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University  of  California  •  Berkeley 


THE    WRECKER 


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THE    WEECKEE. 


BY 


EOBEET    LOUIS    STEYENSON 


LLOYD    OSBOUEl^E. 


ILLUSTRATED  BY  WILLIAM  HOLE  AND  W.  L.  METUALF. 


CASSELL    &    COMPANY,    Limited: 

LONDON,    PARIS    #    MELBOURNE. 

1892. 

[alt,  eights  keserved.] 


CONTENTS. 


-KX- 


PROLOGUE. 

PA  OK 

In  the  Marquesas 1 


THE   YAEN. 

CHAPTEK 

I.  A  Sound  Commercial  Education                 .         .         .14 

II.    Roussillon  Wine 27 

III.  To  Introduce  Mr.  Pinkerton 37 

IV.  IN    WHICH    I    EXPERIENCE   EXTREMES    OF    FORTUNE  .       53 

V.  In  which  I  am  down  on  my  Luck  in  Paris       .         .     66 

VI.     In  which  I  go  West 81 

VII.  Irons  in  the  Fire  :  Opes  Strepitumque  .         .         .         .97 

VIII.     Faces  on  the  City  Front 121 

IX.  The  Wreck  of  the  "Flying   Scud'-  ....  134 

X.     In  which  the  Crew  vanish 149 

XL  In  which  Jim  and  I  take  Different  Ways       .        .174 

XII.     The  "Norah  Creina" 189 

XIII.  The  Island  and  the  Wreck 205 

XIV.  The  Cabin  of  the  "Flying  Scud"     ....  217 
XV.  The  Cargo  of  the  "Flying  Scud"    ....  221 


VI  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XVI.  In  which  I  turn  Smuggler,  and  the  Captain  Casuist  245 

XVII.     Light  from  the  Man  of  War 258 

XVIII.  Cross-Questions  and  Crooked  Answers    .         .         .  272 

XIX.     Travels  with  a  Shyster 2S8 

XX.     Stallbridge-le-Carthew 311 

XXI.     Face  to  Face 324 

XXII.     The  Remittance  Man .         .331 

XXIII.  The  Budget  of  the  "Currency  Lass"     .        .         .  357 

XXIV.  A  Hard  Bargain 383 

XXV.    A  Bad  Bargain 397 

EPILOGUE. 
To  Will  H.  Low 421 


LIST     OF     ILLUSTEATIONS. 


PAGE 

"'THAT  KIND  OP  AN  ACCIDENT,'  SAID  HE"         .  .         .         Frontispiece 

"'"XES,   IT'S  A  QUEER  YARN,'    SAID   HIS  FRIEND"  .  .  .  .13 

"*I  "WANTED  YE  TO  SEE   THE   PLACE,'    SAID   HE  "  .  .  .  .89 

"  GOING    AT    FIFTY    THOUSAND,   THE    WRECK    OF    THE    BRIG   'FLYING 

SCUD  '  !  " 148 

"MAMIE     .      .      .      SAT,    AN    APPARENT     QUEEN,    AMONG    HER    RUDE 

SURROUNDINGS  AND  COMPANIONS  " 186 

"SHE  LAY  HEAD  TO  THE  REEF,  "WHERE  THE  HUGE  BLUE  WALL  OF 
THE  ROLLERS  WAS  FOR  EVER  RANGING  UP  AND  CRUMBLING 
DOWN"    . 207 

"and  lo!  there  was  disclosed  but  a  trayful  of  papers"       .  219 

"  'i  am  afraid  i  am  an  american,'  i  said  apologetically"      .  261 

"  '  the  day's  work  done  and  the  evening  before  us  j  just 
start  in  with  the  whole  story '" 276 

"a  lady  with  silver  hair,  a  slender  silver  voice,  and  a 
stream  of  insignificant  information  not  to  be  diverted, 
led  me  through  the  picture  gallery"         .        .        .        .317 

the  domain,  sydney. — "  my  word,  no  !  "  replied  the  little 
man.     "i  just  sit  here  and  read  the  'dead  bird'  "  .        .  343 

"now  he  rose  mechanically,  shaking  and  stumbling  like  a 
drunkard  after  a  debauch" 382 


THE    WRECKER 

PROLOGUE. 

IN     THE     MARQUESAS. 

It  was  about  three  o'clock  of  a  winter's  afternoon  in 
Tai-o-hae,  the  French  capital  and  port  of  entry  of  the 
Marquesas  Islands.  The  trades  blew  strong  and 
squally;  the  surf  roared  loud  on  the  shingle  beach; 
and  the  fifty-ton  schooner  of  war,  that  carries  the 
flag  and  influence  of  France  about  the  islands  of  the 
cannibal  group,  rolled  at  her  moorings  under  Prison 
Hill.  The  clouds  hung  low  and  black  on  the  sur- 
rounding amphitheatre  of  mountains  ;  rain  had  fallen 
earlier  in  the  day,  real  tropic  rain,  a  waterspout  for 
violence;  and  the  green  and  gloomy  brow  of  the 
mountain  was  still  seamed  with  many  silver  threads 
of  torrent. 

In  these  hot  and  healthy  islands  winter  is  but  a 
name.  The  rain  had  not  refreshed,  nor  could  the 
wind  invigorate  the  dwellers  of  Tai-o-hae:  away  at 
one  end,  indeed,  the  commandant  was  directing  some 
changes  in  the  residency  garden  beyond  Prison  Hill ; 
and  the  gardeners,  being  all  convicts,  had  no  choice 
but  to  continue  to  obey.  All  other  folks  slumbered 
and  took  their  rest :  Vaekehu,  the  native  Queen,  in  her 
trim  house  under  the  rustling  palms;  the  Tahitian 
missionary,  in  his  beflagged  official  residence;  the 
merchants,  in  their  deserted  stores ;  and  even  the 
club-servant  in  the  club,  his  head  fallen  forward  on 


2  THE   WRECKER. 

the  bottle- counter,  under  the  map  of  the  world  and 
the  cards  of  navy  officers.  In  the  whole  length  of 
the  single  shoreside  street,  with  its  scattered  board 
houses  looking  to  the  sea,  its  grateful  shade  of  palms 
and  green  jungle  of  puraos,  no  moving  figure  could 
be  seen.  Only,  at  the  end  of  the  rickety  pier,  that 
once  (in  the  prosperous  days  of  the  American 
rebellion)  was  used  to  groan  under  the  cotton  of 
John  Hart,  there  might  have  been  spied  upon  a  pile 
of  lumber  the  famous  tattooed  white  man,  the  living 
curiosity  of  Tai-o-hae. 

His  eyes  were  open,  staring  down  the  bay.  He 
saw  the  mountains  droop,  as  they  approached  the 
entrance,  and  break  down  in  cliffs:  the  surf  boil 
white  round  the  two  sentinel  islets;  and  between, 
on  the  narrow  bight  of  blue  horizon,  Ua-pu  upraise  the 
ghost  of  her  pinnacled  mountain-tops.  JBut  his  mind 
would  take  no  account  of  these  familiar  features; 
as  he  dodged  in  and  out  along  the  frontier  line  of 
sleep  and  waking,  memory  would  serve  him  with 
broken  fragments  of  the  past :  brown  faces  and  white, 
of  skipper  and  shipmate,  king  and  chief,  would  arise 
before  his  mind  and  vanish;  he  would  recall  old 
voyages,  old  landfalls  in  the  hour  of  dawn ;  he  would 
hear  again  the  drums  beat  for  a  man-eating 
festival;  perhaps  he  would  summon  up  the  form  of 
that  island  princess  for  the  love  of  whom  he  had 
submitted  his  body  to  the  cruel  hands  of  the  tattooer, 
and  now  sat  on  the  lumber,  at  the  pier-end  of 
Tai-o-hae,  so  strange  a  figure  of  a  European.  Or 
perhaps,  from  yet  further  back,  sounds  and  scents  of 
England  and  his  childhood  might  assail  him:  the 
merry  clamour  of  cathedral  bells,  the  broom  upon 
the  foreland,  the  song  of  the  river  on  the  weir. 

It  is  bold  water  at  the  mouth  of  the  bay ;  you 
can  steer  a  ship  about  either  sentinel,  close  enough 
to  toss  a  biscuit  on  the  rocks.  Thus  it  chanced  that, 
as  the  tattooed  man  sat  dozing  and  dreaming,  he  was 


IN    THE   MARQUESAS.  3 

startled  into  wakefulness  and  animation  by  the 
appearance  of  a  flying  jib  beyond  the  western  islet. 
Two  more  headsails  followed;  and  before  the 
tattooed  man  had  scrambled  to  his  feet,  a  topsail 
schooner,  of  some  hundred  tons,  had  luffed  about 
the  sentinel,  and  was  standing  up  the  bay,  close- 
hauled. 

The  sleeping  city  awakened  by  enchantment. 
Natives  appeared  upon  all  sides,  hailing  each  other  with 
the  magic  cry  "Ehippy" — ship;  the  Queen  stepped 
forth  on  her  verandah,  shading  her  eyes  under  a 
hand  that  was  a  miracle  of  the  fine  art  of  tattooing ; 
the  commandant  broke  from  his  domestic  convicts 
and  ran  into  the  residency  for  his  glass ;  the  harbour 
master,  who  was  also  the  gaoler,  came  speeding  down 
the  Prison  Hill ;  the  seventeen  brown  Kanakas  and 
the  French  boatswain's  mate,  that  make  up  the 
complement  of  the  war-schooner,  crowded  on  the 
forward  deck;  and  the  various  English,  Americans, 
Germans,  Poles,  Corsicans,  and  Scots — the  merchants 
and  the  clerks  of  Tai-o-hae — deserted  their  places 
of  business,  and  gathered,  according  to  invariable 
custom,  on  the  road  before  the  club. 

So  quickly  did  these  dozen  whites  collect,  so  short 
are  the  distances  in  Tai-o-hae,  that  they  were  already 
exchanging  guesses  as  to  the  nationality  and  business 
of  the  strange  vessel,  before  she  had  gone  about  upon 
her  second  board  towards  the  anchorage.  A  moment 
after,  English  colours  were  broken  out  at  the  main 
truck. 

"  I  told  you  she  was  a  Johnny  Bull — knew  it 
by  her  headsails,"  said  an  evergreen  old  salt,  still 
qualified  (if  he  could  anywhere  have  found  an  owner 
unacquainted  with  his  story)  to  adorn  another 
quarter-deck  and  lose  another  ship. 

"  She  has  American  lines,  anyway,"  said  the  astute 
Scotch  engineer  of  the  gin-mill ;  "  it's  my  belief  she's 
a  yacht." 
b2 


4,  THE   WRECKER. 

"That's  it,"  said  the  old  salt,  "a  yacht!  look  at 
her  davits,  and  the  boat  over  the  stern." 

"A  yacht  in  your  eye!"  said  a  Glasgow  voice. 
"  Look  at  her  red  ensign !  A  v^cht !  not  much  she 
isn't ! " 

"  You  can  close  the  store,  anyway,  Tom,"  observed 
a  gentlemanly  German.  "  Bon  jour,  mon  Prince  ! " 
he  added,  as  a  dark,  intelligent  native  cantered  by  on 
a  neat  chestnut.  "  Vows  allez  boire  un  verre  de 
biere  ?  " 

But  Prince  Stanilas  Moanatini,  the  only  reasonably 
busy  human  creature  on  the  island,  was  riding  hot- 
spur to  view  this  morning's  landslip  on  the  mountain 
road;  the  sun  already  visibly  declined;  night  was 
imminent ;  and  if  he  would  avoid  the  perils  of  dark- 
ness and  precipice,  and  the  fear  of  the  dead,  the 
haunters  of  the  jungle,  he  must  for  once  decline  a 
hospitable  invitation.  Even  had  he  been  minded  to 
alight,  it  presently  appeared  there  would  be  difficulty 
as  to  the  refreshment  offered. 

"  Beer ! "  cried  the  Glasgow  voice.  *  No  such  a 
thing ;  I  tell  you  there's  only  eight  bottles  in  the  club  ! 
Here's  the  first  time  I've  seen  British  colours  in  this 
port !  and  the  man  that  sails  under  them  has  got  to 
drink  that  beer." 

The  proposal  struck  the  public  mind  as  fair, 
though  far  from  cheering;  for  some  time  back, 
indeed,  the  very  name  of  beer  had  been  a  sound  of 
sorrow  in  the  club,  and  the  evenings  had  passed  in 
dolorous  computation. 

"Here  is  Havens,"  said  one,  as  if  welcoming  a 
fresh  topic.     "  What  do  you  think  of  her,  Havens  ? " 

"I  don't  think,"  replied  Havens,  a  tall,  bland, 
cool-looking,  leisurely  Englishman,  attired  in  spotless 
duck,  and  deliberately  dealing  with  a  cigarette.  n  I 
may  say  I  know.  She's  consigned  to  me  from  Auck- 
land by  Donald  and  Edenborough.  I  am  on  my  way 
aboard." 


IN   THE   MARQUESAS.  5 

"  What  ship  is  she  ? "  asked  the  ancient  mariner. 

"Haven't  an  idea,"  returned  Havens.  "Some 
tramp  they  have  chartered." 

With  that,  he  placidly  resumed  his  walk,  and  was 
soon  seated  in  the  stern-sheets  of  a  whaleboat  manned 
by  uproarious  Kanakas,  himself  daintily  perched  out 
of  the  way  of  the  least  maculation,  giving  his  com- 
mands in  an  unobtrusive,  dinner-table  tone  of  voice, 
and  sweeping  neatly  enough  alongside  the  schooner. 

A  weather-beaten  captain  received  him  at  the 
gangway. 

"  You  are  consigned  to  us,  I  think,"  said  he.  "  I 
am  Mr.  Havens." 

"That  is  right,  sir,"  replied  the  captain,  shaking 
hands.  "  You  will  rind  the  owner,  Mr.  Dodd,  below. 
Mind  the  fresh  paint  on  the  house." 

Havens  stepped  along  the  alley-way,  and  de- 
scended the  ladder  into  the  main  cabin. 

"  Mr.  Dodd,  I  believe,"  said  he,  addressing  a  small- 
ish, bearded  gentleman,  who  sat  writing  at  the  table. 
"  Why,"  he  cried,  "  it  isn't  Loudon  Dodd  ? " 

"Myself,  my  dear  fellow,"  replied  Mr.  Dodd, 
springing  to  his  feet  with  companionable  alacrity. 
"  I  had  a  half -hope  it  might  be  you,  when  I  found 
your  name  on  the  papers.  Well,  there's  no  change 
in  you  ;  still  the  same  placid,  fresh-looking  Britisher." 

"  I  can't  return  the  compliment ;  for  you  seem  to 
have  become  a  Britisher  yourself,"  said  Havens. 

"  I  promise  you,  I  am  quite  unchanged,"  returned 
Dodd.  "  The  red  tablecloth  at  the  top  of  the  stick  is 
not  my  flag ;  it's  my  partner's.  He  is  not  dead,  but 
sleepeth.  There  he  is,"  he  added,  pointing  to  a  bust 
which  formed  one  of  the  numerous  unexpected  orna- 
ments of  that  unusual  cabin. 

Havens  politely  studied  it.  "A  fine  bust,"  said 
he ;  "  and  a  very  nice-looking  fellow." 

"  Yes ;  he's  a  good  fellow,"  said  Dodd.  "  He  runs 
me  now.     It's  all  his  money." 


0  THE   WRECKEll. 

"  He  doesn't  seem  to  be  particularly  short  of  it," 
added  the  other,  peering  with  growing  wonder  round 
the  cabin. 

"  His  money,  my  taste,"  said  Dodd.  "  The  black 
walnut  bookshelves  are  old  English;  the  books  all 
mine — mostly  Renaissance  French.  You  should  see 
how  the  beach-combers  wilt  away  when  they  go 
round  them,  looking  for  a  change  of  seaside  library 
novels.  The  mirrors  are  genuine  Venice;  that's  a 
good  piece  in  the  corner.  The  daubs  are  mine — and 
his ;  the  mudding  mine." 

"  Mudding  ?     What  is  that  ? "  asked  Havens. 

"  These  bronzes,"  replied  Dodd.  "  I  began  life  as 
a  sculptor." 

"  Yes ;  I  remember  something  about  that,"  said 
the  other.  "  I  think,  too,  you  said  you  were  inter- 
ested in  Californian  real  estate." 

"  Surely,  I  never  went  so  far  as  that,"  said  Dodd. 
"  Interested  ?  I  guess  not.  Involved,  perhaps.  I 
was  born  an  artist ;  I  never  took  an  interest  in  any- 
thing but  art.  If  I  were  to  pile  up  this  old  schooner 
to-morrow,"  he  added,  "  I  declare  I  believe  I  would 
try  the  thing  again  ! " 

"  Insured  ?    inquired  Havens. 

"  Yes,"  responded  Dodd.  "  There's  some  fool  in 
'Frisco  who  insures  us,  and  comes  down  like  a  wolf 
on  the  fold  on  the  profits ;  but  we'll  get  even  with 
him  some  day." 

"  Well,  I  suppose  it's  all  right  about  the  cargo," 
said  Havens. 

"  Oh,  I  suppose  so  ! "  replied  Dodd.  "  Shall  we  go 
into  the  papers  ? " 

"We'll  have  all  to-morrow,  you  know,"  said 
Havens ;  "  and  they'll  be  rather  expecting  you  at  the 
club.  (J'est  Vheure  de  I 'absinthe.  Of  course,  Loudon, 
you'll  dine  with  me  later  on  ? " 

Mr.  Dodd  signified  his  acquiescence ;  drew  on  his 
white  coat,  not  without  a  trifling  difficulty,  for  he  was 


IN   THE   MARQUESAS.  7 

a  man  of  middle  age,  and  well-to-do ;  arranged  his 
beard  and  moustaches  at  one  of  the  Venetian  mirrors ; 
and,  taking  a  broad  felt  hat,  led  the  way  through  the 
trade-room  into  the  ship's  waist. 

The  stern  boat  was  waiting  alongside — a  boat  of 
an  elegant  model,  with  cushions  and  polished  hard- 
wood fittings. 

"You  steer,"  observed  Loudon.  "You  know  the 
best  place  to  land." 

"  I  never  like  to  steer  another  man's  boat,"  replied 
Havens. 

"Call  it  my  partner's,  and  cry  quits,"  returned 
Loudon,  getting  nonchalantly  down  the  side. 

Havens  followed  and  took  the  yoke  lines  without 
further  protest. 

"  I  am  sure  I  don't  know  how  you  make  this  pay," 
he  said.  "  To  begin  with,  she  is  too  big  for  the  trade, 
to  my  taste ;  and  then  you  carry  so  much  style." 

"  I  don't  know  that  she  does  pay,"  returned 
Loudon.  "  I  never  pretend  to  be  a  business  man. 
My  partner  appears  happy  ;  and  the  money  is  all  his, 
as  1  told  you — I  only  bring  the  want  of  business 
habits." 

"  You  rather  like  the  berth,  I  suppose  ? "  suggested 
Havens. 

"  Yes,"  said  Loudon ;  "  it  seems  odd,  but  I  rather 
do." 

While  they  were  yet  on  board,  the  sun  had 
dipped;  the  sunset  gun  (a  rifle)  cracked  from  the 
war-schooner,  and  the  colours  had  been  handed  down. 
Dusk  was  deepening  as  they  came  ashore ;  and  the 
Cercle  International  (as  the  club  is  officially  and 
significantly  named)  began  to  shine,  from  under  its 
low  verandahs,  with  the  light  of  many  lamps.  The 
good  hours  of  the  twenty-four  drew  on ;  the  hate- 
ful, poisonous  day-fly  of  Nukahiva  was  beginning 
to  desist  from  its  activity ;  the  land-breeze  came 
in  refreshing  draughts ;  and  the  club  men  gathered 


8  THE   WRECKER. 

together  for  the  hour  of  absinthe.  To  the  commandant 
himself,  to  the  man  whom  he  was  then  contending 
with  at  billiards — a  trader  from  the  next  island, 
honorary  member  of  the  club,  and  once  carpenter's 
mate  on  board  a  Yankee  war-ship — to  the  doctor  of 
the  port,  to  the  Brigadier  of  Gendarmerie,  to  the 
opium  farmer,  and  to  all  the  white  men  whom  the 
tide  of  commerce,  or  the  chances  of  shipwreck  and 
desertion,  had  stranded  on  the  beach  of  Tai-o-hae, 
Mr.  Loudon  Dodd  was  formally  presented ;  by  all 
(since  he  was  a  man  of  pleasing  exterior,  smooth 
ways,  and  an  unexceptionable  flow  of  talk,  whether  in 
French  or  English)  he  was  excellently  well  received  ; 
and  presently,  with  one  of  the  last  eight  bottles  of 
beer  on  a  table  at  his  elbow,  found  himself  the  rather 
silent  centre-piece  of  a  voluble  group  on  the  verandah. 
Talk  in  the  South  Seas  is  all  upon  one  pattern ; 
it  is  a  wide  ocean,  indeed,  but  a  narrow  world :  you 
shall  never  talk  long  and  not  hear  the  name  of  Bully 
Hayes,  a  naval  hero  whose  exploits  and  deserved  ex- 
tinction left  Europe  cold  ;  commerce  will  be  touched 
on,  copra,  shell,  perhaps  cotton  or  fungus ;  but  in  a 
far-away,  dilettante  fashion,  as  by  men  not  deeply 
interested ;  through  all,  the  names  of  schooners  and 
their  captains  will  keep  coming  and  going,  thick  as 
may-flies ;  and  news  of  the  last  shipwreck  will  be 
placidly  exchanged  and  debated.  To  a  stranger,  this 
conversation  will  at  first  seem  scarcely  brilliant ;  but 
he  will  soon  catch  the  tone ;  and  by  the  time  he  shall 
have  moved  a  year  or  so  in  the  island  world,  and 
come  across  a  good  number  of  the  schooners,  so  that 
every  captain's  name  calls  up  a  figure  in  pyjamas  or 
white  duck,  and  becomes  used  to  a  certain  laxity  of 
moral  tone  which  prevails  (as  in  memory  of  Mr. 
Hayes)  on  smuggling,  ship-scuttling,  barratry,  piracy, 
the  labour  trade,  and  other  kindred  fields  of  human 
activity,  he  will  find  Polynesia  no  less  amusing  and 
no  less  instructive  than  Pall  Mall  or  Paris. 


IN   THE   MARQUESAS.  9 

Mr.  Loudon  Dodd,  though  he  was  new  to  the  group 
of  the  Marquesas,  was  already  an  old,  salted  trader ; 
he  knew  the  ships  and  the  captains ;  he  had  assisted, 
in  other  islands,  at  the  first  steps  of  some  career  of 
which  he  now  heard  the  culmination,  or  (vice  versa) 
he  had  brought  with  him  from  further  south  the  end 
of  some  story  which  had  begun  in  Tai-o-hae.  Among 
other  matter  of  interest,  like  other  arrivals  in  the 
South  Seas,  he  had  a  wreck  to  announce.  The  John 
T.  Richards,  it  appeared,  had  met  the  fate  of  other 
island  schooners. 

"  Dickinson  piled  her  up  on  Palmerston  Island," 
Dodd  announced. 

"  Who  were  the  owners  ?  "  inquired  one  of  the  club 
men. 

"  Oh,  the  usual  parties  ! "  returned  Loudon,  "  Capsi- 
cum and  Co." 

A  smile  and  a  glance  of  intelligence  went  round 
the  group ;  and  perhaps  Loudon  gave  voice  to  the 
general  sentiment  by  remarking — 

"  Talk  of  good  business  !  I  know  nothing  better 
than  a  schooner,  a  competent  captain,  and  a  sound 
reliable  reef." 

"  Good  business  !  There's  no  such  a  thing  !  "  said 
the  Glasgow  man.  "  Nobody  makes  anything  but  the 
missionaries — dash  it !  " 

"I  don't  know,"  said  another;  "there's  a  good 
deal  in  opium." 

"It's  a  good  job  to  strike  a  tabooed  pearl-island — 
say,  about  the  fourth  year,"  remarked  a  third,  "  skim 
the  whole  lagoon  on  the  sly,  and  up  stick  and  away 
before  the  French  get  wind  of  you." 

"  A  pig  nokket  of  cold  is  good,"  observed  a  German. 

"  There's  something  in  wrecks,  too,"  said  Havens. 
"Look  at  that  man  in  Honolulu,  and  the  ship  that 
went  ashore  on  Waikiki  Reef ;  it  was  blowing  a  kona, 
hard ;  and  she  began  to  break  up  as  soon  as  she 
touched.     Lloyd's  agent  had  her  sold  inside  an  hour  ; 


10  THE   WRECKER. 

and  before  dark,  when  she  went  to  pieces  in  earnest, 
the  man  that  bought  her  had  feathered  his  nest. 
Three  more  hours  of  daylight,  and  he  might  have 
retired  from  business.  As  it  was,  he  built  a  house  on 
Beretania  Street,  and  called  it  after  the  ship." 

"  Yes,  there's  something  in  wrecks  sometimes/'' 
said  the  Glasgow  voice  ;  "  but  not  often." 

"  As  a  general  rule,  there's  deuced  little  in  any- 
thing," said  Havens. 

"  Well,  I  believe  that's  a  Christian  fact,"  cried  the 
other.  "  What  I  want  is  a  secret,  get  hold  of  a  rich 
man  by  the  right  place,  and  make  him  squeal." 

"  I  suppose  you  know  it's  not  thought  to  be  the 
ticket,"  returned  Havens. 

"  I  don't  care  for  that ;  it's  good  enough  for  me," 
cried  the  man  from  Glasgow,  stoutly.  "The  only 
devil  of  it  is,  a  fellow  can  never  find  a  secret  in  a  place 
like  the  South  Seas  :  only  in  London  and  Paris." 

"McGibbon's  been  reading  some  dime-novel,  I 
suppose,"  said  one  club  man. 

"He's  been  reading  'Aurora  Floyd,'"  remarked 
another. 

"  And  what  if  I  have  ? "  cried  McGibbon.  "  It's  all 
true.  Look  at  the  newspapers !  It's  just  your  con- 
founded ignorance  that  sets  you  snickering.  I  tell 
you,  it's  as  much  a  trade  as  underwriting,  and  a 
dashed  sight  more  honest." 

The  sudden  acrimony  of  these  remarks  called 
Loudon  (who  was  a  man  of  peace)  from  his  reserve. 
"  It's  rather  singular,"  said  he,  "  but  I  seem  to  have 
practised  about,  all  these  means  of  livelihood." 

"  Tit  you  effer  find  a  nokket  ? "  inquired  the 
inarticulate  German,  eagerly. 

"  No.  I  have  been  most  kinds  of  fool  in  my 
time,"  returned  Loudon,  "but  not  the  gold-digging 
variety.     Every  man  has  a  sane  spot  somewhere." 

"  Well,  then,"  suggested  someone,  "  did  you  ever 
smuggle  opium  ? " 


IN   THE   MARQUESAS.  11 

"  Yes,  I  did,"  said  Loudon. 

"  Was  there  money  in  that  ? " 

"  All  the  way,"  responded  Loudon. 

"And  perhaps  you  bought  a  wreck?"  asked 
another. 

"  Yes,  sir,"  said  Loudon. 

"  How  did  that  pan  out  ? "  pursued  the  questioner. 

"  Well,  mine  was  a  peculiar  kind  of  wreck," 
replied  Loudon.  "  I  don't  know,  on  the  whole,  that 
I  can  recommend  that  branch  of  industry." 

"  Did  she  break  up  ? "  asked  someone. 

"I  guess  it  was  rather  I  that  broke  down,"  says 
Loudon.     "  Head  not  big  enough." 

"  Ever  try  the  blackmail  ? "  inquired  Havens. 

"  Simple  as  you  see  me  sitting  here ! "  responded 
Dodd. 

"  Good  business  ? " 

"Well,  I'm  not  a  lucky  man,  you  see,"  returned 
the  stranger.     "  It  ought  to  have  been  good." 

"  You  had  a  secret  ? "  asked  the  Glasgow  man. 

"  As  big  as  the  State  of  Texas." 

"  And  the  other  man  was  rich  ? " 

"He  wasn't  exactly  Jay  Gould,  but  I  guess  he 
could  buy  these  islands  if  he  wanted." 

"  Why,  what  was  wrong,  then  ?  Couldn't  you  get 
hands  on  him  ? " 

"It  took  time,  but  I  had  him  cornered  at  last; 
and  then — " 

"  What  then  ? " 

"The  speculation  turned  bottom  up.  I  became 
the  man's  bosom  friend." 

"  The  deuce  you  did ! " 

"  He  couldn't  have  been  particular,  you  mean  ? " 
asked  Dodd,  pleasantly.  "Well,  no;  he's  a  man  of 
rather  large  sympathies." 

"If  you're  done  talking  nonsense,  Loudon,"  said 
Havens,  "  let's  be  getting  to  my  place  for  dinner." 

Outside,  the  night  was  full  of  the  roaring  of  the 


12  THE  WRECKER. 

surf.  Scattered  lights  glowed  in  the  green  thicket. 
Native  women  came  by  twos  and  threes  out  of  the 
darkness,  smiled  and  ogled  the  two  Avhites,  perhaps 
wooed  them  with  a  strain  of  laughter,  and  went  by 
again,  bequeathing  to  the  air  a  heady  perfume  of 
palm-oil  and  fran<npani  blossom.  From  the  club  to 
Mr.  Havens's  residence  was  but  a  step  or  two,  and 
to  any  dweller  in  Europe  they  must  have  seemed 
steps  in  fairyland.  If  such  an  one  could  but  have 
followed  our  two  friends  into  the  wide-verandahed 
house,  sat  down  with  them  in  the  cool  trellised  room, 
where  the  wine  shone  on  the  lamp-lighted  tablecloth ; 
tasted  of  their  exotic  food — the  raw  fish,  the  bread- 
fruit, the  cooked  bananas,  the  roast  pig  served  with 
the  inimitable  miti,  and  that  king  of  delicacies  palm- 
tree  salad;  seen  and  heard  by  fits  and  starts,  now 
peering  round  the  corner  of  the  door,  now  railing 
within  against  invisible  assistants,  a  certain  comely 
young  native  lady  in  a  sacque,  who  seemed  too 
modest  to  be  a  member  of  the  family,  and  too  im- 
perious to  be  less ;  and  then  if  such  an  one  were 
whisked  again  through  space  to  Upper  Tooting,  or 
wherever  else  he  honoured  the  domestic  gods,  "I 
have  had  a  dream,"  I  think  he  would  say,  as  he  sat 
up,  rubbing  his  eyes,  in  the  familiar  chimney- corner 
chair,  "  I  have  had  a  dream  of  a  place,  and  I  declare 
I  believe  it  must  be  heaven."  But  to  Dodd  and  his 
entertainer,  all  this  amenity  of  the  tropic  night,  and 
all  these  dainties  of  the  island  table,  were  grown 
things  of  custom;  and  they  fell  to  meat  like  men 
who  were  hungry,  and  drifted  into  idle  talk  like  men 
who  were  a  trifle  bored. 

The  scene  in  the  club  was  referred  to. 

"I  never  heard  you  talk  so  much  nonsense, 
Loudon,"  said  the  host. 

"  Well,  it  seemed  to  me  there  was  sulphur  in  the 
air,  so  I  talked  for  talking,"  returned  the  other. 
"  But  it  was  none  of  it  nonsense." 


Yes,  it's  a  queer  yarn,'    said  his  friend"   {p.  13). 


IN   THE   MARQUESAS.  13 

"  Do  you  mean  to  say  it  was  true  ? "  cried  Havens 
— "that  about  the  opium  and  the  wreck,  and  the 
blackmailing,  and  the  man  who  became  your  friend  ? " 

"  Every  last  word  of  it,"  said  Loudon. 

"  You  seem  to  have  been  seeing  life,"  returned  the 
other. 

"  Yes,  it's  a  queer  yarn,"  said  his  friend ;  "  if  you 
think  you  would  like,  I'll  tell  it  you." 

Here  follows  the  yarn  of  Loudon  Dodd,  not  as  he 
told  it  to  his  friend,  but  as  he  subsequently  wrote  it. 


THE     YARN. 

CHAPTER    I. 

A   SOUND   COMMERCIAL  EDUCATION. 

The  beginning  of  this  yarn  is  my  poor  father's  char- 
acter. There  never  was  a  better  man,  nor  a  hand- 
somer, nor  (in  my  view)  a  more  unhappy — unhappy  in 
his  business,  in  his  pleasures,  in  his  place  of  residence, 
and  (I  am  sorry  to  say  it)  in  his  son.  He  had  begun 
life  as  a  land-surveyor,  soon  became  interested  in  real 
estate,  branched  off  into  many  other  speculations,  and 
had  the  name  of  one  of  the  smartest  men  in  the  State 
of  Muskegon.  "  Dodd  has  a  big  head,"  people  used  to 
say ;  but  I  was  never  so  sure  of  his  capacity.  His 
luck,  at  least,  was  beyond  doubt  for  long ;  his 
assiduity,  always.  He  fought  in  that  daily  battle  of 
money-grubbing,  with  a  kind  of  sad-eyed  loyalty  like 
a  martyr's  ;  rose  early,  ate  fast,  came  home  dispirited 
and  over- weary,  even  from  success ;  grudged  himself 
all  pleasure,  if  his  nature  was  capable  of  taking  any, 
which  I  sometimes  wondered;  and  laid  out,  upon 
some  deal  in  wheat  or  corner  in  aluminium,  the  es- 
sence of  which  was  little  better  than  highway  robbery, 
treasures  of  conscientiousness  and  self-denial. 

Unluckily,  I  never  cared  a  cent  for  anything  but 
art,  and  never  shall.  My  idea  of  man's  chief  end  was 
to  enrich  the  world  with  things  of  beauty,  and  have  a 
fairly  good  time  myself  while  doing  so.  1  do  not 
think  I  mentioned  that  second  part,  which  is  the  only 
one  I  have  managed  to  carry  out ;  but  my  father  must 


A   SOUND   COMMERCIAL   EDUCATION.  15 

have  suspected  the  suppression,  for  he  branded  the 
whole  affair  as  self-indulgence. 

"  Well,"  I  remember  crying  once,  "  and  what  is 
your  life  ?  You  are  only  trying  to  get  money,  and  to 
get  it  from  other  people  at  that." 

He  sighed  bitterly  (which  was  very  much  his 
habit),  and  shook  his  poor  head  at  me. 

"  Ah,  Loudon,  Loudon  !  "  said  he,  "  you  boys  think 
yourselves  very  smart.  But,  struggle  as  you  please,  a 
man  has  to  work  in  this  world.  He  must  be  an  honest 
man  or  a  thief,  Loudon." 

You  can  see  for  yourself  how  vain  it  was  to  argue 
with  my  father.  The  despair  that  seized  upon  me 
after  such  an  interview  was,  besides,  embittered  by 
remorse  ;  for  I  was  at  times  petulant,  but  he  invariably 
gentle ;  and  I  was  fighting,  after  all,  for  my  own 
liberty  and  pleasure,  he  singly  for  what  he  thought  to 
be  my  good.  And  all  the  time  he  never  despaired. 
"  There  is  good  stuff  in  you,  Loudon,"  he  would  say ; 
"  there  is  the  right  stuff  in  you.  Blood  will  tell,  and 
you  will  come  right  in  time.  I  am  not  afraid  my  boy 
will  ever  disgrace  me ;  I  am  only  vexed  he  should 
sometimes  talk  nonsense."  And  then  he  would  pat 
my  shoulder  or  my  hand  with  a  kind  of  motherly 
way  he  had,  very  affecting  in  a  man  so  strong  and 
beautiful. 

As  soon  as  I  had  graduated  from  the  high  school, 
he  packed  me  off  to  the  Muskegon  Commercial 
Academy.  You  are  a  foreigner,  and  you  will  have 
a  difficulty  in  accepting  the  reality  of  this  seat  of 
education.  I  assure  you  before  I  begin  that  I  am 
wholly  serious.  The  place  really  existed,  possibly 
exists  to-day :  we  were  proud  of  it  in  the  State,  as 
something  exceptionally  nineteenth  century  and 
civilised ;  and  my  father,  when  he  saw  me  to  the 
cars,  no  doubt  considered  he  was  putting  me  in  a 
straight  line  for  the  Presidency  and  the  New  Jeru- 
salem. 


16  THE   WRECKER. 

"  Loudon,"  said  he,  "  I  am  now  giving  you  a  chance 
that  Julius  Caesar  could  not  have  given  to  his  son — 
a  chance  to  see  life  as  it  is,  before  your  own  turn 
comes  to  start  in  earnest.  Avoid  rash  speculation, 
try  to  behave  like  a  gentleman  ;  and  if  jou  will  take 
my  advice,  confine  yourself  to  a  safe,  conservative 
business  in  railroads.  Breadstuffs  are  tempting,  but 
very  dangerous ;  I  would  not  try  breadstuffs  at  your 
time  of  life ;  but  you  may  feel  your  way  a  little  in 
other  commodities.  Take  a  pride  to  keep  your  books 
posted,  and  never  throw  good  money  after  bad. 
There,  my  dear  boy,  kiss  me  good-bye;  and  never 
forget  that  you  are  an  only  chick,  and  that  your  dad 
watches  your  career  with  fond  suspense." 

The  commercial  college  was  a  fine,  roomy  estab- 
lishment, pleasantly  situate  among  woods.  The  air 
was  healthy,  the  food  excellent,  the  premium  high. 
Electric  wires  connected  it  (to  use  the  words  of  the 
prospectus)  with  "the  various  world  centres."  The 
reading-room  was  well  supplied  with  "commercial 
organs."  The  talk  was  that  of  Wall  Street ;  and  the 
pupils  (from  fifty  to  a  hundred  lads)  were  principally 
engaged  in  rooking  or  trying  to  rook  one  another  for 
nominal  sums  in  what  was  called  "college  paper." 
We  had  class  hours,  indeed,  in  the  morning,  when  we 
studied  German,  French,  book-keeping,  and  the  like 
goodly  matters  ;  but  the  bulk  of  our  day  and  the  gist 
of  the  education  centred  in  the  exchange,  where  we 
were  taught  to  gamble  in  produce  and  securities. 
Since  not  one  of  the  participants  possessed  a  bushel  of 
wheat  or  a  dollar's  worth  of  stock,  legitimate  business 
was  of  course  impossible  from  the  beginning.  It  was 
cold-drawn  gambling,  without  colour  or  disguise. 
Just  that  which  is  the  impediment  and  destruction 
of  all  genuine  commercial  enterprise,  just  that  we 
were  taught  with  every  luxury  of  stage  effect.  Our 
simulacrum  of  a  market  was  ruled  by  the  real  markets 
outside,  so  that  we  might  experience  the  course  and 


A   SOUND   COMMERCIAL   EDUCATION.  17 

vicissitude  of  prices.  We  must  keep  books,  and  our 
ledgers  were  overhauled  at  the  month's  end  by  the 
principal  or  his  assistants.  To  add  a  spice  of  veri- 
similitude, "  college  paper  "  (like  poker  chips)  had  an 
actual  marketable  value.  It  was  bought  for  each 
pupil  by  anxious  parents  and  guardians  at  the  rate  of 
one  cent  for  the  dollar.  The  same  pupil,  when  his 
education  was  complete,  resold,  at  the  same  figure,  so 
much  as  was  left  him  to  the  college  ;  and  even  in  the 
midst  of  his  curriculum,  a  successful  operator  would 
sometimes  realise  a  proportion  of  his  holding,  and 
stand  a  supper  on  the  sly  in  the  neighbouring  hamlet. 
In  short,  if  there  was  ever  a  worse  education,  it  must  have 
been  in  that  academy  where  Oliver  met  Charlie  Bates. 
When  I  was  first  guided  into  the  exchange  to 
have  my  desk  pointed  out  by  one  of  the  assistant 
teachers,  I  was  overwhelmed  by  the  clamour  and 
confusion.  Certain  blackboards  at  the  other  end  of 
the  building  were  covered  with  figures  continually 
replaced.  As  each  new  set  appeared,  the  pupils 
swayed  to  and  fro,  and  roared  out  aloud  with  a 
formidable  and  to  me  quite  meaningless  vocifera- 
tion; leaping  at  the  same  time  upon  the  desks  and 
benches,  signalling  with  arms  and  heads,  and  scrib- 
bling briskly  in  note  books.  I  thought  I  had  never 
beheld  a  scene  more  disagreeable  ;  and  when  I  con- 
sidered that  the  whole  traffic  was  illusory,  and  all  the 
money  then  upon  the  market  would  scarce  have 
sufficed  to  buy  a  pair  of  skates,  I  was  at  first  as- 
tonished, although  not  for  long.  Indeed,  I  had  no 
sooner  called  to  mind  how  grown-up  men  and  women 
of  considerable  estate  will  lose  their  temper  about 
halfpenny  points,  than  (making  an  immediate  allow- 
ance for  my  fellow-students)  I  transferred  the  whole 
of  my  astonishment  to  the  assistant  teacher,  who — 
poor  gentleman — had  quite  forgot  to  show  me  to  my 
desk,  and  stood  in  the  midst  of  this  hurly-burly, 
absorbed  and  seemingly  transported. 


18  THE   WRECKER. 

"Look,  look,"  he  shouted  in  my  ear;  "a  falling 
market !  The  bears  have  had  it  all  their  own  way 
since  yesterday." 

"  It  can't  matter,"  I  .replied,  making  him  hear  with 
difficulty,  for  I  was  unused  to  speak  in  such  a  babel, 
"  since  it  is  all  fun." 

"  True,"  said  he ;  "  and  you  must  always  bear  in 
mind  that  the  real  profit  is  in  the  book-keeping.  I 
trust,  Dodd,  to  be  able  to  congratulate  you  upon  your 
books.  You  are  to  start  in  with  ten  thousand  dollars 
of  college  paper,  a  very  liberal  figure,  which  should 
see  you  through  the  whole  curriculum,  if  you  keep 
to  a  safe,  conservative  business.  .  .  .  Why,  what's 
that?"  he  broke  off,  once  more  attracted  by  the 
changing  figures  on  the  board.  "  Seven,  four,  three ! 
Dodd,  you  are  in  luck  :  this  is  the  most  spirited  rally 
we  have  had  this  term.  And  to  think  that  the  same 
scene  is  now  transpiring  in  New  York,  Chicago,  St. 
Louis,  and  rival  business  centres !  For  two  cents, 
I  would  try  a  flutter  with  the  boys  myself,"  he  cried, 
rubbing  his  hands ;  "only  it's  against  the  regulations." 

a  What  would  you  do,  sir  ?    I  asked. 

"  Do  ?  "  he  cried  with  glittering  eyes.  "  Buy  for 
all  I  was  worth  ! " 

"  Would  that  be  a  safo,  conservative  business  ? " 
I  inquired,  as  innocent  as  a  lamb. 

He  looked  daggers  at  me.  "  See  that  sandy-haired 
man  in  glasses  ? "  he  asked,  as  if  to  change  the 
subject.  "  That's  Billson,  our  most  prominent  under- 
graduate. We  build  confidently  on  Billson's  future. 
You  could  not  do  better,  Dodd,  than  follow  Billson." 

Presently  after,  in  the  midst  of  a  still  growing 
tumult,  the  figures  coming  and  going  more  busily 
than  ever  on  the  board,  and  the  hall  resounding  like 
Pandemonium  with  the  howls  of  operators,  the 
assistant  teacher  left  me  to  my  own  resources  at  my 
desk.  The  next  boy  was  posting  up  his  ledger, 
figuring  his   morning's    loss,  as  I   discovered   later 


A   SOUND   COMMERCIAL   EDUCATION.  19 

on  ;  and  from  this  ungenial  task  he  was  readily 
diverted  by  the  sight  of  a  new  face. 

"  Say,  Freshman,"  he  said,  "  what's  your  name  ? 
What?  Son  of  Big  Head  Dodd  ?  What's  your 
figure  ?  Ten  thousand  ?  0,  you're  away  up  !  What 
a  soft-headed  clam  you  must  be  to  touch  your 
books!" 

I  asked  him  what  else  I  could  do,  since  the  books 
were  to  be  examined  once  a  month. 

"  Why,  you  galoot,  you  get  a  clerk ! "  cries  he. 
"One  of  our  dead  beats — that's  all  they're  here  for. 
If  you're  a  successful  operator,  you  need  never  do  a 
stroke  of  work  in  this  old  college." 

The  noise  had  now  become  deafening ;  and  my 
new  friend,  telling  me  that  some  one  had  certainly 
"gone  down,"  that  he  must  know  the  news,  and 
that  he  would  bring  me  a  clerk  when  he  returned, 
buttoned  his  coat  and  plunged  into  the  tossing 
throng.  It  proved  that  he  was  right :  some  one  had 
gone  down ;  a  prince  had  fallen  in  Israel ;  the  corner 
in  lard  had  proved  fatal  to  the  mighty ;  and  the  clerk 
who  was  brought  back  to  keep  my  books,  spare  me 
all  work,  and  get  all  my  share  of  the  education,  at 
a  thousand  dollars  a  month,  college  paper  (ten 
dollars,  United  States  currency)  was  no  other  than 
the  prominent  Billson  whom  I  could  do  no  better 
than  follow.  The  poor  lad  was  very  unhappy.  It's 
the  only  good  thing  I  have  to  say  for  Muskegon 
Commercial  College,  that  we  were  all,  even  the  small 
fry,  deeply  mortified  to  be  posted  as  defaulters ;  and 
the  collapse  of  a  merchant  prince  like  Billson,  who 
had  ridden  pretty  high  in  his  days  of  prosperity,  was, 
of  course,  particularly  hard  to  bear.  But  the  spirit 
of  make-believe  conquered  even  the  bitterness  of 
recent  shame ;  and  my  clerk  took  his  orders,  and  fell 
to  his  new  duties,  with  decorum  and  civility. 

Such  were  my  first  impressions  in  this  absurd 
place  of  education  ;  and,  to  be  frank,  they  were  far 
c  2 


20  THE    WRECKER. 

froin  disagreeable.  As  long  as  I  was  rich,  my 
evenings  and  afternoons  would  be  my  own;  the 
clerk  must  keep  my  books,  the  clerk  could  do  the 
jostling  and  bawling  in  the  exchange  ;  and  I  could 
turn  my  mind  to  landscape-painting  and  Balzac's 
novels,  which  were  then  my  two  preoccupations.  To 
remain  rich,  then,  became  my  problem ;  or,  in  other 
words,  to  do  a  safe,  conservative  line  of  business.  I 
am  looking  for  that  line  still ;  and  I  believe  the 
nearest  thing  to  it  in  this  imperfect  world  is  the 
sort  of  speculation  sometimes  insidiously  proposed  to 
childhood,  in  the  formula,  "  Heads  I  win ;  tails  you 
lose."  Mindful  of  my  father's  parting  words,  I  turned 
my  attention  timidly  to  railroads;  and  for  a  month 
or  so  maintained  a  position  of  inglorious  security, 
dealing  for  small  amounts  in  the  most  inert  stocks, 
and  bearing  (as  best  I  could)  the  scorn  of  my  hired 
clerk.  One  day  I  had  ventured  a  little  further  by 
way  of  experiment ;  and,  in  the  sure  expectation  they 
would  continue  to  go  down,  sold  several  thousand 
dollars  of  Pan-Handle  Preference  (I  think  it  was). 
I  had  no  sooner  made  this  venture  than  some  fools 
in  New  York  began  to  bull  the  market ;  Pan-Handles 
rose  like  a  balloon ;  and  in  the  inside  of  half  an  hour 
I  saw  my  position  compromised.  Blood  will  tell,  as 
my  father  said  ;  and  I  stuck  to  it  gallantly :  all 
afternoon  I  continued  selling  that  infernal  stock, 
all  afternoon  it  continued  skying.  I  suppose  I  had 
come  (a  frail  cockle-shell)  athwart  the  hawse  of  Jay 
Gould;  and,  indeed,  I  think  I  remember  that  this 
vagary  in  the  market  proved  subsequently  to  be  the 
first  move  in  a  considerable  deal.  That  evening,  at 
least,  the  name  of  H.  Loudon  Dodd  held  the  first 
rank  in  our  collegiate  gazette,  and  I  and  Billson  (once 
more  thrown  upon  the  world)  were  competing  for  the 
same  clerkship.  The  present  object  takes  the  present 
eye.  My  disaster,  for  the  moment,  was  the  more 
conspicuous;   and  it   was   I    that  got  the  situation. 


A   SOUND   COMMERCIAL   EDUCATION.  21 

So,  you  see,  even  in  Muskegon  Commercial  College, 
there  were  lessons  to  be  learned. 

For  my  own  part,  I  cared  very  little  whether  I 
lost  or  won  at  a  game  so  random,  so  complex,  and  so 
dull ;  but  it  was  sorry  news  to  write  to  my  poor 
father,  and  I  employed  all  the  resources  of  my  elo- 
quence. I  told  him  (what  was  the  truth)  that  the 
successful  boys  had  none  of  the  education  ;  so  that  if 
he  wished  me  to  learn,  he  should  rejoice  at  my  mis- 
fortune. I  went  on  (not  very  consistently)  to  beg  him 
to  set  me  up  again,  when  I  would  solemnly  promise 
to  do  a  safe  business  in  reliable  railroads.  Lastly 
(becoming  somewhat  carried  away),  I  assured  him  I 
was  totally  unfit  for  business,  and  implored  him  to 
take  me  away  from  this  abominable  place,  and  let  me 
go  to  Paris  to  study  art.  He  answered  briefly,  gently, 
and  sadly,  telling  me  the  vacation  was  near  at  hand, 
when  we  would  talk  things  over. 

When  the  time  came,  he  met  me  at  the  depot,  and 
I  was  shocked  to  see  him  looking  older.  He  seemed 
to  have  no  thought  but  to  console  me  and  restore 
(what  he  supposed  I  had  lost)  my  courage.  I  must 
not  be  down-hearted;  many  of  the  best  men  had 
made  a  failure  in  the  beginning.  I  told  him  I  had 
no  head  for  business,  and  his  kind  face  darkened. 
"  You  must  not  say  that,  Loudon,"  he  replied  ;  "  I 
will  never  believe  my  son  to  be  a  coward." 

"  But  I  don't  like  it,"  I  pleaded.  "  It  hasn't  got 
any  interest  for  me,  and  art  has.  I  know  I  could 
do  more  in  art,"  and  I  reminded  him  that  a  suc- 
cessful painter  gains  large  sums ;  that  a  picture 
of  Meissonier's  would  sell  for  many  thousand 
dollars. 

"  And  do  you  think,  Loudon,"  he  replied,  "  that  a 
man  who  can  paint  a  thousand-dollar  picture  has  not 
grit  enough  to  keep  his  end  up  in  the  stock  market  ? 
No,  sir ;  this  Mason  (of  whom  you  speak)  or  our  own 
American  Bierstadt — if  you  were  to  put  them  down 


22  THE   WRECKER. 

in  a  wheat-pit  to-morrow,  they  would  show  their 
mettle.  Gome,  Loudon,  my  dear;  heaven  knows  I 
have  no  thought  but  your  own  good,  and  I  will  offer 
you  a  bargain.  I  start  you  again  next  term  with  ten 
thousand  dollars ;  show  yourself  a  man,  and  double 
it,  and  then  (if  you  still  wish  to  go  to  Paris,  which  I 
know  you  won't)  I'll  let  you  go.  But  to  let  you  run 
away  as  if  you  were  whipped,  is  what  I  am  too  proud 
to  do." 

My  heart  leaped  at  this  proposal,  and  then  sank 
again.  It  seemed  easier  to  paint  a  Meissonier  on  the 
spot  than  to  win  ten  thousand  dollars  on  that  mimic 
stock  exchange.  Nor  could  I  help  reflecting  on 
the  singularity  of  such  a  test  for  a  man's  capacity 
to  be  a  painter.  I  ventured  even  to  comment  on 
this. 

He  sighed  deeply.  "  You  forget,  my  dear,"  said 
he,  "  I  am  a  judge  of  the  one,  and  not  of  the  other. 
You  might  have  the  genius  of  Bierstadt  himself,  and 
I  would  be  none  the  wiser." 

"  And  then,"  I  continued,  "  it's  scarcely  fair.  The 
other  boys  are  helped  by  their  people,  who  telegraph 
and  give  them  pointers.  There's  Jim  Costello,  who 
never  budges  without  a  word  from  his  father  in  New 
York.  And  then,  don't  you  see,  if  anybody  is  to  win, 
somebody  must  lose  ? " 

"  I'll  keep  you  posted,"  cried  my  father,  with  un- 
usual animation ;  "  I  did  not  know  it  was  allowed. 
I'll  wire  }^ou  in  the  office  cipher,  and  we'll  make  it  a 
kind  of  partnership  business,  Loudon — Dodd  and  Son, 
eh  ? "  and  he  patted  my  shoulder  and  repeated, "  Dodd 
and  Son,  Dodd  and  Son,"  with  the  kindliest  amuse- 
ment. 

If  my  father  was  to  give  me  pointers,  and  the 
commercial  college  was  to  be  a  stepping-stone  to 
Paris,  I  could  look  my  future  in  the  face.  The  old 
boy,  too,  was  so  pleased  at  the  idea  of  our  association 
in  this  foolery  that  he  immediately  plucked  up  spirit. 


A   SOUND   COMMERCIAL   EDUCATION.  23 

Thus  it  befell  that  those  who  had  met  at  the  depot 
like  a  pair  of  mutes,  sat  down  to  table  with  holiday 
faces. 

And  now  I  have  to  introduce  a  new  character  that 
never  said  a  word  nor  wagged  a  finger,  and  yet  shaped 
my  whole  subsequent  career.  You  have  crossed  the 
States,  so  that  in  all  likelihood  you  have  seen  the 
head  of  it,  parcel-gilt  and  curiously  fluted,  rising 
among  trees  from  a  wide  plain  ;  for  this  new  charac- 
ter was  no  other  than  the  State  capitol  of  Muskegon, 
then  first  projected.  My  father  nad  embraced  the 
idea  with  a  mixture  of  patriotism  and  commercial 
greed,  both  perfectly  genuine.  He  was  of  all  the 
committees,  he  had  subscribed  a  great  deal  of  money, 
and  he  was  making  arrangements  to  have  a  finger  in 
most  of  the  contracts.  Competitive  plans  had  been 
sent  in ;  at  the  time  of  my  return  from  college  my 
father  was  deep  in  their  consideration ;  and  as  the 
idea  entirely  occupied  his  mind,  the  first  evening  did 
not  pass  away  before  he  had  called  me  into  council. 
Here  was  a  subject  at  last  into  which  I  could  throw 
myself  with  pleasurable  zeal.  Architecture  was  new 
to  me,  indeed  ;  but  it  was  at  least  an  art ;  and  for  all 
the  arts  I  had  a  taste  naturally  classical,  and  that 
capacity  to  take  delighted  pains  which  some  famous 
idiot  has  supposed  to  be  synonymous  with  genius.  I 
threw  myself  headlong  into  my  father's  work,  ac- 
quainted myself  with  all  the  plans,  their  merits  and 
defects,  read  besides  in  special  books,  made  myself  a 
master  of  the  theory  of  strains,  studied  the  current 
prices  of  materials,  and  (in  one  word)  "  devilled  "  the 
whole  business  so  thoroughly,  that  when  the  plans 
came  up  for  consideration,  Big  Head  Dodd  was  sup- 
posed to  have  earned  fresh  laurels.  His  arguments 
carried  the  day,  his  choice  was  approved  by  the  com- 
mittee, and  I  had  the  anonymous  satisfaction  to  know 
that  arguments  and  choice  were  wholly  mine.  In  the 
re-casting  of  the  plan  which  followed,  my  part  was 


24  THE   WRECKER. 

even  larger;  for  I  designed  and  cast  with  my  own 
hand  a  hot-air  grating  lor  the  offices,  which  had  the 
luck  or  merit  to  be  accepted.  The  energy  and  apti- 
tude which  I  displayed  throughout  delighted  and  sur- 
prised my  father,  and  I  believe,  although  I  say  it, 
whose  tongue  should  be  tied,  that  they  alone  pre- 
vented Muskegon  capitol  from  being  the  eyesore  of 
my  native  State. 

Altogether,  I  was  in  a  cheery  frame  of  mind  when 
I  returned  to  the  commercial  college ;  and  my  earlier 
operations  were  crowned  with  a  full  measure  of 
success.  My  father  wrote  and  wired  to  me  con- 
tinually. "You  are  to  exercise  your  own  judgment, 
Loudon,"  he  would  say.  "All  that  I  do  is  to  give 
you  the  figures ;  but  whatever  operation  you  take  up 
must  be  upon  your  own  responsibility,  and  whatever 
you  earn  will  be  entirely  due  to  your  own  dash  and 
forethought."  For  all  that,  it  was  always  clear  what 
he  intended  me  to  do,  and  I  was  always  careful  to 
do  it.  Inside  of  a  month  I  was  at  the  head  of 
seventeen  or  eighteen  thousand  dollars,  college  paper. 
And  here  I  fell  a  victim  to  one  of  the  vices  of  the 
system.  The  paper  (I  have  already  explained)  had 
a  real  value  of  one  per  cent. ;  and  cost,  and  could  be 
sold  for,  currency.  Unsuccessful  speculators  were 
thus  always  selling  clothes,  books,  banjos,  and  sleeve- 
links,  in  order  to  pay  their  differences ;  the  successful, 
on  the  other  hand,  were  often  tempted  to  realise,  and 
enjoy  some  return  upon  their  profits.  Now  I  wanted 
thirty  dollars'  worth  of  artist-truck,  for  I  was  always 
sketching  in  the  woods ;  my  allowance  was  for  the 
time  exhausted ;  I  had  begun  to  regard  the  exchange 
(with  my  father's  help)  as  a  place  where  money  was 
to  be  got  for  stooping ;  and  in  an  evil  hour  I  realised 
three  thousand  dollars  of  the  college  paper  and 
bought  my  easel. 

tt  was  a  Wednesday  morning  when  the  things 
arrived,  and  set  me  in  the  seventh  heaven  of  satis- 


A   SOUND   COMMERCIAL   EDUCATION.  25 

faction.  My  father  (for  I  can  scarcely  say  myself) 
was  trying  at  this  time  a  "straddle"  in  wheat 
between  Chicago  and  New  York;  the  operation  so 
called  is,  as  you  know,  one  of  the  most  tempting  and 
least  safe  upon  the  chess-board  of  finance.  On  the 
Thursday,  luck  began  to  turn  against  my  father's 
calculations;  and  by  the  Friday  evening  I  was 
posted  on  the  boards  as  a  defaulter  for  the  second 
time.  Here  was  a  rude  blow :  my  father  would  have 
taken  it  ill  enough  in  any  case ;  for  however  much  a 
man  may  resent  the  incapacity  of  an  only  son,  he 
will  feel  his  own  more  sensibly.  But  it  chanced  that, 
in  our  bitter  cup  of  failure,  there  was  one  ingredient 
that  might  truly  be  called  poisonous.  He  had  been 
keeping  the  run  of  my  position ;  he  missed  the  three 
thousand  dollars,  paper;  and  in  his  view,  I  had 
stolen  thirty  dollars,  currency.  It  was  an  extreme 
view  perhaps;  but  in  some  senses,  it  was  just;  and 
my  father,  although  (to  my  judgment)  cjuite  reckless 
of  honesty  in  the  essence  of  his  operations,  was  the 
soul  of  honour  as  to  their  details.  I  had  one  grieved 
letter  from  him,  dignified  and  tender ;  and  during  the 
rest  of  that  wretched  term,  working  as  a  clerk,  selling 
my  clothes  and  sketches  to  make  futile  speculations, 
my  dream  of  Paris  quite  vanished.  I  was  cheered  by 
no  word  of  kindness  and  helped  by  no  hint  of  counsel 
from  my  father. 

All  the  time  he  was  no  doubt  thinking  of  little 
else  but  his  son,  and  what  to  do  with  him.  I  believe 
he  had  been  really  appalled  by  what  he  regarded  as 
my  laxity  of  principle,  and  began  to  think  it  might 
be  well  to  preserve  me  from  temptation ;  the  architect 
of  the  capitol  had,  besides,  spoken  obligingly  of  my 
design ;  and  while  he  was  thus  hanging  between  two 
minds,  Fortune  suddenly  stepped  in,  and  Muskegon 
State  capitol  reversed  my  destiny. 

"Loudon,"  said  my  father,  as  he  met  me  at  the 
depot,  with  a  smiling  countenance,  "if  you  were  to 


26  THE   WRECKER. 

go  to  Paris,  how  long  would  it  take  you  to  become  an 
experienced  sculptor  ? " 

"How  do  you  mean,  father?"  I  cried, — "experi- 
enced ? " 

"  A  man  that  could  be  entrusted  with  the  highest 
styles,"  he  answered;  "the  nude,  for  instance;  and 
the  patriotic  and  emblematical  styles." 

"  It  might  take  three  years,"  I  replied. 

"  You  think  Paris  necessary  ? "  he  asked.  "  There 
are  great  advantages  in  our  own  country;  and  that 
man  Prodgers  appears  to  be  a  very  clever  sculptor, 
though  I  suppose  he  stands  too  high  to  go  around 
giving  lessons." 

"  Paris  is  the  only  place,"  I  assured  him. 

"Well,  I  think  myself  it  will  sound  better,"  he 
admitted.  "A  Young  Man,  a  Native  of  this  State, 
Son  of  a  Leading  Citizen,  Studies  Prosecuted  under 
the  Most  Experienced  Masters  in  Paris,"  he  added, 
relishingly. 

"  But,  my  dear  dad,  what  is  it  all  about  ? "  I 
interrupted.  "  I  never  even  dreamed  of  being  a 
sculptor." 

"Well,  here  it  is,"  said  he.  "I  took  up  the 
statuary  contract  on  our  new  capitol;  I  took  it  up 
at  first  as  a  deal;  and  then  it  occurred  to  me  it 
would  be  better  to  keep  it  in  the  family.  It  meets 
your  idea;  there's  considerable  money  in  the  thing; 
and  it's  patriotic.  So,  if  you  say  the  word,  you  shall 
go  to  Paris,,  and  come  back  in  three  years  to  decorate 
the  capitol  of  your  native  State.  It's  a  big  chance 
for  you,  Loudon ;  and  I'll  tell  you  what — every  dollar 
you  earn,  I'll  put  another  alongside  of  it.  But  the 
sooner  you  go,  and  the  harder  you  work,  the  better ; 
for  if  the  first  half-dozen  statues  aren't  in  a  line  with 
public  taste  in  Muskegon,  there  will  be  trouble." 


27 
CHAPTER  II. 

ROUSSILLON     WINE. 

My  mother's  family  was  Scotch,  and  it  was  judged 
fitting  I  should  pay  a  visit,  on  my  way  Paris-ward,  to 
ray  uncle  Adam  Loudon,  a  wealthy  retired  grocer  of 
Edinburgh.  He  was  very  stiff  and  very  ironical; 
he  fed  me  well,  lodged  me  sumptuously,  and  seemed 
to  take  it  out  of  me  all  the  time,  cent,  per  cent., 
in  secret  entertainment  which  caused  his  spectacles 
to  glitter  and  his  mouth  to  twitch.  The  ground 
of  this  ill-suppressed  mirth  (as  well  as  I  could  make 
out)  was  simply  the  fact  that  I  was  an  American. 
"  Well,"  he  would  say,  drawing  out  the  word  to  infinity, 
"  and  I  suppose  now  in  your  country  things  will  be  so 
and  so."  And  the  whole  group  of  my  cousins  would 
titter  joyously.  Repeated  receptions  of  this  sort  must 
be  at  the  root,  I  suppose,  of  what  they  call  the  Great 
American  Jest ;  and  I  know  I  was  myself  goaded  into 
saying  that  my  friends  went  naked  in  the  summer 
months,  and  that  the  Second  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  in  Muskegon  was  decorated  with  scalps.  I 
cannot  say  that  these  nights  had  any  great  success; 
they  seemed  to  awaken  little  more  surprise  than  the 
fact  that  my  father  was  a  Republican,  or  that  I  had 
been  taught  in  school  to  spell  colour  without  the  u. 
If  I  had  told  them  (what  was,  after  all,  the  truth) 
that  my  father  had  paid  a  considerable  annual  sum  to 
have  me  brought  up  in  a  gambling  hell,  the  tittering 
and  grinning  of  this  dreadful  family  might  perhaps 
have  been  excused. 

I  cannot  deny  but  I  was  sometimes  tempted  to 
knock  my  Uncle  Adam  down  ;  and  indeed  I  believe  it 
must  have  come  to  a  rupture  at  last,  if  they  had  not 
given  a  dinner  party  at  which  I  was  the  lion.  On 
this  occasion  I  learned  (to  my  surprise  and  relief)  that 
the  incivility  to  which   I  had  been  subjected  was  a 


28  THE   WRECKER. 

matter  for  the  family  circle,  and  might  be  regarded 
almost  in  the  light  of  an  endearment.  To  strangers  I 
was  presented  with  consideration  ;  and  the  account 
given  of  "  my  American  brother-in-law,  poor  Janie's 
man,  James  K.  Dodd,  the  well-known  millionaire  of 
Muskegon,"  was  calculated  to  enlarge  the  heart  of  a 
proud  son. 

An  aged  assistant  of  my  grandfather's,  a  pleasant, 
humble  creature  with  a  taste  for  whiskey,  was  at  first 
deputed  to  be  my  guide  about  the  city.  With  this 
harmless  but  hardly  aristocratic  companion  I  went  to 
Arthur's  Seat  and  the  Calton  Hill,  heard  the  band 
play  in  the  Princes  Street  Gardens,  inspected  the  regalia 
and  the  blood  of  Rizzio,  and  fell  in  love  with  the 
great  castle  on  its  cliff,  the  innumerable  spires  of 
churches,  the  stately  buildings,  the  broad  prospects, 
and  those  narrow  and  crowded  lanes  of  the  old  town 
where  my  ancestors  had  lived  and  died  in  the  days 
before  Columbus. 

But  there  was  another  curiosity  that  interested 
me  more  deeply — my  grandfather,  Alexander  Loudon. 
In  his  time  the  old  gentleman  had  been  a  working 
mason,  and  had  risen  from  the  ranks — more,  I  think,  by 
shrewdness  than  by  merit.  In  his  appearance,  speech, 
and  manners  he  bore  broad  marks  ot  his  origin,  which 
were  gall  and  wormwood  to  my  Uncle  Adam.  His 
nails,  in  spite  of  anxious  supervision,  were  often  in 
conspicuous  mourning ;  his  clothes  hung  about  him  in 
bags  and  wrinkles,  like  a  ploughman's  Sunday  coat ; 
his  accent  was  rude,  broad,  and  dragging.  Take  him 
at  his  best,  and  even  when  he  could  be  induced  to 
hold  his  tongue,  his  mere  presence  in  a  corner  of  the 
drawing-room,  with  his  open-air  wrinkles,  his  scanty 
hair,  his  battered  hands,  and  the  cheerful  craftiness  of 
his  expression,  advertised  the  whole  gang  of  us  for  a 
self-made  family.  My  aunt  might  mince  and  my 
cousins  bridle,  but  there  was  no  getting  over  the  solid, 
physical  fact  of  the  stonemason  in  the  chimney-corner. 


ROUSSILLON   WINE.  29 

That  is  one  advantage  of  being  an  American.  It 
never  occurred  to  me  to  be  ashamed  of  my  grand- 
father, and  the  old  gentleman  was  (pick  to  mark  the 
difference.  He  held  my  mother  in  tender  memory, 
perhaps  because  he  was  in  the  habit  of  daily  contrast- 
ing her  with  Uncle  Adam,  whom  he  detested  to  the 
Eomt  of  frenzy ;  and  he  set  down  to  inheritance  from 
is  favourite  my  own  becoming  treatment  of  himself. 
On  our  walks  abroad,  which  soon  became  daily,  he 
would  sometimes  (after  duly  warning  me  to  keep  the 
matter  dark  from  "Aadam")  skulk  into  some  old 
familiar  pot-house,  and  there  (if  had  the  luck  to 
encounter  any  of  his  veteran  cronies)  he  would  present 
me  to  the  company  with  manifest  pride,  casting  at 
the  same  time  a  covert  slur  on  the  rest  of  his 
descendants.  "  This  is  my  Jeannie's  yin,"  he  would 
say.  "  He's  a  fine  fallow,  him."  The  purpose  of  our 
excursions  was  not  to  seek  antiquities  or  to  enjoy 
famous  prospects,  but  to  visit  one  after  another  a 
series  of  doleful  suburbs,  for  which  it  was  the  old 
gentleman's  chief  claim  to  renown  that  he  had  been 
the  sole  contractor,  and  too  often  the  architect  besides. 
I  have  rarely  seen  a  more  shocking  exhibition:  the 
brick  seemed  to  be  blushing  in  the  walls,  and  the 
slates  on  the  roof  to  have  turned  pale  with  shame; 
but  I  was  careful  not  to  communicate  these  impres- 
sions to  the  aged  artificer  at  my  side ;  and  when  he 
would  direct  my  attention  to  some  fresh  monstrosity 
— perhaps  with  the  comment,  "  There's  an  idee  of 
mine's ;  it's  cheap  and  tasty,  and  had  a  graand  run ; 
the  idee  was  soon  stole,  and  there's  whole  deestricts 
near  Glesgie  with  the  goathic  adeetion  and  that 
plunth,"  I  would  civilly  make  haste  to  admire  and 
(what  I  found  particularly  delighted  him)  to  inquire 
into  the  cost  of  each  adornment.  It  will  be  conceived 
that  Muskegon  capitol  was  a  frequent  and  a  welcome 
ground  of  talk.  I  drew  him  all  the  plans  from 
memory  ;  and  he,  with  the  aid  of  a  narrow  volume  full 


30  THE   WRECKER. 

of  figures  and  tables,  which  answered  (I  believe)  to 
the  name  of  Molesworth,  and  was  his  constant  pocket 
companion,  would  draw  up  rough  estimates  and  make 
imaginary  offers  on  the  various  contracts.  Our  Mus- 
kegon builders  he  pronounced  a  pack  of  cormorants ; 
and  the  congenial  subject,  together  with  my  know- 
ledge of  architectural  terms,  the  theory  of  strains,  and 
the  prices  of  materials  in  the  States,  formed  a  strong 
bond  of  union  between  what  might  have  been  other- 
wise an  ill-assorted  pair,  and  led  my  grandfather  to 
pronounce  me,  with  emphasis,  "  a  real  intalligent  kind 
of  a  cheild."  Thus  a  second  time,  as  you  will  pre- 
sently see,  the  capitol  of  my  native  State  had  influen- 
tially  affected  the  current  of  my  life. 

I  left  Edinburgh,  however,  with  not  the  least  idea 
that  I  had  done  a  stroke  of  excellent  business  for 
myself,  and  singly  delighted  to  escape  out  of  a  some- 
what dreary  house  and  plunge  instead  into  the  rain- 
bow city  of  Paris.  Every  man  has  his  own  romance  ; 
mine  clustered  exclusively  about  the  practice  of  the 
arts,  the  life  of  Latin  Quarter  students,  and  the  world 
of  Paris  as  depicted  by  that  grimy  wizard,  the  author 
of  the  Gomedie  Humaine.  I  was  not  disappointed — 
I  could  not  have  been ;  for  I  did  not  see  the  facts,  I 
brought  them  with  me  ready-made.  Z.  Marcas  lived 
next  door  to  me  in  my  ungainly,  ill-smelling  hotel  of 
the  Rue  Racine  ;  I  dined  at  my  villainous  restaurant 
with  Lousteau  and  with  Rastignac :  if  a  curricle  nearly 
ran  me  down  at  a  street- crossing,  Maxime  de  Trailles 
would  be  the  driver.  I  dined,  I  say,  at  a  poor 
restaurant  and  lived  in  a  poor  hotel ;  and  this  was 
not  from  need,  but  sentiment.  My  father  gave  me  a 
profuse  allowance,  and  I  might  have  lived  (had  I 
chosen)  in  the  Quartier  de  l'fitoile  and  driven  to  my 
studies  daily.  Had  I  done  so,  the  glamour  must 
have  fled:  I  should  still  have  been  but  Loudon  Dodd ; 
whereas  now  I  was  a  Latin  Quarter  student,  Murger's 
successor,  living  in  flesh  and  blood  the  life  of  one  of 


ROUSSILLON   WINE.  31 

those  romances  I  had  loved  to  read,  to  re-read,  and  to 
dream  over,  among  the  woods  of  Muskegon. 

At  this  time  we  were  all  a  little  Murger-mad  in  the 
Latin  Quarter.  The  play  of  the  Vie  de  Boheme  (a 
dreary,  snivelling  piece)  had  been  produced  at  the 
Odeon,  had  run  an  unconscionable  time — for  Paris — 
and  revived  the  freshness  of  the  legend.  The  same 
business,  you  may  say,  or  there  and.  thereabout,  was 
being  privately  enacted  in  consequence  in  every  garret 
of  the  neighbourhood,  and  a  good  third  of  the  students 
were  consciously  impersonating  Rodolphe  or  Schaun- 
ard,  to  their  own  incommunicable  satisfaction.  Some 
of  us  went  far,  and  some  farther.  I  always  looked 
with  awful  envy  (for  instance)  on  a  certain  country- 
man of  my  own  who  had  a  studio  in  the  Rue  Mon- 
sieur le  Prince,  wore  boots,  and  long  hair  in  a  net,  and 
could  be  seen  tramping  off,  in  this  guise,  to  the  worst 
eating-house  of  the  quarter,  followed  by  a  Corsican 
model,  his  mistress,  in  the  conspicuous  costume  of  her 
race  and  calling.  It  takes  some  greatness  of  soul  to 
carry  even  folly  to  such  heights  as  these ;  and  for  my 
own  part,  I  had  to  content  myself  by  pretending  very 
arduously  to  be  poor,  by  wearing  a  smoking-cap  on 
the  streets,  and  by  pursuing,  through  a  series  of  mis- 
adventures, that  extinct  mammal  the  grisette.  The 
most  grievous  part  was  the  eating  and  the  drinking. 
I  was  born  with  a  dainty  tooth  and  a  palate  for  wine ; 
and  only  a  genuine  devotion  to  romance  could  have 
supported  me  under  the  cat- civets  that  I  had  to 
swallow,  and  the  red  ink  of  Bercy  I  must  wash  them 
down  withal.  Every  now  and  again,  after  a  hard  day 
at  the  studio,  where  I  was  steadily  and  far  from 
unsuccessfully  industrious,  a  wave  of  distaste  would 
overbear  me ;  I  would  slink  away  from  my  haunts 
and  companions,  indemnify  myself  for  weeks  of  self- 
denial  with  fine  wines  and  dainty  dishes ;  seated  per- 
haps on  a  terrace,  perhaps  in  an  arbour  in  a  garden, 
with  a  volume  of  one  of  my  favourite  authors  propped 


32  THE   WRECKER. 

open  in  front  of  me,  and  now  consulted  awhile,  and 
now  forgotten  :  so  remain,  relishing  my  situation,  till 
night  fell  and  the  lights  of  the  city  kindled;  and 
thence  stroll  homeward  by  the  riverside,  under  the 
moon  or  stars,  in  a  heaven  of  poetry  and  digestion. 

One  such  indulgence  led  me  in  the  course  of  my 
second  year  into  an  adventure  which  I  must  relate : 
indeed,  it  is  the  very  point  I  have  been  aiming  for, 
since  that  was  what  brought  me  in  acquaintance  with 
Jim  Pinkerton.  I  sat  down  alone  to  dinner  one 
October  day  when  the  rusty  leaves  were  falling  and 
scuttling  on  the  boulevard,  and  the  minds  of  impres- 
sionable men  inclined  in  about  an  equal  degree 
towards  sadness  and  conviviality.  The  restaurant 
was  no  great  place,  but  boasted  a  considerable  cellar 
and  a  long  printed  list  of  vintages.  This  I  was 
perusing  with  the  double  zest  of  a  man  who  is  fond  of 
wine  and  a  lover  of  beautiful  names,  when  my  eye 
fell  (near  the  end  of  the  card)  on  that  not  very  famous 
or  familiar  brand,  Roussillon.  I  remembered  it  was  a 
wine  I  had  never  tasted,  ordered  a  bottle,  found  it 
excellent,  and  when  I  had  discussed  the  contents, 
called  (according  to  my  habit)  for  a  final  pint.  It 
appears  they  did  not  keep  Roussillon  in  half-bottles. 
"  All  right,"  said  I,  "  another  bottle."  The  tables  at 
this  eating-house  are  close  together;  and  the  next 
thing  I  can  remember,  I  was  in  somewhat  loud  con- 
versation with  my  nearest  neighbours.  From  these  I 
must  have  gradually  extended  my  attentions;  for  I 
have  a  clear  recollection  of  gazing  about  a  room  in 
which  every  chair  was  half  turned  round  and  every 
face  turned  smilingly  to  mine.  I  can  even  remember 
what  I  was  saying  at  the  moment ;  but  after  twenty 
years  the  embers  of  shame  are  still  alive,  and  I  pre- 
fer to  give  your  imagination  the  cue  by  simply  men- 
tioning that  my  muse  was  the  patriotic.  It  had  been 
my  design  to  adjourn  for  coffee  in  the  company  of 
some  of  these  new  friends;  but  I  was  no  sooner  on 


ROUSSILLON   WINE.  -S3 

the  sidewalk  than  I  found  myself  unaccountably 
alone.  The  circumstance  scarce  surprised  me  at  the 
time,  much  less  now ;  but  I  was  somewhat  chagrined 
a  little  after  to  find  I  had  walked  into  a  kiosque.  I 
began  to  wonder  if  I  were  any  the  worse  for  my  last 
bottle,  and  decided  to  steady  myself  with  coffee  and 
brandy.  In  the  Cafe  de  la  Source,  where  I  went  for 
this  restorative,  the  fountain  was  playing,  and  (what 
greatly  surprised  me)  the  mill  and  the  various 
mechanical  figures  on  the  rockery  appeared  to  have 
been  freshly  repaired  and  performed  the  most  en- 
chanting antics.  The  cafe  was  extraordinarily  hot 
and  bright,  with  every  detail  of  a  conspicuous  clear- 
ness— from  the  faces  of  the  guests,  to  the  type  of  the 
newspapers  on  the  tables — and  the  whole  apartment 
swang  to  and  fro  like  a  hammock,  with  an  exhilarating 
motion.  For  some  while  I  was  so  extremely  pleased 
with  these  particulars  that  I  thought  I  could  never  be 
weary  of  beholding  them :  then  dropped  of  a  sudden 
into  a  causeless  sadness;  and  then,  with  the  same 
swiftness  and  spontaneity,  arrived  at  the  conclusion 
that  I  was  drunk  and  had  better  get  to  bed. 

It  was  but  a  step  or  two  to  my  hotel,  where  I  got 
my  lighted  candle  from  the  porter,  and  mounted  the 
four  nights  to  my  own  room.  Although  I  could  not 
deny  that  I  was  drunk,  I  was  at  the  same  time  lucidly 
rational  and  practical.  I  had  but  one  preoccupation — 
to  be  up  in  time  on  the  morrow  for  my  work ;  and 
when  I  observed  the  clock  on  my  chimney-piece  to 
have  stopped,  I  decided  to  go  downstairs  again  and 
give  directions  to  the  porter.  Leaving  the  candle 
burning  and  my  door  open,  to  be  a  guide  to  me  on  my 
return,  I  set  forth  accordingly.  The  house  was  quite 
dark  ;  but  as  there  were  only  the  three  doors  on  each 
landing,  it  was  impossible  to  wander,  and  I  had  no- 
thing to  do  but  descend  the  stairs  until  I  saw  the 
glimmer  of  the  porter's  night-light.  I  counted  four 
nights :  no  porter.     It  was  possible,  of  course,  that  I 


34  THE   WRECKER. 

had  reckoned  incorrectly ;  so  I  went  down  another 
and  another,  and  another,  still  counting  as  I  went, 
until  I  had  reached  the  preposterous  figure  of  nine 
flights.     It  was  now  quite  clear  that  I  had  somehow 

fassed  the  porter's  lodge  without  remarking  it ;  indeed, 
was,  at  the  lowest  figure,  five  pairs  of  stairs  below  the 
street,  and  plunged  in  the  very  bowels  of  the  earth. 
That  my  hotel  should  thus  be  founded  upon  catacombs 
was  a  discovery  of  considerable  interest ;  and  if  I  had 
not  been  in  a  frame  of  mind  entirely  businesslike,  I 
might  have  continued  to  explore  all  night  this  sub- 
terranean empire.  But  I  was  bound  I  must  be  up 
betimes  on  the  next  morning,  and  for  that  end  it  was 
imperative  that  I  should  find  the  porter.  I  faced 
about  accordingly,  and  counting  with  painful  care,  re- 
mounted towards  the  level  of  the  street.  Five,  six, 
and  seven  flights  I  climbed,  and  still  there  was  no 
porter.  I  began  to  be  weary  of  the  job,  and  reflecting 
that  I  was  now  close  to  my  own  room,  decided  I  should 
o  to  bed.  Eight,  nine,  ten,  eleven,  twelve,  thirteen 
ights  I  mounted ;  and  my  open  door  seemed  to  be 
as  wholly  lost  to  me  as  the  porter  and  his  floating  dip. 
I  remembered  that  the  house  stood  but  six  stories  at 
its  highest  point,  from  which  it  appeared  (on  the  most 
moderate  computation)  I  was  now  three  stories  higher 
than  the  roof.  My  original  sense  of  amusement  was 
succeeded  by  a  not  unnatural  irritation.  "  My  room 
has  just  got  to  be  here,"  said  I,  and  I  stepped  towards 
the  door  with  outspread  arms.  There  was  no  door 
and  no  wall ;  in  place  of  either  there  yawned  before 
me  a  dark  corridor,  in  which  I  continued  to  advance 
for  some  time  without  encountering  the  smallest 
opposition.  And  this  in  a  house  whose  extreme  area 
scantily  contained  three  small  rooms,  a  narrow  landing, 
and  the  stair  !  The  thing  was  manifestly  nonsense  ; 
and  you  will  scarcely  be  surprised  to  learn  that  I  now 
began  to  lose  my  temper.  At  this  juncture  I  perceived 
a  filtering  of  light  along  the  floor,  stretched  forth  my 


ROUSSILLON   WINE.  35 

hand,  which  encountered  the  knob  of  a  door-handle, 
and  without  further  ceremony  entered  a  room.  A 
young  lady  was  within :  she  was  going  to  bed,  and  her 
toilet  was  far  advanced — or  the  other  way  about,  if  you 
prefer. 

"  I  hope  you  will  pardon  this  intrusion,"  said  I ; 
"but  my  room  is  No.  12,  and  something  has  gone 
wrong  with  this  blamed  house." 

She  looked  at  me  a  moment ;  and  then,  "  If  you 
will  step  outside  for  a  moment,  I  will  take  you  there," 
says  she. 

Thus,  with  perfect  composure  on  both  sides,  the 
matter  was  arranged.  I  waited  awhile  outside  her 
door.  Presently  she  rejoined  me,  in  a  dressing-gown, 
took  my  hand,  led  me  up  another  flight,  which  made 
the  fourth  above  the  level  of.  the  roof,  and  shut  me 
into  my  own  room,  where  (being  quite  weary  after 
these  contraordinary  explorations)  I  turned  in,  and 
slumbered  like  a  child. 

I  tell  }Tou  the  thing  calmly,  as  it  appeared  to  me 
to  pass ;  but  the  next  day,  when  I  awoke  and  put 
memory  in  the  witness-box,  I  could  not  conceal  from 
myself  that  the  tale  presented  a  good  many  improbable 
features.  I  had  no  mind  for  the  studio,  after  all,  and 
went  instead  to  the  Luxembourg  gardens,  there,  among 
the  sparrows  and  the  statues  and  the  falling  leaves,  to 
cool  and  clear  my  head.  It  is  a  garden  I  have  always 
loved.  You  sit  there  in  a  public  place  of  history  and 
fiction.  Barras  and  Fouche  have  looked  from  these 
windows.  Lousteau  and  De  Banville  (one  as  real  as 
the  other)  have  rhymed  upon  these  benches.  The 
city  tramples  by  without  the  railings  to  a  lively 
measure ;  and  within  and  about  you,  trees  rustle, 
children  and  sparrows  utter  their  small  cries,  and  the 
statues  look  on  for  ever.  Here,  then,  in  a  seat  opposite 
the  gallery  entrance,  I  set  to  work  on  the  events  of 
the  last  night,  to  disengage  (if  it  were  possible)  truth 
from  fiction. 

D  2 


36  THE   WRECKER. 

The  house,  by  daylight,  had  proved  to  be  six 
stories  high,  the  same  as  ever.  I  could  find,  with  all 
my  architectural  experience,  no  room  in  its  altitude 
for  those  interminable  stairways,  no  width  between 
its  walls  for  that  long  corridor,  where  I  had  tramped 
at  night.  And  there  was  yet  a  greater  difficulty.  I 
had  read  somewhere  an  aphorism  that  everything 
may  be  false  to  itself  save  human  nature.  A  house 
might  elongate  or  enlarge  itself — or  seem  to  do  so  to 
a  gentleman  who  had  been  dining.  The  ocean  might 
dry  up,  the  rocks  melt  in  the  sun,  the  stars  fall  from 
heaven  like  autumn  apples  ;  and  there  was  nothing  in 
these  incidents  to  boggle  the  philosopher.  But  the 
case  of  the  young  lady  stood  upon  a  different 
foundation.  Girls  were  not  good  enough,  or  not 
good  that  way,  or  else  they  were  too  good.  I  was 
ready  to  accept  an}'  of  these  views :  all  pointed  to 
the  same  conclusion,  which  I  was  thus  already  on  the 
point  of  reaching,  when  a  fresh  argument  occurred, 
and  instantly  confirmed  it.  I  could  remember  the 
exact  words  we  had  each  said;  and  I  had  spoken, 
and  she  had  replied,  in  English.  Plainly,  then,  the 
whole  affair  was  an  illusion :  catacombs,  and  stairs, 
and  charitable  lady,  all  were  equally  the  stuff  of 
dreams. 

I  had  just  come  to  this  determination,  when  there 
blew  a  flaw  of  wind  through  the  autumnal  gardens; 
the  dead  leaves  showered  down,  and  a  night  of 
sparrows,  thick  as  a  snowfall,  wheeled  above  my 
head  with  sudden  pipings.  This  agreeable  bustle  was 
the  affair  of  a  moment,  but  it  startled  me  from  the 
abstraction  into  which  I  had  fallen  like  a  summons. 
I  sat  briskly  up,  and  as  I  did  so  my  eyes  rested  on 
the  figure  of  a  lady  in  a  brown  jacket  and  carrying  a 
paint-box.  By  her  side  walked  a  fellow  some  years 
older  than  myself,  with  an  easel  under  his  arm;  and 
alike  by  their  course  arid  cargo  I  might  judge  they 
were  bound  for  the   gallery,   where    the  lady  was, 


ROUSSILLON  WINE.  37 

doubtless,  engaged  upon  some  copying.  You  can 
imagine  my  surprise  when  I  recognised  in  her  the 
heroine  of  my  adventure.  To  put  the  matter  beyond 
question  our  eyes  met,  and  she,  seeing  herself  remem- 
bered, and  recalling  the  trim  in  which  I  had  last 
beheld  her,  looked  swiftly  on  the  ground  with  just  a 
shadow  of  confusion. 

I  could  not  tell  you  to-day  if  she  were  plain  or 
pretty;  but  she  had  behaved  with  so  much  good 
sense,  and  I  had  cut  so  poor  a  figure  in  her  presence, 
that  I  became  instantly  fired  with  the  desire  to 
display  myself  in  a  more  favourable  light.  The 
young  man,  besides,  was  possibly  her  brother ; 
brothers  are  apt  to  be  hasty,  theirs  being  a  part  in 
which  it  is  possible,  at  a  comparatively  early  age,  to 
assume  the  dignity  of  manhood ;  and  it  occurred  to 
me  it  might  be  wise  to  forestall  all  possible  compli- 
cations by  an  apology. 

On  this  reasoning  I  drew  near  to  the  gallery  door, 
and  had  hardly  got  in  position  before  the  young  man 
came  out.  Thus  it  was  that  I  came  face  to  face  with 
my  third  destiny,  for  my  career  has  been  entirely  shaped 
by  these  three  elements — my  father,  the  capitol  of 
Muskegon,  and  my  friend  Jim  Pinkerton.  As  for  the 
young  lady,  with  whom  my  mind  was  at  the  moment 
chiefly  occupied,  I  was  never  to  hear  more  of  her 
from  that  day  forward — an  excellent  example  of  the 
Blind  Man's  Buff  that  we  call  life. 


CHAPTER  III. 

TO   INTRODUCE   MR.   PINKERTON. 

The  stranger,  I  have  said,  was  some  years  older  than 
myself:  a  man  of  a  good  stature,  a  very  lively  face, 
cordial,  agitated  manners,  and  a  grey  eye  as  active  as 
a  fowl's. 


38  THE   WRECKER. 

"  May  I  have  a  word  with  you  ? "  said  I. 

"  My  dear  sir,"  he  replied,  "  I  don't  know  what  it 
can  be  about,  but  you  may  have  a  hundred  if  you 
like." 

"  You  have  just  left  the  side  of  a  young  lady,"  I 
continued,  "towards  whom  I  was  led  (very  un- 
intentionally) into  the  appearance  of  an  offence.  To 
speak  to  herself  would  be  only  to  renew  her 
embarrassment,  and  I  seize  the  occasion  of  making 
my  apology,  and  declaring  my  respect,  to  one  of  my 
own  sex  who  is  her  friend,  and  perhaps,"  I  added, 
with  a  bow,  "  her  natural  protector." 

"  You  are  a  countryman  of  mine ;  I  know  it ! "  he 
cried :  "  I  am  sure  of  it  by  your  delicacy  to  a  lady. 
You  do  her  no  more  than  justice.  I  was  introduced 
to  her  the  other  night  at  tea,  in  the  apartment  of 
some  people,  friends  of  mine  ;  and  meeting  her  again 
this  morning,  I  could  not  do  less  than  carry  her  easel 
for  her.     My  dear  sir,  what  is  your  name  ? " 

I  was  disappointed  to  find  he  had  so  little  bond 
with  my  young  lady ;  and  but  that  it  was  I  who  had 
sought  the  acquaintance,  might  have  been  tempted 
to  retreat.  At  the  same  time  something  in  the 
stranger's  eye  engaged  me. 

"My  name,"  said  I,  "is  Loudon  Dodd;  I  am  a 
student  of  sculpture  here  from  Muskegon." 

"  Of  sculpture  ? "  he  cried,  as  though  that  would 
have  been  his  last  conjecture.  "  Mine  is  James 
Pinkerton ;  I  am  delighted  to  have  the  pleasure  of 
your  acquaintance." 

"  Pinkerton ! "  it  was  now  my  turn  to  exclaim. 
"  Are  you  Broken-Stool  Pinkerton  ? " 

He  admitted  his  identity  with  a  laugh  of  boyish 
delight;  and  indeed  any  young  man  in  the  quarter 
might  have  been  proud  to  own  a  sobriquet  thus 
gallantry  acquired. 

In  order  to  explain  the  name,  I  must  here  digress 
into   a  chapter  of  the  history  of  manners    in   the 


TO   INTRODUCE   MR.    PINKERTON.  39 

nineteenth  century,  very  well  worth  commemoration 
for  its  own  sake.  In  some  of  the  studios  at  that  date, 
the  hazing  of  new  pupils  was  both  barbarous  and 
obscene.  Two  incidents,  following  one  on  the  heels 
of  the  other,  tended  to  produce  an  advance  in 
civilisation  by  the  means  (as  so  commonly  happens) 
of  a  passing  appeal  to  savage  standards.  The  first 
was  the  arrival  of  a  little  gentleman  from  Armenia. 
He  had  a  fez  upon  his  head  and  (what  nobody 
counted  on)  a  dagger  in  his  pocket.  The  hazing 
was  set  about  in  the  customary  style,  and,  perhaps 
in  virtue  of  the  victim's  head-gear,  even  more 
boisterously  than  usual.  He  bore  it  at  first  with  an 
inviting  patience;  but  upon  one  of  the  students 
proceeding  to  an  unpardonable  freedom,  plucked  out 
his  knife  and  suddenly  plunged  it  in  the  belly  of  the 
jester.  This  gentleman,  I  am  pleased  to  say,  passed 
months  upon  a  bed  of  sickness  before  he  was  in  a 
position  to  resume  his  studies.  The  second  incident 
was  that  which  had  earned  Pinkerton  his  reputation. 
In  a  crowded  studio,  while  some  very  filthy  brutalities 
were  being  practised  on  a  trembling  debutant,  a  tall 
pale  fellow  sprang  from  his  stool  and  (without  the 
smallest  preface  or  explanation)  sang  out,  "All 
English  and  Americans  to  clear  the  shop  ! "  Our 
race  is  brutal,  but  not  filthy  ;  and  the  summons  was 
nobly  responded  to.  Every  Anglo-Saxon  student 
seized  his  stool ;  in  a  moment  the  studio  was  full  of 
bloody  coxcombs,  the  French  fleeing  in  disorder  for 
the  door,  the  victim  liberated  and  amazed.  In  this 
feat  of  arms,  both  English-speaking  nations  covered 
themselves  with  glory ;  but  1  am  proud  to  claim  the 
author  of  the  whole  for  an  American,  and  a  patriotic 
American  at  that,  being  the  same  gentleman  who  had 
subsequently  to  be  held  down  in  the  bottom  of  a 
box  during  a  performance  of  L'Oncle  Sam,  sobbing 
at  intervals,  "  My  country,  O  my  country ! "  while 
yet   another  (my  new  acquaintance,  Pinkerton)  was 


40  THE   WRECKER. 

supposed  to  have  made  the  most  conspicuous  figure 
in  the  actual  battle.  At  one  blow  he  had  broken  his 
own  stool,  and  sent  the  largest  of  his  opponents  back 
foremost  through  what  we  used  to  call  a  "consci- 
entious nude."  It  appears  that,  in  the  continuation 
of  his  flight,  this  fallen  warrior  issued  on  the 
boulevard  still  framed  in  the  burst  canvas. 

It  will  be  understood  how  much  talk  the  incident 
aroused  in  the  students'  quarter,  and  that  I  was 
highly  gratified  to  make  the  acquaintance  of  my 
famous  countryman.  It  chanced  I  was  to  see  more 
of  the  Quixotic  side  of  his  character  before  the 
morning  was  done ;  for,  as  we  continued  to  stroll 
together,  I  found  myself  near  the  studio  of  a  young 
Frenchman  whose  work  I  had  promised  to  examine, 
and  in  the  fashion  of  the  quarter  carried  up  Pinkerton 
along  with  me.  Some  of  my  comrades  of  this  date 
were  pretty  obnoxious  fellows.  I  could  almost  always 
admire  and  respect  the  grown-up  practitioners  of  art 
in  Paris ;  but  many  of  those  who  were  still  in  a  state 
of  pupilage  were  sorry  specimens — so  much  so  that  I 
used  often  to  wonder  where  the  painters  came  from, 
and  where  the  brutes  of  students  went  to.  A  similar 
mystery  hangs  over  the  intermediate  stages  of  the 
medical  profession,  and  must  have  perplexed  the 
least  observant.  The  ruffian,  at  least,  whom  I  now 
carried  Pinkerton  to  visit,  was  one  of  the  most 
crapulous  in  the  quarter.  He  turned  out  for  our 
delectation  a  huge  "  crust "  (as  we  used  to  call  it)  of 
St.  Stephen,  wallowing  in  red  upon  his  belly  in  an 
exhausted  receiver,  and  a  crowd  of  Hebrews  in  blue, 
green,  and  yellow,  pelting  him — anparentty  with 
buns;  and  while  we  gazed  upon  this  contrivance, 
regaled  us  with  a  piece  of  his  own  recent  biography, 
of  which  his  mind  was  still  very  full,  and  which  he 
seemed  to  fancy  represented  him  in  an  heroic  posture. 
1  was  one  of  those  cosmopolitan  Americans  who 
accept  the  world    (whether  at  home  or  abroad)  as 


TO  INTRODUCE  MR.  PINKERTON.        41 

they  find  it,  and  whose  favourite  part  is  that  of  the 
spectator ;  yet  even  I  was  listening  with  ill-suppressed 
disgust,  when  I  was  aware  of  a  violent  plucking  at 
my  sleeve. 

"  Is  he  saying  he  kicked  her  downstairs  ? "  asked 
Pinkerton,  white  as  St.  Stephen. 

"  Yes,"  said  I :  "  his  discarded  mistress ;  and  then 
he  pelted  her  with  stones.  I  suppose  that's  what 
gave  him  the  idea  for  his  picture.  He  has  just  been 
alleging  the  pathetic  excuse  that  she  was  old  enough 
to  be  his  mother." 

Something  like  a  sob  broke  from  Pinkerton. 
"  Tell  him,"  he  gasped — "  I  can't  speak  this  language, 
though  I  understand  a  little ;  I  never  had  any  proper 
education — tell  him  I'm  going  to  punch  his  head." 

"  For  God's  sake  do  nothing  of  the  sort ! "  I  cried ; 
"  they  don't  understand  that  sort  of  thing  here ; " 
and  I  tried  to  bundle  him  out. 

"Tell  him  first  what  we  think  of  him,"  he  ob- 
jected. "  Let  me  tell  him  what  he  looks  in  the  eyes 
of  a  pure-minded  American." 

"  Leave  that  to  me,"  said  I,  thrusting  Pinkerton 
clear  through  the  door. 

"  Qu'est-ce  qvJil  at"*  inquired  the  student. 

"Monsieur  se  sent  mal  an  cceur  oV  avoir  trop 
regarde  votre  cronte,"  t  said  I,  and  made  my  escape, 
scarce  with  dignity,  at  Pinkerton's  heels. 

"  What  did  you  say  to  him  ? "  he  asked. 

"The  only  thing  that  he  could  feel,"  was  my 
reply. 

After  this  scene,  the  freedom  with  which  I  had 
ejected  my  new  acquaintance,  and  the  precipitation 
with  which  I  had  followed  him,  the  least  I  could  do 
was  to  propose  luncheon.     I  have  forgot  the  name  of 


*  "  What's  the  matter  with  him  ?  " 

f  u  The  gentleman  is  sick  at  his  stomach  from  having  looked 
too  long  at  your  daub." 


42  THE   WRECKER. 

the  place  to  which  I  led  him,  nothing  loath ;  it  was 
on  the  far  side  of  the  Luxembourg  at  least,  with  a 
garden  behind,  where  we  were  speedily  set  face  to  face 
at  table,  and  began  to  dig  into  each  other's  history  and 
character,  like  terriers  after  rabbits,  according  to  the 
approved  fashion  of  youth. 

Pinkerton's  parents  were  from  the  Old  Country; 
there,  too,  I  incidentally  gathered,  he  had  himself 
been  born,  though  it  was  a  circumstance  he  seemed 
prone  to  forget.  Whether  he  had  run  away,  or  his 
father  had  turned  him  out,  I  never  fathomed;  but 
about  the  age  of  twelve  he  was  thrown  upon  his  own 
resources.  A  travelling  tin-type  photographer  picked 
him  up,  like  a  haw  out  of  a  hedgerow,  on  a  wayside 
in  New  Jersey ;  took  a  fancy  to  the  urchin ;  carried 
him  on  with  him  in  his  wandering  life ;  taught  him 
all  he  knew  himself — to  take  tin-types  (as  well  as  I 
can  make  out)  and  doubt  the  Scriptures ;  and  died 
at  last  in  Ohio  at  the  corner  of  a  road.  "  He  was 
a  grand  specimen,"  cried  Pinkerton;  "I  wish  you 
could  have  seen  him,  Mr.  Dodd.  He  had  an  appear- 
ance of  magnanimity  that  used  to  remind  me  of  the 
patriarchs."  On  the  death  of  this  random  protector, 
the  boy  inherited  the  plant  and  continued  the 
business.  "It  was  a  life  I  could  have  chosen,  Mr. 
Dodd!"  he  cried.  "I  have  been  in  all  the  finest 
scenes  of  that  magnificent  continent  that  we  were 


born  to  be  the  heirs  of.     I  wish  you  could  see  my 

ypes ;    I   wish   I 
They  were  taken  for  my  own  pleasure  and  to  be  a 


collection   of  tin-types ;    I   wish   I   had   them   here. 


memento ;  and  they  show  Nature  in  her  grandest  as 
well  as  her  gentlest  moments."  As  he  tramped  the 
Western  States  and  Territories,  taking  tin-types,  the 
boy  was  continually  getting  hold  of  books,  good,  bad, 
and  indifferent,  popular  and  abstruse,  from  the  novels 
of  Sylvanus  Cobb  to  Euclid's  Elements,  both  of  which 
I  found  (to  my  almost  equal  wonder)  he  had  man- 
aged to  peruse:   he  was  taking  stock  by  the  way, 


TO   INTRODUCE   MR.    PINKERTON.  43 

of  the  people,  the  products,  and  the  country,  with  an 
eye  unusually  observant  and  a  memory  unusually 
retentive;  and  he  was  collecting  for  himself  a  body 
of  magnanimous  and  semi-intellectual  nonsense, 
which  he  supposed  to  be  the  natural  thoughts  and 
to  contain  the  whole  duty  of  the  born  American. 
To  be  pure-minded,  to  be  patriotic,  to  get  culture 
and  money  with  both  hands  and  with  the  same 
irrational  fervour — these  appeared  to  be  the  chief 
articles  of  his  creed.  In  later  days  (not  of  course 
upon  this  first  occasion)  I  would  sometimes  ask  him 
why ;  and  he  had  his  answer  pat.  "  To  build  up  the 
type ! "  he  would  cry.  "  We're  all  committed  to  that ; 
we're  all  under  bond  to  fulfil  the  American  Type! 
Loudon,  the  hope  of  the  world  is  there.  If  we  fail, 
like  these  old  feudal  monarchies,  what  is  left  ? " 

The  trade  of  a  tin-typer  proved  too  narrow  for  the 
lad's  ambition ;  it  was  insusceptible  of  expansion,  he 
explained ;  it  was  not  truly  modern  ;  and  by  a  sudden 
conversion  of  front  he  became  a  railroad-scalper.  The 
principles  of  this  trade  I  never  clearly  understood; 
but  its  essence  appears  to  be  to  cheat  the  railroads  out 
of  their  due  fare.  "  I  threw  my  whole  soul  into  it ; 
I  grudged  myself  food  and  sleep  while  I  was  at  it ;  the 
most  practised  hands  admitted  I  had  caught  on  to  the 
idea  in  a  month  and  revolutionised  the  practice  inside 
of  a  year,"  he  said.  "  And  there's  interest  in  it,  too. 
It's  amusing  to  pick  out  someone  going  by,  make  up 
your  mind  about  his  character  and  tastes,  dash  out  of 
the  office,  and  hit  him  flying  with  an  offer  of  the  very 
place  he  wants  to  go  to.  I  don't  think  there  was  a 
scalper  on  the  continent  made  fewer  blunders.  But  I 
took  it  only  as  a  stage.  I  was  saving  every  dollar ;  I 
was  looking  ahead.  I  knew  what  I  wanted — wealth, 
education,  a  refined  home,  and  a  conscientious  cultured 
lady  for  a  wife ;  for,  Mr.  Dodd" — this  with  a  formidable 
outcry — "  every  man  is  bound  to  marry  above  him : 
if  the  woman's  not  the  man's  superior,  I  brand  it  as 


44  THE   WRECKER. 

mere  sensuality.  There  was  my  idea,  at  least.  That 
was  what  I  was  saving  for ;  and  enough,  too  !  But  it 
isn't  every  man,  I  know  that — it's  far  from  every  man 
— could  do  what  I  did :  close  up  the  livest  agency  in 
Saint  Jo,  where  he  was  coining  dollars  by  the  pot,  set 
out  alone,  without  a  friend  or  a  word  of  French,  and 
settle  down  here  to  spend  his  capital  learning  art." 

