Rectus and I took a walk around the "Plaza,"&mdash;a
+public square planted thick with live-oak and pride-of-India trees, and
+with a monument in the centre with a Spanish inscription on it, stating
+how the king of Spain once gave a very satisfactory charter to the town.
+Rectus and I agreed, however, that we would rather have a pride-of-India
+tree than a charter, as far as we were concerned. These trees have on
+them long bunches of blossoms, which smell deliciously.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, then," said I, "I think it's about time for us to be moving along.
+I'm beginning to feel about that Corny family as you do."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, I only objected to the girl," said Rectus, in an off-hand way.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I object to the father," said I. "I think we've had enough,
+anyway, of fathers and daughters. I hope the next couple we fall in with
+will be a mother and a son."</p>
+
+<p>"What's the next place on the bill?" asked Rectus.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[94]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Well," said I, "we ought to take a trip up the Oclawaha River. That's
+one of the things to do. It will take us two or three days, and we can
+leave our baggage here and come back again. Then, if we want to stay, we
+can, and if we don't, we needn't."</p>
+
+<p>"All right," said Rectus. "Let's be off to-morrow."</p>
+
+<p>The next morning, I went to buy the Oclawaha tickets, while Rectus staid
+home to pack up our handbags, and, I believe, to sew some buttons on his
+clothes. He could sew buttons on so strongly that they would never come
+off again without bringing the piece out with them.</p>
+
+<p>The ticket-office was in a small store, where you could get any kind of
+alligator or sea-bean combination that the mind could dream of. We had
+been in there before to look at the things. I found I was in luck, for
+the storekeeper told me that it was not often that people could get
+berths on the little Oclawaha steam-boats without engaging them some
+days ahead; but he had a couple of state-rooms left, for the boat that
+left Pilatka the next day. I took one room as quick as lightning, and I
+had just paid for the tickets when Mr. Chipperton and Corny walked in.</p>
+
+<p>"How d' ye do?" said he, as cheerfully as if he had never gone off with
+another fellow's boat. "Buying tickets for the Oclawaha?"</p>
+
+<p>I had to say yes, and then he wanted to know when we were going. I
+wasn't very quick to answer; but the storekeeper said:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"He's just taken the last room but one in the boat that leaves Pilatka
+to-morrow morning."</p>
+
+<p>"And when do you leave here to catch that boat?" said Mr. Chipperton.</p>
+
+<p>"This afternoon,&mdash;and stay all night at Pilatka."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, father! father!" cried Corny, who had been standing with her eyes
+and ears wide open, all this time, "let's go! let's go!"</p>
+
+<p>"I believe I will," said Mr. Chipperton,&mdash;"I believe I will. You say you
+have one more room. All right. I'll take it. This will be very pleasant,
+indeed," said he, turning to me. "It will be quite a party. It's ever so
+much better to go to such places in a party. We've been thinking of
+going for some time, and I'm so glad I happened in here now. Good-bye.
+We'll see you this afternoon at the <ins title="Transcriber's Note: original reads 'depot'">d&eacute;p&ocirc;t</ins>."</p>
+
+<p>I didn't say anything about being particularly glad, but just as I left
+the door Corny ran out after me.</p>
+
+<p>"Do you think it would be any good to take a fishing-line?" she cried.</p>
+
+<p>"Guess you'd better," I shouted back, and then I ran home, laughing.</p>
+
+<p>"Here are the tickets!" I cried out to Rectus, "and we've got to be at
+the station by four o'clock this afternoon. There's no backing out now."</p>
+
+<p>"Who wants to back out?" said Rectus, looking up from his trunk, into
+which he had been diving.</p>
+
+<p>"Can't say," I answered. "But I know one person who wont back out."</p>
+
+<p>"Who's that?"</p>
+
+<p>"Corny," said I.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[96]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Rectus stood up.</p>
+
+<p>"Cor&mdash;&mdash;!" he exclaimed.</p>
+
+<p>"Ny," said I, "and father and mother. They took the only room
+left,&mdash;engaged it while I was there."</p>
+
+<p>"Can't we sell our tickets?" asked Rectus.</p>
+
+<p>"Don't know," said I. "But what's the good? Who's going to be afraid of
+a girl,&mdash;or a whole family, for that matter? We're in for it now."</p>
+
+<p>Rectus didn't say anything, but his expression saddened.</p>
+
+<p>We had studied out this trip the night before, and knew just what we had
+to do. We first went from St. Augustine, on the sea-coast, to Tocoi, on
+the St. John's River, by a railroad fifteen miles long. Then we took a
+steam-boat up the St. John's to Pilatka, and the next morning left for
+the Oclawaha, which runs into the St. John's about twenty-five miles
+above, on the other side of the river.</p>
+
+<p>We found the Corny family at the station, all right, and Corny
+immediately informed me that she had a fishing-line, but didn't bring a
+pole, because her father said he could cut her one, if it was needed. He
+didn't know whether it was "throw-out" fishing or not, on that river.</p>
+
+<p>There used to be a wooden railroad here, and the cars were pulled by
+mules. It was probably more fun to travel that way, but it took longer.
+Now they have steel rails and everything that a regular grown-up
+railroad has. We knew the engineer, for Mr. Cholott had introduced us to
+him one day, on the club-house<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[97]</a></span> wharf. He was a first-rate fellow, and
+let us ride on the engine. I didn't believe, at first, that Rectus would
+do this; but there was only one passenger car, and after the Corny
+family got into that, he didn't hesitate a minute about the engine.</p>
+
+<p>We had a splendid ride. We went slashing along through the woods the
+whole way, and as neither of us had ever ridden on an engine before, we
+made the best of our time. We found out what every crank and handle was
+for, and kept a sharp look-out ahead, through the little windows in the
+cab. If we had caught an alligator on the cow-catcher, the thing would
+have been complete. The engineer said there used to be alligators along
+by the road, in the swampy places, but he guessed the engine had
+frightened most of them away.</p>
+
+<p>The trip didn't take forty minutes, so we had scarcely time to learn the
+whole art of engine-driving, but we were very glad to have had the ride.</p>
+
+<p>We found the steam-boat waiting for us at Tocoi, which is such a little
+place that I don't believe either of us noticed it, as we hurried
+aboard. The St. John's is a splendid river, as wide as a young lake; but
+we did not have much time to see it, as it grew dark pretty soon, and
+the supper-bell rang.</p>
+
+<p>We reached Pilatka pretty early in the evening, and there we had to stay
+all night. Mr. Chipperton told me, confidentially, that he thought this
+whole arrangement was a scheme to make money out of travellers. The boat
+we were in ought to have kept on and taken us up the Oclawaha; "but,"
+said he,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[98]</a></span> "I suppose that wouldn't suit the hotel-keepers. I expect they
+divide the profits with the boats."</p>
+
+<p>By good luck, I thought, the Corny family and ourselves went to
+different hotels to spend the night. When I congratulated Rectus on this
+fact, he only said:</p>
+
+<p>"It don't matter for one night. We'll catch 'em all bad enough
+to-morrow."</p>
+
+<p>And he was right. When we went down to the wharf the next morning, to
+find the Oclawaha boat, the first persons we saw were Mr. Chipperton,
+with his wife and daughter. They were standing, gazing at the steam-boat
+which was to take us on our trip.</p>
+
+<p>"Isn't this a funny boat?" said Corny, as soon as she saw us. It <i>was</i> a
+very funny boat. It was not much longer than an ordinary tug, and quite
+narrow, but was built up as high as a two-story house, and the wheel was
+in the stern. Rectus compared her to a river wheelbarrow.</p>
+
+<p>Soon after we were on board she started off, and then we had a good
+chance to see the St. John's. We had been down to look at the river
+before, for we got up very early and walked about the town. It is a
+pretty sort of a new place, with wide streets and some handsome houses.
+The people have orange-groves in their gardens, instead of
+potato-patches, as we have up north. Before we started, we hired a
+rifle. We had been told that there was plenty of game on the river, and
+that most gentlemen who took the trip carried guns. Rectus wanted to get
+two rifles, but I thought one was enough. We could take turns,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[99]</a></span> and I
+knew I'd feel safer if I had nothing to do but to keep my eye on Rectus
+while he had the gun.</p>
+
+<p>There were not many passengers on board, and, indeed, there was not room
+for more than twenty-five or thirty. Most of them who could find places
+sat out on a little upper deck, in front of the main cabin, which was in
+the top story. Mrs. Chipperton, however, staid in the saloon, or
+dining-room, and looked out of the windows. She was a quiet woman, and
+had an air as if she had to act as shaft-horse for the team, and was
+pretty well used to holding back. And I reckon she had a good deal of it
+to do.</p>
+
+<p>One party attracted our attention as soon as we went aboard. It was made
+up of a lady and two gentlemen-hunters. The lady wasn't a hunter, but
+she was dressed in a suitable costume to go about with fellows who had
+on hunting-clothes. The men wore long yellow boots that came ever so far
+up their legs, and they had on all the belts and hunting-fixings that
+the law allows. The lady wore yellow gloves, to match the men's boots.
+As we were going up the St. John's, the two men strode about, in an easy
+kind of a way, as if they wanted us to understand that this sort of
+thing was nothing to them. They were used to it, and could wear that
+style of boots every day if they wanted to. Rectus called them "the
+yellow-legged party," which wasn't a bad name.</p>
+
+<p>After steaming about twenty-five miles up the St. John's River, we went
+in close to the western shore, and then made a sharp turn into a narrow
+opening between the tall trees, and sailed right into the forest.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[100]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>CHAPTER VIII.</h2>
+
+<h3>THE STEAM-BOAT IN THE FOREST.</h3>
+
+
+<p>We were in a narrow river, where the tall trees met overhead, while the
+lower branches and the smaller trees brushed against the little boat as
+it steamed along. This was the Oclawaha River, and Rectus and I thought
+it was as good as fairy-land. We stood on the bow of the boat, which
+wasn't two feet above the water, and took in everything there was to
+see.</p>
+
+<p>The river wound around in among the great trees, so that we seldom could
+see more than a few hundred yards ahead, and every turn we made showed
+us some new picture of green trees and hanging moss and glimpses into
+the heart of the forest, while everything was reflected in the river,
+which was as quiet as a looking-glass.</p>
+
+<p>"Talk of theatres!" said Rectus.</p>
+
+<p>"No, don't," said I.</p>
+
+<p>At this moment we both gave a little jump, for a gun went off just
+behind us. We turned around<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[101]</a></span> quickly, and saw that the tall yellow-legs
+had just fired at a big bird. He didn't hit it.</p>
+
+<p>"Hello!" said Rectus; "we'd better get our gun. The game is beginning to
+show itself." And off he ran for the rifle.</p>
+
+<p>I didn't know that Rectus had such a bloodthirsty style of mind; but
+there were a good many things about him that I didn't know. When he came
+back, he loaded the rifle, which was a little breech-loader, and began
+eagerly looking about for game.</p>
+
+<p>Corny had been on the upper deck; but in a minute or two she came
+running out to us.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! do you know," she called out, "that there are alligators in this
+river? Do you think they could crawl up into the boat? We go awfully
+near shore sometimes. They sleep on shore. I do hope I'll see one soon."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, keep a sharp look-out, and perhaps you may," said I.</p>
+
+<p>She sat down on a box near the edge of the deck, and peered into the
+water and along the shore as if she had been sent there to watch for
+breakers ahead. Every now and then she screamed out:</p>
+
+<p>"There's one! There! There! There!"</p>
+
+<p>But it was generally a log, or a reflection, or something else that was
+not an alligator.</p>
+
+<p>Of course we were very near both shores at all times, for the river is
+so narrow that a small boy could throw a ball over it; but occasionally
+the deeper part of the channel flowed so near one shore that we ran
+right up close to the trees, and the branches flapped<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[102]</a></span> up against the
+people on the little forward deck, making the ladies, especially the
+lady belonging to the yellow-legged party, crouch and scream as if some
+wood-demon had stuck a hand into the boat and made a grab for their
+bonnets.</p>
+
+<p>This commotion every now and then, and the almost continual reports from
+the guns on board, and Corny's screams when she thought she saw an
+alligator, made the scene quite lively.</p>
+
+<p>Rectus and I took a turn every half-hour at the rifle. It was really a
+great deal more agreeable to look out at the beautiful pictures that
+came up before us every few minutes; but, as we had the gun, we couldn't
+help keeping up a watch for game, besides.</p>
+
+<p>"There!" I whispered to Rectus; "see that big bird! On that limb! Take a
+crack at him!"</p>
+
+<p>It was a water-turkey, and he sat placidly on a limb close to the
+water's edge, and about a boat's length ahead of us.</p>
+
+<p>Rectus took a good aim. He slowly turned as the boat approached the
+bird, keeping his aim upon him, and then he fired.</p>
+
+<p>The water-turkey stuck out his long, snake-like neck, and said:</p>
+
+<p>"Quee! Quee! Quee!"</p>
+
+<p>And then he ran along the limb quite gayly.</p>
+
+<p>"Bang! bang!" went the guns of the yellow-legs, and the turkey actually
+stopped and looked back. Then he said:</p>
+
+<p>"Quee! Quee!" again, and ran in among the thick leaves.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[103]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>I believe I could have hit him with a stone.</p>
+
+<p>"It don't seem to be any use," said Mr. Chipperton, who was standing
+behind us, "to fire at the birds along this river. They know just what
+to do. I'm almost sure I saw that bird wink. It wouldn't surprise me if
+the fellows that own the rifles are in conspiracy with these birds. They
+let out rifles that wont hit, and the birds know it, and sit there and
+laugh at the passengers. Why, I tell you, sir, if the people who travel
+up and down this river were all regular shooters, there wouldn't be a
+bird left in six months."</p>
+
+<p>At this moment Corny saw an alligator,&mdash;a real one. It was lying on a
+log, near shore, and just ahead of the boat. She set up such a yell that
+it made every one of us jump, and her mother came rushing out of the
+saloon to see if she was dead. The alligator, who was a good-sized
+fellow, was so scared that he just slid off his log without taking time
+to get decently awake, and before any one but Rectus and myself had a
+chance to see him. The ladies were very much annoyed at this, and urged
+Corny to scream softly the next time she saw one. Alligators were pretty
+scarce this trip, for some reason or other. For one thing, the weather
+was not very warm, and they don't care to come out in the open air
+unless they can give their cold bodies a good warming up.</p>
+
+<p>Corny now went up on the upper deck, because she thought that she might
+see alligators farther ahead if she got up higher. In five minutes, she
+had her hat taken off by a branch of a tree, which swept upon her, as
+she was leaning over the rail. She called to the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[104]</a></span> pilot to stop the boat
+and go back for her hat, but the captain, who was up in the pilot-house,
+stuck out his head and said he reckoned she'd have to wait until they
+came back. The hat would hang there for a day or two. Corny made no
+answer to this, but disappeared into the saloon.</p>
+
+<p>In a little while, she came out on the lower deck, wearing a seal-skin
+hat. She brought a stool with her, and put it near the bow of the boat,
+a little in front and on one side of the box on which Rectus and I were
+sitting. Then she sat quietly down and gazed out ahead. The seal-skin
+cap was rather too warm for the day, perhaps, but she looked very pretty
+in it.</p>
+
+<p>Directly she looked around at us.</p>
+
+<p>"Where do you shoot alligators?" said she.</p>
+
+<p>"Anywhere, where you may happen to see them," said I, laughing. "On the
+land, in the water, or wherever they may be."</p>
+
+<p>"I mean in what part of their bodies?" said she.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! in the eye," I answered.</p>
+
+<p>"Either eye?" she asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; it don't matter which. But how are you going to hit them?"</p>
+
+<p>"I've got a revolver," said she.</p>
+
+<p>And she turned around, like the turret of an iron-clad, until the muzzle
+of a big seven-shooter pointed right at us.</p>
+
+<p>"My conscience!" I exclaimed; "where did you get that? Don't point it
+this way!"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! it's father's. He let me have it. I am going to shoot the first
+alligator I see. You needn't be<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[105]</a></span> afraid of my screaming this time," and
+she revolved back to her former position.</p>
+
+<p>"One good thing," said Rectus to me, in a low voice; "her pistol isn't
+cocked."</p>
+
+<p>I had noticed this, and I hoped also that it wasn't loaded.</p>
+
+<p>"Which eye do you shut?" said Corny, turning suddenly upon us.</p>
+
+<p>"Both!" said Rectus.</p>
+
+<p>She did not answer, but looked at me, and I told her to shut her left
+eye, but to be very particular not to turn around again without lowering
+her pistol.</p>
+
+<p>She resumed her former position, and we breathed a little easier,
+although I thought that it might be well for us to go to some other part
+of the boat until she had finished her sport.</p>
+
+<p>I was about to suggest this to Rectus, when suddenly Corny sprang to her
+feet, and began blazing away at something ahead. Bang! bang! bang! she
+went, seven times.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, she didn't stop once to cock it!" cried Rectus, and I was amazed
+to see how she had fired so rapidly. But as soon as I had counted seven,
+I stepped up to her and took her pistol. She explained to me how it
+worked. It was one of those pistols in which the same pull of the
+trigger jerks up the hammer and lets it down,&mdash;the most unsafe things
+that any one can carry.</p>
+
+<p>"Too bad!" she exclaimed. "I believe it was only a log! But wont you
+please load it up again for me? Here are some cartridges."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[106]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Corny," said I, "how would you like to have our rifle? It will be
+better than a pistol for you."</p>
+
+<p>She agreed, instantly, to this exchange, and I showed her how to hold
+and manage the gun. I didn't think it was a very good thing for a girl
+to have, but it was a great deal safer than the pistol for the people on
+board. The latter I put in my pocket.</p>
+
+<p>Corny made one shot, but did no execution. The other gunners on board
+had been firing away, for some time, at two little birds that kept ahead
+of us, skimming along over the water, just out of reach of the shot that
+was sent scattering after them.</p>
+
+<p>"I think it's a shame," said Corny, "to shoot such little birds as that.
+They can't eat 'em."</p>
+
+<p>"No," said I; "and they can't hit 'em, either, which is a great deal
+better."</p>
+
+<p>But very soon after this, the shorter yellow-legged man did hit a bird.
+It was a water-turkey, that had been sitting on a tree, just as we
+turned a corner. The big bird spread out its wings, made a doleful
+flutter, and fell into the underbrush by the shore.</p>
+
+<p>"Wont they stop to get him?" asked Corny, with her eyes open as wide as
+they would go.</p>
+
+<p>One of the hands was standing by, and he laughed.</p>
+
+<p>"Stop the boat when a man shoots a bird? I reckon not. And there isn't
+anybody that would go into all that underbrush and water only for a bird
+like that, anyway."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I think it's murder!" cried Corny. "I thought they ate 'em. Here!
+Take your gun. I'm<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[107]</a></span> much obliged; but I don't want to kill things just
+to see them fall down and die."</p>
+
+<p>I took the gun very willingly,&mdash;although I did not think that Corny
+would injure any birds with it,&mdash;but I asked her what she thought about
+alligators. She certainly had not supposed that they were killed for
+food.</p>
+
+<p>"Alligators are wild beasts," she said. "Give me my pistol. I am going
+to take it back to father."</p>
+
+<p>And away she went. Rectus and I did not keep up our rifle practice much
+longer. We couldn't hit anything, and the thought that, if we should
+wound or kill a bird, it would be of no earthly good to us or anybody
+else, made us follow Corny's example, and we put away our gun. But the
+other gunners did not stop. As long as daylight lasted a ceaseless
+banging was kept up.</p>
+
+<p>We were sitting on the forward deck, looking out at the beautiful scenes
+through which we were passing, and occasionally turning back to see that
+none of the gunners posted themselves where they might make our
+positions uncomfortable, when Corny came back to us.</p>
+
+<p>"Can either of you speak French?" she asked.</p>
+
+<p>Rectus couldn't; but I told her that I understood the language tolerably
+well, and asked her why she wished to know.</p>
+
+<p>"It's just this," she said. "You see those two men with yellow boots,
+and the lady with them? She's one of their wives."</p>
+
+<p>"How many wives have they got?" interrupted Rectus, speaking to Corny
+almost for the first time.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[108]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I mean she is the wife of one of them, of course," she answered, a
+little sharply; and then she turned herself somewhat more toward me.
+"And the whole set try to make out they're French, for they talk it
+nearly all the time. But they're not French, for I heard them talk a
+good deal better English than they can talk French; and every time a
+branch nearly hits her, that lady sings out in regular English. And,
+besides, I know that their French isn't French French, because I can
+understand a great deal of it, and if it was I couldn't do it. I can
+talk French a good deal better than I can understand it, anyway. The
+French people jumble everything up so that I can't make head or tail of
+it. Father says he don't wonder they have had so many revolutions, when
+they can't speak their own language more distinctly. He tried to learn
+it, but didn't keep it up long, and so I took lessons. For, when we go
+to France, one of us ought to know how to talk, or we shall be cheated
+dreadfully. Well, you see, over on the little deck, up there, is that
+gentleman with his wife and a young lady, and they're all travelling
+together, and these make-believe French people have been jabbering about
+them ever so long, thinking that nobody else on board understands
+French. But I listened to them. I couldn't make out all they said, but I
+could tell that they were saying all sorts of things about those other
+people, and trying to settle which lady the gentleman was married to,
+and they made a big mistake, too, for they said the small lady was the
+one."</p>
+
+<p>"How do you know they were wrong?" I said.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[109]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Why, I went to the gentleman and asked him. I guess he ought to know.
+And now, if you'll come up there, I'd just like to show those people
+that they can't talk out loud about the other passengers and have nobody
+know what they're saying."</p>
+
+<p>"You want to go there and talk French, so as to show them that you
+understand it?" said I.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," answered Corny, "that's just it."</p>
+
+<p>"All right; come along," said I. "They may be glad to find out that you
+know what they're talking about."</p>
+
+<p>And so we all went to the upper deck, Rectus as willing as anybody to
+see the fun.</p>
+
+<p>Corny seated herself on a little stool near the yellow-legged party, the
+men of which had put down their guns for a time. Rectus and I sat on the
+forward railing, near her. Directly she cleared her throat, and then,
+after looking about her on each side, said to me, in very distinct
+tones:</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Voy-ezz vows cett hommy ett ses ducks femmys seelah?</i>"<a name="FNanchor_B_2" id="FNanchor_B_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_B_2" class="fnanchor">[B]</a></p>
+
+<p>I came near roaring out laughing, but I managed to keep my face
+straight, and said: "<i>Oui.</i>"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, then,&mdash;I mean <i>Bean donk lah peetit femmy nest pah lah femmy due
+hommy. Lah oter femmy este sah femmy.</i>"<a name="FNanchor_C_3" id="FNanchor_C_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_C_3" class="fnanchor">[C]</a></p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[110]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 201px;">
+<img src="images/gs12.png" width="201" height="200" alt="&quot;VOY-EZZ VOWS CETT HOMMY ETT SES DUCKS FEMMYS SEELAH?&quot;" title="&quot;VOY-EZZ VOWS CETT HOMMY ETT SES DUCKS FEMMYS SEELAH?&quot;" />
+<span class="caption">&quot;VOY-EZZ VOWS CETT HOMMY ETT SES DUCKS FEMMYS SEELAH?&quot;</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>At this, there was no holding in any longer. I burst out laughing, so
+that I came near falling off the railing; Rectus laughed because I did;
+the gentleman with the wife and the young lady laughed madly, and Mr.
+Chipperton, who came out of the saloon on hearing the uproar, laughed
+quite cheerfully, and asked what it was all about. But Corny didn't
+laugh. She turned around short to see what effect her speech had had on
+the yellow-legged party. It had a good<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111]</a></span> deal of effect. They reddened
+and looked at us. Then they drew their chairs closer together, and
+turned their backs to us. What they thought, we never knew; but Corny
+declared to me afterward that they talked no more French,&mdash;at least when
+she was about.</p>
+
+<p>The gentleman who had been the subject of Corny's French discourse
+called her over to him, and the four had a gay talk together. I heard
+Corny tell them that she never could pronounce French in the French way.
+She pronounced it just as it was spelt, and her father said that ought
+to be the rule with every language. She had never had a regular teacher;
+but if people laughed so much at the way she talked, perhaps her father
+ought to get her one.</p>
+
+<p>I liked Corny better the more I knew of her. It was easy to see that she
+had taught herself all that she knew. Her mother held her back a good
+deal, no doubt; but her father seemed more like a boy-companion than
+anything else, and if Corny hadn't been a very smart girl, she would
+have been a pretty bad kind of a girl by this time. But she wasn't
+anything of the sort, although she did do and say everything that came
+into her head to say or do. Rectus did not agree with me about Corny. He
+didn't like her.</p>
+
+<p>When it grew dark, I thought we should stop somewhere for the night, for
+it was hard enough for the boat to twist and squeeze herself along the
+river in broad daylight. She bumped against big trees that stood on the
+edge of the stream, and swashed through bushes that stuck out too far
+from the banks; but she<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[112]</a></span> was built for bumping and scratching, and
+didn't mind it. Sometimes she would turn around a corner and make a
+short cut through a whole plantation of lily-pads and spatterdocks,&mdash;or
+things like them,&mdash;and she would scrape over a sunken log as easily as a
+wagon-wheel rolls over a stone. She drew only two feet of water, and was
+flat-bottomed. When she made a very short turn, the men had to push her
+stern around with poles. Indeed, there was a man with a pole at the bow
+a good deal of the time, and sometimes he had more pushing off to do
+than he could manage by himself.</p>
+
+<p>When Mr. Chipperton saw what tight places we had to squeeze through, he
+admitted that it was quite proper not to try to bring the big
+steam-boats up here.</p>
+
+<p>But the boat didn't stop. She kept right on. She had to go a hundred and
+forty miles up that narrow river, and if she made the whole trip from
+Pilatka and back in two days, she had no time to lose. So, when it was
+dark, a big iron box was set up on top of the pilot-house, and a fire
+was built in it of pine-knots and bits of fat pine. This blazed finely,
+and lighted up the river and the trees on each side, and sometimes threw
+out such a light that we could see quite a distance ahead. Everybody
+came out to see the wonderful sight. It was more like fairy-land than
+ever. When the fire died down a little, the distant scenery seemed to
+fade away and become indistinct and shadowy, and the great trees stood
+up like their own ghosts all around us; and then, when fresh knots were
+thrown in, the fire would blaze up, and the whole<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</a></span> scene would be
+lighted up again, and every tree and bush, and almost every leaf, along
+the water's edge would be tipped with light, while everything was
+reflected in the smooth, glittering water.</p>
+
+<p>Rectus and I could hardly go in to supper, and we got through the meal
+in short order. We staid out on deck until after eleven o'clock, and
+Corny staid with us a good part of the time. At last, her father came
+down after her, for they were all going to bed.</p>
+
+<p>"This is a grand sight," said Mr. Chipperton. "I never saw anything to
+equal it in any transformation scene at a theatre. Some of our theatre
+people ought to come down here and study it up, so as to get up
+something of the kind for exhibition in the cities."</p>
+
+<p>Just before we went into bed, our steam-whistle began to sound, and away
+off in the depths of the forest we could hear every now and then another
+whistle. The captain told us that there was a boat coming down the
+river, and that she would soon pass us. The river did not look wide
+enough for two boats; but when the other whistle sounded as if it were
+quite near, we ran our boat close into shore among the spatterdocks, in
+a little cove, and waited there, leaving the channel for the other boat.</p>
+
+<p>Directly, it came around a curve just ahead of us, and truly it was a
+splendid sight. The lower part of the boat was all lighted up, and the
+fire was blazing away grandly in its iron box, high up in the air.</p>
+
+<p>To see such a glowing, sparkling apparition as this come sailing out of
+the depths of the dark forest, was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[114]</a></span> grand! Rectus said he felt like
+bursting into poetry; but he didn't. He wasn't much on rhymes. He had
+opportunity enough, though, to get up a pretty good-sized poem, for we
+were kept awake a long time after we went to bed by the boughs of the
+trees on shore scratching and tapping against the outside of our
+state-room.</p>
+
+<p>When we went out on deck the next morning, the first person we saw was
+Corny, holding on to the flag-staff at the bow and looking over the edge
+of the deck into the water.</p>
+
+<p>"What are you looking at?" said I, as we went up to her.</p>
+
+<p>"See there!" she cried. "See that turtle! And those two fishes! Look!
+look!"</p>
+
+<p>We didn't need to be told twice to look. The water was just as clear as
+crystal, and you could see the bottom everywhere, even in the deepest
+places, with the great rocks covered with some glittering green
+substance that looked like emerald slabs, and the fish and turtles
+swimming about as if they thought there was no one looking at them.</p>
+
+<p>I couldn't understand how the water had become so clear; but I was told
+that we had left the river proper and were now in a stream that flowed
+from Silver Spring, which was the end of our voyage into the cypress
+woods. The water in the spring and in this stream was almost
+transparent,&mdash;very different from the regular water of the river.</p>
+
+<p>About ten o'clock, we reached Silver Spring, which is like a little
+lake, with some houses on the bank.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[115]</a></span> We made fast at a wharf, and, as we
+were to stop here some hours, everybody got ready to go ashore.</p>
+
+<p>Corny was the first one ready. Her mother thought she ought not to go,
+but her father said there was no harm in it.</p>
+
+<p>"If she does," said Mrs. Chipperton, "she'll get herself into some sort
+of a predicament before she comes back."</p>
+
+<p>I found that in such a case as this Mrs. Chipperton was generally
+right.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[116]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_B_2" id="Footnote_B_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_B_2"><span class="label">[B]</span></a> "<i>Voyez-vous cet homme et ces deux femmes cel&agrave;?</i>"&mdash;Do you see that
+man and those two women there?</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_C_3" id="Footnote_C_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_C_3"><span class="label">[C]</span></a> "<i>Bien donc, la petite femme n'est pas la femme du homme. La autre
+femme est sa femme.</i>"&mdash;Well, then, the little woman is not the wife of
+the man. The other woman is his wife. [Of course, the French in this,
+and the preceding, foot-note is Corny's.&mdash;<span class="smcap">The Author.</span>]</p></div>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>CHAPTER IX.</h2>
+
+<h3>THE THREE GRAY BEANS.</h3>
+
+
+<p>Corny went ashore, but she did not stay there three minutes. From the
+edge of the wharf we could see that Silver Spring was better worth
+looking at than anything we should be likely to see on shore. The little
+lake seemed deeper than a three-story house, and yet, even from where we
+stood, we could see down to the very bottom.</p>
+
+<p>There were two boys with row-boats at the wharf. We hired one of the
+boats right off, and Corny gave me such a look, that I told her to get
+in. After she was in the boat, she asked her mother, who was standing on
+the deck of the steam-boat, if she might go. Mrs. Chipperton said she
+supposed so, and away we went. When we had rowed out to the middle of
+the spring, I stopped rowing, and we looked down into the depths. It was
+almost the same as looking into air. Far down at the bottom we could see
+the glittering sand and the green rocks, and sometimes a fish, as long
+as my arm, would slowly rise and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[117]</a></span> fall, and paddle away beneath us. We
+dropped nickels and copper cents down to the bottom, and we could
+plainly see them lying there. In some parts of the bottom there were
+"wells," or holes, about two feet in diameter, which seemed to go down
+indefinitely. These, we were told, were the places where the water came
+up from below into the spring. We could see the weeds and grasses that
+grew on the edges of these wells, although we could not see very far
+down into them.</p>
+
+<p>"If I had only known," said Rectus, "what sort of a place we were coming
+to, I should have brought something to lower down into these wells. I
+tell you what would have been splendid!&mdash;a heavy bottle filled with
+sweet oil and some phosphorus, and a long cord. If we shook up the
+bottle it would shine, so that, when we lowered it into the wells, we
+could see it go down to the very bottom, that is, if the cord should be
+long enough."</p>
+
+<p>At this instant, Corny went overboard! Rectus made a grab at her, but it
+was too late. He sprang to his feet, and I thought he was going over
+after her, but I seized him.</p>
+
+<p>"Sit down!" said I. "Watch her! She'll come up again. Lean over and be
+ready for her!"</p>
+
+<p>We both leaned over the bow as far as was safe. With one hand I gently
+paddled the boat, this way and that, so as to keep ourselves directly
+over Corny. It would have been of no use to jump in. We could see her as
+plainly as anything.</p>
+
+<p>She was going down, all in a bunch, when I first<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[118]</a></span> saw her, and the next
+instant she touched the bottom. Her feet were under now, and I saw her
+make a little spring. She just pushed out her feet.</p>
+
+<p>Then she began to come right up. We saw her slowly rising beneath us.
+Her face was turned upward, and her eyes were wide open. It was a
+wonderful sight. I trembled from head to foot. It seemed as if we were
+floating in the air, and Corny was coming up to us from the earth.</p>
+
+<p>Before she quite reached the surface, I caught her, and had her head out
+of water in an instant. Rectus then took hold, and with a mighty jerk,
+we pulled her into the boat.</p>
+
+<p>Corny sat down hard and opened her mouth.</p>
+
+<p>"There!" she said; "I didn't breathe an inch!"</p>
+
+<p>And then she puffed for about two minutes, while the water ran off her
+into the bottom of the boat. I seized the oars to row to shore.</p>
+
+<p>"How did you fall over?" said Rectus, who still shook as if he had had a
+chill.</p>
+
+<p>"Don't know," answered Corny. "I was leaning far over, when my hand must
+have slipped, and the first thing I knew I was into it. It's good I
+didn't shut my eyes. If you get into water, with your eyes shut, you
+can't open them again." She still puffed a little. "Coming up was the
+best. It's the first time I ever saw the bottom of a boat."</p>
+
+<p>"Weren't you frightened?" I asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Hadn't time at first. And when I was coming up, I saw you reaching out
+for me."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[119]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 182px;">
+<img src="images/gs13.png" width="182" height="400" alt="&quot;WE SAW HER SLOWLY RISING BENEATH US.&quot;" title="&quot;WE SAW HER SLOWLY RISING BENEATH US.&quot;" />
+<span class="caption">&quot;WE SAW HER SLOWLY RISING BENEATH US.&quot;</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Did you think we'd get you?" said Rectus, his face flushing.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Corny, "but if you'd missed me that time, I'd never have
+trusted you again."</p>
+
+<p>The gentleman-with-a-wife-and-a-young-lady was in another boat, not very
+far off, but it was nearer the upper end of the little lake, and none of
+the party knew of our accident until we were pulling Corny out of the
+water. Then they rowed toward us as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[120]</a></span> fast as they could, but they did
+not reach us until we were at the wharf. No one on shore, or on the
+steam-boat, seemed to have noticed Corny's dive. Indeed, the whole thing
+was done so quietly, and was so soon over, that there was not as much of
+a show as the occasion demanded.</p>
+
+<p>"I never before was in deep water that seemed so little like real
+water," said Corny, just before we reached the wharf. "This was cold,
+and that was the only thing natural about it."</p>
+
+<p>"Then this is not the first time you've been in deep water?" I asked.</p>
+
+<p>"No," said Corny, "not the very first time;" and she scrambled up on the
+wharf, where her mother was standing, talking to some ladies.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, Cornelia!" exclaimed Mrs. Chipperton, as soon as she saw the
+dripping girl, "have you been in the water again?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, ma'am," said Corny, drawing her shoulders up to her ears, "and I
+must be rubbed down and have dry clothes as quick as lightning."</p>
+
+<p>And with this, she and her mother hurried on board the steam-boat.</p>
+
+<p>Rectus and I went back on the lake, for we had not gone half over it
+when Corny went into it. We had rowed about for half an hour or so, and
+were just coming in, when Corny appeared on the deck of the steam-boat,
+with a handkerchief tied around her head.</p>
+
+<p>"Are you going to take a walk on shore?" she called out.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes!" we shouted.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[121]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"All right," said she; "if you'll let me, I'll go with you, for mother
+says I must take a good run in the sun. I look funny, don't I? but I
+haven't any more hats."</p>
+
+<p>We gave her a good run, although it was not altogether in the sun. The
+country hereabout was pretty well wooded, but there were roads cut
+through the woods, and there were some open places, and everywhere,
+underfoot, the sand was about six inches deep. Rectus took Corny by one
+hand, and I took her by the other, and we made her trot through that
+sand, in sunshine and shade, until she declared she was warm enough to
+last for a week. The yellow-legged party and some of the other
+passengers were wandering about, gathering the long gray moss,&mdash;from
+limbs where they could reach it,&mdash;and cutting great palmetto leaves
+which grew on low bushes all through the woods, and carrying them about
+as fans or parasols; but although Corny wanted to join in this fun, we
+would not stop. We just trotted her until she was tired, and then we ran
+her on board the boat, where her mother was waiting for her.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, then," said Mrs. Chipperton, "immediately to bed."</p>
+
+<p>The two disappeared, and we saw no more of Corny until supper-time. Her
+mother was certainly good at cure, if she didn't have much of a knack at
+prevention.</p>
+
+<p>Just as the boat was about to start off on her return trip, and after
+she had blown her whistle two or three times, Mr. Chipperton appeared,
+carrying an immense arm-load of gray moss. He puffed and blew as he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[122]</a></span>
+threw it down on deck. When his wife came out and told him of Corny's
+disaster, he stopped dusting his clothes, and looked up for an instant.</p>
+
+<p>"I declare," said he, "Corny must keep out of the water. It seems to me
+that I can never leave her but she gets into some scrape. But I'm sure
+our friends here have proved themselves good fellows, indeed," and he
+shook hands with both of us.</p>
+
+<p>"Now then, my dear," said he to his wife, "I've enough moss here for the
+parlor and sitting-room, and the little back-room, upstairs. I didn't
+get any for the dining-room, because it might blow about and get into
+the food."</p>
+
+<p>"Do you mean to take that moss all the way home?" asked Mrs. Chipperton,
+in surprise. "Why, how will you ever carry it?"</p>
+
+<p>"Of course I mean to take it home," said he. "I gathered this with my
+own hands from the top of one of the tallest trees on the banks of this
+famous Silver Spring."</p>
+
+<p>"Mr. Chipperton!" exclaimed his wife.</p>
+
+<p>"To be sure, the tree was cut down, but that makes no difference in the
+fact. It is both an ornament and a trophy of travel. If necessary, I'll
+buy a trunk for it. What did you do with Corny after they got her out?"</p>
+
+<p>Our journey home was very much like our trip up the river, but there
+were a few exceptions. There was not so much firing, for I think the
+ammunition got pretty low; we saw more alligators, and the yellow-legged
+party, which had joined us at Pilatka, went all<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[123]</a></span> the way to St.
+Augustine with us. There was still another difference, and that was in
+Rectus. He was a good deal livelier,&mdash;more in the spirit that had
+hatched out in him in the cemetery at Savannah. He seemed to be all
+right with Corny now, and we had a good time together. I was going to
+say to him, once, that he had changed his mind about girls, but I
+thought I wouldn't. It would be better to let well enough alone, and he
+was a ticklish customer.</p>
+
+<p>The day after we returned to St. Augustine, we were walking on the
+sea-wall, when we met Corny. She said she had been looking for us. Her
+father had gone out fishing with some gentlemen, and her mother would
+not walk in the sun, and, besides, she had something to say to us.</p>
+
+<p>So we all walked to the fort and sat down on the wide wall of the
+water-battery. Rectus bestrode one of the cannon that stood pointing out
+to sea, but Corny told him she wanted him to get down and sit by her, so
+that she wouldn't have to shout.</p>
+
+<p>"Now then," said she, after pausing a little, as if she wanted to be
+sure and get it right, "you two saved my life, and I want to give you
+something to remember me by."</p>
+
+<p>We both exclaimed against this.</p>
+
+<p>"You needn't do that," said I, "for I'm sure that no one who saw you
+coming up from the bottom, like the fairy-women float up on wires at the
+theatre, could ever forget you. We'll remember you, Corny, without your
+giving us anything."</p>
+
+<p>"But that wont do," said she. "The only other<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[124]</a></span> time that I was ever
+really saved was by a ferryman, and father gave him some money, which
+was all right for him, but wouldn't do for you two, you know; and
+another time there wasn't really any danger, and I'm sorry the man got
+anything; but he did.</p>
+
+<p>"We brought scarcely anything with us, because we didn't expect to need
+things in this way; but this is my own, and I want to give it to you
+both. One of you can't use it by himself, and so it will be more like a
+present for both of you together, than most things would be." And she
+handed me a box of dominoes.</p>
+
+<p>"I give it to you because you're the oldest, but, remember, it's for
+both of you."</p>
+
+<p>Of course we took it, and Corny was much pleased. She was a good little
+girl and, somehow or other, she seemed to be older and more sensible
+when she was with us than when she was bouncing around in the bosom of
+her family.</p>
+
+<p>We had a good deal of talk together, and, after a while, she asked how
+long we were going to stay in St. Augustine.</p>
+
+<p>"Until next Tuesday," I said, "and then we shall start for Nassau in the
+'Tigris.'"</p>
+
+<p>"Nassau!" she exclaimed, "where's that?"</p>
+
+<p>"Right down there," I said, pointing out to sea with a crook of my
+finger, to the south. "It's on one of the Bahamas, and they lie off the
+lower end of Florida, you know."</p>
+
+<p>"No," said she; "I don't remember where they are. I always get the
+Bahamas mixed up with the Bermudas, anyway. So does father. We talked
+of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[125]</a></span> going to one of those places, when we first thought of travelling
+for his lung, but then they thought Florida would be better. What is
+there good about Nassau? Is it any better than this place?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said I, "it's in the West Indies, and it's semi-tropical, and
+they have cocoa-nuts and pineapples and bananas there; and there are
+lots of darkeys, and the weather is always just what you want&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"I guess that's a little stretched," said Corny, and Rectus agreed with
+her.</p>
+
+<p>"And it's a new kind of a place," I continued; "an English colony, such
+as our ancestors lived in before the Revolution, and we ought to see
+what sort of a thing an English colony is, so as to know whether
+Washington and the rest of them should have kicked against it."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, they were all right!" said Corny, in a tone which settled that
+little matter.</p>
+
+<p>"And so, you see," I went on, "Rectus and I thought we should like to go
+out of the country for a while, and see how it would feel to live under
+a queen and a cocoa-nut tree."</p>
+
+<p>"Good!" cried Corny. "We'll go."</p>
+
+<p>"Who?" I asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Father and mother and I," said Corny, rising. "I'll tell them all about
+it; and I'd better be going back to the hotel, for if the steamer leaves
+on Tuesday, we'll have lots to do."</p>
+
+<p>As we were walking homeward on the sea-wall, Rectus looked back and
+suddenly exclaimed:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[126]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"There! Do you see that Crowded Owl following us? He's been hanging
+round us all the afternoon. He's up to something. Don't you remember the
+captain told us he was a bad-tempered fellow?"</p>
+
+<p>"What did he do?" asked Corny, looking back at the Indian, who now stood
+in the road, a short distance from the wall, regarding us very
+earnestly.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, he never did anything, much," I said. "He seemed to be angry,
+once, because we would not buy some of his things, and the captain said
+he'd have him told not to worry us. That may have made him madder yet."</p>
+
+<p>"He don't look mad," said Corny.</p>
+
+<p>"Don't you trust him," said Rectus.</p>
+
+<p>"I believe all these Indians are perfectly gentle, now," said Corny,
+"and father thinks so, too. He's been over here a good deal, and talked
+to some of them. Let's go ask him what he wants. Perhaps he's only
+sorry."</p>
+
+<p>"If he is, we'll never find it out," I remarked, "for he can only speak
+one word of English."</p>
+
+<p>I beckoned to Crowded Owl, and he immediately ran up to the wall, and
+said "How?" in an uncertain tone, as if he was not sure how we should
+take it. However, Corny offered him her hand, and Rectus and I followed
+suit. After this, he put his hand into his pocket, and pulled out three
+sea-beans.</p>
+
+<p>"There!" said Rectus. "At it again. Disobeying military orders."</p>
+
+<p>"But they're pretty ones," said Corny, taking one of the beans in her
+hand.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>They were pretty. They were not very large, but were beautifully
+polished, and of a delicate gray color, the first we had seen of the
+kind.</p>
+
+<p>"These must be a rare kind," said Rectus. "They are almost always brown.
+Let's forgive him this once, and buy them."</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps he wants to make up with you," said Corny, "and has brought
+these as a present."</p>
+
+<p>"I can soon settle that question," said I, and I took the three beans,
+and pulled from my pocket three quarter-dollars, which I offered to the
+Indian.</p>
+
+<p>Crowded Owl took the money, grinned, gave a bob of his head, and went
+home happy.</p>
+
+<p>If he had had any wish to "make up" with us, he had shown it by giving
+us a chance at a choice lot of goods.</p>
+
+<p>"Now," said I, reaching out my hand to Corny, "here's one for each of
+us. Take your choice."</p>
+
+<p>"For me?" said Corny. "No, I oughtn't to. Yes, I will, too. I am ever so
+much obliged. We have lots of sea-beans, but none like this. I'll have a
+ring fastened to it, and wear it, somehow."</p>
+
+<p>"That'll do to remember us by," said I.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Rectus, "and whenever you're in danger, just hold up that
+bean, and we'll come to you."</p>
+
+<p>"I'll do it," said Corny. "But how about you? What can I do?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, I don't suppose we shall want you to help us much," I said.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, hold up your beans, and we'll see," said Corny.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[128]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>CHAPTER X.</h2>
+
+<h3>THE QUEEN ON THE DOOR-STEP.</h3>
+
+
+<p>We found that Corny had not been mistaken about her influence over her
+family, for the next morning, before we were done breakfast, Mr.
+Chipperton came around to see us. He was full of Nassau, and had made up
+his mind to go with us on Tuesday. He asked us lots of questions, but he
+really knew as much about the place as we did, although he had been so
+much in the habit of mixing his Bahamas and his Bermudas.</p>
+
+<p>"My wife is very much pleased at the idea of having you two with us on
+the trip over," said he; "although, to be sure, we may have a very
+smooth and comfortable voyage."</p>
+
+<p>I believe that, since the Silver Spring affair, he regarded Rectus and
+me as something in the nature of patent girl-catchers, to be hung over
+the side of the vessel in bad weather.</p>
+
+<p>We were sorry to leave St. Augustine, but we had thoroughly done up the
+old place, and had seen<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span> everything, I think, except the Spring of Ponce
+de Leon, on the other side of the St. Sebastian River. We didn't care
+about renewing our youth,&mdash;indeed, we should have objected very much to
+anything of the kind,&mdash;and so we felt no interest in old Ponce's spring.</p>
+
+<p>On Tuesday morning, the "Tigris" made her appearance on time, and Mr.
+Cholott and our good landlady came down to see us off. The yellow-legged
+party also came down, but not to see us off. They, too, were going to
+Nassau.</p>
+
+<p>Rectus had gone on board, and I was just about to follow him, when our
+old Minorcan stepped up to me.</p>
+
+<p>"Goin' away?" said he.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said I, "we're off at last."</p>
+
+<p>"Other feller goin'?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, yes," I answered, "we keep together."</p>
+
+<p>"Well now, look here," said he, drawing me a little on one side. "What
+made him take sich stock in us Minorcans? Why, he thought we used to be
+slaves; what put that in his head, I'd like to know? Did he reely think
+we ever was niggers?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, no!" I exclaimed. "He had merely heard the early history of the
+Minorcans in this country, their troubles and all that, and he&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"But what difference did it make to him?" interrupted the old man.</p>
+
+<p>I couldn't just then explain the peculiarities of Rectus's disposition
+to Mr. Menendez, and so I answered that I supposed it was a sort of
+sympathy.</p>
+
+<p>"I can't see, for the life of me," said the old man, reflectively, "what
+difference it made to him."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[130]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>And he shook hands with me, and bade me good-bye. I don't believe he has
+ever found anybody who could give him the answer to this puzzle.</p>
+
+<p>The trip over to Nassau was a very different thing from our voyage down
+the coast from New York to Savannah. The sea was comparatively smooth,
+and, although the vessel rolled a good deal in the great swells, we did
+not mind it much. The air was delightful, and after we had gone down the
+Florida coast, and had turned to cross the Gulf Stream to our islands,
+the weather became positively warm, even out here on the sea, and we
+were on deck nearly all the time.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Chipperton was in high spirits. He enjoyed the deep blue color of
+the sea; he went into ecstasies over the beautiful little nautiluses
+that sailed along by the ship; he watched with wild delight the
+porpoises that followed close by our side, and fairly shouted when a big
+fellow would spring into the air, or shoot along just under the surface,
+as if he had a steam-engine in his tail. But when he saw a school of
+flying-fish rise up out of the sea, just a little ahead of us, and go
+skimming along like birds, and then drop again into the water, he was so
+surprised and delighted that he scarcely knew how to express his
+feelings.</p>
+
+<p>Of course, we younger people enjoyed all these things, but I was
+surprised to see that Corny was more quiet than usual, and spent a good
+deal of her time in reading, although she would spring up and run to the
+railing whenever her father announced some wonderful discovery. Mr.
+Chipperton would have<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[131]</a></span> been a splendid man for Columbus to have taken
+along with him on his first trip to these islands. He would have kept up
+the spirits of the sailors.</p>
+
+<p>I asked Corny what she was reading, and she showed me her book. It was a
+big, fat pamphlet about the Bahamas, and she was studying up for her
+stay there. She was a queer girl. She had not been to school very much,
+her mother said, for they had been travelling about a good deal of late
+years; but she liked to study up special things, in which she took an
+interest. Sometimes she was her own teacher, and sometimes, if they
+staid in any one place long enough, she took regular lessons.</p>
+
+<p>"I teach her as much as I can," said her mother, "although I would much
+rather have her go regularly to school. But her father is so fond of her
+that he will not have her away from him, and as Mr. Chipperton's lung
+requires him to be moving from place to place, we have to go, too. But I
+am determined that she shall go to a school next fall."</p>
+
+<p>"What is the matter with Mr. Chipperton's lung?" I asked.</p>
+
+<p>"I wish we knew," said Mrs. Chipperton, earnestly. "The doctors don't
+seem to be able to find out the exact trouble, and besides, it isn't
+certain which lung it is. But the only thing that can be done for it is
+to travel."</p>
+
+<p>"He looks very well," said I.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, yes!" said she. "But"&mdash;and she looked around to see where he
+was&mdash;"he doesn't like people to tell him so."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[132]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>After a while, Rectus got interested in Corny's book, and the two read a
+good deal together. I did not interrupt them, for I felt quite sure that
+neither of them knew too much.</p>
+
+<p>The captain and all the officers on the steamer were good, sociable men,
+and made the passengers feel at home. I had got somewhat acquainted with
+them on our trip from Savannah to St. Augustine, and now the captain let
+me come into his room and showed me the ship's course, marked out on a
+chart, and pointed out just where we were, besides telling me a good
+many things about the islands and these waters.</p>
+
+<p>I mentioned to Corny and Rectus, when I went aft again,&mdash;this was the
+second day out,&mdash;that we should see one end of the Great Bahama early in
+the afternoon.</p>
+
+<p>"I'm glad of that," said Corny; "but I suppose we sha'n't go near enough
+for us to see its calcareous formation."</p>
+
+<p>"Its what?" I exclaimed.</p>
+
+<p>"Its cal-car-e-ous formation," repeated Corny, and she went on with her
+reading.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh!" said I, laughing, "I guess the calcareous part is all covered up
+with grass and plants,&mdash;at least it ought to be in a semi-tropical
+country. But when we get to Nassau you can dig down and see what it's
+like."</p>
+
+<p>"Semi-tropical!" exclaimed Mr. Chipperton, who just came up; "there is
+something about that word that puts me all in a glow," and he rubbed his
+hands as if he smelt dinner.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[133]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Each of us wore a gray bean. Rectus and I had ours fastened to our
+watch-guards, and Corny's hung to a string of beads she generally wore.
+We formed ourselves into a society&mdash;Corny suggested it&mdash;which we called
+the "Association of the Three Gray Beans," the object of which was to
+save each other from drowning, and to perform similar serviceable acts,
+if circumstances should call for them. We agreed to be very faithful,
+and, if Corny had tumbled overboard, I am sure that Rectus and I would
+have jumped in after her; but I am happy to say that she did nothing of
+the kind on this trip.</p>
+
+<p>Early the next morning, we reached Nassau, the largest town in the
+Bahamas, on one of the smallest islands, and found it semi-tropical
+enough to suit even Mr. Chipperton.</p>
+
+<p>Before we landed, we could see the white, shining streets and
+houses,&mdash;just as calcareous as they could be; the black negroes; the
+pea-green water in the harbor; the tall cocoa-nut trees, and about five
+million conch-shells, lying at the edges of the docks. The colored
+people here live pretty much on the conch-fish, and when we heard that,
+it accounted for the shells. The poorer people on these islands often go
+by the name of "conchs."</p>
+
+<p>As we went up through the town we found that the darkeys were nearly as
+thick as the conch-shells, but they were much more lively. I never saw
+such jolly, dont-care-y people as the colored folks that were scattered
+about everywhere. Some of the young ones, as joyful skippers, could have
+tired out a shrimp.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[134]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>There is one big hotel in the town, and pretty nearly all our passengers
+went there. The house is calcareous, and as solid as a rock. Rectus and
+I liked it very much, because it reminded us of pictures we had seen of
+Algiers, or Portugal, or some country where they have arches instead of
+doors; but Mr. Chipperton wasn't at all satisfied when he found that
+there was not a fireplace in the whole house.</p>
+
+<p>"This is coming the semi-tropical a little too strong," he said to me;
+but he soon found, I think, that gathering around the hearth-stone could
+never become a popular amusement in this warm little town.</p>
+
+<p>Every day, for a week, Mr. Chipperton hired a one-horse barouche, and he
+and his wife and daughter rode over the island. Rectus and I walked, and
+we saw a good deal more than they did. Corny told us this, the first
+walk she took with us. We went down a long, smooth, white road that led
+between the queer little cottages of the negroes, where the cocoa-nut
+and orange trees and the bananas and sappadilloes, and lots of other
+trees and bushes stood up around the houses just as proudly as if they
+were growing on ten-thousand-dollar lots. Some of these trees had the
+most calcareous foundations anybody ever saw. They grew almost out of
+the solid rock. This is probably one of the most economical places in
+the world for garden mould. You couldn't sweep up more than a bucketful
+out of a whole garden, and yet the things grow splendidly. Rectus said
+he supposed the air was earthy.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[135]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Corny enjoyed this walk, because we went right into the houses and
+talked to the people, and bought cocoa-nuts off the trees, and ate the
+inside custard with a spoon, and made the little codgers race for
+pennies, and tried all the different kinds of fruits. She said she would
+like to walk out with us always, but her mother said she must not be
+going about too much with boys.</p>
+
+<p>"But there are no girls on the island," said she; "at least, no white
+ones,&mdash;as far as I have seen."</p>
+
+<p>I suppose there were white children around, but they escaped notice in
+the vast majority of little nigs.</p>
+
+<p>The day after this walk, the shorter "yellow-legs" asked me to go out
+fishing with him. He couldn't find anybody else, I suppose, for his
+friend didn't like fishing. Neither did Rectus; and so we went off
+together in a fishing-smack, with a fisherman to sail the boat and
+hammer conch for bait. We went outside of Hog Island,&mdash;which lies off
+Nassau, very much as Anastasia Island lies off St. Augustine, only it
+isn't a quarter as big,&mdash;and fished in the open sea. We caught a lot of
+curious fish, and the yellow-legs, whose name was Burgan, turned out to
+be a very good sort of a fellow. I shouldn't have supposed this of a man
+who had made such a guy of himself; but there are a great many different
+kinds of outsides to people.</p>
+
+<p>When we got back to the hotel, along came Rectus and Corny. They had
+been out walking together, and looked hot.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh," cried Corny, as soon as she saw me. "We<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[136]</a></span> have something to talk to
+you about! Let's go and sit down. I wish there was some kind of an
+umbrella or straw hat that people could wear under their chins to keep
+the glare of these white roads out of their eyes. Let's go up into the
+silk-cotton tree."</p>
+
+<p>I proposed that I should go to my room and clean up a little first, but
+Corny couldn't wait. As her father had said, she wasn't good at waiting;
+and so we all went up into the silk-cotton tree. This was an enormous
+tree, with roots like the partitions between horse-stalls; it stood at
+the bottom of the hotel grounds, and had a large platform built up among
+the branches, with a flight of steps leading to it. There were seats up
+here, and room enough for a dozen people.</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said I, when we were seated, "what have you to tell? Anything
+wonderful? If it isn't, you'd better let me tell you about my fish."</p>
+
+<p>"Fish!" exclaimed Rectus, not very respectfully.</p>
+
+<p>"Fish, indeed!" said Corny. "<i>We</i> have seen a <i>queen!</i>"</p>
+
+<p>"Queen of what?" said I.</p>
+
+<p>"Queen of Africa," replied Corny. "At least a part of it,&mdash;she would be,
+I mean, if she had stayed there. We went over that way, out to the very
+edge of the town, and there we found a whole colony of real native
+Africans,&mdash;just the kind Livingstone and Stanley discovered,&mdash;only they
+wear clothes like us."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, my!" exclaimed Rectus.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't mean exactly that," said Corny; "but coats and trousers and
+frocks, awfully old and patched.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[137]</a></span> And nearly all the grown-up people
+there were born in Africa, and rescued by an English man-of-war from a
+slave-ship that was taking them into slavery, and were brought here and
+set free. And here they are, and they talk their own language,&mdash;only
+some of them know English, for they've been here over thirty years,&mdash;and
+they all keep together, and have a governor of their own, with a
+flag-pole before his house, and among them is a real queen, of royal
+blood!"</p>
+
+<p>"How did you find out that?" I asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, we heard about the African settlement this morning, at the hotel,
+and we went down there, right after dinner. We went into two or three of
+the houses and talked to the people, and they all told us the same
+thing, and one woman took us to see the queen."</p>
+
+<p>"In her palace?" said I.</p>
+
+<p>"No," said Corny, "she don't live in a palace. She lives in one of the
+funniest little huts you ever saw, with only two rooms. And it's too
+bad; they all know she's a queen, and yet they don't pay her one bit of
+honor. The African governor knows it, but he lives in his house with his
+flag-pole in front of it, and rules her people, while she sits on a
+stone in front of her door and sells red peppers and bits of
+sugar-cane."</p>
+
+<p>"Shameful!" said I; "you don't mean that?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, she does," put in Rectus. "We saw her, and bought some sugar-cane.
+She didn't think we knew her rank, for she put her things away when the
+women told her, in African, why we came to see her."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[138]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"What did she say to you?" I asked, beginning to be a good deal
+interested in this royal colored person.</p>
+
+<p>"Nothing at all," said Corny; "she can't talk a word of English. If she
+could, she might get along better. I suppose her people want somebody
+over them who can talk English. And so they've just left her to sell
+peppers, and get along as well as she can."</p>
+
+<p>"It's a good deal of a come-down, I must say," said I. "I wonder how she
+likes it?"</p>
+
+<p>"Judging from her looks," said Rectus, "I don't believe she likes it at
+all."</p>
+
+<p>"No, indeed!" added Corny. "She looks woe-begone, and I don't see why
+she shouldn't. To be taken captive with her people&mdash;may be she was
+trying to save them&mdash;and then to have them almost cut her acquaintance
+after they all get rescued and settled down!"</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps," said I, "as they are all living under Queen Victoria, they
+don't want any other queen."</p>
+
+<p>"That's nothing," said Corny, quickly. "There's a governor of this whole
+island, and what do they want with another governor? If Queen Victoria
+and the governor of this island were Africans, of course they wouldn't
+want anybody else. But as it is, they do, don't you see?"</p>
+
+<p>"They don't appear to want another queen," I said, "for they wont take
+one that is right under their noses."</p>
+
+<p>Corny looked provoked, and Rectus asked me how I knew that.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[139]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I tell you," said Corny, "it don't make any difference whether they
+want her or not, they haven't any right to make a born queen sit on a
+stone and sell red-peppers. Do you know what Rectus and I have made up
+our minds to do?"</p>
+
+<p>"What is it?" I asked.</p>
+
+<p>Corny looked around to see that no one was standing or walking near the
+tree, and then she leaned toward me and said:</p>
+
+<p>"We are going to seat her on her throne!"</p>
+
+<p>"You?" I exclaimed, and began to laugh.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, we are," said Rectus; "at least, we're going to try to."</p>
+
+<p>"You needn't laugh," said Corny. "You're to join."</p>
+
+<p>"In an insurrection,&mdash;a conspiracy," said I. "I can't go into that
+business."</p>
+
+<p>"You must!" cried Corny and Rectus, almost in a breath.</p>
+
+<p>"You've made a promise," said Corny.</p>
+
+<p>"And are bound to stick to it," said Rectus, looking at Corny.</p>
+
+<p>Then, both together, as if they had settled it all beforehand, they held
+up their gray sea-beans, and said, in vigorous tones:</p>
+
+<p>"Obey the bean!"</p>
+
+<p>I didn't hesitate a moment. I held up my bean, and we clicked beans all
+around.</p>
+
+<p>I became a conspirator!<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[140]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>CHAPTER XI.</h2>
+
+<h3>REGAL PROJECTS.</h3>
+
+
+<p>The next morning, we all went around to see the queen, and on the way we
+tried to arrange our affair. I was only sorry that my old school-fellows
+were not there, to go into the thing with us. There couldn't have been
+better fun for our boys, than to get up a revolution and set up a
+dethroned queen. But they were not there, and I determined to act as
+their representative as well as I could.</p>
+
+<p>We three&mdash;Corny, Rectus and I&mdash;were agreed that the re-enthronement&mdash;we
+could think of no better word for the business&mdash;should be done as
+quietly and peacefully as possible. It was of no use, we thought, to
+make a great fuss about what we were going to do. We would see that this
+African ex-sovereigness was placed in a suitable regal station, and then
+we would call upon her countrymen to acknowledge her rank.</p>
+
+<p>"It isn't really necessary for her to do any governing," said Rectus.
+"Queens do very little of that.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[141]</a></span> Look at Queen Victoria! Her Prime
+Minister and Parliament run the country. If the African governor here is
+a good man, the queen can take him for a Prime Minister. Then he can
+just go along and do what he always did. If she is acknowledged to be
+the queen, that's all she need want."</p>
+
+<p>"That's so," said Corny. "And, above all, there must be no blood shed."</p>
+
+<p>"None of yours, any way," said I; and Rectus tapped his bean,
+significantly.</p>
+
+<p>Rectus had been chosen captain of this revolutionary coalition, because
+Corny, who held the controlling vote, said that she was afraid I had not
+gone into the undertaking heart and soul, as Rectus had. Otherwise, she
+would have voted for me, as the oldest of the party. I did not make any
+objections, and was elected Treasurer. Corny said that the only office
+she had ever held was that of Librarian, in a girls' society, but as we
+did not expect to need a Librarian in this undertaking, we made her
+Secretary and Manager of Restoration, which, we thought, would give her
+all the work that she could stand under.</p>
+
+<p>I suggested that there was one sub-officer, or employ&eacute;, that we should
+be sure to need, and who should be appointed before we commenced
+operations. This was an emissary. Proper communications between
+ourselves and the populace would be difficult, unless we obtained the
+service of some intelligent and whole-souled darkey. My
+fellow-revolutionists agreed with me, and, after a moment of reflection,
+Corny shouted that she had thought of the very person.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[142]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"It's a girl!" she cried. "And it's Priscilla!"</p>
+
+<p>We all knew Priscilla. It would have been impossible to be at the hotel
+for a week and not know her. After breakfast, and after dinner, there
+was always a regular market at the entrance of the hotel, under the
+great arched porch, where the boarders sat and made themselves
+comfortable after meals. The dealers were negroes of every age,&mdash;men,
+women, boys, and girls, and they brought everything they could scrape
+up, that they thought visitors might buy,&mdash;fruit, shells, sponges,
+flowers, straw hats, canes, and more traps than I can remember. Some of
+them had very nice things, and others would have closed out their stock
+for seven cents. The liveliest and brightest of all these was a tall,
+slim, black, elastic, smooth-tongued young girl, named Priscilla. She
+nearly always wore shoes, which distinguished her from her
+fellow-countrywomen. Her eyes sparkled like a fire-cracker of a dark
+night, and she had a mind as sharp as a fish-hook. The moment Corny
+mentioned her she was elected emissary.</p>
+
+<p>We determined, however, to be very cautious in disclosing our plans to
+her. We would sound her, first, and make a regular engagement with her.</p>
+
+<p>"It will be a first-rate thing for me," said Corny, "to have a girl to
+go about with me, for mother said, yesterday, that it wouldn't do for me
+to be so much with boys. It looked tomboyish, she said, though she
+thought you two were very good for boys."</p>
+
+<p>"Are you going to tell your father and mother about this?" asked
+Rectus.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[143]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I think I'll tell mother," said Corny, "because I ought to, and I don't
+believe she'll object, if I have a girl along with me. But I don't think
+I'll say anything to father just yet. I'm afraid he'd join."</p>
+
+<p>Rectus and I agreed that it might be better to postpone saying anything
+to Mr. Chipperton.</p>
+
+<p>It was very true that the queen did not live in a palace. Her house was
+nearly large enough to hold an old-fashioned four-posted bedstead, such
+as they have at my Aunt Sarah's. The little room that was cut off from
+the main apartment was really too small to count. The queen was hard at
+work, sitting on her door-stone by the side of her bits of sugar-cane
+and pepper-pods. There were no customers. She was a good-looking old
+body, about sixty, perhaps, but tall and straight enough for all queenly
+purposes.</p>
+
+<p>She arose and shook hands with us, and then stepped into her door-way
+and courtesied. The effect was very fine.</p>
+
+<p>"This is dreadful!" said Corny. "She ought to give up this pepper-pod
+business right away. If I could only talk to her, I'd make her
+understand. But I must go get somebody for an interpreter."</p>
+
+<p>And she ran off to one of the neighboring huts.</p>
+
+<p>"If this thing works," said Rectus, "we ought to hire a regular
+interpreter."</p>
+
+<p>"It wont do to have too many paid officials," said I, "but we'll see
+about that."</p>
+
+<p>Corny soon returned with a pleasant-faced woman, who undertook to
+superintend our conversation with the queen.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[144]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"What's her name&mdash;to begin with?" asked Corny, of the woman.</p>
+
+<p>"Her African name is Poqua-dilla, but here they call her Jane Henderson,
+when they talk of her. She knows that name, too. We all has to have
+English names."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, we don't want any Jane Henderson," said Corny. "Poqua-dilla!
+that's a good name for a queen. But what we first want is to have her
+stop selling things at the front door. We'll do better for her than
+that."</p>
+
+<p>"Is you goin' to sen' her to the 'sylum?" asked the woman.</p>
+
+<p>"The asylum!" exclaimed Corny. "No, indeed! You'll see. She's to live
+here, but she's not to sell pepper-pods, or anything else."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, young missy," said the woman, "you better buy 'em of her. I
+reckon she'll sell out for 'bout fourpence."</p>
+
+<p>This was a sensible proposition, and, as treasurer, I bought the stock,
+the queen having signified her willingness to the treaty by a dignified
+nod and a courtesy. She was very much given to style, which encouraged
+us a good deal.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, then," said Rectus, who thought it was about time that the captain
+should have something to say, "you must tell her that she isn't to lay
+in any more stock. This is to be the end of her mercantile life."</p>
+
+<p>I don't believe the woman translated all of this speech, but the queen
+gave another nod and courtesy,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[145]</a></span> and I pocketed the peppers to keep as
+trophies. The other things we kept, to give to the children and make
+ourselves popular.</p>
+
+<p>"How much do you think it would cost," asked Corny of me, "to make this
+place a little more like a palace?"</p>
+
+<p>I made a rough sort of a calculation, and came to the conclusion that
+the room could be made a little more like a palace for about eight
+dollars.</p>
+
+<p>"That's cheap enough," said Rectus to me. "You and I will each give four
+dollars."</p>
+
+<p>"No, indeed!" said Corny. "I'm going to give some. How much is three
+into eight?"</p>
+
+<p>"Two and two-thirds," said I, "or, in this case, two dollars, sixty-six
+cents and some sixes over."</p>
+
+<p>"All right!" said Corny; "I'll ask father for three dollars. There ought
+to be something for extras. I'll tell mother what I want it for, and
+that will satisfy him. He can know afterward. I don't think he ought to
+worry his lung with anything like this."</p>
+
+<p>"She wont want a throne," said Rectus, turning the conversation from Mr.
+Chipperton, "for she has a very good rocking-chair, which could be fixed
+up."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said I, "it could be cushioned. She might do it herself."</p>
+
+<p>At this, the colored woman made a remark to the queen, but what it was
+we did not know.</p>
+
+<p>"Of course she could," said Corny. "Queens work. Queen Victoria etches
+on steel."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't believe Porker-miller can do that," said Rectus, "but I guess
+she can pad her chair."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[146]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Do thrones rock?" asked Corny.</p>
+
+<p>"Some of 'em do," I said. "There was the throne of France, you know."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, then, that will be all right," said Corny; "and how about a crown
+and sceptre?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, we wont want a sceptre," I said; "that sort of thing's pretty
+old-fashioned. But we ought to have a crown, so as to make a difference
+between her and the other people."</p>
+
+<p>"How much are crowns?" asked Corny, in a thoughtful tone.</p>
+
+<p>"Various prices," I answered; "but I think we can make one, that will do
+very well, for about fifty cents. I'll undertake to make the brass part,
+if you'll cushion it."</p>
+
+<p>"Brass!" exclaimed Corny, in astonishment.</p>
+
+<p>"You don't suppose we can get gold, do you?" I asked, laughing.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, no," she said, but not quite satisfied.</p>
+
+<p>"And there must be a flag and a flag-pole," said Rectus. "But what sort
+of a flag are we going to have?"</p>
+
+<p>"The African flag," said Corny, confidently.</p>
+
+<p>None of us knew what the African flag was, although Corny suggested that
+it was probably black. But I told her that if we raised a black flag
+before the queen's palace, we should bring down the authorities on us,
+sure. They'd think we had started a retail piratical establishment.</p>
+
+<p>We now took leave of the queen, and enjoined her neighbor to impress on
+her mind the necessity of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[147]</a></span> not using her capital to lay in a new stock
+of goods. Leaving a quarter of a dollar with her, for contingent
+expenses during the day, we started for home.</p>
+
+<p>"I'll tell you what it is," said I, "we must settle this matter of
+revenue pretty soon. If she don't sell peppers and sugar-cane, she'll
+have to be supported in some way, and I'm sure we can't do it."</p>
+
+<p>"Her subjects ought to attend to that," said Rectus.</p>
+
+<p>"But she hasn't got any yet," I answered.</p>
+
+<p>"That's a fact," said Corny. "We must get her a few, to start with."</p>
+
+<p>"Hire 'em, do you mean?" asked Rectus.</p>
+
+<p>"No; call upon them in the name of their country and their queen," she
+replied.</p>
+
+<p>"I think it would be better, at first," said I, "to call upon them in
+the name of about twopence a head. Then, when we get a nice little body
+of adherents to begin with, the other subjects will fall in, of their
+own accord, if we manage the thing right."</p>
+
+<p>"There's where the emissary will come in," said Rectus. "She can collect
+adherents."</p>
+
+<p>"We must engage her this very day," said Corny. "And now, what about the
+flag? We haven't settled that yet."</p>
+
+<p>"I think," said I, "that we'd better invent a flag. When we get back to
+the hotel, we can each draw some designs, and the one we choose can
+easily be made up. We can buy the stuff anywhere."</p>
+
+<p>"I'll sew it," said Corny.</p>
+
+<p>"Do you think," said Rectus, who had been reflect<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[148]</a></span>ing, "that the
+authorities of this place will object to our setting up a queen?"</p>
+
+<p>"Can't tell," I said. "But I hardly think they will. They don't object
+to the black governor, and our queen wont interfere with them in any way
+that I can see. She will have nothing to do with anybody but those
+native Africans, who keep to themselves, anyway."</p>
+
+<p>"If anybody should trouble us, who would it be? Soldiers or the
+policemen? How many soldiers have they here?" asked Corny.</p>
+
+<p>"There's only one company now in the barracks," said Rectus. "I was down
+there. There are two men-of-war in the harbor, but one of them's a
+Spanish vessel, and I'm pretty sure she wouldn't bother us."</p>
+
+<p>"Is that all?" said Corny, in a tone of relief.</p>
+
+<p>I didn't want to dash her spirits, but I remarked that there were a good
+many policemen in the town.</p>
+
+<p>"And they're all colored men," said Corny. "I'd hate to have any of them
+coming after us."</p>
+
+<p>"The governor of the colony is at the head of the army, police and all,
+isn't he?" said Rectus.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," I answered.</p>
+
+<p>"And I know where he lives," put in Corny. "Let's go and see him,
+sometime, and ask him about it."</p>
+
+<p>This was thought to be a good idea, and we agreed to consider it at our
+next meeting.</p>
+
+<p>"As to revenue," said Rectus, just before we reached the hotel, "I don't
+believe these people have<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[149]</a></span> much money to give for the support of a
+queen, and so I think they ought to bring in provisions. The whole thing
+might be portioned out. She ought to have so many conchs a week, so many
+sticks of sugar-cane, and so many yams and other stuff. This might be
+fixed so that it wouldn't come hard on anybody."</p>
+
+<p>Corny said she guessed she'd have to get a little book to put these
+things down, so that we could consider them in order.</p>
+
+<p>I could not help noticing that there was a good deal of difference
+between Corny and Rectus, although they were much alike, too. Corny had
+never learned much, but she had a good brain in her head, and she could
+reason out things pretty well, when she had anything in the way of a
+solid fact to start with. Rectus was better on things he'd heard
+reasoned out. He seemed to know a good thing when it came before him,
+and he remembered it, and often brought it in very well. But he hadn't
+had much experience in reasoning on his own account, although he was
+getting more in practice every day.</p>
+
+<p>Corny was just as much in earnest as she was the first day we saw her,
+but she seemed to have grown more thoughtful. Perhaps this was on
+account of her having important business on hand. Her thoughtfulness,
+however, did not prevent her from saying some very funny things. She
+spoke first and did her thinking afterward. But she was a good girl, and
+I often wished my sister knew her. Helen was older, to be sure, but she
+could have learned a great deal from Corny.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[150]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>That afternoon, we had a meeting up in the silk-cotton tree, and
+Priscilla, who had sold out her small stock of flowers in the hotel-door
+market, was requested to be present. A variety-show, consisting of about
+a dozen young darkeys with their baskets and strings of sponges,
+accompanied her up the steps; but she was ordered to rout them, and she
+did it in short order. When we were alone, Rectus, as captain, began to
+state to her what we desired of her; but he was soon interrupted by
+Corny, who could do a great deal more talking in a given time than he
+could, and who always felt that she ought to begin early, in order to
+get through in good season.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, Priscilla," said Corny, "in the first place, you must promise
+never to tell what we are going to say to you."</p>
+
+<p>Priscilla promised in a flash.</p>
+
+<p>"We want you, then," continued Corny, "to act as our emissary, or
+general agent, or errand-girl, if you don't know what the other two
+things mean."</p>
+
+<p>"I'll do dat, missy," said Priscilla. "Whar you want me to go?"</p>
+
+<p>"Nowhere just now," said Corny. "We want to engage you by the day, to do
+whatever we tell you."</p>
+
+<p>"Cahn't do dat, missy. Got to sell flowers and roses. Sell 'em for de
+fam'ly, missy."</p>
+
+<p>"But in the afternoon you can come," said Corny. "There isn't any
+selling done then. We'll pay you."</p>
+
+<p>"How much?" asked Priscilla.</p>
+
+<p>This question was referred to me, and I offered sixpence a day.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[151]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The money in this place is English, of course, as it is an English
+colony; but there are so many visitors from the United States, that
+American currency is as much in use, for large sums, as the
+pounds-shillings-and-pence arrangement. But all sums under a quarter are
+reckoned in English money,&mdash;pennies, half-pennies, four, six and
+eight-pences, and that sort of thing. One of our quarters passes for a
+shilling, but a silver dime wont pass in the shops. The darkeys will
+take them&mdash;or almost anything else&mdash;as a gift. I didn't have to get our
+money changed into gold. I got a draft on a Nassau house, and generally
+drew greenbacks. But I saw, pretty plainly, that I couldn't draw very
+much for this new monarchical undertaking, and stay in Nassau as long as
+we had planned.</p>
+
+<p>"A whole afternoon," exclaimed Priscilla, "for sixpence!"</p>
+
+<p>"Why not?" I asked. "That's more than you generally make all day."</p>
+
+<p>"Only sixpence!" said Priscilla, looking as if her tender spirit had
+been wounded. Corny glanced at me with an air that suggested that I
+ought to make a rise in the price, but I had dealt with these darkeys
+before.</p>
+
+<p>"That's all," I said.</p>
+
+<p>"All right, then, boss," said Priscilla. "I'll do it. What you want me
+to do?"</p>
+
+<p>The colored people generally gave the name "boss" to all white men, and
+I was pleased to see that Priscilla said boss to me much more frequently
+than to Rectus.</p>
+
+<p>We had a talk with her about her duties, and each<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[152]</a></span> of us had a good deal
+to say. We made her understand&mdash;at least we hoped so&mdash;that she was to be
+on hand, every afternoon, to go with Corny, if necessary, whenever we
+went out on our trips to the African settlement; and, after giving her
+an idea of what we intended doing with the queen,&mdash;which interested her
+very much indeed, and seemed to set her on pins and needles to see the
+glories of the new reign,&mdash;we commissioned her to bring together about
+twenty sensible and intelligent Africans, so that we could talk to them,
+and engage them as subjects for the re-enthroned queen.</p>
+
+<p>"What's ole Goliah Brown goin' to say 'bout dat?" said Priscilla.</p>
+
+<p>"Who's he?" we asked.</p>
+
+<p>"He's de Afrikin gubner. He rule 'em all."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh!" said Rectus, "he's all right. We're going to make him prime
+minister."</p>
+
+<p>I was not at all sure that he was all right, and proposed that Rectus
+and I should go to his house in the evening, when he was at home, and
+talk to him about it.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, and we'll all go and see the head governor to-morrow morning,"
+said Corny.</p>
+
+<p>We had our hands completely full of diplomatic business.</p>
+
+<p>The meeting of the adherents was appointed for the next afternoon. We
+decided to have it on the Queen's Stair-way, which is a long flight of
+steps, cut in the solid limestone, and leading up out of a deep and
+shadowy ravine, where the people of the town many<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[153]</a></span> years ago cut out the
+calcareous material for their houses. There has been no stone cut here
+for a long time, and the walls of the ravine, which stand up as straight
+as the wall of a house, are darkened by age and a good deal covered up
+by vines. At the bottom, on each side of the pathway which runs through
+the ravine to the town, bushes and plants of various semi-tropical kinds
+grow thick and close. At the top of the flight of stairs are open fields
+and an old fort. Altogether, this was considered a quiet and suitable
+place for a meeting of a band of revolutionists. We could not have met
+in the silk-cotton tree, for we should have attracted too much
+attention, and, besides, the hotel-clerk would have routed us out.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[154]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>CHAPTER XII.</h2>
+
+<h3>RECTUS LOSES RANK.</h3>
+
+
+<p>After supper, Rectus and I went to see the African governor, Goliah
+Brown. He was a good-natured old colored man, who lived in a house a
+trifle better than most of those inhabited by his fellow-countrymen. The
+main room was of a fair size, and there was a centre-table, with some
+books on it.</p>
+
+<p>When we saw this, we hesitated. Could we ask a man who owned books, and
+could probably read, to play second fiddle to a woman who could not
+speak the English language, and who for years, perhaps, had devoted the
+energies of her soul to the sale of pepper-pods?</p>
+
+<p>However, the office of prime minister was no trifle, and many more
+distinguished and more learned men than Goliah Brown have been glad to
+get it. Besides this, we considered that blood is blood, and, in
+monarchical countries, a queen is a queen. This was a colony of a
+monarchy, and we would push forward the claims of Poqua-dilla the First.