"  Was  it  an  old  taste  ?"  I  asked  him,  "  or  a  sudden 
fancy  ? " 

"  Neither,  Mr.  Dodd,"  he  admitted.  "  Of  course,  I 
had  learned  in  my  tin-typing  excursions  to  glory  and 
exult  in  the  works  of  God.  But  it  wasn't  that.  I  just 
said  to  myself,  '  What  is  most  wanted  in  my  age  and 
country  ?  More  culture  and  more  art,'  I  said  ;  and  I 
chose  the  best  place,  saved  my  money,  and  came  here 
to  get  them." 

The  whole  attitude  of  this  young  man  warmed  and 
shamed  me.  He  had  more  fire  in  his  little  toe  than 
I  in  my  whole  carcase ;  he  was  stuffed  to  bursting  with 
the  manly  virtues  ;  thrift  and  courage  glowed  in  him  ; 
and  even  if  his  artistic  vocation  seemed  (to  one  of  my 
exclusive  tenets)  not  quite  clear,  who  could  predict 
what  might  be  accomplished  by  a  creature  so  full- 
blooded  and  so  inspired  with  animal  and  intellectual 
energy  ?  So,  when  he  proposed  that  I  should  come 
and  see  his  work  (one  of  the  regular  stages  of  a  Latin 
Quarter  friendship),  I  followed  him  with  interest  and 
hope. 

He  lodged  parsimoniously  at  the  top  of  a  tall  house 
near  the  Observatory,  in  a  bare  room,  principally  fur- 
nished with  his  own  trunks  and  papered  with  his  own 
despicable  studies.  No  man  has  less  taste  for  dis- 
agreeable duties  than  myself ;  perhaps  there  is  only 
one  subject  on  which  I  cannot  natter  a  man  without 
a  blush ;  but  upon  that,  upon  all  that  touches  art,  my 
sincerity  is  Roman.  Once  and  twice  I  made  the 
circuit  of  his  walls  in  silence,  spying  in  every  corner 
for  some  spark  of  merit ;  he  meanwhile  following  close 


TO  INTRODUCE   MR.    PINKERTON.  45 

at  my  heels,  reading  the  verdict  in  my  face  with  furtive 
glances,  presenting  some  fresh  study  for  my  inspection 
with  undisguised  anxiety,  and  (after  it  had  been  silently 
weighed  in  the  balances  and  found  wanting)  whisking 
it  away  with  an  open  gesture  of  despair.  By  the  time 
the  second  rouna  was  completed,  we  were  both  ex- 
tremely depressed. 

"  Oh  !"  he  groaned,  breaking  the  long  silence,  "it's 
quite  unnecessary  you  should  speak ! " 

"  Do  you  want  me  to  be  frank  with  you  ?  I  think 
you  are  wasting  time,"  said  I. 

"You  don't  see  any  promise?"  he  inquired,  be- 
guiled by  some  return  of  nope,  and  turning  upon  me 
the  embarrassing  brightness  of  his  eye.  "Not  in  this 
still-life  here  of  the  melon  ?  One  fellow  thought  it 
good." 

It  was  the  least  I  could  do  to  give  the  melon  a 
more  particular  examination  ;  which,  when  I  had  done, 
I  could  but  shake  my  head.  "  I  am  truly  sorry,  Pinker- 
ton,"  said  I,  "  but  I  can't  advise  you  to  persevere." 

He  seemed  to  recover  his  fortitude  at  the 
moment,  rebounding  from  disappointment  like  a 
man  of  india-rubber.  "  Well,"  said  he  stoutly,  "  I 
don't  know  that  I'm  surprised.  But  I'll  go  on  with 
the  course ;  and  throw  my  whole  soul  into  it  too. 
You  mustn't  think  the  time  is  lost.  It's  all  culture  ; 
it  will  help  me  to  extend  my  relations  when  I  get 
back  home ;  it  may  fit  me  for  a  position  on  one  of 
the  illustrateds ;  and  then  I  can  always  turn  dealer," 
he  said,  uttering  the  monstrous  proposition,  which 
was  enough  to  shake  the  Latin  Quarter  to  the  dust, 
with  entire  simplicity.  "  It's  all  experience,  besides," 
he  continued ;  "  and  it  seems  to  me  there's  a  tendency 
to  underrate  experience,  both  as  net  profit  and  invest- 
ment. Never  mind  That's  done  with.  But  it  took 
courage  for  you  to  say  what  you  did,  and  I'll  never 
forget  it  Here's  my  hand,  Mr.  Dodd.  I'm  not  your 
equal  in  culture  or  talent" 


46  THE   WRECKER. 

"  You  know  nothing  about  that,"  I  interrupted. 
"  I  have  seen  your  work,  but  you  haven't  seen  mine." 

"  No  more  I  have,"  he  cried ;  "  and  let's  go  see  it 
at  once  !  But  I  know  you  are  away  up  ;  I  can  feel 
it  here." 

To  say  truth,  I  was  almost  ashamed  to  introduce 
him  to  my  studio — my  work,  whether  absolutely 
good  or  bad,  being  so  vastly  superior  to  his.  But 
his  spirits  were  now  quite  restored ;  and  he  amazed 
me,  on  the  way,  with  his  light-hearted  talk  and  new 
projects.  So  that  I  began  at  last  to  understand  how 
matters  lay:  that  this  was  not  an  artist  who  had 
been  deprived  of  the  practice  of  his  single  art ;  but 
only  a  business  man  of  very  extended  interests, 
informed  (perhaps  something  of  the  most  suddenly) 
that  one  investment  out  of  twenty  had  gone  wrong. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  besides  (although  I  never 
suspected  it),  he  was  already  seeking  consolation  with 
another  of  the  muses,  and  pleasing  himself  with  the 
notion  that  he  would  repay  me  for  my  sincerity, 
cement  our  friendship,  and  (at  one  and  the  same 
blow)  restore  my  estimation  of  his  talents.  Several 
times  already,  when  I  had  been  speaking  of  myself, 
he  had  pulled  out  a  writing-pad  and  scribbled  a 
brief  note ;  and  now,  when  we  entered  the  studio, 
I  saw  it  in  his  hand  again,  and  the  pencil  go  to 
his  mouth,  as  he  cast  a  comprehensive  glance  round 
the  uncomfortable  building. 

"  Are  you  going  to  make  a  sketch  of  it  ? "  I 
could  not  help  asking,  as  I  unveiled  the  Genius  of 
Muskegon. 

"Ah,  that's  my  secret,"  said  he.  "Never  you 
mind.     A  mouse  can  help  a  lion." 

He  walked  round  my  statue,  and  had  the  design 
explained  to  him.  I  had  represented  Muskegon  as 
a  young,  almost  a  stripling  mother,  with  something 
of  an  Indian  type;  the  babe  upon  her  knees  was 
winged,  to  indicate  our  soaring  future ;  and  her  seat 


TO  INTRODUCE  MR.  PINKERTON.        47 

was  a  medley  of  sculptured  fragments,  Greek,  Roman, 
and  Gothic,  to  remind  us  of  the  older  worlds  from 
which  we  trace  our  generation. 

"  Now,  does  this  satisfy  you,  Mr.  Dodd  ? "  he  in- 
quired, as  soon  as  I  had  explained  to  him  the  main 
features  of  the  design. 

"  Well,"  I  said,  "  the  fellows  seem  to  think  it's  not 
a  bad  bonne  femme  for  a  beginner.  I  don't  think  it's 
entirely  bad,  myself.  Here  is  the  best  point ;  it 
builds  up  best  from  here.  No,  it  seems  to  me  it  has  a 
kind  of  merit,"  I  admitted;  "but  I  mean  to  do  better." 

"  Ah,  that's  the  word  ! "  cried  Pinkerton.  "  There's 
the  word  I  love ! "  and  he  scribbled  in  his  pad. 

"  What  in  creation  ails  you  ? "  I  inquired.  "  It's 
the  most  commonplace  expression  in  the  English 
language." 

"  Better  and  better !  "  chuckled  Pinkerton.  "  The 
unconsciousness  of  genius.  Lord,  but  this  is  coming 
in  beautiful ! "  and  he  scribbled  again. 

"  If  you're  going  to  be  fulsome,"  said  I,  "  I'll  close 
the  place  of  entertainment ; "  and  I  threatened  to 
replace  the  veil  upon  the  Genius. 

"  No,  no,"  said  he  ;  "  don't  be  in  a  hurry.  Give 
me  a  point  or  two.  Show  me  what's  particularly 
good." 

"  I  would  rather  you  found  that  out  for  yourself," 
said  I. 

"  The  trouble  is,"  said  he,  "  that  I've  never  turned 
my  attention  to  sculpture — beyond,  of  course,  ad- 
miring it,  as  everybody  must  who  has  a  soul.  So 
do  just  be  a  good  fellow,  and  explain  to  me  what 
you  like  in  it,  and  what  you  tried  for,  and  where 
the  merit  comes  in.     It'll  be  all  education  for  me." 

"  Well,  in  sculpture,  you  see,  the  first  thing  you 
have  to  consider  is  the  masses.  It's,  after  all,  a 
kind  of  architecture,"  I  began,  and  delivered  a 
lecture  on  that  branch  of  art,  with  illustrations 
from    my    own  masterpiece    there    present — all    of 


48  THE   WRECKER. 

which,  if  you  don't  mind,  or  whether  you  mind  or 
not,  I  mean  to  conscientiously  omit.  Pinkerton 
listened  with  a  fiery  interest,  questioned  me  with 
a  certain  uncultivated  shrewdness,  and  continued 
to  scratch  down  notes,  and  tear  fresh  sheets  from 
his  pad.  I  found  it  inspiring  to  have  my  words  thus 
taken  down  like  a  professor's  lecture ;  and  having 
had  no  previous  experience  of  the  press,  I  was 
unaware  that  they  were  all  being  taken  down  wrong. 
For  the  same  reason  (incredible  as  it  must  appear  in 
an  American)  I  never  entertained  the  least  suspicion 
that  they  were  destined  to  be  dished  up  with  a  sauce 
of  penny-a-lining  gossip  ;  and  myself,  my  person, 
and  my  works  of  art  butchered  to  make  a  holiday 
for  the  readers  of  a  Sunday  paper.  Night  had  fallen 
over  the  Genius  of  Muskegon  before  the  issue  of  my 
theoretic  eloquence  was  stayed,  nor  did  I  separate 
from  my  new  friend  without  an  appointment  for  the 
morrow. 

I  was,  indeed,  greatly  taken  with  this  first  view  of 
my  countryman,  and  continued,  on  further  acquaint- 
ance, to  be  interested,  amused,  and  attracted  by  him 
in  about  equal  proportions.  I  must  not  say  he  had  a 
fault,  not  only  because  my  mouth  is  sealed  by  grati- 
tude, but  because  those  he  had  sprang  merely  from 
his  education,  and  you  could  see  he  had  cultivated 
and  improved  them  like  virtues.  For  all  that,  I  can 
never  deny  he  was  a  troublous  friend  to  me,  and  the 
trouble  began  early. 

It  may  have  been  a  fortnight  later  that  I  divined 
the  secret  of  the  writing-pad.  My  wretch  (it  leaked 
out)  wrote  letters  for  a  paper  in  the  West,  and  had 
filled  a  part  of  one  of  them  with  descriptions  of  myself. 
I  pointed  out  to  him  that  he  had  no  right  to  do  so 
without  asking  my  permission. 

"  Why,  this  is  just  what  I  hoped ! "  he  exclaimed. 
■  I  thought  you  didn't  seem  to  catch  on ;  only  it- 
seemed  too  good  to  be  true," 


TO  INTRODUCE  MR.  PINKERTON.        4§ 

"  But,  my  good  fellow,  you  were  bound  to  warn 
me,"  I  objected. 

"I  know  it's  generally  considered  etiquette/'  he 
admitted ;  "  but  between  friends,  and  when  it  was  only 
with  a  view  of  serving  you,  I  thought  it  wouldn't 
matter.  I  wanted  it  (if  possible)  to  come  on  you  as 
a  surprise;  I  wanted  you  just  to  waken,  like  Lord 
Byron,  and  find  the  papers  full  of  you.  You  must 
admit  it  was  a  natural  thought.  And  no  man  likes  to 
boast  of  a  favour  beforehand." 

"  But  heavens  and  earth !  how  do  you  know  I  think 
it  a  favour  ? "  I  cried. 

He  became  immediately  plunged  in  despair.  "  You 
think  it  a  liberty,"  said  he  ;  "  I  see  that.  I  would  rather 
have  cut  off  my  hand.  I  would  stop  it  now,  only  it's 
too  late  ;  it's  published  by  now.  And  I  wrote  it  with 
so  much  pride  and  pleasure !" 

I  could  think  of  nothing  but  how  to  console  him. 
"  Oh,  I  daresay  it's  all  right,"  said  I.  "  I  know  you 
meant  it  kindly,  and  you  would  be  sure  to  do  it  in 
good  taste." 

"  That  you  may  swear  to,"  he  cried.  "  It's  a  pure, 
bright,  A  number  1  paper ;  the  St.  Jo  Sunday  Herald. 
The  idea  of  the  series  was  quite  my  own  ;  I  interviewed 
the  editor,  put  it  to  him  straight ;  the  freshness  of  the 
idea  took  him,  and  I  walked  out  of  that  office  with 
the  contract  in  my  pocket,  and  did  my  first  Paris  letter 
that  evening  in  Saint  Jo.  The  editor  did  no  more 
than  glance  nis  eye  down  the  headlines.  '  You're  the 
man  for  us,'  said  he." 

I  was  certainly  far  from  reassured  by  this  sketch 
of  the  class  of  literature  in  which  I  was  to  make  my 
first  appearance ;  but  I  said  no  more,  and  possessed 
my  soul  in  patience,  until  the  day  came  when  I  received 
a  copy  of  a  newspaper  marked  in  the  corner,  "  Compli- 
ments of  J.  P."  I  opened  it  with  sensible  shrinkings ; 
and  there,  wedged  between  an  account  of  a  prize- 
fight and  a  skittish  article  upon  chiropody — thmk  of 


50  THE  WRECKER. 

chiropody  treated  with  a  leer ! — I  came  upon  a  column 
and  a  half  in  which  myself  and  my  poor  statue  were 
embalmed.  Like  the  editor  with  the  first  of  the 
series,  I  did  but  glance  my  eye  down  the  head-lines, 
and  was  more  than  satisfied. 


ANOTHER   OF    PINKERTON'S    SPICY   CHATS. 

ART   PRACTITIONERS   IN   PARIS. 

MUSKEGON'S    COLUMNED    CAPITOL. 

SON    OF    MILLIONAIRE    DODD, 

PATRIOT    AND    ARTIST. 
"HE    MEANS   TO    DO    BETTER." 

In  the  body  of  the  text,  besides,  my  eye  caught,  as 
it  passed,  some  deadly  expressions  :  "  Figure  somewhat 
fleshy,"  "  bright,  intellectual  smile,"  "  the  unconscious- 
ness of  genius,"  "'Now,  Mr.  Dodd/  resumed  the  reporter, 
1  what  would  be  your  idea  of  a  distinctively  American 
quality  in  sculpture  ? ' "  It  was  true  the  question  had 
been  asked ;  it  was  true,  alas !  that  I  had  answered ; 
and  now  here  was  my  reply,  or  some  strange  hash  of 
it,  gibbetted  in  the  cold  publicity  of  type.  I  thanked 
God  that  my  French  fellow-students  were  ignorant  of 
English ;  but  when  I  thought  of  the  British — of  Myner 
(for  instance)  or  the  Stennises — I  think  I  could  have 
fallen  on  Pinkerton  and  beat  him. 

To  divert  my  thoughts  (if  it  were  possible)  from 
this  calamity,  I  turned  to  a  letter  from  my  father 
which  had  arrived  by  the  same  post.  The  envelope 
contained  a  strip  of  newspaper  cutting ;  and  my  eye 
caught  again,  "  Son  of  Millionaire  Dodd — Figure  some- 
what fleshy,"  and  the  rest  of  the  degrading  nonsense. 
What  would  my  father  think  of  it  ?  I  wondered,  and 
opened  his  manuscript.     "  My  dearest  boy,"  it  began, 


TO   INTRODUCE   MR.    PINKERTON.  51 

"I  send  you  a  cutting  which  has  pleased  me  very 
much,  from  a  St.  Joseph  paper  of  high  standing.  At 
last  you  seem  to  be  coming  fairly  to  the  front ;  and  I 
cannot  but  reflect  with  delight  and  gratitude  how  very 
few  youths  of  your  age  occupy  nearly  two  columns  of 
press-matter  all  to  themselves.  I  only  wish  your  dear 
mother  had  been  here  to  read  it  over  my  shoulder ; 
but  we  will  hope  she  shares  my  grateful  emotion  in  a 
better  place.  Of  course  I  have  sent  a  copy  to  your 
grandfather  and  uncle  in  Edinburgh  ;  so  you  can  keep 
the  one  I  enclose.  This  Jim  Pinkerton  seems  a  valuable 
acquaintance ;  he  has  certainly  great  talent ;  and  it  is 
a  good  general  rule  to  keep  in  with  pressmen." 

I  hope  it  will  be  set  down  to  the  right  side  of  my 
account,  but  I  had  no  sooner  read  these  words,  so 
touchingly  silly,  than  my  anger  against  Pinkerton 
was  swallowed  up  in  gratitude.  Of  all  the  circum- 
stances of  my  career — my  birth,  perhaps,  excepted — ■ 
not  one  had  given  my  poor  father  so  profound  a 
pleasure  as  this  article  in  the  Sunday  Herald. 
What  a  fool,  then,  was  I  to  be  lamenting!  when  I 
had  at  last,  and  for  once,  and  at  the  cost  of  only  a 
few  blushes,  paid  back  a  fraction  of  my  debt  of 
gratitude.  So  that,  when  I  next  met  Pinkerton,  I 
took  things  very  lightly ;  my  father  was  pleased,  and 
thought  the  letter  very  clever,  I  told  him;  for  my 
own  part,  I  had  no  taste  for  publicity :  thought  the 
public  had  no  concern  with  the  artist,  only  with  his 
art;  and  though  I  owned  he  had  handled  it  with 
great  consideration,  I  should  take  it  as  a  favour  if  he 
never  did  it  again. 

"  There  it  is,"  he  said,  despondingly.  "  I've  hurt 
you.  You  can't  deceive  me,  Loudon.  It's  the  want 
of  tact,  and  it's  incurable."  He  sat  down,  and  leaned 
his  head  upon  his  hand.  "  I  had  no  advantages 
when  I  was  young,  you  see,"  he  added. 

"  Not  in  the  least,  my  dear  fellow,"  said  I.  "  Only 
the  next  time  you  wish  to  do  me  a  service,  just  speak 
e  2 


52  THE   WRECKER. 

about  my  work ;  leave  my  wretched  person  out,  and 
my  still  more  wretched  conversation  ;  and  above  all," 
I  added,  with  an  irrepressible  shudder,  "don't  tell 
them  how  I  said  it !  There's  that  phrase,  now : 
'With  a  proud,  glad  smile.'  Who  cares  whether  I 
smiled  or  not  ? " 

"  Oh,  there  now,  Loudon,  you're  entirely  wrong,"  he 
broke  in.  "  That's  what  the  public  likes  ;  that's  the 
merit  of  the  thing,  the  literary  value.  It's  to  call  up 
the  scene  before  them ;  it's  to  enable  the  humblest 
citizen  to  enjoy  that  afternoon  the  same  as  I  did. 
Think  what  it  would  have  been  to  me  when  I  was 
tramping  around  with  my  tin- types  to  find  a  column 
and  a  half  of  real,  cultured  conversation — an  artist,  in 
his  studio  abroad,  talking  of  his  art — and  to  know 
how  he  looked  as  he  did  it,  and  what  the  room  was 
like,  and  what  he  had  for  breakfast ;  and  to  tell 
myself,  eating  tinned  beans  beside  a  creek,  that  if  all 
went  well,  the  same  sort  of  thing  would,  sooner  or 
later,  happen  to  myself:  why,  Loudon,  it  would  have 
been  like  a  peephole  into  heaven  ! " 

"  Well,  it  it  gives  so  much  pleasure,"  I  admitted, 
"  the  sufferers  shouldn't  complain.  Only  give  the 
other  fellows  a  turn." 

The  end  of  the  matter  was  to  bring  myself  and 
the  journalist  in  a  more  close  relation.  If  I  know 
anything  at  all  of  human  nature — and  the  if  is  no 
mere  figure  of  speech,  but  stands  for  honest  doubt — 
no  series  of  benefits  conferred,  or  even  dangers  shared, 
would  have  so  rapidly  confirmed  our  friendship  as 
this  quarrel  avoided,  this  fundamental  difference  of 
taste  and  training  accepted  and  condoned. 


53 


CHAPTER  IV. 

IN   WHICH   I   EXPERIENCE   EXTREMES   OF   FORTUNE. 

Whether  it  came  from  my  training  and  repeated 
bankruptcy  at  the  Commercial  College,  or  by  direct 
inheritance  from  old  Loudon,  the  Edinburgh  mason, 
there  can  be  no  doubt  about  the  fact  that  I  was 
thrifty.  Looking  myself  impartially  over,  I  believe 
that  is  my  only  manly  virtue.  During  my  first  two 
years  in  Paris  I  not  only  made  it  a  point  to  keep  well 
inside  of  my  allowance,  but  accumulated  considerable 
savings  in  the  bank.  You  will  say,  with  my  masquer- 
ade of  living  as  a  penniless  student,  it  must  have 
been  easy  to  do  so :  I  should  have  had  no  difficulty, 
however,  in  doing  the  reverse.  Indeed,  it  is  wonderful 
I  did  not ;  and  early  in  the  third  year,  or  soon  after  I 
had  known  Pinkerton,  a  singular  incident  proved  it 
to  have  been  equally  wise.  Quarter-day  came,  and 
brought  no  allowance.  A  letter  of  remonstrance  was 
despatched,  and,  for  the  first  time  in  my  experience, 
remained  unanswered.  A  cablegram  was  more 
effectual;  for  it  brought  me  at  least  a  promise  of 
attention.  "Will  write  at  once,"  my  father  tele- 
graphed; but  I  waited  long  for  his  letter.  I  was 
puzzled,  angry,  and  alarmed ;  but,  thanks  to  my 
previous  thrift,  I  cannot  say  that  I  was  ever  practically 
embarrassed.  The  embarrassment,  the  distress,  the 
agony,  were  all  for  my  unhappy  father  at  home  in 
Muskegon,  struggling  for  life  and  fortune  against 
untoward  chances,  returning  at  night,  from  a  day  of 
ill-starred  shifts  and  ventures,  to  read  and  perhaps  to 
weep  over  that  last  harsh  letter  from  his  only  child, 
to  which  he  lacked  the  courage  to  reply. 

Nearly  three  months  after  time,  and  when  my 
economies  were  beginning  to  run  low,  I  received  at 
last  a  letter  with  the  customary  bills  of  exchange. 


54  THE   WRECKER. 

"  My  dearest  boy,"  it  ran,  "  I  believe,  in  the  press 
of  anxious  business,  your  letters  and  even  your  allow- 
ance have  been  somewhile  neglected.  You  must  try 
to  forgive  your  poor  old  dad,  for  he  has  had  a  trying 
time ;  and  now  when  it  is  over,  the  doctor  wants  me 
to  take  my  shotgun  and  go  to  the  Adirondacks  for  a 
change.  You  must  not  fancy  I  am  sick,  only  over- 
driven and  under  the  weather.  Many  of  our  foremost 
operators  have  gone  down  :  John'T.  M'Brady  skipped 
to  Canada  with  a  trunkful  of  boodle ;  Billy  Sandwith, 
Charlie  Downs,  Joe  Kaiser,  and  many  others  of  our 
leading  men  in  this  city  bit  the  dust.  But  Big-Head 
Dodd  has  again  weathered  the  blizzard,  and  I  think  I 
have  fixed  things  so  that  we  may  be  richer  than  ever 
before  autumn. 

"Now  I  will  tell  you,  my  dear,  what  I  propose. 
You  say  you  are  well  advanced  with  your  first  statue ; 
start  in  manfully  and  finish  it,  and  if  your  teacher — 
I  can  never  remember  how  to  spell  his  name — will 
send  me  a  certificate  that  it  is  up  to  market  standard, 
you  shall  have  ten  thousand  dollars  to  do  what  you 
like  with,  either  at  home  or  in  Paris.  I  suggest,  since 
you  say  the  facilities  for  work  are  so  much  greater  in 
that  city,  you  would  do  well  to  buy  or  build  a  little 
home ;  and  the  first  thing  you  know,  your  dad  will  be 
dropping  in  for  a  luncheon.  Indeed,  I  would  come 
now — for  I  am  beginning  to  grow  old,  and  I  long  to 
see  my  dear  boy — but  there  are  still  some  operations 
that  want  watching  and  nursing.  Tell  your  friend, 
Mr.  Pinkerton,  that  I  read  his  letters  every  week  ;  and 
though  I  have  looked  in  vain  lately  for  my  Loudon's 
name,  still  I  learn  something  of  the  life  he  is  leading 
in  that  strange  Old  World  depicted  by  an  able  pen." 

Here  was  a  letter  that  no  young  man  could  pos- 
sibly digest  in  solitude.  It  marked  one  of  those 
junctures  when  the  confidant  is  necessary;  and  the 
confidant  selected  was  none  other  than  Jim  Pinker- 
ton.     My  father's  message  may  have  had  an  influence 


IN  WHICH  I  EXPERIENCE  EXTREMES  OF  FORTUNE.  55 

in  this  decision ;  but  I  scarce  suppose  so,  for  the 
intimacy  was  already  far  advanced.  I  had  a  genuine 
and  lively  taste  for  my  compatriot ;  I  laughed  at,  I 
scolded,  and  I  loved  him.  He,  upon  his  side,  paid 
me  a  kind  of  doglike  service  of  admiration,  gazing  at 
me  from  afar  off,  as  at  one  who  had  liberally  enjoyed 
those  "  advantages  "  which  he  envied  for  himself  He 
followed  at  heel ;  his  laugh  was  ready  chorus ;  our 
friends  gave  him  the  nickname  of  "  The  Henchman."  It 
was  in  this  insidious  form  that  servitude  approached  me. 

Pinkerton  and  I  read  and  re-read  the  famous 
news :  he,  I  can  swear,  with  an  enjoyment  as  un- 
alloyed and  far  more  vocal  than  my  own.  The  statue 
was  nearly  done :  a  few  days'  work  sufficed  to  prepare 
it  for  exhibition ;  the  master  was  approached ;  he 
gave  his  consent ;  and  one  cloudless  morning  of  May 
beheld  us  gathered  in  my  studio  for  the  hour  of  trial. 
The  master  wore  his  many-hued  rosette;  he  came 
attended  by  two  of  my  French  fellow-pupils — friends 
of  mine,  and  both  considerable  sculptors  in  Paris  at 
this  hour.  "  Corporal  John  "  (as  we  used  to  call  him), 
breaking  for  once  those  habits  of  study  and  reserve 
which  have  since  carried  him  so  high  in  the  opinion 
of  the  world,  had  left  his  easel  of.  a  morning  to  count- 
enance a  fellow-countryman  in  some  suspense.  My 
dear  old  Romney  was  there  by  particular  request ;  for 
who  that  knew  him  would  think  a  pleasure  quite 
complete  unless  he  shared  it,  or  not  support  a  morti- 
fication more  easily  if  he  were  present  to  console? 
The  party  was  completed  by  John  Myner,  the  English- 
man ;  by  the  brothers  Stennis — S tennis-am^  and 
Stennis-jWre,  as  they  used  to  figure  on  their  accounts 
at  Barbizon — a  pair  of  hare-brained  Scots  ;  and  by  the 
inevitable  Jim,  as  white  as  a  sheet  and  bedewed  with 
the  sweat  of  anxiety. 

I  suppose  I  was  little  better  myself  when  I  un- 
veiled the  Genius  of  Muskegon.  The  master  walked 
about  it  seriously ;  then  he  smiled. . 


56  THE   WRECKER. 

"  It  is  already  not  so  bad,"  said  he,  in  that  funny 
English  of  which  he  was  so  proud ;  "  no,  already  not 
so  bad." 

We  all  drew  a  deep  breath  of  relief;  and  Corporal 
John  (as  the  most  considerable  junior  present)  ex- 
plained to  him  it  was  intended  for  a  public  building, 
a  kind  of  prefecture. 

"  H6 !  quoi  ? "  cried  he,  relapsing  into  French. 
"  Qu'est-ce  que  vous  me  chantez  Id  ?  Oh,  in  America," 
he  added,  on  further  information  being  hastily  fur- 
nished. "  That  is  anozer  sing.  Oh,  very  good — very 
good." 

The  idea  of  the  required  certificate  had  to  be 
introduced  to  his  mind  in  the  light  of  a  pleasantry — 
the  fancy  of  a  nabob  little  more  advanced  than  the 
red  Indians  of  "  Fennimore  Cooperr "  ;  and  it  took 
all  our  talents  combined  to  conceive  a  form  of  words 
that  would  be  acceptable  on  both  sides.  One  was 
found,  however:  Corporal  John  engrossed  it  in  his 
undecipherable  hand,  the  master  lent  it  the  sanction 
of  his  name  and  flourish,  I  slipped  it  into  an  envelope 
along  with  one  of  the  two  letters  I  had  ready  pre- 
pared in  my  pocket,  and  as  the  rest  of  us  moved  off 
along  the  boulevard  to  breakfast,  Pinkerton  was  de- 
tached in  a  cab  and  duly  committed  it  to  the  post. 

The  breakfast  was  ordered  at  Lavenue's,  where  no 
one  need  be  ashamed  to  entertain  even  the  master ; 
the  table  was  laid  in  the  garden ;  I  had  chosen  the 
bill  of  fare  myself ;  on  the  wine  question  we  held  a 
council  of  war,  with  the  most  fortunate  results ;  and 
the  talk,  as  soon  as  the  master  laid  aside  his  painful 
English,  became  fast  and  furious.  There  were  a  few 
interruptions,  indeed,  in  the  way  of  toasts.  The 
master's  health  had  to  be  drunk,  and  he  responded  in 
a  little  well-turned  speech,  full  of  neat  allusions  to  my 
future  and  to  the  United  States  ;  my  health  followed ; 
and  then  my  father's  must  not  only  be  proposed  and 
drunk,  but  a  full  report  must  be  despatched  to  him  at 


IN  WHICH  I  EXPERIENCE  EXTREMES  OF  FORTUNE.  57 

once  by  cablegram — an  extravagance  which  was  al- 
most the  means  of  the  master's  dissolution.  Choosing 
Corporal  John  to  be  his  confidant  (on  the  ground,  I 
presume,  that  he  was  already  too  good  an  artist  to  be 
any  longer  an  American  except  in  name)  he  summed 
up  his  amazement  in  one  oft-repeated  formula — 
"  G'est  barbare  ! "  Apart  from  these  genial  formal- 
ities, we  talked,  talked  of  art,  and  talked  of  it  as 
only  artists  can.  Here  in  the  South  Seas  we  talk 
schooners  most  of  the  time ;  in  the  Quarter  we 
talked  art  with  the  like  unflagging  interest,  and 
perhaps  as  much  result. 

Before  very  long  the  master  went  away  ;  Corporal 
John  (who  was  already  a  sort  of  young  master)  fol- 
lowed on  his  heels  ;  and  the  rank  and  file  were  natur- 
ally relieved  by  their  departure.  We  were  now 
among  equals;  the  bottle  passed,  the  conversation 
sped.  I  think  I  can  still  hear  the  Stennis  brothers 
pour  forth  their  copious  tirades ;  Dijon,  my  portly 
French  fellow-student,  drop  witticisms,  well-condi- 
tioned like  himself ;  and  another  (who  was  weak  in 
foreign  languages)  dash  hotly  into  the  current  of  talk 
with  some  "  Je  trove  que  pore  oon  sontimong  de 
delicacy,  Gorot  .  .  . "  or  some  "  Pour  moi  Gorot  est  le 
plou  ..."  and  then,  his  little  raft  of  French  foun- 
dering at  once,  scramble  silently  to  shore  again.  He 
at  least  could  understand  ;  but  to  Pinkerton,  I  think 
the  noise,  the  wine,  the  sun,  the  shadows  of  the  leaves, 
and  the  esoteric  glory  of  being  seated  at  a  foreign 
festival,  made  up  the  whole  available  means  of  enter- 
tainment. 

We  sat  down  about  half-past  eleven ;  I  suppose  it 
was  two  when,  some  point  arising  and  some  particular 
picture  being  instanced,  an  adjournment  to  the  Louvre 
was  proposed.  I  paid  the  score,  and  in  a  moment 
we  were  trooping  down  the  Rue  de  Renne.  It  was 
smoking  hot;  Paris  glittered  with  that  superficial 
brilliancy  which  is  so  agreeable  to  the  man  in  high 


58  THE   WRECKER 

spirits,  and  in  moods  of  dejection  so  depressing ;  the 
wine  sang  in  my  ears,  it  danced  and  brightened  in  my 
eyes.  The  pictures  that  we  saw  that  afternoon,  as  we 
sped  briskly  and  loquaciously  through  the  immortal 
galleries,  appear  to  me,  upon  a  retrospect,  the  loveliest 
of  all ;  the  comments  we  exchanged  to  have  touched 
the  highest  mark  of  criticism,  grave  or  gay. 

It  was  only  when  we  issued  again  from  the 
museum  that  a  difference  of  race  broke  up  the  party. 
Dijon  proposed  an  adjournment  to  a  cafe,  there  to 
finish  the  afternoon  on  beer ;  the  elder  Stennis  revolted 
at  the  thought,  moved  for  the  country — a  forest,  if 
possible — and  a  long  walk.  At  once  the  English 
speakers  rallied  to  the  name  of  any  exercise ;  even  to 
me,  who  have  been  often  twitted  with  my  sedentary 
habits,  the  thought  of  country  air  and  stillness  proved 
invincibly  attractive.  It  appeared,  upon  investigation, 
we  had  just  time  to  hail  a  cab  and  catch  one  of  the 
fast  trains  for  Fontainebleau.  Beyond  the  clothes  we 
stood  in  all  were  destitute  of  what  is  called,  with 
dainty  vagueness,  personal  effects ;  and  it  was  earnestly 
mooted,  on  the  other  side,  whether  we  had  not  time  to 
call  upon  the  way  and  pack  a  satchel?  But  the 
Stennis  boys  exclaimed  upon  our  effeminacy.  They 
had  come  from  London,  it  appeared,  a  week  before 
with  nothing  but  great-coats  and  tooth-brushes.  No 
baggage — there  was  the  secret  of  existence.  It  was 
expensive,  to  be  sure,  for  every  time  you  had  to  comb 
your  hair  a  barber  must  be  paid,  and  every  time  you 
changed  your  linen  one  shirt  must  be  bought  and 
another  thrown  away ;  but  anything  was  better,  argued 
these  young  gentlemen,  than  to  be  the  slaves  of 
haversacks.  "  A  fellow  has  to  get  rid  gradually  of  all 
material  attachments  :  that  was  manhood,"  said  they  ; 
"and  as  long  as  you  were  bound  down  to  anything 
—house,  umbrella,  or  portmanteau — you  were  still 
tethered  by  the  umbilical  cord."  Something  engaging 
in  this  theory  carried  the  most  of  us  away.     The  two 


IN  WHICH  I  EXPERIENCE  EXTREMES  OF  FORTUNE.  59 

Frenchmen,  indeed,  retired  scoffing  to  their  bock,  and 
Romney,  being  too  poor  to  join  the  excursion  on 
his  own  resources  and  too  proud  to  borrow,  melted 
unobtrusively  away.  Meanwhile  the  remainder  of  the 
company  crowded  the  benches  of  a  cab ;  the  horse  was 
urged,  as  horses  have  to  be,  by  an  appeal  to  the  pocket 
of  the  driver ;  the  train  caught  by  the  inside  of  a 
minute ;  and  in  less  than  an  hour  and  a  half  we  were 
breathing  deep  of  the  sweet  air  of  the  forest,  and 
stretching  our  legs  up  the  hill  from  Fontainebleau 
octroi,  bound  for  Barbizon.  That  the  leading  members 
of  our  party  covered  the  distance  in  fifty- one  minutes 
and  a  half  is,  I  believe,  one  of  the  historic  landmarks 
of  the  colony;  but  you  will  scarce  be  surprised  to 
learn  that  I  was  somewhat  in  the  rear.  Myner,  a 
comparatively  philosophic  Briton,  kept  me  company  in 
my  deliberate  advance;  the  glory  of  the  sun's  going 
down,  the  fall  of  the  long  shadows,  the  inimitable 
scent,  and  the  inspiration  of  the  woods,  attuned  me 
more  and  more  to  walk  in  a  silence  which  pro- 
gressively infected  my  companion;  and  I  remember 
that,  when  at  last  he  spoke,  I  was  startled  from  a  deep 
abstraction. 

"  Your  father  seems  to  be  a  pretty  good  kind  of  a 
father,"  said  he.  "  Why  don't  he  come  to  see  you  ?  " 
I  was  ready  with  some  dozen  of  reasons,  and  had  more 
in  stock;  but  Myner,  with  that  shrewdness  which 
made  him  feared  and  admired,  suddenly  fixed  me 
with  his  eye-glass  and  asked,  "  Ever  press  him  ? " 

The  blood  came  in  my  face,  ho,  I  had  never 
pressed  him ;  I  had  never  even  encouraged  him  to 
come.  I  was  proud  of  him,  proud  of  his  handsome 
looks,  of  his  kind  gentle  ways,  of  that  bright  face  he 
could  show  when  others  were  happy;  proud,  too — 
meanly  proud,  if  you  like — of  his  great  wealth  and 
startling  liberalities.  And  yet  he  would  have  been  in 
the  way  of  my  Paris  life,  of  much  of  which  he  would 
have  disapproved.     I  had  feared  to  expose  to  criticism 


60  THE  WRECKER. 

his  innocent  remarks  on  art ;  I  had  told  myself,  I  had 
even  partly  believed,  he  did  not  want  to  come ;  I  had 
been,  and  still  am,  convinced  that  he  was  sure  to  be  un- 
happy out  of  Muskegon ;  in  short,  I  had  a  thousand 
reasons,  good  and  bad,  not  all  of  which  could  alter  one 
iota  of  the  fact  that  I  knew  he  only  waited  for  my 
invitation. 

"  Thank  you,  Myner,"  said  I ;  "  you're  a  much 
better  fellow  than  ever  I  supposed.  I'll  write  to- 
night." 

"  Oh,  you're  a  pretty  decent  sort  yourself,"  returned 
Myner,  with  more  than  his  usual  flippancy  of  manner, 
but,  as  I  was  gratefully  aware,  not  a  trace  of  his  occa- 
sional irony  of  meaning. 

Well,  these  were  brave  days,  on  which  I  could 
dwell  for  ever.  Brave,  too,  were  those  that  followed, 
when  Pinkerton  and  I  walked  Paris  and  the  suburbs, 
viewing  and  pricing  houses  for  my  new  establishment, 
or  covered  ourselves  with  dust  and  returned  laden 
with  Chinese  gods  and  brass  warming-pans  from  the 
dealers  in  antiquities.  I  found  Pinkerton  well  up  in  the 
situation  of  these  establishments  as  well  as  in  the  cur- 
rent prices,  and  with  quite  a  smattering  of  critical  judg- 
ment. It  turned  out  he  was  investing  capital  in  pic- 
tures and  curiosities  for  the  States,  and  the  superficial 
thoroughness  of  the  creature  appeared  in  the  fact  that 
although  he  would  never  be  a  connoisseur,  he  was  al- 
ready something  of  an  expert.  The  things  themselves 
left  him  as  near  as  may  be  cold,  but  he  had  a  joy  of 
his  own  in  understanding  how  to  buy  and  sell  them. 

In  such  engagements  the  time  passed  until  I 
might  very  well  expect  an  answer  from  my  father. 
Two  mails  followed  each  other,  and  brought  nothing. 
By  the  third  I  received  a  long  and  almost  incoherent 
letter  of  remorse,  encouragement,  consolation,  and 
despair.  From  this  pitiful  document,  which  (with 
a  movement  of  piety)  I  burned  as  soon  as  I  had 
read  it,  I  gathered  that  the  bubble   of  my  father's 


IN  WHICH  I  EXPERIENCE  EXTREMES  OF  FORTUNE.  61 

wealth  was  burst,  that  he  was  now  both  penniless 
and  sick;  and  that  I,  so  far  from  expecting  ten 
thousand  dollars  to  throw  away  in  juvenile  extrava- 
gance, must  look  no  longer  for  the  quarterly  re- 
mittances on  which  I  lived.  My  case  was  hard 
enough;  but  I  had  sense  enough  to  perceive,  and 
decency  enough  to  do,  my  duty.  1  sold  my  curiosities 
— or,  rather,  I  sent  Pinkerton  to  sell  them  ;  and  he 
had  previously  bought,  and  now  disposed  of  them,  so 
wisely  that  the  loss  was  trifling.  This,  with  what 
remained  of  my  last  allowance,  left  me  at  the  head 
of  no  less  than  five  thousand  francs.  Five  hundred 
I  reserved  for  my  own  immediate  necessities:  the 
rest  I  mailed  inside  of  the  week  to  my  father  at 
Muskegon,  where  they  came  in  time  to  pay  his 
funeral  expenses. 

The  news  of  his  death  was  scarcely  a  surprise  and 
scarce  a  grief  to  me.  I  could  not  conceive  my  father 
a  poor  man.  He  had  led  too  long  a  life  of  thought- 
less and  generous  profusion  to  endure  the  change ; 
and  though  I  grieved  for  myself,  I  was  able  to 
rejoice  that  my  father  had  been  taken  from  the 
battle.  I  grieved,  I  say,  for  myself;  and  it  is  prob- 
able there  were  at  the  same  date  many  thousands 
of  persons  grieving  with  less  cause.  I  had  lost  my 
father ;  I  had  lost  the  allowance ;  my  whole  fortune 
(including  what  had  been  returned  from  Muskegon) 
scarce  amounted  to  a  thousand  francs ;  and,  to  crown 
my  sorrows,  the  statuary  contract  had  changed 
hands.  The  new  contractor  had  a  son  of  his  own, 
or  else  a  nephew ;  and  it  was  signified  to  me,  with 
business-like  plainness,  that  I  must  find  another 
market  for  my  pigs.  In  the  meanwhile  I  had  given 
up  my  room,  and  slept  on  a  truckle-bed  in  the 
corner  of  the  studio,  where,  as  I  read  myself  to  sleep 
at  night,  and  when  I  awoke  in  the  morning,  that 
now  useless  bulk,  the  Genius  of  Muskegon,  was  ever 
present   to  my  eyes.      Poor  stone  lady!  born  to  be 


62  THE   WRECKER. 

enthroned  under  the  gilded,  echoing  dome  of  the 
new  capitol,  whither  was  she  now  to  drift  ?  for  what 
base  purposes  be  ultimately  broken  up,  like  an 
unseaworthy  ship  ?  and  what  should  befall  her  ill- 
starred  artificer,  standing  with  his  thousand  francs 
on  the  threshold  of  a  life  so  hard  as  that  of  the 
unbefriended  sculptor  ? 

It  was  a  subject  often  and  earnestly  debated  by 
myself  and  Pinkerton.  In  his  opinion  I  should 
instantly  discard  my  profession.  "  Just  drop  it,  here 
and  now,"  he  would  say.  "  Come  back  home  with 
me,  and  let's  throw  our  whole  soul  into  business. 
I  have  the  capital;  you  bring  the  culture.  Dodd 
and  Pinkerton — I  never  saw  a  better  name  for  an 
advertisement ;  and  you  can't  think,  Loudon,  how 
much  depends  upon  a  name."  On  my  side  I  would 
admit  that  a  sculptor  should  possess  one  of  three 
things — capital,  influence,  or  an  energy  only  to  be 
qualified  as  hellish.  The  first  two  I  had  now  lost; 
to  the  third  I  never  had  the  smallest  claim;  and 
yet  I  wanted  the  cowardice  (or,  perhaps,  it  was  the 
courage)  to  turn  my  back  on  my  career  without  a 
fight.  I  told  him,  besides,  that  however  poor  my 
chances  were  in  sculpture,  I  was  convinced  they  were 
yet  worse  in  business,  for  which  I  equally  lacked 
taste  and  aptitude.  But  upon  this  head  he  was 
my  father  over  again ;  assured  me  that  I  spoke  in 
ignorance ;  that  any  intelligent  and  cultured  person 
was  bound  to  succeed;  that  I  must,  besides,  have 
inherited  some  of  my  father's  fitness ;  and,  at  any 
rate,  that  I  had  been  regularly  trained  for  that  career 
in  the  commercial  college. 

"Pinkerton,"  I  said,  "can't  you  understand  that, 
as  long  as  I  was  there,  I  never  took  the  smallest 
interest  in  any  stricken  thing  ?  The  whole  affair  was 
poison  to  me." 

"  It's  not  possible,"  he  would  cry ;  "  it  can't  be ; 
you  couldn't  live  in  the  midst  of  it  and  not  feel  the 


IN  WHICH  I  EXPERIENCE  EXTREMES  OF  FORTUNE.  63 

charm ;  with  all  your  poetry  of  soul,  you  couldn't 
help !  Loudon,"  he  would  go  on,  "  you  drive  me 
crazy.  You  expect  a  man  to  be  all  broken  up  about 
the  sunset,  and  not  to  care  a  dime  for  a  place  where 
fortunes  are  fought  for  and  made  and  lost  all  day; 
or  for  a  career  that  consists  in  studying  up  life  till 
you  have  it  at  your  finger-ends,  spying  out  every 
cranny  where  you  can  get  your  hand  in  and  a  dollar 
out,  and  standing  there  in  the  midst — one  foot  on 
bankruptcy,  the  other  on  a  borrowed  dollar,  and  the 
whole  thing  spinning  round  you  like  a  mill — raking 
in  the  stamps,  in  spite  of  fate  and  fortune." 

To  this  romance  of  dickering  I  would  reply  with 
the  romance  (which  is  also  the  virtue)  of  art :  re- 
minding him  of  those  examples  of  constancy  through 
many  tribulations,  with  which  the  role  of  Apollo  is 
illustrated — from  the  case  of  Millet,  to  those  of  many 
of  our  friends  and  comrades,  who  had  chosen  this 
agreeable  mountain  path  through  life,  and  were  now 
bravely  clambering  among  rocks  and  brambles,  penni- 
less and  hopeful. 

"You  will  never  understand  it,  Pinkerton,"  I 
would  say.  "  You  look  to  the  result,  you  want  to 
see  some  profit  of  your  endeavours :  that  is  why 
you  could  never  learn  to  paint,  if  you  lived  to  be 
Methusalem.  The  result  is  always  a  fizzle  :  the 
eyes  of  the  artist  are  turned  in ;  he  lives  for  a  frame 
of  mind.  Look  at  Romney  now.  There  is  the 
nature  of  the  artist.  He  hasn't  a  cent ;  and  if  you 
offered  him  to-morrow  the  command  of  an  army,  or 
the  presidentship  of  the  United  States,  he  wouldn't 
take  it,  and  you  know  he  wouldn't." 

"  I  suppose  not,"  Pinkerton  would  cry,  scouring  his 
hair  with  both  his  hands  ;  "  and  I  can't  see  why  ;  I 
can't  see  what  in  fits  he  would  be  after,  not  to;  I 
don't  seem  to  rise  to  these  views.  Of  course  it's  the 
fault  of  not  having  had  advantages  in  early  life ;  but, 
Loudon,  I'm  so  miserably  low  that  it  seems  to  me 


64  THE  WRECKER. 

silly.  The  fact  is,"  he  might  add  with  a  smile,  "  I 
don't  seem  to  have  the  least  use  for  a  frame  of  mind 
without  square  meals  ;  and  you  can't  get  it  out  of  my 
head  that  it's  a  man's  duty  to  die  rich,  if  he  can." 

"  What  for  ? "  I  asked  him  once. 

"  Oh,  I  don't  know,"  he  replied.  "  Why  in  snakes 
should  anybody  want  to  be  a  sculptor,  if  you  come  to 
that  ?  I  would  love  to  sculp  myself.  But  what  I 
can't  see  is  why  you  should  want  to  do  nothing  else. 
It  seems  to  argue  a  poverty  of  nature." 

Whether  or  not  he  ever  came  to  understand  me — 
and  I  have  been  so  tossed  about  since  then  that  I  am 
not  very  sure  I  understand  myself — he  soon  perceived 
that  I  was  perfectly  in  earnest ;  and  after  about  ten 
da}^s  of  argument,  suddenly  dropped  the  subject,  and 
announced  that  he  was  wasting  capital,  and  must  go 
home  at  once.  No  doubt  he  should  have  gone  long 
before,  and  had  already  lingered  over  his  intended 
time  for  the  sake  of  our  companionship  and  my  mis- 
fortune ;  but  man  is  so  unjustly  minded  that  the  very 
fact,  which  ought  to  have  disarmed,  only  embittered 
my  vexation.  I  resented  his  departure  in  the  light  of 
a  desertion  ;  I  would  not  say,  but  doubtless  I  betrayed 
it;  and  something  hang-dog  in  the  man's  face  and 
bearing  led  me  to  believe  he  was  himself  remorseful. 
It  is  certain  at  least  that,  during  the  time  of  his  pre- 
parations, we  drew  sensibly  apart — a  circumstance 
that  I  recall  with  shame.  On  the  last  day  he  had 
me  to  dinner  at  a  restaurant  which  he  knew  I  had 
formerly  frequented,  and  had  only  forsworn  of  late 
from  considerations  of  economy.  He  seemed  ill  at 
ease;  I  was  myself  both  sorry  and  sulky;  and  the 
meal  passed  with  little  conversation. 

"  Now,  Loudon,"  said  he,  with  a  visible  effort,  after 
the  coffee  was  come  and  our  pipes  lighted,  "  you  can 
never  understand  the  gratitude  and  loyalty  I  bear 
you.  You  don't  know  what  a  boon  it  is  to  be  taken 
up  by  a  man  that  stands  on  the  pinnacle  of  civilisa- 


IN  WHICH   I   EXPERIENCE  EXTREMES  OF  FORTUNE.  65 

tion ;  you  can't  think  how  it's  refined  and  purified  me, 
how  it's  appealed  to  my  spiritual  nature ;  and  I  want 
to  tell  you  that  I  would  die  at  your  door  like  a  dog." 

I  don't  know  what  answer  I  tried  to  make,  but  he 
cut  me  short. 

"  Let  me  say  it  out ! "  he  cried.  "  I  revere  you  for 
your  whole-souled  devotion  to  art ;  I  can't  rise  to  it, 
but  there's  a  strain  of  poetry  in  my  nature,  Loudon, 
that  responds  to  it.  I  want  you  to  carry  it  out,  and  I 
mean  to  help  you." 

"Pinkerton,  what  nonsense  is  this  ? "  I  interrupted. 

"  Now  don't  get  mad,  Loudon  ;  this  is  a  plain  piece 
of  business,"  said  he  ;  "  it's  done  every  day  ;  it's  even 
typical.  How  are  all  those  fellows  over  here  in  Paris, 
Henderson,  Sumner,  Long  ? — it's  all  the  same  story  : 
a  young  man  just  plum  full  of  artistic  genius  on  the 
one  side,  a  man  of  business  on  the  other  who  doesn't 
know  what  to  do  with  his  dollars " 

"  But,  you  fool,  you're  as  poor  as  a  rat,"  I  cried. 

"You  wait  till  I  get  my  irons  in  the  fire!"  returned 
Pinkerton.  "  I'm  bound  to  be  rich ;  and  I  tell  you  I 
mean  to  have  some  of  the  fun  as  I  go  along.  Here's 
your  first  allowance ;  take  it  at  the  hand  of  a  friend  ; 
I'm  one  that  holds  friendship  sacred,  as  you  do  your- 
self. It's  only  a  hundred  francs  ;  you'll  get  the  same 
every  month,  and  as  soon  as  my  business  begins  to 
expand  we'll  increase  it  to  something  fitting.  And  so 
far  from  it's  being  a  favour,  just  let  me  handle  your 
statuary  for  the  American  market,  and  I'll  call  it  one 
of  the  smartest  strokes  of  business  in  my  life." 

It  took  me  a  long  time,  and  it  had  cost  us  both 
much  grateful  and  painful  emotion,  before  I  had  finally 
managed  to  refuse  his  offer  and  compounded  for  a 
bottle  of  particular  wine.  He  dropped  the  subject  at 
last  suddenly  with  a  "  Never  mind ;  that's  all  done 
with  "  ;  nor  did  he  again  refer  to  the  subject,  though 
we  passed  together  the  rest  of  the  afternoon,  and  I 
accompanied  "him,  on  his   departure,  to   the   doors 


66  THE   WRECKER 

of  the  waiting-room  at  St.  Lazare.  I  felt  myself 
strangely  alone ;  a  voice  told  me  that  I  had  rejected 
both  the  counsels  of  wisdom  and  the  helping  hand  of 
friendship  ;  and  as  I  passed  through  the  great  bright 
city  on  my  homeward  way,  I  measured  it  for  the  first 
time  with  the  eye  of  an  adversary. 


CHAPTER    Y. 

IN   WHICH   I   AM   DOWN   ON  MY   LUCK   IN   PARIS. 

In  no  part  of  the  world  is  starvation  an  agreeable 
business ;  but  I  believe  it  is  admitted  there  is  no  worse 
place  to  starve  in  than  this  city  of  Paris.  The  appear- 
ances of  life  are  there  so  especially  gay,  it  is  so  much 
a  magnified  beer-garden,  the  houses  are  so  ornate,  the 
theatres  so  numerous,  the  very  pace  of  the  vehicles  is 
so  brisk,  that  a  man  in  any  deep  concern  of  mind  or 
pain  of  body  is  constantly  driven  in  upon  himself.  In 
his  own  eyes,  he  seems  the  one  serious  creature 
moving  in  a  world  of  horrible  unreality;  voluble 
people  issuing  from  a  cafe,  the  queue  at  theatre  doors, 
Sunday  cabfuls  of  second-rate  pleasure-seekers,  the 
bedizened  ladies  of  the  pavement,  the  show  in  the 
jewellers'  windows — all  the  familiar  sights  contributing 
to  flout  his  own  unhappiness,  want,  and  isolation.  At 
the  same  time,  if  he  be  at  all  after  my  pattern,  he  is 
perhaps  supported  by  a  childish  satisfaction.  "  This  is 
life  at  last,"  he  may  tell  himself;  "  this  is  the  real  thing. 
The  bladders  on  which  I  was  set  swimming  are  now 
empty ;  my  own  weight  depends  upon  the  ocean ;  by 
my  own  exertions  I  must  perish  or  succeed ;  and  I 
am  now  enduring  in  the  vivid  fact,  what  I  so  much 
delighted  to  read  of  in  the  case  of  Lonsteau  or  Lucien, 
Rodolphe  or  Schaunard." 

Of  the  steps  of  my  misery,  I  cannot  tell  at  length. 


IN   WHICH   I    AM   DOWN   ON   MY   LUCK    IN   PARIS.     67 

In  ordinary  times  what  were  politically  called  "  loans  " 
(although  they  were  never  meant  to  be  repaid)  were 
matters  of  constant  course  among  the  students,  and 
many  a  man  has  partly  lived  on  them  for  years.  But 
my  misfortune  befell  me  at  an  awkward  juncture. 
Many  of  my  friends  were  gone;  others  were  them- 
selves in  a  precarious  situation.  Romney  (for  in- 
stance) was  reduced  to  tramping  Paris  in  a  pair  of 
country  sabots,  his  only  suit  of  clothes  so  imperfect 
(in  spite  of  cunningly-adjusted  pins)  that  the  authori- 
ties at  the  Luxembourg  suggested  his  withdrawal 
from  the  gallery.  Dijon,  too,  was  on  a  leeshore, 
designing  clocks  and  gas-brackets  for  a  dealer.;  and 
the  most  he  could  do  was  to  offer  me  a  corner  of  his 
studio  where  I  might  work.  My  own  studio  (it  will 
be  gathered)  I  had  by  that  time  lost;  and  in  the 
course  of  my  expulsion  the  Genius  of  Muskegon  was 
finally  separated  from  her  author.  To  continue  to 
possess  a  full-sized  statue,  a  man  must  have  a  studio, 
a  gallery,  or  at  least  the  freedom  of  a  back  garden. 
He  cannot  carry  it  about  with  him,  like  a  satchel,  in 
the  bottom  of  a  cab,  nor  can  he  cohabit  in  a  garret 
ten  by  fifteen  with  so  momentous  a  companion.  It 
was  my  first  idea  to  leave  her  behind  at  my  departure. 
There,  in  her  birthplace,  she  might  lend  an  inspi- 
ration, methought,  to  my  successor.  But  the  pro- 
prietor, with  whom  I  had  unhappily  quarrelled,  seized 
the  occasion  to  be  disagreeable,  and  called  upon  me  to 
remove  my  property.  For  a  man  in  such  straits  as 
I  now  found  myself,  the  hire  of  a  lorry  was  a  con- 
sideration ;  and  yet  even  that  I  could  have  faced,  if 
I  had  had  anywhere  to  drive  to  after  it  was  hired. 
Hysterical  laughter  seized  upon  me  as  I  beheld  (in 
imagination)  myself,  the  waggoner,  and  the  Genius 
of  Muskegon,  standing  in  the  public  view  of  Paris, 
without  the  shadow  of  a  destination ;  perhaps  driving 
at  last  to  the  nearest  rubbish  heap,  and  dumping 
there,  among  the  ordures  of  a  city,  the  beloved  child 
r  2 


68  THE   WRECKER. 

of  mv  invention.  From  these  extremities  I  was  re- 
lieved by  a  seasonable  offer,  and  I  parted  from  the 
Genius  of  Muskegon  for  thirty  francs.  Where  she 
now  stands,  under  what  name  she  is  admired  or 
criticised,  history  does  not  inform  us ;  but  I  like  to 
think  she  may  adorn  the  shrubbery  of  some  suburban 
tea-garden,  where  holiday  shop-girls  hang  their  hats 
upon  the  mother,  and  their  swains  (by  way  of  an 
approach  of  gallantry)  identify  the  winged  infant  with 
the  god  of  love. 

In  a  certain  cabman's  eating-house  on  the  outer 
boulevard  I  got  credit  for  my  midday  meal.  Supper 
I  was  supposed  not  to  require,  sitting  down  nightly  to 
the  delicate  table  of  some  rich  acquaintances.  This 
arrangement  was  extremely  ill-considered.  My  fable, 
credible  enough  at  first,  and  so  long  as  my  clothes 
were  in  good  order,  must  have  seemed  worse  than 
doubtful  after  my  coat  became  frayed  about  the 
edges,  and  my  boots  began  to  squelch  and  pipe  along 
the  restaurant  floors.  The  allowance  of  one  meal  a 
day,  besides,  though  suitable  enough  to  the  state  of 
my  finances,  agreed  poorly  with  my  stomach.  The 
restaurant  was  a  place  I  had  often  visited  experi- 
mentally, to  taste  the  life  of  students  then  more 
unfortunate  than  myself;  and  I  had  never  in  those 
days  entered  it  without  disgust,  or  left  it  without 
nausea.  It  was  strange  to  find  myself  sitting  down 
with  avidity,  rising  up  with  satisfaction,  and  counting 
the  hours  that  divided  me  from  my  return  to  such  a 
table.  But  hunger  is  a  great  magician ;  and  so  soon 
as  I  had  spent  my  ready  cash,  and  could  no  longer 
fill  up  on  bowls  of  chocolate  or  hunks  of  bread,  I 
must  depend  entirely  on  that  cabman's  eating-house, 
and  upon  certain  rare,  long-expected,  long-remem- 
bered windfalls.  Dijon  (for  instance)  might  get  paid 
for  some  of  his  pot-boiling  work,  or  else  an  old  friend 
would  pass  through  Paris;  and  then  I  would  be 
entertained  to  a  meal  after  my  own  soul,  and  contract 


IN    WHICH   I   AM   DOWN    ON    MY    LUCK    IN    PARIS.     69 

a  Latin  Quarter  loan,  which  would  keep  me  in  tobacco 
and  ruy  morning  coffee  for  a  fortnight.  It  might  be 
thought  the  latter  would  appear  the  more  important. 
It  might  be  supposed  that  a  life,  led  so  near  the 
confines  of  actual  famine,  should  have  dulled  the 
nicety  of  my  palate.  On  the  contrary,  the  poorer  a 
man's  diet,  the  more  sharply  is  he  set  on  dainties. 
The  last  of  my  ready  cash,  about  thirty  francs,  was 
deliberately  squandered  on  a  single  dinner;  and  a 
great  part  of  my  time  when  I  was  alone  was  passed 
upon  the  details  of  imaginary  feasts. 

One  gleam  of  hope  visited  me — an  order  for  a 
bust  from  a  rich  Southerner.  He  was  free-handed, 
jolly  of  speech,  merry  of  countenance;  kept  me  in 
good  humour  through  the  sittings,  and,  when  they 
were  over,  carried  me  off  with  him  to  dinner  and  the 
sights  of  Paris.  I  ate  well,  I  laid  on  flesh;  by  all 
accounts,  I  made  a  favourable  likeness  of  the  being, 
and  I  confess  I  thought  my  future  was  assured.  But 
when  the  bust  was  done,  and  I  had  despatched  it 
across  the  Atlantic,  I  could  never  so  much  as  learn  of 
its  arrival.  The  blow  felled  me ;  I  should  have  lain 
down  and  tried  no  stroke  to  right  myself,  had  not  the 
honour  of  my  country  been  involved.  For  Dijon 
improved  the  opportunity  in  the  European  style, 
informing  me  (for  the  first  time)  of  the  manners  of 
America :  how  it  was  a  den  of  banditti  without  the 
smallest  rudiment  of  law  or  order,  and  debts  could  be 
there  only  collected  with  a  shotgun.  "The  whole 
world  knows  it,"  he  would  say ;  "  you  are  alone,  mon 
petit  Loudon — you  are  alone,  to  be  in  ignorance  of 
these  facts.  The  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  fought 
but  the  other  day  with  stilettos  on  the  bench  at 
Cincinnati.  You  should  read  the  little  book  of  one  of 
my  friends,  '  Le  Touriste  dans  le  Far- West ';  you  will 
see  it  all  there  in  good  French."  At  last,  incensed  by 
days  of  such  discussion,  I  undertook  to  prove  to  him 
the  contrary,  and  put  the  affair  in  the  hands  of  my 


70  THE   WRECKER. 

late  father's  lawyer.  From  him  I  had  the  gratifi- 
cation of  hearing,  after  a  due  interval,  that  my  debtor 
was  dead  of  the  yellow  fever  in  Key  West,  and  had 
left  his  affairs  in  some  confusion.  I  suppress  his 
name;  for  though  he  treated  me  with  cruel  non- 
chalance, it  is  probable  he  meant  to  deal  fairly  in 
the  end. 

Soon  after  this  a  shade  of  change  in  my  reception 
at  the  cabman's  eating-house  marked  the  beginning  of 
a  new  phase  in  my  distress.  The  first  day  I  told 
myself  it  was  but  fancy  ;  the  next,  I  made  quite  sure 
it  was  a  fact ;  the  third,  in  mere  panic  I  stayed  away, 
and  went  for  forty-eight  hours  fasting.  This  was  an 
act  of  great  unreason  ;  for  the  debtor  who  stays  away 
is  but  the  more  remarked,  and  the  boarder  who  misses 
a  meal  is  sure  to  be  accused  of  infidelity.  On  the 
fourth  day,  therefore,  I  returned,  inwardly  quaking. 
The  proprietor  looked  askance  upon  my  entrance  ;  the 
waitresses  (who  were  his  daughters)  neglected  my 
wants,  and  sniffed  at  the  affected  joviality  of  my  salu- 
tations ;  last  and  most  plain,  when  I  called  for  a  suisse 
(such  as  was  being  served  to  all  the  other  diners),  I 
was  bluntly  told  there  were  no  more.  It  was  obvious 
I  was  near  the  end  of  my  tether ;  one  plank  divided 
me  from  want,  and  now  I  felt  it  tremble.  I  nassed  a 
sleepless  night,  and  the  first  thing  in  the  morning  took 
my  way  to  Myner's  studio.  It  was  a  step  I  had  long 
meditated  and  long  refrained  from ;  for  I  was  scarce 
intimate  with  the  Englishman ;  and  though  I  knew 
him  to  possess  plenty  of  money,  neither  his  manner 
nor  his  reputation  were  the  least  encouraging  to 
beggars. 


found  him  at  work  on  a  picture,  which  I  was 
able  conscientiously  to  praise,  dressed  in  his  usual 
tweeds — plain,  but  pretty  fresh,  and  standing  out  in 
disagreeable  contrast  to  my  own  withered  and  degraded 
outfit.  As  we  talked,  he  continued  to  shift  his  eyes 
watchfully  between  his  handiwork  and  the  fat  model, 


IN   WHICH   I   AM   DOWN   ON   MY   LUCK   IN   PARIS.     71 

who  sat  at  the  far  end  of  the  studio  in  a  state  of 
nature,  with  one  arm  gallantly  arched  above  her  head. 
My  errand  would  have  been  difficult  enough  under 
the  best  of  circumstances :  placed  between  Myner, 
immersed  in  his  art,  and  the  white,  fat,  naked  female 
in  a  ridiculous  attitude,  I  found  it  quite  impossible. 
Again  and  again  I  attempted  to  approach  the  point, 
again  and  again  fell  back  on  commendations  of  the 
picture ;  and  it  was  not  until  the  model  had  enjoyed 
an  interval  of  repose,  during  which  she  took  the  con- 
versation in  her  own  hands  and  regaled  us  (in  a  soft 
weak  voice)  with  details  as  to  her  husband's  prosperity, 
her  sister's  lamented  decline  from  the  paths  of  virtue, 
and  the  consequent  wrath  of  her  father,  a  peasant  of 
stern  principles,  in  the  vicinity  of  Chalons  on  the 
Marne — it  was  not,  I  say,  until  after  this  was  over, 
and  I  had  once  more  cleared  my  throat  for  the  attack, 
and  once  more  dropped  aside  into  some  commonplace 
about  the  picture,  that  Myner  himself  brought  me 
suddenly  and  vigorously  to  the  point. 

"  You  didn't  come  here  to  talk  this  rot,"  said  he. 

"  No,"  I  replied  sullenly ;  "  I  came  to  borrow 
money." 

He  painted  awhile  in  silence. 

"  I  don't  think  we  were  ever  very  intimate  ? "  he 
asked. 

"  Thank  you,"  said  I.  "  I  can  take  my  answer," 
and  I  made  as  if  to  go,  rage  boiling  in  my  heart. 

"Of  course  you  can  go  if  you  like,"  said  Myner, 
"  but  I  advise  you  to  stay  and  have  it  out." 

"What  more  is  there  to  say?"  I  cried.  "You 
don't  want  to  keep  me  here  for  a  needless  humili- 
ation ? " 

"  Look  here,  Dodd ;  you  must  try  and  command 
your  temper,"  said  he.  "This  interview  is  of  your  own 
seeking,  and  not  mine;  if  you  suppose  it's  not  dis- 
agreeable to  me,  you're  wrong  ;  and  if  you  think  I  will 
give  you  money  without  knowing  thoroughly  about 


72  THE   WRECKER. 

your  prospects,  you  take  me  for  a  fool.  Besides,"  he 
added,  "  if  you  come  to  look  at  it,  you've  got  over  the 
worst  of  it  by  now :  you  have  done  the  asking,  and 
you  have  every  reason  to  know  I  mean  to  refuse.  I 
hold  out  no  false  hopes,  but  it  may  be  worth  your 
while  to  let  me  judge." 

Thus — I  was  going  to  say — encouraged,  I  stumbled 
through  my  story ;  told  him  I  had  credit  at  the  cab- 
man's eating-house,  but  began  to  think  it  was  drawing 
to  a  close  ;  now  Dijon  lent  me  a  corner  of  his  studio, 
where  I  tried  to  model  ornaments,  figures  for  clocks, 
Time  with  the  scythe,  Leda  and  the  swan,  musketeers 
for  candlesticks,  and  other  kickshaws,  which  had  never 
(up  to  that  day)  been  honoured  with  the  least  approval. 

"  And  your  room  ?  "  asked  Myner. 

"  Oh,  my  room  is  all  right,  I  think,"  said  I.  "  She 
is  a  very  good  old  lady,  and  has  never  even  mentioned 
her  bill." 

"  Because  she  is  a  very  good  old  lady,  I  don't  see 
why  she  should  be  fined,"  observed  Myner. 

"  What  do  you  mean  by  that  ?  "  I  cried. 

"  I  mean  this,"  said  he.  "  The  French  give  a  great 
deal  of  credit  amongst  themselves ;  they  find  it  pays 
on  the  whole,  or  the  system  would  hardly  be  continued ; 
but  I  can't  see  where  we  come  in ;  I  can't  see  that  it's 
honest  of  us  Anglo-Saxons  to  profit  by  their  easy 
ways,  and  then  skip  over  the  Channel  or  (as  you 
Yankees  do)  across  the  Atlantic." 

"But  I'm  not  proposing  to  skip,"  I  objected. 

"  Exactly,"  he  replied.  "  And  shouldn't  you  ? 
There's  the  problem.  You  seem  to  me  to  have  a  lack 
of  sympathy  for  the  proprietors  of  cabmen's  eating- 
houses.  By  your  own  account  you're  not  getting  on ; 
the  longer  you  stay,  it'll  only  be  the  more  out  of  the 
pocket  of  the  dear  old  lady  at  your  lodgings.  Now 
I'll  tell  you  what  I'll  do  :  if  you  consent  to  go,  I'll  pay 
your  passage  to  New  York,  and  vour  railway  fare  and 
expenses  to  Muskegon  (if  I  have  the  name  right),  where 


IN   WHICH   I   AM   DOWN   ON   MY   LUCK   IN   PARIS.     73 

your  father  lived,  where  he  must  have  left  friends  and 
where,  no  doubt,  you'll  find  an  opening.  I  don't  seek 
any  gratitude,  for  of  course  you'll  think  me  a  beast ; 
but  I  do  ask  you  to  pay  it  back  when  you  are  able. 
At  any  rate,  that's  all  I  can  do.  It  might  be  different 
if  I  thought  you  a  genius,  Dodd ;  but  I  don't,  and  I 
advise  you  not  to." 

"  I  think  that  was  uncalled  for,  at  least,"  said  I. 

"I  daresay  it  was,"  he  returned,  with  the  same 
steadiness.  "It  seemed  to  me  pertinent ;  and,  besides, 
when  you  ask  me  for  money  upon  no  security,  you 
treat  me  with  the  liberty  of  a  friend,  and  it's  to  be 
presumed  that  I  can  do  the  like.  But  the  point  is,  do 
you  accept?" 

"  No,  thank  you,"  said  I ;  "  I  have  another  string 
to  my  bow." 

"  All  right,"  says  Myner ;  "  be  sure  it's  honest." 

*  Honest  ?  honest  ?"  I  cried.  "What  do  you  mean 
by  calling  my  honesty  in  question  ? " 

"  I  won't,  if  you  don't  like  it,"  he  replied.  "  You 
seem  to  think  honesty  as  easy  as  Blind  Man's  Buff:  I 
don't.     It's  some  difference  of  definition." 

I  went  straight  from  this  irritating  interview,  during 
which  Myner  had  never  discontinued  painting,  to  the 
studio  of  my  old  master.  Only  one  card  remained  for 
me  to  play,  and  I  was  now  resolved  to  play  it :  I  must 
drop  the  gentleman  and  the  frock-coat,  and  approach 
art  in  the  workman's  tunic. 

"  Tiens,  this  little  Dodd  ! "  cried  the  master  ;  and 
then,  as  his  eye  fell  on  my  dilapidated  clothing,  I 
thought  I  could  perceive  his  countenance  to  darken. 

I  made  my  plea  in  English ;  for  I  knew,  if  he  were 
vain  of  anything,  it  was  of  his  achievement  of  the 
island  tongue.  "  Master,"  said  I,  "  will  you  take  me  in 
your  studio  again — but  this  time  as  a  workman  ? " 

"  I  sought  your  fazer  was  immensely  reech  ?"  said  he. 

I  explained  to  him  that  I  was  now  an  orphan  and 
penniless, 


74  THE   WRECKER. 

He  shook  his  head.  "I  have  betterr  workmen 
waiting  at  my  door,"  said  he,  "  far  betterr  workmen." 

"  You  used  to  think  something  of  my  work,  sir,"  I 
pleaded. 

"  Somesing,  somesing — yes  ! "  he  cried ;  "  Enough 
for  a  son  of  a  reech  man — not  enough  for  an  orphan. 
Besides,  I  sought  you  might  learn  to  be  an  artist ;  I 
did  not  sink  you  might  learn  to  be  a  workman." 

On  a  certain  bench  on  the  outer  boulevard,  not 
far  from  the  tomb  of  Napoleon — a  bench  shaded  at 
that  date  by  a  shabby  tree,  and  commanding  a  view  of 
muddy  roadway  and  blank  wall — I  sat  down  to  wrestle 
with  my  misery.  The  weather  was  cheerless  and 
dark ;  in  three  days  I  had  eaten  but  once ;  I  had  no 
tobacco;  my  shoes  were  soaked,  my  trousers  horrid 
with  mire ;  my  humour  and  all  the  circumstances 
of  the  time  and  place  lugubriously  attuned.  Here 
were  two  men  who  had  both  spoken  fairly  of  my  work 
while  I  was  rich  and  wanted  nothing  ;  now  that  I  was 
poor  and  lacked  all :  ';  No  genius,"  said  the  one  ;  "  not 
enough  for  an  orphan,"  the  other ;  and  the  first  offered 
me  my  passage  like  a  pauper  immigrant,  and  the 
second  refused  me  a  day's  wage  as  a  hewer  of  stone — 
plain  dealing  for  an  empty  belly.  They  had  not  been 
insincere  in  the  past ;  they  were  not  insincere  to-day  : 
change  of  circumstance  had  introduced  a  new  criterion, 
that  was  all. 

But  if  I  acquitted  my  two  Job's  comforters  of  in- 
sincerity, I  was  yet  far  from  admitting  them  infallible. 
Artists  had  been  contemned  before,  and  had  lived  to 
turn  the  laugh  on  their  contemners.  How  old  was 
Corot  before  he  struck  the  vein  of  his  own  precious 
metal  ?  When  had  a  young  man  been  more  derided 
(or  more  justly  so)  than  the  god  of  my  admiration, 
Balzac  ?  Or,  if  I  required  a  bolder  inspiration,  what 
had  I  to  do  but  turn  my  head  to  where  the  gold  dome 
of  the  Invalides  glittered  against  inky  squalls,  and 
recall  the  tale  of  him  sleeping  there:  from  the  day 


IN   WHICH   I   AM   DOWN   ON   MY   LUCK   IN   PARIS.     75 

when  a  young  artillery-sub  could  be  giggled  at  and 
nicknamed  Puss-in-Boots  by  frisky  misses,  on  to  the 
days  of  so  many  crowns  and  so  many  victories,  and  so 
many  hundred  mouths  of  cannon,  and  so  many  thousand 
war-hoofs  trampling  the  roadways  of  astonished  Europe 
eighty  miles  in  front  of  the  grand  army  ?  To  go  back, 
to  give  up,  to  proclaim  myself  a  failure,  an  ambitious 
failure — hrst  a  rocket,  then  a  stick  !  I,  Loudon  Dodd, 
who  had  refused  all  other  livelihoods  with  scorn,  and 
been  advertised  in  the  Saint  Joseph  Sunday  Herald 
as  a  patriot  and  an  artist,  to  be  returned  upon  my 
native  Muskegon  like  damaged  goods,  and  go  the 
circuit  of  my  father's  acquaintance,  cap  in  hand,  and 
begging  to  sweep  offices !  No,  by  Napoleon  !  I  would 
die  at  my  chosen  trade ;  and  the  two  who  had  that 
day  flouted  me  should  live  to  envy  my  success, 
or  to  weep  tears  of  unavailing  penitence  behind  my 
pauper  coffin. 

Meantime,  if  my  courage  was  still  undiminished,  I 
was  none  the  nearer  to  a  meal.  At  no  great  distance 
my  cabman's  eating-house  stood,  at  the  tail  of  a  muddy 
cab-rank,  on  the  shores  of  a  wide  thoroughfare  of  mud, 
offering  (to  fancy)  a  face  of  ambiguous  invitation.  I 
might  be  received,  I  might  once  more  fill  my  belly 
there  ;  on  the  other  hand,  it  was  perhaps  this  day  the 
bolt  was  destined  to  fall,  and  I  might  be  expelled  in- 
stead, with  vulgar  hubbub.  It  was  policy  to  make  the 
attempt,  and  I  knew  it  was  policy ;  but  I  had  already, 
in  the  course  of  that  one  morning,  endured  too  many 
affronts,  and  I  felt  I  could  rather  starve  than  face 
another.  I  had  courage  and  to  spare  for  the  future, 
none  left  for  that  day ;  courage  for  the  main  campaign, 
but  not  a  spark  of  it  for  that  preliminary  skirmish  of 
the  cabman's  restaurant.  I  continued  accordingly  to 
sit  upon  my  bench,  not  far  from  the  ashes  of  Napoleon, 
now  drowsy,  now  light-headed,  now  in  complete 
mental  obstruction,  or  only  conscious  of  an  animal 
pleasure  in  quiescence ;  and  now  thinking,  planning, 


76  THE   WRECKER. 

and  remembering  with  unexampled  clearness,  telling 
myself  tales  of  sudden  wealth,  and  gustfully  ordering 
and  greedily  consuming  imaginary  meals,  in  the  course 
of  which  I  must  have  dropped  asleep. 

It  was  towards  dark  that  I  was  suddenly  recalled 
to  famine  by  a  cold  souse  of  rain,  and  sprang 
shivering  to  my  feet.  For  a  moment  I  stood 
bewildered;  the  whole  train  of  my  reasoning  and 
dreaming  passed  afresh  through  my  mind;  I  was 
again  tempted,  drawn  as  if  with  cords,  by  the  image 
of  the  cabman's  eating-house,  and  again  recoiled 
from  the  possibility  of  insult.  "  Qui  dort  dine," 
thought  I  to  myself;  and  took  my  homeward  way 
with  wavering  footsteps,  through  rainy  streets  in 
which  the  lamps  and  the  shop-windows  now  began 
to  gleam,  still  marshalling  imaginary  dinners  as  I 
went. 

"Ah,  Monsieur  Dodd,"  said  the  porter,  "there 
has  been  a  registered  letter  for  you.  The  facteur 
will  bring  it  again  to-morrow." 

A  registered  letter  for  me,  who  had  been  so  long 
without  one  ?  Of  what  it  could  possibly  contain 
I  had  no  vestige  of  a  guess,  nor  did  I  delay  myself 
guessing ;  far  less  form  any  conscious  plan  of  dis- 
honesty: the  lies  flowed  from  me  like  a  natural 
secretion. 

"  Oh,"  said  I,  "  my  remittance  at  last !  What  a 
bother  I  should  have  missed  it!  Can  you  lend  me 
a  hundred  francs  until  to-morrow  ? " 

I  had  never  attempted  to  borrow  from  the  porter 
till  that  moment;  the  registered  letter  was,  besides, 
my  warranty;  and  he  gave  me  what  he  had — three 
napoleons  and  some  francs  in  silver.  I  pocketed 
the  money  carelessly,  lingered  awhile  chaffing, 
strolled  leisurely  to  the  door ;  and  then  (fast  as  my 
trembling  legs  could  carry  me)  round  the  corner  to 
the  Cafe  de  Cluny.  French  waiters  are  deft  and 
speedy;  they  were  not  deft  enough  for  me:   and  I 


IN   WHICH    I   AM  DOWN   ON   MY   LUCK   IN   PARIS.     77 

had  scarce  decency  to  let  the  man  set  the  wine  upon 
the  table  or  put  the  butter  alongside  the  bread, 
before  my  glass  and  my  mouth  were  filled.  Ex- 
quisite bread  of  the  Cafe  Cluny,  exquisite  first  glass 
of  old  Pomard  tingling  to  my  wet  feet,  indescribable 
first  olive  culled  from  the  hors  d'muvre — I  suppose, 
when  I  come  to  lie  dying,  and  the  lamp  begins  to 
grow  dim,  I  shall  still  recall  your  savour.  Over  the 
rest  of  that  meal,  and  the  rest  of  the  evening,  clouds 
lie  thick ;  clouds  perhaps  of  Burgundy :  perhaps, 
more  properly,  of  famine  and  repletion. 

I  remember  clearly,  at  least,  the  shame,  the 
despair,  of  the  next  morning,  when  I  reviewed  what 
I  had  done,  and  how  I  had  swindled  the  poor  honest 
porter ;  and,  as  if  that  were  not  enough,  fairly  burnt 
my  ships,  and  brought  bankruptcy  home  to  that 
last  refuge,  my  garret.  The  porter  would  expect  his 
money ;  I  could  not  pay  him ;  here  was  scandal  in 
the  house;  and  I  knew  right  well  the  cause  of 
scandal  would  have  to  pack.  "What  do  you  mean 
by  calling  my  honesty  in  question  ? "  I  had  cried  the 
day  before,  turning  upon  Myner.  Ah,  that  day 
before !  the  day  before  Waterloo,  the  day  before  the 
Flood ;  the  day  before  I  had  sold  the  roof  over  my 
head,  my  future,  and  my  self-respect,  for  a  dinner  at 
the  Cafe  Cluny ! 

In  the  midst  of  these  lamentations  the  famous 
registered  letter  came  to  my  door,  with  healing  under 
its  seals.  It  bore  the  postmark  of  San  Francisco, 
where  Pinkerton  was  already  struggling  to  the  neck 
in  multifarious  affairs ;  it  renewed  the  offer  of  an 
allowance,  which,  his  improved  estate  permitted  him 
to  announce  at  the  figure  of  two  hundred  francs 
a  month ;  and  in  case  I  was  in  some  immediate 
pinch,  it  enclosed  an  introductory  draft  for  forty 
dollars.  There  are  a  thousand  excellent  reasons  why 
a  man,  in  this  self-helpful  epoch,  should  decline  to 
be  dependent  on  another  j  but  the  most  numerous 


78  THE   WRECKER. 

and  cogent  considerations  all  bow  to  a  necessity  as 
stern  as  mine;  and  the  banks  were  scarce  open  ere 
the  draft  was  cashed. 

It  was  early  in  December  that  I  thus  sold  myself 
into  slavery,  and  for  six  months  I  dragged  a  slowly 
lengthening  chain  of  gratitude  and  uneasiness.  At 
the  cost  oi  some  debt  I  managed  to  excel  myself 
and  eclipse  the  Genius  of  Muskegon,  in  a  small 
but  highly  patriotic  "  Standard  Bearer  "  for  the  Salon ; 
whither  it  was  duly  admitted,  where  it  stood  the 
proper  length  of  days  entirely  unremarked,  and 
whence  it  came  back  to  me  as  patriotic  as  before. 
I  threw  my  whole  soul  (as  Pinkerton  would  have 
phrased  it)  into  clocks  and  candlesticks ;  the  devil  a 
candlestick-maker  would  have  anything  to  say  to 
my  designs.  Even  when  Dijon,  with  his  infinite 
good  humour  and  infinite  scorn  for  all  such  jour- 
ney-work, consented  to  peddle  them  in  indis- 
criminately with  his  own,  the  dealers  still  detected 
and  rejected  mine.  Home  they  returned  to  me,  true 
as  the  Standard  Bearer,  who  now,  at  the  head  of 
quite  a  regiment  of  lesser  idols,  began  to  grow  an 
eyesore  in  the  scanty  studio  of  my  friend.  Dijon  and 
I  have  sat  by  the  hour,  and  gazed  upon  that  com- 
pany of  images.  The  severe,  the  frisky,  the  classical, 
the  Louis  Quinze,  were  there — from  Joan  of  Arc 
in  her  soldierly  cuirass  to  Leda  with  the  swan ;  nay — 
and  God  forgive  me  for  a  man  that  knew  better! — 
the  humorous  was  represented  also.  We  sat  and 
gazed,  I  say ;  we  criticised,  we  turned  them  hither 
and  thither;  even  upon  the  closest  inspection  they 
looked  quite  like  statuettes;  and  yet  nobody  would 
have  a  gift  of  them ! 

Vanity  dies  hard ;  in  some  obstinate  cases  it  out- 
lives the  man :  but  about  the  sixth  month,  when  I 
already  owed  near  two  hundred  dollars  to  Pinkerton, 
and  half  as  much  again  in  debts  scattered  about 
Paris,  I  awoke  one  morning  with  a  horrid  sentiment 


IN   WHICH    I    AM    DOWN    ON    MY    LUCK    IN    PARIS.     79 

of  oppression,  and  found  I  was  alone :  my  vanity  had 
breathed  her  last  during  the  night.  I  dared  not 
plunge  deeper  in  the  bog ;  I  saw  no  hope  in  my  poor 
statuary ;  I  owned  myself  beaten  at  last ;  and  sitting 
down  in  my  nightshirt  beside  the  window,  whence 
I  had  a  glimpse  of  the  tree-tops  at  the  corner  of  the 
boulevard,  and  where  the  music  of  its  early  traffic 
fell  agreeably  upon  my  ear,  I  penned  my  farewell  to 
Paris,  to  art,  to  my  whole  past  life,  and  my  whole 
former  self.  "  I  give  in,"  I  wrote.  "  When  the  next 
allowance  arrives,  I  shall  go  straight  out  West,  where 
you  can  do  what  you  like  with  me." 

It  is  to  be  understood  that  Pinkerton  had  been,  in 
a  sense,  pressing  me  to  come  from  the  beginning ; 
depicting  his  isolation  among  new  acquaintances, 
"who  have  none  of  them  your  culture,"  he  wrote; 
expressing  his  friendship  in  terms  so  warm  that  it 
sometimes  embarrassed  me  to  think  how  poorly  I 
could  echo  them  ;  dwelling  upon  his  need  for  assist- 
ance; and  the  next  moment  turning  about  to  com- 
mend my  resolution  and  press  me  to  remain  in  Paris. 
"  Only  remember,  Loudon,"  he  would  write, "  if  you 
ever  do  tire  of  it,  there's  plenty  of  work  here  for  you — 
honest,  hard,  well-paid  work,  developing  the  resources 
of  this  practically  virgin  State.  And,  of  course,  I 
needn't  say  what  a  pleasure  it  would  be  to  me  if  we 
were  going  at  it  shoulder  to  shoulder"  I  marvel, 
looking  back,  that  I  could  so  long  have  resisted  these 
appeals,  and  continue  to  sink  my  friend's  money  in  a 
manner  that  I  knew  him  to  dislike.  At  least,  when  I 
did  awake  to  any  sense  of  my  position,  I  awoke  to  it 
entirely,  and  determined  not  only  to  follow  his  counsel 
for  the  future,  but,  even  as  regards  the  past,  to  rectify 
his  losses.  For  in  this  juncture  of  affairs  I  called  to 
mind  that  I  was  not  without  a  possible  resource,  and 
resolved,  at  whatever  cost  of  mortification,  to  beard 
the  Loudon  family  in  their  historic  city. 

In  the  excellent  Scots'  phrase,  I  made  a  moonlight 


80  THE   WRECKER. 

flitting,  a  thing  never  dignified,  but  in  my  case  un- 
usually easy.  As  I  had  scarce  a  pair  of  boots  worth 
portage  I  deserted  the  whole  of  my  effects  without  a 
pang.  Dijon  fell  heir  to  Joan  of  Arc,  the  Standard 
Bearer,  and  the  Musketeers.  He  was  present  when  I 
bought  and  frugally  stocked  my  new  portmanteau, 
and  it  was  at  the  door  of  the  trunk-shop  that  I  took 
my  leave  of  him,  for  my  last  few  hours  in  Paris  must 
be  spent  alone.  It  was  alone,  and  at  a  far  higher  figure 
than  my  finances  warranted,  that  I  discussed  my 
dinner ;  alone  that  I  took  my  ticket  at  Saint  Lazare  ; 
all  alone,  though  in  a  carriage  full  of  people,  that  I 
watched  the  moon  shine  on  the  Seine  flood  with  its 
tufted  isles,  on  Rouen  with  her  spires,  and  on  the 
shipping  in  the  harbour  of  Dieppe.  When  the  first 
light  of  the  morning  called  me  from  troubled  slumbers 
on  the  deck,  I  beheld  the  dawn  at  first  with  pleasure  ; 
I  watched  with  pleasure  the  green  shores  of  England 
rising  out  of  rosy  haze ;  I  took  the  salt  air  with  delight 
into  my  nostrils  ;  and  then  all  came  back  to  me — that 
I  was  no  longer  an  artist,  no  longer  myself ;  that  I  was 
leaving  all  I  cared  for,  and  returning  to  all  that  I 
detested,  the  slave  of  debt  and  gratitude,  a  public  and 
a  branded  failure. 

From  this  picture  of  my  own  disgrace  and 
wretchedness  it  is  not  wonderful  if  my  mind  turned 
with  relief  to  the  thought  of  Pinker  ton  waiting  for 
me,  as  I  knew,  with  unwearied  affection,  and  regarding 
me  with  a  respect  that  I  had  never  deserved,  and 
might  therefore  fairly  hope  that  I  should  never 
forfeit.  The  inequality  of  our  relation  struck  me 
rudely.  I  must  have  been  stupid,  indeed,  if  I  could 
have  considered  the  history  of  that  friendship  without 
shame — I  who  had  given  so  little,  who  had  accepted  and 
profited  by  so  much.  I  had  the  whole  day  before  me 
in  London,  and  I  determined,  at  least  in  words,  to  set 
the  balance  somewhat  straighter.  Seated  in  the  corner 
of  a  public  place,  and  calling  for  sheet  after  sheet  of 


IN    WHICH    I   GO    WEST.  81 

paper,  I  poured  forth  the  expression  of  my  gratitude,  my 
penitence  for  the  past,  my  resolutions  for  the  future. 
Till  now,  I  told  him,  my  course  had  been  mere  selfish- 
ness. I  had  been  selfish  to  my  father  and  to  my 
friend,  taking  their  help  and  denying  them  (which 
was  all  they  asked)  the  poor  gratification  of  my  com- 
pany and  countenance. 

Wonderful  are  the  consolations  of  literature !  As 
soon  as  that  letter  was  written  and  posted  the  con- 
sciousness of  virtue  glowed  in  my  veins  like  some  rare 
vintage. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

IN  WHICH   I   GO   WEST. 

I  reached  my  uncle's  door  next  morning  in  time  to 
sit  down  with  the  family  to  breakfast.  More  than 
three  years  had  intervened — almost  without  mutation 
in  that  stationary  household — since  I  had  sat  there  first, 
a  young  American  freshman,  bewildered  among  un- 
familiar dainties  (finnan  haddock,  kippered  salmon, 
baps,  and  mutton  ham),  and  had  wearied  my  mind  in 
vain  to  guess  what  should  be  under  the  tea-cosy.  If 
there  were  any  change  at  all,  it  seemed  that  I  had 
risen  in  the  family  esteem.  My  father's  death  once 
fittingly  referred  to,  with  a  ceremonial  lengthening  of 
Scotch  upper  lips  and  wagging  of  the  female  head,  the 
party  launched  at  once  (God  help  me  !)  into  the  more 
cheerful  topic  of  my  own  successes.  They  had  been 
so  pleased  to  hear  such  good  accounts  of  me ;  I  was 
quite  a  great  man  now ;  where  was  that  beautiful 
statue  of  the  Genuis  of  Something  or  other  ?  "  You 
haven't  it  here  ?  Not  here  ?  Really  ? "  asks  the 
sprightliest  of  my  cousins,  shaking  curls  at  me ;  as 
though  it  were  likely  I  had  brought  it  in  the  cab,  or 
kept  it  concealed  about  my  person  like  a  birthday 


82  THE   WRECKEH. 

surprise.  In  the  bosom  of  this  family,  unaccustomed 
to  the  tropical  nonsense  of  the  West,  it  became  plain 
the  Sunday  Herald  and  poor  blethering  Pinker- 
ton  had  been  accepted  for  their  face.  It  is  not 
possible  to  invent  a  circumstance  that  could  have 
more  depressed  me ;  and  I  am  conscious  that  I  be- 
haved all  through  that  breakfast  like  a  whipped  school- 

At  length,  the  meal  and  family  prayers  being 
both  happily  over,  I  requested  the  favour  of  an 
interview  with  Uncle  Adam  on  "  the  state  of  my 
affairs."  At  sound  of  this  ominous  expression,  the 
good  man's  face  conspicuously  lengthened ;  and  when 
my  grandfather,  having  had  the  proposition  repeated 
to  him  (for  he  was  hard  of  hearing),  announced  his 
intention  of  being  present  at  the  interview,  I  could 
not  but  think  that  Uncle  Adam's  sorrow  kindled  into 
momentary  irritation.  Nothing,  however,  but  the 
usual  grim  cordiality  appeared  upon  the  surface ; 
and  we  all  three  passed  ceremoniously  to  the  ad- 
joining library,  a  gloomy  theatre  for  a  depressing 
piece  of  business.  My  grandfather  charged  a  clay 
pipe,  and  sat  tremulously  smoking  in  a  corner  of  the 
iireless  chimney  ;  behind  him,  although  the  morning 
was  both  chill  and  dark,  the  window  was  partly  open 
and  the  blind  partly  down :  I  cannot  depict  what  an 
air  he  had  of  being  out  of  place,  like  a  man  ship- 
wrecked there.  Uncle  Adam  had  his  station  at  the 
business  table  in  the  midst.  Valuable  rows  of  books 
looked  down  upon  the  place  of  torture ;  and  I  could 
hear  sparrows  chirping  in  the  garden,  and  my 
sprightly  cousin  already  banging  the  piano  and 
pouring  forth  an  acid  stream  of  song  from  the 
drawing-room  overhead. 

It  was  in  these  circumstances  that,  with  all 
brevity  of  speech  and  a  certain  boyish  sullenness  of 
manner,  looking  the  while  upon  the  floor,  I  informed 
my  relatives  of  my  financial  situation :  the  amount  I 


IN    WHTCH    I   GO   WEST.  83 

owed  Pinkerton;  the  hopelessness  of  any  mainten- 
ance from  sculpture ;  the  career  offered  me  in  the 
States ;  and  how,  before  becoming  more  beholden  to 
a  stranger,  I  had  judged  it  right  to  lay  the  case 
before  my  family. 

"J  am  only  sorry  you  did  not  come  to  me  at 
first,"  said  Uncle  Adam.  "  I  take  the  liberty  to  say 
it  would  have  been  more  decent." 

"  I  think  so  too,  Uncle  Adam,"  I  replied ;  "  but 
you  must  bear  in  mind  I  was  ignorant  in  what  light 
you  might  regard  my  application." 

"  I  hope  I  would  never  turn  my  back  on  my  own 
flesh  and  blood,"  he  returned  with  emphasis ;  but.,  to 
my  anxious  ear,  with  more  of  temper  than  affection. 
"I  could  never  forget  you  were  my  sister's  son.  I 
regard  this  as  a  manifest  duty.  I  have  no  choice  but 
to  accept  the  entire  responsibility  of  the  position  you 
have  made." 

I  did  not  know  what  else  to  do  but  murmur 
"Thank  you." 

"  Yes,"  he  pursued, "  and  there  is  something  provi- 
dential in  the  circumstance  that  you  come  at 
the  right  time.  In  my  old  firm  there  is  a  vacancy ; 
they  call  themselves  Italian  Warehousemen  now,"  he 
continued,  regarding  me  with  a  twinkle  of  humour ; 
"  so  you  may  think  yourself  in  luck :  we  were  only 
grocers  in  my  day.  I  shall  place  you  there  to- 
morrow." 

"Stop  a  moment,  Uncle  Adam,"  I  broke  in. 
"  This  is  not  at  all  what  I  am  asking.  I  ask  you  to 
pay  Pinkerton,  who  is  a  poor  man.  I  ask  you  to 
clear  my  feet  of  debt,  not  to  arrange  my  life  or  any 
part  of  it." 

"  If  I  wished  to  be  harsh,  I  might  remind  you  that 
beggars  cannot  be  choosers,"  said  my  uncle ;  "  and 
as  to  managing  your  life,  you  have  tried  your  own 
way  already,  and  you  see  what  you  have  made  of  it. 
You  must  now  accept  the  guidance  of  those  older 
02 


84  THE   WRECKER. 

and  (whatever  you  may  think  of  it)  wiser  than 
yourself.  All  these  schemes  of  your  friend  (of  whom 
I  know  nothing,  by-the-bye)  and  talk  of  openings  in 
the  West,  I  simply  disregard.  I  have  no  idea  what- 
ever of  your  going  troking  across  a  continent  on  a 
wild-goose  chase.  In  this  situation,  which  I  am  for- 
tunately able  to  place  at  your  disposal,  and  which 
many  a  well-conducted  young  man  would  be  glad  to 
jump  at,  you  will  receive,  to  begin  with,  eighteen 
shillings  a  week." 

"  Eighteen  shillings  a  week  !  "  I  cried.  "  Why,  my 
poor  friend  gave  me  more  than  that  for  nothing !  " 

"  And  I  think  it  is  this  very  friend  you  are  now 
trying  to  repay  ? "  observed  my  uncle,  with  an  air  of 
one  advancing  a  strong  argument. 

"  Aadam,"  said  my  grandfather. 

"  I'm  vexed  you  should  be  present  at  this 
business,"  quoth  Uncle  Adam,  swinging  rather  ob- 
sequiously towards  the  stonemason  ;  "  but  I  must 
remind  you  it  is  of  your  own  seeking." 

"  Aadam ! "  repeated  the  old  man. 

"  Well,  sir,  I  am  listening,"  says  my  uncle. 

My  grandfather  took  a  puff  or  two  in  silence ;  and 
then,  "  Ye're  makin'  an  awfu'  poor  appearance, 
Aadam,"  said  he. 

My  uncle  visibly  reared  at  the  affront.  "  I'm 
sorry  you  should  think  so,"  said  he,  "  and  still  more 
sorry  you  should  say  so  before  present  company." 

"  A  believe  that ;  A  ken  that,  Aadam,"  returned 
old  Loudon,  dryly ;  "  and  the  curiis  thing  is,  I'm  no 
very  carin'.  See  here,  ma  man,"  he  continued,  ad- 
dressing himself  to  me.  "  A'm  your  grandfaither, 
amn't  I  not  ?  Never  you  mind  what  Aadam  says. 
A'll  see  justice  din  ye.     A'm  rich." 

"Father,"  said  Uncle  Adam,  "I  would  like  one 
word  with  you  in  private." 

I  rose  to  go. 

"  Set   down  upon  your  hinderlands,"   cried    my 


IN   WHICH    I   GO   WEST.  85 

grandfather,  almost  savagely,  "If  Aadam  has  any- 
thing to  say,  let  him  say  it.  It's  me  that  has  the 
money  here ;  and  by  Gravy !  I'm  goin'  to  be 
obeyed." 

Upon  this  scurvy  encouragement,  it  appeared  that 
my  uncle  had  no  remark  to  offer :  twice  challenged 
to  "  speak  out  and  be  done  with  it,"  he  twice  sullenly 
declined ;  and  I  may  mention  that  about  this  period 
of  the  engagement  I  began  to  be  sorry  for  him. 

"  See  here,  then,  Jeannie's  yin  ! "  resumed  my 
grandfather.  "  A'm  goin'  to  give  ye  a  set-off.  Your 
mither  was  always  my  fav'rite,  for  A  never  could 
agree  with  Aadam.  A  like  ye  fine  yoursel' ;  there's 
nae  noansense  aboot  ye ;  ye've  a  fine  nayteral  idee 
of  builder's  work ;  ye've  been  to  France,  where,  they 
tell  me,  they're  grand  at  the  stuccy.  A  splendid 
thing  for  ceilin's,  the  stuccy!  and  it's  a  vailyable 
disguise,  too ;  A  don't  believe  there's  a  builder  in 
Scotland  has  used  more  stuccy  than  me.  But,  as  A 
was  sayin',  if  yell  follie  that  trade,  with  the  capital 
that  A'm  goin'  to  give  ye,  ye  may  live  yet  to  be 
as  rich  as  mysel'.  Ye  see,  ye  would  have  always  had 
a  share  of  it  when  A  was  gone;  it  appears  ye're 
needin'  it  now ;  well,  ye'll  get  the  less,  as  is  only 
just  and  proper." 

Uncle  Adam  cleared  his  throat.  "This  is  very 
handsome,  father,"  said  he ;  "  and  I  am  sure  Loudon 
feels  it  so.  Very  handsome,  and,  as  you  say,  very 
just ;  but  will  you  allow  me  to  say  that  it  had  better, 
perhaps,  be  put  in  black  and  white  ? " 

The  enmity  always  smouldering  between  the  two 
men,  at  this  ill-judged  interruption  almost  burst  in 
flame.  The  stonemason  turned  upon  his  offspring, 
his  long  upper  lip  pulled  down  for  all  the  world  like 
a  monkey's.  He  stared  awhile  in  virulent  silence; 
and  then,  "  Get  Gregg ! "  said  he. 

The  effect  of  these  words  was  very  visible.  "  He 
will  be  gone  to  his  office,"  stammered  my  uncle. 


86  THE   WRECKER. 

"  Get  Gregg ! "  repeated  my  grandfather. 

"  I  tell  yon,  he  will  be  gone  to  his  office/'  reiterated 
Adam. 

"  And  I  tell  ye,  he's  takin'  his  smoke,"  retorted  the 
old  man. 

"  Very  well,  then,"  cried  my  uncle,  getting  to  his 
feet  with  some  alacrity,  as  upon  a  sudden  change  of 
thought,  "  I  will  get  him  myself." 

"  Ye  will  not ! "  cried  my  grandfather.  "  Ye  will 
sit  there  upon  your  hinderland." 

"  Then  how  the  devil  am  I  to  get  him  ? "  my  uncle 
broke  forth,  with  not  unnatural  petulance. 

My  grandfather  (having  no  possible  answer) 
grinned  at  his  son  with  the  malice  of  a  schoolboy ; 
then  he  rang  the  bell. 

"  Take  the  garden  key,"  said  Uncle  Adam  to  the 
servant ;  "  go  over  to  the  garden,  and  if  Mr.  Gregg  the 
lawyer  is  there  (he  generally  sits  under  the  red  haw- 
thorn), give  him  old  Mr.  Loudon's  compliments,  and 
will  he  step  in  here  for  a  moment  ? " 

"  Mr.  Gregg  the  lawyer ! "  At  once  I  understood 
(what  had  been  puzzling  me)  the  significance  of  my 
grandfather  and  the  alarm  of  my  poor  uncle :  the 
stonemason's  will,  it  was  supposed,  hung  trembling  in 
the  balance. 

"  Look  here,  grandfather,"  I  said,  "  I  didn't  want 
any  of  this.  All  I  wanted  was  a  loan  of,  say,  two 
hundred  pounds.  I  can  take  care  of  myself ;  I  have 
prospects  and  opportunities,  good  friends  in  the 
States " 

The  old  man  waved  me  down.  "  It's  me  that 
speaks  here,"  he  said  curtly ;  and  we  waited  the 
coming  of  the  lawyer  in  a  triple  silence.  He  appeared 
at  last,  the  maid  ushering  him  in — a  spectacled,  dry 
but  not  ungenial  looking  man. 

"Here,  Gregg,"  cried  my  grandfather,  "just  a 
question.  What  has  Aadam  got  to  do  with  my 
will?" 


IN   WHICH   I   GO   WEST.  87 

"I'm  afraid  I  don't  quite  understand,"  said  the 
lawyer,  staring. 

"  What  has  he  got  to  do  with  it  ? "  repeated  the 
old  man,  smiting  with  his  fist  upon  the  arm  of  his 
chair.  "  Is  my  money  mine's,  or  is  it  Aadam's  ?  Can 
Aadam  interfere  ? " 

"  Oh,  I  see,"  said  Mr.  Gregg.  "  Certainly  not.  On 
the  marriage  of  both  of  your  children  a  certain  sum 
was  paid  down  and  accepted  in  full  of  legitim.  You 
have  surely  not  forgotten  the  circumstance,  Mr. 
Loudon  ? " 

"  So  that,  if  I  like,"  concluded  my  grandfather, 
hammering  out  his  words,  "  I  can  leave  every  doit  I 
die  possessed  of  to  the  Great  Magunn  ? " — meaning 
probably  the  Great  Mogul. 

"  No  doubt  of  it,"  replied  Gregg,  with  a  shadow  of 
a  smile. 

"  Ye  hear  that,  Aadam  ? "  asked  my  grandfather. 

"  I  may  be  allowed  to  say  I  had  no  need  to  hear 
it,"  said  my  uncle. 

« Very  well,"  says  my  grandfather.  "  You  and 
Jeannie's  yin  can  go  for  a  bit  walk.  Me  and  Gregg 
has  business." 

When  once  I  was  in  the  hall  alone  with  Uncle 
Adam,  I  turned  to  him,  sick  at  heart.  "Uncle 
Adam,"  I  said,  "  you  can  understand,  better  than  I  can 
say,  how  very  painful  all  this  is  to  me." 

"  Yes,  I  am  sorry  you  have  seen  your  grandfather 
in  so  unamiable  a  light,"  replied  this  extraordinary 
man.  "You  shouldn't  allow  it  to  affect  your  mind, 
though.  He  has  sterling  qualities,  quite  an  extra- 
ordinary character  ;  and  I  have  no  fear  but  he  means 
to  behave  handsomely  to  you." 

His  composure  was  beyond  my  imitation :  the 
house  could  not  contain  me,  nor  could  I  even  promise 
to  return  to  it :  in  concession  to  which  weakness,  it- 
Was  agreed  that  I  should  call  in  about  an  hour  at  the 
office  of  the  lawyer,  whom  (as  he  left  the  library) 


88  THE   WRECKER. 

Uncle  Adam  should  waylay  and  inform  of  the 
arrangement.  I  suppose  there  was  never  a  more 
topsy-turvy  situation ;  you  would  have  thought  it  was 
I  who  had  suffered  some  rebuff,  and  that  iron-sided 
Adam  was  a  generous  conqueror  who  scorned  to  take 
advantage. 

It  was  plain  enough  that  I  was  to  be  endowed  :  to 
what  extent  and  upon  what  conditions  I  was  now  left 
for  an  hour  to  meditate  in  the  wide  and  solitary 
thoroughfares  of  the  new  town,  taking  counsel  with 
street-corner  statues  of  George  IV.  and  William  Pitt, 
improving  my  mind  with  the  pictures  in  the  window 
of  a  music-shop,  and  renewing  my  acquaintance  with 
Edinburgh  east  wind.  By  the  end  of  the  hour  I 
made  my  way  to  Mr.  Gregg's  office,  where  I  was 
placed,  with  a  few  appropriate  words,  in  possession  of 
a  cheque  for  two  thousand  pounds  and  a  small  parcel 
of  architectural  works. 

"  Mr.  Loudon  bids  me  add,"  continued  the  lawyer, 
consulting  a  little  sheet  of  notes,  "  that  although  these 
volumes  are  very  valuable  to  the  practical  builder,  you 
must  be  careful  not  to  lose  originality.  He  tells  you 
also  not  to  be  '  hadden  doun  ' — his  own  expression — 
by  the  theory  of  strains,  and  that  Portland  cement, 
properly  sanded,  will  go  a  long  way." 

I  smiled,  and  remarked  that  I  supposed  it  would. 

"  I  once  lived  in  one  of  my  excellent  client's 
houses,"  observed  the  lawyer ;  "  and  I  was  tempted, 
in  that  case,  to  think  it  had  gone  far  enough." 

"  Under  these  circumstances,  sir,"  said  I,  "you  will 
be  rather  relieved  to  hear  that  I  have  no  intention  of 
becoming  a  builder." 

At  this  he  fairly  laughed ;  and,  the  ice  being 
broken,  I  was  able  to  consult  him  as  to  my  conduct. 
He  insisted  I  must  return  to  the  house — at  least,  for 
luncheon,  and  one  of  my  walks  with  Mr.  Loudon. 
"  For  the  evening,  I  will  furnish  you  with  an  excuse, 
if  you  please,"  said  he,  "  by  asking  you  to  a  bachelor 


I  wanted  ye  to  see  the  place,'  said  he"   (p.  89). 


IN   WHICH    I   GO   WEST.  89 

dinner  with  myself.  But  the  luncheon  and  the  walk 
are  unavoidable.  He  is  an  old  man,  and,  I  believe, 
really  fond  of  you  ;  he  would  naturally  feel  aggrieved 
if  there  were  any  appearance  of  avoiding  him  ;  and  as 
for  Mr.  Adam,  do  you  know,  I  think  your  delicacy  out 
of  place.  .  .  .  And  now,  Mr.  Dodd,  what  are  you  to  do 
with  this  money  ?  " 

Ay,  there  was  the  question.  With  two  thousand 
pounds — fifty  thousand  francs — I  might  return  to 
Paris  and  the  arts,  and  be  a  prince  and  millionaire  in 
that  thrifty  Latin  Quarter.  I  think  I  had  the  grace, 
with  one  corner  of  my  mind,  to  be  glad  that  I  had 
sent  the  London  letter :  I  know  very  well  that  with 
the  rest  and  worst  of  me,  I  repented  bitterly  of  that 
precipitate  act.  On  one  point,  however,  my  whole 
multiplex  estate  of  man  was  unanimous :  the  letter 
being  gone,  there  was  no  help  but  I  must  follow.  The 
money  was  accordingly  divided  in  two  unequal  shares : 
for  the  first,  Mr.  Gregg  got  me  a  bill  in  the  name  of 
Dijon  to  meet  my  liabilities  in  Paris  ;  for  the  second, 
as  I  had  already  cash  in  hand  for  the  expenses 
of  my  journey,  he  supplied  me  with  drafts  on  San 
Francisco. 

The  rest  of  my  business  in  Edinburgh,  not  to  dwell 
on  a  very  agreeable  dinner  with  the  lawyer  or  the 
horrors  of  the  family  luncheon,  took  the  form  of  an 
excursion  with  the  stonemason,  who  led  me  this  time 
to  no  suburb  or  work  of  his  old  hands,  but  with  an 
impulse  both  natural  and  pretty,  to  that  more  en- 
during home  which  he  had  chosen  for  his  clay.  It 
was  in  a  cemetery,  by  some  strange  chance  immured 
within  the  bulwarks  of  a  prison ;  standing,  besides, 
on  the  margin  of  a  cliff,  crowded  with  elderly  stone 
memorials,  and  green  with  turf  and  ivy.  The  east 
wind  (which  I  thought  too  harsh  for  the  old  man) 
continually  shook  the  boughs,  and  the  thin  sun  of  a 
Scottish  summer  drew  their  dancing  shadows. 

"  I  wanted  ye  to  see  the  place,"  said  he.     "  Yon's 


90  THE   WRECKER. 

the  stane.  Euphemia  Boss:  that  was  my  good  wife, 
your  grandmither — hoots !  I'm  wrong ;  that  was  my 
first  yin  ;  I  had  no  bairns  by  her ; — yours  is  the 
second,  Mary  Murray,  Born  1819,  Died  1850  :  that's 
her — a  fine,  plain,  decent  sort  of  a  creature,  tak'  her 
athegether.  Alexander  Loudon,  Born  Seventeen 
Ninety -Twa,  Died — and  then  a  hole  in  the  ballant : 
that's  me.  Alexander's  my  name.  They  ca'd  me 
Ecky  when  I  was  a  boy.  Eh,  Ecky !  ye're  an  awfu' 
auld  man ! " 

I  had  a  second  and  sadder  experience  of  grave- 
yards at  my  next  alighting-place,  the  city  of  Muske- 
gon, now  rendered  conspicuous  by  the  dome  of  the 
new  capitol  encaged  in  scaffolding.  It  was  late  in  the 
afternoon  when  I  arrived,  and  raining ;  and  as  I 
walked  in  great  streets,  of  the  very  name  of  which  I 
was  quite  ignorant — double,  treble,  and  quadruple 
lines  of  horse-cars  jingling  by — hundred-fold  wires  of 
telegraph  and  telephone  matting  heaven  above  my 
head — huge,  staring  houses,  garish  and  gloomy, 
flanking  me  from  either  hand — the  thought  of  the 
Rue  Racine,  ay,  and  of  the  cabman's  eating-house, 
brought  tears  to  my  eyes.  The  whole  monotonous  Babel 
had  grown — or,  I  should  rather  say,  swelled — with 
such  a  leap  since  my  departure  that  I  must  continu- 
ally inquire  my  way ;  and  the  very  cemetery  was  brand- 
new.  Death,  however,  had  been  active;  the  graves 
were  already  numerous,  and  I  must  pick  my  way  in 
the  rain  among  the  tawdry  sepulchres  of  millionaires, 
and  past  the  plain  black  crosses  of  Hungarian  labour- 
ers, till  chance  or  instinct  led  me  to  the  place  that 
was  my  father's.  The  stone  had  been  erected  (1 
knew  already)  "  by  admiring  friends " ;  I  could  now 
judge  their  taste  in  monuments.  Their  taste  in  liter- 
ature, methought,  I  could  imagine,  and  I  refrained 
from  drawing  near  enough  to  read  the  terms  of  the 
inscription.  But  the  name  was  in  larger  letters  and 
stared  at  me — James  K.  Dodd>     "  What  a  singular 


LN    WHICH    i   GO   WEST.  91 

thing  is  a  name  ! "  I  thought ;  "  how  it  clings  to  a  man, 
and  continually  misrepresents,  and  then  survives  him !  " 
And  it  flashed  across  my  mind,  with  a  mixture  of 
regret  and  bitter  mirth,  that  I  had  never  known,  and 
now  probably  never  should  know,  what  the  K  had 
represented.  King,  Kilter,  Kay,  Kaiser,  I  went, 
running  over  names  at  random,  and  then  stumbled, 
with  ludicrous  misspelling,  on  Kornelius,  and  had 
nearly  laughed  aloud.  I  have  never  been  more 
childish;  I  suppose  (although  the  deeper  voices  of 
my  nature  seemed  all  dumb)  because  I  have  never 
been  more  moved.  And  at  this  last  incongruous  antic 
of  my  nerves  I  was  seized  with  a  panic  of  remorse, 
and  fled  the  cemetery. 

Scarce  less  funereal  was  the  rest  of  my  experience 
in  Muskegon,  where,  nevertheless,  I  lingered,  visiting 
my  father's  circle,  for  some  days.  It  was  in  piety  to 
him  I  lingered ;  and  I  might  have  spared  myself  the 
pain.  His  memory  was  already  quite  gone  out.  For 
his  sake,  indeed,  I  was  made  welcome  ;  and  for  mine 
the  conversation  rolled  awhile  with  laborious  effort  on 
the  virtues  of  the  deceased.  His  former  comrades 
dwelt,  in  my  company,  upon  his  business  talents  or 
his  generosity  for  public  purposes  :  when  my  back  was 
turned,  they  remembered  him  no  more.  My  father 
had  loved  me ;  I  had  left  him  alone,  to  live  and  die 
among  the  indifferent ;  now  I  returned  to  find  him 
dead  and  buried  and  forgotten.  Unavailing  peni- 
tence translated  itself  in  my  thoughts  to  fresh  resolve. 
There  was  another  poor  soul  who  loved  me — Pinker- 
ton.     I  must  not  be  guilty  twice  of  the  same  error. 

A  week  perhaps  had  been  thus  wasted,  nor  had  I 
prepared  my  friend  for  the  delay.  Accordingly,  when 
I  had  changed  trains  at  Council  Bluffs,  I  was  aware 
of  a  man  appearing  at  the  end  of  the  car  with  a 
telegram  in  his  hand  and  inquiring  whether  there 
were  anyone  aboard  "  of  the  name  of  London  Dodd  ? " 
I  thought  the  name  near  enough,  claimed  the  despatch, 


92  THE   WRECKER. 

and  found  it  was  from  Pinkerton :  "  What  day  do  you 
arrive  ?  Awfully  important."  I  sent  him  an  answer, 
giving  day  and  hour,  and  at  Ogden  found  a  fresh 
despatch  awaiting  me  :  "  That  wifi  do.  Unspeakable 
relief.  Meet  you  at  Sacramento."  In  Paris  days  I 
had  a  "private  name  for  Pinkerton :  " The  Irrepressible  " 
was  what  I  had  called  him  in  hours  of  bitterness,  and 
the  name  rose  once  more  on  my  lips.  What  mischief 
was  he  up  to  now  ?  What  new  bowl  was  my  benignant 
monster  brewing  for  his  Frankenstein  ?  In  what  new 
imbroglio  should  I  alight  on  the  Pacific  coast  ?  My 
trust  m  the  man  was  entire,  and  my  distrust  perfect. 
I  knew  he  would  never  mean  amiss ;  but  I  was  con- 
vinced he  would  almost  never  (in  my  sense)  do  aright. 

I  suppose  these  vague  anticipations  added  a  shade 
of  gloom  to  that  already  gloomy  place  of  travel : 
Nebraska,  Wyoming,  Utah,  Nevada,  scowled  in  my 
face  at  least,  and  seemed  to  point  me  back  again  to 
that  other  native  land  of  mine,  the  Latin  Quarter. 
But  when  the  Sierras  had  been  climbed,  and  the  train, 
after  so  long  beating  and  panting,  stretched  itself  upon 
the  downward  track — when  I  beheld  that  vast  extent 
of  prosperous  country  rolling  seaward  from  the  woods 
and  the  blue  mountains,  that  illimitable  spread  of 
rippling  corn,  the  trees  growing  and  blowing  in  the 
merry  weather,  the  country  boys  thronging  aboard  the 
train  with  figs  and  peaches,  awd  the  conductors,  and 
the  very  darky  stewards,  visibly  exulting  in  the  change 
— up  went  my  soul  like  a  balloon ;  Care  fell  from  his 
perch  upon  my  shoulders ;  and  when  I  spied  my 
Pinkerton  among  the  crowd  at  Sacramento,  I  thought 
of  nothing  but  to  shout  and  wave  for  him,  and  grasp 
him  by  the  hand,  like  what  he  was — my  dearest  friend. 

"  Oh,  Loudon ! "  he  cried ;  "  man,  how  I've  pined 
for  you !  And  you  haven't  come  an  hour  too  soon. 
You're  known  here  and  waited  for ;  I've  been  booming 
you  already :  you're  billed  for  a  lecture  to-morrow 
night:    'Student    Life    in    Paris,  Grave    and    Gay': 


IN   WHICH   I   GO   WEST.  93 

twelve  hundred  places  booked  at  the  last  stock  !  Tut, 
man,  you're  looking  thin !  Here,  try  a  drop  of  this." 
And  he  produced  a  case  bottle,  staringly  labelled 
Pinkerton's  Thirteen  Star  Golden  State  Brandy, 
Warranted  Entire. 

"  God  bless  me  ! "  said  I,  gasping  and  winking  after 
my  first  plunge  into  this  fiery  fluid ;  "  and  what  does 
1  Warranted  Entire !  mean  ?  " 

"  Why,  Loudon,  you  ought  to  know  that ! "  cried 
Pinkerton.  "  It's  real,  copper-bottomed  English ;  you 
see  it  on  all  the  old-time  wayside  hostelries  over  there." 

"But  if  I'm  not  mistaken,  it  means  something 
Warranted  Entirely  different,"  said  I,  "  and  applies  to 
the  public-house,  and  not  the  beverages  sold." 

"  It's  very  possible,"  said  Jim,  quite  unabashed. 
"It's  effective,  anyway;  and  I  can  tell  you,  sir,  it 
has  boomed  that  spirit :  it  goes  now  by  the  gross 
of  cases.  By  the  way,  I  hope  you  won't  mind ;  I've 
got  your  portrait  all  over  San  Francisco  for  the  lecture, 
enlarged  from  that  carte  de  visite :  '  H.  Loudon  Dodd, 
the  Americo-Parisienne  Sculptor.'  Here's  a  proof  of 
the  small  handbills  ;  the  posters  are  the  same,  only  in 
red  and  blue,  and  the  letters  fourteen  by  one." 

I  looked  at  the  handbill,  and  my  head  turned. 
What  was  the  use  of  words  ?  why  seek  to  explain 
to  Pinkerton  the  knotted  horrors  of  "  Americo- 
Parisienne  "  ?  He  took  an  early  occasion  to  point  it 
out  as  "  rather  a  good  phrase ;  gives  the  two  sides  at 
a  glance :  I  wanted  the  lecture  written  up  to  that." 
Even  after  we  had  reached  San  Francisco,  and  at  the 
actual  physical  shock  of  my  own  efhgy  placarded  on 
the  streets  I  had  broken  forth  in  petulant  words,  he 
never  comprehended  in  the  least  the  ground  of  my 
aversion. 

"  If  I  had  only  known  you  disliked  red  lettering ! " 
was  as  high  as  he  could  rise.  "You  are  perfectly 
right:  a  clear-cut  black  is  preferable,  and  shows  a 
great  deal  further.     The  only  thing  that  pains  me  is 


94  THE   WRECKER. 

the  portrait:  I  own  I  thought  that  a  success.  I'm 
dreadfully  and  truly  sorry,  my  dear  fellow :  I  see  now 
it's  not  what  you  had  a  right  to  expect ;  but  I  did  it, 
Loudon,  for  the  best ;  and  the  press  is  all  delighted." 

At  the  moment,  sweeping  through  green  tule 
swamps,  I  fell  direct  on  the  essential.  "  But,  Pinker- 
ton,"  I  cried,  "this  lecture  is  the  maddest  of  your 
madnesses.  How  can  I  prepare  a  lecture  in  thirty 
hours  ? " 

"  All  done,  Loudon ! "  he  exclaimed  in  triumph. 
"All  ready.  Trust  me  to  pull  a  niece  of  business 
through.  You'll  find  it  all  type-written  in  my  desk 
at  home.  I  put  the  best  talent  of  San  Francisco  on 
the  job  :  Harry  Miller,  the  brightest  pressman  in  the 
city." 

And  so  he  rattled  on,  beyond  reach  of  my  modest 
protestations,  blurting  out  his  complicated  interests, 
crying  up  his  new  acquaintances,  and  ever  and  again 
hungering  to  introduce  me  to  some  "whole-souled, 
grand  fellow,  as  sharp  as  a  needle,"  from  whom, 
and  the  very  thought  of  whom,  my  spirit  shrank 
instinctively. 

Well,  I  was  in  for  it — in  for  Pinkerton,  in  for  the 
portrait,  in  for  the  type-written  lecture.  One  promise 
I  extorted — that  I  was  never  again  to  be  committed  in 
ignorance.  Even  for  that,  when  I  saw  how  its  extor- 
tion puzzled  and  depressed  the  Irrepressible,  my  soul 
repented  me,  and  in  all  else  I  suffered  myself  to  be 
led  uncomplaining  at  his  chariot- wheels.  The  Irre- 
pressible, did  I  say  ?  The  Irresistible  were  nigher 
truth. 

But  the  time  to  have  seen  me  was  when  I  sat 
down  to  Harry  Miller's  lecture.  He  was  a  facetious 
dog,  this  Harry  Miller.  He  had  a  gallant  way  of 
skirting  the  indecent,  which  in  my  case  produced 
physical  nausea,  and  he  could  be  sentimental  and  even 
melodramatic  about  grisettes  and  starving  genius.  I 
found  he  had  enjoyed  the  benefit  of  my  correspond- 


IN   WHICH    I    GO    WEST.  95 

encc  with  Pinkerton  ;  adventures  of  my  own  were  here 
and  there  horridly  misrepresented,  sentiments  of  my 
own  echoed  and  exaggerated  till  I  blushed  to  recognise 
them.  I  will  do  Harry  Miller  justice :  he  must  have 
had  a  kind  of  talent,  almost  of  genius  ;  all  attempts  to 
lower  his  tone  proving  fruitless,  and  the  Harry- 
Millerism  ineradicable.  Nay,  the  monster  had  a 
certain  key  of  style,  or  want  of  style,  so  that  certain 
milder  passages,  which  I  sought  to  introduce,  dis- 
corded horribly  and  impoverished,  if  that  were  possible, 
the  general  effect. 

By  an  early  hour  of  the  numbered  evening  I  might 
have  been  observed  at  the  sign  of  "  The  Poodle  Dog  " 
dining  with  my  agent — so  Pinkerton  delighted  to 
describe  himself.  Thence,  like  an  ox  to  the  slaughter, 
he  led  me  to  the  hall,  where  I  stood  presently  alone, 
confronting  assembled  San  Francisco,  with  no  better 
allies  than  a  table,  a  glass  of  water,  and  a  mass  of 
manuscript  and  typework,  representing  Harry  Miller 
and  myself.  I  read  the  lecture;  for  I  had  lacked 
both  time  and  will  to  get  the  trash  by  heart — 
read  it  hurriedly,  humbly,  and  with  visible  shame. 
Now  and  then  I  would  catch  in  the  auditorium  an 
eye  of  some  intelligence,  now  and  then  in  the  manu- 
script would  stumble  on  a  richer  vein  of  Harry  Miller, 
and  my  heart  would  fail  me,  and  I  gabbled.  The 
audience  yawned,  it  stirred  uneasily,  it  muttered, 
grumbled,  and  broke  forth  at  last  in  articulate  cries 
of  "  Speak  up  !  "  and  "  Nobody  can  hear  ! "  I  took  to 
skipping,  and,  being  extremely  ill-acquainted  with  the 
country,  almost  invariably  cut  in  again  in  the  unin- 
telligible midst  of  some  new  topic.  What  struck  me 
as  extremely  ominous,  these  misfortunes  were  allowed 
to  pass  without  a  laugh.  Indeed,  I  was  beginning  to 
fear  the  worst,  and  even  personal  indignity,  when  all  at 
once  the  humour  of  the  thing  broke  upon  me  strongly. 
I  could  have  laughed  aloud,  and,  being  again  summoned 
to  speak  up,  I  faced  my  patrons  for  the  first  time  with  a 


96  THE   WRECKER. 

smile.  "  Yery  well,"  I  said,  "  I  will  try,  though  I  don't 
suppose  anybody  wants  to  hear,  and  I  can't  see  why 
anybody  should."  Audience  and  lecturer  laughed 
together  till  the  tears  ran  down,  vociferous  and  re- 

Eeated  applause  hailed  my  impromptu  sally.  Another 
it  which  I  made  but  a  little  after,  as  I  turned  three 
pages  of  the  copy — "  You  see,  I  am  leaving  out  as 
much  as  I  possibly  can  " — increased  the  esteem  with 
which  my  patrons  had  begun  to  regard  me ;  and  when 
I  left  the  stage  at  last,  my  departing  form  was  cheered 
with  laughter,  stamping,  shouting,  and  the  waving  of 
hats. 

Pinkerton  was  in  the  waiting-room,  feverishly 
jotting  in  his  pocket-book.  As  he  saw  me  enter,  he 
sprang  up,  and  I  declare  the  tears  were  trickling  on 
his  cheeks. 

"  My  dear  boy,"  he  cried,  "  I  can  never  forgive  my- 
self, and  you  can  never  forgive  me.  Never  mind,  I 
did  it  for  the  best.  And  how  nobly  you  clung  on  !  I 
dreaded  we  should  have  had  to  return  the  money  at 
the  doors." 

"It  would  have  been  more  honest  if  we  had," 
said  I. 

The  pressmen  followed  me,  Harry  Miller  in  the 
front  ranks ;  and  I  was  amazed  to  find  them,  on  the 
whole,  a  pleasant  set  of  lads,  probably  more  sinned 
against  than  sinning,  and  even  Harry  Miller  appar- 
ently a  gentleman.  I  had  in  oysters  and  champagne 
— for  the  receipts  were  excellent — and,  being  in  a  high 
state  of  nervous  tension,  kept  the  table  in  a  roar.  In- 
deed, 1  was  never  in  my  life  so  well  inspired  as  when 
I  described  my  vigil  over  Harry  Miller's  literature  or 
the  series  of  my  emotions  as  I  faced  the  audience. 
The  lads  vowed  I  was  the  soul  of  good  company  and 
the  prince  of  lecturers ;  and — so  wonderful  an  institu- 
tion is  the  popular  press — if  you  had  seen  the  notices 
next  day  in  all  the  papers  you  must  have  supposed 
my  evening's  entertainment  an  unqualified  success. 


IRONS   IN   THE   FIRE.  97 

I  was  in  excellent  spirits  when  I  returned  home 
that  night,  but  the  miserable  Pinker  ton  sorrowed  for 
us  both. 

"  Oh,  Loudon/'  he  said,  "  I  shall  never  forgive  my- 
self. When  I  saw  you  didn't  catch  on  to  the  idea  of 
the  lecture,  I  should  have  given  it  myself ! " 


CHAPTER   VII. 

IRONS    IN    THE    FIRE. 

Opes  Strepitwmque. 

The  food  of  the  body  differs  not  so  greatly  for  the 
fool  or  the  sage,  the  elephant  or  the  cock-sparrow; 
and  similar  chemical  elements,  variously  disguised, 
support  all  mortals.  A  brief  study  of  Pinkerton  in 
his  new  setting  convinced  me  of  a  kindred  truth 
about  that  other  and  mental  digestion  by  which  we 
extract  what  is  called  "  fun  for  our  money  "  out  of 
life.  In  the  same  spirit  as  a  schoolboy  deep  in  Mayne 
Reid  handles  a  dummy  gun  and  crawls  among  ima- 
ginary forests,  Pinkerton  sped  through  Kearney  Street 
upon  his  daily  business,  representing  to  himself  a 
highly-coloured  part  in  life's  performance,  and  happy 
for  hours  if  he  should  have  chanced  to  brush  against 
a  millionaire.  Reality  was  his  romance ;  he  gloried 
to  be  thus  engaged;  he  wallowed  in  his  business. 
Suppose  a  man  to  dig  up  a  galleon  on  the  Coromandel 
coast,  his  rakish  schooner  keeping  the  while  an  offing 
under  easy  sail,  and  he,  by  the  blaze  of  a  great  fire  of 
wreckwood,  to  measure  ingots  by  the  bucketful  on  the 
uproarious  beach ;  such  an  one  might  realise  a  greater 
material  spoil;  he  should  have  no  more  profit  of 
romance  than  Pinkerton  when  he  cast  up  his  weekly 
balance-sheet  in  a  bald  office.  Every  dollar  gained 
was  like  something  brought  ashore  from  a  mysterious 


98  THE  WRECKER. 

deep  ;  every  venture  made  was  like  a  diver's  plunge ; 
and  as  he  thrust  his  bold  hand  into  the  plexus  of  the 
money-market  he  was  delightedly  aware  of  how  he 
shook  the  pillars  of  existence,  turned  out  men,  as  at  a 
battle-cry,  to  labour  in  far  countries,  and  set  the  gold 
twitching  in  the  drawers  of  millionaires. 

I  could  never  fathom  the  full  extent  of  his  specu- 
lations ;  but  there  were  five  separate  businesses  which 
he  avowed  and  carried  like  a  banner.  The  Thirteen 
Star  Golden  State  Brandy,  Warranted  Entire  (a  very 
flagrant  distillation)  filled  a  great  part  of  his  thoughts, 
and  was  kept  before  the  public  in  an  eloquent  but 
misleading  treatise,  "  Why  Drink  French  Brandy  ? 
A  Word  to  the  Wise."  He  kept  an  office  for  adver- 
tisers, counselling,  designing,  acting  as  middleman 
with  printers  and  bill-stickers,  for  the  inexperienced  or 
the  uninspired :  the  dull  haberdasher  came  to  him  for 
ideas,  the  smart  theatrical  agent  for  his  local  know- 
ledge, and  one  and  all  departed  with  a  copy  of  his 
pamphlet,  "  How,  When,  and  Where  ;  or,  The  Adver- 
tiser's Vade-Mecum. '  He  had  a  tug  chartered  every 
Saturday  afternoon  and  night,  carried  people  outside 
the  Heads,  and  provided  them  with  lines  and  bait  for 
six  hours'  fishing,  at  the  rate  of  five  dollars  a  person. 
I  am  told  that  some  of  them  (doubtless  adroit  anglers) 
made  a  profit  on  the  transaction.  Occasionally  he 
bought  wrecks  and  condemned  vessels;  these  latter 
(I  cannot  tell  you  how)  found  their  way  to  sea  again 
under  aliases,  and  continued  to  stem  the  waves 
triumphantly  enough  under  the  colours  of  Bolivia  or 
Nicaragua.  Lastly,  there  was  a  certain  agricultural 
engine,  glorying  in  a  great  deal  of  vermilion  and  blue 
paint,  and  filling  (it  appeared)  a  "  long-felt  want,"  in 
which  his  interest  was  something  like  a  tenth. 

This  for  the  face  or  front  of  his  concerns.  "  On 
the  outside,"  as  he  phrased  it,  he  was  variously  and 
mysteriously  engaged.  No  dollar  slept  in  his  pos- 
session ;  rather,  he  kept  all  simultaneously  flying,  like 


IRONS   IN   THE   FIRE.  99 

a  conjurer  with  oranges.  My  own  earnings,  when  I 
began  to  have  a  share,  he  would  but  show  me  for  a 
moment,  and  disperse  again,  like  those  illusive  money 
gifts  which  are  flashed  in  the  eyes  of  childhood,  only 
to  be  entombed  in  the  missionary-box.  And  he  would 
come  down  radiant  from  a  weekly  balance-sheet,  clap 
me  on  the  shoulder,  declare  himself  a  winner  by 
Gargantuan  figures,  and  prove  destitute  of  a  quarter 
for  a  drink. 

"  What  on  earth  have  you  done  with  it  ?  "  I  would 
ask. 

"  Into  the  mill  again ;  all  re-invested  !  "  he  would 
cry,  with  infinite  delight.  "  Investment "  was  ever  his 
word.  He  could  not  bear  what  he  called  gambling. 
"Never  touch  stocks,  Loudon,"  he  would  say;  "nothing 
but  legitimate  business."  And  yet,  Heaven  knows, 
many  an  indurated  gambler  might  have  drawn  back 
appalled  at  the  first  hint  of  some  of  Pinkerton's 
investments  !  One  which  I  succeeded  in  tracking 
home,  and  instance  for  a  specimen,  was  a  seventh 
share  in  the  charter  of  a  certain  ill-starred  schooner 
bound  for  Mexico — to  smuggle  weapons  on  the  one 
trip,  and  cigars  upon  the  other.  The  latter  end  of  this 
enterprise,  involving  (as  it  did)  shipwreck,  confiscation, 
and  a  lawsuit  with  the  underwriters,  was  too  painful 
to  be  dwelt  upon  at  length.  "It's  proved  a  disap- 
pointment," was  as  far  as  my  friend  would  go  with  me 
in  words ;  but  I  knew,  from  observation,  that  the 
fabric  of  his  fortunes  tottered.  For  the  rest,  it  was 
only  by  accident  I  got  wind  of  the  transaction;  for 
Pinkerton,  after  a  time,  was  shy  of  introducing  me  to 
his  arcana :  the  reason  you  are  to  hear  presently. 

The  office  which  was  (or  should  have  been)  the 

Eoint  of  rest  for  so  many  evolving  dollars  stood  in  the 
eart  of  the  city — a    high  and  spacious  room,  with 
many    plate-glass    windows.      A  glazed    cabinet    of 
polished   redwood   offered  to  the  eye  a  regiment  of 
some   two  hundred    bottles,  conspicuously  labelled. 
h  2 


100  THE   WRECKER.. 

These  were  all  charged  with  Pinkerton's  Thirteen 
Star,  although  from  across  the  room  it  would  have 
required  an  expert  to  distinguish  them  from  the  same 
number  of  bottles  of  Courvoisier.  I  used  to  twit  my 
friend  with  this  resemblance,  and  propose  a  new 
edition  of  the  pamphlet,  with  the  title  thus  improved, 
"  Why  Drink  French  Brandy,  When  We  give  You  the 
same  Labels  ? "  The  doors  of  the  cabinet  revolved  all 
day  upon  their  hinges  ;  and  if  there  entered  anyone 
who  was  a  stranger  to  the  merits  of  the  brand,  he 
departed  laden  with  a  bottle.  When  I  used  to  protest 
at  this  extravagance,  "My  dear  Loudon,"  Pinkerton 
would  cry,  "  you  don't  seem  to  catch  on  to  business 
principles!  The  prime  cost  of  the  spirit  is  literally 
nothing.  I  couldn't  find  a  cheaper  advertisement  if  I 
tried."  Against  the  side  post  of  the  cabinet  there 
leaned  a  gaudy  umbrella,  preserved  there  as  a  relic. 
It  appears  that  when  Pinkerton  was  about  to  place 
Thirteen  Star  upon  the  market,  the  rainy  season  was 
at  hand.  He  lay  dark,  almost  in  penury,  awaiting  the 
first  shower,  at  which,  as  upon  a  signal,  the  main 
thoroughfares  became  dotted  with  his  agents,  vendors 
of  advertisements ;  and  the  whole  world  of  San 
Francisco,  from  the  business  man  fleeing  for  the 
ferry-boat,  to  the  lady  waiting  at  the  corner  for  her 
car,  sheltered  itself  under  umbrellas  with  this  strange 
device  :  Are  you  wet  ?  Try  Thirteen  Star.  "  It  was 
a  mammoth  boom,"  said  Pinkerton,  with  a  sigh  of 
delighted  recollection.  "  There  wasn't  another 
umbrella  to  be  seen.  I  stood  at  this  window, 
Loudon,  feasting  my  eyes ;  and  I  declare,  I  felt 
like  Vanderbilt."  And  it  was  to  this  neat  applica- 
tion of  the  local  climate  that  he  owed,  not  only  much 
of  the  sale  of  Thirteen  Star,  but  the  whole  business  of 
his  advertising  agency. 

The  large  desk  (to  resume  our  survey  of  the  office) 
stood  about  the  middle,  knee-deep  in  stacks  of  hand- 
bills and  posters  of  "Why  Drink  French  Brandy?"  and 


IRONS   IN   THE   FIRE.  101 

"  The  Advertiser's  Yade-Mecurn."  It  was  flanked  upon 
the  one  hand  by  two  female  type-writers,  who  rested 
not  between  the  hours  of  nine  and  four,  and  upon  the 
other  by  a  model  of  the  agricultural  machine.  The 
walls,  where  they  were  not  broken  by  telephone-boxes 
and  a  couple  of  photographs  —  one  representing 
the  wreck  of  the  James  L.  Moody  on  a  bold  and 
broken  coast,  the  other  the  Saturday  tug  alive  with 
amateur  fishers — almost  disappeared  under  oil-paint- 
ings gaudily  framed.  Many  of  these  were  relics  of  the 
Latin  Quarter,  and  I  must  do  Pinkerton  the  justice 
to  say  that  none  of  them  were  bad,  and  some  had 
remarkable  merit.  They  went  off  slowly,  but  for  hand- 
some figures ;  and  their  places  were  progressively 
supplied  with  the  work  of  local  artists.  These  last  it 
was  one  of  my  first  duties  to  review  and  criticise. 
Some  of  them  were  villainous,  yet  all  were  saleable. 
I  said  so ;  and  the  next  moment  saw  myself,  the  figure 
of  a  miserable  renegade,  bearing  arms  in  the  wrong 
camp.  I  was  to  look  at  pictures  thenceforward,  not 
with  the  eye  of  the  artist,  but  the  dealer ;  and  I  saw 
the  stream  widen  that  divided  me  from  all  I  loved. 

"  Now,  Loudon,"  Pinkerton  had  said,  the  morning 
after  the  lecture, — "now,  Loudon,  we  can  go  at  it 
shoulder  to  shoulder.  This  is  what  I  have  longed  for : 
I  wanted  two  heads  and  four  arms ;  and  now  I  have 
'em.  You'll  find  it's  just  the  same  as  art — all  observa- 
tion and  imagination  ;  only  more  movement.  Just 
wait  till  you  begin  to  feel  the  charm  ! " 

I  might  have  waited  long.  Perhaps  I  lack  a  sense  ; 
for  our  whole  existence  seemed  to  me  one  dreary 
bustle,  and  the  place  we  bustled  in  fitly  to  be  called 
the  Place  of  Yawning.  I  slept  in  a  little  den  behind 
the  office ;  Pinkerton,  in  the  office  itself,  stretched  on 
a  patent  sofa  which  sometimes  collapsed,  his  slumbers 
still  further  menaced  by  an  imminent  clock  with  an 
alarm.  Roused  by  this  diabolical  contrivance,  we  rose 
early,  went  forth  early  to  breakfast,  and  returned  by 


102  THE   WRECKER. 

nine  to  what  Pinkerton  called  work,  and  I  distraction 
Masses  of  letters  must  be  opened,  read,  and  answered ; 
some  by  me  at  a  subsidiary  desk  which  had  been 
introduced  on  the  morning  of  my  arrival ;  others  by 
my  bright-eyed  friend,  pacing  the  room  like  a  caged 
lion  as  he  dictated  to  the  tinkling  type -writers. 
Masses  of  wet  proof  had  to  be  overhauled  and  scrawled 
upon  with  a  blue  pencil — "  rustic  " ;  "  six-inch  caps  " ; 
"  bold  spacing  here " ;  or  sometimes  terms  more 
fervid — as,  for  instance,  this  (which  I  remember  Pinker- 
ton  to  have  spirted  on  the  margin  of  an  advertisement 
of  Soothing  Syrup),  "  Throw  this  all  down.  Have  you 
never  printed  an  advertisement  ?  I'll  be  round  in 
half-an-hour."  The  ledger  and  sale-book,  besides,  we 
had  always  with  us.  Such  was  the  backbone  of  our 
occupation,  and  tolerable  enough  ;  but  the  far  greater 
proportion  of  our  time  was  consumed  by  visitors — 
whole-souled,  grand  fellows  no  doubt,  and  as  sharp 
as  a  needle,  but  to  me  unfortunately  not  diverting. 
Some  were  apparently  half-witted,  and  must  be  talked 
over  by  the  hour  before  they  could  reach  the  humblest 
decision,  which  they  only  left  the  office  to  return 
again  (ten  minutes  later)  and  rescind.  Others  came 
with  a  vast  show  of  hurry  and  despatch,  but  I  observed 
it  to  be  principally  show.  The  agricultural  model,  for 
instance,  which  was  practicable,  proved  a  kind  of  fly- 
paper for  these  busybodies.  I  have  seen  them  blankly 
turn  the  crank  of  it  for  five  minutes  at  a  time,  simulat- 
ing (to  nobody's  deception)  business  interest :  "  Good 
thing  this,  Pinkerton  ?  Sell  much  of  it  ?  Ha  !  Couldn't 
use  it,  I  suppose,  as  a  medium  of  advertisement  for 
my  article  "  ? — which  was  perhaps  toilet  soap.  Others 
(a  still  worse  variety)  carried  us  to  neighbouring 
saloons  to  dice  for  cocktails  and  (after  the  cocktails 
were  paid)  for  dollars  on  a  corner  of  the  counter.  The 
attraction  of  dice  for  all  these  people,  was,  indeed,  extra- 
ordinary :  at  a  certain  club  wnere  I  once  dined  in  the 
character  of  "my  partner,  Mr.  Dodd,"  the  dice-box 


IRONS    IN   THE    FIRE.  103 

came  on  the  table  with  the  wine,  an  artless  substitute 
for  after-dinner  wit. 

Of  all  our  visitors,  I  believe  I  preferred  Emperor 
Norton ;  the  very  mention  of  whose  name  reminds  me 
I  am  doing  scanty  justice  to  the  folks  of  San  Francisco. 
In  what  other  city  would  a  harmless  madman  who 
supposed  himself  emperor  of  the  two  Americas  have 
been  so  fostered  and  encouraged  ?  Where  else  would 
even  the  people  of  the  streets  have  respected  the  poor 
soul's  illusion  ?  Where  else  would  bankers  and  mer- 
chants have  received  his  visits,  cashed  his  cheques, 
and  submitted  to  his  small  assessments  ?  Where  else 
would  he  have  been  suffered  to  attend  and  address 
the  exhibition  days  of  schools  and  colleges  ?  Where 
else,  in  God's  green  earth,  have  taken  his  pick  of 
restaurants,  ransacked  the  bill  of  fare,  and  departed 
scatheless  ?  They  tell  me  he  was  even  an  exacting 
patron,  threatening  to  withdraw  his  custom  when  dis- 
satisfied ;  and  I  can  believe  it,  for  his  face  wore  an 
expression  distinctly  gastronomicaL  Pinkerton  had 
received  from  this  monarch  a  cabinet  appointment ;  I 
have  seen  the  brevet,  wondering  mainly  at  the  good 
nature  of  the  printer  who  had  executed  the  forms,  and 
I  think  my  friend  was  at  the  head  either  of  foreign 
affairs  or  education  :  it  mattered,  indeed,  nothing,  the 
prestation  being  in  all  offices  identical.  It  was  at  a 
comparatively  early  date  that  I  saw  Jim  in  the  exercise 
of  his  public  functions.  His  Majesty  entered  the  office 
— a  portly,  rather  flabby  man,  with  the  face  of  a  gentle- 
man, rendered  unspeakably  pathetic  and  absurd  by  the 
great  sabre  at  his  side  and  the  peacock's  feather  in  his  hat. 

"  I  have  called  to  remind  you,  Mr.  Pinkerton,  that 
you  are  somewhat  in  arrear  of  taxes,"  he  said,  with 
old-fashioned,  stately  courtesy. 

"  Well,  your  Majesty,  what  is  the  amount  ?  "  asked 
Jim  ;  and  when  the  figure  was  named  (it  was  generally 
two  or  three  dollars),  paid  upon  the  nail  and  offered  a 
bonus  in  the  shape  of  Thirteen  Star, 


104  THE   WRECKER. 

"  I  am  always  delighted  to  patronise  native  in- 
dustries," said  Norton  the  First.  "San  Francisco  is 
public-spirited  in  what  concerns  its  emperor ;  and 
indeed,  sir,  of  all  mv  domains,  it  is  my  favourite 
city." 

"  Come,"  said  I,  when  he  was  gone,  "  I  prefer  that 
customer  to  the  lot." 

"  It's  really  rather  a  distinction,"  Jim  admitted. 
"  I  think  it  must  have  been  the  umbrella  racket  that 
attracted  him." 

We  were  distinguished  under  the  rose  by  the 
notice  of  other  and  greater  men.  There  were  days 
when  Jim  wore  an  air  of  unusual  capacity  and  resolve, 
spoke  with  more  brevity,  like  one  pressed  for  time,  and 
took  often  on  his  tongue  such  phrases  as  "  Longhurst 
told  me  so  this  morning,"  or  "  I  had  it  straight  from 
Longhurst  himself."  It  was  no  wonder,  I  used  to 
think,  that  Pinkerton  was  called  to  council  with  such 
Titans ;  for  the  creature's  quickness  and  resource  were 
beyond  praise.  In  the  early  days  when  he  consulted 
me  without  reserve,  pacing  the  room,  projecting, 
ciphering,  extending  hypothetical  interests,  trebling 
imaginary  capital,  his  "engine"  (to  renew  an  excellent 
old  word)  labouring  full  steam  ahead,  I  could  never 
decide  whether  my  sense  of  respect  or  entertainment 
were  the  stronger.  But  these  good  hours  were  destined 
to  curtailment. 

"  Yes,  it's  smart  enough,"  I  once  observed.  "  But, 
Pinkerton,  do  you  think  it's  honest  ? " 

"  ^ou  don't  think  it's  honest  ? "  he  wailed.  "  O 
dear  me,  that  ever  I  should  have  heard  such  an  ex- 
pression on  your  lips." 

At  sight  of  his  distress  I  plagiarised  unblushingly 
from  Myner.  "  You  seem  to  think  honesty  as  simple 
as  Blind  Man's  Buff,"  said  I.  "  It's  a  more  delicate 
affair  than  that :  delicate  as  any  art." 

"  Oh  well,  at  that  rate  ! "  he  exclaimed,  with  com- 
plete relief;  "  that's  casuistry." 


IRONS   IN   THE   FIRE.  105 

"  I  am  perfectly  certain  of  one  thing ;  that  what 
you  propose  is  dishonest,"  I  returned. 

"  Well,  say  no  more  about  it ;  that's  settled,"  he 
replied. 

Thus,  almost  at  a  word,  my  point  was  carried. 
But  the  trouble  was  that  such  differences  continued 
to  recur,  until  we  began  to  regard  each  other  with 
alarm.  If  there  were  one  thing  Pinkerton  valued 
himself  upon,  it  was  his  honesty ;  if  there  were  one 
thing  he  clung  to,  it  was  my  good  opinion ;  and  when 
both  were  involved,  as  was  the  case  in  these  com- 
mercial cruces,  the  man  was  on  the  rack.  My  own 
position,  if  you  consider  how  much  I  owed  him,  how 
hateful  is  the  trade  of  fault-finder,  and  that  yet  I  lived 
and  fattened  on  these  questionable  operations,  was 
perhaps  equally  distressing.  If  I  had  been  more 
sterling  or  more  combative,  things  might  have  gone 
extremely  far.  But,  in  truth,  I  was  just  base  enough 
to  profit  by  what  was  not  forced  on  my  attention, 
rather  than  seek  scenes ;  Pinkerton  quite  cunning 
enough  to  avail  himself  of  my  weakness ;  and  it  was 
a  relief  to  both  when  he  began  to  involve  his  pro- 
ceedings in  a  decent  mystery. 

Our  last  dispute,  which  had  a  most  unlooked-for 
consequence,  turned  on  the  refitting  of  condemned 
ships.  He  had  bought  a  miserable  hulk,  and  came, 
rubbing  his  hands,  to  inform  me  she  was  already  on 
the  slip,  under  a  new  name,  to  be  repaired.  When 
first  I  had  heard  of  this  industry  I  suppose  I  scarcely 
comprehended ;  but  much  discussion  had  sharpened 
my  faculties,  and  now  my  brow  became  heavy. 

"  I  can  be  no  party  to  that,  Pinkerton,"  said  L 

He  leaped  like  a  man  shot.  "  What  next  ? "  he 
cried.  "  What  ails  you  anyway  ?  You  seem  to  me 
to  dislike  everything  that's  profitable." 

"  This  ship  has  been  condemned  by  Lloyd's  agent," 
said  I. 

"  But  I  tell  you  it's  a  deal.     The  ship's  in  splendid 


106  THE   WRECKER. 

condition  ;  there's  next  to  nothing  wrong  with  her 
but  the  garboard  streak  and  the  sternpost.  I  tell  you, 
Lloyd's  is  a  ring,  like  everybody  else ;  only  it's  an 
English  ring,  ana  that's  what  deceives  you.  If  it  was 
American,  you  would  be  crying  it  down  all  day.  It's 
Anglomania — common  Anglomania,"  he  cried,  with 
growing  irritation. 

"  I  will  not  make  money  by  risking  men's  lives," 
was  my  ultimatum. 

"  Great  Caesar !  isn't  all  speculation  a  risk  ?  Isn't 
the  fairest  kind  of  shipownmg  to  risk  men's  lives  ? 
And  mining — how's  that  for  risk  ?  And  look  at  the 
elevator  business — there's  danger  if  you  like  !  Didn't 
I  take  my  risk  when  I  bought  her  ?  She  might  have 
been  too  far  gone ;  and  where  would  I  have  been  ? 
Loudon,"  he  cried,  "  I  tell  you  the  truth :  you're  too 
full  of  refinement  for  this  world  !  " 

"  I  condemn  you  out  of  your  own  lips,"  I  replied. 
"  '  The  fairest  kind  of  shipowning,'  says  you.  It  you 
please,  let  us  only  do  the  fairest  kind  of  business." 

The  shot  told ;  the  Irrepressible  was  silenced ;  and 
I  profited  by  the  chance  to  pour  in  a  broadside  of 
another  sort.  He  was  all  sunk  in  money-getting,  I 
pointed  out ;  he  never  dreamed  of  anything  but 
dollars.  Where  were  all  his  generous,  progressive 
sentiments  ?  Where  was  his  culture  ?  I  asked.  And 
where  was  the  American  Type  ? 

"  It's  true,  Loudon,"  he  cried,  striding  up  and  down 
the  room,  and  wildly  scouring  at  his  hair.  "  You're 
perfectly  right.  I'm  becoming  materialised.  Oh, 
what  a  thing  to  have  to  say,  what  a  confession  to 
make !  Materialised !  Me  !  Loudon,  this  must  go 
on  no  longer.  You've  been  a  loyal  friend  to  me  once 
more ;  give  me  your  hand — you've  saved  me  again. 
I  must  do  something  to  rouse  the  spiritual  side; 
something  desperate;  study  something,  something 
dry  and  tough.  What  shall  it  be  ?  Theology  ? 
Algebra  ?    What's  algebra  ? " 


IRONS   IN   THE   FIRE.  107 

"It's  dry  and  tough  enough/'  said  I;  "a2  + 
2ab  +  bV 

"  It's  stimulating,  though  ? "  he  inquired. 

I  told  him  I  believed  so,  and  that  it  was  con- 
sidered fortifying  to  Types. 

"Then  that's  the  thing  for  me.  I'll  study 
algebra,"  he  concluded. 

The  next  day,  by  application  to  one  of  his  type- 
writing women,  he  got  word  of  a  young  lady,  one 
Miss  Mamie  McBride,  who  was  willing  and  able  to 
conduct  him  in  these  bloomless  meadows;  and,  her 
circumstances  being  lean,  and  terms  consequently 
moderate,  he  and  Mamie  were  soon  in  agreement 
for  two  lessons  in  the  week.  He  took  tire  with 
unexampled  rapidity;  he  seemed  unable  to  tear 
himself  away  from  the  symbolic  art ;  an  hour's  lesson 
occupied  the  whole  evening;  and  the  original  two 
was  soon  increased  to  four,  and  then  to  five.  I  bade 
him  beware  of  female  blandishments.  "The  first 
thing  you  know,  you'll  be  falling  in  love  with  the 
algebraist,"  said  I. 

"  Don't  say  it,  even  in  jest,"  he  cried.  "  She's  a 
lady  I  revere.  I  could  no  more  lay  a  hand  upon  her 
than  I  could  upon  a  spirit.  Loudon,  I  don't  believe 
God  ever  made  a  purer-minded  woman." 

Which  appeared  to  me  too  fervent  to  be  reas- 
suring. 

Meanwhile  I  had  been  long  expostulating  with 
my  friend  upon  a  different  matter.  "  I'm  the  fifth 
wheel,"  I  kept  telling  him.  "For  any  use  I  am, 
I  might  as  well  be  in  Senegambia.  The  letters  vou 
give  me  to  attend  to  might  be  answered  by  a  sucking 
child.  And  I  tell  you  what  it  is,  Pinkerton;  either 
you've  got  to  find  me  some  employment,  or  I'll  have 
to  start  in  and  find  it  for  myself." 

This  I  said  with  a  corner  of  my  eye  in  the  usual 
quarter,  toward  the  arts,  little  dreaming  what  destiny 
was  to  provide. 


108  THE   WRECKER. 

"I've  got  it,  Loudon,"  Pinkerton  at  last  replied. 
"  Got  the  idea  on  the  Potrero  cars.  Found  I  hadn't 
a  pencil,  borrowed  one  from  the  conductor,  and 
figured  on  it  roughly  all  the  way  in  town.  I  saw 
it  was  the  thing  at  last ;  gives  you  a  real  show.  All 
your  talents  and  accomplishments  come  in.  Here's 
a  sketch  advertisement.  Just  run  your  eye  over  it. 
'Sun,  Ozone  and  Music/  PINKERTON'S  HEB- 
DOMAD ARY  PICNICS!'  (That's  a  good,  catching 
phrase,  '  hebdomadary,'  though  it's  hard  to  say.  I 
made  a  note  of  it  when  I  was  looking  in  the  dic- 
tionary how  to  spell  hectagonal.  'Well,  you're  a 
boss  word,'  I  said.  '  Before  you're  very  much  older, 
I'll  have  you  in  type  as  long  as  yourself.'  And  here 
it  is,  you  see.)  f  Five  dollars  a  head,  and  ladies 
free.  Monster  Olio  of  Attractions.'  (How  does 
that  strike  you  ?)  '  Free  luncheon  under  the  green- 
wood tree.  Dance  on  the  elastic  sward.  Home 
again  in  the  Bright  Evening  Hours.  Manager  and 
Honorary  Steward,  H  Loudon  Dodd,  Esq.,  the  well- 
known  connoisseur' " 

Singular  how  a  man  runs  from  Scylla  to 
Charybdis  1  I  was  so  intent  on  securing  the  dis- 
appearance of  a  single  epithet  that  I  accepted  the 
rest  of  the  advertisement  and  all  that  it  involved 
without  discussion.  So  it  befell  that  the  words 
"  well-known  connoisseur "  were  deleted ;  but  that 
H.  Loudon  Dodd  became  manager  and  honorary 
steward  of  Pinkerton's  Hebdomadary  Picnics,  soon 
shortened,  by  popular  consent,  to  The  Dromedary. 

By  eight  o'clock,  any  Sunday  morning,  I  was  to 
be  observed  by  an  admiring  public  on  the  wharf. 
The  garb  and  attributes  of  sacrifice  consisted  of  a 
black  frockcoat,  rosetted,  its  pockets  bulging  with 
sweetmeats  and  inferior  cigars,  trousers  of  light  blue, 
a  silk  hat  like  a  reflector,  and  a  varnished  wand.  A 
goodly  steamer  guarded  my  one  flank,  panting  and 
throbbing,  flags  fluttering  fore  and  aft  of  her.  illus- 


IRONS   IN   THE   FIRE.  109 

trative  of  the  Dromedary  and  patriotism.  My  other 
flank  was  covered  by  the  ticket-office,  strongly  held 
by  a  trusty  character  of  the  Scots  persuasion, 
rosetted  like  his  superior,  and  smoking  a  cigar  to 
mark  the  occasion  festive.  At  half-past,  having 
assured  myself  that  all  was  well  with  the  free 
luncheons,  I  lit  a  cigar  myself,  and  awaited  the 
strains  of  the  "  Pioneer  Band."  I  had  never  to  wait 
long — they  were  German  and  punctual — and  by  a 
few  minutes  after  the  half-hour  I  would  hear  them 
booming  down  street  with  a  long  military  roll  of 
drums,  some  score  of  gratuitous  asses  prancing  at 
the  head  in  bearskin  hats  and  buckskin  aprons,  and 
conspicuous  with  resplendent  axes.  The  band,  of 
course,  we  paid  for;  but  so  strong  is  the  San 
Franciscan  passion  for  public  masquerade,  that  the 
asses  (as  I  say)  were  all  gratuitous,  pranced  for  the 
love  of  it,  and  cost  us  nothing  but  their  luncheon. 

The  musicians  formed  up  in  the  bows  of  my 
steamer,  and  struck  into  a  skittish  polka ;  the  asses 
mounted  guard  upon  the  gangway  and  the  ticket- 
office  ;  and  presently  after,  in  family  parties  of  father, 
mother,  and  children,  in  the  form  of  duplicate  lovers 
or  in  that  of  solitary  youth,  the  public  began  to 
descend  upon  us  by  the  earful  at  a  time  ;  four  to 
six  hundred  perhaps,  with  a  strong  German  flavour, 
and  all  merry  as  children.  When  these  had  been 
shepherded  on  board,  and  the  inevitable  belated  two 
or  three  had  gained  the  deck  amidst  the  cheering  of 
the  public,  the  hawser  was  cast  off,  and  we  plunged 
into  the  bay. 

And  now  behold  the  honorary  steward  in  the 
hour  of  duty  and  glory ;  see  me  circulate  amid  the 
crowd,  radiating  affability  and  laughter,  liberal  with 
my  sweetmeats  and  cigars.  I  say  unblushing 
things  to  hobbledehoy  girls,  tell  shy  young  persons 
this  is  the  married  people's  boat,  roguishly  ask  the 
abstracted  if  they  are  thinking  of  their  sweethearts, 


110  THE   WRECKER. 

offer  paterfamilias  a  cigar,  am  struck  with  the 
beauty  and  grow  curious  about  the  age  of  mamma's 
youngest,  who  (I  assure  her  gaily)  will  be  a  man 
before  his  mother ;  or  perhaps  it  may  occur  to  me, 
from  the  sensible  expression  of  her  face,  that  she  is 
a  person  of  good  counsel,  and  I  ask  her  earnestly 
if  she  knows  any  particularly  pleasant  place  on  the 
Saucelito  or  San  Rafael  coast — for  the  scene  of  our 
picnic  is  always  supposed  to  be  uncertain.  The  next 
moment  I  am  back  at  my  giddy  badinage  with  the 
young  ladies,  wakening  laughter  as  I'  go,  and  leaving 
in  my  wake  applausive  comments  of  "  Isn't  Mr.  Dodd 
a  funny  gentleman  ? "  and  "  Oh,  I  think  he's  just  too 
nice ! " 

An  hour  having  passed  in  this  airy  manner,  I  start 
upon  my  rounds  afresh,  with  a  bag  full  of  coloured 
tickets,  all  with  pins  attached,  and  all  with  legible 
inscriptions :  "  Old  Germany,"  "  California,"  M  True 
Love,"  "  Old  Fogies,"  "  La  Belle  France,"  "  Green 
Erin,"  "  The  Land  of  Cakes,"  "  Washington,"  "  Blue 
Jay,"  "  Robin  Red-Breast " — twenty  of  each  denomina- 
tion ;  for  when  it  comes  to  the  luncheon  we  sit  down 
by  twenties.  These  are  distributed  with  anxious  tact 
— for,  indeed,  this  is  the  most  delicate  part  of  my 
functions — but  outwardly  with  reckless  unconcern, 
amidst  the  gayest  nutter  and  confusion ;  and  are  im- 
mediately after  sported  upon  hats  and  bonnets,  to 
the  extreme  diffusion  of  cordiality,  total  strangers  hail- 
ing each  other  by  "  the  number  of  their  mess  " — so 
we  humorously  name  it — and  the  deck  ringing  with 
cries  of,  "  Here,  all  Blue  Jays  to  the  rescue  ! "  or,  ■  I 
say,  am  I  alone  in  this  blame'  ship  ?  Ain't  there  no 
more  Californians  ? " 

By  this  time  we  are  drawing  near  to  the  appointed 
spot.  I  mount  upon  the  bridge,  the  observed  of  all 
observers. 

"  Captain,"  I  say,  in  clear,  emphatic  tones,  heard 
far  and  wide,  "  the  majority  of  the  company  appear 


IRONS    IN   THE    FIRE.  Ill 

to  be  in  favour  of  the  little  cove  beyond  One-Tree 
Point." 

"All  right,  Mr.  Dodd,"  responds  the  captain, 
heartily ;  "  all  one  to  me.  I  am  not  exactly  sure  of 
the  place  you  mean  ;  but  just  you  stay  here  and  pilot 
me." 

I  do,  pointing  with  my  wand.  I  do  pilot  him,  to 
the  inexpressible  entertainment  of  the  picnic,  for  I  am 
(why  should  I  deny  it  ?)  the  popular  man.  We  slow 
down  off  the  mouth  of  a  grassy  valley,  watered  by  a 
brook  and  set  in  pines  and  redwoods.  The  anchor  is 
let  go,  the  boats  are  lowered — two  of  them  already 
packed  with  the  materials  of  an  impromptu  bar — and 
the  Pioneer  Band,  accompanied  by  the  resplendent 
asses,  fill  the  other,  and  move  shoreward  to  the 
inviting  strains  of  "  Buffalo  Gals,  won't  you  come  out 
to-night  ?  "  It  is  a  part  of  our  programme  that  one  of 
the  asses  shall,  from  sheer  clumsiness,  in  the  course  of 
this  embarkation,  drop  a  dummy  axe  into  the  water, 
whereupon  the  mirth  of  the  picnic  can  hardly  be 
assuaged.  Upon  one  occasion  the  dummy  axe  floated, 
and  the  laugh  turned  rather  the  wrong  way. 

In  from  ten  to  twenty  minutes  the  boats  are  along- 
side again,  the  messes  are  marshalled  separately  on 
the  deck,  and  the  picnic  goes  ashore,  to  find  the  band 
and  the  impromptu  bar  awaiting  them.  Then  come  the 
hampers,  which  are  piled  up  on  the  beach,  and  sur- 
rounded by  a  stern  guard  of  stalwart  asses,  axe  on 
shoulder.  It  is  here  I  take  my  place,  note-book  in 
hand,  under  a  banner  bearing  the  legend,  "  Come  here 
for  hampers."  Each  hamper  contains  a  complete  out- 
fit for  a  separate  twenty — cold  provender,  plates,  glasses, 
knives,  forks,  and  spoons.  An  agonised  printed  appeal 
from  the  fevered  pen  of  Pinkerton,  pasted  on  the 
inside  of  the  lid,  beseeches  that  care  be  taken  of  the 
glass  and  silver.  Beer,  wine,  and  lemonade  are  flowing 
already  from  the  bar,  and  the  various  clans  of  twenty 
file   away   into   the   woods,  with  bottles  under  their 


112  THE   WRECKER. 

arms  and  the  hampers  strung  upon  a  stick.  Till  one 
they  feast  there,  in  a  very  moderate  seclusion,  all  being 
within  earshot  of  the  band.  From  one  till  four  dancing 
takes  place  upon  the  grass;  the  bar  does  a  roaring 
business ;  and  the  honorary  steward,  who  has  already 
exhausted  himself  to  bring  life  into  the  dullest  of  the 
messes,  must  now  indefatigably  dance  with  the  plainest 
of  the  women.  At  four  a  bugle-call  is  sounded,  and  by 
half-past  behold  us  on  board  again — Pioneers,  corru- 
gated iron  bar,  empty  bottles,  and  all ;  while  the  honor- 
ary steward,  free  at  last,  subsides  into  the  captain's 
cabin  over  a  brandy  and  soda  and  a  book.  Free  at 
last,  I  say ;  yet  there  remains  before  him  the  frantic 
leave-takings  at  the  pier,  and  a  sober  journey  up  to 
Pinkerton's  office  with  two  policemen  and  the  day's 
takings  in  a  bag. 

What  I  have  here  sketched  was  the  routine.  But 
we  appealed  to  the  taste  of  San  Francisco  more  dis- 
tinctly in  particular  fetes.  "  Ye  Olde  Time  Pycke- 
Nycke,"  largely  advertised  in  hand-bills  beginning 
"  Oyez,  Oyez  !  and  largely  frequented  by  knights, 
monks,  and  cavaliers,  was  drowned  out  by  unseason- 
able rain,  and  returned  to  the  city  one  of  the  saddest 
spectacles  I  ever  remember  to  have  witnessed.  In 
pleasing  contrast,  and  certainly  our  chief  success,  was 
"  The  Gathering  of  the  Clans,"  or  Scottish  picnic.  So 
many  milk-white  knees  were  never  before  simul- 
taneously exhibited  in  public,  and,  to  judge  by  the  pre- 
valence of  "  Royal  Stewart "  and  the  number  of  eagles' 
feathers,  we  were  a  high-born  company.  I  threw  for- 
ward the  Scottish  flank  of  my  own  ancestry,  and 
passed  muster  as  a  clansman  with  applause.  There 
was,  indeed,  but  one  small  cloud  on  this  red-letter 
day.  I  had  laid  in  a  large  supply  of  the  national 
beverage  in  the  shape  of  the  " '  Rob  Roy  Mac- 
Gregor  0 '  Blend,  Warranted  Old  and  Vatted  "  ;  and 
this  must  certainly  have  been  a  generous  spirit,  for 
I  had  some   anxious  work   between   four   and   half- 


IRONS   IN   THE    FIRE.  113 

past,  conveying  on  board  the  inanimate  forms  of 
chieftains. 

To  one  of  our  ordinary  festivities,  where  he  was 
the  life  and  soul  of  his  own  mess,  Pinkerton  himself 
came  incognito,  bringing  the  algebraist  on  his  arm. 
Miss  Mamie  proved  to  be  a  well-enough-looking 
mouse,  with  a  large  limpid  eye,  very  good  manners, 
and  a  flow  of  the  most  correct  expressions  I  have  ever 
heard  upon  the  human  lip.  As  rinkerton's  incognito 
was  strict,  I  had  little  opportunity  to  cultivate  the 
lady's  acquaintance,  but  I  was  informed  afterwards 
that  she  considered  me  "  the  wittiest  gentleman  she 
had  ever  met."  "  The  Lord  mend  your  taste  in  wit ! " 
thought  I ;  but  I  cannot  conceal  that  such  was  the 
general  impression.  One  of  my  pleasantries  even 
went  the  round  of  San  Francisco,  and  I  have  heard  it 
(myself,  all  unknown)  bandied  in  saloons.  To  be  un- 
known began  at  last  to  be  a  rare  experience ;  a  bustle 
woke  upon  my  passage,  above  all,  in  humble  neigh- 
bourhoods. "  Who's  that  ? "  one  would  ask,  and  the 
other  would  cry,  "  That !  why,  Dromedary  Dodd  !  "  or, 
with  withering  scorn,  "  Not  know  Mr.  Dodd  of  the 
picnics  ?  Well ! "  and,  indeed,  I  think  it  marked  a 
rather  barren  destiny ;  for  our  picnics,  if  a  trifle 
vulgar,  were  as  gay  and  innocent  as  the  age  of  gold. 
I  am  sure  no  people  divert  themselves  so  easily  and  so 
well,  and  even  with  the  cares  of  my  stewardship  I  was 
often  happy  to  be  there. 

Indeed,  there  were  but  two  drawbacks  in  the  least 
^considerable.  The  first  was  my  terror  of  the  hobble- 
dehoy girls,  to  whom  (from  the  demands  of  my 
situation)  I  was  obliged  to  lay  myself  so  open.  The 
other,  if  less  momentous,  was  more  mortifying.  In 
early  days — at  my  mother's  knee,  as  a  man  may  say — I 
had  acquired  the  unenviable  accomplishment  (which 
I  have  never  since  been  able  to  lose)  of  singing  "  Just 
before  the  Battle."  I  have  what  the  French  call  a 
fillet  of  voice — my  best  notes  scarce  audible  about 


114  THE    WRECKER. 

a  dinner-table,  and  the  upper  register  rather  to  be 
regarded  as  a  higher  power  of  silence.  Experts  tell  me, 
besides,  that  I  sing  flat ;  nor,  if  I  were  the  best  singer 
in  the  world,  does  "Just  before  the  Battle"  occur  to  my 
mature  taste  as  the  song  that  I  would  choose  to  sing. 
In  spite  of  all  which  considerations,  at  one  picnic, 
memorably  dull,  and  after  I  had  exhausted  every 
other  art  of  pleasing,  I  gave,  in  desperation,  my  one 
song.  From  that  hour  my  doom  was  gone  forth. 
Either  we  had  a  chronic  passenger  (though  I  could 
never  detect  him),  or  the  very  wood  and  iron  of  the 
steamer  must  have  retained  the  tradition.  At  every 
successive  picnic  word  went  round  that  Mr.  Dodd  was 
a  singer;  that  Mr.  Dodd  sang  ''Just  before  the  Battle  " ; 
and,  finally,  that  now  was  the  time  when  Mr.  Dodd 
sang  "Just  before  the  Battle."  So  that  the  thing  became 
a  fixture,  like  the  dropping  of  the  dummy  axe ;  and 
you  are  to  conceive  me,  Sunday  after  Sunday,  piping 
up  my  lamentable  ditty,  and  covered,  when  it  was 
done,  with  gratuitous  applause.  It  is  a  beautiful  trait 
in  human  nature  that  I  was  invariably  offered  an 
encore. 

I  was  well  paid,  however,  even  to  sing.  Pinkerton 
and  I,  after  an  average  Sunday,  had  five  hundred 
dollars  to  divide.  Nay,  and  the  picnics  were  the 
means,  although  indirectly,  of  bringing  me  a  singular 
windfall.  This  was  at  the  end  of  the  season,  after  the 
"Grand  Farewell  Fancy  Dress  Gala."  Many  of  the 
hampers  had  suffered  severely ;  and  it  was  judged 
wiser  to  save  storage,  dispose  of  them,  and  lay  in  a 
fresh  stock  when  the  campaign  reopened.  Among  my 
purchasers  was  a  working  man  of  the  name  of  Speedy, 
to  whose  house,  after  several  unavailing  letters,  I  must 
proceed  in  person,  wondering  to  find  myself  once 
again  on  the  wrong  side,  and  playing  the  creditor  to 
someone  else's  debtor.  Speedy  was  in  the  belligerent 
stage  of  fear.  He  could  not  pay.  It  appeared  he  had 
already  resold  the  hampers,  and  he  defied  me  to  do 


IRONS   IN  THE   FIRE.  115 

my  worst.  I  did  not  like  to  lose  my  own  money ;  I 
hated  to  lose  Pinkerton's ;  and  the  bearing  of  my 
creditor  incensed  me. 

"  Do  you  know,  Mr.  Speedy,  that  I  can  send  you  to 
the  penitentiary  ? "  said  I,  willing  to  read  him  a  lesson. 

The  dire  expression  was  overheard  in  the  next 
room.  A  large,  fresh,  motherly  Irishwoman  ran  forth 
upon  the  instant,  and  fell  to  besiege  me  with  caresses 
and  appeals.  "  Sure  now,  and  ye  couldn't  have  the 
heart  to  ut,  Mr.  Dodd — you,  that's  so  well  known  to  be 
a  pleasant  gentleman  ;  and  it's  a  pleasant  face  ye 
have,  and  the  picture  of  me  own  brother  that's  dead 
and  gone.  It's  a  truth  that  he's  been  drinking.  Ye 
can  smell  it  off  of  him,  more  blame  to  him.  But, 
indade,  and  there's  nothing  in  the  house  beyont  the 
furnicher,  and  Thim  Stock.  It's  the  stock  that  ye'll 
be  taking,  dear.  A  sore  penny  it  has  cost  me,  first 
and  last,  and,  by  all  tales,  not  worth  an  owld  tobacco 
pipe."  Thus  adjured,  and  somewhat  embarrassed  by 
the  stern  attitude  I  had  adopted,  I  suffered  myself  to 
be  invested  with  a  considerable  quantity  of  what  is 
called"  wild-cat  stock,"  in  which  this  excellent  if  illogical 
female  had  been  squandering  her  hard-earned  gold. 
It  could  scarce  be  said  to  better  my  position,  but 
the  step  quieted  the  woman ;  and,  on  the  other  hand, 
I  could  not  think  I  was  taking  much  risk,  for  the 
shares  in  question  (they  were  those  of  what  I  will  call 
the  Catamount  Silver  Mine)  had  fallen  some  time  be- 
fore to  the  bed-rock  quotation,  and  now  lay  perfectly 
inert,  or  were  only  kicked  (like  other  waste-paper)  about 
the  kennel  of  the  exchange  by  bankrupt  speculators. 

A  month  or  two  after,  I  perceived  by  the  stock-list 
that  Catamount  had  taken  a  bound ;  before  afternoon 
"  thim  stock  "  were  worth  a  quite  considerable  pot  of 
money ;  and  I  learned,  upon  inquiry,  that  a  bonanza 
had  been  found  in  a  condemned  lead,  and  the  mine 
was  now  expected  to  do  wonders.  Remarkable  to 
philosophers  how  bonanzas  are  found  in  condemned 
i  2 


116  THE   WRECKER. 

leads,  and  how  the  stock  is  always  at  freezing-point 
immediately  before  !  By  some  stroke  of  chance  the 
Speedys  had  held  on  to  the  right  thing;  they  had 
escaped  the  syndicate ;  yet  a  little  more,  if  I  had 
not  come  to  dun  them,  and  Mrs.  Speedy  would 
have  been  buying  a  silk  dress.  I  could  not  bear. 
of  course,  to  profit  by  the  accident,  and  returned 
to  offer  restitution.  The  house  was  in  a  bustle ; 
the  neighbours  (all  stock-gamblers  themselves)  had 
crowded  to  condole ;  and  Mrs.  Speedy  sat  with  stream- 
ing tears,  the  centre  of  a  sympathetic  group.  "  For 
fifteen  year  I've  been  at  ut,"  she  was  lamenting  as  I 
entered,  "and  grudging  the  babes  the  very  milk — more 
shame  to  me  ! — to  pay  their  dhirty  assessments.  And 
now,  my  dears,  I  should  be  a  lady,  and  driving  in  my 
coach,  if  all  had  their  rights ;  and  a  sorrow  on  that 
man  I)odd  !  As  soon  as  I  set  eyes  on  him,  I  seen  the 
divil  was  in  the  house." 

It  was  upon  these  words  that  I  made  my  entrance, 
which  was  therefore  dramatic  enough,  though  nothing 
to  what  followed.  For  when  it  appeared  that  I  was 
come  to  restore  the  lost  fortune,  and  when  Mrs. 
Speedy  (after  copiously  weeping  on  my  bosom)  had 
refused  the  restitution,  and  when  Mr.  Speedy  (sum- 
moned to  that  end  from  a  camp  of  the  Grand  Army 
of  the  Republic)  had  added  his  refusal,  and  when  I 
had  insisted,  and  they  had  insisted,  and  the  neigh- 
bours had  applauded  and  supported  each  of  us  in 
turn ;  and  when  at  last  it  was  agreed  we  were  to 
hold  the  stock  together,  and  share  the  proceeds  in 
three  parts — one  for  me,  one  for  Mr.  Speedy,  and  one 
for  his  spouse — I  will  leave  you  to  conceive  the  en- 
thusiasm that  reigned  in  that  small  bare  apartment, 
with  the  sewing-machine  in  the  one  corner,  and  the 
babes  asleep  in  the  other,  and  pictures  of  Garfield  and 
the  Battle  of  Gettysburg  on  the  yellow  walls.  Port 
wine  was  had  in  by  a  sympathiser,  and  we  drank  it 
mingled  with  tears. 


IRONS   IN   THE   FIRE.  117 

"  And  I  dhrink  to  your  health,  my  dear,"  sobbed 
Mrs.  Speedy,  especially  affected  by  my  gallantry  in 
the  matter  of  the  third  share ;  "  and  I'm  sure  we  all 
dhrink  to  his  health — Mr.  l)odd  of  the  picnics,  no 
gentleman  better  known  than  him;  and  it's  my 
prayer,  dear,  the  good  God  may  be  long  spared  to  see 
ye  in  health  and  happiness ! " 

In  the  end  I  was  the  chief  gainer ;  for  I  sold  my 
third  while  it  was  worth  five  thousand  dollars,  but  the 
Speedys  more  adventurously  held  on  until  the  syndi- 
cate reversed  the  process,  when  they  were  happy  to 
escape  with  perhaps  a  quarter  of  that  sum.  It  was 
just  as  well;  for  the  bulk  of  the  money  was  (in 
rinkerton's  phrase)  reinvested  ;  and  when  next  I  saw 
Mrs.  Speedy,  she  was  still  gorgeously  dressed  from 
the  proceeds  of  the  late  success,  but  was  already 
moist  with  tears  over  the  new  catastrophe.  "  We're 
froze  out,  me  darlin' !  All  the  money  we  had,  dear, 
and  the  sewing-machine,  and  Jim's  uniform,  was  in 
the  Golden  West ;  and  the  vipers  has  put  on  a  new 
assessment." 

By  the  end  of  the  year,  therefore,  this  is  how  I 
stood.     I  had  made 

By  Catamount  Silver  Mine    ....  $5,000 

By  the  picnics 3,000 

By  the  lecture 600 

By  profit  and  loss  on  capital  in  Pinkerton's 

business 1,350 

$9,950 
to  which  must  be  added 

What  remained  of  my  grandfather's  donation        8,500 

$18,450 
It  appears,  on  the  other  hand,  that 

I  had  spent 4,000 

Which  thus  left  me  to  the  good     .        .        .    $14,450 


118  THE   WRECKER. 

A  result  on  which  I  am  not  ashamed  to  say  I  looked 
with  gratitude  and  pride.  Some  eight  thousand 
(being  late  conquest)  was  liquid  and  actually  tractile 
in  the  bank  ;  the  rest  whirled  beyond  reach  and  even 
sight  (save  in  the  mirror  of  a  balance-sheet)  under 
the  compelling  spell  of  wizard  Pinkerton.  Dollars  of 
mine  were  tacking  off  the  shores  of  Mexico,  in  peril  of 
the  deep  and  the  guarda-costas ;  they  rang  on  saloon 
counters  in  the  city  of  Tombstone,  Arizona;  they 
shone  in  faro- tents  among  the  mountain  diggings  :  the 
imagination  flagged  in  following  them,  so  wide  were 
they  diffused,  so  briskly  they  span  to  the  turning  of 
the  wizard's  crank.  But  here,  there,  or  everywhere  I 
could  still  tell  myself  it  was  all  mine,  and — what  was 
more  convincmg — draw  substantial  dividends.  My 
fortune,  I  called  it ;  and  it  represented,  when  ex- 
pressed in  dollars  or  even  British  pounds,  an  honest 
pot  of  money  ;  when  extended  into  francs,  a  veritable 
fortune.  Perhaps  I  have  let  the  cat  out  of  the  bag  ; 
perhaps  you  see  already  where  my  hopes  were 
pointing,  and  begin  to  blame  my  inconsistency.  But 
I  must  first  tell  you  my  excuse,  and  the  change  that 
had  befallen  Pinkerton. 

About  a  week  after  the  picnic  to  which  he  es- 
corted Mamie,  Pinkerton  avowed  the  state  of  his 
affections.  From  what  I  had  observed  on  board  the 
steamer — where,  methought,  Mamie  waited  on  him 
with  her  limpid  eyes — I  encouraged  the  bashful  lover 
to  proceed  ;  and  the  very  next  evening  he  was  carrying 
me  to  call  on  his  affianced. 

"  You  must  befriend  her,  Loudon,  as  you  have 
always  befriended  me,"  he  said,  pathetically. 

"  By  saying  disagreeable  things  ?  I  doubt  if  that 
be  the  way  to  a  young  lady's  favour,"  I  replied  ;  "  and 
since  this  picnicking  I  begin  to  be  a  man  of  some  ex- 
perience." 

"  Yes,  you  do  nobly  there ;  I  can't  describe  how  I 
admire  you,"  he  cried.     "  Not  that  she  will  ever  need 


IRONS   IN   THE   FIRE.  119 

it ;  she  has  had  every  advantage.  God  knows  what  I 
have  done  to  deserve  her.  O  man,  what  a  respon- 
sibility this  is  for  a  rough  fellow  and  not  always 
truthful !  * 

"  Brace  up,  old  man — brace  up  !  "  said  I. 

But  when  we  reached  Mamie's  boarding-house,  it 
was  almost  with  tears  that  he  presented  me.  "  Here 
is  Loudon,  Mamie,"  were  his  words.  "  I  want  you  to 
love  him ;  he  has  a  grand  nature." 

"  You  are  certainly  no  stranger  to  me,  Mr.  Dodd," 
was  her  gracious  expression.  "  James  is  never  weary 
of  descanting  on  your  goodness." 

"My  dear  lady,"  said  I,  "when  you  know  our 
friend  a  little  better,  you  will  make  a  large  allowance 
for  his  warm  heart.  My  goodness  has  consisted  in 
allowing  him  to  feed  and  clothe  and  toil  for  me  when 
he  could  ill  afford  it.  If  I  am  now  alive,  it  is  to  him 
I  owe  it ;  no  man  had  a  kinder  friend.  You  must 
take  good  care  of  him,"  I  added,  laying  my  hand  on 
his  shoulder,  "  and  keep  him  in  good  order,  for  he 
needs  it." 

Pinkerton  was  much  affected  by  this  speech,  and 
so,  I  fear,  was  Mamie.  I  admit  it  was  a  tactless  per- 
formance. "When  you  know  our  friend  a  little 
better,"  was  not  happily  said ;  and  even  "  keep  him  in 
good  order,  for  he  needs  it,"  might  be  construed  into 
matter  of  offence.  But  I  lay  it  before  you  in  all  con- 
fidence of  your  acquittal :  was  the  general  tone  of  it 
"  patronising  "  ?  Even  if  such  was  the  verdict  of  the 
lady,  I  cannot  but  suppose  the  blame  was  neither 
wholly  hers  nor  wholly  mine ;  I  cannot  but  suppose 
that  Pinkerton  had  already  sickened  the  poor  woman 
of  my  very  name ;  so  that  if  I  had  come  with  the  songs 
of  Apollo,  she  must  still  have  been  disgusted. 

Here,  however,  were  two  finger-posts  to  Paris — Jim 
was  going  to  be  married,  and  so  had  the  less  need  of 
my  society ;  I  had  not  pleased  his  bride,  and  so  was, 
perhaps,  better  absent.     Late  one  evening  I  broached 


120  THE   WRECKER. 

the  idea  to  my  friend.  It  had  been  a  great  day  for 
me  ;  I  had  just  banked  my  five  thousand  Catamountain 
dollars  ;  and  as  Jim  had  refused  to  lay  a  finger  on  the 
stock,  risk  and  profit  were  both  wholly  mine,  and  I 
was  celebrating  the  event  with  stout  and  crackers.  I 
began  by  telling  him  that  if  it  caused  him  any  pain 
or  any  anxiety  about  his  affairs,  he  had  but  to  say  the 
word,  and  he  should  hear  no  more  of  my  proposal. 
He  was  the  truest  and  best  friend  I  ever  had  or  was 
ever  like  to  have ;  and  it  would  be  a  strange  thing  if 
I  refused  him  any  favour  he  was  sure  he  wanted.  At 
the  same  time  I  wished  him  to  be  sure ;  for  my  life 
was  wasting  in  my  hands.  I  was  like  one  from  home : 
all  my  true  interests  summoned  me  away.  I  must 
remind  him,  besides,  that  he  was  now  about  to  marry 
and  assume  new  interests,  and  that  our  extreme 
familiarity  might  be  even  painful  to  his  wife.  "  Oh 
no,  Loudon ;  I  feel  you  are  wrong  there,"  he  interjected 
warmly ;  "she  does  appreciate  your  nature."  "  So  much 
the  better,  then,"  I  continued ;  and  went  on  to  point 
out  that  our  separation  need  not  be  for  long ;  that,  in 
the  way  affairs  were  going,  he  might  join  me  in  two 
years  with  a  fortune — small,  indeed,  for  the  States,  but 
in  France  almost  conspicuous ;  that  we  might  unite 
our  resources,  and  have  one  house  in  Paris  for  the 
winter  and  a  second  near  Fontainebleau  for  summer, 
where  we  could  be  as  happy  as  the  day  was  long,  and 
bring  up  little  Pinkertons  as  practical  artistic  work- 
men, far  from  the  money-hunger  of  the  West.  "  Let 
me  go,  then,"  I  concluded  ;  "  not  as  a  deserter,  but  as 
the  vanguard,  to  lead  the  march  of  the  Pinkerton  men." 
So  I  argued  and  pleaded,  not  without  emotion; 
my  friend  sitting  opposite,  resting  his  chin  upon  his 
hand  and  (but  for  that  single  interjection)  silent.  "  I 
have  been  looking  for  this,  Loudon,"  said  he,  when  I 
had  done.  "  It  does  pain  me,  and  that's  the  fact — . 
I'm  so  miserably  selfish.  And  I  believe  it's  a  death- 
blow to  the  picnics :  for  it's  idle  to  deny  that  you  were 


FACES  ON  THE  CITY  FRONT.         121 

the  heart  and  soul  of  them  with  your  wand  and  your 
gallant  bearing,  and  wit  and  humour  and  chivalry,  and 
throwing  that  kind  of  society  atmosphere  about  the 
thing.  But,  for  all  that,  you're  right,  and  you  ought 
to  go.  You  may  count  on  forty  dollars  a  week ;  and 
if  Depew  City — one  of  nature's  centres  for  this  State 
— pan  out  the  least  as  I  expect,  it  may  be  double. 
But  it's  forty  dollars  anyway ;  and  to  think  that  two 
years  ago  you  were  almost  reduced  to  beggary ! " 

"  I  was  reduced  to  it,"  said  I. 

"  Well,  the  brutes  gave  you  nothing,  and  I'm  glad 
of  it  now !  "  cried  Jim.  "  It's  the  triumphant  return 
I  glory  in  !  Think  of  the  master,  and  that  cold-blooded 
Myner  too  !  Yes,  just  let  the  Depew  City  boom  get 
on  its  legs,  and  you  shall  go  ;  and  two  years  later,  day 
for  day,  I'll  shake  hands  with  you  in  Paris,  with  Mamie 
on  my  arm,  God  bless  her ! " 

We  talked  in  this  vein  far  into  the  night.  I  was 
myself  so  exultant  in  my  new-found  liberty,  and 
Pinkerton  so  proud  of  my  triumph,  so  happy  in  my 
happiness,  in  so  warm  a  glow  about  the  gallant  little 
woman  of  his  choice,  and  the  very  room  so  filled  with 
castles  in  the  air  and  cottages  at  Fontainebleau,  that 
it  was  little  wonder  if  sleep  fled  our  eyelids,  and  three 
had  followed  two  upon  the  office  clock  before  Pinkerton 
unfolded  the  mechanism  of  his  patent  sofa. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

FACES   ON   THE   CITY   FRONT. 

It  is  very  much  the  custom  to  view  life  as  if  it  were 
exactly  ruled  in  two,  like  sleep  and  waking— the 
provinces  of  play  and  business  standing  separate.  The 
business  side  of  my  career  in  San  Francisco  has  been 
now  disposed  of ;  1  approach  the  chapter  of  diversion ; 


122  THE  WRECKER. 

and  it  will  be  found  they  had  about  an  equal  share  in 
building  up  the  story  of  the  Wrecker — a  gentleman 
whose  appearance  may  be  presently  expected. 

With  all  my  occupations,  some  six  afternoons  and 
two  or  three  odd  evenings  remained  at  my  disposal 
every  week :  a  circumstance  the  more  agreeable  as  I 
was  a  stranger  in  a  city  singularly  picturesque.  From 
what  I  had  once  called  myself,  "The  Amateur  Parisian," 
I  grew  (or  declined)  into  a  waterside  prowler,  a  lingerer 
on  wharves,  a  frequenter  of  shy  neighbourhoods,  a 
scraper  of  acquaintance  with  eccentric  characters.  I 
visited  Chinese  and  Mexican  gambling-hells,  German 
secret  societies,  sailors'  boarding-houses,  and  "  dives  " 
of  every  complexion  of  the  disreputable  and  dangerous. 
I  have  seen  greasy  Mexican  hands  pinned  to  the  table 
with  a  knife  for  cheating,  seamen  (when  blood-money 
ran  high)  knocked  down  upon  the  public  street  and 
carried  insensible  on  board  short-handed  ships,  shots 
exchanged,  and  the  smoke  (and  the  company)  dispersing 
from  the  doors  of  the  saloon.  I  have  heard  cold-minded 
Polacks  debate  upon  the  readiest  method  of  burning 
San  Francisco  to  the  ground,  hot-headed  working  men 
and  women  bawl  and  swear  in  the  tribune  at  the 
Sandlot,  and  Kearney  himself  open  his  subscription 
for  a  gallows,  name  the  manufacturers  who  were  to 
grace  it  with  their  dangling  bodies,  and  read  aloud  to 
the  delighted  multitude  a  telegram  of  adhesion  from 
a  member  of  the  State  legislature :  all  which  prepara- 
tions of  proletarian  war  were  (in  a  moment)  breathed 
upon  and  abolished  by  the  mere  name  and  fame  of 
Mr.  Coleman.  That  lion  of  the  Vigilantes  had  but  to 
rouse  himself  and  shake  his  ears,  and  the  whole 
brawling  mob  was  silenced.  I  could  not  but  reflect 
what  a  strange  manner  of  man  this  was,  to  be  living 
unremarked  there  as  a  private  merchant,  and  to  be  so 
feared  by  a  whole  city  ;  and  if  I  was  disappointed,  in 
my  character  of  looker-on,  to  have  the  matter  end 
ingloriously  without  the  firing  of  a  shot  or  the  hanging 


FACES  ON  THE  CITY  FRONT.         123 

of  a  single  millionaire,  philosophy  tried  to  tell  me  that 
this  sight  was  truly  the  more  picturesque.  In  a 
thousand  towns  and  different  epochs  I  might  have 
had  occasion  to  behold  the  cowardice  and  carnage  of 
street-fighting;  where  else,  but  only  there  and  then, 
could  I  have  enjoyed  a  view  of  Coleman  (the  inter- 
mittent despot)  walking  meditatively  up  hill  in  a 
quiet  part  of  town,  with  a  very  rolling  gait,  and 
slapping  gently  his  great  thigh  ? 

Minora  canamus.  This  historic  figure  stalks  silently 
through  a  corner  of  the  San  Francisco  of  my  memory. 
The  rest  is  bric-a-brac,  the  reminiscences  of  a  vagrant 
sketcher.  My  delight  was  much  in  slums.  "Little 
Italy  "  was  a  haunt  of  mine.  There  I  would  look  in  at 
the  windows  of  small  eating-shops  transported  bodily 
from  Genoa  or  Naples,  with  their  macaroni,  and  chianti 
flasks,  and  portraits  of  Garibaldi,  and  coloured  political 
caricatures ;  or  (entering  in)  hold  high  debate  with 
some  ear-ringed  fisher  of  the  bay  as  to  the  designs  of 
"  Mr.  Owstria  "  and  "  Mr.  Rooshia."  I  was  often  to  be 
observed  (had  there  been  any  to  observe  me)  in 
that  dis-peopled,  hillside  solitude  of  "  Little  Mexico," 
with  its  crazy  wooden  houses,  endless  crazy  wooden 
stairs,  and  perilous  mountain-goat  paths  in  the  sand. 
Chinatown  by  a  thousand  eccentricities  drew  and  held 
me;  I  could  never  have  enough  of  its  ambiguous, 
interracial  atmosphere,  as  of  a  vitalised  museum ; 
never  wonder  enough  at  its  outlandish,  necromantic- 
looking  vegetables  set  forth  to  sell  in  commonplace 
American  shop-windows,  its  temple  doors  open  and 
the  scent  of  the  joss-stick  streaming  forth  on  the 
American  air,  its  kites  of  Oriental  fashion  hanging 
fouled  in  Western  telegraph-wires,  its  flights  of  paper 
prayers  which  the  trade-wind  hunts  and  dissipates 
along  Western  gutters.  I  was  a  frequent  wanderer  on 
North  Beach,  gazing  at  the  straits,  and  the  huge 
Cape  Homers  creeping  out  to  sea,  and  imminent 
Tamalpais.     Thence,  on  my  homeward  way,  I  might 


124  THE  WRECKER. 

visit  that  strange  and  filthy  shed,  earth-paved  and 
walled  with  the  cages  of  wild  animals  and  birds,  where 
at  a  ramshackle  counter,  amid  the  yells  of  monkeys 
and  a  poignant  atmosphere  of  menagerie,  forty-rod 
whisky  was  administered  by  a  proprietor  as  dirty  as 
his  beasts.  Nor  did  I  even  neglect  Nob  Hill,  which  is 
itself  a  kind  of  slum,  being  the  habitat  of  the  mere 
millionaire.  There  they  dwell  upon  the  hill-top,  high 
raised  above  man's  clamour,  and  the  trade- wind  blows 
between  their  palaces  about  deserted  streets. 

But  San  Francisco  is  not  herself  only.  She  is  not 
only  the  most  interesting  city  in  the  Union,  and  the 
hugest  smelting-pot  of  races  and  the  precious  metals. 
She  keeps,  besides,  the  doors  of  the  Pacific,  and  is  the 
port  of  entry  to  another  world  and  an  earlier  epoch  in 
man's  history.  Nowhere  else  shall  you  observe  (in 
the  ancient  phrase)  so  many  tall  ships  as  here  convene 
from  round  the  Horn,  from  China,  from  Sydney,  and 
the  Indies.  But,  scarce  remarked  amid  that  crowd  of 
deep-sea  giants,  another  class  of  craft,  the  Island 
schooner,  circulates — low  in  the  water,  with  lofty 
spars  and  dainty  lines,  rigged  and  fashioned  like  a 
yacht,  manned  with  brown-skinned,  soft-spoken,  sweet- 
eyed  native  sailors,  and  equipped  with  their  great 
double-ender  boats  that  tell  a  tale  of  boisterous  sea- 
beaches.  These  steal  out  and  in  again,  unnoted  by 
the  world  or  even  the  newspaper  press,  save  for  the 
line  in  the  clearing  column,  *  Schooner  So-and-so  for 
Yap  and  South  Sea  Islands" — steal  out  with  nonde- 
script cargoes  of  tinned  salmon,  gin,  bolts  of  gaudy 
cotton  stun,  women's  hats,  and  Waterbury  watches,  to 
return,  after  a  year,  piled  as  high  as  to  the  eaves  of  the 
house  with  copra,  or  wallowing  deep  with  the  shells  of 
the  tortoise  or  the  pearl  oyster.  To  me,  in  my 
character  of  the  Amateur  Parisian,  this  island  traffic, 
and  even  the  island  world,  were  beyond  the  bounds  of 
curiosity,  and  how  much  more  of  knowledge.  I  stood 
there  on  the  extreme  shore  of  the  West  and  of  to-day. 


FACES   ON   THE   CITY   FRONT.  125 

Seventeen  hundred  years  ago,  and  seven  thousand 
miles  to  the  east,  a  legionary  stood,  perhaps,  upon  the 
wall  of  Antoninus,  and  looked  northward  toward  the 
mountains  of  the  Picts.  For  all  the  interval  of  time 
and  space  I,  when  I  looked  from  the  clifT-house  on  the 
broad  Pacific,  was  that  man's  heir  and  analogue  :  each 
of  us  standing  on  the  verge  of  the  Roman  Empire  (or, 
as  we  now  call  it,  Western  civilisation),  each  of  us 
gazing  onward  into  zones  unromanised.  But  I  was 
dull.  I  looked  rather  backward,  keeping  a  kind  eye 
on  Paris ;  and  it  required  a  series  of  converging  inci- 
dents to  change  my  attitude  of  nonchalance  for  one  of 
interest,  and  even  longing,  which  I  little  dreamed  that 
I  should  live  to  gratify. 

The  first  of  these  incidents  brought  me  in  acquaint- 
ance with  a  certain  San  Francisco  character,  who  had 
something  of  a  name  beyond  the  limits  of  the  city, 
and  was  known  to  many  lovers  of  good  English.  I 
had  discovered  a  new  slum,  a  place  of  precarious 
sandy  cliffs,  deep  sandy  cuttings,  solitary  ancient 
houses,  and  the  butt-ends  of  streets.  It  was  already 
environed.  The  ranks  of  the  street-lamps  threaded  it 
unbroken.  The  city,  upon  all  sides  of  it,  was  tightly 
packed,  and  growled  with  traffic.  To-day,  I  do  not  doubt 
the  very  landmarks  are  all  swept  away ;  but  it  offered 
then,  within  narrow  limits,  a  delightful  peace,  and  (in 
the  morning,  when  I  chiefly  went  there)  a  seclusion 
almost  rural.  On  a  steep  sand-hill  in  this  neighbour- 
hood toppled,  on  the  most  insecure  foundation,  a 
certain  row  of  houses,  each  with  a  bit  of  garden,  and 
all  (I  have  to  presume)  inhabited.  Thither  I  used  to 
mount  by  a  crumbling  footpath,  and  in  front  of  the 
last  of  the  houses  would  sit  down  to  sketch. 

The  very  first  day  I  saw  I  was  observed  out  of  the 
ground-floor  window  by  a  youngish,  good-looking 
fellow,  prematurely  bald,  and  with  an  expression  both 
lively  and  engaging.  The  second,  as  we  were  still  the 
only  figures  in  the  landscape,  it  was  no  more  than 


126  THE  WRECKER. 

natural  that  we  should  nod.  The  third  he  came  out 
fairly  from  his  entrenchments,  praised  my  sketch,  and 
with  the  impromptu  cordiality  of  artists  carried  me  into 
his  apartment ;  where  I  sat  presently  in  the  midst  of  a 
museum  of  strange  objects — paddles,  and  battle-clubs, 
and  baskets,  rough-hewn  stone  images,  ornaments  of 
threaded  shell,  cocoanut  bowls,  snowy  cocoanut  plumes 
— evidences  and  examples  of  another  earth,  another 
climate,  another  race,  and  another  (if  a  ruder)  culture. 
Nor  did  these  objects  lack  a  fitting  commentary  in 
the  conversation  of  my  new  acquaintance.  Doubtless 
you  have  read  his  book.  You  know  already  how  he 
tramped  and  starved,  and  had  so  fine  a  profit  of  living 
in  his  days  among  the  islands  ;  and  meeting  him  as  I 
did,  one  artist  with  another,  after  months  of  offices  and 
picnics,  you  can  imagine  with  what  charm  he  would 
speak,  and  with  what  pleasure  I  would  hear.  It  was 
in  such  talks,  which  we  were  both  eager  to  repeat,  that  I 
first  heard  the  names — first  fell  under  the  spell — of 
the  islands  ;  and  it  was  from  one  of  the  first  of  them 
that  I  returned  (a  happy  man)  with  "  Omoo  "  under 
one  arm,  and  my  friend's  own  adventures  under  the 
other. 

The  second  incident  was  more  dramatic,  and  had, 
besides,  a  bearing  on  my  future.  I  was  standing  one 
day  near  a  boat-landing  under  Telegraph  Hill.  A 
large  barque,  perhaps  of  eighteen  hundred  tons,  was 
coming  more  than  usually  close  about  the  point  to 
reach  her  moorings ;  and  I  was  observing  her  with 
languid  inattention,  when  I  observed  two  men  to 
stride  across  the  bulwarks,  drop  into  a  shore  boat, 
and,  violently  dispossessing  the  boatman  of  his  oars, 
pull  toward  the  landing  where  I  stood.  In  a  sur- 
prisingly short  time  they  came  tearing  up  the  steps, 
and  I  cculd  see  that  both  were  too  well  dressed  to 
be  foremast  hands — the  first  even  with  research,  and 
both,  and  specially  the  first,  appeared  under  the 
empire  of  some  strong  emotion 


FACES   ON   THE   CITY   FRONT.  127 

"  Nearest  police  office  !  "  cried  the  leader. 

"This  way,"  said  I,  immediately  falling  in  with 
their  precipitate  pace.  "  What's  wrong  ?  What  ship 
is  that  ? " 

"  That's  the  Gleaner"  he  replied.  "  I  am  chief 
officer,  this  gentleman's  third,  and  we've  to  get  in  our 
depositions  before  the  crew.  You  see,  they  might 
corral  us  with  the  captain,  and  that's  no  kind  of  berth 
for  me.  I've  sailed  with  some  hard  cases  in  my  time, 
and  seen  pins  flying  like  sand  on  a  squally  day — but 
never  a  match  to  our  old  man.  It  never  let  up  from 
the  Hook  to  the  Farallones,  and  the  last  man  was 
dropped  not  sixteen  hours  ago.  Packet  rats  our  men 
were,  and  as  tough  a  crowd  as  ever  sand-bagged  a 
man's  head  in ;  but  they  looked  sick  enough  when  the 
captain  started  in  with  nis  fancy  shooting." 

"Oh,  he's  done  up,"  observed  the  other.  "He 
won't  go  to  sea  no  more." 

"You  make  me  tired,"  retorted  his  superior.  "If 
he  gets  ashore  in  one  piece,  and  isn't  lynched  in  the 
next  ten  minutes,  he'll  do  yet.  The  owners  have  a 
longer  memory  than  the  public,  they'll  stand  by 
him;  they  don't  find  as  smart  a  captain  every  day 
in  the  year." 

"  Oh,  he's  a  son  of  a  gun  of  a  fine  captain ;  there 
ain't  no  doubt  of  that,"  concurred  the  other,  heartily. 
"  Why,  I  don't  suppose  there's  been  no  wages  paid 
aboard  that  Gleaner  for  three  trips." 

"  No  wages  ? "  I  exclaimed,  for  I  was  still  a  novice 
in  maritime  affairs. 

"Not  to  sailor-men  before  the  mast,"  agreed  the 
mate.  "  Men  cleared  out ;  wasn't  the  soft  job  they 
maybe  took  it  for.  She  isn'  the  first  ship  that  never 
paid  wages." 

I  could  not  but  observe  that  our  pace  was  pro- 
gressively relaxing;  and,  indeed,  I  have  often  won- 
dered since  whether  the  hurry  of  the  start  were  not 
intended  for  the  gallery  alone.     Certain  it  is  at  least, 


128  THE   WRECKER. 

that  when  we  had  reached  the  police  office,  and  the 
mates  had  made  their  deposition,  and  told  their 
horrid  tale  of  five  men  murdered — some  with  savage 
passion,  some  with  cold  brutality — between  Sandy 
Hook  and  San  Francisco,  the  police  were  despatched 
in  time  to  be  too  late.  Before  we  arrived,  the  ruffian 
had  slipped  out  upon  the  dock,  had  mingled  with 
the  crowd,  and  found  a  refuge  in  the  house  of  an 
acquaintance;  and  the  ship  was  only  tenanted  by 
his  late  victims.  Well  for  him  that  he  had  been 
thus  speedy;  for  when  word  began  to  go  abroad 
among  the  shore-side  characters,  when  the  last 
victim  was  carried  by  to  the  hospital,  when  those 
who  had  escaped  (as  by  miracle)  from  that  floating 
shambles,  began  to  circulate  and  show  their  wounds 
in  the  crowd,  it  was  strange  to  witness  the  agitation 
that  seized  and  shook  that  portion  of  the  city.  Men 
shed  tears  in  public ;  bosses  of  lodging-houses,  long 
inured  to  brutality — and,  above  all,  brutality  to  sailors 
— shook  their  fists  at  heaven.  If  hands  could  have 
been  laid  on  the  captain  of  the  Gleaner,  his  shrift  would 
have  been  short.  That  night  (so  gossip  reports)  he 
was  headed  up  in  a  barrel  and  smuggled  across  the 
bay.  In  two  ships  already  he  had  braved  the  peni- 
tentiary and  the  gallows;  and  yet,  by  last  accounts, 
he  now  commands  another  on  the  Western  Ocean. 

As  I  have  said,  I  was  never  quite  certain  whether 
Mr.  Nares  (the  mate)  did  not  intend  that  his  superior 
should  escape.  It  would  have  been  like  his  prefer- 
ence of  loyalty  to  law;  it  would  have  been  like  his 
prejudice,  which  was  all  in  favour  of  the  after-guard. 
But  it  must  remain  a  matter  of  conjecture  only. 
Well  as  I  came  to  know  him  in  the  sequel,  he  was 
never  communicative  on  that  point — nor,  indeed,  on 
any  that  concerned  the  voyage  of  the  Gleaner. 
Doubtless  he  had  some  reason  for  his  reticence. 
Even  during  our  walk  to  the  police  office  he  debated 
several  times  with  Johnson,  the  third  officer,  whether 


FACES   ON   THE    CITY    FRONT.  129 

he  ought  not  to  give  up  himself,  as  well  as  to  de- 
nounce the  captain.  He  had  decided  in  the  negative, 
arguing  that  "it  would  probably  come  to  nothing; 
and  even  if  there  was  a  stink,  he  had  plenty 
good  friends  in  San  Francisco."  And  to  nothing  it 
came;  though  it  must  have  very  nearly  come  to 
something,  for  Mr.  Nares  disappeared  immediately 
from  view,  and  wa£  scarce  less  closely  hidden  than 
his  captain. 