+We called her<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[155]</a></span> "The First," because, although she may have had a good
+many ancestors of her name in Africa, she certainly started the line in
+the Bahamas.</p>
+
+<p>Goliah proved himself a steady-going talker. He seemed pleased to have
+us call on him, and told us the whole story of the capture of himself
+and the rest of the Africans. We had heard pretty much all of it before,
+but, of course, we had to politely listen to it again.</p>
+
+<p>When he finished, we asked a few questions about the queen, and finding
+that Goliah admitted her claims to royal blood, we told him what we
+proposed to do, and boldly asked him to take the position of prime
+minister in the African community.</p>
+
+<p>At first, he did not understand, and we had to go over the thing two or
+three times before he saw into it. Then, it was evident that he could
+not see what business this was of ours, and we had to explain our
+motives, which was some trouble, because we had not quite straightened
+them out in our own minds.</p>
+
+<p>Then he wanted to know which was the head person, a queen or a prime
+minister. We set forth the strict truth to him in this matter. We told
+him that although a queen in a well-regulated monarchy actually occupies
+the highest place, that the prime minister is the fellow who does the
+real governing. He thought this might all be so, but he did not like the
+idea of having any one, especially Jane Henderson, as he called her, in
+a position higher than his own. We did not say anything to him, then,
+about giving the queen her English name, because we sup<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[156]</a></span>posed that he
+had been used to speak of her in that way, to white people, but we
+determined to refer to this when matters should be settled.</p>
+
+<p>He was so set in his own opinion on this point of position, that we were
+afraid we should be obliged to give the thing up. He used very good
+arguments, too. He said that he had been elected to his present office
+by his fellow Africans; that he had held it a long time; that he didn't
+think the rest of his people wanted him to give it up, and he didn't
+think he wanted to give it up himself. A prime minister might be all
+very well, but he didn't know anything about it. He knew what it was to
+be governor, and was very well satisfied to leave things as they were.</p>
+
+<p>This was dampening. Just as the old fellow thought he had settled the
+matter, a happy thought struck me: we might make the monarchy an
+independent arrangement. Perhaps Goliah would have no objection to that,
+provided we did not interfere with his governorship. If Poqua-dilla
+should be recognized as a queen, and crowned, and provided with an
+income sufficient to keep her out of any retail business, it was about
+all she could expect, at her time of life. She certainly would not care
+to do any governing. The few subjects that we should enlist would be
+more like courtiers than anything else.</p>
+
+<p>I called Rectus to the door, and suggested this arrangement to him. He
+thought it would be better than nothing, and that it would be well to
+mention it.</p>
+
+<p>We did this, and Goliah thought a while.</p>
+
+<p>"Ef I lets her be call' queen," he said, "an' she jist<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[157]</a></span> stay at home an'
+min' her own business, an' don' run herse'f agin me, no way, how much
+you s'pose she able to gib fur dat?"</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 137px;">
+<img src="images/gs14.png" width="137" height="200" alt="&quot;&#39;ALL RIGHT,&#39; SAID GOLIAH, WITH A SMILE.&quot;" title="&quot;&#39;ALL RIGHT,&#39; SAID GOLIAH, WITH A SMILE.&quot;" />
+<span class="caption">&quot;&#39;ALL RIGHT,&#39; SAID GOLIAH, WITH A SMILE.&quot;</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Rectus and I went again to the front door to consult, and when we came
+back, we said we thought she would be able to give a dollar.</p>
+
+<p>"All right," said Goliah, with a smile. "She kin<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[158]</a></span> jist go ahead, and be
+queen. Only don' let her run herse'f ag'in me."</p>
+
+<p>This suited us, and we paid the dollar, and came away.</p>
+
+<p>"More cash!" said Rectus, as we walked home.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said I, "but what troubles me is that queen's income. I don't see
+now where it's to come from, for old Goliah wont allow his people to be
+taxed for her, that's certain."</p>
+
+<p>Rectus agreed that things looked a little bluish, but he thought we
+might pay the income ourselves, until after the coronation, and then we
+could see what else could be done. This wasn't much of a plan, but I
+couldn't think of anything better.</p>
+
+<p>The next day, about noon, we all went to see the real governor of the
+colony. Rectus and I didn't care much about doing this, but Corny
+insisted on it. She was afraid of the police,&mdash;and probably of the army
+and navy, although she made light of them,&mdash;and so she thought it would
+be a good thing to see whether or not we should have to combat with all
+these forces, if we should carry out our plans. We took Priscilla along
+with us on Corny's account. It would look respectable for her to have an
+attendant. This being an extra job, Priscilla earned two sixpences that
+day.</p>
+
+<p>The governor lived in a fine house, on the hill back of the town, and
+although we all knew where it was, Priscilla was of great use to us
+here, for she took us in at a side gate, where we could walk right up to
+the door of the governor's office, without going to the grand entrance,
+at the front of the house, where the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[159]</a></span> English flag was flying. There was
+a red-coated soldier standing just in the door-way, and when we saw him,
+we put ourselves on our stiffest behavior. We told Priscilla to wait
+outside, in the path, and try and behave so that people would think
+there was a pretty high-toned party inside. We then went up to the
+red-coat, and asked to see the governor. The soldier looked at us a
+little queerly, and went back into the house.</p>
+
+<p>He staid a good while, but when he came out he told us to follow him,
+and took us through a hall into a room where two gentlemen were sitting
+at desks. One of these jumped up and came to meet us.</p>
+
+<p>"There is the secretary," said the soldier, in a low voice to me, and
+then he left us.</p>
+
+<p>We now had to ask the secretary if we could see the governor. He
+inquired our business, but we didn't seem anxious to tell him.</p>
+
+<p>"Anything private?" he said, with a smile.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, sir," said I, "it's not exactly private, but it's not a very easy
+thing to put straight before anybody, and if it don't make any
+difference, we'd rather not have to tell it twice."</p>
+
+<p>He hesitated for a minute, and then he said he'd see, and went into
+another room.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, look here," I whispered to Rectus, "if you're captain, you've got
+to step up and do the talking. It isn't my place."</p>
+
+<p>The secretary now returned, and said the governor could give us a few
+minutes. I think the probability<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[160]</a></span> was that he was curious to know what
+two boys and a girl could want with him.</p>
+
+<p>The governor's office, into which we now were shown, was a large room,
+with plenty of book-cases and shelves against the walls, and in the
+middle of the floor a big table, which was covered with papers, packages
+of manuscript tied up with tape, and every kind of thing necessary to
+make matters look as if business was brisk in these islands. The
+governor himself was a tall, handsome gentleman, not old a bit, as Corny
+put it afterward, and dressed all in white linen, which gave him an air
+of coolness and cleanness that was quite agreeable to us after our walk
+in the sun. He was sitting at one end of the long table, and he politely
+motioned us to seats at one side of him. I expect the secretary arranged
+the chairs before we came in. We made our manners and sat down.</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said he, "what can I do for you?"</p>
+
+<p>If Corny hadn't been along, I don't believe he would have seen us at
+all. There can be nothing attractive to a governor about two boys. But
+almost any one would take an interest in a girl like Corny. The
+secretary was very polite to her.</p>
+
+<p>Rectus now gave his throat a little clearing, and pushed off.</p>
+
+<p>"Our business with you, sir, is to see about doing something for a poor
+queen, a very good and honest woman&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"A poor but honest queen!" interrupted the governor, with a smile.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[161]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Oh, he don't mean a common queen," said Corny, quickly. "He means a
+black queen,&mdash;an African,&mdash;born royal, but taken prisoner when young,
+and brought here, and she lives over there in the African settlements,
+and sells peppers, but is just as much a queen as ever, you know, sir,
+for selling things on a door-step can't take the royal blood out of a
+person."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh no, indeed!" said the governor, and he looked very much tickled.</p>
+
+<p>"And this poor woman is old, now, and has no revenue, and has to get
+along as well as she can, which is pretty poorly, I know, and nobody
+ever treats her any better than if she had been born a common person,
+and we want to give her a chance of having as many of her rights as she
+can before she dies."</p>
+
+<p>"At any rate," said Rectus, who had been waiting for a chance to make a
+fresh start, "if we can't give her all her royal rights, we want to let
+her know how it feels to be a queen, and to give her a little show among
+her people."</p>
+
+<p>"You are talking of an old native African woman?" said the governor,
+looking at Corny. "I have heard of her. It seems to be generally agreed
+that she belonged to a royal family in one of the African tribes. And
+you want to restore her to her regal station?"</p>
+
+<p>"We can't do that, of course," said Corny; "but we do think she's been
+shamefully used, and all we want to do is to have her acknowledged by
+her people. She needn't do any ruling. We'll fix her up so<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[162]</a></span> that she'll
+look enough like a queen for those dreadfully poor people."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," put in Rectus, who had been getting warm on the subject, "they
+are dreadfully poor, but she's the poorest of the lot, and it's a shame
+to see how she, a regular queen, has to live, while a governor, who
+wasn't anybody before he got his place, lives in the best house, with
+tables and books, and everything he wants, for all I know, and a big
+flag in front of his door, as if he was somebody great, and&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"What?" said the governor, pretty quick and sharp, and turning around
+square on Rectus.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, he don't mean you!" said Corny. "He's talking about the black
+governor, Goliah Brown."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah, indeed!" said he, turning away from Rectus as if he didn't like his
+looks. "And what does Brown think of all this?"</p>
+
+<p>I thought I'd better say a word or two now, because I didn't know where
+Rectus would fetch us up next, if we should give him another chance, and
+so I said to the governor that I knew Goliah Brown would make no
+objections to the plan, because we had talked it over with him, and he
+had agreed to it.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, then, what do you want that I should do for you?" said the
+governor to Corny.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, nothing sir," said she, "but just to make it all safe for us. We
+didn't know exactly what the rules were on this island, and so we
+thought we'd come and see you about it. We don't want the policemen, or
+the soldiers or sailors, or anybody, to get after us."</p>
+
+<p>"There is no rule here against giving a queen her<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[163]</a></span> rights," said the
+governor, who seemed to be in a good humor as long as he talked to
+Corny, "and no one shall interfere with you, provided you do not commit
+any disorder, and I'm sure you will not do that."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, no!" said Corny; "we just intend to have a little coronation, and
+to ask the people to remember that she's a queen and not a pepper-pod
+woman; and if you could just give us a paper commission, and sign it, we
+should&mdash;at least I should&mdash;feel a good deal easier."</p>
+
+<p>"You shall have it," said the governor, and he took some paper and a
+pen.</p>
+
+<p>"It seems a little curious," said he to Corny, as he dipped his pen in
+the ink, "that I should serve a queen, and have a queen under me at the
+same time, doesn't it?"</p>
+
+<p>"Kind o' sandwiched," remarked Rectus, who had a face like frozen brass.</p>
+
+<p>The governor went on writing, and Corny and I looked at Rectus as if we
+would singe his hair.</p>
+
+<p>"You are all from the States, I suppose," said the governor.</p>
+
+<p>I said we were.</p>
+
+<p>"What are your names?" he asked, looking at Corny first.</p>
+
+<p>"Cornelia V. Chipperton," said Corny, and he wrote that down. Then he
+looked at me.</p>
+
+<p>"William Taylor Gordon," said I. When the governor had put that on his
+paper, he just gave his head a little wag toward Rectus. He didn't look
+at him.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[164]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"My name is Samuel Colbert," said Rectus.</p>
+
+<p>Corny turned short on him, with eyes wide open.</p>
+
+<p>"Samuel!" she said, in a sort of theatre-whisper.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, then," said the governor, "this paper will show that you have full
+permission to carry out your little plans, provided that you do nothing
+that may create any disorder. If the woman&mdash;your queen, I mean&mdash;has been
+in the habit of earning her own livelihood, don't make a pauper of her."
+And he gave us a general look as if the time had come to say good-bye.
+So we got up and thanked him, and he shook hands with us, Rectus and
+all, and we came away.</p>
+
+<p>We found Priscilla sitting cross-legged on the grass outside, pitching
+pennies.</p>
+
+<p>"That thar red-coat he want to sen' me off," said she, "but I tole him
+my missy and bosses was inside, and I boun' to wait fur 'em, or git
+turned off. So he le' me stay."</p>
+
+<p>Corny, for a wonder, did not reprove Priscilla for giving the sentinel
+the idea that her employers hired penny-pitchers to follow them around,
+but she walked on in silence until we were out of the grounds. Then she
+turned to Rectus and said:</p>
+
+<p>"I thought your name was Rectus!"</p>
+
+<p>"It isn't," said he. "It's Samuel."</p>
+
+<p>This was no sort of an answer to give Corny, and so I explained that
+Rectus was his school name; that he was younger than most of us, and
+that we used to call him Young Rectus; but that I had pretty much
+dropped the "young" since we had been travelling together. It didn't
+appear to be needed.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[165]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"But why did you call him Rectus, when his name's Samuel?" asked Corny.</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said I, laughing, "it seemed to suit him."</p>
+
+<p>This was all that was said about the matter, for Priscilla came up and
+said she must hurry home, and that she'd like to have her sixpence, and
+that changed the subject, for we were out of small money and could only
+make up eleven half-pence among us. But Priscilla agreed to trust us
+until evening for the other "hoppenny."</p>
+
+<p>Corny didn't say much on the way home, and she looked as if she was
+doing some private thinking. I suppose, among other things, she thought
+that as I considered it all right to call Rectus Rectus, she might as
+well do it herself, for she said:</p>
+
+<p>"Rectus, I don't think you're as good at talking as Will is. I move we
+have a new election for captain."</p>
+
+<p>"All right," said Rectus; "I'm agreed."</p>
+
+<p>You couldn't make that boy angry. We held a meeting just as we got to
+the hotel, and he and Corny both voted for me.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[166]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>CHAPTER XIII.</h2>
+
+<h3>THE CORONATION.</h3>
+
+
+<p>In the afternoon, we had our grand rally at the Queen's Stair-way. Corny
+couldn't come, because her mother said she must not be running around so
+much. So she staid at home and worked on the new flag for the
+coronation. We designed this flag among us. It had a black ground, with
+a yellow sun just rising out of the middle of it. It didn't cost much,
+and looked more like a yellow cog-wheel rolling in deep mud than
+anything else. But we thought it would do very well.</p>
+
+<p>Rectus and I had barely reached the stairs, by the way of the old fort,
+when Priscilla made her appearance in the ravine at the head of a crowd
+of whooping barefooted young rascals, who came skipping along as if they
+expected something to eat.</p>
+
+<p>"I'd never be a queen," said Rectus, "if I had to have such a lot of
+subjects as that."</p>
+
+<p>"Don't think you would," said I; "but we mustn't let 'em come up the
+stairs. They must stay at the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[167]</a></span> bottom, so that we can harangue 'em." So
+we charged down the stairs, and made the adherents bunch themselves on
+the level ground.</p>
+
+<p>Then we harangued them, and they laughed, and hurrahed, and whistled,
+and jumped, while Priscilla, as an active emissary, ran around among
+them, punching them, and trying to make them keep still and listen.</p>
+
+<p>But as they all promised to stick to us and the royal queen through
+thick and thin, we didn't mind a little disorder.</p>
+
+<p>The next day but one was to be coronation day, and we impressed it on
+the minds of the adherents that they must be sure to be on hand about
+ten in the morning, in front of the queen's hut. We concluded not to
+call it a palace until after the ceremony.</p>
+
+<p>When we had said all we had to say, we told the assemblage that it might
+go home; but it didn't seem inclined to do anything of the kind.</p>
+
+<p>"Look a here, boss," said one of them,&mdash;a stout, saucy fellow, with the
+biggest hat and the biggest feet on the island,&mdash;"aint you agoin' to
+give us nothin' for comin' round here?"</p>
+
+<p>"Give you anything!" cried Rectus, blazing up suddenly. "That's a pretty
+way to talk! It's the subjects that have to give. You'll see pretty
+soon&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>Just here I stopped him. If he had gone on a few minutes longer, he
+would have wound up that kingdom with a snap.</p>
+
+<p>"We didn't bring you here," said I, "to give you anything, for it ought
+to be enough pay to any decent<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[168]</a></span> fellow to see a good old person like
+Queen Poqua-dilla get her rights."</p>
+
+<p>"Who's him?" asked several of the nearest fellows.</p>
+
+<p>"He means Jane Henderson," said Priscilla. "You keep quiet."</p>
+
+<p>"Jane Henderson! Dat's all right. Don' call her no names. Go ahead,
+boss!" they cried, laughing and shouting. I went ahead.</p>
+
+<p>"We can't pay you any money; but if you will all promise again to be on
+hand before ten o'clock day after to-morrow, we'll take you down to the
+harbor now and give you a small dive."</p>
+
+<p>A wild promise rang up the sides of the ravine.</p>
+
+<p>A "small dive" is a ceremony somewhat peculiar to this island. A
+visitor&mdash;no native white man would ever think of such a thing&mdash;stands on
+the edge of a pier, or anywhere, where the water is quite deep, and
+tosses in a bit of money, while the darkey boys&mdash;who are sure to be all
+ready when a visitor is standing on a pier&mdash;dive for it. It's a lot of
+fun to see them do this, and Rectus and I had already chucked a good
+deal of small change into the harbor, and had seen it come up again,
+some of it before it got to the bottom. These dives are called "small,"
+because the darkeys want to put the thing mildly. They couldn't coax
+anybody down to the water to give them a big dive.</p>
+
+<p>"You see," said I to Rectus, as we started down the ravine toward the
+river, with the crowd of adherents marching in front, "we've got to have
+these fellows at the coronation. So it wont do to scare 'em off now."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[169]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>We went down to a little public square in front of the town, where there
+was a splendid diving-place. A good many people were strolling about
+there, but I don't suppose that a single person who saw those darkey
+fellows, with nothing on but their cotton trousers,&mdash;who stood in a line
+on the edge of the sea-wall, and plunged in, head foremost, like a lot
+of frogs, when I threw out a couple of "big coppers,"&mdash;ever supposed
+that these rascals were diving for monarchical purposes. The water was
+so clear that we could see them down at the bottom, swimming and
+paddling around after the coppers. When a fellow found one he'd stick it
+in his mouth, and come up as lively as a cricket, and all ready for
+another scramble at the bottom.</p>
+
+<p>Sometimes I threw in a silver "check," which is no bigger than a
+three-cent piece; but, although the water was about fifteen feet deep,
+it was never lost. The fellows seemed just as much at home in the water
+as on land, and I suppose they don't know how to get drowned. We tried
+to toss the money in such a way that each one of them would have
+something, but some of them were not smart enough to get down to the
+bottom in time; and when we thought we had circulated enough specie, we
+felt sure that there were two or three, and perhaps more, who hadn't
+brought up a penny.</p>
+
+<p>So when they all climbed out, with their brown shoulders glistening, I
+asked which one of them had come out without getting anything. Every
+man-jack of them stepped forward and said he hadn't got a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[170]</a></span> copper. We
+picked out three little fellows, gave them a few pennies apiece, and
+came home.</p>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 147px;">
+<img src="images/gs15.png" width="147" height="400" alt="A SMALL DIVE" title="A SMALL DIVE" />
+<span class="caption">A SMALL DIVE</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The next day we were all hard at work. Corny and her mother went down to
+the queen's house, and planned what they could get to fit up the place
+so that it would be a little more comfortable. Mrs. Chipperton must have
+added something to our eight dollars, for she and Corny came up into the
+town, and bought a lot of things, which made Poqua-dilla's best room
+look like another place. The rocking-chair was fixed up quite royally.
+Mrs. Chipperton turned out to be a better<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[171]</a></span> kind of a woman than I
+thought she was at first.</p>
+
+<p>We hired a man to cut a pole and set it up in the queen's front yard,
+for the flag; and then Rectus and I started out to get the crown. I had
+thought that if we could find some sheet-brass, I could manage to make a
+pretty good crown, but there didn't seem to be anything of the kind in
+the place. But, after a good deal of looking, we found a brass saucepan,
+in a store, which I thought would do very well for the foundation of a
+crown. We bought this, and took it around to a shop where a man mended
+pots and kettles. For a shilling we hired the use of his tools for an
+hour, and then Rectus and I went to work. We unriveted the handle, and
+then I held the bottom edge of the saucepan to the grindstone, while
+Rectus turned, and we soon ground the bottom off. This left us a deep
+brass band, quite big enough for a crown, and as the top edge was
+rounded off, it could be turned over on a person's head, so as to sit
+quite comfortably. With a cold-chisel I cut long points in what would be
+the upper part of the crown, and when I had filed these up a little, the
+crown looked quite nobby. We finished it by punching a lot of holes in
+the front part, making them in the form of stars and circles. With
+something red behind these, the effect would be prodigious.</p>
+
+<p>At ten o'clock, sharp, the next morning, we were all at the queen's
+house. Mrs. Chipperton was with us, for she wished very much to see the
+ceremony. I think Mr. Chipperton would have been along, but a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[172]</a></span> gentleman
+took him out in his yacht that morning, and I must admit that we all
+breathed a little bit freer without him. There was a pretty fair crowd
+sitting around in the front yard when we reached the house, and before
+long a good many more people came to see what was going on. They were
+all negroes; but I don't believe half of them were genuine native
+Africans. The queen was sitting inside, with a red shawl on, although it
+was a pretty warm day, and wearing a new turban.</p>
+
+<p>We had arranged, on the way, to appoint a lot of court officials,
+because there was no use of our being stingy in this respect, when it
+didn't cost anything to do up the thing right. So we picked out a good
+looking man for Lord High Chancellor, and gave him a piece of red ribbon
+to tie in his button-hole. He hadn't any button-hole anywhere, except in
+his trousers, so he tied it to the string which fastened his shirt
+together at the collar. Four old men we appointed to be courtiers, and
+made them button up their coats. For a wonder, they all had coats. We
+also made a Lord High Sheriff and a Royal Beadle, and an Usher of the
+White Wand, an officer Mrs. Chipperton had read about, and to whom we
+gave a whittled stick, with strict instructions not to jab anybody with
+it. Corny had been reading a German novel, and she wanted us to appoint
+a "Hof-rath," who is a German court officer of some kind. He was a nice
+fellow in the novel, and so we picked out the best-looking young darkey
+we could find, for the position.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[173]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>We each had our posts. Corny was to do the crowning, and I was to make
+the speech. Rectus had his place by the flag, which he was to haul up at
+the proper moment. Mrs. Chipperton undertook to stand by the old
+lady,&mdash;that is, the queen,&mdash;and give her any support she might happen to
+need during the ceremony.</p>
+
+<p>We intended having the coronation in the house; but we found the crowd
+too large for this, so we brought the rocking-chair out-of-doors, and
+set it in front of the only window in the palace. The yard was large
+enough to accommodate a good many people, and those who could not get in
+had plenty of room out in the road. We tried to make Poqua-dilla take
+off her turban, because a crown on a turban seemed to us something
+entirely out of order; but she wouldn't listen to it. We had the
+pleasant-faced neighbor-woman as an interpreter, and she said that it
+wasn't any use; the queen would almost as soon appear in public without
+her head as without her turban. So we let this pass, for we saw very
+plainly that it wouldn't do to try to force too much on Poqua-dilla, for
+she looked now as if she thought we had come there to perform some
+operation on her,&mdash;perhaps to cut off her leg.</p>
+
+<p>About half-past ten, we led her out, and made her sit down in the
+rocking-chair. Mrs. Chipperton stood on one side of her, holding one of
+her hands, while the neighbor-woman stood on the other side, and held
+the other hand. This arrangement, however, did not last long, for
+Poqua-dilla soon jerked her hands away,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[174]</a></span> thinking, perhaps, that if
+anything was done that hurt, it might be better to be free for a jump.</p>
+
+<p>Corny stood in front, a little at one side, holding the crown, which she
+had padded and lined with red flannel. I took my place just before Mrs.
+Chipperton, facing the crowd. Rectus was at the flag-pole, near the
+front of the yard, holding the halyards in his hands, ready to haul. The
+<i>Hof-rath</i> was by him, to help if anything got tangled, and the four
+courtiers and the other officials had places in the front row of the
+spectators, while Priscilla stood by Corny, to be on hand should she be
+needed.</p>
+
+<p>When all was ready, and Corny had felt in her pocket to see that the
+"permission paper" was all right, I began my speech. It was the second
+regular speech I had ever made,&mdash;the first one was at a school
+celebration,&mdash;and I had studied it out pretty carefully. It was
+intended, of course, for the negroes, but I really addressed the most of
+it to Mrs. Chipperton, because I knew that she could understand a speech
+better than any one else in the yard. When I had shown the matter up as
+plainly as I knew how, and had given all the whys and wherefores, I made
+a little stop for applause. But I didn't get any. They all stood waiting
+to see what would happen next. As there was nothing more to say, I
+nodded to Corny to clap on the crown. The moment she felt it on her
+head, the queen stood up as straight as a hoe-handle, and looked quickly
+from side to side. Then I called out in my best voice:</p>
+
+<p>"Africans! Behold your queen!"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[175]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>At this instant Rectus ran up the black flag with the yellow cog-wheel,
+and we white people gave a cheer. As soon as they got a cue, the darkeys
+knew what to do. They burst out into a wild yell, they waved their hats,
+they laid down on the grass and kicked, they jumped, and danced, and
+laughed, and screamed. I was afraid the queen would bolt, so I took a
+quiet hold of her shawl. But she stood still until the crowd cooled down
+a little, and then she made a courtesy and sat down.</p>
+
+<p>"Is that all?" asked the neighbor-woman, after she had waited a few
+moments.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said I. "You can take her in."</p>
+
+<p>When the queen had been led within doors, and while the crowd was still
+in a state of wild commotion, I took a heavy bag of coppers from my
+coat-pocket&mdash;where it had been worrying me all through the ceremony&mdash;and
+gave it to Priscilla.</p>
+
+<p>"Scatter that among the subjects," said I.</p>
+
+<p>"Give 'em a big scr<i>ah</i>mble in the road?" said she, her eyes crackling
+with delight.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said I, and out she ran, followed by the whole kingdom. We white
+folk stood inside to watch the fun. Priscilla threw out a handful of
+pennies, and the darkeys just piled themselves up in the road on top of
+the money. You could see nothing but madly waving legs. The mass heaved
+and tossed and moved from one side of the road to the other. The Lord
+High Chancellor was at the bottom of the heap, while the <i>Hof-rath</i>
+wiggled his bare feet high in the air. Every fellow who grabbed a penny
+had ten fellows pulling at<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[176]</a></span> him. The women and small fry did not get
+into this mess, but they dodged around, and made snatches wherever they
+could get their hands into the pile of boys and men.</p>
+
+<p>They all yelled, and shouted and tussled and scrambled, until Priscilla,
+who was dancing around with her bag, gave another throw into a different
+part of the road. Then every fellow jerked himself loose from the rest,
+and a fresh rush was made, and a fresh pile of darkeys arose in a
+minute.</p>
+
+<p>We stood and laughed until our backs ached, but, as I happened to look
+around at the house, I saw the queen standing on her door-step looking
+mournfully at the fun. She was alone, for even her good neighbor had
+rushed out to see what she could pick up. I was glad to find that the
+new monarch, who still wore her crown,&mdash;which no one would have imagined
+to have ever been a saucepan,&mdash;had sense enough to keep out of such a
+scrimmage of the populace, and I went back and gave her a shilling. Her
+face shone, and I could see that she felt that she never could have
+grabbed that much.</p>
+
+<p>When there had been three or four good scrambles, Priscilla ran up the
+road, a little way, and threw out all the pennies that were left in the
+bag. Then she made a rush for them, and, having a good start, she got
+there first, and had both hands full of dust and pennies before any one
+else reached the spot. She was not to be counted out of that game.</p>
+
+<p>After this last scramble, we came away. The queen had taken her throne
+indoors, and we went in and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[177]</a></span> shook hands with her, telling her we would
+soon come and see how she was getting along. I don't suppose she
+understood us, but it didn't matter. When we had gone some distance, we
+looked back, and there was still a pile of darkeys rolling and tumbling
+in the dust.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[178]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>CHAPTER XIV.</h2>
+
+<h3>A HOT CHASE.</h3>
+
+
+<p>That afternoon, Rectus and I went over to the African settlement to see
+how the kingdom worked. It was rather soon, perhaps, to make a call on
+the new queen, but we were out for a walk, and might as well go that way
+as any other.</p>
+
+<p>When we came near the house, we heard a tremendous uproar, and soon saw
+that there was a big crowd in the yard. We couldn't imagine what was
+going on, unless the queen had changed her shilling, and was indulging
+in the luxury of giving a scramble. We ran up quickly, but the crowd was
+so large that we could not get into the yard, nor see what all the
+commotion was about. But we went over to the side of the yard,
+and&mdash;without being noticed by any of the people, who seemed too much
+interested to turn around&mdash;we soon found out what the matter was.</p>
+
+<p>Priscilla had usurped the throne!</p>
+
+<p>The rocking-chair had been brought out and placed again in front of the
+window, and there sat Priscilla,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[179]</a></span> leaning back at her ease, with the
+crown on her head, a big fan&mdash;made of calf-skin&mdash;in her hand, and a
+general air of superiority pervading her whole being. Behind her, with
+her hand on the back of the chair, stood Poqua-dilla, wearing her new
+turban, but without the red shawl. She looked as if something had
+happened.</p>
+
+<p>In front of the chair was the Lord High Chancellor. He had evidently
+gone over to the usurper. His red ribbon, very dusty and draggled, still
+hung from his shirt-collar. The four courtiers sat together on a bench,
+near the house, with their coats still buttoned up as high as
+circumstances would allow. They seemed sad and disappointed, and
+probably had been deprived of their rank. The <i>Hof-rath</i> stood in the
+front of the crowd. He did not appear happy; indeed, he seemed a good
+deal ruffled, both in mind and clothes. Perhaps he had defended his
+queen, and had been roughly handled.</p>
+
+<p>Priscilla was talking, and fanning herself, gracefully and lazily, with
+her calf-skin fan. I think she had been telling the people what she
+intended to do, and what she intended them to do; but, almost
+immediately after our arrival, she was interrupted by the <i>Hof-rath</i>,
+who said something that we did not hear, but which put Priscilla into a
+wild passion.</p>
+
+<p>She sprang to her feet and stood up in the chair, while poor Poqua-dilla
+held it firmly by the back so that it should not shake. I supposed from
+this that Priscilla had been standing up before, and that our old friend
+had been appointed to the office of chair-back-holder to the usurper.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[180]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Priscilla waved her fan high in air, and then, with her right hand, she
+took off the crown, held it up for a minute, and replaced it on her
+head.</p>
+
+<p>"Afrikins, behole yer queen!" said she, at the top of her voice, and
+leaning back so far that the rightful sovereign had a good deal of
+trouble to keep the chair from going over.</p>
+
+<p>"Dat's me!" she cried. "Look straight at me, an' ye see yer queen. An'
+how you dar', you misribble Hop-grog, to say I no queen! You 'serve to
+be killed. Take hole o' him, some uv you fellers! Grab dat Hop-grog!"</p>
+
+<p>At this, two or three men seized the poor <i>Hof-rath</i>, while the crowd
+cheered and laughed.</p>
+
+<p>"Take him an' kill him!" shouted Priscilla. "Chop his head off!"</p>
+
+<p>At this, a wild shout of laughter arose, and one of the men who held the
+<i>Hof-rath</i> declared, as soon as he got his breath, that they couldn't do
+that,&mdash;they had no hatchet big enough.</p>
+
+<p>Priscilla stood quiet for a minute. She looked over the crowd, and then
+she looked at the poor <i>Hof-rath</i>, who now began to show that he was a
+little frightened.</p>
+
+<p>"You, Hop-grog," said she, "how much money did you grab in dem
+scrahmbles?"</p>
+
+<p>The <i>Hof-rath</i> put his hand in his pocket and pulled out some pennies.</p>
+
+<p>"Five big coppers," said he, sullenly.</p>
+
+<p>"Gim me dem," said she, and he brought them to her.</p>
+
+<p>"Now den, you kin git out," said she, pocketing the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[181]</a></span> money. Then she
+again raised her crown and replaced it on her head.</p>
+
+<p>"Afrikins, behole your queen!" she cried.</p>
+
+<p>This was more than we could stand. To see this usurpation and robbery
+made our blood boil. We, by ourselves, could do nothing; but we could
+get help. We slipped away and ran down the road in the direction of the
+hotel. We had not gone far before we saw, coming along a cross-road, the
+two yellow-leg men. We turned, hurried up to them, and hastily told them
+of the condition of things, and asked if they would help us put down
+this usurpation. They did not understand the matter, at first, but when
+we made them see how it stood, they were greatly interested, and
+instantly offered to join us.</p>
+
+<p>"We can go down here to the police-station," said I, "and get some
+help."</p>
+
+<p>"No, no!" said the tall yellow-leg. "Don't tell those fellows. They'll
+only make a row of it, and get somebody into trouble. We're enough to
+capture that usurper. Let's go for her."</p>
+
+<p>And we went.</p>
+
+<p>When we neared the crowd, the shorter yellow-leg, Mr. Burgan, said that
+he would go first; then his friend would come close behind him, while
+Rectus and I could push up after them. By forming a line we could rush
+right through the crowd. I thought I ought to go first, but Mr. Burgan
+said he was the stoutest, and could better stand the pressure if the
+crowd stood firm.</p>
+
+<p>But the crowd didn't stand firm. The moment we made our rush, and the
+people saw us, they scattered<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[182]</a></span> right and left, and we pushed right
+through, straight to the house. Priscilla saw us before we reached her,
+and, quick as lightning, she made a dive for the door. We rushed after
+her, but she got inside, and, hurling the crown from her head, dashed
+out of a back-door. We followed hotly, but she was out of the yard, over
+a wall, and into a side lane, almost before we knew it.</p>
+
+<p>Then a good chase began. Priscilla had a long start of us, for we had
+bungled at the wall, but we were bound to catch her.</p>
+
+<p>I was a good runner, and Rectus was light and active, although I am not
+sure that he could keep up the thing very long; but the two yellow-legs
+surprised me. They took the lead of us, directly, and kept it. Behind us
+came a lot of darkeys, not trying to catch Priscilla, but anxious, I
+suppose, to see what was going to happen.</p>
+
+<p>Priscilla still kept well ahead. She had struck out of the lane into a
+road which led toward the outskirts of the town. I think we were
+beginning to gain on her when, all of a sudden, she sat down. With a
+shout, we rushed on, but before we reached her she had jerked off both
+her shoes,&mdash;she didn't wear any stockings,&mdash;and she sprang to her feet
+and was off again. Waving the shoes over her head, she jumped and leaped
+and bounded like an India-rubber goat. Priscilla, barefooted, couldn't
+be caught by any man on the island: we soon saw that. She flew down the
+road, with the white dust flying behind her, until she reached a big
+limestone quarry, where the calcareous<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[183]</a></span> building-material of the town is
+sawn out in great blocks, and there she made a sharp turn and dashed
+down in among the stones. We reached the place just in time to see her
+run across the quarry, slip in between two great blocks that were
+standing up like statue pedestals on the other side, and disappear.</p>
+
+<p>We rushed over, we searched and looked, here and there and everywhere,
+and all the darkeys searched and looked, but we found no Priscilla. She
+had gone away.</p>
+
+<p>Puffing and blowing like four steam-fire-engines, we sat down on some
+stones and wiped our faces.</p>
+
+<p>"I guess we just ran that upstart queen out of her possessions," said
+the tall yellow-legs, dusting his boots with his handkerchief. He was
+satisfied.</p>
+
+<p>We walked home by the road at the edge of the harbor. The cool air from
+the water was very pleasant to us. When we reached the hotel, we found
+Mr. and Mrs. Chipperton and Corny sitting outside, in the entrance
+court, waiting for supper-time. A lot of arm-chairs always stood there,
+so that people might sit and wait for meals, or anything else that they
+expected. When Corny heard the dreadful news of the fall of our kingdom,
+she was so shocked that she could scarcely speak; and as for Mrs.
+Chipperton, I thought she was going to cry. Corny wanted to rush right
+down to Poqua-dilla's house and see what could be done, but we were all
+against that. No harm would come to the old woman that night from the
+loss of her crown, and it was too near supper-time for any attempt at
+restoration, just then.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[184]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Only to think of it!" said Mrs. Chipperton. "After all we did for her!
+I don't believe she was queen more than an hour. It's the shortest reign
+I ever heard of."</p>
+
+<p>"And that Priscilla!" cried Corny. "The girl we trusted to do so much,
+and&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Paid every night," said I.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," she continued, "and gave a pair of mother's shoes to, for the
+coronation! And to think that <i>she</i> should deceive us and do the
+usurping!"</p>
+
+<p>The shorter yellow-legs, who had been standing by with his friend, now
+made a remark. He evidently remembered Corny, on the Oclawaha
+steam-boat, although he had never become acquainted with her or her
+family.</p>
+
+<p>"Did your queen talk French?" he asked, with a smile; "or was not that
+the language of the Court?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, it wasn't," said Corny, gravely. "African was the language of the
+Court. But the queen was too polite to use it before us, because she
+knew we did not understand it, and couldn't tell what she might be
+saying about us."</p>
+
+<p>"Good!" said the tall yellow-legs. "That's very good indeed. Burgan, you
+owe her one."</p>
+
+<p>"One what?" asked Corny.</p>
+
+<p>"Another answer as good as that, if I can ever think of it," said Mr.
+Burgan.</p>
+
+<p>Corny did not reply. I doubt if she heard him. Her soul still ached for
+her fallen queen.</p>
+
+<p>"I tell you what it is," said Mr. Chipperton, who had kept unaccountably
+quiet, so far. "It's a great<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[185]</a></span> pity that I did not know about this. I
+should have liked nothing better than to be down there when that usurper
+girl was standing on that throne, or rocking-chair, or whatever it
+was&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, my dear!" said Mrs. Chipperton. "It would never have done for you
+to have exposed your lung to such a scene of turmoil and confusion."</p>
+
+<p>"Bother my lung!" cried Mr. Chipperton, who was now growing quite
+excited. "I would never have stood tamely by, and witnessed such vile
+injustice&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"We didn't stand tamely by," said I. "We ran wildly after the unjust
+one."</p>
+
+<p>"I would have stood up before that crowd," continued Mr. Chipperton,
+"and I would have told the people what I thought of them. I would have
+asked them how, living in a land like this, where the blue sky shines on
+them for nothing, where cocoa-nut and the orange stand always ready for
+them to stretch forth their hands and take them, where they need but a
+minimum of clothes, and where the very sea around them freely yields up
+its fish and its conchs,&mdash;or, that is to say, they can get such things
+for a trifling sum,&mdash;I would have asked them, I say, how&mdash;when free
+citizens of a republic, such as we are, come from our shores of liberty,
+where kings and queens are despised and any throne that is attempted to
+be set up over us is crushed to atoms,&mdash;that when we, I say, come over
+here, and out of the pure kindness and generosity of our souls raise
+from the dust a poverty-stricken and down-trodden queen, and place her,
+as nearly as pos<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[186]</a></span>sible, on the throne of her ancestors, and put upon her
+head a crown,&mdash;a bauble which, in our own land, we trample under
+foot&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>At this I shuddered, remembering the sharp points I had filed in our
+crown.</p>
+
+<p>"And grind into the dust," continued Mr. Chipperton,&mdash;"I would ask them,
+I say, how they could think of all this, and then deliberately subvert,
+at the behest of a young and giddy colored hireling, the structure we
+had upraised. And what could they have said to that, I would like to
+know?" he asked, looking around from one to another of us.</p>
+
+<p>"Give us a small dive, boss?" suggested Rectus.</p>
+
+<p>"That's so," said Mr. Chipperton, his face beaming into a broad smile;
+"I believe they would have said that very thing. You have hit it
+exactly. Let's go in to supper."</p>
+
+<p>The next day, Rectus and I, with Corny and Mrs. Chipperton, walked down
+to the queen's house, to see how she fared and what could be done for
+her.</p>
+
+<p>When we reached Poqua-dilla's hut, we saw her sitting on her door-step.
+By her side were several joints of sugar-cane, and close to them stood
+the crown, neatly filled with scarlet pepper-pods, which hung very
+prettily over the peaked points of brass. She was very still, and her
+head rested on her breast.</p>
+
+<p>"Asleep!" whispered Corny.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Mrs. Chipperton, softly, "and don't let's waken her. She's
+very well off as she is, and now that her house is a little more
+comfortable, it would be well to leave her in peace, to peddle what she<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[187]</a></span>
+pleases on her door-step. Her crown will worry her less where it is than
+on her head."</p>
+
+<p>Corny whispered to her mother, who nodded, and took out her pocket-book.
+In a moment, Corny, with some change in her hand, went quietly up to the
+yard and put the money in the queen's lap. Then we went away and left
+her, still asleep.</p>
+
+<p>A day or two after this, the "Tigress" came in, bringing the mail. We
+saw her, from one of the upper porticoes, when she was just on the edge
+of the horizon, and we knew her by the way she stood up high in the
+water, and rolled her smoke-stack from side to side. She was the
+greatest roller that ever floated, I reckon, but a jolly good ship for
+all that; and we were glad enough to see her.</p>
+
+<p>There were a lot of letters for us in her mail. I had nine from the boys
+at home, not to count those from the family.</p>
+
+<p>We had just about finished reading our letters when Corny came up to us
+to the silk-cotton tree, where we were sitting, and said, in a doleful
+tone:</p>
+
+<p>"We've got to go home."</p>
+
+<p>"Home?" we cried out together. "When?"</p>
+
+<p>"To-morrow," said Corny, "on the 'Tigress.'"</p>
+
+<p>All our good news and pleasant letters counted for nothing now.</p>
+
+<p>"How?&mdash;why?" said I. "Why do you have to go? Isn't this something new?"</p>
+
+<p>Rectus looked as if he had lost his knife, and I'm sure I had never
+thought that I should care so much to hear that a girl&mdash;no relation&mdash;was
+going away the next day.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[188]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Yes, it is something new," said Corny, who certainly had been crying,
+although we didn't notice it at first. "It's a horrid old lawsuit.
+Father just heard of it in a letter. There's one of his houses, in New
+York, that's next to a lot, and the man that owns the lot says father's
+house sticks over four inches on his lot, and he has sued him for
+that,&mdash;just think of it! four inches only! You couldn't do anything with
+four inches of dirt if you had it; and father didn't know it, and he
+isn't going to move his wall back, now that he does know it, for the
+people in the house would have to cut all their carpets, or fold them
+under, which is just as bad, and he says he must go right back to New
+York, and, of course, we've all got to go, too, which is the worst of
+it, and mother and I are just awfully put out."</p>
+
+<p>"What's the good of his going," asked Rectus. "Can't he get a lawyer to
+attend to it all?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, you couldn't keep him here now," said Corny. "He's just wild to be
+off. The man who sued him is a horrid person, and father says that if he
+don't go right back, the next thing he'll hear will be that old Colbert
+will be trying to get a foot instead of four inches."</p>
+
+<p>"Old Colbert!" ejaculated Rectus, "I guess that must be my father."</p>
+
+<p>If I had been Rectus, I don't think I should have been so quick to guess
+anything of that kind about my father; but perhaps he had heard things
+like that before. He took it as coolly as he generally took everything.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[189]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Corny was as red as a beet.</p>
+
+<p>"Your father!" she exclaimed. "I don't believe it. I'll go this very
+minute and see."</p>
+
+<p>Rectus was right. The stingy hankerer after what Corny called four
+inches of dirt was his father. Mr. Chipperton came up to us and talked
+about the matter, and it was all as plain as daylight. When he found
+that Mr. Colbert was the father of Rectus, Mr. Chipperton was very much
+surprised, and he called no more names, although I am sure he had been
+giving old Colbert a pretty disagreeable sort of a record. But he sat
+down by Rectus, and talked to him as if the boy were his own father
+instead of himself, and proved to him, by every law of property in
+English, Latin, or Sanscrit, that the four inches of ground were
+legally, lawfully, and without any manner of doubt, his own, and that it
+would have been utterly and absolutely impossible for him to have built
+his house one inch outside of his own land. I whispered to Rectus that
+the house might have swelled, but he didn't get a chance to put in the
+suggestion.</p>
+
+<p>Rectus had to agree to all Mr. Chipperton said&mdash;or, at least, he
+couldn't differ with him,&mdash;for he didn't know anything on earth about
+the matter, and I guess he was glad enough when he got through. I'm sure
+I was. Rectus didn't say anything except that he was very sorry that the
+Chipperton family had to go home, and then he walked off to his room.</p>
+
+<p>In about half an hour, when I went upstairs, I found Rectus had just
+finished a letter to his father.</p>
+
+<p>"I guess that'll make it all right," he said, and he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[190]</a></span> handed me the
+letter to read. It was a strictly business letter. No nonsense about the
+folks at home. He said that was the kind of business letter his father
+liked. It ran like this:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p><span class="smcap">Dear Father</span>: Mr. Chipperton has told me about your
+suing him. If he really has set his house over on
+four inches of your lot, I wish you would let it
+stand there. I don't care much for him, but he has
+a nice wife and a pleasant girl, and if you go on
+suing him the whole lot of them will leave here
+to-morrow, and they're about the only people I
+know, except Gordon. If you want to, you can take
+a foot off any one of my three lots, and that
+ought to make it all right.</p>
+
+<div class='right'>Your affectionate son, &nbsp;  &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; <span class="smcap">Samuel Colbert</span>.</div></div>
+
+<p>"Have you three lots?" I asked, a good deal surprised, for I didn't know
+that Rectus was a property-owner.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said he; "my grandmother left them to me."</p>
+
+<p>"Are they right next to your father's lot, which Chipperton cut into?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, they're nowhere near it," said Rectus.</p>
+
+<p>I burst out laughing.</p>
+
+<p>"That letter wont do any good," I said.</p>
+
+<p>"You'll see," said Rectus, and he went off to mail it.</p>
+
+<p>I don't know what kind of a business man Mr. Chipperton was, but when
+Rectus told him that he had written a letter to his father which would
+make the thing all right, he was perfectly satisfied; and the next day
+we all went out in a sail-boat to the coral-reef, and had a splendid
+time, and the "Tigress" went off without any Chippertons. I think Mr.
+Chipperton put the whole thing down as the result of his lecture to
+Rectus up in the silk-cotton tree.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[191]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>CHAPTER XV.</h2>
+
+<h3>A STRANGE THING HAPPENS TO ME.</h3>
+
+
+<p>For several days after our hot chase after Priscilla, we saw nothing of
+this ex-emissary. Indeed, we began to be afraid that something had
+happened to her. She was such a regular attendant at the
+hotel-door-market, that people were talking about missing her black face
+and her chattering tongue. But she turned up one morning as gay and
+skippy as ever, and we saw her leaning against the side of one of the
+door-ways of the court in her favorite easy attitude, with her head on
+one side and one foot crossed over the other, which made her look like a
+bronze figure such as they put under kerosene lamps. In one hand she had
+her big straw hat, and in the other a bunch of rose-buds. The moment she
+saw Corny she stepped up to her.</p>
+
+<p>"Wont you buy some rose-buds, missy?" she said. "De puttiest rose-buds I
+ever brought you yit."</p>
+
+<p>Corny looked at her with a withering glare, but Priscilla didn't wither
+a bit. She was a poor hand at withering.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[192]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Please buy 'em, missy. I kep' 'em fur you. I been a-keepin' 'em all de
+mornin'."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't see how you dare ask me to buy your flowers!" exclaimed Corny.
+"Go away! I never want to see you again. After all you did&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Please, missy, buy jist this one bunch. These is the puttiest red-rose
+buds in dis whole town. De red roses nearly all gone."</p>
+
+<p>"Nearly all gone," said I. "What do you mean by telling such a fib?"&mdash;I
+was going to say "lie," which was nearer the truth (if that isn't a
+bull); but there were several ladies about, and Priscilla herself was a
+girl. "You know that there are red roses here all the year."</p>
+
+<p>"Please, boss," said Priscilla, rolling her eyes at me like an innocent
+calf, "wont you buy dese roses fur missy? They's the puttiest roses I
+ever brought her yit."</p>
+
+<p>"I guess you've got a calcareous conscience, haven't you?" said Rectus.</p>
+
+<p>Priscilla looked at him, for a moment, as if she thought that he might
+want to buy something of that kind, but as she hadn't it to sell, she
+tried her flowers on him.</p>
+
+<p>"Please, boss, wont you buy dese roses fur&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"No," said Rectus, "I wont."</p>
+
+<p>And we all turned and walked away. It was no use to blow her up. She
+wouldn't have minded it. But she lost three customers.</p>
+
+<p>I said before that I was the only one in our party who liked fishing,
+and for that reason I didn't go<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[193]</a></span> often, for I don't care about taking
+trips of that kind by myself. But one day Mr. Burgan and the other
+yellow-legs told me that they were going to fish in Lake Killarney, a
+lovely little lake in the interior of the island, about five miles from
+the town, and that if I liked I might go along. I did like, and I went.</p>
+
+<p>I should have been better pleased if they had gone there in a carriage;
+but this wouldn't have suited these two fellows, who had rigged
+themselves up in their buck-skin boots, and had all the tramping and
+fishing rigs that they used in the Adirondacks and other sporting places
+where they told me they had been. It was a long and a warm walk, and
+trying to find a good place for fishing, after we got to the lake, made
+the work harder yet. We didn't find any good place, and the few fish we
+caught didn't pay for the trouble of going there; but we walked all over
+a big pineapple plantation and had a splendid view from the highest hill
+on the whole island.</p>
+
+<p>It was pretty late in the afternoon when we reached home, and I made up
+my mind that the next time I went so far to fish, in a semi-tropical
+country, I'd go with a party who wore suits that would do for riding.</p>
+
+<p>Rectus and Corny and Mrs. Chipperton were up in the silk-cotton tree
+when I got home, and I went there and sat down. Mrs. Chipperton lent me
+her fan.</p>
+
+<p>Corny and Rectus were looking over the "permission paper" which the
+English governor had given us.</p>
+
+<p>"I guess this isn't any more use, now," said Corny, "as we've done all
+we can for kings and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[194]</a></span> queens, but Rectus says that if you agree I can
+have it for my autograph book. I never had a governor's signature."</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly, you can have it," I said. "And he's a different governor
+from the common run. None of your State governors, but a real British
+governor, like those old fellows they set over us in our colony-days."</p>
+
+<p>"Indeed!" said Mrs. Chipperton, smiling. "You must be able to remember a
+long way back."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, you needn't make fun of this governor," said Corny, "for he's a
+real nice man. We met him to-day, riding in the funniest carriage you
+ever saw in your life. It's like a big baby-carriage for twins, only
+it's pulled by a horse, and has a man in livery to drive it. The top's
+straw, and you get in in the middle, and sit both ways."</p>
+
+<p>"Either way, my dear," said Mrs. Chipperton.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, either way," continued Corny. "Did you ever see a carriage like
+that?"</p>
+
+<p>"I surely never did," said I.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, he was in it, and some ladies, and they stopped and asked Rectus
+and I how we got along with our queen, and when I told them all about
+it, you ought to have heard them laugh, and the governor, he said, that
+Poqua-dilla shouldn't suffer after we went away, even if he had to get
+all his pepper-pods from her. Now, wasn't that good?"</p>
+
+<p>I admitted that it was, but I thought to myself that a good supper and a
+bed would be better, for I was awfully tired and hungry. But I didn't
+say this.</p>
+
+<p>I slept as sound as a rock that night, and it was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[195]</a></span> pretty broad daylight
+when I woke up. I don't believe that I would have wakened then, but I
+wanted to turn over and couldn't, and that is enough to make any fellow
+wake up.</p>
+
+<p>When I opened my eyes, I found myself in the worst fix I had ever been
+in in my life. I couldn't move my arms or my legs, for my arms were tied
+fast to my body, at the elbows and wrists, and my feet and my knees were
+tied together. I was lying flat on my back, but I could turn my head
+over to where Rectus' bed stood&mdash;it was a small one like mine&mdash;and he
+wasn't there. I sung out:</p>
+
+<p>"Rectus!" and gave a big heave, which made the bed rattle. I was scared.</p>
+
+<p>In a second, Rectus was standing by me. He had been sitting by the
+window. He was all dressed.</p>
+
+<p>"Don't shout that way again," he said, in a low voice, "or I'll have to
+tie this handkerchief over your mouth," and he showed me a clean linen
+handkerchief all folded up, ready. "I wont put it so that it will stop
+your breathing," he said, as coolly as if this sort of thing was nothing
+unusual. "I'll leave your nose free."</p>
+
+<p>"Let me up, you little rascal!" I cried. "Did you do this?"</p>
+
+<p>At that he deliberately laid the handkerchief over my mouth and fastened
+it around my head. He was careful to leave my nose all right, but I was
+so mad that I could scarcely breathe. I knew by the way he acted that he
+had tied me, and I had never had such a trick played on me before. But
+it was no use to be<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[196]</a></span> mad. I couldn't do anything, though I tugged and
+twisted my very best. He had had a good chance to tie me up well, for I
+had slept so soundly. I was regularly bandaged.</p>
+
+<p>He stood by me for a few minutes, watching to see if I needed any more
+fixing, but when he made up his mind that I was done up securely, he
+brought a chair and sat down by the side of the bed and began to talk to
+me. I never saw anything like the audacity of the boy.</p>
+
+<p>"You needn't think it was mean to tie you, when you were so tired and
+sleepy, for I intended to do it this morning, any way, for you always
+sleep sound enough in the mornings to let a fellow tie you up as much as
+he pleases. And I suppose you'll say it was mean to tie you, any way,
+but you know well enough that it's no use for me to argue with you, for
+you wouldn't listen. But now you've got to listen, and I wont let you up
+till you promise never to call me Rectus again."</p>
+
+<p>"The little rascal!" I thought to myself. I might have made some noise
+in spite of the handkerchief, but I thought it better not, for I didn't
+know what else he might pile on my mouth.</p>
+
+<p>"It isn't my name, and I'm tired of it," he continued. "I didn't mind it
+at school, and I didn't mind it when we first started out together, but
+I've had enough of it now, and I've made up my mind that I'll make you
+promise never to call me by that name again."</p>
+
+<p>I vowed to myself that I would call him Rectus<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[197]</a></span> until his hair was gray.
+I'd write letters to him wherever he lived, and direct them: "Rectus
+Colbert."</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 230px;">
+<img src="images/gs16.png" width="230" height="200" alt="&quot;I WOULDN&#39;T LIKE IT MYSELF.&quot;" title="&quot;I WOULDN&#39;T LIKE IT MYSELF.&quot;" />
+<span class="caption">&quot;I WOULDN&#39;T LIKE IT MYSELF.&quot;</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"There wasn't any other way to do it, and so I did it this way," he
+said. "I'm sorry, really, to have to tie you up so, because I wouldn't
+like it myself, and I wouldn't have put that handkerchief over your
+mouth if you had agreed to keep quiet, but I don't want anybody coming
+in here until you've promised."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[198]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Promise!" I thought; "I'll never promise you that while the world rolls
+round."</p>
+
+<p>"I know you can't say anything with that handkerchief over your mouth;
+but you don't have to speak. Your toes are loose. When you're ready to
+promise never to call me Rectus again, just wag your big toe, either
+one."</p>
+
+<p>I stiffened my toes, as if my feet were cast in brass. Rectus moved his
+chair a little around, so that he could keep an eye on my toes. Then he
+looked at his watch, and said:</p>
+
+<p>"It's seven o'clock now, and that's an hour from breakfast time. I don't
+want to keep you there any longer than I can help. You'd better wag your
+toe now, and be done with it. It's no use to wait."</p>
+
+<p>"Wag?" I thought to myself. "Never!"</p>
+
+<p>"I know what you're thinking," he went on. "You think that if you lie
+there long enough, you'll be all right, for when the chambermaid comes
+to do up the room, I must let her in, or else I'll have to say you're
+sick, and then the Chippertons will come up."</p>
+
+<p>That was exactly what I was thinking.</p>
+
+<p>"But that wont do you any good," said he, "I've thought of all that."</p>
+
+<p>He was a curious boy. How such a thing as this should have come into his
+mind, I couldn't imagine. He must have read of something of the kind.
+But to think of his trying it on <i>me!</i> I ground my teeth.</p>
+
+<p>He sat and watched me for some time longer. Once or twice he fixed the
+handkerchief over my mouth,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[199]</a></span> for he seemed anxious that I should be as
+comfortable as possible. He was awfully kind, to be sure!</p>
+
+<p>"It isn't right that anybody should have such a name sticking to them
+always," he said. "And if I'd thought you'd have stopped it, I wouldn't
+have done this. But I knew you. You would just have laughed and kept
+on."</p>
+
+<p>The young scoundrel! Why didn't he try me?</p>
+
+<p>"Yesterday, when the governor met us, Corny called me Rectus, and even
+he said that was a curious name, and he didn't remember that I gave it
+to him, when he wrote that paper for us."</p>
+
+<p>Oh, ho! That was it, was it? Getting proud and meeting governors! Young
+prig!</p>
+
+<p>Now Rectus was quiet a little longer, and then he got up.</p>
+
+<p>"I didn't think you'd be so stubborn," he said, "but perhaps you know
+your own business best. I'm not going to keep you there until breakfast
+is ready, and people want to come in."</p>
+
+<p>Then he went over to the window, and came back directly with a little
+black paint-pot, with a brush in it.</p>
+
+<p>"Now," said he, "if you don't promise, in five minutes, to never call me
+Rectus again, I'm going to paint one-half of your face black. I got this
+paint yesterday from the cane-man, on purpose."</p>
+
+<p>Oil-paint! I could smell it.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, you may be sure I'm going to do it," he said.</p>
+
+<p>Oh, I was sure! When he said he'd do a thing, I<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[200]</a></span> knew he'd do it. I had
+no doubts about that. He was great on sticking to his word.</p>
+
+<p>He had put his watch on the table near by, and was stirring up the
+paint.</p>
+
+<p>"You've only three minutes more," he said. "This stuff wont wash off in
+a hurry, and you'll have to stay up here by yourself, and wont need any
+tying. It's got stuff mixed with it to make it dry soon, so that you
+needn't lie there very long after I've painted you. You mustn't mind if
+I put my finger on your mouth when I take off the handkerchief; I'll be
+careful not to get any in your eyes or on your lips if you hold your
+head still. One minute more. Will you promise?"</p>
+
+<p>What a dreadful minute! He turned and looked at my feet. I gave one big
+twist in my bandages. All held. I wagged my toe.</p>
+
+<p>"Good!" said he. "I didn't want to paint you. But I would have done it,
+sure as shot, if you hadn't promised. Now I'll untie you. I can trust
+you to stick to your word,&mdash;I mean your wag," he said, with a grin.</p>
+
+<p>It took him a long time to undo me. The young wretch had actually pinned
+long strips of muslin around me, and he had certainly made a good job of
+it, for they didn't hurt me at all, although they held me tight enough.
+He said, as he was working at me, that he had torn up two old shirts to
+make these bandages, and had sewed some of the strips together the
+afternoon before. He said he had heard of something like this being done
+at a school. A pretty school that must have been!<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[201]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>He unfastened my arms first,&mdash;that is, as soon as he had taken the
+handkerchief off my mouth,&mdash;and the moment he had taken the bandage from
+around my ankles, he put for the door. But I was ready. I sprang out of
+bed, made one jump over his bed, around which he had to go, and caught
+him just at the door.</p>
+
+<p>He forgot that he should have left my ankles for me to untie for myself.</p>
+
+<p>I guess the people in the next rooms must have thought there was
+something of a rumpus in our room when I caught him.</p>
+
+<p>There was considerable coolness between Colbert and me after that. In
+fact, we didn't speak. I was not at all anxious to keep this thing up,
+for I was satisfied, and was perfectly willing to call it square; but
+for the first time since I had known him, Colbert was angry. I suppose
+every fellow, no matter how good-natured he may be, must have some sort
+of a limit to what he will stand, and Colbert seemed to have drawn his
+line at a good thrashing.</p>
+
+<p>It wasn't hard for me to keep my promise to him, for I didn't call him
+anything; but I should have kept it all the same if we had been on the
+old terms.</p>
+
+<p>Of course, Corny soon found out that there was something the matter
+between us two, and she set herself to find out what it was.</p>
+
+<p>"What's the matter with you and Rectus?" she asked me the next day. I
+was standing in the carriage-way before the hotel, and she ran out to
+me.</p>
+
+<p>"You mustn't call him Rectus," said I. "He doesn't like it."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[202]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Well, then, I wont," said she. "But what is it all about? Did you
+quarrel about calling him that? I hate to see you both going about, and
+not speaking to each other."</p>
+
+<p>I had no reason to conceal anything, and so I told her the whole affair,
+from the very beginning to the end.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't wonder he's mad," said she, "if you thrashed him."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, and oughtn't I to be mad after the way he treated me?" I asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," she said. "It makes me sick just to think of being tied up in
+that way,&mdash;and the black paint, too! But then you are so much bigger
+than he is, that it don't seem right for you to thrash him."</p>
+
+<p>"That's one reason I did it," said I. "I didn't want to fight him as I
+should have fought a fellow of my own size. I wanted to punish him. Do
+you think that when a father wants to whip his son he ought to wait
+until he grows up as big as he is?"</p>
+
+<p>"No," said Corny, very gravely. "Of course not. But Rectus isn't your
+son. What shall I call him? Samuel, or Sam? I don't like either of them,
+and I wont say Mr. Colbert. I think 'Rectus' is a great deal nicer."</p>
+
+<p>"So do I," I said; "but that's his affair. To be sure, he isn't my son,
+but he's under my care, and if he wasn't, it would make no difference.
+I'd thrash any boy alive who played such a trick on me."</p>
+
+<p>"Unless he was bigger than you are," said Corny.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, then I'd get you to help me. You'd do it; wouldn't you, Corny?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[203]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>She laughed.</p>
+
+<p>"I guess I couldn't help much, and I suppose you're both right to be
+angry at each other; but I'm awful sorry if things are going on this
+way. It didn't seem like the same place yesterday. Nobody did anything
+at all."</p>
+
+<p>"I tell you what it is, Corny," said I. "You're not angry with either of
+us; are you?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, indeed," said she, and her face warmed up and her eyes shone.</p>
+
+<p>"That's one comfort," said I, and I gave her a good hand-shake.</p>
+
+<p>It must have looked funny to see a boy and a girl shaking hands there in
+front of the hotel, and a young darkey took advantage of our good-humor,
+and, stealing out from a shady corner of the court, sold us seven little
+red and black liquorice-seed for fourpence,&mdash;the worst swindle that had
+been worked on us yet.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[204]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>CHAPTER XVI.</h2>
+
+<h3>MR. CHIPPERTON KEEPS PERFECTLY COOL.</h3>
+
+
+<p>It's of no use to deny the fact that Nassau was a pretty dull place,
+just about this time. At least Corny and I found it so, and I don't
+believe young Mr. Colbert was very happy, for he didn't look it. It's
+not to be supposed that our quarrel affected the negroes, or the sky, or
+the taste of bananas; but the darkeys didn't amuse me, and my
+recollection of those days is that they were cloudy, and that I wasn't a
+very good customer down in the market-house by the harbor, where we used
+to go and buy little fig-bananas, which they didn't have at the hotel,
+but which were mighty good to eat.</p>
+
+<p>Colbert and I still kept up a frigid reserve toward each other. He
+thought, I suppose, that I ought to speak first, because I was the
+older, and I thought that he ought to speak first because he was the
+younger.</p>
+
+<p>One evening, I went up into my room, having absolutely nothing else to
+do, and there I found Colbert, writing. I suppose he was writing a
+letter, but there<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[205]</a></span> was no need of doing this at night, as the mail would
+not go out for several days, and there would be plenty of time to write
+in the daytime. He hadn't done anything but lounge about for two or
+three days. Perhaps he came up here to write because he had nothing else
+to do.</p>
+
+<p>There was only one table, and I couldn't write if I had wanted to, so I
+opened my trunk and began to put some of my things in order. We had
+arranged, before we had fallen out, that we should go home on the next
+steamer, and Mr. and Mrs. Chipperton were going too. We had been in
+Nassau nearly a month, and had seen about as much as was to be seen&mdash;in
+an ordinary way. As for me, I couldn't afford to stay any longer, and
+that had been the thing that had settled the matter, as far as Colbert
+and I were concerned. But now he might choose to stay, and come home by
+himself. However, there was no way of my knowing what he thought, and I
+supposed that I had no real right to make him come with me. At any rate,
+if I had, I didn't intend to exercise it.</p>
+
+<p>While I was looking over the things in my trunk, I came across the box
+of dominoes that Corny had given us to remember her by. It seemed like a
+long time ago since we had been sitting together on the water-battery at
+St. Augustine! In a few minutes I took the box of dominoes in my hand
+and went over to Colbert. As I put them on the table he looked up.</p>
+
+<p>"What do you say to a game of dominoes?" I said. "This is the box Corny
+gave us. We haven't used it yet."</p>
+
+<p>"Very well," said he, and he pushed away his paper<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[206]</a></span> and emptied the
+dominoes out on the table. Then he picked up some of them, and looked at
+them as if they were made in some new kind of a way that he had never
+noticed before; and I picked up some, too, and examined them. Then we
+began to play. We did not talk very much, but we played as if it was
+necessary to be very careful to make no mistakes. I won the first game,
+and I could not help feeling a little sorry, while Colbert looked as if
+he felt rather glad. We played until about our ordinary bed-time, and
+then I said:</p>
+
+<p>"Well, Colbert, I guess we might as well stop," and he said:</p>
+
+<p>"Very well."</p>
+
+<p>But he didn't get ready to go to bed. He went to the window and looked
+out for some time, and then he came back to the table and sat down. He
+took his pen and began to print on the lid of the domino-box, which was
+of smooth white wood. He could print names and titles of things very
+neatly, a good deal better than I could.</p>
+
+<p>When he had finished, he got up and began to get ready for bed, leaving
+the box on the table. Pretty soon I went over to look at it, for I must
+admit I was rather curious to see what he had put on it. This was the
+inscription he had printed on the lid:</p>
+
+<div class='center'>
+"GIVEN TO<br />
+WILL AND RECTUS<br />
+BY<br />
+CORNY.<br />
+ST. AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA."<br />
+
+____________</div>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[207]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>There was a place left for the date, which I suppose he had forgotten. I
+made no remark about this inscription, for I did not know exactly what
+remark was needed; but the next morning I called him "Rectus," just the
+same as ever, for I knew he had printed our names on the box to show me
+that he wanted to let me off my promise. I guess the one time I called
+him Colbert was enough for him.</p>
+
+<p>When we came down stairs to breakfast, talking to each other like common
+people, it was better than most shows to see Corny's face. She was
+standing at the front door, not far from the stairs, and it actually
+seemed as if a candle had been lighted inside of her. Her face shone.</p>
+
+<p>I know I felt first-rate, and I think Rectus must have felt pretty much
+the same, for his tongue rattled away at a rate that wasn't exactly
+usual with him. There was no mistaking Corny's feelings.</p>
+
+<p>After breakfast, when we all got together to talk over the plans of the
+day,&mdash;a thing we hadn't done for what seemed to me about a week,&mdash;we
+found out&mdash;or rather remembered&mdash;that there were a lot of things in
+Nassau that we hadn't seen yet, and that we wouldn't miss for anything.
+We had been wasting time terribly lately, and the weather was now rather
+better for going about than it had been since we came to the place.</p>
+
+<p>We agreed to go to Fort Charlotte that morning, and see the subterranean
+rooms and passage-ways, and all the underground dreariness of which we
+had heard so much. The fort was built about a hundred<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[208]</a></span> years ago, and
+has no soldiers in it. To go around and look at the old forts in this
+part of the world might make a person believe the millennium had come.
+They seem just about as good as ever they were, but they're all on a
+peace-footing. Rectus said they were played out, but I'd rather take my
+chances in Fort Charlotte, during a bombardment, than in some of the
+new-style forts that I have seen in the North. It is almost altogether
+underground, in the solid calcareous, and what could any fellow want
+better than that? The cannon-balls and bombs would have to plow up about
+an acre of pretty solid rock, and plow it deep, too, before they would
+begin to scratch the roof of the real strongholds of this fort. At
+least, that's the way I looked at it.</p>
+
+<p>We made up a party and walked over. It's at the western end of the town,
+and about a mile from the hotel. Mr. and Mrs. Chipperton were with us,
+and a lady from Chicago, and Mr. Burgan. The other yellow-legs went out
+riding with his wife, but I think he wanted to go with us. The fort is
+on the top of a hill, and a colored shoemaker is in command. He sits and
+cobbles all day, except when visitors come, and then he shows them
+around. He lighted a lamp and took us down into the dark, quiet rooms
+and cells, that were cut out of the solid rock, down deep into the hill,
+and it was almost like being in a coal-mine, only it was a great deal
+cleaner and not so deep. But it seemed just as much out of the world. In
+some of the rooms there were bats hanging to the ceilings. We didn't
+disturb them. One of the rooms was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[209]</a></span> called the governor's room. There
+wasn't any governor there, of course, but it had been made by the jolly
+old earl who had the place cut out,&mdash;and who was governor here at the
+time,&mdash;as a place where he might retire when he wanted to be private. It
+was the most private apartment I ever saw. This earl was the same old
+Dunmore we used to study about in our histories. He came over here when
+the Revolution threw him out of business in our country. He had some
+good ideas about chiselling rock.</p>
+
+<p>This part of the fort was so extremely subterranean and solemn that it
+wasn't long before Mrs. Chipperton had enough of it, and we came up. It
+was fine to get out into the open air, and see the blue sky and the
+bright, sparkling water of the harbor just below us, and the islands
+beyond, and still beyond them the blue ocean, with everything so bright
+and cheerful in the sunlight. If I had been governor of this place, I
+should have had my private room on top of the fort, although, of course,
+that wouldn't do so well in times of bombardment.</p>
+
+<p>But the general-in-chief did not let us off yet. He said he'd show us
+the most wonderful thing in the whole place, and then he took us
+out-of-doors again, and led us to a little shed or enclosed door-way
+just outside of the main part of the fort, but inside of the
+fortifications, where he had his bench and tools. He moved away the
+bench, and then we saw that it stood on a wooden trap-door. He took hold
+of a ring, and lifted up this door, and there was a round hole about as
+big as the hind wheel<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[210]</a></span> of a carriage. It was like a well, and was as
+dark as pitch. When we held the lamp over it, however, we could see that
+there were winding steps leading down into it. These steps were cut out
+of the rock, as was the hole and the pillar around which the steps
+wound. It was all one piece. The general took his lamp and went down
+ahead, and we all followed, one by one. Those who were most afraid and
+went last had the worst of it, for the lamp wasn't a calcium light by
+any means, and their end of the line was a good deal in the dark. But we
+all got to the bottom of the well at last, and there we found a long,
+narrow passage leading under the very foundation or bottom floor of the
+whole place, and then it led outside of the fort under the moat, which
+was dry now, but which used to be full of water, and so, on and on, in
+black darkness, to a place in the side of the hill, or somewhere, where
+there had been a lookout. Whether there were any passages opening into
+this or not, I don't know, for it was dark in spite of the lamp, and we
+all had to walk in single file, so there wasn't much chance for
+exploring sidewise. When we got to the end, we were glad enough to turn
+around and come back. It was a good thing to see such a place, but there
+was a feeling that if the walls should cave in a little, or a big rock
+should fall from the top of the passage, we should all be hermetically
+canned in very close quarters. When we came out, we gave the shoemaker
+commander some money, and came away.</p>
+
+<p>"Isn't it nice," said Corny, "that he isn't a queen,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[211]</a></span> to be taken care
+of, and we can just pay him and come away, and not have to think of him
+any more?"</p>
+
+<p>We agreed to that, but I said I thought we ought to go and take one more
+look at our old queen before we left. Mrs. Chipperton, who was a really
+sensible woman when she had a chance, objected to this, because, she
+said, it would be better to let the old woman alone now. We couldn't do
+anything for her after we left, and it would be better to let her depend
+on her own exertions, now that she had got started again on that track.
+I didn't think that the word exertion was a very good one in
+Poqua-dilla's case, but I didn't argue the matter. I thought that if
+some of us dropped around there before we left, and gave her a couple of
+shillings, it would not interfere much with her mercantile success in
+the future.</p>
+
+<p>I thought this, but Corny spoke it right out&mdash;at least, what she said
+amounted to pretty much the same thing.</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said her mother, "we might go around there once more, especially
+as your father has never seen the queen at all. Mr. Chipperton, would
+you like to see the African queen?"</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Chipperton did not answer, and his wife turned around quickly. She
+had been walking ahead with the Chicago lady.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, where is he?" she exclaimed. We all stopped and looked about, but
+couldn't see him. He wasn't there. We were part way down the hill, but
+not far from the fort, and we stopped and looked back, and then Corny
+called him. I said that I would run<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[212]</a></span> back for him, as he had probably
+stopped to talk with the shoemaker. Rectus and I both ran back, and
+Corny came with us. The shoemaker had put his bench in its place over
+the trap-door, and was again at work. But Mr. Chipperton was not talking
+to him.</p>
+
+<p>"I'll tell you what I believe,"&mdash;said Corny, gasping.</p>
+
+<p>But it was of no use to wait to hear what she believed. I believed it
+myself.</p>
+
+<p>"Hello!" I cried to the shoemaker before I reached him. "Did a gentleman
+stay behind here?"</p>
+
+<p>"I didn't see none," said the man, looking up in surprise, as we charged
+on him.</p>
+
+<p>"Then," I cried, "he's shut down in that well! Jump up and open the
+door!"</p>
+
+<p>The shoemaker did jump up, and we helped him move the bench, and had the
+trap-door open in no time. By this, the rest of the party had come back,
+and when Mrs. Chipperton saw the well open and no Mr. Chipperton about,
+she turned as white as a sheet. We could hardly wait for the man to
+light his lamp, and as soon as he started down the winding stairs,
+Rectus and I followed him. I called back to Mrs. Chipperton and the
+others that they need not come; we would be back in a minute and let
+them know. But it was of no use; they all came. We hurried on after the
+man with the light, and passed straight ahead through the narrow passage
+to the very end of it.</p>
+
+<p>There stood Mr. Chipperton, holding a lighted match, which he had just
+struck. He was looking at<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[213]</a></span> something on the wall. As we ran in, he
+turned and smiled, and was just going to say something, when Corny threw
+herself into his arms, and his wife, squeezing by, took him around his
+neck so suddenly that his hat flew off and bumped on the floor, like an
+empty tin can. He always wore a high silk hat. He made a grab for his
+hat, and the match burned his fingers.</p>
+
+<p>"Aouch!" he exclaimed, as he dropped the match. "What's the matter?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, my dear!" exclaimed his wife. "How dreadful to leave you here! Shut
+up alone in this awful place! But to think we have found you!"</p>
+
+<p>"No trouble about that, I should say," remarked Mr. Chipperton, going
+over to the other side of the den after his hat. "You haven't been gone
+ten minutes, and it's a pretty straight road back here."</p>
+
+<p>"But how did it happen?" "Why did you stay?" "Weren't you frightened?"
+"Did you stay on purpose?" we all asked him at pretty much one and the
+same time.</p>
+
+<p>"I did stay on purpose," said he; "but I did not expect to stay but a
+minute, and had no idea you would go and leave me. I stopped to see what
+in the name of common sense this place was made for. I tried my best to
+make some sort of an observation out of this long, narrow loop-hole, but
+found I could see nothing of importance whatever, and so I made up my
+mind it was money thrown away to cut out such a place as this to so
+little purpose. When I had entirely made up my mind, I found, on turning
+around, that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[214]</a></span> you had gone, and although I called I received no answer.</p>
+
+<p>"Then I knew I was alone in this place. But I was perfectly composed. No
+agitation, no tremor of the nerves. Absolute self-control. The moment I
+found myself deserted, I knew exactly what to do. I did precisely the
+same thing that I would have done had I been left alone in the Mammoth
+Cave, or the Cave of Fingal, or any place of the kind.</p>
+
+<p>"I stood perfectly still!</p>
+
+<p>"If you will always remember to do that," and he looked as well as he
+could from one to another of us, "you need never be frightened, no
+matter how dark and lonely a cavern you may be left in. Strive to
+reflect that you will soon be missed, and that your friends will
+naturally come back to the place where they saw you last. Stay there!
+Keep that important duty in your mind. Stay just where you are! If you
+run about to try and find your way out, you will be lost. You will lose
+yourself, and no one can find you.</p>
+
+<p>"Instances are not uncommon where persons have been left behind in the
+Mammoth Cave of Kentucky, and who were not found by searching parties
+for a day or two, and they were almost invariably discovered in an
+insane condition. They rushed wildly about in the dark; got away from
+the ordinary paths of tourists; couldn't be found, and went crazy,&mdash;a
+very natural consequence. Now, nothing of the kind happened to me. I
+remained where I was, and here, you see, in less than ten minutes, I am
+rescued!"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[215]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>And he looked around with a smile as pleasant as if he had just invented
+a new sewing-machine.</p>
+
+<p>"But were you not frightened,&mdash;awe-struck in this dark and horrible
+place, alone?" inquired Mrs. Chipperton, holding on to his arm.</p>
+
+<p>"No," said he. "It was not very dark just here. That slit let in a
+little light. That is all it is good for, though why light should be
+needed here, I cannot tell. And then I lighted matches and examined the
+wall. I might find some trace of some sensible intention on the part of
+the people who quarried this passage. But I could find nothing. What I
+might have found, had I moved about, I cannot say. I had a whole box of
+matches in my pocket. But I did not move."</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Mr. Burgan, "I think you'd better move now. I, for one, am
+convinced that this place is of no use to me, and I don't like it."</p>
+
+<p>I think Mr. Burgan was a little out of temper.</p>
+
+<p>We now started on our way out of the passage, Mrs. Chipperton holding
+tight to her husband, for fear, I suppose, that he might be inclined to
+stop again.</p>
+
+<p>"I didn't think," said she, as she clambered up the dark and twisting
+steps, "that I should have this thing to do, so soon again. But no one
+can ever tell what strange things may happen to them, at any time."</p>
+
+<p>"When father's along," added Corny.</p>
+
+<p>This was all nuts to the shoemaker, for we gave him more money for his
+second trip down the well. I hope this didn't put the idea into his head
+of shutting people down below, and making their friends come after them,
+and pay extra.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[216]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"There are some things about Mr. Chipperton that I like," said Rectus,
+as we walked home together.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said I, "some things."</p>
+
+<p>"I like the cool way in which he takes bad fixes," continued Rectus, who
+had a fancy for doing things that way himself. "Don't you remember that
+time he struck on the sand-bank. He just sat there in the rain, waiting
+for the tide to rise, and made no fuss at all. And here, he kept just as
+cool and comfortable, down in that dungeon. He must have educated his
+mind a good deal to be able to do that."</p>
+
+<p>"It may be very well to educate the mind to take things coolly," said I,
+"but I'd a great deal rather educate my mind not to get me into such
+fixes."</p>
+
+<p>"I suppose that would be better," said Rectus, after thinking a minute.</p>
+
+<p>And now we had but little time to see anything more in Nassau. In two
+days the "Tigris" would be due, and we were going away in her. So we
+found we should have to bounce around in a pretty lively way, if we
+wanted to be able to go home and say we had seen the place.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[217]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>CHAPTER XVII.</h2>
+
+<h3>WHAT BOY HAS DONE, BOY MAY DO.</h3>
+
+
+<p>There was one place that I wished, particularly, to visit before I left,
+and that was what the people in Nassau called the Coral-reef. There were
+lots of coral-reefs all about the islands, but this one was easily
+visited, and for this reason, I suppose, was chosen as a representative
+of its class. I had been there before, and had seen all the wonders of
+the reef through a water-glass,&mdash;which is a wooden box, with a pane of
+glass at one end and open at the other. You hold the glass end of this
+box just under the water, and put your face to the open end, and then
+you can see down under the water, exactly as if you were looking through
+the air. And on this coral-reef, where the water was not more than
+twelve or fourteen feet deep, there were lots of beautiful things to
+see. It was like a submarine garden. There was coral in every form and
+shape, and of different colors; there were sea-feathers, which stood up
+like waving purple trees, most of them a foot or two high, but some a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[218]</a></span>
+good deal higher; there were sea-fans, purple and yellow, that spread
+themselves up from the curious bits of coral-rock on the bottom, and
+there were ever so many other things that grew like bushes and vines,
+and of all sorts of colors. Among all these you could see the fishes
+swimming about, as if they were in a great aquarium. Some of these
+fishes were very large, with handsome black bands across their backs,
+but the prettiest were some little fellows, no bigger than sardines,
+that swam in among the branches of the sea-feathers and fans. They were
+colored bright blue, and yellow and red; some of them with two or three
+colors apiece. Rectus called them "humming-fishes." They did remind me
+of humming-birds, although they didn't hum.</p>
+
+<p>When I came here before, I was with a party of ladies and gentlemen. We
+went in a large sail-boat, and took several divers with us, to go down
+and bring up to us the curious things that we would select, as we looked
+through the water-glass. There wasn't anything peculiar about these
+divers. They wore linen breeches for diving dresses, and were the same
+kind of fellows as those who dived for pennies at the town.</p>
+
+<p>Now, what I wanted to do, was to go to the coral-reef and dive down and
+get something for myself. It would be worth while to take home a sea-fan
+or something of that kind, and say you brought it up from the bottom of
+the sea yourself. Any one could get things that the divers had brought
+up. To be sure, the sea wasn't very deep here, but it had a bottom,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[219]</a></span> all
+the same. I was not so good a swimmer as these darkeys, who ducked and
+dived as if they had been born in the water, but I could swim better
+than most fellows, and was particularly good at diving. So I determined,
+if I could get a chance, to go down after some of those things on the
+coral-reef.</p>
+
+<p>I couldn't try this, before, because there were too many people along,
+but Rectus, who thought the idea was splendid, although he didn't intend
+to dive himself, agreed to hire a sail-boat with me, and go off to the
+reef, with only the darkey captain.</p>
+
+<p>We started as early as we could get off, on the morning after we had
+been at Fort Charlotte. The captain of the yacht&mdash;they give themselves
+and their sail-boats big titles here&mdash;was a tall colored man, named
+Chris, and he took two big darkey boys with him, although we told him we
+didn't want any divers. But I suppose he thought we might change our
+minds. I didn't tell him <i>I</i> was going to dive. He might not have been
+willing to go in that case.</p>
+
+<p>We had a nice sail up the harbor, between the large island upon which
+the town stands, and the smaller ones that separate the harbor from the
+ocean. After sailing about five miles, we turned out to sea between two
+islands, and pretty soon were anchored over the reef.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, then, boss," said Captain Chris, "don't ye want these here boys to
+do some divin' for ye?"</p>
+
+<p>"I told you I wouldn't want them," said I. "I'm going to dive, myself."</p>
+
+<p>"<i>You</i> dive, boss!" cried all three of the darkeys at once, and the two
+boys began to laugh.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[220]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Ye can't do that, boss," said the captain. "Ef ye aint used to this
+here kind o' divin', ye can't do nothin' at all, under this water. Ye
+better let the boys go for ye."</p>
+
+<p>"No," said I, "I'm going myself," and I began to take off my clothes.</p>
+
+<p>The colored fellows didn't like it much, for it seemed like taking their
+business away from them; but they couldn't help it, and so they just sat
+and waited to see how things would turn out.</p>
+
+<p>"You'd better take a look through the glass, before you dive," said
+Rectus, "and choose what you're going to get."</p>
+
+<p>"I'm not going to be particular," I replied. "I shall get whatever I
+can."</p>
+
+<p>"The tide's pretty strong," said the captain. "You've got to calkelate
+fur that."</p>
+
+<p>I was obliged for this information, which was generous on his part,
+considering the circumstances, and I dived from the bow, as far out as I
+could jump. Down I went, but I didn't reach the bottom, at all. My legs
+grazed against some branches and things, but the tide had me back to the
+boat in no time, and I came up near the stern, which I seized, and got
+on board.</p>
+
+<p>Both the colored boys were grinning, and the captain said:</p>
+
+<p>"Ye can't dive that-a-way, boss. You'll never git to the bottom, at all,
+that-a-way. You must go right down, ef you go at all."</p>
+
+<p>I knew that, but I must admit I didn't care much to go all the way down
+when I made the first dive.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[221]</a></span> Just as I jumped, I thought of the hard
+sharp things at the bottom, and I guess I was a little too careful not
+to dive into them.</p>
+
+<p>But now I made a second dive, and I went down beautifully. I made a grab
+at the first thing my hand touched. It was a purple knob of coral. But
+it stuck tight to its mother-rock, and I was ready to go up before it
+was ready to come loose, and so I went up without it.</p>
+
+<p>"'T aint easy to git them things," said the captain, and the two boys
+said:</p>
+
+<p>"No indeed, boss, ye cahn't git them things dat-a-way."</p>
+
+<p>I didn't say anything, but in a few minutes I made another dive. I
+determined to look around a little, this time, and seize something that
+I could break off or pull up. I found that I couldn't stay under water,
+like the darkeys could. That required practice, and perhaps more fishy
+lungs.</p>
+
+<p>Down I went, and I came right down on a small sea-fan, which I grabbed
+instantly. That ought to give way easily. But as I seized it, I brought
+down my right foot into the middle of a big round sponge. I started, as
+if I had had an electric shock. The thing seemed colder and wetter than
+the water; it was slimy and sticky and horrid. I did not see what it
+was, and it felt as if some great sucker-fish, with a cold woolly mouth,
+was trying to swallow my foot. I let go of everything, and came right
+up, and drew myself, puffing and blowing, on board the boat.</p>
+
+<p>How Captain Chris laughed! He had been watch<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[222]</a></span>ing me through the
+water-glass, and saw what had scared me.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, boss!" said he, "sponges don't eat people! That was nice and sof'
+to tread on. A sight better than cuttin' yer foot on a piece o' coral."</p>
+
+<p>That was all very well, but I'm sure Captain Chris jumped the first time
+he ever put his bare foot into a sponge under water.</p>
+
+<p>"I s'pose ye're goin' to gib it up now, boss," said the captain.</p>
+
+<p>"No, I'm not," I answered. "I haven't brought up anything yet. I'm going
+down again."</p>
+
+<p>"You'd better not," said Rectus. "Three times is all that anybody ever
+tries to do anything. If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.
+One, two, three. You're not expected to try four times. And, besides,
+you're tired."</p>
+
+<p>"I'll be rested in a minute," said I, "and then I'll try once more. I'm
+all right. You needn't worry."</p>
+
+<p>But Rectus did worry. I must have looked frightened when I came up, and
+I believe he had caught the scare. Boys will do that. The captain tried
+to keep me from going in again, but I knew it was all nonsense to be
+frightened. I was going to bring up something from the bottom, if it was
+only a pebble.</p>
+
+<p>So, after resting a little while, and getting my breath again, down I
+went. I was in for anything now, and the moment I reached the bottom, I
+swept my arm around and seized the first thing I touched. It was a
+pretty big thing, for it was a sea-feather over five feet high,&mdash;a
+regular tree. I gave a jerk at it, but it held<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[223]</a></span> fast. I wished, most
+earnestly, that I had taken hold of something smaller, but I didn't like
+to let go. I might get nothing else. I gave another jerk, but it was of
+no use. I felt that I couldn't hold my breath much longer, and must go
+up. I clutched the stem of the thing with both hands; I braced my feet
+against the bottom; I gave a tremendous tug and push, and up I came to
+the top, sea-feather and all!</p>
+
+<p>With both my hands full I couldn't do much swimming, and the tide
+carried me astern of the boat before I knew it.</p>
+
+<p>Rectus was the first to shout to me.</p>
+
+<p>"Drop it, and strike out!" he yelled; but I didn't drop it. I took it in
+one hand and swam with the other. But the tide was strong, and I didn't
+make any headway. Indeed, I floated further away from the boat.</p>
+
+<p>Directly, I heard a splash, and in a moment afterward, it seemed, the
+two darkey divers were swimming up to me.</p>
+
+<p>"Drop dat," said one of them, "an' we'll take ye in."</p>
+
+<p>"No, I wont," I spluttered, still striking out with my legs and one arm.
+"Take hold of this, and we can all go in together."</p>
+
+<p>I thought that if one of them would help me with the sea-feather, which
+seemed awfully heavy, two of us could certainly swim to the boat with
+four legs and two arms between us.</p>
+
+<p>But neither of them would do it. They wanted me to drop my prize, and
+then they'd take hold of me<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[224]</a></span> and take me in. We were disputing and
+puffing, and floating further and further away, when up came Captain
+Chris, swimming like a shark. He had jerked off his clothes and jumped
+in, when he saw what was going on. He just put one hand under my right
+arm, in which I held the sea-feather, and then we struck out together
+for the boat. It was like getting a tow from a tug-boat. We were
+alongside in no time. Captain Chris was the strongest and best swimmer I
+ever saw.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 267px;">
+<img src="images/gs17.png" width="267" height="200" alt="&quot;WE STRUCK OUT TOGETHER FOR THE BOAT.&quot;" title="&quot;WE STRUCK OUT TOGETHER FOR THE BOAT.&quot;" />
+<span class="caption">&quot;WE STRUCK OUT TOGETHER FOR THE BOAT.&quot;</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Rectus was leaning over, ready to help, and he caught me by the arm as I
+reached up for the side of the boat.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[225]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"No," said I, "take this," and he seized the sea-feather and pulled it
+in. Then the captain gave me a hoist, and I clambered on board.</p>
+
+<p>The captain had some towels under the little forward deck, and I gave
+myself a good rub down and dressed. Then I went to look at my prize. No
+wonder it was heavy. It had a young rock, a foot long, fast to its root.</p>
+
+<p>"You sp'iled one o' de puttiest things in that garden down there," said
+the captain. "I allus anchored near that tall feather, and all de
+vis'tors used to talk about it. I didn't think you'd bring it up when I
+seed you grab it. But you must 'a' give a powerful heave to come up with
+all that stone."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't think you ought to have tried to do that," said Rectus, who
+looked as if he hadn't enjoyed himself. "I didn't know you were so
+obstinate."</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said I, "the truth of the matter is that I am a fool, sometimes,
+and I might as well admit it. But now let's see what we've got on this
+stone."</p>
+
+<p>There was a lot of curious things on the piece of rock which had come up
+with the sea-feather. There were small shells, of different shapes and
+colors, with the living creatures inside of them, and there were mosses,
+and sea-weed, and little sponges, and small sea-plants, tipped with red
+and yellow, and more things of the kind than I can remember. It was the
+handsomest and most interesting piece of coral-rock that I had seen yet.</p>
+
+<p>As for the big purple sea-feather, it was a whopper, but too big for me
+to do anything with it. When we<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[226]</a></span> got home, Rectus showed it around to
+the Chippertons, and some of the people at the hotel, and told them that
+I dived down and brought it up, myself, but I couldn't take it away with
+me, for it was much too long to go in my trunk. So I gave it next day to
+Captain Chris, to sell, if he chose, but I believe he took it back and
+planted it again in the submarine garden, so that his passengers could
+see how tall a sea-feather could grow, when it tried. I chipped off a
+piece of the rock, however, to carry home as a memento. I was told that
+the things growing on it&mdash;I picked off all the shells&mdash;would make the
+clothes in my trunk smell badly, but I thought I'd risk it.</p>
+
+<p>"After all," said Rectus, that night, "what was the good of it? That
+little piece of stone don't amount to anything, and you might have been
+drowned."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't think I could have been drowned," said I, "for I should have
+dropped the old thing, and floated, if I had felt myself giving out. But
+the good of it was this: It showed me what a disagreeable sort of place
+a sea-garden is, when you go down into it to pick things."</p>
+
+<p>"Which you wont do again, in a hurry, I reckon," said Rectus.</p>
+
+<p>"You're right there, my boy," I answered.</p>
+
+<p>The next day, the Chippertons and ourselves took a two-horse barouche,
+and rode to the "caves," some six or seven miles from the town. We had a
+long walk through the pineapple fields before we came to the biggest
+cave, and found it wasn't very much of a cave, after all, though there
+was a sort of a room, on<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[227]</a></span> one side, which looked like a church, with
+altar, pillars and arches. There was a little hole, on one side of this
+room, about three feet wide, which led, our negro guide said, to a great
+cave, which ran along about a mile, until it reached the sea. There was
+no knowing what skeletons, and treasures, and old half-decayed boxes of
+coins, hidden by pirates, and swords with jewels in the handles, and
+loose jewels, and silver plate, and other things we might have found in
+that cave, if we had only had a lantern or some candles to light us
+while we were wandering about in it. But we had no candles or lantern,
+and so did not become a pirate's heirs. It was Corny who was most
+anxious to go in. She had read about Blackbeard, and the other pirates
+who used to live on this island, and she felt sure that some of their
+treasures were to be found in that cave. If she had thought of it, she
+would have brought a candle.</p>
+
+<p>The only treasures we got were some long things, like thin ropes, which
+hung from the roof to the floor of the cave we were in. This cave wasn't
+dark, because nearly all of one side of it was open. These ropes were
+roots or young trunks from banyan-trees, growing on the ground above,
+and which came through the cracks in the rocks, and stretched themselves
+down so as to root in the floor of the cave, and make a lot of
+underground trunks for the tree above. The banyan-tree is the most
+enterprising trunk-maker I ever heard of.</p>
+
+<p>We pulled down a lot of these banyan ropes, some of them more than
+twenty feet long, to take away as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[228]</a></span> curiosities. Corny thought it would
+be splendid to have a jumping-rope made of a banyan root, or rather
+trunklet. The banyans here are called wild fig-trees, which they really
+are, wherever they grow. There is a big one, not far from the town,
+which stands by itself, and has a lot of trunks coming down from the
+branches. It would take the conceit out of a hurricane, I think, if it
+tried to blow down a banyan-tree.</p>
+
+<p>The next day was Sunday, and our party went to a negro church to hear a
+preacher who was quite celebrated as a colored orator. He preached a
+good sensible sermon, although he didn't meddle much with grammar. The
+people were poorly dressed, and some of the deacons were barefooted, but
+they were all very clean and neat, and they appeared to be just as
+religious as if they had all ridden in carriages to some Fifth Avenue
+church in New York.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[229]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>CHAPTER XVIII.</h2>
+
+<h3>I WAKE UP MR. CHIPPERTON.</h3>
+
+
+<p>About nine o'clock, on Monday morning, the "Tigris" came in. When we
+boarded her, which we did almost as soon as the stairs had been put down
+her side, we found that she would make a shorter stay than usual, and
+would go out that evening, at high tide. So there was no time to lose.
+After the letters had been delivered at the hotel, and we had read ours,
+we sent our trunks on board, and went around to finish up Nassau. We
+rowed over to Hog Island, opposite the town, to see, once more, the surf
+roll up against the high, jagged rocks; we ran down among the negro
+cottages and the negro cabins to get some fruit for the trip; and we
+rushed about to bid good-bye to some of our old friends&mdash;Poqua-dilla
+among them. Corny went with us, this time. Every darkey knew we were
+going away, and it was amazing to see how many of them came to bid us
+good-bye, and ask for some coppers.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[230]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>After supper, we went on board the steamer, and about ten o'clock she
+cast loose, and as she slowly moved away, we heard the old familiar
+words:</p>
+
+<p>"Give us a small dive, boss!"</p>
+
+<p>They came from a crowd of darkey boys on the wharf. But, although the
+moon was shining brightly, we didn't think they could see coppers on the
+bottom that night. They might have found a shilling or a half-dollar,
+but we didn't try them.</p>
+
+<p>There were a couple of English officers on board, from the barracks, and
+we thought that they were going to take a trip to the United States; but
+the purser told us that they had no idea of doing that themselves, but
+were trying to prevent one of the "red-coats," as the common soldiers
+were generally called, from leaving the island. He had been missed at
+the barracks, and it was supposed that he was stowed away somewhere on
+the vessel. The steamer had delayed starting for half an hour, so that
+search might be made for the deserter, but she couldn't wait any longer
+if she wanted to get over the bar that night, and so the lieutenants, or
+sergeants, or whatever they were, had to go along, and come back in the
+pilot-boat.</p>
+
+<p>When we got outside we lay to, with the pilot-boat alongside of us, and
+the hold of the vessel was ransacked for the deserter. Corny openly
+declared that she hoped they wouldn't find him, and I'm sure I had a
+pretty strong feeling that way myself. But they did find him. He was
+pulled out from behind some barrels, in a dark place in the hold, and
+hurried<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[231]</a></span> up on deck. We saw him, as he was forced over the side of the
+vessel and almost dropped into the pilot-boat, which was rising and
+falling on the waves by the side of the ship. Then the officers
+scrambled down the side and jumped into the boat. The line was cast off,
+the negro oarsmen began to pull away, and the poor red-coat took his
+doleful journey back to Nassau. He must have felt pretty badly about it.
+I have no doubt that when he hid himself down there in that dark hold,
+just before the vessel started, he thought he had made a pretty sure
+thing of it, and that it would not be long before he would be a free
+man, and could go where he pleased and do what he pleased in the wide
+United States. But the case was very different now. I suppose it was
+wrong, of course, for him to desert, and probably he was a mean sort of
+a fellow to do it; but we were all very sorry to see him taken away.
+Corny thought that he was very likely a good man, who had been imposed
+upon, and that, therefore, it was right to run away. It was quite
+natural for a girl to think that.</p>
+
+<p>The moment the pilot-boat left us, the "Tigris" started off in good
+earnest, and went steaming along on her course. And it was not long
+before we started off, also in good earnest, for our berths. We were a
+tired set.</p>
+
+<p>The trip back was not so pleasant as our other little voyage, when we
+were coming to the Bahamas. The next day was cloudy, and the sea was
+rough and choppy. The air was mild enough for us to be on deck, but
+there was a high wind which made it<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[232]</a></span> uncomfortable. Rectus thought he
+could keep on his wide straw hat, but he soon found out his mistake, and
+had to get out his Scotch cap, which made him look like a very different
+fellow.</p>
+
+<p>There were not very many passengers on board, as it was scarcely time
+for the majority of people to leave Nassau. They generally stay until
+April, I think. Besides our party of five, there were several gentlemen
+and ladies from the hotel; and as we knew them all tolerably well, we
+had a much more sociable time than when we came over. Still, for my
+part, I should have preferred fair weather, bright skies, and plenty of
+nautiluses and flying-fish.</p>
+
+<p>The "yellow-legged" party remained at Nassau. I was a little sorry for
+this, too, as I liked the men pretty well, now that I knew them better.
+They certainly were good walkers.</p>
+
+<p>Toward noon the wind began to blow harder, and the waves ran very high.
+The "Tigris" rolled from side to side as if she would go over, and some
+of the ladies were a good deal frightened; but she always came up again,
+all right, no matter how far over she dipped, and so in time they got
+used to it. I proved to Mrs. Chipperton that it would be impossible for
+the vessel to upset, as the great weight of ballast, freight, machinery,
+etc., in the lower part of her would always bring her deck up again,
+even if she rolled entirely over on her side, which, sometimes, she
+seemed as if she was going to do, but she always changed her mind just
+as we thought the thing was going to happen. The first mate told me that
+the reason we rolled so was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[233]</a></span> because we had been obliged to take in all
+sail, and that the mainsail had steadied the vessel very much before the
+wind got so high. This was all very well, but I didn't care much to know
+why the thing was. There are some people who think a thing's all right,
+if they can only tell you the reason for it.</p>
+
+<p>Before dark, we had to go below, for the captain said he didn't want any
+of us to roll overboard, and, besides, the spray from the high waves
+made the deck very wet and unpleasant. None of us liked it below. There
+was no place to sit but in the long saloon, where the dining-tables
+were, and after supper we all sat there and read. Mr. Chipperton had a
+lot of novels, and we each took one. But it wasn't much fun. I couldn't
+get interested in my story,&mdash;at least, not in the beginning of it. I
+think that people who want to use up time when they are travelling ought
+to take what Rectus called a "begun" novel along with them. He had got
+on pretty well in his book while he was in Nassau, and so just took it
+up now and went right along.</p>
+
+<p>The lamps swung so far backward and forward above the table that we
+thought they would certainly spill the oil over us in one of their wild
+pitches; the settees by the table slid under us as the ship rolled, so
+that there was no comfort, and any one who tried to walk from one place
+to another had to hang on to whatever he could get hold of, or be
+tumbled up against the tables or the wall. Some folks got sea-sick and
+went to bed, but we tried to stick it out as long as we could.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[234]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The storm grew worse and worse. Sometimes a big wave would strike the
+side of the steamer, just behind us, with a tremendous shock. The ladies
+were always sure she had "struck something" when this happened; but when
+they found it was only water that she had struck, they were better
+satisfied. At last, things grew to be so bad that we thought we should
+have to go to bed and spend the night holding on to the handles at the
+back of our berths, when, all of a sudden, there was a great change. The
+rolling stopped, and the vessel seemed to be steaming along almost on an
+even keel. She pitched somewhat forward and aft,&mdash;that is, her bow and
+her stern went up and down by turns,&mdash;but we didn't mind that, as it was
+so very much better than the wild rolling that had been kept up so long.</p>
+
+<p>"I wonder what this means?" said Mr. Chipperton, actually standing up
+without holding on to anything. "Can they have got into a current of
+smooth water?"</p>
+
+<p>I didn't think this was possible, but I didn't stop to make any
+conjectures about it. Rectus and I ran up on the forward deck, to see
+how this agreeable change had come about. The moment we got outside, we
+found the wind blowing fearfully and the waves dashing as high as ever,
+but they were not plunging against our sides. We carefully worked our
+way along to the pilot-house, and looked in. The captain was inside, and
+when he saw us he opened the door and came out. He was going to his own
+room, just back of the pilot-house, and he told us to come with him.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[235]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>He looked tired and wet, and he told us that the storm had grown so bad
+that he didn't think it would be right to keep on our course any longer.
+We were going to the north-west, and the storm was coming from the
+north-east, and the waves and the wind dashed fair against the side of
+the vessel, making her roll and careen so that it began to be unsafe. So
+he had put her around with her head to the wind, and now she took the
+storm on her bow, where she could stand it a great deal better. He put
+all this in a good deal of sea-language, but I tell it as I got the
+sense of it.</p>
+
+<p>"Did you think she would go over, Captain?" asked Rectus.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh no!" said he, "but something might have been carried away."</p>
+
+<p>He was a very pleasant man, and talked a good deal to us.</p>
+
+<p>"It's all very well to lie to, this way," he went on, "for the comfort
+and safety of the passengers and the ship, but I don't like it, for
+we're not keeping on to our port, which is what I want to be doing."</p>
+
+<p>"Are we stopping here?" I asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Pretty much," said the captain. "All that the engines are working for
+is just to keep her head to the wind."</p>
+
+<p>I felt the greatest respect for the captain. Instead of telling us why
+the ship rolled, he just stopped her rolling. I liked that way of doing
+things. And I was sure that every one on board that I had talked to
+would be glad to have the vessel lie to, and make herself comfortable
+until the storm was over.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[236]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>We did not stay very long with the captain, for he wanted to take a nap,
+and when we went out, we stood a little while by the railing, to see the
+storm. The wind nearly took our heads off, and the waves dashed right up
+over the bow of the ship, so that if any one had been out there, I
+suppose they would have been soaked in a few minutes, if not knocked
+down. But we saw two men at the wheel, in the pilot-house, steadily
+holding her head to the wind, and we felt that it was all right. So we
+ran below and reported, and then we all went to bed.</p>
+
+<p>Although there was not much of the rolling that had been so unpleasant
+before, the vessel pitched and tossed enough to make our berths,
+especially mine, which was the upper one, rather shaky places to rest
+in; and I did not sleep very soundly. Sometime in the night, I was
+awakened by a sound of heavy and rapid footfalls on the deck above my
+head. I lay and listened for a moment, and felt glad that the deck was
+steady enough for them to walk on. There soon seemed to be a good deal
+more running, and as they began to drag things about, I thought that it
+would be a good idea to get up and find out what was going on. If it was
+anything extraordinary, I wanted to see it. Of course, I woke up Rectus,
+and we put on our clothes. There was now a good deal of noise on deck.</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps we have run into some vessel and sunk her," said Rectus,
+opening the door, with his coat over his arm. He was in an awful hurry
+to see.</p>
+
+<p>"Hold up here!" I said. "Don't you go on deck in this storm without an
+overcoat. If there has been<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[237]</a></span> a collision, you can't do any good, and you
+needn't hurry so. Button up warm."</p>
+
+<p>We both did that, and then we went up on deck. There was no one aft,
+just then, but we could see in the moonlight, which was pretty strong,
+although the sky was cloudy, that there was quite a crowd of men
+forward. We made our way in that direction as fast as we could, in the
+face of the wind, and when we reached the deck, just in front of the
+pilot-house, we looked down to the big hatchway, where the freight and
+baggage were lowered down into the hold, and there we saw what was the
+matter.</p>
+
+<p>The ship was on fire!</p>
+
+<p>The hatchway was not open, but smoke was coming up thick and fast all
+around it. A half-dozen men were around a donkey-engine that stood a
+little forward of the hatch, and others were pulling at hose. The
+captain was rushing here and there, giving orders. I did not hear
+anything he said. No one said anything to us. Rectus asked one of the
+men something, as he ran past him, but the man did not stop to answer.</p>
+
+<p>But there is no need to ask any questions. There was the smoke coming
+up, thicker and blacker, from the edges of the hatch.</p>
+
+<p>"Come!" said I, clutching Rectus by the arm. "Let's wake them up."</p>
+
+<p>"Don't you think they can put it out?" he asked, as we ran back.</p>
+
+<p>"Can't tell," I answered. "But we must get ready,&mdash;that's what we've got
+to do."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[238]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>I am sure I did not know how we were to get ready, or what we were to
+do, but my main idea was that no time was to be lost in doing something.
+The first thing was to awaken our friends.</p>
+
+<p>We found the steward in the saloon. There was only one lamp burning
+there, and the place looked dismal, but there was light enough to see
+that he was very pale.</p>
+
+<p>"Don't you intend to wake up the people?" I said to him.</p>
+
+<p>"What's the good?" he said. "They'll put it out."</p>
+
+<p>"They may, and they mayn't," I answered, "and it wont hurt the
+passengers to be awake."</p>
+
+<p>With this I hurried to the Chippertons' state-room&mdash;they had a double
+room in the centre of the vessel&mdash;and knocked loudly on the door. I saw
+the steward going to other doors, knocking at some and opening others
+and speaking to the people inside.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Chipperton jumped right up and opened the door. When he saw Rectus
+and me standing there, he must have seen in our faces that something was
+the matter, for he instantly asked:</p>
+
+<p>"What is it? A wreck?"</p>
+
+<p>I told him of the fire, and said that it might not be much, but that we
+thought we'd better waken him.</p>
+
+<p>"That's right," he said; "we'll be with you directly. Keep perfectly
+cool. Remain just where you are. You'll see us all in five minutes," and
+he shut the door.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[239]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 192px;">
+<img src="images/gs18.png" width="192" height="300" alt="&quot;&#39;KEEP PERFECTLY COOL,&#39; SAID MR. CHIPPERTON.&quot;" title="&quot;&#39;KEEP PERFECTLY COOL,&#39; SAID MR. CHIPPERTON.&quot;" />
+<span class="caption">&quot;&#39;KEEP PERFECTLY COOL,&#39; SAID MR. CHIPPERTON.&quot;</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>But I did not intend to stand there. A good many men were already
+rushing from their rooms and hurrying up the steep stairs that led from
+the rear of the saloon to the deck, and I could hear ladies calling out
+from their rooms as if they were hurrying to get ready to come out. The
+stewardess, a tall colored woman, was just going to one of these ladies,
+who had her head out of the door. I told Rectus to run up on deck, see<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[240]</a></span>
+how things were going on, and then to come back to the Chippertons'
+door. Then I ran to our room, jerked the cork life-preservers from under
+the pillows, and came out into the saloon with them. This seemed to
+frighten several persons, who saw me as I came from our room, and they
+rushed back for their life-preservers, generally getting into the wrong
+room, I think. I did not want to help to make a fuss and confusion, but
+I thought it would be a good deal better for us to get the
+life-preservers now, than to wait. If we didn't need them, no harm would
+be done. Some one had turned up several lamps in the saloon, so that we
+could see better. But no one stopped to look much. Everybody, ladies and
+all,&mdash;there were not many of these,&mdash;hurried on deck. The Chippertons
+were the last to make their appearance. Just as their door opened,
+Rectus ran up to me.</p>
+
+<p>"It's worse than ever!" he said.</p>
+
+<p>"Here!" said I, "take this life-preserver. Have you life-preservers in
+your room?" I asked, quickly, of Mr. Chipperton.</p>
+
+<p>"All right," said he, "we have them on. Keep all together and come on
+deck,&mdash;and remember to be perfectly cool."</p>
+
+<p>He went ahead with Mrs. Chipperton, and Rectus and I followed, one on
+each side of Corny. Neither she nor her mother had yet spoken to us; but
+while we were going up the stairs, Corny turned to me, as I came up
+behind her, and said:</p>
+
+<p>"Is it a real fire?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, yes," I answered; "but they may put it out."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[241]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>CHAPTER XIX.</h2>
+
+<h3>THE LIFE-RAFT.</h3>
+
+
+<p>When we came out on deck, we saw in a moment that the fire was thought
+to be a serious affair. Men were actually at work at the boats, which
+hung from their davits on each side of the deck, not far from the stern.
+They were getting them ready to be lowered. I must confess that this
+seemed frightful to me. Was there really need of it?</p>
+
+<p>I left our party and ran forward for a moment, to see for myself how
+matters were going. People were hard at work. I could hear the pumps
+going, and there was a great deal of smoke, which was driven back by the
+wind. When I reached the pilot-house and looked down on the hatchway, I
+saw, not only smoke coming up, but every now and then a tongue of flame.
+The hatch was burning away at the edges. There must be a great fire
+under it, I thought.</p>
+
+<p>Just then the captain came rushing up from below. I caught hold of him.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[242]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Is there danger?" I said. "What's to be done?"</p>
+
+<p>He stopped for a moment.</p>
+
+<p>"We must all save ourselves," he said, hurriedly. "I am going to the
+passengers. We can't save the ship. She's all afire below." And then he
+ran on.</p>
+
+<p>When I got back to our group, I told them what the captain had said, and
+we all instantly moved toward the boat nearest to us. Rectus told me to
+put on my life-preserver, and he helped me fasten it. I had forgotten
+that I had it under my arm. Most of the passengers were at our boat, but
+the captain took some of them over to the other side of the deck.</p>
+
+
+
+<p>When our boat was ready, there was a great scramble and rush for it.
+Most of the ladies were to get into this boat, and some of the officers
+held back the men who were crowding forward. Among the others held back
+were Rectus and I, and as Corny was between us, she was pushed back,
+too. I do not know how the boat got to the water, nor when she started
+down. The vessel pitched and tossed; we could not see well, for the
+smoke came in thick puffs over us, and I did not know that the boat was
+really afloat until a wave lifted it up by the side of the vessel where
+we stood, and I heard Mr. Chipperton call for Corny. I could see him in
+the stern of the boat, which was full of people.</p>
+
+<p>"Here she is!" I yelled.</p>
+
+<p>"Here I am, father!" cried Corny, and she ran from us to the railing.</p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 236px;">
+<img src="images/gs19.png" width="236" height="300" alt="&quot;RECTUS HELPED ME TO FASTEN THE LIFE-PRESERVER.&quot;" title="&quot;RECTUS HELPED ME TO FASTEN THE LIFE-PRESERVER.&quot;" />
+<span class="caption">&quot;RECTUS HELPED ME TO FASTEN THE LIFE-PRESERVER.&quot;</span>
+</div>
+<p>"Lower her down," said Mr. Chipperton, from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[243]</a></span> below. He did not seem
+flurried at all, but I saw that no time was to be lost, for a man was
+trying to cut or untie a rope which still held the boat to the steamer.
+Then she would be off. There was a light line on the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[244]</a></span> deck near me&mdash;I
+had caught my foot in it, a minute before. It was strong enough to hold
+Corny. I got hold of one end of it and tied it around her, under her
+arms. She had a great shawl, as well as a life-preserver, tied around
+her, and looked dreadfully bundled up.</p>
+
+<p>She did not say a word, but let Rectus and me do as we chose, and we got
+her over the railing in no time. I braced myself against the seat that
+ran around the deck, and lowered. Rectus leaned over and directed,
+holding on to the line as well. I felt strong enough to hold two of her,
+with the rope running over the rail. I let her go down pretty fast, for
+I was afraid the boat would be off; but directly Rectus called to me to
+stop.</p>
+
+<p>"The boat isn't under her," he cried. "They've pushed off. Haul up a
+little! A wave nearly took her, just then!"</p>
+
+<p>With that, we hauled her up a little, and almost at the same moment I
+saw the boat rising on a wave. By that time, it was an oar's length from
+the ship.</p>
+
+<p>"They say they can't pull back," shouted Mr. Chipperton. "Don't let her
+down any further."</p>
+
+<p>"All right!" I roared back at him. "We'll bring her in another boat,"
+and I began to pull up with all my might.</p>
+
+<p>Rectus took hold of the rope with me, and we soon had Corny on deck. She
+ran to the stern and held out her arms to the boat.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, father!" she cried. "Wait for me!"</p>
+
+<p>I saw Mr. Chipperton violently addressing the men<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[245]</a></span> in the boat, but they
+had put out their oars and were beginning to pull away. I knew they
+would not come back, especially as they knew, of course, that there were
+other boats on board. Then Mr. Chipperton stood up again, put his hands
+to his mouth, and shouted back to us:</p>
+
+<p>"Bring her&mdash;right after us. If we get&mdash;parted&mdash;meet&mdash;at Savannah!"</p>
+
+<p>He was certainly one of the coolest men in the world. To think&mdash;at such
+a time&mdash;of appointing a place to meet! And yet it was a good idea. I
+believe he expected the men in his boat to row directly to the Florida
+coast, where they would find quick dispatch to Savannah.</p>
+
+<p>Poor Corny was disconsolate, and cried bitterly. I think I heard her
+mother call back to her, but I am not sure about it. There was so much
+to see and hear. And yet I had been so busy with what I had had to do
+that I had seen comparatively little of what was going on around me.</p>
+
+<p>One thing, however, I had noticed, and it impressed me deeply even at
+the time. There was none of the wailing and screaming and praying that I
+had supposed was always to be seen and heard at such dreadful times as
+this. People seemed to know that there were certain things that they had
+to do if they wanted to save themselves, and they went right to work and
+did them. And the principal thing was to get off that ship without any
+loss of time. Of course, it was not pleasant to be in a small boat,
+pitching about on those great waves, but almost anywhere was a better<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[246]</a></span>
+place than a ship on fire. I heard a lady scream once or twice, but I
+don't think there was much of that sort of thing. However, there might
+have been more of it than I thought. I was driving away at my own
+business.</p>
+
+<p>The moment I heard the last word from Mr. Chipperton, I rushed to the
+other side of the deck, dragging Corny along with me. But the boat was
+gone from there.</p>
+
+<p>I could see them pulling away some distance from the ship. It was easy
+to see things now, for the fire was blazing up in front. I think the
+vessel had been put around, for she rolled a good deal, and the smoke
+was not coming back over us.</p>
+
+<p>I untied the line from Corny, and stood for a moment looking about me.
+There seemed to be no one aft but us three. We had missed both boats.
+Mr. Chipperton had helped his wife into the boat, and had expected to
+turn round and take Corny. No doubt he had told the men to be perfectly
+cool, and not to hurry. And while we were shouting to him and lowering
+Corny, the other boat had put off.</p>
+
+<p>There was a little crowd of men amidships, hard at work at something. We
+ran there. They were launching the life-raft. The captain was among
+them.</p>
+
+<p>"Are there no more boats?" I shouted.</p>
+
+<p>He turned his head.</p>
+
+<p>"What! A girl left?" he cried. "No. The fire has cut off the other
+boats. We must all get on the raft. Stand by with the girl, and I'll see
+you safe."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[247]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The life-raft was a big affair that Rectus and I had often examined. It
+had two long, air-tight cylinders, of iron, I suppose, kept apart by a
+wide framework. On this framework, between the cylinders, canvas was
+stretched, and on this the passengers were to sit. Of course it would be
+impossible to sink a thing like this.</p>
+
+<p>In a very short time, the raft was lifted to the side of the vessel and
+pushed overboard. It was bound to come right side up. And as soon as it
+was afloat, the men began to drop down on it. The captain had hold of a
+line that was fastened to it, and I think one of the mates had another
+line.</p>
+
+<p>"Get down! Get down!" cried the captain to us.</p>
+
+<p>I told Rectus to jump first, as the vessel rolled that way, and he
+landed all right, and stood up as well as he could to catch Corny. Over
+she went at the next roll, with a good send from me, and I came right
+after her. I heard the captain shout:</p>
+
+<p>"All hands aboard the raft!" and then, in a minute, he jumped himself.
+Some of the men pushed her off with a pole. It was almost like floating
+right on the surface of the water, but I felt it was perfectly safe.
+Nothing could make those great cylinders sink. We floated away from the
+ship, and we were all glad enough of it, for the air was getting hot.
+The whole front part of the vessel was blazing away like a house on
+fire. I don't remember whether the engines were still working or not,
+but at any rate we drifted astern, and were soon at quite a little
+distance from the steamer.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[248]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>It was safe enough, perhaps, on the raft, but it was not in the least
+comfortable. We were all crowded together, crouching on the canvas, and
+the water just swashed about us as if we were floating boards. We went
+up and down on the waves with a motion that wouldn't have been so bad
+had we not thought we might be shuffled off, if a big wave turned us
+over a little too much. But there were lots of things to hold on to, and
+we all stuck close together. We three were in the middle. The captain
+told us to get there. There is no way of telling how glad I was that the
+captain was with us. I was well satisfied, anyway, to be with the party
+on the raft. I might have liked it better in a boat, but I think most of
+the men in the boats were waiters, or stewards, or passengers&mdash;fellows
+who were in a hurry to get off. The officers and sailors who remained
+behind to do their best for the ship and the passengers were the men on
+the raft; and these I felt we could trust. I think there were ten of
+them, besides the captain, making fourteen of us in all.</p>
+
+<p>There we all sat, while the ship blazed and crackled away, before us.
+She drifted faster than we did, and so got farther and farther away from
+us. The fire lighted up the sea for a good distance, and every time we
+rose on the top of a wave, some of us looked about to see if we could
+see anything of the other boats. But we saw nothing of them. Once I
+caught sight of a black spot on a high wave at quite a distance, which I
+thought might be a boat, but no one else saw it, and it was gone in an
+instant. The captain said it<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[249]</a></span> made no real difference to us whether we
+saw the other boats or not; they could not help us. All the help we had
+to expect was from some passing ship, which might see us, and pick us
+up. He was very encouraging, though, about this, for he said we were
+right in the track of vessels bound North, which all sought the Gulf
+Stream; and, besides, a burning ship at night would attract the
+attention of vessels at a great distance, and some of them would be sure
+to make for us.</p>
+
+<p>"We'll see a sail in the morning," said he; "make up your minds to that.
+All we've got to do is to stick together on the raft, and we're almost
+sure to be picked up."</p>
+
+<p>I think he said things like this to give courage to us three, but I
+don't believe we needed it, particularly. Rectus was very quiet, but I
+think that if he could have kept himself dry he would have been pretty
+well satisfied to float until daylight, for he had full faith in the
+captain, and was sure we should be picked up. I was pretty much of the
+same mind, but poor Corny was in a sad way. It was no comfort to her to
+tell her that we should be picked up, unless she could be assured that
+the same ship would pick up her father and mother. But we could say
+nothing positive about this, of course, although we did all that we
+could, in a general way, to make her feel that everything would turn out
+all right. She sat wrapped up in her shawl, and seldom said a word. But
+her eyes were wandering all over the waves, looking for a boat.</p>
+
+<p>The ship was now quite a long way off, still burn<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[250]</a></span>ing, and lighting up
+the tops of the waves and the sky. Just before day-break, her light
+suddenly went out.</p>
+
+<p>"She's gone down!" said the captain, and then he said no more for a long
+time. I felt very sorry for him. Even if he should be saved, he had lost
+his ship,&mdash;had seen it burn up and sink before his eyes. Such a thing
+must be pretty hard on a captain. Even I felt as if I had lost a friend.
+The old "Tigris" seemed so well known to us.</p>
+
+<p>It was now more dismal than ever. It was darker; and although the
+burning ship could do us no good, we were sorry to have her leave us.
+Nobody said much, but we all began to feel pretty badly. Morning came
+slowly, and we were wet and cold, and getting stiff. Besides, we were
+all very thirsty, and I, for one, was hungry; but there was no good
+reason for that, for it was not yet breakfast-time. Fortunately, after a
+while, Corny went to sleep. We were very glad of it, though how she
+managed to sleep while the raft was rising and falling and sliding and
+sloshing from one wave to another, I can't tell. But she didn't have
+much holding on to do. We did that for her.</p>
+
+<p>At last daylight came, and then we began to look about in good earnest.
+We saw a top-sail off on the horizon, but it was too far for our raft to
+be seen from it, and it might be coming our way or it might not. When we
+were down in the trough of the waves we could see nothing, and no one
+could have seen us. It was of no use to put up a signal, the captain
+said, until we saw a vessel near enough to see it.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[251]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>We waited, and we waited, and waited, until it was well on in the
+morning, and still we saw no other sail. The one we had seen had
+disappeared entirely.</p>
+
+<p>We all began to feel miserable now. We were weak and cold and wretched.
+There wasn't a thing to eat or drink on the raft. The fire had given no
+time to get anything. Some of the men began to grumble. It would have
+been better, they said, to have started off as soon as they found out
+the fire, and have had time to put something to eat and drink on the
+raft. It was all wasted time to try to save the ship. It did no good,
+after all. The captain said nothing to this. He knew that he had done
+his duty in trying to put out the fire, and he just kept his mouth shut,
+and looked out for a sail. There was one man with us&mdash;a red-faced,
+yellow-haired man&mdash;with a curly beard, and little gold rings in his
+ears. He looked more like a sailor than any other of the men, and Rectus
+and I always put him down for the sailor who had been longer at sea, and
+knew more about ships and sailing, than any other of the crew. But this
+man was the worst grumbler of the lot, now, and we altered our opinion
+about him.</p>
+
+<p>Corny woke up every now and then, but she soon went to sleep again, when
+she found there was no boat or sail in sight. At least, I thought she
+went to sleep, but she might have been thinking and crying. She was so
+crouched up that we could not see whether she was awake or not.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[252]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>CHAPTER XX.</h2>
+
+<h3>THE RUSSIAN BARK.</h3>
+
+
+<p>We soon began to think the captain was mistaken in saying there would be
+lots of ships coming this way. But then, we couldn't see very far. Ships
+may have passed within a few miles of us, without our knowing anything
+about it. It was very different from being high up on a ship's deck, or
+in her rigging. Sometimes, though, we seemed high enough up, when we got
+on the top of a wave.</p>
+
+<p>It was fully noon before we saw another sail. And when we saw this one
+for the second or third time (for we only caught a glimpse of it every
+now and then), a big man, who had been sitting on the edge of the raft,
+and hardly ever saying a word, sung out:</p>
+
+<p>"I believe that's a Russian bark."</p>
+
+<p>And after he had had two or three more sights at her, he said:</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, I know she is."</p>
+
+<p>"That's so," said the captain; "and she's bearing down on us."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[253]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Now, how in the world they knew what sort of a ship that was, and which
+way it was sailing, I couldn't tell for the life of me. To me it was a
+little squarish spot on the lower edge of the sky, and I have always
+thought that I could see well enough. But these sailors have eyes like
+spy-glasses.</p>
+
+<p>Now, then, we were all alive, and began to get ready to put up a signal.
+Fortunately, the pole was on the raft,&mdash;I believe the captain had it
+fastened on, thinking we might want it,&mdash;and now all we had to do was to
+make a flag. We three got out our handkerchiefs, which were wet, but
+white enough yet, and the captain took out his. We tied them together by
+the corners, and made a long pennant of them. When we tied one end of
+this to the pole, it made quite a show. The wind soon dried it, after
+the pole was hoisted and held up, and then our flag fluttered finely.</p>
+
+<p>The sun had now come out quite bright and warm, which was a good thing
+for us, for it dried us off somewhat, and made us more comfortable. The
+wind had also gone down a good deal. If it had not been for these two
+things, I don't know how we could have stood it. But the waves were
+still very high.</p>
+
+<p>Every time we saw the ship, she seemed to look bigger and bigger, and we
+knew that the captain was right, and that she was making for us. But she
+was a long time coming. Even after she got so near that we could plainly
+see her hull and masts and sails, she did not seem to be sailing
+directly toward us. Indeed, sometimes I thought she didn't notice us.
+She would go far off one way, and then off the other way.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[254]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Oh, why don't she come right to us?" cried Corny, beating her hands on
+her knees. "She isn't as near now as she was half an hour ago."</p>
+
+<p>This was the first time that Corny had let herself out in this way, but
+I don't wonder she did it. The captain explained that the ship couldn't
+sail right to us, because the wind was not in the proper direction for
+that. She had to tack. If she had been a steamer, the case would have
+been different. We all sat and waited, and waved our flag.</p>
+
+<p>She came nearer and nearer, and it was soon plain enough that she saw
+us. The captain told us that it was all right now&mdash;all we had to do was
+to keep up our courage, and we'd soon be on board the bark. But when the
+men who were holding the pole let it down, he told them to put it up
+again. He wanted to make sure they should see us.</p>
+
+<p>At last, the bark came so near that we could see the people on board,
+but still she went past us. This was the hardest to bear of all, for she
+seemed so near. But when she tacked and came back, she sailed right down
+to us. We could see her all the time now, whether we were up or down.</p>
+
+<p>"She'll take us this time," said the captain.</p>
+
+<p>I supposed that when the ship came near us she would stop and lower a
+boat, but there seemed to be no intention of the kind. A group of men
+stood in her bow, and I saw that one of them held a round life-preserver
+in his hand,&mdash;it was one of the India-rubber kind, filled with air, and
+to it a line was attached. When the ship was just opposite to us, this
+man<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[255]</a></span> shouted something which I did not hear, and threw the
+life-preserver. It fell close to the raft. I thought, indeed, it was
+coming right into the midst of us. The red-faced man with the gold
+ear-rings was nearest to it. He made a grab at it, and missed it. On
+went the ship, and on went the life-preserver, skipping and dancing over
+the waves. They let out lots of line, but still the life-preserver was
+towed away.</p>
+
+<p>A regular howl went up from our raft. I thought some of the men would
+jump into the sea and swim after the ship, which was now rapidly leaving
+us. We heard a shout from the vessel, but what it meant I did not know.
+On she went, and on, as if she was never coming back.</p>
+
+<p>"She'll come back," said the captain. "She'll tack again."</p>
+
+<p>But it was hard to believe him. I don't know whether he believed
+himself. Corny was wildly crying now, and Rectus was as white as a
+sheet. No one seemed to have any hope or self-control except the
+captain. Some of the men looked as if they did not care whether the ship
+ever came back or not.</p>
+
+<p>"The sea is too high," said one of them. "She'd swamp a boat, if she'd
+put it out."</p>
+
+<p>"Just you wait!" said the captain.</p>
+
+<p>The bark sailed away so far that I shut my eyes. I could not look after
+her any more. Then, as we rose on the top of a wave, I heard a rumble of
+words among the men, and I looked out, and saw she was tacking. Before
+long, she was sailing straight back to us, and the most dreadful moments
+of my life were ended. I<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[256]</a></span> had really not believed that she would ever
+return to us.</p>
+
+<p>Again she came plowing along before us, the same group on her bow; again
+the life-preserver was thrown, and this time the captain seized it.</p>
+
+<p>In a moment the line was made fast to the raft. But there was no sudden
+tug. The men on the bark knew better than that. They let out some two or
+three hundred feet of line and lay to, with their sails fluttering in
+the wind.</p>
+
+<p>Then they began to haul us in. I don't remember much more of what
+happened just about this time. It was all a daze of high black hull and
+tossing waves, and men overhead, and ropes coming down, and seeing Corny
+hauled up into the air. After a while, I was hauled up, and Rectus went
+before me. I was told afterward that some of the stoutest men could
+scarcely help themselves, they were so cramped and stiff, and had to be
+hoisted on board like sheep.</p>
+
+<p>I know that when I put my feet on the deck, my knees were so stiff that
+I could not stand. Two women had Corny between them, and were carrying
+her below. I was so delighted to see that there were women on board.
+Rectus and I were carried below, too, and three or four rough looking
+fellows, who didn't speak a word that we could understand, set to work
+at us and took off our clothes, and rubbed us with warm stuff, and gave
+us some hot tea and gruel, and I don't know what else, and put us into
+hammocks, and stuffed blankets around us, and made me feel warmer, and
+happier, and more grateful and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[257]</a></span> sleepy than I thought it was in me to
+feel. I expect Rectus felt the same. In about five minutes, I was fast
+asleep.</p>
+
+<p>I don't know how long it was before I woke up. When I opened my eyes, I
+just lay and looked about me. I did not care for times and seasons. I
+knew I was all right. I wondered when they would come around again with
+gruel. I had an idea they lived on gruel in that ship, and I remembered
+that it was very good. After a while, a man did come around, and he
+looked into my hammock. I think from his cap that he was an
+officer,&mdash;probably a doctor. When he saw that I was awake, he said
+something to me. I had seen some Russian words in print, and the letters
+all seemed upside down, or lying sideways on the page. And that was
+about the way he spoke. But he went and got me a cup of tea, and some
+soup, and some bread, and I understood his food very well.</p>
+
+<p>After a while, our captain came around to my hammock. He looked a great
+deal better than when I saw him last, and said he had had a good sleep.
+He told me that Corny was all right, and was sleeping again, and that
+the mate's wife had her in charge. Rectus was in a hammock near me, and
+I could hear him snore, as if he were perfectly happy. The captain said
+that these Russian people were just as kind as they could be; that the
+master of the bark, who could speak English, had put his vessel under
+his&mdash;our captain's&mdash;command, and told him to cruise around wherever he
+chose in search of the two boats.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[258]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"And did you find them?" I asked.</p>
+
+<p>"No," said he. "We have been on the search now for twenty-four hours,
+and can see nothing of them. But I feel quite sure they have been picked
+up. They could row, and they could get further into the course of
+vessels than we were. We'll find them when we get ashore."</p>
+
+<p>The captain was a hopeful man, but I could not feel as cheerfully as he
+spoke. All that I could say was: "Poor Corny!"</p>
+
+<p>He did not answer me, but went away; and soon, in spite of all my doubts
+and fears, I fell asleep.</p>
+
+<p>The next time I woke up, I got out of my hammock, and found I was pretty
+much all right. My clothes had been dried and ironed, I reckon, and were
+lying on a chest all ready for me. While Rectus and I were dressing, for
+he got up at the same time that I did, our captain came to us, and
+brought me a little package of greenbacks.</p>
+
+<p>"The master of the bark gave me these," said the captain, "and said they
+were pinned in your watch-pocket. He has had them dried and pressed out
+for you."</p>
+
+<p>There it was, all the money belonging to Rectus and myself, which,
+according to old Mr. Colbert's advice, I had carefully pinned in the
+watch-pocket of my trousers before leaving Nassau. I asked the captain
+if we should not pay something for our accommodations on this vessel,
+but he said we must not mention anything of the kind. The people on the
+ship would not listen to it. Even our watches seemed to have<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[259]</a></span> suffered
+no damage from the soaking they had had in our wet clothes.</p>
+
+<p>As soon as we were ready, we went up on deck, and there we saw Corny.
+She was sitting by herself near the stern, and looked like a different
+kind of a girl from what she had been two or three days before. She
+seemed several years older.</p>
+
+<p>"Do you really think the other boats were picked up?" she said, the
+moment she saw us.</p>
+
+<p>Poor thing! She began to cry as soon as she began to speak. Of course,
+we sat down and talked to her, and said everything we could think of to
+reassure her. And in about half an hour she began to be much more
+cheerful, and to look as if the world might have something satisfactory
+in it after all.</p>
+
+<p>Our captain and the master of the bark now came to us. The Russian
+master was a pleasant man, and talked pretty good English. I think he
+was glad to see us, but what we said in the way of thanks embarrassed
+him a good deal. I suppose he had never done much at rescuing people.</p>
+
+<p>He and our captain both told us that they felt quite sure that the boats
+had either reached the Florida coast or been picked up; for we had
+cruised very thoroughly over the course they must have taken. We were a
+little north of Cape <ins title="Transcriber's Note: original reads 'Canavaral'">Canaveral</ins> when the "Tigris" took fire.</p>
+
+<p>About sundown that day, we reached the mouth of the Savannah river and
+went on board a tug to go up to the city, while our bark would proceed
+on her voyage. There were fourteen grateful people who went<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[260]</a></span> down the
+side of that Russian bark to the little tug that we had signalled; and
+some of us, I know, were sorry we could not speak Russian, so we could
+tell our rescuers more plainly what we thought of them.</p>
+
+<p>When we reached Savannah, we went directly to the hotel where Rectus and
+I had stopped on our former visit, and there we found ourselves the
+objects of great attention,&mdash;I don't mean we three particularly, but the
+captain and all of us. We brought the news of the burning of the
+"Tigris," and so we immediately knew that nothing had been heard of the
+two boats. Corny was taken in charge by some of the ladies in the hotel,
+and Rectus and I told the story of the burning and the raft twenty or
+thirty times. The news created a great sensation, and was telegraphed to
+all parts of the country. The United States government sent a revenue
+cutter from Charleston, and one from St. Augustine, to cruise along the
+coast, and endeavor to find some traces of the survivors, if there were
+any.</p>
+
+<p>But two days passed and no news came. We thought Corny would go crazy.</p>
+
+<p>"I know they're dead," she said. "If they were alive, anywhere, we'd
+hear from them."</p>
+
+<p>But we would not admit that, and tried, in every way, to prove that the
+people in the boats might have landed somewhere where they could not
+communicate with us, or might have been picked up by a vessel which had
+carried them to South America, or Europe, or some other distant place.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, why don't we go look for them, then, if<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[261]</a></span> there's any chance of
+their being on some desert island? It's dreadful to sit here and wait,
+and wait, and do nothing."</p>
+
+<p>Now I began to see the good of being rich. Rectus came to me, soon after
+Corny had been talking about going to look for her father and mother,
+and he said:</p>
+
+<p>"Look here, Will,"&mdash;he had begun to call me "Will," of late, probably
+because Corny called me so,&mdash;"I think it <i>is</i> too bad that we should
+just sit here and do nothing. I spoke to Mr. Parker about it, and he
+says, we can get a tug-boat, he thinks, and go out and do what looking
+we can. If it eases our minds, he says, there's no objection to it. So
+I'm going to telegraph to father to let me hire a tug-boat."</p>
+
+<p>I thought this was a first-class idea, and we went to see Messrs. Parker
+and Darrell, who were merchants in the city, and the owners of the
+"Tigris." They had been very kind to us, and told us now that they did
+not suppose it would do any real good for us to go out in a tug-boat and
+search along the coast, but that if we thought it would help the poor
+girl to bear her trouble they were in favor of the plan. They were
+really afraid she would lose her reason if she did not do something.</p>
+
+<p>Corny was now staying at Mr. Darrell's house. His wife, who was a
+tip-top lady, insisted that she should come there. When we went around
+to talk to Corny about making a search, she said that that was exactly
+what she wanted to do. If we would take her out to look for her father
+and mother, and we couldn't find<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[262]</a></span> them after we had looked all we could,
+she would come back, and ask nothing more.</p>
+
+<p>Then we determined to go. We hadn't thought of taking Corny along, but
+Mr. Darrell and the others thought it would be best; and Mrs. Darrell
+said her own colored woman, named Celia, should go with her, and take
+care of her. I could not do anything but agree to things, but Rectus
+telegraphed to his father, and got authority to hire a tug; and Mr.
+Parker attended to the business himself; and the tug was to be ready
+early the next morning. We thought this was a long time to wait. But it
+couldn't be helped.</p>
+
+<p>I forgot to say that Rectus and I had telegraphed home to our parents as
+soon as we reached Savannah, and had answers back, which were very long
+ones for telegrams. We had also written home. But we did not say
+anything to Corny about all this. It would have broken her heart if she
+had thought about any one writing to his father and mother, and hearing
+from them.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[263]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>CHAPTER XXI.</h2>
+
+<h3>THE TRIP OF THE TUG.</h3>
+
+
+<p>The tug-boat was a little thing, and not very clean; but she was strong
+and sea-worthy, we were told, and therefore we were satisfied. There was
+a small deck aft, on which Corny and Rectus and I sat, with Celia, the
+colored woman; and there were some dingy little sleeping-places, which
+were given up for our benefit. The captain of the tug was a white man,
+but all the rest, engineer, fireman and hands&mdash;there were five or six in
+all&mdash;were negroes.</p>
+
+<p>We steamed down the Savannah River in pretty good style, but I was glad
+when we got out of it, for I was tired of that river. Our plan was to go
+down the coast and try to find tidings of the boats. They might have
+reached land at points where the revenue cutters would never have heard
+from them. When we got out to sea, the water was quite smooth, although
+there was a swell that rolled us a great deal. The captain said that if
+it had been rough he would not have come out at all. This sounded rather
+badly for<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[264]</a></span> us, because he might give up the search, if a little storm
+came on. And besides, if he was afraid of high waves in his tug, what
+chance could those boats have had?</p>
+
+<p>Toward noon, we got into water that was quite smooth, and we could see
+land on the ocean side of us. I couldn't understand this, and went to
+ask the captain about it. He said it was all right, we were going to
+take the inside passage, which is formed by the islands that lie along
+nearly all the coast of Georgia. The strips of sea-water between these
+islands and the mainland make a smooth and convenient passage for the
+smaller vessels that sail or steam along this coast. Indeed, some quite
+good-sized steamers go this way, he said.</p>
+
+<p>I objected, pretty strongly, to our taking this passage, because, I
+said, we could never hear anything of the boats while we were in here.
+But he was positive that if they had managed to land on the outside of
+any of these islands, we could hear of them better from the inside than
+from the ocean side. And besides, we could get along a great deal better
+inside. He seemed to think more of that than anything else.</p>
+
+<p>We had a pretty dull time on that tug. There wasn't a great deal of
+talking, but there was lots of thinking, and not a very pleasant kind of
+thinking either. We stopped quite often and hailed small boats, and the
+captain talked to people whenever he had a chance, but he never heard
+anything about any boats having run ashore on any of the islands, or
+having come into the inside passage, between any of them.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[265]</a></span> We met a few
+sailing vessels, and toward the close of the afternoon we met a big
+steamer, something like northern river steamers. The captain said she
+ran between the St. John's River and Savannah, and always took the
+inside passage as far as she could. He said this as if it showed him to
+be in the right in taking the same passage, but I couldn't see that it
+proved anything. We were on a different business.</p>
+
+<p>About nine o'clock we went to bed, the captain promising to call us if
+anything turned up. But I couldn't sleep well&mdash;my bunk was too close and
+hot, and so I pretty soon got up and went up to the pilot-house, where I
+found the captain. He and one of the hands were hard at work putting the
+boat around.</p>
+
+<p>"Hello!" said he. "I thought you were sound asleep."</p>
+
+<p>"Hello!" said I. "What are you turning round for?"</p>
+
+<p>It was bright starlight, and I could see that we were making a complete
+circuit in the smooth water.</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said he, "we're going back."</p>
+
+<p>"Back!" I cried. "What's the meaning of that? We haven't made half a
+search. I don't believe we've gone a hundred miles. We want to search
+the whole coast, I tell you, to the lower end of Florida."</p>
+
+<p>"You can't do it in this boat," he said; "she's too small."</p>
+
+<p>"Why didn't you say so when we took her?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, there wasn't any other, in the first place, and besides, it
+wouldn't be no good to go no further. It's more 'n four days, now, since
+them boats set out.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[266]</a></span> There's no chance fur anybody on 'em to be livin'."</p>
+
+<p>"That's not for you to decide," I said, and I was very angry. "We want
+to find our friends, dead or alive, or find some news of them, and we
+want to cruise until we know there's no further chance of doing so."</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said he, ringing the bell to go ahead, sharp, "I'm not decidin'
+anything. I had my orders. I was to be gone twenty-four hours; an' it'll
+be more 'n that by the time I get back."</p>
+
+<p>"Who gave you those orders?"</p>
+
+<p>"Parker and Darrell," said he.</p>
+
+<p>"Then this is all a swindle," I cried. "And we've been cheated into
+taking this trip for nothing at all!"</p>
+
+<p>"No, it isn't a swindle," he answered, rather warmly. "They told me all
+about it. They knew, an' I knew, that it wasn't no use to go looking for
+two boats that had been lowered in a big storm four days ago, 'way down
+on the Florida coast. But they could see that this here girl would never
+give in till she'd had a chance of doin' what she thought she was called
+on to do, and so they agreed to give it to her. But they told me on no
+account to keep her out more 'n twenty-four hours. That would be long
+enough to satisfy her, and longer than that wouldn't be right. I tell
+you they know what they're about."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, it wont be enough to satisfy her," I said, and then I went down
+to the little deck. I couldn't make the man turn back. I thought the tug
+had been<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[267]</a></span> hired to go wherever we chose to take her, but I had been
+mistaken. I felt that we had been deceived; but there was no use in
+saying anything more on the subject until we reached the city.</p>
+
+<p>I did not wake Rectus to tell him the news. It would not do any good,
+and I was afraid Corny might hear us. I wanted her to sleep as long as
+she could, and, indeed, I dreaded the moment when she should awake, and
+find that all had been given up.</p>
+
+<p>We steamed along very fast now. There was no stopping anywhere. I sat on
+the deck and thought a little, and dozed a little; and by the time it
+was morning, I found we were in the Savannah River. I now hated this
+river worse than ever.</p>
+
+<p>Everything was quiet on the water, and everything, except the engine,
+was just as quiet on the tug. Rectus and Corny and Celia were still
+asleep, and nobody else seemed stirring, though, of course, some of the
+men were at their posts. I don't think the captain wanted to be about
+when Corny came out on deck, and found that we had given up the search.
+I intended to be with her when she first learned this terrible fact,
+which I knew would put an end to all hope in her heart; but I was in no
+hurry for her to wake up. I very much hoped she would sleep until we
+reached the city, and then we could take her directly to her kind
+friends.</p>
+
+<p>And she did sleep until we reached the city. It was about seven o'clock
+in the morning, I think, when we began to steam slowly by the wharves
+and piers. I now wished the city were twenty miles further on. I<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[268]</a></span> knew
+that when we stopped I should have to wake up poor Corny.</p>
+
+<p>The city looked doleful. Although it was not very early in the morning,
+there were very few people about. Some men could be seen on the decks of
+the vessels at the wharves, and a big steamer for one of the northern
+ports was getting up steam. I could not help thinking how happy the
+people must be who were going away in her. On one of the piers near
+where we were going to stop&mdash;we were coming in now&mdash;were a few darkey
+boys, sitting on a wharf-log, and dangling their bare feet over the
+water. I wondered how they dared laugh, and be so jolly. In a few
+minutes Corny must be wakened. On a post, near these boys, a lounger sat
+fishing with a long pole,&mdash;actually fishing away as if there were no
+sorrows and deaths, or shipwrecked or broken-hearted people in the
+world. I was particularly angry at this man&mdash;and I was so nervous that
+all sorts of things made me angry&mdash;because he was old enough to know
+better, and because he looked like such a fool. He had on green
+trousers, dirty canvas shoes and no stockings, a striped linen coat, and
+an old straw hat, which lopped down over his nose. One of the men called
+to him to catch the line which he was about to throw on the wharf, but
+he paid no attention, and a negro boy came and caught the line. The man
+actually had a bite, and couldn't take his eyes from the cork. I wished
+the line had hit him and knocked him off the post.</p>
+
+<p>The tide was high, and the tug was not much below the wharf when we
+hauled up. Just as we touched<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[269]</a></span> the pier, the man, who was a little
+astern of us, caught his fish. He jerked it up, and jumped off his post,
+and, as he looked up in delight at his little fish, which was swinging
+in the air, I saw he was Mr. Chipperton!</p>
+
+<p>I made one dash for Corny's little cubby-hole. I banged at the door. I
+shouted:</p>
+
+<p>"Corny! Here's your father!"</p>
+
+<p>She was out in an instant. She had slept in her clothes. She had no
+bonnet on. She ran out on deck, and looked about, dazed. The sight of
+the wharves and the ships seemed to stun her.</p>
+
+<p>"Where?" she cried.</p>
+
+<p>I took her by the arm and pointed out her father, who still stood
+holding the fishing-pole in one hand, while endeavoring to clutch the
+swinging fish with the other.</p>
+
+<p>The plank had just been thrown out from the little deck. Corny made one
+bound. I think she struck the plank in the middle, like an India-rubber
+ball, and then she was on the wharf; and before he could bring his eyes
+down to the earth, her arms were around her father's neck, and she was
+wildly kissing and hugging him.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Chipperton was considerably startled, but when he saw who it was who
+had him, he threw his arms around Corny, and hugged and kissed her as if
+he had gone mad.</p>
+
+<p>Rectus was out by this time, and as he and I stood on the tug, we could
+not help laughing, although we were so happy that we could have cried.
+There stood that ridiculous figure, Mr. Chipperton, in his short<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[270]</a></span> green
+trousers and his thin striped coat, with his arms around his daughter,
+and the fishing-pole tightly clasped to her back, while the poor little
+fish dangled and bobbed at every fresh hug.</p>
+
+<p>Everybody on board was looking at them, and one of the little black
+boys, who didn't appear to appreciate sentiment, made a dash for the
+fish, unhooked it, and put like a good fellow. This rather broke the
+spell that was on us all, and Rectus and I ran on shore.</p>
+
+<p>We did not ask any questions, we were too glad to see him. After he had
+put Corny on one side, and had shaken our hands wildly with his left
+hand, for his right still held the pole, and had tried to talk and found
+he couldn't, we called a carriage that had just come up, and hustled him
+and Corny into it. I took the pole from his hand, and asked him where he
+would go to. He called out the name of the hotel where we were staying,
+and I shut the door, and sent them off. I did not ask a word about
+Corny's mother, for I knew Mr. Chipperton would not be sitting on a post
+and fishing if his wife was dead.</p>
+
+<p>I threw the pole and line away, and then Rectus and I walked up to the
+hotel. We forgot all about Celia, who was left to go home when she
+chose.</p>
+
+<p>It was some hours before we saw the Chippertons, and then we were called
+into their room, where there was a talking and a telling things, such as
+I never heard before.</p>
+
+<p>It was some time before I could get Mr. and Mrs. Chipperton's story
+straight, but this was about the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[271]</a></span> amount of it: They were picked up
+sooner than we were&mdash;just after day-break. When they left the ship, they
+rowed as hard as they could, for several hours, and so got a good
+distance from us. It was well they met with a vessel as soon as they
+did, for all the women who had been on the steamer were in this boat,
+and they had a hard time of it. The water dashed over them very often,
+and Mr. Chipperton thought that some of them could not have held out
+much longer (I wondered what they would have done on our raft).</p>
+
+<p>The vessel that picked them up was a coasting schooner bound to one of
+the Florida Keys, and she wouldn't put back with them, for she was under
+some sort of a contract, and kept right straight on her way. When they
+got down there, they chartered a vessel which brought them up to
+Fernandina, where they took the steamer for Savannah. They were on the
+very steamer we passed in the inside passage. If we had only known that!</p>
+
+<p>They telegraphed the moment they reached Fernandina, and proposed
+stopping at St. Augustine, but it was thought they could make better
+time by keeping right on to Fernandina. The telegram reached Savannah
+after we had left on the tug.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Chipperton said he got his fancy clothes on board the schooner. He
+bought them of a man&mdash;a passenger, I believe&mdash;who had an extra suit.</p>
+
+<p>"I think," said Mr. Chipperton, "he was the only man on that mean little
+vessel who had two suits of clothes. I don't know whether these were his
+week<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[272]</a></span>day or his Sunday clothes. As for my own, they were so wet that I
+took them off the moment I got on board the schooner, and I never saw
+them again. I don't know what became of them, and, to tell the truth, I
+haven't thought of 'em. I was too glad to get started for Savannah,
+where I knew we'd meet Corny, if she was alive. You see, I trusted in
+you boys."</p>
+
+<p>Just here, Mrs. Chipperton kissed us both again. This made several times
+that she had done it. We didn't care so much, as there was no one there
+but ourselves and the Chippertons.</p>
+
+<p>"When we got here, and found you had gone to look for us, I wanted to
+get another tug and go right after you, but my wife was a good deal
+shaken up, and I did not want to leave her; and Parker and Darrell said
+they had given positive orders to have you brought back this morning, so
+I waited. I was only too glad to know you were all safe. I got up early
+in the morning, and went down to watch for you. You must have been
+surprised to see me fishing, but I had nothing else to do, and so I
+hired a pole and line of a boy. It helped very much to pass the time
+away."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Rectus, "you didn't notice us at all, you were so much
+interested."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, you see," said Mr. Chipperton, "I had a bite just at that minute;
+and, besides, I really did not look for you on such a little boat. I had
+an idea you would come on something more respectable than that."</p>
+
+<p>"As if we should ever think of respectability at such a time!" said Mrs.
+Chipperton, with tears in her eyes.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[273]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"As for you boys," said Mr. Chipperton, getting up and taking us each by
+the hand, "I don't know what to say to you."</p>
+
+<p>I thought, for my part, that they had all said enough already. They had
+praised and thanked us for things we had never thought of.</p>
+
+<p>"I almost wish you were orphans," he continued, "so that I might adopt
+you. But a boy can't have more than one father. However, I tell you! a
+boy can have as many uncles as he pleases. I'll be an uncle to each of
+you as long as I live. Ever after this call me Uncle Chipperton. Do you
+hear that?"</p>
+
+<p>We heard, and said we'd do it.</p>
+
+<p>Soon after this, lots of people came in, and the whole thing was gone
+over again and again. I am sorry to say that, at one or two places in
+the story, Mrs. Chipperton kissed us both again.</p>
+
+<p>Before we went down to dinner, I asked Uncle Chipperton how his lung had
+stood it, through all this exposure.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, bother the lung!" he said. "I tell you; boys, I've lost faith in
+that lung,&mdash;at least, in there being anything the matter with it. I
+shall travel for it no more."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[274]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>CHAPTER XXII.</h2>
+
+<h3>LOOKING AHEAD.</h3>
+
+
+<p>"We have made up our minds," said Uncle Chipperton, that afternoon, "to
+go home and settle down, and let Corny go to school. I hate to send her
+away from us, but it will be for her good. But that wont be until next
+fall. We'll keep her until then. And now, I'll tell you what I think
+we'd all better do. It's too soon to go North yet. No one should go from
+the soft climate of the semi-tropics to the Northern or Middle States
+until mild weather has fairly set in there. And that will not happen for
+a month yet.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, this is my plan. Let us all take a leisurely trip homeward by the
+way of Mobile, and New Orleans and the Mississippi River. This will be
+just the season, and we shall be just the party. What do you say?"</p>
+
+<p>Everybody, but me, said it would be splendid. I had exactly the same
+idea about it, but I didn't say so, for there was no use in it. I
+couldn't go on a trip<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[275]</a></span> like that. I had been counting up my money that
+morning, and found I would have to shave pretty closely to get home by
+rail,&mdash;and I wanted, very much, to go that way&mdash;although it would be
+cheaper to return by sea,&mdash;for I had a great desire to go through North
+and South Carolina and Virginia, and see Washington. It would have
+seemed like a shame to go back by sea, and miss all this. But, as I
+said, I had barely enough money for this trip, and to make it I must
+start the next day. And there was no use writing home for money. I knew
+there was none there to spare, and I wouldn't have asked for it if there
+had been. If there was any travelling money, some of the others ought to
+have it. I had had my share.</p>
+
+<p>It was very different with Rectus and the Chippertons. They could afford
+to take this trip, and there was no reason why they shouldn't take it.</p>
+
+<p>When I told them this, Uncle Chipperton flashed up in a minute, and said
+that that was all stuff and nonsense,&mdash;the trip shouldn't cost me a
+cent. What was the sense, he said, of thinking of a few dollars when
+such pleasure was in view? He would see that I had no money-troubles,
+and if that was all, I could go just as well as not. Didn't he owe me
+thousands of dollars?</p>
+
+<p>All this was very kind, but it didn't suit me. I knew that he did not
+owe me a cent, for if I had done anything for him, I made no charge for
+it. And even if I had been willing to let him pay my expenses,&mdash;which I
+wasn't,&mdash;my father would never have listened to it.</p>
+
+<p>So I thanked him, but told him the thing couldn't be<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[276]</a></span> worked in that
+way, and I said it over and over again, until, at last, he believed it.