Johnson,  on  the  othef  hand,  I  often  met.  I  could 
never  learn  this  man's  country;  and  though  he 
himself  claimed  to  be  American,  neither  his  English 
nor  his  education  warranted  the  claim.  In  all  likeli- 
hood he  was  of  Scandinavian  birth  and  blood,  long 
pickled  in  th,e  forecastles  of  English  and  American 
ships.  It  is  possible  that,  like  so  many  of  his  race 
in  similar  positions,  he  had  already  lost  his  native 
tongue.  In  mind,  at  least,  he  was  quite  dena- 
tionalised; thought  only  in  English — to  call  it  so; 
and  though  by  nature  one  of  the  mildest,  kindest, 
and,  most  feebiy  playful  of  mankind,  he  had  been  so 
long  accustomed  to  the  cruelty  of  sea  discipline  that 
his  stories  (told  perhaps  with  a  giggle)  would  some- 
times turn  me  chill.  In  appearance  he  was  tall, 
light  of  weight,  bold  and  high-bred  of  feature,  dusky- 
haired,  and  with  a  face  of  a  clean  even  brown — the 
ornament  of  outdoor  men.  Seated  in  a  chair,  you 
might  have  passed  him  off  for  a  baronet  or  a  military 
officer;  but  let  him  rise,  and  it  was  Fo'c's'le  Jack 
that  came  rolling  toward  you,  crab-like ;  let  him  but 
open  his  lips,  and  it  was  Fo'c's'le  Jack  that  piped  and 
drawled  his  ungrammatical  gibberish.  He  had  sailed 
(among  other  places)  much  among  the  islands ;  and 
after  a  Cape  Horn  passage  with  its  snow-squalls  and 
its  frozen  sheets,  he  announced  his  intention  of 
"taking  a  turn  among  them  Kanakas."  I  thought 
I  should  have  lost  him  soon ;  but,  according  to  the 
unwritten  usage  of  mariners,  he  had  first  to  dissipate 


130  THE   WRECKER. 

his  wages.  "  Guess  I'll  have  to  paint  this  town  red/' 
was  his  hyperbolical  expression;  for,  sure,  no  man 
ever  embarked  upon  a  milder  course  of  dissipation, 
most  of  his  days  being  passed  in  the  little  parlour 
behind  Black  Tom's  public-house,  with  a  select  corps 
of  old  particular  acquaintances,  all  from  the  South 
Seas,  and  all  patrons-  of  a  long  yarn,  a  short  pipe, 
and  glasses  round. 

Black  Tom's,  to  the  front,  presented  the  appear- 
ance of  a  fourth-rate  saloon,  devoted  to  Kanaka 
seamen,  dirt,  negro-head  tobacco,  bad  cigars,  worse 
gin,  and  guitars  and  banjos  in  a  state  of  decline. 
The  proprietor,  a  powerful  coloured  man,  was  at 
once  a  publican,  a  ward  politician,  leader  of  some 
brigade  of  "  lambs "  or  "  smashers,"  at  the  wind  of 
whose  clubs  the  party  bosses  and  the  mayor  were 
supposed  to  tremble,  and  (what  hurt  nothing)  an 
active  and  reliable  crimp.  His  front  quarters,  then, 
were  noisy,  disreputable,  and  not  even  safe.  I  have 
seen  worse-frequented  saloons  where  there  were  fewer 
scandals;  for  Tom  was  often  drunk  himself:  and 
there  is  no  doubt  the  Lambs  must  have  been  a 
useful  body,  or  the  place  would  have  been  closed. 
I  remember  one  day,  not  long  before  an  election, 
seeing  a  blind  man,  very  well  dressed,  led  up  to  the 
counter  and  remain  a  long  while  in  consultation  with 
the  negro.  The  pair  looked  so  ill-assorted,  and  the 
awe  with  which  the  drinkers  fell  back  and  left  them 
in  the  midst  of  an  impromptu  privacy  was  so  unusual 
in  such  a  place,  that  I  turned  to  my  next  neighbour 
with  a  question.  He  told  me  the  blind  man  was  a 
distinguished  party  boss,  called  by  some  the  King  of 
San  Francisco,  but  perhaps  better  known  by  his 
picturesque  Chinese  nickname  of  the  Blind  White 
£>evil.  "The  Lambs  must  be  wanted  pretty  bad, 
I  guess,"  my  informant  added.  I  have  here  a  sketch 
of  the  Blind  White  Devil  leaning  on  the  counter; 
on  the  next  page,  and  taken  the  same  hour,  a  jotting 


FACES   ON   THE    CITY    FRONT.  131 

of  Black  Tom  threatening  a  whole  crowd  of  cus- 
tomers with  a  long  Smith  and  Wesson — to  such 
heights  and  depths  we  rose  and  fell  in  the  front  parts 
of  the  saloon ! 

Meanwhile,  away  in  the  back  quarters,  sat  the 
small  informal  South  Sea  club,  talking  of  another 
world  and  surely  of  a  different  century.  Old  schooner 
captains  they  were,  old  South  Sea  traders,  cooks,  and 
mates  ;  fine  creatures,  softened  by  residence  among  a 
softer  race :  full  men  besides,  though  not  by  reading, 
but  by  strange  experience;  and  for  days  together  1 
could  hear  their  yarns  with  an  unfading  pleasure.  All 
had,  indeed,  some  touch  of  the  poetic  ;  for  the  beach- 
comber, when  not  a  mere  ruffian,  is  the  poor  relation 
of  the  artist.  Even  though  Johnson's  inarticulate 
speech,  his  "Oh  yes,  there  ain't  no  harm  in  them 
Kanakas,"  or  "  Oh  yes,  that's  a  son  of  a  gun  of  a  fine 
island,  mountainious  right  down  ;  I  didn't  never  ought 
to  have  left  that  island,"  there  pierced  a  certain  gusto 
of  appreciation ;  and  some  of  the  rest  were  master- 
talkers.  From  their  long  tales,  their  traits  of  char- 
acter and  unpremeditated  landscape,  there  began  to 
piece  itself  together  in  my  head  some  image  of  the 
islands  and  the  island  life ;  precipitous  shores,  spired 
mountain-tops,  the  deep  shade  of  hanging  forests,  the 
unresting  surf  upon  the  reef,  and  the  unending  peace 
of  the  lagoon;  sun,  moon,  and  stars  of  an  imperial 
brightness ;  man  moving  in  these  scenes  scarce  fallen, 
and  wotnan  lovelier  than  Eve  ;  the  primal  curse  abro- 
gated, the  bed  made  ready  for  the  stranger,  life  set  to 
perpetual  music,  and  the  guest  welcomed,  the  boat 
urged,  and  the  long  night  beguiled  with  poetry  and 
choral  song.  A  man  must  have  been  an  unsuccessful 
artist ;  he  must  have  starved  on  the  streets  of  Paris  ; 
he  must  have  been  yoked  to  a  commercial  force  like 
Pinkerton,  before  he  can  conceive  the  longings  that  at 
times  assailed  me.  The  draughty,  rowdy  city  of  San 
Francisco,  the  bustling  office  where  my  friend  Jim 
j  2 


132  THE   WRECKER. 

paced  like  a  caged  lion  daily  between  ten  and  four, 
even  (at  times)  the  retrospect  of  Paris,  faded  in  com- 
parison. Many  a  man  less  tempted  would  have  thrown 
up  all  to  realise  his  visions ;  but  I  was  by  nature 
unad venturous  and  uninitiative ;  to  divert  me  from 
all  former  paths  and  send  me  cruising  through  the 
isles  of  paradise,  some  force  external  to  myself  must 
be  exerted;  Destiny  herself  must  use  the  fitting 
wedge ;  and,  little  as  I  deemed  it,  that  tool  was  already 
in  her  hand  of  brass. 

I  sat,  one  afternoon,  in  the  corner  of  a  great,  glassy, 
silvered  saloon,  a  free  lunch  at  my  one  elbow,  at  the 
other  a  "  conscientious  nude  "  from  the  brush  of  local 
talent ;  when,  with  the  tramp  of  feet  and  a  sudden 
buzz  of  voices,  the  swing-doors  were  flung  broadly 
open  and  the  place  carried  as  by  storm.  The  crowd 
which  thus  entered  (mostly  seafaring  men,  and  all 
prodigiously  excited)  contained  a  sort  of  kernel  or 
general  centre  of  interest,  which  the  rest  merely 
surrounded  and  advertised,  as  children  in  the  Old 
World  surround  and  escort  the  Punch-and- Judy  man ; 
and  word  went  round  the  bar  like  wildfire,  that  these 
were  Captain  Trent  and  the  survivors  of  the  British 
brig  Flying  Scud,  picked  up  by  a  British  war-ship  on 
Midway  Island,  arrived  that  morning  in  San  Francisco 
Bay,  and  now  fresh  from  making  the  necessary  de- 
clarations. Presently  I  had  a  good  sight  of  them ; 
four  brown,  seamanlike  fellows,  standing  by  the 
counter,  glass  in  hand,  the  centre  of  a  score  of 
questioners.  One  was  a  Kanaka — the  cook,  I  was 
informed;  one  carried  a  cage  with  a  canary,  which 
occasionally  trilled  into  thin  song ;  one  had  his  left 
arm  in  a  sling,  and  looked  gentlemanlike  and  some- 
what sickly,  as  though  the  injury  had  been  severe  and 
he  was  scarce  recovered ;  and  the  captain  himself — a 
red-faced,  blue-eyed,  thick-set  man  of  five-and-forty — 
wore  a  bandage  on  his  right  hand.  The  incident  struck 
me;  I  was  struck  particularly  to  see  captain,  cook, 


FACES  ON  THE  CITY  FRONT.         133 

and  foremast  hands  walking  the  street  and  visiting 
saloons  in  company ;  and,  as  when  anything  impressed 
me,  I  got  my  sketch-book  out,  and  began  to  steal  a 
sketch  of  the  four  castaways.  The  crowd,  sympa- 
thising with  my  design,  made  a  clear  lane  across  the 
room ;  and  I  was  thus  enabled,  all  unobserved  myself, 
to  observe  with  a  still  growing  closeness  the  face  and 
the  demeanour  of  Captain  Trent. 

Warmed  by  whiskey  and  encouraged  by  the  eager- 
ness of  the  bystanders,  that  gentleman  was  now  re- 
hearsing the  history  of  his  misfortune.  It  was  but 
scraps  that  reached  me :  how  he  "  filled  her  on  the 
starboard  tack,"  and  how  "  it  came  up  sudden  out  of 
the  nor'nor'west,"  and  "  there  she  was,  high  and  dry." 
Sometimes  he  would  appeal  to  one  of  the  men — "  That 
was  how  it  was,  Jack  ?  " — and  the  man  would  reply, 
"That  was  the  way  of  it,  Captain  Trent."  Lastly, 
he  started  a  fresh  tide  of  popular  sympathy  by 
enunciating  the  sentiment,  "Damn  all  these  Ad- 
mirality  Charts,  and  that's  what  I  say ! "  From 
the  nodding  of  heads  and  the  murmurs  of  assent 
that  followed,  I  could  see  that  Captain  Trent  had 
established  himself  in  the  public  mind  as  a  gentle- 
man and  a  thorough  navigator :  about  which  period, 
my  sketch  of  the  four  men  and  the  canary-bird  being 
finished,  and  all  (especially  the  canary-bird)  excellent 
likenesses,  I  buckled  up  my  book,  and  slipped  from 
the  saloon. 

Little  did  I  suppose  that  I  was  leaving  Act  I., 
Scene  1,  of  the  drama  of  my  life  ;  and  yet  the  scene — 
or,  rather,  the  captain's  face — lingered  for  some  time  in 
my  memory.  I  was  no  prophet,  as  I  say  ;  but  I  was 
something  else — I  was  an  observer ;  and  one  thing  I 
knew — I  knew  when  a  man  was  terrified.  Captain 
Trent,  of  the  British  brig  Flying  Scud  had  been 
glib  ;  he  had  been  ready ;  he  had  been  loud  ;  but  in 
his  blue  eyes  I  could  detect  the  chill,  and  in  the  lines 
of  his   countenance   spy  the   agitation,  of  perpetual 


134  THE  WRECKER. 

terror.  Was  he  trembling  for  his  certificate  ?  In  my 
judgment  itwas  some  livelier  kind  of  fear  that  thrilled  in 
the  man's  marrow  as  he  turned  to  drink.  Was  it  the 
result  of  recent  shock,  and  had  he  not  yet  recovered 
the  disaster  to  his  brig  ?  I  remembered  how  a  friend 
of  mine  had  been  in  a  railway  accident,  and  shook  and 
started  for  a  month ;  and  although  Captain  Trent  of 
the  Flying  Scud  had  none  of  the  appearance  of  a 
nervous  man,  I  told  myself,  with  incomplete  conviction, 
that  his  must  be  a  similar  case. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE   WRECK   OF   THE   "  FLYING   SCUD." 

The  next  morning  I  found  Pinkerton,  who  had  risen 
before  me,  seated  at  our  usual  table,  and  deep  in  the 
perusal  of  what  I  will  call  the  Daily  Occidental.  This 
was  a  paper  (I  know  not  if  it  be  so  still)  that  stood 
out  alone  among  its  brethren  in  the  West.  The  others, 
down  to  their  smallest  item,  were  defaced  with  capitals, 
head-lines,  alliterations,  swaggering  misquotations,  and 
the  shoddy  picturesque  and  unpathetic  pathos  of  the 
Harry  Millers  :  the  Occidental  alone  appeared  to  be 
written  by  a  dull,  sane,  Christian  gentleman,  singly 
desirous  of  communicating  knowledge.  It  had  not 
only  this  merit — which  endeared  it  to  me — but  was 
admittedly  the  best  informed  on  business  matters, 
which  attracted  Pinkerton. 

"  Loudon,"  said  he,  looking  up  from  the  journal, 
"  you  sometimes  think  I  have  too  many  irons  in  the 
fire.  My  notion,  on  the  other  hand,  is,  when  you  see 
a  dollar  lying,  nick  it  up !  Well,  here  I've  tumbled 
over  a  whole  pile  of  'em  on  a  reef  in  the  middle  of 
the  Pacific." 

"  Why,  Jim,  you  miserable  fellow  ! "  I  exclaimed  • 


THE   WRECK   OF  THE   "FLYING   SCUD."  135 

"  haven't  we  Depew  City,  one  of  God's  green  centres  for 

this  State?  haven't  we " 

"  Just  listen  to  this,"  interrupted  Jim.  "  It's 
miserable  copy ;  these  Occidental  reporter  fellows  have 
no  fire ;  but  the  facts  are  right  enough,  I  guess."  And 
he  began  to  read  : — 

Wreck  of  the  British  Brig  "  Flying  Scud." 

H.B.M.S.  Tempest,  which  arrived  yesterday  at  this  port, 
brings  Captain  Trent  and  four  men  of  the  British  brig  Flying 
Scud,  cast  away  February  12th  on  Midway  Island,  and  most 
providentially  rescued  the  next  day.  The  Flying  Scud  was  of 
200  tons  burthen,  owned  in  London,  and  has  been  out  nearly 
two  years  tramping.  Captain  Trent  left  Hong  Kong  December 
8th,  bound  for  this  port  in  rice  and  a  small  mixed  cargo  of  silks, 
teas,  and  China  notions,  the  whole  valued  at  $10,000,  fully  covered 
by  insurance.  The  log  shows  plenty  of  fine  weather,  with  light 
airs,  calms,  and  squalls.  In  lat.28  N.,  long.  177  W.,  his  water 
going  rotten,  and  misled  by  Hoyt's  "  North  Pacific  Directory," 
which  informed  him  there  was  a  coaling  station  on  the  island, 
Captain  Trent  put  in  to  Midway  Island.  He  found  it  a  literal 
sandbank,  surrounded  by  a  coral  reef  mostly  submerged.  Birds 
were  very  plenty,  there  was  good  fish  in  the  lagoon,  but  no  fire- 
wood ;  and  the  water,  which  could  be  obtained  by  digging, 
brackish.  He  found  good  holding-ground  off  the  north  end  of 
the  larger  bank  in  fifteen  fathoms  water ;  bottom  sandy,  with 
coral  patches.  Here  he  was  detained  seven  days  by  a  calm,  the 
crew  suffering  severely  from  the  water,  which  was  gone  quite 
bad ;  and  it  was  only  on  the  evening  of  the  12th  that  a  little 
wind  sprang  up,  coming  puffy  out  of  N.N.E.  Late  as  it  was, 
Captain  Trent  immediately  weighed  anchor  and  attempted  to 
get  out.  While  the  vessel  was  beating  up  to  the  passage,  the 
wind  took  a  sudden  lull,  and  then  veered  squally  into  N.  and  even 
N.N.W.,  driving  the  brig  ashore  on  the  sand  at  about  twenty 
minutes  before  six  o'clock.  John  Wallen,  a  native  of  Finland, 
and  Charles  Holdorsen,  a  native  of  Sweden,  were  drowned 
alongside,  in  attempting  to  lower  a  boat,  neither  being  able  to 
swim,  the  squall  very  dark,  and  the  noise  of  the  breakers 
drowning  everything.  At  the  same  time  John  Brown,  another 
of  the  crew,  had  his  arm  broken  by  the  falls.  Captain  Trent 
further  informed  the  Occidental  reporter  that  the  brig  struck 
heavily  at  first  bows  on,  he  supposes  upon  coral ;  that  she  then 
drove  over  the  obstacle,  and  now  lies  in  sand,  much  down  by  the 
head,  and  with  a  list  to  starboard.  In  the  first  collision  she  must 
have  sustained  some  damage,  as  she  was  making  water  forward. 


136  THE  WRECKER. 

The  rice  will  probably  be  all  destroyed  :  but  the  more  valuable 
part  of  the  cargo  is  fortunately  in  the  afterhold.  Captain  Trent 
was  preparing  his  long-boat  for  sea,  when  the  providential  arrival 
of  the  Tempest,  pursuant  to  Admiralty  orders  to  call  at  islands 
in  her  course  for  castaways,  saved  the  gallant  captain  from  all 
further  danger.  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  add  that  both  the 
officers  and  men  of  the  unfortunate  vessel  speak  in  high  terms 
of  the  kindness  they  received  on  board  the  man-of-war.  "Wo 
print  a  list  of  the  survivors :  Jacob  Trent,  master,  of  Hull, 
England;  Elias  Goddedaal,  mate,  native  of  Christiansand, 
Sweden ;  Ah  Wing,  cook,  native  of  Sana,  China ;  John  Brown, 
native  of  Glasgow,  Scotland ;  John  Hardy,  native  of  London, 
England.  The  Flying  Scud  is  ten  years  old,  and  this  morning 
will  be  sold  as  she  stands,  by  order  of  Lloyd's  agent,  at  public 
auction  for  the  benefit  of  the  underwriters.  The  auVtion  will 
take  place  in  the  Merchants'  Exchange  at  ten  o'clock. 

Farther  Particulars. — Later  in  the  afternoon  the  Occidental 
reporter  found  Lieutenant  Sebright,  first  officer  of  H.B.M.S. 
Tempest,  at  the  Palace  Hotel.  The  gallant  officer  was  somewhat 
pressed  for  time,  but  confirmed  the  account  given  by  Captain 
Trent  in  all  particulars.  He  added  that  the  Flying  Scud  is  in 
an  excellent  berth,  and,  except  in  the  highly  improbable  event  of 
a  heavy  N.W.  gale,  might  last  until  next  winter. 

"  You  will  never  know  anything  of  literature,"  said 
I,  when  Jim  had  finished.  "  That  is  a  good,  honest, 
plain  piece  of  work,  and  tells  the  story  clearly.  I  see 
only  one  mistake  :  the  cook  is  not  a  Chinaman  ;  he  is 
a  Kanaka,  and,  I  think,  a  Hawaiian." 

"  Why,  how  do  you  know  that  ?  "  asked  Jim. 

"  I  saw  the  whole  gang  yesterday  in  a  saloon,"  said 
I.  "  I  even  heard  the  tale,  or  might  have  heard  it, 
from  Captain  Trent  himself,  who  struck  me  as  thirsty 
and  nervous." 

"  Well,  that's  neither  here  nor  there,"  cried  Pinker- 
ton  ;  "  the  point  is,  how  about  these  dollars  lying  on 
a  reef?" 

"Will  it  pay?"  I  asked. 

"  Pay  like  a  sugar  trust ! "  exclaimed  Pinkerton. 
"Don't  you  see  what  this  British  officer  says  about  the 
safety  ?  Don't  you  see  the  cargo's  valued  at  ten 
thousand  ?     Schooners  are  begging  just  now ;  I  can 


THE    WRECK    OF   THE    "FLYING   SCUD."  137 

get  my  pick  of  them  at  two  hundred  and  fifty  a  month; 
and  how  does  that  foot  up  ?  It  looks  like  three 
hundred  per  cent,  to  me." 

"You  forget,"  I  objected,  "the  captain  himself 
declares  the  rice  is  damaged." 

"  That's  a  point,  I  know,"  admitted  Jim.  "  But  the 
rice  is  the  sluggish  article,  anyway ;  it's  little  more 
account  than  ballast ;  it's  the  tea  and  silks  that  I  look 
to  :  all  we  have  to  find  is  the  proportion,  and  one  look 
at  the  manifest  will  settle  that.  I've  rung  up  Lloyd's 
on  purpose;  the  captain  is  to  meet  me  there  in  an 
hour,  and  then  I'll  be  as  posted  on  that  brig  as  if  I 
built  her.  Besides,  you've  no  idea  what  pickings  there 
are  about  a  wreck — copper,  lead,  rigging,  anchors, 
chains,  even  the  crockery,  Loudon  ! " 

"  You  seem  to  me  to  forget  one  trifle,"  said  I. 
"  Before  you  pick  that  wreck,  you've  got  to  buy  her, 
and  how  much  will  she  cost  ? " 

"  One  hundred  dollars,"  replied  Jim,  with  the 
promptitude  of  an  automaton. 

"  How  on  earth  do  you  guess  that  ? "  I  cried. 

"  I  don't  guess ;  I  know  it,"  answered  the  Com- 
mercial Force.  "  My  dear  boy,  I  may  be  a  galoot 
about  literature,  but  you'll  always  be  an  outsider  in 
business.  How  do  you  suppose  I  bought  the  James 
L.  Moody  for  two  hundred  and  fifty,  her  boats  alone 
worth  four  times  the  money  ?  Because  my  name 
stood  first  in  the  list.  Well,  it  stands  there  again ;  I 
have  the  naming  of  the  figure,  and  I  name  a  small 
one  because  of  the  distance :  but  it  wouldn't  matter 
what  I  named  ;  that  would  be  the  price." 

"  It  sounds  mysterious  enough,"  said  I.  "  Is  this 
public  auction  conducted  in  a  subterranean  vault  ? 
Could  a  plain  citizen — myself,  for  instance — come  and 
see?" 

"Oh,  everything's  open  and  above  board!"  he  cried, 
indignantly.  "  Anybody  can  come,  only  nobody  bids 
against  us;  and  if  he  did,  he  would  get  frozen  out. 


138  THE   WRECKER. 

It's  been  tried  before  now,  and  once  was  enough.  We 
hold  the  plant;  we've  got  the  connection;  we  can 
afford  to  go  higher  than  any  outsider;  there's  two 
million  dollars  in  the  ring  ;  and  we  stick  at  nothing. 
Or  suppose  anybody  did  buy  over  our  head — I  tell 
you,  Loudon,  he  would  think  this  town  gone  crazy ; 
he  could  no  more  get  business  through  on  the  city 
front  than  I  can  dance  ;  schooners,  divers,  men — all 
he  wanted — the  prices  would  fly  right  up  and  strike 
him." 

"  But  how  did  you  get  in  ? "  I  asked.  "  You  were 
once  an  outsider  like  your  neighbours,  I  suppose  ? " 

"  I  took  hold  of  that  thing,  Loudon,  and  just 
studied  it  up,"  he  replied.  "  It  took  my  fancy ;  it 
was  so  romantic,  and  then  I  saw  there  was  boodle  in 
the  thing ;  and  I  figured  on  the  business  till  no  man 
alive  could  give  me  points.  Nobody  knew  I  had  an 
eye  on  wrecks  till  one  fine  morning  I  dropped  in  upon 
Douglas  B.  Longhurst  in  his  den,  gave  him  all  the 
facts  and  figures,  and  put  it  to  him  straight :  '  Do  you 
want  me  in  this  ring  ?  or  shall  I  start  another  ? '  He 
took  half  an  hour,  and  when  I  came  back,  ( Pink,'  says 
he, '  I've  put  your  name  on.'  The  first  time  I  came  to 
the  top,  it  was  that  Moody  racket;  now  it's  the  Flying 
Scud." 

Whereupon  Pinkerton,  looking  at  his  watch, 
uttered  an  exclamation,  made  a  hasty  appointment 
with  myself  for  the  doors  of  the  Merchants'  Exchange, 
and  fled  to  examine  manifests  and  interview  the 
skipper.  I  finished  my  cigarette  with  the  delibera- 
tion of  a  man  at  the  end  01  many  picnics  ;  reflecting 
to  myself  that  of  all  forms  of  the  dollar-hunt,  this 
wrecking  had  by  far  the  most  address  to  my  imagina- 
tion. Even  as  I  went  down  town,  in  the  brisk  bustle 
and  chill  of  the  familiar  San  Francisco  thoroughfares, 
I  was  haunted  by  a  vision  of  the  wreck,  baking  so  far 
away  in  the  strong  sun,  under  a  cloud  of  sea-birds ; 
and  even  then,  and  for  no  better  reason,  my  heart 


THE   WRECK    OF   THE    "  FLYING   SCUD."  139 

inclined  towards  the  adventure.  If  not  myself,  some- 
thing that  was  mine,  some  one  at  least  in  my  em- 
ployment should  voyage  to  that  ocean-bounded 
pin-point  and  descend  to  that  deserted  cabin. 

Pinkerton  met  me  at  the  appointed  moment, 
pinched  of  lip,  and  more  than  usually  erect  of 
bearing,  like  one  conscious  of  great  resolves. 

"Well?"  I  asked. 

"  Well,"  said  he,  "  it  might  be  better,  and  it  might 
be  worse.  This  Captain  Trent  is  a  remarkably  honest 
fellow — one  out  of  a  thousand.  As  soon  as  he  knew  I 
was  in  the  market,  he  owned  up  about  the  rice  in  so 
many  words.  By  his  calculation,  if  there's  thirty  mats 
of  it  saved,  it's  an  outside  figure.  However,  the 
manifest  was  cheerier.  There's  about  five  thousand 
dollars  of  the  whole  value  in  silks  and  teas  and 
nut-oils  and  that,  all  in  the  lazarette,  and  as  safe 
as  if  it  was  in  Kearney  Street.  The  brig  was  new 
0  coppered  a  year  ago.  There's  upwards  of  a  hundred 
'  and  fifty  fathom  away-up  chain.  It's  not  a  bonanza, 
but  there's  boodle  in  it ;  and  we'll  try  it  on." 

It  was  by  that  time  hard  on  ten  o'clock,  and  we 
turned  at  once  into  the  place  of  sale.  The  Flying 
Scud,  although  so  important  to  ourselves,  appeared 
to  attract  a  very  humble  share  of  popular  attention. 
The  auctioneer  was  surrounded  by  perhaps  a  score  of 
lookers-on — big  fellows  for  the  most  part,  of  the  true 
Western  build,  long  in  the  leg,  broad  in  the 
shoulder,  and  adorned  (to  a  plain  man's  taste)  with 
needless  finery.  A  jaunty  ostentatious  comradeship 
prevailed.  Bets  were  flying,  and  nicknames.  "  The 
boys  "  (as  they  would  have  called  themselves)  were 
very  boyish;  and  it  was  plain  they  were  here  in  mirth, 
and  not  on  business.  Behind,  and  certainly  in  strong 
contrast  to  these  gentlemen,  I  could  detect  the  figure 
of  my  friend  Captain  Trent,  come  (as  I  could  very 
well  imagine  that  a  captain  would)  to  hear  the  last  of 
his  old  vessel.     Since  yesterday  he  had  rigged  himself 


140  THE   WRECKER. 

anew  in  ready-made  black  clothes,  not  very  aptly 
fitted  ;  the  upper  left-hand  pocket  showing  a  corner 
of  silk  handkerchief,  the  lower,  on  the  other  side, 
bulging  with  papers.  Pinkerton  had  just  given  this 
man  a  high  character.  Certainly  he  seemed  to  have 
been  very  frank,  and  I  looked  at  him  again  to  trace 
(if  possible)  that  virtue  in  his  face.  It  was  red  and 
broad  and  flustered  and  (I  thought)  false.  The  whole 
man  looked  sick  with  some  unknown  anxiety  ;  and  as 
he  stood  there,  unconscious  of  my  observation,  he  tore 
at  his  nails,  scowled  on  the  floor,  or  glanced  suddenly, 
sharply,  and  fearfully  at  passers-by.  I  was  still  gazing 
at  the  man  in  a  kind  of  fascination,  when  the  sale 
began. 

Some  preliminaries  were  rattled  through,  to  the 
irreverent,  uninterrupted  gambolling  of  the  boys  ;  and 
then,  amid  a  trifle  more  attention,  the  auctioneer 
sounded  for  some  two  or  three  minutes  the  pipe 
of  the  charmer.  "Fine  brig — new  copper — valuable 
fittings — three  fine  boats — remarkably  choice  cargo* 
— what  the  auctioneer  would  call  a  perfectly  safe 
investment;  nay,  gentlemen,  he  would  go  further, 
he  would  put  a  figure  on  it:  he  had  no  hesitation  (had 
that  bold  auctioneer)  in  putting  it  in  figures ;  and  in 
his  view,  what  with  this  and  that,  and  one  thing  and 
another,  the  purchaser  might  expect  to  clear  a  sum 
equal  to  the  entire  estimated  value  of  the  cargo ;  or, 
gentlemen,  in  other  words,  a  sum  of  ten  thousand 
dollars."  At  this  modest  computation  the  roof  imme- 
diately above  the  speaker's  head  (I  suppose,  through 
the  intervention  of  a  spectator  of  ventnloquial  tastes) 
uttered  a  clear  "  Cock-a-doodle-doo  !  " — whereat  all 
laughed,  the  auctioneer  himself  obligingly  pining. 

"  Now,  gentlemen,  what  shall  we  say  ? "  resumed 
that  gentleman,  plainly  ogling  Pinkerton, — "what 
shall  we  say  for  this  remarkable  opportunity  ? " 

"  One  hundred  dollars,"  said  Pinkerton. 

"  One  hundred  dollars  from  Mr.  Pinkerton,"  went 


THE   WRECK   OF   THE    "FLYING   SCUD."  141 

the  auctioneer,  "one  hundred  dollars.  No  other 
gentleman  inclined  to  make  any  advance  ?  One 
hundred  dollars,  only  one  hundred  dollars " 

The  auctioneer  was  droning  on  to  some  such  tune 
as  this,  and  I,  on  my  part,  was  watching  with  some- 
thing between  sympathy  and  amazement  the  undis- 
guised emotion  of  Captain  Trent,  when  we  were  all 
startled  by  the  interjection  of  a  bid. 

"  And  fifty,"  said  a  sharp  voice. 

Pinker  ton,  the  auctioneer,  and  the  boys,  who  were 
all  equally  in  the  open  secret  of  the  ring,  were  now 
all  equally  and  simultaneously  taken  aback. 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,"  said  the  auctioneer ;  "  any- 
body bid  ? " 

"And  fifty,"  reiterated  the  voice,  which  I  was 
now  able  to  trace  to  its  origin,  on  the  lips  of  a  small 
unseemly  rag  of  human-kind.  The  speaker's  skin 
was  gray  and  blotched ;  he  spoke  in  a  kind  of  broken 
song,  with  much  variety  of  key  j  his  gestures  seemed 
(as  in  the  disease  called  Saint  Vitus's  dance)  to  be 
imperfectly  under  control;  he  was  badly  dressed; 
he  carried  himself  with  an  air  of  shrinking  assump- 
tion, as  though  he  were  proud  to  be  where  he  was 
and  to  do  what  he  was  doing,  and  yet  half  expected 
to  be  called  in  question  and  kicked  out.  I  think  I 
never  saw  a  man  more  of  a  piece ;  and  the  type  was 
new  to  me:  I  had  never  before  set  eyes  upon  his 
parallel,  and  I  thought  instinctively  of  Balzac  and 
the  lower  regions  of  the  Comddie  Humaine. 

Pinkerton  stared  a  moment  on  the  intruder  with 
no  friendly  eye,  tore  a  leaf  from  his  note-book,  and 
scribbled  a  line  in  pencil,  turned,  beckoned  a  mes- 
senger boy,  and  whispered  "To  Longhurst."  Next 
moment  the  boy  had  sped  upon  his  errand,"  and 
Pinkerton  was  again  facing  the  auctioneer. 

"  Two  hundred  dollars,"  said  J  im. 

"  And  fifty,"  said  the  enemy. 

"  This  looks  lively,"  whispered  I  to  Pinkerton. 


142  THE   WRECKER. 

"Yes;  the  little  beast  means  cold-drawn  biz," 
returned  my  friend.  "Well,  bell  have  to  have  a 
lesson.  Wait  till  I  see  Longhurst.  Three  hundred," 
he  added  aloud. 

"  And  fifty,"  came  the  echo. 

It  was  about  this  moment  when  my  eye  fell 
again  on  Captain  Trent.  A  deeper  shade  had 
mounted  to  his  crimson  face;  the  new  coat  was 
unbuttoned  and  all  flying  open,  the  new  silk  hand- 
kerchief in  busy  requisition ;  and  the  man's  eye,  of 
a  clear  sailor  blue,  shone  glassy  with  excitement. 
He  was  anxious  still,  but  now  (if  I  could  read  a 
face)  there  was  hope  in  his  anxiety. 

"Jim,"  I  whispered,  "look  at  Trent.  Bet  you 
what  you  please  he  was  expecting  this." 

"  Yes,"  was  the  reply,  "  there's  some  blame'  thing 
going  on  here ; "  and  he  renewed  his  bid. 

The  figure  had  run  up  into  the  neighbourhood  of 
a  thousand  when  I  was  aware  of  a  sensation  in  the 
faces  opposite,  and,  looking  over  my  shoulder,  saw 
a  very  large,  bland,  handsome  man  come  strolling 
forth  and  make  a  little  signal  to  the  auctioneer. 

"One  word,  Mr.  Borden,"  said  he;  and  then  to 
Jim,  "  Well,  Pink,  where  are  we  up  to  now  ? " 

Pinkerton  gave  him  the  figure.  "I  ran  up  to 
that  on  my  own  responsibility,  Mr.  Longhurst,"  he 
added,  with  a  flush.     "  I  thought  it  the  square  thing." 

"  And  so  it  was,"  said  Mr.  Longhurst,  patting  him 
kindly  on  the  shoulder,  like  a  gratified  uncle.  "  Well, 
you  can  drop  out  now ;  we  take  hold  ourselves.  You 
can  run  it  up  to  five  thousand ;  and  if  he  likes  to 
go  beyond  that,  he's  welcome  to  the  bargain." 

"  By-the-bye,  who  is  he  ? "  asked  Pinkerton.  "  He 
looks  away  down." 

"I've  sent  Billy  to  find  out;"  and  at  the  very 
moment  Mr.  Longhurst  received  from  the  hands  of 
one  of  the  expensive  young  gentlemen  a  folded  paper. 
It  was  passed  round  from  one  to  another  till  it  came 


THE  WRECK  OF  THE  "FLYING  SCUD."     143 

to  me,  and  I  read :  "  Harry  D.  Bellairs,  Attorney-at- 
Law ;  defended  Clara  Varden :  twice  nearly  disbarred." 

"Well,  that  gets  me!"  observed  Mr.  Longhurst. 
"  Who  can  have  put  up  a  slryster  *  like  that  ?  No- 
body with  money,  that's  a  sure  thing.  Suppose  you 
tried  a  big  bluff?  I  think  I  would,  Pink.  Well, 
ta-ta !  Your  partner,  Mr.  Dodd  ?  Happy  to  have 
the  pleasure  of  your  acquaintance,  sir;"  and  the 
great  man  withdrew. 

"Well,  what  do  you  think  of  Douglas  B.?"  whis- 
pered Pinkerton,  looking  reverently  after  him  as  he 
departed.  "  Six  foot  of  perfect  gentleman  and  culture 
to  his  boots." 

During  this  interview  the  auction  had  stood 
transparently  arrested — the  auctioneer,  the  specta- 
tors, and  even  Bellairs,  all  well  aware  that  Mr. 
Longhurst  was  the  principal,  and  Jim  but  a  speaking- 
trumpet.  But  now  that  the  Olympian  Jupiter  was 
gone,  Mr.  Borden  thought  proper  to  affect  severity. 

"  Come.,  come,  Mr.  Pinkerton ;  any  advance  ? " 
he  snapped. 

And  Pinkerton,  resolved  on  the  big  bluff,  replied, 
"  Two  thousand  dollars." 

Bellairs  preserved  his  composure.  "And  fifty," 
said  he.  But  there  was  a  stir  among  the  onlookers, 
and — what  was  of  more  importance — Captain  Trent 
had  turned  pale  and  visibly  gulped. 

"  Pitch  it  in  again,  Jim,"  said  I.  "  Trent  is 
weakening." 

"  Three  thousand,"  said  Jim. 

"  And  fifty,"  said  Bellairs. 

And  then  the  bidding  returned  to  its  original 
movement  by  hundreds  and  fifties ;  but  I  had  been 
able  in  the  meanwhile  to  draw  two  conclusions.  In 
the  first  place,  Bellairs  had  made  his  last  advance 
with  a  smile  of  gratified  vanity,  and  I  could  see 
the  creature  was  glorying  in  the  kudos  of  an  unusual 
*  A  low  lawyer. 


144  THE   WRECKER. 

position  and  secure  of  ultimate  success.  In  the  second, 
Trent  bad  once  more  changed  colour  at  the  thousand 
leap,  and  his  relief  when  he  heard  the  answering  fifty 
was  manifest  and  unaffected.  Here,  then,  was  a  prob- 
lem :  both  were  presumably  in  the  same  interest,  yet 
the  one  was  not  in  the  confidence  of  the  other.  Nor 
was  this  all.  A  few  bids  later  it  chanced  that  my  eye 
encountered  that  of  Captain  Trent,  and  his,  which 
glittered  with  excitement,  was  instantly,  and  I  thought 
guiltily,  withdrawn.  He  wished,  then,  to  conceal  his 
interest  ?  As  Jim  had  said,  there  was  some  blamed 
thing  going  on.  And  for  certain  here  were  these  two 
men,  so  strangely  united,  so  strangely  divided,  both 
sharp-set  to  keep  the  wreck  from  us,  and  that  at  an 
exorbitant  figure. 

Was  the  wreck  worth  more  than  we  supposed  ?  A 
sudden  heat  was  kindled  in  my  brain ;  the  bids  were 
nearing  Longhurst's  limit  of  five  thousand ;  another 
minute  and  all  would  be  too  late.  Tearing  a  leaf  from 
my  sketch-book,  and  inspired  (I  suppose)  by  vanity  in 
my  own  powers  of  inference  and  observation,  I  took 
the  one  mad  decision  of  my  life.  "  If  you  care  to  go 
ahead,"  I  wrote,  "  I'm  in  for  all  I'm  worth." 

Jim  read  and  looked  round  at  me  like  one  bewil- 
dered ;  then  his  eyes  lightened,  and  turning  again  to 
the  auctioneer  he  bid,  "  Five  thousand  one  hundred 
dollars." 

"  And  fifty,"  said  monotonous  Bellairs. 

Presently  Pinkerton  scribbled,  "  What  can  it  be  ? " 
and  I  answered,  still  on  paper :  "  I  can't  imagine,  but 
there's  something.  Watch  Bellairs ;  he'll  go  up  to  the 
ten  thousand,  see  if  he  don't." 

And  he  did,  and  we  followed.  Long  before  this 
word  had  gone  abroad  that  there  was  battle  royal. 
We  were  surrounded  by  a  crowd  that  looked  on  won- 
dering, and  when  Pinkerton  had  offered  ten  thousand 
dollars  (the  outside  value  of  the  cargo,  even  were  it 
safe  in  San  Francisco  Bay)  and  Bellairs,  smirking  from 


THE    WRECK    OF   THE    "FLYING   SCUD."  145 

ear  to  ear  to  be  the  centre  of  so  much  attention,  had 
jerked  out  his  answering  "  And  fifty,"  wonder  deepened 
to  excitement. 

"  Ten  thousand  one  hundred,"  said  Jim  ;  and  even 
as  he  spoke  he  made  a  sudden  gesture  with  his  hand, 
his  face  changed,  and  I  could  see  that  he  had  guessed, 
or  thought  that  he  had  guessed,  the  mystery.  As  he 
scrawled  another  memorandum  in  his  note-book,  his 
hand  shook  like  a  telegraph  operator's. 

"  Chinese  ship,"  ran  the  legend  ;  and  then  in  big, 
tremulous  half-text,  and  with  a  flourish  that  overran 
the  margin,  "  Opium  !  " 

"  To  be  sure,"  thought  I,  "  this  must  be  the  secret." 
I  knew  that  scarce  a  ship  came  in  from  any  Chinese 
port  but  she  carried  somewhere,  behind  a  bulkhead  or 
m  some  cunning  hollow  of  the  beams,  a  nest  of  the 
valuable  poison.  Doubtless  there  was  some  such 
treasure  on  the  Flying  Scud.  How  much  was  it 
worth  ?  We  knew  not ;  we  were  gambling  in  the  dark. 
But  Trent  knew,  and  Bellairs;  and  we  could  only 
watch  and  judge. 

By  this  time  neither  Pinkerton  nor  I  were  of  sound 
mind.  Pinkerton  was  beside  himself,  his  eyes  like 
lamps ;  I  shook  in  every  member.  To  any  stranger 
entering,  say,  in  the  course  of  the  fifteenth  thousand, 
we  should  probably  have  cut  a  poorer  figure  than 
Bellairs  himself.  But  we  did  not  pause ;  and  the 
crowd  watched  us — now  in  silence,  now  with  a  buzz  of 
whispers. 

Seventeen  thousand  had  been  reached,  when 
Douglas  B.  Longhurst,  forcing  his  way  into  the  opposite 
row  of  faces,  conspicuously  and  repeatedly  shooK  his 
head  at  Jim.  Jim's  answer  was  a  note  of  two  words  : 
"  My  racket ! "  which,  when  the  great  man  had  perused, 
he  shook  his  finger  warningly  and  departed — I  thought, 
with  a  sorrowful  countenance. 

Although  Mr.  Longhurst  knew  nothing  of  Bellairs, 
the  shady  lawyer  knew  all  about  the  Wrecker  Boss. 


146  THE   WRECKER. 

He  had  seen  him  enter  the  ring  with  manifest  expec- 
tation; he  saw  him  depart,  and  the  bids  continue, 
with  manifest  surprise  and  disappointment.  "  Hullo," 
he  plainly  thought,  "  this  is  not  the  ring  I'm  fighting, 
then  ? "     And  he  determined  to  put  on  a  spurt. 

"  Eighteen  thousand,"  said  he. 

"  And  fifty,"  said  Jim,  taking  a  leaf  out  of  his 
adversary's  book. 

"  Twenty  thousand,"  from  Bellairs. 

"  And  fifty,"  from  Jim,  with  a  little  nervous  titter. 

And  with  one  consent  they  returned  to  the  old 
pace — only  now  it  was  Bellairs  who  took  the  hundreds, 
and  Jim  who  did  the  fifty  business.  But  by  this  time  our 
idea  had  gone  abroad.  I  could  hear  the  word  "  opium  " 
pass  from  mouth  to  mouth,  and  by  the  looks  directed 
at  us  I  could  see  we  were  supposed  to  have  some 

Erivate  information.  And  here  an  incident  occurred 
ighly  typical  of  San  Francisco.  Close  at  my  back 
there  had  stood  for  some  time  a  stout  middle-aged 
gentleman,  with  pleasant  eyes,  hair  pleasantly  grizzled, 
and  a  ruddy  pleasing  face.  All  of  a  sudden  he 
appeared  as  a  third  competitor,  skied  the  Flying  Scud 
with  four  fat  bids  of  a  thousand  dollars  each,  and  then 
as  suddenly  fled  the  field,  remaining  thenceforth  (as 
before)  a  silent,  interested  spectator. 

Ever  since  Mr.  Longhurst's  useless  intervention 
Bellairs  had  seemed  uneasy,  and  at  this  new  attack  he 
began  (in  his  turn)  to  scribble  a  note  betweegi  the 
bids.  I  imagined,  naturally  enough,  that  it  would  go 
to  Captain  Trent ;  but  when  it  was  done,  and  the  writer 
turned  and  looked  behind  him  in  the  crowd,  to  my  un- 
speakable amazement  he  did  not  seem  to  remark  the 
captain's  presence. 

"Messenger  boy,  messenger  boy!"  I  heard  him 
say.     "  Somebody  call  me  a  messenger  boy." 

At  last  somebody  did,  but  it  was  not  the  captain. 

"  He's  sending  for  instructions,"  I  wrote  to  Pink- 
erton. 


THE  WRECK  OF  THE  "FLYING  SCUD."     147 

"For  money"  he  wrote  back.  "Shall  I  strike 
out?     I  think  this  is  the  time." 

I  nodded. 

"  Thirty  thousand/'  said  Pinkerton,  making  a  leap 
of  close  upon  three  thousand  dollars. 

I  could  see  doubt  in  Bellairs's  eye ;  then,  sudden 
resolution.     "  Thirty-five  thousand,"  said  he. 

"  Forty  thousand,"  said  Pinkerton. 

There  was  a  long  pause,  during  which  Bellairs's 
countenance  was  as  a  book ;  and  then,  not  much  too 
soon  for  the  impending  hammer,  "  Forty  thousand 
and  five  dollars,"  said  he. 

Pinkerton  and  I  exchanged  eloquent  glances.  We 
were  of  one  mind.  Bellairs  had  tried  a  bluff ;  now  he 
perceived  his  mistake,  and  was  bidding  against  time  ; 
he  was  trying  to  spin  out  the  sale  until  the  messenger 
boy  returned. 

"  Forty-five  thousand  dollars,"  said  Pinkerton  :  his 
voice  was  like  a  ghost's  and  tottered  with  emotion. 

"  Forty-five  thousand  and  five  dollars,"  said  Bellairs. 

"  Fifty  thousand,"  said  Pinkerton. 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,  Mr.  Pinkerton.  Did  I  hear 
you  make  an  advance,  sir  ? "  asked  the  auctioneer. 

"  I — I  have  a  difficulty  in  speaking,"  gasped  Jim. 
"  It's  fifty  thousand,  Mr.  Borden." 

Bellairs  was  on  his  feet  in  a  moment.  "  Auction- 
eer," he  said,  "I  have  to  beg  the  favour  of  three 
moments  at  the  telephone.  In  this  matter  I  am 
acting  on  behalf  of  a  certain  party  to  whom  I  have 
just  written " 

"  I  have  nothing  to  do  with  any  of  this,"  said  the 
auctioneer,  brutally.  "  I  am  here  to  sell  this  wreck. 
Do  you  make  any  advance  on  fifty  thousand  ? " 

"  I  have  the  honour  to  explain  to  you,  sir,"  re- 
turned Bellairs,  with  a  miserable  assumption  of  dig- 
nity, "  fifty  thousand  was  the  figure  named  by  my 
principal ;  but  if  you  will  give  me  the  small  favour  of 

two  moments  at  the  telephone " 

k  2 


148  THE   WRECKER. 

"  Oh,  nonsense  !  "  said  the  auctioneer.  "  If  you 
make  no  advance,  I'll  knock  it  down  to  Mr.  Pinker- 
ton." 

"  I  warn  you,"  cried  the  attorney,  with  sudden 
shrillness.  "Have  a  care  what  you're  about.  You 
are  here  to  sell  for  the  underwriters,  let  me  tell  you — 
not  to  act  for  Mr.  Douglas  Longhurst.  This  sale  has 
been  already  disgracefully  interrupted  to  allow  that 
person  to  hold  a  consultation  with  his  minions ;  it 
has  been  much  commented  on." 

"  There  was  no  complaint  at  the  time,"  said  the 
auctioneer,  manifestly  discountenanced.  "  You  should 
have  complained  at  the  time." 

"  I  am  not  here  to  conduct  this  sale,"  replied 
Bellairs  ;  "  I  am  not  paid  for  that." 

"  Well,  I  am,  you  see,"  retorted  the  auctioneer,  his 
impudence  quite  restored  ;  and  he  resumed  his  sing- 
song. "  Any  advance  on  fifty  thousand  dollars  ?  No 
advance  on  fifty  thousand  ?  No  advance,  gentlemen? 
Going  at  fifty  thousand,  the  wreck  of  the  brig  Flying 
Scud — going — going — gone  !  " 

"  My  God,  Jim,  can  we  pay  the  money  ?  "  I  cried, 
as  the  stroke  of  the  hammer  seemed  to  recall  me 
from  a  dream. 

"  It's  got  to  be  raised,"  said  he,  white  as  a  sheet. 
"  It'll  be  a  hell  of  a  strain,  Loudon.  The  credit's  good 
for  it,  I  think  ;  but  I  shall  have  to  get  around.  Write 
me  a  cheque  for  your  stuff.  Meet  you  at  the  Occi- 
dental in  an  hour." 

I  wrote  my  cheque  at,  a  desk,  and  I  declare  I 
could  never  have  recognised  my  signature.  Jim  was 
gone  in  a  moment ;  Trent  had  vanished  even  earlier  ; 
only  Bellairs  remained,  exchanging  insults  with  I'lio 
auctioneer ;  and,  behold  !  as  I  pushed  my  way  out  of 
the  exchange,  who  should  run  full  tilt  into  my  arms 
but  the  messenger  boy ! 

It  was  by  so  near  a  margin  that  we  became  the 
owners  of  the  Flying  Scud. 


"Going  at  fifty  thousand,  the  wreck  of  the  brig  Flying  Scud!"   (p.    148). 


149 
CHAPTER    X. 

IN  WHICH  THE   CREW   VANISH. 

At  the  door  of  the  exchange  I  found  myself  alongside 
of  the  short  middle-aged  gentleman  who  had  made  an 
appearance,  so  vigorous  and  so  brief,  in  the  great 
battle. 

"  Congratulate  you,  Mr.  Dodd,"  he  said.  "  You 
and  your  friend  stuck  to  your  guns  nobly." 

"  No  thanks  to  you,  sir,"  I  replied,  "  running  us  up 
a  thousand  at  a  time,  and  tempting  all  the  specu- 
lators in  San  Francisco  to  come  and  have  a  try." 

"  Oh,  that  was  temporary  insanity,"  said  he  ;  "  and 
I  thank  the  higher  powers  I  am  still  a  free  man. 
Walking  this  way,  Mr.  Dodd  ?  I'll  walk  along  with 
you.  It's  pleasant  for  an  old  fogey  like  myself  to  see 
the  young  bloods  in  the  ring ;  I've  done  some  pretty 
wild  gambles  in  my  time  in  this  very  city,  when  it 
was  a  smaller  place  and  I  was  a  younger  man.  Yes, 
I  know  you,  Mr.  Dodd.  By  sight,  I  may  say  I  know 
you  extremely  well,  you  and  your  followers,  the 
fellows  in  the  kilts,  eh  ?  Pardon  me.  But  I  have  the 
misfortune  to  own  a  little  box  on  the  Saucelito  shore. 
I'll  be  glad  to  see  you  there  any  Sunday — without 
the  fellows  in  kilts,  you  know  ;  and  I  can  give  you  a 
bottle  of  wine,  and  show  you  the  best  collection  of 
Arctic  voyages  in  the  States.  Morgan  is  my  name — 
Judge  Morgan — a  Welshman  and  a  forty-niner." 

"  Oh,  if  you're  a  pioneer,"  cried  I,  *  come  to  me, 
and  I'll  provide  you  with  an  axe." 

"  You'll  want  your  axes  for  yourself,  I  fancy,"  he 
returned,  with  one  of  his  quick  looks.  "  Unless  you 
have  private  knowledge,  there  will  be  a  good  deal  of 
rather  violent  wrecking  to  do  before  you  find  that — 
opium,  do  you  call  it  ?  " 

"Well,  it's  either  opium,  or  we  are  stark  staring 
mad,"  I  replied.     "  But  I  assure  you  we  have  no  private 


150  THE   WRECKER. 

information.  We  went  in  (as  I  suppose  you  did  your- 
self) on  observation." 

"  An  observer,  sir  ? "  inquired  the  judge. 

"  I  may  say  it  is  my  trade — or,  rather,  was,"  said  I. 

"  Well  now,  and  what  did  you  think  of  Bellairs  ? " 
he  asked. 

"  Very  little  indeed,"  said  I. 

"  I  may  tell  you,"  continued  the  judge,  "  that  to 
me  the  employment  of  a  fellow  like  that  appears  in- 
explicable. I  knew  him :  he  knows  me,  too ;  he  has 
often  heard  from  me  in  court ;  and  I  assure  you  the 
man  is  utterly  blown  upon ;  it  is  not  safe  to  trust  him 
with  a  dollar,  and  here  we  find  him  dealing  up  to 
fifty  thousand.  I  can't  think  who  can  have  so  trusted 
him,  but  I  am  very  sure  it  was  a  stranger  in  San 
Francisco." 

"  Someone  for  the  owners,  I  suppose,"  said  I. 

"  Surely  not !  "  exclaimed  the  judge.  "  Owners  in 
London  can  have  nothing  to  say  to  opium  smuggled 
between  Hong  Kong  and  San  Francisco.  I  should 
rather  fancy  they  would  be  the  last  to  hear  of  it — until 
the  ship  was  seized.  No;  I  was  thinking  of  the 
captain.  But  where  would  he  get  the  money — above 
all,  after  having  laid  out  so  much  to  buy  the  stuff  in 
China  ? — unless,  indeed,  he  were  acting  for  some  one 
in  'Frisco  ;  and  in  that  cas'e — here  we  go  round  again 
in  the  vicious  circle — Bellairs  would  not  have  been 
employed." 

"  I  think  I  can  assure  you  it  was  not  the  captain," 
said  I,  "  for  he  and  Bellairs  are  not  acquainted." 

"  Wasn't  that  the  captain  with  the  red  face  and 
coloured  handkerchief?  He  seemed  to  me  to  follow 
Bellairs's  game  with  the  most  thrilling  interest,"  ob- 
jected Mr.  Morgan. 

"  Perfectly  true,"  said  I.  "  Trent  is  deeply  inter- 
ested ;  he  very  likely  knew  Bellairs,  and  he  certainly 
knew  what  he  was  there  for  ;  but  I  can  put  my  hand 
in  the  fire  that  Bellairs  didn't  know  Trent." 


IN    WHICH   THE    CREW    VANISH.  151 

"  Another  singularity,"  observed  the  judge.  "Well, 
we  have  had  a  capital  forenoon.  But  you  take  an  old 
lawyer's  advice,  and  get  to  Midway  Island  as  fast  as 
you  can.  There's  a  pot  of  money  on  the  table,  and 
Bellairs  and  Co.  are  not  the  men  to  stick  at  trifles." 

With  this  parting  counsel  Judge  Morgan  shook 
hands  and  made  off  along  Montgomery  Street,  while 
I  entered  the  Occidental  Hotel,  on  the  steps  of  which 
we  had  finished  our  conversation.  I  was  well  known 
to  the  clerks,  and  as  soon  as  it  was  understood  that  I 
was  there  to  wait  for  Pinkerton  and  lunch,  I  was  in- 
vited to  a  seat  inside  the  counter.  Here,  then,  in  a 
retired  corner,  I  was  beginning  to  come  a  little  to 
myself  after  these  so  violent  experiences,  when  who 
should  come  hurrying  in,  and  (after  a  moment  with  a 
clerk)  fly  to  one  of  the  telephone-boxes  but  Mr.  Henry 
D.  Bellairs  in  person  !  Call  it  what  you  will,  but  the 
impulse  was  irresistible,  and  I  rose  and  took  a  place 
immediately  at  the  man's  back.  It  may  be  some 
excuse  that  I  had  often  practised  this  very  innocent 
form  of  eavesdropping  upon  strangers  and  for  fun. 
Indeed,  I  scarce  know  anything  that  gives  a  lower 
view  of  man's  intelligence  than  to  overhear  (as  you 
thus  do)  one  side  of  a  communication. 

"Central,"  said  the  attorney,  "2241  and  584  B" 
(or  some  such  numbers) — "  Who's  that  ? — All  right — 
Mr.  Bellairs — Occidental ;  the  wires  are  fouled  in  the 
other  place — Yes,  about  three  minutes — Yes — Yes — 
Your  figure,  I  am  sorry  to  say — No-^-I  had  no  au- 
thority— Neither  more  nor  less — I  have  every  reason 
to  suppose  so — Oh,  Pinkerton,  Montana  Block — Yes — 
Yes — Very  good,  sir — As  you  will,  sir — Disconnect 
584  B." 

Bellairs  turned  to  leave ;  at  sight  of  me  behind 
him,  up  flew  his  hands,  and  he  winced  and  cringed,  as 
though  in  fear  of  bodily  attack.  "  Oh,  it's  you  !  "  he 
cried ;  and  then,  somewhat  recovered,  "Mr.  Pinkerton's 
partner,  I  believe  ?     I  am  pleased  to  see  you,  sir — to 


152  THE   WRECKER. 

congratulate  you  on  your  late  success ; "  and  with  that 
he  was  gone,  obsequiously  bowing  as  he  passed. 

And  now  a  madcap  humour  came  upon  me.  It 
was  plain  Bellairs  had  been  communicating  with  his 

frincipal ;  I  knew  the  number,  if  not  the  name.  Should 
ring  up  at  once  ?  It  was  more  than  likely  he  would 
return  in  person  to  the  telephone.  Why  should  not  I 
dash  (vocally)  into  the  presence  of  this  mysterious 
person,  and  have  some  fun  for  my  money  ?  I  pressed 
the  bell. 

"  Central,"  said  I, "  connect  again  2241  and  584  B." 

A  phantom  central  repeated  the  numbers ;  there 
was  a  pause,  and  then  "  Two  two  four  one,"  came  in  a 
tiny  voice  into  my  ear — a  voice  with  the  English 
sing-song — the  voice  plainly  of  a  gentleman.  "  Is  that 
you  again,  Mr.  Bellairs  ?  "  it  trilled.  "  I  tell  you  it's 
no  use.     Is  that  you,  Mr.  Bellairs  ?     Who  is  that  ? " 

"  I  only  want  to  put  a  single  question,"  said  I, 
civilly.  "Why-  do  you  want  to  buy  the  Flying 
Scud?" 

No  answer  came.  The  telephone  vibrated  and 
hummed  in  miniature  with  all  the  numerous  talk  of  a 
great  city ;  but  the  voice  of  2241  was  silent.  Once 
and  twice  I  put  my  question  ;  but  the  tiny  sing-song 
English  voice  I  heard  no  more.  The  man,  then,  had 
fled— fled  from  an  impertinent  question.  It  scarce 
seemed  natural  to  me — unless  on  the  principle  that 
th,e  wicked  fleeth  when  no  man  pursueth.  I  took  the 
telephone  list  and  turned  the  number  up :  "  2241, 
Mrs.  Keane,  res.  942,  Mission  Street."  And  that,  short 
of  driving  to  the  house  and  renewing  my  impertinence 
in  person,  was  all  that  I  could  do. 

Yet,  as  I  resumed  my  seat  in  the  corner  of  the 
office,  I  was  conscious  of  a  new  element  of  the  uncertain, 
the  underhand,  perhaps  even  the  dangerous,  in  our 
adventure ;  and  there  was  now  a  new  picture  in  my 
mental  gallery,  to  hang  beside  that  of  the  wreck  under 
its  canopy  of  sea-birds  and  of  Captain  Trent  mopping 


IN   WHICH   THE    CEEW  VANISH.  153 

his  red  brow — the  picture  of  a  man  with  a  telephone 
dice-box  to  his  ear,  and  at  the  small  voice  of  a  single 
question  struck  suddenly  as  white  as  ashes. 

From  these  considerations  I  was  awakened  by  the 
striking  of  the  clock.  An  hour  and  nearly  twenty 
minutes  had  elapsed  since  Pinkerton  departed  for  the 
money :  he  was  twenty  minutes  behind  time ;  and  to 
me,  who  knew  so  well  his  gluttonous  despatch  of 
business,  and  had  so  frequently  admired  his  iron 
punctuality,  the  fact  spoke  volumes.  The  twenty 
minutes  slowly  stretched  into  an  hour ;  the  hour  had 
nearly  extended  to  a  second ;  and  I  still  sat  in  my 
corner  of  the  office,  or  paced  the  marble  pavement  of 
the  hall,  a  prey  to  the  most  wretched  anxiety  and 
penitence.  The  hour  for  lunch  was  nearly  over  before 
I  remembered  that  I  had  not  eaten.  Heaven  knows 
I  had  no  appetite ;  but  there  might  still  be  much  to 
do — it  was  needful  I  should  keep  myself  in  proper 
trim,  if  it  were  only  to  digest  the  now  too  probable 
bad  news ;  and  leaving  word  at  the  office  for  Pinker- 
ton,  I  sat  down  to  table  and  called  for  soup,  oysters, 
and  a  pint  of  champagne. 

I  was  not  long  set  before  my  friend  returned.  He 
looked  pale  and  rather  old,  refused,  to  hear  of  food, 
and  called  for  tea. 

"  I  suppose  all's  up  ? "  said  I,  with  an  incredible 
sinking. 

"  No,"  he  replied; "  I've  pulled  it  through,  Loudon — 
just  pulled  it  through.  I  couldn't  have  raised  another 
cent  in  all  'Frisco.  People  don't  like  it ;  Longhurst 
even  went  back  on  me ;  said  he  wasn't  a  three-card  - 
monte  man." 

"  Well,  what's  the  odds  ? "  said  I.  "  That's  all  we 
wanted,  isn't  it  ? " 

"  Loudon,  I  tell  you  I've  had  to  pay  blood  for  that 
money,"  cried  my  friend,  with  almost  savage  energy 
and  gloom.  "  It's  all  on  ninety  days,  too ;  I  couldn't 
get  another  day — not  another  day.     If  we  go  ahead 


154  THE   WRECKER. 

with  this  affair,  Loudon,  you'll  have  to  go  yourself'  and 
make  the  fur  fly.  I'll  stay,  of  course — I've  got  to  stay 
and  nice  the  trouble  in  this  city  ;  though,  I  tell  you,  I 
just  long  to  go.  I  would  show  these  fat  brutes  of 
sailors  what  work  was ;  I  would  be  all  through  that 
wreck  and  out  at  the  other  end,  before  they  had  boosted 
themselves  upon  the  d&ck !  But  you'll  do  your  level 
best,  Loudon  ;  I  depend  on  you  for  that.  You  must 
be  all  fire  and  grit  and  dash  from  the  word  'go.' 
That  schooner,  and  the  boodle  on  board  of  her, 
are  bound  to  be  here  before  three  months,  or  it's 
BUS  T— bust." 

"  I'll  swear  I'll  do  my  best,  Jim  ;  I'll  work  double 
tides,"  said  I.  "  It  is  my  fault  that  you  are  in  this 
thing,  and  I'll  get  you  out  again,  or  kill  myself.  But 
what  is  that  you  say  ?  '  If  we  go  ahead  ? '  Have  we 
any  choice,  then  ? " 

"  I'm  coming  to  that,"  said  Jim.  "  It  isn't  that  I 
doubt  the  investment.  Don't  blame  yourself  for  that ; 
you  showed  a  fine  sound  business  instinct :  I  always 
knew  it  was  in  you,  but  then  it  ripped  right  out.  I 
guess  that  little  beast  of  an  attorney  knew  what  he 
was  doing ;  and  he  wanted  nothing  better  than  to  go 
beyond.  No,  there's  profit  in  the  deal ;  it's  not  that ; 
it's  these  ninety-day  bills,  and  the  strain  I've  given 
the  credit — for  I've  been  up  and  down  borrowing,  and 
begging  and  bribing  to  borrow.  I  don't  believe  there's 
another  man  but  me  in  'Frisco,"  he  cried,  with  a 
sudden  fervour  of  self-admiration,  "  who  could  have 
raised  that  last  ten  thousand !  Then  there's  another 
thing.  I  had  hoped  you  might  have  peddled  that 
opium  through  the  islands,  which  is  safer  and  more 
profitable.  But  with  this  three-month  limit,  you  must 
make  tracks  for  Honolulu  straight,  and  communicate 
by  steamer.  I'll  try  to  put  up  something  for  you 
there ;  I'll  have  a  man  spoken  to  who's  posted  on  that 
line  of  biz.  Keep  a  bright  look-out  for  him  as  soon's 
you  make  the  islands ;  for  it's  on  the  cards  he  might 


IN   WHICH   THE    CHEW    VANISH.  155 

pick  you  up  at  sea  in  a  whaleboat  or  a  steam-launch, 
and  bring  the  dollars  right  on  board." 

It  shows  how  much  I  had  suffered  morally  during 
my  sojourn  in  San  Francisco  that  even  now,  when 
our  fortunes  trembled  in  the  balance,  I  should  have 
consented  to  become  a  smuggler — and  (of  all  things)  a 
smuggler  of  opium.  Yet  I  did,  and  that  in  silence ; 
without  a  protest,  not  without  a  twinge. 

"  And  suppose,"  said  I,  "  suppose  the  opium  is  so 
securely  hidden  that  I  can't  get  hands  on  it  ?  " 

"  Then  you  will  stay  there  till  that  brig  is  kindling- 
wood,  and  stay  and  split  that  kindling-wood  with  your 
Eenknife,"  cried  Pinkerton.  "  The  stuff  is  there  ;  we 
now  that ;  and  it  must  be  found.  But  all  this  is 
only  the  one  string  to  our  bow — though  I  tell  you 
I've  gone  into  it  head-first,  as  if  it  was  our  bottom 
dollar.  Why,  the  first  thing  I  did  before  I'd  raised  a 
cent,  and  with  this  other  notion  in  my  head  already 
— the  first  thing  I  did  was  to  secure  the  schooner. 
The  Norah  Greina  she  is,  sixty-four  tons — quite  big 
enough  for  our  purpose  since  the  rice  is  spoiled,  and 
the  fastest  thing  of  her  tonnage  out  of  San  Francisco. 
For  a  bonus  of  two  hundred,  and  a  monthly  charter 
of  three,  I  have  her  for  my  own  time  ;  wages  and  pro- 
visions, say  four  hundred  more  :  a  drop  in  the  bucket. 
They  began  firing  the  cargo  out  of  her  (she  was  part 
loaded)  near  two  hours  ago  ;  and  about  the  same  time 
John  Smith  got  the  order  for  the  stores.  That's  what 
I  call  business." 

"  No  doubt  of  that,"  said  I ;  "  but  the  other  notion." 

"  Well,  here  it  is,"  said  Jim.  "  You  agree  with  me 
that  Bellairs  was  ready  to  go  higher  ? " 

I  saw  where  he  was  coming.  "Yes — and  why 
shouldn't  he  ? "  said  I.     "  Is  that  the  line  ? " 

"  That's  the  line,  Loudon  Dodd,"  assented  Jim.  "  If 
Bellairs  and  his  principal  have  any  desire  to  go  me 
better,  I'm  their  man." 

A  sudden  thought,  a  sudden  fear,  shot  into  my 


156  THE   WRECKER. 

mind.  What  if  I  had  been  right  ?  What  if  my  childish 

Sleasantry  had  frightened  the  principal  away,  and  thus 
estroyed  our  chance  ?  Shame  closed  my  mouth  ;  I 
began  instinctively  a  long  course  of  reticence ;  and  it 
was  without  a  word  of  my  meeting  with  Bellairs,  or 
my  discovery  of  the  address  in  Mission  Street,  that  I 
continued  the  discussion. 

"  Doubtless  fifty  thousand  was  originally  mentioned 
as  a  round  sum,"  said  I,  "  or,  at  least,  so  Bellairs  sup- 
posed. But  at  the  same  time  it  may  be  an  outside 
sum ;  and  to  cover  the  expenses  we  have  already  in- 
curred for  the  money  and  the  schooner — I  am  far 
from  blaming  you;  I  see  how  needful  it  was  to  be 
ready  for  either  event — but  to  cover  them  we  shall 
want  a  rather  large  advance." 

"  Bellairs  will  go  to  sixty  thousand ;  it's  my  belief, 
if  he  were  properly  handled,  he  would  take  the 
hundred,"  replied  Pinkerton.  "  Look  back  on  the 
way  the  sale  ran  at  the  end." 

"  That  is  my  own  impression  as  regards  Bellairs," 
I  admitted ;  "  the  point  I  am  trying  to  make  is  that 
Bellairs  himself  may  be  mistaken  ;  that  what  he  sup- 
posed to  be  a  round  sum  was  really  an  outside  figure." 

"  Well,  Loudon,  if  that  is  so,"  said  Jim,  with  extra- 
ordinary gravity  of  face  and  voice,  "  if  that  is  so, 
let  him  take  the  Flying  Scud  at  fifty  thousand,  and 
joy  go  with  her  !     I  prefer  the  loss." 

"  Is  that  so,  Jim  ?  Are  we  dipped  as  bad  as  that  ? " 
I  cried. 

"  We've  put  our  hand  farther  out  than  we  can  pull 
it  in  again,  Loudon,"  he  replied.  "  Why,  man,  that 
fifty  thousand  dollars,  before  we  get  clear  again,  will 
cost  us  nearer  seventy.  Yes,  it  figures  up  overhead  to 
more  than  ten  per  cent,  a  month  ;  and  I  could  do  no 
better,  and  there  isn't  the  man  breathing  could  have 
done  as  well.  It  was  a  miracle,  Loudon.  I  couldn't 
but  admire  myself.  Oh,  if  we  had  just  the  four  months ! 
And  you  know,  Loudon,  it  may  still  be  done.     With 


IN   WHICH   THE    CREW   VANISH.  157 

your  energy  and  charm,  if  the  worst  comes  to  the 
worst,  you  can  run  that  schooner  as  you  ran  one  of 
your  picnics  ;  and  we  may  have  luck.  And  0  man  ! 
if  we  do  pull  it  through,  what  a  dashing  operation  it 
will  be!  What  an  advertisement!  what  a  thing  to 
talk  of  and  remember  all  our  lives !  However,"  he 
broke  off  suddenly,  "  we  must  try  the  safe  thing  first. 
Here's  for  the  shyster ! " 

There  was  another  struggle  in  my  mind,  whether 
I  should  even  now  admit  my  knowledge  of  the  Mission 
Street  address.  But  I  had  let  the  favourable  moment 
slip.  I  had  now,  which  made  it  the  more  awkward, 
not  merely  the  original  discovery,  but  my  late  sup- 
pression to  confess.  I  could  not  help  reasoning, 
besides,  that  the  more  natural  course  was  to  approach 
the  principal  by  the  road  of  his  agent's  office ;  and 
there  weighed  upon  my  spirits  a  conviction  that  we 
were  already  too  late,  and  that  the  man  was  gone  two 
hours  ago.  Once  more,  then,  I  held  my  peace ;  and 
after  an  exchange  of  words  at  the  telephone  to  assure 
ourselves  he  was  at  home,  we  set  out  for  the  attorney's 
office. 

The  endless  streets  of  any  American  city  pass, 
from  one  end  to  another,  through  strange  degrees  and 
vicissitudes  of  splendour  and  distress,  running  under 
the  same  name  between  monumental  warehouses,  the 
dens  and  taverns  of  thieves,  and  the  sward  and  shrub- 
bery of  villas.  In  San  Francisco  the  sharp  inequalities 
of  the  ground,  and  the  sea  bordering  on  so  many  sides, 
greatly  exaggerate  these  contrasts.  The  street  for 
which  we  were  now  bound  took  its  rise  among  blowing 
sands,  somewhere  in  view  of  the  Lone  Mountain 
Cemetery;  ran  for  a  term  across  that  rather  windy 
Olympus  of  Nob  Hill,  or  perhaps  just  skirted  its 
frontier ;  passed  almost  immediately  after  through  a 
stage  of  little  houses,  rather  impudently  painted,  and 
offering  to  the  eye  of  the  observer  this  diagnostic 
peculiarity,  that  the  huge  brass  plates  upon  the  small 


158  THE   WRECKER. 

and  highly-coloured  doors  boro  only  the  first  names 
of  ladies — Norah  or  Lily  or  Florence  ;  traversed  China 
Town,  where  it  was  doubtless  undermined  with  opium 
cellars,  and  its  blocks  pierced,  after  the  similitude  of 
rabbit- Warrens,  with  a  hundred  doors  and  passages  and 
galleries  ;  enjoyed  a  glimpse  of  high  publicity  at  the 
corner  of  Kearney ;  and  proceeded,  among  dives  and 
warehouses,  towards  the  City  Front  and  the  region  of 
the  water-rats.  In  this  last  stage  of  its  career,  where 
it  was  both  grimy  and  solitary,  and  alternately  quiet 
and  roaring  to  the  wheels  of  drays,  we  found  a  certain 
house  of  some  pretension  to  neatness,  and  furnished 
with  a  rustic  outside  stair.  On  the  pillar  of  the  stair 
a  black  plate  bore  in  gilded  lettering  this  device: 
"  Harry  l).  Bellairs,  Attorney-at-law.  Consultations, 
9  to  6."  On  ascending  the  stairs  a  door  was  found  to 
stand  open  on  the  balcony,  with  this  further  inscrip- 
tion, "  Mr.  Bellairs  In." 

"  I  wonder  what  we  do  next,"  said  I. 

"  Guess  we  sail  right  in,"  returned  Jim,  and  suited 
the  action  to  the  word. 

The  room  in  which  we  found  ourselves  was  clean, 
but  extremely  bare.  A  rather  old-fashioned  secretaire 
stood  by  the  wall,  with  a  chair  drawn  to  the  desk ;  in 
one  corner  was  a  shelf  with  half-a-dozen  law  books ; 
and  I  can  remember  literally  not  another  stick  of 
furniture.  One  inference  imposed  itself:  Mr.  Bellairs 
was  in  the  habit  of  sitting  down  himself  and  suffering 
his  clients  to  stand.  At  the  far  end,  and  veiled  by  a 
curtain  of  red  baize,  a  second  door  communicated  with 
the  interior  of  the  house.  Hence,  after  some  coughing 
and  stamping,  we  elicited  the  shyster,  who  came 
timorously  forth,  for  all  the  world  like  a  man  in  fear 
of  bodily  assault,  and  then,  recognising  his  guests, 
suffered  from  what  I  can  only  call  a  nervous  paroxysm 
of  courtesy. 

"  Mr.  f  inkerton  and  partner  ! "  said  he.  *  I  will  go 
and  fetch  you  seats." 


IN   WHICH    THE    CREW   VANISH.  159 

"  Not  the  least,"  said  Jim.  "  No  time.  Much 
rather  stand.  This  is  business,  Mr.  Bellairs.  This 
morning,  as  you  know,  I  bought  the  wreck  Flying 
Bend." 

The  lawyer  nodded. 

"  And  bought  her,"  pursued  my  friend,  "  at  a  figure 
out  of  all  proportion  to  the  cargo  and  the  circum- 
stances, as  they  appeared." 

"  And  now  you  think  better  of  it,  and  would  like  to 
be  off  with  your  bargain  ?  I  have  been  figuring  upon 
this,"  returned  the  lawyer.  "  My  client,  I  will  not 
hide  from  you,  was  displeased  with  me  for  putting  her 
so  high.  I  think  we  were  both  too  heated,  Mr.  Pin- 
kerton :  rivalry — the  spirit  of  competition.  But  I  will 
be  quite  frank — I  know  when  I  am  dealing  with 
gentlemen — and  I  am  almost  certain,  if  you  leave  the 
matter  in  my  hands,  my  client  would  relieve  you  of 
the  bargain,  so  as  you  would  lose  " — he  consulted  our 
faces  with  gimlet-eyed  calculation — "nothing,"  he 
added  shrilly. 

And  here  Pinkerton  amazed  me. 

"  That's  a  little  too  thin,"  said  he.  "  I  have  the 
wreck.  I  know  there's  boodle  in  her,  and  I  mean  to 
keep  her.  What  I  want  is  some  points  which  may 
save  me  needless  expense,  and  which  I'm  prepared  to 
pay  for,  money  down.  The  thing  for  you  to  consider 
is  just  this,  Am  I  to  deal  with  you  or  direct  with  your 
principal  ?  If  you  are  prepared  to  give  me  the  facts 
right  off,  why,  name  your  figure.  Only  one  thing," 
added  Jim,  holding  a  finger  up,  "when  I  say  ' money 
down'  I  mean  bills  payable  when  the  ship  returns, 
and  if  the  information  proves  reliable.  I  don't  buy 
pigs  in  pokes." 

I  had  seen  the  lawyer's  face  light  up  for  a  moment, 
and  then,  at  the  sound  of  Jim's  proviso,  miserably 
fade.  "  I  guess  you  know  more  about  this  wreck 
than  I  do,  Mr.  Pinkerton,"  said  he.  "  I  only  know  that 
I  was  told  to  buy  the  thing,  and  tried,  and  couldn't." 


160  THE   WRECKER. 

"  What  I  like  about  you,  Mr.  Bellairs.  is  that  you 
waste  no  time,"  said  Jim.  "  Now  then,  your  client's 
name  and  address." 

"  On  consideration,"  replied  the  lawyer,  with  in- 
describable furtivity,  "  I  cannot  see  that  I  am  entitled 
to  communicate  my  client's  name.  I  will  sound  him 
for  you  with  pleasure,  if  you  care  to  instruct  me,  but  I 
cannot  see  that  I  can  give  you  his  address." 

"  Very  well,"  said  Jim,  and  put  his  hat  on. 
"  Bather  a  strong  step,  isn't  it  ? "  (Between  every 
sentence  was  a  clear  pause.)  "Not  think  better  of 
it  ?     Well,  come,  call  it  a  dollar  ? " 

' "  Mr.  Pinkerton,  sir  !  "  exclaimed  the  offended 
attorney ;  and,  indeed,  I  myself  was  almost  afraid  that 
Jim  had  mistaken  his  man  and  gone  too  far. 

"  No  present  use  for  a  dollar  ?  "  says  Jim.  "  Well, 
look  here,  Mr.  Bellairs — we're  both  busy  men,  and  I'll 
go  to  my  outside  figure  with  you  right  away " 

"  Stop  this,  Pinkerton,"  I  broke  in.  *  I  know  the 
address  :  924,  Mission  Street." 

I  do  not  know  whether  Pinkerton  or  Bellairs  was 
the  more  taken  aback. 

«  Why  in  snakes  didn't  you  say  so,  Loudon  ? "  cried 
my  friend. 

"  You  didn't  ask  for  it  before,"  said  I,  colouring  to 
my  temples  under  his  troubled  eyes. 

It  was  Bellairs  who  broke  silence,  kindly  supplying 
me  with  all  that  I  had  yet  to  learn.  "Since  you 
know  Mr.  Dickson's  address,"  said  he,  plainly  burning 
to  be  rid  of  us,  "  I  suppose  I  need  detain  you  no 
longer." 

I  do  not  know  how  Pinkerton  felt,  but  I  had  death 
in  my  soul  as  we  came  down  the  outside  stair  from 
the  den  of  this  blotched  spider.  My  whole  being  was 
strung,  waiting  for  Jim's  first  question,  and  prepared  to 
blurt  out — I  believe,  almost  with  tears — a  full  avowal. 
But  my  friend  asked  nothing. 

"  We  must  hack  it,"  said  he,  tearing  off  in  the 


IN    WHICH   THE   CREW   VANISH.  161 

direction  of  the  nearest  stand.  "  No  time  to  be  lost. 
You  saw  how  I  changed  ground.  No  use  in  paying 
the  shyster's  commission." 

Again  I  expected  a  reference  to  my  suppression ; 
again  I  was  disappointed.  It  was  plain  Jim  feared  the 
subject,  and  I  felt  I  almost  hated  him  for  that  fear. 
At  last,  when  we  were  already  in  the  hack  and  driving 
towards  Mission  Street,  I  could  bear  my  suspense  no 
longer. 

"  You  do  not  ask  me  about  that  address,"  said  I. 

"No,"  said  he,  quickly  and  timidly,  "what  was 
it  ?     I  would  like  to  know." 

The  note  of  timidity  offended  me  like  a  buffet ;  my 
temper  rose  as  hot  as  mustard.  "  I  must  request  you 
do  not  ask  me,"  said  I ;  "  it  is  a  matter  I  cannot  ex- 
plain." 

The  moment  the  foolish  words  were  said,  that 
moment  I  would  have  given  worlds  to  recall  them; 
how  much  more  when  Pinkerton,  patting  my  hand, 
replied,  "  All  right,  dear  boy,  not  another  word ;  that's 
all  done;  I'm  convinced  it's  perfectly  right!"  To 
return  upon  the  subject  was  beyond  my  courage ;  but 
I  vowed  inwardly  that  I  should  do  my  utmost  in  the 
future  for  this  mad  speculation,  and  that  I  would  cut 
myself  in  pieces  before  Jim  should  lose  one  dollar. 

We  had  no  sooner  arrived  at  the  address  than  I 
had  other  things  to  think  of. 

"  Mr.  Dickson  ?     He's  gone,"  said  the  landlady. 

Where  had  he  gone  ? 

"  I'm  sure  I  can't  tell  you,"  she  answered.  "  He 
was  quite  a  stranger  to  me." 

"  Did  he  express  his  baggage,  ma'am  ? "  asked 
Pinkerton. 

"  Hadn't  any,"  was  the  reply.  "  He  came  last 
night,  and  left  again  to-day  with  a  satchel." 

"  When  did  he  leave  ?    I  inquired. 

"  It  was  about  noon,"  replied  the  landlady.  "  Some- 
one rang  up  the  telephone,  and  asked  for  him ;  and  I 


162  THE   WRECKER. 

reckon  he  got  some  news,  for  he  left  right  away, 
although  his  rooms  were  taken  by  the  week.  He 
seemed  considerable  put  out:  I  reckon  it  was  a 
death." 

My  heart  sank;  perhaps  my  idiotic  jest  had  indeed 
driven  him  away ;  and  again  I  asked  myself,  "  Why  ? " 
and  whirled  for  a  moment  in  a  vortex  of  untenable 
hypotheses. 

"What  was  he  like,  ma'am?"  Pinkerton  was 
asking,  when  I  returned  to  consciousness  of  my 
surroundings. 

"A  clean-shaved  man,"  said  the  woman,  and 
could  be  led  or  driven  into  no  more  significant 
description. 

"  Pull  up  at  the  nearest  drug-store,"  said  Pinkerton 
to  the  driver ;  and  when  there,  the  telephone  was  put 
in  operation,  and  the  message  sped  to  the  Pacific  Mail 
Steamship  Company's  office — this  was  in  the  days 
before  Spreckels  had  arisen — "When  does  the  next 
China  steamer  touch  at  Honolulu  ? " 

"  The  City  of  Pekin  ;  she  cast  off  the  dock  to-day, 
at  half-past  one,"  came  the  reply. 

"It's  a  clear  case  of  bolt,"  said  Jim.  "He's 
skipped,  or  my  name's  not  Pinkerton.  He's  gone  to 
head  us  off  at  Midway  Island." 

Somehow  I  was  not  so  sure ;  there  were  elements 
in  the  case,  not  known  to  Pinkerton — the  fears  of  the 
captain,  for  example — that  inclined  me  otherwise  ; 
and  the  idea  that  I  had  terrified  Mr.  Dickson  into 
flight,  though  resting  on  so  slender  a  foundation, 
clung  obstinately  in  my  mind. 

"Shouldn't  we  see  the  list  of  passengers?"  I 
asked. 

"Dickson  is  such  a  blamed  common  name," 
returned  Jim ;  "  and  then,  as  like  as  not,  he  would 
change  it." 

At  this  1  had  another  intuition.  A  negative  of  a 
street  scene,  taken  unconsciously   when   I   was  ab- 


IN   WHICH   THE   CREW  VANISH.  163 

sorbed  in  other  thought,  rose  in  my  memory  with  not 
a  feature  blurred :  a  view,  from  Bellairs's  door  as  we 
were  coming  down,  of  muddy  roadway,  passing  drays, 
matted  telegraph  wires,  a  China-boy  with  a  basket  on 
his  head,  and  (almost  opposite)  a  corner  grocery  with 
the  name  of  Dickson  in  great  gilt  letters. 

"  Yes,"  said  I,  "  you  are  right ;  he  would  change  it. 
And  anyway,  I  don't  believe  it  was  his  name  at  all ;  I 
believe  he  took  it  from  a  corner  grocery  beside  Bel- 
lairs's." 

'*  As  like  as  not,"  said  Jim,  still  standing  on  the 
side- walk  with  contracted  brows. 

"  Well,  what  shall  we  do  next  ? "  I  asked. 

"The  natural  thing  would  be  to  rush  the  schooner," 
he  replied.  "But  I  don't  know.  I  telephoned  the 
captain  to  go  at  it  head  down  and  heels  in  air ;  he 
answered  like  a  little  man ;  and  I  guess  he's  getting 
around.  I  believe,  Loudon,  we'll  give  Trent  a 
chance.  Trent  was  in  it;  he  was  in  it  up  to  the 
neck ;  even  if  he  couldn't  buy,  he  could  give  us  the 
straight  tip." 

"  I  think  so,  too,"  said  I.  "  Where  shall  we  find 
him?" 

"  British  consulate  of  course,"  said  Jim.  "  And 
that's  another  reason  for  taking  him  first.  We  can 
hustle  that  schooner  up  all  evening ;  but  when  the 
consulate's  shut,  it's  shut." 

At  the  consulate  we  learned  that  Captain  Trent 
had  alighted  (such  is,  I  believe,  the  classic  phrase)  at 
the  What  Cheer  House.  To  that  large  and  unaristo- 
cratic  hostelry  we  drove,  and  addressed  ourselves  to  a 
large  clerk,  who  was  chewing  a  toothpick  and  looking 
straight  before  him. 

"  Captain  Jacob  Trent  ? " 

"  Gone,"  said  the  clerk. 

"  Where  has  he  gone  ? "  asked  Pinkerton. 

"  Cain't  say,"  said  the  clerk. 

"  When  did  he  go  ? "  I  asked. 
L  2 


164  THE  WRECKER. 

"  Don't  know,"  said  the  clerk,  and  with  the  sim- 
plicity of  a  monarch  offered  us  the  spectacle  of  his 
broad  back. 

What  might  have  happened  next  I  dread  to 
picture,  for  Pmkerton's  excitement  had  been  growing 
steadily,  and  now  burned  dangerously  high ;  but  we 
were  spared  extremities  by  the  intervention  of  a  second 
clerk. 

"  Why,  Mr.  Dodd ! "  he  exclaimed,  running  forward 
to  the  counter.  "Glad  to  see  you,  sir!  Can  I  do 
anything  in  your  way  ?  " 

How  virtuous  actions  blossom  !  Here  was  a  young 
man  to  whose  pleased  ears  I  had  rehearsed  "Just 
before  the  Battle,  Mother,"  at  some  weekly  picnic  ; 
and  now,  in  that  tense  moment  of  my  life,  he  came 
(from  the  machine)  to  be  my  helper. 

"  Captain  Trent  of  the  wreck  ?  Oh  yes,  Mr.  Dodd ; 
he  left  about  twelve ;  he  and  another  of  the  men.  The 
Kanaka  went  earlier,  by  the  City  of  Pekin ;  I  know 
that;  I  remember  expressing  his  chest.  Captain 
Trent?  I'll  inquire,  Mr.  Dodd.  Yes,  they  were  all 
here.  Here  are  the  names  on  the  register ;  perhaps 
you  would  care  to  look  at  them  while  I  go  and  see 
about  the  baggage  ? " 

I  drew  the  book  toward  me,  and  stood  looking  at 
the  four  names,  all  written  in  the  same  hand — rather  a 
big,  and  rather  a  bad  one :  Trent,  Brown,  Hardy,  and 
(instead  of  Ah  Sing)  Jos.  Amalu. 

"Pinkerton,"  said  I,  suddenly,  "have  you  that 
Occidental  in  your  pocket  ? " 

"Never  left  me,"  said  Pinkerton,  producing  the 
paper. 

I  turned  to  the  account  of  the  wreck. 

"  Here,"  said  I,  "here's  the  name.  '  Elias  Godde- 
daal,  mate.'  Why  do  we  never  come  across  Elias 
Goddedaal?" 

"  That's  so,"  said  Jim.  "  Was  he  with  the  rest  in 
that  saloon  when  you  saw  them  ? M 


IN  WHICH   THE   CREW  VANISH.  1G5 

"  I  don't  believe  it,"  said  I.  "  They  were  only- 
four,  and  there  was  none  that  behaved  like  a 
mate." 

At  this  moment  the  clerk  returned  with  his  re- 
port. 

"  The  captain/'  it  appeared,  "  came  with  some  kind 
of  an  express  wagon,  and  he  and  the  man  took  off 
three  chests  and  a  big  satchel.  Our  porter  helped 
to  put  them  on,  but  they  drove  the  cart  themselves. 
The  porter  thinks  they  went  down  town.  It  was 
about  one." 

"Still  in  time  for  the  City  of  Pelcin"  observed 
Jim. 

"  How  many  of  them  were  here  ? "  I  inquired. 

"  Three,  sir,  and  the  Kanaka,"  replied  the  clerk. 
"  I  can't  somehow  find  out  about  the  third,  but  he's 
gone  too." 

"  Mr.  Goddedaal,  the  mate,  wasn't  here  then  ? "  I 
asked. 

"  No,  Mr.  Dodd,  none  but  what  you  see,"  says  the 
clerk. 

"  Nor  you  never  heard  where  he  was  ? " 

"No.  Any  particular  reason  for  finding  these 
men,  Mr.  Dodd  ? "  inquired  the  clerk. 

"  This  gentleman  and  I  have  bought  the  wreck,"  I 
explained ;  "  we  wished  to  get  some  information,  and 
it  is  very  annoying  to  find  the  men  all  gone." 

A  certain  group  had  gradually  formed  about  us, 
for  the  wreck  was  still  a  matter  of  interest ;  and  at 
this,  one  of  the  bystanders,  a  rough  seafaring  man, 
spoke  suddenly. 

"  I  guess  the  mate  won't  be  gone,"  said  he.  "  He's 
main  sick ;  never  left  the  sick-bay  aboard  the 
Tempest;  so  they  tell  me." 

Jim  took  me  by  the  sleeve.  "  Back  to  the  con- 
sulate," said  he. 

But  even  at  the  consulate  nothing  was  known  of 
Mr.   Goddedaal.     The  doctor    of   the    Tempest  had 


166  THE   WRECKER. 

certified  him  very  sick;  he  had  sent  his  papers  in, 
but  never  appeared  in  person  before  the  authorities. 

"  Have  you  a  telephone  laid  on  to  the  Tempest  ?  " 
asked  Pinkerton. 

"  Laid  on  yesterday,"  said  the  clerk. 

"  Do  you  mind  asking,  or  letting  me  ask  ?  We  are 
very  anxious  to  get  hold  of  Mr.  Goddedaal." 

"All  right,"  said  the  clerk,  and  turned  to  the 
telephone.  "  I'm  sorry,"  he  said  presently,  "  Mr. 
Goddedaal  has  left  the  ship,  and  no  one  knows 
where  he  is." 

"  Do  you  pay  the  men's  passage  home  ? "  I  in- 
quired, a  sudden  thought  striking  me. 

"If  they  want  it,"  said  the  clerk;  "sometimes 
they  don't.  But  we  paid  the  Kanaka's  passage  to 
Honolulu  this  morning ;  and  by  what  Captain  Trent 
was  saying,  I  understand  the  rest  are  going  home 
together." 

"  Then  you  haven't  paid  them  ? "  said  I. 

"  Not  yet,"  said  the  clerk. 

"And  you  would  be  a  good  deal  surprised  if 
I  were  to  tell  you  they  were  gone  already?"  I 
asked. 

"  Oh,  I  should  think  you  were  mistaken,"  said  he. 

"  Such  is  the  fact,  however,"  said  I. 

"  I  am  sure  you  must  be  mistaken,"  he  repeated. 

"  May  I  use  your  telephone  one  moment  ? "  asked 
Pinkerton;  and  as  soon  as  permission  had  been 
granted,  I  heard  him  ring  up  the  printing-office 
where  our  advertisements  were  usually  handled. 
More  I  did  not  hear,  for,  suddenly  recalling  the  big 
bad  hand  in  the  register  of  the  What  Cheer  House,  I 
asked  the  consulate  clerk  if  he  had  a  specimen  of 
Captain  Trent's  writing.  Whereupon  I  learned  that 
the  captain  could  not  write,  having  cut  his  hand  open 
a  little  before  the  loss  of  the  brig ;  that  the  latter  part 
of  the  log  even  had  been  written  up  by  Mr.  Goddedaal ; 
and  that  Trent  had  always  signed  with  his  left  hand. 


IN   WHICH   THE    CREW   VANISH.  167 

By  the  time  I  had  gleaned  this  information  Pinkerton 
was  ready. 

"  That's  all  that  we  can  do.  Now  for  the 
schooner,"  said  he ;  "  and  by  to-morrow  evening  I  lay 
hands  on  Goddedaal,  or  my  name's  not  Pinkerton." 

"  How  have  you  managed  ? "  I  inquired. 

"  You'll  see  before  you  get  to  bed,"  said  Pinkerton, 
"  And  now,  after  all  this  backwarding  and  forwarding, 
and  that  hotel  clerk,  and  that  bug  JBellairs,  it'll  be  a 
change  and  a  kind  of  consolation  to  see  the  schooner. 
I  guess  things  are  humming  there." 

But  on  the  wharf,  when  we  reached  it,  there  was 
no  sign  of  bustle,  and,  but  for  the  galley  smoke,  no 
mark  of  life  on  the  Norah  Creina.  Pinkerton' s  face 
grew  pale  and  his  mouth  straightened  as  he  leaped 
on  board. 

"  Where's  the  captain  of  this ? "  and  he  left 

the  phrase  unfinished,  finding  no  epithet  sufficiently 
energetic  for  his  thoughts. 

It  did  not  appear  whom  or  what  he  was  address- 
ing ;  but  a  head,  presumably  the  cook's,  appeared  in 
answer  at  the  galley  door. 

"  In  the  cabin,  at  dinner,"  said  the  cook  deliber- 
ately, chewing  as  he  spoke. 

"  Is  that  cargo  out  ? " 

"  No,  sir." 

"None  of  it?" 

"  Oh,  there's  some  of  it  out.  We'll  get  at  the  rest 
of  it  livelier  to-morrow,  I  guess." 

"  I  guess  there'll  be  something  broken  first,"  said 
Pinkerton,  and  strode  to  the  cabin. 

Here  we  found  a  man,  fat,  dark,  and  quiet,  seated 
gravely  at  what  seemed  a  liberal  meal.  He  looked 
up  upon  our  entrance ;  and  seeing  Pinkerton  continue 
to  stand  facing  him  in  silence,  hat  on  head,  arms 
folded,  and  lips  compressed,  an  expression  of  mingled 
wonder  and  annoyance  began  to  dawn  upon  his  placid 
face. 


168  THE   WRECKER. 

"  Well ! "  said  Jim ;  "  and  so  this  is  what  you  call 
rushing  around?" 

"  Who  are  you  ? "  cries  the  captain. 

"  Me  !  I'm  Pinkerton ! "  retorted  Jim,  as  though 
the  name  had  been  a  talisman. 

"  You're  not  very  civil,  whoever  you  are,"  was  the 
reply.  But  still  a  certain  effect  had  been  produced, 
for  he  scrambled  to  his  feet,  and  added  hastily,  "  A  man 
must  have  a  bit  of  dinner,  you  know,  Mr.  Pinkerton." 

"  Where's  your  mate  ? "  snapped  Jim. 

"  He's  up  town,"  returned  trie  other. 

"  Up  town ! "  sneered  Pinkerton.  "  Now  I'll  tell 
you  what  you  are — you're  a  Fraud ;  and  if  I  wasn't 
afraid  of  dirtying  my  boot,  I  would  kick  you  and  your 
dinner  into  that  dock." 

"  I'll  tell  you  something,  too,"  retorted  the  captain, 
duskily  flushing.  "  I  wouldn't  sail  this  ship  for  the 
man  you  are,  if  you  went  upon  your  knees.  I've 
dealt  with  gentlemen  up  to  now." 

"  I  can  tell  you  the  names  of  a  number  of  gentle- 
men you'll  never  deal  with  any  more,  and  that's  the 
whole  of  Longhurst's  gang,"  said  Jim.  "  I'll  put  your 
pipe  out  in  that  quarter,  my  friend.  Here,  rout  out 
your  traps  as  quick  as  look  at  it,  and  take  your 
vermin  along  with  you.  I'll  have  a  captain  in,  this 
very  night,  that's  a  sailor,  and  some  sailors  to  work 
for  him." 

"  I'll  go  when  I  please,  and  that's  to-morrow 
morning,"  cried  the  captain  after  us,  as  we  departed 
for  the  shore. 

"  There's  something  gone  wrong  with  the  world 
to-day ;  it  must  have  come  bottom  up  ! "  wailed  Pink- 
erton. "  Bellairs,  and  then  the  hotel  clerk,  and  now 
this  Fraud!  And  what  am  I  to  do  for  a  captain, 
Loudon,  with  Longhurst  gone  home  an  hour  ago  and 
the  boys  all  scattered  ? " 

"I  know,"  said  I ;  "jump  in!"  And  then  to  the 
driver  :  "  Do  you  know  Black  Tom's  ? " 


IN   WHICH   THE   CREW   VANISH.  169 

Thither  then  we  rattled,  passed  through  the  har, 
and  found  (as  I  had  hoped)  Johnson  in  the  enjoy- 
ment of  club  life.  The  table  had  been  thrust  upon 
one  side;  a  South  Sea  merchant  was  discoursing 
music  from  a  mouth-organ  in  one  corner ;  and  in  the 
middle  of  the  floor  Johnson  and  a  fellow-seaman, 
their  arms  clasped  about  each  other's  bodies,  some- 
what heavily  danced.  The  room  was  both  cold  and 
close ;  a  jet  of  gas,  which  continually  menaced  the 
heads  of  the  performers,  shed  a  coarse  illumination ; 
the  mouth-organ  sounded  shrill  and  dismal ;  and  the 
faces  of  all  concerned  were  church-like  in  their 
gravity.  It  were,  of  course,  indelicate  to  interrupt  these 
solemn  frolics ;  so  we  edged  ourselves  to  chairs,  for  all 
the  world  like  belated  comers  in  a  concert-room,  and 
patiently  waited  for  the  end.  At  length  the  organist, 
having  exhausted  his  supply  of  breath,  ceased  ab- 
ruptly in  the  middle  of  a  bar.  With  the  cessation  of 
the  strain  the  dancers  likewise  came  to  a  full  stop, 
swayed  a  moment,  still  embracing,  and  then  separ- 
ated, and  looked  about  the  circle  for  applause. 

"  Very  well  danced ! "  said  one ;  but  it  appears  the 
compliment  was  not  strong  enough  for  the  performers, 
who  (forgetful  of  the  proverb)  took  up  the  tale  in 
person. 

"  Well,"  said  Johnson,  "  I  mayn't  be  no  sailor,  but 
I  can  dance ! " 

And  his  late  partner,  with  an  almost  pathetic 
conviction,  added,  "  My  foot  is  as  light  as  a 
feather." 

Seeing  how  the  wind  set,  you  may  be  sure  I  added 
a  few  words  of  praise  before  I  carried  Johnson  alone 
into  the  passage :  to  whom,  thus  mollified,  I  told  so 
much  as  I  judged  needful  of  our  situation,  and  begged 
him,  if  he  would  not  take  the  job  himself,  to  find  me 
a  smart  man. 

"  Me  ! "  he  cried ;  "  I  couldn't  no  more  do  it  than 
I  could  try  to  go  to  hell !  " 


170  THE   WRECKER. 

"  I  thought  you  were  a  mate  ? "  said  I. 

"So  I  am  a  mate,"  giggled  Johnson,  "and  you 
don't  catch  me  shipping  noways  else.  But  I'll  tell 
you  what ;  I  believe  I  can  get  you  Arty  Nares.  You 
seen  Arty ;  first-rate  navigator,  and  a  son  of  a  gun  for 
style."  And  he  proceeded  to  explain  to  me  that  Mr. 
Nares,  who  had  the  promise  of  a  fine  barque  in  six 
months,  after  things  had  quieted  down,  was  in  the 
meantime  living  very  private,  and  would  be  pleased  to 
have  a  change  of  air. 

I  called  out  Pinkerton  and  told  him.  "  Nares ! " 
he  cried,  as  soon  as  I  had  come  to  the  name,  "I 
would  jump  at  the  chance  of  a  man  that  had  had 
Nares's  trousers  on  !  Why,  Loudon,  he's  the  smartest 
deep-water  mate  out  of  San  Francisco,  and  draws  his 
dividends  regular  in  service  and  out."  This  hearty 
indorsation  clinched  the  proposal ;  Johnson  agreed  to 
produce  Nares  before  six  the  following  morning ;  and 
Black  Tom,  being  called  into  the  consultation,  pro- 
mised us  four  smart  hands  for  the  same  hour,  and 
even  (what  appeared  to  all  of  us  excessive)  promised 
them  sober. 

The  streets  were  fully  lighted  when  we  left  Black 
Tom's  :  street  after  street  sparkling  with  gas  or  elec- 
tricity, line  after  line  of  distant  luminaries  climbing 
the  steep  sides  of  hills  towards  the  overvaulting  dark- 
ness ;  and  on  the  other  hand,  where  the  waters  of  the 
bay  invisibly  trembled,  a  hundred  riding  lanterns 
marked  the  position  of  a  hundred  ships.  The  sea-fog 
flew  high  in  heaven ;  and  at  the  level  of  man's  life 
and  business  it  was  clear  and  chill.  By  silent  consent 
we  paid  the  hack  off,  and  proceeded  arm-in-arm 
towards  the  '  Poodle  Dog '  for  dinner. 

At  one  of  the  first  hoardings  I  was  aware 
of  a  bill-sticker  at  work:  it  was  a  late  hour  for 
this  employment,  and  I  checked  Pinkerton  until 
the  sheet  should  be  unfolded.  This  is  what  I 
read : — 


IN   WHICH   THE   CREW   VANISH.  171 

TWO    HUNDRED   DOLLARS    REWARD. 


OFFICERS   AND   MEN   OF  THE 


WRECKED  BRIG  "FLYING  SCUD" 

APPLYING, 

PERSONALLY  OR   BY  LETTER, 

AT  THE  OFFICE  OF  JAMES  PINKERTON,    MONTANA   BLOCK, 

BEFORE      NOON     TO-MORROW,     TUESDAY,     12TH, 

WILL  RECEIVE 

TWO   HUNDRED   DOLLARS  REWARD. 

"  This  is  your  idea,  Pinkerton  ! "  I  cried. 

"Yes.  They've  lost  no  time;  I'll  say  that  for 
them — not  like  the  Fraud,"  said  he.  "  But  mind  you, 
Loudon,  that's  not  half  of  it.  The  cream  of  the  idea's 
here :  we  know  our  man's  sick ;  well,  a  copy  of  that 
has  been  mailed  to  every  hospital,  every  doctor,  and 
every  drug-store  in  San  Francisco." 

Of  course,  from  the  nature  of  our  business,  Pinker- 
ton  could  do  a  thing  of  the  kind  at  a  figure  extremely 
reduced;  for  all  that, I  was  appalled  at  the  extravagance, 
and  said  so. 

"What  matter  a  few  dollars  now?"  he  replied 
sadly ;  "  it's  in  three  months  that  the  pull  comes, 
Loudon." 

We  walked  on  again  in  silence,  not  without  a 
shiver.  Even  at  the  '  Poodle  Dog '  we  took  our  food 
with  small  appetite  and  less  speech ;  and  it  was  not 
until  he  was  warmed  with  a  third  glass  of  champagne 
that  Pinkerton  cleared  his  throat  and  looked  upon  me 
with  a  deprecating  eye. 

"Loudon,"  said  he,  "  there  was  a  subject  you  didn't 
wish  to  be  referred  to.  I  only  want  to  do  so  indirectly. 
It  wasn't " — he  faltered — "  it  wasn't  because  you  were 
dissatisfied  with  me  ? "  he  concluded,  with  a  quaver. 


172  THE   WRECKER. 

"Pinkerton!"  cried  I. 

"No,  no,  not  a  word  just  now,"  he  hastened  to 
proceed ;  "  let  me  speak  first.  I  appreciate,  though  I 
can't  imitate,  the  delicacy  of  your  nature ;  and  I  can 
well  understand  you  would  rather  die  than  speak  of  it, 
and  yet  might  feel  disappointed.  I  did  think  I  could 
have  done  better  myself.  But  when  I  found  how  tight 
money  was  in  this  city,  and  a  man  like  Douglas  B. 
Longhurst — a  forty-niner,  the  man  that  stood  at  bay 
in  a  corn  patch  for  five  hours  against  the  San  Diablo 
squatters — weakening  on  the  operation,  I  tell  you, 
Loudon,  I  began  to  despair ;  and — I  may  have  made 
mistakes,  no  doubt  there  are  thousands  who  could 
have  done  better — but  I  give  you  a  loyal  hand  on  it, 
I  did  my  best." 