+Then he offered to lend me the money necessary, but this offer I had to
+decline, too. As I had no way of paying it back, I might as well have
+taken it as a gift. There wasn't anything he could offer, after this,
+except to get me a free pass; and as he had no way of doing that, he
+gave up the job, and we all went down to supper. That evening, as I was
+putting a few things into a small valise which I had bought,&mdash;as our
+trunks were lost on the "Tigris," I had very little trouble in packing
+up,&mdash;I said to Rectus that by the time he started off he could lay in a
+new stock of clothes. I had made out our accounts, and had his money
+ready to hand over to him, but I knew that his father had arranged for
+him to draw on a Savannah bank, both for the tug-boat money and for
+money for himself. I think that Mr. Colbert would have authorized me to
+do this drawing, if Rectus had not taken the matter into his own hands
+when he telegraphed. But it didn't matter, and there wasn't any tug-boat
+money to pay, any way, for Uncle Chipperton paid that. He said it had
+all been done for his daughter, and he put his foot down hard, and
+wouldn't let Rectus hand over a cent.</p>
+
+<p>"I wont have any more time than you will have," replied Rectus, "for I'm
+going to-morrow."</p>
+
+<p>"I didn't suppose they'd start so soon," I said "I'm sure there's no
+need of any hurry."</p>
+
+<p>"I'm not going with them," said Rectus, putting a lonely shirt into a
+trunk that he had bought. "I'm going home with you."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[277]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>I was so surprised at this that I just stared at him.</p>
+
+<p>"What do you mean?" said I.</p>
+
+<p>"Mean?" said he. "Why, just what I say. Do you suppose I'd go off with
+them, and let you straggle up home by yourself? Not any for me, thank
+you. And besides, I thought you were to take charge of me. How would you
+look going back and saying you'd turned me over to another party?"</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 226px;">
+<img src="images/gs20.png" width="226" height="200" alt="&quot;YOU&#39;RE A REGULAR YOUNG TRUMP.&quot;" title="&quot;YOU&#39;RE A REGULAR YOUNG TRUMP.&quot;" />
+<span class="caption">&quot;YOU&#39;RE A REGULAR YOUNG TRUMP.&quot;</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"You thought I was to take charge of you, did you?" I cried. "Well,
+you're a long time saying so. You never admitted that before."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[278]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I had better sense than that," said Rectus, with a grin. "But I don't
+mind saying so now, as we're pretty near through with our travels. But
+father told me expressly that I was to consider myself in your charge."</p>
+
+<p>"You young rascal!" said I. "And he thought that you understood it so
+well that there was no need of saying much to me about it. All that he
+said expressly to me was about taking care of your money. But I tell you
+what it is, Rectus, you're a regular young trump to give up that trip,
+and go along with me."</p>
+
+<p>And I gave him a good slap on the back.</p>
+
+<p>He winced at this, and let drive a pillow at me, so hard that it nearly
+knocked me over a chair.</p>
+
+<p>The next morning, after an early breakfast, we went to bid the
+Chippertons good-bye. We intended to walk to the d&eacute;p&ocirc;t, and so wanted to
+start early. I was now cutting down all extra expenses.</p>
+
+<p>"Ready so soon!" cried Uncle Chipperton, appearing at the door of his
+room. "Why, we haven't had our breakfast yet."</p>
+
+<p>"We have to make an early start, if we go by the morning train," said I,
+"and we wanted to see you all before we started."</p>
+
+<p>"Glad to see you at any hour of the night or day,&mdash;always very glad to
+see you; but I think we had better be getting our breakfast, if the
+train goes so early."</p>
+
+<p>"Are you going to start to-day?" I asked, in surprise.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[279]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Certainly," said he. "Why shouldn't we? I bought a new suit of clothes
+yesterday, and my wife and Corny look well enough for travelling
+purposes. We can start as well as not, and I'd go in my green trousers
+if I hadn't any others. My dear," he said, looking into the room, "you
+and Corny must come right down to breakfast."</p>
+
+<p>"But perhaps you need not hurry," I said. "I don't know when the train
+for Mobile starts."</p>
+
+<p>"Mobile!" he cried. "Who's going to Mobile? Do you suppose that <i>we</i>
+are? Not a bit of it. When I proposed that trip, I didn't propose it for
+Mrs. Chipperton, or Corny, or myself, or you, or Rectus, or Tom, or
+Dick, or Harry. I proposed it for all of us. If all of us cannot go,
+none of us can. If you must go north this morning, so must we. We've
+nothing to pack, and that's a comfort. Nine o'clock, did you say? You
+may go on to the d&eacute;p&ocirc;t, if you like, and we'll eat our breakfasts, take
+a carriage, and be there in time."</p>
+
+<p>They were there in time, and we all went north together.</p>
+
+<p>We had a jolly trip. We saw Charleston, and Richmond, and Washington,
+and Baltimore, and Philadelphia; and at last we saw Jersey City, and our
+folks waiting for us in the great d&eacute;p&ocirc;t of the Pennsylvania railroad.</p>
+
+<p>When I saw my father and mother and my sister Helen standing there on
+the stone foot-walk, as the cars rolled in, I was amazed. I hadn't
+expected them. It was all right enough for Rectus to expect<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[280]</a></span> his father
+and mother, for they lived in New York, but I had supposed that I should
+meet my folks at the station in Willisville. But it was a capital idea
+in them to come to New York. They said they couldn't wait at home, and
+besides, they wanted to see and know the Chippertons, for we all seemed
+so bound together, now.</p>
+
+<p>Well, it wasn't hard to know the Chippertons. Before we reached the
+hotel where my folks were staying, and where we all went to take
+luncheon together, any one would have thought that Uncle Chipperton was
+really a born brother to father and old Mr. Colbert. How he did talk!
+How everybody talked! Except Helen. She just sat and listened and looked
+at Corny&mdash;a girl who had been shipwrecked, and had been on a little raft
+in the midst of the stormy billows. My mother and the two other ladies
+cried a good deal, but it was a sunshiny sort of crying, and wouldn't
+have happened so often, I think, if Mrs. Chipperton had not been so
+ready to lead off.</p>
+
+<p>After luncheon we sat for two or three hours in one of the parlors, and
+talked, and talked, and talked. It was a sort of family congress.
+Everybody told everybody else what he or she was going to do, and took
+information of the same kind in trade. I was to go to college in the
+fall, but as that had been pretty much settled long ago, it couldn't be
+considered as news. I looked well enough, my father said, to do all the
+hard studying that was needed; and the professor was anxiously waiting
+to put me through a course of training for the happy lot of Freshman.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[281]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"But he's not going to begin his studies as soon as he gets home," said
+my mother. "We're going to have him to ourselves for a while." And I did
+not doubt that. I hadn't been gone very long, to be sure, but then a
+ship had been burned from under me, and that counted for about a year's
+absence.</p>
+
+<p>Corny's fate had been settled, too, in a general way, but the discussion
+that went on about a good boarding-school for her showed that a
+particular settlement might take some time. Uncle Chipperton wanted her
+to go to some school near his place on the Hudson River, so that he
+could drive over and see her every day or two, and Mrs. Colbert said she
+thought that that wouldn't do, because no girl could study as she ought
+to, if her father was coming to see her all the time, and Uncle
+Chipperton wanted to know what possible injury she thought he would do
+his daughter by going to see her; and Mrs. Colbert said, none at all, of
+course she didn't mean that, and Mrs. Chipperton said that Corny and her
+father ought really to go to the same school, and then we all laughed,
+and my father put in quickly, and asked about Rectus. It was easy to see
+that it would take all summer to get a school for Corny.</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Mr. Colbert, "I've got a place for Sammy. Right in my
+office. He's to be a man of business, you know. He never took much to
+schooling. I sent him travelling so that he could see the world, and get
+himself in trim for dealing with it. And that's what we have to do in
+our business. Deal with the world."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[282]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>I didn't like this, and I don't think Rectus did, either. He walked over
+to one of the windows, and looked out into the street.</p>
+
+<p>"I'll tell you what I think, sir," said I. "Rectus&mdash;I mean your son
+Samuel, only I shall never call him so&mdash;has seen enough of the world to
+make him so wide awake that he sees more in schooling than he used to.
+That's my opinion!"</p>
+
+<p>I knew that Rectus rather envied my going to college, for he had said as
+much on the trip home; and I knew that he had hoped his father would let
+him make a fresh start with the professor at our old school.</p>
+
+<p>"Sammy," cried out Mrs. Colbert,&mdash;"Sammy, my son, do you want to go to
+school, and finish up your education, or go into your father's office,
+and learn to be a merchant?"</p>
+
+<p>Rectus turned around from the window.</p>
+
+<p>"There's no hurry about the merchant," he said. "I want to go to school
+and college, first."</p>
+
+<p>"And that's just where you're going," said his mother, with her face
+reddening up a little more than common.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Colbert grinned a little, but said nothing. I suppose he thought it
+would be of no use, and I had an idea, too, that he was very glad to
+have Rectus determine on a college career. I know the rest of us were.
+And we didn't hold back from saying so, either.</p>
+
+<p>Uncle Chipperton now began to praise Rectus, and he told what
+obligations the boy had put him under in Nassau, when he wrote to his
+father, and had that suit<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[283]</a></span> about the property stopped, and so relieved
+him&mdash;Uncle Chipperton&mdash;from cutting short his semi-tropical trip, and
+hurrying home to New York in the middle of winter.</p>
+
+<p>"But the suit isn't stopped," said Mr. Colbert. "You don't suppose I
+would pay any attention to a note like the one Sammy sent me, do you? I
+just let the suit go on, of course. It has not been decided yet, but I
+expect to gain it."</p>
+
+<p>At this, Uncle Chipperton grew very angry indeed. It was astonishing to
+see how quickly he blazed up. He had supposed the whole thing settled,
+and now to find that the terrible injustice&mdash;as he considered it&mdash;was
+still going on, was too much for him.</p>
+
+<p>"Do you sit there and tell me that, sir?" he exclaimed, jumping up and
+skipping over to Mr. Colbert. "Do you call yourself&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Father!" cried Corny. "Keep perfectly cool! Remain just where you are!"</p>
+
+<p>Uncle Chipperton stopped as if he had run against a fence. His favorite
+advice went straight home to him.</p>
+
+<p>"Very good, my child," said he, turning to Corny. "That's just what I'll
+do."</p>
+
+<p>And he said no more about it.</p>
+
+<p>Now, everybody began to talk about all sorts of things, so as to seem as
+if they hadn't noticed this little rumpus, and we agreed that we must
+all see each other again the next day. Father said he should remain in
+the city for a few days, now that we were all here, and Uncle Chipperton
+did not intend to go to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[284]</a></span> his country-place until the weather was warmer.
+We were speaking of several things that would be pleasant to do
+together, when Uncle Chipperton broke in with a proposition:</p>
+
+<p>"I'll tell you what I am going to do. I am going to give a dinner to
+this party. I can't invite you to my house, but I shall engage a parlor
+in a restaurant, where I have given dinners before (we always come to
+New York when I want to give dinners&mdash;it's so much easier for us to come
+to the city than for a lot of people to come out to our place), and
+there I shall give you a dinner, to-morrow evening. Nobody need say
+anything against this. I've settled it, and I can't be moved."</p>
+
+<p>As he couldn't be moved, no one tried to move him.</p>
+
+<p>"I tell you what it is," said Rectus privately to me. "If Uncle
+Chipperton is going to give a dinner, according to his own ideas of
+things in general, it will be a curious kind of a meal."</p>
+
+<p>It often happened that Rectus was as nearly right as most people.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[285]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>CHAPTER XXIII.</h2>
+
+<h3>UNCLE CHIPPERTON'S DINNER.</h3>
+
+
+<p>The next day was a busy one for father and mother and myself. All the
+morning we were out, laying in a small stock of baggage, to take the
+place of what I had lost on the "Tigris." But I was very sorry,
+especially on my sister Helen's account, that I had lost so many things
+in my trunk which I could not replace, without going back myself to
+Nassau. I could buy curiosities from those regions that were ever so
+much better than any that I had collected; but I could not buy shells
+that I myself had gathered, nor great seed-pods, like bean-pods two feet
+long, which I had picked from the trees, nor pieces of rock that I
+myself had brought up from a coral-reef.</p>
+
+<p>But these were all gone, and I pacified Helen by assuring her that I
+would tell her such long stories about these things that she could
+almost see them in her mind's eye. But I think, by the way she smiled,
+that she had only a second-rate degree of belief in my<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[286]</a></span> power of
+description. She was a smart little thing, and she believed that Corny
+was the queen of girls.</p>
+
+<p>While I am speaking of the "Tigris" and our losses, I will just say that
+the second boat which left the burning steamer was never heard from.</p>
+
+<p>We reached our hotel about noon, pretty tired, for we had been rushing
+things, as it was necessary for father to go home early the next day. On
+the front steps we found Uncle Chipperton, who had been waiting for us.
+He particularly wanted to see me. He lunched with us, and then he took
+me off to the place where he was to have his dinner, at six o'clock that
+evening. He wanted to consult with me about the arrangements of the
+table; where each person should sit, and all that sort of thing. I
+couldn't see the use in this, because it was only a kind of family
+party, and we should all be sure to get seated, if there were chairs and
+places enough. But Uncle Chipperton wanted to plan and arrange
+everything until he was sure it was just right. That was his way.</p>
+
+<p>After he had settled these important matters, and the head-waiter and
+the proprietor had become convinced that I was a person of much
+consequence, who had to be carefully consulted before anything could be
+done, we went down stairs, and at the street-door Uncle Chipperton
+suddenly stopped me.</p>
+
+<p>"See here," said he, "I want to tell you something. I'm not coming to
+this dinner."</p>
+
+<p>"Not&mdash;coming!" I exclaimed, in amazement.</p>
+
+<p>"No," said he, "I've been thinking it over, and have fully made up my
+mind about it. You see, this<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[287]</a></span> is intended as a friendly reunion,&mdash;an
+occasion of good feeling and fellowship among people who are bound
+together in a very peculiar manner."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," I interrupted, "and that seems to me, sir, the very reason why
+you should be there."</p>
+
+<p>"The very reason why I should not be there," he said. "You see, I
+couldn't sit down with that most perverse and obstinate man, Colbert,
+and feel sure that something or other would not occur which would make
+an outbreak between us, or, at any rate, bad feeling. In fact, I know I
+could not take pleasure in seeing him enjoy food. This may be wrong, but
+I can't help it. It's in me. And I wont be the means of casting a shadow
+over the happy company which will meet here to-night. No one but your
+folks need know I'm not coming. The rest will not know why I am
+detained, and I shall drop in toward the close of the meal, just before
+you break up. I want you to ask your father to take the head of the
+table. He is just the man for such a place, and he ought to have it,
+too, for another reason. You ought to know that this dinner is really
+given to you in your honor. To be sure, Rectus is a good
+fellow&mdash;splendid&mdash;and does everything that he knows how; but my wife and
+I know that we owe all our present happiness to your exertions and good
+sense."</p>
+
+<p>He went on in this way for some time, and although I tried to stop him,
+I couldn't do it.</p>
+
+<p>"Therefore," he continued, "I want your father to preside, and all of
+you to be happy, without a suspicion of a cloud about you. At any rate,
+I shall be no cloud.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[288]</a></span> Come around here early, and see that everything is
+all right. Now I must be off."</p>
+
+<p>And away he went.</p>
+
+<p>I did not like this state of affairs at all. I would have much preferred
+to have no dinner. It was not necessary, any way. If I had had the
+authority, I would have stopped the whole thing. But it was Uncle
+Chipperton's affair, he paid for it, and I had no right to interfere
+with it.</p>
+
+<p>My father liked the matter even less than I did. He said it was a
+strange and unwarrantable performance on the part of Chipperton, and he
+did not understand it. And he certainly did not want to sit at the head
+of the table in another man's place. I could not say anything to him to
+make him feel better about it. I made him feel worse, indeed, when I
+told him that Uncle Chipperton did not want his absence explained, or
+alluded to, any more than could be helped. My father hated to have to
+keep a secret of this kind.</p>
+
+<p>In the afternoon, I went around to the hotel where the Chippertons
+always staid, when they were in New York, to see Corny and her mother. I
+found them rather blue. Uncle Chipperton had not been able to keep his
+plan from them, and they thought it was dreadful. I could not help
+letting them see that I did not like it, and so we didn't have as lively
+a time as we ought to have had.</p>
+
+<p>I supposed that if I went to see Rectus, and told him about the matter,
+I should make him blue, too. But, as I had no right to tell him, and
+also felt a pretty strong desire that some of the folks should come
+with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[289]</a></span> good spirits and appetites, I kept away from him. He would have
+been sure to see that something was the matter.</p>
+
+<p>I was the first person to appear in the dining-room of the restaurant
+where the dinner-table was spread for us. It was a prettily furnished
+parlor in the second story of the house, and the table was very
+tastefully arranged and decorated with flowers. I went early, by myself,
+so as to be sure that everything was exactly right before the guests
+arrived. All seemed perfectly correct; the name of each member of the
+party was on a card by a plate. Even little Helen had her plate and her
+card. It would be her first appearance at a regular dinner-party.</p>
+
+<p>The guests were not punctual. At ten minutes past six, even my father,
+who was the most particular of men in such things, had not made his
+appearance. I waited five, ten, fifteen, twenty minutes more, and became
+exceedingly nervous.</p>
+
+<p>The head-waiter came in and asked if my friends understood the time that
+had been set. The dinner would be spoiled if it were kept much longer. I
+said that I was sure they knew all about the time set, and that there
+was nothing to be done but to wait. It was most unaccountable that they
+should all be late.</p>
+
+<p>I stood before the fireplace and waited, and thought. I ran down to the
+door, and looked up and down the street. I called a waiter and told him
+to look into all the rooms in the house. They might have gone into the
+wrong place. But they were not to be seen anywhere.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[290]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Then I went back to the fireplace, and did some more thinking. There was
+no sense in supposing that they had made a mistake. They all knew this
+restaurant, and they all knew the time. In a moment, I said to myself:</p>
+
+<p>"I know how it is. Father has made up his mind that he will not be mixed
+up in any affair of this kind, where a quarrel keeps the host of the
+party from occupying his proper place, especially as he&mdash;my father&mdash;is
+expected to occupy that place himself. So he and mother and Helen have
+just quietly staid in their rooms at the hotel. Mrs. Chipperton and
+Corny wont come without Uncle Chipperton. They might ride right to the
+door, of course, but they are ashamed, and don't want to have to make
+explanations; and it is ridiculous to suppose that they wont have to be
+made. As for Rectus and his people, they could not have heard anything,
+but,&mdash;I have it. Old Colbert got his back up, too, and wouldn't come,
+either for fear a quarrel would be picked, or because he could take no
+pleasure in seeing Uncle Chipperton enjoying food. And Rectus and his
+mother wouldn't come without him."</p>
+
+<p>It turned out, when I heard from all the parties, that I had got the
+matter exactly right.</p>
+
+<p>"We shall have to make fresh preparations, sir, if we wait any longer,"
+said the head-waiter, coming in with an air of great mental disturbance.</p>
+
+<p>"Don't wait," said I. "Bring in the dinner. At least, enough for me. I
+don't believe any one else will be here."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[291]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The waiter looked bewildered, but he obeyed. I took my seat at the place
+where my card lay, at the middle of one side of the table, and spread my
+napkin in my lap. The head-waiter waited on me himself, and one or two
+other waiters came in to stand around, and take away dishes, and try to
+find something to do.</p>
+
+<p>It was a capital dinner, and I went carefully through all the courses. I
+was hungry. I had been saving up some extra appetite for this dinner,
+and my regular appetite was a very good one.</p>
+
+<p>I had raw oysters,</p>
+
+<p>And soup,</p>
+
+<p>And fish, with delicious sauce,</p>
+
+<p>And roast duck,</p>
+
+<p>And croquettes, made of something extraordinarily nice,</p>
+
+<p>And beef <i>&agrave; la mode</i>,</p>
+
+<p>And all sorts of vegetables, in their proper places,</p>
+
+<p>And ready-made salad,</p>
+
+<p>And orange pie,</p>
+
+<p>And wine-jelly,</p>
+
+<p>And ice-cream,</p>
+
+<p>And bananas, oranges and white grapes,</p>
+
+<p>And raisins, and almonds and nuts,</p>
+
+<p>And a cup of coffee.</p>
+
+<p>I let some of these things off pretty easy, toward the last; but I did
+not swerve from my line of duty. I went through all the courses, quietly
+and deliberately. It was a dinner in my honor, and I did all the honor I
+could to it.</p>
+
+<p>I was leaning back in my chair, with a satisfied soul,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[292]</a></span> and nibbling at
+some raisins, while I slowly drank my coffee, when the outer door
+opened, and Uncle Chipperton entered.</p>
+
+<p>He looked at me in astonishment. Then he looked at the table, with the
+clean plates and glasses at every place, but one. Then he took it all
+in, or at least I supposed he did, for he sat down on a chair near the
+door, and burst out into the wildest fit of laughing. The waiters came
+running into the room to see what was the matter; but for several
+minutes Uncle Chipperton could not speak. He laughed until I thought
+he'd crack something. I laughed, too, but not so much.</p>
+
+<p>"I see it all," he gasped, at last. "I see it all. I see just how it
+happened."</p>
+
+<p>And when we compared our ideas of the matter, we found that they were
+just the same.</p>
+
+<p>I wanted him to sit down and eat something, but he would not do it. He
+said he wouldn't spoil such a unique performance for anything. It was
+one of the most comical meals he had ever heard of.</p>
+
+<p>I was glad he enjoyed it so much, for he paid for the whole dinner for
+ten, which had been prepared at his order.</p>
+
+<p>When we reached the street, Uncle Chipperton put on a graver look.</p>
+
+<p>"This is all truly very funny," he said, "but, after all, there is
+something about it which makes me feel ashamed of myself. Would you
+object to take a ride? It is only about eight o'clock. I want to go up
+to see old Colbert."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[293]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>I agreed to go, and we got into a street-car. The Colberts lived in one
+of the up-town streets, and Uncle Chipperton had been at their house, on
+business.</p>
+
+<p>"I never went to see them in a friendly way before," he said.</p>
+
+<p>It was comforting to hear that this was to be a friendly visit.</p>
+
+<p>When we reached the house, we found the family of three in the parlor.
+They had probably had all the dinner they wanted, but they did not look
+exactly satisfied with the world or themselves.</p>
+
+<p>"Look here, Colbert," said Uncle Chipperton, after shaking hands with
+Mrs. Colbert, "why didn't you go to my dinner?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Mr. Colbert, looking him straight in the face, "I thought
+I'd better stay where I was. I didn't want to make any trouble, or pick
+any quarrels. I didn't intend to keep my wife and son away; but they
+wouldn't go without me."</p>
+
+<p>"No, indeed," said Mrs. Colbert.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, well!" said Uncle Chipperton, "you needn't feel bad about it. I
+didn't go, myself."</p>
+
+<p>At this, they all opened their eyes as wide as the law allowed.</p>
+
+<p>"No," he continued, "I didn't want to make any disturbance, or
+ill-feeling, and so I didn't go, and my wife and daughter didn't want to
+go without me, and so they didn't go, and I expect Will's father and
+mother didn't care to be on hand at a time when bad feeling might be
+shown, and so they didn't go. There<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[294]</a></span> was no one there but Will. He ate
+all of the dinner that was eaten. He went straight through it, from one
+end to the other. And there was no ill-feeling, no discord, no cloud of
+any kind. All perfectly harmonious, wasn't it, Will?"</p>
+
+<p>"Perfectly," said I.</p>
+
+<p>"I just wish I had known about it," said Rectus, a little sadly.</p>
+
+<p>"And now, Mr. Colbert," said Uncle Chipperton, "I don't want this to
+happen again. There may be other reunions of this kind, and we may want
+to go. And there ought to be such reunions between families whose sons
+and daughter have been cast away together, on a life-raft, in the middle
+of the ocean."</p>
+
+<p>"That's so," said Mrs. Colbert, warmly.</p>
+
+<p>"I thought they were <i>saved</i> on a life-raft," said old Colbert, dryly.
+"And I didn't know it was in the middle of the ocean."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, fix that as you please," said Uncle Chipperton. "What I want to
+propose is this: Let us settle our quarrel. Let's split our difference.
+Will you agree to divide that four inches of ground, and call it square?
+I'll pay for two inches."</p>
+
+<p>"Do you mean you'll pay half the damages I've laid?" asked old Colbert.</p>
+
+<p>"That's what I mean," said Uncle Chipperton.</p>
+
+<p>"All right," said Mr. Colbert; "I'll agree." And they shook hands on it.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, then," said Uncle Chipperton, who seemed unusually lively, "I must
+go see the Gordons, and explain matters to them. Wont you come along,
+Rectus?" And Rectus came.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[295]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>On the way to our hotel, we stopped for Corny and her mother. We might
+as well have a party, Uncle Chipperton said.</p>
+
+<p>We had a gay time at our rooms. My father and mother were greatly amused
+at the way the thing had turned out, and very much pleased that Mr.
+Colbert and Uncle Chipperton had become reconciled to each other.</p>
+
+<p>"I thought he had a good heart," said my mother, softly, to me, looking
+over to Uncle Chipperton, who was telling my father, for the second
+time, just how I looked, as I sat alone at the long table.</p>
+
+<p>Little Helen had not gone to bed yet, and she was sorry about the dinner
+in the same way that Rectus was. So was Corny, but she was too glad that
+the quarrel between her father and Mr. Colbert was over, to care much
+for the loss of the dinner. She was always very much disturbed by
+quarrels between friends or friends' fathers.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">[296]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>CHAPTER XXIV.</h2>
+
+<h3>THE STORY ENDS.</h3>
+
+
+<p>Three letters came to me the next morning. I was rather surprised at
+this, because I did not expect to get letters after I found myself at
+home; or, at least, with my family. The first of these was handed to me
+by Rectus. It was from his father. This is the letter:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"<span class="smcap">My Dear Boy</span>:" (This opening seemed a little
+curious to me, for I did not suppose the old
+gentleman thought of me in that way.) "I shall not
+be able to see you again before you leave for
+Willisville, so I write this note just to tell you
+how entirely I am satisfied with the way in which
+you performed the very difficult business I
+intrusted to you&mdash;that of taking charge of my son
+in his recent travels. The trip was not a very
+long one, but I am sure it has been of great
+service to him; and I also believe that a great
+deal of the benefit he has received has been due
+to you." (I stopped here, and tried to think what
+I had done for the boy. Besides the thrashing I
+gave him in Nassau, I could not think of
+anything.) "I have been talking a great deal with
+Sammy, in the last day or two, about his doings
+while he was away, and although I cannot exactly
+fix my mind on any particular action, on your
+part, which proves what I say" (he was in the same
+predicament here in which I was myself), "yet I
+feel positively assured that your companionship
+and influence have been of the greatest service to
+him. Among other things, he really wants to <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[297]</a></span>go to
+college. I am delighted at this. It was with much
+sorrow that I gave up the idea of making him a
+scholar: but, though he was a good boy, I saw that
+it was useless to keep him at the academy at
+Willisville, and so made up my mind to take him
+into my office. But I know you put this college
+idea into his head, though how, I cannot say, and
+I am sure that it does not matter. Sammy tells me
+that you never understood that he was to be
+entirely in your charge; but since you brought him
+out so well without knowing this, it does you more
+credit. I am very grateful to you. If I find a
+chance to do you a real service, I will do it.</p>
+
+<div class='right'>
+<span style="margin-right: 5em;">"Yours very truly,</span><br />
+"<span class="smcap">Samuel Colbert, Sr.</span>"<br />
+</div></div>
+
+<p>The second letter was handed to me by Corny, and was from her mother. I
+shall not copy that here, for it is much worse than Mr. Colbert's. It
+praised me for doing a lot of things which I never did at all; but I
+excused Mrs. Chipperton for a good deal she said, for she had passed
+through so much anxiety and trouble, and was now going to settle down
+for good, with Corny at school, that I didn't wonder she felt happy
+enough to write a little wildly. But there was one queer resemblance
+between her letter and old Mr. Colbert's. She said two or three
+times&mdash;it was an awfully long letter&mdash;that there was not any particular
+thing that she alluded to when she spoke of my actions. That was the
+funny part of it. They couldn't put their fingers on anything really
+worth mentioning, after all.</p>
+
+<p>My third letter had come by mail, and was a little old. My mother gave
+it to me, and told me that it had come to the post-office at Willisville
+about a week before, and that she had brought it down to give it to me,
+but had totally forgotten it until that morning. It<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">[298]</a></span> was from St.
+Augustine, and this is an exact copy of it:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"My good friend Big Little Man. I love you. My
+name Maiden's Heart. You much pious. You buy
+beans. Pay good. Me wants one speckled shirt.
+Crowded Owl want one speckled shirt, too. You send
+two speckled shirts. You good Big Little Man. You
+do that. Good-bye.</p>
+
+<div class='right'>
+"<span class="smcap">Maiden's Heart</span>, Cheyenne Chief.<br />
+</div>
+
+<p>"Written by me, James R. Chalott, this seventh day
+of March, 187-, at the dictation of the
+above-mentioned Maiden's Heart. He has requested
+me to add that he wants the speckles to be red,
+and as large as you can get them."</p></div>
+
+<p>During the morning, most of our party met to bid each other good-bye.
+Corny, Rectus and I were standing together, having our little winding-up
+talk, when Rectus asked Corny if she had kept her gray bean, the
+insignia of our society.</p>
+
+<p>"To be sure I have," she said, pulling it out from under her cloak. "I
+have it on this little chain which I wear around my neck. I've worn it
+ever since I got it. And I see you each have kept yours on your
+watch-guards."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," I said, "and they're the only things of the kind we saved from
+the burning 'Tigris.' Going to keep yours?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, indeed," said Corny, warmly.</p>
+
+<p>"So shall I," said I.</p>
+
+<p>"And I, too," said Rectus.</p>
+
+<p>And then we shook hands, and parted.</p>
+
+
+<h2>THE END.</h2>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+
+<div class='bbox'>
+<h2><span class="u">Scribner's New Books for Young People</span></h2>
+
+<h2><span class="u">1901 and 1902</span></h2>
+
+
+<h3>By the author of "Wild Animals I Have Known"</h3>
+
+<div><b><big>LIVES OF THE HUNTED</big></b></div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><b>By Ernest Seton-Thompson. Profusely illustrated by
+the author. Square 12mo, $1.75 net.</b></div>
+
+
+
+<div class='open'><b><big>T</big>HE</b> most important work of Mr. Seton-Thompson since his "<span class="smcap">Wild Animals I
+Have Known</span>," fully equalling that most popular book in size, and
+resembling it closely in character, solidity, illustration and general
+worth.</div>
+
+<p>It includes all the animal stories Mr. Seton-Thompson has written since
+his last book together with several that have never appeared in serial
+form. It is more fully and richly illustrated than any previous book
+with his own inimitable drawings. There will be many full page
+illustrations, and nearly every type page will be ornamented with the
+delightful marginal sketches characteristic of this artist's latest
+works.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 25%;' />
+
+
+<div><b><big>THE IMP AND THE ANGEL</big></b></div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><b>By Josephine Dodge Daskam, author of "Sister's
+Vocation," "Smith College Stories," etc. Profusely
+illustrated. $1.25 net.</b></div>
+
+
+<div class='open'><b><big>I</big>N</b> her portrayal of the "Imp," the seven-year-old hero of this series of
+seven stories, Miss Daskam has added a most captivating character to the
+gallery of child fiction.</div>
+
+
+<div><b><big>A SON OF SATSUMA</big></b></div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><b>Or, with Perry in Japan. By Kirk Munroe. 12mo,
+$1.00 net</b></div>
+
+
+<div class='open'><b><big>A</big> VIGOROUS</b> story for boys dealing with one of the most romantic episodes
+in the history of our country. From the beginning Japan has been a land
+of mystery. It was Commodore Perry who solved the mystery of the ages,
+and in this thrilling story, the spirit as well as the history of this
+great achievement, is ably set forth.</div>
+
+
+<div><b><big>HANS BRINKER</big></b></div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><b>Or, The Silver Skates. By Mary Mapes Dodge. With
+100 illustrations by Allen B. Doggett. 12mo, $1.50</b></div>
+
+
+
+<div class='open'><b><big>I</big>N</b> order to give a still wider circulation to Mrs. Dodge's celebrated
+American classic for young readers, the publishers have reduced the
+price of the New Amsterdam edition from $2.50 to $1.50, retaining all of
+Mr. Doggett's illustrations. No handsomer or more appropriate gift book
+for boy or girl can be found than this story of life in Holland, the
+vitality and popularity of which seem to increase year by year.</div>
+
+
+<div><b><big>THE STORY OF MANHATTAN</big></b></div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><b>By Charles Hemstreet, author of "Nooks and Corners
+of Old New York." Illustrated. 12mo, $1.00 net</b></div>
+
+
+
+<div class='open'><b><big>M</big>R.</b> Hemstreet becomes in this charming young people's work the annalist
+as well as the antiquary of the city of his affection. He recounts its
+picturesque history with a most sympathetic pen. No New York boy or girl
+can gain elsewhere so readily and pleasantly the familiarity with the
+city they should know most about.</div>
+
+
+<div><b><big>FIRST ACROSS THE CONTINENT</big></b></div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p><b>By Noah Brooks. Fully illustrated. $1.50 net.</b></p></div>
+
+
+
+<div class='open'><b><big>T</big>HE</b> absorbing story of the famous Lewis and Clark exploration of the
+vast northwestern territory acquired under the Louisiana purchase is
+here compiled with a special view of interesting young readers. The
+journey up the Missouri, over the Rockies, and down the Columbia to the
+Pacific, together with descriptions of the Indian tribes of the region
+makes fascinating material.</div>
+
+
+<div><b><big>LEM&mdash;A NEW ENGLAND BOY</big></b></div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><b>His Adventures and Mishaps. By Noah Brooks.
+Illustrated by H. C. Edwards. $1.00 net.</b></div>
+
+
+
+<div class='open'><b><big>B</big>OY</b> life in a New England village forty or fifty years ago has never
+been portrayed more faithfully or more vividly than in this wholesome
+tale of Lem Parker and his chums. Full of fun and adventure, the story
+has that atmosphere of reality that makes the strongest appeal to boys.</div>
+
+
+<div><b><big>THE OUTCASTS</big></b></div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><b>By W. A. Fraser, author of "Mooswa." Illustrated
+by Arthur Heming. $1.25 net.</b></div>
+
+
+
+<div class='open'><b><big>A</big>NOTHER</b> inimitable animal book by the author and artist of "Mooswa." It
+is the story of the strange friendship between a buffalo and a wolf, and
+the author's wonderful insight into the workings of the minds of animals
+is here used with extraordinary charm.</div>
+
+
+<div><b><big>THE OUTLAWS OF HORSE-SHOE HOLE</big></b></div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><b>A Story of the Montana Vigilants. By Francis Hill.
+Illustrated by R. F. Zogbaum. $1.00 net.</b></div>
+
+
+<div class='open'><b><big>A</big> STIRRING</b>  book for boys and men by a new writer of the fascinating life
+of the western frontier a decade or two ago. The book is full of the
+traditional romantic spirit of good old western yarns and yarners.
+<hr style='width: 25%;' />
+
+<div class='center'><span class="u">Three New Books by <span class="smcap">G. A. Henty</span></span><br />
+<br />
+Each Illustrated, 12mo, $1.25 <i>net</i><br />
+<br />
+
+<b><big>AT THE POINT OF THE BAYONET</big></b><br />
+
+<b>A Story of the British Conquest of India</b><br />
+<br />
+
+<b><big>WITH ROBERTS TO PRETORIA</big></b><br />
+
+<b>A Story of the Boer War</b><br />
+
+<br />
+<b><big>TO HERAT AND CABUL</big></b><br />
+
+<b>A Story of the First Afghan War</b></div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Wherever English is spoken one imagines that Mr.
+Henty's name is known. Mr. Henty is no doubt the
+most successful writer for boys, and the one to
+whose new volumes they look forward every
+Christmas with most pleasure."&mdash;<i>Review of
+Reviews.</i></p></div>
+
+<hr style='width: 25%;' />
+
+
+<div class='center'><span class="u">Three Famous Books for Boys by <span class="smcap">James Baldwin</span></span><br />
+<br />
+New Editions of these Standard Books, each, 12mo, $1.50<br />
+<br />
+
+<b><big>THE STORY OF THE GOLDEN AGE</big></b><br />
+
+<b>With a series of full-page illustrations by Howard Pyle</b><br />
+<br />
+
+<b><big>THE STORY OF SIEGFRIED</big></b><br />
+
+<b>With a series of full-page illustrations by Howard Pyle</b><br />
+<br />
+
+<b><big>THE STORY OF ROLAND</big></b><br />
+
+<b>With a series of full-page illustrations by R. B. Birch</b><br />
+<br />
+<div class="blockquot"><p>In these books Mr. Baldwin presents respectively
+the legends relating to the Trojan War, the great
+Siegfried myth of Northern Europe, and the
+medi&aelig;val romance of Roland and Charlemagne,
+bringing before the reader, with great spirit,
+with scholarly accuracy and with unfailing taste
+these heroic figures and the times in which their
+adventures are supposed to have occurred.</p></div>
+</div>
+<hr style='width: 25%;' />
+
+<div class='center'>CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS, NEW YORK CITY</div>
+</div></div>
+
+<hr style='width: 65%;' />
+<div class='tnote'><h3>Transcriber's Notes</h3>
+<p>Obvious punctuation errors repaired.</p>
+
+<p>The word "won't" is spelled "wont" consistently in the original. This
+was retained.</p>
+
+<p>The remaining corrections made are indicated by dotted lines under the corrections.
+Scroll the mouse over the word and the original text will <ins title="Transcriber's Note: original reads 'apprear'">appear</ins>.</p>
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of A Jolly Fellowship, by Frank R. Stockton
+
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+</pre>
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+</body>
+</html>
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@@ -0,0 +1,9007 @@
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Jolly Fellowship, by Frank R. Stockton
+
+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: A Jolly Fellowship
+
+Author: Frank R. Stockton
+
+Release Date: February 24, 2007 [EBook #20651]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A JOLLY FELLOWSHIP ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Suzanne Shell, Emmy and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+A JOLLY FELLOWSHIP.
+
+
+
+
+FRANK R. STOCKTON'S WRITINGS
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+_New Uniform Edition_
+
+          RUDDER GRANGE                                 $1.25
+          THE LATE MRS. NULL                             1.25
+          ARDIS CLAVERDEN                                1.50
+          THE WATCHMAKER'S WIFE                          1.25
+          THE RUDDER GRANGERS ABROAD                     1.25
+          THE BEE-MAN OF ORN                             1.25
+          THE LADY, OR THE TIGER?                        1.25
+          THE CHRISTMAS WRECK                            1.25
+          AMOS KILBRIGHT                                 1.25
+          THE HOUSE OF MARTHA                            1.25
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+          AFIELD AND AFLOAT. Illustrated. 12mo          $1.50
+          THE GIRL AT COBHURST. 12mo                     1.50
+          A STORY-TELLER'S PACK. Illustrated. 12mo       1.50
+          MRS. CLIFF'S YACHT. _Illustrated._ 12mo        1.50
+          THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN HORN. 12mo           1.50
+          A CHOSEN FEW. SHORT STORIES.
+            _Cameo Edition_                              1.25
+          RUDDER GRANGE. _With over 100 Illustrations
+            by A. B. Frost._ 12mo                        1.50
+          POMONA'S TRAVELS. _Illustrated by A. B.
+            Frost._ 12mo                                 1.50
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
+
+          A JOLLY FELLOWSHIP. Illustrated. 12mo         $1.50
+          THE STORY OF VITEAU. Illustrated. 12mo         1.50
+          THE TING-A-LING TALES. Illustrated. 12mo       1.00
+          THE FLOATING PRINCE, and Other Fairy Tales.
+            Illustrated. 4to                             1.50
+          ROUNDABOUT RAMBLES IN LANDS OF FACT
+            AND FANCY. Illustrated. 4to                  1.50
+          TALES OUT OF SCHOOL. Illustrated. 4to          1.50
+          PERSONALLY CONDUCTED. Illustrated, square 8vo  2.00
+          THE CLOCKS OF RONDAINE, and Other Stories,
+            Illustrated, square 8vo                      1.50
+
+  [Illustration: "BANG! BANG! BANG!--SEVEN TIMES."
+
+    [Page 105.]]
+
+
+
+
+A JOLLY FELLOWSHIP
+
+BY
+
+FRANK R. STOCKTON
+
+AUTHOR OF "RUDDER GRANGE," ETC.
+
+_ILLUSTRATED_
+
+          NEW-YORK
+          CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
+          1901
+
+
+
+
+          Copyright, 1880, by
+          CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS.
+
+
+
+
+          TROW'S
+          PRINTING AND BOOKBINDING COMPANY,
+          NEW YORK.
+
+
+_This story is told by Will Gordon, a young fellow about sixteen years
+old, who saw for himself everything worth seeing in the course of the
+events he relates, and so knows much more about them than any one who
+would have to depend upon hearsay. Will is a good-looking boy, with
+brown hair and gray eyes, rather large for his age, and very fond of
+being a leader among his young companions. Whether or not he is good at
+that sort of thing, you can judge from the story he tells._
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+          _Chapter._                                  _Page._
+
+              I. WE MAKE A START                         1
+
+             II. GOING BACK WITH THE PILOT              16
+
+            III. RECTUS OPENS HIS EYES                  29
+
+             IV. TO THE RESCUE                          43
+
+              V. STORMING SAN MARCO                     56
+
+             VI. THE GIRL ON THE BEACH                  69
+
+            VII. MR. CHIPPERTON                         88
+
+           VIII. THE STEAM-BOAT IN THE FOREST          100
+
+             IX. THE THREE GRAY BEANS                  116
+
+              X. THE QUEEN ON THE DOOR-STEP            128
+
+             XI. REGAL PROJECTS                        140
+
+            XII. RECTUS LOSES RANK                     154
+
+           XIII. THE CORONATION                        166
+
+            XIV. A HOT CHASE                           178
+
+             XV. A STRANGE THING HAPPENS TO ME         191
+
+            XVI. MR. CHIPPERTON KEEPS PERFECTLY COOL   204
+
+           XVII. WHAT BOY HAS DONE, BOY MAY DO         217
+
+          XVIII. I WAKE UP MR. CHIPPERTON              229
+
+            XIX. THE LIFE-RAFT                         241
+
+             XX. THE RUSSIAN BARK                      252
+
+            XXI. THE TRIP OF THE TUG                   263
+
+           XXII. LOOKING AHEAD                         274
+
+          XXIII. UNCLE CHIPPERTON'S DINNER             285
+
+           XXIV. THE STORY ENDS                        296
+
+
+
+
+LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
+
+
+                                                           _Page._
+          "BANG! BANG! BANG!--SEVEN TIMES."   (_Frontispiece._)
+
+          "SHE SEIZED ME BY BOTH HANDS"                      10
+
+          THE VESSEL IS OFF                                  17
+
+          SCOTT AND THE CAPTAIN                              19
+
+          RECTUS AND THE LEMONS                              27
+
+          "'HOLD YOUR TONGUE!' ROARED MR. RANDALL"           32
+
+          "RECTUS SHOWED ME THE MAP"                         35
+
+          "HOW?"                                             46
+
+          "ANOTHER BEAN"                                     64
+
+          "THE GENTLEMAN WAVED HIS HAT TO US"                80
+
+          "WHY, HOW DO YOU DO?"                              88
+
+          "VOY-EZZ VOWS CETT HOMMY ETT SES DUCKS FEMMYS
+               SEELAH?"                                     110
+
+          "WE SAW HER SLOWLY RISING BENEATH US"             119
+
+          "'ALL RIGHT,' SAID GOLIAH, WITH A SMILE"          157
+
+          A SMALL DIVE                                      170
+
+          "I WOULDN'T LIKE IT MYSELF"                       197
+
+          "WE STRUCK OUT TOGETHER FOR THE BOAT"             224
+
+          "'KEEP PERFECTLY COOL,' SAID MR. CHIPPERTON"      239
+
+          "RECTUS HELPED ME TO FASTEN THE LIFE-PRESERVER"   243
+
+          "YOU'RE A REGULAR YOUNG TRUMP"                    277
+
+
+
+
+A JOLLY FELLOWSHIP.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+WE MAKE A START.
+
+
+I was sitting on the deck of a Savannah steam-ship, which was lying at a
+dock in the East River, New York. I was waiting for young Rectus, and
+had already waited some time; which surprised me, because Rectus was, as
+a general thing, a very prompt fellow, who seldom kept people waiting.
+But it was probably impossible for him to regulate his own movements
+this time, for his father and mother were coming with him, to see him
+off.
+
+I had no one there to see me off, but I did not care for that. I was
+sixteen years old, and felt quite like a man; whereas Rectus was only
+fourteen, and couldn't possibly feel like a man--unless his looks very
+much belied his feelings. My father and mother and sister lived in a
+small town some thirty miles from New York, and that was a very good
+reason for their not coming to the city just to see me sail away in a
+steam-ship. They took a good leave of me, though, before I left home.
+
+I shall never forget how I first became acquainted with Rectus. About a
+couple of years before, he was a new boy in the academy at Willisville.
+One Saturday, a lot of us went down to the river to swim. Our favorite
+place was near an old wharf, which ran out into deep water, and a fellow
+could take a good dive there, when the tide was high. There were some of
+the smaller boys along that day, but they didn't dive any, and if they
+even swam, it was in shallow water near the shore, by the side of the
+wharf. But I think most of them spent their time wading about.
+
+I was a good swimmer, and could dive very well. I was learning to swim
+under water, but had not done very much in that line at the time I speak
+of. We were nearly ready to come out, when I took a dive from a post on
+the end of the wharf, and then turned, under water, to swim in shore. I
+intended to try to keep under until I got into water shallow enough for
+me to touch bottom, and walk ashore. After half a dozen strokes, I felt
+for the bottom and my feet touched it. Then I raised my head, but I
+didn't raise it out of the water. It struck something hard.
+
+In an instant I knew what had happened. There was a big mud-scow lying
+by the side of the wharf, and I had got under that! It was a great flat
+thing, ever so long and very wide. I knew I must get from under it as
+quickly as I could. Indeed, I could hardly hold my breath now. I waded
+along with my head bent down, but I didn't reach the side of it. Then I
+turned the other way, but my hands, which I held up, still touched
+nothing but the hard, slimy bottom of the scow. I must have been wading
+up and down the length of the thing. I was bewildered. I couldn't think
+which way to turn. I could only think of one thing. I would be drowned
+in less than a minute. Scott would be head of the class. My mother, and
+little Helen--but I can't tell what my thoughts were then. They were
+dreadful. But just as I was thinking of Helen and mother, I saw through
+the water some white things, not far from me. I knew by their looks that
+they were a boy's legs.
+
+I staggered toward them, and in a moment my hands went out of water,
+just at the side of the scow. I stood up, and my head with half my body
+came up into the air.
+
+What a breath I drew! But I felt so weak and shaky that I had to take
+hold of the side of the scow, and stand there for a while before I waded
+ashore. The boy who was standing by me was Rectus. He did not have that
+name then, and I didn't know him.
+
+"It must be pretty hard to stay under water so long," he said.
+
+"Hard!" I answered, as soon as I could get my breath; "I should think
+so. Why, I came near being drowned!"
+
+"Is that so?" said he; "I didn't know that. I saw you go down, and have
+been watching for you to come up. But I didn't expect you to come from
+under the scow."
+
+How glad I was that he had been standing there watching for me to come
+up! If he had not been there, or if his legs had been green or the
+color of water, I believe I should have drowned.
+
+I always liked the boy after that, though, of course, there was no
+particular reason for it. He was a boarder. His parents lived in New
+York. Samuel Colbert was his real name, and the title of Rectus he
+obtained at school by being so good. He scarcely ever did anything
+wrong, which was rather surprising to the rest of us, because he was not
+sickly or anything of that kind. After a while, we got into the way of
+calling him Rectus, and as he didn't seem to mind it, the name stuck to
+him. The boys generally liked him, and he got on quite well in the
+school,--in every way except in his studies. He was not a smart boy, and
+did not pretend to be.
+
+I went right through the academy, from the lowest to the highest class,
+and when I left, the professor, as we called our principal, said that I
+was ready to go to college, and urged me very much to do so. But I was
+not in any hurry, and my parents agreed with me that, after four years
+of school-life, I had better wait a while before beginning a new course.
+All this disturbed the professor very much, but he insisted on my
+keeping up my studies, so as not to get rusty, and he came up to our
+house very often, for the purpose of seeing what I was doing in the
+study line, and how I was doing it.
+
+I thought over things a good deal for myself, and a few months after I
+left the academy I made up my mind to travel a little. I talked about it
+at home, and it was generally thought to be a good idea, although my
+sister was in favor of it only in case I took her with me. Otherwise she
+opposed it. But there were a great many reasons why I could not take
+her. She was only eleven.
+
+I had some money of my own, which I thought I would rather spend in
+travel than in any other way, and, as it was not a large sum, and as my
+father could not afford to add anything to it, my journey could not be
+very extensive. Indeed, I only contemplated going to Florida and perhaps
+a few other Southern States, and then--if it could be done--a visit to
+some of the West India islands, and, as it was winter-time, that would
+be a very good trip. My father did not seem to be afraid to trust me to
+go alone. He and the professor talked it over, and they thought that I
+would take good enough care of myself. The professor would have much
+preferred to see me go to college, but, as I was not to do that, he
+thought travelling much better for me than staying at home, although I
+made no promise about taking my books along. But it was pretty well
+settled that I was to go to college in the fall, and this consoled him a
+little.
+
+The person who first suggested this travelling plan was our old
+physician, Dr. Mathews. I don't know exactly what he said about it, but
+I knew he thought I had been studying too hard, and needed to "let up"
+for a while. And I'm sure, too, that he was quite positive that I would
+have no let up as long as I staid in the same town with the professor.
+
+Nearly a year before this time, Rectus had left the academy. He had
+never reached the higher classes,--in fact, he didn't seem to get on
+well at all. He studied well enough, but he didn't take hold of things
+properly, and I believe he really did not care to go through the school.
+But he was such a quiet fellow that we could not make much out of him.
+His father was very rich, and we all thought that Rectus was taken away
+to be brought up as a partner in the firm. But we really knew nothing
+about it: for, as I found out afterward, Rectus spent all his time,
+after he left school, in studying music.
+
+Soon after my trip was all agreed upon and settled, father had to go to
+New York, and there he saw Mr. Colbert, and of course told him of my
+plans. That afternoon, old Colbert came to my father's hotel, and
+proposed to him that I should take his son with me. He had always heard,
+he said, that I was a sensible fellow, and fit to be trusted, and he
+would be very glad to have his boy travel with me. And he furthermore
+said that if I had the care of Samuel--for of course he didn't call his
+son Rectus--he would pay me a salary. He had evidently read about young
+English fellows travelling on the continent with their tutors, and I
+suppose he wanted me to be his son's tutor, or something like it.
+
+When father told me what Mr. Colbert had proposed, I agreed instantly. I
+liked Rectus, and the salary would help immensely. I wrote to New York
+that very night, accepting the proposition.
+
+When my friends in the town, and those at the school, heard that Rectus
+and I were going off together, they thought it an uncommonly good joke,
+and they crowded up to our house to see me about it.
+
+"Two such good young men as you and Rectus travelling together ought to
+have a beneficial influence upon whole communities," said Harry Alden;
+and Scott remarked that if there should be a bad storm at sea, he would
+advise us two to throw everybody else overboard to the whales, for the
+other people would be sure to be the wicked ones. I am happy to say that
+I got a twist on Scott's ear that made him howl, and then mother came in
+and invited them all to come and take supper with me, the Tuesday before
+I started. We invited Rectus to come up from the city, but he did not
+make his appearance. However, we got on first-rate without him, and had
+a splendid time. There was never a woman who knew just how to make boys
+have a good time, like my mother.
+
+I had been a long while on the steamer waiting for Rectus. She was to
+sail at three o'clock, and it was then after two. The day was clear and
+fine, but so much sitting and standing about had made me cold, so that I
+was very glad to see a carriage drive up with Rectus and his father and
+mother. I went down to them. I was anxious to see Rectus, for it had
+been nearly a year since we had met. He seemed about the same as he used
+to be, and had certainly not grown much. He just shook hands with me and
+said, "How d' ye do, Gordon?" Mr. and Mrs. Colbert seemed ever so much
+more pleased to see me, and when we went on the upper deck, the old
+gentleman took me into the captain's room, the door of which stood open.
+The captain was not there, but I don't believe Mr. Colbert would have
+cared if he had been. All he seemed to want was to find a place where we
+could get away from the people on deck. When he had partly closed the
+door, he said:
+
+"Have you got your ticket?"
+
+"Oh, yes!" I answered; "I bought that ten days ago. I wrote for it."
+
+"That's right," said he, "and here is Sammy's ticket. I was glad to see
+that you had spoken about the other berth in your state-room being
+reserved for Sammy."
+
+I thought he needn't have asked me if I had my ticket when he knew that
+I had bought it. But perhaps he thought I had lost it by this time. He
+was a very particular little man.
+
+"Where do you keep your money?" he asked me, and I told him that the
+greater part of it--all but some pocket-money--was stowed away in an
+inside pocket of my vest.
+
+"Very good," said he; "that's better than a pocket-book or belt: but you
+must pin it in. Now, here is Sammy's money--for his travelling expenses
+and his other necessities; I have calculated that that will be enough
+for a four months' trip, and you wont want to stay longer than that. But
+if this runs out, you can write to me. If you were going to Europe, now,
+I'd get you a letter of credit, but for your sort of travelling, you'd
+better have the money with you. I did think of giving you a draft on
+Savannah, but you'd have to draw the money there--and you might as well
+have it here. You're big enough to know how to take care of it." And
+with this he handed me a lot of banknotes.
+
+"And now, what about your salary? Would you like to have it now, or wait
+until you come back?"
+
+This question made my heart jump, for I had thought a great deal about
+how I was to draw that salary. So, quick enough, I said that I'd like to
+have it now.
+
+"I expected so," said he, "and here's the amount for four months. I
+brought a receipt. You can sign it with a lead-pencil. That will do. Now
+put all this money in your inside pockets. Some in your vest, and some
+in your under-coat. Don't bundle it up too much, and be sure and pin it
+in. Pin it from the inside, right through the money, if you can. Put
+your clothes under your pillow at night. Good-bye! I expect they'll be
+sounding the gong directly, for us to get ashore."
+
+And so he hurried out. I followed him, very much surprised. He had
+spoken only of money, and had said nothing about his son,--what he
+wished me to do for him, what plans of travel or instruction he had
+decided upon, or anything, indeed, about the duties for which I was to
+be paid. I had expected that he would come down early to the steamer and
+have a long talk about these matters. There was no time to ask him any
+questions now, for he was with his wife, trying to get her to hurry
+ashore. He was dreadfully afraid that they would stay on board too long,
+and be carried to sea.
+
+Mrs. Colbert, however, did not leave me in any doubt as to what she
+wanted me to do. She rushed up to me, and seized me by both hands.
+
+"Now you will take the greatest and the best care of my boy, wont you?
+You'll cherish him as the apple of your eye? You'll keep him out of
+every kind of danger? Now _do_ take good care of him,--especially in
+storms."
+
+[Illustration: "SHE SEIZED ME BY BOTH HANDS."]
+
+I tried to assure Rectus's mother--she was a wide, good-humored
+lady--that I would do as much of all this as I could, and what I said
+seemed to satisfy her, for she wiped her eyes in a very comfortable sort
+of a way.
+
+Mr. Colbert got his wife ashore as soon as he could, and Rectus and I
+stood on the upper deck and watched them get into the carriage and drive
+away. Rectus did not look as happy as I thought a fellow ought to look,
+when starting out on such a jolly trip as we expected this to be.
+
+I proposed that we should go and look at our state-room, which was
+number twenty-two, and so we went below. The state-room hadn't much
+state about it. It was very small, with two shelves for us to sleep on.
+I let Rectus choose his shelf, and he took the lower one. This suited me
+very well, for I'd much rather climb over a boy than have one climb over
+me.
+
+There wasn't anything else in the room to divide, and we were just about
+to come out and call the thing settled, when I heard a shout at the
+door. I turned around, and there stood Harry Alden, and Scott, and Tom
+Myers and his brother George!
+
+I tell you, I was glad to see them. In spite of all my reasoning that it
+made no difference about anybody coming to see me off, it did make a
+good deal of difference. It was a lonely sort of business starting off
+in that way--especially after seeing Rectus's father and mother come
+down to the boat with him.
+
+"We didn't think of this until this morning," cried Scott. "And then we
+voted it was too mean to let you go off without anybody to see you
+safely on board----"
+
+"Oh, yes!" said I.
+
+"And so our class appointed a committee," Scott went on, "to come down
+and attend to you, and we're the committee. It ought to have been
+fellows that had gone through the school, but there were none of them
+there."
+
+"Irish!" said Harry.
+
+"So we came," said Scott. "We raised all the spare cash there was in the
+class, and there was only enough to send four of us. We drew lots. If it
+hadn't been you, I don't believe the professor would have let us off.
+Any way, we missed the noon train, and were afraid, all the way here,
+that we'd be too late. Do you two fellows have to sleep in those
+'cubby-holes'?"
+
+"Certainly," said I; "they're big enough."
+
+"Don't believe it," said Harry Alden; "they're too short."
+
+"That's so," said Scott, who was rather tall for his age. "Let's try
+'em."
+
+This was agreed to on the spot, and all four of the boys took off their
+boots and got into the berths, while Rectus and I sat down on the little
+bench at the side of the room and laughed at them. Tom Myers and his
+brother George both climbed into the top berth at once, and as they
+found it was a pretty tight squeeze, they both tried to get out at once,
+and down they came on Scott, who was just turning out of the lower
+berth,--which was too long for him, in spite of all his talk,--and then
+there was a much bigger tussle, all around, than any six boys could make
+with comfort in a little room like that.
+
+I hustled Tom Myers and his brother George out into the dining-room, and
+the other fellows followed.
+
+"Is this where you eat?" asked Scott, looking up and down at the long
+tables, with the swinging shelves above them.
+
+"No, this isn't where they eat," said Harry; "this is where they come to
+look at victuals, and get sick at the sight of them."
+
+"Sick!" said I; "not much of it."
+
+But the committee laughed, and didn't seem to agree with me.
+
+"You'll be sick ten minutes after the boat starts," said Scott.
+
+"We wont get into sea-sick water until we're out of the lower bay," I
+said. "And this isn't a boat--it's a ship. You fellows know lots!"
+
+Tom Myers and his brother George were trying to find out why the
+tumblers and glasses were all stuck into holes in the shelves over the
+tables, when Harry Alden sung out:
+
+"What's that swishing?"
+
+"That what?" said I.
+
+"There it goes again!" Harry cried. "Splashing!"
+
+"It's the wheels!" exclaimed Rectus.
+
+"That's so!" cried Scott. "The old thing's off! Rush up! Here! The
+hind-stairs! Quick!"
+
+And upstairs to the deck we all went, one on top of another. The wheels
+were going around, and the steamer was off!
+
+Already she was quite a distance from the wharf. I suppose the tide
+carried her out, as soon as the lines were cast off, for I'm sure the
+wheels had not been in motion half a minute before we heard them. But
+all that made no difference. We were off.
+
+I never saw four such blank faces as the committee wore, when they saw
+the wide space of water between them and the wharf.
+
+"Stop her!" cried Scott to me, as if I could do anything, and then he
+made a dive toward a party of men on the deck.
+
+"They're passengers!" I cried. "We must find the captain."
+
+"No, no!" said Harry. "Go for the steersman. Tell him to steer back! We
+mustn't be carried off!"
+
+Tom Myers and his brother George had already started for the
+pilot-house, when Rectus shouted to them that he'd run down to the
+engineer and tell him to stop the engine. So they stopped, and Rectus
+was just going below when Scott called to him to hold up.
+
+"You needn't be scared!" he said. (He had been just as much scared as
+anybody.) "That man over there says it will be all right. We can go back
+with the pilot. People often do that. It will be all the more fun. Don't
+bother the engineer. There's nothing I'd like better than a trip back
+with a pilot!"
+
+"That's so," said Harry; "I never thought of the pilot."
+
+"But are you sure he'll take you back?" asked Rectus, while Tom Myers
+and his brother George looked very pale and anxious.
+
+"Take us? Of course he will," said Scott. "That's one of the things a
+pilot's for,--to take back passengers,--I mean people who are only
+going part way. Do you suppose the captain will want to take us all the
+way to Savannah for nothing?"
+
+Rectus didn't suppose that, and neither did any of the rest of us, but I
+thought we ought to look up the captain and tell him.
+
+"But, you see," said Scott, "it's just possible he _might_ put back."
+
+"Well, don't you want to go back?" I asked.
+
+"Yes, of course, but I would like a sail back in a pilot-boat," said
+Scott, and Harry Alden agreed with him. Tom Myers and his brother George
+wanted to go back right away.
+
+We talked the matter over a good deal. I didn't wish to appear as if I
+wanted to get rid of the fellows who had been kind enough to come all
+the way from Willisville to see me off, but I couldn't help thinking
+that it didn't look exactly fair and straightforward not to say that
+these boys were not passengers until the pilot was ready to go back. I
+determined to go and see about the matter, but I would wait a little
+while.
+
+It was cool on deck, especially now that the vessel was moving along,
+but we all buttoned up our coats and walked up and down. The sun shone
+brightly, and the scene was so busy and lively with the tug-boats
+puffing about, and the vessels at anchor, and the ferry-boats, and a
+whole bay-full of sights curious to us country boys, that we all enjoyed
+ourselves very much--except Tom Myers and his brother George. They
+didn't look happy.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+GOING BACK WITH THE PILOT.
+
+
+We were pretty near the Narrows when I thought it was about time to let
+the captain, or one of the officers, know that there were some people on
+board who didn't intend to take the whole trip. I had read in the
+newspapers that committees and friends who went part way with
+distinguished people generally left them in the lower bay.
+
+But I was saved the trouble of looking for an officer, for one of them,
+the purser, came along, collecting tickets. I didn't give him a chance
+to ask Scott or any of the other fellows for something that they didn't
+have, but went right up to him and told him how the matter stood.
+
+"I must see the captain about this," he said, and off he went.
+
+"He didn't look very friendly," said Scott, and I had to admit that he
+didn't.
+
+In a few moments the captain came walking rapidly up to us. He was a
+tall man, dressed in blue, with side-whiskers, and an oil-cloth cap.
+The purser came up behind him.
+
+"What's all this?" said the captain. "Are you not passengers, you boys?"
+He did not look very friendly, either, as he asked this question.
+
+[Illustration: THE VESSEL IS OFF.]
+
+"Two of us are," I said, "but four of us were carried off
+accidentally."
+
+"Accident? Fiddlesticks!" exclaimed the captain. "Didn't you know the
+vessel was starting? Hadn't you time to get off? Didn't you hear the
+gong? Everybody else heard it. Are you all deaf?"
+
+This was a good deal to answer at once, so I just said that I didn't
+remember hearing any gong. Tom Myers and his brother George, however,
+spoke up, and said that they had heard a gong, they thought, but did not
+know what it was for.
+
+"Why didn't you ask, then?" said the captain, who was getting worse in
+his humor. I had a good mind to tell him that it would take up a good
+deal of the crew's time if Tom Myers and his brother George asked about
+everything they didn't understand on board this ship, but I thought I
+had better not. I have no doubt the gong sounded when we were having our
+row in the state-room, and were not likely to pay attention to it even
+if we did hear it.
+
+"And why, in the name of common sense," the captain went on, "didn't you
+come and report, the instant you found the vessel had started? Did you
+think we were fast to the pier all this time?"
+
+Then Scott thought he might as well come out square with the truth; and
+he told how they made up their minds, after they found that the steamer
+had really started, with them on board, not to make any fuss about it,
+nor give anybody any trouble to stop the ship, or to put back, but just
+to stay quietly on board, and go back with the pilot. They thought that
+would be most convenient, all around.
+
+"Go back with the pilot!" the captain cried. "Why, you young idiot,
+there _is_ no pilot! Coastwise steamers don't carry pilots. I am my own
+pilot. There is no pilot going back!"
+
+You ought to have seen Scott's face!
+
+[Illustration: SCOTT AND THE CAPTAIN.]
+
+Nobody said anything. We all just stood and looked at the captain. Tears
+began to come into the eyes of Tom Myers and his brother George.
+
+"What are they to do?" asked the purser of the captain. "Buy tickets for
+Savannah?"
+
+"We can't do that," said Scott, quickly. "We haven't any money."
+
+"I don't know what they're to do," replied the captain. "I'd like to
+chuck 'em overboard." And with this agreeable little speech he walked
+away.
+
+The purser now took the two tickets for Rectus and myself, and saying:
+"We'll see what's to be done with the rest of you fellows," he walked
+away, too.
+
+Then we all looked at one another. We were a pretty pale lot, and I
+believe that Rectus and I, who were all right, felt almost as badly as
+the four other boys, who were all wrong.
+
+"We _can't_ go to Savannah!" said Harry Alden. "What right have they to
+take us to Savannah?"
+
+"Well, then, you'd better get out and go home," said Scott. "I don't so
+much mind their taking us to Savannah, for they can't make us pay if we
+haven't any money. But how are we going to get back? That's the
+question. And what'll the professor think? He'll write home that we've
+run away. And what'll we do in Savannah without any money?"
+
+"You'd better have thought of some of these things before you got us
+into waiting to go back with the pilot," said Harry.
+
+As for Tom Myers and his brother George, they just sat down and put
+their arms on the railing, and clapped their faces down on their arms.
+They cried all over their coat-sleeves, but kept as quiet as they could
+about it. Whenever these two boys had to cry before any of the rest of
+the school-fellows, they had learned to keep very quiet about it.
+
+While the rest of us were talking away, and Scott and Harry finding
+fault with each other, the captain came back. He looked in a little
+better humor.
+
+"The only thing that can be done with you boys," he said, "is to put you
+on some tug or small craft that's going back to New York. If we meet
+one, I'll lie to and let you off. But it will put me to a great deal of
+trouble, and we may meet with nothing that will take you aboard. You
+have acted very badly. If you had come right to me, or to any of the
+officers, the moment you found we had started, I could have easily put
+you on shore. There are lots of small boats about the piers that would
+have come out after you, or I might even have put back. But I can do
+nothing now but look out for some craft bound for New York that will
+take you aboard. If we don't meet one, you'll have to go on to
+Savannah."
+
+This made us feel a little better. We were now in the lower bay, and
+there would certainly be some sort of a vessel that would stop for the
+boys. We all went to the forward deck and looked out. It was pretty cold
+there, and we soon began to shiver in the wind, but still we stuck it
+out.
+
+There were a good many vessels, but most of them were big ones. We could
+hardly have the impudence to ask a great three-masted ship, under full
+sail, to stop and give us a lift to New York. At any rate, we had
+nothing to do with the asking. The captain would attend to that. But
+every time we came near a vessel going the other way, we looked about to
+see if we could see anything of an officer with a trumpet, standing all
+ready to sing out, "Sail ho!"
+
+But, after a while, we felt so cold that we couldn't stand it any
+longer, and we went below. We might have gone and stood by the
+smoke-stack and warmed ourselves, but we didn't know enough about ships
+to think of this.
+
+We hadn't been standing around the stove in the dining-room more than
+ten minutes, before the purser came hurrying toward us.
+
+"Come, now," he said, "tumble forward! The captain's hailed a
+pilot-boat."
+
+"Hurrah!" said Scott; "we're going back in a pilot-boat, after all!" and
+we all ran after the purser to the lower forward deck. Our engines had
+stopped, and not far from us was a rough-looking little schooner with a
+big "17" painted in black on her mainsail. She was "putting about," the
+purser said, and her sails were flapping in the wind.
+
+There was a great change in the countenances of Tom Myers and his
+brother George. They looked like a couple of new boys.
+
+"Isn't this capital?" said Scott. "Everything's turned out all right."
+
+But all of a sudden he changed his tune.
+
+"Look here!" said he to me, pulling me on one side; "wont that pilot
+want to be paid something? He wont stop his vessel and take us back for
+nothing, will he?"
+
+I couldn't say anything about this, but I asked the purser, who still
+stood by us.
+
+"I don't suppose he'll make any regular charge," said he; "but he'll
+expect you to give him something,--whatever you please."
+
+"But we haven't anything," said Scott to me. "We have our return tickets
+to Willisville, and that's about all."
+
+"Perhaps we can't go back, after all," said Harry, glumly, while Tom
+Myers and his brother George began to drop their lower jaws again.
+
+I did not believe that the pilot-boat people would ask to see the boys'
+money before they took them on board; but I couldn't help feeling that
+it would be pretty hard for them to go ashore at the city and give
+nothing for their passages but promises, and so I called Rectus on one
+side, and proposed to lend the fellows some money. He agreed, and I
+unpinned a banknote and gave it to Scott. He was mightily tickled to get
+it, and vowed he'd send it back to me in the first letter he wrote (and
+he did it, too).
+
+The pilot-schooner did not come very near us, but she lowered a boat
+with two men in it, and they rowed up to the steamer. Some of our
+sailors let down a pair of stairs, and one of the men in the boat came
+up to see what was wanted. The purser was telling him, when the captain,
+who was standing on the upper deck, by the pilot-house, sung out:
+
+"Hurry up there, now, and don't keep this vessel here any longer. Get
+'em out as quick as you can, Mr. Brown."
+
+The boys didn't stop to have this kind invitation repeated, and Scott
+scuffled down the stairs into the boat as fast as he could, followed
+closely by Harry Alden. Tom Myers and his brother George stopped long
+enough to bid each of us good-bye, and shake hands with us, and then
+they went down the stairs. They had to climb over the railing to the
+platform in front of the wheel-house to get to the stairs, and as the
+steamer rolled a little, and the stairs shook, they went down very
+slowly, backward, and when they got to the bottom were afraid to step
+into the boat, which looked pretty unsteady as it wobbled about under
+them.
+
+"Come, there! Be lively!" shouted the captain.
+
+Just then, Rectus made a step forward. He had been looking very
+anxiously at the boys as they got into the boat, but he hadn't said
+anything.
+
+"Where are you going?" said I; for, as quick as a flash, the thought
+came into my mind that Rectus's heart had failed him, and that he would
+like to back out.
+
+"I think I'll go back with the boys," he said, making another step
+toward the top of the stairs, down which the man from the pilot-boat was
+hurrying.
+
+"Just you try it!" said I, and I put out my arm in front of him.
+
+He didn't try it, and I'm glad he didn't, for I should have been sorry
+enough to have had the boys go back and say that when they last saw
+Rectus and I we were having a big fight on the deck of the steamer.
+
+The vessel now started off, and Rectus and I went to the upper deck and
+stood and watched the little boat, as it slowly approached the
+schooner. We were rapidly leaving them, but we saw the boys climb on
+board, and one of them--it must have been Scott--waved his handkerchief
+to us. I waved mine in return, but Rectus kept his in his pocket. I
+don't think he felt in a wavy mood.
+
+While we were standing looking at the distant pilot-boat, I began to
+consider a few matters; and the principal thing was this: How were
+Rectus and I to stand toward each other? Should we travel like a couple
+of school-friends, or should I make him understand that he was under my
+charge and control, and must behave himself accordingly? I had no idea
+what he thought of the matter, and by the way he addressed me when we
+met, I supposed that it was possible that he looked upon me very much as
+he used to when we went to school together. If he had said Mr. Gordon,
+it would have been more appropriate, I thought, and would have
+encouraged me, too, in taking position as his supervisor. As far as my
+own feelings were concerned, I think I would have preferred to travel
+about on a level with Rectus, and to have a good time with him, as two
+old school-fellows might easily have, even if one did happen to be two
+years older than the other. But that would not be earning my salary.
+After a good deal of thought, I came to the conclusion that I would let
+things go on as they would, for a while, giving Rectus a good deal of
+rope; but the moment he began to show signs of insubordination, I would
+march right on him, and quell him with an iron hand. After that, all
+would be plain sailing, and we could have as much fun as we pleased,
+for Rectus would know exactly how far he could go.
+
+There were but few passengers on deck, for it was quite cold, and it now
+began to grow dark, and we went below. Pretty soon the dinner-bell rang,
+and I was glad to hear it, for I had the appetite of a horse. There was
+a first-rate dinner, ever so many different kinds of dishes, all up and
+down the table, which had ridges running lengthwise, under the
+table-cloth, to keep the plates from sliding off, if a storm should come
+up. Before we were done with dinner the shelves above the table began to
+swing a good deal,--or rather the vessel rolled and the shelves kept
+their places,--so I knew we must be pretty well out to sea, but I had
+not expected it would be so rough, for the day had been fine and clear.
+When we left the table, it was about as much as we could do to keep our
+feet, and in less than a quarter of an hour I began to feel dreadfully.
+I stuck it out as long as I could, and then I went to bed. The old ship
+rolled, and she pitched, and she heaved, and she butted, right and left,
+against the waves, and made herself just as uncomfortable for human
+beings as she could, but, for all that, I went to sleep after a while.
+
+I don't know how long I slept, but when I woke up, there was Rectus,
+sitting on a little bench by the state-room wall, with his feet braced
+against the berth. He was hard at work sucking a lemon. I turned over
+and looked down at him. He didn't look a bit sick. I hated to see him
+eating lemons.
+
+"Don't you feel badly, Rectus?" said I.
+
+"Oh no!" said he; "I'm all right. You ought to suck a lemon. Have one?"
+
+I declined his offer. The idea of eating or drinking anything was
+intensely disagreeable to me. I wished that Rectus would put down that
+lemon. He did throw it away after a while, but he immediately began to
+cut another one.
+
+[Illustration: RECTUS AND THE LEMONS.]
+
+"Rectus," said I, "you'll make yourself sick. You'd better go to bed."
+
+"It's just the thing to stop me from being sick," said he, and at that
+minute the vessel gave her stern a great toss over sideways, which sent
+Rectus off his seat, head foremost into the wash-stand. I was glad to
+see it. I would have been glad of almost anything that stopped that
+lemon business.
+
+But it didn't stop it; and he only picked himself up, and sat down
+again, his lemon at his mouth.
+
+"Rectus!" I cried, leaning out of my berth. "Put down that lemon and go
+to bed!"
+
+He put down the lemon without a word, and went to bed. I turned over
+with a sense of relief. Rectus was subordinate!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+RECTUS OPENS HIS EYES.
+
+
+I was all right the next day, and we staid on deck most of the time,
+standing around the smoke-stack when our noses got a little blue with
+the cold. There were not many other people on deck. I was expecting
+young Rectus to have his turn at sea-sickness, but he disappointed me.
+He spent a good deal of his time calculating our position on a little
+folding-map he had. He inquired how fast we were going, and then he
+worked the whole thing out, from Sandy Hook to Savannah, marking on the
+map the hours at which he ought to be at such and such a place. He tried
+his best to get his map of the course all right, and made a good many
+alterations, so that we were off Cape Charles several times in the
+course of the day. Rectus had never been very good at calculations, and
+I was glad to see that he was beginning to take an interest in such
+things.
+
+The next morning, just after day-break, we were awakened by a good deal
+of tramping about on deck, over our heads, and we turned out, sharp, to
+see what the matter was. Rectus wanted me to wait, after we were
+dressed, until he could get out his map and calculate where we were, but
+I couldn't stop for such nonsense, for I knew that his kind of
+navigation didn't amount to much, and so we scrambled up on deck. The
+ship was pitching and tossing worse than she had done yet. We had been
+practising the "sea-leg" business the day before, and managed to walk
+along pretty well; but this morning our sea-legs didn't work at all, and
+we couldn't take a step without hanging on to something. When we got on
+deck, we found that the first officer, or mate,--his name was
+Randall,--with three or four sailors, was throwing the lead to see how
+deep the water was. We hung on to a couple of stays and watched them. It
+was a rousing big lead, a foot long, and the line ran out over a pulley
+at the stern. A sailor took the lead a good way forward before he threw
+it, so as to give it a chance to get to the bottom before the steamer
+passed over it and began to tow it. When they pulled it in, we were
+surprised to see that it took three men to do it. Then Mr. Randall
+scooped out a piece of tallow that was in a hollow in the bottom of the
+lead, and took it to show to the captain, whose room was on deck. I knew
+this was one way they had of finding out where they were, for they
+examined the sand or mud on the tallow, and so knew what sort of a
+bottom they were going over; and all the different kinds of bottom were
+marked out on their charts.
+
+As Mr. Randall passed us, Rectus sung out to him, and asked him where we
+were now.
+
+"Off Hatteras," said he, quite shortly.
+
+I didn't think Rectus should have bothered Mr. Randall with questions
+when he was so busy; but after he went into the captain's room, the men
+did not seem to have much to do, and I asked one of them how deep it
+was.
+
+"About seventeen fathoms," said he.
+
+"Can we see Cape Hatteras?" I said, trying to get a good look landward
+as the vessel rolled over that way.
+
+"No," said the man. "We could see the light just before day-break, but
+the weather's gettin' thick now, and we're keepin' out."
+
+It was pretty thick to the west, that was true. All that I could see in
+the distance was a very mixed-up picture of wave-tops and mist. I knew
+that Cape Hatteras was one of the most dangerous points on the coast,
+and that sailors were always glad when they had safely rounded it, and
+so I began to take a good deal of interest in what was going on. There
+was a pretty strong wind from the south-east, and we had no sail set at
+all. Every now and then the steamer would get herself up on top of a big
+wave, and then drop down, sideways, as if she were sliding off the top
+of a house. The mate and the captain soon came out on deck together, and
+the captain went forward to the pilot-house, while Mr. Randall came over
+to his men, and they got ready to throw the lead again. It didn't seem
+to me that the line ran out as far as it did the last time, and I think
+I heard Mr. Randall say, "Fourteen." At any rate, a man was sent forward
+to the pilot-house, and directly we heard the rudder-chains creaking,
+and the big iron arms of the rudder, which were on deck, moved over
+toward the landward side of the vessel, and I knew by that that the
+captain was putting her head out to sea. Mr. Randall took out the tallow
+from the lead and laid it in an empty bucket that was lashed to the
+deck. He seemed to be more anxious now about the depth of water than
+about the kind of bottom we were passing over. The lead was just about
+to be thrown again, when Rectus, who had taken the tallow out of the
+bucket, which stood near us, and had examined it pretty closely, started
+off to speak to Mr. Randall, with the tallow in his hand.
+
+[Illustration: "'HOLD YOUR TONGUE!' ROARED MR. RANDALL."]
+
+"Look here!" said Rectus, holding on to the railing. "I'll tell you what
+would be a sight better than tallow for your leads. Just you get some
+fine, white Castile-soap, and----"
+
+"Confound you!" roared Mr. Randall, turning savagely on him. "Hold your
+tongue! For three cents I'd tie you to this line and drag the bottom
+with you!"
+
+Rectus made no answer. He didn't offer him the three cents, but came
+away promptly, and put the piece of tallow back in the bucket. He didn't
+get any comfort from me.
+
+"Haven't you got any better sense," I said to him, "than to go, with
+your nonsense, to the first officer at such a time as this? I never saw
+such a boy!"
+
+"But the soap _is_ better than the tallow," said Rectus. "It's finer and
+whiter, and would take up the sand better."
+
+"No, it wouldn't," I growled at him; "the water would wash it out in
+half a minute. You needn't be trying to tell anybody on this ship what
+they ought to do."
+
+"But supposing----" said he.
+
+"No," I exclaimed, in a way that made him jump, "there's no supposing
+about it. If you know their business better than they do, why, just let
+it stand that way. It wont hurt you."
+
+I was pretty mad, I must say, for I didn't want to see a fellow like
+Rectus trying to run the ship. But you couldn't stay mad with Rectus
+long. He didn't mean any wrong, and he gave no words back, and so, as
+you might expect, we were all right again by breakfast-time.
+
+The next morning we were surprised to feel how warm it was on deck. We
+didn't need our overcoats. The sea was ever so much smoother, too. There
+were two or three ladies on deck, who could walk pretty well.
+
+About noon, I was standing on the upper deck, when I saw Rectus coming
+toward me, looking very pale. He was generally a dark sort of a boy, and
+it made a good deal of difference in him to look pale. I was sure he was
+going to be sick, at last,--although it was rather queer for him to
+knock under when the voyage was pretty nearly over,--and I began to
+laugh, when he said to me, in a nervous sort of way:
+
+"I tell you what it is, I believe that we've gone past the mouth of the
+Savannah River. According to my calculations," said he, pointing to a
+spot on his map, which he held in his hand, "we must be down about here,
+off the Georgia coast."
+
+I have said that I began to laugh, and now I kept on. I just sat down
+and roared, so that the people looked at me.
+
+"You needn't laugh," said Rectus. "I believe it's so."
+
+"All right, my boy," said I; "but we wont tell the captain. Just let's
+wait and have the fun of seeing him turn around and go back."
+
+Rectus didn't say anything to this, but walked off with his map.
+
+[Illustration: "RECTUS SHOWED ME THE MAP."]
+
+Now, that boy was no fool. I believe that he was beginning to feel like
+doing something, and, as he had never done anything before, he didn't
+know how.
+
+About twelve o'clock we reached the mouth of the Savannah (without
+turning back), and sailed twenty miles up the river to the city.
+
+We were the first two persons off that vessel, and we took a hack to the
+hotel that the purser had recommended to us, and had the satisfaction of
+reaching it about ten minutes ahead of the people who came in the
+omnibus; although I don't know that that was of much use to us, as the
+clerk gave us top rooms, any way.
+
+We went pretty nearly all over Savannah that afternoon and the next day.
+It's a beautiful city. There is a little public square at nearly every
+corner, and one of the wide streets has a double row of big trees
+running right down the middle of it, with grass under them, and, what
+seemed stranger yet, the trees were all in leaf, little children were
+playing on the grass, and the weather was warm and splendid. The gardens
+in front of the houses were full of roses and all sorts of flowers in
+blossom, and Rectus wanted to buy a straw hat and get his linen trousers
+out of his trunk.
+
+"No, sir," said I; "I'm not going around with a fellow wearing a straw
+hat and linen breeches in January. You don't see anybody else wearing
+them."
+
+"No," said he; "but it's warm enough."
+
+"You may think so," I answered; "but I guess they know their own
+business best. This is their coldest season, and if they wore straw hats
+and linen clothes now, what would they put on when the scorching hot
+weather comes?"
+
+Rectus didn't know, and that matter was dropped. There is a pretty park
+at the back of the town, and we walked about it, and sat under the
+trees, and looked at the flowers, and the fountain playing, and enjoyed
+it ever so much. If it had been summer, and we had been at home, we
+shouldn't have cared so much for these things; but sitting under trees,
+and lounging about over the green grass, while our folks at home were up
+to their eyes, or thereabouts, in snow and ice, delighted both of us,
+especially Rectus. I never heard him talk so much.
+
+We reached Savannah on Tuesday, and were to leave in the steamer for St.
+Augustine Thursday afternoon. Thursday morning we went out to the
+cemetery of Bonaventure, one of the loveliest places in the whole world,
+where there are long avenues of live-oaks that stretch from one side of
+the road to the other, like great covered arbors, and from every limb of
+every tree hang great streamers of gray moss, four and five feet long.
+It was just wonderful to look at. The whole place seemed dripping with
+waving fringe. Rectus said it looked to him as if this was a graveyard
+for old men, and that every old fellow had had to hang his beard on a
+tree before he went down into his grave.
+
+This was a curious idea for Rectus to have, and the colored man who was
+driving us--we went out in style, in a barouche, but I wouldn't do that
+kind of thing again without making a bargain beforehand--turned around
+to look at him as if he thought he was a little crazy. Rectus was
+certainly in high spirits. There was a sort of change coming over him.
+His eyes had a sparkle in them that I never saw before. No one could
+say that he didn't take interest in things now. I think the warm weather
+had something to do with it.
+
+"I tell you what it is, Gordon," said he,--he still called me Gordon,
+and I didn't insist on "Mr.," because I thought that, on the whole,
+perhaps it wouldn't do,--"I'm waking up. I feel as if I had been asleep
+all my life, and was just beginning to open my eyes."
+
+A graveyard seemed a queer place to start out fresh in this way, but it
+wasn't long before I found that, if Rectus hadn't really wakened up, he
+could kick pretty hard in his sleep.
+
+Nothing much happened on the trip down to St. Augustine, for we
+travelled nearly all the way by night. Early the next morning we were
+lying off that old half Spanish town, wishing the tide would rise so
+that we could go in. There is a bar between two islands that lie in
+front of the town, and you have to go over that to get into the harbor.
+We were on the "Tigris," the Bahama steamer that touched at St.
+Augustine on her way to Nassau, and she couldn't get over that bar until
+high tide. We were dreadfully impatient, for we could see the old town,
+with its trees, all green and bright, and its low, wide houses, and a
+great light-house, marked like a barber's pole or a stick of
+old-fashioned mint-candy, and, what was best of all, a splendid old
+castle, or fort, built by the Spaniards three hundred years ago! We
+declared we would go there the moment we set foot on shore. In fact, we
+soon had about a dozen plans for seeing the town.
+
+If we had been the pilots, we would have bumped that old steamer over
+the bar, somehow or other, long before the real pilot started her in;
+but we had to wait. When we did go in, and steamed along in front of the
+old fort, we could see that it was gray and crumbling, and moss-covered
+in places, and it was just like an oil-painting. The whole town, in
+fact, was like an oil-painting to us.
+
+The moment the stairs were put down, we scuffled ashore, and left the
+steamer to go on to the Bahamas whenever she felt like it. We gave our
+valises and trunk-checks to a negro man with a wagon, and told him to
+take the baggage to a hotel that we could see from the wharf, and then
+we started off for the fort. But on my way along the wharf I made up my
+mind that, as the fort had been there for three hundred years, it would
+probably stand a while longer, and that we had better go along with our
+baggage, and see about getting a place to live in, for we were not going
+to be in any hurry to leave St. Augustine.
+
+We didn't go to any hotel at all. I had a letter of introduction to a
+Mr. Cholott, and on our way up from the wharf, I heard some one call out
+that name to a gentleman. So I remembered my letter, and went up and
+gave it to him. He was a first-rate man, and when we told him where we
+were going, we had quite a talk, and he said he would advise us to go to
+a boarding-house. It would be cheaper, and if we were like most boys
+that he knew, we'd like it better. He said that board could be had with
+several families that he knew, and that some of the Minorcans took
+boarders in the winter.
+
+Of course, Rectus wanted to know, right away, what a Minorcan was. I
+didn't think it was exactly the place to ask questions which probably
+had long answers, but Mr. Cholott didn't seem to be in a hurry, and he
+just started off and told us about the Minorcans. A chap called
+Turnbull, more than a hundred years ago, brought over to Florida a lot
+of the natives of the island of Minorca, in the Mediterranean, and began
+a colony. But he was a mean sort of chap; he didn't care for anything
+but making money out of the Minorcans, and it wasn't long before they
+found it out, for he was really making slaves of them. So they just rose
+up and rebelled, and left old Turnbull to run his colony by himself.
+Served him right, too. They started off on their own accounts, and most
+of them came to this town, where they settled, and have had a good time
+ever since. There are a great many of them here now, descendants of the
+original Minorcans, and they keep pretty much together and keep their
+old name, too. They look a good deal like Spaniards, Mr. Cholott said,
+and many of them are very excellent people.
+
+Rectus took the greatest interest in these Minorcans, but we didn't take
+board with any of them. We went to the house of a lady who was a friend
+of Mr. Cholott, and she gave us a splendid room, that looked right out
+over the harbor. We could see the islands, and the light-house, and the
+bar with the surf outside, and even get a glimpse of the ocean. We saw
+the "Tigris" going out over the bar. The captain wanted to get out on
+the same tide he came in on, and he did not lose any time. As soon as
+she got fairly out to sea, we hurried down, to go to the fort. But
+first, Rectus said, we ought to go and buy straw hats. There were lots
+of men with straw hats in St. Augustine. This was true, for it was just
+as warm here as we have it in June, and we started off to look for a
+straw-hat store.
+
+We found that we were in one of the queerest towns in the world. Rectus
+said it was all back-streets, and it looked something that way. The
+streets were very narrow, and none of them had any pavement but sand and
+powdered shell, and very few had any sidewalks. But they didn't seem to
+be needed. Many of the houses had balconies on the second story, which
+reached toward each other from both sides of the street, and this gave
+the town a sociable appearance. There were lots of shops, and most of
+them sold sea-beans. There were other things, like alligators' teeth,
+and shells, and curiosities, but the great trade of the town seemed to
+be in sea-beans.[A] Rectus and I each bought one for our watch-chains.
+
+I think we tried on every straw hat in town, and we bought a couple in a
+little house, where two or three young women were making them. Rectus
+asked me, in a low voice, if I didn't think one of the young women was a
+Mohican. I hushed him up, for it was none of his business if she was. I
+had a good deal of trouble in making Rectus say "Minorcan." Whenever we
+had met a dark-haired person, he had said to me: "Do you think that is a
+Mohican?" It was a part of his old school disposition to get things
+wrong in this way. But he never got angry when I corrected him. His
+temper was perfect.
+
+I bought a common-sized hat, but Rectus bought one that spread out far
+and wide. It made him look like a Japanese umbrella. We stuffed our felt
+hats into our pockets, and started for the fort. But I looked at my
+watch and found it was supper-time. I had suspected it when I came out
+of the hat-shop. The sea-trip and fine air here had given us tremendous
+appetites, which our walk had sharpened.
+
+So we turned back at once and hurried home, agreeing to begin square on
+the fort the next day.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[A] Sea-beans are seeds of a West Indian tree. They are of different
+colors, very hard, and capable of being handsomely polished. They are
+called "sea-beans" because great numbers of them drift up on the Florida
+and adjacent coasts.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+TO THE RESCUE.
+
+
+The next morning, I was awakened by Rectus coming into the room.
+
+"Hello!" said I; "where have you been? I didn't hear you get up."
+
+"I called you once or twice," said Rectus, "but you were sleeping so
+soundly I thought I'd let you alone. I knew you'd lost some sleep by
+being sick on the steamer."
+
+"That was only the first night," I exclaimed. "I've made up that long
+ago. But what got you up so early?"
+
+"I went out to take a warm salt-water bath before breakfast," answered
+Rectus. "There's an eight-cornered bath-house right out here, almost
+under the window, where you can have your sea-water warm if you like
+it."
+
+"Do they pump it from the tropics?" I asked, as I got up and began to
+dress.
+
+"No; they heat it in the bath-house. I had a first-rate bath, and I saw
+a Minorcan."
+
+"You don't say so!" I cried. "What was he like? Had he horns? And how
+did you know what he was?"
+
+"I asked him," said Rectus.
+
+"Asked him!" I exclaimed. "You don't mean to say that you got up early
+and went around asking people if they were Mohicans!"
+
+"Minorcans, I said."
+
+"Well, it's bad enough, even if you got the name right. Did you ask the
+man plump to his face?"
+
+"Yes. But he first asked me what I was. He was an oldish man, and I met
+him just as I was coming out of the bath-house. He had a basket of clams
+on his arm, and I asked him where he caught them. That made him laugh,
+and he said he dug them out of the sand under the wharf. Then he asked
+me if my name was Cisneros, and when I told him it was not, he said that
+I looked like a Spaniard, and he thought that that might be my name. And
+so, as he had asked me about myself, I asked him if he was a Minorcan,
+and he said 'yes.'"
+
+"And what then?" I asked.
+
+"Nothing," said Rectus. "He went on with his clams, and I came home."
+
+"You didn't seem to make much out of him, after all," said I. "I don't
+wonder he thought you were a Spaniard, with that hat. I told you you'd
+make a show of yourself. But what are you going to do with your
+Minorcans, Rectus, when you catch them?"
+
+He laughed, but didn't mention his plans.
+
+"I didn't know how you got clams," he said. "I thought you caught them
+some way. It would never have entered my head to dig for them."
+
+"There's lots to learn in this town about fish, and ever so many other
+things besides; and I tell you what it is, Rectus, as soon as we get
+through with the fort,--and I don't know how long that will take us, for
+I heard on the steamer that it had underground dungeons,--we'll go off
+on a first-class exploring expedition."
+
+That suited Rectus exactly.
+
+After breakfast we started for the fort. It is just outside of the town,
+and you can walk all the way on the sea-wall, which is about a yard wide
+on top,--just a little too wide for one fellow, but not quite wide
+enough for two.
+
+The United States government holds the fort now, of course, and calls it
+Fort Marion, but the old Spanish name was San Marco, and we disdained to
+call it anything else. When we went over the drawbridge, and across the
+moat, we saw the arms of Spain on a shield over the great gate of the
+fort. We walked right in, into a wide hall, with dark door-ways on each
+side, and then out into a great inclosed space, like a parade-ground, in
+the centre of the fort, and here we saw a whole crowd of Indians. We
+didn't expect to find Indians here, and we were very much surprised.
+They did not wear Indian clothes, but were dressed in United States
+military uniform. They didn't look like anything but Indians, though,
+for all that. I asked one of them if he belonged here, and he smiled
+and said "How?" and held out his hand. We both shook it, but could make
+nothing out of him. A good many of them now came up and said "How?" to
+us, and shook hands, and we soon found that this meant "How d' ye do?"
+and was about all they knew of English.
+
+[Illustration: "HOW?"]
+
+We were lucky enough, before we got through shaking hands with our new
+friends, to see Mr. Cholott coming toward us, and he immediately took us
+in charge, and seemed to be glad to have a job of the kind. There was
+nothing about the fort that he didn't know. He told us that the Indians
+were prisoners, taken in the far West by United States troops, and that
+some of them were the worst Indians in the whole country. They were safe
+enough now, though, and were held here as hostages. Some were chiefs,
+and they were all noted men,--some as murderers, and others in less
+important ways. They had been here for some years, and a few of them
+could speak a little English.
+
+He then took us all over the fort,--up an inclined plane to the top of
+the ramparts, and into the Indian barracks on one of the wide walls,
+where we saw a lot of Cheyennes and Kiowas, and Indians from other
+tribes, sitting around and making bows and arrows, and polishing
+sea-beans to sell to visitors. At each corner of the fort was a "lookout
+tower,"--a little box of a place, stuck out from the top of the wall,
+with loopholes and a long, narrow passage leading to it, with a high
+wall on each side to protect from bullets and arrows the man who went to
+look out. One of the towers had been knocked off, probably by a
+cannon-ball. These towers and slim little passages took our fancy
+greatly. Then Mr. Cholott took us downstairs to see the dungeons. He got
+the key and gave it to a big old Indian, named Red Horse, who went
+ahead with a lighted kerosene-lamp.
+
+We first saw the dungeon where the Indian chief, Osceola, was shut up
+during the Seminole war. It was a dreary place. There was another chief,
+Wild Cat, who was imprisoned with Osceola, and one night Osceola
+"boosted" him to a high window, where he squeezed through the bars and
+got away. If Osceola had had any one to give him a lift, I suppose he
+would have been off, too. Rectus and I wondered how the two Indians
+managed this little question of who should be hoisted. Perhaps they
+tossed up, or perhaps Wild Cat was the lighter of the two. The worst
+dungeon, though, was a place that was discovered by accident about
+thirty years ago. There was nothing there when we went in; but, when it
+was first found, a chained skeleton was lying on the floor. Through a
+hole in the wall we crept into another dungeon, worse yet, in which two
+iron cages were found hung to the wall, with skeletons in them. It
+seemed like being in some other country to stand in this dark little
+dungeon, and hear these dreadful stories, while a big Indian stood
+grinning by, holding a kerosene-lamp.
+
+Mr. Cholott told us that one of the cages and the bones could now be
+seen in Washington.
+
+After Mr. Cholott went home, we tramped all over the fort again by
+ourselves, and that afternoon we sat on the outer wall that runs along
+the harbor-front of the fort, and watched the sail-boats and the
+fishermen in their "dug-outs." There were a couple of sharks swimming up
+and down in front of the town, and every now and then they would come
+up and show themselves. They were the first sharks we had ever seen.
+
+Rectus was worked up about the Indians. We had been told that, while a
+great many of the chiefs and braves imprisoned here were men known to
+have committed crimes, still there were others who had done nothing
+wrong, and had been captured and brought here as prisoners, simply
+because, in this way, the government would have a good hold on their
+tribes.
+
+Rectus thought this was the worst kind of injustice, and I agreed with
+him, although I didn't see what we were going to do about it.
+
+On our way home we met Rectus's Minorcan; he was a queer old fellow.
+
+"Hello!" said he, when he saw Rectus. "Have you been out catching
+clams?"
+
+We stopped and talked a little while about the sharks, and then the old
+man asked Rectus why he wanted to know, that morning, whether he was a
+Minorcan or not.
+
+"I just wanted to see one," said Rectus, as if he had been talking of
+kangaroos or giraffes. "I've been thinking a good deal about them, and
+their bold escape from slavery, and their----"
+
+"Slavery!" sung out the old man. "We were never slaves! What do you mean
+by that? Do you take us for niggers?"
+
+He was pretty mad, and I don't wonder, if that was the way he understood
+Rectus, for he was just as much a white man as either of us.
+
+"Oh no!" said Rectus. "But I've heard all about you, and that tyrant
+Turnbull, and the way you cast off his yoke. I mean your fathers, of
+course."
+
+"I reckon you've heard a little too much, young man," said the Minorcan.
+"Somebody's been stuffin' you. You'd better get a hook and line, and go
+out to catch clams."
+
+"Why, you don't understand me!" cried Rectus. "I honor you for it."
+
+The old man looked at him and then at me, and then he laughed. "All
+right, bub," said he. "If ever you want to hire a boat, I've got one. My
+name is Menendez. Just ask for my boat at the club-house wharf." And
+then he went on.
+
+"That's all you get for your sympathy with oppressed people," said
+Rectus. "They call you bub."
+
+"Well, that old fellow isn't oppressed," I said; "and if any of his
+ancestors were, I don't suppose he cares about remembering it. We ought
+to hire his boat some time."
+
+That evening we took a walk along the sea-wall. It was a beautiful
+starlight night, and a great many people were walking about. When we got
+down near the fort,--which looked bigger and grayer than ever by the
+starlight,--Rectus said he would like to get inside of it by night, and
+I agreed that it would be a good thing to do. So we went over the
+drawbridge (this place has a drawbridge, and portcullises, and
+barbicans, and demi-lunes, and a moat, just as if it were a castle or a
+fort of some old country in Europe),--but the big gate was shut. We
+didn't care to knock, for all was dark, and we came away. Rectus
+proposed that we should reconnoitre the place, and I agreed, although,
+in reality, there wasn't anything to reconnoitre. We went down into the
+moat, which was perfectly dry, and very wide, and walked all around the
+fort.
+
+We examined the walls, which were pretty jagged and rough in some
+places, and we both agreed that if we _had_ to do it, we believed we
+could climb to the top.
+
+As we walked home, Rectus proposed that we should try to climb in some
+night.
+
+"What's the good?" I asked.
+
+"Why, it would be a splendid thing," said he, "to scale the walls of an
+old Middle-Age fort, like that. Let's try it, anyway."
+
+I couldn't help thinking that it would be rather a fine thing to do, but
+it did seem rather foolish to risk our necks to get over the walls at
+night, when we could walk in, whenever we pleased, all day.
+
+But it was of no use to say anything like that to Rectus. He was full of
+the idea of scaling the walls, and I found that, when the boy did get
+worked up to anything, he could talk first-rate, and before we went to
+sleep I got the notion of it, too, and we made up our minds that we
+would try it.
+
+The next day we walked around the walls two or three times, and found a
+place where we thought we could get up, if we had a rope fastened to the
+top of the wall. When General Oglethorpe bombarded the fort,--at the
+time the Spaniards held it,--he made a good many dents in the wall, and
+these would help us. I did climb up a few feet, but we saw that it would
+never do to try to get all the way up without a rope.
+
+How to fasten the rope on the top of the wall was the next question. We
+went in the fort, and found that if we could get a stout grapnel over
+the wall, it would probably catch on the inside of the coping, and give
+us a good enough hold. There is a wide walk on top, with a low wall on
+the outside, just high enough to shelter cannon, and to enable the
+garrison to dodge musketry and arrows.
+
+We had a good deal of trouble finding a rope, but we bought one, at
+last, which was stout enough,--the man asked us if we were going to fish
+for sharks, and didn't seem to believe us when we said no,--and we took
+it to our room, and made knots in it about a foot apart. The fort walls
+are about twenty feet high, and we made the rope plenty long enough,
+with something to spare. We didn't have much trouble to find a grapnel.
+We bought a small one, but it was strong enough. We talked the matter
+over a great deal, and went to the fort several times, making
+examinations, and measuring the height of the wall, from the top, with a
+spool of cotton.
+
+It was two or three days before we got everything ready, and in our
+trips to the fort we saw a good deal of the Indians. We often met them
+in the town, too, for they were frequently allowed to go out and walk
+about by themselves. There was no danger, I suppose, of their trying to
+run away, for they were several thousand miles from their homes, and
+they probably would not care to run to any other place with no larger
+stock of the English language than one word, "How?" Some of them,
+however, could talk a little English. There was one big fellow--he was
+probably the largest of them all--who was called "Maiden's Heart." I
+couldn't see how his name fitted, for he looked like an out-and-out
+savage, and generally wore a grin that seemed wicked enough to frighten
+settlers out of his part of the country. But he may have had a tender
+spot, somewhere, which entitled him to his name, and he was certainly
+very willing to talk to us, to the extent of his ability, which was not
+very great. We managed, however, to have some interesting, though rather
+choppy, conversations.
+
+There was another fellow, a young chief, called Crowded Owl, that we
+liked better than any of the others, although we couldn't talk to him at
+all. He was not much older than I was, and so seemed to take to us. He
+would walk all around with us, and point out things. We had bought some
+sea-beans of him, and it may be that he hoped to sell us some more. At
+any rate, he was very friendly.
+
+We met Mr. Cholott several times, and he told us of some good places to
+go to, and said he'd take us out fishing before long. But we were in no
+hurry for any expedition until we had carried out our little plan of
+surprising the fort. I gave the greater part of our money, however, to
+Mr. Cholott to lock up in his safe. I didn't like old Mr. Colbert's plan
+of going about with your capital pinned to your pockets. It might do
+while we were travelling, but I would rather have had it in drafts or
+something else not easily lost.
+
+We had a good many discussions about our grapnel. We did not know
+whether there was a sentinel on duty in the fort at night or not, but
+supposed there was, and, if so, he would be likely to hear the grapnel
+when we threw it up and it hit the stones. We thought we could get over
+this difficulty by wrapping the grapnel in cotton wool. This would
+deaden the sound when it struck, but would not prevent the points of the
+hooks from holding to the inner edge of the wall. Everything now seemed
+all right, except that we had no object in view after we got over the
+wall. I always like to have some reason for doing a thing, especially
+when it's pretty hard to do. I said this to Rectus, and he agreed with
+me.
+
+"What I would like to do," said he, "would be to benefit the innocent
+Indian prisoners."
+
+"I don't know what we can do for them," said I. "We can't let them out,
+and they'd all go back again if we did."
+
+"No, we can't do that," said he; "but we ought to do something. I've
+been around looking at them all carefully, and I feel sure that there
+are at least forty men among those Indians who haven't done a thing to
+warrant shutting them up."
+
+"Why, how do you know?" I exclaimed.
+
+"I judge from their faces," said Rectus.
+
+Of course this made me laugh, but he didn't care.
+
+"I'll tell you what we could do," said he; "we could enter a protest
+that might be heard of, and do some good. We could take a pot of black
+paint and a brush with us, and paint on one of the doors that open into
+the inner square,--where everybody could see it,--something like this:
+'Let the righteous Indian go free.' That would create talk, and
+something might be done."
+
+"Who'd do it?" said I. "The captain in command couldn't. He has no power
+to let any of them go free."
+
+"Well, we might address the notice to the President of the United
+States--in big black letters. They could not conceal such a thing."
+
+"Well, now, look here, Rectus," said I; "this thing is going to cost too
+much money. That rope was expensive, and the grapnel cost a good deal
+more than we thought it would; and now you want a big pot of black
+paint. We mustn't spend our money too fast, and if we've got to
+economize, let's begin on black paint. You can write your proclamation
+on paper, and stick it on the door with tacks. They could send that
+easier to the President than they could send a whole door."
+
+"You may make as much fun as you please," said Rectus, "but I'm going to
+write it out now."
+
+And so he did, in big letters, on half a sheet of foolscap.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+STORMING SAN MARCO.
+
+
+We started out on our storming expedition on a Tuesday night, about nine
+o'clock; we had a latch-key, so we could come home when we pleased.
+Rectus carried the rope, and I had the grapnel, wrapped in its cotton
+wool. We put newspapers around these things, and made pretty respectable
+packages of them. We did not go down the sea-wall, but walked around
+through some of the inner streets. It seemed to us like a curious
+expedition. We were not going to do anything wrong, but we had no idea
+what the United States government would think about it. We came down to
+the fort on its landward side, but our attack was to be made upon the
+waterfront, and so we went around that way, on the side farthest from
+the town. There were several people about yet, and we had to wait. We
+dropped our packages into the moat, and walked about on the
+water-battery, which is between the harbor and the moat, and is used as
+a sort of pleasure-ground by the people of the town. It was a pretty
+dark night, although the stars were out, and the last of the promenaders
+soon went home; and then, after giving them about ten minutes to get
+entirely out of sight and hearing, we jumped down into the moat, which
+is only five or six feet below the water-battery, and, taking our
+packages, went over to that part of the wall which we had fixed upon for
+our assault.
+
+We fastened the rope to the grapnel, and then Rectus stood back while I
+made ready for the throw. It was a pretty big throw, almost straight up
+in the air, but I was strong, and was used to pitching, and all that
+sort of thing. I coiled the rope on the ground, took the loose end of it
+firmly in my left hand, and then, letting the grapnel hang from my right
+hand until it nearly touched the ground, I swung it round and round,
+perpendicularly, and when it had gone round three or four times, I gave
+it a tremendous hurl upward.
+
+It rose beautifully, like a rocket, and fell inside of the ramparts,
+making only a little thud of a sound.
+
+"First-rate!" said Rectus, softly; and I felt pretty proud myself.
+
+I pulled on the rope, and found the grapnel had caught. I hung with my
+whole weight on it, but it held splendidly.
+
+"Now, then," said I to Rectus, "you can climb up. Go slowly, and be very
+careful. There's no hurry. And mind you take a good hold when you get to
+the top."
+
+We had arranged that Rectus was to go first. This did not look very
+brave on my part, but I felt that I wanted to be under him, while he was
+climbing, so that I could break his fall if he should slip down. It
+would not be exactly a perpendicular fall, for the wall slanted a
+little, but it would be bad enough. However, I had climbed up worse
+places than that, and Rectus was very nimble; so I felt there was no
+great danger.
+
+Up he went, hand over hand, and putting his toes into nicks every now
+and then, thereby helping himself very much. He took it slowly and
+easily, and I felt sure he would be all right. As I looked at him,
+climbing up there in the darkness, while I was standing below, holding
+the rope so that it should not swing, I could not help thinking that I
+was a pretty curious kind of a tutor for a boy. However, I was taking
+all the care of him that I could, and if he came down he'd probably hurt
+me worse than he would hurt himself. Besides, I had no reason to suppose
+that old Mr. Colbert objected to a little fun. Then I began to think of
+Mrs. Colbert, and while I was thinking of her, and looking up at Rectus,
+I was amazed to see him going up quite rapidly, while the end of the
+rope slipped through my fingers. Up he went, and when I ran back, I
+could see a dark figure on the wall, above him. Somebody was pulling him
+up.
+
+In a very few moments he disappeared over the top, rope and all!
+
+Now, I was truly frightened. What might happen to the boy?
+
+I was about to shout, but, on second thoughts, decided to keep quiet;
+yet I instantly made up my mind that, if I didn't see or hear from him
+pretty soon, I would run around to the gate and bang up the people
+inside. However, it was not necessary for me to trouble myself, for, in
+a minute, the rope came down again, and I took hold of it. I pulled on
+it and found it all firm, and then I went up. I climbed up pretty fast,
+and two or three times I felt a tug, as if somebody above was trying to
+pull me up. But it was of no use, for I was a great deal stouter and
+heavier than Rectus, who was a light, slim boy. But as I neared the top,
+a hand came down and clutched me by the collar, and some one, with a
+powerful arm and grip, helped me over the top of the wall. There stood
+Rectus, all right, and the fellow who had helped us up was the big
+Indian, "Maiden's Heart."
+
+I looked at Rectus, and he whispered:
+
+"He says there's a sentinel down there in the square."
+
+At this, Maiden's Heart bobbed his head two or three times, and,
+motioning to us to crouch down, he crept quietly over to the inner wall
+of the ramparts and looked down.
+
+"What shall we say we came for?" I whispered, quickly.
+
+"I don't know," said Rectus.
+
+"Well, we must think of something," I said, "or we shall look like
+fools."
+
+But before he had time to think, Maiden's Heart crept back. He put his
+finger on his lips, and, beckoning us to follow him, he led the way to a
+corner of the fort near one of the lookout towers. We followed as
+quietly as we could, and then we all three slipped into the narrow
+entrance to the tower, the Indian motioning us to go first. When we two
+stood inside of the little round tower, old Maiden's Heart planted
+himself before us in the passage, and waited to hear what we had to say.
+
+But we couldn't think of anything to say. Directly, however, I thought I
+must do something, so I whispered to the Indian:
+
+"Does the sentry ever come up here?"
+
+He seemed to catch my meaning.
+
+"I go watch," he said. "Come back. Tell you." And off he stole, making
+no more noise than a cat.
+
+"Bother on him!" said Rectus. "If I'd known he was up here, I would
+never have come."
+
+"I reckon not," said I. "But now that we have come, what are we going to
+do or say? That fellow evidently thinks we have some big project on
+hand, and he's ready to help us; we must be careful, or he'll rush down
+and murder the sentinel."
+
+"I'm sure I don't know what to say to him," said Rectus. "We ought to
+have thought of this before. I suppose it would be of no use to mention
+my poster to him."
+
+"No, indeed," said I; "he'd never understand that. And, besides, there's
+a man down there. Let's peep out and see what he's doing."
+
+So we crept to the entrance of the passage, and saw Maiden's Heart,
+crouched near the top of the inclined plane which serves as a stairway
+from the square to the ramparts, and looking over the low wall,
+evidently watching the sentry.
+
+"I'll tell you what let's do," said Rectus. "Let's make a rush for our
+rope, and get out of this."
+
+"No, sir!" said I. "We'd break our necks if we tried to hurry down that
+rope. Don't think of anything of that kind. And, besides, we couldn't
+both get down before he'd see us."
+
+In a few minutes, Maiden's Heart crept quickly back to us, and seemed
+surprised that we had left our hiding-place. He motioned us farther back
+into the passage, and slipped in himself.
+
+We did not have time to ask any questions before we heard the sentry
+coming up the stairway, which was near our corner. When he reached the
+top, he walked away from us over toward the Indian barracks, which were
+on the ramparts, at the other end of the fort. As soon as he reached the
+barracks, Maiden's Heart took me by the arm and Rectus by the collar,
+and hurried us to the stairway, and then down as fast as we could go. He
+made no noise himself, but Rectus and I clumped a good deal. We had to
+wear our shoes, for the place was paved with rough concrete and
+oyster-shells.
+
+The sentry evidently heard the clumping, for he came running down after
+us, and caught up to us almost as soon as we reached the square.
+
+"Eugh!" said he, for he was an Indian; and he ran in front of us, and
+held his musket horizontally before us. Of course we stopped. And then,
+as there was nothing else that seemed proper to do, we held out our
+hands and said "How?" The sentinel took his gun in his left hand, and
+shook hands with us. Then Maiden's Heart, who probably remembered that
+he had omitted this ceremony, also shook hands with us and said "How?"
+
+The two Indians now began to jabber to each other, in a low voice; but
+we could not, of course, make out what they said, and I don't think they
+were able to imagine what we intended to do. We were standing near the
+inner door of the great entrance-way, and into this they now marched us.
+There was a lamp burning on a table.
+
+Said Rectus: "I guess they're going to put us out of the front door;"
+but he was mistaken. They walked us into a dark room, on one side of the
+hall, and Maiden's Heart said to us: "Stay here. Him mad. I come back.
+Keep still," and then he went out, probably to discuss with the sentinel
+the nature of our conspiracy. It was very dark in this room, and, at
+first, we couldn't see anything at all; but we soon found, from the
+smell of the bread, that we were in the kitchen or bakery. We had been
+here before, and had seen the head-cook, a ferocious Indian squaw, who
+had been taken in the act of butchering a poor emigrant woman on the
+plains. She always seemed sullen and savage, and never said a word to
+anybody. We hoped she wasn't in here now.
+
+"I didn't know they had Indian sentinels," said Rectus. "That seems a
+little curious to me. I suppose they set the innocent ones to watch the
+guilty."
+
+"I don't believe that would work," said I, "for the innocent chaps
+would want to get away, just as much as the others. I guess they make
+'em take turns to stand guard. There has to be a sentinel in a fort, you
+know, and I suppose these fellows are learning the business."
+
+We didn't settle this question, nor the more important one of our reason
+for this visit; for, at this moment, Maiden's Heart came back, carrying
+the lamp. He looked at us in a curious way, and then he said:
+
+"What you want?"
+
+I couldn't think of any good answer to this question, but Rectus
+whispered to me:
+
+"Got any money with you?"
+
+"Yes," said I.
+
+"Let's buy some sea-beans," said Rectus.
+
+"All right," I answered.
+
+"Sea-beans?" said Maiden's Heart, who had caught the word; "you want
+sea-beans?"
+
+"Yes," said Rectus, "if you have any good ones."
+
+At this, the Indian conducted us into the hall, put the lamp on the
+table, and took three or four sea-beans from his pocket. They were very
+nice ones, and beautifully polished.
+
+"Good," said I; "we'll take these. How much, Maiden's Heart?"
+
+"Fifty cents," said the Indian.
+
+"For all?" I asked.
+
+"No. No. For one. Four bean two dollar."
+
+We both exclaimed at this, for it was double the regular price of the
+beans.
+
+"All right," said Maiden's Heart. "Twenty-five cents, daytime. Fifty
+cents, night."
+
+We looked at each other, and concluded to pay the price and depart. I
+gave him two dollars, and asked him to open the gate and let us out.
+
+[Illustration: "ANOTHER BEAN."]
+
+He grinned.
+
+"No. No. We got no key. Captain got key. Come up wall. Go down wall."
+
+At this, we walked out into the square, and were about to ascend the
+inclined plane when the sentinel came up and stopped us. Thereupon a low
+conversation ensued between him and Maiden's Heart, at the end of which
+the sentry put his hand into his pocket and pulled out three beans,
+which he held out to us. I did not hesitate, but gave him a dollar and a
+half for them. He took the money and let us pass on,--Maiden's Heart at
+my side.
+
+"You want more bean?" said he.
+
+"Oh, no!" I answered. "No, indeed," said Rectus.
+
+When we reached the place where we had left our apparatus, I swung the
+rope over the wall, and, hooking the grapnel firmly on the inside,
+prepared to go down, for, as before, I wished to be under Rectus, if he
+should slip. But Maiden's Heart put his hand on my shoulder.
+
+"Hold up!" he said. "I got 'nother bean. Buy this."
+
+"Don't want it," said I.
+
+"Yes. Yes," said Maiden's Heart, and he coolly unhooked the grapnel from
+the wall.
+
+I saw that it was of no use to contend with a big fellow like that, as
+strong as two common men, and I bought the bean.
+
+I took the grapnel from Maiden's Heart, who seemed to give it up
+reluctantly, and as I hooked it on the wall, I felt a hand upon my
+shoulder. I looked around, and saw the sentinel. He held out to me
+another bean. It was too dark to see the quality of it, but I thought it
+was very small. However, I bought it. One of these fellows must be
+treated as well as the other.
+
+Maiden's Heart and the sentry were now feeling nervously in their
+pockets.
+
+I shook my head vigorously, and saying, "No more! no more!" threw myself
+over the wall, and seized the rope, Rectus holding the grapnel in its
+place as I did so. As I let myself down from knot to knot, a thought
+crossed my mind: "How are we going to get that grapnel after we both are
+down?"
+
+It was a frightening thought. If the two Indians should choose, they
+could keep the rope and grapnel, and, before morning, the whole posse of
+red-skins might be off and away! I did not think about their being so
+far from home, and all that. I only thought that they'd be glad to get
+out, and that they would all come down our rope.
+
+These reflections, which ran through my mind in no time at all, were
+interrupted by Rectus, who called down from the top of the wall, in a
+voice that was a little too loud to be prudent:
+
+"Hurry! I think he's found another bean!"
+
+I was on the ground in a few moments, and then Rectus came down. I
+called to him to come slowly and be very careful, but I can't tell how
+relieved I was when I saw him fairly over the wall and on his way down.
+
+When we both stood on the ground, I took hold of the rope and shook it.
+I am not generally nervous, but I was a little nervous then. I did not
+shake the grapnel loose. Then I let the rope go slack, for a foot or
+two, and gave it a big sweep to one side. To my great delight, over came
+the grapnel, nearly falling on our heads. I think I saw Maiden's Heart
+make a grab at it as it came over, but I am not sure. However, he poked
+his head over the wall and said:
+
+"Good-bye! Come again."
+
+We answered, "Good-bye," but didn't say anything about coming again.
+
+As we hurried along homeward, Rectus said:
+
+"If one of those Indians had kept us up there, while the other one ran
+into the barracks and got a fresh stock of sea-beans, they would have
+just bankrupted us."
+
+"No, they wouldn't," I said. "For I hadn't much more change with me. And
+if I had had it, I wouldn't have given them any more. I'd have called up
+the captain first. The thing was getting too expensive."
+
+"Well, I'm glad I'm out of it," said Rectus. "And I don't believe much
+in any of those Indians being very innocent. I thought Maiden's Heart
+was one of the best of them, but he's a regular rascal. He knew we
+wanted to back out of that affair, and he just fleeced us."
+
+"I believe he would rather have had our scalps than our money, if he had
+had us out in his country," I said.
+
+"That's so," said Rectus. "A funny kind of a maiden's heart he's got."
+
+We were both out of conceit with the noble red man. Rectus took his
+proclamation out of his pocket as we walked along the sea-wall, and,
+tearing it into little pieces, threw it into the water. When we reached
+the steam-ship wharf, we walked out to the end of it, to get rid of the
+rope and grapnel. I whirled the grapnel round and round, and let the
+whole thing fly far out into the harbor. It was a sheer waste of a good
+strong rope, but we should have had a dreary time getting the knots out
+of it.
+
+After we got home I settled up our accounts, and charged half the
+sea-beans to Rectus, and half to myself.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+THE GIRL ON THE BEACH.
+
+
+I was not very well satisfied with our trip over the walls of San Marco.
+In the first place, when the sea-beans, the rope and the grapnel were
+all considered, it was a little too costly. In the second place, I was
+not sure that I had been carrying out my contract with Mr. Colbert in
+exactly the right spirit; for although he had said nothing about my
+duties, I knew that he expected me to take care of his son, and paid me
+for that. And I felt pretty sure that helping a fellow climb up a
+knotted rope into an old fort by night was not the best way of taking
+care of him. The third thing that troubled me in regard to this matter
+was the feeling I had that Rectus had led me into it; that he had been
+the leader and not I. Now, I did not intend that anything of that kind
+should happen again. I did not come out on this expedition to follow
+Rectus around; indeed, it was to be quite the other way. But, to tell
+the truth, I had not imagined that he would ever try to make people
+follow him. He never showed at school that such a thing was in him. So,
+for these three reasons, I determined that there were to be no more
+scrapes of that sort, which generally came to nothing, after all.
+
+For the next two or three days we roved around the old town, and into
+two or three orange-groves, and went out sailing with Mr. Cholott, who
+owned a nice little yacht, or sail-boat, as we should call it up north.
+
+The sailing here is just splendid, and, one morning, we thought we'd
+hire a boat for ourselves and go out fishing somewhere. So we went down
+to the yacht-club wharf to see about the boat that belonged to old
+Menendez--Rectus's Minorcan. There were lots of sail-boats there as well
+as row-boats, but we hunted up the craft we were after, and, by good
+luck, found Menendez in her, bailing her out.
+
+So we engaged her, and he said he'd take us over to the North Beach to
+fish for bass. That suited us,--any beach and any kind of
+fish,--provided he'd hurry up and get his boat ready. While he was
+scooping away, and we were standing on the wharf watching him, along
+came Crowded Owl, the young Indian we had always liked--that is, ever
+since we had known any of them. He came up, said "How?" and shook hands,
+and then pulled out some sea-beans. The sight of these things seemed to
+make me sick, and as for Rectus, he sung out:
+
+"Do' wan' 'em!" so suddenly that it seemed like one word, and a pretty
+savage one at that.
+
+Crowded Owl looked at me, but I shook my head, and said, "No, no, no!"
+Then he drew himself up and just stood there. He seemed struck dumb; but
+that didn't matter, as he couldn't talk to us, anyway. But he didn't go
+away. When we walked farther up the wharf, he followed us, and again
+offered us some beans. I began to get angry, and said "No!" pretty
+violently. At this, he left us, but as we turned at the end of the
+wharf, we saw him near the club-house, standing and talking with
+Maiden's Heart.
+
+"I think it's a shame to let those Indians wander about here in that
+way," said Rectus. "They ought to be kept within bounds."
+
+I couldn't help laughing at this change of tune, but said that I
+supposed only a few of them got leave of absence at a time.
+
+"Well," said Rectus, "there are some of them that ought never to come
+out."
+
+"Hello!" said old Menendez, sticking his head up above the edge of the
+wharf. "We're ready now. Git aboard."
+
+And so we scrambled down into the sail-boat, and Menendez pushed off,
+while the two Indians stood and watched us as we slowly moved away.
+
+When we got fairly out, our sail filled, and we went scudding away on a
+good wind. Then said old Menendez, as he sat at the tiller:
+
+"What were you hollerin' at them Injuns about?"
+
+"I didn't know that we were hollerin'," said I, "but they were bothering
+us to buy their sea-beans."
+
+"That's curious," he said. "They aint much given to that sort of thing.
+But there's no tellin' nothin' about an Injun. If I had my way, I'd
+hang every one of 'em."
+
+"Rather a blood-thirsty sentiment," said I. "Perhaps some of them don't
+deserve hanging."
+
+"Well, I've never seen one o' that kind," said he, "and I've seen lots
+of Injuns. I was in the Seminole war, in this State, and was fightin'
+Injuns from the beginnin' to the end of it. And I know all about how to
+treat the rascals. You must hang 'em, or shoot 'em, as soon as you get
+hold of 'em."
+
+This aroused all the old sympathy for the oppressed red man that dwelt
+in the heart of young Rectus, and he exclaimed:
+
+"That would be murder! There are always two kinds of every sort of
+people--all are not bad. It is wrong to condemn a whole division of the
+human race that way."
+
+"You're right about there bein' two kinds of Injuns," said the old
+fellow. "There's bad ones and there's wuss ones. I know what I've seen
+for myself. I'd hang 'em all."
+
+We debated this matter some time longer, but we could make no impression
+on the old Minorcan. For some reason or other, probably on account of
+his sufferings or hardships in the war, he was extremely bitter against
+all Indians. "You can't tell me," he replied to all of our arguments,
+and I think he completely destroyed all the sympathy which Rectus had
+had for the once down-trodden and deceived Minorcans, by this animosity
+toward members of another race who were yet in captivity and bondage. To
+be sure, there was a good deal of difference in the two cases, but
+Rectus wasn't in the habit of turning up every question to look at the
+bottom of it.
+
+The North Beach is the seaward side of one of the islands that enclose
+the harbor, or the Matanzas River, as it is called. We landed on the
+inland side, and then walked over to the beach, which is very wide and
+smooth. Here we set to work to fish. Old Menendez baited our lines, and
+told us what to do. It was new sport to us.
+
+First, we took off our shoes and stockings, and rolled up our trousers,
+so as to wade out in the shallow water. We each had a long line, one end
+of which we tied around our waists. Menendez had his tied to a
+button-hole of his coat, but he thought he had better make our lines
+very safe, as they belonged to him. There was a big hook and a heavy
+lead to the other end of the line, with a piece of fish for bait, and we
+swung the lead around our heads, and threw it out into the surf as far
+as we could. I thought I was pretty good on the throw, but I couldn't
+begin to send my line out as far as Menendez threw his. As for Rectus,
+he didn't pretend to do much in the throwing business. He whirled his
+line around in such a curious way that I was very much afraid he would
+hook himself in the ear. But Menendez put his line out for him. He
+didn't want me to do it.
+
+Then we stood there in the sand, with the water nearly up to our knees
+every time the waves came in, and waited for a bite. There wasn't much
+biting. Menendez said that the tide was too low, but I've noticed that
+something is always too something, every time any one takes me out
+fishing, so I didn't mind that.
+
+Menendez did hook one fellow, I think, for he gave a tremendous jerk at
+his line, and began to skip inshore as if he were but ten years old; but
+it was of no use. The fish changed his mind.
+
+Then we stood and waited a while longer, until, all of a sudden, Rectus
+made a skip. But he went the wrong way. Instead of skipping out of the
+water, he skipped in. He went in so far that he got his trousers
+dripping wet.
+
+"Hello!" I shouted. "What's up?"
+
+He didn't say anything, but began to pull back, and dig his heels into
+the sand. Old Menendez and I saw, at the same moment, what was the
+matter, and we made a rush for him. I was nearest, and got there first.
+I seized Rectus by the shoulder, and pulled him back a little.
+
+"Whew-w!" said he; "how this twine cuts!"
+
+Then I took hold of the line in front of him, and there was no mistaking
+the fact--he had a big fish on the other end of it.
+
+"Run out!" cried Menendez, who thought there was no good of three
+fellows hauling on the line; and out we ran.
+
+When we had gone up the beach a good way, I looked back and saw a
+rousing big fish flopping about furiously in the shallow water.
+
+"Go on!" shouted Menendez; and we ran on until we had pulled it high and
+dry up on the sand.
+
+Then Menendez fell afoul of it to take out the hook, and we hurried back
+to see it. It was a whopping big bass, and by the powerful way it threw
+itself around on the sand, I didn't wonder that Rectus ran into the
+water when he got the first jerk.
+
+Now, this was something like sport, and we all felt encouraged, and went
+to work again with a will, only Menendez untied the line from Rectus's
+waist and fastened it to his button-hole.
+
+"It may pull out," he said; "but, on the whole, it's better to lose a
+fishin'-line than a boy."
+
+We fished quietly and steadily for some time, but got no more bites,
+when suddenly I heard some one say, behind me:
+
+"They don't ever pull in!"
+
+I turned around, and it was a girl. She was standing there with a
+gentleman,--her father, I soon found out,--and I don't know how long
+they had been watching us. She was about thirteen years old, and came
+over with her father in a sail-boat. I remembered seeing them cruising
+around as we were sailing over.
+
+"They haven't got bites," said her father; "that's the reason they don't
+pull in."
+
+It was very disagreeable to me, and I know it was even more so to
+Rectus, to stand here and have those strangers watch us fishing. If we
+had not been barefooted and bare-legged, we should not have minded it so
+much. As for the old Minorcan, I don't suppose he cared at all. I began
+to think it was time to stop.
+
+"As the tide's getting lower and lower," I said to Menendez, "I suppose
+our chances are getting less and less."
+
+"Yes," said he; "I reckon we'd better shut up shop before long."
+
+"Oh!" cried out the girl, "just look at that fish! Father! Father! Just
+look at it. Did any of you catch it? I didn't see it till this minute. I
+thought you hadn't caught any. If I only had a fishing-line now, I would
+like to catch just one fish. Oh, father! why didn't you bring a
+fishing-line?"
+
+"I didn't think of it, my dear," said he. "Indeed, I didn't know there
+were any fish here."
+
+Old Menendez turned around and grinned at this, and I thought there was
+a good chance to stop fishing; so I offered to let the girl try my line
+for a while, if she wanted to.
+
+It was certain enough that she wanted to, for she was going to run right
+into the water to get it. But I came out, and as her father said she
+might fish if she didn't have to walk into the water, old Menendez took
+a spare piece of line from his pocket and tied it on to the end of mine,
+and he put on some fresh bait and gave it a tremendous send out into the
+surf. Then he put the other end around the girl and tied it. I suppose
+he thought that it didn't matter if a girl should be lost, but he may
+have considered that her father was there to seize her if she got jerked
+in.
+
+She took hold of the line and stood on the edge of the dry sand, ready
+to pull in the biggest kind of a fish that might come along. I put on my
+shoes and stockings, and Rectus his; he'd had enough glory for one day.
+Old Menendez wound up his line, too, but that girl saw nothing of all
+this. She just kept her eyes and her whole mind centred on her line. At
+first, she talked right straight ahead, asking what she should do when
+it bit; how big we thought it would be; why we didn't have a cork, and
+fifty other things, but all without turning her head to the right or the
+left. Then said her father:
+
+"My dear, you mustn't talk; you will frighten the fish. When persons
+fish, they always keep perfectly quiet. You never heard me talking while
+I was fishing. I fish a good deal when I am at home," said he, turning
+to us, "and I always remain perfectly quiet."
+
+Menendez laughed a little at this, and said that he didn't believe the
+fish out there in the surf would mind a little quiet chat; but the
+gentleman said that he had always found it best to be just as still as
+possible. The girl now shut her mouth tight, and held herself more
+ready, if possible, than ever, and I believe that if she had got a bite
+she would have jerked the fish's head off. We all stood around her, and
+her father watched her as earnestly as if she was about to graduate at a
+normal school.
+
+We stood and waited and waited, and she didn't move, and neither did the
+line. Menendez now said he thought she might as well give it up. The
+tide was too low, and it was pretty near dinner-time, and, besides this,
+there was a shower coming on.
+
+"Oh, no!" said she; "not just yet. I feel sure I'll get a bite in a
+minute or two now. Just wait a little longer."
+
+And so it went on, every few minutes, until we had waited about half an
+hour, and then Menendez said he must go, but if the gentleman wanted to
+buy the line, and stay there until the tide came in again, he'd sell it
+to him. At this, the girl's father told her that she must stop, and so
+she very dolefully let Menendez untie the line.
+
+"It's too bad!" she said, almost with tears in her eyes. "If they had
+only waited a few minutes longer!" And then she ran up to Rectus and me,
+and said:
+
+"When are you coming out here again? Do you think you will come
+to-morrow, or next day?"
+
+"I don't know," said I. "We haven't settled our plans for to-morrow."
+
+"Oh, father! father!" she cried, "perhaps they will come out here
+to-morrow, and you must get me a fishing-line, and we will come and fish
+all day."
+
+We didn't stay to hear what her father said, but posted off to our boat,
+for we were all beginning to feel pretty hungry. We took Rectus's fish
+along, to give to our landlady. The gentleman and the girl came close
+after us, as if they were afraid to be left alone on the island. Their
+boat was hauled up near ours, and we set off at pretty much the same
+time.
+
+We went ahead a little, and Menendez turned around and called out to the
+gentleman that he'd better follow us, for there were some bad shoals in
+this part of the harbor, and the tide was pretty low.
+
+"All right, my hearty!" called out the gentleman. "This isn't the first
+time I've sailed in this harbor. I guess I know where the shoals are,"
+and just at that minute he ran his boat hard and fast on one of them.
+
+He jumped up, and took an oar and pushed and pushed: but it was of no
+good--he was stuck fast. By this time we had left him pretty far behind;
+but we all had been watching, and Rectus asked if we couldn't go back
+and help him.
+
+"Well, I s'pose so," said Menendez; "but it's a shame to keep three
+decent people out of their dinner for the sake of a man like that, who
+hasn't got sense enough to take good advice when it's give to him."
+
+"We'd better go," said I, and Menendez, in no good humor, put his boat
+about. We found the other boat aground, in the very worst way. The old
+Minorcan said that he could see that sand-bar through the water, and
+that they might as well have run up on dry land. Better, for that
+matter, because then we could have pushed her off.
+
+"There aint nuthin' to be done," he said, after we had worked at the
+thing for a while, "but to jist wait here till the tide turns. It's
+pretty near dead low now, an' you'll float off in an hour or two."
+
+This was cold comfort for the gentleman, especially as it was beginning
+to rain; but he didn't seem a bit cast down. He laughed, and said:
+
+"Well, I suppose it can't be helped: but I am used to being out in all
+weathers. I can wait, just as well as not. But I don't want my daughter
+here to get wet, and she has no umbrella. Would you mind taking her on
+your boat? When you get to the town, she can run up to our hotel by
+herself. She knows the way."
+
+Of course we had no objection to this, and the girl was helped aboard.
+Then we sailed off, and the gentleman waved his hat to us. If I had been
+in his place, I don't think I should have felt much like waving my hat.
+
+[Illustration: "THE GENTLEMAN WAVED HIS HAT TO US."]
+
+Menendez now said that he had an oil-skin coat stowed away forward, and
+I got it and put it around the girl. She snuggled herself up in it as
+comfortably as she could, and began to talk.
+
+"The way of it was this," she said. "Father, he said we'd go out
+sailing, and mother and I went with him, and when we got down to the
+wharf, there were a lot of boats, but they all had men to them, and so
+father, he said he wanted to sail the boat himself, and mother, she said
+that if he did she wouldn't go; but he said pooh! he could do it as well
+as anybody, and wasn't going to have any man. So he got a boat without a
+man, and mother, she didn't want me to go; but I went, and he stuck fast
+coming back, because he never will listen to anything anybody tells him,
+as mother and I found out long ago. And here we are, almost at the
+wharf! I didn't think we were anywhere near it."
+
+"Well, you see, sis, sich a steady gale o' talkin', right behind the
+sail, is bound to hurry the boat along. And now, s'pose you tell us your
+name," said Menendez.
+
+"My name's Cornelia; but father, he calls me Corny, which mother hates
+to hear the very sound of," said she; "and the rest of it is Mary
+Chipperton. Father, he came down here because he had a weak lung, and
+I'm sure I don't see what good it's going to do him to sit out there in
+the rain. We'll take a man next time. And father and I'll be sure to be
+here early to-morrow to go out fishing with you. Good-bye!"
+
+And with this, having mounted the steps to the pier, off ran Miss
+Corny.
+
+"I wouldn't like to be the ole man o' that family," said Mr. Menendez.
+
+That night, after we had gone to bed, Rectus began to talk. We generally
+went to sleep in pretty short order; but the moon did not shine in our
+windows now until quite late, and so we noticed for the first time the
+curious way in which the light-house--which stood almost opposite on
+Anastasia Island--brightened up the room, every minute or two. It is a
+revolving light, and when the light got on the landward side it gave us
+a flash, which produced a very queer effect on the furniture, and on
+Rectus's broad hat, which hung on the wall right opposite the window. It
+seemed exactly as if this hat was a sort of portable sun of a very mild
+power, which warmed up, every now and then, and lighted the room.
+
+But Rectus did not talk long about this.
+
+"I think," said he, "that we have had about enough of St. Augustine.
+There are too many Indians and girls here."
+
+"And sea-beans, too, perhaps," said I. "But I don't think there's any
+reason for going so soon. I'm going to settle those Indians, and you've
+only seen one girl, and perhaps we'll never see her again."
+
+"Don't you believe that," said Rectus, very solemnly, and he turned
+over, either to ponder on the matter, or to go to sleep. His remarks
+made me imagine that perhaps he was one of those fellows who soon get
+tired of a place and want to be moving on. But that wasn't my way, and I
+didn't intend to let him hurry me. I think the Indians worried him a
+good deal. He was afraid they would keep on troubling us. But, as I had
+said, I had made up my mind to settle the Indians. As for Corny, I know
+he hated her. I don't believe he spoke a word to her all the time we
+were with her.
+
+The next morning, we talked over the Indian question, and then went down
+to the fort. We hadn't been there for three or four days, but now we had
+decided not to stand nagging by a couple of red-skinned savages, but to
+go and see the captain and tell him all about it. All except the
+proclamation--Rectus wouldn't agree to have that brought in at all. Mr.
+Cholott had introduced us to the captain, and he was a first-rate
+fellow, and when we told him how we had stormed his old fort, he laughed
+and said he wondered we didn't break our necks, and that the next time
+we did it he'd put us in the guard-house, sure.
+
+"That would be cheaper for you than buying so many beans," he said.
+
+As to the two Indians, he told us he would see to it that they let us
+alone. He didn't think that Maiden's Heart would ever harm us, for he
+was more of a blower than anything else; but he said that Crowded Owl
+was really one of the worst-tempered Indians in the fort, and he advised
+us to have nothing more to do with him, in any way.
+
+All of this was very good of the captain, and we were very glad we had
+gone to see him.
+
+"I tell you what it is," said Rectus, as we were coming away, "I don't
+believe that any of these Indians are as innocent as they try to make
+out. Did you ever see such a rascally set of faces?"
+
+Somehow or other, I seldom felt sorry when Rectus changed his mind. I
+thought, indeed, that he ought to change it as much as he could. And
+yet, as I have said, he was a thoroughly good fellow. The trouble with
+him was that he wasn't used to making up his mind about things, and
+didn't make a very good beginning at it.
+
+The next day, we set out to explore Anastasia Island, right opposite the
+town. It is a big island, but we took our lunch and determined to do
+what we could. We hired a boat and rowed over to the mouth of a creek in
+the island. We went up this creek quite a long way, and landed at a
+little pier, where we made the boat fast. The man who owned the boat
+told us just how to go. We first made a flying call at the coquina
+quarries, where they dig the curious stuff of which the town is built.
+This is formed of small shells, all conglomerated into one solid mass
+that becomes as hard as stone after it is exposed to the air. It must
+have taken thousands of years for so many little shell-fish to pile
+themselves up into a quarrying-ground. We now went over to the
+light-house, and climbed to the top of it, where we had a view that made
+Rectus feel even better than he felt in the cemetery at Savannah.
+
+When we came down, we started for the beach and stopped a little while
+at the old Spanish light-house, which looked more like a cracker-bakery
+than anything else, but I suppose it was good enough for all the ships
+the Spaniards had to light up. We would have cared more for the old
+light-house if it had not had an inscription on it that said it had been
+destroyed, and rebuilt by some American. After that, we considered it
+merely in the light of a chromo.
+
+We had a good time on the island, and stayed nearly all day. Toward the
+end of the afternoon, we started back for the creek and our boat. We had
+a long walk, for we had been exploring the island pretty well, and when,
+at last, we reached the creek, we saw that our boat was gone!
+
+This was astounding. We could not make out how the thing could have
+happened. The boatman, from whom we had hired it, had said that it would
+be perfectly safe for us to leave the boat at the landing if we tied her
+up well and hid the oars. I had tied her up very well and we had hidden
+the oars so carefully, under some bushes, that we found them there when
+we went to look for them.
+
+"Could the old thing have floated off of itself?" said Rectus.
+
+"That couldn't have happened," I said. "I tied her hard and fast."
+
+"But how could any one have taken her away without oars?" asked Rectus.
+
+"Rectus," said I, "don't let us have any more riddles. Some one may have
+cut a pole and poled her away, up or down the creek, or----"
+
+"I'll tell you," interrupted Rectus. "Crowded Owl!"
+
+I didn't feel much like laughing, but I did laugh a little.
+
+"Yes," I said. "He probably swam over with a pair of oars on purpose to
+steal our boat. But, whether he did it or not, it's very certain that
+somebody has taken the boat, and there isn't any way, that I see, of
+getting off this place to-night. There'll be nobody going over so late
+in the afternoon--except, to be sure, those men we saw at the other end
+of the island with a flat-boat."
+
+"But that's away over at the upper end of the island," said Rectus.
+
+"That's not so very far," said I. "I wonder if they have gone back yet?
+If one of us could run over there and ask them to send a boatman from
+the town after us, we might get back by supper-time."
+
+"Why not both of us?" asked Rectus.
+
+"One of us should stay here to see if our boat does come back. It must
+have been some one from the island who took it, because any one from the
+mainland would have brought his own boat."
+
+"Very well," said Rectus. "Let's toss up to see who goes. The winner
+stays."
+
+I pitched up a cent.
+
+"Heads," said Rectus.
+
+"Tails," said I.
+
+Tails it was, and Rectus started off like a good fellow.
+
+I sat down and waited. I waited a long, long time, and then I got up and
+walked up and down. In about an hour I began to get anxious. It was more
+than time for Rectus to return. The walk to the end of the island and
+back was not much over a mile--at least, I supposed it was not. Could
+anything have happened to the boy? It was not yet sunset, and I couldn't
+imagine what there was to happen.
+
+After waiting about half an hour longer, I heard a distant sound of
+oars. I ran to the landing and looked down the creek. A boat with a man
+in it was approaching. When it came nearer, I saw plainly that it was
+our boat. When it had almost reached the landing, the man turned around,
+and I was very much surprised, indeed, to see that he was Mr.
+Chipperton.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+MR. CHIPPERTON.
+
+
+I took hold of the boat, and pulled the bow up on the beach. Mr.
+Chipperton looked around at me.
+
+"Why, how do you do?" said he.
+
+[Illustration: "WHY, HOW DO YOU DO?"]
+
+For an instant I could not answer him, I was so angry, and then I said:
+
+"What did you----? How did you come to take our boat away?"
+
+"Your boat!" he exclaimed. "Is this your boat? I didn't know that. But
+where is my boat? Did you see a sail-boat leave here? It is very
+strange--remarkably strange! I don't know what to make of it."
+
+"I know nothing about a sail-boat," said I. "If we had seen one leave
+here, we should have gone home in her. Why did you take our boat?"
+
+Mr. Chipperton had now landed.
+
+"I came over here," he said, "with my wife and daughter. We were in a
+sail-boat, with a man to manage it. My wife would not come otherwise. We
+came to see the light-house, but I do not care for light-houses,--I have
+seen a great many of them. I am passionately fond of the water. Seeing a
+small boat here which no one was using, I let the man conduct my wife
+and Corny--my daughter--up to the light-house, while I took a little
+row. I know the man. He is very trustworthy. He would let no harm come
+to them. There was a pair of oars in the sail-boat, and I took them, and
+rowed down the creek, and then went along the river, below the town;
+and, I assure you, sir, I went a great deal farther than I intended, for
+the tide was with me. But it wasn't with me coming back, of course, and
+I had a very hard time of it. I thought I never should get back. This
+boat of yours, sir, seems to be an uncommonly hard boat to row."
+
+"Against a strong tide, I suppose it is," said I; "but I wish you hadn't
+taken it. Here I have been waiting ever so long, and my friend----"
+
+"Oh! I'm sorry, too," interrupted Mr. Chipperton, who had been looking
+about, as if he expected to see his sail-boat somewhere under the trees.
+"I can't imagine what could have become of my boat, my wife, and my
+child. If I had staid here, they could not have sailed away without my
+knowing it. It would even have been better to go with them, although, as
+I said before, I don't care for light-houses."
+
+"Well," said I, not quite as civilly as I generally speak to people
+older than myself, "your boat has gone, that is plain enough. I suppose,
+when your family came from the light-house, they thought you had gone
+home, and so went themselves."
+
+"That's very likely," said he,--"very likely indeed. Or, it may be that
+Corny wouldn't wait. She is not good at waiting. She persuaded her
+mother to sail away, no doubt. But now I suppose you will take me home
+in your boat, and the sooner we get off the better, for it is growing
+late."
+
+"You needn't be in a hurry," said I, "for I am not going off until my
+friend comes back. You gave him a good long walk to the other end of the
+island."
+
+"Indeed!" said Mr. Chipperton. "How was that?"
+
+Then I told him all about it.
+
+"Do you think that the flat-boat is likely to be there yet?" he asked.
+
+"It's gone, long ago," said I; "and I'm afraid Rectus has lost his way,
+either going there or coming back."
+
+I said this as much to myself as to my companion, for I had walked back
+a little to look up the path. I could not see far, for it was growing
+dark. I was terribly worried about Rectus, and would have gone to look
+for him, but I was afraid that if I left Mr. Chipperton he would go off
+with the boat.
+
+Directly Mr. Chipperton set up a yell.
+
+"Hi! hi! hi!" he cried.
+
+I ran down to the pier, and saw a row-boat approaching.
+
+"Hi!" cried Mr. Chipperton. "Come this way! Come here! Boat ahoy!"
+
+"We're coming!" shouted a man from the boat. "Ye needn't holler for us."
+
+And in a few more strokes the boat touched land. There were two men in
+it.
+
+"Did you come for me?" cried Mr. Chipperton.
+
+"No," said the man who had spoken. "We came for this other party, but I
+reckon you can come along."
+
+"For me?" said I. "Who sent you?"
+
+"Your pardner," said the man. "He came over in a flat-boat, and he said
+you was stuck here, for somebody had stole your boat, and so he sent us
+for you."
+
+"And he's over there, is he?" said I.
+
+"Yes, he's all right, eatin' his supper, I reckon. But isn't this here
+your boat?"
+
+"Yes, it is," I said, "and I'm going home in it. You can take the other
+man."
+
+And, without saying another word, I picked up my oars, which I had
+brought from the bushes, jumped into my boat, and pushed off.
+
+"I reckon you're a little riled, aint ye?" said the man; but I made him
+no answer, and left him to explain to Mr. Chipperton his remark about
+stealing the boat. They set off soon after me, and we had a race down
+the creek. I _was_ "a little riled," and I pulled so hard that the other
+boat did not catch up to me until we got out into the river. Then it
+passed me, but it didn't get to town much before I did.
+
+The first person I met on the pier was Rectus. He had had his supper,
+and had come down to watch for me. I was so angry that I would not speak
+to him. He kept by my side, though, as I walked up to the house,
+excusing himself for going off and leaving me.
+
+"You see, it wasn't any use for me to take that long walk back there to
+the creek. I told the men of the fix we were in, and they said they'd
+send somebody for us, but they thought I'd better come along with them,
+as I was there."
+
+I had a great mind to say something here, but I didn't.
+
+"It wouldn't have done you any good for me to come back through the
+woods in the dark. The boat wouldn't get over to you any faster. You
+see, if there'd been any good at all in it, I would have come back--but
+there wasn't."
+
+All this might have been very true, but I remembered how I had sat and
+walked and thought and worried about Rectus, and his explanation did me
+no good.
+
+When I reached the house, I found that our landlady, who was one of the
+very best women in all Florida, had saved me a splendid supper--hot and
+smoking. I was hungry enough, and I enjoyed this meal until there didn't
+seem to be a thing left. I felt in a better humor then, and I hunted up
+Rectus, and we talked along as if nothing had happened. It wasn't easy
+to keep mad with Rectus, because he didn't get mad himself. And,
+besides, he had a good deal of reason on his side.
+
+It was a lovely evening, and pretty nearly all the people of the town
+were out-of-doors. Rectus and I took a walk around the "Plaza,"--a
+public square planted thick with live-oak and pride-of-India trees, and
+with a monument in the centre with a Spanish inscription on it, stating
+how the king of Spain once gave a very satisfactory charter to the town.
+Rectus and I agreed, however, that we would rather have a pride-of-India
+tree than a charter, as far as we were concerned. These trees have on
+them long bunches of blossoms, which smell deliciously.
+
+"Now, then," said I, "I think it's about time for us to be moving along.
+I'm beginning to feel about that Corny family as you do."
+
+"Oh, I only objected to the girl," said Rectus, in an off-hand way.
+
+"Well, I object to the father," said I. "I think we've had enough,
+anyway, of fathers and daughters. I hope the next couple we fall in with
+will be a mother and a son."
+
+"What's the next place on the bill?" asked Rectus.
+
+"Well," said I, "we ought to take a trip up the Oclawaha River. That's
+one of the things to do. It will take us two or three days, and we can
+leave our baggage here and come back again. Then, if we want to stay, we
+can, and if we don't, we needn't."
+
+"All right," said Rectus. "Let's be off to-morrow."
+
+The next morning, I went to buy the Oclawaha tickets, while Rectus staid
+home to pack up our handbags, and, I believe, to sew some buttons on his
+clothes. He could sew buttons on so strongly that they would never come
+off again without bringing the piece out with them.
+
+The ticket-office was in a small store, where you could get any kind of
+alligator or sea-bean combination that the mind could dream of. We had
+been in there before to look at the things. I found I was in luck, for
+the storekeeper told me that it was not often that people could get
+berths on the little Oclawaha steam-boats without engaging them some
+days ahead; but he had a couple of state-rooms left, for the boat that
+left Pilatka the next day. I took one room as quick as lightning, and I
+had just paid for the tickets when Mr. Chipperton and Corny walked in.
+
+"How d' ye do?" said he, as cheerfully as if he had never gone off with
+another fellow's boat. "Buying tickets for the Oclawaha?"
+
+I had to say yes, and then he wanted to know when we were going. I
+wasn't very quick to answer; but the storekeeper said:
+
+"He's just taken the last room but one in the boat that leaves Pilatka
+to-morrow morning."
+
+"And when do you leave here to catch that boat?" said Mr. Chipperton.
+
+"This afternoon,--and stay all night at Pilatka."
+
+"Oh, father! father!" cried Corny, who had been standing with her eyes
+and ears wide open, all this time, "let's go! let's go!"
+
+"I believe I will," said Mr. Chipperton,--"I believe I will. You say you
+have one more room. All right. I'll take it. This will be very pleasant,
+indeed," said he, turning to me. "It will be quite a party. It's ever so
+much better to go to such places in a party. We've been thinking of
+going for some time, and I'm so glad I happened in here now. Good-bye.
+We'll see you this afternoon at the depot."
+
+I didn't say anything about being particularly glad, but just as I left
+the door Corny ran out after me.
+
+"Do you think it would be any good to take a fishing-line?" she cried.
+
+"Guess you'd better," I shouted back, and then I ran home, laughing.
+
+"Here are the tickets!" I cried out to Rectus, "and we've got to be at
+the station by four o'clock this afternoon. There's no backing out now."
+
+"Who wants to back out?" said Rectus, looking up from his trunk, into
+which he had been diving.
+
+"Can't say," I answered. "But I know one person who wont back out."
+
+"Who's that?"
+
+"Corny," said I.
+
+Rectus stood up.
+
+"Cor----!" he exclaimed.
+
+"Ny," said I, "and father and mother. They took the only room
+left,--engaged it while I was there."
+
+"Can't we sell our tickets?" asked Rectus.
+
+"Don't know," said I. "But what's the good? Who's going to be afraid of
+a girl,--or a whole family, for that matter? We're in for it now."
+
+Rectus didn't say anything, but his expression saddened.
+
+We had studied out this trip the night before, and knew just what we had
+to do. We first went from St. Augustine, on the sea-coast, to Tocoi, on
+the St. John's River, by a railroad fifteen miles long. Then we took a
+steam-boat up the St. John's to Pilatka, and the next morning left for
+the Oclawaha, which runs into the St. John's about twenty-five miles
+above, on the other side of the river.
+
+We found the Corny family at the station, all right, and Corny
+immediately informed me that she had a fishing-line, but didn't bring a
+pole, because her father said he could cut her one, if it was needed. He
+didn't know whether it was "throw-out" fishing or not, on that river.
+
+There used to be a wooden railroad here, and the cars were pulled by
+mules. It was probably more fun to travel that way, but it took longer.
+Now they have steel rails and everything that a regular grown-up
+railroad has. We knew the engineer, for Mr. Cholott had introduced us to
+him one day, on the club-house wharf. He was a first-rate fellow, and
+let us ride on the engine. I didn't believe, at first, that Rectus would
+do this; but there was only one passenger car, and after the Corny
+family got into that, he didn't hesitate a minute about the engine.
+
+We had a splendid ride. We went slashing along through the woods the
+whole way, and as neither of us had ever ridden on an engine before, we
+made the best of our time. We found out what every crank and handle was
+for, and kept a sharp look-out ahead, through the little windows in the
+cab. If we had caught an alligator on the cow-catcher, the thing would
+have been complete. The engineer said there used to be alligators along
+by the road, in the swampy places, but he guessed the engine had
+frightened most of them away.
+
+The trip didn't take forty minutes, so we had scarcely time to learn the
+whole art of engine-driving, but we were very glad to have had the ride.
+
+We found the steam-boat waiting for us at Tocoi, which is such a little
+place that I don't believe either of us noticed it, as we hurried
+aboard. The St. John's is a splendid river, as wide as a young lake; but
+we did not have much time to see it, as it grew dark pretty soon, and
+the supper-bell rang.
+
+We reached Pilatka pretty early in the evening, and there we had to stay
+all night. Mr. Chipperton told me, confidentially, that he thought this
+whole arrangement was a scheme to make money out of travellers. The boat
+we were in ought to have kept on and taken us up the Oclawaha; "but,"
+said he, "I suppose that wouldn't suit the hotel-keepers. I expect they
+divide the profits with the boats."
+
+By good luck, I thought, the Corny family and ourselves went to
+different hotels to spend the night. When I congratulated Rectus on this
+fact, he only said:
+
+"It don't matter for one night. We'll catch 'em all bad enough
+to-morrow."
+
+And he was right. When we went down to the wharf the next morning, to
+find the Oclawaha boat, the first persons we saw were Mr. Chipperton,
+with his wife and daughter. They were standing, gazing at the steam-boat
+which was to take us on our trip.
+
+"Isn't this a funny boat?" said Corny, as soon as she saw us. It _was_ a
+very funny boat. It was not much longer than an ordinary tug, and quite
+narrow, but was built up as high as a two-story house, and the wheel was
+in the stern. Rectus compared her to a river wheelbarrow.
+
+Soon after we were on board she started off, and then we had a good
+chance to see the St. John's. We had been down to look at the river
+before, for we got up very early and walked about the town. It is a
+pretty sort of a new place, with wide streets and some handsome houses.
+The people have orange-groves in their gardens, instead of
+potato-patches, as we have up north. Before we started, we hired a
+rifle. We had been told that there was plenty of game on the river, and
+that most gentlemen who took the trip carried guns. Rectus wanted to get
+two rifles, but I thought one was enough. We could take turns, and I
+knew I'd feel safer if I had nothing to do but to keep my eye on Rectus
+while he had the gun.
+
+There were not many passengers on board, and, indeed, there was not room
+for more than twenty-five or thirty. Most of them who could find places
+sat out on a little upper deck, in front of the main cabin, which was in
+the top story. Mrs. Chipperton, however, staid in the saloon, or
+dining-room, and looked out of the windows. She was a quiet woman, and
+had an air as if she had to act as shaft-horse for the team, and was
+pretty well used to holding back. And I reckon she had a good deal of it
+to do.
+
+One party attracted our attention as soon as we went aboard. It was made
+up of a lady and two gentlemen-hunters. The lady wasn't a hunter, but
+she was dressed in a suitable costume to go about with fellows who had
+on hunting-clothes. The men wore long yellow boots that came ever so far
+up their legs, and they had on all the belts and hunting-fixings that
+the law allows. The lady wore yellow gloves, to match the men's boots.
+As we were going up the St. John's, the two men strode about, in an easy
+kind of a way, as if they wanted us to understand that this sort of
+thing was nothing to them. They were used to it, and could wear that
+style of boots every day if they wanted to. Rectus called them "the
+yellow-legged party," which wasn't a bad name.
+
+After steaming about twenty-five miles up the St. John's River, we went
+in close to the western shore, and then made a sharp turn into a narrow
+opening between the tall trees, and sailed right into the forest.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+THE STEAM-BOAT IN THE FOREST.
+
+
+We were in a narrow river, where the tall trees met overhead, while the
+lower branches and the smaller trees brushed against the little boat as
+it steamed along. This was the Oclawaha River, and Rectus and I thought
+it was as good as fairy-land. We stood on the bow of the boat, which
+wasn't two feet above the water, and took in everything there was to
+see.
+
+The river wound around in among the great trees, so that we seldom could
+see more than a few hundred yards ahead, and every turn we made showed
+us some new picture of green trees and hanging moss and glimpses into
+the heart of the forest, while everything was reflected in the river,
+which was as quiet as a looking-glass.
+
+"Talk of theatres!" said Rectus.
+
+"No, don't," said I.
+
+At this moment we both gave a little jump, for a gun went off just
+behind us. We turned around quickly, and saw that the tall yellow-legs
+had just fired at a big bird. He didn't hit it.
+
+"Hello!" said Rectus; "we'd better get our gun. The game is beginning to
+show itself." And off he ran for the rifle.
+
+I didn't know that Rectus had such a bloodthirsty style of mind; but
+there were a good many things about him that I didn't know. When he came
+back, he loaded the rifle, which was a little breech-loader, and began
+eagerly looking about for game.
+
+Corny had been on the upper deck; but in a minute or two she came
+running out to us.
+
+"Oh! do you know," she called out, "that there are alligators in this
+river? Do you think they could crawl up into the boat? We go awfully
+near shore sometimes. They sleep on shore. I do hope I'll see one soon."
+
+"Well, keep a sharp look-out, and perhaps you may," said I.
+
+She sat down on a box near the edge of the deck, and peered into the
+water and along the shore as if she had been sent there to watch for
+breakers ahead. Every now and then she screamed out:
+
+"There's one! There! There! There!"
+
+But it was generally a log, or a reflection, or something else that was
+not an alligator.
+
+Of course we were very near both shores at all times, for the river is
+so narrow that a small boy could throw a ball over it; but occasionally
+the deeper part of the channel flowed so near one shore that we ran
+right up close to the trees, and the branches flapped up against the
+people on the little forward deck, making the ladies, especially the
+lady belonging to the yellow-legged party, crouch and scream as if some
+wood-demon had stuck a hand into the boat and made a grab for their
+bonnets.
+
+This commotion every now and then, and the almost continual reports from
+the guns on board, and Corny's screams when she thought she saw an
+alligator, made the scene quite lively.
+
+Rectus and I took a turn every half-hour at the rifle. It was really a
+great deal more agreeable to look out at the beautiful pictures that
+came up before us every few minutes; but, as we had the gun, we couldn't
+help keeping up a watch for game, besides.
+
+"There!" I whispered to Rectus; "see that big bird! On that limb! Take a
+crack at him!"
+
+It was a water-turkey, and he sat placidly on a limb close to the
+water's edge, and about a boat's length ahead of us.
+
+Rectus took a good aim. He slowly turned as the boat approached the
+bird, keeping his aim upon him, and then he fired.
+
+The water-turkey stuck out his long, snake-like neck, and said:
+
+"Quee! Quee! Quee!"
+
+And then he ran along the limb quite gayly.
+
+"Bang! bang!" went the guns of the yellow-legs, and the turkey actually
+stopped and looked back. Then he said:
+
+"Quee! Quee!" again, and ran in among the thick leaves.
+
+I believe I could have hit him with a stone.
+
+"It don't seem to be any use," said Mr. Chipperton, who was standing
+behind us, "to fire at the birds along this river. They know just what
+to do. I'm almost sure I saw that bird wink. It wouldn't surprise me if
+the fellows that own the rifles are in conspiracy with these birds. They
+let out rifles that wont hit, and the birds know it, and sit there and
+laugh at the passengers. Why, I tell you, sir, if the people who travel
+up and down this river were all regular shooters, there wouldn't be a
+bird left in six months."