"  My  poor  Jim,"  said  I,  "  as  if  I  ever  doubted  you ! 
as  if  I  didn't  know  you  had  done  wonders  !  All  day 
I've  been  admiring  your  energy  and  resource.  And  as 
for  that  affair " 

"  No,  Loudon,  no  more — not  a  word  more !  I  don't 
want  to  hear,"  cried  Jim. 

"  Well,  to  tell  you  the  truth,  I  don't  want  to  tell 
you,"  said  I ;  "  for  it's  a  thing  I'm  ashamed  of." 

"Ashamed,  Loudon?  Oh,  don't  say  that;  don't 
use  such  an  expression,  even  in  jest ! "  protested 
Pinkerton. 

"  Do  you  never  do  anything  you're  ashamed  of  ? " 
I  inquired. 

"  No,"  says  he,  rolling  his  eyes ;  "  why  ?  I'm  some- 
times sorry  afterwards,  when  it  pans  out  different  from 
what  I  figured.  But  I  can't  see  what  I  would  want  to 
be  ashamed  for." 

I  sat  awhile  considering  with  admiration  the 
simplicity  of  my  friend's  character.  Then  I  sighed. 
"  Do  you  know,  Jim,  what  I'm  sorriest  for  ? "  said  I. 
"  At  this  rate  I  can't  be  best  man  at  your  marriage." 

"  My  marriage ! "  he  repeated,  echoing  the  sigh. 
"  No  marriage  for  me  now.     I'm  going  right  down  to- 


IN   WHICH   THE   CREW   VANISH.  173 

night  to  break  it  to  her.  I  think  that's  what's  shaken 
me  all  day.  I  feel  as  if  I  had  had  no  right  (after  I 
was  engaged)  to  operate  so  widely." 

"  Well,  you  know,  Jim,  it  was  my  doing,  and  you 
must  lay  the  blame  on  me,"  said  I. 

"  Not  a  cent  of  it !  "  he  cried.  "  I  was  as  eager  as 
yourself,  only  not  so  bright  at  the  beginning.  No ; 
I've  myself  to  thank  for  it ;  but  it's  a  wrench." 

While  Jim  departed  on  his  dolorous  mission,  I 
returned  alone  to  the  office,  lit  the  gas,  and  sat  down 
to  reflect  on  the  events  of  that  momentous  day :  on 
the  strange  features  of  the  tale  that  had  been  so  far 
unfolded,  the  disappearances,  the  terrors,  the  great 
sums  of  money ;  and  on  the  dangerous  and  ungrateful 
task  that  awaited  me  in  the  immediate  future. 

It  is  difficult,  in  the  retrospect  of  such  affairs,  to 
avoid  attributing  to  ourselves  m  the  past  a  measure 
of  the  knowledge  we  possess  to-day.  But  I  may  say, 
and  yet  be  well  within  the  mark,  that  I  was  consumed 
that  night  with  a  fever  of  suspicion  and  curiosity; 
exhausted  my  fancy  in  solutions,  which  I  still  dis- 
missed as  incommensurable  with  the  facts ;  and  in  the 
mystery  by  which  I  saw  myself  surrounded,  found  a 
precious  stimulus  for  my  courage  and  a  convenient 
soothing  draught  for  conscience.  Even  had  all  been 
plain  sailing,  I  do  not  hint  that  I  should  have  drawn 
back.  Smuggling  is  one  of  the  meanest  of  crimes, 
for  by  that  we  rob  a  whole  country  pro  rata,  and  are 
therefore  certain  to  impoverish  the  poor :  to  smuggle 
opium  is  an  offence  particularly  dark,  since  it  stands 
related — not  so  much  to  murder,  as  to  massacre. 
Upon  all  these  points  I  was  quite  clear ;  my  sympathy 
was  all  in  arms  against  my  interest ;  and  had  not  Jim 
been  involved,  I  could  have  dwelt  almost  with  satis- 
faction on  the  idea  of  my  failure.  But  Jim,  his  whole 
fortune,  and  his  marriage  depended  upon  my  success ; 
and  I  preferred  the  interests  of  my  friend  before  those  of 
all  the  islanders  in  the  South  Seas.     This  is  a  poor, 


174  THE    WRECKER, 

private  morality,  if  you  like  ;  but  it  is  mine,  and  the 
best  I  have ;  and  I  am  not  half  so  much  ashamed  of 
having  embarked  at  all  on  this  adventure,  as  I  am 
proud  that  (while  I  was  in  it,  and  for  the  sake  of  my 
friend)  I  was  up  early  and  down  late,  set  my  own  hand 
to  everything,  took  dangers  as  they  came,  and  for  once 
in  my  life  played  the  man  throughout.  At  the  same 
time  I  could  have  desired  another  field  of  energy; 
and  I  was  the  more  grateful  for  the  redeeming  element 
of  mystery.  Without  that,  though  I  might  have  gone 
ahead  and  done  as  well,  it  would  scarce  have  been 
with  ardour ;  and  what  inspired  me  that  night  with 
an  impatient  greed  of  the  sea,  the  island,  and  the 
wreck,  was  the  hope  that  I  might  stumble  there  upon 
the  answer  to  a  hundred  questions,  and  learn  why 
Captain  Trent  fanned  his  red  face  in  the  exchange, 
and  why  Mr.  Dickson  fled  from  the  telephone  in  the 
Mission  Street  lodging-house. 


CHAPTER  XL 

IN  WHICH  JIM   AND   I   TAKE   DIFFERENT  WAYS. 

I  was  unhappy  when  I  closed  my  eyes  ;  and  it  was  to 
unhappiness  that  I  opened  them  again  next  morning,  to 
a  confused  sense  of  some  calamity  still  inarticulate,  and 
to  the  consciousness  of  jaded  limbs  and  of  a  swimming 
head.  I  must  have  lain  for  some  time  inert  and 
stupidly  miserable  before  I  became  aware  of  a  re- 
iterated knocking  at  the  door  ;  with  which  discovery 
all  my  wits  flowed  back  in  their  accustomed  channels, 
and  I  remembered  the  sale  and  the  wreck,  and 
Goddedaal  and  Nares,  and  Johnson  and  Black  Torn, 
and  the  troubles  of  yesterday  and  the  manifold  en- 
gagements of  the  day  that  was  to  come.  The  thought 
thrilled  me  like  a  trumpet  in  the  hour  of  battle.  In  a 
moment  I  had  leaped  from  bed,  crossed   the   office 


IN  WHICH  JIM  AND  I  TAKE  DIFFERENT  WAYS.       175 

where  Pinkerton  lay  in  a  deep  trance  of  sleep  on  the 
convertible  sofa,  and  stood  in  the  doorway,  in  my 
night  gear,  to  receive  our  visitors. 

Johnson  was  first,  by  way  of  usher,  smiling. 
From  a  little  behind,  with  his  Sunday  hat  tilted  forward 
over  his  brow  and  a  cigar  glowing  between  his  lips, 
Captain  Nares  acknowledged  our  previous  acquaint- 
ance with  a  succinct  nod.  Behind  him  again,  in  the  top 
of  the  stairway,  a  knot  of  sailors,  the  new  crew  of  the 
Norah  Greina,  stood  polishing  the  wall  with  back  and 
elbow.  These  I  left  without  to  their  reflections.  But 
our  two  officers  I  carried  at  once  into  the  office,  where 
(taking  Jim  by  the  shoulder)  I  shook  him  slowly  into 
consciousness.  He  sat  up,  all  abroad  for  the  moment, 
and  stared  on  the  new  captain. 

"  Jim,"  said  I, "  this  is  Captain  Nares.  Captain,  Mr. 
Pinkerton." 

Nares  repeated  his  curt  nod,  still  without  speech ; 
and  I  thought  he  held  us  both  under  a  watchful 
scrutiny. 

"  Oh  ! "  says  Jim,  "  this  is  Captain  Nares,  is  it  ? 
Good-morning,  Captain  Nares.      Happy  to  have  the 

Eleasure  of  your  acquaintance,  sir.  I  know  you  well 
y  reputation." 

Perhaps,  under  the  circumstances  of  the  moment, 
this  was  scarce  a  welcome  speech.  At  least,  Nares 
received  it  with  a  grunt. 

"  Well,  Captain,"  Jim  continued,  "  you  know  about 
the  size  of  the  business  ?  You're  to  take  the  Norah 
Greina  to  Midway  Island,  break  up  a  wreck,  call  at 
Honolulu,  and  back  to  this  port  ?  I  suppose  that's 
understood  ? " 

"  Well,"  returned  Nares,  with  the  same  unamiable 
reserve,  "  for  a  reason,  which  I  guess  you  know,  the 
cruise  may  suit  me ;  but  there's  a  point  or  two  to 
settle.  We  shall  have  to  talk,  Mr.  Pinkerton.  But 
whether  I  go  or  not,  somebody  will.  There's  no  sense 
in  losing  time  ;  and  you  might  give  Mr.  Johnson  a  note, 


176  THE  WRECKER. 

let  him  take  the  hands  right  down,  and  set  to  to 
overhaul  the  rigging.  The  beasts  look  sober,"  he 
added,  with  an  air  of  great  disgust,  "  and  need  putting 
to  work  to  keep  them  so." 

This  being  agreed  upon,  Nares  watched  his  sub- 
ordinate depart,  and  drew  a  visible  breath. 

"And  now  we're  alone  and  can  talk,"  said  he. 
"  What's  this  thing  about  ?  It's  been  advertised  like 
Barnum's  museum  ;  that  poster  of  yours  has  set  the 
Front  talking.  That's  an  objection  in  itself,  for  I'm 
laying  a  little  dark  just  now ;  and,  anyway,  before  I 
take  the  ship,  I  require  to  know  what  I'm  going 
after." 

Thereupon  Pinkerton  gave  him  the  whole  tale,  be- 
ginning with  a  business-like  precision,  and  working  him- 
self up,  as  he  went  on,  to  the  boiling-point  of  narrative 
enthusiasm.  Nares  sat  and  smoked,  hat  still  on  head, 
and  acknowledged  each  fresh  feature  of  the  story  with 
a  frowning  nod.  But  his  pale  blue  eyes  betrayed  him, 
and  lighted  visibly. 

"  Now  you  see  for  yourself,"  Pinkerton  concluded ; 
"  there's  every  last  chance  that  Trent  has  skipped  to 
Honolulu,  and  it  won't  take  much  of  that  fifty  thou- 
sand dollars  to  charter  a  smart  schooner  down  to 
Midway.  Here's  where  I  want  a  man ! "  cried  Jim, 
with  contagious  energy.  "  That  wreck's  mine ;  I've 
paid  for  it,  money  down ;  and  if  it's  got  to  be  fought  for, 
I  want  to  see  it  fought  for  lively.  If  you're  not  back 
in  ninety  days,  I  tell  you  plainly  I'll  make  one  of  the 
biggest  busts  ever  seen  upon  this  coast.  It's  life  or 
death  for  Mr.  Dodd  and  me.  As  like  as  not  it'll  come 
to  grapples  on  the  island  ;  and  when  I  heard  your 
name  last  night — and  a  blame'  sight  more  this  morn- 
ing when  I  saw  the  eye  you've  got  in  your  head — I 
said,  '  Nares  is  good  enough  for  me ! ' '; 

"  I  guess,"  observed  Nares,  studying  the  ash  of  his 
cigar,  "  the  sooner  I  get  that  schooner  outside  the 
Farallones  the  better  you'll  be  pleased." 


IN  WHICH  JIM  AND  I  TAKE  DIFFERENT  WAYS.       177 

"You're  the  man  I  dreamed  of!"  cried  Jim, 
bouncing  on  the  bed.  "  There's  not  five  per  cent,  of 
fraud  in  all  your  carcase." 

"Just  hold  on/'  said  Nares.  "There's  another 
point.     I  heard  some  talk  about  a  supercargo." 

"  That's  Mr.  Dodd  here,  my  partner,"  said  Jim. 

"  I  don't  see  it,"  returned  the  captain,  drily.  "  One 
captain's  enough  for  any  ship  that  ever  I  was 
aboard." 

"Now  don't  you  start  disappointing  me,"  said 
Pinkerton,  "  for  you're  talking  without  thought.  I'm 
not  going  to  give  you  the  run  of  the  books  of  this 
firm,  am  I  ?  I  guess  not.  Well,  this  is  not  only  a 
cruise,  it's  a  business  operation,  and  that's  in  the  hands 
of  my  partner.  You  sail  that  ship,  you  see  to  breaking 
up  that  wreck  and  keeping  the  men  upon  the  jump, 
and  you'll  find  your  hands  about  full.  Only,  no  mis- 
take about  one  thing ;  it  has  to  be  done  to  Mr.  Dodd's 
satisfaction,  for  it's  Mr.  Dodd  that's  paying."  - 

"I'm  accustomed  to  give  satisfaction,"  said  Mr. 
Nares,  with  a  dark  flush. 

"  And  so  you  will  here ! "  cried  Pinkerton.  "  I 
understand  you.  You're  prickly  to  handle,  but  you're 
straight  all  through." 

"The  position's  got  to  be  understood,  though," 
returned  Nares,  perhaps  a  trifle  mollified.  "  My 
position,  I  mean.  I'm  not  going  to  ship  sailing- 
master;  it's  enough  out  of  my  way  already,  to  set 
a  foot  on  this  mosquito  schooner." 

"Well,  I'll  tell  you,"  retorted  Jim,  with  an  in- 
describable twinkle :  "  you  just  meet  me  on  the 
ballast,  and  we'll  make  it  a  barquentine." 

Nares  laughed  a  little;  tactless  Pinkerton  had 
once  more  gained  a  victory  in  tact.  "Then  there's 
another  point,"  resumed  the  captain,  tacitly  relin- 
quishing the  last.     "How  about  the  owners?" 

"  Oh,  you  leave  that  to  me ;  I'm  one  of  Longhurst's 
crowd,  you  know,"  said  Jim,  with  sudden  bristling 
M 


178  THE   WRECKER. 

vanity.  "  Any  man  that's  good  enough  for  me,  is 
good  enough  for  them." 

"  Who  are  they  ? "  asked  Nares. 

"  M'Intyre  and  Spittal,"  said  Jim. 

"Oh  well,  give  me  a  card  of  yours,"  said  the 
captain ;  "  you  needn't  bother  to  write ;  I  keep 
M'Intyre  and  Spittal  in  my  vest-pocket." 

Boast  for  boast;  it  was  always  thus  with  Nares 
and  Pinkerton — the  two  vainest  men  of  my  acquaint- 
ance. And  having  thus  reinstated  himself  in  his  own 
opinion,  the  captain  rose,  and,  with  a  couple  of  his 
stiff  nods,  departed. 

"  Jim,"  I  cried,  as  the  door  closed  behind  him,  "  I 
don't  like  that  man." 

"You've  just  got  to,  Loudon,"  returned  Jim. 
"He's  a  typical  American  seaman — brave  as  a  lion, 
full  of  resource,  and  stands  high  with  his  owners. 
He's  a  man  with  a  record." 

"  For  brutality  at  sea,"  said  I. 

"  Say  what  you  like,"  exclaimed  Pinkerton,  "  it  was 
a  good  hour  we  got  him  in :  I'd  trust  Mamie's  life  to 
him  to-morrow." 

"  Well,  and  talking  of  Mamie  ? "  says  I. 

Jim  paused  with  his  trousers  half  on.  "  She's  the 
gallantest  little  soul  God  ever  made!"  he  cried. 
"  Loudon,  I'd  meant  to  knock  you  up  last  night,  and 
I  hope  you  won't  take  it  unfriendly  that  I  didn't.  I 
went  in  and  looked  at  you  asleep;  and  I  saw  you 
were  all  broken  up,  and  let  you  be.  The  news  would 
keep,  anyway ;  and  even  you,  Loudon,  couldn't  feel  it 
the  same  way  as  I  did." 

"  What  news  ? "  I  asked. 

"It's  this  way,"  says  Jim.  "I  told  her  how  we 
stood,  and  that  I  backed  down  from  marrying.  '  Are 
you  tired  of  me  ? '  says  she :  God  bless  her  !  Well,  I 
explained  the  whole  thing  over  again,  the  chance  of 
smash,  your  absence  unavoidable,  the  point  I  made  of 
having  you  for  the  best  man,  and  that.    '  If  you're 


IN  WHICH  JIM  AND  I  TAKE  DIFFERENT  WAYS.      179 

not  tired  of  me,  I  think  I  see  one  way  to  manage/ 
says  she.  'Let's  get  married  to-morrow,  and  Mr. 
Loudon  can  be  best  man  before  he  goes  to  sea.' 
That's  how  she  said  it,  crisp  and  bright,  like  one  of 
Dickens's  characters.  It  was  no  good  for  me  to  talk 
about  the  smash.  '  You'll  want  me  all  the  more/  she 
said.  Loudon,  I  only  pray  I  can  make  it  up  to  her ; 
I  prayed  for  it  last  night  beside  your  bed,  while  you 
lay  sleeping — for  you,  and  Mamie  and  myself ;  and — I 
don't  know  if  you  quite  believe  in  prayer,  I'm  a  bit 
Ingersollian  myself — but  a  kind  of  sweetness  came 
over  me,  and  I  couldn't  help  but  think  it  was  an 
answer.  Never  was  a  man  so  lucky!  You  and  me 
and  Mamie ;  it's  a  triple  cord,  Loudon.  If  either  of 
you  were  to  die !  And  she  likes  you  so  much,  and 
thinks  you  so  accomplished  and  distingue-looking, 
and  was  just  as  set  as  I  was  to  have  you  for  best  man. 
'  Mr.  Loudon/  she  calls  you ;  seems  to  me  so  friendly ! 
And  she  sat  up  till  three  in  the  morning  fixing  up  a 
costume  for  the  marriage ;  it  did  me  good  to  see  her, 
Loudon,  and  to  see  that  needle  going,  going,  and  to 
say  '  All  this  hurry,  Jim,  is  just  to  marry  you ! '  I 
couldn't  believe  it ;  it  was  so  like  some  blame'  fairy 
story.  To  think  of  those  old  tin-type  times  about 
turned  my  head;  I  was  so  unrefined  then,  and  so 
illiterate,  and  so  lonesome ;  and  here  I  am  in  clover, 
and  I'm  blamed  if  I  can  see  what  I've  done  to 
deserve  it." 

So  he  poured  forth  with  innocent  volubility  the 
fulness  of  his  heart ;  and  I,  from  these  irregular 
communications,  must  pick  out,  here  a  little  and 
there  a  little,  the  particulars  of  his  new  plan.  They 
were  to  be  married,  sure  enough,  that  day;  the 
wedding  breakfast  was  to  be  at  Frank's ;  the  evening 
to  be  passed  in  a  visit  of  God-speed  aboard  the  Novak 
Greina;  and  then  we  were  to  part,  Jim  and  I — he  to 
his  married  life,  I  on  my  sea-enterprise.  If  ever  I 
cherished  an  ill-feeling  for  Miss  Mamie,  I  forgave  her 
m  2 


180  THE   WRECKER. 

now ;  so  brave  and  kind,  so  pretty  and  venturesome, 
was  her  decision.  The  weather  frowned  overhead 
with  a  leaden  sky,  and  San  Francisco  had  never  (in 
all  my  experience)  looked  so  bleak  and  gaunt,  and 
shoddy  and  crazy,  like  a  city  prematurely  old;  but 
through  all  my  wanderings  and  errands  to  and  fro,  by 
the  dockside  or  in  the  jostling  street,  among  rude 
sounds  and  ugly  sights,  there  ran  in  my  mind,  like  a 
tiny  strain  of  music,  the  thought  of  my  friend's 
happiness. 

For  that  was  indeed  a  day  of  many  and  incon- 
gruous occupations.  Breakfast  was  scarce  swallowed 
before  Jim  must  run  to  the  City  Hall  and  Frank's 
about  the  cares  of  marriage,  and  I  hurry  to  John 
Smith's  upon  the  account  of  stores,  and  thence,  on  a 
visit  of  certification,  to  the  Norah  Greina.  Methought 
she  looked  smaller  than  ever,  sundry  great  ships  over- 
spiring  her  from  close  without.  She  was  already  a 
nightmare  of  disorder ;  and  the  wharf  alongside  was 
piled  with  a  world  of  casks  and  cases  and  tins,  and 
tools  and  coils  of  rope,  and  miniature  barrels  of  giant 
powder,  such  as  it  seemed  no  human  ingenuity  could 
stuff  on  board  of  her.  Johnson  was  in  the  waist,  in  a 
red  shirt  and  dungaree  trousers,  his  eye  kindled  with 
activity.  With  him  I  exchanged  a  word  or  two; 
thence  stepped  aft  along  the  narrow  alleyway  between 
the  house  and  the  rail,  and  down  the  companion  to 
the  main  cabin,  where  the  captain  sat  with  the 
commissioner  at  wine. 

I  gazed  with  disaffection  at  the  little  box  which 
for  many  a  day  I  was  to  call  home.  On  the  starboard 
was  a  stateroom  for  the  captain ;  on  the  port  a  pair  of 
frowsy  berths,  one  over  the  other,  and  abutting  astern 
upon  the  side  of  an  unsavoury  cupboard.  The  walls 
were  yellow  and  damp,  the  floor  black  and  greasy ; 
there  was  a  prodigious  litter  of  straw,  old  newspapers, 
and  broken  packing-cases ;  and  by  way  of  ornament, 
only  a  glass   rack,  a  thermometer  presented  "  with 


IN  WHICH  JIM  AND  I  TAKE  DIFFERENT  WAYS.      181 

compliments"  of  some  advertising  whiskey-dealer,  and 
a  swinging  lamp.  It  was  hard  to  foresee  that,  before 
a  week  was  up,  I  should  regard  that  cabin  as  cheerful, 
lightsome,  airy,  and  even  spacious. 

I  was  presented  to  the  commissioner,  and  to  a 
young  friend  of  his  whom  he  had  brought  with  him 
for  the  purpose  (apparently)  of  smoking  cigars ;  and 
after  we  had  pledged  one  another  in  a  glass  of  Cali- 
fornia port,  a  trifle  sweet  and  sticky  for  a  morning 
beverage,  the  functionary  spread  his  papers  on  the 
table,  and  the  hands  were  summoned.  Down  they 
trooped,  accordingly,  into  the  cabin  ;  and  stood  eyeing 
the  ceiling  or  the  floor,  the  picture  of  sheepish  em- 
barrassment, and  with  a  common  air  of  wanting  to 
expectorate  and  not  quite  daring.  In  admirable 
contrast  stood  the  Chinese  cook,  easy,  dignified,  set 
apart  by  spotless  raiment,  the  hidalgo  of  the  seas. 

I  daresay  you  never  had  occasion  to  assist  at  the 
farce  which  followed.  Our  shipping  laws  in  the 
United  States  (thanks  to  the  inimitable  Dana)  are 
conceived  in  a  spirit  of  paternal  stringency,  and 
proceed  throughout  on  the  hypothesis  that  poor  Jack 
is  an  imbecile,  and  the  other  parties  to  the  contract, 
rogues  and  ruffians.  A  long  and  wordy  paper  of 
precautions,  a  fo'c's'le  bill  of  rights,  must  be  read 
separately  to  each  man.  I  had  now  the  benefit  of 
hearing  it  five  times  in  brisk  succession ;  and  you 
would  suppose  I  was  acquainted  with  its  contents. 
But  the  commissioner  (worthy  man)  spends  his  days 
in  doing  little  else ;  and  when  we  bear  in  mind  the 
parallel  case  of  the  irreverent  curate,  we  need  not  be 
surprised  that  he  took  the  passage  tempo  prestissimo, 
in  one  roulade  of  gabble — that  I,  with  the  trained 
attention  of  an  educated  man,  could  gather  but  a 
fraction  of  its  import — and  the  sailors  nothing.  No 
profanity  in  giving  orders,  no  sheath-knives,  Midway 
Island  and  any  other  port  the  master  may  direct,  not 
to  exceed  six  calendar  months,  and  to  this  port  to  be 


182  THE   WRECKER. 

paid  off :  so  it  seemed  to  run,  with  surprising  verbiage ; 
so  ended.  And  with  the  end  the  commissioner,  in 
each  case,  fetched  a  deep  breath,  resumed  his  natural 
voice,  and  proceeded  to  business.  "  Now,  my  man," 
he  would  say,  "you  ship  A.  B.  at  so  many  dollars, 
American  gold  coin.  Sign  your  name  here,  if  you 
have  one,  and  can  write."  Whereupon,  and  the  name 
(with  infinite  hard  breathing)  being  signed,  the  com- 
missioner would  proceed  to  fill  in  the  man's  appearance, 
height,  etc.,  on  the  official  form.  In  this  task  of 
literary  portraiture  he  seemed  to  rely  wholly  upon 
temperament ;  for  I  could  not  perceive  him  to  cast  one 
glance  on  any  of  his  models.  He  was  assisted,  how- 
ever, by  a  running  commentary  from  the  captain: 
"Hair  blue  and  eyes  red,  nose  five  foot  seven,  and 
stature  broken" — jests  as  old,  presumably,  as  the 
American  marine;  and,  like  the  similar  pleasantries 
of  the  billiard  board,  perennially  relished.  The  highest 
note  of  humour  was  reached  in  the  case  of  the  Chinese 
cook,  who  was  shipped  under  the  name  of  "  One 
Lung,"  to  the  sound  of  his  own  protests  and  the  self- 
approving  chuckles  of  the  functionary. 

"  Now,  captain,"  said  the  latter,  when  the  men  were 
gone,  and  he  had  bundled  up  his  papers,  "  the  law 
requires  you  to  carry  a  slop-chest  and  a  chest  of 
medicines." 

"  I  guess  I  know  that,"  said  Nares. 

"  I  guess  you  do,"  returned  the  commissioner,  and 
helped  himself  to  port. 

But  when  he  was  gone,  I  appealed  to  Nares  on  the 
same  subject,  for  I  was  well  aware  we  carried  none  of 
these  provisions. 

"Well,"  drawled  Nares,  "there's  sixty  pounds  of 
niggerhead  on  the  quay,  isn't  there  ?  and  twenty 
pounds  of  salts ;  and  I  never  travel  without  some 
pain-killer  in  my  gripsack." 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  we  were  richer.  The  captain 
had  the  usual  sailor's  provision  of  quack  medicines, 


IN  WHICH  JIM  AND  I  TAKE  DIFFERENT  WAYS.      183 

with  which,  in  the  usual  sailor  fashion,  he  would  daily 
drug  himself,  displaying  an  extreme  inconstancy,  and 
flitting  from  Kennedy's  Ked  Discovery  to  Kennedy's 
White,  and  from  Hood's  Sarsaparilla  to  Mother  Seigel's 
Syrup.  And  there  were,  besides,  some  mildewed  and 
half-empty  bottles,  the  labels  obliterated,  over  which 
Nares  would  sometimes  sniff  and  speculate.  "  Seems 
to  smell  like  diarrhoea  stuff,"  he  would  remark.  "I 
wish't  I  knew,  and  I  would  try  it."  But  the  slop-chest 
was  indeed  represented  by  the  plugs  of  niggerhead, 
and  nothing  else.  Thus  paternal  laws  are  made,  thus 
they  are  evaded ;  and  the  schooner  put  to  sea,  like 
plenty  of  her  neighbours,  liable  to  a  fine  of  six  hundred 
dollars. 

This  characteristic  scene,  which  has  delayed  me 
overlong,  was  but  a  moment  in  that  day  of  exercise 
and  agitation.  To  fit  out  a  schooner  for  sea  and 
improvise  a  marriage  between  dawn  and  dusk,  involves 
heroic  effort.  All  day  Jim  and  I  ran  and  tramped, 
and  laughed  and  came  near  crying,  and  fell  in  sudden 
anxious  consultations,  and  were  sped  (with  a  prepared 
sarcasm  on  our  lips)  to  some  fallacious  milliner,  and 
made  dashes  to  the  schooner  and  John  Smith's,  and 
at  every  second  corner  were  reminded  (by  our  own 
huge  posters)  of  our  desperate  estate.  Between  whiles 
I  had  found  the  time  to  hover  at  some  half  a  dozen 
jewellers'  windows;  and  my  present,  thus  intemper- 
ately  chosen,  was  graciously  accepted.  I  believe, 
indeed,  that  was  the  last  (though  not  the  least)  of  my 
concerns,  before  the  old  minister,  shabby  and  benign, 
was  routed  from  his  house  and  led  to  the  office  like  a 
performing  poodle ;  and  there,  in  the  growing  dusk, 
under  the  cold  glitter  of  Thirteen  Star,  two  hundred 
strong,  and  beside  the  garish  glories  of  the  agricultural 
engine,  Mamie  and  Jim  were  made  one.  The  scene 
was  incongruous,  but  the  business  pretty,  whimsical, 
and  affecting  :  the  typewriters  with  such  kindly  faces 
and  fine  posies,  Mamie  so  demure,  and  Jim — how  shall 


184  THE   WRECKER. 

I  describe  that  poor,  transfigured  Jim  ?  He  began  by 
taking  the  minister  aside  to  the  far  end  of  the  office. 
I  knew  not  what  he  said,  but  I  have  reason  to  believe 
he  was  protesting  his  unfitness,  for  he  wept  as  he  said 
it ;  and  the  old  minister,  himself  genuinely  moved, 
was  heard  to  console  and  encourage  him,  and  at  one 
time  to  use  this  expression :  "  I  assure  you,  Mr. 
Pinkerton,  there  are  not  many  who  can  say  so  much  " — 
from  which  I  gathered  that  my  friend  had  tempered 
his  self-accusations  with  at  least  one  legitimate  boast. 
From  this  ghostly  counselling,  Jim  turned  to  me  ;  and 
though  he  never  got  beyond  the  explosive  utterance 
of  my  name  and  one  fierce  handgrip,  communicated 
some  of  his  own  emotion,  like  a  charge  of  electricity, 
to  his  best  man.  We  stood  up  to  the  ceremony  at 
last,  in  a  general  and  kindly  discomposure.  Jim  was 
all  abroad ;  and  the  divine  himself  betrayed  his 
sympathy  in  voice  and  demeanour,  and  concluded 
with  a  fatherly  allocution,  in  which  he  congratulated 
Mamie  (calling  her  "  my  dear  ")  upon  the  fortune  of 
an  excellent  husband,  and  protested  he  had  rarely 
married  a  more  interesting  couple.  At  this  stage,  like 
a  glory  descending,  there  was  handed  in,  ex  machina, 
the  card  of  Douglas  B.  Longhurst,  with  congratulations 
and  four  dozen  Perrier-Jouet.  A  bottle  was  opened, 
and  the  minister  pledged  the  bride,  and  the  brides- 
maids simpered  and  tasted,  and  I  made  a  speech  with 
airy  bacchanalianism,  glass  in  hand.  But  poor  Jim 
must  leave  the  wine  untasted.  "  Don't  touch  it,"  I 
had  found  the  opportunity  to  whisper  ;  "  in  your  state 
it  will  make  you  as  drunk  as  a  fiddler."  And  Jim  had 
wrung  my  hand  with  a  "  God  bless  you,  Loudon ! — 
saved  me  again  I  " 

Hard  following  upon  this,  the  supper  passed  off 
at  Frank's  with  somewhat  tremulous  gaiety ;  and 
thence,  with  one  half  of  the  Perrier-Jouet — I  would 
accept  no  more — we  voyaged  in  a  hack  to  the  Korah 
Greina. 


IN  WHICH  JIM  AND  I  TAKE  DIFFERENT  WAYS.      185 

"  What  a  dear  little  ship  ! "  cried  Mamie,  as  our 
miniature  craft  was  pointed  out  to  her  ;  and  then,  on 
second  thought,  she  turned  to  the  best  man.  "  And 
how  brave  you  must  be,  Mr.  Dodd,"  she  cried,  "  to  go 
in  that  tiny  thing  so  far  upon  the  ocean ! "  And  I 
perceived  I  had  risen  in  the  lady's  estimation. 

The  "  dear  little  ship  "  presented  a  horrid  picture 
of  confusion,  and  its  occupants  of  weariness  and  ill- 
humour.  From  the  cabin  the  cook  was  storing  tins 
into  the  lazarette,  and  the  four  hands,  sweaty  and 
sullen,  were  passing  them  from  one  to  another  from 
the  waist.  Johnson  was  three  parts  asleep  over  the 
table ;  and  in  his  bunk,  in  his  own  cabin,  the  captain 
sourly  chewed  and  puffed  at  a  cigar. 

"  See  here,"  he  said,  rising ;  "  you'll  be  sorry  you 
came.  We  can't  stop  work  if  we're  to  get  away  to- 
morrow. A  ship  getting  ready  for  sea  is  no  place  for 
people,  anyway.     You'll  only  interrupt  my  men." 

I  was  on  the  point  of  answering  something  tart ; 
but  Jim,  who  was  acquainted  with  the  breed,  as  he 
was  with  most  things  that  had  a  bearing  on  affairs, 
made  haste  to  pour  in  oil. 

"  Captain,"  he  said, "  I  know  we're  a  nuisance  here, 
and  that  you've  had  a  rough  time.  But  all  we  want 
is  that  you  should  drink  one  glass  of  wine  with  us, 
Perrier-Jouet,  from  Longhurst,  on  the  occasion  of  my 
marriage,  and  Loudon's — Mr.  Dodd's — departure." 

"  Well,  it's  your  look-out,"  said  Nares.  "  I  don't 
mind  half  an  hour.  Spell,  oh !  "  he  added  to  the  men ; 
"  go  and  kick  your  heels  for  half  an  hour,  and  then 
you  can  turn  to  again  a  trifle  livelier.  Johnson,  see  if 
you  can't  wipe  off  a  chair  for  the  lady." 

His  tone  was  no  more  gracious  than  his  language ; 
but  when  Mamie  had  turned  upon  him  the  soft  tire 
of  her  eyes,  and  informed  him  that  he  was  the  first 
sea-captain  she  had  ever  met,  "except  captains  of 
steamers,  of  course  " — she  so  qualified  the  statement 
—and  had  expressed  a  lively  sense  of  his  courage,  and 


186  THE   WRECKER. 

perhaps  implied  (for  I  suppose  the  arts  of  ladies  are 
the  same  as  those  of  men)  a  modest  consciousness  of 
his  good  looks,  our  bear  began  insensibly  to  soften ; 
and  it  was  already  part  as  an  apology,  though  still 
with  unaffected  heat  of  temper,  that  he  volunteered 
some  sketch  of  his  annoyances. 

"  A  pretty  mess  we've  had,"  said  he.  "  Half  the 
stores  were  wrong ;  I'll  wring  John  Smith's  neck  for 
him  some  of  these  days.  Then  two  newspaper  beasts 
came  down,  and  tried  to  raise  copy  out  of  me,  till  I 
threatened  them  with  the  first  thing  handy ;  and  then 
some  kind  of  missionary  bug,  wanting  to  work  his 
passage  to  Raiatea  or  somewhere.  I  told  him  I  would 
take  him  off  the  wharf  with  the  butt  end  of  my  boot, 
and  he  went  away  cursing.  This  vessel's  been  depre- 
ciated by  the  look  of  him." 

While  the  captain  spoke,  with  his  strange, 
humorous,  arrogant  abruptness,  I  observed  Jim  to 
be  sizing  him  up,  like  a  thing  at  once  quaint  and 
familiar,  and  with  a  scrutiny  that  was  both  curious 
and  knowing. 

"  One  word,  dear  boy,"  he  said,  turning  suddenly 
to  me.  And  when  he  had  drawn  me  on  deck — "  That 
man,"  says  he,  "  will  carry  sail  till  your  hair  grows 
white ;  but  never  you  let  on — never  breathe  a  word. 
I  know  his  line :  he'll  die  before  he'll  take  advice ;  and 
if  you  get  his  back  up,  he'll  run  you  right  under.  I 
don't  often  jam  in  my  advice,  Loudon ;  and  when  I  do, 
it  means  I'm  thoroughly  posted." 

The  little  party  in  the  cabin,  so  disastrously  begun, 
finished,  under  the  mellowing  influence  of  wine  and 
woman,  in  excellent  feeling  and  with  some  hilarity. 
Mamie,  in  a  plush  Gainsborough  hat  and  a  gown  of 
wine-coloured  silk,  sat,  an  apparent  queen,  among  her 
rude  surroundings  and  companions.  The  dusky  litter 
of  the  cabin  set  off  her  radiant  trimness  :  tarry  John- 
son was  a  foil  to  her  fair  beauty ;  she  glowed  in  that 
poor  place,  fair  as  a  star  ;  until  even  I,  who  was  not 


IN  WHICH  JIM  AND  I  TAKE  DIFFERENT  WAYS.      187 

usually  of  her  admirers,  caught  a  spark  of  admira- 
tion ;  and  even  the  captain,  who  was  in  no  courtly 
humour,  proposed  that  the  scene  should  be  commem- 
orated by  my  pencil.  It  was  the  last  act  of  the 
evening.  Hurriedly  as  I  went  about  my  task,  the 
half-hour  had  lengthened  out  to  more  than  three 
before  it  was  completed :  Mamie  in  full  value,  the 
rest  of  the  party  figuring  in  outline  only,  and  the 
artist  himself  introduced  in  a  back  view,  which  was 
pronounced  a  likeness.  But  it  was  to  Mamie  that  I 
devoted  the  best  of  my  attention ;  and  it  was  with 
her  I  made  my  chief  success. 

"  Oh  ! "  she  cried,  "  am  I  really  like  that  ?  No 
wonder  Jim  ..."  She  paused.  "  Why,  it's  just  as 
lovely  as  he's  good ! "  she  cried :  an  epigram  which 
was  appreciated,  and  repeated  as  we  made  our 
salutations,  and  called  out  after  the  retreating  couple 
as  they  passed  away  under  the  lamplight  on  the 
wharf. 

Thus  it  was  that  our  farewells  were  smuggled 
through  under  an  ambuscade  of  laughter,  and  the 
parting  over  ere  I  knew  it  was  begun.  The  figures 
vanished,  the  steps  died  away  along  the  silent  city 
front;  on  board,  the  men  had  returned  to  their 
labours,  the  captain  to  his  solitary  cigar ;  and  after 
that  long  and  complex  day  of  business  and  emotion, 
I  was  at  last  alone  and  free.  It  was,  perhaps,  chiefly 
fatigue  that  made  my  heart  so  heavy.  I  leaned,  at 
least,  upon  the  house,  and  stared  at  the  foggy  heaven, 
or  over  the  rail  at  the  wavering  reflection  of  the 
lamps,  like  a  man  that  was  quite  done  with  hope  and 
would  have  welcomed  the  asylum  of  the  grave.  And 
all  at  once,  as  I  thus  stood,  the  City  of  Pekin  flashed 
into  my  mind,  racing  her  thirteen  knots  for  Honolulu, 
with  the  hated  Trent — perhaps  with  the  mysterious 
Goddedaal — on  board ;  and  with  the  thought,  the 
blood  leaped  and  careered  through  all  my  body.  It 
seemed  no  chase  at  all ;  it  seemed  we  had  no  chance, 


188  THE   WRECKER. 

as  we  lay  there  bound  to  iron  pillars,  and  fooling 
away  the  precious  moments  over  tins  of  beans.  "  Let 
them  get  there  first ! "  I  thought.  "  Let  them  !  We 
can't  be  long  behind."  And  from  that  moment  I 
date  myself  a  man  of  a  rounded  experience :  nothing 
had  lacked  but  this — that  I  should  entertain  and 
welcome  the  grim  thought  of  bloodshed. 

It  was  long  before  the  toil  remitted  in  the  cabin, 
and  it  was  worth  my  while  to  get  to  bed  ;  long  after 
that,  before  sleep  favoured  me  ;  and  scarce  a  moment 
later  (or  so  it  seemed)  when  I  was  recalled  to  con- 
sciousness by  bawling  men  and  the  jar  of  straining 
hawsers. 

The  schooner  was  cast  off  before  I  got  on  deck. 
In  the  misty  obscurity  of  the  first  dawn  I  saw  the 
tug  heading  us  with  glowing  fires  and  blowing  smoke, 
and  heard  her  beat  the  roughened  waters  of  the  bay. 
Beside  us,  on  her  flock  of  hills,  the  lighted  city 
towered  up  and  stood  swollen  in  the  raw  fog.  It  was 
strange  to  see  her  burn  on  thus  wastefully,  with  half- 
quenched  luminaries,  when  the  dawn  was  already 
grown  strong  enough  to  show  me,  and  to  suffer  me  to 
recognise,  a  solitary  figure  standing  by  the  piles. 

Or  was  it  really  the  eye,  and  not  rather  the  heart, 
that  identified  that  shadow  in  the  dusk,  among  the 
shoreside  lamps  ?  I  know  not.  It  was  Jim,  at  least ; 
Jim,  come  for  a  last  look ;  and  we  had  but  time  to 
wave  a  valedictory  gesture  and  exchange  a  wordless 
cry.  This  was  our  second  parting,  and  our  capacities 
were  now  reversed.  It  was  mine  to  play  the  Argo- 
naut, to  speed  affairs,  to  plan  and  to  accomplish — if 
need  were,  at  the  price  of  life ;  it  was  his  to  sit  at 
home,  to  study  the  calendar,  and  to  wait.  I  knew, 
besides,  another  thing  that  gave  me  joy.  I  knew  that 
my  friend  had  succeeded  in  my  education ;  that  the 
romance  of  business,  if  our  fantastic  purchase  merited 
the  name,  had  at  last  stirred  my  dilettante  nature ; 
and  as  we  swept  under  cloudy  Tarn  al pais  and  through 


THE    "NORAH    CREINA."  189 

the  roaring  narrows  of  the  bay,  the  Yankee  blood  sang 
in  my  veins  with  suspense  and  exultation. 

Outside  the  heads,  as  if  to  meet  my  desire,  we 
found  it  blowing  fresh  from  the  north-east.  No  time 
had  been  lost.  The  sun  was  not  yet  up  before  the 
tug  cast  off  the  haAvser,  gave  us  a  salute  of  three 
whistles,  and  turned  homeward  toward  the  coast, 
which  now  began  to  gleam  along  its  margin  with  the 
earliest  rays  of  day.  There  was  no  other  ship  in 
view  when  the  Norah  Creina,  lying  over  under  all 
plain  sail,  began  her  long  and  lonely  voyage  to  the 
wreck. 


CHAPTER    XII. 


I  love  to  recall  the  glad  monotony  of  a  Pacific 
voyage,  when  the  trades  are  not  stinted,  and  the  ship, 
day  after  day,  goes  free.  The  mountain  scenery  of 
trade-wind  clouds,  watched  (and  in  my  case  painted) 
under  every  vicissitude  of  light — blotting  stars,  with- 
ering in  the  moon's  glory,  barring  the  scarlet  eve, 
lying  across  the  dawn  collapsed  into  the  unfeatured 
morning  bank,  or  at  noon  raising  their  snowy  summits 
between  the  blue  roof  of  heaven  and  the  blue  floor  of 
sea;  the  small,  busy,  and  deliberate  world  of  the 
schooner,  with  its  unfamiliar  scenes,  the  spearing  of 
dolphin  from  the  bowsprit  end,  the  holy  war  on 
sharks,  the  cook  making  bread  on  the  main  hatch ; 
reefing  down  before  a  violent  squall,  with  the  men 
hanging  out  on  the  foot-ropes ;  the  squall  itself,  the 
catch  at  the  heart,  the  opened  sluices  of  the  sky  ;  and 
the  relief,  the  renewed  loveliness  of  life,  when  all  is 
over,  the  sun  forth  again,  and  our  out-fought  enemy 
only  a  blot  upon  the  leeward  sea.  I  love  to  recall, 
and  would  that  I  could  reproduce  that  life,  the  un- 
forgetable,  the  unrememberable,    The  memory,  which 


190  THE   WRECKER. 

shows  so  wise  a  backwardness  in  registering  pain,  is 
besides  an  imperfect  recorder  of  extended  pleasures ; 
and  a  long-continued  well-being  escapes  (as  it  were, 
by  its  mass)  our  petty  methods  of  commemoration. 
On  a  part  of  our  life's  map  there  lies  a  roseate,  un- 
decipherable haze,  and  that  is  all. 

Of  one  thing,  if  I  am  at  all  to  trust  my  own  annals, 
I  was  delightedly  conscious.  Day  after  day,  in  the 
sun-gilded  cabin,  the  whiskey-dealer's  thermometer 
stood  at  84°.  Day  after  day  the  air  had  the  same  in- 
describable liveliness  and  sweetness,  soft  and  nimble, 
and  cool  as  the  cheek  of  health.  Day  after  day  the 
sun  flamed ;  night  after  night  the  moon  beaconed,  or 
the  stars  paraded  their  lustrous  regiment.  I  was  aware 
of  a  spiritual  change,  or,  perhaps,  rather  a  molecular 
reconstitution.  My  bones  were  sweeter  to  me.  I  had 
come  home  to  my  own  climate,  and  looked  back  with 
pity  on  those  damp  and  wintry  zones,  miscalled  the 
temperate. 

"Two  years  of  this,  and  comfortable  quarters  to 
live  in,  kind  of  shake  the  grit  out  of  a  man,"  the 
captain  remarked  ;  "  can't  make  out  to  be  happy  any- 
where else.  A  townie  of  mine  was  lost  down  this  way, 
in  a  coalship  that  took  fire  at  sea.  He  struck  the 
beach  somewhere  in  the  Navigators ;  and  he  wrote  to 
me  that  when  he  left  the  place  it  would  be  feet  first. 
He's  well  off,  too,  and  his  father  owns  some  coasting 
craft  Down  East ;  but  Billy  prefers  the  beach,  and  hot 
rolls  off  the  bread-fruit  trees." 

A  voice  told  me  I  was  on  the  same  track  as  Billy. 
But  when  was  this  ?  Our  outward  track  in  the  Norah 
Creina  lay  well  to  the  northward  ;  and  perhaps  it  is 
but  the  impression  of  a  few  pet  days  which  I  have 
unconsciously  spread  longer,  or  perhaps  the  feeling 
grew  upon  me  later,  in  the  run  to  Honolulu.  One 
thing  I  am  sure :  it  was  before  I  had  ever  seen  an 
island  worthy  of  the  name  that  I  must  date  my  loyalty 
to  the  South  Seas,    The  blank  sea  itself  grew  desirable 


THE   "  NORAH   CREINA."  191 

under  such  skies  ;  and  wherever  the  trade-wind  blows 
I  know  no  better  country  than  a  schooner's  deck. 

But  for  the  tugging  anxiety  as  to  the  journey's  end. 
the  journey  itself  must  thus  have  counted  for  tne  best 
of  holidays.  My  physical  well-being  was  over-proof; 
effects  of  sea  and  sky  kept  me  for  ever  busy  with  my 
pencil ;  and  I  had  no  lack  of  intellectual  exercise  of  a 
different  order  in  the  study  of  my  inconsistent  friend, 
the  captain.  I  call  him  friend,  here  on  the  threshold ; 
but  that  is  to  look  well  ahead.  At  first  I  was  too 
much  horrified  by  what  I  considered  his  barbarities, 
too  much  puzzled  by  his  shifting  humours,  and  too 
frequently  annoyed  by  his  small  vanities,  to  regard 
him  otherwise  than  as  the  cross  of  my  existence.  It 
was  only  by  degrees,  in  his  rare  hours  of  pleasantness, 
when  he  forgot  (and  made  me  forget)  the  weaknesses 
to  which  he  was  so  prone,  that  he  won  me  to  a  kind 
of  unconsenting  fondness.  Lastly,  the  faults  were  all 
embraced  in  a  more  generous  view:  I  saw  them  in 
their  place,  like  discords  in  a  musical  progression ;  and 
accepted  them  and  found  them  picturesque,  as  we 
accept  and  admire,  in  the  habitable  face  of  nature,  the 
smoky  head  of  the  volcano  or  the  pernicious  thicket 
of  the  swamp. 

He  was  come  of  good  people  Down  East,  and  had 
the  beginnings  of  a  thorough  education.  His  temper 
had  been  ungovernable  from  the  first ;  and  it  is  likely 
the  defect  was  inherited,  and  the  blame  of  the  rupture 
not  entirely  his.  He  ran  away  at  least  to  sea ;  suffered 
horrible  maltreatment,  which  seemed  to  have  rather 
hardened  than  enlightened  him ;  ran  away  again  to 
shore  in  a  South  American  port ;  proved  his  capacity 
and  made  money,  although  still  a  child ;  fell  among 
thieves  and  was  robbed ;  worked  back  a  passage  to  the 
States,  and  knocked  one  morning  at  the  door  of  an  old 
lady  whose  orchard  he  had  often  robbed.  The  intro- 
duction appears  insufficient ;  but  Nares  knew  what  he 
was  doing.     The  sight  of  her  old  neighbourly  depre- 


192  THE   WRECKER. 

dator  shivering  at  the  door  in  tatters,  the  very  oddity 
of  his  appeal,  touched  a  soft  spot  in  the  spinster's  heart. 
"  I  always  had  a  fancy  for  the  old  lady,"  Nares  said, 
"even  when  she  used  to  stampede  me  out  of  the 
orchard,  and  shake  her  thimble  and  her  old  curls  at 
me  out  of  the  window  as  I  was  going  by ;  I  always 
thought  she  was  a  kind  of  pleasant  old  girl.  Well, 
when  she  came  to  the  door  that  morning,  I  told  her 
so,  and  that  I  was  stone-broke ;  and  she  took  me  right 
in,  and  fetched  out  the  pie."  She  clothed  him,  taught 
him,  and  had  him  to  sea  again  in  better  shape,  welcomed 
him  to  her  hearth  on  his  return  from  every  cruise,  and 
when  she  died  bequeathed  him  her  possessions.  "  She 
was  a  good  old  girl,"  he  would  say  ;  "  I  tell  you,  Mr. 
Dodd,  it  was  a  queer  thing  to  see  me  and  the  old  lady 
talking  a  pasear  in  the  garden,  and  the  old  man 
scowling  at  us  over  the  pickets.  She  lived  right  next 
door  to  the  old  man,  and  I  guess  that's  just  what  took 
me  there.  I  wanted  him  to  know  that  I  was  badly 
beat,  you  see,  and  would  rather  go  to  the  devil  than 
to  him.  What  made  the  dig  harder,  he  had  quarrelled 
with  the  old  lady  about  me  and  the  orchard :  I  guess 
that  made  him  rage.  Yes,  I  was  a  beast  when  I  was 
young ;  but  I  was  always  pretty  good  to  the  old  lady." 
Since  then  he  had  prospered,  not  uneventfully,  in  his 
profession  ;  the  old  lady's  money  had  fallen  in  during 
the  voyage  of  the  Gleaner,  and  he  was  now,  as  soon 
as  the  smoke  of  that  engagement  cleared  away,  secure 
of   his    ship.     I   suppose    he   was    about    thirty:    a 

Eowerful,  active  man,  with  a  blue  eye,  a  thick  head  of 
air,  about  the  colour  of  oakum  and  growing  low  over 
the  brow ;  clean-shaved  and  lean  about  tne  jaw ;  a 
good  singer ;  a  good  performer  on  that  sea-instrument, 
the  accordion;  a  quick  observer,  a  close  reasoner; 
when  he  pleased,  of  a  really  elegant  address ;  and  when 
he  chose,  the  greatest  brute  upon  the  seas. 

His  usage  of  the  men,  his  hazing,   his    bullying, 
liis  perpetual  fault-finding  for  no  cause,  his  perpetual 


THE   "NORAH   CREINA."  193 

and  brutal  sarcasm,  might  have  raised  a  mutiny  in  a 
slave  galley.     Suppose   the  steerman's   eye   to  have 

wandered ;  "  You    ,    ,    little,    mutton-faced 

Dutchman,"  Nares  would  bawl,  "  you  want  a  booting 
to  keep  you  on  your  course !  I  know  a  little  city- 
front  slush  when  I  see  one.  Just  you  glue  your  eye  to 
that  compass,  or  I'll  show  you  round  the  vessel  at  the 
butt-end  of  my  boot."  Or  suppose  a  hand  to  linger 
aft,  whither  he  had  perhaps  been  summoned  not  a 
minute  before.  "  Mr.  Daniells,  will  you  oblige  me  by 
stepping  clear  of  that  main-sheet  ? "  the  captain  might 
begin,  with  truculent  courtesy.  "  Thank  you.  And 
perhaps  you'll  be  so  kind  as  to  tell  me  what  the  hell 
you're  doing  on  my  quarter-deck  ?  I  want  no  dirt  of 
your  sort  here.  Is  there  nothing  for  you  to  do  ? 
Where's  the  mate  ?  Don't  you  set  me  to  find  work  for 
you,  or  I'll  find  you  some  that  will  keep  you  on  your 
"back  a  fortnight."  Such  allocutions,  conceived  with  a 
perfect  knowledge  of  his  audience,  so  that  every  insult 
carried  home,  were  delivered  with  a  mien  so  menacing, 
and  an  eye  so  fiercely  cruel,  that  his  unhappy 
subordinates  shrank  and  quailed.  Too  often 
violence  followed;  too  often  I  have  heard  and 
seen  and  boiled  at  the  cowardly  aggression;  and 
the  victim,  his  hands  bound  by  law,  has  risen 
again  from  deck  and  crawled  forward  stupefied — 
I  know  not  what  passion  of  revenge  in  his  wronged 
heart. 

It  seems  strange  I  should  have  grown  to  like  this 
tyrant.  It  may  even  seem  strange  that  I  should  have 
stood  by  and  suffered  his  excesses  to  proceed.  But  I 
was  not  quite  such  a  chicken  as  to  interfere  in  public, 
for  I  would  rather  have  a  man  or  two  mishandled 
than  one  half  of  us  butchered  in  a  mutiny  and  the 
rest  suffer  on  the  gallows.  And  in  private  I  was  un- 
ceasing in  my  protests. 

"Captain,"  I  once  said  to  him,  appealing  to  his 
patriotism,  which  was  of  a  hardy  quality,  "  this  is  no 


194  THE   WRECKER 

way  to  treat  American  seamen.  You  don't  call  it 
American  to  treat  men  like  dogs  ? " 

"  Americans  ? "  he  said,  grimly.  "  Do  you  call  these 
Dutchmen  and  Scattermouches*  Americans  ?  I've 
been  fourteen  years  to  sea,  all  but  one  trip  under 
American  colours,  and  I've  never  laid  eye  on  an 
American  foremast  hand.  There  used  to  be  such 
things  in  the  old  days,  when  thirty-five  dollars  were 
the  wages  out  of  Boston ;  and  then  you  could  see 
ships  handled  and  run  the  way  they  want  to  be.  But 
that's  all  past  and  gone,  and  nowadays  the  only  thing 
that  flies  in  an  American  ship  is  a  belaying-pin. 
You  don't  know,  you  haven't  a  guess.  How  would 
you  like  to  go  on  deck  for  your  middle  watch,  fourteen 
months  on  end,  with  all  your  duty  to  do,  and  every- 
one's life  depending  on  you,  and  expect  to  get  a  knife 
ripped  into  you  as  you  come  out  of  your  state-room, 
or  be  sand-bagged  as  you  pass  the  boat,  or  get  tripped 
into  the  hold  if  the  hatches  are  off  in  fine  weather  ? 
That  kind  of  shakes  the  starch  out  of  the  brotherly 
love  and  New  Jerusalem  business.  You  go  through 
the  mill,  and  you'll  have  a  bigger  grudge  against  every 
old  shellback  that  dirties  his  plate  in  the  three  oceans 
than  the  Bank  of  California  could  settle  up.  No  ;  it 
has  an  ugly  look  to  it,  but  the  only  way  to  run  a  ship 
is  to  make  yourself  a  terror." 

"  Come,  captain,"  said  I,  "  there  are  degrees  in 
everything.  You  know  American  ships  have  a  bad 
name,  you  know  perfectly  well  if  it  wasn't  for  the  high 
wage  and  the  good  food,  there's  not  a  man  would  ship 
in  one  if  he  could  help ;  and  even  as  it  is,  some  prefer 
a  British  ship,  beastly  food  and  all." 

"  Oh,  the  lime-j uicers  ? "  said  he.  "  There's  plenty 
booting  in  lime-juicers,  1  guess ;  though  I  don't  deny 
but  what  some  of  them  are  soft."     And  with  that  he 

*  In  sea-lingo  (Pacific)  Dutchman  includes  all  Teutons  and 
folk  from  the  basin  of  the  Baltic ;  Scattermouch,  all  Latins  and 
Levantines. 


THE   "  NORAH   CREINA."  195 

smiled,  like  a  man  recalling  something.  "  Look  here, 
that  brings  a  yarn  in  my  head,"  he  resumed,  "  and  for 
the  sake  of  the  joke  I'll  give  myself  away.  It  was  in 
1874  I  shipped  mate  in  the  British  ship  Maria,  from 
'Frisco  for  Melbourne.  She  was  the  queerest  craft  in 
some  ways  that  ever  I  was  aboard  of.  The  food  was  a 
caution  ;  there  was  nothing  fit  to  put  your  lips  to  but 
the  lime-juice,  which  was  from  the  end  bin  no  doubt ; 
it  used  to  make  me  sick  to  see  the  men's  dinners,  and 
sorry  to  see  my  own.  The  old  man  was  good  enough, 
I  guess.  Green  was  his  name — a  mild,  fatherly  old 
galoot.  But  the  hands  were  the  lowest  gang  I  ever 
handled,  and  whenever  I  tried  to  knock  a  little  spirit 
into  them  the  old  man  took  their  part.  It  was  Gilbert 
and  Sullivan  on  the  high  seas  ;  but  you  bet  I  wouldn't 
let  any  man  dictate  to  me.  '  You  give  me  your  orders, 
Captain  Green,'  I  said,  -  and  you'll  find  I'll  carry  them 
out;  that's  all  you've  got  to  say.  You'll  find  I  do 
my  duty/  I  said ;  '  how  I  do  it  is  my  look-out,  and 
there's  no  man  born  that's  going  to  give  me  lessons.' 
Well,  there  was  plenty  dirt  on  board  that  Maria 
first  and  last.  Of  course  the  old  man  put  my  back 
up,  and  of  course  he  put  up  the  crew's,  and  I  had  to 
regular  fight  my  way  through  every  watch.  The  men 
got  to  hate  me,  so's  I  would  hear  them  grit  their  teeth 
when  I  came  up.  At  last  one  day  I  saw  a  big  hulking 
beast  of  a  Dutchman  booting  the  ship's  boy.  I  made 
one  shoot  of  it  off  the  house  and  laid  that  Dutchman 
out.  Up  he  came,  and  I  laid  him  out  again.  '  Now,' 
I  said,  '  if  there's  a  kick  left  in  you,  just  mention  it, 
and  I'll  stamp  your  ribs  in  like  a  packing-case.'  He 
thought  better  of  it  and  never  let  on;  lay  there  as 
mild  as  a  deacon  at  a  funeral,  and  they  took  him  beloAv 
to  reflect  on  his  native  Dutchland.  One  night  we  got 
caught  in  rather  a  dirty  thing  about  25  south.  I 
guess  we  were  all  asleep,  for  the  first  thing  I  knew 
there  was  the  fore-royal  gone.  I  ran  forward,  bawling 
blue  hell ;  and  just  as  I  came  by  the  foremast  some- 
N  2 


196  THE   WRECKER 

thing  struck  me  right  through  the  forearm  and  stuck 
there.  I  put  my  other  hand  up,  and,  by  George,  it 
was  the  grain  ;  the  beasts  had  speared  me  like  a  por- 
poise. '  Cap'n ! '  I  cried. — '  What's  wrong  ?  *  says  he. — 
'  They've  grained  me,'  says  I. — '  Grained  you  ? '  says 
he.  '  Well,  I've  been  looking  for  that.' — '  And  by  God,' 
I  cried,  '  I  want  to  have  some  of  these  beasts  murdered 
for  it!' — 'Now,  Mr.  Nares,'  says  he,  'you  better  go 
below.  If  I  had  been  one  of  the  men,  you'd  have  got 
more  than  this.  And  I  want  no  more  of  your  lan- 
guage on  deck.  You've  cost  me  my  fore-royal  already/ 
says  he;  'and  if  you  carry  on,  you'll  have  the  three  sticks 
out  of  her.'  That  was  old  man  Green's  idea  of  sup- 
porting officers.  But  you  wait  a  bit ;  the  cream's  coming. 
We  made  Melbourne  right  enough,  and  the  old  man 
said:  'Mr.  Nares,  you  and  me  don't  draw  together. 
You're  a  first-rate  seaman,  no  mistake  of  that ;  but 
you're  the  most  disagreeable  man  I  ever  sailed  with,  and 
your  language  and  your  conduct  to  the  crew  I  cannot 
stomach.  I  guess  we'll  separate.'  I  didn't  care  about 
the  berth,  you  may  be  sure ;  but  I  felt  kind  of  mean, 
and  if  he  made  one  kind  of  stink  I  thought  I 
could  make  another.  So  I  said  I  would  go  ashore  and 
see  how  things  stood ;  went,  found  I  was  all  right,  and 
came  aboard  again  on  the  top  rail. — '  Are  you  getting 
your  traps  together,  Mr.  Nares  ? '  says  the  old  man. — 
'  No,'  says  I,  '  I  don't  know  as  we'll  separate  much 
before  'Frisco — at  least,'  I  said,  '  it's  a  point  for  your 
consideration.  I'm  very  willing  to  say  good-bye  to 
the  Maria,  but  I  don't  know  whether  you'll  care  to 
start  me  out  with  three  months'  wages.'  He  got  his 
money-box  right  away.  '  My  son,'  says  he,  '  I  think  it 
cheap  at  the  money.'     He  had  me  there." 

It  was  a  singular  tale  for  a  man  to  tell  of  himself; 
above  all,  in  the  midst  of  our  discussion ;  but  it  was 
quite  in  character  for  Nares.  I  never  made  a  good 
hit  in  our  disputes,  I  never  justly  resented  any  act  or 
speech  of  his,  but  what  I  found  it  long  after  carefully 


THE   "  NORAH   CREINA."  197 

posted  in  his  day-book  and  reckoned  (here  was  the 
man's  oddity)  to  my  credit.  It  was  the  same  with  his 
father,  whom  he  had  hated ;  he  would  give  a  sketch 
of  the  old  fellow,  frank  and  credible,  and  yet  so 
honestly  touched  that  it  was  charming.  I  have  never 
met  a  man  so  strangely  constituted:  to  possess  a 
reason  of  the  most  equal  justice,  to  have  his  nerves 
at  the  same  time  quivering  with  petty  spite,  and  to 
act  upon  the  nerves  and  not  the  reason. 

A  kindred  wonder  in  my  eyes  was  the  nature  of 
his  courage.  There  was  never  a  braver  man :  he 
went  out  to  welcome  danger ;  an  emergency  (came  it 
never  so  sudden)  strung  him  like  a  tonic.  And  yet, 
upon  the  other  hand,  I  have  known  none  so  nervous, 
so  oppressed  with  possibilities,  looking  upon  the  world 
at  large,  and  the  life  of  a  sailor  in  particular,  with  so 
constant  and  haggard  a  consideration  of  the  ugly 
chances.  All  his  courage  was  in  blood,  not  merely 
cold,  but  icy  with  reasoned  apprehension.  He  would 
lay  our  little  craft  rail  under,  and  "hang  on"  in  a 
squall,  until  I  gave  myself  up  for  lost,  and  the  men 
were  rushing  to  their  stations  of  their  own  accord. 
"  There,"  he  would  say,  "  I  guess  there's  not  a  man  on 
board  would  have  hung  on  as  long  as  I  did  that  time : 
they'll  have  to  give  up  thinking  me  no  schooner 
sailor.  I  guess  I  can  shave  just  as  near  capsizing  as 
any  other  captain  of  this  vessel,  drunk  or  sober." 
And  then  he  would  fall  to  repining  and  wishing  him- 
self well  out  of  the  enterprise,  and  dilate  on  the  peril 
of  the  seas,  the  particular  dangers  of  the  schooner  rig, 
which  he  abhorred,  the  various  ways  in  which  we 
might  go  to  the  bottom,  and  the  prodigious  fleet  of 
ships  that  have  sailed  out  in  the  course  of  history, 
dwindled  from  the  eyes  of  watchers,  and  returned  no 
more.  "  Well,"  he  would  wind  up,  "  I  guess  it  don't 
much  matter.  I  can't  see  what  anyone  wants  to  live 
for,  anyway.  If  I  could  get  into  someone  else's 
apple-tree,  and  be  about  twelve  years  old,  and  just 


198  THE  WRECKER. 

stick  the  way  I  was,  eating  stolen  apples,  I  won't  say. 
But  there's  no  sense  to  this  grown-up  business — 
sailorising,  politics,  the  piety  mill,  and  all  the  rest  of 
it.  Good  clean  drowning  is  good  enough  for  me."  It 
is  hard  to  imagine  any  more  depressing  talk  for  a 
poor  landsman  on  a  dirty  night ;  it  is  hard  to  imagine 
anything  less  sailor-like  (as  sailors  are  supposed  to  be, 
and  generally  are)  than  this  persistent  harping  on  the 
minor. 

But  I  was  to  see  more  of  the  man's  gloomy  con- 
stancy ere  the  cruise  was  at  an  end. 

On  the  morning  of  the  seventeenth  day  I  came  on 
deck,  to  find  the  schooner  under  double  reefs,  and 
flying  rather  wild  before  a  heavy  run  of  sea.  Snoring 
trades  and  humming  sails  had  been  our  portion 
hitherto.  We  were  already  nearing  the  island.  My 
restrained  excitement  had  begun  again  to  overmaster 
me ;  and  for  some  time  my  only  book  had  been  the 
patent  log  that  trailed  over  the  taffrail,  and  my  chief 
interest  the  daily  observation  and  our  caterpillar 
progress  across  the  chart.  My  first  glance,  which  was 
at  the  compass,  and  my  second,  which  was  at  the  log, 
were  all  that  I  could  wish.  We  lay  our  course ;  we 
had  been  doing  over  eight  since  nine  the  night  before, 
and  I  drew  a  heavy  breath  of  satisfaction.  And  then 
I  know  not  what  odd  and  wintry  appearance  of  the 
sea  and  sky  knocked  suddenly  at  my  heart.  I 
observed  the  schooner  to  look  more  than  usually 
small,  the  men  silent  and  studious  of  the  weather. 
Nares,  in  one  of  his  rusty  humours,  afforded  me  no 
shadow  of  a  morning  salutation.  He,  too,  seemed  to 
observe  the  behaviour  of  the  ship  with  an  intent  and 
anxious  scrutiny.  What  I  liked  still  less,  Johnson 
himself  was  at  the  wheel,  which  he  span  busily,  often 
with  a  visible  effort;  and  as  the  seas  ranged  up 
behind  us,  black  and  imminent,  he  kept  casting 
behind  him  eyes  of  animal  swiftness,  and  drawing  in 
his  neck  between  his  shoulders,  like  a  man  dodging  a 


THE   "NORAH   CREINA."  199 

blow.  From  these  signs,  I  gathered  that  all  was  not 
exactly  for  the  best ;  and  I  would  have  given  a  good 
handful  of  dollars  for  a  plain  answer  to  the  questions 
which  I  dared  not  put.  Had  I  dared,  with  the  present 
danger  signal  in  the  captain's  face,  I  should  only  have 
been  reminded  of  my  position  as  supercargo — an 
office  never  touched  upon  in  kindness — and  advised, 
in  a  very  indigestible  manner,  to  go  below.  There 
was  nothing  for  it,  therefore,  but  to  entertain  my 
vague  apprehensions  as  best  I  should  be  able,  until  it 
pleased  the  captain  to  enlighten  me  of  his  own 
accord.  This  he  did  sooner  than  I  had  expected — as 
soon,  indeed,  as  the  Chinaman  had  summoned  us  to 
breakfast,  and  we  sat  face  to  face  across  the  narrow 
board. 

"  See  here,  Mr.  Dodd,"  he  began,  looking  at  me 
rather  queerly,  "  here  is  a  business  point  arisen.  This 
sea's  been  running  up  for  the  last  two  days,  and  now 
it's  too  high  for  comfort.  The  glass  is  falling,  the 
wind  is  breezing  up,  and  I  won't  say  but  what  there's 
dirt  in  it.  If  I  lay  her  to,  we  may  have  to  ride  out  a 
gale  of  wind,  and  drift  God  knows  where — on  these 
French  Frigate  Shoals,  for  instance.  If  I  keep  her  as 
she  goes,  we'll  make  that  island  to-morrow  afternoon, 
and  have  the  lee  of  it  to  lie  under,  if  we  can't  make 
out  to  run  in.  The  point  you  have  to  figure  on,  is 
whether  you'll  take  the  big  chances  of  that  Captain 
Trent  making  the  place  before  you,  or  take  the  risk  of 
something  happening.  I'm  to  run  this  ship  to  your 
satisfaction,"  he  added,  with  an  ugly  sneer.  "  Well, 
here's  a  point  for  the  supercargo." 

"  Captain,"  I  returned,  with  my  heart  in  my  mouth, 
"  risk  is  better  than  certain  failure." 

"  Life  is  all  risk,  Mr.  Dodd,"  he  remarked.  "  But 
there's  one  thing :  it's  now  or  never  ;  in  half  an  hour 
Archdeacon  Gabriel  couldn't  lay  her  to,  if  he  came 
downstairs  on  purpose." 

■  All  right,"  said  1 ;  "  let's  run." 


200  THE   WllECKER. 

"Run  goes,"  said  he;  and  with  that  he  fell  to 
breakfast,  and  passed  half  an  hour  in  stowing  away 
pie,  and  devoutly  wishing  himself  back  in  San 
Francisco. 

When  we  came  on  deck  again,  he  took  the  wheel 
from  Johnson — it  appears  they  could  trust  none 
among  the  hands — and  I  stood  close  beside  him, 
feeling  safe  in  this  proximity,  and  tasting  a  fearful 
joy  froin  our  surroundings  and  the  consciousness  of 
my  decision.  The  breeze  had  already  risen,  and  as  it 
tore  over  our  heads,  it  uttered  at  times  a  long  hooting 
note  that  sent  my  heart  into  my  boots.  The  sea 
pursued  us  without  remission,  leaping  to  the  assault 
of  the  low  rail.  The  quarter-deck  was  all  awash,  and 
we  must  close  the  companion  doors. 

"And  all  this,  if  you  please,  for  Mr.  Pinkerton's 
dollars  ! "  the  captain  suddenly  exclaimed.  "  There's 
many  a  fine  fellow  gone  under,  Mr.  Dodd,  because  of 
drivers  like  your  friend.  What  do  they  care  for  a  ship 
or  two  ?  Insured,  I  guess.  What  do  they  care  for 
sailors'  lives  alongside  of  a  few  thousand  dollars  ? 
What  they  want  is  speed  between  ports,  and  a 
damned  fool  of  a  captain  that'll  drive  a  ship  under 
as  I'm  doing  this  one.  You  can  put  in  the  morning, 
asking  why  I  do  it." 

I  sheered  off  to  another  part  of  the  vessel  as  fast 
as  civility  permitted.  This  was  not  at  all  the  talk 
that  I  desired,  nor  was  the  train  of  reflection  which  it 
started  anyway  welcome.  Here  I  was,  running  some 
hazard  of  my  life,  and  perilling  the  lives  of  seven 
others  ;  exactly  for  what  end,  I  was  now  at  liberty  to 
ask  myself.  For  a  very  large  amount  of  a  very 
deadly  poison,  was  the  obvious  answer;  and  I 
thought  if  all  tales  were  true,  and  I  were  soon  to 
be  subjected  to  cross-examination  at  the  bar  of 
Eternal  Justice,  it  was  one  which  would  not  increase 
my  popularity  with  the  court.  "Well,  never  mind, 
Jim,"  thought  I ;  "  I'm  doing  it  for  you." 


THE   "NORAH   CREINA.''  201 

Before  eleven  a  third  reef  was  taken  in  the  main- 
sail, and  Johnson  filled  the  cabin  with  a  storm-sail  of 
No.  1  duck,  and  sat  cross-legged  on  the  streaming  floor, 
vigorously  putting  it  to  rights  with  a  couple  of  the 
hands.  By  dinner  I  had  fled  the  deck,  and  sat  in  the 
bench  corner,  giddy,  dumb,  and  stupefied  with  terror. 
The  frightened  baps  of  the  poor  Norah  Greina, 
spanking  like  a  stag  for  bare  existence,  bruised  me 
between  the  table  and  the  berths.  Overhead,  the 
wild  huntsman  of  the  storm  passed  continuously  in 
one  blare  of  mingled  noises ;  screaming  wind,  strain- 
ing timber,  lashing  rope's-end,  pounding  block  and 
bursting  sea  contributed ;  and  I  could  have  thought 
there  was  at  times  another,  a  more  piercing,  a  more 
human  note,  that  dominated  all,  like  the  wailing  of 
an  angel ;  I  could  have  thought  I  knew  the  angel's 
name,  and  that  his  wings  were  black.  It  seemed 
incredible  that  any  creature  of  man's  art  could  long 
endure  the  barbarous  mishandling  of  the  seas,  kicked 
as  the  schooner  was  from  mountain-side  to  mountain- 
side, beaten  and  blown  upon  and  wrenched  in  every 
joint  and  sinew,  like  a  child  upon  the  rack.  There 
was  not  a  plank  of  her  that  did  not  cry  aloud  for 
mercy ;  and  as  she  continued  to  hold  together,  I 
became  conscious  of  a  growing  sympathy  with  her 
endeavours,  a  growing  admiration  for  her  gallant 
staunchness,  that  amused  and  at  times  obliterated 
my  terrors  for  myself  God  bless  every  man  that 
swung  a  mallet  on  that  tiny  and  strong  hull !  It  was 
not  for  wages  only  that  he  laboured,  but  to  save  men's 
lives. 

All  the  rest  of  the  day,  and  all  the  following  night, 
I  sat  in  the  corner  or  lay  wakeful  in  my  bunk  ;  and  it 
was  only  with  the  return  of  morning  that  a  new  phase 
of  my  alarms  drove  me  once  more  on  deck.  A  gloomier 
interval  I  never  passed.  Johnson  and  Nares  steadily 
relieved  each  other  at  the  wheel  and  came  below. 
The  first  glance  of  each  was  at  the  glass,  which  he 


202  THE  WRECKER. 

repeatedly  knuckled  and  frowned  upon ;  for  it  was 
sagging  lower  all  the  time.  Then,  if  Johnson  were 
the  visitor,  he  would  pick  a  snack  out  of  the  cupboard, 
and    stand,  braced   against  the  table,  eating  it,  and 

Eerhaps  obliging  me  with  a  word  or  two  of  his  hee- 
aw  conversation :  how  it  was  "  a  son  of  a  gun  of  a 
cold  night  on  deck,  Mr.  Dodd  "  (with  a  grin)  ;  how  "  it 
wasn't  no  night  for  pan  jammers,  he  could  tell  me  " : 
having  transacted  all  which,  he  would  throw  himself 
down  in  his  bunk  and  sleep  his  two  hours  with 
compunction.  But  the  captain  neither  ate  nor  slept. 
"  You  there,  Mr.  Dodd  ? "  he  would  say,  after  the 
obligatory  visit  to  the  glass.  "  Well,  my  son,  we're 
one  hundred  and  four  miles  "  (or  whatever  it  was)  "  off 
the  island,  and  scudding  for  all  we're  worth.  We'll 
make  it  to-morrow  about  four,  or  not,  as  the  case  may 
be.  That's  the  news.  And  now,  Mr.  Dodd,  I've 
stretched  a  point  for  you;  you  can  see  I'm  dead 
tired  ;  so  just  you  stretch  away  back  to  your  bunk 
again."  And  with  this  attempt  at  geniality,  his  teeth 
would  settle  hard  down  on  his  cigar,  and  he  would 
pass  his  spell  below  staring  and  blinking  at  the  cabin 
lamp  through  a  cloud  of  tobacco  smoke.  He  has 
told  me  since  that  he  was  happy,  which  I  should 
never  have  divined.  "  You  see,"  he  said,  "  the  wind 
we  had  was  never  anything  out  of  the  way ;  but  the 
sea  was  really  nasty,  the  schooner  wanted  a  lot  of 
humouring,  and  it  was  clear  from  the  glass  that  we 
were  close  to  some  dirt.  We  might  be  running  out  of 
it,  or  we  might  be  running  right  crack  into  it.  Well, 
there's  always  something  sublime  about  a  big  deal  like 
that ;  and  it  kind  of  raises  a  man  in  his  own  liking. 
We're  a  queer  kind  of  beasts,  Mr.  Dodd." 

The  morning  broke  with  sinister  brightness;  the 
air  alarmingly  transparent,  the  sky  pure,  the  rim  of 
the  horizon  clear  and  strong  against  the  heavens.  The 
wind  and  the  wild  seas,  now  vastly  swollen,  indefatigably 
hunted  us.      I   stood  on  deck,  choking  with  fear;  I 


THE   "NORAH   CREINA."  203 

seemed  to  lose  all  power  upon  my  limbs ;  my  knees 
were  as  paper  when  she  plunged  into  the  murderous 
valleys ;  my  heart  collapsed  when  some  black  mountain 
fell  in  avalanche  beside  her  counter,  and  the  water, 
that  was  more  than  spray,  swept  round  my  ankles  like 
a  torrent.  I  was  conscious  of  but  one  strong  desire — 
to  bear  myself  decently  in  my  terrors,  and,  whatever 
should  happen  to  my  life,  preserve  my  character  :  as 
the  captain  said,  we  are  a  queer  kind  of  beasts.  Break- 
fast-time came,  and  I  made  shift  to  swallow  some  hot 
tea.  Then  I  must  stagger  below  to  take  the  time,  reading 
the  chronometer  with  dizzy  eyes,  and  marvelling  the 
while  what  value  there  could  be  in  observations  taken 
in  a  ship  launched  (as  ours  then  was)  like  a  missile 
among  flying  seas.  The  forenoon  dragged  on  in  a 
grinding  monotony  of  peril ;  every  spoke  of  the  wheel 
a  rash  but  an  obliged  experiment — rash  as  a  forlorn 
hope,  needful  as  the  leap  that  lands  a  fireman  from  a 
burning  staircase.  Noon  was  made ;  the  captain 
dined  on  his  day's  work,  and  I  on  watching  him  ;  and 
our  place  was  entered  on  the  chart  with  a  meticulous 
precision  which  seemed  to  me  half  pitiful  and  half 
absurd,  since  the  next  eye  to  behold  that  sheet  of 
paper  might  be  the  eye  of  an  exploring  fish.  One 
o'clock  came,  then  two ;  the  captain  gloomed  and 
chafed,  as  he  held  to  the  coaming  of  the  house,  and  if 
ever  I  saw  dormant  murder  in  man's  eye,  it  was  in  his. 
God  help  the  hand  that  should  have  disobeyed  him. 

Of  a  sudden,  he  turned  towards  the  mate,  who  was 
doing  his  trick  at  the  wheel. 

"  Two  points  on  the  port  bow,"  I  heard  him  say ; 
and  he  took  the  wheel  himself. 

Johnson  nodded,  wiped  his  eyes  with  the  back  of 
his  wet  hand,  watched  a  chance  as  the  vessel  lunged 
up  hill,  and  got  to  the  main  rigging,  where  he  swarmed 
aloft.  Up  and  up  I  watched  him  go,  hanging  on  at  every 
ugly  plunge,  gaining  with  every  lull  of  the  schooner's 
movement,  until,  clambering  into  the  cross-trees  and 


204  THE   WRECKER. 

clinging  with  one  arm  around  the  masts,  I  could  see 
him  take  one  comprehensive  sweep  of  the  south- 
westernly  horizon.  The  next  moment  he  had  slid 
down  the  backstay  and  stood  on  deck,  with  a  grin,  a 
nod,  and  a  gesture  of  the  finger  that  said  "  yes  ;  the 
next  again,  and  he  was  back  sweating  and  squirming  at 
the  wheel,  his  tired  face  streaming  and  smiling,  and  his 
hair  and  the  rags  and  corners  of  his  clothes  lashing 
round  him  in  the  wind. 

Nares  went  below,  fetched  up  his  binocular,  and 
fell  into  a  silent  perusal  of  the  sea-line ;  I  also,  with 
my  unaided  eyesight.  Little  by  little,  in  that  white 
waste  of  water,  I  began  to  make  out  a  quarter  where 
the  whiteness  appeared  more  condensed :  the  sky  above 
was  whitish  likewise,  and  misty  like  a  squall ;  and  little 
by  little  there  thrilled  upon  my  ears  a  note  deeper  and 
more  terrible  than  the  yelling  of  the  gale — the  long, 
thundering  roll  of  breakers.  Nares  wiped  his  night- 
glass  on  his  sleeve  and  passed  it  to  me,  motioning,  as 
he  did  so,  with  his  hand.  An  endless  wilderness  of 
ranging  billows  came  and  went  and  danced  in  the  circle 
of  the  glass  ;  now  and  then  a  pale  corner  of  sky,  or 
the  strong  line  of  the  horizon  rugged  with  the  heads 
of  waves ;  and  then  of  a  sudden — come  and  gone  ere  I 
could  fix  it,  with  a  swallow's  swiftness — one  glimpse 
of  what  we  had  come  so  far  and  paid  so  dear  to  see  : 
the  masts  and  rigging  of  a  brig  pencilled  on  heaven, 
with  an  ensign  streaming  at  the  main,  and  the  ragged 
ribbons  of  a  topsail  thrashing  from  the  yard.  Again 
and  again,  with  toilful  searching,  I  recalled  that  ap- 
parition. There  was  no  sign  of  any  land ;  the  wreck 
stood  between  sea  and  sky,  a  thing  the  most  isolated 
I  had  ever  viewed ;  but  as  we  drew  nearer,  I  nerceived 
her  to  be  defended  by  a  line  of  breakers  which  drew 
off  on  either  hand  and  marked,  indeed,  the  nearest 
segment  of  the  reef.  Heavy  spray  hung  over  them  like 
a  smoke,  some  hundred  feet  into  the  air  ;  and  the  sound 
of  their  consecutive  explosions  rolled  like  a  cannonade. 


THE   ISLAND   AND   THE   WRECK.  205 

In  half  an  hour  we  were  close  in ;  for  perhaps  as 
long  again  we  skirted  that  formidable  barrier  toward 
its  farther  side  ;  and  presently  the  sea  began  insensibly 
to  moderate  and  the  ship  to  go  more  sweetly.  We 
had  gained  the  lee  of  the  island,  as  (for  form's  sake)  I 
may  call  that  ring  of  foam  and  haze  and  thunder ;  and 
shaking  out  a  reet  wore  ship  and  headed  for  the 
passage. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE   ISLAND   AND  THE  WRECK. 

All  hands  were  filled  with  joy.  It  was  betrayed  in 
their  alacrity  and  easy  laces:  Johnson  smiling 
broadly  at  the  wheel,  Nares  studying  the  sketch 
chart  of  the  island  with  an  eye  at  peace,  and  the 
hands  clustered  forward,  eagerly  talking  and  point- 
ing: so  manifest  was  our  escape,  so  wonderful  the 
attraction  of  a  single  foot  of  earth  after  so  many  suns 
had  set  and  risen  on  an  empty  sea !  To  add  to  the 
relief,  besides,  by  one  of  those  malicious  coincidences 
which  suggest  for  Fate  the  image  of  an  underbred  and 
grinning  schoolboy,  we  had  no  sooner  worn  ship  than 
the  wind  began  to  abate. 

For  myself,  however,  I  did  but  exchange  anxieties. 
I  was  no  sooner  out  of  one  fear  than  I  fell  upon 
another ;  no  sooner  secure  that  I  should  myself  make 
the  intended  haven,  than  I  began  to  be  convinced 
that  Trent  was  there  before  me.  I  climbed  into  the 
rigging,  stood  on  the  board,  and  eagerly  scanned  that 
ring  of  coral  reef  and  bursting  breaker,  and  the  blue 
lagoon  which  they  enclosed.  The  two  islets  within 
began  to  show  plainly — Middle  Brooks  and  Lower 
Brooks  Island,  the  Directory  named  them :  two  low, 
bush^ covered,  rolling  strips  of  sand,  each  with  glitter- 
ing beaches,  each  perhaps  a  mile  or  a  mile  and  a  half 


206  THE   WRECKER. 

in  length,  running  east  and  west,  and  divided  by  a 
narrow  channel.  Over  these,  innumerable  as  maggots, 
there  hovered,  chattered,  screamed,  and  clanged, 
millions  of  twinkling  sea-birds;  white  and  black; 
the  black  by  far  the  largest.  With  singular  scintilla- 
tions, this  vortex  of  winged  life  swayed  to  and  fro  in 
the  strong  sunshine,  whirled  continually  through 
itself,  and  would  now  and  again  burst  asunder  and 
scatter  as  wide  as  the  lagoon:  so  that  I  was  irre- 
sistibly reminded  of  what  I  had  read  of  nebular 
convulsions.  A  thin  cloud  overspread  the  area  of  the 
reef  and  the  adjacent  sea — the  dust,  as  I  could  not 
but  fancy,  of  earlier  explosions.  And,  a  little  apart, 
there  was  yet  another  focus  of  centrifugal  and  cen- 
tripetal flight,  where,  hard  by  the  deafening  line  of 
breakers,  her  sails  (all  but  the  tattered  topsail)  snugly 
furled  down,  and  the  red  rag  that  marks  Old  England 
on  the  seas  beating,  union  down,  at  the  main — the 
Flying  Scud,  the  fruit  of  so  many  toilers,  a  recollec- 
tion in  so  many  lives  of  men,  whose  tall  spars  had 
been  mirrored  in  the  remotest  corners  of  the  sea — 
lay  stationary  at  last  and  for  ever,  in  the  first  stage 
of  naval  dissolution.  Towards  her  the  taut  Norah 
Creina,  vulture-wise,  wriggled  to  windward:  come 
from  so  far  to  pick  her  bones.  And,  look  as  I 
pleased,  there  was  no  other  presence  of  man  or  of 
man's  handiwork;  no  Honolulu  schooner  lay  there 
crowded  with  armed  rivals,  no  smoke  rose  from  the 
fire  at  which  I  fancied  Trent  cooking  a  meal  of  sea- 
birds.  It  seemed,  after  all,  we  were  in  time,  and  I 
drew  a  mighty  breath. 

I  had  not  arrived  at  this  reviving  certainty  before 
the  breakers  were  already  close  aboard,  the  leadsman 
at  his  station,  and  the  captain  posted  in  the  fore 
cross-trees  to  con  us  through  the  coral  lumps  of  the 
lagoon.  All  circumstances  were  in  our  favour,  the 
light  behind,  the  sun  low,  the  wind  still  fresh  and 
steady,  and  the  tide  about   the   turn.     A  moment 


She  lay  head  to  the  reef,  where  the  huge  blue  wall  of  the  rollers  was  for  ever 
ranging-  up  and  crumbling  down"  (p.  207). 


THE   ISLAND   AND   THE   WRECK.  207 

later  we  shot  at  racing  speed  betwixt  two  pier  heads 
of  broken  water ;  the  lead  began  to  be  cast,  the 
captain  to  bawl  down  his  anxious  directions,  the 
schooner  to  tack  and  dodge  among  the  scattered 
dangers  of  the  lagoon;  and  at  one  bell  in  the  first 
dog  watch,  we  had  come  to  our  anchor  off  the  north- 
east end  of  Middle  Brooks  Island,  in  five  fathoms 
water.  The  sails  were  gasketed  and  covered,  the 
boats  emptied  of  the  miscellaneous  stores  and  odds 
and  ends  of  sea-furniture,  that  accumulate  in  the 
course  of  a  voyage,  the  kedge  sent  ashore,  and  the 
decks  tidied  down :  a  good  three-quarters  of  an  hour's 
work,  during  which  I  raged  about  the  deck  like  a 
man  with  a  strong  toothache.  The  transition  from 
the  wild  sea  to  the  comparative  immobility  of  the 
lagoon  had  wrought  strange  distress  among  my 
nerves:  I  could  not  hold  still  whether  in  hand  or 
foot ;  the  slowness  of  the  men,  tired  as  dogs  after  our 
rough  experience  outside,  irritated  me  like  something 
personal;  and  the  irrational  screaming  of  the  sea- 
birds  saddened  me  like  a  dirge.  It  was  a  relief  when, 
with  Nares,  and  a  couple  of  hands,  I  might  drop  into 
the  boat  and  move  off  at  last  for  the  Flying  Scud. 

"  She  looks  kind  of  pitiful,  don't  she  ? "  observed 
the  captain,  nodding  towards  the  wreck,  from  which 
we  were  separated  by  some  half  a  mile.  "  Looks  as  if 
she  didn't  like  her  berth,  and  Captain  Trent  had  used 
her  badly.  Give  her  ginger,  boys,"  he  added  to  the 
hands,  "  and  you  can  all  have  snore  liberty  to-night 
to  see  the  birds  and  paint  the  town  red." 

We  all  laughed  at  the  pleasantry,  and  the  boat 
skimmed  the  faster  over  the  rippling  face  of  the 
lagoon.  The  Flying  Scud  would  have  seemed  small 
enough  beside  the  wharves  of  San  Francisco,  but  she 
was  some  thrice  the  size  of  the  Norah  Creina,  which 
had  been  so  long  our  continent ;  and  as  we  craned  up 
at  her  wall-sides,  she  impressed  us  with  a  mountain 
magnitude,     She  lay  head  to  the  reef,  where  the  huge 


208  THE   WRECKER. 

bine  wall  of  the  rollers  was  for  ever  ranging  np  and 
crumbling  down ;  and  to  gain  her  starboard  side,  we 
must  pass  below  the  stern.  The  rudder  was  hard 
aport,  and  we  could  read  the  legend — 

FLYING  SCUD, 
HULL. 

On  the  other  side,  about  the  break  of  the  poop,  some 
half  a  fathom  of  rope  ladder  trailed  over  the  rail,  and 
by  this  we  made  our  entrance. 

She  was  a  roomy  ship  inside,  with  a  raised  poop 
standing  some  three  feet  higher  than  the  deck,  and  a 
small  forward  house,  for  the  men's  bunks  and  the 
galle}',  just  abaft  the  foremast.  There  was  one  boat 
on  the  house,  and  another  and  larger  one,  in  beds  on 
deck,  on  either  hand  of  it.  She  had  been  painted 
white,  with  tropical  economy,  outside  and  in ;  and  we 
found,  later  on,  that  the  stanchions  of  the  rail,  hoops 
of  the  scuttle  butt,  etc.,  were  picked  out  with  green. 
At  that  time,  however,  when  we  first  stepped  aboard, 
all  was  hidden  under  the  droppings  of  innumerable 
sea-birds. 

The  birds  themselves  gyrated  and  screamed  mean- 
while among  the  rigging ;  and  when  we  looked  into 
the  galley,  their  outrush  drove  us  back.  Savage- 
looking  fowl  they  were,  savagely  beaked,  and  some  of 
the  black  ones  great  as  eagles.  Half  buried  in  the 
slush,  we  were  aware  of  a  litter  of  kegs  in  the  waist ; 
and  these,  on  being  somewhat  cleaned,  proved  to  be 
water  beakers  and  quarter-casks  of  mess  beef  with 
some  colonial  brand,  doubtless  collected  there  before 
the  Tempest  hove  in  sight,  and  while  Trent  and  his 
men  had  no  better  expectation  than  to  strike  for 
Honolulu  in  the  boats.  Nothing  else  was  notable  on 
deck,  save  where  the  loose  topsail  had  played  some 
havoc  with  the  rigging,  and  there  hung,  and  swayed, 
and  sang  in  the  declining  wind,  a  raffle  of  intorted 
cordage. 


THE   ISLAND   AND   THE    WRECK.  209 

With  a  shyness  that  was  almost  awe,  Nares  and  I 
descended  the  companion.  The  stair  turned  upon 
itself  and  landed  us  just  forward  of  a  thwart-ship 
bulkhead  that  cut  the  poop  in  two.  The  fore  part 
formed  a  kind  of  miscellaneous  storeroom,  with  a 
double  bunked  division  for  the  cook  (as  Nares  sup- 
posed) and  second  mate.  The  after  part  contained,  in 
the  midst,  the  main  cabin,  running  in  a  kind  of  bow 
into  the  curvature  of  the  stern ;  on  the  port  side,  a 
pantry  opening  forward  and  a  stateroom  for  the  mate ; 
and  on  the  starboard,  the  captain's  berth  and  water- 
closet.  Into  these  we  did  but  glance,  the  main  cabin 
holding  us.  It  was  dark,  for  the  sea-birds  had 
obscured  the  skylight  with  their  droppings ;  it  smelt 
rank  and  fusty ;  and  it  was  beset  with  a  loud  swarm 
of  flies  that  beat  continually  in  our  faces.  Supposing 
them  close  attendants  upon  man  and  his  broken 
meat,  I  marvelled  how  they  had  found  their  way  to 
Midway  Reef;  it  was  sure  at  least  some  vessel  must 
have  brought  them,  and  that  long  ago,  for  they  had 
multiplied  exceedingly.  Part  of  the  floor  was  strewn 
with  a  confusion  of  clothes,  books,  nautical  instru- 
ments, odds  and  ends  of  finery,  and  such  trash  as 
might  be  expected  from  the  turning  out  of  several 
seamen's  chests,  upon  a  sudden  emergency  and  after 
a  long  cruise.  It  was  strange  in  that  dim  cabin, 
quivering  with  the  near  thunder  of  the  breakers  and 
pierced  with  the  screaming  of  the  fowls,  to  turn  over 
so  many  things  that  other  men  had  coveted,  and 
prized,  and  worn  on  their  warm  bodies — frayed  old 
underclothing,  pyjamas  of  strange  design,  duck  suits 
in  every  stage  of  rustiness,  oil  skins,  pilot  coats, 
bottles  of  scent,  embroidered  shirts,  jackets  of  Ponjee 
silk — clothes  for  the  night  watch  at  sea  or  the  day 
ashore  in  the  hotel  verandah :  and  mingled  among 
these,  books,  cigars,  fancy  pipes,  quantities  of  tobacco, 
many  keys,  a  rusty  pisto],  and  a  sprinkling  of  cheap 
curiosities — Benares  brass,  Chinese  jars  and  pictures, 


210  THE   WRECKER. 

and  bottles  of  odd  shells  in  cotton,  each  designed,  no 
doubt,  for  somebody  at  home — perhaps  in  Hull,  of 
which  Trent  had  been  a  native  and  his  ship  a  citizen. 

Thence  we  turned  our  attention  to  the  table,  which 
stood  spread,  as  if  for  a  meal,  with  stout  ship's  crockery 
and  the  remains  of  food — a  pot  of  marmalade,  dregs 
of  coffee  in  the  mugs,  unrecognisable  remains  of  food, 
bread,  some  toast,  and  a  tin  of  condensed  milk.  The 
table-cloth,  originally  of  a  red  colour,  was  stained  a  dark 
brown  at  the  captain's  end,  apparently  with  coffee;  at 
the  other  end,  it  had  been  folded  back,  and  a  pen  and 
ink-pot  stood  on  the  bare  table.  Stools  were  here 
and  there  about  the  table,  irregularly  placed,  as  though 
the  meal  had  been  finished  and  the  men  smoking  and 
chatting;  and  one  of  the  stools  lay  on  the  floor, 
broken. 

"  See  !  they  were  writing  up  the  log,"  said  Nares, 
pointing  to  the  ink-bottle.  "  Caught  napping,  as  usual. 
I  wonder  if  there  ever  was  a  captain  yet  that  lost  a 
ship  with  his  log-book  up  to  date  ?  He  generally  has 
about  a  month  to  fill  up  on  a  clean  break,  like  Cnarles 
Dickens  and  his  serial  novels.  What  a  regular,  lime- 
juicer  spread!"  he  added  contemptuously.  "  Marmalade 
— and  toast  for  the  old  man  !     Nasty,  slovenly  pigs ! " 

There  was  something  in  this  criticism  of  the  absent 
that  jarred  upon  my  feelings.  I  had  no  love  indeed 
for  Captain  Trent  or  any  of  his  vanished  gang ;  but 
the  desertion  and  decay  of  this  once  habitable  cabin 
struck  me  hard.  The  death  of  man's  handiwork  is 
melancholy  like  the  death  of  man  himself ;  and  I  was 
impressed  with  an  involuntary  and  irrational  sense  of 
tragedy  in  my  surroundings. 

"  This  sicfcens  me,"  I  said ;  "  let's  go  on  deck  and 
breathe." 

The  captain  nodded.  "  It  is  kind  of  lonely,  isn't 
it  ? "  he  said  ;  "  but  I  can't  go  up  till  I  get  the  code 
signals.  I  want  to  run  up  '  Got  Left '  or  something, 
just  to  brighten  up  this  island  home.     Captain  Trent 


THE   ISLAND   AND   THE   WRECK.  211 

hasn't  been  here  yet,  but  he'll  drop  in  before  long ; 
and  it'll  cheer  him  up  to  see  a  signal  on  the  brig." 

"  Isn't  there  some  official  expression  we  could  use?" 
I  asked,  vastly  taken  by  the  fancy.  " '  Sold  for  the 
benefit  of  the  underwriters :  for  further  particulars 
apply  to  J.  Pinkerton,  Montana  Block,  S.F.' 

"  Well,"  returned  Nares,  "  I  won't  say  but  what  an 
old  navy  quartermaster  might  telegraph  all  that,  if 
you  gave  him  a  day  to  do  it  in  and  a  pound  of  tobacco 
for  himself.  But  it's  above  my  register.  I  must  try 
something  short  and  sweet :  KB,  urgent  signal, 
'  Heave  all  aback ; '  or  LM,  urgent,  '  The  berth  you're 
now  in  is  not  safe ; '  or  what  do  you  say  to  PQH  ? — 
'  Tell  my  owners  the  ship  answers  remarkably  well.' " 

"  It's  premature,"  I  replied ; "  but  it  seems  calculated 
to  give  pain  to  Trent.     PQH  for  me." 

The  flags  were  found  in  Trent's  cabin,  neatly  stored 
behind  a  lettered  grating ;  Nares  chose  what  he 
required,  and  (I  following)  returned  on  deck,  where 
the  sun  had  already  dipped,  and  the  dusk  was  coming. 

"  Here  !  don't  touch  that,  you  fool  I "  shouted  the 
captain  to  one  of  the  hands,  who  was  drinking  from 
the  scuttle  butt.     "  That  water's  rotten !  " 

"  Beg  pardon,  sir,"  replied  the  man.  "  Tastes  quite 
sweet." 

*  Let  me  see,"  returned  Nares,  and  he  took  the 
dipper  and  held  it  to  his  lips.  "  Yes,  it's  all  right," 
he  said.  "  Must  have  rotted  and  come  sweet  again. 
Queer,  isn't  it,  Mr.  Dodd  ?  Though  I've  known  the 
same  on  a  Cape  Horner." 

There  was  something  in  his  intonation  that  made 
me  look  him  in  the  face ;  he  stood  a  little  on  tiptoe 
to  look  right  and  left  about  the  ship,  like  a  man  filled 
with  curiosity,  and  his  whole  expression  and  bearing 
testified  to  some  suppressed  excitement. 

"  You  don't  believe  what  you're  saying ! "  I  broke 
out. 

"  Oh,  I  don't  know  but  what  I  do ! "  he  replied, 
o  2 


212  THE   WRECKER. 

laying  a  hand  upon  me  soothingly.  "The  thing's 
very  possible.  Only,  I'm  bothered  about  something 
else." 

And  with  that  he  called  a  hand,  gave  him  the 
code  flags,  and  stepped  himself  to  the  main  signal 
halliards,  which  vibrated  under  the  weight  of  the 
ensign  overhead.  A  minute  later,  the  American 
colours,  which  we  had  brought  in  the  boat,  replaced 
the  English  red,  and  PQH  was  fluttering  at  the 
fore. 

"Now,  then,"  said  Nares,  who  had  watched  the 
breaking  out  of  his  signal  with  the  old-maidish  par- 
ticularity of  an  American  sailor,  "  out  with  those 
handspikes,  and  let's  see  what  water  there  is  in  the 
lagoon." 

The  bars  were  shoved  home ;  the  barbarous  caco- 
phony of  the  clanking  pump  rose  in  the  waist ;  and 
streams  of  ill-smelling  water  gushed  on  deck  and 
made  valleys  in  the  slab  guano.  Nares  leaned  on  the 
rail,  watching  the  steady  stream  of  bilge  as  though  he 
found  some  interest  in  it. 

"  What  is  it  that  bothers  you  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  Well,  I'll  tell  you  one  thing  shortly,"  he  replied. 
"  But  here's  another.  Do  you  see  those  boats  there, 
one  on  the  house  and  two  on  the  beds  ?  Well,  where 
is  the  boat  Trent  lowered  when  he  lost  the  hands  ? " 

"  Got  it  aboard  again,  I  suppose,"  said  I. 

"  Well,  if  you'll  tell  me  why ! "  returned  the 
captain. 

"  Then  it  must  have  been  another,"  I  suggested. 

"  She  might  have  carried  another  on  the  main 
hatch,  I  won't  deny,"  admitted  Nares,  "  but  I  can't 
see  what  she  wanted  with  it,  unless  it  was  for  the  old 
man  to  go  out  and  play  the  accordion  in,  on  moon- 
light nights." 

"  It  can't  much  matter,  anyway,"  I  reflected. 

"  Oh,  I  don't  suppose  it  does,"  said  he,  glancing 
over  his  shoulder  at  the  spouting  of  the  scuppers. 


THE   ISLAND   AND  THE   WRECK.  213 

"  And  how  long  are  we  to  keep  up  this  racket  ? " 
I  asked.  "  We're  simply  pumping  up  the  lagoon. 
Captain  Trent  himself  said  she  had  settled  down  and 
was  full  forward." 

"  Did  he  ? "  said  Nares,  with  a  significant  dryness. 
And  almost  as  he  spoke  the  pumps  sucked,  and 
sucked  again,  and  the  men  threw  down  their  bars. 
"  There,  what  do  you  make  of  that  ? "  he  asked. 
"  Now,  I'll  tell,  Mr.  Dodd,"  he  went  on,  lowering  his 
voice,  but  not  shifting  from  his  easy  attitude  against 
the  rail,  "  this  ship  is  as  sound  as  the  Norah  Greina. 
I  had  a  guess  of  it  before  we  came  aboard,  and  now  I 
know." 

"  It's  not  possible ! "  I  cried.  "  What  do  you  make 
of  Trent?" 

"  I  don't  make  anything  of  Trent ;  I  don't  know 
whether  he's  a  liar  or  only  an  old  wife ;  I  simply  tell 
you  what's  the  fact,"  said  Nares.  "  And  I'll  tell  you 
something  more,"  he  added:  "  I've  taken  the  ground 
myself  in  deep-water  vessels;  I  know  what  I'm 
saying ;  and  I  say  that,  when  she  first  struck  and 
before  she  bedded  down,  seven  or  eight  hours'  work 
would  have  got  this  hooker  off,  and  there's  no  man 
that  ever  went  two  years  to  sea  but  must  have  known 
it." 

I  could  only  utter  an  exclamation. 

Nares  raised  his  finger  warningly.  "Don't  let 
them  get  hold  of  it,"  said  he.  "  Think  what  you  like, 
but  say  nothing." 

I  glanced  round ;  the  dusk  was  melting  into  early 
night ;  the  twinkle  of  a  lantern  marked  the  schooner's 
position  in  the  distance;  and  our  men,  free  from 
further  labour,  stood  grouped  together  in  the  waist, 
their  faces  illuminated  by  their  glowing  pipes. 

"Why  didn't  Trent  get  her  off?"  inquired  the 
captain.  "  Why  did  he  want  to  buy  her  back  in  'Frisco 
for  these  fabulous  sums,  when  he  might  have  sailed 
her  into  the  bay  himself  ? " 


214  THE   WRECKER. 

"Perhaps  he  never  knew  her  value  until  then/' 
I  suggested. 