+
+At this moment Corny saw an alligator,--a real one. It was lying on a
+log, near shore, and just ahead of the boat. She set up such a yell that
+it made every one of us jump, and her mother came rushing out of the
+saloon to see if she was dead. The alligator, who was a good-sized
+fellow, was so scared that he just slid off his log without taking time
+to get decently awake, and before any one but Rectus and myself had a
+chance to see him. The ladies were very much annoyed at this, and urged
+Corny to scream softly the next time she saw one. Alligators were pretty
+scarce this trip, for some reason or other. For one thing, the weather
+was not very warm, and they don't care to come out in the open air
+unless they can give their cold bodies a good warming up.
+
+Corny now went up on the upper deck, because she thought that she might
+see alligators farther ahead if she got up higher. In five minutes, she
+had her hat taken off by a branch of a tree, which swept upon her, as
+she was leaning over the rail. She called to the pilot to stop the boat
+and go back for her hat, but the captain, who was up in the pilot-house,
+stuck out his head and said he reckoned she'd have to wait until they
+came back. The hat would hang there for a day or two. Corny made no
+answer to this, but disappeared into the saloon.
+
+In a little while, she came out on the lower deck, wearing a seal-skin
+hat. She brought a stool with her, and put it near the bow of the boat,
+a little in front and on one side of the box on which Rectus and I were
+sitting. Then she sat quietly down and gazed out ahead. The seal-skin
+cap was rather too warm for the day, perhaps, but she looked very pretty
+in it.
+
+Directly she looked around at us.
+
+"Where do you shoot alligators?" said she.
+
+"Anywhere, where you may happen to see them," said I, laughing. "On the
+land, in the water, or wherever they may be."
+
+"I mean in what part of their bodies?" said she.
+
+"Oh! in the eye," I answered.
+
+"Either eye?" she asked.
+
+"Yes; it don't matter which. But how are you going to hit them?"
+
+"I've got a revolver," said she.
+
+And she turned around, like the turret of an iron-clad, until the muzzle
+of a big seven-shooter pointed right at us.
+
+"My conscience!" I exclaimed; "where did you get that? Don't point it
+this way!"
+
+"Oh! it's father's. He let me have it. I am going to shoot the first
+alligator I see. You needn't be afraid of my screaming this time," and
+she revolved back to her former position.
+
+"One good thing," said Rectus to me, in a low voice; "her pistol isn't
+cocked."
+
+I had noticed this, and I hoped also that it wasn't loaded.
+
+"Which eye do you shut?" said Corny, turning suddenly upon us.
+
+"Both!" said Rectus.
+
+She did not answer, but looked at me, and I told her to shut her left
+eye, but to be very particular not to turn around again without lowering
+her pistol.
+
+She resumed her former position, and we breathed a little easier,
+although I thought that it might be well for us to go to some other part
+of the boat until she had finished her sport.
+
+I was about to suggest this to Rectus, when suddenly Corny sprang to her
+feet, and began blazing away at something ahead. Bang! bang! bang! she
+went, seven times.
+
+"Why, she didn't stop once to cock it!" cried Rectus, and I was amazed
+to see how she had fired so rapidly. But as soon as I had counted seven,
+I stepped up to her and took her pistol. She explained to me how it
+worked. It was one of those pistols in which the same pull of the
+trigger jerks up the hammer and lets it down,--the most unsafe things
+that any one can carry.
+
+"Too bad!" she exclaimed. "I believe it was only a log! But wont you
+please load it up again for me? Here are some cartridges."
+
+"Corny," said I, "how would you like to have our rifle? It will be
+better than a pistol for you."
+
+She agreed, instantly, to this exchange, and I showed her how to hold
+and manage the gun. I didn't think it was a very good thing for a girl
+to have, but it was a great deal safer than the pistol for the people on
+board. The latter I put in my pocket.
+
+Corny made one shot, but did no execution. The other gunners on board
+had been firing away, for some time, at two little birds that kept ahead
+of us, skimming along over the water, just out of reach of the shot that
+was sent scattering after them.
+
+"I think it's a shame," said Corny, "to shoot such little birds as that.
+They can't eat 'em."
+
+"No," said I; "and they can't hit 'em, either, which is a great deal
+better."
+
+But very soon after this, the shorter yellow-legged man did hit a bird.
+It was a water-turkey, that had been sitting on a tree, just as we
+turned a corner. The big bird spread out its wings, made a doleful
+flutter, and fell into the underbrush by the shore.
+
+"Wont they stop to get him?" asked Corny, with her eyes open as wide as
+they would go.
+
+One of the hands was standing by, and he laughed.
+
+"Stop the boat when a man shoots a bird? I reckon not. And there isn't
+anybody that would go into all that underbrush and water only for a bird
+like that, anyway."
+
+"Well, I think it's murder!" cried Corny. "I thought they ate 'em. Here!
+Take your gun. I'm much obliged; but I don't want to kill things just
+to see them fall down and die."
+
+I took the gun very willingly,--although I did not think that Corny
+would injure any birds with it,--but I asked her what she thought about
+alligators. She certainly had not supposed that they were killed for
+food.
+
+"Alligators are wild beasts," she said. "Give me my pistol. I am going
+to take it back to father."
+
+And away she went. Rectus and I did not keep up our rifle practice much
+longer. We couldn't hit anything, and the thought that, if we should
+wound or kill a bird, it would be of no earthly good to us or anybody
+else, made us follow Corny's example, and we put away our gun. But the
+other gunners did not stop. As long as daylight lasted a ceaseless
+banging was kept up.
+
+We were sitting on the forward deck, looking out at the beautiful scenes
+through which we were passing, and occasionally turning back to see that
+none of the gunners posted themselves where they might make our
+positions uncomfortable, when Corny came back to us.
+
+"Can either of you speak French?" she asked.
+
+Rectus couldn't; but I told her that I understood the language tolerably
+well, and asked her why she wished to know.
+
+"It's just this," she said. "You see those two men with yellow boots,
+and the lady with them? She's one of their wives."
+
+"How many wives have they got?" interrupted Rectus, speaking to Corny
+almost for the first time.
+
+"I mean she is the wife of one of them, of course," she answered, a
+little sharply; and then she turned herself somewhat more toward me.
+"And the whole set try to make out they're French, for they talk it
+nearly all the time. But they're not French, for I heard them talk a
+good deal better English than they can talk French; and every time a
+branch nearly hits her, that lady sings out in regular English. And,
+besides, I know that their French isn't French French, because I can
+understand a great deal of it, and if it was I couldn't do it. I can
+talk French a good deal better than I can understand it, anyway. The
+French people jumble everything up so that I can't make head or tail of
+it. Father says he don't wonder they have had so many revolutions, when
+they can't speak their own language more distinctly. He tried to learn
+it, but didn't keep it up long, and so I took lessons. For, when we go
+to France, one of us ought to know how to talk, or we shall be cheated
+dreadfully. Well, you see, over on the little deck, up there, is that
+gentleman with his wife and a young lady, and they're all travelling
+together, and these make-believe French people have been jabbering about
+them ever so long, thinking that nobody else on board understands
+French. But I listened to them. I couldn't make out all they said, but I
+could tell that they were saying all sorts of things about those other
+people, and trying to settle which lady the gentleman was married to,
+and they made a big mistake, too, for they said the small lady was the
+one."
+
+"How do you know they were wrong?" I said.
+
+"Why, I went to the gentleman and asked him. I guess he ought to know.
+And now, if you'll come up there, I'd just like to show those people
+that they can't talk out loud about the other passengers and have nobody
+know what they're saying."
+
+"You want to go there and talk French, so as to show them that you
+understand it?" said I.
+
+"Yes," answered Corny, "that's just it."
+
+"All right; come along," said I. "They may be glad to find out that you
+know what they're talking about."
+
+And so we all went to the upper deck, Rectus as willing as anybody to
+see the fun.
+
+Corny seated herself on a little stool near the yellow-legged party, the
+men of which had put down their guns for a time. Rectus and I sat on the
+forward railing, near her. Directly she cleared her throat, and then,
+after looking about her on each side, said to me, in very distinct
+tones:
+
+"_Voy-ezz vows cett hommy ett ses ducks femmys seelah?_"[B]
+
+I came near roaring out laughing, but I managed to keep my face
+straight, and said: "_Oui._"
+
+"Well, then,--I mean _Bean donk lah peetit femmy nest pah lah femmy due
+hommy. Lah oter femmy este sah femmy._"[C]
+
+[Illustration: "VOY-EZZ VOWS CETT HOMMY ETT SES DUCKS FEMMYS SEELAH?"]
+
+At this, there was no holding in any longer. I burst out laughing, so
+that I came near falling off the railing; Rectus laughed because I did;
+the gentleman with the wife and the young lady laughed madly, and Mr.
+Chipperton, who came out of the saloon on hearing the uproar, laughed
+quite cheerfully, and asked what it was all about. But Corny didn't
+laugh. She turned around short to see what effect her speech had had on
+the yellow-legged party. It had a good deal of effect. They reddened
+and looked at us. Then they drew their chairs closer together, and
+turned their backs to us. What they thought, we never knew; but Corny
+declared to me afterward that they talked no more French,--at least when
+she was about.
+
+The gentleman who had been the subject of Corny's French discourse
+called her over to him, and the four had a gay talk together. I heard
+Corny tell them that she never could pronounce French in the French way.
+She pronounced it just as it was spelt, and her father said that ought
+to be the rule with every language. She had never had a regular teacher;
+but if people laughed so much at the way she talked, perhaps her father
+ought to get her one.
+
+I liked Corny better the more I knew of her. It was easy to see that she
+had taught herself all that she knew. Her mother held her back a good
+deal, no doubt; but her father seemed more like a boy-companion than
+anything else, and if Corny hadn't been a very smart girl, she would
+have been a pretty bad kind of a girl by this time. But she wasn't
+anything of the sort, although she did do and say everything that came
+into her head to say or do. Rectus did not agree with me about Corny. He
+didn't like her.
+
+When it grew dark, I thought we should stop somewhere for the night, for
+it was hard enough for the boat to twist and squeeze herself along the
+river in broad daylight. She bumped against big trees that stood on the
+edge of the stream, and swashed through bushes that stuck out too far
+from the banks; but she was built for bumping and scratching, and
+didn't mind it. Sometimes she would turn around a corner and make a
+short cut through a whole plantation of lily-pads and spatterdocks,--or
+things like them,--and she would scrape over a sunken log as easily as a
+wagon-wheel rolls over a stone. She drew only two feet of water, and was
+flat-bottomed. When she made a very short turn, the men had to push her
+stern around with poles. Indeed, there was a man with a pole at the bow
+a good deal of the time, and sometimes he had more pushing off to do
+than he could manage by himself.
+
+When Mr. Chipperton saw what tight places we had to squeeze through, he
+admitted that it was quite proper not to try to bring the big
+steam-boats up here.
+
+But the boat didn't stop. She kept right on. She had to go a hundred and
+forty miles up that narrow river, and if she made the whole trip from
+Pilatka and back in two days, she had no time to lose. So, when it was
+dark, a big iron box was set up on top of the pilot-house, and a fire
+was built in it of pine-knots and bits of fat pine. This blazed finely,
+and lighted up the river and the trees on each side, and sometimes threw
+out such a light that we could see quite a distance ahead. Everybody
+came out to see the wonderful sight. It was more like fairy-land than
+ever. When the fire died down a little, the distant scenery seemed to
+fade away and become indistinct and shadowy, and the great trees stood
+up like their own ghosts all around us; and then, when fresh knots were
+thrown in, the fire would blaze up, and the whole scene would be
+lighted up again, and every tree and bush, and almost every leaf, along
+the water's edge would be tipped with light, while everything was
+reflected in the smooth, glittering water.
+
+Rectus and I could hardly go in to supper, and we got through the meal
+in short order. We staid out on deck until after eleven o'clock, and
+Corny staid with us a good part of the time. At last, her father came
+down after her, for they were all going to bed.
+
+"This is a grand sight," said Mr. Chipperton. "I never saw anything to
+equal it in any transformation scene at a theatre. Some of our theatre
+people ought to come down here and study it up, so as to get up
+something of the kind for exhibition in the cities."
+
+Just before we went into bed, our steam-whistle began to sound, and away
+off in the depths of the forest we could hear every now and then another
+whistle. The captain told us that there was a boat coming down the
+river, and that she would soon pass us. The river did not look wide
+enough for two boats; but when the other whistle sounded as if it were
+quite near, we ran our boat close into shore among the spatterdocks, in
+a little cove, and waited there, leaving the channel for the other boat.
+
+Directly, it came around a curve just ahead of us, and truly it was a
+splendid sight. The lower part of the boat was all lighted up, and the
+fire was blazing away grandly in its iron box, high up in the air.
+
+To see such a glowing, sparkling apparition as this come sailing out of
+the depths of the dark forest, was grand! Rectus said he felt like
+bursting into poetry; but he didn't. He wasn't much on rhymes. He had
+opportunity enough, though, to get up a pretty good-sized poem, for we
+were kept awake a long time after we went to bed by the boughs of the
+trees on shore scratching and tapping against the outside of our
+state-room.
+
+When we went out on deck the next morning, the first person we saw was
+Corny, holding on to the flag-staff at the bow and looking over the edge
+of the deck into the water.
+
+"What are you looking at?" said I, as we went up to her.
+
+"See there!" she cried. "See that turtle! And those two fishes! Look!
+look!"
+
+We didn't need to be told twice to look. The water was just as clear as
+crystal, and you could see the bottom everywhere, even in the deepest
+places, with the great rocks covered with some glittering green
+substance that looked like emerald slabs, and the fish and turtles
+swimming about as if they thought there was no one looking at them.
+
+I couldn't understand how the water had become so clear; but I was told
+that we had left the river proper and were now in a stream that flowed
+from Silver Spring, which was the end of our voyage into the cypress
+woods. The water in the spring and in this stream was almost
+transparent,--very different from the regular water of the river.
+
+About ten o'clock, we reached Silver Spring, which is like a little
+lake, with some houses on the bank. We made fast at a wharf, and, as we
+were to stop here some hours, everybody got ready to go ashore.
+
+Corny was the first one ready. Her mother thought she ought not to go,
+but her father said there was no harm in it.
+
+"If she does," said Mrs. Chipperton, "she'll get herself into some sort
+of a predicament before she comes back."
+
+I found that in such a case as this Mrs. Chipperton was generally
+right.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[B] "_Voyez-vous cet homme et ces deux femmes cela?_"--Do you see that
+man and those two women there?
+
+[C] "_Bien donc, la petite femme n'est pas la femme du homme. La autre
+femme est sa femme._"--Well, then, the little woman is not the wife of
+the man. The other woman is his wife. [Of course, the French in this,
+and the preceding, foot-note is Corny's.--THE AUTHOR.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+THE THREE GRAY BEANS.
+
+
+Corny went ashore, but she did not stay there three minutes. From the
+edge of the wharf we could see that Silver Spring was better worth
+looking at than anything we should be likely to see on shore. The little
+lake seemed deeper than a three-story house, and yet, even from where we
+stood, we could see down to the very bottom.
+
+There were two boys with row-boats at the wharf. We hired one of the
+boats right off, and Corny gave me such a look, that I told her to get
+in. After she was in the boat, she asked her mother, who was standing on
+the deck of the steam-boat, if she might go. Mrs. Chipperton said she
+supposed so, and away we went. When we had rowed out to the middle of
+the spring, I stopped rowing, and we looked down into the depths. It was
+almost the same as looking into air. Far down at the bottom we could see
+the glittering sand and the green rocks, and sometimes a fish, as long
+as my arm, would slowly rise and fall, and paddle away beneath us. We
+dropped nickels and copper cents down to the bottom, and we could
+plainly see them lying there. In some parts of the bottom there were
+"wells," or holes, about two feet in diameter, which seemed to go down
+indefinitely. These, we were told, were the places where the water came
+up from below into the spring. We could see the weeds and grasses that
+grew on the edges of these wells, although we could not see very far
+down into them.
+
+"If I had only known," said Rectus, "what sort of a place we were coming
+to, I should have brought something to lower down into these wells. I
+tell you what would have been splendid!--a heavy bottle filled with
+sweet oil and some phosphorus, and a long cord. If we shook up the
+bottle it would shine, so that, when we lowered it into the wells, we
+could see it go down to the very bottom, that is, if the cord should be
+long enough."
+
+At this instant, Corny went overboard! Rectus made a grab at her, but it
+was too late. He sprang to his feet, and I thought he was going over
+after her, but I seized him.
+
+"Sit down!" said I. "Watch her! She'll come up again. Lean over and be
+ready for her!"
+
+We both leaned over the bow as far as was safe. With one hand I gently
+paddled the boat, this way and that, so as to keep ourselves directly
+over Corny. It would have been of no use to jump in. We could see her as
+plainly as anything.
+
+She was going down, all in a bunch, when I first saw her, and the next
+instant she touched the bottom. Her feet were under now, and I saw her
+make a little spring. She just pushed out her feet.
+
+Then she began to come right up. We saw her slowly rising beneath us.
+Her face was turned upward, and her eyes were wide open. It was a
+wonderful sight. I trembled from head to foot. It seemed as if we were
+floating in the air, and Corny was coming up to us from the earth.
+
+Before she quite reached the surface, I caught her, and had her head out
+of water in an instant. Rectus then took hold, and with a mighty jerk,
+we pulled her into the boat.
+
+Corny sat down hard and opened her mouth.
+
+"There!" she said; "I didn't breathe an inch!"
+
+And then she puffed for about two minutes, while the water ran off her
+into the bottom of the boat. I seized the oars to row to shore.
+
+"How did you fall over?" said Rectus, who still shook as if he had had a
+chill.
+
+"Don't know," answered Corny. "I was leaning far over, when my hand must
+have slipped, and the first thing I knew I was into it. It's good I
+didn't shut my eyes. If you get into water, with your eyes shut, you
+can't open them again." She still puffed a little. "Coming up was the
+best. It's the first time I ever saw the bottom of a boat."
+
+"Weren't you frightened?" I asked.
+
+"Hadn't time at first. And when I was coming up, I saw you reaching out
+for me."
+
+[Illustration: "WE SAW HER SLOWLY RISING BENEATH US."]
+
+"Did you think we'd get you?" said Rectus, his face flushing.
+
+"Yes," said Corny, "but if you'd missed me that time, I'd never have
+trusted you again."
+
+The gentleman-with-a-wife-and-a-young-lady was in another boat, not very
+far off, but it was nearer the upper end of the little lake, and none of
+the party knew of our accident until we were pulling Corny out of the
+water. Then they rowed toward us as fast as they could, but they did
+not reach us until we were at the wharf. No one on shore, or on the
+steam-boat, seemed to have noticed Corny's dive. Indeed, the whole thing
+was done so quietly, and was so soon over, that there was not as much of
+a show as the occasion demanded.
+
+"I never before was in deep water that seemed so little like real
+water," said Corny, just before we reached the wharf. "This was cold,
+and that was the only thing natural about it."
+
+"Then this is not the first time you've been in deep water?" I asked.
+
+"No," said Corny, "not the very first time;" and she scrambled up on the
+wharf, where her mother was standing, talking to some ladies.
+
+"Why, Cornelia!" exclaimed Mrs. Chipperton, as soon as she saw the
+dripping girl, "have you been in the water again?"
+
+"Yes, ma'am," said Corny, drawing her shoulders up to her ears, "and I
+must be rubbed down and have dry clothes as quick as lightning."
+
+And with this, she and her mother hurried on board the steam-boat.
+
+Rectus and I went back on the lake, for we had not gone half over it
+when Corny went into it. We had rowed about for half an hour or so, and
+were just coming in, when Corny appeared on the deck of the steam-boat,
+with a handkerchief tied around her head.
+
+"Are you going to take a walk on shore?" she called out.
+
+"Yes!" we shouted.
+
+"All right," said she; "if you'll let me, I'll go with you, for mother
+says I must take a good run in the sun. I look funny, don't I? but I
+haven't any more hats."
+
+We gave her a good run, although it was not altogether in the sun. The
+country hereabout was pretty well wooded, but there were roads cut
+through the woods, and there were some open places, and everywhere,
+underfoot, the sand was about six inches deep. Rectus took Corny by one
+hand, and I took her by the other, and we made her trot through that
+sand, in sunshine and shade, until she declared she was warm enough to
+last for a week. The yellow-legged party and some of the other
+passengers were wandering about, gathering the long gray moss,--from
+limbs where they could reach it,--and cutting great palmetto leaves
+which grew on low bushes all through the woods, and carrying them about
+as fans or parasols; but although Corny wanted to join in this fun, we
+would not stop. We just trotted her until she was tired, and then we ran
+her on board the boat, where her mother was waiting for her.
+
+"Now, then," said Mrs. Chipperton, "immediately to bed."
+
+The two disappeared, and we saw no more of Corny until supper-time. Her
+mother was certainly good at cure, if she didn't have much of a knack at
+prevention.
+
+Just as the boat was about to start off on her return trip, and after
+she had blown her whistle two or three times, Mr. Chipperton appeared,
+carrying an immense arm-load of gray moss. He puffed and blew as he
+threw it down on deck. When his wife came out and told him of Corny's
+disaster, he stopped dusting his clothes, and looked up for an instant.
+
+"I declare," said he, "Corny must keep out of the water. It seems to me
+that I can never leave her but she gets into some scrape. But I'm sure
+our friends here have proved themselves good fellows, indeed," and he
+shook hands with both of us.
+
+"Now then, my dear," said he to his wife, "I've enough moss here for the
+parlor and sitting-room, and the little back-room, upstairs. I didn't
+get any for the dining-room, because it might blow about and get into
+the food."
+
+"Do you mean to take that moss all the way home?" asked Mrs. Chipperton,
+in surprise. "Why, how will you ever carry it?"
+
+"Of course I mean to take it home," said he. "I gathered this with my
+own hands from the top of one of the tallest trees on the banks of this
+famous Silver Spring."
+
+"Mr. Chipperton!" exclaimed his wife.
+
+"To be sure, the tree was cut down, but that makes no difference in the
+fact. It is both an ornament and a trophy of travel. If necessary, I'll
+buy a trunk for it. What did you do with Corny after they got her out?"
+
+Our journey home was very much like our trip up the river, but there
+were a few exceptions. There was not so much firing, for I think the
+ammunition got pretty low; we saw more alligators, and the yellow-legged
+party, which had joined us at Pilatka, went all the way to St.
+Augustine with us. There was still another difference, and that was in
+Rectus. He was a good deal livelier,--more in the spirit that had
+hatched out in him in the cemetery at Savannah. He seemed to be all
+right with Corny now, and we had a good time together. I was going to
+say to him, once, that he had changed his mind about girls, but I
+thought I wouldn't. It would be better to let well enough alone, and he
+was a ticklish customer.
+
+The day after we returned to St. Augustine, we were walking on the
+sea-wall, when we met Corny. She said she had been looking for us. Her
+father had gone out fishing with some gentlemen, and her mother would
+not walk in the sun, and, besides, she had something to say to us.
+
+So we all walked to the fort and sat down on the wide wall of the
+water-battery. Rectus bestrode one of the cannon that stood pointing out
+to sea, but Corny told him she wanted him to get down and sit by her, so
+that she wouldn't have to shout.
+
+"Now then," said she, after pausing a little, as if she wanted to be
+sure and get it right, "you two saved my life, and I want to give you
+something to remember me by."
+
+We both exclaimed against this.
+
+"You needn't do that," said I, "for I'm sure that no one who saw you
+coming up from the bottom, like the fairy-women float up on wires at the
+theatre, could ever forget you. We'll remember you, Corny, without your
+giving us anything."
+
+"But that wont do," said she. "The only other time that I was ever
+really saved was by a ferryman, and father gave him some money, which
+was all right for him, but wouldn't do for you two, you know; and
+another time there wasn't really any danger, and I'm sorry the man got
+anything; but he did.
+
+"We brought scarcely anything with us, because we didn't expect to need
+things in this way; but this is my own, and I want to give it to you
+both. One of you can't use it by himself, and so it will be more like a
+present for both of you together, than most things would be." And she
+handed me a box of dominoes.
+
+"I give it to you because you're the oldest, but, remember, it's for
+both of you."
+
+Of course we took it, and Corny was much pleased. She was a good little
+girl and, somehow or other, she seemed to be older and more sensible
+when she was with us than when she was bouncing around in the bosom of
+her family.
+
+We had a good deal of talk together, and, after a while, she asked how
+long we were going to stay in St. Augustine.
+
+"Until next Tuesday," I said, "and then we shall start for Nassau in the
+'Tigris.'"
+
+"Nassau!" she exclaimed, "where's that?"
+
+"Right down there," I said, pointing out to sea with a crook of my
+finger, to the south. "It's on one of the Bahamas, and they lie off the
+lower end of Florida, you know."
+
+"No," said she; "I don't remember where they are. I always get the
+Bahamas mixed up with the Bermudas, anyway. So does father. We talked
+of going to one of those places, when we first thought of travelling
+for his lung, but then they thought Florida would be better. What is
+there good about Nassau? Is it any better than this place?"
+
+"Well," said I, "it's in the West Indies, and it's semi-tropical, and
+they have cocoa-nuts and pineapples and bananas there; and there are
+lots of darkeys, and the weather is always just what you want----"
+
+"I guess that's a little stretched," said Corny, and Rectus agreed with
+her.
+
+"And it's a new kind of a place," I continued; "an English colony, such
+as our ancestors lived in before the Revolution, and we ought to see
+what sort of a thing an English colony is, so as to know whether
+Washington and the rest of them should have kicked against it."
+
+"Oh, they were all right!" said Corny, in a tone which settled that
+little matter.
+
+"And so, you see," I went on, "Rectus and I thought we should like to go
+out of the country for a while, and see how it would feel to live under
+a queen and a cocoa-nut tree."
+
+"Good!" cried Corny. "We'll go."
+
+"Who?" I asked.
+
+"Father and mother and I," said Corny, rising. "I'll tell them all about
+it; and I'd better be going back to the hotel, for if the steamer leaves
+on Tuesday, we'll have lots to do."
+
+As we were walking homeward on the sea-wall, Rectus looked back and
+suddenly exclaimed:
+
+"There! Do you see that Crowded Owl following us? He's been hanging
+round us all the afternoon. He's up to something. Don't you remember the
+captain told us he was a bad-tempered fellow?"
+
+"What did he do?" asked Corny, looking back at the Indian, who now stood
+in the road, a short distance from the wall, regarding us very
+earnestly.
+
+"Well, he never did anything, much," I said. "He seemed to be angry,
+once, because we would not buy some of his things, and the captain said
+he'd have him told not to worry us. That may have made him madder yet."
+
+"He don't look mad," said Corny.
+
+"Don't you trust him," said Rectus.
+
+"I believe all these Indians are perfectly gentle, now," said Corny,
+"and father thinks so, too. He's been over here a good deal, and talked
+to some of them. Let's go ask him what he wants. Perhaps he's only
+sorry."
+
+"If he is, we'll never find it out," I remarked, "for he can only speak
+one word of English."
+
+I beckoned to Crowded Owl, and he immediately ran up to the wall, and
+said "How?" in an uncertain tone, as if he was not sure how we should
+take it. However, Corny offered him her hand, and Rectus and I followed
+suit. After this, he put his hand into his pocket, and pulled out three
+sea-beans.
+
+"There!" said Rectus. "At it again. Disobeying military orders."
+
+"But they're pretty ones," said Corny, taking one of the beans in her
+hand.
+
+They were pretty. They were not very large, but were beautifully
+polished, and of a delicate gray color, the first we had seen of the
+kind.
+
+"These must be a rare kind," said Rectus. "They are almost always brown.
+Let's forgive him this once, and buy them."
+
+"Perhaps he wants to make up with you," said Corny, "and has brought
+these as a present."
+
+"I can soon settle that question," said I, and I took the three beans,
+and pulled from my pocket three quarter-dollars, which I offered to the
+Indian.
+
+Crowded Owl took the money, grinned, gave a bob of his head, and went
+home happy.
+
+If he had had any wish to "make up" with us, he had shown it by giving
+us a chance at a choice lot of goods.
+
+"Now," said I, reaching out my hand to Corny, "here's one for each of
+us. Take your choice."
+
+"For me?" said Corny. "No, I oughtn't to. Yes, I will, too. I am ever so
+much obliged. We have lots of sea-beans, but none like this. I'll have a
+ring fastened to it, and wear it, somehow."
+
+"That'll do to remember us by," said I.
+
+"Yes," said Rectus, "and whenever you're in danger, just hold up that
+bean, and we'll come to you."
+
+"I'll do it," said Corny. "But how about you? What can I do?"
+
+"Oh, I don't suppose we shall want you to help us much," I said.
+
+"Well, hold up your beans, and we'll see," said Corny.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+THE QUEEN ON THE DOOR-STEP.
+
+
+We found that Corny had not been mistaken about her influence over her
+family, for the next morning, before we were done breakfast, Mr.
+Chipperton came around to see us. He was full of Nassau, and had made up
+his mind to go with us on Tuesday. He asked us lots of questions, but he
+really knew as much about the place as we did, although he had been so
+much in the habit of mixing his Bahamas and his Bermudas.
+
+"My wife is very much pleased at the idea of having you two with us on
+the trip over," said he; "although, to be sure, we may have a very
+smooth and comfortable voyage."
+
+I believe that, since the Silver Spring affair, he regarded Rectus and
+me as something in the nature of patent girl-catchers, to be hung over
+the side of the vessel in bad weather.
+
+We were sorry to leave St. Augustine, but we had thoroughly done up the
+old place, and had seen everything, I think, except the Spring of Ponce
+de Leon, on the other side of the St. Sebastian River. We didn't care
+about renewing our youth,--indeed, we should have objected very much to
+anything of the kind,--and so we felt no interest in old Ponce's spring.
+
+On Tuesday morning, the "Tigris" made her appearance on time, and Mr.
+Cholott and our good landlady came down to see us off. The yellow-legged
+party also came down, but not to see us off. They, too, were going to
+Nassau.
+
+Rectus had gone on board, and I was just about to follow him, when our
+old Minorcan stepped up to me.
+
+"Goin' away?" said he.
+
+"Yes," said I, "we're off at last."
+
+"Other feller goin'?"
+
+"Oh, yes," I answered, "we keep together."
+
+"Well now, look here," said he, drawing me a little on one side. "What
+made him take sich stock in us Minorcans? Why, he thought we used to be
+slaves; what put that in his head, I'd like to know? Did he reely think
+we ever was niggers?"
+
+"Oh, no!" I exclaimed. "He had merely heard the early history of the
+Minorcans in this country, their troubles and all that, and he----"
+
+"But what difference did it make to him?" interrupted the old man.
+
+I couldn't just then explain the peculiarities of Rectus's disposition
+to Mr. Menendez, and so I answered that I supposed it was a sort of
+sympathy.
+
+"I can't see, for the life of me," said the old man, reflectively, "what
+difference it made to him."
+
+And he shook hands with me, and bade me good-bye. I don't believe he has
+ever found anybody who could give him the answer to this puzzle.
+
+The trip over to Nassau was a very different thing from our voyage down
+the coast from New York to Savannah. The sea was comparatively smooth,
+and, although the vessel rolled a good deal in the great swells, we did
+not mind it much. The air was delightful, and after we had gone down the
+Florida coast, and had turned to cross the Gulf Stream to our islands,
+the weather became positively warm, even out here on the sea, and we
+were on deck nearly all the time.
+
+Mr. Chipperton was in high spirits. He enjoyed the deep blue color of
+the sea; he went into ecstasies over the beautiful little nautiluses
+that sailed along by the ship; he watched with wild delight the
+porpoises that followed close by our side, and fairly shouted when a big
+fellow would spring into the air, or shoot along just under the surface,
+as if he had a steam-engine in his tail. But when he saw a school of
+flying-fish rise up out of the sea, just a little ahead of us, and go
+skimming along like birds, and then drop again into the water, he was so
+surprised and delighted that he scarcely knew how to express his
+feelings.
+
+Of course, we younger people enjoyed all these things, but I was
+surprised to see that Corny was more quiet than usual, and spent a good
+deal of her time in reading, although she would spring up and run to the
+railing whenever her father announced some wonderful discovery. Mr.
+Chipperton would have been a splendid man for Columbus to have taken
+along with him on his first trip to these islands. He would have kept up
+the spirits of the sailors.
+
+I asked Corny what she was reading, and she showed me her book. It was a
+big, fat pamphlet about the Bahamas, and she was studying up for her
+stay there. She was a queer girl. She had not been to school very much,
+her mother said, for they had been travelling about a good deal of late
+years; but she liked to study up special things, in which she took an
+interest. Sometimes she was her own teacher, and sometimes, if they
+staid in any one place long enough, she took regular lessons.
+
+"I teach her as much as I can," said her mother, "although I would much
+rather have her go regularly to school. But her father is so fond of her
+that he will not have her away from him, and as Mr. Chipperton's lung
+requires him to be moving from place to place, we have to go, too. But I
+am determined that she shall go to a school next fall."
+
+"What is the matter with Mr. Chipperton's lung?" I asked.
+
+"I wish we knew," said Mrs. Chipperton, earnestly. "The doctors don't
+seem to be able to find out the exact trouble, and besides, it isn't
+certain which lung it is. But the only thing that can be done for it is
+to travel."
+
+"He looks very well," said I.
+
+"Oh, yes!" said she. "But"--and she looked around to see where he
+was--"he doesn't like people to tell him so."
+
+After a while, Rectus got interested in Corny's book, and the two read a
+good deal together. I did not interrupt them, for I felt quite sure that
+neither of them knew too much.
+
+The captain and all the officers on the steamer were good, sociable men,
+and made the passengers feel at home. I had got somewhat acquainted with
+them on our trip from Savannah to St. Augustine, and now the captain let
+me come into his room and showed me the ship's course, marked out on a
+chart, and pointed out just where we were, besides telling me a good
+many things about the islands and these waters.
+
+I mentioned to Corny and Rectus, when I went aft again,--this was the
+second day out,--that we should see one end of the Great Bahama early in
+the afternoon.
+
+"I'm glad of that," said Corny; "but I suppose we sha'n't go near enough
+for us to see its calcareous formation."
+
+"Its what?" I exclaimed.
+
+"Its cal-car-e-ous formation," repeated Corny, and she went on with her
+reading.
+
+"Oh!" said I, laughing, "I guess the calcareous part is all covered up
+with grass and plants,--at least it ought to be in a semi-tropical
+country. But when we get to Nassau you can dig down and see what it's
+like."
+
+"Semi-tropical!" exclaimed Mr. Chipperton, who just came up; "there is
+something about that word that puts me all in a glow," and he rubbed his
+hands as if he smelt dinner.
+
+Each of us wore a gray bean. Rectus and I had ours fastened to our
+watch-guards, and Corny's hung to a string of beads she generally wore.
+We formed ourselves into a society--Corny suggested it--which we called
+the "Association of the Three Gray Beans," the object of which was to
+save each other from drowning, and to perform similar serviceable acts,
+if circumstances should call for them. We agreed to be very faithful,
+and, if Corny had tumbled overboard, I am sure that Rectus and I would
+have jumped in after her; but I am happy to say that she did nothing of
+the kind on this trip.
+
+Early the next morning, we reached Nassau, the largest town in the
+Bahamas, on one of the smallest islands, and found it semi-tropical
+enough to suit even Mr. Chipperton.
+
+Before we landed, we could see the white, shining streets and
+houses,--just as calcareous as they could be; the black negroes; the
+pea-green water in the harbor; the tall cocoa-nut trees, and about five
+million conch-shells, lying at the edges of the docks. The colored
+people here live pretty much on the conch-fish, and when we heard that,
+it accounted for the shells. The poorer people on these islands often go
+by the name of "conchs."
+
+As we went up through the town we found that the darkeys were nearly as
+thick as the conch-shells, but they were much more lively. I never saw
+such jolly, dont-care-y people as the colored folks that were scattered
+about everywhere. Some of the young ones, as joyful skippers, could have
+tired out a shrimp.
+
+There is one big hotel in the town, and pretty nearly all our passengers
+went there. The house is calcareous, and as solid as a rock. Rectus and
+I liked it very much, because it reminded us of pictures we had seen of
+Algiers, or Portugal, or some country where they have arches instead of
+doors; but Mr. Chipperton wasn't at all satisfied when he found that
+there was not a fireplace in the whole house.
+
+"This is coming the semi-tropical a little too strong," he said to me;
+but he soon found, I think, that gathering around the hearth-stone could
+never become a popular amusement in this warm little town.
+
+Every day, for a week, Mr. Chipperton hired a one-horse barouche, and he
+and his wife and daughter rode over the island. Rectus and I walked, and
+we saw a good deal more than they did. Corny told us this, the first
+walk she took with us. We went down a long, smooth, white road that led
+between the queer little cottages of the negroes, where the cocoa-nut
+and orange trees and the bananas and sappadilloes, and lots of other
+trees and bushes stood up around the houses just as proudly as if they
+were growing on ten-thousand-dollar lots. Some of these trees had the
+most calcareous foundations anybody ever saw. They grew almost out of
+the solid rock. This is probably one of the most economical places in
+the world for garden mould. You couldn't sweep up more than a bucketful
+out of a whole garden, and yet the things grow splendidly. Rectus said
+he supposed the air was earthy.
+
+Corny enjoyed this walk, because we went right into the houses and
+talked to the people, and bought cocoa-nuts off the trees, and ate the
+inside custard with a spoon, and made the little codgers race for
+pennies, and tried all the different kinds of fruits. She said she would
+like to walk out with us always, but her mother said she must not be
+going about too much with boys.
+
+"But there are no girls on the island," said she; "at least, no white
+ones,--as far as I have seen."
+
+I suppose there were white children around, but they escaped notice in
+the vast majority of little nigs.
+
+The day after this walk, the shorter "yellow-legs" asked me to go out
+fishing with him. He couldn't find anybody else, I suppose, for his
+friend didn't like fishing. Neither did Rectus; and so we went off
+together in a fishing-smack, with a fisherman to sail the boat and
+hammer conch for bait. We went outside of Hog Island,--which lies off
+Nassau, very much as Anastasia Island lies off St. Augustine, only it
+isn't a quarter as big,--and fished in the open sea. We caught a lot of
+curious fish, and the yellow-legs, whose name was Burgan, turned out to
+be a very good sort of a fellow. I shouldn't have supposed this of a man
+who had made such a guy of himself; but there are a great many different
+kinds of outsides to people.
+
+When we got back to the hotel, along came Rectus and Corny. They had
+been out walking together, and looked hot.
+
+"Oh," cried Corny, as soon as she saw me. "We have something to talk to
+you about! Let's go and sit down. I wish there was some kind of an
+umbrella or straw hat that people could wear under their chins to keep
+the glare of these white roads out of their eyes. Let's go up into the
+silk-cotton tree."
+
+I proposed that I should go to my room and clean up a little first, but
+Corny couldn't wait. As her father had said, she wasn't good at waiting;
+and so we all went up into the silk-cotton tree. This was an enormous
+tree, with roots like the partitions between horse-stalls; it stood at
+the bottom of the hotel grounds, and had a large platform built up among
+the branches, with a flight of steps leading to it. There were seats up
+here, and room enough for a dozen people.
+
+"Well," said I, when we were seated, "what have you to tell? Anything
+wonderful? If it isn't, you'd better let me tell you about my fish."
+
+"Fish!" exclaimed Rectus, not very respectfully.
+
+"Fish, indeed!" said Corny. "_We_ have seen a _queen_!"
+
+"Queen of what?" said I.
+
+"Queen of Africa," replied Corny. "At least a part of it,--she would be,
+I mean, if she had stayed there. We went over that way, out to the very
+edge of the town, and there we found a whole colony of real native
+Africans,--just the kind Livingstone and Stanley discovered,--only they
+wear clothes like us."
+
+"Oh, my!" exclaimed Rectus.
+
+"I don't mean exactly that," said Corny; "but coats and trousers and
+frocks, awfully old and patched. And nearly all the grown-up people
+there were born in Africa, and rescued by an English man-of-war from a
+slave-ship that was taking them into slavery, and were brought here and
+set free. And here they are, and they talk their own language,--only
+some of them know English, for they've been here over thirty years,--and
+they all keep together, and have a governor of their own, with a
+flag-pole before his house, and among them is a real queen, of royal
+blood!"
+
+"How did you find out that?" I asked.
+
+"Oh, we heard about the African settlement this morning, at the hotel,
+and we went down there, right after dinner. We went into two or three of
+the houses and talked to the people, and they all told us the same
+thing, and one woman took us to see the queen."
+
+"In her palace?" said I.
+
+"No," said Corny, "she don't live in a palace. She lives in one of the
+funniest little huts you ever saw, with only two rooms. And it's too
+bad; they all know she's a queen, and yet they don't pay her one bit of
+honor. The African governor knows it, but he lives in his house with his
+flag-pole in front of it, and rules her people, while she sits on a
+stone in front of her door and sells red peppers and bits of
+sugar-cane."
+
+"Shameful!" said I; "you don't mean that?"
+
+"Yes, she does," put in Rectus. "We saw her, and bought some sugar-cane.
+She didn't think we knew her rank, for she put her things away when the
+women told her, in African, why we came to see her."
+
+"What did she say to you?" I asked, beginning to be a good deal
+interested in this royal colored person.
+
+"Nothing at all," said Corny; "she can't talk a word of English. If she
+could, she might get along better. I suppose her people want somebody
+over them who can talk English. And so they've just left her to sell
+peppers, and get along as well as she can."
+
+"It's a good deal of a come-down, I must say," said I. "I wonder how she
+likes it?"
+
+"Judging from her looks," said Rectus, "I don't believe she likes it at
+all."
+
+"No, indeed!" added Corny. "She looks woe-begone, and I don't see why
+she shouldn't. To be taken captive with her people--may be she was
+trying to save them--and then to have them almost cut her acquaintance
+after they all get rescued and settled down!"
+
+"Perhaps," said I, "as they are all living under Queen Victoria, they
+don't want any other queen."
+
+"That's nothing," said Corny, quickly. "There's a governor of this whole
+island, and what do they want with another governor? If Queen Victoria
+and the governor of this island were Africans, of course they wouldn't
+want anybody else. But as it is, they do, don't you see?"
+
+"They don't appear to want another queen," I said, "for they wont take
+one that is right under their noses."
+
+Corny looked provoked, and Rectus asked me how I knew that.
+
+"I tell you," said Corny, "it don't make any difference whether they
+want her or not, they haven't any right to make a born queen sit on a
+stone and sell red-peppers. Do you know what Rectus and I have made up
+our minds to do?"
+
+"What is it?" I asked.
+
+Corny looked around to see that no one was standing or walking near the
+tree, and then she leaned toward me and said:
+
+"We are going to seat her on her throne!"
+
+"You?" I exclaimed, and began to laugh.
+
+"Yes, we are," said Rectus; "at least, we're going to try to."
+
+"You needn't laugh," said Corny. "You're to join."
+
+"In an insurrection,--a conspiracy," said I. "I can't go into that
+business."
+
+"You must!" cried Corny and Rectus, almost in a breath.
+
+"You've made a promise," said Corny.
+
+"And are bound to stick to it," said Rectus, looking at Corny.
+
+Then, both together, as if they had settled it all beforehand, they held
+up their gray sea-beans, and said, in vigorous tones:
+
+"Obey the bean!"
+
+I didn't hesitate a moment. I held up my bean, and we clicked beans all
+around.
+
+I became a conspirator!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+REGAL PROJECTS.
+
+
+The next morning, we all went around to see the queen, and on the way we
+tried to arrange our affair. I was only sorry that my old school-fellows
+were not there, to go into the thing with us. There couldn't have been
+better fun for our boys, than to get up a revolution and set up a
+dethroned queen. But they were not there, and I determined to act as
+their representative as well as I could.
+
+We three--Corny, Rectus and I--were agreed that the re-enthronement--we
+could think of no better word for the business--should be done as
+quietly and peacefully as possible. It was of no use, we thought, to
+make a great fuss about what we were going to do. We would see that this
+African ex-sovereigness was placed in a suitable regal station, and then
+we would call upon her countrymen to acknowledge her rank.
+
+"It isn't really necessary for her to do any governing," said Rectus.
+"Queens do very little of that. Look at Queen Victoria! Her Prime
+Minister and Parliament run the country. If the African governor here is
+a good man, the queen can take him for a Prime Minister. Then he can
+just go along and do what he always did. If she is acknowledged to be
+the queen, that's all she need want."
+
+"That's so," said Corny. "And, above all, there must be no blood shed."
+
+"None of yours, any way," said I; and Rectus tapped his bean,
+significantly.
+
+Rectus had been chosen captain of this revolutionary coalition, because
+Corny, who held the controlling vote, said that she was afraid I had not
+gone into the undertaking heart and soul, as Rectus had. Otherwise, she
+would have voted for me, as the oldest of the party. I did not make any
+objections, and was elected Treasurer. Corny said that the only office
+she had ever held was that of Librarian, in a girls' society, but as we
+did not expect to need a Librarian in this undertaking, we made her
+Secretary and Manager of Restoration, which, we thought, would give her
+all the work that she could stand under.
+
+I suggested that there was one sub-officer, or employe, that we should
+be sure to need, and who should be appointed before we commenced
+operations. This was an emissary. Proper communications between
+ourselves and the populace would be difficult, unless we obtained the
+service of some intelligent and whole-souled darkey. My
+fellow-revolutionists agreed with me, and, after a moment of reflection,
+Corny shouted that she had thought of the very person.
+
+"It's a girl!" she cried. "And it's Priscilla!"
+
+We all knew Priscilla. It would have been impossible to be at the hotel
+for a week and not know her. After breakfast, and after dinner, there
+was always a regular market at the entrance of the hotel, under the
+great arched porch, where the boarders sat and made themselves
+comfortable after meals. The dealers were negroes of every age,--men,
+women, boys, and girls, and they brought everything they could scrape
+up, that they thought visitors might buy,--fruit, shells, sponges,
+flowers, straw hats, canes, and more traps than I can remember. Some of
+them had very nice things, and others would have closed out their stock
+for seven cents. The liveliest and brightest of all these was a tall,
+slim, black, elastic, smooth-tongued young girl, named Priscilla. She
+nearly always wore shoes, which distinguished her from her
+fellow-countrywomen. Her eyes sparkled like a fire-cracker of a dark
+night, and she had a mind as sharp as a fish-hook. The moment Corny
+mentioned her she was elected emissary.
+
+We determined, however, to be very cautious in disclosing our plans to
+her. We would sound her, first, and make a regular engagement with her.
+
+"It will be a first-rate thing for me," said Corny, "to have a girl to
+go about with me, for mother said, yesterday, that it wouldn't do for me
+to be so much with boys. It looked tomboyish, she said, though she
+thought you two were very good for boys."
+
+"Are you going to tell your father and mother about this?" asked
+Rectus.
+
+"I think I'll tell mother," said Corny, "because I ought to, and I don't
+believe she'll object, if I have a girl along with me. But I don't think
+I'll say anything to father just yet. I'm afraid he'd join."
+
+Rectus and I agreed that it might be better to postpone saying anything
+to Mr. Chipperton.
+
+It was very true that the queen did not live in a palace. Her house was
+nearly large enough to hold an old-fashioned four-posted bedstead, such
+as they have at my Aunt Sarah's. The little room that was cut off from
+the main apartment was really too small to count. The queen was hard at
+work, sitting on her door-stone by the side of her bits of sugar-cane
+and pepper-pods. There were no customers. She was a good-looking old
+body, about sixty, perhaps, but tall and straight enough for all queenly
+purposes.
+
+She arose and shook hands with us, and then stepped into her door-way
+and courtesied. The effect was very fine.
+
+"This is dreadful!" said Corny. "She ought to give up this pepper-pod
+business right away. If I could only talk to her, I'd make her
+understand. But I must go get somebody for an interpreter."
+
+And she ran off to one of the neighboring huts.
+
+"If this thing works," said Rectus, "we ought to hire a regular
+interpreter."
+
+"It wont do to have too many paid officials," said I, "but we'll see
+about that."
+
+Corny soon returned with a pleasant-faced woman, who undertook to
+superintend our conversation with the queen.
+
+"What's her name--to begin with?" asked Corny, of the woman.
+
+"Her African name is Poqua-dilla, but here they call her Jane Henderson,
+when they talk of her. She knows that name, too. We all has to have
+English names."
+
+"Well, we don't want any Jane Henderson," said Corny. "Poqua-dilla!
+that's a good name for a queen. But what we first want is to have her
+stop selling things at the front door. We'll do better for her than
+that."
+
+"Is you goin' to sen' her to the 'sylum?" asked the woman.
+
+"The asylum!" exclaimed Corny. "No, indeed! You'll see. She's to live
+here, but she's not to sell pepper-pods, or anything else."
+
+"Well, young missy," said the woman, "you better buy 'em of her. I
+reckon she'll sell out for 'bout fourpence."
+
+This was a sensible proposition, and, as treasurer, I bought the stock,
+the queen having signified her willingness to the treaty by a dignified
+nod and a courtesy. She was very much given to style, which encouraged
+us a good deal.
+
+"Now, then," said Rectus, who thought it was about time that the captain
+should have something to say, "you must tell her that she isn't to lay
+in any more stock. This is to be the end of her mercantile life."
+
+I don't believe the woman translated all of this speech, but the queen
+gave another nod and courtesy, and I pocketed the peppers to keep as
+trophies. The other things we kept, to give to the children and make
+ourselves popular.
+
+"How much do you think it would cost," asked Corny of me, "to make this
+place a little more like a palace?"
+
+I made a rough sort of a calculation, and came to the conclusion that
+the room could be made a little more like a palace for about eight
+dollars.
+
+"That's cheap enough," said Rectus to me. "You and I will each give four
+dollars."
+
+"No, indeed!" said Corny. "I'm going to give some. How much is three
+into eight?"
+
+"Two and two-thirds," said I, "or, in this case, two dollars, sixty-six
+cents and some sixes over."
+
+"All right!" said Corny; "I'll ask father for three dollars. There ought
+to be something for extras. I'll tell mother what I want it for, and
+that will satisfy him. He can know afterward. I don't think he ought to
+worry his lung with anything like this."
+
+"She wont want a throne," said Rectus, turning the conversation from Mr.
+Chipperton, "for she has a very good rocking-chair, which could be fixed
+up."
+
+"Yes," said I, "it could be cushioned. She might do it herself."
+
+At this, the colored woman made a remark to the queen, but what it was
+we did not know.
+
+"Of course she could," said Corny. "Queens work. Queen Victoria etches
+on steel."
+
+"I don't believe Porker-miller can do that," said Rectus, "but I guess
+she can pad her chair."
+
+"Do thrones rock?" asked Corny.
+
+"Some of 'em do," I said. "There was the throne of France, you know."
+
+"Well, then, that will be all right," said Corny; "and how about a crown
+and sceptre?"
+
+"Oh, we wont want a sceptre," I said; "that sort of thing's pretty
+old-fashioned. But we ought to have a crown, so as to make a difference
+between her and the other people."
+
+"How much are crowns?" asked Corny, in a thoughtful tone.
+
+"Various prices," I answered; "but I think we can make one, that will do
+very well, for about fifty cents. I'll undertake to make the brass part,
+if you'll cushion it."
+
+"Brass!" exclaimed Corny, in astonishment.
+
+"You don't suppose we can get gold, do you?" I asked, laughing.
+
+"Well, no," she said, but not quite satisfied.
+
+"And there must be a flag and a flag-pole," said Rectus. "But what sort
+of a flag are we going to have?"
+
+"The African flag," said Corny, confidently.
+
+None of us knew what the African flag was, although Corny suggested that
+it was probably black. But I told her that if we raised a black flag
+before the queen's palace, we should bring down the authorities on us,
+sure. They'd think we had started a retail piratical establishment.
+
+We now took leave of the queen, and enjoined her neighbor to impress on
+her mind the necessity of not using her capital to lay in a new stock
+of goods. Leaving a quarter of a dollar with her, for contingent
+expenses during the day, we started for home.
+
+"I'll tell you what it is," said I, "we must settle this matter of
+revenue pretty soon. If she don't sell peppers and sugar-cane, she'll
+have to be supported in some way, and I'm sure we can't do it."
+
+"Her subjects ought to attend to that," said Rectus.
+
+"But she hasn't got any yet," I answered.
+
+"That's a fact," said Corny. "We must get her a few, to start with."
+
+"Hire 'em, do you mean?" asked Rectus.
+
+"No; call upon them in the name of their country and their queen," she
+replied.
+
+"I think it would be better, at first," said I, "to call upon them in
+the name of about twopence a head. Then, when we get a nice little body
+of adherents to begin with, the other subjects will fall in, of their
+own accord, if we manage the thing right."
+
+"There's where the emissary will come in," said Rectus. "She can collect
+adherents."
+
+"We must engage her this very day," said Corny. "And now, what about the
+flag? We haven't settled that yet."
+
+"I think," said I, "that we'd better invent a flag. When we get back to
+the hotel, we can each draw some designs, and the one we choose can
+easily be made up. We can buy the stuff anywhere."
+
+"I'll sew it," said Corny.
+
+"Do you think," said Rectus, who had been reflecting, "that the
+authorities of this place will object to our setting up a queen?"
+
+"Can't tell," I said. "But I hardly think they will. They don't object
+to the black governor, and our queen wont interfere with them in any way
+that I can see. She will have nothing to do with anybody but those
+native Africans, who keep to themselves, anyway."
+
+"If anybody should trouble us, who would it be? Soldiers or the
+policemen? How many soldiers have they here?" asked Corny.
+
+"There's only one company now in the barracks," said Rectus. "I was down
+there. There are two men-of-war in the harbor, but one of them's a
+Spanish vessel, and I'm pretty sure she wouldn't bother us."
+
+"Is that all?" said Corny, in a tone of relief.
+
+I didn't want to dash her spirits, but I remarked that there were a good
+many policemen in the town.
+
+"And they're all colored men," said Corny. "I'd hate to have any of them
+coming after us."
+
+"The governor of the colony is at the head of the army, police and all,
+isn't he?" said Rectus.
+
+"Yes," I answered.
+
+"And I know where he lives," put in Corny. "Let's go and see him,
+sometime, and ask him about it."
+
+This was thought to be a good idea, and we agreed to consider it at our
+next meeting.
+
+"As to revenue," said Rectus, just before we reached the hotel, "I don't
+believe these people have much money to give for the support of a
+queen, and so I think they ought to bring in provisions. The whole thing
+might be portioned out. She ought to have so many conchs a week, so many
+sticks of sugar-cane, and so many yams and other stuff. This might be
+fixed so that it wouldn't come hard on anybody."
+
+Corny said she guessed she'd have to get a little book to put these
+things down, so that we could consider them in order.
+
+I could not help noticing that there was a good deal of difference
+between Corny and Rectus, although they were much alike, too. Corny had
+never learned much, but she had a good brain in her head, and she could
+reason out things pretty well, when she had anything in the way of a
+solid fact to start with. Rectus was better on things he'd heard
+reasoned out. He seemed to know a good thing when it came before him,
+and he remembered it, and often brought it in very well. But he hadn't
+had much experience in reasoning on his own account, although he was
+getting more in practice every day.
+
+Corny was just as much in earnest as she was the first day we saw her,
+but she seemed to have grown more thoughtful. Perhaps this was on
+account of her having important business on hand. Her thoughtfulness,
+however, did not prevent her from saying some very funny things. She
+spoke first and did her thinking afterward. But she was a good girl, and
+I often wished my sister knew her. Helen was older, to be sure, but she
+could have learned a great deal from Corny.
+
+That afternoon, we had a meeting up in the silk-cotton tree, and
+Priscilla, who had sold out her small stock of flowers in the hotel-door
+market, was requested to be present. A variety-show, consisting of about
+a dozen young darkeys with their baskets and strings of sponges,
+accompanied her up the steps; but she was ordered to rout them, and she
+did it in short order. When we were alone, Rectus, as captain, began to
+state to her what we desired of her; but he was soon interrupted by
+Corny, who could do a great deal more talking in a given time than he
+could, and who always felt that she ought to begin early, in order to
+get through in good season.
+
+"Now, Priscilla," said Corny, "in the first place, you must promise
+never to tell what we are going to say to you."
+
+Priscilla promised in a flash.
+
+"We want you, then," continued Corny, "to act as our emissary, or
+general agent, or errand-girl, if you don't know what the other two
+things mean."
+
+"I'll do dat, missy," said Priscilla. "Whar you want me to go?"
+
+"Nowhere just now," said Corny. "We want to engage you by the day, to do
+whatever we tell you."
+
+"Cahn't do dat, missy. Got to sell flowers and roses. Sell 'em for de
+fam'ly, missy."
+
+"But in the afternoon you can come," said Corny. "There isn't any
+selling done then. We'll pay you."
+
+"How much?" asked Priscilla.
+
+This question was referred to me, and I offered sixpence a day.
+
+The money in this place is English, of course, as it is an English
+colony; but there are so many visitors from the United States, that
+American currency is as much in use, for large sums, as the
+pounds-shillings-and-pence arrangement. But all sums under a quarter are
+reckoned in English money,--pennies, half-pennies, four, six and
+eight-pences, and that sort of thing. One of our quarters passes for a
+shilling, but a silver dime wont pass in the shops. The darkeys will
+take them--or almost anything else--as a gift. I didn't have to get our
+money changed into gold. I got a draft on a Nassau house, and generally
+drew greenbacks. But I saw, pretty plainly, that I couldn't draw very
+much for this new monarchical undertaking, and stay in Nassau as long as
+we had planned.
+
+"A whole afternoon," exclaimed Priscilla, "for sixpence!"
+
+"Why not?" I asked. "That's more than you generally make all day."
+
+"Only sixpence!" said Priscilla, looking as if her tender spirit had
+been wounded. Corny glanced at me with an air that suggested that I
+ought to make a rise in the price, but I had dealt with these darkeys
+before.
+
+"That's all," I said.
+
+"All right, then, boss," said Priscilla. "I'll do it. What you want me
+to do?"
+
+The colored people generally gave the name "boss" to all white men, and
+I was pleased to see that Priscilla said boss to me much more frequently
+than to Rectus.
+
+We had a talk with her about her duties, and each of us had a good deal
+to say. We made her understand--at least we hoped so--that she was to be
+on hand, every afternoon, to go with Corny, if necessary, whenever we
+went out on our trips to the African settlement; and, after giving her
+an idea of what we intended doing with the queen,--which interested her
+very much indeed, and seemed to set her on pins and needles to see the
+glories of the new reign,--we commissioned her to bring together about
+twenty sensible and intelligent Africans, so that we could talk to them,
+and engage them as subjects for the re-enthroned queen.
+
+"What's ole Goliah Brown goin' to say 'bout dat?" said Priscilla.
+
+"Who's he?" we asked.
+
+"He's de Afrikin gubner. He rule 'em all."
+
+"Oh!" said Rectus, "he's all right. We're going to make him prime
+minister."
+
+I was not at all sure that he was all right, and proposed that Rectus
+and I should go to his house in the evening, when he was at home, and
+talk to him about it.
+
+"Yes, and we'll all go and see the head governor to-morrow morning,"
+said Corny.
+
+We had our hands completely full of diplomatic business.
+
+The meeting of the adherents was appointed for the next afternoon. We
+decided to have it on the Queen's Stair-way, which is a long flight of
+steps, cut in the solid limestone, and leading up out of a deep and
+shadowy ravine, where the people of the town many years ago cut out the
+calcareous material for their houses. There has been no stone cut here
+for a long time, and the walls of the ravine, which stand up as straight
+as the wall of a house, are darkened by age and a good deal covered up
+by vines. At the bottom, on each side of the pathway which runs through
+the ravine to the town, bushes and plants of various semi-tropical kinds
+grow thick and close. At the top of the flight of stairs are open fields
+and an old fort. Altogether, this was considered a quiet and suitable
+place for a meeting of a band of revolutionists. We could not have met
+in the silk-cotton tree, for we should have attracted too much
+attention, and, besides, the hotel-clerk would have routed us out.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+RECTUS LOSES RANK.
+
+
+After supper, Rectus and I went to see the African governor, Goliah
+Brown. He was a good-natured old colored man, who lived in a house a
+trifle better than most of those inhabited by his fellow-countrymen. The
+main room was of a fair size, and there was a centre-table, with some
+books on it.
+
+When we saw this, we hesitated. Could we ask a man who owned books, and
+could probably read, to play second fiddle to a woman who could not
+speak the English language, and who for years, perhaps, had devoted the
+energies of her soul to the sale of pepper-pods?
+
+However, the office of prime minister was no trifle, and many more
+distinguished and more learned men than Goliah Brown have been glad to
+get it. Besides this, we considered that blood is blood, and, in
+monarchical countries, a queen is a queen. This was a colony of a
+monarchy, and we would push forward the claims of Poqua-dilla the First.
+We called her "The First," because, although she may have had a good
+many ancestors of her name in Africa, she certainly started the line in
+the Bahamas.
+
+Goliah proved himself a steady-going talker. He seemed pleased to have
+us call on him, and told us the whole story of the capture of himself
+and the rest of the Africans. We had heard pretty much all of it before,
+but, of course, we had to politely listen to it again.
+
+When he finished, we asked a few questions about the queen, and finding
+that Goliah admitted her claims to royal blood, we told him what we
+proposed to do, and boldly asked him to take the position of prime
+minister in the African community.
+
+At first, he did not understand, and we had to go over the thing two or
+three times before he saw into it. Then, it was evident that he could
+not see what business this was of ours, and we had to explain our
+motives, which was some trouble, because we had not quite straightened
+them out in our own minds.
+
+Then he wanted to know which was the head person, a queen or a prime
+minister. We set forth the strict truth to him in this matter. We told
+him that although a queen in a well-regulated monarchy actually occupies
+the highest place, that the prime minister is the fellow who does the
+real governing. He thought this might all be so, but he did not like the
+idea of having any one, especially Jane Henderson, as he called her, in
+a position higher than his own. We did not say anything to him, then,
+about giving the queen her English name, because we supposed that he
+had been used to speak of her in that way, to white people, but we
+determined to refer to this when matters should be settled.
+
+He was so set in his own opinion on this point of position, that we were
+afraid we should be obliged to give the thing up. He used very good
+arguments, too. He said that he had been elected to his present office
+by his fellow Africans; that he had held it a long time; that he didn't
+think the rest of his people wanted him to give it up, and he didn't
+think he wanted to give it up himself. A prime minister might be all
+very well, but he didn't know anything about it. He knew what it was to
+be governor, and was very well satisfied to leave things as they were.
+
+This was dampening. Just as the old fellow thought he had settled the
+matter, a happy thought struck me: we might make the monarchy an
+independent arrangement. Perhaps Goliah would have no objection to that,
+provided we did not interfere with his governorship. If Poqua-dilla
+should be recognized as a queen, and crowned, and provided with an
+income sufficient to keep her out of any retail business, it was about
+all she could expect, at her time of life. She certainly would not care
+to do any governing. The few subjects that we should enlist would be
+more like courtiers than anything else.
+
+I called Rectus to the door, and suggested this arrangement to him. He
+thought it would be better than nothing, and that it would be well to
+mention it.
+
+We did this, and Goliah thought a while.
+
+"Ef I lets her be call' queen," he said, "an' she jist stay at home an'
+min' her own business, an' don' run herse'f agin me, no way, how much
+you s'pose she able to gib fur dat?"
+
+[Illustration: "'ALL RIGHT,' SAID GOLIAH, WITH A SMILE."]
+
+Rectus and I went again to the front door to consult, and when we came
+back, we said we thought she would be able to give a dollar.
+
+"All right," said Goliah, with a smile. "She kin jist go ahead, and be
+queen. Only don' let her run herse'f ag'in me."
+
+This suited us, and we paid the dollar, and came away.
+
+"More cash!" said Rectus, as we walked home.
+
+"Yes," said I, "but what troubles me is that queen's income. I don't see
+now where it's to come from, for old Goliah wont allow his people to be
+taxed for her, that's certain."
+
+Rectus agreed that things looked a little bluish, but he thought we
+might pay the income ourselves, until after the coronation, and then we
+could see what else could be done. This wasn't much of a plan, but I
+couldn't think of anything better.
+
+The next day, about noon, we all went to see the real governor of the
+colony. Rectus and I didn't care much about doing this, but Corny
+insisted on it. She was afraid of the police,--and probably of the army
+and navy, although she made light of them,--and so she thought it would
+be a good thing to see whether or not we should have to combat with all
+these forces, if we should carry out our plans. We took Priscilla along
+with us on Corny's account. It would look respectable for her to have an
+attendant. This being an extra job, Priscilla earned two sixpences that
+day.
+
+The governor lived in a fine house, on the hill back of the town, and
+although we all knew where it was, Priscilla was of great use to us
+here, for she took us in at a side gate, where we could walk right up to
+the door of the governor's office, without going to the grand entrance,
+at the front of the house, where the English flag was flying. There was
+a red-coated soldier standing just in the door-way, and when we saw him,
+we put ourselves on our stiffest behavior. We told Priscilla to wait
+outside, in the path, and try and behave so that people would think
+there was a pretty high-toned party inside. We then went up to the
+red-coat, and asked to see the governor. The soldier looked at us a
+little queerly, and went back into the house.
+
+He staid a good while, but when he came out he told us to follow him,
+and took us through a hall into a room where two gentlemen were sitting
+at desks. One of these jumped up and came to meet us.
+
+"There is the secretary," said the soldier, in a low voice to me, and
+then he left us.
+
+We now had to ask the secretary if we could see the governor. He
+inquired our business, but we didn't seem anxious to tell him.
+
+"Anything private?" he said, with a smile.
+
+"Well, sir," said I, "it's not exactly private, but it's not a very easy
+thing to put straight before anybody, and if it don't make any
+difference, we'd rather not have to tell it twice."
+
+He hesitated for a minute, and then he said he'd see, and went into
+another room.
+
+"Now, look here," I whispered to Rectus, "if you're captain, you've got
+to step up and do the talking. It isn't my place."
+
+The secretary now returned, and said the governor could give us a few
+minutes. I think the probability was that he was curious to know what
+two boys and a girl could want with him.
+
+The governor's office, into which we now were shown, was a large room,
+with plenty of book-cases and shelves against the walls, and in the
+middle of the floor a big table, which was covered with papers, packages
+of manuscript tied up with tape, and every kind of thing necessary to
+make matters look as if business was brisk in these islands. The
+governor himself was a tall, handsome gentleman, not old a bit, as Corny
+put it afterward, and dressed all in white linen, which gave him an air
+of coolness and cleanness that was quite agreeable to us after our walk
+in the sun. He was sitting at one end of the long table, and he politely
+motioned us to seats at one side of him. I expect the secretary arranged
+the chairs before we came in. We made our manners and sat down.
+
+"Well," said he, "what can I do for you?"
+
+If Corny hadn't been along, I don't believe he would have seen us at
+all. There can be nothing attractive to a governor about two boys. But
+almost any one would take an interest in a girl like Corny. The
+secretary was very polite to her.
+
+Rectus now gave his throat a little clearing, and pushed off.
+
+"Our business with you, sir, is to see about doing something for a poor
+queen, a very good and honest woman----"
+
+"A poor but honest queen!" interrupted the governor, with a smile.
+
+"Oh, he don't mean a common queen," said Corny, quickly. "He means a
+black queen,--an African,--born royal, but taken prisoner when young,
+and brought here, and she lives over there in the African settlements,
+and sells peppers, but is just as much a queen as ever, you know, sir,
+for selling things on a door-step can't take the royal blood out of a
+person."
+
+"Oh no, indeed!" said the governor, and he looked very much tickled.
+
+"And this poor woman is old, now, and has no revenue, and has to get
+along as well as she can, which is pretty poorly, I know, and nobody
+ever treats her any better than if she had been born a common person,
+and we want to give her a chance of having as many of her rights as she
+can before she dies."
+
+"At any rate," said Rectus, who had been waiting for a chance to make a
+fresh start, "if we can't give her all her royal rights, we want to let
+her know how it feels to be a queen, and to give her a little show among
+her people."
+
+"You are talking of an old native African woman?" said the governor,
+looking at Corny. "I have heard of her. It seems to be generally agreed
+that she belonged to a royal family in one of the African tribes. And
+you want to restore her to her regal station?"
+
+"We can't do that, of course," said Corny; "but we do think she's been
+shamefully used, and all we want to do is to have her acknowledged by
+her people. She needn't do any ruling. We'll fix her up so that she'll
+look enough like a queen for those dreadfully poor people."
+
+"Yes," put in Rectus, who had been getting warm on the subject, "they
+are dreadfully poor, but she's the poorest of the lot, and it's a shame
+to see how she, a regular queen, has to live, while a governor, who
+wasn't anybody before he got his place, lives in the best house, with
+tables and books, and everything he wants, for all I know, and a big
+flag in front of his door, as if he was somebody great, and----"
+
+"What?" said the governor, pretty quick and sharp, and turning around
+square on Rectus.
+
+"Oh, he don't mean you!" said Corny. "He's talking about the black
+governor, Goliah Brown."
+
+"Ah, indeed!" said he, turning away from Rectus as if he didn't like his
+looks. "And what does Brown think of all this?"
+
+I thought I'd better say a word or two now, because I didn't know where
+Rectus would fetch us up next, if we should give him another chance, and
+so I said to the governor that I knew Goliah Brown would make no
+objections to the plan, because we had talked it over with him, and he
+had agreed to it.
+
+"Well, then, what do you want that I should do for you?" said the
+governor to Corny.
+
+"Oh, nothing sir," said she, "but just to make it all safe for us. We
+didn't know exactly what the rules were on this island, and so we
+thought we'd come and see you about it. We don't want the policemen, or
+the soldiers or sailors, or anybody, to get after us."
+
+"There is no rule here against giving a queen her rights," said the
+governor, who seemed to be in a good humor as long as he talked to
+Corny, "and no one shall interfere with you, provided you do not commit
+any disorder, and I'm sure you will not do that."
+
+"Oh, no!" said Corny; "we just intend to have a little coronation, and
+to ask the people to remember that she's a queen and not a pepper-pod
+woman; and if you could just give us a paper commission, and sign it, we
+should--at least I should--feel a good deal easier."
+
+"You shall have it," said the governor, and he took some paper and a
+pen.
+
+"It seems a little curious," said he to Corny, as he dipped his pen in
+the ink, "that I should serve a queen, and have a queen under me at the
+same time, doesn't it?"
+
+"Kind o' sandwiched," remarked Rectus, who had a face like frozen brass.
+
+The governor went on writing, and Corny and I looked at Rectus as if we
+would singe his hair.
+
+"You are all from the States, I suppose," said the governor.
+
+I said we were.
+
+"What are your names?" he asked, looking at Corny first.
+
+"Cornelia V. Chipperton," said Corny, and he wrote that down. Then he
+looked at me.
+
+"William Taylor Gordon," said I. When the governor had put that on his
+paper, he just gave his head a little wag toward Rectus. He didn't look
+at him.
+
+"My name is Samuel Colbert," said Rectus.
+
+Corny turned short on him, with eyes wide open.
+
+"Samuel!" she said, in a sort of theatre-whisper.
+
+"Now, then," said the governor, "this paper will show that you have full
+permission to carry out your little plans, provided that you do nothing
+that may create any disorder. If the woman--your queen, I mean--has been
+in the habit of earning her own livelihood, don't make a pauper of her."
+And he gave us a general look as if the time had come to say good-bye.
+So we got up and thanked him, and he shook hands with us, Rectus and
+all, and we came away.
+
+We found Priscilla sitting cross-legged on the grass outside, pitching
+pennies.
+
+"That thar red-coat he want to sen' me off," said she, "but I tole him
+my missy and bosses was inside, and I boun' to wait fur 'em, or git
+turned off. So he le' me stay."
+
+Corny, for a wonder, did not reprove Priscilla for giving the sentinel
+the idea that her employers hired penny-pitchers to follow them around,
+but she walked on in silence until we were out of the grounds. Then she
+turned to Rectus and said:
+
+"I thought your name was Rectus!"
+
+"It isn't," said he. "It's Samuel."
+
+This was no sort of an answer to give Corny, and so I explained that
+Rectus was his school name; that he was younger than most of us, and
+that we used to call him Young Rectus; but that I had pretty much
+dropped the "young" since we had been travelling together. It didn't
+appear to be needed.
+
+"But why did you call him Rectus, when his name's Samuel?" asked Corny.
+
+"Well," said I, laughing, "it seemed to suit him."
+
+This was all that was said about the matter, for Priscilla came up and
+said she must hurry home, and that she'd like to have her sixpence, and
+that changed the subject, for we were out of small money and could only
+make up eleven half-pence among us. But Priscilla agreed to trust us
+until evening for the other "hoppenny."
+
+Corny didn't say much on the way home, and she looked as if she was
+doing some private thinking. I suppose, among other things, she thought
+that as I considered it all right to call Rectus Rectus, she might as
+well do it herself, for she said:
+
+"Rectus, I don't think you're as good at talking as Will is. I move we
+have a new election for captain."
+
+"All right," said Rectus; "I'm agreed."
+
+You couldn't make that boy angry. We held a meeting just as we got to
+the hotel, and he and Corny both voted for me.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+THE CORONATION.
+
+
+In the afternoon, we had our grand rally at the Queen's Stair-way. Corny
+couldn't come, because her mother said she must not be running around so
+much. So she staid at home and worked on the new flag for the
+coronation. We designed this flag among us. It had a black ground, with
+a yellow sun just rising out of the middle of it. It didn't cost much,
+and looked more like a yellow cog-wheel rolling in deep mud than
+anything else. But we thought it would do very well.
+
+Rectus and I had barely reached the stairs, by the way of the old fort,
+when Priscilla made her appearance in the ravine at the head of a crowd
+of whooping barefooted young rascals, who came skipping along as if they
+expected something to eat.
+
+"I'd never be a queen," said Rectus, "if I had to have such a lot of
+subjects as that."
+
+"Don't think you would," said I; "but we mustn't let 'em come up the
+stairs. They must stay at the bottom, so that we can harangue 'em." So
+we charged down the stairs, and made the adherents bunch themselves on
+the level ground.
+
+Then we harangued them, and they laughed, and hurrahed, and whistled,
+and jumped, while Priscilla, as an active emissary, ran around among
+them, punching them, and trying to make them keep still and listen.
+
+But as they all promised to stick to us and the royal queen through
+thick and thin, we didn't mind a little disorder.
+
+The next day but one was to be coronation day, and we impressed it on
+the minds of the adherents that they must be sure to be on hand about
+ten in the morning, in front of the queen's hut. We concluded not to
+call it a palace until after the ceremony.
+
+When we had said all we had to say, we told the assemblage that it might
+go home; but it didn't seem inclined to do anything of the kind.
+
+"Look a here, boss," said one of them,--a stout, saucy fellow, with the
+biggest hat and the biggest feet on the island,--"aint you agoin' to
+give us nothin' for comin' round here?"
+
+"Give you anything!" cried Rectus, blazing up suddenly. "That's a pretty
+way to talk! It's the subjects that have to give. You'll see pretty
+soon----"
+
+Just here I stopped him. If he had gone on a few minutes longer, he
+would have wound up that kingdom with a snap.
+
+"We didn't bring you here," said I, "to give you anything, for it ought
+to be enough pay to any decent fellow to see a good old person like
+Queen Poqua-dilla get her rights."
+
+"Who's him?" asked several of the nearest fellows.
+
+"He means Jane Henderson," said Priscilla. "You keep quiet."
+
+"Jane Henderson! Dat's all right. Don' call her no names. Go ahead,
+boss!" they cried, laughing and shouting. I went ahead.
+
+"We can't pay you any money; but if you will all promise again to be on
+hand before ten o'clock day after to-morrow, we'll take you down to the
+harbor now and give you a small dive."
+
+A wild promise rang up the sides of the ravine.
+
+A "small dive" is a ceremony somewhat peculiar to this island. A
+visitor--no native white man would ever think of such a thing--stands on
+the edge of a pier, or anywhere, where the water is quite deep, and
+tosses in a bit of money, while the darkey boys--who are sure to be all
+ready when a visitor is standing on a pier--dive for it. It's a lot of
+fun to see them do this, and Rectus and I had already chucked a good
+deal of small change into the harbor, and had seen it come up again,
+some of it before it got to the bottom. These dives are called "small,"
+because the darkeys want to put the thing mildly. They couldn't coax
+anybody down to the water to give them a big dive.
+
+"You see," said I to Rectus, as we started down the ravine toward the
+river, with the crowd of adherents marching in front, "we've got to have
+these fellows at the coronation. So it wont do to scare 'em off now."
+
+We went down to a little public square in front of the town, where there
+was a splendid diving-place. A good many people were strolling about
+there, but I don't suppose that a single person who saw those darkey
+fellows, with nothing on but their cotton trousers,--who stood in a line
+on the edge of the sea-wall, and plunged in, head foremost, like a lot
+of frogs, when I threw out a couple of "big coppers,"--ever supposed
+that these rascals were diving for monarchical purposes. The water was
+so clear that we could see them down at the bottom, swimming and
+paddling around after the coppers. When a fellow found one he'd stick it
+in his mouth, and come up as lively as a cricket, and all ready for
+another scramble at the bottom.
+
+Sometimes I threw in a silver "check," which is no bigger than a
+three-cent piece; but, although the water was about fifteen feet deep,
+it was never lost. The fellows seemed just as much at home in the water
+as on land, and I suppose they don't know how to get drowned. We tried
+to toss the money in such a way that each one of them would have
+something, but some of them were not smart enough to get down to the
+bottom in time; and when we thought we had circulated enough specie, we
+felt sure that there were two or three, and perhaps more, who hadn't
+brought up a penny.
+
+So when they all climbed out, with their brown shoulders glistening, I
+asked which one of them had come out without getting anything. Every
+man-jack of them stepped forward and said he hadn't got a copper. We
+picked out three little fellows, gave them a few pennies apiece, and
+came home.
+
+[Illustration: A FAMILY DIVE]
+
+The next day we were all hard at work. Corny and her mother went down to
+the queen's house, and planned what they could get to fit up the place
+so that it would be a little more comfortable. Mrs. Chipperton must have
+added something to our eight dollars, for she and Corny came up into the
+town, and bought a lot of things, which made Poqua-dilla's best room
+look like another place. The rocking-chair was fixed up quite royally.
+Mrs. Chipperton turned out to be a better kind of a woman than I
+thought she was at first.