"f  wish  we  knew  her  value  now,"  exclaimed  Nares. 
"  However,  I  don't  want  to  depress  you  ;  I'm  sorry  for 
you,  Mr.  Dodd ;  I  know  how  bothering  it  must  be  to 
you,  and  the  best  I  can  say's  this :  I  haven't  taken 
much  time  getting  down,  and  now  I'm  here  I  mean  to 
work  this  thing  in  proper  style.  I  just  want  to  put 
your  mind  at  rest ;  you  shall  have  no  trouble  with 
me." 

There  was  something  trusty  and  friendly  in  his 
voice ;  and  I  found  myself  gripping  hands  with  him, 
in  that  hard,  short  shake  that  means  so  much  with 
English-speaking  people. 

"We'll  do,  old  fellow,"  said  he.  "We've  shaken 
down  into  pretty  good  friends,  you  and  me ;  and  you 
won't  find  me  working  the  business  any  the  less  hard 
for  that.     And  now  let's  scoot  for  supper." 

After  supper,  with  the  idle  curiosity  of  the  sea- 
farer, we  pulled  ashore  in  a  fine  moonlignt,  and  landed 
on  Middle  Brooks  Island.  A  flat  beach  surrounded 
it  upon  all  sides ;  and  the  midst  was  occupied  by  a 
thicket  of  bushes,  the  highest  of  them  scarcely  five 
feet  high,  in  which  the  sea-fowl  lived.  Through  this 
we  tried  at  first  to  strike ;  but  it  were  easier  to  cross 
Trafalgar  Square  upon  a  day  of  demonstration  than  to 
invade  these  haunts  of  sleeping  sea-birds.  The  nests 
sank,  and  the  eggs  burst  under  footing  ;  wings  beat  in 
our  faces,  beaks  menaced  our  eyes,  our  minds  were 
confounded  with  the  screeching,  and  the  coil  spread 
over  the  island  and  mounted  high  into  the  air. 

"I  guess  we'll  saunter  round  the  beach,"  said 
Nares,  when  we  had  made  good  our  retreat. 

The  hands  were  all  busy  after  sea-birds'  eggs,  so 
there  were  none  to  follow  us.  Our  way  lay  on  the 
crisp  sand  by  the  margin  of  the  water :  on  one  side, 
the  thicket  from  which  we  had  been  dislodged;  on 
the  other,  the  face  of  the  lagoon,  barred  with  a  broad 


THE   ISLAND   AND   THE   WRECK.  215 

path  of  moonlight,  and  beyond  that  the  line,  alternately 
dark  and  shining,  alternately  hove  high  and  fallen 
prone,  of  the  external  breakers.  The  beach  was  strewn 
with  bits  of  wreck  and  drift :  some  redwood  and  spruce 
logs,  no  less  than  two  lower  masts  of  junks,  and  the 
stern-post  of  a  European  ship — all  of  which  we  looked 
on  with  a  shade  01  serious  concern,  speaking  of  the 
dangers  of  the  sea  and  the  hard  case  of  castaways.  In 
this  sober  vein  we  made  the  greater  part  of  the  circuit 
of  the  island  ;  had  a  near  view  of  its  neighbour  from 
the  southern  end;  walked  the  whole  length  of  the 
westerly  side  in  the  shadow  of  the  thicket ;  and  came 
forth  again  into  the  moonlight  at  the  opposite  extremity. 

On  our  right,  at  the  distance  of  about  half  a  mile, 
the  schooner  lay  faintly  heaving  at  her  anchors. 
About  half  a  mile  down  the  beach,  at  a  spot  still 
hidden  from  us  by  the  thicket,  an  upboiling  of  the 
birds  showed  where  the  men  were  still  (with  sailor-like 
insatiability)  collecting  eggs.  And  right  before  us,  in 
a  small  indentation  of  the  sand,  we  were  aware  of  a 
boat  lying  high  and  dry,  and  right  side  up. 

Nares  crouched  back  into  the  shadow  of  the  bushes. 

"  What  the  devil's  this  ? "  he  whispered. 

"  Trent,"  I  suggested,  with  a  beating  heart. 

"  We  were  damned  fools  to  come  ashore  unarmed," 
said  he.  "  But  I've  got  to  know  where  I  stand."  In 
the  shadow,  his  face  looked  conspicuously  white,  and 
his  voice  betrayed  a  strong  excitement.  He  took  his 
boat's  whistle  from  his  pocket.  "  In  case  I  might 
want  to  play  a  tune,"  said  he,  grimly,  and  thrusting  it 
between  his  teeth,  advanced  into  the  moonlit  open, 
which  we  crossed  with  rapid  steps,  looking  guiltily 
about  us  as  we  went.  Not  a  leaf  stirred ;  and  the 
boat,  when  we  came  up  to  it,  offered  convincing  proof 
of  long  desertion.  She  was  an  eighteen-foot  whale- 
boat  of  the  ordinary  type,  equipped  with  oars  and 
thole-pins.  Two  or  three  quarter-casks  lay  on  the 
bilge  amidships,  one  of  which  must  have  been  broached, 


216  THE   WRECKER. 

and  now  stank  horribly ;  and  these,  upon  examination, 
proved  to  bear  the  same  New  Zealand  brand  as  the 
beef  on  board  the  wreck. 

"  Well,  here's  the  boat,"  said  I ;  "  here's  one  of 
your  difficulties  cleared  away." 

"  H'm,"  said  he.  There  was  a  little  water  in  the 
bilge,  and  here  he  stooped  and  tasted  it. 

"  Fresh,"  he  said.     "  Only  rain  water." 

"  You  don't  object  to  that  ?"  I  asked. 

"  No,"  said  he. 

"  Well,  then,  what  ails  you  ? "  I  cried. 

"  In  plain  United  States,  Mr.  Dodd,"  he  returned, 
"  a  whaleboat,  five  ash  sweeps,  and  a  barrel  of  stinking* 
pork."  •  f, 

"Or,  in  other  words,  the  whole  thing?"  I  com- 
mented. 

"  Well,  it's  this  way,"  he  condescended  to  explain. 
"  I've  no  use  for  a  fourth  boat  at  all ;  but  a  boat  of 
this  model  tops  the  business.  I  don't  say  the  type's 
not  common  in  these  waters  ;  it's  as  common  as  dirt ; 
the  traders  carry  them  for  surf- boats.  But  the  Flying 
Scud  ?  a  deep-water  tramp,  who  was  lime-juicing 
around  between  big  ports,  Calcutta  and  Rangoon  and 
'Frisco  and  the  Canton  River  ?     No,  I  don't  see  it." 

We  were  leaning  over  the  gunwale  of  the  boat  as 
we  spoke.  The  captain  stood  nearest  the  bow,  and  he 
was  idly  playing  with  the  trailing  painter,  when  a 
thought  arrested  him.  He  hauled  the  line  in  hand 
over  hand,  and  stared,  and  remained  staring,  at  the 
end. 

"  Anything  wrong  with  it  ? "  I  asked. 

"  Do  you  know,  Mr.  Dodd,"  said  he,  in  a  queer 
voice,  this  painter's  been  cut  ?  A  sailor  always  seizes 
a  rope's  end,  but  this  is  sliced  short  off  with  the  cold 
steel.  This  won't  do  at  all  for  the  men,"  he  added. 
"  Just  stand  by  till  I  fix  it  up  more  natural." 

"  Any  guess  what  it  all  means  ? "  I  asked. 

w  Well,  it  means  one  thing,"  said  ha     "  It  means 


THE   CABIN   OF   THE   "FLYING   SCUD."  217 

Trent  was  a  liar.  I  guess  the  story  of  the  Flying 
Scud  was  a  sight  more  picturesque  than  he  gave 
out." 

Half  an  hour  later  the  whaleboat  was  lying  astern 
of  the  Norah  Greina  ;  and  Nares  and  T  sought  our 
bunks,  silent  and  half  bewildered  by  our  late  dis- 
coveries. 


CHAPTER  XIY. 

THE   CABIN   OF   THE    "FLYING   SCUD." 

The  sun  of  the  morrow  had  not  cleared  the  morning 
bank  :  the  lake  of  the  lagoon,  the  islets,  and  the  wall 
of  breakers  now  beginning  to  subside,  still  lay  clearly 
pictured  in  the  flushed  obscurity  of  early  day,  when 
we  stepped  again  upon  the  deck  of  the  Flying  Scud  : 
Nares,  myself,  the  mate,  two  of  the  hands,  and  one 
dozen  bright,  virgin  axes,  in  war  against  that  massive 
structure.  I  think  we  all  drew  pleasurable  breath; 
so  profound  in  man  is  the  instinct  of  destruction,  so 
engaging  is  the  interest  of  the  chase.  For  we  were 
now  about  to  taste,  in  a  supreme  degree,  the  double 
joys  of  demolishing  a  toy  and  playing  "  Hide  the 
handkerchief" — sports  from  which  we  had  all  perhaps 
desisted  since  the  days  of  infancy.  And  the  toy  we 
were  to  burst  in  pieces  was  a  deep-sea  ship ;  and  the 
hidden  good  for  which  we  were  to  hunt  was  a  pro- 
digious fortune. 

The  decks  were  washed  down,  the  main  hatch 
removed,  and  a  gun- tackle  purchase  rigged,  before  the 
boat  arrived  with  breakfast.  I  had  grown  so  suspicious 
of  the  wreck,  that  it  was  a  positive  relief  to  me  to  look 
down  into  the  hold,  and  see  it  full,  or  nearly  full  of 
undeniable  rice  packed  in  the  Chinese  fashion  in  boluses 
of  matting.  Breakfast  over,  Johnson  and  the  hands 
turned  to  upon  the  cargo  ;  while  Nares  and  I,  having 


218  THE   WRECKER. 

smashed  open  the  skylight  and  rigged  up  a  windsail 
on  deck,  began  the  work  of  rummaging  the  cabins. 

I  must  not  be  expected  to  describe  our  first  day's 
work,  or  (for  that  matter)  any  of  the  rest,  in  order  and 
detail  as  it  occurred.  Such  particularity  might  have 
been  possible  for  several  officers  and  a  draft  of  men 
from  a  ship  of  war,  accompanied  by  an  experienced 
secretary  with  a  knowledge  of  shorthand.  For  two 
plain  human  beings,  unaccustomed  to  the  use  of  the 
broad-axe  and  consumed  with  an  impatient  greed  of 
the  result,  the  whole  business  melts,  in  the  retrospect, 
into  a  nightmare  of  exertion,  heat,  hurry,  and  be- 
wilderment ;  sweat  pouring  from  the  face  like  rain, 
the  scurry  of  rats,  the  choking  exhalations  of  the 
bilge,  and  the  throbs  and  splinterings  of  the  toiling 
axes.  I  shall  content  myself  with  giving  the  cream  of 
our  discoveries  in  a  logical  rather  than  a  temporal 
order ;  though  the  two  indeed  practically  coincided  and 
we  had  finished  our  exploration  of  the  cabin,  before 
we  could  be  certain  of  the  nature  of  the  cargo. 

Nares  and  I  began  operations  by  tossing  up  pell- 
mell  through  the  companion,  and  piling  in  a  squalid 
heap  about  the  wheel,  all  clothes,  personal  effects,  the 
crockery,  the  carpet,  stale  victuals,  tins  of  meat,  and 
in  a  word,  all  movables  from  the  main  cabin. 
Thence  we  transferred  our  attention  to  the  captain's 
quarters  on  the  starboard  side.  Using  the  blankets 
for  a  basket,  we  sent  up  the  books,  instruments,  and 
clothes  to  swell  our  growing  midden  on  the  deck  ;  and 
then  Nares,  going  on  hands  and  knees,  began  to  forage 
underneath  the  bed.  Box  after  box  of  Manilla  cigars 
rewarded  his  search.  I  took  occasion  to  smash  some 
of  these  boxes  open,  and  even  to  guillotine  the  bundles 
of  cigars  ;  but  quite  in  vain — no  secret  cache  of  opium 
encouraged  me  to  continue. 

"  I  guess  I've  got  hold  of  the  dicky  now ! "  ex- 
claimed Nares,  and  turning  round  from  my  perquisi- 
tions, I  found  he  had  drawn  forth  a  heavy  iron  box, 


And  lo  !    there  was  disclosed  but  a  trayful  of  papers"  (p.  219). 


THE   CABIN   OF   THE   "FLYING  SCUD."  219 

secured  to  the  bulkhead  by  chain  and  padlock.  On 
this  he  was  now  gazing,  not  with  the  triumph  that 
instantly  inflamed  my  own  bosom,  but  with  a  some- 
what foolish  appearance  of  surprise. 

"  By  George,  we  have  it  now ! "  I  cried,  and  would 
have  shaken  nands  with  my  companion ;  but  he  did 
not  see,  or  would  not  accept,  the  salutation. 

"Let's  see  what's  in  it  first,"  he  remarked  dryly. 
And  he  adjusted  the  box  upon  its  side,  and  with  some 
blows  of  an  axe  burst  the  lock  open.  I  threw  myself 
beside  him,  as  he  replaced  the  box  on  its  bottom  and 
removed  the  lid.  I  cannot  tell  what  I  expected;  a 
million's  worth  of  diamonds  might  perhaps  have 
pleased  me;  my  cheeks  burned,  my  heart  throbbed 
to  bursting  ;  and  lo  !  there  was  disclosed  but  a  trayful 
of  papers,  neatly  taped,  and  a  cheque-book  of  the 
customary  pattern.  I  made  a  snatch  at  the  tray  to 
see  what  was  beneath,  but  the  captain's  hand  fell  on 
mine,  heavy  and  hard. 

"  Now,  boss ! "  he  cried,  not  unkindly,  "  is  this  to 
be  run  shipshape  ?  or  is  it  a  Dutch  grab-racket  ? " 

And  he  proceeded  to  untie  and  run  over  the 
contents  of  the  papers,  with  a  serious  face  and  what 
seemed   an  ostentation  of  delay.      Me  and  my  im- 

Eatience  it  would  appear  he  had  forgotten ;  for  when 
e  was  quite  done,  he  sat  awhile  thinking,  whistled  a 
bar  or  two,  refolded  the  papers,  tied  them  up  again ; 
and  then,  and  not  before,  deliberately  raised  the  tray. 

I  saw  a  cigar-box,  tied  with  a  piece  of  fishing-line, 
and  four  fat  canvas  bags.  Nares  whipped  out  his 
knife,  cut  the  line,  and  opened  the  box.  It  was  about 
half  full  of  sovereigns. 

"  And  the  bags  ? "  I  whispered. 

The  captain  ripped  them  open  one  by  one,  and  a 
flood  of  mixed  silver  coin  burst  forth  and  rattled  in 
the  rusty  bottom  of  the  box.  Without  a  word,  he  set 
to  work  to  count  the  gold. 

"  What  is  this  ? "  I  asked. 


220  THE   WRECKER. 

"It's  the  ship's  money/'  he  returned,  doggedly- 
continuing  his  work. 

"The  ship's  money?"  I  repeated.  "That's  the 
money  Trent  tramped  and  traded  with  ?  And  there's 
his  cheque-book  to  draw  upon  his  owners  ?  And  he 
has  left  it  ? " 

"I  guess  he  has,"  said  Nares  austerely,  jotting 
down  a  note  of  the  gold;  and  I  was  abashed  into 
silence  till  his  task  should  be  completed. 

It  came,  I  think,  to  three  hundred  and  seventy- 
eight  pounds  sterling ;  some  nineteen  pounds  of  it  in 
silver :  all  of  which  we  turned  again  into  the  chest. 

"  And  what  do  you  think  of  that  ? "  I  asked. 

"  Mr.  Dodd,"  he  replied,  "  you  see  something  of  the 
rumness  of  this  job,  but  not  the  whole.  The  specie 
bothers  you,  but  what  gets  me  is  the  papers.  Are 
you  aware  that  the  master  of  a  ship  has  charge  of  all 
the  cash  in  hand,  pays  the  men  advances,  receives 
freight  and  passage  money,  and  runs  up  bills  in  every 
port  ?  All  this  he  does  as  the  owner's  confidential 
agent,  and  his  integrity  is  proved  by  his  receipted 
bills.  I  tell  you,  the  captain  of  a  ship  is  more  likely 
to  forget  his  pants  than  these  bills  which  guarantee 
his  character.  I've  known  men  drown  to  save  them — 
bad  men,  too;  but  this  is  the  shipmaster's  honour. 
And  here  this  Captain  Trent — not  hurried,  not 
threatened  with  anything  but  a  free  passage  in  a 
British  man-of-war — has  left  them  all  behind.  I 
don't  want  to  express  myself  too  strongly,  because 
the  facts  appear  against  me,  but  the  thing  is  im- 
possible." 

Dinner  came  to  us  not  long  after,  and  we  ate  it 
on  deck,  in  a  grim  silence,  each  privately  racking 
his  brain  for  some  solution  of  the  mysteries.  I  was, 
indeed,  so  swallowed  up  in  these  considerations  that 
the  wreck,  the  lagoon,  the  islets,  and  the  strident 
sea-fowl,  the  strong  sun  then  beating  on  my  head, 
and  even  the  gloomy  countenance  of  the  captain  at 


THE   CABIN   OF   THE   "FLYING   SCUD."  221 

my  elbow,  all  vanished  from  the  field  of  conscious- 
ness. My  mind  was  a  blackboard,  on  which  I 
scrawled  and  blotted  out  hypotheses,  comparing 
each  with  the  pictorial  records  in  my  memory — 
ciphering  with  pictures.  In  the  course  of  this  tense 
mental  exercise  I  recalled  and  studied  the  faces  of 
one  memorial  masterpiece,  the  scene  of  the  saloon; 
and  here  I  found  myself,  on  a  sudden,  looking  in  the 
eyes  of  the  Kanaka. 

"There's  one  thing  I  can  put  beyond  doubt,  at 
all  events,"  I  cried,  relinquishing  my  dinner  and 
getting  briskly  afoot.  "There  was  that  Kanaka  I 
saw  in  the  bar  with  Captain  Trent,  the  fellow  the 
newspapers  and  ship's  articles  made  out  to  be  a 
Chinaman.  I  mean  to  rout  his  quarters  out  and 
settle  that." 

"  All  right,"  said  Nares.  "  I'll  lazy  off  a  bit  longer, 
Mr.  Dodd ;  I  feel  pretty  rocky  and  mean." 

"We  had  thoroughly  cleared  out  the  three  after- 
compartments  of  the  ship;  all  the  stuff  from  the 
main  cabin  and  the  mate's  and  captain's  quarters  lay 
piled  about  the  wheel ;  but  in  the  forward  stateroom 
with  the  two  bunks,  where  Nares  had  said  the  mate 
and  cook  most  likely  berthed,  we  had  as  yet  done 
nothing.  Thither  I  went.  It  was  very  bare;  a  few 
photographs  were  tacked  on  the  bulkhead,  one  of 
them  indecent;  a  single  chest  stood  open,  and  like 
all  we  had  yet  found,  it  had  been  partly  rifled.  An 
armful  of  two-shilling  novels  proved  to  me  beyond 
a  doubt  it  was  a  European's;  no  Chinaman  would 
have  possessed  any,  and  the  most  literate  Kanaka 
conceivable  in  a  ship's  galley  was  not  likely  to  have 
gone  beyond  one.  It  was  plain,  then,  that  the  cook 
had  not  berthed  aft,  and  I  must  look  elsewhere. 

The  men  had  stamped  down  the  nests  and  driven 
the  birds  from  the  galley,  so  that  I  could  now  enter 
without  contest.  One  door  had  been  already  blocked 
with  rice;  the  place  was  in  part  darkness,  full  of  a 


222  THE  WRECKER. 

foul  stale  smell,  and  a  cloud  of  nasty  flies;  it  had 
been  left,  besides,  in  some  disorder,  or  else  the  birds, 
during  their  time  of  tenancy,  had  knocked  the  things 
about ;  and  the  floor,  like  the  deck  before  we  washed 
it,  was  spread  with  pasty  filth.  Against  the  wall, 
in  the  far  corner,  I  found  a  handsome  chest  of 
camphor  wood  bound  with  brass,  such  as  Chinamen 
and  sailors  love,  and  indeed  all  of  mankind  that 
plies  in  the  Pacific.  From  its  outside  view  I  could 
thus  make  no  deduction;  and,  strange  to  say,  the 
interior  was  concealed.  All  the  other  chests,  as  I 
have  said  already,  we  had  found  gaping  open 
and  their  contents  scattered  abroad;  the  same 
remark  we  found  to  apply  afterwards  in  the  quarters 
of  the  seamen;  only  this  camphor- wood  chest,  a 
singular  exception,  was  both  closed  and  locked. 

I  took  an  axe  to  it,  readily  forced  the  paltry 
Chinese  fastening,  and,  like  a  Custom  House  officer, 
plunged  my  hands  among  the  contents.  For  some 
while  I  groped  among  linen  and  cotton.  Then  my 
teeth  were  set  on  edge  with  silk,  of  which  I  drew 
forth  several  strips  covered  with  mysterious 
characters.  And  these  settled  the  business,  for  I 
recognised  them  as  a  kind  of  bed-hanging,  popular 
with  the  commoner  class  of  the  Chinese.  Nor  were 
farther  evidences  wanting,  such  as  night-clothes  of 
an  extraordinary  design,  a  three-stringed  Chinese 
fiddle,  a  silk  handkerchief  full  of  roots  and  herbs, 
and  a  neat  apparatus  for  smoking  opium,  with  a 
liberal  provision  of  the  drug.  Plainly,  then,  the 
cook  had  been  a  Chinaman;  and,  if  so,  who  was 
Jos.  Amalu  ?  Or  had  Jos.  stolen  the  chest  before 
he  proceeded  to  ship  under  a  false  name  and  domi- 
cile ?  It  was  possible,  as  anything  was  possible  in 
such  a  welter;  but,  regarded  as  a  solution,  it  only 
led  and  left  me  deeper  in  the  bog.  For  why  should 
this  chest  have  been  deserted  and  neglected,  when 
the  others  were  rummaged  or  removed  ?     and  where 


THE   CABIN   OF   THE   "FLYING   SCUD."  223 

had  Jos.  come  by  that  second  chest,  with  which 
(according  to  the  clerk  at  the  What  Cheer)  he  had 
started  for  Honolulu  ? 

"  And  how  have  you  fared  ? "  inquired  the  captain, 
whom  I  found  luxuriously  reclining  in  our  mound 
of  litter.  And  the  accent  on  the  pronoun,  the  height- 
ened colour  of  the  speaker's  face,  and  the  contained 
excitement  in  his  tones,  advertised  me  at  once  that 
I  had  not  been  alone  to  make  discoveries. 

"  I  have  found  a  Chinaman's  chest  in  the  galley," 
said  I,  "  and  John  (if  there  was  any  John)  was  not  so 
much  as  at  the  pains  to  take  his  opium." 

Nares  seemed  to  take  it  mighty  quietly.  "  That 
so  ? "  said  he.  "  Now,  cast  your  eyes  on  that  and  own 
you're  beaten ! "  And  with  a  formidable  clap  of  his 
open  hand,  he  flattened  out  before  me,  on  the  deck,  a 
pair  of  newspapers. 

I  gazed  upon  them  dully,  being  in  no  mood  for 
fresh  discoveries. 

"  Look  at  them,  Mr.  Dodd,"  cried  the  captain 
sharply.  "  Can't  you  look  at  them  ? "  And  he  ran  a 
dirty  thumb  along  the  title.  "'  Sydney  Morning 
Herald,  November  26th,'  can't  you  make  that  out  ? 
he  cried,  with  rising  energy.  "  And  don't  you  know, 
sir,  that  not  thirteen  days  after  this  paper  appeared 
in  New  South  Pole,  this  ship  we're  standing  in  heaved 
her  blessed  anchors  out  of  China  ?  How  did  the 
Sydney  Morning  Herald  get  to  Hong  Kong  in 
thirteen  days  ?  Trent  made  no  land,  he  spoke  no 
ship,  till  he  got  here.  Then  he  either  got  it  here  or 
in  Hong  Kong.  I  give  you  your  choice,  my  son ! " 
he  cried,  and  fell  back  among  the  clothes  like  a  man 
weary  of  life. 

"  Where  did  you  find  them  ? "  I  asked.  "  In  that 
black  bag  ? " 

"  Guess  so,"  he  said.  "  You  needn't  fool  with  it. 
There's  nothing  else  but  a  lead-pencil  and  a  kind  of 
worked-out  knife." 


224  THE   WRECKER. 

I  looked  in  the  bag,  however,  and  was  well 
rewarded. 

"Every  man  to  his  trade,  captain,"  said  I. 
"  You're  a  sailor,  and  you've  given  me  plenty  of 
points ;  but  I  am  an  artist,  and  allow  me  to  inform 
you  this  is  quite  as  strange  as  all  the  rest.  The  knife 
is  a  palette  knife ;  the  pencil  a  Winsor  and  Newton, 
and  a  B  B  B  at  that.  A  palette  knife  and  a  B  B  B 
on  a  tramp  brig !     It's  against  the  laws  of  nature." 

"  It  would  sicken  a  dog,  wouldn't  it  ? "  said  Nares. 

"Yes."  I  continued,  "it's  been  used  by  an  artist, 
too :  see  how  it's  sharpened — not  for  writing — no  man 
could  write  with  that.  An  artist,  and  straight  from 
Sydney  ?    How  can  he  come  in  ? " 

"Oh,  that's  natural  enough,"  sneered  Nares. 
"They  cabled  him  to  come  up  and  illustrate  this 
dime  novel." 

We  fell  awhile  silent. 

"  Captain,"  I  said  at  last,  "  there  is  something 
deuced  underhand  about  this  brig.  You  tell  me 
you've  been  to  sea  a  good  part  of  your  life.  You 
must  have  seen  shady  things  done  on  ships,  and 
heard  of  more.  Well,  what  is  this  ?  is  it  insurance  ? 
is  it  piracy  ?  what  is  it  about  $  what  can  it  be  for  ?  " 

"  Mr.  Dodd,"  returned  Nares,  "  you're  right  about 
me  having  been  to  sea  the  bigger  part  of  my  life. 
And  you're  right  again  when  you  think  I  know  a 
good  many  ways  in  which  a  dishonest  captain  mayn't 
be  on  the  square,  nor  do  exactly  the  right  thing  by 
his  owners,  and  altogether  be  just  a  little  too  smart 
by  ninety-nine  and  three-quarters.  There's  a  good 
many  ways,  but  not  so  many  as  you'd  think;  and 
not  one  that  has  any  mortal  thing  to  do  with  Trent. 
Trent  and  his  whole  racket  has  got  to  do  with 
nothing — that's  the  bed-rock  fact;  there's  no  sense 
to  it,  and  no  use  in  it,  and  no  story  to  it — it's  a 
beastly  dream.  And  don't  you  run  away  with  that 
notion  that  landsmen  take  about  ships.     A  society 


THE    CABIN    OF   THE    "FLYING   SCUD."  225 

actress  don't  go  around  more  publicly  than  what  a 
ship  does,  nor  is  more  interviewed,  nor  more  hum- 
bugged, nor  more  run  after  by  all  sorts  of  little 
fussmesses  in  brass  buttons.  And  more  than  an 
actress,  a  ship  has  a  deal  to  lose ;  she's  capital,  and 
the  actress  only  character — if  she's  that.  The  ports 
of  the  world  are  thick  with  people  ready  to  kick  a 
captain  into  the  penitentiary,  if  he's  not  as  bright  as 
a  dollar  and  as  honest  as  the  morning  star ;  and  what 
with  Lloyd  keeping  watch  and  watch  in  every  corner 
of  the  three  oceans,  and  the  insurance  leecnes,  and 
the  consuls,  and  the  Customs  bugs,  and  the  medicos, 
you  can  only  get  the  idea  by  thinking  of  a  landsman 
watched  by  a  hundred  and  fifty  detectives,  or  a 
stranger  in  a  village  down  east." 

"  Well,  but  at  sea  ? "  I  said. 

"You  make  me  tired,"  retorted  the  captain. 
"  What's  the  use — at  sea  ?  Everything's  got  to  come 
to  bearings  at  some  port,  hasn't  it  ?  You  can't  stop 
at  sea  for  ever,  can  you  ? — No ;  the  Flying  Scud  is 
rubbish  ;  if  it  meant  anything,  it  would  have  to  mean 
something  so  almighty  intricate  that  James  G.  Blaine 
hasn't  got  the  brains  to  engineer  it ;  and  I  vote  for 
more  axeing,  pioneering,  and  opening  up  the  resources 
of  this  phenomenal  brig,  and  less  general  fuss,"  he 
added,  arising.  "The  dime-museum  symptoms  will 
drop  in  of  themselves,  I  guess,  to  keep  us  cheery." 

But  it  appeared  we  were  at  the  end  of  discoveries 
for  the  day;  and  we  left  the  brig  about  sundown, 
without  being  further  puzzled  or  further  enlightened. 
The  best  of  the  cabin  spoils  —  books,  instruments, 
papers,  silks,  and  curiosities — we  carried  along  with  us 
in  a  blanket,  however,  to  divert  the  evening  hours ; 
and  when  supper  was  over,  and  the  table  cleared, 
and  Johnson  set  down  to  a  dreary  game  of  cribbage 
between  his  right  hand  and  his  left,  the  captain  and  I 
turned  out  our  blanket  on  the  floor,  and  sat  side  by 
side  to  examine  and  appraise  the  spoils. 


226  THE   WRECKER. 

The  books  were  the  first  to  engage  our  notice.  These 
were  rather  numerous  (as  Nares  contemptuously  put 
it)  "  for  a  lime-juicer."  Scorn  of  the  Britisn  mercantile 
marine  glows  in  the  breast  of  every  Yankee  merchant 
captain ;  as  the  scorn  is  not  reciprocated,  I  can  only 
suppose  it  justified  in  fact;  and  certainly  the  Old 
Country  mariner  appears  of  a  less  studious  disposition. 
The  more  credit  to  the  officers  of  the  Flying  Scud, 
who  had  quite  a  library,  both  literary  and  professional. 
There  were  Findlay's  five  directories  of  the  world — all 
broken-backed,  as  is  usual  with  Findlay,  and  all 
marked  and  scribbled  over  with  corrections  and 
additions — several  books  of  navigation,  a  signal  code, 
and  an  Admiralty  book  of  a  sort  of  orange  hue,  called 
"  Islands  of  the  Eastern  Pacific  Ocean,"  Vol.  III.,  which 
appeared  from  its  imprint  to  be  the  latest  authority, 
and  showed  marks  of  frequent  consultation  in  the 
passages  about  the  French  Frigate  Shoals,  the  Harman, 
Cure,  Pearl,  and  Hermes  Reefs,  Lisiansky  Island, 
Ocean  Island,  and  the  place  where  we  then  lay — 
Brooks  or  Midway.  A  volume  of  Macaulay's  "  Essays," 
and  a  shilling  Shakespeare  led  the  van  of  the  belles 
lettres  j  the  rest  were  novels.  Several  Miss  Braddon's 
— of  course,  "  Aurora  Floyd,"  which  has  penetrated  to 
every  island  of  the  Pacific,  a  good  many  cheap 
detective  books,  "  Rob  Roy,"  Auerbach's  "  Auf  der 
Hohe,"  in  the  German,  and  a  prize  temperance  story, 
pillaged  (to  judge  by  the  stamp)  from  an  Anglo-Indian 
circulating  library. 

"  The  Admiralty  man  gives  a  fine  picture  of  our 
island,"  remarked  Nares,  who  had  turned  up  Midway 
Island.  "  He  draws  the  dreariness  rather  mild,  but 
you  can  make  out  he  knows  the  place." 

"  Captain,"  I  cried,  "  you've  struck  another  point 
in  this  mad  business.  See  here,"  I  went  on  eagerly, 
drawing  from  my  pocket  a  crumpled  fragment  of  the 
Daily  Occidental  which  I  had  inherited  from  Jim  : 
'  'Misled  by  Hoy t's  Pacific  Directory '  ?  Where's  Hoyt  ?" 


THE   CABIN   OF  THE   "  FLYING   SCUD."  227 

"  Let's  look  into  that,"  said  Nares.  "  I  got  that 
book  on  purpose  for  this  cruise."  Therewith  he  fetched 
it  from  the  shelf  in  his  berth,  turned  to  Midway 
Island,  and  read  the  account  aloud.  It  stated 
with  precision  that  the  Pacific  Mail  Company  were 
about  to  form  a  depot  there,  in  preference  to  Honolulu, 
and  that  they  had  already  a  station  on  the  island. 

"I  wonder  who  gives  these  directory  men  their 
information,"  Nares  reflected.  "Nobody  can  blame 
Trent  after  that.  I  never  got  in  company  with  squarer 
lying  ;  it  reminds  a  man  of  a  presidential  campaign." 

"  All  very  well,"  said  I ;  "  that's  your  Hoyt,  and  a 
fine,  tall  copy.  But  what  I  want  to  know  is,  where  is 
Trent's  Hoyt  ? " 

"Took  it  with  him,"  chuckled  Nares;  "he  had 
left  everything  else,  bills  and  money  and  all  the  rest : 
he  was  bound  to  take  something,  or  it  would  have 
aroused  attention  on  the  Tempest.  '  Happy  thought,' 
says  he,  'let's  take  Hoyt.'" 

"  And  has  it  not  occurred  to  you,"  I  went  on,  "  that 
all  the  Ho}?ts  in  creation  couldn't  have  misled  Trent, 
since  he  had  in  his  hand  that  red  Admiralty  book,  an 
official  publication,  later  in  date,  and  particularly  full 
on  Midway  Island  ?  " 

"  That's  a  fact ! "  cried  Nares  ;  "  and  I  bet  the  first 
Hoyt  he  ever  saw  was  out  of  the  mercantile  library  of 
San  Francisco.  Looks  as  if  he  had  brought  her 
here  on  purpose,  don't  it?  But  then  that's  inconsistent 
with  the  steam- crusher  of  the  sale.  That's  the  trouble 
with  this  brig  racket ;  anyone  can  make  half-a-dozen 
theories  for  sixty  or  seventy  per  cent,  of  it ;  but  when 
they're  made,  there's  always  a  fathom  or  two  of  slack 
hanging  out  of  the  other  end." 

I  believe  our  attention  fell  next  on  the  papers,  of 
which  we  had  altogether  a  considerable  bulk.  I  had 
hoped  to  find  among  these  matter  for  a  full-length 
character  of  Captain  Trent ;  but  here  I  was  doomed, 
on  the  whole,  to  disappointment.  We  could  make 
p2 


228  THE   WRECKER. 

out  he  was  an  orderly  man,  for  all  his  bills  were 
docketed  and  preserved.  That  he  was  convivial,  and 
inclined  to  be  frugal  even  in  conviviality,  several 
documents  proclaimed.  Such  letters  as  we  found 
were,  with  one  exception,  arid  notes  from  tradesmen. 
The  exception,  signed  Hannah  Trent,  was  a  somewhat 
fervid  appeal  for  a  loan.  "You  know  what  mis- 
fortunes I  have  had  to  bear,"  wrote  Hannah,  "and 
how  much  I  am  disappointed  in  George.  The  land- 
lady appeared  a  true  friend  when  I  first  came  here, 
and  I  thought  her  a  perfect  lady.  But  she  has  come 
out  since  then  in  her  true  colours ;  and  if  you  will 
not  be  softened  by  this  last  appeal,  I  can't  think  what 

is  to  become  of  your  affectionate "  and  then  the 

signature.  This  document  was  without  place  or  date, 
and  a  voice  told  me  that  it  had  gone  likewise  without 
answer.  On  the  whole,  there  were  few  letters  any- 
where in  the  ship ;  but  we  found  one  before  we  were 
finished,  in  a  seaman's  chest,  of  which  I  must  tran- 
scribe some  sentences.  It  was  dated  from  some  place 
on  the  Clyde.  "  My  dearist  son,"  it  ran,  M  this  is  to 
tell  you  your  dearist  father  passed  away,  Jan  twelft, 
in  the  peace  of  the  Lord.  He  had  your  photo  and 
dear  David's  lade  upon  his  bed,  made  me  sit  by  him. 
Let's  be  a'  thegither,  he  said,  and  gave  you  all  his 
blessing.  Oh  my  dear  laddie,  why  were  nae  you  and 
Davie  here  ?  He  would  have  had  a  happier  passage. 
He  spok  of  both  of  ye  all  night  most  beautiful,  and 
how  ye  used  to  stravaig  on  the  Saturday  afternoons, 
and  of  auld  Kelvinside.  Sooth  the  tune  to  me,  he 
said,  though  it  was  the  Sabbath,  and  I  had  to  sooth 
him  '  Kelvin  Grove,'  and  he  looked  at  his  fiddle,  the 
dear  man.  I  cannae  bear  the  sight  of  it,  he'll  never 
play  it  mair.  Oh  my  lamb,  come  home  to  me,  I'm 
all  by  my  lane  now."  The  rest  was  in  a  religious 
vein  and  quite  conventional.  I  have  never  seen  any 
one  more  put  out  than  Nares,  when  I  handed  him 
this  letter.     He  had  read  but  a  few  words,  before  ho 


THE   CABIN   OF   THE   "FLYING  SCUD."  229 

cast  it  down ;  it  was  perhaps  a  minute  ere  he  picked 
it  up  again,  and  the  performance  was  repeated  the 
third  time  before  he  reached  the  end. 

"  It's  touching,  isn't  it  ?  "  said  I. 

For  all  answer,  Nares  exploded  in  a  brutal  oath ; 
and  it  was  some  half  an  hour  later  that  he  vouch- 
safed an  explanation.  "  I'll  tell  you  what  broke  me 
up  about  that  letter,"  said  he.  "  My  old  man  played 
the  fiddle,  played  it  all  out  of  tune  :  one  of  the  things 
he  played  was  "  Martyrdom,"  I  remember — it  was  all 
martyrdom  to  me.  He  was  a  pig  of  a  father,  and  I 
was  a  pig  of  a  son  ;  but  it  sort  of  came  over  me  I 
would  like  to  hear  that  fiddle  squeak  again.  Natural," 
he  added  ;  "  I  guess  we're  all  beasts." 

"  All  sons  are,  I  guess,"  said  I.  "  I  have  the  same 
trouble  on  my  conscience:  we  can  shake  hands  on 
that."     Which  (oddly  enough,  perhaps)  we  did. 

Amongst  the  papers  we  found  a  considerable 
sprinkling  of  photographs ;  for  the  most  part  either 
of  very  debonair-looking  young  ladies  or  old  women 
of  the  lodging-house  persuasion.  But  one  among 
them  was  the  means  of  our  crowning  discovery. 

"They're  not  pretty,  are  they,  Mr.  Dodd?"  said 
Nares,  as  he  passed  it  over. 

"  Who  ? "  I  asked,  mechanically  taking  the  card 
(it  was  a  quarter-plate)  in  hand,  and  smothering  a 
yawn ;  for  the  hour  was  late,  the  day  had  been  labour- 
ious,  and  I  was  wearying  for  bed. 

"  Trent  and  Company,"  said  he.  "  That's  a  his- 
toric picture  of  the  gang." 

I  held  it  to  the  light,  my  curiosity  at  a  low  ebb  :  I 
had  seen  Captain  Trent  once,  and  had  no  delight  in 
viewing  him  again.  It  was  a  photograh  of  the  deck 
of  the  brig,  taken  from  forward :  all  in  apple-pie  order ; 
the  hands  gathered  in  the  waist,  the  officers  on  the  poop. 
At  the  foot  of  the  card  was  written,  "  Brig  Flying  Scud, 
Rangoon,"  and  a  date ;  and  above  or  below  each  in- 
dividual figure  the  name  had  been  carefully  noted. 


230  THE   WRECKER. 

As  I  continued  to  gaze,  a  shock  went  through  me ; 
the  dimness  of  sleep  and  fatigue  lifted  from  my  eyes, 
as  fog  lifts  in  the  channel ;  and  I  beheld  with  startled 
clearness,  the  photographic  presentment  of  a  crowd 
of  strangers.  "  1.  Trent,  Master "  at  the  top  of  the 
card  directed  me  to  a  smallish,  weazened  man,  with 
bushy  eyebrows  and  full  white  beard,  dressed  in  a 
frock  coat  and  white  trousers ;  a  flower  stuck  in  his 
button-hole,  his  bearded  chin  set  forward,  his  mouth 
clenched  with  habitual  determination.  There  was 
not  much  of  the  sailor  in  his  looks,  but  plenty  of  the 
martinet :  a  dry,  precise  man,  who  might  pass  for  a 
preacher  in  some  rigid  sect ;  and  whatever  he  was, 
not  the  Captain  Trent  of  San  Francisco.  The  men, 
too,  were  all  new  to  me :  the  cook,  an  unmistakable 
Chinaman,  in  his  characteristic  dress,  standing  apart 
on  the  poop  steps.  But  perhaps  I  turned  on  the 
whole  with  the  greatest  curiosity  to  the  figure  labelled 
"  E.  Goddedaal,  1st  off."  He  whom  I  had  never  seen, 
he  might  be  the  identical ;  he  might  be  the  clue  and 
spring  of  all  this  mystery ;  and  I  scanned  his  features 
with  the  eye  of  a  detective.  He  was  of  great  stature, 
seeminglv  blonde  as  a  Viking,  his  hair  clustering  round 
his  head  in  frowsy  curls,  and  two  enormous  whiskers, 
like  the  tusks  of  some  strange  animal,  jutting  from 
his  cheeks.  With  these  virile  appendages  and  the 
defiant  attitude  in  which  he  stood,  the  expression  of 
his  face  only  imperfectly  harmonised.  It  was  wild, 
heroic,  and  womanish-looking;  and  I  felt  I  was  prepared 
to  hear  he  was  a  sentimentalist,  and  to  see  him  weep. 

For  some  while  I  digested  my  discovery  in  private, 
reflecting  how  best,  and  how  with  most  of  drama,  I 
might  share  it  with  the  captain.  Then  my  sketch- 
book came  in  my  head,  and  I  fished  it  out  from  where 
it  lay,  with  other  miscellaneous  possessions,  at  the  foot 
of  my  bunk  and  turned  to  my  sketch  of  Captain  Trent 
and  the  survivors  of  the  British  brig  Flying  Scud  in 
the  San  Francisco  bar-room. 


THE    CARGO   OF   THE   "FLYING   SCUD."  231 

"  Nares,"  said  I,  "  I've  told  you  how  I  first  saw 
Captain  Trent  in  that  saloon  in  'Frisco  ?  how  he  came 
with  his  men,  one  of  them  a  Kanaka  with  a  canary- 
bird  in  a  cage  ?  and  how  I  saw  him  afterwards  at  the 
auction,  frightened  to  death,  and  as  much  surprised  at 
how  the  figures  skipped  up  as  anybody  there.  Well," 
said  I,  "  there's  the  man  I  saw  " — and  I  laid  the  sketch 
before  him — "  there's  Trent  of  'Frisco  and  there  are 
his  three  hands.  Find  one  of  them  in  the  photograph, 
and  I'll  be  obliged." 

Nares  compared  the  two  in  silence.  "  Well,"  he 
said  at  last,  "  I  call  this  rather  a  relief:  seems  to  clear 
the  horizon.  We  might  have  guessed  at  something 
of  the  kind  from  the  double  ration  of  chests  that 
figured." 

"  Does  it  explain  anything  ? "  I  asked. 

"  It  would  explain  everything,"  Nares  replied, "  but 
for  the  steam-crusher.  It'll  all  tally  as  neat  as  a 
patent  puzzle,  if  you  leave  out  the  way  these  people 
bid  the  wreck  up.  And  there  we  come  to  a  stone 
wall.     But  whatever  it  is,  Mr.  Dodd,  it's  on  the  crook." 

"  And  looks  like  piracy,"  I  added. 

"Looks  like  blind  hookey!"  cried  the  captain. 
"  No,  don't  you  deceive  yourself ;  neither  your  head 
nor  mine  is  big  enough  to  put  a  name  on  this 
business." 


CHAPTER  XV. 

THE   CARGO   OF   THE   "FLYING   SCUD." 

In  my  early  days  I  was  a  man,  the  most  wedded  to 
his  idols  of  my  generation.  I  was  a  dweller  under 
roofs;  the  gull  of  that  which  we  call  civilisation;  a 
superstitious  votary  of  the  plastic  arts ;  a  cit,  and  a 
prop  of  restaurants.  I  had.  a  comrade  in  those  days, 
somewhat  of  an  outsider,  though  he  moved  in  the 


232  THE   WRECKER. 

company  of  artists,  and  a  man  famous  in  our  small 
world  for  gallantry,  knee  breeches,  and  dry  and 
pregnant  sayings.  He,  looking  on  the  long  meals 
and  waxing  bellies  of  the  French,  whom  I  confess  I 
somewhat  imitated,  branded  me  as  "a  cultivator  of 
restaurant  fat."  And  I  believe  he  had  his  finger  on 
the  dangerous  spot;  I  believe,  if  things  had  gone 
smooth  with  me,  I  should  be  now  swollen  like  a 
prize-ox  in  body,  and  fallen  in  mind  to  a  thing 
perhaps  as  low  as  many  types  of  bourgeois — the 
implicit  or  exclusive  artist.  That  was  a  home  word 
of  Pinkerton's,  deserving  to  be  writ  in  letters  of  gold 
on  the  portico  of  every  school  of  art :  "  What  I  can't 
see  is  why  you  should  want  to  do  nothing  else." 
The  dull  man  is  made,  not  by  the  nature,  but  by  the 
degree  of  his  immersion  in  a  single  business.  And  all 
the  more  if  that  be  sedentary,  uneventful,  and  in- 
gloriously  safe.  More  than  one  half  of  him  will  then 
remain  unexercised  and  undeveloped;  the  rest  will 
be  distended  and  deformed  by  over-nutrition,  over- 
cerebration,  and  the  heat  of  rooms.  And  I  have 
often  marvelled  at  the  impudence  of  gentlemen  who 
describe  and  pjass  judgment  on  the  life  of  man,  in 
almost  perfect  ignorance  of  all  its  necessary  elements 
and  natural  careers.  Those  who  dwell  in  clubs  and 
studios  may  paint  excellent  pictures  or  write  enchant- 
ing novels.  There  is  one  thing  that  they  should  not 
do :  they  should  pass  no  judgment  on  man's  destiny, 
for  it  is  a  thing  with  which  they  are  unacquainted. 
Their  own  life  is  an  excrescence  of  the  moment, 
doomed,  in  the  vicissitude  of  history,  to  pass  and 
disappear.  The  eternal  life  of  man,  spent  under  sun 
and  rain  and  in  rude  physical  effort,  lies  upon  one 
side,  scarce  changed  since  the  beginning. 

I  would  I  could  have  carried  along  with  me  to 
Midway  Island  all  the  writers  and  the  prating  artists 
of  my  time.  Dav  after  day  of  hope  deferred,  of  heat, 
of  unremitting  toil ;  night  after  night  of  aching  limbs, 


THE  CARGO  OF  THE  "  FLYING  SCUD."     233 

bruised  hands,  and  a  mind  obscured  with  the  grateful 
vacancy  of  physical  fatigue.  The  scene,  the  nature  of 
my  employment,  the  rugged  speech  and  faces  of  my 
fellow-toilers,  the  glare  of  the  day  on  deck,  the  stink- 
ing twilight  in  the  bilge,  the  shrill  myriads  of  the 
ocean-fowl ;  above  all,  the  sense  of  our  immitigable 
isolation  from  the  world  and  from  the  current  epoch 
— keeping  another  time,  some  eras  old ;  the  new  day 
heralded  by  no  daily  paper,  only  by  the  rising  sun ; 
and  the  State,  the  churches,  the  peopled  empires,  war, 
and  the  rumours  of  war,  and  the  voices  of  the  arts,  all 
gone  silent  as  in  the  days  ere  they  were  yet  invented. 
Such  were  the  conditions  of  my  new  experience  in 
life,  of  which  (if  I  had  been  able)  I  would  have  had 
all  my  confreres  and  contemporaries  to  partake, 
forgetting,  for  that  while,  the  orthodoxies  of  the 
moment,  and  devoted  to  a  single  and  material  pur- 
pose under  the  eye  of  heaven. 

Of  the  nature  of  our  task  I  must  continue  to  give 
some  summary  idea.  The  forecastle  was  lumbered 
with  ship's  chandlery,  the  hold  nigh  full  of  rice,  the 
lazarette  crowded  with  the  teas  and  silks.  These 
must  all  be  dug  out ;  and  that  made  but  a  fraction 
of  our  task.  The  hold  was  ceiled  throughout ;  a  part, 
where  perhaps  some  delicate  cargo  was  once  stored, 
had  been  lined,  in  addition,  with  inch  boards ;  and 
between  every  beam  there  was  a  movable  panel  into 
the  bilge.  Any  of  these,  the  bulkheads  of  the  cabins, 
the  very  timbers  of  the  hull  itself,  might  be  the  place 
of  hiding.  It  was  therefore  necessary  to  demolish,  as 
we  proceeded,  a  great  part  of  the  ship's  inner  skin 
and  fittings,  and  to  auscultate  what  remained,  like  a 
doctor  sounding  for  a  lung  disease.  Upon  the  return, 
from  any  beam  or  bulkhead,  of  a  flat  or  doubtful 
sound,  we  must  up  axe  and  hew  into  the  timber :  a 
violent  and — from  the  amount  of  dry  rot  in  the 
wreck — a  mortifying  exercise.  Every  night  saw  a 
deeper  inroad  into  the  bones  of  the  Flying  Scud — 


234  THE  WRECKER. 

more  beams  tapped  and  hewn  in  splinters,  more 
planking  peeled  away  and  tossed  aside — and  every 
night  saw  us  as  far  as  ever  from  the  end  and  object 
of  our  arduous  devastation.  In  this  perpetual  dis- 
appointment, my  courage  did  not  fail  me,  but  my 
spirits  dwindled ;  and  Nares  himself  grew  silent  and 
morose.  At  night,  when  supper  was  done,  we  passed 
an  hour  in  the  cabin,  mostly  without  speech:  I, 
sometimes  dozing  over  a  book;  Nares,  sullenly  but 
busily  drilling  sea-shells  with  the  instrument  called 
a  Yankee  fiddle.  A  stranger  might  have  supposed 
we  were  estranged ;  as  a  matter  of  fact,  in  this  silent 
comradeship  of  labour,  our  intimacy  grew. 

I  had  been  struck,  at  the  first  beginning  of  our 
enterprise  upon  the  wreck,  to  find  the  men  so  ready 
at  the  captain's  lightest  word.  I  dare  not  say  they 
liked,  but  I  can  never  deny  that  they  admired  him 
thoroughly.  A  mild  word  from  his  mouth  was  more 
valued  than  flattery  and  half  a  dollar  from  myself; 
if  he  relaxed  at  all  from  his  habitual  attitude  of 
censure,  smiling  alacrity  surrounded  him ;  and  I  was 
led  to  think  his  theory  of  captainship,  even  if  pushed 
to  excess,  reposed  upon  some  ground  of  reason.  But 
even  terror  and  admiration  of  the  captain  failed  us 
before  the  end.  The  men  wearied  of  the  hopeless,  un- 
remunerative  quest  and  the  long  strain  of  labour. 
They  began  to  shirk  and  grumble.  Retribution  fell  on 
them  at  once,  and  retribution  multiplied  the  grum- 
blings. With  every  day  it  took  harder  driving  to 
keep  them  to  the  daily  drudge;  and  we,  in  our 
narrow  boundaries,  were  kept  conscious  every  mo- 
ment of  the  ill-will  of  our  assistants. 

In  spite  of  the  best  care,  the  object  of  our  search 
was  perfectly  well  known  to  all  on  board ;  and  there 
had  leaked  out,  besides,  some  knowledge  of  those 
inconsistencies  that  had  so  greatly  amazed  the  captain 
and  myself.  I  could  overhear  the  men  debate  the 
character  of  Captain  Trent,  and  set  forth  competing 


THE    CARGO   OF   THE    "  FLYING   SCUD."  235 

theories  of  where  the  opium  was  stowed ;  and,  as  they 
seemed  to  have  been  eavesdropping  on  ourselves, 
I  thought  little  shame  to  prick  up  my  ears  when  I 
had  the  return  chance  of  spying  upon  them,  in  this 
way.  I  could  diagnose  their  temper  and  judge  how 
far  they  were  informed  upon  the  mystery  of  the 
Flying  Scud.  It  was  after  having  thus  overheard 
some  almost  mutinous  speeches  that  a  fortunate 
idea  crossed  my  mind.  At  night,  I  matured  it  in 
my  bed,  and  the  first  thing  the  next  morning, 
broached  it  to  the  captain. 

"Suppose  I  spirit  up  the  hands  a  bit,"  I  asked, 
"  by  the  offer  of  a  reward  ? " 

"  If  you  think  you're  getting  your  month's  wages 
out  of  them  the  way  it  is,  I  don't,"  was  his  reply. 
"However,  they  are  all  the  men  you've  got,  and 
you're  the  supercargo." 

This,  from  a  person  of  the  captain's  character, 
might  be  regarded  as  complete  adhesion;  and  the 
crew  were  accordingly  called  aft.  Never  had  the 
captain  worn  a  front  more  menacing.  It  was  sup- 
posed by  all  that  some  misdeed  had  been  discovered, 
and  some  surprising  punishment  was  to  be  an- 
nounced. 

"  See  here,  you ! "  he  threw  at  them  over  his 
shoulder  as  he  walked  the  deck.  "Mr.  Dodd,  here, 
is  going  to  offer  a  reward  to  the  first  man  who  strikes 
the  opium  in  that  wreck.  There's  two  ways  of 
making  a  donkey  go — both  good,  I  guess ;  the  one's 
kicks  and  the  other's  carrots.  Mr.  Dodd's  going  to 
try  the  carrots.  Well,  my  sons  " — and  here  he  faced 
the  men  for  the  first  time  with  his  hands  behind 
him — "if  that  opium's  not  found  in  five  days,  you 
can  come  to  me  for  the  kicks." 

He  nodded  to  the  present  narrator,  who  took  up 
the  tale.  "  Here  is  what  I  propose,  men,"  said  I :  "  I 
put  up  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars.  If  any  man 
can  lay  hands  on  the  stuff  right  away,  and  off  his  own 


236  THE   WRECKER. 

club,  he  shall  have  the  hundred  and  fifty  down. 
If  any  one  can  put  us  on  the  scent  of  where  to  look, 
he  shall  have  a  hundred  and  twenty-five,  and  the 
balance  shall  be  for  the  lucky  one  who  actually  picks 
it  up.  We'll  call  it  the  Pinkerton  Stakes,  captain,"  I 
added,  with  a  smile. 

"Call  it  the  Grand  Combination  Sweep,  then," 
cries  he.  "  For  I  go  you  better.  Look  here,  men,  I 
make  up  this  jack-pot  to  two  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars,  American  gold  coin." 

"  Thank  you,  Captain  Nares,"  said  I ;  "  that  was 
handsomely  done." 

"  It  was  kindly  meant,"  he  returned. 

The  offer  was  not  made  in  vain ;  the  hands  had 
scarce  yet  realised  the  magnitude  of  the  reward,  they 
had  scarce  begun  to  buzz  aloud  in  the  extremity  of 
hope  and  wonder,  ere  the  Chinese  cook  stepped  for- 
ward with  gracious  gestures  and  explanatory  smiles. 

"  Captain,"  he  began,  *  I  serv-um  two  year  Melican 
navy;  serv-um  six  year  mail-boat  steward.  Savvy 
plenty." 

"  Oho  ! "  cried  Nares,  "  you  savvy  plenty,  do  you  ? 
(Beggar's  seen  this  trick  in  the  mail-boat,  I  guess.) 
Well,  why  you  no  savvy  a  little  sooner,  sonny  ? 

"  I  think  bimeby  make-um  reward,"  replied  the 
cook,  with  smiling  dignity. 

"  Well,  you  can't  say  fairer  than  that,"  the  captain 
admitted  ;  "  and  now  the  reward's  offered  you'll  talk  ? 
Speak  up  then.  Suppose  you  speak  true  you  get 
reward.     See  ? " 

"  I  think  long  time,"  replied  the  Chinaman.  "  See 
plenty  litty  mat  lice  ;  too  muchy  plenty  litty  mat  lice  ; 
sixty  ton  litty  mat  lice.  I  think  all-e-time  perhaps 
plenty  opium  plenty  litty  mat  lice." 

"  Well,  Mr.  Dodd,  how  does  that  strike  you  ? " 
asked  the  captain.  "  He  may  be  right,  he  may  be 
wrong.  He's  likely  to  be  right,  for  if  he  isn't  where 
can  the  stuff  be  ?     On  the  other  hand,  if  he's  wrong 


THE  CARGO  OF  THE  "FLYING  SCUD."      237 

we  destroy  a  hundred  and  fifty  tons  of  good  rice  for 
nothing.     It's  a  point  to  be  considered." 

"  I  don't  hesitate,"  said  I.  "  Let's  get  to  the 
bottom  of  the  thing.  The  rice  is  nothing ;  the  rice 
will  neither  make  nor  break  us." 

"  That's  how  I  expected  you  to  see  it,"  returned 
Nares. 

And  we  called  the  boat  away  and  set  forth  on  our 
new  quest. 

The  hold  was  now  almost  entirely  emptied ;  the 
mats  (of  which  there  went  forty  to  the  short  ton)  had 
been  stacked  on  deck,  and  now  crowded  the  ship's 
waist  and  forecastle.  It  was  our  task  to  disembowel 
and  explore  six  thousand  individual  mats,  and  inci- 
dentally to  destroy  a  hundred  and  fifty  tons  of  valu- 
able food.  Nor  were  the  circumstances  of  the  day's 
business  less  strange  than  its  essential  nature.  Each 
man'  of  us,  armed  with  a  great  knife,  attacked  the  pile 
from  his  own  quarter,  slashed  into  the  nearest  mat, 
burrowed  in  it  with  his  hands,  and  shed  forth  the  rice 
upon  the  deck  where  it  heaped  up,  overflowed,  and 
was  trodden  down,  poured  at  last  into  the  scuppers, 
and  occasionally  spouted  from  the  vents.  About  the 
wreck,  thus  transformed  into  an  overflowing  granary, 
the  sea-fowl  swarmed  in  myriads  and  with  surprising 
insolence.  The  sight  of  so  much  food  confounded 
them ;  they  deafened  us  with  their  shrill  tongues, 
swooped  in  our  midst,  dashed  in  our  faces,  and  snatched 
the  grain  from  between  our  fingers.  The  men — their 
hands  bleeding  from  these  assaults — turned  savagely 
on  the  offensive,  drove  their  knives  into  the  birds, 
drew  them  out  crimsoned,  and  turned  again  to  dig 
among  the  rice,  unmindful  of  the  gawking  creatures 
that  struggled  and  died  among  their  feet.  We  made 
a  singular  picture — the  hovering  and  diving  birds ; 
the  bodies  of  the  dead  discolouring  the  rice  with  blood  ; 
the  scuppers  vomiting  breadstuff;  the  men,  frenzied  by 
the  gold  hunt,  toiling,  slaying,  and  shouting  aloud; 


238  THE    WRECKER. 

over  all  the  lofty  intricacy  of  rigging  and  the  radiant 
heaven  of  the  Pacific.  Every  man  there  toiled  in  the 
immediate  hope  of  fifty  dollars,  and  I  of  fifty  thousand. 
Small  wonder  if  we  waded  callously  in  blood  and  food. 

It  was  perhaps  about  ten  in  the  forenoon  when  the 
scene  was  interrupted.  Nares,  who  had  just  ripped 
open  a  fresh  mat,  drew  forth  and  slung  at  his  feet, 
among  the  rice,  a  papered  tin  box. 

*  How's  that  ?    he  shouted. 

A  cry  broke  from  all  hands.  The  next  moment, 
forgetting  their  own  disappointment  in  that  contagious 
sentiment  of  success,  they  gave  three  cheers  that 
scared  the  sea-birds  ;  and  the  next  they  had  crowded 
round  the  captain,  and  were  jostling  together  and 
groping  with  emulous  hands  in  the  new-opened  mat. 
Box  after  box  rewarded  them,  six  in  all ;  wrapped,  as 
I  have  said,  in  a  paper  envelope,  and  the  paper  printed 
on  in  Chinese  characters. 

Nares  turned  to  me  and  shook  my  hand.  "I 
began  to  think  we  should  never  see  this  day,"  said  he. 
"  I  congratulate  you,  Mr.  Dodd,  on  having  pulled  it 
through." 

The  captain's  tones  affected  me  profoundly ;  and 
when  Johnson  and  the  men  pressed  round  me  in  turn 
with  congratulations,  the  tears  came  in  my  eyes. 

"  These  are  five-tael  boxes,  more  than  two  pounds," 
said  Nares,  weighing  one  in  his  hand.  "  Say  two 
hundred  and  fifty  dollars  to  the  mat.  Lay  into  it, 
boys!  We'll  make  Mr.  Dodd  a  millionaire  before 
dark." 

It  was  strange  to  see  with  what  a  fury  we  fell  to. 
The  men  had  now  nothing  to  expect ;  tne  mere  idea 
of  great  sums  inspired  them  with  disinterested 
ardour.  Masts  were  slashed  and  disembowelled,  the 
rice  flowed  to  our  knees  in  the  ship's  waist,  the  sweat 
ran  in  our  eyes  and  blinded  us,  our  arms  ached  to 
agony;  and  yet  our  fire  abated  not.  Dinner  came; 
we  were  too  weary  to  eat,  too  hoarse  for  conversation; 


THE   CARGO   OF   THE   "FLYING   SCUD."  239 

and  yet  dinner  was  scarce  done,  before  we  were  afoot 
again  and  delving  in  the  rice.  Before  nightfall  not  a 
mat  was  unexplored,  and  we  were  face  to  face  with 
the  astonishing  result. 

For  of  all  the  inexplicable  things  in  the  story  of 
the  Flying  Scud,  here  was  the  most  inexplicable. 
Out  of  the  six  thousand  mats,  only  twenty  were  found 
to  have  been  sugared ;  in  each  we  found  the  same 
amount,  about  twelve  pounds  of  drug ;  making  a  grand 
total  of  two  hundred  and  forty  pounds.  By  the  last 
San  Francisco  quotation,  opium  was  selling  for  a 
fraction  over  twenty  dollars  a  pound  ;  but  it  had  been 
known  not  long  before  to  bring  as  much  as  forty  in 
Honolulu,  where  it  was  contrabrand. 

Taking,  then,  this  high  Honolulu  figure,  the  value 
of  the  opium  on  board  the  Flying  Scud  fell  consider- 
ably short  of  ten  thousand  dollars,  while  at  the  San 
Francisco  rate,  it  lacked  a  trifle  of  five  thousand.  And 
fifty  thousand  was  the  price  that  Jim  and  I  had  paid 
for  it.  And  Bellairs  had  been  eager  to  go  higher !  There 
is  no  language  to  express  the  stupor  with  which  I  con- 
templated this  result. 

It  may  be  argued  we  were  not  yet  sure ;  there  might 
be  yet  another  cache ;  and  you  may  be  certain  in  that 
hour  of  my  distress  the  argument  was  not  forgotten. 
There  was  never  a  ship  more  ardently  perquested ;  no 
stone  was  left  unturned,  and  no  expedient  untried ; 
day  after  day  of  growing  despair,  we  punched  and 
dug  in  the  brig's  vitals,  exciting  the  men  with  promises 
and  presents ;  evening  after  evening  Nares  and  I  sat 
face  to  face  in  the  narrow  cabin,  racking  our  minds 
for  some  neglected  possibility  of  search.  I  could  stake 
my  salvation  on  the  certainty  of  the  result :  in  all  that 
ship  there  was  nothing  left  of  value  but  the  timber 
and  the  copper  nails.  So  that  our  case  was  lamentably 
plain  ;  we  had  paid  fifty  thousand  dollars,  borne  the 
charges  of  the  schooner,  and  paid  fancy  interest  on 
money;  and  if  things  went  well  with  us,  we  might 


240  THE   WRECKER. 

realise  fifteen  per  cent,  of  the  first  outlay.  We  were 
not  merely  bankrupt,  we  were  comic  bankrupts — a  fair 
butt  for  jeering  in  the  streets.  I  hope  I  bore  the  blow 
with  a  good  countenance ;  indeed,  my  mind  had  long 
been  quite  made  up,  and  since  the  day  we  found  the 
opium  I  had  known  the  result.  But  the  thought  of 
Jim  and  Mamie  ached  in  me  like  a  physical  pain,  and 
I  shrank  from  speech  and  companionship. 

I  was  in  this  frame  of  mind  when  the  captain  pro- 
posed that  we  should  land  upon  the  island.  I  saw  he 
had  something  to  say,  and  only  feared  it  might  be 
consolation,  for  I  could  just  bear  my  grief,  not  bungling 
sympathy  ;  and  yet  I  had  no  choice  but  to  accede  to 
his  proposal. 

We  walked  awhile  along  the  beach  in  silence.  The 
sun  overhead  reverberated  rays  of  heat ;  the  staring 
sand,  the  glaring  lagoon,  tortured  our  eyes ;  and  the 
birds  and  the  boom  of  the  far-away  breakers  made  a 
savage  symphony. 

"  I  don't  require  to  tell  you  the  game's  up  ?"  Nares 
asked. 

"  No,"  said  I. 

"  I  was  thinking  of  getting  to  sea  to-morrow,"  he 
pursued. 

"  The  best  thing  you  can  do,"  said  I. 

"  Shall  we  say  Honolulu  ? "  he  inquired. 

"  Oh,  yes ;  let's  stick  to  the  programme,"  I  cried. 
"  Honolulu  be  it !  " 

There  was  another  silence,  and  then  Nares  cleared 
his  throat. 

"  We've  been  pretty  good  friends,  you  and  me,  Mr. 
Dodd,"  he  resumed.  "  We've  been  going  through  the 
kind  of  thing  that  tries  a  man.  We've  had  the  hard- 
est kind  of  work,  we've  been  badly  backed,  and  now 
we're  badly  beaten.  And  we've  fetched  through  with- 
out a  word  of  disagreement.  I  don't  say  this  to  praise 
myself:  it's  my  trade;  it's  what  I'm  paid  for,  and 
trained  for,  and  brought  up  to.     But  it  was  another 


THE   CARGO   OF   THE   "FLYING   SCUD."  241 

thing  for  you ;  it  was  all  new  to  you  ;  and  it  did  me 
good  to  see  you  stand  right  up  to  it  and  swing  right 
into  it — day  in,  day  out.  And  then  see  how  you've 
taken  this  disappointment,  when  everybody  knows 
you  must  have  been  taughtened  up  to  shying-point ! 
I  wish  you'd  let  me  tell  you,  Mr.  Dodd,  that  you've 
stood  out  mighty  manly  and  handsomely  in  all  this 
business,  and  made  every  one  like  you  and  admire 
you.  And  I  wish  you'd  let  me  tell  you,  besides,  that 
I've  taken  this  wreck  business  as  much  to  heart  as 
you  have  ;  something  kind  of  rises  in  my  throat  when 
I  think  we're  beaten  ;  and  if  I  thought  waiting  would 
do  it,  I  Would  stick  on  this  reef  until  we  starved." 

I  tried  in  vain  to  thank  him  for  these  generous 
words,  but  he  was  beforehand  with  me  in  a  moment. 

"  I  didn't  bring  you  ashore  to  sound  my  praises," 
he  interrupted.  "  We  understand  one  another  now, 
that's  all ;  and  I  guess  you  can  trust  me.  What  I 
wished  to  speak  about  is  more  important,  and  it's  got 
to  be  faced.  What  are  we  to  do  about  the  Flying 
Scud  and  the  dime  novel  ?  " 

"  I  really  have  thought  nothing  about  that/'  I 
replied  ;  "  but  I  expect  I  mean  to  get  at  the  bottom  of 
it,  and  if  the  bogus  Captain  Trent  is  to  be  found  on 
the  earth's  surface,  I  guess  I  mean  to  find  him." 

"  All  you've  got  to  do  is  talk,"  said  Nares ;  "  you 
can  make  the  biggest  kind  of  boom :  it  isn't  often  the 
reporters  have  a  chance  at  such  a  yarn  as  this ; 
and  I  can  tell  you  how  it  will  go.  It  will  go  by 
telegraph,  Mr.  Dodd;  it'll  be  telegraphed  by  the 
column,  and  head-lined,  and  frothed  up,  and  denied 
by  authority,  and  it'll  hit  bogus  Captain  Trent  in  a 
Mexican  bar-room,  and  knock  over  bogus  Goddedaal 
in  a  slum  somewhere  up  the  Baltic,  and  bowl  down 
Hardy  and  Brown  in  sailors'  music  halls  round 
Greenock.  Oh,  there's  no  doubt  you  can  have  a 
regular  domestic  Judgment  Day.  The  only  point  is 
whether  you  deliberately  want  to." 


242  THE   WRECKER. 

"  Well,"  said  I,  "  I  deliberately  don't  want  one 
thing:  I  deliberately  don't  want  to  make  a  public 
exhibition  of  myself'  and  Pinkerton:  so  moral — 
smuggling  opium;  such  damned  fools — paying 
fifty  thousand  for  a  '  dead  horse ' ! " 

"No  doubt  it  might  damage  you  in  a  business 
sense,"  the  captain  agreed ;  "  and  I'm  pleased  you 
take  that  view,  for  I've  turned  kind  of  soft  upon  the 
job.  There's  been  some  crookedness  about,  no  doubt 
of  it;  but,  law  bless  you!  if  we  dropped  upon  the  troupe, 
all  the  premier  artists  would  slip  right  out  with  the 
boodle  in  their  grip-sacks,  and  you'd  only  collar  a  lot 
of  old  mutton-headed  shell-backs  that  didn't  know 
the  back  of  the  business  from  the  front.  I  don't  take 
much  stock  in  mercantile  Jack,  you  know  that,  but, 
poor  devil,  he's  got  to  go  where  he's  told  ;  and  if  you 
make  trouble,  ten  to  one  it'll  make  you  sick  to  see  the 
innocents  who  have  to  stand  the  racket.  It  would  be 
different  if  we  understood  the  operation ;  but  we  don't, 
you  see :  there's  a  lot  of  queer  corners  in  life,  and  my 
vote  is  to  let  the  blame'  thing  lie." 

"  You  speak  as  if  we  had  that  in  our  power,"  I 
objected. 

"  And  so  we  have,"  said  he. 

"  What  about  the  men  ? "  I  asked.  "  They  know  too 
much  by  half,  and  you  can't  keep  them  from  talking." 

"  Can't  I  ? "  returned  Nares.  "  I  bet  a  boarding- 
master  can!  They  can  be  all  half-seas  over  when 
they  get  ashore,  blind  drunk  by  dark,  and  cruising  out 
of  the  Golden  Gate  in  different  deep-sea  ships  by  the 
next  morning.  Can't  keep  them  from  talking,  can't 
I  ?  Well,  I  can  make  'em  talk  separate,  leastways. 
If  a  whole  crew  came  talking,  parties  would  listen; 
but  if  it's  only  one  lone  old  shell-back,  it's  the  usual 
yarn.  And  at  least,  they  needn't  talk  before  six 
months,  or — if  we  have  luck,  and  there's  a  whaler 
handy — three  years.  And  by  that  time,  Mr.  Dodd,  it's 
ancient  history." 


THE   CARGO   OF   THE   "  FLYING   SCUD."  243 

"  That's  what  they  call  Shanghaiing,  isn't  it  ? "  I 
asked.     "  I  thought  it  belonged  to  the  dime  novel." 

"  Oh,  dime  novels  are  right  enough,"  returned  the 
captain.  "  Nothing  wrong  with  the  dime  novel,  only 
that  things  happen  thicker  than  they  do  in  life,  and 
the  practical  seamanship  is  off-colour." 

"So  we  can  keep  the  business  to  ourselves,"  I 
mused. 

"  There's  one  other  person  that  might  blab,"  said 
the  captain.  "  Though  I  don't  believe  she  has  any- 
thing left  to  tell." 

"  And  who  is  she  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  The  old  girl  there,"  he  answered,  pointing  to  the 
wreck  ;  "  I  know  there's  nothing  in  her ;  but  somehow 
I'm  afraid  of  someone  else — it's  the  last  thing  you'd 
expect,  so  it's  just  the  first  that'll  happen — someone 
dropping  into  this  God-forgotten  island  where  nobody 
drops  in,  waltzing  into  that  wreck  that  we've  grown 
old  with  searching,  stooping  straight  down,  and  picking 
right  up  the  very  thing  that  tells  the  story.  What's 
that  to  me  ?  you  may  ask,  and  why  am  I  gone  Soft 
Tommy  on  this  Museum  of  Crooks  ?  They've  smashed 
up  you  and  Mr.  Pinkerton ;  they've  turned  my  hair 
grey  with  conundrums ;  they've  been  up  to  larks,  no 
doubt ;  and  that's  all  I  know  of  them — you  say.  Well, 
and  that's  just  where  it  is.  I  don't  know  enough ;  I 
don't  know  what's  uppermost ;  it's  just  such  a  lot  of 
miscellaneous  eventualities  as  I  don't  care  to  go 
stirring  up  ;  and  I  ask  you  to  let  me  deal  with  the  old 
girl  after  a  patent  of  my  own." 

"  Certainly — what  you  please,"  said  I,  scarce  with 
attention,  for  a  new  thought  now  occupied  my  brain. 
"  Captain,"  I  broke  out,  "  you  are  wrong  ;  we  cannot 
hush  this  up.     There  is  one  thing  you  have  forgotten." 

"  What  is  that  ? "  he  asked. 

"  A  bogus  Captain  Trent,  a  bogus  Goddedaal,  a 
whole  bogus  crew,  have  all  started  home,"  said  I.  *  If 
we  are  right,  not  one  of  them  will  reach  his  journey's 


244  THE   WRECKER. 

end.  And  do  you  mean  to  say  that  such  a  circum- 
stance as  that  can  pass  without  remark  ? " 

"  Sailors,"  said  the  captain,  "  only  sailors !  If  they 
were  all  bound  for  one  place  in  a  body,  I  don't  say  so  ; 
but  they're  all  going  separate — to  Hull,  to  Sweden,  to 
the  Clyde,  to  the  Thames.  Well,  at  each  place,  what 
is  it  ?  Nothing  new.  Only  one  sailor  man  missing : 
got  drunk  or  got  drowned,  or  got  left — the  proper 
sailor's  end." 

Something  bitter  in  the  thought  and  in  the 
speaker's  tones  struck  me  hard.  "  Here  is  one  that 
has  got  left ! "  I  cried,  getting  sharply  to  my  feet,  for  we 
had  been  some  time  seated.  "  I  wish  it  were  the  other. 
I  don't — don't  relish  going  home  to  Jim  with  this  !  " 

"  See  here,"  said  Nares,  with  ready  tact,  "  I  must 
be  getting  aboard.  Johnson's  in  the  brig  annexing 
chandlery  and  canvas,  and  there's  some  things  in  the 
Norah  that  want  fixing  against  we  go  to  sea.  Would 
you  like  to  be  left  here  in  the  chicken-ranch  ?  I'll 
send  for  you  to  supper." 

I  embraced  the  proposal  with  delight.  Solitude,  in 
my  frame  of  mind,  was  not  too  dearly  purchased  at 
the  risk  of  sunstroke  or  sand-blindness  ;  and  soon  I 
was  alone  on  the  ill-omened  islet.  I  should  find  it 
hard  to  tell  of  what  I  thought — of  Jim,  of  Mamie,  of 
our  lost  fortune,  of  my  lost  hopes,  of  the  doom  before 
me :  to  turn  to  at  some  mechanical  occupation  in  some 
subaltern  rank,  and  to  toil  there,  unremarked  and  un- 
amused,  until  the  hour  of  the  last  deliverance.  I  was, 
at  least,  so  sunk  in  sadness  that  I  scarce  remarked 
where  I  was  going ;  and  chance  (or  some  finer  sense 
that  lives  in  us,  and  only  guides  us  when  the  mind  is 
in  abeyance)  conducted  my  steps  into  a  quarter  of  the 
island  where  the  birds  were  few.  By  some  devious 
route,  which  I  was  unable  to  retrace  for  my  return,  I 
was  thus  able  to  mount,  without  interruption,  to  the 
highest  point  of  land.  And  here  I  was  recalled  to 
consciousness  by  a  last  discovery. 


I  TURN   SMUGGLER,  THE   CAPTAIN   CASUIST.       245 

The  spot  on  which  I  stood  was  level,  and  com- 
manded a  wide  view  of  the  lagoon,  the  bounding 
reef,  the  round  horizon.  Nearer  hand  I  saw  the  sister 
islet,  the  wreck,  the  Norah  Creina,  and  the  Novak's 
boat  already  moving  shoreward.  For  the  sun  was  now 
low,  naming  on  the  sea's  verge  ;  and  the  galley  chimney 
smoked  on  board  the  schooner. 

It  thus  befell  that  though  my  discovery  was  both 
affecting  and  suggestive,  I  had  no  leisure  to  examine 
further.  What  I  saw  was  the  blackened  embers  of 
fire  of  wreck.  By  all  the  signs,  it  must  have  blazed 
to  a  good  height  and  burned  for  days  ;  from  the 
scantling  of  a  spar  that  lay  upon  the  margin  only  half 
consumed,  it  must  have  been  the  work  of  more  than 
one ;  and  I  received  at  once  the  image  of  a  forlorn 
troop  of  castaways,  houseless  in  that  lost  corner  of 
the  earth,  and  feeding  there  their  fire  of  signal.  The 
next  moment  a  hail  reached  me  from  the  boat ;  and 
bursting  through  the  bushes  and  the  rising  sea-fowl, 
I  said  farewell  (I  trust  for  ever)  to  that  desert  isle. 


CHAPTER    XVI 

IN    WHICH    I    TURN    SMUGGLER,    AND    THE    CAPTAIN 
CASUIST. 

The  last  night  at  Midway  I  had  little  sleep ;  the 
next  morning,  after  the  sun  was  risen,  and  the  clatter 
of  departure  had  begun  to  reign  on  deck,  I  lay  a 
long  while  dozing ;  and  when  at  last  I  stepped  from 
the  companion,  the  schooner  was  already  leaping 
through  the  pass  into  the  open  sea.  Close  on  her 
board,  the  huge  scroll  of  a  breaker  unfurled  itself 
along  the  reef  with  a  prodigious  clamour ;  and  behind 
I  saw  the  wreck  vomiting  into  the  morning  air  a 
coil  of  smoke.  The  wreaths  already  blew  out  far  to 
leeward,  flames   already  glittered  in  the  cabin   sky- 


246  THE   WRECKER. 

light,  and  the  sea-fowl  were  scattered  in  surprise  as 
wide  as  the  lagoon.  As  we  drew  further  off,  the 
conflagration  of  the  Flying  Scud  flamed  higher; 
and  long  after  we  had  dropped  all  signs  of  Midway 
Island,  the  smoke  still  hung  in  the  horizon  like  that 
of  a  distant  steamer.  With  the  fading  out  of  that 
last  vestige,  the  Nora  Creina  passed  again  into  the 
empty  world  of  cloud  and  water  by  which  she  had 
approached;  and  the  next  features  that  appeared, 
eleven  days  later,  to  break  the  line  of  sky,  were  the 
arid  mountains  of  Oahu. 

It  has  often  since  been  a  comfortable  thought  to 
me  that  we  had  thus  destroyed  the  tell-tale  remnants 
of  the  Flying  Scud;  and  often  a  strange  one  that 
my  last  sight  and  reminiscence  of  that  fatal  ship 
should  be  a  pillar  of  smoke  on  the  horizon.  To  so 
many  others  besides  myself  the  same  appearance  had 
played  a  part  in  the  various  stages  of  that  business ; 
luring  some  to  what  they  little  imagined,  filling  some 
with  unimaginable  terrors.  But  ours  was  the  last 
smoke  raised  in  the  story ;  and  with  its  dying  away 
the  secret  of  the  Flying  Scud  became  a  private 
property. 

It  was  by  the  first  light  of  dawn  that  we  saw, 
close  on  board,  the  metropolitan  island  of  Hawaii. 
We  held  along  the  coast,  as  near  as  we  could  venture, 
with  a  fresh  breeze  and  under  an  unclouded  heaven ; 
beholding,  as  we  went,  the  arid  mountain  sides  and 
scrubby  cocoa-palms  of  that  somewhat  melancholy 
archipelago.  About  four  of  the  afternoon  we  turned 
Waimanolo  Point,  the  westerly  headland  of  the  great 
bight  of  Honolulu;  showed  ourselves  for  twenty 
minutes  in  full  view,  and  then  fell  again  to  leeward, 
and  put  in  the  rest  of  daylight,  plying  under  shortened 
sail  under  the  lee  of  Waimanolo. 

A  little  after  dark  we  beat  once  more  about  the 
point,  and  crept  cautiously  toward  the  mouth  of  the 
Pearl  Lochs,  where  Jim  and  I  had  arranged  I  was 


I   TURN    SMUGGLER,   THE   CAPTAIN   CASUIST.       247 

to  meet  the  smugglers.  The  night  was  happily 
obscure,  the  water  smooth.  We  showed,  according 
to  instructions,  no  light  on  deck ;  only  a  red  lantern 
dropped  from  either  cathead  to  within  a  couple  of 
feet  of  the  water.  A  lookout  was  stationed  on  the 
bowsprit  end,  another  in  the  crosstrees;  and  the 
whole  ship's  company  crowded  forward,  scouting  for 
enemies  or  friends.  It  was  now  the  crucial  moment 
of  our  enterprise;  we  were  now  risking  liberty  and 
credit,  and  that  for  a  sum  so  small  to  a  man  in  my 
bankrupt  situation,  that  I  could  have  laughed  aloud 
in  bitterness.  But  the  piece  had  been  arranged,  and 
we  must  play  it  to  the  finish. 

For  some  while  we  saw  nothing  but  the  dark 
mountain  outline  of  the  island,  the  torches  of  native 
fishermen  glittering  here  and  there  along  the  fore- 
shore, and  right  in  the  midst,  that  cluster  of  brave 
lights  with  which  the  town  of  Honolulu  advertises 
itself  to  the  seaward.  Presently  a  ruddy  star  ap- 
peared inshore  of  us,  and  seemed  to  draw  near  un- 
steadily. This  was  the  anticipated  signal ;  and  we  made 
haste  to  show  the  countersign,  lowering  a  white  light 
from  the  quarter,  extinguishing  the  two  others,  and 
laying  the  schooner  incontinently  to.  The  star  ap- 
proached slowly;  the  sounds  of  oars  and  of  men's  speech 
came  to  us  across  the  water;  and  then  a  voice  hailed  us — 

"  Is  that  Mr.  Dodd  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  I  returned.     "  Is  Jim  Pinkerton  there  ? " 

"  No,  sir,"  replied  the  voice.  "  But  there's  one  of 
his  crowd  here,  name  of  Speedy." 

"  I'm  here,  Mr.  Dodd,"  added  Speedy  himself.  "  I 
have  letters  for  you." 

"  All  right,"  I  replied.  "  Come  aboard,  gentlemen, 
and  let  me  see  my  mail." 

A  whaleboat  accordingly  ranged  alongside,  and 
three  men  boarded  us :  my  old  San  Francisco  friend, 
the  stock-gambler  Speedy,  a  little  wizened  person  of 
the  name  of  Sharpe,  and  a  big,  flourishing,  dissipated- 


248  THE   WRECKER. 

looking  man  called  Fowler.  The  two  last  (I  learned 
afterward)  were  frequent  partners;  Sharpe  supplied 
the  capital,  and  Fowler,  who  was  quite  a  character  in 
the  islands,  and  occupied  a  considerable  station, 
brought  activity,  daring,  and  a  private  influence,  highly 
necessary  in  the  case.  Both  seemed  to  approach  the 
business  with  a  keen  sense  of  romance  ;  and  I  believe 
this  was  the  chief  attraction,  at  least  with  Fowler — for 
whom  I  early  conceived  a  sentiment  of  liking.  But 
in  that  first  moment  I  had  something  else  to  think  of 
than  to  judge  my  new  acquaintances;  and  before 
Speedy  had  fished  out  the  letters,  the  full  extent  of 
our  misfortune  was  revealed. 

"  We've  rather  bad  news  for  you,  Mr.  Dodd,"  said 
Fowler.     "  Your  firm's  gone  up." 

"  Already  ?  "  I  exclaimed. 

"  Well,  it  was  thought  rather  a  wonder  Pinkerton 
held  on  as  long  as  he  did,"  was  the  reply.  "  The 
wreck  deal  was  too  big  for  your  credit ;  you  were  doing 
a  big  business,  no  doubt,  but  you  were  doing  it  on 
precious  little  capital,  and  when  the  strain  came,  you 
were  bound  to  go.  Pinkerton's  through  all  right : 
seven  cents  dividend,  some  remarks  made,  but  nothing 
to  hurt ;  the  press  let  you  down  easy — I  guess  Jim 
had  relations  there.  The  only  trouble  is,  that  all  this 
Flying  Scud  affair  got  in  the  papers  with  the  rest ; 
everybody's  wide  awake  in  Honolulu,  and  the  sooner 
we  get  the  stuff  in  and  the  dollars  out,  the  better  for 
all  concerned." 

"  Gentlemen,"  said  I,  "  you  must  excuse  me.  My 
friend,  the  captain  here,  will  drink  a  glass  of  cham- 
pagne with  you  to  give  you  patience ;  but  as  for 
myself,  I  am  unfit  even  for  ordinary  conversation  till 
I  have  read  these  letters." 

They  demurred  a  little,  and  indeed  the  danger  of 
delay  seemed  obvious ;  but  the  sight  of  my  distress, 
which  I  was  unable  entirely  to  control,  appealed 
strongly  to  their  good-nature,  and  I  was  suffered  at 


I   TURN   SMUGGLER,   THE   CAPTAIN   CASUIST.      249 

last  to  get  by  myself  on  deck,  where,  by  the  light  of 
a  lantern  smuggled  under  shelter  of  the  low  rail,  I 
read  the  following  wretched  correspondence : — 

"My  Dear  Loudon,"  ran  the  first,  "  this  will  be  handed  you 
by  your  friend  Speedy  of  the  Catamount.  His  sterling  character 
and  loyal  devotion  to  yourself  pointed  him  out  as  the  best  man 
for  our  purposes  in  Honolulu — the  parties  on  the  spot  being 
difficult  to  manipulate.  A  man  called  Billy  Fowler  (you  must 
have  heard  of  Billy)  is  the  boss ;  he  is  in  politics  some,  and 
squares  the  officers.  I  have  hard  times  before  me  in  the  city, 
but  I  feel  as  bright  as  a  dollar  and  as  strong  as  John  L.  Sullivan. 
What  with  Mamie  here,  and  my  partner  speeding  over  the  seas, 
and  the  bonanza  in  the  wreck,  1  feel  like  I  could  juggle  with  the 
Pyramids  of  Egypt,  same  as  conjurers  do  with  aluminium  balls, 
My  earnest  prayers  follow  you,  Loudon,  that  you  may  feel  the 
way  I  do — just  inspired !  My  feet  don't  touch  the  ground ;  I 
kind  of  swim.  Mamie  is  like  Moses  and  Aaron  that  held  up  the 
other  individual's  arms.  She  carries  me  along  like  a  horse  and 
buggy.     I  am  beating  the  record. 

"  Your  true  partner, 

"  J.  PlNKERTON." 

Number  two  was  in  a  different  style  : — 

"  My  Dearest  Loudon, — How  am  I  to  prepare  you  fortius 
dire  intelligence  ?  Oh,  dear  me,  it  will  strike  you  to  the  earth. 
The  fiat  has  gone  forth  ;  our  firm  went  bust  at  a  quarter  before 
twelve.  It  was  a  bill  of  Bradley's  (for  two  hundred  dollars)  that 
brought  these  vast  operations  to  a  close,  and  evolved  liabilities 
of  upwards  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand.  Oh,  the  shame 
and  pity  of  it,  and  you  but  three  weeks  gone !  Loudon,  don't 
blame  your  partner ;  if  human  hands  and  brains  could  have 
sufficed  I  would  have  held  the  thing  together.  But  it  just 
slowly  crumbled ;  Bradley  was  the  last  kick,  but  the  blamed 
business  just  melted.  I  give  the  liabilities — it's  supposed  they're 
all  in — for  the  cowards  were  waiting,  and  the  claims  were  filed 
like  taking  tickets  to  hear  Patti.  I  don't  quite  have  the  hang  of 
the  assets  yet,  onr  interests  were  so  extended ;  but  I  am  at  it 
day  and  night,  and  I  guess  will  make  a  creditable  dividend.  If 
the  wreck  pans  out  only  half  the  way  it  ought  we'll  turn  the 
laugh  still.  I  am  as  full  of  grit  and  work  as  ever,  and  just 
tower  above  our  troubles.  Mamie  is  a  host  in  herself.  Some- 
how I  feel  like  it  was  only  me  that  had  gone  bust,  and  you  and  she 
soared  clear  of  it.     Hurry  up.     That's  all  you  have  to  do. 

"  Yours  ever, 

'*  J.   PlNKERTON." 


250  THE   WRECKER. 

The  third  was  yet  more  altered  : — 

"  My  Poor  Loudon,"  it  began,  "  I  labour  far  into  the  night 
getting  our  affairs  in  order ;  you  could  not  believe  their  vast- 
ness  and  complexity.  Douglas  B.  Longhurst  said  humorously 
that  the  receiver's  work  would  be  cut  out  for  him.  I  cannot  deny 
that  some  of  them  have  a  speculative  look.  God  forbid  a  sensi- 
tive, refined  spirit  like  yours  should  ever  come  face  to  face  with 
a  Commissioner  in  Bankruptcy  ;  these  men  get  all  the  sweetness 
knocked  right  out  of  them.  But  I  could  bear  up  better  if  it 
weren't  for  press  comments.  Often  and  often,  Loudon,  I  re- 
call to  mind  your  most  legitimate  critiques  of  the  press  system. 
They  published  an  interview  with  me,  not  the  least  like  what  I 
said,  and  with  jeering  comments  ;  it  would  make  your  blood  boil, 
it  was  literally  inhumane  ;  I  wouldn't  have  written  it  about  a  yel- 
low dog  that  was  in  trouble  like  what  lam.  Mamie  just  winced, 
the  first  time  she  has  turned  a  hair  right  through  the  whole  catas- 
trophe. How  wonderfully  true  was  what  you  said  long  ago  in  Paris 
about  touching  on  people's  personal  appearance !     The  fellow 

said "     And  then  these  words  had  been  scored  through,  and 

my  distressed  friend  turned  to  another  subject.  "  I  cannot  bear 
to  dwell  upon  our  assets.  They  simply  don't  show  up.  Even 
Thirteen  Star,  as  sound  a  line  as  can  be  produced  upon  this 
coast,  goes  begging.  The  wreck  has  thrown  a  blight  on  all  we 
ever  touched.  And  where's  the  use  P  God  never  made  a  wreck 
big  enough  to  fill  our  deficit.  I  am  haunted  by  the  thought 
that  you  may  blame  me ;  I  know  how  I  despised  your  remon- 
strances. Oh,  Loudon,  don't  be  hard  on  your  miserable  partner. 
The  funny-dog  business  is  what  kills.  I  fear  your  stern  recti- 
tude of  mind  like  the  eye  of  God.  I  cannot  think  but  what  some 
of  my  books  seem  mixed  up  ;  otherwise,  I  don't  seem  to  see  my 
way  as  plain  as  I  could  wish  to.  Or  else  my  brain  is  gone  soft. 
Loudon,  if  there  should  be  any  unpleasantness  you  can  trust  me 
to  do  the  right  thing  and  keep  you  clear.  I've  been  telling  them 
already  how  you  had  no  business  grip  and  never  saw  the  books. 
Oh,  I  trust  I  have  done  right  in  this  !  I  knew  it  was  a  liberty  ; 
I  know  you  may  justly  complain,  but  it  was  some  things  that 
were  said.  And  mind  you,  all  legitimate  business  !  Not  even 
your  shrinking  sensitiveness  could  find  fault  with  the  first  look 
of  one  of  them  if  they  had  panned  out  right.  And  you  know  the 
Flying  Scud  was  the  biggest  gamble  of  the  crowd,  and  that  was 
your  own  idea.  Mamie  says  she  never  could  bear  to  lopk  you  in 
the  face  if  that  idea  had  been  mine,  she  is  so  conscientious  ! 

"  Your  broken-hearted 

"  Jim." 


I  TURN   SMUGGLER,   THE   CAPTAIN   CASUIST.      251 

The  last  began  without  formality : — 

"  This  is  the  end  of  me  commercially.  I  give  up ;  my  nerve 
has  gone.  I  suppose  I  ought  to  be  glad,  for  we're  tli rough  the 
court.  I  don't  know  as  ever  I  knew  how,  and  I'm  sure  I  don't 
remember.  If  it  pans  out — the  wreck  I  mean — we'll  go  to 
Europe  and  live  on  the  interest  of  our  money.  No  more  work 
for  me.  I  shake  when  people  speak  to  me.  I  have  gone  on, 
hoping  and  hoping,  and  working  and  working,  and  the  lead  has 
pinched  right  out.  1  want  to  lie  on  my  back  in  a  garden  and 
read  Shakespeare  and  E.  P.  Roe.  Don't  suppose  it's  cowardice, 
Loudon.  I'm  a  sick  man.  Rest  is  what  I  must  have.  I've 
worked  hard  all  my  life  ;  I  never  spared  myself,  every  dollar  I 
ever  made  I've  coined  my  brains  for  it.  I've  never  done  a  mean 
thing ;  I've  lived  respectable,  and  given  to  the  poor.  Who  has  a 
better  right  to  a  holiday  than  I  have  ?  And  I  mean  to  have  a 
year  of  it  straight  out,  and  if  I  don't  I  shall  lie  right  down  here 
in  my  tracks,  and  die  of  worry  and  brain  trouble.  Don't  mistake, 
that's  so.  If  there  are  any  pickings  at  all  trust  Speedy  ;  don't 
let  the  creditors  get  wind  of  what  there  is.  I  helped  you  when 
you  were  down,  help  me  now.  Don't  deceive  yourself ;  you've 
got  to  help  me  right  now  or  never.  I  am  clerking,  and  not  jit  to 
cipher.  Mamie's  typewriting  at  the  Phcenix  Guano  Exchange, 
down  town.  The  light  is  right  out  of  my  life.  I  know  you'll 
not  like  to  do  what  I  propose.  Think  only  of  this,  that  it's  life 
or  death  for  Jim  Pinkerton." 

"  P.S. — Our  figure  was  seven  per  cent.  Oh,  what  a  fall  was 
there!  Well,  well,  it's  past  mending;  I  don't  want  to  whine. 
But,  Loudon,  I  do  want  to  live.  No  more  ambition ;  all  I  ask 
is  life.  I  have  so  much  to  make  it  sweet  to  me.  I  am  clerking, 
and  useless  at  that.  I  know  I  would  have  fired  such  a  clerk  in- 
side of  forty  minutes  in  my  time.  But  my  time's  over.  I  can 
only  cling  on  to  you.    Don't  fail  Jim  Pinkerton." 

There  was  yet  one  more  postscript,  yet  one  more 
outburst  of  self-pity  and  pathetic  adjuration ;  and  a 
doctor's  opinion,  unpromismg  enough,  was  besides  en- 
closed. I  pass  them  both  in  silence.  I  think  shame 
to  have  shown  at  so  great  length  the  half-baked 
virtues  of  my  friend  dissolving  in  the  crucible  of  sick- 
ness and  distress  ;  and  the  effect  upon  my  spirits  can 
be  judged  already.  I  got  to  my  feet  when  I  had  done, 
drew  a  deep  breath,  and  stared  hard  at  Honolulu. 
One  moment  the  world  seemed  at  an  end,  the  next  I 


252  THE  WRECKER. 

was  conscious  of  a  rush  of  independent  energy.  On 
Jim  I  could  rely  no  longer ;  I  must  now  take  hold  my- 
self.   I  must  decide  and  act  on  my  own  better  thoughts. 

The  word  was  easy  to  say ;  the  thing,  at  the  first 
blush,  was  undiscoverable.  I  was  overwhelmed  with 
miserable,  womanish  pity  for  my  broken  friend ;  his 
outcries  grieved  my  spirit ;  I  saw  him  then  and  now 
— then,  so  invincible;  now,  brought  so  low — and 
knew  neither  how  to  refuse,  nor  how  to  consent  to 
his  proposal.  The  remembrance  of  my  father,  who 
had  fallen  in  the  same  field  unstained,  the  image  of 
his  monument  incongruously  rising  a  fear  of  the  law, 
a  chill  air  that  seemed  to  blow  upon  my  fancy  from 
the  doors  of  prisons,  and  the  imaginary  clank  of 
fetters,  recalled  me  to  a  different  resolve.  And  then 
again,  the  wails  of  my  sick  partner  intervened.  So  I 
stood  hesitating,  and  yet  with  a  strong  sense  of 
capacity  behind,  sure,  if  I  could  but  choose  my 
path,  that  I  should  walk  in  it  with  resolution. 

Then  I  remembered  that  I  had  a  friend  on  board, 
and  stepped  to  the  companion. 

"  Gentlemen,"  said  I,  "  only  a  few  moments  more : 
but  these,  I  regret  to  say,  I  must  make  more  tedious 
still  by  removing  your  companion.  It  is  indispens- 
able that  I  should  have  a  word  or  two  with  Captain 
Nares." 

Both  the  smugglers  were  afoot  at  once,  protesting. 
The  business,  they  declared,  must  be  despatched  at 
once;  they  had  run  risk  enough,  with  a  conscience, 
and  they  must  either  finish  now,  or  go. 

"  The  choice  is  yours,  gentlemen,"  said  I,  "  and  I 
believe,  the  eagerness.  I  am  not  yet  sure  that  I  have 
anything  in  your  way;  even  if  I  have,  there  are  a 
hundred  things  to  be  considered ;  and  I  assure  you  it 
is  not  at  all  my  habit  to  do  business  with  a  pistol  to 
my  head." 

"That  is  all  very  proper,  Mr.  Dodd;  there  is  no 
wish  to  coerce  you,  believe  me,"  said  Fowler;  "only, 


I   TURN   SMUGGLER,   THE   CAPTAIN   CASUIST.      253 

please  consider  our  position.  It  is  really  dangerous ; 
we  were  not  the  only  people  to  see  your  schooner  off 
Waimanolo." 

"  Mr.  Fowler,"  I  replied,  "  I  was  not  born  yester- 
day. Will  you  allow  me  to  express  an  opinion,  in 
which  I  may  be  quite  wrong,  but  to  which  I  am 
entirely  wedded  ?  If  the  Custom  House  officers  had 
been  coming,  they  would  have  been  here  now.  In 
other  words,  somebody  is  working  the  oracle,  and  (for 
a  good  guess)  his  name  is  Fowler." 

Both  men  laughed  loud  and  long ;  and  being 
supplied  with  another  bottle  of  Longhurst's  cham- 
pagne, suffered  the  captain  and  myself  to  leave  them 
without  further  word. 

I  gave  Nares  the  correspondence,  and  he  skimmed 
it  through. 

"  Now,  captain,"  said  I,  "  I  want  a  fresh  mind  on 
this.     What  does  it  mean  ? " 

"  It's  large  enough  text,"  replied  the  captain.  "  It 
means  you're  to  stake  your  pile  on  Speedy,  hand  him 
over  all  you  can,  and  hold  your  tongue.  I  almost 
wish  you  hadn't  shown  it  me,"  he  added  wearily. 
"What  with  the  specie  from  the  wreck  and  the 
opium  money,  it  comes  to  a  biggish  deal." 

"  That's  supposing  that  I  do  it  ? "  said  I. 

"  Exactly,"  said  he,  "  supposing  you  do  it" 

"  And  there  are  pros  and  cons  to  that,"  I  observed. 

"  There's  San  Quentin,  to  start  in  with,"  said  the 
captain;  "and  suppose  you  clear  the  penitentiary, 
there's  the  nasty  taste  in  the  mouth.  The  figure's 
big  enough,  to  make  bad  trouble,  but  it's  not  big 
enough  to  be  picturesque ;  and  I  should  guess  a  man 
always  feels  kind  of  small  who  has  sold  himself  under 
six  ciphers.  That  would  be  my  way,  at  least ;  there's 
an  excitement  about  a  million  that  might  carry  me 
on ;  but  the  other  way,  I  should  feel  kind  of  lonely 
when  I  woke  in  bed.  Then  there's  Speedy.  Do  you 
know  him  well  ? " 


254  THE   WRECKER. 

*  No,  I  do  not,"  said  I. 

"  Well,  of  course  he  can  vamoose  with  the  entire 
speculation,  if  he  chooses,"  pursued  the  captain,  "  and 
if  he  don't  I  can't  see  but  wnat  you've  got  to  support 
and  bed  and  board  with  him  to  the  end  of  time.  I 
guess  it  would  weary  me.  Then  there's  Mr.  Pinkerton, 
of  course.  He's  been  a  good  friend  to  you,  hasn't  he  ? 
Stood  by  you,  and  all  that  ?  and  pulled  you  through 
for  all  he  was  worth  ? " 

"That  he  has,"  I  cried;  "I  could  never  begin 
telling  you  my  debt  to  him ! " 

"  Well,  and  that's  a  consideration,"  said  the  captain. 
"As  a  matter  of  principle,  I  wouldn't  look  at  this 
business  at  the  money.  '  Not  good  enough,'  would  be 
my  word.  But  even  principle  goes  under  when  it 
comes  to  friends — the  right  sort,  I  mean.  This 
Pinkerton  is  frightened,  and  he  seems  sick;  the 
medico  don't  seem  to  care  a  cent  about  his  state  of 
health ;  and  you've  got  to  figure  how  you  would  like 
it  if  he  came  to  die.  Remember,  the  risk  of  this  little 
swindle  is  all  yours ;  it's  no  sort  of  risk  to  Mr.  Pinker- 
ton. Well,  you've  got  to  put  it  that  way  plainly,  and 
see  how  you  like  the  sound  of  it :  my  friend  Pinkerton 
is  in  danger  of  the  New  Jerusalem,  I  am  in  danger  of 
San  Quentin  ;  which  risk  do  I  propose  to  run  ? " 

"  That's  an  ugly  way  to  put  it,"  I  objected,  "  and 
perhaps  hardly  fair.  There's  right  and  wrong  to  be 
considered." 

"  Don't  know  the  parties,"  replied  Nares ;  "  and 
I'm  coming  to  them,  anyway.  For  it  strikes  me,  when 
it  came  to  smuggling  opium,  you  walked  right  up  ?  " 

"  So  I  did,"  I  said.  "  Sick  I  am  to  have  to  say 
it." 

"  All  the  same,"  continued  Nares,  "  you  went  into 
the  opium-smuggling  with  your  head  down  ;  and  a 
good  deal  of  fussing  I've  listened  to,  that  you  hadn't 
more  of  it  to  smuggle.  Now,  maybe  your  partner's 
not  quite  fixed  the  same  as  you  are ;  maybe  he  sees 


I   TURN   SMUGGLER,   THE   CAPTAIN   CASUIST.      255 

precious  little  difference  between  the  one  thing  and 
the  other." 

"  You  could  not  say  truer :  he  sees  none,  I  do 
believe,"  cried  I ;  "  and  though  I  see  one,  I  could  never 
tell  you  how." 

"  We  never  can,"  said  the  oracular  Nares  ;  "  taste 
is  all  a  matter  of  opinion.  But  the  point  is,  how  will 
your  friend  take  it  ?  You  refuse  a  favour,  and  you 
take  the  high  horse  at  the  same  time ;  you  disappoint 
him,  and  you  rap  him  over  the  knuckles.  It  won't 
do,  Mr.  Dodd;  no  friendship  can  stand  that.  You 
must  be  as  good  as  your  friend,  or  as  bad  as  your 
friend,  or  start  on  a  fresh  deal  without  him." 

"  I  don't  see  it ! "  said  I.     "You  don't  know  Jim." 

"  Well,  you  will  see,"  said  Nares.  "  And  now, 
here's  another  point.  This  bit  of  money  looks  mighty 
big  to  Mr.  Pinkerton ;  it  may  spell  life  or  health  to 
him ;  but  among  all  your  creditors,  I  don't  see  that  it 
amounts  to  a  hill  of  beans — I  don't  believe  it'll  pay 
their  car-fares  all  round.  And  don't  you  think  you'll 
ever  get  thanked.  You  were  known  to  pay  a  long 
price  for  the  chance  of  rummaging  that  wreck ;  you 
do  the  rummaging,  you  come  home,  and  you  hand 
over  ten  thousand — or  twenty,  if  you  like — a  part  of 
which  you'll  have  to  own  up  you  made  by  smuggling  ; 
and,  mind !  you'll  never  get  Billy  Fowler  to  stick  his 
name  to  a  receipt.  Now  just  glance  at  the  transaction 
from  the  outside,  and  see  what  a  clear  case  it  makes. 
Your  ten  thousand  is  a  sop ;  and  people  will  only 
wonder  you  were  so  damned  impudent  as  to  offer  such 
a  small  one  !  Whichever  way  you  take  it,  Mr.  Dodd, 
the  bottom's  out  of  your  character ;  so  there's  one 
thing  less  to  be  considered." 

"  I  daresay  you'll  scarce  believe  me,"  said  I,  "  but  I 
feel  that  a  positive  relief." 

"  You  must  be  made  some  way  different  from  me, 
then,"  returned  Nares.  "  And,  talking  about  me,  I 
might  just  mention  how   I  stand.     You'll  have  no 


256  THE   WRECKER. 

trouble  from  me — you've  trouble  enough  of  your  own ; 
and  I'm  friend  enough,  when  a  friend's  in  need,  to 
shut  my  eyes  and  go  right  where  he  tells  me.  All  the 
same,  I'm  rather  queerly  fixed.  My  owners'll  have  to 
rank  with  the  rest  on  their  charter-party.  Here  am 
I,  their  representative !  and  I  have  to  look  over  the 
ship's  side  while  the  bankrupt  walks  his  assets  ashore 
in  Mr.  Speedy's  hat-box.  It's  a  thing  I  wouldn't  do 
for  James  G.  Blaine ;  but  I'll  do  it  for  you,  Mr.  Dodd, 
and  only  sorry  I  can't  do  more." 

*  Thank  you,  captain ;  my  mind  is  made  up,"  said 
I.  "  I'll  go  straight,  ruat  ccelum !  I  never  under- 
stood that  old  tag  before  to-night." 

"  I  hope  it  isn't  my  business  that  decides  you  ? " 
asked  the  captain. 

"  I'll  never  deny  it  was  an  element,"  said  I.  "  I 
hope,  I  hope  I'm  not  cowardly ;  I  hope  I  could  steal 
for  Jim  myself ;  but  when  it  comes  to  dragging  in  you 
and  Speedy,  and  this  one  and  the  other,  why,  Jim  has 
got  to  die,  and  there's  an  end.  I'll  try  and  work  for 
him  when  I  get  to  'Frisco,  I  suppose  ;  and  I  suppose 
I'll  fail,  and  look  on  at  his  death,  and  kick  myself :  it 
can't  be  helped— I'll  fight  it  on  this  line." 

"  I  don't  say  as  you're  wrong,"  replied  Nares,  "  and 
I'll  be  hanged  if  I  know  if  you're  right.  It  suits  me 
anyway.  And  look  here — hadn't  you  better  just  show 
our  friends  over  the  side  ? "  he  added ;  "  no  good  of 
being  at  the  risk  and  worry  of  smuggling  for  the 
benefit  of  creditors." 

"  I  don't  think  of  the  creditors,"  said  I.  "  But  I've 
kept  this  pair  so  long  I  haven't  got  the  brass  to  fire 
them  now." 

Indeed,  I  believe  that  was  my  only  reason  for 
entering  upon  a  transaction  which  was  now  outside 
my  interest,  but  which  (as  it  chanced)  repaid  me 
fifty-fold  in  entertainment.  Fowler  and  Sharpe  were 
both  pre ternatu rally  sharp  ;  they  did  me  the  honour 
in  the  beginning  to  attribute  to  myself  their  proper 


I   TURN   SMUGGLER,  THE   CAPTAIN   CASUIST.       257 

vices,  and  before  we  were  done  had  grown  to  regard 
me  with  an  esteem  akin  to  worship.  This  proud 
position  I  attained  by  no  more  recondite  arts  than 
telling  the  mere  truth  and  unaffectedly  displaying  my 
indifference  to  the  result.  I  have  doubtless  stated  the 
essentials  of  all  good  diplomacy,  which  may  be  rather 
regarded,  therefore,  as  a  grace  of  state,  than  the  effect 
of  management.  For  to  tell  the  truth  is  not  in  itself 
diplomatic,  and  to  have  no  care  for  the  result  a  thing 
involuntary.  When  I  mentioned,  for  instance,  that  I 
had  but  two  hundred  and  forty  pounds  of  drug,  my 
smugglers  exchanged  meaning  glances,  as  who  should 
say,  "  Here  is  a  foeman  worthy  of  our  steel ! "  But 
when  I  carelessly  proposed  thirty-five  dollars  a  pound, 
as  an  amendment  to  their  offered  twenty,  and  wound 
up  with  the  remark :  "  The  whole  thing  is  a  matter  of 
moonshine  to  me,  gentlemen.  Take  it  or  want  it,  and 
fill  your  glasses  " — I  had  the  indescribable  gratification 
to  see  Sharpe  nudge  Fowler  warningly,  and  Fowler 
choke  down  the  jovial  acceptance  that  stood  ready  on 
his  lips,  and  lamely  substitute  a  "  No — no  more  wine, 
please,  Mr.  Dodd !  "  Nor  was  this  all :  for  when  the 
affair  was  settled  at  thirty  dollars  a  pound — a 
shrewd  stroke  of  business  for  my  creditors — and  our 
friends  had  got  on  board  their  whaleboat  and 
shoved  off,  it  appeared  they  were  imperfectly 
acquainted  with  the  conveyance  of  sound  upon  still 
water,  and  I  had  the  joy  to  overhear  the  folio  wing 
testimonial. 

"  Deep  man,  that  Dodd,"  said  Sharpe. 

And  the  bass-toned  Fowler  echoed,  "  Damned  if  I 
understand  his  game." 

Thus  we  were  left  once  more  alone  upon  the  Norah 
Creina  ;  and  the  news  of  the  night,  and  the  lamen- 
tations of  Pinkerton,  and  the  thought  of  my  own  harsh 
decision,  returned  and  besieged  me  in  the  dark. 
According  to  all  the  rubbish  I  had  read,  I  should 
have   been  sustained   by  the  warm  consciousness  of 


258  THE   WRECKER. 

virtue.  Alas,  I  had  but  the  one  feeling :  that  I  had 
sacrificed  my  sick  friend  to  the  fear  of  prison-cells 
and  stupid  starers.  And  no  moralist  has  yet  advanced 
so  far  as  to  number  cowardice  amongst  the  things  that 
are  their  own  reward. 


CHAPTER   XVII. 

LIGHT   FROM   THE   MAN   OF   WAR. 

In  the  early  sunlight  of  the  next  day,  we  tossed  close 
off  the  buoy  and  saw  the  city  sparkle  in  its  groves 
about  the  foot  of  the  Punch  Bowl,  and  the  masts 
clustering  thick  in  the  small  harbour.  A  good 
breeze,  which  had  risen  with  the  sea,  carried  us 
triumphantly  through  the  intricacies  of  the  passage ; 
and  we  had  soon  brought  up  not  far  from  the 
landing-stairs.  I  remember  to  have  remarked  an 
ugly-horned  reptile  of  a  modern  warship  in  the 
usual  moorings  across  the  port,  but  my  mind  was 
so  profoundly  plunged  in  melancholy  that  I  paid 
no  heed. 

Indeed,  I  had  little  time  at  my  disposal.  Messieurs 
Sharpe  and  Fowler  had  left  the  night  before  in  the 
persuasion  that  I  was  a  liar  of  the  first  magnitude ; 
the  genial  belief  brought  them  aboard  again  with  the 
earliest  opportunity,  proffering  help  to  one  who  had 
proved  how  little  he  required  it,  and  hospitality  to  so 
respectable  a  character.  I  had  business  to  mind,  I 
had  some  need  both  of  assistance  and  diversion;  I 
liked  Fowler — I  don't  know  why ;  and  in  short,  I  let 
them  do  with  me  as  they  desired.  No  creditor  inter- 
vening, I  spent  the  first  half  of  the  day  inquiring  into 
the  conditions  of  the  tea  and  silk  market  under  the 
auspices  of  Sharpe ;  lunched  with  him  in  a  private 
apartment  at  the  Hawaiian  Hotel — for  Sharpe  was  a 


LIGHT   FROM   THE   MAN   OF   WAR.  259 

teetotaler  in  public ;  and  about  four  in  the  afternoon 
was  delivered  into  the  hands  of  Fowler.  This  gentle- 
man owned  a  bungalow  on  the  Waikiki  beach ;  and 
there  in  company  with  certain  young  bloods  of  Hono- 
lulu, I  was  entertained  to  a  sea-bathe,  indiscriminate 
cocktails,  a  dinner,  a  hula-hula,  and  (to  round  off  the 
night),  poker  and  assorted  liquors.  To  lose  money  in 
the  small  hours  to  pale,  intoxicated  youth  has  always 
appeared  to  me  a  pleasure  overrated.  In  my  then 
frame  of  mind,  I  confess  I  found  it  even  delightful ; 
put  up  my  money  (or  rather  my  creditors'),  and  put 
down  Fowler's  champagne  with  equal  avidity  and 
success ;  and  awoke  the  next  morning  to  a  mild 
headache  and  the  rather  agreeable  lees  of  the  last 
night's  excitement.  The  young  bloods,  many  of  whom 
were  still  far  from  sober,  had  taken  the  kitchen  into 
their  own  hands,  vice  the  Chinaman  deposed;  and 
since  each  was  engaged  upon  a  dish  of  his  own,  and 
none  had  the  least  scruple  in  demolishing  his  neigh- 
bour's handiwork,  I  became  early  convinced  that 
many  eggs  would  be  broken  and  few  omelets  made. 
The  discovery  of  a  jug  of  milk  and  a  crust  of  bread 
enabled  me  to  stay  my  appetite ;  and  since  it  was 
Sunday  when  no  business  could  be  done,  and  the 
festivities  were  to  be  renewed  that  night  in  the  abode 
of  Fowler,  it  occurred  to  me  to  slip  silently  away  and 
enjoy  some  air  and  solitude. 

I  turned  seaward  under  the  dead  crater  known  as 

Diamond  Head.     My  way  was  for  some  time  under 

the  shade  of  certain  thickets  of  green,  thorny  trees, 

dotted  with  houses.     Here  I  enjoyed  some  pictures  of 

the  native  life:    wide-eyed,  naked  children,  mingled 

with   pigs;    a  youth   asleep  under   a   tree;    an   old 

gentleman   spelling    through    glasses    his    Hawaiian 

Bible;    the   somewhat   embarrassing   spectacle   of    a 

lady  at  her  bath  in  a  spring;    and  the  glimpse  of 

audy  coloured  gowns  in  the  deep  shade    of    the 

ouses.      Thence   I   found   a  road   along  the   beach 

r  2 


260  THE   WRECKER. 

itself',  wading  in  sand,  opposed  and  buffeted  by  the 
whole  weight  of  the  Trade :  on  one  hand,  the  glitter- 
ing and  sounding  surf,  and  the  bay  lively  with  many 
sails ;  on  the  other,  precipitous,  arid  gullies  and  sheer 
cliffs,  mounting  towards  the  crater  and  the  blue  sky. 
For  all  the  companionship  of  skimming  vessels,  the 
place  struck  me  with  a  sense  of  solitude.  There  came 
m  my  head  what  I  had  been  told  the  day  before  at 
dinner,  of  a  cavern  above  in  the  bowels  of  the 
volcano,  a  place  only  to  be  visited  with  the  light  of 
torches,  a  treasure-house  of  the  bones  of  priests  and 
warriors,  and  clamorous  with  the  voice  of  an  unseen 
river  pouring  seaward  through  the  crannies  of  the 
mountain.  At  the  thought,  it  was  revealed  to  me 
suddenly  how  the  bungalows,  and  the  Fowlers,  and 
the  bright,  busy  town  and  crowding  ships,  were  all 
children  of  yesterday;  and  for  centuries  before,  the 
obscure  life  of  the  natives,  with  its  glories  and 
ambitions,  its  joys  and  crimes  and  agonies,  had  rolled 
unseen,  like  the  mountain  river,  in  that  sea-girt  place. 
Not  Chaldea  appeared  more  ancient,  nor  the  Pyramids 
of  Egypt  more  abstruse ;  and  I  heard  time  measured 
by  "  the  drums  and  tramplings  "  of  immemorial  con- 
quests, and  saw  myself  the  creature  of  an  hour.  Over 
the  bankruptcy  of  Pinkerton  and  Dodd,  of  Montana 
Block,  S.  F.,  and  the  conscientious  troubles  of  the 
junior  partner,  the  spirit  of  eternity  was  seen  to 
smile. 

To  this  mood  of  philosophic  sadness,  my  excesses 
of  the  night  before  no  doubt  contributed,  for  more 
things  than  virtue  are  at  times  their  own  reward, 
but  I  was  greatly  healed  at  least  of  my  distresses. 
And  while  I  was  yet  enjoying  my  abstracted  humour, 
a  turn  of  the  beach  brought  me  in  view  of  the  signal- 
station,  with  its  watch-house  and  flag-staff,  perched  on 
the  immediate  margin  of  a  cliff.  The  house  was  new 
and  clean  and  bald,  and  stood  naked  to  the  Trades. 
The  wind  beat  about  it  in  loud  squalls ;  the  seaward 


LIGHT   FROM   THE   MAN   OF  WAR.  261 

windows  rattled  without  mercy;  the  breach  of  the 
surf  below  contributed  its  increment  of  noise ;  and 
the  fall  of  my  foot  in  the  narrow  verandah  passed 
unheard  by  those  within. 

They  were  two  on  whom  I  thus  entered  un- 
expectedly: the  look-out  man,  with  grizzled  beard, 
keen  seaman's  eyes,  and  that  brand  on  his  counten- 
ance that  comes  of  solitary  living ;  and  a  visitor,  an 
oldish  oratorical  fellow,  in  the  smart  tropical  array  of 
the  British  man-o'-war's  man,  perched  on  a  table,  and 
smoking  a  cigar.  I  was  made  pleasantly  welcome, 
and  was  soon  listening  with  amusement  to  the  sea- 
lawyer. 

"  No,  if  I  hadn't  have  been  born  an  Englishman," 
was  one  of  his  sentiments,  "damn  me  !  I'd  rather  a'  been 
born  a  Frenchy  !  I'd  like  to  see  another  nation  fit  to 
black  their"  boots."  Presently  after,  he  developed  his 
views  on  home  politics  with  similar  trenchancy.  "  I'd 
rather  be  a  brute  beast  than  what  I'd  be  a  Liberal,"  he 
said ;  "  carrying  banners  and  that !  a  pig's  got  more 
sense.  Why,  look  at  our  chief  engineer — they  do  say 
he  carried  a  banner  with  his  own  'ands :  '  Hooroar  for 
Gladstone!'  I  suppose,  or  'Down  with  the  Aristocracy! ' 
What  'arm  does  the  aristocracy  do  ?  Show  me  a  country 
any  good  without  one !  Not  the  States ;  why,  it's  the 
'ome  of  corruption  !  I  knew  a  man — he  was  a  good 
man,  'ome  born — who  was  signal  quartermaster  in  the 
Wyandotte.  He  told  me  he  could  never  have  got 
there,  if  he  hadn't  have  '  run  with  the  boys  ' — told  it 
me  as  I'm  telling  you.  Now  we're  all  British  subjects 
here "  he  was  going  on. 

"  I  am  afraid  I  am  an  American,"  I  said  apolo- 
getically. 

He  seemed  the  least  bit  taken  aback,  but  recovered 
himself;  and  with  the  ready  tact  of  his  betters,  paid 
me  the  usual  British  compliment  on  the  riposte. 
"  You  don't  say  so ! "  he  exclaimed ;  "  well,  I  give  you 
my  word  of  honour,  I'd  never  have  guessed  it.     No- 


262  THE   WRECKER. 

body  could  tell  it  on  you,"  said  he,  as  though  it  were 
some  form  of  liquor. 

I  thanked  him,  as  I  always  do,  at  this  particular 
stage,  with  his  compatriots  ;  not  so  much,  perhaps,  for 
the  compliment  to  myself  and  my  poor  country,  as  for 
the  revelation  (which  is  ever  fresh  to  me)  of  Britannic 
self-sufficiency  and  taste.  And  he  was  so  far  softened 
by  my  gratitude  as  to  add  a  word  of  praise  on  the 
American  method  of  lacing  sails.  "  You're  ahead  of 
us  in  lacing  sails,"  he  said  ;  "  you  can  say  that  with  a* 
clear  conscience." 

"Thank  you,"  I  replied;  "I  shall  certainly  do 
so." 

At  this  rate  we  got  along  swimmingly  ;  and  when 
I  rose  to  retrace  my  steps  to  the  Fowlery,  he  at  once 
started  to  his  feet  and  offered  me  the  welcome  solace 
of  his  company  for  the  return.  I  believe  I- discovered 
much  alacrity  at  the  idea,  for  the  creature  (who 
seemed  to  be  unique,  or  to  represent  a  type  like  that 
of  the  dodo)  entertained  me  hugely.  But  when  he 
had  produced  his  hat,  I  found  I  was  in  the  way  of 
more  than  entertainment,  for  on  the  ribbon  I  could 
read  the  legend,  "  H.M.S.  Tempest." 

"  I  say,"  I  began,  when  our  adieus  were  paid,  and 
we  were  scrambling  down  the  path  from  the  look-out, 
"  it  was  your  ship  that  picked  up  the  men  on  board  the 
Flying  Scud,  wasn't  it  ? " 

"  You  may  say  so,"  said  he.  "  And  a  blessed  good 
job  for  the  Flying-Scuds.  It's  a  God-forsaken  spot, 
that  Midway  Island." 

"  I've  just  come  from  there,"  said  I ;  "it  was  I 
who  bought  the  wreck." 

"  Beg  your  pardon,  sir,"  cried  the  sailor :  "  gen'lem'n 
in  the  white  schooner  ? " 

"  The  same,"  said  I. 

My  friend  saluted,  as  though  we  were  now  for  the 
first  time  formally  introduced. 

"  Of  course,"  I  continued, "  I  am  rather  taken  up 


LIGHT   FROM    THE    MAN    OF    WAR.  263 

with  the  whole  story ;  and  I  wish  you  would  tell  me 
what  you  can  of  how  the  men  were  saved." 

"  It  was  like  this,"  said  he.  "  We  had  orders  to 
call  at  Midway  after  castaways,  and  had  our  distance 
pretty  nigh  run  down  the  day  before.  We  steamed  half- 
speed  all  night,  looking  to  make  it  about  noon,  for 
old  Tootles — beg  your  pardon,  sir,  the  captain — was 
precious  scared  of  the  place  at  night.  Well,  there's 
nasty,  filthy  currents  round  that  Midway ;  you  know, 
as  has  been  there  ;  and  one  on  'em  must  have  set  us 
down.  Leastways,  about  six  bells,  when  we  had  ought 
to  been  miles  away,  some  one  sees  a  sail,  and  lo  and 
be'old,  there  was  the  spars  of  a  full-rigged  brig  !  We 
raised  her  pretty  fast,  and  the  island  after  her ;  and 
made  out  she  was  hard  aground,  canted  on  her  bilge, 
and  had  her  ens'n  flying,  union  down.  It  was  breaking 
'igh  on  the  reef,  and  we  laid  Avell  out,  and  sent  a  couple 
of  boats.  I  didn't  go  in  neither ;  only  stood  and  looked 
on:  but  it  seems  they  was  all  badly  scared  and 
muddled,  and  didn't  know  which  end  was  uppermost. 
One  on  'em  kep'  snivelling  and  wringing  of  his  'ands ; 
he  come  on  board  all  of  a  sop  like  a  monthly  nurse. 
That  Trent,  he  come  first,  with  his  'and  in  a  bloody 
rag.  I  was  near  'em  as  I  am  to  you  ;  and  I  could 
make  out  he  was  all  to  bits — 'eard  his  breath  rattle  in 
his  blooming  lungs  as  he  come  down  the  ladder.  Yes, 
they  was  a  scared  lot,  small  blame  to  'em  /  say !  The 
next  after  Trent,  come  him  as  was  mate." 

"  Goddedaal ! "  I  exclaimed. 

"  And  a  good  name  for  him,  too,"  chuckled  the 
man-o'-war's  man,  who  probably  confounded  the  word 
with  a  familiar  oath.  "  A  good  name,  too  ;  only  it 
weren't  his.  He  was  a  gen'lem'n  born,  sir,  as  had 
gone  maskewerading.  One  of  our  officers  knowed 
him  at  'ome,  reckonises  him,  steps  up,  'olds  out  his 
'and right  off,  and  says  he,  '  'Ullo,  Norrie,  old  chappie!" 
he  says.  The  other  was  coming  up,  as  bold  as  look  at 
it;  didn't   seem   put   out — that's   where   blood   tells, 


264  THE  WRECKER. 

sir !      Well,  no  sooner  does  he  'ear  his  born   name 

fiven  him,  than  he  turns  as  white  as  the  Day  of 
udgment,  stares  at  Mr.  Sebright  like  he  was  looking 
at  a  ghost,  and  then  (I  give  you  my  word  of  honour) 
turned  to,  and  doubled  up  in  a  (lead  faint.  '  Take 
him  down  to  my  berth,'  says  Mr.  Sebright.  '  'Tis 
poor  old  Norrie  Carthew,'  he  says." 

"  And  what — what  sort  of  a  gentleman  was  this 
Mr.  Carthew  ? "  I  gasped. 

"  The  ward-room  steward  told  me  he  was  come  of 
the  best  blood  in  England,"  was  my  friend's  reply : 
"  Eton  and  'Arrow  bred ;  and  might  have  been  a 
bar'net ! " 

"  No,  but  to  look  at  ? "  I  corrected  him. 

"The  same  as  you  or  me,"  was  the  uncom- 
promising answer :  "  not  much  to  look  at.  I  didn't 
know  he  was  a  gen'lem'n ;  but  then,  I  never  see  him 
cleaned  up." 

"  How  was  that  ? "  I  cried.  "  Oh,  yes,  I  re- 
member :  he  was  sick  all  the  way  to 'Frisco,  was  he  not  ?" 

"  Sick,  or  sorry,  or  something,"  returned  my  in- 
formant. "  My  belief,  he  didn't  hanker  after  showing 
up.  He  kep'  close ;  the  ward-room  steward,  what 
took  his  meals  in,  told  me  he  ate  nex'  to  nothing ; 
and  he  was  fetched  ashore  at  'Frisco  on  the  quiet. 
Here  was  how  it  was.  It  seems  his  brother  had  took 
and  died,  him  as  had  the  estate.  This  one  had  gone 
in  for  his  beer,  by  what  I  could  make  out ;  the  old 
folks  at  'ome  had  turned  rusty ;  no  one  knew  where 
he  had  gone  to.  Here  he  was,  slaving  in  a  merchant 
brig,  shipwrecked  on  Midway,  and  packing  up  his 
duds  for  a  long  voyage  in  a  open  boat.  He  comes  on 
board  our  ship,  and  by  God,  here  he  is  a  landed  pro- 
prietor, and  may  be  in  Parliament  to-morrow  !  It's 
no  less  than  natural  he  should  keep  dark :  so  would 
you  and  me,  in  the  same  box." 

"  I  daresay,"  said  I.  "  But  you  saw  more  of  the 
others  ? " 


LIGHT   FROM   THE   MAN   OF   WAR.  265 

"  To  be  sure,"  says  he :  "  no  'arm  in  them  from 
what  I  see.  There  was  one  'Ardy  there :  colonial 
born  he  was,  and  had  been  through  a  power  of 
money.  There  was  no  nonsense  about  'Ardy;  he 
had  been  up,  and  he  had  come  down,  and  took  it  so. 
His  'eart  was  in  the  right  place ;  and  he  was  well- 
informed,  and  knew  French;  and  Latin,  I  believe, like 
a  native !  I  liked  that  'Ardy :  he  was  a  good-looking 
boy,  too." 

"  Did  they  say  much  about  the  wreck  ? "  I  asked. 

"  There  wasn't  much  to  say,  I  reckon,"  replied  the 
man-o'-war's  man.  "  It  was  all  in  the  papers.  'Ardy 
used  to  jtxrn.  most  about  the  coins  he  had  gone 
through ;  he  had  lived  with  bookmakers,  and  jockeys, 
and  pugs,  and  actors,  and  all  that — a  precious  low 
lot,"  added  this  judicious  person.  "  But  it's  about 
here  my  'orse  is  moored,  and  by  your  leave  I'll  be 
getting  ahead." 

"  One  moment,"  said  I.  "Is  Mr.  Sebright  on 
board?" 

"  No,  sir,  he's  ashore  to-day,"  said  the  sailor.  "  I 
took  up  a  bag  for  him  to  the  'otel." 

With  that  we  parted.  Presently  after  my  friend 
overtook  and  passed  me  on  a  hired  steed  which 
seemed  to  scorn  its  cavalier ;  and  I  was  left  in  the 
dust  of  his  passage,  a  prey  to  whirling  thoughts.  For 
I  now  stood,  or  seemed  to  stand,  on  the  immediate 
threshold  of  these  mysteries.  I  knew  the  name  of 
the  man  Dickson — his  name  was  Carthew;  I  knew 
where  the  money  came  from  that  opposed  us  at  the 
sale — it  was  part  of  Carthew's  inheritance  ;  and  in  my 
gallery  of  illustrations  to  the  history  of  the  wreck, 
one  more  picture  hung,  perhaps  the  most  dramatic 
of  the  series.  It  showed  me  the  deck  of  a  warship  in 
that  distant  part  of  the  great  ocean,  the  officers  and 
seamen  looking  curiously  on  :  and  a  man  of  birth  and 
education,  who  had  been  sailing  under  an  alias  on  a 
trading  brig,  and  was  now  rescued  from  desperate 


266  THE   WRECKER. 

peril,  felled  like  an  ox  by  the  bare  sound  of  his  own 
name.  I  could  not  fail  to  be  reminded  of  my  own 
experience  at  the  Occidental  telephone.  The  hero  of 
three  styles,  Dickson,  Goddedaal,  or  Carthew,  must 
be  the  owner  of  a  lively — or  a  loaded — conscience,  and 
the  reflection  recalled  to  me  the  photograph  found  on 
board  the  Flying  Scud  ;  just  such  a  man,  I  reasoned, 
would  be  capable  of  just  such  starts  and  crises,  and  I 
inclined  to  think  that  Goddedaal  (or  Carthew)  was  the 
mainspring  of  the  mystery. 

One  thing  was  plain ;  as  long  as  the  Tempest  was 
in  reach,  I  must  make  the  acquaintance  of  both 
Sebright  and  the  doctor.  To  this  end,  I  excused 
myself  with  Mr.  Fowler,  returned  to  Honolulu,  and 
passed  the  remainder  of  the  day  hanging  vainly 
round  the  cool  verandahs  of  the  hotel.  It  was  near 
nine  o'clock  at  night  before  I  was  rewarded. 

"  That  is  the  gentleman  you  were  asking  for," 
said  the  clerk. 

I  beheld  a  man  in  tweeds,  of  an  incomparable 
languor  of  demeanour,  and  carrying  a  cane  with 
genteel  effort.  From  the  name,  I  had  looked  to  find 
a  sort  of  Yiking  and  young  ruler  of  the  battle  and 
the  tempest;  and  I  was  the  more  disappointed,  and 
not  a  little  alarmed,  to  come  face  to  face  with  this 
impracticable  type. 

"I  believe  I  have  the  pleasure  of  addressing 
Lieutenant  Sebright,"  said  I,  stepping  forward. 

"  Aw,  yes,"  replied  the  hero ;  "  but,  aw !  I  dawn't 
knaw  you,  do  I  ? "  (He  spoke  for  all  the  world  like 
Lord  Foppington  in  the  old  play — a  proof  of  the 
perennial  nature  of  man's  affectations.  But  his  limping 
dialect  I  scorn  to  continue  to  reproduce.) 

"It  was  with  the  intention  of  making  myself 
known  that  I  have  taken  this  step,"  said  I,  entirely 
unabashed  (for  impudence  begets  in  me  its  like — 
perhaps  my  only  martial  attribute).  "We  have  a 
common  subject  of  interest,  to  me  very  lively;  and 


LIGHT   FROM   THE   MAN   OF   WAR.  267 

I  believe  I  may  be  in  a  position  to  be  of  some  service 
to  a  friend  of  yours — to  give  him,  at  least,  some  very 
welcome  information." 

The  last  clause  was  a  sop  to  my  conscience;  I 
could  not  pretend,  even  to  myself,  either  the  power 
or  the  will  to  serve  Mr.  Carthew ;  but  I  felt  sure  he 
would  like  to  hear  the  Flying  Scud  was  burned. 

"I  don't  know — I — I  don't  understand  you," 
stammered  my  victim.  "  I  don't  have  any  friends  in 
Honolulu,  don't  you  know  ? " 

"  The  friend  to  whom  I  refer  is  English,"  I  replied. 
"  It  is  Mr.  Carthew,  whom  you  picked  up  at  Midway. 
My  firm  has  bought  the  wreck ;  I  am  just  returned 
from  breaking  her  up ;  and — to  make  my  business 
quite  clear  to  you — I  have  a  communication  it  is 
necessary  I  should  make;  and  have  to  trouble  you 
for  Mr.  Carthew's  address." 

It  will  be  seen  how  rapidly  I  had  dropped  all 
hope  of  interesting  the  frigid  British  bear.  He,  on 
his  side,  was  plainly  on  thorns  at  my  insistence ; 
I  judged  he  was  suffering  torments  of  alarm  lest  I 
should  prove  an  undesirable  acquaintance ;  diagnosed 
him  for  a  shy,  dull,  vain,  unamiable  animal,  without 
adequate  defence — a  sort  of  dishoused  snail ;  and 
concluded,  rightly  enough,  that  he  would  consent  to 
anything  to  bring  our  interview  to  a  conclusion. 
A  moment  later,  he  had  fled,  leaving  with  me  a  sheet 
of  paper,  thus  inscribed : — 

Norris  Carthew, 

Stallbridge-le-Carthew, 

Dorset. 

I  might  have  cried  victory,  the  field  of  battle  and 
some  of  the  enemy's  baggage  remaining  in  my  occu- 
pation. As  a  matter  of  fact,  my  moral  sufferings 
during  the  engagement  had  rivalled  those  of  Mr. 
Sebright.  I  was  left  incapable  of  fresh  hostilities; 
I  owned  that  the  navy  of  old  England  was  (for  me) 


268  THE  WRECKER. 

invincible  as  of  yore;  and  giving  up  all  thought  of 
the  doctor,  inclined  to  salute  her  veteran  flag,  in  the 
future,  from  a  prudent  distance.  Such  was  my 
inclination  when  I  retired  to  rest;  and  my  first 
experience  the  next  morning  strengthened  it  to 
certainty.  For  I  had  the  pleasure  of  encountering 
my  fair  antagonist  on  his  way  on  board ;  and  he 
honoured  me  with  a  recognition  so  disgustingly  dry, 
that  my  impatience  overflowed,  and  (recalling  the  tactics 
of  Nelson)  I  neglected  to  perceive  or  to  return  it. 

Judge  of  my  astonishment,  some  half-hour  later, 
to  receive  a  note  of  invitation  from  the  Tempest 

"  Dear  Sir,"  it  began,  "  we  are  all  naturally  very 
much  interested  in  the  wreck  of  the  Flying  Scud, 
and  as  soon  as  I  mentioned  that  I  had  the  pleasure  of 
making  your  acquaintance,  a  very  general  wish  was 
expressed  that  you  would  come  and  dine  on  board. 
It  will  give  us  all  the  greatest  pleasure  to  see  you 
to-night,  or  in  case  you  should  be  otherwise  engaged, 
to  luncheon  either  to-morrow  or  to-day.  A  note  of 
the  hours  followed,  and  the  document  wound  up  with 
the  name  of  "J.  Lascelles  Sebright,"  under  an  un- 
deniable statement  that  he  was  sincerely  mine. 

"  No,  Mr.  Lascelles  Sebright,"  I  reflected,  "  you  are 
not,  but  I  begin  to  suspect  that  (like  the  lady  in  the 
song)  you  are  another's.  You  have  mentioned  your 
adventure,  my  friend  ;  you  have  been  blown  up  ;  you 
have  got  your  orders;  this  note  has  been  dictated; 
and  I  am  asked  on  board  (in  spite  of  your  melancholy 
protests)  not  to  meet  the  men,  and  not  to  talk  about 
the  Flying  Scud,  but  to  undergo  the  scrutiny  of 
someone  interested  in  Carthew — the  doctor,  for  a 
wager.  And  for  a  second  wager,  all  this  springs 
from  your  facility  in  giving  the  address."  I  lost  no 
time  in  answering  the  billet,  electing  for  the  earliest 
occasion;  and  at  the  appointed  hour,  a  somewhat 
blackguard-looking  boat's  crew  from  the  Norah 
Creina  conveyed  me  under  the  guns  of  the  Tempest. 


LIGHT   FROM   THE   MAN   OF   WAR.  269 

The  ward-room  appeared  pleased  to  see  me; 
Sebright's  brother  officers,  in  contrast  to  himself, 
took  a  boyish  interest  in  my  cruise ;  and  much  was 
talked  of  the  Flying  Scud ;  of  how  she  had  been  lost, 
of  how  I  had  found  her,  and  of  the  weather,  the 
anchorage,  and  the  currents  about  Midway  Island. 
Car  the  w  was  referred  to  more  than  once  without 
embarrassment;  the  parallel  case  of  a  late  Earl  of 
Aberdeen,  who  died  mate  on  board  a  Yankee 
schooner,  was  adduced.  If  they  told  me  little  of 
the  man,  it  was  because  they  had  not  much  to  tell, 
and  only  felt  an  interest  in  his  recognition  and  pity 
for  his  prolonged  ill-health.  I  could  never  think 
the  subject  was  avoided ;  and  it  was  clear  that  the 
officers,  far  from  practising  concealment,  had  nothing 
to  conceal. 

So  far,  then,  all  seemed  natural,  and  yet  the 
doctor  troubled  me.  This  was  a  tall,  rugged,  plain 
man,  on  the  wrong  side  of  fifty,  already  grey,  and 
with  a  restless  mouth  and  bushy  eyebrows :  he  spoke 
seldom,  but  then  with  gaiety ;  and  his  great,  quaking, 
silent  laughter  was  infectious.  I  could  make  out 
that  he  was  at  once  the  quiz  of  the  ward-room  and 
perfectly  respected;  and  I  made  sure  that  he  ob- 
served me  covertly.  It  is  certain  I  returned  the 
compliment.  If  Carthew  had  feigned  sickness — and 
all  seemed  to  point  in  that  direction — here  was  the 
man  who  knew  all — or  certainly  knew  much.  His 
strong,  sterling  face  progressively  and  silently  per- 
suaded of  his  full  knowledge.  That  was  not  the 
mouth,  these  were  not  the  eyes  of  one  who  would 
act  in  ignorance,  or  could  be  led  at  random.  Nor 
again  was  it  the  face  of  a  man  squeamish  in  the  case 
of  malefactors;  there  was  even  a  touch  of  Brutus 
there,  and  something  of  the  hanging  judge.  In 
short,  he  seemed  the  last  character  for  the  part 
assigned  him  in  my  theories;  and  wonder  and 
curiosity  contended  in  my  mind. 


270  THE   WRECKER. 

Luncheon  was  over,  and  an  adjournment  to  the 
smoking-room  proposed,  when  (upon  a  sudden  im- 
pulse) I  burned  my  ships,  and  pleading  indisposition, 
requested  to  consult  the  doctor. 

"  There  is  nothing  the  matter  with  my  body,  Dr. 
Urquart,"  said  I,  as  soon  as  we  were  alone. 

He  hummed,  his  mouth  worked,  he  regarded  me 
steadily  with  his  grey  eyes,  but  resolutely  held  his 
peace. 

"  I  want  to  talk  to  you  about  the  Flying  Scud 
and  Mr.  Carthew,"  I  resumed.  "Come,  you  must 
have  expected  this.  I  am  sure  you  know  all;  you 
are  shrewd,  and  must  have  a  guess  that  I  know 
much.  How  are  we  to  stand  to  one  another?  and 
how  am  I  to  stand  to  Mr.  Carthew?" 

*  I  do  not  fully  understand  you,"  he  replied,  after 
a  pause ;  and  then,  after  another :  "  it  is  the  spirit  I 
refer  to,  Mr.  Dodd." 

"  The  spirit  of  my  inquiries  ? "  I  asked. 

He  nodded. 

"  I  think  we  are  at  cross-purposes,"  said  I.  "  The 
spirit  is  precisely  what  I  came  in  quest  of.  I  bought 
the  Flying  Scud  at  a  ruinous  figure,  run  up  by  Mr. 
Carthew  through  an  agent ;  and  I  am,  in  consequence,  a 
bankrupt.  But  if  I  have  found  no  fortune  in  the 
wreck,  I  have  found  unmistakable  evidences  of  foul  play. 
Conceive  my  position  :  I  am  ruined  through  this  man, 
whom  I  never  saw ;  I  might  very  well  desire  revenge 
or  compensation  ;  and  I  think  you  will  admit  I  have 
the  means  to  extort  either." 

He  made  no  sign  in  answer  to  this  challenge. 

"  Can  you  not  understand,  then,"  I  resumed,  "  the 
spirit  in  which  I  come  to  one  who  is  surely  in  the 
secret,  and  ask  him,  honestly  and  plainly,  How  do  I 
stand  to  Mr.  Carthew  ?  " 

"  I  must  ask  you  to  be  more  explicit,"  said  he. 

"  You  do  not  help  me  much,"  I  retorted.  "  But 
see  if  you  can  understand  :  my  conscience  is  not  very 


LIGHT   FROM   THE   MAN   OF   WAR.  271 

fine-spun ;  still,  I  have  one.  Now,  there  are  degrees 
of  foul  play,  to  some  of  which  I  have  no  particular 
objection.  I  am  sure  with  Mr.  Carthew,  I  am  not  at 
all  the  person  to  forego  an  advantage,  and  I  have 
much  curiosity.  But  on  the  other  hand,  I  have  no 
taste  for  persecution ;  and  I  ask  you  to  believe  that  I 
am  not  the  man  to  make  bad  worse,  or  heap  trouble 
on  the  unfortunate." 

"  Yes  ;  I  think  1  understand,"  said  he.  "  Suppose 
I  pass  you  my  word  that,  whatever  may  have  occurred, 
there  were  excuses — great  excuses — 1  may  say,  very 
great  ? " 

"  It  would  have  weight  with  me,  doctor,"  I 
replied. 

"  I  may  go  further,"  he  pursued.  "  Suppose  I  had 
been  there  or  you  had  been  there.  After  a  certain 
event  had  taken  place,  it's  a  grave  question  what  we 
might  have  done  —  it's  even  a  question  what  we 
could  have  done — ourselves.  Or  take  me.  I  will  be 
plain  with  you,  and  own  that  I  am  in  possession  of 
the  facts.  You  have  a  shrewd  guess  how  I  have  acted 
in  that  knowledge.  May  I  ask  you  to  judge  from  the 
character  of  my  action,  something  of  the  nature  of 
that  knowledge,  which  I  have  no  call,  nor  yet  no 
title,  to  share  with  you  ? " 

I  cannot  convey  a  sense  of  the  rugged  conviction 
and  judicial  emphasis  of  Dr.  Urquart's  speech.  To 
those  who  did  not  hear  him,  it  may  appear  as  if  he 
fed  me  on  enigmas ;  to  myself,  who  heard,  I  seemed 
to  have  received  a  lesson  and  a  compliment. 

"  I  thank  you,"  I  said ;  "  I  feel  you  have  said  as 
much  as  possible,  and  more  than  I  had  any  right  to 
ask.  I  take  that  as  a  mark  of  confidence,  which  I  will 
try  to  deserve.  I  hope,  sir,  you  will  let  me  regard  you 
as  a  friend." 

He  evaded  my  proffered  friendship  with  a  blunt 
proposal  to  rejoin  the  mess ;  and  yet  a  moment  later 
contrived  to  alleviate  the  snub.     For,  as  we  entered 


272  THE  WRECKER. 

the  smoking-room,  he  laid  his  hand  on  my  shoulder 
with  a  kind  familiarity — 

"  I  have  just  prescribed  for  Mr.  Dodd,"  says  he,  "  a 
glass  of  our  Madeira." 

I  have  never  again  met  Dr.  Urquart ;  but  he  wrote 
himself  so  clear  upon  my  memory  that  I  think  I  see 
him  still.  And  indeed  I  had  cause  to  remember  the 
man  for  the  sake  of  his  communication.  It  was  hard 
enough  to  make  a  theory  fit  the  circumstances  of  the 
Flying  Scud ;  but  one  in  which  the  chief  actor  should 
stand  the  least  excused,  and  might  retain  the  esteem 
or  at  least  the  pity  of  a  man  like  Dr.  Urquart,  failed 
me  utterly.  Here  at  least  was  the  end  of  my  dis- 
coveries. I  learned  no  more,  till  I  learned  all ;  and  my 
reader  has  the  evidence  complete.  Is  he  more  astute 
than  I  was  ?  or,  like  me,  does  he  give  it  up  ? 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

CROSS-QUESTIONS   AND   CROOKED   ANSWERS. 

I  have  said  hard  words  of  San  Francisco  ;  they  must 
scarce  be  literally  understood  (one  cannot  suppose  the 
Israelites  did  justice  to  the  land  of  Pharaoh) ;  and  the 
city  took  a  fine  revenge  of  me  on  my  return.  She 
had  never  worn  a  more  becoming  guise ;  the  sun 
shone,  the  air  was  lively,  the  people  had  flowers  in 
their  buttonholes  and  smiles  upon  their  faces ;  and  as 
I  made  my  way  towards  Jim's  place  of  employment, 
with  some  very  black  anxieties  at  heart,  I  seemed  to 
myself  a  blot  on  the  surrounding  gaiety. 

My  destination  was  in  a  by-street  in  a  mean, 
rickety  building.  "  The  Franklin  H.  Dodge  Steam 
Printing  Company  "  appeared  upon  its  front,  and  in 
characters  of  greater  freshness,  so  as  to  suggest  recent 
conversion,  the  watch-cry,  "  White  Labour  Only."     In 


CROSS-QUESTIONS    AND   CROOKED   ANSWERS.       273 

the  office  in  a  dusty  pen  Jim  sat  alone  before  a  table. 
A  Avretched  change  had  overtaken  him  in  clothes,  body, 
and  bearing  ;  he  looked  sick  and  shabby.  He  who  had 
once  rejoiced  in  his  day's  employment,  like  a  horse 
among  pastures,  now  sat  staring  on  a  column  of  ac- 
counts, idly  chewing  a  pen,  at  times  heavily  sighing, 
the  picture  of  inefficiency  and  inattention.  He  was 
sunk  deep  in  a  painful  reverie ;  he  neither  saw  nor 
heard  me,  and  I  stood  and  watched  him  unobserved. 
I  had  a  sudden  vain  relenting.  Repentance  bludgeoned 
me.  As  I  had  predicted  to  Nares,  I  stood  and  kicked 
myself.  Here  was  I  come  home  again,  my  honour 
saved  ;  there  was  my  friend  in  want  of  rest,  nursing, 
and  a  generous  diet ;  and  I  asked  myself,  with  Fal- 
staff,  "  What  is  in  that  word  honour  ?  what  is  that 
honour  ?  "  and,  like  Falstaff,  I  told  myself  that  it  was 
air. 

"Jim! "said  I. 

"  Loudon  !  "  he  gasped,  and  jumped  from  his  chair 
and  stood  shaking. 

The  next  moment  I  was  over  the  barrier,  and  we 
were  hand  in  hand. 

"  My  poor  old  man  ! "  I  cried. 

"  Thank  God,  you're  home  at  last !  "  he  gulped,  and 
kept  patting  my  shoulder  with  his  hand. 

"  I've  no  good  news  for  you,  Jim,"  said  I. 

"  You've  come — that's  the  good  news  that  I  want," 
he  replied.  "Oh,  how  I  have  longed  for  you, 
Loudon  ! " 

"  I  couldn't  do  what  you  wrote  me,"  I  said,  lower- 
ing my  voice.  "  The  creditors  have  it  all.  I  couldn't 
do  it." 

"  S-s-h  !  "  returned  Jim.  "  I  was  crazy  when  I 
wrote.  I  could  never  have  looked  Mamie  in  the  face  if 
we  had  done  it.  Oh,  Loudon,  what  a  gift  that  woman 
is  ?  You  think  you  know  something  of  life  ;  you 
just  don't  know  anything.  It's  the  goodness  of  the 
woman,  it's  a  revelation  !  " 


274  THE   WRECKER. 

"  That's  all  right,"  said  I.  "  That's  how  I  hoped  to 
hear  you,  Jim." 

"  And  so  the  Flying  Scud  was  a  fraud,"  he  re- 
sumed. "  I  didn't  quite  understand  your  letter,  but  I 
made  out  that." 

"  Fraud  is  a  mild  term  for  it,"  said  I.  "  The 
creditors  will  never  believe  what  fools  we  were.  And 
that  reminds  me,"  I  continued,  rejoicing  in  the  transi- 
tion, "  how  about  the  bankruptcy  ?  " 

"  You  were  lucky  to  be  out  of  that,"  answered  Jim, 
shaking  his  head ;  "  you  were  lucky  not  to  see  the 
papers.  The  Occidental  called  me  a  fifth-rate  kerb- 
stone broker  with  water  on  the  brain  ;  another  said  I 
was  a  tree-frog  that  had  got  into  the  same  meadow 
with  Longhurst,  and  had  blown  myself  out  till  I  went 
pop.  It  was  rough  on  a  man  in  his  honeymoon  ;  so 
was  what  they  said  about  my  looks,  and  what  I  had 
on,  and  the  way  I  perspired.  But  I  braced  myself  up 
with  the  Flying  Scud.  How  did  it  exactly  figure  out 
anyway  ?  I  don't  seem  to  catch  on  to  that  story, 
Loudon." 

"The  devil  you  don't !"  thinks  I  to  myself;  and 
then  aloud,  "  You  see  we  had  neither  one  of  us  good 
luck.  I  didn't  do  much  more  than  cover  current 
expenses,  and  you  got  floored  immediately.  How  did 
we  come  to  go  so  soon  ? " 

"  Well,  we'll  have  to  have  a  talk  over  all  this,"  said 
Jim  with  a  sudden  start.  "  I  should  be  getting  to  my 
books,  and  I  guess  you  had  better  go  up  right  away  to 
Mamie.  She's  at  Speedy's.  She  expects  you  with 
impatience.  She  regards  you  in  the  light  of  a  favour- 
ite brother,  Loudon." 

Any  scheme  was  welcome  which  allowed  me  to 
postpone  the  hour  of  explanation,  and  avoid  (were  it 
only  for  a  breathing  space)  the  topic  of  the  Flying 
Scud.  I  hastened  accordingly  to  Bush  Street.  Mrs. 
Speedy,  already  rejoicing  in  the  return  of  a  spouse, 
hailed  me  with   acclamation.      "  And   it's  beautiful 


CROSS-QUESTIONS   AND   CROOKED   ANSWERS.      275 

you're  looking,  Mr.  Dodd,  my  dear,"  she  was  kind 
enough  to  say.  "  And  a  miracle  they  naygur  wahee- 
nies  let  ye  lave  the  oilands.  I  have  my  suspicions 
of  Shpeedy,"  she  added  roguishly.  "  Did  ye  see  him 
after  the  naygresses  now  ? " 

I  gave  Speedy  an  unblemished  character. 

"  The  one  of  ye  will  niver  bethray  the  other,"  said 
the  playful  dame,  and  ushered  me  into  a  bare  room, 
where  Mamie  sat  working  a  type-writer. 

I  was  touched  by  the  cordiality  of  her  greeting. 
With  the  prettiest  gesture  in  the  world  she  gave  me 
both  her  hands,  wheeled  forth  a  chair,  and  produced 
from  a  cupboard  a  tin  of  my  favourite  tobacco,  and 
a  book  of  my  exclusive  cigarette  papers. 

"  There !  she  cried,  "  you  see,  Mr.  Loudon,  we 
were  all  prepared  for  you;  the  things  were  bought 
the  very  day  you  sailed." 

I  imagined  she  had  always  intended  me  a  pleasant 
welcome ;  but  the  certain  fervour  of  sincerity,  which 
I  could. not  help  remarking,  flowed  from  an  unex- 
pected source.  Captain  Nares,  with  a  kindness  for 
which  I  can  never  be  sufficiently  grateful,  had  stolen 
a  moment  from  his  occupations,  driven  to  call  on 
Mamie,  and  drawn  her  a  generous  picture  of  my 
prowess  at  the  wreck.  She  was  careful  not  to 
breathe  a  word  of  this  interview,  till  she  had  led.  me 
on  to  tell  my  adventures  for  myself. 

"  Ah !  Captain  Nares  was  better,"  she  cried,  when 
I  had  done.  "From  your  account,  I  have  only 
learned  one  new  thing,  that  you  are  modest  as  well 
as  brave." 

I  cannot  tell  with  what  sort  of  disclamation  I 
sought  to  reply. 

"It  is  of  no  use,"  said  Mamie.  " I  know  a  hero. 
And  when  I  heard  of  you  working  all  day  like  a 
common  labourer,  with  your  hands  bleeding  and 
your  nails  broken — and  how  you  told  the  captain  to 
• crack  on'  (I  think  he  said)  in  the  storm,  when  he 
s2 


276  THE  WRECKER. 

was  terrified  himself — and  the  danger  of  that  horrid 
mutiny" — (Nares  had  been  obligingly  dipping  his 
brush  in  earthquake  and  eclipse) — "and  how  it  was 
all  done,  in  part  at  least,  for  Jim  and  me — I  felt  we 
could  never  say  how  we  admired  and  thanked  you." 

"  Mamie,"  I  cried,  "  don't  talk  of  thanks ;  it  is  not 
a  word  to  be  used  between  friends.  Jim  and  I  have 
been  prosperous  together;  now  we  shall  be  poor 
together.  We've  done  our  best,  and  that's  all  that 
need  be  said.  The  next  thing  is  for  me  to  find  a 
situation,  and  send  you  and  Jim  up  country  for  a 
long  holiday  in  the  redwoods — for  a  holiday  Jim  has 
got  to  have." 

"Jim  can't  take  your  money,  Mr.  Loudon,"  said 
Mamie. 

"  Jim  ? "  cried  I.   "  He's  got  to.   Didn't  I  take  his  ? " 

Presently  after,  Jim  himself  arrived,  and  before 
he  had  yet  done  mopping  his  brow,  he  was  at  me 
with  the  accursed  subject.  "  Now,  Loudon,"  said  he, 
"  here  we  are  all  together,  the  day's  work  done  and 
the  evening  before  us ;  just  start  in  with  the  whole 
story." 

"One  word  on  business  first,"  said  I,  speaking 
from  the  lips  outward,  and  meanwhile  (in  the  private 
apartments  of  my  brain)  trying  for  the  thousandth 
time  to  find  some  plausible  arrangement  of  my  story. 
"  I  want  to  have  a  notion  how  we  stand  about  the 
bankruptcy." 

"Oh,  that's  ancient  history,"  cried  Jim.  "We 
paid  seven  cents,  and  a  wonder  we  did  as  well.  The 
receiver — "  (me thought  a  spasm  seized  him  at  the 
name  of  this  official,  and  he  broke  off).  "But  it's 
all  past  and  done  with  anyway ;  and  what  I  want  to 
get  at  is  the  facts  about  the  wreck.  I  don't  seem  to 
understand  it ;  appears  to  me  like  as  there  was  some- 
thing underneath." 

"  There  was  nothing  in  it  anyway,"  I  said,  with  a 
forced  laugh. 


to 

a 


o 

J- 


CROSS-QUESTIONS   AND   CROOKED   ANSWERS.      277 

"  That's  what  I  want  to  judge  of,"  returned  Jim. 

"  How  the  mischief  is  it  I  can  never  keep  you  to 
that  bankruptcy?  It  looks  as  if  you  avoided  it," 
said  I — for  a  man  in  my  situation,  with  unpardonable 
folly. 

"Don't  it  look  a  little  as  if  you  were  trying  to 
avoid  the  wreck  ? "  asked  Jim. 

It  was  my  own  doing;  there  was  no  retreat. 
"My  dear  fellow,  if  you  make  a  point  of  it,  here 
goes!"  said  I,  and  launched  with  spurious  gaiety 
mto  the  current  of  my  tale.  I  told  it  with  point 
and  spirit;  described  the  island  and  the  wreck, 
mimicked  Anderson  and  the  Chinese,  maintained 
the  suspense.  .  .  .  My  pen  has  stumbled  on  the 
fatal  word.  I  maintained  the  suspense  so  well  that 
it  was  never  relieved ;  and  when  I  stopped — I  dare 
not  say  concluded,  where  there  was  no  conclusion — 
I  found  Jim  and  Mamie  regarding  me  with  surprise. 

"Well?  "said  Jim. 

"  Well,  that's  all,"  said  I. 

"  But  how  do  you  explain  it  ? "  he  asked. 

"  I  can't  explain  it,"  said  I. 

Mamie  wagged  her  head  ominously. 

"  But,  great  Caesar's  ghost,  the  money  was  offered  ! " 
cried  Jim.  "  It  won't  do,  Loudon ;  it's  nonsense  on  the 
face  of  it !  I  don't  say  but  what  you  and  Nares  did 
your  best ;  I'm  sure,  of  course,  you  did  ;  but  I  do  say 
you  got  fooled.  I  say  the  stuff  is  in  that  ship  to-day, 
and  I  say  I  mean  to  get  it." 

"  There  is  nothing  in  the  ship,  I  tell  you,  but  old 
wood  and  iron  !  "  said  I. 

"  You'll  see,"  said  Jim.  "  Next  time  I  go  myself. 
I'll  take  Mamie  for  the  trip :  Longhurst  won't  refuse 
me  the  expense  of  a  schooner.  You  wait  till  I  get  the 
searching  of  her." 

"  But  you  can't  search  her  ! "  cried  I.  "  She's 
burned." 

"  Burned  ! "  cried  Mamie,  starting  a  little  from  the 


278  THE   WRECKER. 

attitude  of  quiescent  capacity  in  which  she  had  hitherto 
sat  to  hear  me,  her  hands  folded  in  her  lap. 

There  was  an  appreciable  pause. 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,  Loudon,"  began  Jim  at  last, 
"  but  why  in  snakes  did  you  burn  her  ? " 

"  It  was  an  idea  of  Nares's,"  said  I. 

"  This  is  certainly  the  strangest  circumstance  of 
all,"  observed  Mamie. 

"  I  must  say,  Loudon,  it  does  seem  kind  of  unex- 
pected," added  Jim.  "  It  seems  kind  of  crazy  even, 
what  did  you — what  did  Nares  expect  to  gain  by 
burning  her  ? " 

"  I  don't  know ;  it  didn't  seem  to  matter ;  we  had 
got  all  there  was  to  get,"  said  I. 

"  That's  the  very  point,"  cried  Jim.  "  It  was  quite 
plain  you  hadn't." 

"  What  made  you  so  sure  ? "  asked  Mamie. 

"  How  can  I  tell  you  ?  "  I  cried.  "  We  had  been 
all  through  her.  We  %vere  sure ;  that's  all  that  I  can 
say." 

"  I  begin  to  think  you  were,"  she  returned,  with  a 
significant  emphasis. 

Jim  hurriedly  intervened.  "What  I  don't  quite 
make  out,  Loudon,  is  that  you  don't  seem  to  appreciate 
the  peculiarities  of  the  thing,"  said  he.  "  It  doesn't 
seem  to  have  struck  you  same  as  it  does  me." 

"  Pshaw !  why  go  on  with  this  ? "  cried  Mamie, 
suddenly  rising.  "Mr.  Dodd  is  not  telling  us  either 
what  he  thinks  or  what  he  knows." 

"  Mamie  ! "  cried  Jim. 

"You  need  not  be  concerned  for  his  feelings, 
James ;  he  is  not  concerned  for  yours,"  returned  the 
lady.  "  He  dare  not  deny  it,  besides.  And  this  is  not 
the  first  time  he  has  practised  reticence.  Have  you 
forgotten  that  he  knew  the  address,  and  did  not  tell  it 
you  until  that  man  had  escaped  ? " 

Jim  turned  to  me  pleadingly — we  were  all  on  our 
feet     "  Loudon,"  he  said,  "  you  see  Mamie  has  some 


GROSS-QUESTIONS   AND   CROOKED   ANSWERS.      279 

fancy,  and  I  must  say  there's  just  a  sort  of  a  shadow 
of  an  excuse ;  for  it  is  bewildering — even  to  me, 
Loudon,  with  my  trained  business  intelligence.  For 
God's  sake  clear  it  up." 

"This  serves  me  right,"  said  I.  "I  should  not 
have  tried  to  keep  you  in  the  dark ;  I  should  have 
told  you  at  first  that  I  was  pledged  to  secrecy;  I 
should  have  asked  you  to  trust  me  in  the  beginning. 
It  is  all  I  can  do  now.  There  is  more  of  the  story, 
but  it  concerns  none  of  us,  and  my  tongue  is  tied.  I 
have  given  my  word  of  honour.  You  must  trust  me 
and  try  to  forgive  me." 

"  I  daresay  I  am  very  stupid,  Mr.  Dodd,"  began 
Mamie,  with  an  alarming  sweetness,  "but  I  thought 
you  went  upon  this  trip  as  my  husband's  representative 
and  with  my  husband's  money  ?  You  tell  us  now  that 
you  are  pledged,  but  I  should  have  thought  you  were 
pledged  first  of  all  to  James.  You  say  it  does  not  con- 
cern us  ;  we  are  poor  people,  and  my  husband  is  sick, 
and  it  concerns  us  a  great  deal  to  understand  how  we 
come  to  have  lost  our  money,  and  why  our  representa- 
tive comes  back  to  us  with  nothing.  You  ask  that  we 
should  trust  you ;  you  do  not  seem  to  understand — 
the  question  we  are  asking  ourselves  is  whether  we 
have  not  trusted  you  too  much." 

"  I  do  not  ask  you  to  trust  me,"  I  replied.  "  I  ask 
Jim.     He  knows  me." 

"You  think  you  can  do  what  you  please  with 
James ;  you  trust  to  his  affection,  do  you  not  ?  And  me, 
I  suppose,  you  do  not  consider,"  said  Mamie.  "  But 
it  was  perhaps  an  unfortunate  day  for  you  when  we  were 
married,  for  I  at  least  am  not  blind.  The  crew  run 
away,  the  ship  is  sold  for  a  great  deal  of  money,  you 
know  that  man's  address  and  you  conceal  it ;  you  do 
not  find  what  you  were  sent  to  look  for,  and  yet  you 
burn  the  ship  ;  and  now,  when  we  ask  explanations, 
you  are  pledged  to  secrecy  !  But  I  am  pledged  to  no 
such  thing  ;  I  will  not  stand  by  in  silence  and  see  my 


280  THE   WRECKER. 

sick  and  ruined  husband  betrayed  by  his  condescend- 
ing friend.  I  will  give  you  the  truth  for  once.  Mr. 
Dodd,  you  have  been  bought  and  sold." 

"  Mamie/'  cried  Jim,  "  no  more  of  this  !  It's  me 
you're  striking;  it's  only  me  you  hurt.  You  don't 
know,  you  cannot  understand  these  things.  Why, 
to-day,  if  it  hadn't  been  for  Loudon,  I  couldn't  have 
looked  you  in  the  face.     He  saved  my  honesty." 

"I  have  heard  plenty  of  this  talk  before,"  she 
replied.  "  You  are  a  sweet-hearted  fool,  and  I  love 
you  for  it.  But  I  am  a  clear-headed  woman;  my 
eyes  are  open,  and  I  understand  this  man's  hypocrisy. 
Did  he  not  come  here  to-day  and  pretend  he  would 
take  a  situation — pretend  he  would  share  his  hard- 
earned  wages  with  us  until  you  were  well  ?  Pretend  ! 
It  makes  me  furious !  His  wages !  a  share  of  his 
wages !  That  would  have  been  your  pittance,  that 
would  have  been  your  share  of  the  Flying  Scud— you 
who  worked  and  toiled  for  him  when  he  was  a  beggar 
in  the  streets  of  Paris.  But  we  do  not  want  your 
charity ;  thank  God,  I  can  work  for  my  own  husband! 
See  what  it  is  to  have  obliged  a  gentleman !  He 
would  let  you  pick  him  up  when  he  was  begging ;  he 
would  stand  and  look  on,  and  let  you  black  his  shoes, 
and  sneer  at  you.  For  you  were  always  sneering  at 
my  James ;  you  always  looked  down  upon  him  in 
your  heart,  you  know  it ! "  She  turned  back  to  Jim. 
"And  now  when  he  is  rich,"  she  began,  and  then 
swooped  again  on  me.  "  For  you  are  rich,  I  dare  you 
to  deny  it ;  I  defy  you  to  look  me  in  the  face  and  try 
to  deny  that  you  are  rich — rich  with  our  money — my 
husband's  money " 

Heaven  knows  to  what  a  height  she  might  have 
risen,  being,  by  this  time,  bodily  whirled  away  in  her 
own  hurricane  of  words.  Heart-sickness,  a  black 
depression,  a  treacherous  sympathy  with  my  assail- 
ant, pity  unutterable  for  poor  Jim,  already  filled, 
divided,  and  abashed  my  spirit.     Flight  seemed  the 


CROSS-QUESTIONS   AND   CROOKED   ANSWERS.      281 

only  remedy;  and  making  a  private  sign  to  Jim, 
as  if  to  ask  permission,  I  slunk  from  the  unequal  field. 

I  was  but  a  little  way  down  the  street,  when  I 
was  arrested  by  the  sound  of  some  one  running,  and 
Jim's  voice  calling  me  by  name.  He  had  followed 
me  with  a  letter  which  had  been  long  awaiting  my 
return. 

I  took  it  in  a  dream.  "  This  has  been  a  devil  of 
a  business,"  said  I. 

"  Don't  think  hard  of  Mamie,"  he  pleaded.  "  It's 
the  way  she's  made  ;  it's  her  high-toned  loyalty.  And 
of  course  I  know  it's  all  right.  I  know  your  sterling 
character ;  but  you  didn't,  somehow,  make  out  to 
give  us  the  thing  straight,  Loudon.  Anybody  might 
have — I  mean  it — I  mean " 

*  Never  mind  what  you  mean,  my  poor  Jim,"  said 
I.  "  She's  a  gallant  little  woman  and  a  loyal  wife : 
and  I  thought  her  splendid.  My  story  was  as  fishy 
as  the  devil.  I'll  never  think  the  less  of  either  her  or 
you." 

"  It'll  blow  over,  it  must  blow  over,"  said  he. 

"  It  never  can,"  I  returned  sighing :  "  and  don't 
you  try  to  make  it !  Don't  name  me,  unless  it's  with 
an  oath.  And  get  home  to  her  right  away.  Good- 
bye, my  best  of  friends.  Good-bye,  and  God  bless 
you.     We  shall  never  meet  again." 

"Oh  Loudon,  that  we  should  live  to  say  such 
words  ! "  he  cried. 

I  had  no  views  on  life,  beyond  an  occasional 
impulse  to  commit  suicide,  or  to  get  drunk,  and 
drifted  down  the  street,  semi-conscious,  walking  ap- 
parently on  air,  in  the  light-headedness  of  grief.  I 
had  money  in  my  pocket,  whether  mine  or  my  credi- 
tors' I  had  no  means  of  guessing ;  and,  the  Poodle 
Dog  lying  in  my  path,  I  went  mechanically  in  and 
took  a  table.  A  waiter  attended  me,  and  I  suppose  I 
gave  my  orders ;  for  presently  I  found  myself  with  a 
sudden  return  of  consciousness,  beginning  dinner.  On 


282  THE   WRECKER. 

the  white  cloth  at  my  elbow  lay  the  letter,  addressed 
in  a  clerk's  hand,  and  bearing  an  English  stamp  and 
the  Edinburgh  postmark.  A  bowl  of  bouillon  and  a 
glass  of  wine  awakened  in  one  corner  of  my  brain 
(where  all  the  rest  was  in  mourning,  the  blinds  down 
as  for  a  funeral)  a  faint  stir  of  curiosity ;  and  while  I 
waited  the  next  course,  wondering  the  while  what  I 
had  ordered,  I  opened  and  began  to  read  the  epoch- 
making  document. 

"Dear  Sir, — I  am  charged  with  the  melancholy  duty  of 
announcing  to  you  the  death  of  your  excellent  grandfather,  Mr. 
Alexander  Loudon,  on  the  17th  ult.  On  Sunday  the  13th,  he 
went  to  church  as  usual  in  the  forenoon,  and  stopped  on  his  way 
home,  at  the  corner  of  Princes  Street,  in  one  of  our  seasonable 
east  winds,  to  talk  with  an  old  friend.  The  same  evening  acute 
bronchitis  declared  itself ;  from  the  first,  Dr.  M'Combie  antici- 
pated a  fatal  result,  and  the  old  gentleman  appeared  to  have  no 
illusion  as  to  his  own  state.  He  repeatedly  assured  me  it  was 
'  by '  with  him  now ;  '  and  high  time,  too,'  he  once  added  with 
characteristic  asperity.  He  was  not  in  the  least  changed  on  the 
approach  of  death :  only  (what  I  am  sure  must  be  very  grateful 
to  your  feelings)  he  seemed  to  think  and  speak  even  more  kindly 
than  usual  of  yourself,  referring  to  you  as  '  Jeannie's  yin,'  with 
strong  expressions  of  regard.  •  He  was  the  only  one  I  ever 
liket  of  the  hale  jing-bang,'  was  one  of  his  expressions ;  and  you 
will  be  glad  to  know  that  he  dwelt  particularly  on  the  dutiful 
respect  you  had  always  displayed  in  your  relations.  The 
small  codicil,  by  which  he  bequeaths  you  his  Molesworth, 
and  other  professional  works,  was  added  (you  will  observe) 
on  the  day  before  his  death ;  so  that  you  were  in  his  thoughts 
until  the  end.  I  should  say  that,  though  rather  a  trying 
patient,  he  was  most  tenderly  nursed  by  your  uncle,  and  your 
cousin,  Miss  Euphemia.  I  enclose  a  copy  of  the  testament, 
by  which  you  will  see  that  you  share  equally  with  Mr.  Adam, 
and  that  I  hold  at  your  disposal  a  sum  nearly  approaching 
seventeen  thousand  pounds.  I  beg  to  congratulate  you  on  this 
considerable  acquisition,  and  expect  your  orders,  to  which  I  shall 
hasten  to  give  my  best  attention.  Thinking  that  you  might 
desire  to  return  at  once  to  this  country,  and  not  knowing  how 
you  may  be  placed,  I  enclose  a  credit  for  six  hundred  pounds. 
Please  sign  the  accompanying  slip,  and  let  me  have  it  at  your 
earliest  convenience. 

"  I  am,  dear  sir,  yours  truly, 

"  W.  Rutherford  Gregg  " 


CROSS-QUESTIONS   AND   CROOKED   ANSWERS.      283 

"  God  bless  the  old  gentleman ! "  I  thought ;  "  and 
for  that  matter  God  bless  Uncle  Adam !  and  my 
cousin  Euphemia !  and  Mr.  Gregg ! "  I  had  a  vision 
of  that  grey  old  life  now  brought  to  an  end — "and 
high  time  too" — a  vision  of  those  Sabbath  streets 
alternately  vacant  and  filled  with  silent  people;  of 
the  babel  of  the  bells,  the  long-drawn  psalmody,  the 
shrewd  sting  of  the  east  wind,  the  hollow,  echoing, 
dreary  house  to  which  "  Ecky  "  had  returned  with  the 
hand  of  death  already  on  his  shoulder ;  a  vision,  too, 
of  the  long,  rough  country  lad,  perhaps  a  serious 
courtier  of  the  lasses  in  the  hawthorn  den,  perhaps 
a  rustic  dancer  on  the  green,  who  had  first  earned 
and  answered  to  that  harsh  diminutive.  And  I 
asked  myself  if,  on  the  whole,  poor  Ecky  had  suc- 
ceeded in  life  ;  if  the  last  state  of  that  man  were  not 
on  the  whole  worse  than  the  first ;  and  the  house  in 
Randolph  Crescent  a  less  admirable  dwelling  than 
the  hamlet  where  he  saw  the  day  and  grew  to  man- 
hood. Here  was  a  consolatory  thought  for  one  who 
was  himself  a  failure. 

Yes,  I  declare  the  word  came  in  my  mind ;  and 
all  the  while,  in  another  partition  of  the  brain,  I  was 

flowing  and  singing  for  my  new-found  opulence, 
'he  pile  of  gold — four  thousand  two  hundred  and 
fifty  double  eagles,  seventeen  thousand  ugly  sover- 
eigns, twenty-one  thousand  two  hundred  and  fifty 
Napoleons — danced,  and  rang  and  ran  molten,  and 
lit  up  life  with  their  effulgence,  in  the  eye  of  fancy. 
Here  were  all  things  made  plain  to  me :  Paradise — 
Paris,  I  mean — regained,  Carthew  protected,  Jim 
restored,  the  creditors     .     .     . 

"  The  creditors ! "  I  repeated,  and  sank  back 
benumbed.  It  was  all  theirs  to  the  last  farthing: 
my  grandfather  had  died  too  soon  to  save  me. 

I  must  have  somewhere  a  rare  vein  of  decision. 
In  that  revolutionary  moment  I  found  myself  pre- 
pared for  all  extremes  except  the  one :  ready  to  do 


284  THE   WRECKER. 

anything,  or  to  go  anywhere,  so  long  as  I  might  save 
my  money.  At  the  worst,  there  was  flight,  flight  to 
some  of  those  blest  countries  where  the  serpent 
extradition,  has  not  yet  entered  in. 

On  no  condition  is  extradition 
Allowed  in  Callao  ! 

— the  old  lawless  words  haunted  me  ;  and  I  saw  my- 
self hugging  my  gold  in  the  company  of  such  men  as 
had  once  made  and  sung  them,  in  the  rude  and  bloody 
wharfside  drinking  shops  of  Chili  and  Peru.  The  run 
of  my  ill-luck,  the  breach  of  my  old  friendship,  this 
bubble  fortune  flaunted  for  a  moment  in  my  eyes  and 
snatched  again,  had  made  me  desperate  and  (in  the 
expressive  vulgarism)  ugly.  To  drink  vile  spirits 
among  vile  companions  by  the  flare  of  a  pine-torch ; 
to  go  burthened  with  my  furtive  treasure  in  a  belt ;  to 
fight  for  it  knife  in  hand,  rolling  on  a  clay  floor ;  to 
flee  perpetually  in  fresh  ships  and  to  be  chased  through 
the  sea  from  isle  to  isle,  seemed,  in  my  then  frame  of 
mind,  a  welcome  series  of  events. 

That  was  for  the  worst ;  but  it  began  to  dawn 
slowly  on  my  mind  that  there  was  yet  a  possible 
better.  Once  escaped,  once  safe  in  Callao,  I  might 
approach  my  creditors  with  a  good  grace ;  and  properly 
handled  by  a  cunning  agent,  it  was  just  possible  they 
might  accept  some  easy  composition.  The  hope  re- 
called me  to  the  bankruptcy.  It  was  strange,  I 
reflected :  often  as  I  had  questioned  Jim,  he  had  never 
obliged  me  with  an  answer.  In  his  haste  for  news 
about  the  wreck,  my  own  no  less  legitimate  curiosity 
had  gone  disappointed.  Hateful  as  the  thought  was 
to  me,  I  must  return  at  once  and  find  out  where  I 
stood. 

I  left  my  dinner  still  unfinished,  paying  for  the 
whole,  of  course,  and  tossing  the  waiter  a  gold  piece. 
I  was  reckless  ;  I  knew  not  what  was  mine  and  cared 
not :  I  must  take  what  I  could  get  and  give  as  I  was 


CROSS-QUESTIONS   AND   CROOKED   ANSWERS.      285 

able ;  to  rob  and  to  squander  seemed  the  compli- 
mentary parts  of  my  new  destiny.  I  walked  up  Bush 
Street,  whistling,  brazening  myself  to  confront  Mamie 
in  the  first  place,  and  the  world  at  large  and  a  certain 
visionary  judge  upon  a  bench  in  the  second.  Just  out- 
side, I  stopped  and  lighted  a  cigar  to  give  me  greater 
countenance ;  and  puffing  this  and  wearing  what  (I 
am  sure)  was  a  wretched  assumption  of  braggadocio,  I 
reappeared  on  the  scene  of  my  disgrace. 

My  friend  and  his  wife  were  finishing  a  poor  meal 
— rags  of  old  mutton,  the  remainder  cakes  from  break- 
fast eaten  cold,  and  a  starveling  pot  of  coffee. 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,  Mrs.  Pinkerton,"  said  I. 
"  Sorry  to  inflict  my  presence  where  it  cannot  be 
desired  ;  but  there  is  a  piece  of  business  necessary  to 
be  discussed." 

"  Pray  do  not  consider  me,"  said  Mamie,  rising,  and 
she  sailed  into  the  adjoining  bedroom. 

Jim  watched  her  go  and  shook  his  head ;  he  looked 
miserably  old  and  ill. 

"  What  is  it  now  ? "  he  asked. 

"  Perhaps  you  remember  you  answered  none  of  my 
questions,"  said  I. 

"  Your  questions  ? "  faltered  Jim. 

"  Even  so,  Jim ;  my  questions,"  I  repeated.     "  I 

Fut  questions  as  well  as  yourself;  and  however  little 
may  have  satisfied  Mamie  with  my  answers,  I  beg 
to  remind  you  that  you  gave  me  none  at  all." 

"  You  mean  about  the  bankruptcy  ? "  asked 
Jim. 

I  nodded. 

He  writhed  in  his  chair.  "  The  straight  truth  is 
I  was  ashamed,"  he  said.  "  I  was  trying  to  dodge  you. 
I've  been  playing  fast  and  loose  with" you,  Loudon; 
I've  deceived  you  from  the  first,  I  blush  to  own  it. 
And  here  you  came  home  and  put  the  very  question 
I  was  fearing.  Why  did  we  bust  so  soon  ?  Your 
keen  business  eye  had  not  deceived  you.      That's  the 


286  THE   WRECKER. 

point,  that's  my  shame ;  that's  what  killed  me  this 
afternoon  when  Mamie  was  treating  you  so,  and  my 
conscience  was  telling  me  all  the  time, '  Thou  art  the 
man.' " 

"  What  was  it,  Jim  ?  "  I  asked, 

"What  I  had  been  at  all  the  time,  Loudon,"  he 
wailed ;  "  and  I  don't  know  how  I'm  to  look  you  in 
the  face  and  say  it,  after  my  duplicity.  It  was  stocks," 
he  added  in  a  whisper. 

"  And  you  were  afraid  to  tell  me  that ! "  I  cried. 
"  You  poor,  old,  cheerless  dreamer !  what  would  it 
matter  what  you  did  or  didn't  ?  Can't  you  see  we're 
doomed  ?  And  anyway,  that's  not  my  point.  It's 
how  I  stand  that  I  want  to  know.  There  is  a  particular 
reason.  Am  I  clear  ?  Have  I  a  certificate,  or  what 
have  I  to  do  to  get  one  ?  And  when  will  it  be  dated  ? 
You  can't  think  what  hangs  by  it !  " 

"  That's  the  worst  of  all,"  said  Jim,  like  a  man  in 
a  dream,  "  I  can't  see  how  to  tell  him ! " 

"  What  do  you  mean  ? "  I  cried,  a  small  pang  of 
terror  at  my  heart. 

"I'm  afraid  I  sacrificed  you,  Loudon,"  he  said, 
looking  at  me  pitifully. 

" Sacrificed  me?"  I  repeated.  "  How  ?  What  do 
you  mean  by  sacrifice  ? " 

"  I  know  it'll  shock  your  delicate  self-respect,  he 
said ;  "  but  what  was  I  to  do  ?  Things  looked  so  bad. 
The  receiver — "  (as  usual,  the  name  stuck  in  his 
throat,  and  he  began  afresh).  "  There  was  a  lot  of 
talk,  the  reporters  were  after  me  already ;  there  was 
the  trouble,  and  all  about  the  Mexican  business; 
and  I  got  scared  right  out,  and  I  guess  I  lost  my 
head.  You  weren't  there,  you  see,  and  that  was  my 
temptation." 

1  did  not  know  how  long  he  might  thus  beat 
about  the  bush  with  dreadful  hintings,  and  I  was 
already  beside  myself  with  terror.  What  had  he 
done  ?     I  saw  he  had  been  tempted ;  I  knew  from 


CROSS-QUESTIONS   AND   CROOKED   ANSWERS.      287 

his  letters  that  he  was  in  no  condition  to  resist. 
How  had  he  sacrificed  the  absent  ? 

"Jim,"  I  said,  "you  must  speak  right  out.  I've 
got  all  that  I  can  carry." 

"Well,"  he  said — "I  know  it  was  a  liberty — I 
made  it  out  you  were  no  business  man,  only  a  stone- 
broke  painter;  that  half  the  time  you  didn't  know 
anything  anyway,  particularly  money  and  accounts. 
I  said  you  never  could  be  got  to  understand  whose 
was  whose.  I  had  to  say  that  because  of  some 
entries  in  the  books " 

"For  God's  sake,"  I  cried,  "put  me  out  of  this 
agony !     What  did  you  accuse  me  of  ? " 

"  Accuse  you  of  ? "  repeated  Jim.  "  Of  what  I'm 
telling  you.  And  there  being  no  deed  of  partnership, 
I  made  out  you  were  only  a  kind  of  clerk  that  I 
called  a  partner  just  to  give  you  taffy ;  and  so  I  got 
you  ranked  a  creditor  on  the  estate  for  your  wages 
and  the  money  you  had  lent.     And " 

I  believe  I  reeled.  "A  creditor!"  I  roared;  "a 
creditor !     I'm  not  in  the  bankruptcy  at  all  ? " 

"  No,"  said  Jim.     "  I  know  it  was  a  liberty " 

"Oh  damn  your  liberty!  read  that,"  I  cried, 
dashing  the  letter  before  him  on  the  table,  "  and  call 
in  your  wife,  and  be  done  with  eating  this  truck  " — 
as  I  spoke,  I  slung  the  cold  mutton  in  the  empty 
grate — "and  let's  all  go  and  have  a  champagne 
supper.  I've  dined — I'm  sure  I  don't  remember 
what  I  had ;  I'd  dine  again  ten  scores  of  times  upon 
a  night  like  this.  Read  it,  you  blaying  ass!  I'm 
not  insane.  Here,  Mamie,"  I  continued,  opening  the 
bedroom  door,  "  come  out  and  make  it  up  with  me, 
and  go  and  kiss  your  husband;  and  I'll  tell  you 
what,  after  the  supper,  let's  go  to  some  place 
where  there's  a  band,  and  I'll  waltz  with  you  till 
sunrise" 

"  What  does  it  all  mean  ? "  cried  Jim. 

"  It  means  we  have  a  champagne  supper  to-night, 


288  THE   WRECKER. 

and  all  go  to  Vapor  Valley  or  to  Monterey  to- 
morrow," said  I.  "  Mamie,  go  and  get  your  things 
on ;  and  you,  Jim,  sit  down  right  where  you  are,  take 
a  sheet  of  paper,  and  tell  Franklin  Dodge  to  go  to 
Texas.  Mamie,  you  were  right,  my  dear;  I  was  rich 
all  the  time,  and  didn't  know  it." 


CHAPTER    XIX. 

TRAVELS    WITH    A    SHYSTER. 

The  absorbing  and  disastrous  adventure  of  the 
Flying  Scud  was  now  quite  ended;  we  had  dashed 
into  these  deep  waters  and  we  had  escaped  again  to 
starve;  we  had  been  ruined  and  were  saved,  had 
quarrelled  and  made  up ;  there  remained  nothing  but 
to  sing  Te  Leum,  draw  a  line,  and  begin  on  a  fresh 
page  of  my  unwritten  diary.  I  do  not  pretend  that 
I  recovered  all  I  had  lost  with  Mamie,  it  would  have 
been  more  than  I  had  merited ;  and  I  had  certainly 
been  more  uncommunicative  than  became  either  the 
partner  or  the  friend.  But  she  accepted  the  position 
handsomely ;  and  during  the  week  that  I  now  passed 
with  them,  both  she  and  Jim  had  the  grace  to  spare 
me  questions.  It  was  to  Calistoga  that  we  went; 
there  was  some  rumour  of  a  Napa  land-boom  at  the 
moment,  the  possibility  of  stir  attracted  Jim,  and  he 
informed  me  he  would  find  a  certain  joy  in  looking 
on,  much  as  Napoleon  on  St.  Helena  took  a  pleasure 
to  read  military  works.  The  field  of  his  ambition 
was  quite  closed;  he  was  done  with  action,  and 
looked  forward  to  a  ranch  in  a  mountain  dingle,  a 
patch  of  corn,  a  pair  of  kine,  a  leisurely  and  contem- 
plative age  in  the  green  shade  of  forests.  "  Just  let 
me  get  down  on  my  back  in  a  hayfield,"  said  he,  "  and 
you'll  find  there's  no  more  snap  to  me  than  that  much 
putty." 


TRAVELS   WITH   A   SHYSTEB.  289 

And  for  two  days  the  perfervid  being  actually 
rested.  The  third,  he  was  observed  in  consultation 
with  the  local  editor,  and  owned  he  was  in  two  minds 
about  purchasing  the  press  and  paper.  "  It's  a  kind 
of  a  hold  for  an  idle  man,"  he  said  pleadingly ;  "  and 
if  the  section  was  to  open  up  the  way  it  ought  to,  there 
might  be  dollars  in  the  thing."  On  the  fourth  day 
he  was  gone  till  dinner-time  alone  ;  on  the  fifth  we 
made  a  long  picnic  drive  to  the  fresh  field  of  enter- 
prise ;  and  the  sixth  was  passed  entirely  in  the  pre- 
paration of  prospectuses.  The  pioneer  of  McBride 
City  was  already  upright  and  self-reliant  as  of  yore ; 
the  fire  rekindled  in  his  eye,  the  ring  restored  to  his 
voice;  a  charger  sniffing  battle  and  saying  ha-ha 
among  the  spears.  On  the  seventh  morning  we  signed 
a  deed  of  partnership,  for  Jim  would  not  accept  a 
dollar  of  my  money  otherwise  ;  and  having  once  more 
engaged  myself — or  that  mortal  part  of  me,  my  purse — 
among  the  wheels  of  his  machinery,  I  returned  alone 
to  San  Francisco  and  took  quarters  in  the  Palace 
Hotel. 

The  same  night  I  had  Nares  to  dinner.  His 
sunburnt  face,  his  queer  and  personal  strain  of  talk, 
recalled  days  that  were  scarce  over  and  that  seemed 
already  distant.  Through  the  music  of  the  band 
outside,  and  the  chink  and  clatter  of  the  dining-room, 
it  seemed  to  me  as  if  I  heard  the  foaming  of  the  surf 
and  the  voices  of  the  sea-birds  about  Midway  Island. 
The  bruises  on  our  hands  were  not  yet  healed ;  and 
there  we  sat,  waited  on  by  elaborate  darkies,  eating 
pompino  and  drinking  iced  champagne. 

"  Think  of  our  dinners  on  the  Norah,  captain,  and 
then  oblige  me  by  looking  round  the  room  for 
contrast." 

He  took  the  scene  in  slowly.     "  Yes,  it  is  like  a 

dream,"  he  said :  "  like  as  if  the  darkies  were  really 

about  as  big  as  dimes ;  and  a  great  big  scuttle  might 

open  up  there,  and  Johnson  stick  in  a  great  big  head 

T 


290  THE   WRECKER. 

and  shoulders,  and  cry,  '  Eight  bells  ! ' — and  the  whole 
thing  vanish." 

"  Well,  it's  the  other  thing  that  has  done  that,"  I 
replied.  "  It's  all  bygone  now,  all  dead  and  buried. 
Amen !  say  I." 

'•  I  don't  know  that,  Mr.  Dodd  ;  and  to  tell  you  the 
fact,  I  don't  believe  it,"  said  Nares.  "  There's  more 
Flying  Scud  in  the  oven;  and  the  baker's  name, 
I  take  it,  is  Bellairs.  He  tackled  me  the  day 
we  came  in  :  sort  of  a  razee  of  poor  old  humanity — 
jury  clothes — full  new  suit  of  pimples  :  knew  him  at 
once  from  your  description.  I  let  him  pump  me  till 
I  saw  his  game.  He  knows  a  good  deal  that  we  don't 
know,  a  good  deal  that  we  do,  and  suspects  the 
balance.     There's  trouble  brewing  for  somebody." 

I  was  surprised  I  had  not  thought  of  this  before. 
Bellairs  had  been  behind  the  scenes ;  he  had  known 
Dickson;  he  knew  the  flight  of  the  crew;  it  was 
hardly  possible  but  what  he  should  suspect ;  it  was 
certain  if  he  suspected,  that  he  would  seek  to  trade  on 
the  suspicion.  And  sure  enough,  I  was  not  yet  dressed 
the  next  morning  ere  the  lawyer  was  knocking  at  my 
door.  I  let  him  in,  for  I  was  curious ;  and  he,  after 
some  ambiguous  prolegomena,  roundly  proposed  I 
should  go  snares  with  him. 

"  Shares  in  what  ? "  I  inquired. 

"  If  you  will  allow  me  to  clothe  my  idea  in  a  some- 
what vulgar  form,"  said  he,  "  I  might  ask  you,  did  you 
go  to  Midway  for  your  health  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know  that  I  did,"  I  replied. 

"  Similarly,  Mr.  Dodd,  you  may  be  sure  I  would 
never  have  taken  the  present  step  without  influential 
grounds,"  pursued  the  lawyer.  "  Intrusion  is  foreign 
to  my  character.  But  you  and  I,  sir,  are  engaged  on 
the  same  ends.  If  we  can  continue  to  work  the  thing 
in  company,  I  place  at  your  disposal  my  knowledge  of 
the  law  and  a  considerable  practice  in  delicate  ne- 
gotiations   similar    to    this.     Should  you   refuse  to 


TRAVELS  WITH   A   SHYSTER.  291 

consent,  you  might  find  in  me  a  formidable  and  " — he 
hesitated — "  and  to  my  own  regret,  perhaps  a  dangerous 
competitor." 

"Did  you  get  this  by  heart?"  I  asked  geni- 
ally. 

"  I  advise  you  to  ! "  he  said,  with  a  sudden  sparkle 
of  temper  and  menace,  instantly  gone,  instantly  suc- 
ceeded by  fresh  cringing.  "  I  assure  you,  sir,  I  arrive 
in  the  character  of  a  friend,  and  I  believe  you  under- 
estimate my  information.  If  I  may  instance  an 
example,  I  am  acquainted  to  the  last  dime  with  what 
you  made  (or  rather  lost),  and  I  know  you  have  since 
cashed  a  considerable  draft  on  London." 

"  What  do  you  infer  ? "  I  asked. 

"  I  know  where  that  draft  came  from,"  he  cried, 
wincing  back  like  one  who  has  greatly  dared,  and 
instantly  regrets  the  venture. 

"So"?  "said  I. 

"  You  forget  I  was  Mr.  Dickson's  confidential  agent," 
he  explained.  "  You  had  his  address,  Mr.  Dodd.  We 
were  the  only  two  that  he  communicated  with  in  San 
Francisco.  You  see  my  deductions  are  quite  obvious ; 
you  see  how  open  and  frank  I  deal  with  you,  as  I 
should  wish  to  do  with  any  gentleman  with  whom  I 
was  conjoined  in  business.  You  see  how  much  I 
know ;  and  it  can  scarcely  escape  your  strong  common- 
sense  how  much  better  it  would  be  if  I  knew  all.  You 
cannot  hope  to  get  rid  of  me  at  this  time  of  day ;  I 
have  my  place  in  the  affair,  I  cannot  be  shaken  off;  I 
am,  if  you  will  excuse  a  rather  technical  pleasantry,  an 
encumbrance  on  the  estate.  The  actual  harm  I  can 
do  I  leave  you  to  valuate  for  yourself.  But  without 
going  so  far,  Mr.  Dodd,  and  without  in  any  way  incon- 
veniencing myself,  I  could  make  things  very  uncom- 
fortable. For  instance,  Mr.  Pinkerton's  liquidation. 
You  and  I  know,  sir — and  you  better  than  I — on  what 
a  large  fund  you  draw.  Is  Mr.  Pinker  ton  in  the  thing 
at  all  ?  It  was  you  only  who  knew  the  address,  and 
t  2 


292  THE   WRECKER. 

you  were  concealing  it.  Suppose  I  should  communi- 
cate with  Mr.  Pinkerton 

"  Look  here !  "  I  interrupted,  "  communicate  with 
him  (if  you  will  permit  me  to  clothe  my  idea  in  a 
vulgar  shape)  till  you  are  blue  in  the  face.  There  is 
only  one  person  with  whom  I  refuse  to  allow  you  to 
communicate  farther,  and  that  is  myself.  Good- 
morning." 

He  could  not  conceal  his  rage,  disappointment,  and 
surprise ;  and  in  the  passage  (I  have  no  doubt)  was 
shaken  by  St.  Vitus. 

I  was  disgusted  by  this  interview;  it  struck  me 
hard  to  be  suspected  on  all  hands,  and  to  hear  again 
from  this  trafficker  what  I  had  heard  already  from 
Jim's  wife ;  and  yet  my  strongest  impression  was 
different  and  might  rather  be  described  as  an  im- 
personal fear.  There  was  something  against  nature  in 
the  man's  craven  impudence  ;  it  was  as  though  a  lamb 
had  butted  me ;  such  daring  at  the  hands  of  such  a 
dastard  implied  unchangeable  resolve,  a  great  pressure 
of  necessity,  and  powerful  means.  I  thought  of  the 
unknown  Carthew,  and  it  sickened  me  to  see  this 
ferret  on  his  trail. 

Upon  inquiry  I  found  the  lawyer  was  but  just  dis- 
barred for  some  malpractice,  and  the  discovery  added 
excessively  to  my  disquiet.  Here  was  a  rascal  with- 
out money  or  the  means  of  making  it,  thrust  out  of 
the  doors  of  his  own  trade,  publicly  shamed,  and 
doubtless  in  a  deuce  of  a  bad  temper  with  the  uni- 
verse. Here,  on  the  other  hand,  was  a  man  with  a 
secret — rich,  terrified,  practically  in  hiding — who  had 
been  willing  to  pay  ten  thousand  pounds  for  the  bones 
of  the  Flying  Scud.  I  slipped  insensibly  into  a  mental 
alliance  with  the  victim.  The  business  weighed  on 
me  all  day  long ;  I  was  wondering  how  much  the 
lawyer  knew,  how  much  he  guessed,  and  when  he 
would  open  his  attack. 

borne  of  these"  problems  are  unsolved  to  this  day  j 


TRAVELS  WITH  A  SHYSTER.  293 

others  were  soon  made  clear.  Where  he  got  Carthew's 
name  is  still  a  mystery ;  perhaps  some  sailor  on  the 
Tempest,  perhaps  my  own  sea-lawyer  served  him  for  a 
tool ;  but  I  was  actually  at  his  elbow  when  he  learned 
the  address.  It  fell  so.  One  evening  when  I  had  an 
engagement,  and  was  killing  time  until  the  hour,  I 
chanced  to  walk  in  the  court  of  the  hotel  while  the 
band  played.  The  place  was  bright  as  day  with  the 
electric  light,  and  I  recognised,  at  some  distance 
among  the  loiterers,  the  person  of  Bellairs  in  talk  with 
a  gentleman  whose  face  appeared  familiar.  It  was 
certainly  someone  1  had  seen,  and  seen  recently ;  but 
who  or  where  I  knew  not.  A  porter  standing  hard  by 
gave  me  the  necessary  hint.  The  stranger  was  an 
English  navy  man  invalided  home  from  Honolulu, 
where  he  had  left  his  ship  ;  indeed,  it  was  only  from 
the  change  of  clothes  and  the  effects  of  sickness 
that  I  had  not  immediately  recognised  my  friend  and 
correspondent,  Lieutenant  Sebright. 

The  conjunction  of  these  planets  seeming  ominous, 
I  drew  near  ;  but  it  seemed  Bellairs  had  done  his  busi- 
ness ;  he  vanished  in  the  crowd,  and  I  found  my  officer 
alone. 

"  Do  you  know  whom  you  have  been  talking  to, 
Mr.  Sebright  ? "  I  began. 

"  No,"  said  he ;  "I  don't  know  him  from  Adam. 
Anything  wrong  ? " 

"  He  is  a  disreputable  lawyer,  recently  disbarred," 
said  I.  "  I  wish  I  had  seen  you  in  time.  I  trust  you 
told  him  nothing  about  Carthew  ? " 

He  flushed  to  his  ears.  "  I'm  awfully  sorry,"  he 
said.  "  He  seemed  civil,  and  I  wanted  to  get  rid  of 
him.     It  was  only  the  address  he  asked." 

"  And  you  gave  it  ? "  I  cried. 

"I'm  really  awfully  sorry,"  said  Sebright  "I'm 
afraid  I  did." 

"  God  forgive  you  !  "  was  my  only  comment,  and  I 
turned  my  back  upon  the  blunderer. 


294  THE  WRECKER. 

The  fat  was  in  the  fire  now:  Bellairs  had  the 
address,  and  I  was  the  more  deceived  or  Carthew 
would  have  news  of  him.  So  strong  was  this  impres- 
sion, and  so  painful,  that  the  next  morning  I  had  the 
curiosity  to  pay  the  lawyer's  den  a  visit.  An  old  woman 
was  scrubbing  the  stair,  and  the  board  was  down. 

"  Lawyer  Bellairs  ?  "  said  the  old  woman ;  "  gone 
East  this  morning.  There's  Lawyer  Dean  next  block  up." 

I  did  not  trouble  Lawyer  Dean,  but  walked  slowly 
back  to  my  hotel,  ruminating  as  I  went.  The  image 
of  the  old  woman  washing  that  desecrated  stair  had 
struck  my  fancy  ;  it  seemed  that  all  the  water  supply 
of  the  city  and  all  the  soap  in  the  State  would  scarce 
suffice  to  cleanse  it,  it  had  been  so  long  a  clearing- 
house of  dingy  secrets  and  a  factory  of  sordid  fraud. 
And  now  the  corner  was  untenanted  ;  some  judge,  like 
a  careful  housewife,  had  knocked  down  the  web,  and 
the  bloated  spider  was  scuttling  elsewhere  after  new 
victims.  I  had  of  late  (as  I  have  said)  insensibly 
taken  sides  with  Carthew ;  now  when  his  enemy  was 
at  his  heels,  my  interest  grew  more  warm  ;  and  I  began 
to  wonder  if  I  could  not  help.  The  drama  of  the 
Flying  Scud  was  entering  on  a  new  phase.  It  had 
been  singular  from  the  first:  it  promised  an  extra- 
ordinary conclusion  ;  and  I  who  had  paid  so  much  to 
learn  the  beginning,  might  pay  a  little  more  and  see 
the  end.  I  lingered  in  San  Francisco,  indemnifying 
myself  after  the  hardships  of  the  cruise,  spending 
money,  regretting  it,  continually  promising  departure 
for  the  morrow.  Why  not  go  indeed,  and  keep  a  watch 
upon  Bellairs  ?  If  I  missed  him,  there  was  no  harm 
done,  I  was  the  nearer  Paris.  If  I  found  and  kept  his 
trail,  it  was  hard  if  I  could  not  put  some  stick  in  his 
machinery,  and  at  the  worst  I  could  promise  myself 
interesting  scenes  and  revelations. 

In  such  a  mixed  humour,  I  made  up  what  it  pleases 
me  to  call  my  mind,  and  once  more  involved  myself 
in  the  story  of  Carthew  and  the  Flying  Scud.     The 


TRAVELS  WITH  A  SHYSTER.  295 

same  night  I  wrote  a  letter  of  farewell  to  Jim, 
and  one  of  anxious  warning  to  Dr.  Urquart  beg- 
ging him  to  set  Carthew  on  his  guard  ;  the  morrow 
saw  me  in  the  ferry-boat ;  and  ten  days  later,  I 
was  walking  the  hurricane  deck  on  the  City  of 
Denver.  By  that  time  my  mind  was  pretty  much 
made  down  again,  its  natural  condition :  I  told  my- 
self that  I  was  bound  for  Paris  or  Fontainebleau  to 
resume  the  study  of  the  arts  ;  and  I  thought  no  more 
of  Carthew  or  Bellairs,  or  only  to  smile  at  my  own 
fondness.  The  one  I  could  not  serve,  even  if  I  wanted; 
the  other  I  had  no  means  of  finding,  even  if  I  could 
have  at  all  influenced  him  after  he  was  found. 

And  for  all  that,  I  was  close  on  the  heels  of  an 
absurd  adventure.  My  neighbour  at  table  that  evening 
was  a  'Frisco  man  whom  I  knew  slightly.  I  found  he 
had  crossed  the  plains  two  days  in  front  of  me,  and 
this  was  the  first  steamer  that  had  left  New  York  for 
Europe  since  his  arrival.  Two  days  before  me,  meant 
a  day  before  Bellairs ;  and  dinner  was  scarce  done 
before  I  was  closeted  with  the  purser. 

"  Bellairs  ?  "  he  repeated.  "  Not  in  the  saloon,  I 
am  sure.  He  may  be  in  the  second  class.  The  lists 
are  not  made  out,  but — Hullo  !  '  Harry  D.  Bellairs  ? ' 
That  the  name  ?     He's  there  right  enough." 

And  the  next  morning  I  saw  him  on  the  forward 
deck,  sitting  in  a  chair,  a  book  in  his  hand,  a  shabby 
puma  skin  rug  about  his  knees  :  the  picture  of  respect- 
able decay.  Off  and  on,  I  kept  him  in  my  eye.  He 
read  a  good  deal,  he  stood  and  looked  upon  the  sea, 
he  talked  occasionally  with  his  neighbours,  and  once 
when  a  child  fell  he  picked  it  up  and  soothed  it.  I 
damned  him  in  my  heart ;  the  book,  which  I  was  sure 
he  did  not  read — the  sea,  to  which  I  was  ready  to 
take  oath  he  was  indifferent — the  child,  whom  I  was 
certain  he  would  as  lieve  have  tossed  overboard — all 
seemed  to  me  elements  in  a  theatrical  performance ; 
and  I  made  no  doubt  he  was  already  nosmg  after  the 


296  THE   WRECKER. 

secrets  of  his  fellow-passengers.  I  took  no  pains  to 
conceal  myself,  my  scorn  for  the  creature  being  as 
strong  as  my  disgust.  But  he  never  looked  my  way, 
and  it  was  night  before  I  learned  he  had  observed  me. 

I  was  smoking  by  the  engine-room  door,  for  the 
air  was  a  little  sharp,  when  a  voice  rose  close  beside 
me  in  the  darkness. 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,  Mr.  Dodd,"  it  said. 

"  That  you,  Bellairs  ? "  I  replied. 

"  A  single  word,  sir.  Your  presence  on  this  ship 
has  no  connection  with  our  interview  ? "  he  askea. 
"  You  have  no  idea,  Mr.  Dodd,  of  returning  upon  your 
determination  ? " 

"  None,"  said  I ;  and  then,  seeing  he  still  lingered, 
I  was  polite  enough  to  add  "  Good-evening ; "  at  which 
he  sighed  and  went  away. 

The  next  day  he  was  there  again  with  the  chair 
and  the  puma  skin ;  read  his  book  and  looked  at  the 
sea  with  the  same  constancy ;  and  though  there  was 
no  child  to  be  picked  up,  I  observed  him  to  attend 
repeatedly  on  a  sick  woman.  Nothing  fosters  sus- 
picion like  the  act  of  watching;  a  man  spied  upon 
can  hardly  blow  his  nose  but  we  accuse  him  of 
designs  ;  and  I  took  an  early  opportunity  to  go  for- 
ward and  see  the  woman  for  myself.  She  was  poor, 
elderly,  and  painfully  plain ;  I  stood  abashed  at  the 
sight,  felt  I  owed  Bellairs  amends  for  the  injustice  of 
my  thoughts,  and  seeing  him  standing  by  the  rail  in 
his  usual  attitude  of  contemplation,  walked  up  and 
addressed  him  by  name. 

"  You  seem  very  fond  of  the  sea,"  said  I. 

"I  may  really  call  it  a  passion,  Mr.  Dodd,"  he 
replied.  " '  And  the  tall  cataract  haunted  me  like  a 
passion' "  he  quoted.  " I  never  weary  of  the  sea,  sir. 
This  is  my  first  ocean  voyage.  I  find  it  a  glorious 
experience."  And  once  more  my  disbarred  lawyer 
dropped  into  poetry :  " '  Boll  on,  thou  deep  and  dark 
blue  ocean,  roll ! '  " 


TRAVELS  WITH  A  SHYSTER.  297 

Though  I  had  learned  the  piece  in  my  reading- 
book  at  school,  I  came  into  the  world  a  little  too  late 
on  the  one  hand — and  I  daresay  a  little  too  early  on 
the  other — to  think  much  of  Byron ;  and  the  sonorous 
verse,  prodigiously  well  delivered,  struck  me  with 
surprise. 

"  You  are  fond  of  poetry,  too  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  I  am  a  great  reader,"  he  replied.  "  At  one  time 
I  had  begun  to  amass  quite  a  small  but  well  selected 
library ;  and  when  that  was  scattered,  I  still  managed 
to  preserve  a  few  volumes — chiefly  of  pieces  designed 
for  recitation — which  have  been  my  travelling  com- 
panions." 

"  Is  that  one  of  them  ? "  I  asked,  pointing  to  the 
volume  in  his  hand. 

"  No,  sir,"  he  replied,  showing  me  a  translation  of 
the  "  Sorrows  of  Werther,"  "  that  is  a  novel  I  picked 
up  some  time  ago.  It  has  afforded  me  great  pleasure, 
though  immoral." 

"  Oh,  immoral ! "  cried  I,  indignant  as  usual  at  any 
implication  of  art  and  ethics. 

"  Surely  you  cannot  deny  that,  sir — if  you  know 
the  book,"  he  said.  "  The  passion  is  illicit,  although 
certainly  drawn  with  a  good  deal  of  pathos.  It  is  not 
a  work  one  could  possibly  put  into  the  hands  of  a 
lady ;  which  is  to  be  regretted  on  all  accounts,  for  I 
do  not  know  how  it  may  strike  you ;  but  it  seems  to 
me — as  a  depiction,  if  I  make  myself  clear — to  rise 
high  above  its  compeers — even  famous  compeers. 
Even  in  Scott,  Dickens,  Thackeray,  or  Hawthorne,  the 
sentiment  of  love  appears  to  me  to  be  frequently  done 
less  justice  to." 

"You  are  expressing  a  very  general  opinion," 
said  I. 