+
+We hired a man to cut a pole and set it up in the queen's front yard,
+for the flag; and then Rectus and I started out to get the crown. I had
+thought that if we could find some sheet-brass, I could manage to make a
+pretty good crown, but there didn't seem to be anything of the kind in
+the place. But, after a good deal of looking, we found a brass saucepan,
+in a store, which I thought would do very well for the foundation of a
+crown. We bought this, and took it around to a shop where a man mended
+pots and kettles. For a shilling we hired the use of his tools for an
+hour, and then Rectus and I went to work. We unriveted the handle, and
+then I held the bottom edge of the saucepan to the grindstone, while
+Rectus turned, and we soon ground the bottom off. This left us a deep
+brass band, quite big enough for a crown, and as the top edge was
+rounded off, it could be turned over on a person's head, so as to sit
+quite comfortably. With a cold-chisel I cut long points in what would be
+the upper part of the crown, and when I had filed these up a little, the
+crown looked quite nobby. We finished it by punching a lot of holes in
+the front part, making them in the form of stars and circles. With
+something red behind these, the effect would be prodigious.
+
+At ten o'clock, sharp, the next morning, we were all at the queen's
+house. Mrs. Chipperton was with us, for she wished very much to see the
+ceremony. I think Mr. Chipperton would have been along, but a gentleman
+took him out in his yacht that morning, and I must admit that we all
+breathed a little bit freer without him. There was a pretty fair crowd
+sitting around in the front yard when we reached the house, and before
+long a good many more people came to see what was going on. They were
+all negroes; but I don't believe half of them were genuine native
+Africans. The queen was sitting inside, with a red shawl on, although it
+was a pretty warm day, and wearing a new turban.
+
+We had arranged, on the way, to appoint a lot of court officials,
+because there was no use of our being stingy in this respect, when it
+didn't cost anything to do up the thing right. So we picked out a good
+looking man for Lord High Chancellor, and gave him a piece of red ribbon
+to tie in his button-hole. He hadn't any button-hole anywhere, except in
+his trousers, so he tied it to the string which fastened his shirt
+together at the collar. Four old men we appointed to be courtiers, and
+made them button up their coats. For a wonder, they all had coats. We
+also made a Lord High Sheriff and a Royal Beadle, and an Usher of the
+White Wand, an officer Mrs. Chipperton had read about, and to whom we
+gave a whittled stick, with strict instructions not to jab anybody with
+it. Corny had been reading a German novel, and she wanted us to appoint
+a "Hof-rath," who is a German court officer of some kind. He was a nice
+fellow in the novel, and so we picked out the best-looking young darkey
+we could find, for the position.
+
+We each had our posts. Corny was to do the crowning, and I was to make
+the speech. Rectus had his place by the flag, which he was to haul up at
+the proper moment. Mrs. Chipperton undertook to stand by the old
+lady,--that is, the queen,--and give her any support she might happen to
+need during the ceremony.
+
+We intended having the coronation in the house; but we found the crowd
+too large for this, so we brought the rocking-chair out-of-doors, and
+set it in front of the only window in the palace. The yard was large
+enough to accommodate a good many people, and those who could not get in
+had plenty of room out in the road. We tried to make Poqua-dilla take
+off her turban, because a crown on a turban seemed to us something
+entirely out of order; but she wouldn't listen to it. We had the
+pleasant-faced neighbor-woman as an interpreter, and she said that it
+wasn't any use; the queen would almost as soon appear in public without
+her head as without her turban. So we let this pass, for we saw very
+plainly that it wouldn't do to try to force too much on Poqua-dilla, for
+she looked now as if she thought we had come there to perform some
+operation on her,--perhaps to cut off her leg.
+
+About half-past ten, we led her out, and made her sit down in the
+rocking-chair. Mrs. Chipperton stood on one side of her, holding one of
+her hands, while the neighbor-woman stood on the other side, and held
+the other hand. This arrangement, however, did not last long, for
+Poqua-dilla soon jerked her hands away, thinking, perhaps, that if
+anything was done that hurt, it might be better to be free for a jump.
+
+Corny stood in front, a little at one side, holding the crown, which she
+had padded and lined with red flannel. I took my place just before Mrs.
+Chipperton, facing the crowd. Rectus was at the flag-pole, near the
+front of the yard, holding the halyards in his hands, ready to haul. The
+_Hof-rath_ was by him, to help if anything got tangled, and the four
+courtiers and the other officials had places in the front row of the
+spectators, while Priscilla stood by Corny, to be on hand should she be
+needed.
+
+When all was ready, and Corny had felt in her pocket to see that the
+"permission paper" was all right, I began my speech. It was the second
+regular speech I had ever made,--the first one was at a school
+celebration,--and I had studied it out pretty carefully. It was
+intended, of course, for the negroes, but I really addressed the most of
+it to Mrs. Chipperton, because I knew that she could understand a speech
+better than any one else in the yard. When I had shown the matter up as
+plainly as I knew how, and had given all the whys and wherefores, I made
+a little stop for applause. But I didn't get any. They all stood waiting
+to see what would happen next. As there was nothing more to say, I
+nodded to Corny to clap on the crown. The moment she felt it on her
+head, the queen stood up as straight as a hoe-handle, and looked quickly
+from side to side. Then I called out in my best voice:
+
+"Africans! Behold your queen!"
+
+At this instant Rectus ran up the black flag with the yellow cog-wheel,
+and we white people gave a cheer. As soon as they got a cue, the darkeys
+knew what to do. They burst out into a wild yell, they waved their hats,
+they laid down on the grass and kicked, they jumped, and danced, and
+laughed, and screamed. I was afraid the queen would bolt, so I took a
+quiet hold of her shawl. But she stood still until the crowd cooled down
+a little, and then she made a courtesy and sat down.
+
+"Is that all?" asked the neighbor-woman, after she had waited a few
+moments.
+
+"Yes," said I. "You can take her in."
+
+When the queen had been led within doors, and while the crowd was still
+in a state of wild commotion, I took a heavy bag of coppers from my
+coat-pocket--where it had been worrying me all through the ceremony--and
+gave it to Priscilla.
+
+"Scatter that among the subjects," said I.
+
+"Give 'em a big scr_ah_mble in the road?" said she, her eyes crackling
+with delight.
+
+"Yes," said I, and out she ran, followed by the whole kingdom. We white
+folk stood inside to watch the fun. Priscilla threw out a handful of
+pennies, and the darkeys just piled themselves up in the road on top of
+the money. You could see nothing but madly waving legs. The mass heaved
+and tossed and moved from one side of the road to the other. The Lord
+High Chancellor was at the bottom of the heap, while the _Hof-rath_
+wiggled his bare feet high in the air. Every fellow who grabbed a penny
+had ten fellows pulling at him. The women and small fry did not get
+into this mess, but they dodged around, and made snatches wherever they
+could get their hands into the pile of boys and men.
+
+They all yelled, and shouted and tussled and scrambled, until Priscilla,
+who was dancing around with her bag, gave another throw into a different
+part of the road. Then every fellow jerked himself loose from the rest,
+and a fresh rush was made, and a fresh pile of darkeys arose in a
+minute.
+
+We stood and laughed until our backs ached, but, as I happened to look
+around at the house, I saw the queen standing on her door-step looking
+mournfully at the fun. She was alone, for even her good neighbor had
+rushed out to see what she could pick up. I was glad to find that the
+new monarch, who still wore her crown,--which no one would have imagined
+to have ever been a saucepan,--had sense enough to keep out of such a
+scrimmage of the populace, and I went back and gave her a shilling. Her
+face shone, and I could see that she felt that she never could have
+grabbed that much.
+
+When there had been three or four good scrambles, Priscilla ran up the
+road, a little way, and threw out all the pennies that were left in the
+bag. Then she made a rush for them, and, having a good start, she got
+there first, and had both hands full of dust and pennies before any one
+else reached the spot. She was not to be counted out of that game.
+
+After this last scramble, we came away. The queen had taken her throne
+indoors, and we went in and shook hands with her, telling her we would
+soon come and see how she was getting along. I don't suppose she
+understood us, but it didn't matter. When we had gone some distance, we
+looked back, and there was still a pile of darkeys rolling and tumbling
+in the dust.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+A HOT CHASE.
+
+
+That afternoon, Rectus and I went over to the African settlement to see
+how the kingdom worked. It was rather soon, perhaps, to make a call on
+the new queen, but we were out for a walk, and might as well go that way
+as any other.
+
+When we came near the house, we heard a tremendous uproar, and soon saw
+that there was a big crowd in the yard. We couldn't imagine what was
+going on, unless the queen had changed her shilling, and was indulging
+in the luxury of giving a scramble. We ran up quickly, but the crowd was
+so large that we could not get into the yard, nor see what all the
+commotion was about. But we went over to the side of the yard,
+and--without being noticed by any of the people, who seemed too much
+interested to turn around--we soon found out what the matter was.
+
+Priscilla had usurped the throne!
+
+The rocking-chair had been brought out and placed again in front of the
+window, and there sat Priscilla, leaning back at her ease, with the
+crown on her head, a big fan--made of calf-skin--in her hand, and a
+general air of superiority pervading her whole being. Behind her, with
+her hand on the back of the chair, stood Poqua-dilla, wearing her new
+turban, but without the red shawl. She looked as if something had
+happened.
+
+In front of the chair was the Lord High Chancellor. He had evidently
+gone over to the usurper. His red ribbon, very dusty and draggled, still
+hung from his shirt-collar. The four courtiers sat together on a bench,
+near the house, with their coats still buttoned up as high as
+circumstances would allow. They seemed sad and disappointed, and
+probably had been deprived of their rank. The _Hof-rath_ stood in the
+front of the crowd. He did not appear happy; indeed, he seemed a good
+deal ruffled, both in mind and clothes. Perhaps he had defended his
+queen, and had been roughly handled.
+
+Priscilla was talking, and fanning herself, gracefully and lazily, with
+her calf-skin fan. I think she had been telling the people what she
+intended to do, and what she intended them to do; but, almost
+immediately after our arrival, she was interrupted by the _Hof-rath_,
+who said something that we did not hear, but which put Priscilla into a
+wild passion.
+
+She sprang to her feet and stood up in the chair, while poor Poqua-dilla
+held it firmly by the back so that it should not shake. I supposed from
+this that Priscilla had been standing up before, and that our old friend
+had been appointed to the office of chair-back-holder to the usurper.
+
+Priscilla waved her fan high in air, and then, with her right hand, she
+took off the crown, held it up for a minute, and replaced it on her
+head.
+
+"Afrikins, behole yer queen!" said she, at the top of her voice, and
+leaning back so far that the rightful sovereign had a good deal of
+trouble to keep the chair from going over.
+
+"Dat's me!" she cried. "Look straight at me, an' ye see yer queen. An'
+how you dar', you misribble Hop-grog, to say I no queen! You 'serve to
+be killed. Take hole o' him, some uv you fellers! Grab dat Hop-grog!"
+
+At this, two or three men seized the poor _Hof-rath_, while the crowd
+cheered and laughed.
+
+"Take him an' kill him!" shouted Priscilla. "Chop his head off!"
+
+At this, a wild shout of laughter arose, and one of the men who held the
+_Hof-rath_ declared, as soon as he got his breath, that they couldn't do
+that,--they had no hatchet big enough.
+
+Priscilla stood quiet for a minute. She looked over the crowd, and then
+she looked at the poor _Hof-rath_, who now began to show that he was a
+little frightened.
+
+"You, Hop-grog," said she, "how much money did you grab in dem
+scrahmbles?"
+
+The _Hof-rath_ put his hand in his pocket and pulled out some pennies.
+
+"Five big coppers," said he, sullenly.
+
+"Gim me dem," said she, and he brought them to her.
+
+"Now den, you kin git out," said she, pocketing the money. Then she
+again raised her crown and replaced it on her head.
+
+"Afrikins, behole your queen!" she cried.
+
+This was more than we could stand. To see this usurpation and robbery
+made our blood boil. We, by ourselves, could do nothing; but we could
+get help. We slipped away and ran down the road in the direction of the
+hotel. We had not gone far before we saw, coming along a cross-road, the
+two yellow-leg men. We turned, hurried up to them, and hastily told them
+of the condition of things, and asked if they would help us put down
+this usurpation. They did not understand the matter, at first, but when
+we made them see how it stood, they were greatly interested, and
+instantly offered to join us.
+
+"We can go down here to the police-station," said I, "and get some
+help."
+
+"No, no!" said the tall yellow-leg. "Don't tell those fellows. They'll
+only make a row of it, and get somebody into trouble. We're enough to
+capture that usurper. Let's go for her."
+
+And we went.
+
+When we neared the crowd, the shorter yellow-leg, Mr. Burgan, said that
+he would go first; then his friend would come close behind him, while
+Rectus and I could push up after them. By forming a line we could rush
+right through the crowd. I thought I ought to go first, but Mr. Burgan
+said he was the stoutest, and could better stand the pressure if the
+crowd stood firm.
+
+But the crowd didn't stand firm. The moment we made our rush, and the
+people saw us, they scattered right and left, and we pushed right
+through, straight to the house. Priscilla saw us before we reached her,
+and, quick as lightning, she made a dive for the door. We rushed after
+her, but she got inside, and, hurling the crown from her head, dashed
+out of a back-door. We followed hotly, but she was out of the yard, over
+a wall, and into a side lane, almost before we knew it.
+
+Then a good chase began. Priscilla had a long start of us, for we had
+bungled at the wall, but we were bound to catch her.
+
+I was a good runner, and Rectus was light and active, although I am not
+sure that he could keep up the thing very long; but the two yellow-legs
+surprised me. They took the lead of us, directly, and kept it. Behind us
+came a lot of darkeys, not trying to catch Priscilla, but anxious, I
+suppose, to see what was going to happen.
+
+Priscilla still kept well ahead. She had struck out of the lane into a
+road which led toward the outskirts of the town. I think we were
+beginning to gain on her when, all of a sudden, she sat down. With a
+shout, we rushed on, but before we reached her she had jerked off both
+her shoes,--she didn't wear any stockings,--and she sprang to her feet
+and was off again. Waving the shoes over her head, she jumped and leaped
+and bounded like an India-rubber goat. Priscilla, barefooted, couldn't
+be caught by any man on the island: we soon saw that. She flew down the
+road, with the white dust flying behind her, until she reached a big
+limestone quarry, where the calcareous building-material of the town is
+sawn out in great blocks, and there she made a sharp turn and dashed
+down in among the stones. We reached the place just in time to see her
+run across the quarry, slip in between two great blocks that were
+standing up like statue pedestals on the other side, and disappear.
+
+We rushed over, we searched and looked, here and there and everywhere,
+and all the darkeys searched and looked, but we found no Priscilla. She
+had gone away.
+
+Puffing and blowing like four steam-fire-engines, we sat down on some
+stones and wiped our faces.
+
+"I guess we just ran that upstart queen out of her possessions," said
+the tall yellow-legs, dusting his boots with his handkerchief. He was
+satisfied.
+
+We walked home by the road at the edge of the harbor. The cool air from
+the water was very pleasant to us. When we reached the hotel, we found
+Mr. and Mrs. Chipperton and Corny sitting outside, in the entrance
+court, waiting for supper-time. A lot of arm-chairs always stood there,
+so that people might sit and wait for meals, or anything else that they
+expected. When Corny heard the dreadful news of the fall of our kingdom,
+she was so shocked that she could scarcely speak; and as for Mrs.
+Chipperton, I thought she was going to cry. Corny wanted to rush right
+down to Poqua-dilla's house and see what could be done, but we were all
+against that. No harm would come to the old woman that night from the
+loss of her crown, and it was too near supper-time for any attempt at
+restoration, just then.
+
+"Only to think of it!" said Mrs. Chipperton. "After all we did for her!
+I don't believe she was queen more than an hour. It's the shortest reign
+I ever heard of."
+
+"And that Priscilla!" cried Corny. "The girl we trusted to do so much,
+and----"
+
+"Paid every night," said I.
+
+"Yes," she continued, "and gave a pair of mother's shoes to, for the
+coronation! And to think that _she_ should deceive us and do the
+usurping!"
+
+The shorter yellow-legs, who had been standing by with his friend, now
+made a remark. He evidently remembered Corny, on the Oclawaha
+steam-boat, although he had never become acquainted with her or her
+family.
+
+"Did your queen talk French?" he asked, with a smile; "or was not that
+the language of the Court?"
+
+"No, it wasn't," said Corny, gravely. "African was the language of the
+Court. But the queen was too polite to use it before us, because she
+knew we did not understand it, and couldn't tell what she might be
+saying about us."
+
+"Good!" said the tall yellow-legs. "That's very good indeed. Burgan, you
+owe her one."
+
+"One what?" asked Corny.
+
+"Another answer as good as that, if I can ever think of it," said Mr.
+Burgan.
+
+Corny did not reply. I doubt if she heard him. Her soul still ached for
+her fallen queen.
+
+"I tell you what it is," said Mr. Chipperton, who had kept unaccountably
+quiet, so far. "It's a great pity that I did not know about this. I
+should have liked nothing better than to be down there when that usurper
+girl was standing on that throne, or rocking-chair, or whatever it
+was----"
+
+"Oh, my dear!" said Mrs. Chipperton. "It would never have done for you
+to have exposed your lung to such a scene of turmoil and confusion."
+
+"Bother my lung!" cried Mr. Chipperton, who was now growing quite
+excited. "I would never have stood tamely by, and witnessed such vile
+injustice----"
+
+"We didn't stand tamely by," said I. "We ran wildly after the unjust
+one."
+
+"I would have stood up before that crowd," continued Mr. Chipperton,
+"and I would have told the people what I thought of them. I would have
+asked them how, living in a land like this, where the blue sky shines on
+them for nothing, where cocoa-nut and the orange stand always ready for
+them to stretch forth their hands and take them, where they need but a
+minimum of clothes, and where the very sea around them freely yields up
+its fish and its conchs,--or, that is to say, they can get such things
+for a trifling sum,--I would have asked them, I say, how--when free
+citizens of a republic, such as we are, come from our shores of liberty,
+where kings and queens are despised and any throne that is attempted to
+be set up over us is crushed to atoms,--that when we, I say, come over
+here, and out of the pure kindness and generosity of our souls raise
+from the dust a poverty-stricken and down-trodden queen, and place her,
+as nearly as possible, on the throne of her ancestors, and put upon her
+head a crown,--a bauble which, in our own land, we trample under
+foot----"
+
+At this I shuddered, remembering the sharp points I had filed in our
+crown.
+
+"And grind into the dust," continued Mr. Chipperton,--"I would ask them,
+I say, how they could think of all this, and then deliberately subvert,
+at the behest of a young and giddy colored hireling, the structure we
+had upraised. And what could they have said to that, I would like to
+know?" he asked, looking around from one to another of us.
+
+"Give us a small dive, boss?" suggested Rectus.
+
+"That's so," said Mr. Chipperton, his face beaming into a broad smile;
+"I believe they would have said that very thing. You have hit it
+exactly. Let's go in to supper."
+
+The next day, Rectus and I, with Corny and Mrs. Chipperton, walked down
+to the queen's house, to see how she fared and what could be done for
+her.
+
+When we reached Poqua-dilla's hut, we saw her sitting on her door-step.
+By her side were several joints of sugar-cane, and close to them stood
+the crown, neatly filled with scarlet pepper-pods, which hung very
+prettily over the peaked points of brass. She was very still, and her
+head rested on her breast.
+
+"Asleep!" whispered Corny.
+
+"Yes," said Mrs. Chipperton, softly, "and don't let's waken her. She's
+very well off as she is, and now that her house is a little more
+comfortable, it would be well to leave her in peace, to peddle what she
+pleases on her door-step. Her crown will worry her less where it is than
+on her head."
+
+Corny whispered to her mother, who nodded, and took out her pocket-book.
+In a moment, Corny, with some change in her hand, went quietly up to the
+yard and put the money in the queen's lap. Then we went away and left
+her, still asleep.
+
+A day or two after this, the "Tigress" came in, bringing the mail. We
+saw her, from one of the upper porticoes, when she was just on the edge
+of the horizon, and we knew her by the way she stood up high in the
+water, and rolled her smoke-stack from side to side. She was the
+greatest roller that ever floated, I reckon, but a jolly good ship for
+all that; and we were glad enough to see her.
+
+There were a lot of letters for us in her mail. I had nine from the boys
+at home, not to count those from the family.
+
+We had just about finished reading our letters when Corny came up to us
+to the silk-cotton tree, where we were sitting, and said, in a doleful
+tone:
+
+"We've got to go home."
+
+"Home?" we cried out together. "When?"
+
+"To-morrow," said Corny, "on the 'Tigress.'"
+
+All our good news and pleasant letters counted for nothing now.
+
+"How?--why?" said I. "Why do you have to go? Isn't this something new?"
+
+Rectus looked as if he had lost his knife, and I'm sure I had never
+thought that I should care so much to hear that a girl--no relation--was
+going away the next day.
+
+"Yes, it is something new," said Corny, who certainly had been crying,
+although we didn't notice it at first. "It's a horrid old lawsuit.
+Father just heard of it in a letter. There's one of his houses, in New
+York, that's next to a lot, and the man that owns the lot says father's
+house sticks over four inches on his lot, and he has sued him for
+that,--just think of it! four inches only! You couldn't do anything with
+four inches of dirt if you had it; and father didn't know it, and he
+isn't going to move his wall back, now that he does know it, for the
+people in the house would have to cut all their carpets, or fold them
+under, which is just as bad, and he says he must go right back to New
+York, and, of course, we've all got to go, too, which is the worst of
+it, and mother and I are just awfully put out."
+
+"What's the good of his going," asked Rectus. "Can't he get a lawyer to
+attend to it all?"
+
+"Oh, you couldn't keep him here now," said Corny. "He's just wild to be
+off. The man who sued him is a horrid person, and father says that if he
+don't go right back, the next thing he'll hear will be that old Colbert
+will be trying to get a foot instead of four inches."
+
+"Old Colbert!" ejaculated Rectus, "I guess that must be my father."
+
+If I had been Rectus, I don't think I should have been so quick to guess
+anything of that kind about my father; but perhaps he had heard things
+like that before. He took it as coolly as he generally took everything.
+
+Corny was as red as a beet.
+
+"Your father!" she exclaimed. "I don't believe it. I'll go this very
+minute and see."
+
+Rectus was right. The stingy hankerer after what Corny called four
+inches of dirt was his father. Mr. Chipperton came up to us and talked
+about the matter, and it was all as plain as daylight. When he found
+that Mr. Colbert was the father of Rectus, Mr. Chipperton was very much
+surprised, and he called no more names, although I am sure he had been
+giving old Colbert a pretty disagreeable sort of a record. But he sat
+down by Rectus, and talked to him as if the boy were his own father
+instead of himself, and proved to him, by every law of property in
+English, Latin, or Sanscrit, that the four inches of ground were
+legally, lawfully, and without any manner of doubt, his own, and that it
+would have been utterly and absolutely impossible for him to have built
+his house one inch outside of his own land. I whispered to Rectus that
+the house might have swelled, but he didn't get a chance to put in the
+suggestion.
+
+Rectus had to agree to all Mr. Chipperton said--or, at least, he
+couldn't differ with him,--for he didn't know anything on earth about
+the matter, and I guess he was glad enough when he got through. I'm sure
+I was. Rectus didn't say anything except that he was very sorry that the
+Chipperton family had to go home, and then he walked off to his room.
+
+In about half an hour, when I went upstairs, I found Rectus had just
+finished a letter to his father.
+
+"I guess that'll make it all right," he said, and he handed me the
+letter to read. It was a strictly business letter. No nonsense about the
+folks at home. He said that was the kind of business letter his father
+liked. It ran like this:
+
+          DEAR FATHER: Mr. Chipperton has told me about your
+          suing him. If he really has set his house over on
+          four inches of your lot, I wish you would let it
+          stand there. I don't care much for him, but he has
+          a nice wife and a pleasant girl, and if you go on
+          suing him the whole lot of them will leave here
+          to-morrow, and they're about the only people I
+          know, except Gordon. If you want to, you can take
+          a foot off any one of my three lots, and that
+          ought to make it all right.
+
+                     Your affectionate son, SAMUEL COLBERT.
+
+"Have you three lots?" I asked, a good deal surprised, for I didn't know
+that Rectus was a property-owner.
+
+"Yes," said he; "my grandmother left them to me."
+
+"Are they right next to your father's lot, which Chipperton cut into?"
+
+"No, they're nowhere near it," said Rectus.
+
+I burst out laughing.
+
+"That letter wont do any good," I said.
+
+"You'll see," said Rectus, and he went off to mail it.
+
+I don't know what kind of a business man Mr. Chipperton was, but when
+Rectus told him that he had written a letter to his father which would
+make the thing all right, he was perfectly satisfied; and the next day
+we all went out in a sail-boat to the coral-reef, and had a splendid
+time, and the "Tigress" went off without any Chippertons. I think Mr.
+Chipperton put the whole thing down as the result of his lecture to
+Rectus up in the silk-cotton tree.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+A STRANGE THING HAPPENS TO ME.
+
+
+For several days after our hot chase after Priscilla, we saw nothing of
+this ex-emissary. Indeed, we began to be afraid that something had
+happened to her. She was such a regular attendant at the
+hotel-door-market, that people were talking about missing her black face
+and her chattering tongue. But she turned up one morning as gay and
+skippy as ever, and we saw her leaning against the side of one of the
+door-ways of the court in her favorite easy attitude, with her head on
+one side and one foot crossed over the other, which made her look like a
+bronze figure such as they put under kerosene lamps. In one hand she had
+her big straw hat, and in the other a bunch of rose-buds. The moment she
+saw Corny she stepped up to her.
+
+"Wont you buy some rose-buds, missy?" she said. "De puttiest rose-buds I
+ever brought you yit."
+
+Corny looked at her with a withering glare, but Priscilla didn't wither
+a bit. She was a poor hand at withering.
+
+"Please buy 'em, missy. I kep' 'em fur you. I been a-keepin' 'em all de
+mornin'."
+
+"I don't see how you dare ask me to buy your flowers!" exclaimed Corny.
+"Go away! I never want to see you again. After all you did----"
+
+"Please, missy, buy jist this one bunch. These is the puttiest red-rose
+buds in dis whole town. De red roses nearly all gone."
+
+"Nearly all gone," said I. "What do you mean by telling such a fib?"--I
+was going to say "lie," which was nearer the truth (if that isn't a
+bull); but there were several ladies about, and Priscilla herself was a
+girl. "You know that there are red roses here all the year."
+
+"Please, boss," said Priscilla, rolling her eyes at me like an innocent
+calf, "wont you buy dese roses fur missy? They's the puttiest roses I
+ever brought her yit."
+
+"I guess you've got a calcareous conscience, haven't you?" said Rectus.
+
+Priscilla looked at him, for a moment, as if she thought that he might
+want to buy something of that kind, but as she hadn't it to sell, she
+tried her flowers on him.
+
+"Please, boss, wont you buy dese roses fur----"
+
+"No," said Rectus, "I wont."
+
+And we all turned and walked away. It was no use to blow her up. She
+wouldn't have minded it. But she lost three customers.
+
+I said before that I was the only one in our party who liked fishing,
+and for that reason I didn't go often, for I don't care about taking
+trips of that kind by myself. But one day Mr. Burgan and the other
+yellow-legs told me that they were going to fish in Lake Killarney, a
+lovely little lake in the interior of the island, about five miles from
+the town, and that if I liked I might go along. I did like, and I went.
+
+I should have been better pleased if they had gone there in a carriage;
+but this wouldn't have suited these two fellows, who had rigged
+themselves up in their buck-skin boots, and had all the tramping and
+fishing rigs that they used in the Adirondacks and other sporting places
+where they told me they had been. It was a long and a warm walk, and
+trying to find a good place for fishing, after we got to the lake, made
+the work harder yet. We didn't find any good place, and the few fish we
+caught didn't pay for the trouble of going there; but we walked all over
+a big pineapple plantation and had a splendid view from the highest hill
+on the whole island.
+
+It was pretty late in the afternoon when we reached home, and I made up
+my mind that the next time I went so far to fish, in a semi-tropical
+country, I'd go with a party who wore suits that would do for riding.
+
+Rectus and Corny and Mrs. Chipperton were up in the silk-cotton tree
+when I got home, and I went there and sat down. Mrs. Chipperton lent me
+her fan.
+
+Corny and Rectus were looking over the "permission paper" which the
+English governor had given us.
+
+"I guess this isn't any more use, now," said Corny, "as we've done all
+we can for kings and queens, but Rectus says that if you agree I can
+have it for my autograph book. I never had a governor's signature."
+
+"Certainly, you can have it," I said. "And he's a different governor
+from the common run. None of your State governors, but a real British
+governor, like those old fellows they set over us in our colony-days."
+
+"Indeed!" said Mrs. Chipperton, smiling. "You must be able to remember a
+long way back."
+
+"Well, you needn't make fun of this governor," said Corny, "for he's a
+real nice man. We met him to-day, riding in the funniest carriage you
+ever saw in your life. It's like a big baby-carriage for twins, only
+it's pulled by a horse, and has a man in livery to drive it. The top's
+straw, and you get in in the middle, and sit both ways."
+
+"Either way, my dear," said Mrs. Chipperton.
+
+"Yes, either way," continued Corny. "Did you ever see a carriage like
+that?"
+
+"I surely never did," said I.
+
+"Well, he was in it, and some ladies, and they stopped and asked Rectus
+and I how we got along with our queen, and when I told them all about
+it, you ought to have heard them laugh, and the governor, he said, that
+Poqua-dilla shouldn't suffer after we went away, even if he had to get
+all his pepper-pods from her. Now, wasn't that good?"
+
+I admitted that it was, but I thought to myself that a good supper and a
+bed would be better, for I was awfully tired and hungry. But I didn't
+say this.
+
+I slept as sound as a rock that night, and it was pretty broad daylight
+when I woke up. I don't believe that I would have wakened then, but I
+wanted to turn over and couldn't, and that is enough to make any fellow
+wake up.
+
+When I opened my eyes, I found myself in the worst fix I had ever been
+in in my life. I couldn't move my arms or my legs, for my arms were tied
+fast to my body, at the elbows and wrists, and my feet and my knees were
+tied together. I was lying flat on my back, but I could turn my head
+over to where Rectus' bed stood--it was a small one like mine--and he
+wasn't there. I sung out:
+
+"Rectus!" and gave a big heave, which made the bed rattle. I was scared.
+
+In a second, Rectus was standing by me. He had been sitting by the
+window. He was all dressed.
+
+"Don't shout that way again," he said, in a low voice, "or I'll have to
+tie this handkerchief over your mouth," and he showed me a clean linen
+handkerchief all folded up, ready. "I wont put it so that it will stop
+your breathing," he said, as coolly as if this sort of thing was nothing
+unusual. "I'll leave your nose free."
+
+"Let me up, you little rascal!" I cried. "Did you do this?"
+
+At that he deliberately laid the handkerchief over my mouth and fastened
+it around my head. He was careful to leave my nose all right, but I was
+so mad that I could scarcely breathe. I knew by the way he acted that he
+had tied me, and I had never had such a trick played on me before. But
+it was no use to be mad. I couldn't do anything, though I tugged and
+twisted my very best. He had had a good chance to tie me up well, for I
+had slept so soundly. I was regularly bandaged.
+
+He stood by me for a few minutes, watching to see if I needed any more
+fixing, but when he made up his mind that I was done up securely, he
+brought a chair and sat down by the side of the bed and began to talk to
+me. I never saw anything like the audacity of the boy.
+
+"You needn't think it was mean to tie you, when you were so tired and
+sleepy, for I intended to do it this morning, any way, for you always
+sleep sound enough in the mornings to let a fellow tie you up as much as
+he pleases. And I suppose you'll say it was mean to tie you, any way,
+but you know well enough that it's no use for me to argue with you, for
+you wouldn't listen. But now you've got to listen, and I wont let you up
+till you promise never to call me Rectus again."
+
+"The little rascal!" I thought to myself. I might have made some noise
+in spite of the handkerchief, but I thought it better not, for I didn't
+know what else he might pile on my mouth.
+
+"It isn't my name, and I'm tired of it," he continued. "I didn't mind it
+at school, and I didn't mind it when we first started out together, but
+I've had enough of it now, and I've made up my mind that I'll make you
+promise never to call me by that name again."
+
+I vowed to myself that I would call him Rectus until his hair was gray.
+I'd write letters to him wherever he lived, and direct them: "Rectus
+Colbert."
+
+[Illustration: "I WOULDN'T LIKE IT MYSELF."]
+
+"There wasn't any other way to do it, and so I did it this way," he
+said. "I'm sorry, really, to have to tie you up so, because I wouldn't
+like it myself, and I wouldn't have put that handkerchief over your
+mouth if you had agreed to keep quiet, but I don't want anybody coming
+in here until you've promised."
+
+"Promise!" I thought; "I'll never promise you that while the world rolls
+round."
+
+"I know you can't say anything with that handkerchief over your mouth;
+but you don't have to speak. Your toes are loose. When you're ready to
+promise never to call me Rectus again, just wag your big toe, either
+one."
+
+I stiffened my toes, as if my feet were cast in brass. Rectus moved his
+chair a little around, so that he could keep an eye on my toes. Then he
+looked at his watch, and said:
+
+"It's seven o'clock now, and that's an hour from breakfast time. I don't
+want to keep you there any longer than I can help. You'd better wag your
+toe now, and be done with it. It's no use to wait."
+
+"Wag?" I thought to myself. "Never!"
+
+"I know what you're thinking," he went on. "You think that if you lie
+there long enough, you'll be all right, for when the chambermaid comes
+to do up the room, I must let her in, or else I'll have to say you're
+sick, and then the Chippertons will come up."
+
+That was exactly what I was thinking.
+
+"But that wont do you any good," said he, "I've thought of all that."
+
+He was a curious boy. How such a thing as this should have come into his
+mind, I couldn't imagine. He must have read of something of the kind.
+But to think of his trying it on _me_! I ground my teeth.
+
+He sat and watched me for some time longer. Once or twice he fixed the
+handkerchief over my mouth, for he seemed anxious that I should be as
+comfortable as possible. He was awfully kind, to be sure!
+
+"It isn't right that anybody should have such a name sticking to them
+always," he said. "And if I'd thought you'd have stopped it, I wouldn't
+have done this. But I knew you. You would just have laughed and kept
+on."
+
+The young scoundrel! Why didn't he try me?
+
+"Yesterday, when the governor met us, Corny called me Rectus, and even
+he said that was a curious name, and he didn't remember that I gave it
+to him, when he wrote that paper for us."
+
+Oh, ho! That was it, was it? Getting proud and meeting governors! Young
+prig!
+
+Now Rectus was quiet a little longer, and then he got up.
+
+"I didn't think you'd be so stubborn," he said, "but perhaps you know
+your own business best. I'm not going to keep you there until breakfast
+is ready, and people want to come in."
+
+Then he went over to the window, and came back directly with a little
+black paint-pot, with a brush in it.
+
+"Now," said he, "if you don't promise, in five minutes, to never call me
+Rectus again, I'm going to paint one-half of your face black. I got this
+paint yesterday from the cane-man, on purpose."
+
+Oil-paint! I could smell it.
+
+"Now, you may be sure I'm going to do it," he said.
+
+Oh, I was sure! When he said he'd do a thing, I knew he'd do it. I had
+no doubts about that. He was great on sticking to his word.
+
+He had put his watch on the table near by, and was stirring up the
+paint.
+
+"You've only three minutes more," he said. "This stuff wont wash off in
+a hurry, and you'll have to stay up here by yourself, and wont need any
+tying. It's got stuff mixed with it to make it dry soon, so that you
+needn't lie there very long after I've painted you. You mustn't mind if
+I put my finger on your mouth when I take off the handkerchief; I'll be
+careful not to get any in your eyes or on your lips if you hold your
+head still. One minute more. Will you promise?"
+
+What a dreadful minute! He turned and looked at my feet. I gave one big
+twist in my bandages. All held. I wagged my toe.
+
+"Good!" said he. "I didn't want to paint you. But I would have done it,
+sure as shot, if you hadn't promised. Now I'll untie you. I can trust
+you to stick to your word,--I mean your wag," he said, with a grin.
+
+It took him a long time to undo me. The young wretch had actually pinned
+long strips of muslin around me, and he had certainly made a good job of
+it, for they didn't hurt me at all, although they held me tight enough.
+He said, as he was working at me, that he had torn up two old shirts to
+make these bandages, and had sewed some of the strips together the
+afternoon before. He said he had heard of something like this being done
+at a school. A pretty school that must have been!
+
+He unfastened my arms first,--that is, as soon as he had taken the
+handkerchief off my mouth,--and the moment he had taken the bandage from
+around my ankles, he put for the door. But I was ready. I sprang out of
+bed, made one jump over his bed, around which he had to go, and caught
+him just at the door.
+
+He forgot that he should have left my ankles for me to untie for myself.
+
+I guess the people in the next rooms must have thought there was
+something of a rumpus in our room when I caught him.
+
+There was considerable coolness between Colbert and me after that. In
+fact, we didn't speak. I was not at all anxious to keep this thing up,
+for I was satisfied, and was perfectly willing to call it square; but
+for the first time since I had known him, Colbert was angry. I suppose
+every fellow, no matter how good-natured he may be, must have some sort
+of a limit to what he will stand, and Colbert seemed to have drawn his
+line at a good thrashing.
+
+It wasn't hard for me to keep my promise to him, for I didn't call him
+anything; but I should have kept it all the same if we had been on the
+old terms.
+
+Of course, Corny soon found out that there was something the matter
+between us two, and she set herself to find out what it was.
+
+"What's the matter with you and Rectus?" she asked me the next day. I
+was standing in the carriage-way before the hotel, and she ran out to
+me.
+
+"You mustn't call him Rectus," said I. "He doesn't like it."
+
+"Well, then, I wont," said she. "But what is it all about? Did you
+quarrel about calling him that? I hate to see you both going about, and
+not speaking to each other."
+
+I had no reason to conceal anything, and so I told her the whole affair,
+from the very beginning to the end.
+
+"I don't wonder he's mad," said she, "if you thrashed him."
+
+"Well, and oughtn't I to be mad after the way he treated me?" I asked.
+
+"Yes," she said. "It makes me sick just to think of being tied up in
+that way,--and the black paint, too! But then you are so much bigger
+than he is, that it don't seem right for you to thrash him."
+
+"That's one reason I did it," said I. "I didn't want to fight him as I
+should have fought a fellow of my own size. I wanted to punish him. Do
+you think that when a father wants to whip his son he ought to wait
+until he grows up as big as he is?"
+
+"No," said Corny, very gravely. "Of course not. But Rectus isn't your
+son. What shall I call him? Samuel, or Sam? I don't like either of them,
+and I wont say Mr. Colbert. I think 'Rectus' is a great deal nicer."
+
+"So do I," I said; "but that's his affair. To be sure, he isn't my son,
+but he's under my care, and if he wasn't, it would make no difference.
+I'd thrash any boy alive who played such a trick on me."
+
+"Unless he was bigger than you are," said Corny.
+
+"Well, then I'd get you to help me. You'd do it; wouldn't you, Corny?"
+
+She laughed.
+
+"I guess I couldn't help much, and I suppose you're both right to be
+angry at each other; but I'm awful sorry if things are going on this
+way. It didn't seem like the same place yesterday. Nobody did anything
+at all."
+
+"I tell you what it is, Corny," said I. "You're not angry with either of
+us; are you?"
+
+"No, indeed," said she, and her face warmed up and her eyes shone.
+
+"That's one comfort," said I, and I gave her a good hand-shake.
+
+It must have looked funny to see a boy and a girl shaking hands there in
+front of the hotel, and a young darkey took advantage of our good-humor,
+and, stealing out from a shady corner of the court, sold us seven little
+red and black liquorice-seed for fourpence,--the worst swindle that had
+been worked on us yet.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+MR. CHIPPERTON KEEPS PERFECTLY COOL.
+
+
+It's of no use to deny the fact that Nassau was a pretty dull place,
+just about this time. At least Corny and I found it so, and I don't
+believe young Mr. Colbert was very happy, for he didn't look it. It's
+not to be supposed that our quarrel affected the negroes, or the sky, or
+the taste of bananas; but the darkeys didn't amuse me, and my
+recollection of those days is that they were cloudy, and that I wasn't a
+very good customer down in the market-house by the harbor, where we used
+to go and buy little fig-bananas, which they didn't have at the hotel,
+but which were mighty good to eat.
+
+Colbert and I still kept up a frigid reserve toward each other. He
+thought, I suppose, that I ought to speak first, because I was the
+older, and I thought that he ought to speak first because he was the
+younger.
+
+One evening, I went up into my room, having absolutely nothing else to
+do, and there I found Colbert, writing. I suppose he was writing a
+letter, but there was no need of doing this at night, as the mail would
+not go out for several days, and there would be plenty of time to write
+in the daytime. He hadn't done anything but lounge about for two or
+three days. Perhaps he came up here to write because he had nothing else
+to do.
+
+There was only one table, and I couldn't write if I had wanted to, so I
+opened my trunk and began to put some of my things in order. We had
+arranged, before we had fallen out, that we should go home on the next
+steamer, and Mr. and Mrs. Chipperton were going too. We had been in
+Nassau nearly a month, and had seen about as much as was to be seen--in
+an ordinary way. As for me, I couldn't afford to stay any longer, and
+that had been the thing that had settled the matter, as far as Colbert
+and I were concerned. But now he might choose to stay, and come home by
+himself. However, there was no way of my knowing what he thought, and I
+supposed that I had no real right to make him come with me. At any rate,
+if I had, I didn't intend to exercise it.
+
+While I was looking over the things in my trunk, I came across the box
+of dominoes that Corny had given us to remember her by. It seemed like a
+long time ago since we had been sitting together on the water-battery at
+St. Augustine! In a few minutes I took the box of dominoes in my hand
+and went over to Colbert. As I put them on the table he looked up.
+
+"What do you say to a game of dominoes?" I said. "This is the box Corny
+gave us. We haven't used it yet."
+
+"Very well," said he, and he pushed away his paper and emptied the
+dominoes out on the table. Then he picked up some of them, and looked at
+them as if they were made in some new kind of a way that he had never
+noticed before; and I picked up some, too, and examined them. Then we
+began to play. We did not talk very much, but we played as if it was
+necessary to be very careful to make no mistakes. I won the first game,
+and I could not help feeling a little sorry, while Colbert looked as if
+he felt rather glad. We played until about our ordinary bed-time, and
+then I said:
+
+"Well, Colbert, I guess we might as well stop," and he said:
+
+"Very well."
+
+But he didn't get ready to go to bed. He went to the window and looked
+out for some time, and then he came back to the table and sat down. He
+took his pen and began to print on the lid of the domino-box, which was
+of smooth white wood. He could print names and titles of things very
+neatly, a good deal better than I could.
+
+When he had finished, he got up and began to get ready for bed, leaving
+the box on the table. Pretty soon I went over to look at it, for I must
+admit I was rather curious to see what he had put on it. This was the
+inscription he had printed on the lid:
+
+                "GIVEN TO
+              WILL AND RECTUS
+                    BY
+                  CORNY.
+          ST. AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+There was a place left for the date, which I suppose he had forgotten. I
+made no remark about this inscription, for I did not know exactly what
+remark was needed; but the next morning I called him "Rectus," just the
+same as ever, for I knew he had printed our names on the box to show me
+that he wanted to let me off my promise. I guess the one time I called
+him Colbert was enough for him.
+
+When we came down stairs to breakfast, talking to each other like common
+people, it was better than most shows to see Corny's face. She was
+standing at the front door, not far from the stairs, and it actually
+seemed as if a candle had been lighted inside of her. Her face shone.
+
+I know I felt first-rate, and I think Rectus must have felt pretty much
+the same, for his tongue rattled away at a rate that wasn't exactly
+usual with him. There was no mistaking Corny's feelings.
+
+After breakfast, when we all got together to talk over the plans of the
+day,--a thing we hadn't done for what seemed to me about a week,--we
+found out--or rather remembered--that there were a lot of things in
+Nassau that we hadn't seen yet, and that we wouldn't miss for anything.
+We had been wasting time terribly lately, and the weather was now rather
+better for going about than it had been since we came to the place.
+
+We agreed to go to Fort Charlotte that morning, and see the subterranean
+rooms and passage-ways, and all the underground dreariness of which we
+had heard so much. The fort was built about a hundred years ago, and
+has no soldiers in it. To go around and look at the old forts in this
+part of the world might make a person believe the millennium had come.
+They seem just about as good as ever they were, but they're all on a
+peace-footing. Rectus said they were played out, but I'd rather take my
+chances in Fort Charlotte, during a bombardment, than in some of the
+new-style forts that I have seen in the North. It is almost altogether
+underground, in the solid calcareous, and what could any fellow want
+better than that? The cannon-balls and bombs would have to plow up about
+an acre of pretty solid rock, and plow it deep, too, before they would
+begin to scratch the roof of the real strongholds of this fort. At
+least, that's the way I looked at it.
+
+We made up a party and walked over. It's at the western end of the town,
+and about a mile from the hotel. Mr. and Mrs. Chipperton were with us,
+and a lady from Chicago, and Mr. Burgan. The other yellow-legs went out
+riding with his wife, but I think he wanted to go with us. The fort is
+on the top of a hill, and a colored shoemaker is in command. He sits and
+cobbles all day, except when visitors come, and then he shows them
+around. He lighted a lamp and took us down into the dark, quiet rooms
+and cells, that were cut out of the solid rock, down deep into the hill,
+and it was almost like being in a coal-mine, only it was a great deal
+cleaner and not so deep. But it seemed just as much out of the world. In
+some of the rooms there were bats hanging to the ceilings. We didn't
+disturb them. One of the rooms was called the governor's room. There
+wasn't any governor there, of course, but it had been made by the jolly
+old earl who had the place cut out,--and who was governor here at the
+time,--as a place where he might retire when he wanted to be private. It
+was the most private apartment I ever saw. This earl was the same old
+Dunmore we used to study about in our histories. He came over here when
+the Revolution threw him out of business in our country. He had some
+good ideas about chiselling rock.
+
+This part of the fort was so extremely subterranean and solemn that it
+wasn't long before Mrs. Chipperton had enough of it, and we came up. It
+was fine to get out into the open air, and see the blue sky and the
+bright, sparkling water of the harbor just below us, and the islands
+beyond, and still beyond them the blue ocean, with everything so bright
+and cheerful in the sunlight. If I had been governor of this place, I
+should have had my private room on top of the fort, although, of course,
+that wouldn't do so well in times of bombardment.
+
+But the general-in-chief did not let us off yet. He said he'd show us
+the most wonderful thing in the whole place, and then he took us
+out-of-doors again, and led us to a little shed or enclosed door-way
+just outside of the main part of the fort, but inside of the
+fortifications, where he had his bench and tools. He moved away the
+bench, and then we saw that it stood on a wooden trap-door. He took hold
+of a ring, and lifted up this door, and there was a round hole about as
+big as the hind wheel of a carriage. It was like a well, and was as
+dark as pitch. When we held the lamp over it, however, we could see that
+there were winding steps leading down into it. These steps were cut out
+of the rock, as was the hole and the pillar around which the steps
+wound. It was all one piece. The general took his lamp and went down
+ahead, and we all followed, one by one. Those who were most afraid and
+went last had the worst of it, for the lamp wasn't a calcium light by
+any means, and their end of the line was a good deal in the dark. But we
+all got to the bottom of the well at last, and there we found a long,
+narrow passage leading under the very foundation or bottom floor of the
+whole place, and then it led outside of the fort under the moat, which
+was dry now, but which used to be full of water, and so, on and on, in
+black darkness, to a place in the side of the hill, or somewhere, where
+there had been a lookout. Whether there were any passages opening into
+this or not, I don't know, for it was dark in spite of the lamp, and we
+all had to walk in single file, so there wasn't much chance for
+exploring sidewise. When we got to the end, we were glad enough to turn
+around and come back. It was a good thing to see such a place, but there
+was a feeling that if the walls should cave in a little, or a big rock
+should fall from the top of the passage, we should all be hermetically
+canned in very close quarters. When we came out, we gave the shoemaker
+commander some money, and came away.
+
+"Isn't it nice," said Corny, "that he isn't a queen, to be taken care
+of, and we can just pay him and come away, and not have to think of him
+any more?"
+
+We agreed to that, but I said I thought we ought to go and take one more
+look at our old queen before we left. Mrs. Chipperton, who was a really
+sensible woman when she had a chance, objected to this, because, she
+said, it would be better to let the old woman alone now. We couldn't do
+anything for her after we left, and it would be better to let her depend
+on her own exertions, now that she had got started again on that track.
+I didn't think that the word exertion was a very good one in
+Poqua-dilla's case, but I didn't argue the matter. I thought that if
+some of us dropped around there before we left, and gave her a couple of
+shillings, it would not interfere much with her mercantile success in
+the future.
+
+I thought this, but Corny spoke it right out--at least, what she said
+amounted to pretty much the same thing.
+
+"Well," said her mother, "we might go around there once more, especially
+as your father has never seen the queen at all. Mr. Chipperton, would
+you like to see the African queen?"
+
+Mr. Chipperton did not answer, and his wife turned around quickly. She
+had been walking ahead with the Chicago lady.
+
+"Why, where is he?" she exclaimed. We all stopped and looked about, but
+couldn't see him. He wasn't there. We were part way down the hill, but
+not far from the fort, and we stopped and looked back, and then Corny
+called him. I said that I would run back for him, as he had probably
+stopped to talk with the shoemaker. Rectus and I both ran back, and
+Corny came with us. The shoemaker had put his bench in its place over
+the trap-door, and was again at work. But Mr. Chipperton was not talking
+to him.
+
+"I'll tell you what I believe,"--said Corny, gasping.
+
+But it was of no use to wait to hear what she believed. I believed it
+myself.
+
+"Hello!" I cried to the shoemaker before I reached him. "Did a gentleman
+stay behind here?"
+
+"I didn't see none," said the man, looking up in surprise, as we charged
+on him.
+
+"Then," I cried, "he's shut down in that well! Jump up and open the
+door!"
+
+The shoemaker did jump up, and we helped him move the bench, and had the
+trap-door open in no time. By this, the rest of the party had come back,
+and when Mrs. Chipperton saw the well open and no Mr. Chipperton about,
+she turned as white as a sheet. We could hardly wait for the man to
+light his lamp, and as soon as he started down the winding stairs,
+Rectus and I followed him. I called back to Mrs. Chipperton and the
+others that they need not come; we would be back in a minute and let
+them know. But it was of no use; they all came. We hurried on after the
+man with the light, and passed straight ahead through the narrow passage
+to the very end of it.
+
+There stood Mr. Chipperton, holding a lighted match, which he had just
+struck. He was looking at something on the wall. As we ran in, he
+turned and smiled, and was just going to say something, when Corny threw
+herself into his arms, and his wife, squeezing by, took him around his
+neck so suddenly that his hat flew off and bumped on the floor, like an
+empty tin can. He always wore a high silk hat. He made a grab for his
+hat, and the match burned his fingers.
+
+"Aouch!" he exclaimed, as he dropped the match. "What's the matter?"
+
+"Oh, my dear!" exclaimed his wife. "How dreadful to leave you here! Shut
+up alone in this awful place! But to think we have found you!"
+
+"No trouble about that, I should say," remarked Mr. Chipperton, going
+over to the other side of the den after his hat. "You haven't been gone
+ten minutes, and it's a pretty straight road back here."
+
+"But how did it happen?" "Why did you stay?" "Weren't you frightened?"
+"Did you stay on purpose?" we all asked him at pretty much one and the
+same time.
+
+"I did stay on purpose," said he; "but I did not expect to stay but a
+minute, and had no idea you would go and leave me. I stopped to see what
+in the name of common sense this place was made for. I tried my best to
+make some sort of an observation out of this long, narrow loop-hole, but
+found I could see nothing of importance whatever, and so I made up my
+mind it was money thrown away to cut out such a place as this to so
+little purpose. When I had entirely made up my mind, I found, on turning
+around, that you had gone, and although I called I received no answer.
+
+"Then I knew I was alone in this place. But I was perfectly composed. No
+agitation, no tremor of the nerves. Absolute self-control. The moment I
+found myself deserted, I knew exactly what to do. I did precisely the
+same thing that I would have done had I been left alone in the Mammoth
+Cave, or the Cave of Fingal, or any place of the kind.
+
+"I stood perfectly still!
+
+"If you will always remember to do that," and he looked as well as he
+could from one to another of us, "you need never be frightened, no
+matter how dark and lonely a cavern you may be left in. Strive to
+reflect that you will soon be missed, and that your friends will
+naturally come back to the place where they saw you last. Stay there!
+Keep that important duty in your mind. Stay just where you are! If you
+run about to try and find your way out, you will be lost. You will lose
+yourself, and no one can find you.
+
+"Instances are not uncommon where persons have been left behind in the
+Mammoth Cave of Kentucky, and who were not found by searching parties
+for a day or two, and they were almost invariably discovered in an
+insane condition. They rushed wildly about in the dark; got away from
+the ordinary paths of tourists; couldn't be found, and went crazy,--a
+very natural consequence. Now, nothing of the kind happened to me. I
+remained where I was, and here, you see, in less than ten minutes, I am
+rescued!"
+
+And he looked around with a smile as pleasant as if he had just invented
+a new sewing-machine.
+
+"But were you not frightened,--awe-struck in this dark and horrible
+place, alone?" inquired Mrs. Chipperton, holding on to his arm.
+
+"No," said he. "It was not very dark just here. That slit let in a
+little light. That is all it is good for, though why light should be
+needed here, I cannot tell. And then I lighted matches and examined the
+wall. I might find some trace of some sensible intention on the part of
+the people who quarried this passage. But I could find nothing. What I
+might have found, had I moved about, I cannot say. I had a whole box of
+matches in my pocket. But I did not move."
+
+"Well," said Mr. Burgan, "I think you'd better move now. I, for one, am
+convinced that this place is of no use to me, and I don't like it."
+
+I think Mr. Burgan was a little out of temper.
+
+We now started on our way out of the passage, Mrs. Chipperton holding
+tight to her husband, for fear, I suppose, that he might be inclined to
+stop again.
+
+"I didn't think," said she, as she clambered up the dark and twisting
+steps, "that I should have this thing to do, so soon again. But no one
+can ever tell what strange things may happen to them, at any time."
+
+"When father's along," added Corny.
+
+This was all nuts to the shoemaker, for we gave him more money for his
+second trip down the well. I hope this didn't put the idea into his head
+of shutting people down below, and making their friends come after them,
+and pay extra.
+
+"There are some things about Mr. Chipperton that I like," said Rectus,
+as we walked home together.
+
+"Yes," said I, "some things."
+
+"I like the cool way in which he takes bad fixes," continued Rectus, who
+had a fancy for doing things that way himself. "Don't you remember that
+time he struck on the sand-bank. He just sat there in the rain, waiting
+for the tide to rise, and made no fuss at all. And here, he kept just as
+cool and comfortable, down in that dungeon. He must have educated his
+mind a good deal to be able to do that."
+
+"It may be very well to educate the mind to take things coolly," said I,
+"but I'd a great deal rather educate my mind not to get me into such
+fixes."
+
+"I suppose that would be better," said Rectus, after thinking a minute.
+
+And now we had but little time to see anything more in Nassau. In two
+days the "Tigris" would be due, and we were going away in her. So we
+found we should have to bounce around in a pretty lively way, if we
+wanted to be able to go home and say we had seen the place.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+WHAT BOY HAS DONE, BOY MAY DO.
+
+
+There was one place that I wished, particularly, to visit before I left,
+and that was what the people in Nassau called the Coral-reef. There were
+lots of coral-reefs all about the islands, but this one was easily
+visited, and for this reason, I suppose, was chosen as a representative
+of its class. I had been there before, and had seen all the wonders of
+the reef through a water-glass,--which is a wooden box, with a pane of
+glass at one end and open at the other. You hold the glass end of this
+box just under the water, and put your face to the open end, and then
+you can see down under the water, exactly as if you were looking through
+the air. And on this coral-reef, where the water was not more than
+twelve or fourteen feet deep, there were lots of beautiful things to
+see. It was like a submarine garden. There was coral in every form and
+shape, and of different colors; there were sea-feathers, which stood up
+like waving purple trees, most of them a foot or two high, but some a
+good deal higher; there were sea-fans, purple and yellow, that spread
+themselves up from the curious bits of coral-rock on the bottom, and
+there were ever so many other things that grew like bushes and vines,
+and of all sorts of colors. Among all these you could see the fishes
+swimming about, as if they were in a great aquarium. Some of these
+fishes were very large, with handsome black bands across their backs,
+but the prettiest were some little fellows, no bigger than sardines,
+that swam in among the branches of the sea-feathers and fans. They were
+colored bright blue, and yellow and red; some of them with two or three
+colors apiece. Rectus called them "humming-fishes." They did remind me
+of humming-birds, although they didn't hum.
+
+When I came here before, I was with a party of ladies and gentlemen. We
+went in a large sail-boat, and took several divers with us, to go down
+and bring up to us the curious things that we would select, as we looked
+through the water-glass. There wasn't anything peculiar about these
+divers. They wore linen breeches for diving dresses, and were the same
+kind of fellows as those who dived for pennies at the town.
+
+Now, what I wanted to do, was to go to the coral-reef and dive down and
+get something for myself. It would be worth while to take home a sea-fan
+or something of that kind, and say you brought it up from the bottom of
+the sea yourself. Any one could get things that the divers had brought
+up. To be sure, the sea wasn't very deep here, but it had a bottom, all
+the same. I was not so good a swimmer as these darkeys, who ducked and
+dived as if they had been born in the water, but I could swim better
+than most fellows, and was particularly good at diving. So I determined,
+if I could get a chance, to go down after some of those things on the
+coral-reef.
+
+I couldn't try this, before, because there were too many people along,
+but Rectus, who thought the idea was splendid, although he didn't intend
+to dive himself, agreed to hire a sail-boat with me, and go off to the
+reef, with only the darkey captain.
+
+We started as early as we could get off, on the morning after we had
+been at Fort Charlotte. The captain of the yacht--they give themselves
+and their sail-boats big titles here--was a tall colored man, named
+Chris, and he took two big darkey boys with him, although we told him we
+didn't want any divers. But I suppose he thought we might change our
+minds. I didn't tell him _I_ was going to dive. He might not have been
+willing to go in that case.
+
+We had a nice sail up the harbor, between the large island upon which
+the town stands, and the smaller ones that separate the harbor from the
+ocean. After sailing about five miles, we turned out to sea between two
+islands, and pretty soon were anchored over the reef.
+
+"Now, then, boss," said Captain Chris, "don't ye want these here boys to
+do some divin' for ye?"
+
+"I told you I wouldn't want them," said I. "I'm going to dive, myself."
+
+"_You_ dive, boss!" cried all three of the darkeys at once, and the two
+boys began to laugh.
+
+"Ye can't do that, boss," said the captain. "Ef ye aint used to this
+here kind o' divin', ye can't do nothin' at all, under this water. Ye
+better let the boys go for ye."
+
+"No," said I, "I'm going myself," and I began to take off my clothes.
+
+The colored fellows didn't like it much, for it seemed like taking their
+business away from them; but they couldn't help it, and so they just sat
+and waited to see how things would turn out.
+
+"You'd better take a look through the glass, before you dive," said
+Rectus, "and choose what you're going to get."
+
+"I'm not going to be particular," I replied. "I shall get whatever I
+can."
+
+"The tide's pretty strong," said the captain. "You've got to calkelate
+fur that."
+
+I was obliged for this information, which was generous on his part,
+considering the circumstances, and I dived from the bow, as far out as I
+could jump. Down I went, but I didn't reach the bottom, at all. My legs
+grazed against some branches and things, but the tide had me back to the
+boat in no time, and I came up near the stern, which I seized, and got
+on board.
+
+Both the colored boys were grinning, and the captain said:
+
+"Ye can't dive that-a-way, boss. You'll never git to the bottom, at all,
+that-a-way. You must go right down, ef you go at all."
+
+I knew that, but I must admit I didn't care much to go all the way down
+when I made the first dive. Just as I jumped, I thought of the hard
+sharp things at the bottom, and I guess I was a little too careful not
+to dive into them.
+
+But now I made a second dive, and I went down beautifully. I made a grab
+at the first thing my hand touched. It was a purple knob of coral. But
+it stuck tight to its mother-rock, and I was ready to go up before it
+was ready to come loose, and so I went up without it.
+
+"'T aint easy to git them things," said the captain, and the two boys
+said:
+
+"No indeed, boss, ye cahn't git them things dat-a-way."
+
+I didn't say anything, but in a few minutes I made another dive. I
+determined to look around a little, this time, and seize something that
+I could break off or pull up. I found that I couldn't stay under water,
+like the darkeys could. That required practice, and perhaps more fishy
+lungs.
+
+Down I went, and I came right down on a small sea-fan, which I grabbed
+instantly. That ought to give way easily. But as I seized it, I brought
+down my right foot into the middle of a big round sponge. I started, as
+if I had had an electric shock. The thing seemed colder and wetter than
+the water; it was slimy and sticky and horrid. I did not see what it
+was, and it felt as if some great sucker-fish, with a cold woolly mouth,
+was trying to swallow my foot. I let go of everything, and came right
+up, and drew myself, puffing and blowing, on board the boat.
+
+How Captain Chris laughed! He had been watching me through the
+water-glass, and saw what had scared me.
+
+"Why, boss!" said he, "sponges don't eat people! That was nice and sof'
+to tread on. A sight better than cuttin' yer foot on a piece o' coral."
+
+That was all very well, but I'm sure Captain Chris jumped the first time
+he ever put his bare foot into a sponge under water.
+
+"I s'pose ye're goin' to gib it up now, boss," said the captain.
+
+"No, I'm not," I answered. "I haven't brought up anything yet. I'm going
+down again."
+
+"You'd better not," said Rectus. "Three times is all that anybody ever
+tries to do anything. If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.
+One, two, three. You're not expected to try four times. And, besides,
+you're tired."
+
+"I'll be rested in a minute," said I, "and then I'll try once more. I'm
+all right. You needn't worry."
+
+But Rectus did worry. I must have looked frightened when I came up, and
+I believe he had caught the scare. Boys will do that. The captain tried
+to keep me from going in again, but I knew it was all nonsense to be
+frightened. I was going to bring up something from the bottom, if it was
+only a pebble.
+
+So, after resting a little while, and getting my breath again, down I
+went. I was in for anything now, and the moment I reached the bottom, I
+swept my arm around and seized the first thing I touched. It was a
+pretty big thing, for it was a sea-feather over five feet high,--a
+regular tree. I gave a jerk at it, but it held fast. I wished, most
+earnestly, that I had taken hold of something smaller, but I didn't like
+to let go. I might get nothing else. I gave another jerk, but it was of
+no use. I felt that I couldn't hold my breath much longer, and must go
+up. I clutched the stem of the thing with both hands; I braced my feet
+against the bottom; I gave a tremendous tug and push, and up I came to
+the top, sea-feather and all!
+
+With both my hands full I couldn't do much swimming, and the tide
+carried me astern of the boat before I knew it.
+
+Rectus was the first to shout to me.
+
+"Drop it, and strike out!" he yelled; but I didn't drop it. I took it in
+one hand and swam with the other. But the tide was strong, and I didn't
+make any headway. Indeed, I floated further away from the boat.
+
+Directly, I heard a splash, and in a moment afterward, it seemed, the
+two darkey divers were swimming up to me.
+
+"Drop dat," said one of them, "an' we'll take ye in."
+
+"No, I wont," I spluttered, still striking out with my legs and one arm.
+"Take hold of this, and we can all go in together."
+
+I thought that if one of them would help me with the sea-feather, which
+seemed awfully heavy, two of us could certainly swim to the boat with
+four legs and two arms between us.
+
+But neither of them would do it. They wanted me to drop my prize, and
+then they'd take hold of me and take me in. We were disputing and
+puffing, and floating further and further away, when up came Captain
+Chris, swimming like a shark. He had jerked off his clothes and jumped
+in, when he saw what was going on. He just put one hand under my right
+arm, in which I held the sea-feather, and then we struck out together
+for the boat. It was like getting a tow from a tug-boat. We were
+alongside in no time. Captain Chris was the strongest and best swimmer I
+ever saw.
+
+[Illustration: "WE STRUCK OUT TOGETHER FOR THE BOAT."]
+
+Rectus was leaning over, ready to help, and he caught me by the arm as I
+reached up for the side of the boat.
+
+"No," said I, "take this," and he seized the sea-feather and pulled it
+in. Then the captain gave me a hoist, and I clambered on board.
+
+The captain had some towels under the little forward deck, and I gave
+myself a good rub down and dressed. Then I went to look at my prize. No
+wonder it was heavy. It had a young rock, a foot long, fast to its root.
+
+"You sp'iled one o' de puttiest things in that garden down there," said
+the captain. "I allus anchored near that tall feather, and all de
+vis'tors used to talk about it. I didn't think you'd bring it up when I
+seed you grab it. But you must 'a' give a powerful heave to come up with
+all that stone."
+
+"I don't think you ought to have tried to do that," said Rectus, who
+looked as if he hadn't enjoyed himself. "I didn't know you were so
+obstinate."
+
+"Well," said I, "the truth of the matter is that I am a fool, sometimes,
+and I might as well admit it. But now let's see what we've got on this
+stone."
+
+There was a lot of curious things on the piece of rock which had come up
+with the sea-feather. There were small shells, of different shapes and
+colors, with the living creatures inside of them, and there were mosses,
+and sea-weed, and little sponges, and small sea-plants, tipped with red
+and yellow, and more things of the kind than I can remember. It was the
+handsomest and most interesting piece of coral-rock that I had seen yet.
+
+As for the big purple sea-feather, it was a whopper, but too big for me
+to do anything with it. When we got home, Rectus showed it around to
+the Chippertons, and some of the people at the hotel, and told them that
+I dived down and brought it up, myself, but I couldn't take it away with
+me, for it was much too long to go in my trunk. So I gave it next day to
+Captain Chris, to sell, if he chose, but I believe he took it back and
+planted it again in the submarine garden, so that his passengers could
+see how tall a sea-feather could grow, when it tried. I chipped off a
+piece of the rock, however, to carry home as a memento. I was told that
+the things growing on it--I picked off all the shells--would make the
+clothes in my trunk smell badly, but I thought I'd risk it.
+
+"After all," said Rectus, that night, "what was the good of it? That
+little piece of stone don't amount to anything, and you might have been
+drowned."
+
+"I don't think I could have been drowned," said I, "for I should have
+dropped the old thing, and floated, if I had felt myself giving out. But
+the good of it was this: It showed me what a disagreeable sort of place
+a sea-garden is, when you go down into it to pick things."
+
+"Which you wont do again, in a hurry, I reckon," said Rectus.
+
+"You're right there, my boy," I answered.
+
+The next day, the Chippertons and ourselves took a two-horse barouche,
+and rode to the "caves," some six or seven miles from the town. We had a
+long walk through the pineapple fields before we came to the biggest
+cave, and found it wasn't very much of a cave, after all, though there
+was a sort of a room, on one side, which looked like a church, with
+altar, pillars and arches. There was a little hole, on one side of this
+room, about three feet wide, which led, our negro guide said, to a great
+cave, which ran along about a mile, until it reached the sea. There was
+no knowing what skeletons, and treasures, and old half-decayed boxes of
+coins, hidden by pirates, and swords with jewels in the handles, and
+loose jewels, and silver plate, and other things we might have found in
+that cave, if we had only had a lantern or some candles to light us
+while we were wandering about in it. But we had no candles or lantern,
+and so did not become a pirate's heirs. It was Corny who was most
+anxious to go in. She had read about Blackbeard, and the other pirates
+who used to live on this island, and she felt sure that some of their
+treasures were to be found in that cave. If she had thought of it, she
+would have brought a candle.
+
+The only treasures we got were some long things, like thin ropes, which
+hung from the roof to the floor of the cave we were in. This cave wasn't
+dark, because nearly all of one side of it was open. These ropes were
+roots or young trunks from banyan-trees, growing on the ground above,
+and which came through the cracks in the rocks, and stretched themselves
+down so as to root in the floor of the cave, and make a lot of
+underground trunks for the tree above. The banyan-tree is the most
+enterprising trunk-maker I ever heard of.
+
+We pulled down a lot of these banyan ropes, some of them more than
+twenty feet long, to take away as curiosities. Corny thought it would
+be splendid to have a jumping-rope made of a banyan root, or rather
+trunklet. The banyans here are called wild fig-trees, which they really
+are, wherever they grow. There is a big one, not far from the town,
+which stands by itself, and has a lot of trunks coming down from the
+branches. It would take the conceit out of a hurricane, I think, if it
+tried to blow down a banyan-tree.
+
+The next day was Sunday, and our party went to a negro church to hear a
+preacher who was quite celebrated as a colored orator. He preached a
+good sensible sermon, although he didn't meddle much with grammar. The
+people were poorly dressed, and some of the deacons were barefooted, but
+they were all very clean and neat, and they appeared to be just as
+religious as if they had all ridden in carriages to some Fifth Avenue
+church in New York.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+I WAKE UP MR. CHIPPERTON.
+
+
+About nine o'clock, on Monday morning, the "Tigris" came in. When we
+boarded her, which we did almost as soon as the stairs had been put down
+her side, we found that she would make a shorter stay than usual, and
+would go out that evening, at high tide. So there was no time to lose.
+After the letters had been delivered at the hotel, and we had read ours,
+we sent our trunks on board, and went around to finish up Nassau. We
+rowed over to Hog Island, opposite the town, to see, once more, the surf
+roll up against the high, jagged rocks; we ran down among the negro
+cottages and the negro cabins to get some fruit for the trip; and we
+rushed about to bid good-bye to some of our old friends--Poqua-dilla
+among them. Corny went with us, this time. Every darkey knew we were
+going away, and it was amazing to see how many of them came to bid us
+good-bye, and ask for some coppers.
+
+After supper, we went on board the steamer, and about ten o'clock she
+cast loose, and as she slowly moved away, we heard the old familiar
+words:
+
+"Give us a small dive, boss!"
+
+They came from a crowd of darkey boys on the wharf. But, although the
+moon was shining brightly, we didn't think they could see coppers on the
+bottom that night. They might have found a shilling or a half-dollar,
+but we didn't try them.
+
+There were a couple of English officers on board, from the barracks, and
+we thought that they were going to take a trip to the United States; but
+the purser told us that they had no idea of doing that themselves, but
+were trying to prevent one of the "red-coats," as the common soldiers
+were generally called, from leaving the island. He had been missed at
+the barracks, and it was supposed that he was stowed away somewhere on
+the vessel. The steamer had delayed starting for half an hour, so that
+search might be made for the deserter, but she couldn't wait any longer
+if she wanted to get over the bar that night, and so the lieutenants, or
+sergeants, or whatever they were, had to go along, and come back in the
+pilot-boat.
+
+When we got outside we lay to, with the pilot-boat alongside of us, and
+the hold of the vessel was ransacked for the deserter. Corny openly
+declared that she hoped they wouldn't find him, and I'm sure I had a
+pretty strong feeling that way myself. But they did find him. He was
+pulled out from behind some barrels, in a dark place in the hold, and
+hurried up on deck. We saw him, as he was forced over the side of the
+vessel and almost dropped into the pilot-boat, which was rising and
+falling on the waves by the side of the ship. Then the officers
+scrambled down the side and jumped into the boat. The line was cast off,
+the negro oarsmen began to pull away, and the poor red-coat took his
+doleful journey back to Nassau. He must have felt pretty badly about it.
+I have no doubt that when he hid himself down there in that dark hold,
+just before the vessel started, he thought he had made a pretty sure
+thing of it, and that it would not be long before he would be a free
+man, and could go where he pleased and do what he pleased in the wide
+United States. But the case was very different now. I suppose it was
+wrong, of course, for him to desert, and probably he was a mean sort of
+a fellow to do it; but we were all very sorry to see him taken away.
+Corny thought that he was very likely a good man, who had been imposed
+upon, and that, therefore, it was right to run away. It was quite
+natural for a girl to think that.
+
+The moment the pilot-boat left us, the "Tigris" started off in good
+earnest, and went steaming along on her course. And it was not long
+before we started off, also in good earnest, for our berths. We were a
+tired set.
+
+The trip back was not so pleasant as our other little voyage, when we
+were coming to the Bahamas. The next day was cloudy, and the sea was
+rough and choppy. The air was mild enough for us to be on deck, but
+there was a high wind which made it uncomfortable. Rectus thought he
+could keep on his wide straw hat, but he soon found out his mistake, and
+had to get out his Scotch cap, which made him look like a very different
+fellow.
+
+There were not very many passengers on board, as it was scarcely time
+for the majority of people to leave Nassau. They generally stay until
+April, I think. Besides our party of five, there were several gentlemen
+and ladies from the hotel; and as we knew them all tolerably well, we
+had a much more sociable time than when we came over. Still, for my
+part, I should have preferred fair weather, bright skies, and plenty of
+nautiluses and flying-fish.
+
+The "yellow-legged" party remained at Nassau. I was a little sorry for
+this, too, as I liked the men pretty well, now that I knew them better.
+They certainly were good walkers.
+
+Toward noon the wind began to blow harder, and the waves ran very high.
+The "Tigris" rolled from side to side as if she would go over, and some
+of the ladies were a good deal frightened; but she always came up again,
+all right, no matter how far over she dipped, and so in time they got
+used to it. I proved to Mrs. Chipperton that it would be impossible for
+the vessel to upset, as the great weight of ballast, freight, machinery,
+etc., in the lower part of her would always bring her deck up again,
+even if she rolled entirely over on her side, which, sometimes, she
+seemed as if she was going to do, but she always changed her mind just
+as we thought the thing was going to happen. The first mate told me that
+the reason we rolled so was because we had been obliged to take in all
+sail, and that the mainsail had steadied the vessel very much before the
+wind got so high. This was all very well, but I didn't care much to know
+why the thing was. There are some people who think a thing's all right,
+if they can only tell you the reason for it.
+
+Before dark, we had to go below, for the captain said he didn't want any
+of us to roll overboard, and, besides, the spray from the high waves
+made the deck very wet and unpleasant. None of us liked it below. There
+was no place to sit but in the long saloon, where the dining-tables
+were, and after supper we all sat there and read. Mr. Chipperton had a
+lot of novels, and we each took one. But it wasn't much fun. I couldn't
+get interested in my story,--at least, not in the beginning of it. I
+think that people who want to use up time when they are travelling ought
+to take what Rectus called a "begun" novel along with them. He had got
+on pretty well in his book while he was in Nassau, and so just took it
+up now and went right along.
+
+The lamps swung so far backward and forward above the table that we
+thought they would certainly spill the oil over us in one of their wild
+pitches; the settees by the table slid under us as the ship rolled, so
+that there was no comfort, and any one who tried to walk from one place
+to another had to hang on to whatever he could get hold of, or be
+tumbled up against the tables or the wall. Some folks got sea-sick and
+went to bed, but we tried to stick it out as long as we could.
+
+The storm grew worse and worse. Sometimes a big wave would strike the
+side of the steamer, just behind us, with a tremendous shock. The ladies
+were always sure she had "struck something" when this happened; but when
+they found it was only water that she had struck, they were better
+satisfied. At last, things grew to be so bad that we thought we should
+have to go to bed and spend the night holding on to the handles at the
+back of our berths, when, all of a sudden, there was a great change. The
+rolling stopped, and the vessel seemed to be steaming along almost on an
+even keel. She pitched somewhat forward and aft,--that is, her bow and
+her stern went up and down by turns,--but we didn't mind that, as it was
+so very much better than the wild rolling that had been kept up so long.
+
+"I wonder what this means?" said Mr. Chipperton, actually standing up
+without holding on to anything. "Can they have got into a current of
+smooth water?"
+
+I didn't think this was possible, but I didn't stop to make any
+conjectures about it. Rectus and I ran up on the forward deck, to see
+how this agreeable change had come about. The moment we got outside, we
+found the wind blowing fearfully and the waves dashing as high as ever,
+but they were not plunging against our sides. We carefully worked our
+way along to the pilot-house, and looked in. The captain was inside, and
+when he saw us he opened the door and came out. He was going to his own
+room, just back of the pilot-house, and he told us to come with him.
+
+He looked tired and wet, and he told us that the storm had grown so bad
+that he didn't think it would be right to keep on our course any longer.
+We were going to the north-west, and the storm was coming from the
+north-east, and the waves and the wind dashed fair against the side of
+the vessel, making her roll and careen so that it began to be unsafe. So
+he had put her around with her head to the wind, and now she took the
+storm on her bow, where she could stand it a great deal better. He put
+all this in a good deal of sea-language, but I tell it as I got the
+sense of it.
+
+"Did you think she would go over, Captain?" asked Rectus.
+
+"Oh no!" said he, "but something might have been carried away."
+
+He was a very pleasant man, and talked a good deal to us.
+
+"It's all very well to lie to, this way," he went on, "for the comfort
+and safety of the passengers and the ship, but I don't like it, for
+we're not keeping on to our port, which is what I want to be doing."
+
+"Are we stopping here?" I asked.
+
+"Pretty much," said the captain. "All that the engines are working for
+is just to keep her head to the wind."
+
+I felt the greatest respect for the captain. Instead of telling us why
+the ship rolled, he just stopped her rolling. I liked that way of doing
+things. And I was sure that every one on board that I had talked to
+would be glad to have the vessel lie to, and make herself comfortable
+until the storm was over.
+
+We did not stay very long with the captain, for he wanted to take a nap,
+and when we went out, we stood a little while by the railing, to see the
+storm. The wind nearly took our heads off, and the waves dashed right up
+over the bow of the ship, so that if any one had been out there, I
+suppose they would have been soaked in a few minutes, if not knocked
+down. But we saw two men at the wheel, in the pilot-house, steadily
+holding her head to the wind, and we felt that it was all right. So we
+ran below and reported, and then we all went to bed.
+
+Although there was not much of the rolling that had been so unpleasant
+before, the vessel pitched and tossed enough to make our berths,
+especially mine, which was the upper one, rather shaky places to rest
+in; and I did not sleep very soundly. Sometime in the night, I was
+awakened by a sound of heavy and rapid footfalls on the deck above my
+head. I lay and listened for a moment, and felt glad that the deck was
+steady enough for them to walk on. There soon seemed to be a good deal
+more running, and as they began to drag things about, I thought that it
+would be a good idea to get up and find out what was going on. If it was
+anything extraordinary, I wanted to see it. Of course, I woke up Rectus,
+and we put on our clothes. There was now a good deal of noise on deck.
+
+"Perhaps we have run into some vessel and sunk her," said Rectus,
+opening the door, with his coat over his arm. He was in an awful hurry
+to see.
+
+"Hold up here!" I said. "Don't you go on deck in this storm without an
+overcoat. If there has been a collision, you can't do any good, and you
+needn't hurry so. Button up warm."
+
+We both did that, and then we went up on deck. There was no one aft,
+just then, but we could see in the moonlight, which was pretty strong,
+although the sky was cloudy, that there was quite a crowd of men
+forward. We made our way in that direction as fast as we could, in the
+face of the wind, and when we reached the deck, just in front of the
+pilot-house, we looked down to the big hatchway, where the freight and
+baggage were lowered down into the hold, and there we saw what was the
+matter.
+
+The ship was on fire!
+
+The hatchway was not open, but smoke was coming up thick and fast all
+around it. A half-dozen men were around a donkey-engine that stood a
+little forward of the hatch, and others were pulling at hose. The
+captain was rushing here and there, giving orders. I did not hear
+anything he said. No one said anything to us. Rectus asked one of the
+men something, as he ran past him, but the man did not stop to answer.
+
+But there is no need to ask any questions. There was the smoke coming
+up, thicker and blacker, from the edges of the hatch.
+
+"Come!" said I, clutching Rectus by the arm. "Let's wake them up."
+
+"Don't you think they can put it out?" he asked, as we ran back.
+
+"Can't tell," I answered. "But we must get ready,--that's what we've got
+to do."
+
+I am sure I did not know how we were to get ready, or what we were to
+do, but my main idea was that no time was to be lost in doing something.
+The first thing was to awaken our friends.
+
+We found the steward in the saloon. There was only one lamp burning
+there, and the place looked dismal, but there was light enough to see
+that he was very pale.
+
+"Don't you intend to wake up the people?" I said to him.
+
+"What's the good?" he said. "They'll put it out."
+
+"They may, and they mayn't," I answered, "and it wont hurt the
+passengers to be awake."
+
+With this I hurried to the Chippertons' state-room--they had a double
+room in the centre of the vessel--and knocked loudly on the door. I saw
+the steward going to other doors, knocking at some and opening others
+and speaking to the people inside.
+
+Mr. Chipperton jumped right up and opened the door. When he saw Rectus
+and me standing there, he must have seen in our faces that something was
+the matter, for he instantly asked:
+
+"What is it? A wreck?"
+
+I told him of the fire, and said that it might not be much, but that we
+thought we'd better waken him.
+
+"That's right," he said; "we'll be with you directly. Keep perfectly
+cool. Remain just where you are. You'll see us all in five minutes," and
+he shut the door.
+
+[Illustration: "'KEEP PERFECTLY COOL,' SAID MR. CHIPPERTON."]
+
+But I did not intend to stand there. A good many men were already
+rushing from their rooms and hurrying up the steep stairs that led from
+the rear of the saloon to the deck, and I could hear ladies calling out
+from their rooms as if they were hurrying to get ready to come out. The
+stewardess, a tall colored woman, was just going to one of these ladies,
+who had her head out of the door. I told Rectus to run up on deck, see
+how things were going on, and then to come back to the Chippertons'
+door. Then I ran to our room, jerked the cork life-preservers from under
+the pillows, and came out into the saloon with them. This seemed to
+frighten several persons, who saw me as I came from our room, and they
+rushed back for their life-preservers, generally getting into the wrong
+room, I think. I did not want to help to make a fuss and confusion, but
+I thought it would be a good deal better for us to get the
+life-preservers now, than to wait. If we didn't need them, no harm would
+be done. Some one had turned up several lamps in the saloon, so that we
+could see better. But no one stopped to look much. Everybody, ladies and
+all,--there were not many of these,--hurried on deck. The Chippertons
+were the last to make their appearance. Just as their door opened,
+Rectus ran up to me.
+
+"It's worse than ever!" he said.
+
+"Here!" said I, "take this life-preserver. Have you life-preservers in
+your room?" I asked, quickly, of Mr. Chipperton.
+
+"All right," said he, "we have them on. Keep all together and come on
+deck,--and remember to be perfectly cool."
+
+He went ahead with Mrs. Chipperton, and Rectus and I followed, one on
+each side of Corny. Neither she nor her mother had yet spoken to us; but
+while we were going up the stairs, Corny turned to me, as I came up
+behind her, and said:
+
+"Is it a real fire?"
+
+"Oh, yes," I answered; "but they may put it out."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+THE LIFE-RAFT.
+
+
+When we came out on deck, we saw in a moment that the fire was thought
+to be a serious affair. Men were actually at work at the boats, which
+hung from their davits on each side of the deck, not far from the stern.
+They were getting them ready to be lowered. I must confess that this
+seemed frightful to me. Was there really need of it?
+
+I left our party and ran forward for a moment, to see for myself how
+matters were going. People were hard at work. I could hear the pumps
+going, and there was a great deal of smoke, which was driven back by the
+wind. When I reached the pilot-house and looked down on the hatchway, I
+saw, not only smoke coming up, but every now and then a tongue of flame.
+The hatch was burning away at the edges. There must be a great fire
+under it, I thought.
+
+Just then the captain came rushing up from below. I caught hold of him.
+
+"Is there danger?" I said. "What's to be done?"
+
+He stopped for a moment.
+
+"We must all save ourselves," he said, hurriedly. "I am going to the
+passengers. We can't save the ship. She's all afire below." And then he
+ran on.
+
+When I got back to our group, I told them what the captain had said, and
+we all instantly moved toward the boat nearest to us. Rectus told me to
+put on my life-preserver, and he helped me fasten it. I had forgotten
+that I had it under my arm. Most of the passengers were at our boat, but
+the captain took some of them over to the other side of the deck.
+
+[Illustration: "RECTUS HELPED ME TO FASTEN THE LIFE-PRESERVER."]
+
+When our boat was ready, there was a great scramble and rush for it.
+Most of the ladies were to get into this boat, and some of the officers
+held back the men who were crowding forward. Among the others held back
+were Rectus and I, and as Corny was between us, she was pushed back,
+too. I do not know how the boat got to the water, nor when she started
+down. The vessel pitched and tossed; we could not see well, for the
+smoke came in thick puffs over us, and I did not know that the boat was
+really afloat until a wave lifted it up by the side of the vessel where
+we stood, and I heard Mr. Chipperton call for Corny. I could see him in
+the stern of the boat, which was full of people.
+
+"Here she is!" I yelled.
+
+"Here I am, father!" cried Corny, and she ran from us to the railing.
+
+"Lower her down," said Mr. Chipperton, from below. He did not seem
+flurried at all, but I saw that no time was to be lost, for a man was
+trying to cut or untie a rope which still held the boat to the steamer.
+Then she would be off. There was a light line on the deck near me--I
+had caught my foot in it, a minute before. It was strong enough to hold
+Corny. I got hold of one end of it and tied it around her, under her
+arms. She had a great shawl, as well as a life-preserver, tied around
+her, and looked dreadfully bundled up.
+
+She did not say a word, but let Rectus and me do as we chose, and we got
+her over the railing in no time. I braced myself against the seat that
+ran around the deck, and lowered. Rectus leaned over and directed,
+holding on to the line as well. I felt strong enough to hold two of her,
+with the rope running over the rail. I let her go down pretty fast, for
+I was afraid the boat would be off; but directly Rectus called to me to
+stop.
+
+"The boat isn't under her," he cried. "They've pushed off. Haul up a
+little! A wave nearly took her, just then!"
+
+With that, we hauled her up a little, and almost at the same moment I
+saw the boat rising on a wave. By that time, it was an oar's length from
+the ship.
+
+"They say they can't pull back," shouted Mr. Chipperton. "Don't let her
+down any further."
+
+"All right!" I roared back at him. "We'll bring her in another boat,"
+and I began to pull up with all my might.
+
+Rectus took hold of the rope with me, and we soon had Corny on deck. She
+ran to the stern and held out her arms to the boat.
+
+"Oh, father!" she cried. "Wait for me!"
+
+I saw Mr. Chipperton violently addressing the men in the boat, but they
+had put out their oars and were beginning to pull away. I knew they
+would not come back, especially as they knew, of course, that there were
+other boats on board. Then Mr. Chipperton stood up again, put his hands
+to his mouth, and shouted back to us:
+
+"Bring her--right after us. If we get--parted--meet--at Savannah!"
+
+He was certainly one of the coolest men in the world. To think--at such
+a time--of appointing a place to meet! And yet it was a good idea. I
+believe he expected the men in his boat to row directly to the Florida
+coast, where they would find quick dispatch to Savannah.
+
+Poor Corny was disconsolate, and cried bitterly. I think I heard her
+mother call back to her, but I am not sure about it. There was so much
+to see and hear. And yet I had been so busy with what I had had to do
+that I had seen comparatively little of what was going on around me.
+
+One thing, however, I had noticed, and it impressed me deeply even at
+the time. There was none of the wailing and screaming and praying that I
+had supposed was always to be seen and heard at such dreadful times as
+this. People seemed to know that there were certain things that they had
+to do if they wanted to save themselves, and they went right to work and
+did them. And the principal thing was to get off that ship without any
+loss of time. Of course, it was not pleasant to be in a small boat,
+pitching about on those great waves, but almost anywhere was a better
+place than a ship on fire. I heard a lady scream once or twice, but I
+don't think there was much of that sort of thing. However, there might
+have been more of it than I thought. I was driving away at my own
+business.
+
+The moment I heard the last word from Mr. Chipperton, I rushed to the
+other side of the deck, dragging Corny along with me. But the boat was
+gone from there.
+
+I could see them pulling away some distance from the ship. It was easy
+to see things now, for the fire was blazing up in front. I think the
+vessel had been put around, for she rolled a good deal, and the smoke
+was not coming back over us.
+
+I untied the line from Corny, and stood for a moment looking about me.
+There seemed to be no one aft but us three. We had missed both boats.
+Mr. Chipperton had helped his wife into the boat, and had expected to
+turn round and take Corny. No doubt he had told the men to be perfectly
+cool, and not to hurry. And while we were shouting to him and lowering
+Corny, the other boat had put off.
+
+There was a little crowd of men amidships, hard at work at something. We
+ran there. They were launching the life-raft. The captain was among
+them.
+
+"Are there no more boats?" I shouted.
+
+He turned his head.
+
+"What! A girl left?" he cried. "No. The fire has cut off the other
+boats. We must all get on the raft. Stand by with the girl, and I'll see
+you safe."
+
+The life-raft was a big affair that Rectus and I had often examined. It
+had two long, air-tight cylinders, of iron, I suppose, kept apart by a
+wide framework. On this framework, between the cylinders, canvas was
+stretched, and on this the passengers were to sit. Of course it would be
+impossible to sink a thing like this.
+
+In a very short time, the raft was lifted to the side of the vessel and
+pushed overboard. It was bound to come right side up. And as soon as it
+was afloat, the men began to drop down on it. The captain had hold of a
+line that was fastened to it, and I think one of the mates had another
+line.
+
+"Get down! Get down!" cried the captain to us.
+
+I told Rectus to jump first, as the vessel rolled that way, and he
+landed all right, and stood up as well as he could to catch Corny. Over
+she went at the next roll, with a good send from me, and I came right
+after her. I heard the captain shout:
+
+"All hands aboard the raft!" and then, in a minute, he jumped himself.
+Some of the men pushed her off with a pole. It was almost like floating
+right on the surface of the water, but I felt it was perfectly safe.
+Nothing could make those great cylinders sink. We floated away from the
+ship, and we were all glad enough of it, for the air was getting hot.
+The whole front part of the vessel was blazing away like a house on
+fire. I don't remember whether the engines were still working or not,
+but at any rate we drifted astern, and were soon at quite a little
+distance from the steamer.
+
+It was safe enough, perhaps, on the raft, but it was not in the least
+comfortable. We were all crowded together, crouching on the canvas, and
+the water just swashed about us as if we were floating boards. We went
+up and down on the waves with a motion that wouldn't have been so bad
+had we not thought we might be shuffled off, if a big wave turned us
+over a little too much. But there were lots of things to hold on to, and
+we all stuck close together. We three were in the middle. The captain
+told us to get there. There is no way of telling how glad I was that the
+captain was with us. I was well satisfied, anyway, to be with the party
+on the raft. I might have liked it better in a boat, but I think most of
+the men in the boats were waiters, or stewards, or passengers--fellows
+who were in a hurry to get off. The officers and sailors who remained
+behind to do their best for the ship and the passengers were the men on
+the raft; and these I felt we could trust. I think there were ten of
+them, besides the captain, making fourteen of us in all.
+
+There we all sat, while the ship blazed and crackled away, before us.
+She drifted faster than we did, and so got farther and farther away from
+us. The fire lighted up the sea for a good distance, and every time we
+rose on the top of a wave, some of us looked about to see if we could
+see anything of the other boats. But we saw nothing of them. Once I
+caught sight of a black spot on a high wave at quite a distance, which I
+thought might be a boat, but no one else saw it, and it was gone in an
+instant. The captain said it made no real difference to us whether we
+saw the other boats or not; they could not help us. All the help we had
+to expect was from some passing ship, which might see us, and pick us
+up. He was very encouraging, though, about this, for he said we were
+right in the track of vessels bound North, which all sought the Gulf
+Stream; and, besides, a burning ship at night would attract the
+attention of vessels at a great distance, and some of them would be sure
+to make for us.
+
+"We'll see a sail in the morning," said he; "make up your minds to that.
+All we've got to do is to stick together on the raft, and we're almost
+sure to be picked up."
+
+I think he said things like this to give courage to us three, but I
+don't believe we needed it, particularly. Rectus was very quiet, but I
+think that if he could have kept himself dry he would have been pretty
+well satisfied to float until daylight, for he had full faith in the
+captain, and was sure we should be picked up. I was pretty much of the
+same mind, but poor Corny was in a sad way. It was no comfort to her to
+tell her that we should be picked up, unless she could be assured that
+the same ship would pick up her father and mother. But we could say
+nothing positive about this, of course, although we did all that we
+could, in a general way, to make her feel that everything would turn out
+all right. She sat wrapped up in her shawl, and seldom said a word. But
+her eyes were wandering all over the waves, looking for a boat.
+
+The ship was now quite a long way off, still burning, and lighting up
+the tops of the waves and the sky. Just before day-break, her light
+suddenly went out.
+
+"She's gone down!" said the captain, and then he said no more for a long
+time. I felt very sorry for him. Even if he should be saved, he had lost
+his ship,--had seen it burn up and sink before his eyes. Such a thing
+must be pretty hard on a captain. Even I felt as if I had lost a friend.
+The old "Tigris" seemed so well known to us.
+
+It was now more dismal than ever. It was darker; and although the
+burning ship could do us no good, we were sorry to have her leave us.
+Nobody said much, but we all began to feel pretty badly. Morning came
+slowly, and we were wet and cold, and getting stiff. Besides, we were
+all very thirsty, and I, for one, was hungry; but there was no good
+reason for that, for it was not yet breakfast-time. Fortunately, after a
+while, Corny went to sleep. We were very glad of it, though how she
+managed to sleep while the raft was rising and falling and sliding and
+sloshing from one wave to another, I can't tell. But she didn't have
+much holding on to do. We did that for her.
+
+At last daylight came, and then we began to look about in good earnest.
+We saw a top-sail off on the horizon, but it was too far for our raft to
+be seen from it, and it might be coming our way or it might not. When we
+were down in the trough of the waves we could see nothing, and no one
+could have seen us. It was of no use to put up a signal, the captain
+said, until we saw a vessel near enough to see it.
+
+We waited, and we waited, and waited, until it was well on in the
+morning, and still we saw no other sail. The one we had seen had
+disappeared entirely.
+
+We all began to feel miserable now. We were weak and cold and wretched.
+There wasn't a thing to eat or drink on the raft. The fire had given no
+time to get anything. Some of the men began to grumble. It would have
+been better, they said, to have started off as soon as they found out
+the fire, and have had time to put something to eat and drink on the
+raft. It was all wasted time to try to save the ship. It did no good,
+after all. The captain said nothing to this. He knew that he had done
+his duty in trying to put out the fire, and he just kept his mouth shut,
+and looked out for a sail. There was one man with us--a red-faced,
+yellow-haired man--with a curly beard, and little gold rings in his
+ears. He looked more like a sailor than any other of the men, and Rectus
+and I always put him down for the sailor who had been longer at sea, and
+knew more about ships and sailing, than any other of the crew. But this
+man was the worst grumbler of the lot, now, and we altered our opinion
+about him.
+
+Corny woke up every now and then, but she soon went to sleep again, when
+she found there was no boat or sail in sight. At least, I thought she
+went to sleep, but she might have been thinking and crying. She was so
+crouched up that we could not see whether she was awake or not.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+THE RUSSIAN BARK.
+
+
+We soon began to think the captain was mistaken in saying there would be
+lots of ships coming this way. But then, we couldn't see very far. Ships
+may have passed within a few miles of us, without our knowing anything
+about it. It was very different from being high up on a ship's deck, or
+in her rigging. Sometimes, though, we seemed high enough up, when we got
+on the top of a wave.
+
+It was fully noon before we saw another sail. And when we saw this one
+for the second or third time (for we only caught a glimpse of it every
+now and then), a big man, who had been sitting on the edge of the raft,
+and hardly ever saying a word, sung out:
+
+"I believe that's a Russian bark."
+
+And after he had had two or three more sights at her, he said:
+
+"Yes, I know she is."
+
+"That's so," said the captain; "and she's bearing down on us."
+
+Now, how in the world they knew what sort of a ship that was, and which
+way it was sailing, I couldn't tell for the life of me. To me it was a
+little squarish spot on the lower edge of the sky, and I have always
+thought that I could see well enough. But these sailors have eyes like
+spy-glasses.
+
+Now, then, we were all alive, and began to get ready to put up a signal.
+Fortunately, the pole was on the raft,--I believe the captain had it
+fastened on, thinking we might want it,--and now all we had to do was to
+make a flag. We three got out our handkerchiefs, which were wet, but
+white enough yet, and the captain took out his. We tied them together by
+the corners, and made a long pennant of them. When we tied one end of
+this to the pole, it made quite a show. The wind soon dried it, after
+the pole was hoisted and held up, and then our flag fluttered finely.
+
+The sun had now come out quite bright and warm, which was a good thing
+for us, for it dried us off somewhat, and made us more comfortable. The
+wind had also gone down a good deal. If it had not been for these two
+things, I don't know how we could have stood it. But the waves were
+still very high.
+
+Every time we saw the ship, she seemed to look bigger and bigger, and we
+knew that the captain was right, and that she was making for us. But she
+was a long time coming. Even after she got so near that we could plainly
+see her hull and masts and sails, she did not seem to be sailing
+directly toward us. Indeed, sometimes I thought she didn't notice us.
+She would go far off one way, and then off the other way.
+
+"Oh, why don't she come right to us?" cried Corny, beating her hands on
+her knees. "She isn't as near now as she was half an hour ago."
+
+This was the first time that Corny had let herself out in this way, but
+I don't wonder she did it. The captain explained that the ship couldn't
+sail right to us, because the wind was not in the proper direction for
+that. She had to tack. If she had been a steamer, the case would have
+been different. We all sat and waited, and waved our flag.
+
+She came nearer and nearer, and it was soon plain enough that she saw
+us. The captain told us that it was all right now--all we had to do was
+to keep up our courage, and we'd soon be on board the bark. But when the
+men who were holding the pole let it down, he told them to put it up
+again. He wanted to make sure they should see us.
+
+At last, the bark came so near that we could see the people on board,
+but still she went past us. This was the hardest to bear of all, for she
+seemed so near. But when she tacked and came back, she sailed right down
+to us. We could see her all the time now, whether we were up or down.
+
+"She'll take us this time," said the captain.
+
+I supposed that when the ship came near us she would stop and lower a
+boat, but there seemed to be no intention of the kind. A group of men
+stood in her bow, and I saw that one of them held a round life-preserver
+in his hand,--it was one of the India-rubber kind, filled with air, and
+to it a line was attached. When the ship was just opposite to us, this
+man shouted something which I did not hear, and threw the
+life-preserver. It fell close to the raft. I thought, indeed, it was
+coming right into the midst of us. The red-faced man with the gold
+ear-rings was nearest to it. He made a grab at it, and missed it. On
+went the ship, and on went the life-preserver, skipping and dancing over
+the waves. They let out lots of line, but still the life-preserver was
+towed away.
+
+A regular howl went up from our raft. I thought some of the men would
+jump into the sea and swim after the ship, which was now rapidly leaving
+us. We heard a shout from the vessel, but what it meant I did not know.
+On she went, and on, as if she was never coming back.
+
+"She'll come back," said the captain. "She'll tack again."
+
+But it was hard to believe him. I don't know whether he believed
+himself. Corny was wildly crying now, and Rectus was as white as a
+sheet. No one seemed to have any hope or self-control except the
+captain. Some of the men looked as if they did not care whether the ship
+ever came back or not.
+
+"The sea is too high," said one of them. "She'd swamp a boat, if she'd
+put it out."
+
+"Just you wait!" said the captain.
+
+The bark sailed away so far that I shut my eyes. I could not look after
+her any more. Then, as we rose on the top of a wave, I heard a rumble of
+words among the men, and I looked out, and saw she was tacking. Before
+long, she was sailing straight back to us, and the most dreadful moments
+of my life were ended. I had really not believed that she would ever
+return to us.
+
+Again she came plowing along before us, the same group on her bow; again
+the life-preserver was thrown, and this time the captain seized it.
+
+In a moment the line was made fast to the raft. But there was no sudden
+tug. The men on the bark knew better than that. They let out some two or
+three hundred feet of line and lay to, with their sails fluttering in
+the wind.
+
+Then they began to haul us in. I don't remember much more of what
+happened just about this time. It was all a daze of high black hull and
+tossing waves, and men overhead, and ropes coming down, and seeing Corny
+hauled up into the air. After a while, I was hauled up, and Rectus went
+before me. I was told afterward that some of the stoutest men could
+scarcely help themselves, they were so cramped and stiff, and had to be
+hoisted on board like sheep.
+
+I know that when I put my feet on the deck, my knees were so stiff that
+I could not stand. Two women had Corny between them, and were carrying
+her below. I was so delighted to see that there were women on board.
+Rectus and I were carried below, too, and three or four rough looking
+fellows, who didn't speak a word that we could understand, set to work
+at us and took off our clothes, and rubbed us with warm stuff, and gave
+us some hot tea and gruel, and I don't know what else, and put us into
+hammocks, and stuffed blankets around us, and made me feel warmer, and
+happier, and more grateful and sleepy than I thought it was in me to
+feel. I expect Rectus felt the same. In about five minutes, I was fast
+asleep.
+
+I don't know how long it was before I woke up. When I opened my eyes, I
+just lay and looked about me. I did not care for times and seasons. I
+knew I was all right. I wondered when they would come around again with
+gruel. I had an idea they lived on gruel in that ship, and I remembered
+that it was very good. After a while, a man did come around, and he
+looked into my hammock. I think from his cap that he was an
+officer,--probably a doctor. When he saw that I was awake, he said
+something to me. I had seen some Russian words in print, and the letters
+all seemed upside down, or lying sideways on the page. And that was
+about the way he spoke. But he went and got me a cup of tea, and some
+soup, and some bread, and I understood his food very well.
+
+After a while, our captain came around to my hammock. He looked a great
+deal better than when I saw him last, and said he had had a good sleep.
+He told me that Corny was all right, and was sleeping again, and that
+the mate's wife had her in charge. Rectus was in a hammock near me, and
+I could hear him snore, as if he were perfectly happy. The captain said
+that these Russian people were just as kind as they could be; that the
+master of the bark, who could speak English, had put his vessel under
+his--our captain's--command, and told him to cruise around wherever he
+chose in search of the two boats.
+
+"And did you find them?" I asked.
+
+"No," said he. "We have been on the search now for twenty-four hours,
+and can see nothing of them. But I feel quite sure they have been picked
+up. They could row, and they could get further into the course of
+vessels than we were. We'll find them when we get ashore."
+
+The captain was a hopeful man, but I could not feel as cheerfully as he
+spoke. All that I could say was: "Poor Corny!"
+
+He did not answer me, but went away; and soon, in spite of all my doubts
+and fears, I fell asleep.
+
+The next time I woke up, I got out of my hammock, and found I was pretty
+much all right. My clothes had been dried and ironed, I reckon, and were
+lying on a chest all ready for me. While Rectus and I were dressing, for
+he got up at the same time that I did, our captain came to us, and
+brought me a little package of greenbacks.
+
+"The master of the bark gave me these," said the captain, "and said they
+were pinned in your watch-pocket. He has had them dried and pressed out
+for you."
+
+There it was, all the money belonging to Rectus and myself, which,
+according to old Mr. Colbert's advice, I had carefully pinned in the
+watch-pocket of my trousers before leaving Nassau. I asked the captain
+if we should not pay something for our accommodations on this vessel,
+but he said we must not mention anything of the kind. The people on the
+ship would not listen to it. Even our watches seemed to have suffered
+no damage from the soaking they had had in our wet clothes.
+
+As soon as we were ready, we went up on deck, and there we saw Corny.
+She was sitting by herself near the stern, and looked like a different
+kind of a girl from what she had been two or three days before. She
+seemed several years older.
+
+"Do you really think the other boats were picked up?" she said, the
+moment she saw us.
+
+Poor thing! She began to cry as soon as she began to speak. Of course,
+we sat down and talked to her, and said everything we could think of to
+reassure her. And in about half an hour she began to be much more
+cheerful, and to look as if the world might have something satisfactory
+in it after all.
+
+Our captain and the master of the bark now came to us. The Russian
+master was a pleasant man, and talked pretty good English. I think he
+was glad to see us, but what we said in the way of thanks embarrassed
+him a good deal. I suppose he had never done much at rescuing people.
+
+He and our captain both told us that they felt quite sure that the boats
+had either reached the Florida coast or been picked up; for we had
+cruised very thoroughly over the course they must have taken. We were a
+little north of Cape Canaveral when the "Tigris" took fire.
+
+About sundown that day, we reached the mouth of the Savannah river and
+went on board a tug to go up to the city, while our bark would proceed
+on her voyage. There were fourteen grateful people who went down the
+side of that Russian bark to the little tug that we had signalled; and
+some of us, I know, were sorry we could not speak Russian, so we could
+tell our rescuers more plainly what we thought of them.
+
+When we reached Savannah, we went directly to the hotel where Rectus and
+I had stopped on our former visit, and there we found ourselves the
+objects of great attention,--I don't mean we three particularly, but the
+captain and all of us. We brought the news of the burning of the
+"Tigris," and so we immediately knew that nothing had been heard of the
+two boats. Corny was taken in charge by some of the ladies in the hotel,
+and Rectus and I told the story of the burning and the raft twenty or
+thirty times. The news created a great sensation, and was telegraphed to
+all parts of the country. The United States government sent a revenue
+cutter from Charleston, and one from St. Augustine, to cruise along the
+coast, and endeavor to find some traces of the survivors, if there were
+any.
+
+But two days passed and no news came. We thought Corny would go crazy.
+
+"I know they're dead," she said. "If they were alive, anywhere, we'd
+hear from them."
+
+But we would not admit that, and tried, in every way, to prove that the
+people in the boats might have landed somewhere where they could not
+communicate with us, or might have been picked up by a vessel which had
+carried them to South America, or Europe, or some other distant place.
+
+"Well, why don't we go look for them, then, if there's any chance of
+their being on some desert island? It's dreadful to sit here and wait,
+and wait, and do nothing."
+
+Now I began to see the good of being rich. Rectus came to me, soon after
+Corny had been talking about going to look for her father and mother,
+and he said:
+
+"Look here, Will,"--he had begun to call me "Will," of late, probably
+because Corny called me so,--"I think it _is_ too bad that we should
+just sit here and do nothing. I spoke to Mr. Parker about it, and he
+says, we can get a tug-boat, he thinks, and go out and do what looking
+we can. If it eases our minds, he says, there's no objection to it. So
+I'm going to telegraph to father to let me hire a tug-boat."
+
+I thought this was a first-class idea, and we went to see Messrs. Parker
+and Darrell, who were merchants in the city, and the owners of the
+"Tigris." They had been very kind to us, and told us now that they did
+not suppose it would do any real good for us to go out in a tug-boat and
+search along the coast, but that if we thought it would help the poor
+girl to bear her trouble they were in favor of the plan. They were
+really afraid she would lose her reason if she did not do something.
+
+Corny was now staying at Mr. Darrell's house. His wife, who was a
+tip-top lady, insisted that she should come there. When we went around
+to talk to Corny about making a search, she said that that was exactly
+what she wanted to do. If we would take her out to look for her father
+and mother, and we couldn't find them after we had looked all we could,
+she would come back, and ask nothing more.
+
+Then we determined to go. We hadn't thought of taking Corny along, but
+Mr. Darrell and the others thought it would be best; and Mrs. Darrell
+said her own colored woman, named Celia, should go with her, and take
+care of her. I could not do anything but agree to things, but Rectus
+telegraphed to his father, and got authority to hire a tug; and Mr.
+Parker attended to the business himself; and the tug was to be ready
+early the next morning. We thought this was a long time to wait. But it
+couldn't be helped.
+
+I forgot to say that Rectus and I had telegraphed home to our parents as
+soon as we reached Savannah, and had answers back, which were very long
+ones for telegrams. We had also written home. But we did not say
+anything to Corny about all this. It would have broken her heart if she
+had thought about any one writing to his father and mother, and hearing
+from them.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI.
+
+THE TRIP OF THE TUG.
+
+
+The tug-boat was a little thing, and not very clean; but she was strong
+and sea-worthy, we were told, and therefore we were satisfied. There was
+a small deck aft, on which Corny and Rectus and I sat, with Celia, the
+colored woman; and there were some dingy little sleeping-places, which
+were given up for our benefit. The captain of the tug was a white man,
+but all the rest, engineer, fireman and hands--there were five or six in
+all--were negroes.
+
+We steamed down the Savannah River in pretty good style, but I was glad
+when we got out of it, for I was tired of that river. Our plan was to go
+down the coast and try to find tidings of the boats. They might have
+reached land at points where the revenue cutters would never have heard
+from them. When we got out to sea, the water was quite smooth, although
+there was a swell that rolled us a great deal. The captain said that if
+it had been rough he would not have come out at all. This sounded rather
+badly for us, because he might give up the search, if a little storm
+came on. And besides, if he was afraid of high waves in his tug, what
+chance could those boats have had?
+
+Toward noon, we got into water that was quite smooth, and we could see
+land on the ocean side of us. I couldn't understand this, and went to
+ask the captain about it. He said it was all right, we were going to
+take the inside passage, which is formed by the islands that lie along
+nearly all the coast of Georgia. The strips of sea-water between these
+islands and the mainland make a smooth and convenient passage for the
+smaller vessels that sail or steam along this coast. Indeed, some quite
+good-sized steamers go this way, he said.
+
+I objected, pretty strongly, to our taking this passage, because, I
+said, we could never hear anything of the boats while we were in here.
+But he was positive that if they had managed to land on the outside of
+any of these islands, we could hear of them better from the inside than
+from the ocean side. And besides, we could get along a great deal better
+inside. He seemed to think more of that than anything else.
+
+We had a pretty dull time on that tug. There wasn't a great deal of
+talking, but there was lots of thinking, and not a very pleasant kind of
+thinking either. We stopped quite often and hailed small boats, and the
+captain talked to people whenever he had a chance, but he never heard
+anything about any boats having run ashore on any of the islands, or
+having come into the inside passage, between any of them. We met a few
+sailing vessels, and toward the close of the afternoon we met a big
+steamer, something like northern river steamers. The captain said she
+ran between the St. John's River and Savannah, and always took the
+inside passage as far as she could. He said this as if it showed him to
+be in the right in taking the same passage, but I couldn't see that it
+proved anything. We were on a different business.
+
+About nine o'clock we went to bed, the captain promising to call us if
+anything turned up. But I couldn't sleep well--my bunk was too close and
+hot, and so I pretty soon got up and went up to the pilot-house, where I
+found the captain. He and one of the hands were hard at work putting the
+boat around.
+
+"Hello!" said he. "I thought you were sound asleep."
+
+"Hello!" said I. "What are you turning round for?"
+
+It was bright starlight, and I could see that we were making a complete
+circuit in the smooth water.
+
+"Well," said he, "we're going back."
+
+"Back!" I cried. "What's the meaning of that? We haven't made half a
+search. I don't believe we've gone a hundred miles. We want to search
+the whole coast, I tell you, to the lower end of Florida."
+
+"You can't do it in this boat," he said; "she's too small."
+
+"Why didn't you say so when we took her?"
+
+"Well, there wasn't any other, in the first place, and besides, it
+wouldn't be no good to go no further. It's more 'n four days, now, since
+them boats set out. There's no chance fur anybody on 'em to be livin'."
+
+"That's not for you to decide," I said, and I was very angry. "We want
+to find our friends, dead or alive, or find some news of them, and we
+want to cruise until we know there's no further chance of doing so."
+
+"Well," said he, ringing the bell to go ahead, sharp, "I'm not decidin'
+anything. I had my orders. I was to be gone twenty-four hours; an' it'll
+be more 'n that by the time I get back."
+
+"Who gave you those orders?"
+
+"Parker and Darrell," said he.
+
+"Then this is all a swindle," I cried. "And we've been cheated into
+taking this trip for nothing at all!"
+
+"No, it isn't a swindle," he answered, rather warmly. "They told me all
+about it. They knew, an' I knew, that it wasn't no use to go looking for
+two boats that had been lowered in a big storm four days ago, 'way down
+on the Florida coast. But they could see that this here girl would never
+give in till she'd had a chance of doin' what she thought she was called
+on to do, and so they agreed to give it to her. But they told me on no
+account to keep her out more 'n twenty-four hours. That would be long
+enough to satisfy her, and longer than that wouldn't be right. I tell
+you they know what they're about."
+
+"Well, it wont be enough to satisfy her," I said, and then I went down
+to the little deck. I couldn't make the man turn back. I thought the tug
+had been hired to go wherever we chose to take her, but I had been
+mistaken. I felt that we had been deceived; but there was no use in
+saying anything more on the subject until we reached the city.
+
+I did not wake Rectus to tell him the news. It would not do any good,
+and I was afraid Corny might hear us. I wanted her to sleep as long as
+she could, and, indeed, I dreaded the moment when she should awake, and
+find that all had been given up.
+
+We steamed along very fast now. There was no stopping anywhere. I sat on
+the deck and thought a little, and dozed a little; and by the time it
+was morning, I found we were in the Savannah River. I now hated this
+river worse than ever.
+
+Everything was quiet on the water, and everything, except the engine,
+was just as quiet on the tug. Rectus and Corny and Celia were still
+asleep, and nobody else seemed stirring, though, of course, some of the
+men were at their posts. I don't think the captain wanted to be about
+when Corny came out on deck, and found that we had given up the search.
+I intended to be with her when she first learned this terrible fact,
+which I knew would put an end to all hope in her heart; but I was in no
+hurry for her to wake up. I very much hoped she would sleep until we
+reached the city, and then we could take her directly to her kind
+friends.
+
+And she did sleep until we reached the city. It was about seven o'clock
+in the morning, I think, when we began to steam slowly by the wharves
+and piers. I now wished the city were twenty miles further on. I knew
+that when we stopped I should have to wake up poor Corny.
+
+The city looked doleful. Although it was not very early in the morning,
+there were very few people about. Some men could be seen on the decks of
+the vessels at the wharves, and a big steamer for one of the northern
+ports was getting up steam. I could not help thinking how happy the
+people must be who were going away in her. On one of the piers near
+where we were going to stop--we were coming in now--were a few darkey
+boys, sitting on a wharf-log, and dangling their bare feet over the
+water. I wondered how they dared laugh, and be so jolly. In a few
+minutes Corny must be wakened. On a post, near these boys, a lounger sat
+fishing with a long pole,--actually fishing away as if there were no
+sorrows and deaths, or shipwrecked or broken-hearted people in the
+world. I was particularly angry at this man--and I was so nervous that
+all sorts of things made me angry--because he was old enough to know
+better, and because he looked like such a fool. He had on green
+trousers, dirty canvas shoes and no stockings, a striped linen coat, and
+an old straw hat, which lopped down over his nose. One of the men called
+to him to catch the line which he was about to throw on the wharf, but
+he paid no attention, and a negro boy came and caught the line. The man
+actually had a bite, and couldn't take his eyes from the cork. I wished
+the line had hit him and knocked him off the post.
+
+The tide was high, and the tug was not much below the wharf when we
+hauled up. Just as we touched the pier, the man, who was a little
+astern of us, caught his fish. He jerked it up, and jumped off his post,
+and, as he looked up in delight at his little fish, which was swinging
+in the air, I saw he was Mr. Chipperton!
+
+I made one dash for Corny's little cubby-hole. I banged at the door. I
+shouted:
+
+"Corny! Here's your father!"
+
+She was out in an instant. She had slept in her clothes. She had no
+bonnet on. She ran out on deck, and looked about, dazed. The sight of
+the wharves and the ships seemed to stun her.
+
+"Where?" she cried.
+
+I took her by the arm and pointed out her father, who still stood
+holding the fishing-pole in one hand, while endeavoring to clutch the
+swinging fish with the other.
+
+The plank had just been thrown out from the little deck. Corny made one
+bound. I think she struck the plank in the middle, like an India-rubber
+ball, and then she was on the wharf; and before he could bring his eyes
+down to the earth, her arms were around her father's neck, and she was
+wildly kissing and hugging him.
+
+Mr. Chipperton was considerably startled, but when he saw who it was who
+had him, he threw his arms around Corny, and hugged and kissed her as if
+he had gone mad.
+
+Rectus was out by this time, and as he and I stood on the tug, we could
+not help laughing, although we were so happy that we could have cried.
+There stood that ridiculous figure, Mr. Chipperton, in his short green
+trousers and his thin striped coat, with his arms around his daughter,
+and the fishing-pole tightly clasped to her back, while the poor little
+fish dangled and bobbed at every fresh hug.
+
+Everybody on board was looking at them, and one of the little black
+boys, who didn't appear to appreciate sentiment, made a dash for the
+fish, unhooked it, and put like a good fellow. This rather broke the
+spell that was on us all, and Rectus and I ran on shore.
+
+We did not ask any questions, we were too glad to see him. After he had
+put Corny on one side, and had shaken our hands wildly with his left
+hand, for his right still held the pole, and had tried to talk and found
+he couldn't, we called a carriage that had just come up, and hustled him
+and Corny into it. I took the pole from his hand, and asked him where he
+would go to. He called out the name of the hotel where we were staying,
+and I shut the door, and sent them off. I did not ask a word about
+Corny's mother, for I knew Mr. Chipperton would not be sitting on a post
+and fishing if his wife was dead.
+
+I threw the pole and line away, and then Rectus and I walked up to the
+hotel. We forgot all about Celia, who was left to go home when she
+chose.
+
+It was some hours before we saw the Chippertons, and then we were called
+into their room, where there was a talking and a telling things, such as
+I never heard before.
+
+It was some time before I could get Mr. and Mrs. Chipperton's story
+straight, but this was about the amount of it: They were picked up
+sooner than we were--just after day-break. When they left the ship, they
+rowed as hard as they could, for several hours, and so got a good
+distance from us. It was well they met with a vessel as soon as they
+did, for all the women who had been on the steamer were in this boat,
+and they had a hard time of it. The water dashed over them very often,
+and Mr. Chipperton thought that some of them could not have held out
+much longer (I wondered what they would have done on our raft).
+
+The vessel that picked them up was a coasting schooner bound to one of
+the Florida Keys, and she wouldn't put back with them, for she was under
+some sort of a contract, and kept right straight on her way. When they
+got down there, they chartered a vessel which brought them up to
+Fernandina, where they took the steamer for Savannah. They were on the
+very steamer we passed in the inside passage. If we had only known that!
+
+They telegraphed the moment they reached Fernandina, and proposed
+stopping at St. Augustine, but it was thought they could make better
+time by keeping right on to Fernandina. The telegram reached Savannah
+after we had left on the tug.
+
+Mr. Chipperton said he got his fancy clothes on board the schooner. He
+bought them of a man--a passenger, I believe--who had an extra suit.
+
+"I think," said Mr. Chipperton, "he was the only man on that mean little
+vessel who had two suits of clothes. I don't know whether these were his
+weekday or his Sunday clothes. As for my own, they were so wet that I
+took them off the moment I got on board the schooner, and I never saw
+them again. I don't know what became of them, and, to tell the truth, I
+haven't thought of 'em. I was too glad to get started for Savannah,
+where I knew we'd meet Corny, if she was alive. You see, I trusted in
+you boys."
+
+Just here, Mrs. Chipperton kissed us both again. This made several times
+that she had done it. We didn't care so much, as there was no one there
+but ourselves and the Chippertons.
+
+"When we got here, and found you had gone to look for us, I wanted to
+get another tug and go right after you, but my wife was a good deal
+shaken up, and I did not want to leave her; and Parker and Darrell said
+they had given positive orders to have you brought back this morning, so
+I waited. I was only too glad to know you were all safe. I got up early
+in the morning, and went down to watch for you. You must have been
+surprised to see me fishing, but I had nothing else to do, and so I
+hired a pole and line of a boy. It helped very much to pass the time
+away."
+
+"Yes," said Rectus, "you didn't notice us at all, you were so much
+interested."
+
+"Well, you see," said Mr. Chipperton, "I had a bite just at that minute;
+and, besides, I really did not look for you on such a little boat. I had
+an idea you would come on something more respectable than that."
+
+"As if we should ever think of respectability at such a time!" said Mrs.
+Chipperton, with tears in her eyes.
+
+"As for you boys," said Mr. Chipperton, getting up and taking us each by
+the hand, "I don't know what to say to you."
+
+I thought, for my part, that they had all said enough already. They had
+praised and thanked us for things we had never thought of.
+
+"I almost wish you were orphans," he continued, "so that I might adopt
+you. But a boy can't have more than one father. However, I tell you! a
+boy can have as many uncles as he pleases. I'll be an uncle to each of
+you as long as I live. Ever after this call me Uncle Chipperton. Do you
+hear that?"
+
+We heard, and said we'd do it.
+
+Soon after this, lots of people came in, and the whole thing was gone
+over again and again. I am sorry to say that, at one or two places in
+the story, Mrs. Chipperton kissed us both again.
+
+Before we went down to dinner, I asked Uncle Chipperton how his lung had
+stood it, through all this exposure.
+
+"Oh, bother the lung!" he said. "I tell you; boys, I've lost faith in
+that lung,--at least, in there being anything the matter with it. I
+shall travel for it no more."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII.
+
+LOOKING AHEAD.
+
+
+"We have made up our minds," said Uncle Chipperton, that afternoon, "to
+go home and settle down, and let Corny go to school. I hate to send her
+away from us, but it will be for her good. But that wont be until next
+fall. We'll keep her until then. And now, I'll tell you what I think
+we'd all better do. It's too soon to go North yet. No one should go from
+the soft climate of the semi-tropics to the Northern or Middle States
+until mild weather has fairly set in there. And that will not happen for
+a month yet.
+
+"Now, this is my plan. Let us all take a leisurely trip homeward by the
+way of Mobile, and New Orleans and the Mississippi River. This will be
+just the season, and we shall be just the party. What do you say?"
+
+Everybody, but me, said it would be splendid. I had exactly the same
+idea about it, but I didn't say so, for there was no use in it. I
+couldn't go on a trip like that. I had been counting up my money that
+morning, and found I would have to shave pretty closely to get home by
+rail,--and I wanted, very much, to go that way--although it would be
+cheaper to return by sea,--for I had a great desire to go through North
+and South Carolina and Virginia, and see Washington. It would have
+seemed like a shame to go back by sea, and miss all this. But, as I
+said, I had barely enough money for this trip, and to make it I must
+start the next day. And there was no use writing home for money. I knew
+there was none there to spare, and I wouldn't have asked for it if there
+had been. If there was any travelling money, some of the others ought to
+have it. I had had my share.
+
+It was very different with Rectus and the Chippertons. They could afford
+to take this trip, and there was no reason why they shouldn't take it.
+
+When I told them this, Uncle Chipperton flashed up in a minute, and said
+that that was all stuff and nonsense,--the trip shouldn't cost me a
+cent. What was the sense, he said, of thinking of a few dollars when
+such pleasure was in view? He would see that I had no money-troubles,
+and if that was all, I could go just as well as not. Didn't he owe me
+thousands of dollars?
+
+All this was very kind, but it didn't suit me. I knew that he did not
+owe me a cent, for if I had done anything for him, I made no charge for
+it. And even if I had been willing to let him pay my expenses,--which I
+wasn't,--my father would never have listened to it.
+
+So I thanked him, but told him the thing couldn't be worked in that
+way, and I said it over and over again, until, at last, he believed it.
+Then he offered to lend me the money necessary, but this offer I had to
+decline, too. As I had no way of paying it back, I might as well have
+taken it as a gift. There wasn't anything he could offer, after this,
+except to get me a free pass; and as he had no way of doing that, he
+gave up the job, and we all went down to supper. That evening, as I was
+putting a few things into a small valise which I had bought,--as our
+trunks were lost on the "Tigris," I had very little trouble in packing
+up,--I said to Rectus that by the time he started off he could lay in a
+new stock of clothes. I had made out our accounts, and had his money
+ready to hand over to him, but I knew that his father had arranged for
+him to draw on a Savannah bank, both for the tug-boat money and for
+money for himself. I think that Mr. Colbert would have authorized me to
+do this drawing, if Rectus had not taken the matter into his own hands
+when he telegraphed. But it didn't matter, and there wasn't any tug-boat
+money to pay, any way, for Uncle Chipperton paid that. He said it had
+all been done for his daughter, and he put his foot down hard, and
+wouldn't let Rectus hand over a cent.
+
+"I wont have any more time than you will have," replied Rectus, "for I'm
+going to-morrow."
+
+"I didn't suppose they'd start so soon," I said "I'm sure there's no
+need of any hurry."
+
+"I'm not going with them," said Rectus, putting a lonely shirt into a
+trunk that he had bought. "I'm going home with you."
+
+I was so surprised at this that I just stared at him.
+
+"What do you mean?" said I.
+
+"Mean?" said he. "Why, just what I say. Do you suppose I'd go off with
+them, and let you straggle up home by yourself? Not any for me, thank
+you. And besides, I thought you were to take charge of me. How would you
+look going back and saying you'd turned me over to another party?"
+
+[Illustration: "YOU'RE A REGULAR YOUNG TRUMP."]
+
+"You thought I was to take charge of you, did you?" I cried. "Well,
+you're a long time saying so. You never admitted that before."
+
+"I had better sense than that," said Rectus, with a grin. "But I don't
+mind saying so now, as we're pretty near through with our travels. But
+father told me expressly that I was to consider myself in your charge."
+
+"You young rascal!" said I. "And he thought that you understood it so
+well that there was no need of saying much to me about it. All that he
+said expressly to me was about taking care of your money. But I tell you
+what it is, Rectus, you're a regular young trump to give up that trip,
+and go along with me."
+
+And I gave him a good slap on the back.
+
+He winced at this, and let drive a pillow at me, so hard that it nearly
+knocked me over a chair.
+
+The next morning, after an early breakfast, we went to bid the
+Chippertons good-bye. We intended to walk to the depot, and so wanted to
+start early. I was now cutting down all extra expenses.
+
+"Ready so soon!" cried Uncle Chipperton, appearing at the door of his
+room. "Why, we haven't had our breakfast yet."
+
+"We have to make an early start, if we go by the morning train," said I,
+"and we wanted to see you all before we started."
+
+"Glad to see you at any hour of the night or day,--always very glad to
+see you; but I think we had better be getting our breakfast, if the
+train goes so early."
+
+"Are you going to start to-day?" I asked, in surprise.
+
+"Certainly," said he. "Why shouldn't we? I bought a new suit of clothes
+yesterday, and my wife and Corny look well enough for travelling
+purposes. We can start as well as not, and I'd go in my green trousers
+if I hadn't any others. My dear," he said, looking into the room, "you
+and Corny must come right down to breakfast."
+
+"But perhaps you need not hurry," I said. "I don't know when the train
+for Mobile starts."
+
+"Mobile!" he cried. "Who's going to Mobile? Do you suppose that _we_
+are? Not a bit of it. When I proposed that trip, I didn't propose it for
+Mrs. Chipperton, or Corny, or myself, or you, or Rectus, or Tom, or
+Dick, or Harry. I proposed it for all of us. If all of us cannot go,
+none of us can. If you must go north this morning, so must we. We've
+nothing to pack, and that's a comfort. Nine o'clock, did you say? You
+may go on to the depot, if you like, and we'll eat our breakfasts, take
+a carriage, and be there in time."
+
+They were there in time, and we all went north together.
+
+We had a jolly trip. We saw Charleston, and Richmond, and Washington,
+and Baltimore, and Philadelphia; and at last we saw Jersey City, and our
+folks waiting for us in the great depot of the Pennsylvania railroad.
+
+When I saw my father and mother and my sister Helen standing there on
+the stone foot-walk, as the cars rolled in, I was amazed. I hadn't
+expected them. It was all right enough for Rectus to expect his father
+and mother, for they lived in New York, but I had supposed that I should
+meet my folks at the station in Willisville. But it was a capital idea
+in them to come to New York. They said they couldn't wait at home, and
+besides, they wanted to see and know the Chippertons, for we all seemed
+so bound together, now.
+
+Well, it wasn't hard to know the Chippertons. Before we reached the
+hotel where my folks were staying, and where we all went to take
+luncheon together, any one would have thought that Uncle Chipperton was
+really a born brother to father and old Mr. Colbert. How he did talk!
+How everybody talked! Except Helen. She just sat and listened and looked
+at Corny--a girl who had been shipwrecked, and had been on a little raft
+in the midst of the stormy billows. My mother and the two other ladies
+cried a good deal, but it was a sunshiny sort of crying, and wouldn't
+have happened so often, I think, if Mrs. Chipperton had not been so
+ready to lead off.
+
+After luncheon we sat for two or three hours in one of the parlors, and
+talked, and talked, and talked. It was a sort of family congress.
+Everybody told everybody else what he or she was going to do, and took
+information of the same kind in trade. I was to go to college in the
+fall, but as that had been pretty much settled long ago, it couldn't be
+considered as news. I looked well enough, my father said, to do all the
+hard studying that was needed; and the professor was anxiously waiting
+to put me through a course of training for the happy lot of Freshman.
+
+"But he's not going to begin his studies as soon as he gets home," said
+my mother. "We're going to have him to ourselves for a while." And I did
+not doubt that. I hadn't been gone very long, to be sure, but then a
+ship had been burned from under me, and that counted for about a year's
+absence.
+
+Corny's fate had been settled, too, in a general way, but the discussion
+that went on about a good boarding-school for her showed that a
+particular settlement might take some time. Uncle Chipperton wanted her
+to go to some school near his place on the Hudson River, so that he
+could drive over and see her every day or two, and Mrs. Colbert said she
+thought that that wouldn't do, because no girl could study as she ought
+to, if her father was coming to see her all the time, and Uncle
+Chipperton wanted to know what possible injury she thought he would do
+his daughter by going to see her; and Mrs. Colbert said, none at all, of
+course she didn't mean that, and Mrs. Chipperton said that Corny and her
+father ought really to go to the same school, and then we all laughed,
+and my father put in quickly, and asked about Rectus. It was easy to see
+that it would take all summer to get a school for Corny.
+
+"Well," said Mr. Colbert, "I've got a place for Sammy. Right in my
+office. He's to be a man of business, you know. He never took much to
+schooling. I sent him travelling so that he could see the world, and get
+himself in trim for dealing with it. And that's what we have to do in
+our business. Deal with the world."
+
+I didn't like this, and I don't think Rectus did, either. He walked over
+to one of the windows, and looked out into the street.
+
+"I'll tell you what I think, sir," said I. "Rectus--I mean your son
+Samuel, only I shall never call him so--has seen enough of the world to
+make him so wide awake that he sees more in schooling than he used to.
+That's my opinion!"
+
+I knew that Rectus rather envied my going to college, for he had said as
+much on the trip home; and I knew that he had hoped his father would let
+him make a fresh start with the professor at our old school.
+
+"Sammy," cried out Mrs. Colbert,--"Sammy, my son, do you want to go to
+school, and finish up your education, or go into your father's office,
+and learn to be a merchant?"
+
+Rectus turned around from the window.
+
+"There's no hurry about the merchant," he said. "I want to go to school
+and college, first."
+
+"And that's just where you're going," said his mother, with her face
+reddening up a little more than common.
+
+Mr. Colbert grinned a little, but said nothing. I suppose he thought it
+would be of no use, and I had an idea, too, that he was very glad to
+have Rectus determine on a college career. I know the rest of us were.
+And we didn't hold back from saying so, either.
+
+Uncle Chipperton now began to praise Rectus, and he told what
+obligations the boy had put him under in Nassau, when he wrote to his
+father, and had that suit about the property stopped, and so relieved
+him--Uncle Chipperton--from cutting short his semi-tropical trip, and
+hurrying home to New York in the middle of winter.
+
+"But the suit isn't stopped," said Mr. Colbert. "You don't suppose I
+would pay any attention to a note like the one Sammy sent me, do you? I
+just let the suit go on, of course. It has not been decided yet, but I
+expect to gain it."
+
+At this, Uncle Chipperton grew very angry indeed. It was astonishing to
+see how quickly he blazed up. He had supposed the whole thing settled,
+and now to find that the terrible injustice--as he considered it--was
+still going on, was too much for him.
+
+"Do you sit there and tell me that, sir?" he exclaimed, jumping up and
+skipping over to Mr. Colbert. "Do you call yourself----"
+
+"Father!" cried Corny. "Keep perfectly cool! Remain just where you are!"
+
+Uncle Chipperton stopped as if he had run against a fence. His favorite
+advice went straight home to him.
+
+"Very good, my child," said he, turning to Corny. "That's just what I'll
+do."
+
+And he said no more about it.
+
+Now, everybody began to talk about all sorts of things, so as to seem as
+if they hadn't noticed this little rumpus, and we agreed that we must
+all see each other again the next day. Father said he should remain in
+the city for a few days, now that we were all here, and Uncle Chipperton
+did not intend to go to his country-place until the weather was warmer.
+We were speaking of several things that would be pleasant to do
+together, when Uncle Chipperton broke in with a proposition:
+
+"I'll tell you what I am going to do. I am going to give a dinner to
+this party. I can't invite you to my house, but I shall engage a parlor
+in a restaurant, where I have given dinners before (we always come to
+New York when I want to give dinners--it's so much easier for us to come
+to the city than for a lot of people to come out to our place), and
+there I shall give you a dinner, to-morrow evening. Nobody need say
+anything against this. I've settled it, and I can't be moved."
+
+As he couldn't be moved, no one tried to move him.
+
+"I tell you what it is," said Rectus privately to me. "If Uncle
+Chipperton is going to give a dinner, according to his own ideas of
+things in general, it will be a curious kind of a meal."
+
+It often happened that Rectus was as nearly right as most people.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII.
+
+UNCLE CHIPPERTON'S DINNER.
+
+
+The next day was a busy one for father and mother and myself. All the
+morning we were out, laying in a small stock of baggage, to take the
+place of what I had lost on the "Tigris." But I was very sorry,
+especially on my sister Helen's account, that I had lost so many things
+in my trunk which I could not replace, without going back myself to
+Nassau. I could buy curiosities from those regions that were ever so
+much better than any that I had collected; but I could not buy shells
+that I myself had gathered, nor great seed-pods, like bean-pods two feet
+long, which I had picked from the trees, nor pieces of rock that I
+myself had brought up from a coral-reef.
+
+But these were all gone, and I pacified Helen by assuring her that I
+would tell her such long stories about these things that she could
+almost see them in her mind's eye. But I think, by the way she smiled,
+that she had only a second-rate degree of belief in my power of
+description. She was a smart little thing, and she believed that Corny
+was the queen of girls.
+
+While I am speaking of the "Tigris" and our losses, I will just say that
+the second boat which left the burning steamer was never heard from.
+
+We reached our hotel about noon, pretty tired, for we had been rushing
+things, as it was necessary for father to go home early the next day. On
+the front steps we found Uncle Chipperton, who had been waiting for us.
+He particularly wanted to see me. He lunched with us, and then he took
+me off to the place where he was to have his dinner, at six o'clock that
+evening. He wanted to consult with me about the arrangements of the
+table; where each person should sit, and all that sort of thing. I
+couldn't see the use in this, because it was only a kind of family
+party, and we should all be sure to get seated, if there were chairs and
+places enough. But Uncle Chipperton wanted to plan and arrange
+everything until he was sure it was just right. That was his way.
+
+After he had settled these important matters, and the head-waiter and
+the proprietor had become convinced that I was a person of much
+consequence, who had to be carefully consulted before anything could be
+done, we went down stairs, and at the street-door Uncle Chipperton
+suddenly stopped me.
+
+"See here," said he, "I want to tell you something. I'm not coming to
+this dinner."
+
+"Not--coming!" I exclaimed, in amazement.
+
+"No," said he, "I've been thinking it over, and have fully made up my
+mind about it. You see, this is intended as a friendly reunion,--an
+occasion of good feeling and fellowship among people who are bound
+together in a very peculiar manner."
+
+"Yes," I interrupted, "and that seems to me, sir, the very reason why
+you should be there."
+
+"The very reason why I should not be there," he said. "You see, I
+couldn't sit down with that most perverse and obstinate man, Colbert,
+and feel sure that something or other would not occur which would make
+an outbreak between us, or, at any rate, bad feeling. In fact, I know I
+could not take pleasure in seeing him enjoy food. This may be wrong, but
+I can't help it. It's in me. And I wont be the means of casting a shadow
+over the happy company which will meet here to-night. No one but your
+folks need know I'm not coming. The rest will not know why I am
+detained, and I shall drop in toward the close of the meal, just before
+you break up. I want you to ask your father to take the head of the
+table. He is just the man for such a place, and he ought to have it,
+too, for another reason. You ought to know that this dinner is really
+given to you in your honor. To be sure, Rectus is a good
+fellow--splendid--and does everything that he knows how; but my wife and
+I know that we owe all our present happiness to your exertions and good
+sense."
+
+He went on in this way for some time, and although I tried to stop him,
+I couldn't do it.
+
+"Therefore," he continued, "I want your father to preside, and all of
+you to be happy, without a suspicion of a cloud about you. At any rate,
+I shall be no cloud. Come around here early, and see that everything is
+all right. Now I must be off."
+
+And away he went.
+
+I did not like this state of affairs at all. I would have much preferred
+to have no dinner. It was not necessary, any way. If I had had the
+authority, I would have stopped the whole thing. But it was Uncle
+Chipperton's affair, he paid for it, and I had no right to interfere
+with it.
+
+My father liked the matter even less than I did. He said it was a
+strange and unwarrantable performance on the part of Chipperton, and he
+did not understand it. And he certainly did not want to sit at the head
+of the table in another man's place. I could not say anything to him to
+make him feel better about it. I made him feel worse, indeed, when I
+told him that Uncle Chipperton did not want his absence explained, or
+alluded to, any more than could be helped. My father hated to have to
+keep a secret of this kind.
+
+In the afternoon, I went around to the hotel where the Chippertons
+always staid, when they were in New York, to see Corny and her mother. I
+found them rather blue. Uncle Chipperton had not been able to keep his
+plan from them, and they thought it was dreadful. I could not help
+letting them see that I did not like it, and so we didn't have as lively
+a time as we ought to have had.
+
+I supposed that if I went to see Rectus, and told him about the matter,
+I should make him blue, too. But, as I had no right to tell him, and
+also felt a pretty strong desire that some of the folks should come
+with good spirits and appetites, I kept away from him. He would have
+been sure to see that something was the matter.
+
+I was the first person to appear in the dining-room of the restaurant
+where the dinner-table was spread for us. It was a prettily furnished
+parlor in the second story of the house, and the table was very
+tastefully arranged and decorated with flowers. I went early, by myself,
+so as to be sure that everything was exactly right before the guests
+arrived. All seemed perfectly correct; the name of each member of the
+party was on a card by a plate. Even little Helen had her plate and her
+card. It would be her first appearance at a regular dinner-party.
+
+The guests were not punctual. At ten minutes past six, even my father,
+who was the most particular of men in such things, had not made his
+appearance. I waited five, ten, fifteen, twenty minutes more, and became
+exceedingly nervous.
+
+The head-waiter came in and asked if my friends understood the time that
+had been set. The dinner would be spoiled if it were kept much longer. I
+said that I was sure they knew all about the time set, and that there
+was nothing to be done but to wait. It was most unaccountable that they
+should all be late.
+
+I stood before the fireplace and waited, and thought. I ran down to the
+door, and looked up and down the street. I called a waiter and told him
+to look into all the rooms in the house. They might have gone into the
+wrong place. But they were not to be seen anywhere.
+
+Then I went back to the fireplace, and did some more thinking. There was
+no sense in supposing that they had made a mistake. They all knew this
+restaurant, and they all knew the time. In a moment, I said to myself:
+
+"I know how it is. Father has made up his mind that he will not be mixed
+up in any affair of this kind, where a quarrel keeps the host of the
+party from occupying his proper place, especially as he--my father--is
+expected to occupy that place himself. So he and mother and Helen have
+just quietly staid in their rooms at the hotel. Mrs. Chipperton and
+Corny wont come without Uncle Chipperton. They might ride right to the
+door, of course, but they are ashamed, and don't want to have to make
+explanations; and it is ridiculous to suppose that they wont have to be
+made. As for Rectus and his people, they could not have heard anything,
+but,--I have it. Old Colbert got his back up, too, and wouldn't come,
+either for fear a quarrel would be picked, or because he could take no
+pleasure in seeing Uncle Chipperton enjoying food. And Rectus and his
+mother wouldn't come without him."
+
+It turned out, when I heard from all the parties, that I had got the
+matter exactly right.
+
+"We shall have to make fresh preparations, sir, if we wait any longer,"
+said the head-waiter, coming in with an air of great mental disturbance.
+
+"Don't wait," said I. "Bring in the dinner. At least, enough for me. I
+don't believe any one else will be here."
+
+The waiter looked bewildered, but he obeyed. I took my seat at the place
+where my card lay, at the middle of one side of the table, and spread my
+napkin in my lap. The head-waiter waited on me himself, and one or two
+other waiters came in to stand around, and take away dishes, and try to
+find something to do.
+
+It was a capital dinner, and I went carefully through all the courses. I
+was hungry. I had been saving up some extra appetite for this dinner,
+and my regular appetite was a very good one.
+
+I had raw oysters,
+
+And soup,
+
+And fish, with delicious sauce,
+
+And roast duck,
+
+And croquettes, made of something extraordinarily nice,
+
+And beef _a la mode_,
+
+And all sorts of vegetables, in their proper places,
+
+And ready-made salad,
+
+And orange pie,
+
+And wine-jelly,
+
+And ice-cream,
+
+And bananas, oranges and white grapes,
+
+And raisins, and almonds and nuts,
+
+And a cup of coffee.
+
+I let some of these things off pretty easy, toward the last; but I did
+not swerve from my line of duty. I went through all the courses, quietly
+and deliberately. It was a dinner in my honor, and I did all the honor I
+could to it.
+
+I was leaning back in my chair, with a satisfied soul, and nibbling at
+some raisins, while I slowly drank my coffee, when the outer door
+opened, and Uncle Chipperton entered.
+
+He looked at me in astonishment. Then he looked at the table, with the
+clean plates and glasses at every place, but one. Then he took it all
+in, or at least I supposed he did, for he sat down on a chair near the
+door, and burst out into the wildest fit of laughing. The waiters came
+running into the room to see what was the matter; but for several
+minutes Uncle Chipperton could not speak. He laughed until I thought
+he'd crack something. I laughed, too, but not so much.
+
+"I see it all," he gasped, at last. "I see it all. I see just how it
+happened."
+
+And when we compared our ideas of the matter, we found that they were
+just the same.
+
+I wanted him to sit down and eat something, but he would not do it. He
+said he wouldn't spoil such a unique performance for anything. It was
+one of the most comical meals he had ever heard of.
+
+I was glad he enjoyed it so much, for he paid for the whole dinner for
+ten, which had been prepared at his order.
+
+When we reached the street, Uncle Chipperton put on a graver look.
+
+"This is all truly very funny," he said, "but, after all, there is
+something about it which makes me feel ashamed of myself. Would you
+object to take a ride? It is only about eight o'clock. I want to go up
+to see old Colbert."
+
+I agreed to go, and we got into a street-car. The Colberts lived in one
+of the up-town streets, and Uncle Chipperton had been at their house, on
+business.
+
+"I never went to see them in a friendly way before," he said.
+
+It was comforting to hear that this was to be a friendly visit.
+
+When we reached the house, we found the family of three in the parlor.
+They had probably had all the dinner they wanted, but they did not look
+exactly satisfied with the world or themselves.
+
+"Look here, Colbert," said Uncle Chipperton, after shaking hands with
+Mrs. Colbert, "why didn't you go to my dinner?"
+
+"Well," said Mr. Colbert, looking him straight in the face, "I thought
+I'd better stay where I was. I didn't want to make any trouble, or pick
+any quarrels. I didn't intend to keep my wife and son away; but they
+wouldn't go without me."
+
+"No, indeed," said Mrs. Colbert.
+
+"Oh, well!" said Uncle Chipperton, "you needn't feel bad about it. I
+didn't go, myself."
+
+At this, they all opened their eyes as wide as the law allowed.
+
+"No," he continued, "I didn't want to make any disturbance, or
+ill-feeling, and so I didn't go, and my wife and daughter didn't want to
+go without me, and so they didn't go, and I expect Will's father and
+mother didn't care to be on hand at a time when bad feeling might be
+shown, and so they didn't go. There was no one there but Will. He ate
+all of the dinner that was eaten. He went straight through it, from one
+end to the other. And there was no ill-feeling, no discord, no cloud of
+any kind. All perfectly harmonious, wasn't it, Will?"
+
+"Perfectly," said I.
+
+"I just wish I had known about it," said Rectus, a little sadly.
+
+"And now, Mr. Colbert," said Uncle Chipperton, "I don't want this to
+happen again. There may be other reunions of this kind, and we may want
+to go. And there ought to be such reunions between families whose sons
+and daughter have been cast away together, on a life-raft, in the middle
+of the ocean."
+
+"That's so," said Mrs. Colbert, warmly.
+
+"I thought they were _saved_ on a life-raft," said old Colbert, dryly.
+"And I didn't know it was in the middle of the ocean."
+
+"Well, fix that as you please," said Uncle Chipperton. "What I want to
+propose is this: Let us settle our quarrel. Let's split our difference.
+Will you agree to divide that four inches of ground, and call it square?
+I'll pay for two inches."
+
+"Do you mean you'll pay half the damages I've laid?" asked old Colbert.
+
+"That's what I mean," said Uncle Chipperton.
+
+"All right," said Mr. Colbert; "I'll agree." And they shook hands on it.
+
+"Now, then," said Uncle Chipperton, who seemed unusually lively, "I must
+go see the Gordons, and explain matters to them. Wont you come along,
+Rectus?" And Rectus came.
+
+On the way to our hotel, we stopped for Corny and her mother. We might
+as well have a party, Uncle Chipperton said.
+
+We had a gay time at our rooms. My father and mother were greatly amused
+at the way the thing had turned out, and very much pleased that Mr.
+Colbert and Uncle Chipperton had become reconciled to each other.
+
+"I thought he had a good heart," said my mother, softly, to me, looking
+over to Uncle Chipperton, who was telling my father, for the second
+time, just how I looked, as I sat alone at the long table.
+
+Little Helen had not gone to bed yet, and she was sorry about the dinner
+in the same way that Rectus was. So was Corny, but she was too glad that
+the quarrel between her father and Mr. Colbert was over, to care much
+for the loss of the dinner. She was always very much disturbed by
+quarrels between friends or friends' fathers.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV.
+
+THE STORY ENDS.
+
+
+Three letters came to me the next morning. I was rather surprised at
+this, because I did not expect to get letters after I found myself at
+home; or, at least, with my family. The first of these was handed to me
+by Rectus. It was from his father. This is the letter:
+
+          "MY DEAR BOY:" (This opening seemed a little
+          curious to me, for I did not suppose the old
+          gentleman thought of me in that way.) "I shall not
+          be able to see you again before you leave for
+          Willisville, so I write this note just to tell you
+          how entirely I am satisfied with the way in which
+          you performed the very difficult business I
+          intrusted to you--that of taking charge of my son
+          in his recent travels. The trip was not a very
+          long one, but I am sure it has been of great
+          service to him; and I also believe that a great
+          deal of the benefit he has received has been due
+          to you." (I stopped here, and tried to think what
+          I had done for the boy. Besides the thrashing I
+          gave him in Nassau, I could not think of
+          anything.) "I have been talking a great deal with
+          Sammy, in the last day or two, about his doings
+          while he was away, and although I cannot exactly
+          fix my mind on any particular action, on your
+          part, which proves what I say" (he was in the same
+          predicament here in which I was myself), "yet I
+          feel positively assured that your companionship
+          and influence have been of the greatest service to
+          him. Among other things, he really wants to go to
+          college. I am delighted at this. It was with much
+          sorrow that I gave up the idea of making him a
+          scholar: but, though he was a good boy, I saw that
+          it was useless to keep him at the academy at
+          Willisville, and so made up my mind to take him
+          into my office. But I know you put this college
+          idea into his head, though how, I cannot say, and
+          I am sure that it does not matter. Sammy tells me
+          that you never understood that he was to be
+          entirely in your charge; but since you brought him
+          out so well without knowing this, it does you more
+          credit. I am very grateful to you. If I find a
+          chance to do you a real service, I will do it.
+
+                       "Yours very truly,
+                                     "SAMUEL COLBERT, SR."
+
+The second letter was handed to me by Corny, and was from her mother. I
+shall not copy that here, for it is much worse than Mr. Colbert's. It
+praised me for doing a lot of things which I never did at all; but I
+excused Mrs. Chipperton for a good deal she said, for she had passed
+through so much anxiety and trouble, and was now going to settle down
+for good, with Corny at school, that I didn't wonder she felt happy
+enough to write a little wildly. But there was one queer resemblance
+between her letter and old Mr. Colbert's. She said two or three
+times--it was an awfully long letter--that there was not any particular
+thing that she alluded to when she spoke of my actions. That was the
+funny part of it. They couldn't put their fingers on anything really
+worth mentioning, after all.
+
+My third letter had come by mail, and was a little old. My mother gave
+it to me, and told me that it had come to the post-office at Willisville
+about a week before, and that she had brought it down to give it to me,
+but had totally forgotten it until that morning. It was from St.
+Augustine, and this is an exact copy of it:
+
+          "My good friend Big Little Man. I love you. My
+          name Maiden's Heart. You much pious. You buy
+          beans. Pay good. Me wants one speckled shirt.
+          Crowded Owl want one speckled shirt, too. You send
+          two speckled shirts. You good Big Little Man. You
+          do that. Good-bye.
+
+                             "MAIDEN'S HEART, Cheyenne Chief.
+
+          "Written by me, James R. Chalott, this seventh day
+          of March, 187-, at the dictation of the
+          above-mentioned Maiden's Heart. He has requested
+          me to add that he wants the speckles to be red,
+          and as large as you can get them."
+
+During the morning, most of our party met to bid each other good-bye.
+Corny, Rectus and I were standing together, having our little winding-up
+talk, when Rectus asked Corny if she had kept her gray bean, the
+insignia of our society.
+
+"To be sure I have," she said, pulling it out from under her cloak. "I
+have it on this little chain which I wear around my neck. I've worn it
+ever since I got it. And I see you each have kept yours on your
+watch-guards."
+
+"Yes," I said, "and they're the only things of the kind we saved from
+the burning 'Tigris.' Going to keep yours?"
+
+"Yes, indeed," said Corny, warmly.
+
+"So shall I," said I.
+
+"And I, too," said Rectus.
+
+And then we shook hands, and parted.
+
+
+THE END.
+
+
+
+
+Scribner's New Books for Young People
+
+1901 and 1902
+
+
+By the author of "Wild Animals I Have Known"
+
+LIVES OF THE HUNTED
+
+          =By Ernest Seton-Thompson. Profusely illustrated
+          by the author. Square 12mo, $1.75 net.=
+
+The most important work of Mr. Seton-Thompson since his "WILD ANIMALS I
+HAVE KNOWN," fully equalling that most popular book in size, and
+resembling it closely in character, solidity, illustration and general
+worth.
+
+It includes all the animal stories Mr. Seton-Thompson has written since
+his last book together with several that have never appeared in serial
+form. It is more fully and richly illustrated than any previous book
+with his own inimitable drawings. There will be many full page
+illustrations, and nearly every type page will be ornamented with the
+delightful marginal sketches characteristic of this artist's latest
+works.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+          THE IMP AND THE ANGEL
+
+          =By Josephine Dodge Daskam, author of "Sister's
+          Vocation," "Smith College Stories," etc. Profusely
+          illustrated. $1.25 net.=
+
+In her portrayal of the "Imp," the seven-year-old hero of this series of
+seven stories, Miss Daskam has added a most captivating character to the
+gallery of child fiction.
+
+
+A SON OF SATSUMA
+
+          =Or, with Perry in Japan. By Kirk Munroe. 12mo,
+          $1.00 net=
+
+A vigorous story for boys dealing with one of the most romantic episodes
+in the history of our country. From the beginning Japan has been a land
+of mystery. It was Commodore Perry who solved the mystery of the ages,
+and in this thrilling story, the spirit as well as the history of this
+great achievement, is ably set forth.
+
+
+HANS BRINKER
+
+          =Or, The Silver Skates. By Mary Mapes Dodge. With
+          100 illustrations by Allen B. Doggett. 12mo,
+          $1.50=
+
+In order to give a still wider circulation to Mrs. Dodge's celebrated
+American classic for young readers, the publishers have reduced the
+price of the New Amsterdam edition from $2.50 to $1.50, retaining all of
+Mr. Doggett's illustrations. No handsomer or more appropriate gift book
+for boy or girl can be found than this story of life in Holland, the
+vitality and popularity of which seem to increase year by year.
+
+
+THE STORY OF MANHATTAN
+
+          =By Charles Hemstreet, author of "Nooks and
+          Corners of Old New York." Illustrated. 12mo, $1.00
+          net=
+
+Mr. Hemstreet becomes in this charming young people's work the annalist
+as well as the antiquary of the city of his affection. He recounts its
+picturesque history with a most sympathetic pen. No New York boy or girl
+can gain elsewhere so readily and pleasantly the familiarity with the
+city they should know most about.
+
+
+FIRST ACROSS THE CONTINENT
+
+          =By Noah Brooks. Fully illustrated. $1.50 net.=
+
+The absorbing story of the famous Lewis and Clark exploration of the
+vast northwestern territory acquired under the Louisiana purchase is
+here compiled with a special view of interesting young readers. The
+journey up the Missouri, over the Rockies, and down the Columbia to the
+Pacific, together with descriptions of the Indian tribes of the region
+makes fascinating material.
+
+
+LEM--A NEW ENGLAND BOY
+
+          =His Adventures and Mishaps. By Noah Brooks.
+          Illustrated by H. C. Edwards. $1.00 net.=
+
+Boy life in a New England village forty or fifty years ago has never
+been portrayed more faithfully or more vividly than in this wholesome
+tale of Lem Parker and his chums. Full of fun and adventure, the story
+has that atmosphere of reality that makes the strongest appeal to boys.
+
+
+THE OUTCASTS
+
+          =By W. A. Fraser, author of "Mooswa." Illustrated
+          by Arthur Heming. $1.25 net.=
+
+Another inimitable animal book by the author and artist of "Mooswa." It
+is the story of the strange friendship between a buffalo and a wolf, and
+the author's wonderful insight into the workings of the minds of animals
+is here used with extraordinary charm.
+
+
+THE OUTLAWS OF HORSE-SHOE HOLE
+
+          =A Story of the Montana Vigilants. By Francis
+          Hill. Illustrated by R. F. Zogbaum. $1.00 net.=
+
+A stirring book for boys and men by a new writer of the fascinating life
+of the western frontier a decade or two ago. The book is full of the
+traditional romantic spirit of good old western yarns and yarners.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Three New Books by G. A. HENTY
+
+Each Illustrated, 12mo, $1.25 _net_
+
+
+AT THE POINT OF THE BAYONET
+
+=A Story of the British Conquest of India=
+
+
+WITH ROBERTS TO PRETORIA
+
+=A Story of the Boer War=
+
+
+TO HERAT AND CABUL
+
+=A Story of the First Afghan War=
+
+          "Wherever English is spoken one imagines that Mr.
+          Henty's name is known. Mr. Henty is no doubt the
+          most successful writer for boys, and the one to
+          whose new volumes they look forward every
+          Christmas with most pleasure."--_Review of
+          Reviews._
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+Three Famous Books for Boys by JAMES BALDWIN
+
+New Editions of these Standard Books, each, 12mo, $1.50
+
+
+THE STORY OF THE GOLDEN AGE
+
+=With a series of full-page illustrations by Howard Pyle=
+
+
+THE STORY OF SIEGFRIED
+
+=With a series of full-page illustrations by Howard Pyle=
+
+
+THE STORY OF ROLAND
+
+=With a series of full-page illustrations by R. B. Birch=
+
+          In these books Mr. Baldwin presents respectively
+          the legends relating to the Trojan War, the great
+          Siegfried myth of Northern Europe, and the
+          mediaeval romance of Roland and Charlemagne,
+          bringing before the reader, with great spirit,
+          with scholarly accuracy and with unfailing taste
+          these heroic figures and the times in which their
+          adventures are supposed to have occurred.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS, NEW YORK CITY
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Transcriber's Notes:
+
+Obvious punctuation errors repaired.
+
+The word "won't" is spelled "wont" consistently in the original. This
+was retained.
+
+Page 26, word "with" added to text. (done with dinner)
+
+Page 95, "depot" changed to "depot" to conform to rest of text. (at the
+depot)
+
+Page 259, "Canavaral" changed to "Canaveral". (Cape Canaveral)
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of A Jolly Fellowship, by Frank R. Stockton
+
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+
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author	Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org>	2025-10-15 01:24:38 -0700
committer	Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org>	2025-10-15 01:24:38 -0700
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tree	7a7fdff149fd474d800e884401d352987c77da74