"  Is  that  so,  indeed,  sir  ? "  lie  exclaimed,  with 
unmistakable  excitement.  "  Is  the  book  well  known  ? 
and  who  was  Go-eath  ?  I  am  interested  in  that, 
because   upon   the   title-page   the  usual  initials  are 


298  THE   WRECKER. 

omitted,  and  it  runs  simply  '  by  Go-eath.'  Was  he 
an  author  of  distinction  ?  Has  he  written  other 
works  ? " 

Such  was  our  first  interview,  the  first  of  many ; 
and  in  all  he  showed  the  same  attractive  qualities 
and  defects.  His  taste  for  literature  was  native  and 
unaffected;  his  sentimentality,  although  extreme  and 
a  thought  ridiculous,  was  plainly  genuine.  I  wondered 
at  my  own  innocent  wonder.  I  knew  that  Homer 
nodded,  that  Caesar  had  compiled  a  jest-book,  that 
Turner  lived  by  preference  the  life  of  Puggy  Booth, 
that  Shelley  made  paper  boats,  and  Wordsworth  wore 
green  spectacles !  and  with  all  this  mass  of  evidence 
before  me,  I  had  expected  Bellairs  to  be  entirely  of 
one  piece,  subdued  to  what  he  worked  in,  a  spy  all 
through.  As  I  abominated  the  man's  trade,  so  I  had 
expected  to  detest  the  man  himself;  and  behold,  I 
liked  him.  Poor  devil !  he  was  essentially  a  man  on 
wires,  all  sensibility  and  tremor,  brimful  of  a  cheap 
poetry,  not  without  parts,  quite  without  courage.  His 
boldness  was  despair ;  the  gulf  behind  him  thrust  him 
on ;  he  was  one  of  those  who  might  commit  a  murder 
rather  than  confess  the  theft  of  a  postage-stamp.  I 
was  sure  that  his  coming  interview  with  Carthew  rode 
his  imagination  like  a  nightmare ;  when  the  thought 
crossed  his  mind,  I  used  to  think  I  knew  of  it,  and 
that  the  qualm  appeared  in  his  face  visibly.  Yet  he 
would  never  flinch.  Necessity  stalking  at  his  back, 
famine  (his  old  pursuer)  talking  in  his  ear ;  and  I 
used  to  wonder  whether  I  most  admired,  or  most 
despised,  this  quivering  heroism  for  evil.  The  image 
that  occurred  to  me  after  his  visit  was  just ;  I  had 
been  butted  by  a  lamb,  and  the  phase  of  life  that  I 
was  now  studying  might  be  called  the  Revolt  of  a 
Sheep. 

It  could  be  said  of  him  that  he  had  learned  in 
sorrow  what  he  taught  in  song — or  wrong ;  and  his 
life  was  that  of  one  of  his  victims.     He  was  born  in 


TRAVELS   WITH    A    SHYSTER.  2\)\) 

the  back  parts  of  the  State  of  New  York  ;  his  father  a 
farmer,  who  became  subsequently  bankrupt  and  went 
West.  The  lawyer  and  money-lender  who  had  ruined 
this  poor  family  seems  to  have  conceived  in  the  end  a 
feeling  of  remorse ;  he  turned  the  father  out  indeed, 
but  he  offered,  in  compensation,  to  charge  himself 
with  one  of  the  sons :  and  Harry,  the  fifth  child  and 
already  sickly,  was  chosen  to  be  left  behind.  He  made 
himself  useful  in  the  office :  picked  up  the  scattered 
rudiments  of  an  education ;  read  right  and  left ;  at- 
tended and  debated  at  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association ;  and  in  all  his  early  years,  was  the  model 
for  a  good  story-book.  His  landlady's  daughter  was 
his  bane.  He  showed  me  her  photograph  ;  she  was  a 
big,  handsome,  dashing,  dressy,  vulgar  hussy,  without 
character,  without  tenderness,  without  mind,  and  (as 
the  result  proved)  without  virtue.  The  sickly  and 
timid  boy  was  in  the  house ;  he  was  handy ;  when 
she  was  otherwise  unoccupied,  she  used  and  played 
with  him — Romeo  and  Cressida ;  till  in  that  dreary 
life  of  a  poor  boy  in  a  country  town,  she  grew  to  be 
the  light  of  his  days  and  the  subject  of  his  dreams. 
He  worked  hard,  like  Jacob,  for  a  wife ;  he  surpassed 
his  patron  in  sharp  practice;  he  was  made  head 
clerk ;  and  the  same  night,  encouraged  by  a  hundred 
freedoms,  depressed  by  the  sense  of  his  youth  and  his 
infirmities,  he  offered  marriage  and  was  received  with 
laughter.  Not  a  year  had  passed,  before  his  master, 
conscious  of  growing  infirmities,  took  him  for  a 
partner.  He  proposed  again ;  he  was  accepted ;  led 
two  years  of  troubled  married  life ;  and  awoke  one 
morning  to  find  his  wife  had  run  away  with  a  dashing 
drummer,  and  had  left  him  heavily  in  debt.  The 
debt,  and  not  the  drummer,  was  supposed  to  be  the 
cause  of  the  hegira  ;  she  had  concealed  her  liabilities, 
they  were  on  the  point  of  bursting  forth,  she  was 
weary  of  Bellairs ;  and  she  took  the  drummer  as  she 
might  have   taken   a  cab.      The  blow  disabled  her 


300  THE   WRECKER. 

husband,  his  partner  was  dead ;  he  was  now  alone  in 
the  business,  for  which  he  was  no  longer  fit;  the 
debts  hampered  him ;  bankruptcy  followed ;  and  he 
fled  from  city  to  city,  falling  daily  into  lower  practice. 
It  is  to  be  considered  that  he  had  been  taught,  and 
had  learned  as  a  delightful  duty,  a  kind  of  business 
whose  highest  merit  is  to  escape  the  commentaries  of 
the  bench :  that  of  the  usurious  lawyer  in  a  county 
town.  With  this  training,  he  was  now  shot,  a  penni- 
less stranger,  into  the  deeper  gulfs  of  cities ;  and  the 
result  is  scarce  a  thing  to  be  surprised  at. 

"  Have  you  heard  of  your  wife  again  ? "  I  asked. 

He  displayed  a  pitiful  agitation.  "  I  am  afraid 
you  will  think  ill  of  me,"  he  said. 

"  Have  you  taken  her  back  ? "  I  asked. 

"  No,  sir.  I  trust  I  have  too  much  self-respect," 
he  answered,  "and,  at  least,  I  was  never  tempted. 
She  won't  come,  she  dislikes,  she  seems  to  have 
conceived  a  positive  distaste  for  me,  and  yet  I  was 
considered  an  indulgent  husband." 

"  You  are  still  in  relations,  then  ? "  I  asked. 

"I  place  myself  in  your  hands,  Mr.  Dodd,"  he 
replied.  "  The  world  is  very  hard ;  I  have  found  it 
bitter  hard  myself — bitter  hard  to  live.  How  much 
worse  for  a  woman,  and  one  who  has  placed  herself 
(by  her  own  misconduct,  I  am  far  from  denying  that) 
in  so  unfortunate  a  position ! " 

"  In  short,  you  support  her  ? "  I  suggested. 

"  I  cannot  deny  it.  I  practically  do,"  he  admitted. 
"  It  has  been  a  millstone  round  my  neck.  But  I 
think  she  is  grateful.     You  can  see  for  yourself." 

He  handed  me  a  letter  in  a  sprawling,  ignorant 
hand,  but  written  with  violet  ink  on  fine,  pink  paper, 
with  a  monogram.  It  was  very  foolishly  expressed, 
and  I  thought  (except  for  a  few  obvious  cajoleries) 
very  heartless  and  greedy  in  meaning.  The  writer 
said  she  had  been  sick,  which  I  disbelieved  ;  declared 
the  last  remittance  was  all  gone  in  doctor's  bills,  for 


TRAVELS   WITH    A    SHYSTER.  301 

which  I  took  the  liberty  of  substituting  dress,  drink, 
and  monograms ;  and  prayed  for  an  increase,  which  I 
could  only  hope  had  been  denied  her. 

"  I  think  she  is  really  grateful  ? "  he  asked,  with 
some  eagerness,  as  I  returned  it. 

"  I  daresay,"  said  I.  "  Has  .  she  any  claim  on 
you?" 

"Oh,  no,  sir.  I  divorced  her,"  he  replied.  "I 
have  a  very  strong  sense  of  self-respect  in  such 
matters,  and  I  divorced  her  immediately." 

"  What  sort  of  life  is  she  leading  now  ? "  I  asked. 

"I  will  not  deceive  you,  Mr.  Dodd.  I  do  not 
know,  I  make  a  point  of  not  knowing ;  it  appears 
more  dignified.  I  have  been  very  harshly  criticised," 
he  added,  sighing. 

It  will  be  seen  that  I  had  fallen  into  an  igno- 
minious intimacy  with  the  man  I  had  gone  out  .to 
thwart.  My  pity  for  the  creature,  his  admiration  for 
myself,  his  pleasure  in  my  society,  which  was  clearly 
unassumed,  were  the  bonds  with  which  I  was  fettered ; 
perhaps  I  should  add,  in  honesty,  my  own  ill-regu- 
lated interest  in  the  phases  of  life  and  human  char- 
acter. The  fact  is  (at  least)  that  we  spent  hours 
together  daily,  and  that  I  was  nearly  as  much  on 
the  forward  deck  as  in  the  saloon.  Yet  all  the  while 
I  could  never  forget  he  was  a  shabby  trickster, 
embarked  that  very  moment  in  a  dirty  enterprise. 
I  used  to  tell  myself  at  first  that  our  acquaintance 
was  a  stroke  of  art,  and  that  I  was  somehow  fortifying 
Carthew.  I  told  myself,  I  say;  but  I  was  no  such 
fool  as  to  believe  it,  even  then.  In  these  circum- 
stances I  displayed  the  two  chief  qualities  of  my 
character  on  the  largest  scale — my  helplessness  and 
my  instinctive  love  of  procrastination — and  fell  upon 
a  course  of  action  so  ridiculous  that  I  blush  when  I 
recall  it. 

We  reached  Liverpool  one  forenoon,  the  rain 
falling  thickly  mi  insidiously  on  the  filthy  town.    I 


302  THE   WRECKER. 

had  no  plans,  beyond  a  sensible  unwillingness  to  let 
my  rascal  escape ;  and  I  ended  by  going  to  the  same 
inn  with  him,  dining  with  him,  walking  with  him  in 
the  wet  streets,  and  hearing  with  him  in  a  penny  gaff 
that  venerable  piece,  The  Ticket-of-Leave  Man.  It 
was  one  of  his  first  visits  to  a  theatre,  against  which 
places  of  entertainment  he  had  a  strong  prejudice; 
and  his  innocent,  pompous  talk,  innocent  old  quota- 
tions, and  innocent  reverence  for  the  character  of 
Hawkshaw  delighted  me  beyond  relief.  In  charity  to 
myself,  I  dwell  upon  and  perhaps  exaggerate  my 
pleasures.  I  have  need  of  all  conceivable  excuses, 
when  I  confess  that  I  went  to  bed  without  one  word 
upon  the  matter  of  Carthew,  but  not  without  having 
covenanted  with  my  rascal  for  a  visit  to  Chester  the 
next  day.  At  Chester  we  did  the  cathedral,  walked 
on  the  walls,  discussed  Shakespeare  and  the  musical 
glasses — and  made  a  fresh  engagement  for  the 
morrow.  I  do  not  know,  and  I  am  glad  to  have 
forgotten,  how  long  these  travels  were  continued. 
We  visited  at  least,  by  singular  zigzags,  Stratford, 
Warwick,  Coventry,  Gloucester,  Bristol,  Bath,  and 
Wells.  At  each  stage  we  spoke  dutifully  of  the  scene 
and  its  associations ;  I  sketched,  the  Shyster  spouted 
poetry  and  copied  epitaphs.  Who  could  doubt  we 
were  the  usual  Americans,  travelling  with  a  design  of 
self-improvement  ?  Who  was  to  guess  that  one  was 
a  blackmailer,  trembling  to  approach  the  scene  of 
action — the  other  a  helpless,  amateur  detective,  wait- 
ing on  events  ? 

It  is  unnecessary  to  remark  that  none  occurred,  or 
none  the  least  suitable  with  my  design  of  protecting 
Carthew.  Two  trifles,  indeed,  completed  though  they 
scarcely  changed  my  conception  of  the  Shyster.  The 
first  was  observed  in  Gloucester,  where  we  spent 
Sunday,  and  I  proposed  we  should  hear  service  in  the 
cathedral.  To  my  surprise,  the  creature  had  an  ism 
of  his  own,  to  which  he  was  loyal ;  and  he  left  me  to 


TRAVELS   WITH    A    SHYSTER.  303 

go  alone  to  the  cathedral — or  perhaps  not  to  go  at 
all — and  stole  off  down  a  deserted  alley  to  some  Bethel 
or  Ebenezer  of  the  proper  shade.  When  we  met 
again  at  lunch,  I  rallied  him,  and  he  grew  restive. 

"  You  need  employ  no  circumlocutions  with  me, 
Mr.  Dodd,"  he  said  suddenly.  "  You  regard  my 
behaviour  from  an  unfavourable  point  of  view :  you 
regard  me,  I  much  fear,  as  hypocritical." 

I  was  somewhat  confused  by  the  attack.  "  You 
know  what  I  think  of  your  trade,"  I  replied  lamely 
and  coarsely. 

"  Excuse  me,  if  I  seem  to  press  the  subject,"  he 
continued,  "but  if  you  think  my  life  erroneous,  would 
you  have  me  neglect  the  means  of  grace  ?  Because 
you  consider  me  in  the  wrong  on  one  point,  would  you 
have  me  place  myself  on  the  wrong  in  all  ?  Surely, 
sir,  the  church  is  for  the  sinner." 

"  Did  you  ask  a  blessing  on  your  present  enter- 
prise ? "  I  sneered. 

He  had  a  bad  attack  of  St.  Vitus,  his  face  was 
changed,  and  his  eyes  flashed.  "  I  will  tell  you  what 
I  did,"  he  cried.  "  I  prayed  for  an  unfortunate  man 
and  a  wretched  woman  whom  he  tries  to  support." 

I  cannot  pretend  that  I  found  any  repartee. 

The  second  incident  was  at  Bristol,  where  I  lost 
sight  of  my  gentleman  some  hours.  From  this  eclipse 
he  returned  to  me  with  thick  speech,  wandering  foot- 
steps, and  a  back  all  whitened  with  plaster.  I  had 
half  expected,  yet  I  could  have  wept  to  see  it.  All 
disabilities  were  piled  on  that  weak  back — domestic 
misfortune,  nervous  disease,  a  displeasing  exterior, 
empty  pockets,  and  the  slavery  of  vice. 

I  will  never  deny  that  our  prolonged  conjunction 
was  the  result  of  double  cowardice.  Each  was  afraid 
to  leave  the  other,  each  was  afraid  to  speak,  or  knew 
not  what  to  say.  Save  for  my  ill-judged  allusion  at 
Gloucester,  the  subject  uppermost  in  both  our  minds 
was  buried.     Carthew,   Stallbridge-le-Carthew,  Stall- 


304  THE   WRECKER. 

bridge  -  Minster  —  which  we  had  long  since  (and 
severally)  identified  to  be  the  nearest  station — even 
the  name  of  Dorsetshire  was  studiously  avoided.  And 
yet  we  were  making  progress  all  the  time,  tacking 
across  broad  England  like  an  unweatherly  vessel  on  a 
wind ;  approaching  our  destination,  not  openly,  but 
by  a  sort  of  flying  sap.  And  at  length,  I  can  scarce 
tell  how,  we  were  set  down  by  a  dilatory  butt-end  of 
local  train  on  the  untenanted  platform  of  Stallbridgc- 
Minster. 

The  town  was  ancient  and  compact — a  domino  of 
tiled  houses  and  walled  gardens,  dwarfed  by  the  dis- 
proportionate bigness  of  the  church.  From  the  midst 
of  the  thoroughfare  which  divided  it  in  half,  fields  and 
trees  were  visible  at  either  end ;  and  through  the 
sally-port  of  every  street,  there  flowed  in  from  the 
country  a  silent  invasion  of  green  grass.  Bees  and 
birds  appeared  to  make  the  majority  of  the  in- 
habitants; every  garden  had  its  row  of  hives,  the 
eaves  of  every  house  were  plastered  with  the  nests  of 
swallows,  and  the  pinnacles  of  the  church  were 
flickered  about  all  day  long  by  a  multitude  of  wings. 
The  town  was  of  Roman  foundation ;  and  as  I  looked 
out  that  afternoon  from  the  low  windows  of  the  inn, 
I  should  scarce  have  been  surprised  to  see  a  centurion 
coming  up  the  street  with  a  fatigue  draft  of  legionaries. 
In  short,  Stallbridge-Minster  was  one  of  those  towns 
which  appear  to  be  maintained  by  England  for  the 
instruction  and  delight  of  the  American  rambler ;  to 
which  he  seems  guided  by  an  instinct  not  less  sur- 
prising than  the  setter's  ;  and  which  he  visits  and  quits 
with  equal  enthusiasm. 

I  was  not  at  all  in  the  humour  of  the  tourist.  I 
had  wasted  weeks  of  time  and  accomplished  nothing ; 
we  were  on  the  eve  of  the  engagement,  and  I  had 
neither  plans  nor  allies.  I  had  thrust  myself  into  the 
trade  of  private  providence,  and  amateur  detective  ;  I 
was  spending  money  and  I  was  reaping  disgrace.     All 


TRAVELS   WITH   A   SHYSTER.  305 

the  time  I  kept  telling  myself  that  I  must  at  least 
speak  ;  that  this  ignominious  silence  should  have  been 
broken  long  ago,  and  must  be  broken  now.  I  should 
have  broken  it  when  he  first  proposed  to  come  to 
Stallbridge- Minster ;  I  should  have  broken  it  in  the 
train ;  I  should  break  it  there  and  then,  on  the  inn 
doorstep,  as  the  omnibus  rolled  off.  I  turned  toward 
him  at  the  thought ;  he  seemed  to  wince,  the  words 
died  on  my  lips,  and  I  proposed  instead  that  we 
should  visit  the  Minster. 

While  we  were  engaged  upon  this  duty,  it  came 
on  to  rain  in  a  manner  worthy  of  the  tropics.  The 
vault  reverberated ;  every  gargoyle  instantly  poured 
its  full  discharge ;  we  waded  back  to  the  inn,  ankle 
deep  in  impromptu  brooks  ;  and  the  rest  of  the  after- 
noon sat  weatherbound,  hearkening  to  the  sonorous 
deluge.  For  two  hours  I  talked  of  indifferent  matters, 
laboriously  feeding  the  conversation;  for  two  hours 
my  mind  was  quite  made  up  to  do  my  duty  instantly 
— and  at  each  particular  instant  I  postponed  it  till  the 
next.  To  screw  up  my  faltering  courage,  I  called  at 
dinner  for  some  sparkling  wine.  It  proved  when  it 
came  to  be  detestable ;  I  could  not  put  it  to  my  lips  ; 
and  Bellairs,  who  had  as  much  palate  as  a  weevil,  was 
left  to  finish  it  himself.  Doubtless  the  wine  flushed 
him ;  doubtless  he  may  have  observed  my  embarrass- 
ment of  the  afternoon ;  doubtless  he  was  conscious 
that  we  were  approaching  a  crisis,  and  that  that 
evening,  if  I  did  not  join  with  him,  I  must  declare 
myself  an  open  enemy.  At  least  he  fled.  Dinner  was 
done  ;  this  was  the  time  when  I  had  bound  myself  to 
break  my  silence  ;  no  more  delays  were  to  be  allowed, 
no  more  excuses  received.  I  went  upstairs  after  some 
tobacco,  which  I  felt  to  be  a  mere  necessity  in  the 
circumstances;  and  when  I  returned,  the  man  was 
gone.     The  waiter  told  me  he  had  left  the  house. 

The  rain  still  plumped,  like  a  vast  shower-bath, 
over  the  deserted  town.     The  night  was  dark  and 


306  THE   WRECKER. 

windless :  the  street  lit  glimmeringly  from  end  to  end, 
lamps,  house  windows,  and  the  reflections  in  the  rain- 
pools  all  contributing.  From  a  public-house  on  the 
other  side  of  the  way,  I  heard  a  harp  twang  and  a 
doleful  voice  upraised  in  the  "  Larboard  Watch,"  "  The 
Anchor's  Weighed,"  and  other  naval  ditties.  Where 
had  my  shyster  wandered  ?  In  all  likelihood  to  that 
lyrical  tavern ;  there  was  no  choice  of  diversion ;  in 
comparison  with  Stallbridge-Minster  on  a  rainy  night, 
a  sheepfold  would  seem  gay. 

Again  I  passed  in  review  the  points  of  my  inter- 
view, on  which  I  was  always  constantly  resolved  so 
long  as  my  adversary  was  absent  from  the  scene,  and 
again  they  struck  me  as  inadequate.  From  this 
dispiriting  exercise  I  turned  to  the  native  amusements 
of  the  inn  coffee-room,  and  studied  for  some  time  the 
mezzotints  that  frowned  upon  the  wall.     The  railway 

fuide,  after  showing  me  how  soon  I  could  leave  Stall- 
ridge  and  how  quickly  I  could  reach  Paris,  failed  to 
hold  my  attention.  An  illustrated  advertisement 
book  of  hotels  brought  me  very  low  indeed;  and 
when  it  came  to  the  local  paper,  I  could  have  wept. 
At  this  point,  I  found  a  passing  solace  in  a  copy  of 
Whitaker's  Almanack,  and  obtained  in  fifty  minutes 
more  information  than  I  have  yet  been  able  to  use. 

Then  a  fresh  apprehension  assailed  me.  Suppose 
Bellairs  had  given  me  the  slip  ?  Suppose  he  was  now 
rolling  on  the  road  to  Stallbridge-le-Carthew  ?  or  per- 
haps there  already  and  laying  before  a  very  white- 
faced  auditor  his  threats  and  propositions  ?  A  hasty 
ferson  might  have  instantly  pursued.  Whatever  I  am, 
am  not  hasty,  and  I  was  aware  of  three  grave 
objections.  In  the  first  place,  I  could  not  be  certain 
that  Bellairs  was  gone.  In  the  second,  I  had  no  taste 
whatever  for  a  long  drive  at  that  hour  of  the  night 
and  in  so  merciless  a  rain.  In  the  third,  I  had  no 
idea  how  I  was  to  get  admitted  if  I  went,  and  no  idea 
what  I  should  say  if  I  got  admitted.     "  In  short,"  I 


TRAVELS  WITH  A  SHYSTER.  307 

concluded,  "  the  whole  situation  is  the  merest  farce. 
You  have  thrust  yourself  in  where  you  had  no 
business  and  have  no  power.  You  would  be  quite  as 
useful  in  San  Francisco;  far  happier  in  Pans;  and 
being  (by  the  wrath  of  God)  at  Stallbridge-Minster, 
the  wisest  thing  is  to  go  quietly  to  bed."  On  the  way 
to  rny  room,  I  saw  (in  a  flash)  that  which  I  ought  to 
have' done  long  ago,  and  which  it  was  now  too  late  to 
think  of — written  to  Carthew,  I  mean,  detailing  the 
facts  and  describing  Bellairs,  letting  him  defend 
himself  if  he  were  able,  and  giving  him  time  to 
flee  if  he  were  not.  It  was  the  last  blow  to  my 
self-respect;  and  I  flung  myself  into  my  bed  with 
contumely. 

I  have  no  guess  what  hour  it  was  when  I  was 
wakened  by  the  entrance  of  Bellairs  carrying  a 
candle.  He  had  been  drunk,  for  he  was  bedaubed 
with  mire  from  head  to  foot ;  but  he  was  now  sober 
and  under  the  empire  of  some  violent  emotion  which 
he  controlled  with  difficulty.  He  trembled  visibly; 
and  more  than  once,  during  the  interview  which  fol- 
lowed, tears  suddenly  and  silently  overflowedhis  cheeks. 

"  I  have  to  ask  your  pardon,  sir,  for  this  untimely 
visit,"  he  said.  "I  make  no  defence,  I  have  no 
excuse,  I  have  disgraced  myself,  I  am  properly 
punished;  I  appear  before  you  to  appeal  to  you  in 
mercy  for  the  most  trifling  aid  or,  God  help  me! 
I  fear  I  may  go  mad." 

"  What  on  earth  is  wrong  ? "  I  asked. 

"I  have  been  robbed,"  he  said.  "I  have  no 
defence  to  offer;  it  was  of  my  own  fault,  I  am 
properly  punished." 

"  But,  gracious  goodness  me!"  I  cried,  " who  is 
there  to  rob  you  in  a  nlace  like  this  ? " 

"  I  can  form  no  opinion,"  he  replied.  "  I  have  no 
idea.  I  was  lying  in  a  ditch  inanimate.  This  is  a 
degrading  confession,  sir;  I  can  only  say  in  self- 
defence  that  perhaps  (in  your  good-nature)  you  have 
u  2 


308  THE   WRECKER. 

made  yourself  partly  responsible  for  my  shame.     I 
am  not  used  to  these  rich  wines." 

In  what  form  was  your  money?     Perhaps  it 


may  be  traced,"  I  suggested. 
"It  was  in  English 


sovereigns.  I  changed  it  in 
New  York ;  I  got  very  good  exchange,"  he  said,  and 
then,  with  a  momentary  outbreak,  "God  in  heaven, 
how  I  toiled  for  it ! "  he  cried. 

"That  doesn't  sound  encouraging,"  said  I.  "It 
may  be  worth  while  to  apply  to  the  police,  but  it 
doesn't  sound  a  hopeful  case." 

"And  I  have  no  hope  in  that  direction,"  said 
Bellairs.  "My  hopes,  Mr.  Dodd,  are  all  fixed  upon 
yourself.  I  could  easily  convince  you  that  a  small, 
a  very  small  advance,  would  be  in  the  nature  of  an 
excellent  investment;  but  I  prefer  to  rely  on  your 
humanity.  Our  acquaintance  began  on  an  unusual 
footing ;  but  you  have  now  known  me  for  some  time, 
we  have  been  some  time — I  was  going  to  say  we  had 
been  almost  intimate.  Under  the  impulse  of  in- 
stinctive sympathy,  I  have  bared  my  heart  to  you, 
Mr.  Dodd,  as  I  have  done  to  few;  and  I  believe — I 
trust — I  may  say  that  I  feel  sure — you  heard  me  with 
a  kindly  sentiment.  This  is  what  brings  me  to  your 
side  at  this  most  inexcusable  hour.  But  put  yourself 
in  my  place — how  could  I  sleep — how  could  I  dream 
of  sleeping,  in  this  blackness  of  remorse  and  despair  ? 
There  was  a  friend  at  hand — so  I  ventured  to  think 
of  you ;  it  was  instinctive :  I  fled  to  your  side,  as  the 
drowning  man  clutches  at  a  straw.  These  expres- 
sions are  not  exaggerated,  they  scarcely  serve  to 
express  the  agitation  of  my  mind.  And  think,  sir, 
how  easily  you  can  restore  me  to  hope  and,  I  may 
say,  to  reason.  A  small  loan,  which  shall  be  faith- 
fully repaid.  Five  hundred  dollars  would  be  ample." 
He  watched  me  with  burning  eyes.  "  Four  hundred 
would  do.  I  believe,  Mr.  Dodd,  that  I  could  manage 
with  economy  on  two." 


TRAVELS   WITH   A   SHYSTER.  309 

"And  then  you  will  repay  me  out  of  Carthew's 
pocket  ? "  I  said.  "  I  am  much  obliged.  But  I  will 
tell  you  what  I  will  do:  I  will  see  you  on  board  a 
steamer,  pay  your  fare  through  to  San  Francisco, 
and  place  fifty  dollars  in  the  purser's  hands,  to  be 
given  you  in  New  York." 

He  drank  in  my  words;  his  face  represented  an 
ecstasy  of  cunning  thought.  I  could  read  there, 
plain  as  print,  that  he  but  thought  to  overreach  me. 

"  And  what  am  I  to  do  in  'Frisco  ? "  he  asked.  "  I 
am   disbarred,   I    have   no   trade,   I   cannot   dig,   to 

beg "  he  paused  in  the  citation.     "  And  you  know 

that  I  am  not  alone,"  he  added,  "  others  depend  upon 
me." 

"I  will  write  to  Pinkerton,"  I  returned.  "I  feel 
sure  he  can  help  you  to  some  employment,  and  in 
the  meantime,  and  for  three  months  after  your 
arrival,  he  shall  pay  to  yourself  personally,  on  the 
first  and  the  fifteenth,  twenty-five  dollars." 

"  Mr.  Dodd,  I  scarce  believe  you  can  be  serious  in 
this  offer,"  he  replied.  "Have  you  forgotten  the 
circumstances  of  the  case?  Do  you  know  these 
people  are  the  magnates  of  the  section  ?  They  were 
spoken  of  to-night  in  the  saloon ;  their  wealth  must 
amount  to  many  millions  of  dollars  in  real  estate 
alone ;  their  house  is  one  of  the  sights  of  the  locality, 
and  you  offer  me  a  bribe  of  a  few  hundred ! " 

"I  offer  you  no  bribe,  Mr.  Bellairs,  I  give  you 
alms,"  I  returned.  "  I  will  do  nothing  to  forward  you 
in  your  hateful  business;  yet  I  would  not  willingly 
have  you  starve." 

"Give  me  a  hundred  dollars  then,  and  be  done 
with  it,"  he  cried. 

"  I  will  do  what  I  have  said,  and  neither  more  nor 
less,"  said  I. 

"  Take  care,"  he  cried.  "  You  are  playing  a  fool's 
game ;  you  are  making  an  enemy  for  nothing ;  you 
will  gain  nothing  by  this,  I  warn  you  of  it ! "     And 


310  THE   WRECKER. 

then  with  one  of  his  changes,  "  Seventy  dollars — only 
seventy — in  mercy,  Mr.  Dodd,  in  common  charity. 
Don't  dash  the  bowl  from  my  lips !  You  have  a 
kindly  heart.  Think  of  my  position,  remember  my 
unhappy  wife." 

"  You  should  have  thought  of  her  before,"  said  I. 
"  I  have  made  my  offer,  and  I  wish  to  sleep." 

"  Is  that  your  last  word,  sir  ?  Pray  consider ;  pray 
weigh  both  sides:  my  misery,  your  own  danger.  I 
warn  you — I  beseech  you ;  measure  it  well  before  you 
answer/''  so  he  half  pleaded,  half  threatened  me,  with 
clasped  hands. 

"  My  first  word,  and  my  last,"  said  I. 

The  change  upon  the  man  was  shocking.  In  the 
storm  of  anger  that  now  shook  him,  the  lees  of  his 
intoxication  rose  again  to  the  surface ;  his  face  was 
deformed,  his  words  insane  with  fury  ;  his  pantomime, 
excessive  in  itself,  was  distorted  by  an  access  of  St. 
Vitus. 

"  You  will  perhaps  allow  me  to  inform  you  of  my 
cold  opinion,"  he  began,  apparently  self-possessed, 
truly  bursting  with  rage :  "  when  I  am  a  glorified 
saint,  I  shall  see  you  howling  for  a  drop  of  water 
and  exult  to  see  you.  That  your  last  word !  Take 
it  in  your  face,  you  spy,  you  false  friend,  you  fat 
hypocrite !  I  defy,  I  defy  and  despise  and  spit  upon 
you  !  I'm  on  the  trail,  his  trail  or  yours,  I  smell 
blood,  I'll  follow  it  on  my  hands  and  knees,  I'll  starve 
to  follow  it !  I'll  hunt  you  down,  hunt  you,  hunt  you 
down  !  If  I  were  strong,  I'd  tear  your  vitals  out,  here 
in  this  room — tear  them  out — I'd  tear  them  out! 
Damn,  damn,  damn  !  You  think  me  weak  ?  I  can 
bite,  bite  to  the  blood,  bite  you,  hurt  you,  disgrace 
you  .  .  .  " 

He  was  thus  incoherently  raging  when  the  scene 
was  interrupted  by  the  arrival  of  the  landlord  and  inn 
servants  in  various  degrees  of  deshabille,  and  to  them 
I  gave  my  temporary  lunatic  in  charge. 


STALLBRIDGE-LE-CARTHEW.  311 

"  Take  him  to  his  room,"  I  said,  "  he's  only  drunk." 

These  were  my  words ;  but  I  knew  better.     After 

all  my  study  of  Mr.  Bellairs,  one  discovery  had  been 

reserved  for  the  last  moment — that  of  his  latent  and 

essential  madness. 


CHAPTER    XX. 

STALLBRIDGE-LE-CARTHEW. 

Long  before  I  was  awake,  the  shyster  had  disappeared, 
leaving  his  bill  unpaid.  I  did  not  need  to  inquire 
where  he  was  gone,  I  knew  too  well,  I  knew  there  was 
nothing  left  me  but  to  follow  ;  and  about  ten  in  the 
morning,  set  forth  in  a  gig  for  Stallbridge-le-Carthew. 

The  road,  for  the  first  quarter  of  the  way,  deserts 
the  valley  of  the  river,  and  crosses  the  summit  of  a 
chalk-down,  grazed  over  by  flocks  of  sheep  and 
haunted  by  innumerable  larks.  It  was  a  pleasant 
but  a  vacant  scene,  arousing  but  not  holding  the 
attention;  and  my  mind  returned  to  the  violent 
passage  of  the  night  before.  My  thought  of  the 
man  I  was  pursuing  had  been  greatly  changed.  I 
conceived  of  him,  somewhere  in  front  of  me,  upon  his 
dangerous  errand,  not  to  be  turned  aside,  not  to  be 
stopped,  by  either  fear  or  reason.  I  had  called  him  a 
ferret;  I  conceived  him  now  as  a  mad  dog.  Me- 
thought  he  would  run,  not  walk;  methought,  as  he 
ran,  that  he  would  bark  and  froth  at  the  lips ;  me- 
thought, if  the  great  wall  of  China  were  to  rise  across 
his  path,  he  would  attack  it  with  his  nails. 

Presently  the  road  left  the  down,  returned  by  a 
precipitous  descent  into  the  valley  of  the  Stall,  and 
ran  thenceforward  among  enclosed  fields  and  under 
the  continuous  shade  of  trees.  I  was  told  we  had 
now  entered  on  the  Carthew  property.  By  and  by,  a 
battlemented  wall  appeared   on  the  left  hand,  and  a 


312  THE  WKECKER. 

little  after  I  had  my  first  glimpse  of  the  mansion.  It 
stood  in  a  hollow  of  a  bosky  park,  crowded  to  a  degree 
that  surprised  and  even  displeased  me,  with  huge 
timber  and  dense  shrubberies  of  laurel  and  rhododen- 
dron. Even  from  this  low  station  and  the  thronging 
neighbourhood  of  the  trees,  the  pile  rose  conspicuous 
like  a  cathedral.  Behind,  as  we  continued  to  skirt 
the  park  wall,  I  began  to  make  out  a  straggling  town 
of  offices  which  became  conjoined  to  the  rear  with 
those  of  the  home  farm.  On  the  left  was  an  orna- 
mental water  sailed  in  by  many  swans.  On  the  right 
extended  a  flower  garden,  laid  in  the  old  manner,  and 
at  this  season  of  the  year,  as  brilliant  as  stained  glass. 
The  front  of  the  house  presented  a  facade  of  more 
than  sixty  windows,  surmounted  by  a  formal  pediment 
and  raised  upon  a  terrace.  A  wide  avenue,  part  in 
gravel,  part  in  turf,  and  bordered  by  triple  alleys,  ran 
to  the  great  double  gateways.  It  was  impossible  to 
look  without  surprise  on  a  place  that  had  been  pre- 
pared through  so  many  generations,  had  cost  so  many 
tons  of  minted  gold,  and  was  maintained  in  order  by 
so  great  a  company  of  emulous  servants.  And  yet  of 
these  there  was  no  sign  but  the  perfection  of  their 
work.  The  whole  domain  was  drawn  to  the  line  and 
weeded  like  the  front  plot  of  some  suburban  amateur ; 
and  I  looked  in  vain  for  any  belated  gardener,  and 
listened  in  vain  for  any  sounds  of  labour.  Some 
lowing  of  cattle  and  much  calling  of  birds  alone  dis- 
turbed the  stillness,  and  even  the  little  hamlet,  which 
clustered  at  the  gates,  appeared  to  hold  its  breath  in 
awe  of  its  great  neighbour,  like  a  troop  of  children 
who  should  have  strayed  into  a  king's  anteroom. 

The  Carthew  Arms,  the  small,  but  very  com- 
fortable inn,  was  a  mere  appendage  and  outpost  of 
the  family  whose  name  it  bore.  Engraved  portraits 
of  bygone  Carthews  adorned  the  walls ;  Fielding 
Carthew,  Recorder  of  the  city  of  London;  Major- 
General  John  Carthew  in  uniform,  commanding  some 


STALLBRIDGE-LE-CARTHEW.  313 

military  operations;  the  Right  Honourable  Bailley 
Carthew,  Member  of  Parliament  for  Stallbridge, 
standing  by  a  table  and  brandishing  a  document; 
Singleton  Carthew,  Esquire,  represented  in  the  fore- 

g round  of  a  herd  of  cattle — doubtless  at  the  desire  of 
is  tenantry  who  had  made  him  a  compliment  of 
this  work  of  art;  and  the  Venerable  Archdeacon 
Carthew,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  A.M.,  laying  his  hand  on  the 
head  of  a  little  child  in  a  manner  highly  frigid  and 
ridiculous.  So  far  as  my  memory  serves  me,  there 
were  no  other  pictures  in  this  exclusive  hostelry; 
and  I  was  not  surprised  to  learn  that  the  landlord 
was  an  ex-butler,  the  landlady  an  ex-lady's-maid 
from  the  great  house ;  and  that  the  bar-parlour  was 
a  sort  of  perquisite  of  former  servants. 

To  an  American,  the  sense  of  the  domination  of 
this  family  over  so  considerable  tract  of  earth  was 
even  oppressive ;  and  as  I  considered  their  simple 
annals,  gathered  from  the  legends  of  the  engravings, 
surprise  began  to  mingle  with  my  disgust.  "Mr. 
Recorder"  doubtless  occupies  an  honourable  post; 
but  I  thought  that,  in  the  course  of  so  many  genera- 
tions, one  Carthew  might  have  clambered  higher. 
The  soldier  had  stuck  at  Major-General;  the  church- 
man bloomed  unremarked  in  an  archdeaconate ;  and 
though  the  Right  Honourable  Bailley  seemed  to  have 
sneaked  into  the  Privy  Council,  I  have  still  to  learn 
what  he  did  when  he  had  got  there.  Such  vast 
means,  so  long  a  start,  and  such  a  modest  standard 
of  achievement,  struck  in  me  a  strong  sense  of  the 
dulness  of  that  race. 

I  found  that  to  come  to  the  hamlet  and  not  visit 
the  Hall  would  be  regarded  as  a  slight.  To  feed  the 
swans,  to  see  the  peacocks  and  the  Raphaels — for 
these  commonplace  people  actually  possessed  two 
Raphaels — to  risk  life  and  limb  among  a  famous 
breed  of  cattle  called  the  Carthew  Chillinghams,  and 
to  do  homage  to  the  sire  (still  living)  of  Donibristle, 


314  THE   WRECKER. 

a  renowned  winner  of  the  Oaks:  these,  it  seemed, 
were  the  inevitable  stations  of  the  pilgrimage.  I  was 
not  so  foolish  as  to  resist,  for  I  might  have  need, 
before  I  was  done,  of  general  goodwill  ;  and  two 
pieces  of  news  fell  in  which  changed  my  resignation 
to  alacrity.  It  appeared  in  the  first  place,  that 
Mr.  Norris  was  from  home  "travelling;"  in  the 
second,  that  a  visitor  had  been  before  me,  and 
already  made  the  tour  of  the  Carthew  curiosities. 
I  thought  I  knew  who  this  must  be,  I  was  anxious 
to  learn  what  he  had  done  and  seen ;  and  fortune  so 
far  favoured  me  that  the  under-gardener  singled  out 
to  be  my  guide  had  already  performed  the  same 
function  for  my  predecessor. 

"  Yes,  sir,"  he  said,  "  an  American  gentleman  right 
enough.  At  least,  I  don't  think  he  was  quite  a  gentle- 
man, but  a  very  civil  person." 

The  person,  it  seems,  had  been  civil  enough  to  be 
delighted  with  the  Carthew  Chillinghams,  to  perform 
the  whole  pilgrimage  with  rising  admiration,  and  to 
have  almost  prostrated  himself  before  the  shrine  of 
Donibristle's  sire. 

"  He  told  me,  sir,"  continued  the  gratified  under- 
gardener,  "  that  he  had  often  read  of  the  '  stately  'omes 
of  England,5  but  ours  was  the  first  he  had  the  chance 
to  see.  When  he  came  to  the  'ead  of  the  long  alley, 
he  fetched  his  breath.  'This  is  indeed  a  lordly 
domain  ! '  he  cries.  And  it  was  natural  he  should  be 
interested  in  the  place,  for  it  seems  Mr.  Carthew  had 
been  kind  to  him  in  the  States.  In  fact,  he  seemed 
a  grateful  kind  of  person,  and  wonderful  taken  up 
with  flowers." 

I  heard  this  story  with  amazement.  The  phrases 
quoted  told  their  own  tale ;  they  were  plainly  from  the 
shyster's  mint.  A  few  hours  back  I  had  seen  him  a 
mere  bedlamite  and  fit  for  a  strait  waistcoat ;  he  was 

Eenniless  in  a  strange  country ;  it  was  highly  probable 
e  had  gone  without  breakfast ;  the  absence  of  Norris 


STALLBRIDGE-LE-CARTHEW.  315 

must  have  been  a  crushing  blow ;  the  man  (by  all 
reason)  should  have  been  despairing.  And  now  I 
heard  of  him,  clothed  and  in  his  right  mind,  deliberate, 
insinuating,  admiring  vistas,  smelling  flowers,  and 
talking  like  a  book.  The  strength  of  character  implied 
amazed  and  daunted  me. 

"  This  is  curious,"  I  said  to  the  under-gardener ;  "  I 
have  had  the  pleasure  of  some  acquaintance  with  Mr. 
Carthew  myself ;  and  I  believe  none  of  our  western 
friends  ever  were  in  England.  Who  can  this  person 
be  ?  He  couldn't — no,  that's  impossible,  he  could 
never  have  had  the  impudence.  His  name  was  not 
Bellairs?" 

"  I  didn't  'ear  the  name,  sir.  Do  you  know  any- 
thing against  him  ? "  cried  my  guide. 

"  Well,"  said  I,  "  he  is  certainly  not  the  person 
Carthew  would  like  to  have  here  in  his  absence." 

"  Good  gracious  me ! "  exclaimed  the  gardener. 
"  He  was  so  pleasant  spoken,  too ;  I  thought  he  was 
some  form  of  a  schoolmaster.  Perhaps,  sir,  you  wouldn't 
mind  going  right  up  to  Mr.  Denman  ?  I  recommended 
him  to  Mr.  Denman,  when  he  had  done  the  grounds. 
Mr.  Denman  is  our  butler,  sir,"  he  added. 

The  proposal  was  welcome,  particularly  as  affording 
me  a  graceful  retreat  from  the  neighbourhood  of  the 
Carthew  Chillinghams ;  and,  giving  up  our  projected 
circuit,  we  took  a  short  cut  through  the  shrubbery  and 
across  the  bowling-green  to  the  back  quarters  of  the 
Hall. 

The  bowling-green  was  surrounded  by  a  great 
hedge  of  yew,  and  entered  by  an  archway  in  the  quick. 
As  we  were  issuing  from  this  passage,  my  conductor 
arrested  me. 

"  The  Honourable  Lady  Ann  Carthew,"  he  said,  in 
an  august  whisper.  And  looking  over  his  shoulder  I 
was  aware  of  an  old  lady  with  a  stick,  hobbling  some- 
what briskly  along  the  garden  path.  She  must  have 
been  extremely  handsome  in  her  youth ;   and  even 


316  THE   WRECKER. 

the  limp  with  which  she  walked  could  not  deprive 
her  of  an  unusual  and  almost  menacing  dignity  of 
bearing.  Melancholy  was  impressed  besides  on  every 
feature,  and  her  eyes,  as  she  looked  straight  before 
her,  seemed  to  contemplate  misfortune. 

"  She  seems  sad,"  said  I,  when  she  had  hobbled 
past  and  we  had  resumed  our  walk. 

"She  enjoy  rather  poor  spirits,  sir,"  responded  the 
under-gardener.  "  Mr.  Carthew — the  old  gentleman, 
I  mean — died  less  than  a  year  ago;  Lord  Tillibody, 
her  ladyship's  brother,  two  months  after;  and  then 
there  was  the  sad  business  about  the  young  gentleman. 
Killed  in  the  'unting-field,  sir ;  and  her  ladyship's 
favourite.  The  present  Mr.  Norris  has  never  been  so 
equally." 

"  So  I  have  understood,"  said  I  persistently,  and  (I 
think)  gracefully  pursuing  my  inquiries  and  fortifying 
my  position  as  a  family  friend.  "  Dear,  dear,  how  sad ! 
And  has  this  change — poor  Carthew's  return,  and  all 
— has  this  not  mended  matters  ? " 

"Well,  no,  sir,  not  a  sign  of  it,"  was  the  reply. 
"  Worse,  we  think,  than  ever." 

"  Dear,  dear  !  "  said  I  again. 

"  When  Mr.  Norris  arrived,  she  did  seem  glad  to 
see  him,"  he  pursued,  "  and  we  were  all  pleased,  I'm 
sure ;  for  no  one  knows  the  young  gentleman  but 
what  likes  him.  Ah,  sir,  it  didn't  last  long !  That 
very  night  they  had  a  talk,  and  fell  out  or  something ; 
her  ladyship  took  on  most  painful :  it  was  like  old 
days,  but  worse.  And  the  next  morning  Mr.  Norris 
was  off  again  upon  his  travels.  *  Denman,'  he  said  to 
Mr.  Denman, '  Denman,  I'll  never  come  back,'  he  said, 
and  shook  him  by  the  'and.  I  wouldn't  be  saying  all 
this  to  a  stranger,  sir,"  added  my  informant,  overcome 
with  a  sudden  fear  lest  he  had  gone  too  far. 

He  had  indeed  told  me  much,  and  much  that  was 
unsuspected  by  himself.  On  that  stormy  night  of  his 
return,  Carthew  had  told  his  story ;  the  old  lady  had 


'  A  lady  with  silver  hair,  a  slender  silver  voice,  and   a   stream   of   insignificant 
information  not  to  be  diverted,  led  me  through  the  picture  gallery"  (p.  317). 


STALLBMDGE-LE-CARTHEW.  317 

more  upon  her  mind  than  mere  bereavements ;  and 
among  the  mental  pictures  on  which  she  looked,  as 
she  walked  staring  down  the  path,  was  one  of  Midway- 
Island  and  the  Flying  Scud. 

Mr.  Denman  heard  my  inquiries  with  discomposure, 
but  informed  me  the  shyster  was  already  gone. 

"  Gone  ? "  cried  I.  "  Then  what  can  he  have  come 
for  ?  One  thing  I  can  tell  you,  it  was  not  to  see  the 
house." 

"I  don't  see  it  could  have  been  anything  else," 
replied  the  butler. 

"  You  may  depend  upon  it  it  was,"  said  I.  "  And 
whatever  it  was,  he  has  got  it.  By  the  way,  where  is 
Mr.  Carthew  at  present  ?  I  was  sorry  to  find  he  was 
from  home." 

"He  is  engaged  in  travelling,  sir,"  replied  the 
butler  drily. 

"  Ah,  bravo ! "  cried  I.  "  I  laid  a  trap  for  you 
there,  Mr.  Denman.  Now  I  need  not  ask  you  ;  I  am 
sure  you  did  not  tell  this  prying  stranger." 

"  To  be  sure  not,  sir,"  said  the  butler. 

I  went  through  the  form  of  "  shaking  him  by  the 
'and" — like  Mr.  Norris — not,  however,  with  genuine 
enthusiasm.  For  I  had  failed  ingloriously  to  get  the 
address  for  myself ;  and  I  felt  a  sure  conviction  that 
Bellairs  had  done  better,  or  he  had  still  been  here  and 
still  cultivating  Mr.  Denman. 

I  had  escaped  the  grounds  and  the  cattle ;  I  could 
not  escape  the  house.  A  lady  with  silver  hair,  a 
slender  silver  voice,  and  a  stream  of  insignificant  in- 
formation not  to  be  diverted,  led  me  through  the 
picture  gallery,  the  music-room,  the  great  dining- 
room,  the  long  drawing-room,  the  Indian  room,  the 
theatre,  and  every  corner  (as  I  thought)  of  that  in- 
terminable mansion.  There  was  but  one  place 
reserved,  the  garden-room,  whither  Lady  Ann  had 
now  retired.  I  paused  a  moment  on  the  outside  of 
the  door,  and  smiled  to  myself.     The  situation  was 


318  THE   WRECKER. 

indeed  strange,  and  these  thin  boards  divided  the 
secret  of  the  Flying  Scud. 

All  the  while,  as  I  went  to  and  fro,  I  was 
considering  the  visit  and  departure  of  Bellairs.  That 
he  had  got  the  address,  I  was  quite  certain ;  that  he 
had  not  got  it  by  direct  questioning,  I  was  convinced ; 
some  ingenuity,  some  lucky  accident  had  served  him. 
A  similar  chance,  an  equal  ingenuity,  was  required ; 
or  I  was  left  helpless,  the  ferret  must  run  down  his 
prey,  the  great  oaks  fall,  the  Raphaels  be  scattered, 
the  house  let  to  some  stockbroker  suddenly  made 
rich,  and  the  name  which  now  filled  the  mouths  of 
five  or  six  parishes  dwindle  to  a  memory.  Strange 
that  such  great  matters,  so  old  a  mansion,  a  family  so 
ancient  and  so  dull,  should  come  to  depend  for 
perpetuity  upon  the  intelligence,  the  discretion,  and 
the  cunning  of  a  Latin-Quartier  student!  What 
Bellairs  had  done,  I  must  do  likewise.  Chance  or 
ingenuity,  ingenuity  or  chance — so  I  continued  to  ring 
the  changes  as  I  walked  away  down  the  avenue,  casting 
back  occasional  glances  at  the  red  brick  facade  and 
the  twinkling  windows  of  the  house.  How  was  I  to 
command  chance  ?  where  was  I  to  find  the  ingenuity  ? 

These  reflections  brought  me  to  the  door  of  the 
inn.  And  here,  pursuant  to  my  policy  of  keeping  well 
with  all  men,  I  immediately  smoothed  my  brow,  and 
accepted  (being  the  only  guest  in  the  house)  an  invi- 
tation to  dine  with  the  family  in  the  bar  parlour.  I 
sat  down  accordingly  with  Mr.  Higgs,  the  ex-butler, 
Mrs.  Higgs,  the  ex-lady's-maid,  and  Miss  Agnes  Higgs, 
their  frowsy-headed  little  girl,  the  least  promising  and 
(as  the  event  showed)  the  most  useful  of  the  lot.  The 
talk  ran  endlessly  on  the  great  house  and  the  great 
family ;  the  roast  beef,  the  Yorkshire  pudding,  the 
jam-roll,  and  the  cheddar  cheese  came  and  went,  and 
still  the  stream  flowed  on ;  near  four  generations  of 
Oarthews  were  touched  upon  without  eliciting  one 
point  of  interest ;  and  we  had  killed  Mr.  Henry  in 


STALLBRIDGE-LE-CARTHEW.  319 

"  the  'unting  field,"  with  a  vast  elaboration  of  painful 
circumstance,  and  buried  him  in  the  midst  of  a  whole 
sorrowing  county,  before  I  could  so  much  as  manage 
to  bring  upon  the  stage  my  intimate  friend,  Mr. 
Norris.  At  the  name,  the  ex-butler  grew  diplomatic, 
and   the  ex-lady's-maid   tender.      He  was   the   only 

Eerson  of  the  whole  featureless  series  who  seemed  to 
ave  accomplished  anything  worth  mention ;  and  his 
achievements,  poor  dog,  seemed  to  have  been  confined 
to  going  to  the  devil  and  leaving  some  regrets.  He 
had  been  the  image  of  the  Right  Honourable  Bailley, 
one  of  the  lights  of  that  dim  house,  and  a  career  of 
distinction  had  been  predicted  of  him  in  consequence 
almost  from  the  cradle.  But  before  he  was  out  of  long 
clothes,  the  cloven  foot  began  to  show  ;  he  proved  to 
be  no  Carthew,  developed  a  taste  for  low  pleasures  and 
bad  company,  went  birdsnesting  with  a  stable-boy 
before  he  was  eleven,  and  when  he  was  near  twenty, 
and  might  have  been  expected  to  display  at  least  some 
rudiments  of  the  family  gravity,  rambled  the  county 
over  with  a  knapsack,  making  sketches  and  keeping 
company  in  wayside  inns.  He  had  no  pride  about 
him,  I  was  told  ;  he  would  sit  down  with  any  man ; 
and  it  was  somewhat  woundingly  implied  that  I  was 
indebted  to  this  peculiarity  for  my  own  acquaintance 
with  the  hero.  Unhappily,  Mr.  Norris  was  not  only 
eccentric,  he  was  fast.  His  debts  were  still  remembered 
at  the  University ;  still  more,  it  appeared,  the  highly 
humorous  circumstances  attending  his  expulsion. 
"He  was  always  fond  of  his  jest,"  commented  Mrs.Higgs. 

"  That  he  were  !  "  observed  her  lord. 

But  it  was  after  he  went  into  the  diplomatic 
service  that  the  real  trouble  began. 

"  It  seems,  sir,  that  he  went  the  pace  extraordi- 
nary," said  the  ex-butler,  with  a  solemn  gusto. 

"  His  debts  were  somethink  awful,"  said  the  lady's- 
maid.  "  And  as  nice  a  young  gentleman  all  the  time 
as  you  would  wish  to  see  ! " 


320  THE   WRECKER. 

"  When  word  came  to  Mr.  Carthew's  ears,  the  turn 
up  was  'orrible,"  continued  Mr.  Higgs.  "  I  remember 
it  as  if  it  was  yesterday.  The  bell  was  rung  after  her 
la'ship  was  gone,  which  I  answered  it  myself,  sup- 

Eosing  it  were  the  coffee.  There  was  Mr.  Carthew  on 
is  feet.  '  Tggs,'  he  says,  pointing  with  his  stick,  for 
he  had  a  turn  of  the  gout, '  order  the  dog-cart  in- 
stantly for  this  son  of  mine  which  has  disgraced  his- 
self.'  Mr.  Norris  say  nothink :  he  sit  there  with  his 
'ead  down,  making  belief  to  be  looking  at  a  walnut. 
You  might  have  bowled  me  over  with  a  straw,"  said 
Mr.  Higgs. 

"  Had  he  done  anything  very  bad  ? "  I  asked. 

"  Not  he,  Mr.  Dodsley  !  cried  the  lady — it  was  so 
she  had  conceived  my  name.  "  He  never  did  anythink 
to  all  really  wrong  in  his  poor  life.  The  'ole  affair 
was  a  disgrace.     It  was  all  rank  favouritising." 

"  Mrs.  'Iggs !  Mrs.  'Iggs ! "  cried  the  butler  warn- 
ingly. 

"  Well,  what  do  I  care  ? "  retorted  the  lady,  shaking 
her  ringlets.  "  You  know  it  was  yourself,  Mr.  'Iggs, 
and  so  did  every  member  of  the  staff." 

While  I  was  getting  these  facts  and  opinions,  I  by 
no  means  neglected  the  child.  She  was  not  attrac- 
tive ;  but  fortunately  she  had  reached  the  corrupt 
age  of  seven,  when  half-a-crown  appears  about  as 
large  as  a  saucer  and  is  fully  as  rare  as  the  dodo. 
For  a  shilling  down,  sixpence  in  her  money-box,  and 
an  American  gold  dollar  which  I  happened  to  find  in 
my  pocket,  I  bought  the  creature  soul  and  body. 
She  declared  her  intention  to  accompany  me  to  the 
ends  of  the  earth;  and  had  to  be  chidden  by  her 
sire  for  drawing  comparisons  between  myself  and  her 
Uncle  William,  highly  damaging  to  the  latter. 

Dinner  was  scarce  done,  the  cloth  was  not  yet  re- 
moved, when  Miss  Agnes  must  needs  climb  into  my 
lap  with  her  stamp  album,  a  relic  of  the  generosity  of 
Uncle  William.     There  are  few  things  I  despise  more 


STALLBRIDGE-LE-CARTHEW.  321 

than  old  stamps,  unless  perhaps  it  be  crests ;  for 
cattle  (from  the  Carthew  Chillinghams  down  to  the 
old  gate-keeper's  milk  cow  in  the  lane)  contempt  is 
far  from  being  my  first  sentiment.  But  it  seemed  I 
was  doomed  to  pass  that  day  in  viewing  curiosities, 
and  smothering  a  yawn,  I  devoted  myself  once  more  to 
tread  the  well-known  round.  I  fancy  Uncle  William 
must  have  begun  the  collection  himself  and  tired  of 
it,  for  the  book  (to  my  surprise)  was  quite  respectably 
filled.  There  were  the  varying  shades  of  the  English 
penny,  Russians  with  the  coloured  heart,  old  unde- 
cipherable Thurn-und-Taxis,  obsolete  triangular  Cape 
of  Good  Hopes,  Swan  Rivers  with  the  Swan,  and 
Guianas  with  the  sailing  ship.  Upon  all  these  I 
looked  with  the  eyes  of  a  fish  and  the  spirit  of  a 
sheep  ;  I  think  indeed  I  was  at  times  asleep ;  and  it 
was  probably  in  one  of  these  moments  that  1  capsized 
the  album,  and  there  fell  from  the  end  of  it,  upon  the 
floor,  a  considerable  number  of  what  I  believe  to  be 
called  "  exchanges." 

Here,  against  all  probability,  my  chance  had  come 
to  me ;  for  as  I  gallantly  picked  them  up,  I  was 
struck  with  the  disproportionate  amount  of  five-sous 
French  stamps.  Someone,  I  reasoned,  must  write 
very  regularly  from  France  to  the  neighbourhood  of 
Stailbridge-le-Carthew.  Could  it  be  Norris  ?  On 
one  stamp  I  made  out  an  initial  C ;  upon  a  second 
I  got  as  far  as  C  H ;  beyond  which  point,  the  post- 
mark used  was  in  every  instance  undecipherable. 
C  H,  whenyou  consider  that  about  a  quarter  of  the 
towns  in  France  begin  with  "chateau,"  was  an  in- 
sufficient clue  ;  and  I  promptly  annexed  the  plainest 
of  the  collection  in  order  to  consult  the  post-office. 

The  wretched  infant  took  me  in  the  fact. 

"  Naughty  man,  to  'teal  my  'tamp  !  "  she  cried  ; 
and  when  I  would  have  brazened  it  off'  with  a  denial, 
recovered  and  displayed  the  stolen  article. 

My  position  was  now  highly  false ;  and  I  believe  it 


322  THE  WRECKER. 

was  in  mere  pity  that  Mrs.  Higgs  came  to  my  rescue 
with  a  welcome  proposition.  If  the  gentleman  was 
really  interested  in  stamps,  she  said,  probably  suppos- 
ing me  a  monomaniac  on  the  point,  he  should  see  Mr. 
Denman's  album.  Mr.  Denman  had  been  collecting 
forty  years,  and  his  collection  was  said  to  be  worth  a 
mint  of  money.  "  Agnes,"  she  went  on,  "  if  you  were 
a  kind  little  girl,  you  would  run  over  to  the  'All,  tell 
Mr.  Denman  there's  a  connaisseer  in  the  'ouse,  and 
ask  him  if  one  of  the  young  gentlemen  might  bring 
the  album  down." 

"  I  should  like  to  see  his  exchanges  too,"  I  cried, 
rising  to  the  occasion.  "  I  may  have  some  of  mine  in 
my  pocket-book  and  we  might  trade." 

Half  an  hour  later,  Mr.  Denman  arrived  him- 
self with  a  most  unconscionable  volume  under  his 
arm. 

"Ah,  sir,"  he  cried,  "when  I  'eard  you  was  a 
collector,  I  dropped  all.  It's  a  saying  of  mine,  Mr. 
Dodsley,  that  collecting  stamps  makes  all  collectors 
kin.     It's  a  bond,  sir ;  it  creates  a  bond." 

Upon  the  truth  of  this,  I  cannot  say;  but 
there  is  no  doubt  that  the  attempt  to  pass  your- 
self off  for  a  collector  falsely  creates  a  precarious 
situation. 

"  Ah,  here's  the  second  issue ! "  I  would  say,  after 
consulting  the  legend  at  the  side.  "  The  pink — no,  I 
mean  the  mauve — yes,  that's  the  beauty  of  this  lot. 
Though  of  course,  as  you  say,"  I  would  hasten  to  add, 
"  this  yellow  on  the  thin  paper  is  more  rare." 

Indeed  I  must  certainly  have  been  detected,  had  I 
not  plied  Mr.  Denman  in  self-defence  with  his  favour- 
ite liquor — a  port  so  excellent  that  it  could  never 
have  ripened  in  the  cellar  of  the  Carthew  Arms,  but 
must  have  been  transported,  under  cloud  of  night, 
from  the  neighbouring  vaults  of  the  great  house.  At 
each  threat  of  exposure,  and  in  particular  whenever  I 
was  directly  challenged  for  an  opinion,  I  made  haste 


STALLBRIDGE-LE-CARTHEW.  323 

to  fill  the  butler's  glass,  and  by  the  time  we  had  got 
to  the  exchanges,  he  was  in  a  condition  in  which  no 
stamp  collector  need  be  seriously  feared.  God  forbid 
I  should  hint  that  he  was  drunk ;  he  seemed  incapable 
of  the  necessary  liveliness ;  but  the  man's  eyes  were 
set,  and  so  long  as  he  was  suffered  to  talk 
without  interruption,  he  seemed  careless  of  my  heeding 
him. 

In  Mr.  Denman's  exchanges,  as  in  those  of  little 
Agnes,  the  same  peculiarity  was  to  be  remarked,  an 
undue  preponderance  of  that  despicably  common 
stamp,  the  French  twenty-five  centimes.  And  here 
joining  them  in  stealthy  review,  I  found  the  C  and 
the  CM  ;  then  something  of  an  A  just  following  ;  and 
then  a  terminal  Y.  Here  was  also  the  whole  name 
spelt  out  to  me  ;  it  seemed  familiar,  too ;  and  yet  for 
some  time  I  could  not  bridge  the  imperfection.  Then 
I  came  upon  another  stamp,  in  which  an  L  was  legible 
before  the  Y,  and  in  a  moment  the  word  leaped  up 
complete.  Chailly,  that  was  the  name :  Chailly-en- 
Biere,  the  post  town  of  Barbizon — ah,  there  was  the 
very  place  for  any  man  to  hide  himself — there  was 
the  very  place  for  Mr.  Norris,  who  had  rambled  over 
England  making  sketches — the  very  place  for  Godde- 
daai,  who  had  left  a  palette-knife  on  board  the 
Flying  Scud.  Singular,  indeed,  that  while  I  was  drift- 
ing over  England  with  the  shyster,  the  man  we 
were  in  quest  of  awaited  me  at  my  own  ultimate 
destination. 

Whether  Mr.  Denman  had  shown  his  album  to 
Bellairs,  whether,  indeed,  Bellairs  could  have  caught 
(as  I  did)  this  hint  from  an  obliterated  postmark,  I 
shall  never  know,  and  it  mattered  not.  We  were 
equal  now;  my  task  at  Stallbridge-le-Carthew  was 
accomplished;  my  interest  in  postage-stamps  died 
shamelessly  away;  the  astonished  Denman  was 
bowed  out;  and  ordering  the  horse  to  be  put  in,  I 
plunged  into  the  study  of  the  time-table. 
v  2 


324 
CHAPTER    XXI. 

FACE    TO    FACE. 

I  fell  from  the  skies  on  Barbizon  about  two  o'clock 
of  a  September  afternoon.  It  is  the  dead  hour  of 
the  day ;  all  the  workers  have  gone  painting,  all  the 
idlers  strolling,  in  the  forest  or  the  plain ;  the  winding 
causewayed  street  is  solitary,  and  the  inn  deserted. 
I  was  tne  more  pleased  to  find  one  of  my  old  com- 
panions in  the  dining-room ;  his  town  clothes  marked 
him  for  a  man  in  the  act  of  departure ;  and  indeed 
his  portmanteau  lay  beside  him  on  the  floor. 

"Why,  Stennis,"  I  cried,  "you're  the  last  man  I 
expected  to  find  here." 

"  You  won't  find  me  here  long,"  he  replied.  '  King 
Pandion  he  is  dead;  all  his  friends  are  lapped  in 
lead.  For  men  of  our  antiquity,  the  poor  old  shop 
is  played  out." 

" /  have  had  playmates,  I  have  had  companions" 
I  quoted  in  return.  We  were  both  moved,  I  think, 
to  meet  again  in  this  scene  of  our  old  pleasure  parties 
so  unexpectedly,  after  so  long  an  interval,  and  both 
already  so  much  altered. 

"That  is  the  sentiment,"  he  replied.  "All,  all 
are  gone,  the  old  familiar  faces.  I  have  been  here 
a  week,  and  the  only  living  creature  who  seemed  to 
recollect  me  was  the  Pharaon.  Bar  the  Sirons,  of 
course,  and  the  perennial  Bodmer." 

"  Is  there  no  survivor  ? "  I  inquired. 

"Of  our  geological  epoch?  not  one,"  he  replied. 
"  This  is  the  city  of  Petra  in  Edom." 

"And  what  sort  of  Bedouins  encamp  among  the 
ruins  ? "  I  asked. 

"  Youth,  Dodd,  youth ;  blooming,  conscious  youth," 
he  returned.  "  Such  a  gang,  such  reptiles  !  to  think 
we  were  like  that !  I  wonder  Siron  didn't  sweep  us 
from  his  premises." 


FACE   TO   FACE.  325 

"  Perhaps  we  weren't  so  bad,"  I  suggested. 

"  Don't  let  me  depress  you,"  said  he.  "  We  were 
both  Anglo-Saxons,  anyway,  and  the  only  redeeming 
feature  to-day  is  another." 

The  thought  of  my  quest,  a  moment  driven  out 
by  this  rencounter,  revived  in  my  mind.  "Who  is 
he  ? "  I  cried.     "  Tell  me  about  him." 

"What,  the  Kedeeming  Feature?"  said  he. 
"  Well,  he's  a  very  pleasing  creature,  rather  dim,  and 
dull,  and  genteel,  but  really  pleasing.  He  is  very 
British,  though,  the  artless  Briton !  Perhaps  you'll 
find  him  too  much  so  for  the  transatlantic  nerves. 
Come  to  think  of  it,  on  the  other  hand,  you  ought 
to  get  on  famously,  he  is  an  admirer  of  your  great 
republic  in  one  of  its  (excuse  me)  shoddiest  features ; 
he  takes  in  and  sedulously  reads  a  lot  of  American 
papers.     I  warned  you  he  was  artless." 

"  What  papers  are  they  ? "  cried  I. 

"  San  Francisco  papers,"  said  he.  "  He  gets  a  bale 
of  them  about  twice  a  week,  and  studies  them  like 
the  Bible.  That's  one  of  his  weaknesses ;  another  is 
to  be  incalculably  rich.  He  has  taken  Masson's 
old  studio — you  remember? — at  the  corner  of  the 
road ;  he  has  furnished  it  regardless  of  expense,  and 
lives  there  surrounded  with  vins  fins  and  works  of 
art.  When  the  youth  of  to-day  goes  up  to  the 
Caverne  des  Brigands  to  make  punch — they  do  all 
that  we  did,  like  some  nauseous  form  of  ape  (I  never 
appreciated  before  what  a  creature  of  tradition  man- 
kind is) — this  Madden  follows  with  a  basket  of  cham- 
pagne. I  told  them  he  was  wrong,  and  the  punch 
tasted  better ;  but  he  thought  the  boys  liked  the  style 
of  the  thing,  and  I  suppose  they  do.  He  is  a  very 
good-natured  soul,  and  a  very  melancholy,  and  rather 
a  helpless.  Oh,  and  he  has  a  third  weakness  which 
I  came  near  forgetting.  He  paints.  He  has  never 
been  taught,  and  he's  past  thirty,  and  he  paints." 

"How?"  I  asked. 


326  THE  WRECKER. 

"  Bather  well,  I  think,"  was  the  reply.  "  That's  the 
annoying  part  of  it.  See  for  yourself.  That  panel  is 
his." 

I  stepped  toward  the  window.  It  was  the  old 
familiar  room,  with  the  tables  set  like  a  Greek  P,  and 
the  sideboard,  and  the  aphasiac  piano,  and  the  panels 
on  the  wall.  There  were  Komeo  and  Juliet,  Antwerp 
from  the  river,  Enfield's  ships  among  the  ice,  and  the 
huge  huntsman  winding  a  huge  horn ;  mingled  with 
them  a  few  new  ones,  the  thin  crop  of  a  succeeding 
generation,  not  better  and  not  worse.  It  was  to  one 
of  these  I  was  directed — a  thing  coarsely  and  wittily 
handled,  mostly  with  the  palette-knife,  and  the  colour 
in  some  parts  excellent,  the  canvas  in  others  loaded 
with  mere  clay.  But  it  was  the  scene  and  not  the  art 
or  want  of  it  that  riveted  my  notice.  The  foreground 
was  of  sand  and  scrub  and  wreckwood  ;  in  the  middle 
distance  the  many-hued  and  smooth  expanse  of  a 
lagoon,  enclosed  by  a  wall  of  breakers ;  beyond  a  blue 
strip  of  ocean.  The  sky  was  cloudless,  and  I  could  hear 
the  surf  break.  For  the  place  was  Midway  Island ; 
the  point  of  view  the  very  spot  at  which  I  had  landed 
with  the  captain  for  the  first  time,  and  from  which  I  had 
re-embarked  the  day  before  we  sailed.  I  had  already 
been  gazing  for  some  seconds  before  my  attention  was 
arrested  by  a  blur  on  the  sea-line,  and,  stooping  to 
look,  I  recognised  the  smoke  of  a  steamer. 

"  Yes,"  said  I,  turning  toward  Stennis,  "  it  has 
merit.     What  is  it  ? " 

"  A  fancy  piece,"  he  returned.  "  That's  what 
pleased  me.  So  few  of  the  fellows  in  our  time  had  the 
imagination  of  a  garden  snail." 

"  Madden,  you  say  his  name  is  ?  "  I  pursued. 

"  Madden,"  he  repeated. 

"  Has  he  travelled  much  ? "  I  inquired. 

"  I  haven't  an  idea.  He  is  one  of  the  least  auto- 
biographical of  men.  He  sits,  and  smokes,  and  giggles, 
and  sometimes  he  makes  small  jests;  but  his  contri- 


FACE  TO   FACE.  327 

butions  to  the  art  of  pleasing  are  generally  confined 
to  looking  like  a  gentleman  and  being  one.  No,"  added 
Stennis,  "  he'll  never  suit  you,  Dodd ;  you  like  more 
head  on  your  liquor.  You'll  find  him  as  dull  as  ditch 
water." 

"Has  he  big  blonde  side  whiskers  like  tusks,"  I 
asked,  mindful  of  the  photograph  of  Goddedaal. 

"  Certainly  not ;  why  should  he  ?  "  was  the  reply. 

"  Does  he  write  many  letters  ? "  I  continued. 

"  God  knows,"  said  Stennis.  "  What  is  wrong  with 
you  ?    I  never  saw  you  taken  this  way  before." 

"  The  fact  is  I  think  I  know  the  man,"  said  I.  "  I 
think  I'm  looking  for  him.  I  rather  think  he  is  my 
long-lost  brother." 

"  Not  twins,  anyway,"  returned  Stennis. 

And  about  the  same  time,  a  carriage  driving  up  to 
the  inn,  he  took  his  departure. 

I  walked  till  dinner-time  in  the  plain,  keeping  to 
the  fields ;  for  I  instinctively  shunned  observation, 
and  was  racked  by  many  incongruous  and  impatient 
feelings.  Here  was  a  man  whose  voice  I  had  once 
heard,  whose  doings  had  filled  so  many  days  of  my  life 
with  interest  and  distress,  whom  I  had  lain  awake  to 
dream  of  like  a  lover,  and  now  his  hand  was  on  the 
door ;  now  we  were  to  meet ;  now  I  was  to  learn  at 
last  the  mystery  of  the  substituted  crew.  The  sun 
went  down  over  the  plain  of  the  Angelus,  and  as  the 
hour  approached  my  courage  lessened.  I  let  the 
laggard  peasants  pass  me  on  the  homeward  way.  The 
lamps  were  lit,  the  soup  was  served,  the  company  were 
all  at  table,  and  the  room  sounded  already  with  mul- 
titudinous talk  before  I  entered.  I  took  my  place  and 
found  I  was  opposite  to  Madden.  Over  six  feet  high 
and  well  set  up,  the  hair  dark  and  streaked  with 
silver,  the  eyes  dark  and  kindly,  the  mouth  very  good- 
natured,  the  teeth  admirable ;  linen  and  hands  exqui- 
site ;  English  clothes,  an  English  voice,  an  English 
bearing — the  man  stood  out  conspicuous  from  the 


328  THE   WRECKER. 

company.  Yet  he  had  made  himself  at  home,  and 
seemed  to  enjoy  a  certain  quiet  popularity  among  the 
noisy  boys  of  the  table  d'hdte.  He  had  an  odd  silver 
giggle  of  a  laugh  that  sounded  nervous  even  when  he 
was  really  amused,  and  accorded  ill  with  his  big 
stature  and  manly  melancholy  face.  This  laugh  fell 
in  continually  all  through  dinner  like  the  note  of  the 
triangle  in  a  piece  of  modern  French  music ;  and  he 
had  at  times  a  kind  of  pleasantry,  rather  of  manner 
than  of  words,  with  which  he  started  or  maintained 
the  merriment.  He  took  his  share  in  these  diversions, 
not  so  much  like  a  man  in  high  spirits,  but  like  one  of 
an  approved  good-nature,  habitually  self-forgetful, 
accustomed  to  please  and  to  follow  others.  I  have  re- 
marked in  old  soldiers  much  the  same  smiling  sadness 
and  sociable  self-effacement. 

I  feared  to  look  at  him,  lest  my  glances  should 
betray  my  deep  excitement,  and  chance  served  me 
so  well  that  the  soup  was  scarce  removed  before  we 
were  naturally  introduced.  My  first  sip  of  Chateau 
Siron,  a  vintage  from  which  I  had  been  long  es- 
tranged, startled  me  into  speech. 

"  Oh,  this'll  never  do  ! "  I  cried,  in  English. 

"  Dreadful  stuff,  isn't  it  ? "  said  Madden,  in  the 
same  language.  "Do  let  me  ask  you  to  share  my 
bottle.  They  call  it  Chambertin,  which  it  isn't ;  but 
it's  fairly  palatable,  and  there's  nothing  in  this  house 
that  a  man  can  drink  at  all." 

I  accepted;  anything  would  do  that*  paved  the 
way  to  better  knowledge. 

"Your  name  is  Madden,  I  think,"  said  I.  "My 
old  friend  Stennis  told  me  about  you  when  I  came." 

"  Yes,  I  am  sorry  he  went ;  I  feel  such  a  Grand- 
father William,  alone  among  all  these  lads,"  he  replied. 

"  My  name  is  Dodd,"  I  resumed. 

"  Yes,"  said  he,  "  so  Madame  Siron  told  me." 

"Dodd,  of  San  Francisco,"  I  continued.  "Late 
of  Pinkerton  and  Dodd." 


FACE   TO   FACE.  329 

"  Montana  Block,  I  think  ?  "  said  he. 

"  The  same/'  said  I. 

Neither  of  us  looked  at  the  other;  but  I  could 
see  his  hand  deliberately  making  bread  pills. 

"  That's  a  nice  thing  of  yours,"  I  pursued,  "  that 
paneL  The  foreground  is  a  little  clayey,  perhaps, 
but  the  lagoon  is  excellent." 

"  You  ought  to  know,"  said  he. 

"  Yes,"  returned  I,  "  I'm  rather  a  good  judge  of— 
that  panel." 

There  was  a  considerable  pause. 

"  You  know  a  man  by  the  name  of  Bellairs,  don't 
you  ? "  he  resumed. 

"  Ah ! "  cried  I,  "  you  have  heard  from  Doctor 
Urquart  ? " 

"  This  very  morning,"  he  replied. 

"Well,  there  is  no  hurry  about  Bellairs,"  said  I. 
"  It's  rather  a  long  story  and  rather  a  silly  one.  But 
I  think  we  have  a  good  deal  to  tell  each  other,  and, 
perhaps  we  had  better  wait  till  we  are  more  alone." 

"  I  think  so,"  said  he.  "  Not  that  any  of  these 
fellows  know  English,  but  we'll  be  more  comfortable 
over  at  my  place.     Your  health,  Dodd." 

And  we  took  wine  together  across  the  table. 

Thus  had  this  singular  introduction  passed  un- 
perceived  in  the  midst  of  more  than  thirty  persons, 
art  students,  ladies  in  dressing-gowns  and  covered 
with  rice  powder,  six  foot  of  Siron  whisking  dishes 
over  our  head,  and  his  noisy  sons  clattering  in  and 
out  with  fresh  relays. 

"One  question  more,"  said  I.  "Did  you  recog- 
nise my  voice  ? " 

"  Your  voice  ? "  he  repeated.  "  How  should  I  ?  I 
had  never  heard  it — we  have  never  met." 

"And  yet,  we  have  been  in  conversation  before 
now,"  said  I,  "  and  I  asked  you  a  question  which  you 
never  answered,  and  which  I  have  since  had  many 
thousand  better  reasons  for  putting  to  myself" 


330  THE   WRECKER. 

He  turned  suddenly  white.  "  Good  God ! "  he 
cried,  "  are  you  the  man  in  the  telephone  ? " 

I  nodded. 

"Well,  well!"  said  he.  "It  would  take  a  good 
deal  of  magnanimity  to  forgive  you  that.  What 
nights  I  have  passed!  That  little  whisper  has 
whistled  in  my  ear  ever  since,  like  the  wind  in  a 
keyhole.  Who  could  it  be  ?  What  could  it  mean  ? 
I  suppose  I  have  had  more  real,  solid  misery  out 
of  that.  .  .  ."  He  paused,  and  looked  troubled. 
"Though  I  had  more  to  bother  me,  or  ought  to 
have,"  he  added,  and  slowly  emptied  his  glass. 

"  It  seems  we  were  born  to  drive  each  other  crazy 
with  conundrums,"  said  I.  "I  have  often  thought 
my  head  would  split." 

Carthew  burst  into  his  foolish  laugh.  "  And  yet 
neither  you  nor  I  had  the  worst  of  the  puzzle,"  he 
cried.     "  There  were  others  deeper  in." 

"  And  who  were  they  ? "  I  asked. 

"  The  underwriters,"  said  he. 

"  Why,  to  be  sure,"  cried  I.  "  I  never  thought  of 
that.     What  could  they  make  of  it  ? " 

"  Nothing,"  replied  Carthew.     "  It  couldn't  be  ex- 

Elained.  They  were  a  crowd  of  small  dealers  at 
loyd's  who  took  it  up  in  syndicate ;  one  of  them  has 
a  carriage  now ;  and  people  say  he  is  a  deuce  of  a 
deep  fellow,  and  has  the  makings  of  a  great  financier. 
Another  furnished  a  small  villa  on  the  profits.  But 
they're  all  hopelessly  muddled  ;  and  when  they  meet 
each  other,  they  don't  know  where  to  look,  like  the 
Augurs." 

Dinner  was  no  sooner  at  an  end,  than  he  carried 
me  across  the  road  to  Masson's  old  studio.  It  was 
strangely  changed.  On  the  walls  were  tapestry,  a  few 
good  etchings,  and  some  amazing  pictures — a  Rous- 
seau, a  Corot,  a  really  superb  old  Crome,  a  Whistler, 
and  a  piece  which  my  host  claimed  (and  I  believe)  to 
be  a  Titian.     The  room  was  furnished  with  comfort- 


THE   REMITTANCE   MAN.  331 

able  English  smoking-room  chairs,  some  American 
rockers,  and  an  elaborate  business  table ;  spirits  and 
soda-water  (with  the  mark  of  Schweppe,  no  less) 
stood  ready  on  a  butler's  tray,  and  in  one  corner, 
behind  a  half-drawn  curtain,  I  spied  a  camp-bed  and 
a  capacious  tub.  Such  a  room  in  Barbizon  astonished 
the  beholder,  like  the  glories  of  the  cave  of  Monte  Cristo. 

"  Now,"  said  he,  "  we  are  quiet.  Sit  down,  if  you 
don't  mind,  and  tell  me  your  story  all  through." 

I  did  as  he  asked,  beginning  with  the  day  when 
Jim  showed  me  the  passage  in  the  Daily  Occidental, 
and  winding  up  with  the  stamp  album  and  the 
Chailly  postmark.  It  was  a  long  business;  and 
Carthew  made  it  longer,  for  he  was  insatiable  of 
details ;  and  it  had  struck  midnight  on  the  old 
eight-day  clock  in  the  corner,  before  I  had  made  an  end. 

"  And  now,"  said  he,  "  turn  about :  I  must  tell  you 
my  side,  much  as  I  hate  it.  Mine  is  a  beastly  story. 
You'll  wonder  how  I  can  sleep.  I've  told  it  once 
before,  Mr.  Dodd." 

"To  Lady  Ann?"  I  asked. 

"  As  you  suppose,"  he  answered  ;  "  and  to  say  the 
truth,  I  had  sworn  never  to  tell  it  again.  Only,  you 
seem  somehow  entitled  to  the  thing ;  you  have  paid 
dear  enough,  God  knows :  and  God  knows  I  hope  you 
may  like  it,  now  you've  got  it ! " 

With  that  he  began  his  yarn.  A  new  day  had 
dawned,  the  cocks  crew  in  the  village  and  the  early 
woodmen  were  afoot,  when  he  concluded. 


CHAPTER    XXII. 

THE     REMITTANCE     MAN. 


Singleton  Carthew,  the  father  of  Norris,  was  heavily 
built  and  feebly  vitalised,  sensitive  as  a  musician,  dull 
as  a  sheep,  and  conscientious  as  a  dog.     He  took  his 


332  THE   WRECKER. 

position  with  seriousness,  even  with  pomp ;  the  long 
rooms,  the  silent  servants,  seemed  in  his  blue  eyes  like 
the  observances  of  some  religion  of  which  he  was  the 
mortal  god.  He  had  the  stupid  man's  intolerance  of 
stupidity  in  others ;  the  vain  man's  exquisite  alarm 
lest  it  should  be  detected  in  himself.  And  on  both 
sides  Norris  irritated  and  offended  him.  He  thought 
his  son  a  fool,  and  he  suspected  that  his  son  returned 
the  compliment  with  interest.  The  history  of  their 
relation  was  simple ;  they  met  seldom,  they  quarrelled 
often.  To  his  mother,  a  fiery,  pungent,  practical 
woman,  already  disappointed  in  her  husband  and 
her  elder  son,  Norris  was  only  a  fresh  disappoint- 
ment. 

Yet  the  lad's  faults  were  no  great  matter ;  he  was 
diffident,  placable,  passive,  unambitious,  unenter- 
prising ;  life  did  not  much  attract  him ;  he  watched 
it  like  a  curious  and  dull  exhibition,  not  much 
amused,  and  not  tempted  in  the  least  to  take  a  part. 
He  beheld  his  father  ponderously  grinding  sand,  his 
mother  fierily  breaking  butterflies,  his  brother  labour- 
ing at  the  pleasures  of  the  Hawbuck  with  the  ardour 
of  a  soldier  in  a  doubtful  battle ;  and  the  vital  sceptic 
looked  on  wondering.  They  were  careful  and  troubled 
about  many  things ;  for  him  there  seemed  not  even 
one  thing  needful.  He  was  born  disenchanted,  the 
world's  promises  awoke  no  echo  in  his  bosom,  the 
world's  activities  and  the  world's  distinctions  seemed 
to  him  equally  without  a  base  in  fact.  He  liked  the 
open  air :  he  liked  comradeship,  it  mattered  not  with 
whom,  his  comrades  were  only  a  remedy  for  solitude. 
And  he  had  a  taste  for  nainted  art.  An  array  of  fine 
pictures  looked  upon  his  childhood  and  from  these 
roods  of  jewelled  canvas  he  received  an  indelible  im- 
pression. The  gallery  at  Stallbridge  betokened  gener- 
ations of  picture  lovers  ;  Norris  was  perhaps  the  first 
of  his  race  to  hold  the  pencil.  The  taste  was  genuine, 
it  grew  and  strengthened  with  his  growth ;  and  yet 


THE   REMITTANCE   MAN.  333 

he  suffered  it  to  be  suppressed  with  scarce  a  struggle. 
Time  came  for  him  to  go  to  Oxford,  and  he  resisted 
faintly.  He  was  stupid,  he  said  ;  it  was  no  good  to 
put  him  through  the  mill ;  he  wished  to  be  a  painter. 
The  words  fell  on  his  father  like  a  thunderbolt,  and 
Norris  made  haste  to  give  way.  "It  didn't  really 
matter,  don't  you  know  ?  "  said  he.  "  And  it  seemed 
an  awful  shame  to  vex  the  old  boy." 

To  Oxford  he  went  obediently,  hopelessly  ;  and  at 
Oxford  became  the  hero  of  a  certain  circle.  He  was 
active  and  adroit ;  when  he  was  in  the  humour,  he 
excelled  in  many  snorts ;  and  his  singular  melancholy 
detachment  gave  him  a  place  apart.  He  set  a  fashion 
in  his  clique.  Envious  undergraduates  sought  to 
parody  his  unaffected  lack  of  zeal  and  fear ;  it  was  a 
kind  of  new  Byronism  more  composed  and  dignified. 
"  Nothing  really  mattered ;  "  among  other  things,  this 
formula  embraced  the  dons ;  and  though  he  always 
meant  to  be  civil,  the  effect  on  the  college  authorities 
was  one  of  startling  rudeness.  His  indifference  cut 
like  insolence ;  and  in  some  outbreak  of  his  constitu- 
tional levity  (the  complement  of  his  melancholy)  he 
was  "  sent  down  "  in  the  middle  of  the  second  year. 

The  event  was  new  in  the  annals  of  the  Carthews, 
and  Singleton  was  prepared  to  make  the  most  of 
it.  It  had  been  long  his  practice  to  prophesy  for  his 
second  son  a  career  of  ruin  and  disgrace.  There  is  an 
advantage  in  this  artless  parental  habit.  Doubtless 
the  father  is  interested  in  his  son  ;  but  doubtless  also 
the  prophet  grows  to  be  interested  in  his  prophecies. 
If  the  one  goes  wrong,  the  others  come  true.  Old 
Carthew  drew  from  this  source  esoteric  consolations ; 
he  dwelt  at  length  on  his  own  foresight ;  he  produced 
variations  hitherto  unheard  from  the  old  theme  "  I 
told  you  so,"  coupled  his  son's  name  with  the  gallows 
and  the  hulks,  and  spoke  of  his  small  handful  of 
college  debts  as  though  he  must  raise  money  on  a 
mortgage  to  discharge  them. 


334  THE   WRECKER. 

"  I  don't  think  that  is  fair,  sir,"  said  Norris ;  "  I 
lived  at  college  exactly  as  you  told  me.  I  am  sorry  I 
was  sent  down,  and  you  have  a  perfect  right  to  blame 
me  for  that ;  but  you  have  no  right  to  pitch  into  me 
about  these  debts." 

The  effect  upon  a  stupid  man  not  unjustly  incensed 
need  scarcely  be  described.  For  a  while  Singleton 
raved. 

"  111  tell  you  what,  father,"  said  Norris  at  last,  "  I 
don't  think  this  is  going  to  do.  I  think  you  had 
better  let  me  take  to  painting.  It's  the  only  thing  I 
take  a  spark  of  interest  in.  I  shall  never  be  steady  as 
long  as  I'm  at  anything  else." 

"  When  you  stand  here,  sir,  to  the  neck  in  disgrace," 
said  the  father,  "  I  should  have  hoped  you  would  have 
had  more  good  taste  than  to  repeat  this  levity." 

The  hint  was  taken ;  the  levity  was  never  more 
obtruded  on  the  father's  notice,  and  Norris  was  in- 
exorably launched  unon  a  backward  voyage.  He  went 
abroad  to  study  foreign  languages,  which  he  learned, 
at  a  very  expensive  rate ;  and  a  fresh  crop  of  debts 
fell  soon  to  be  paid,  with  similar  lamentations,  which 
were  in  this  case  perfectly  justified,  and  to  which 
Norris  paid  no  regard.  He  had  been  unfairly  treated 
over  the  Oxford  affair ;  and  with  a  spice  of  malice  very 
surprising  in  one  so  placable,  and  an  obstinacy  remark- 
able in  one  so  weak,  refused  from  that  day  forward  to 
exercise  the  least  captaincy  on  his  expenses.  He 
wasted  what  he  would;  he  allowed  his  servants  to 
despoil  him  at  their  pleasure  ;  he  sowed  insolvency ; 
ana  when  the  crop  was  ripe,  notified  his  father  with 
exasperating  calm.  His  own  capital  was  put  in  his 
hands,  he  was  planted  in  the  diplomatic  service,  and 
told  he  must  depend  upon  himself. 

He  did  so  till  he  was  twenty-five  ;  by  which  time 
he  had  spent  his  money,  laid  in  a  handsome  choice  of 
debts,  and  acquired  (like  so  many  other  melancholic 
and  uninterested  persons)  a  habit  of  gambling.     An 


THE   REMITTANCE   MAN.  335 

Austrian  colonel — the  same  who  afterwards  hanged 
himself  at  Monte  Carlo — gave  him  a  lesson  which 
lasted  two-and-twenty  hours,  and  left  him  wrecked 
and  helpless.  Old  Singleton  once  more  repurchased 
the  honour  of  his  name,  this  time  at  a  fancy  figure ; 
and  Norris  was  set  afloat  again  on  stern  conditions. 
An  allowance  of  three  hundred  pounds  in  the  year 
was  to  be  paid  to  him  quarterly  by  a  lawyer  in  Sydney, 
New  South  Wales.  He  was  not  to  write.  Should  he 
fail  on  any  quarter-day  to  be  in  Sydney  he  was  to  be 
held  for  dead,  and  the  allowance  tacitly  withdrawn. 
Should  he  return  to  Europe  an  advertisement  publicly 
disowning  him  was  to  appear  in  every  paper  of  repute. 

It  was  one  of  his  most  annoying  features  as  a  son 
that  he  was  always  polite,  always  just,  and  in  whatever 
whirlwind  of  domestic  anger  always  calm.  He  expected 
trouble ;  when  trouble  came  he  was  unmoved ;  he 
might  have  said  with  Singleton,  "  /  told  you  so :  "  he 
was  content  with  thinking,  "  Just  as  I  expected."  On 
the  fall  of  these  last  thunderbolts  he  bore  himself  like 
a  person  only  distantly  interested  in  the  event, 
pocketed  the  money  and  the  reproaches,  obeyed  orders 
punctually ;  took  ship  and  came  to  Sydney.  Some 
men  are  still  lads  at  twenty-five ;  and  so  it  was  with 
Norris.  Eighteen  days  after  he  landed  his  quarter's 
allowance  was  all  gone,  and  with  the  light-hearted 
hopefulness  of  strangers  in  what  is  called  a  new 
country  he  began  to  besiege  offices  and  apply  for  all 
manner  of  incongruous  situations.  Everywhere,  and 
last  of  all  from  his  lodgings,  he  was  bowed  out ;  and 
found  himself  reduced,  in  a  very  elegant  suit  of 
summer  tweeds,  to  herd  and  camp  with  the  degraded 
outcasts  of  the  city. 

In  this  strait  he  had  recourse  to  the  lawyer  who 
paid  him  his  allowance. 

"  Try  to  remember  that  my  time  is  valuable,  Mr. 
Carthew,"  said  the  lawyer.  "  It  is  quite  unnecessary 
you  should  enlarge  on  the  peculiar  position  in  which 


336  THE   WRECKER. 

you  stand.  Remittance  men,  as  we  call  them  here, 
are  not  so  rare  in  my  experience  ;  and  in  such  cases  I 
act  upon  a  system.  I  make  you  a  present  of  a 
sovereign,  here  it  is.  Every  day  you  choose  to  call 
my  clerk  will  advance  you  a  shilling ;  on  Saturday, 
since  my  office  is  closed  on  Sunday,  he  will  advance 
you  half-a-crown.  My  conditions  are  these.  That 
you  do  not  come  to  me,  but  to  my  clerk  ;  that  you  do 
not  come  here  the  worse  of  liquor ;  and  you  go  away 
the  moment  you  are  paid  and  have  signed  a  receipt. 
I  wish  you  a  good-morning." 

"  I  have  to  thank  you,  I  suppose,"  said  Carthew. 
"  My  position  is  so  wretched  that  I  cannot  even  refuse 
this  starvation  allowance." 

"  Starvation !  "  said  the  lawyer  smiling.  "  No  man 
will  starve  here  on  a  shilling  a  day.  I  had  on  my  hands 
another  young  gentleman  who  remained  continuously 
intoxicated  for  six  years  on  the  same  allowance."  And 
he  once  more  busied  himself  with  his  papers. 

In  the  time  that  followed  the  image  of  the  smiling 
lawyer  haunted  Carthew's  memory.  "  That  three 
minutes'  talk  was  all  the  education  I  ever  had  worth 
talking  of,"  says  he.  "It  was  all  life  in  a  nutshell. 
Confound  it,"  I  thought,  "have  I  got  to  the  point  of 
envying  that  ancient  fossil  ? " 

Every  morning  for  the  next  two  or  three  weeks  the 
stroke  of  ten  found  Norris,  unkempt  and  haggard,  at 
the  lawyer's  door.  The  long  day  and  longer  night  he 
spent  in  the  Domain,  now  on  a  bench,  now  on  the 
grass  under  a  Norfolk  Island  pine,  the  companion  of 
perhaps  the  lowest  class  on  earth,  the  Larrikins  of 
Sydney.  Morning  after  morning,  the  dawn  behind 
the  lighthouse  recalled  him  from  slumber;  and  he 
would  stand  and  gaze  upon  the  changing  east,  the 
fading  lenses,  the  smokeless  city,  and  the  many- 
armed  and  many-masted  harbour,  growing  slowly 
clear  under  his  eyes.  His  bed-fellows  (so  to  call 
them)  were  less  active;  they  lay  sprawled  upon  the 


THE   REMITTANCE   MAN.  33f 

grass  and  benches,  the  dingy  men,  the  frowsy  women, 
prolonging  their  late  repose ;  and  Carthew  wandered 
among  the  sleeping  bodies  alone,  and  cursed  the 
incurable  stupidity  of  his  behaviour.  Day  brought 
a  new  society  of  nursery-maids  and  children,  and 
fresh-dressed  and  (I  am  sorry  to  say)  tight-laced 
maidens,  and  gay  people  in  rich  traps ;  upon  the 
skirts  of  which  Carthew  and  "  the  other  black- 
guards " — his  own  bitter  phrase — skulked,  and  chewed 
grass,  and  looked  on.  Day  passed,  the  light  died, 
the  green  and  leafy  precinct  sparkled  with  lamps  or 
lay  in  shadow,  and  the  round  of  the  night  began  again 
— the  loitering  women,  the  lurking  men,  the  sudden 
outburst  of  screams,  the  sound  of  flying  feet.  "  You 
mayn't  believe  it,"  says  Carthew,  "  but  I  got  to  that 
pitch  that  I  didn't  care  a  hang.  I  have  been  wakened 
out  of  my  sleep  to  hear  a  woman  screaming,  and  I 
have  only  turned  upon  my  other  side.  Yes,  it's  a 
queer  place,  where  the  dowagers  and  the  kids  walk  all 
day,  and  at  night  you  can  hear  people  bawling  for 
help  as  if  it  was  the  Forest  of  Bondy,  with  the  lights 
of  a  great  town  all  round,  and  parties  spinning  through 
in  cabs  from  Government  House  and  dinner  with  my 
lord ! " 

It  was  Norris's  diversion,  having  none  other,  to 
scrape  acquaintance,  where,  how,  and  with  whom  he 
could.  Many  a  long  dull  talk  he  held  upon  the 
benches  or  the  grass ;  many  a  strange  waif  he  came 
to  know;  many  strange  things  he  heard,  and  saw 
some  that  were  abominable.  It  was  to  one  of  these 
last  that  he  owed  his  deliverance  from  the  Domain. 
For  some  time  the  rain  had  been  merciless ;  one  night 
after  another  he  had  been  obliged  to  squander  four- 
pence  on  a  bed  and  reduce  his  board  to  the  remaining 
eightpence:  and  he  sat  one  morning  near  the  Mac- 
quarne  Street  entrance,  hungry,  for  he  had  gone 
without  breakfast,  and  wet,  as  he  had  already  been 
for   several   days,  when   the   cries   of  an   animal  in 


338  THE   WRECKER, 

distress  attracted  his  attention,  Some  fifty  yards 
away,  in  the  extreme  angle  of  the  grass,  a  party  of  the 
chronically  unemployed  had  got  hold  of  a  dog,  whom 
they  were  torturing  in  a  manner  not  to  be  described. 
The  heart  of  Norns,  which  had  grown  indifferent  to 
the  cries  of  human  anger  or  distress,  woke  at  the 
appeal  of  the  dumb  creature.  He  ran  amongst  the 
Larrikins,  scattered  them,  rescued  the  dog,  and  stood 
at  bay.  They  were  six  in  number,  shambling  gallows- 
birds  ;  but  for  once  the  proverb  was  right,  cruelty  was 
coupled  with  cowardice,  and  the  wretches  cursed  him 
and  made  off.  It  chanced  this  act  of  prowess  had  not 
passed  unwitnessed.  On  a  bench  near  by  there  was 
seated  a  shopkeeper's  assistant  out  of  employ,  a 
diminutive,  cheerful,  red-headed  creature  by  the 
name  of  Hemstead.  He  was  the  last  man  to  have 
interfered  himself,  for  his  discretion  more  than 
equalled  his  valour :  but  he  made  haste  to  con- 
gratulate Carthew,  and  to  warn  him  he  might  not 
always  be  so  fortunate. 

"They're   a  dyngerous   lot  of  people   about  this 

Eark.  My  word  !  it  doesn't  do  to  ply  with  them  ! " 
e  observed,  in  that  rycy  Austrylian  English,  which 
(as  it  has  received  the  imprimatur  of  Mr.  Froude)  we 
should  all  make  haste  to  imitate. 

"  Why,  I'm  one  of  that  lot  myself,"  returned  Car- 
thew. 

Hemstead  laughed  and  remarked  that  he  knew  a 
gentleman  when  he  saw  one. 

"  For  all  that,  I  am  simply  one  of  the  unemployed," 
said  Carthew,  seating  himself  beside  his  new  ac- 
quaintance, as  he  had  sat  (since  this  experience 
began)  beside  so  many  dozen  others. 

"  I'm  out  of  a  plyce  myself,"  said  Hemstead. 

"You  beat  me  all  the  way  and  back,"  says 
Carthew.  "  My  trouble  is  that  I  have  never  been  in 
one." 

"  I  suppose  you've  no  tryde  ?  "  asked  Hemstead. 


THE   REMITTANCE   MAN.  339 

"  I  know  how  to  spend  money,"  replied  Carthew, 
"and  I  really  do  know  something  of  horses  and 
something  of  the  sea.  But  the  unions  head  me 
off;  if  it  weren't  for  them,  I  might  have  had  a  dozen 
berths." 

"  My  word ! "  cried  the  sympathetic  listener. 
"Ever  try  the  mounted  police?"  he  inquired. 

"I  did,  and  was  bowled  out,"  was  the  reply; 
"  couldn't  pass  the  doctors." 

"  Well,  what  do  you  think  of  the  ryleways,  then  ? " 
asked  Hemstead. 

"What  do  you  think  of  them,  if  you  come  to 
that  ?  "  asked  Carthew. 

"  Oh,  /  don't  think  of  them ;  I  don't  go  in  for 
manual  labour,"  said  the  little  man  proudly.  "  But  if 
a  man  don't  mind  that,  he's  pretty  sure  of  a  job 
there." 

"  By  George,  you  tell  me  where  to  go  ! "  cried 
Carthew,  rising. 

The  heavy  rains  continued,  the  country  was 
already  overrun  with  floods  ;  the  railway  system  daily 
required  more  hands,  daily  the  superintendent  adver- 
tised ;  but  "  the  unemployed  "  preferred  the  resources 
of  charity  and  rapine,  and  a  navvy,  even  an  amateur 
navvy,  commanded  money  in  the  market.  The  same 
night,  after  a  tedious  journey,  and  a  change  of  trains 
to  pass  a  landslip,  Norris  found  himself  in  a  muddy 
cutting  behind  South  Clifton,  attacking  his  first  shift 
of  manual  labour. 

For  weeks  the  rain  scarce  relented.  The  whole 
front  of  the  mountain  slipped  seaward  from  above, 
avalanches  of  clay,  rock,  and  uprooted  forest  spewed 
over  the  cliffs  and  fell  upon  the  beach  or  in  the 
breakers.  Houses  were  carried  bodily  away  and  smashed 
like  nuts ;  others  were  menaced  and  deserted,  the  door 
locked,  the  chimney  cold,  the  dwellers  fled  elsewhere 
for  safety.  Night  and  day  the  fire  blazed  in  the  en- 
campment ;  night  and  day  hot  coffee  was  served  to  the 
w  2 


340  THE   WRECKER, 

overdriven  toilers  in  the  shift ;  night  and  day  the 
engineer  of  the  section  made  his  round  with  words  of 
encouragement,  hearty  and  rough  and  well  suited  to 
his  men.  Night  and  day,  too,  the  telegraph  clicked 
with  disastrous  news  and  anxious  inquiry.  Along  the 
terraced  line  of  rail,  rare  trains  came  creeping  and 
signalling  ;  and  paused  at  the  threatened  corner,  like 
living  thmgs  conscious  of  peril.  The  commandant  of 
the  post  would  hastily  review  his  labours,  make  (with 
a  dry  throat)  the  signal  to  advance ;  and  the  whole 
squad  line  the  way  and  look  on  in  a  choking  silence, 
or  burst  into  a  brief  cheer  as  the  train  cleared  the 
point  of  danger  and  shot  on,  perhaps  through  the  thin 
sunshine  between  squalls,  perhaps  with  blinking  lamps 
into  the  gathering,  rainy  twilight. 

One  such  scene  Car  the  w  will  remember  till  he  dies. 
It  blew  great  guns  from  the  seaward ;  a  huge  surf 
bombarded,  five  hundred  feet  below  him,  the#steep 
mountain's  foot;  close  in  was  a  vessel  in  distress, 
firing  shots  from  a  fowling-piece,  if  any  help  might 
come.  So  he  saw  and  heard  her  the  moment  before 
the  train  appeared  and  paused,  throwing  up  a  Baby- 
lonian tower  of  smoke  into  the  rain  and  oppressing 
men's  hearts  with  the  scream  of  her  whistle.  The 
engineer  was  there  himself ;  he  paled  as  he  made  the 
signal :  the  engine  came  at  a  foot's  pace ;  but  the 
whole  bulk  of  mountain  shook  and  seemed  to  nod 
seaward,  and  the  watching  navvies  instinctively 
clutched  at  shrubs  and  trees :  vain  precautions,  vain 
as  the  shots  from  the  poor  sailors.  Once  again  fear 
was  disappointed ;  the  train  passed  unscathed ;  and 
Norris,  drawing  a  long  breath,  remembered  the  labour- 
ing ship,  and  glanced  below.     She  was  gone. 

So  the  days  and  the  nights  passed :  Homeric  labour 
in  Homeric  circumstance.  Carthew  was  sick  with 
sleeplessness  and  coffee ;  his  hands,  softened  by  the 
wet,  were  cut  to  ribbons ;  yet  he  enjoyed  a  peace  of 
mind  and  health  of  body  hitherto  unknown.     Plenty 


THE   REMITTANCE   MAN.  841 

of  open  air,  plenty  of  physical  exertion,  a  continual 
instancy  of  toil,  here  was  what  had  been  hitherto 
lacking  in  that  misdirected  life,  and  the  true  cure  of 
vital  scepticism.  To  get  the  train  through,  there  was 
the  recurrent  problem ;  no  time  remained  to  ask  if  it 
were  necessary.  Carthew,  the  idler,  the  spendthrift, 
the  drifting  dilettante,  was  soon  remarked,  praised,  and 
advanced.  The  engineer  swore  by  him  and  pointed 
him  out  for  an  example.  "  I've  a  new  chum,  up  here," 
Norris  overheard  him  saying,  "  a  young  swell  He's 
worth  any  two  in  the  squad."  The  words  fell  on  the 
ears  of  the  discarded  son  like  music  ;  and  from  that 
moment,  he  not  only  found  an  interest,  he  took  a 
pride,  in  his  plebeian  tasks. 

The  press  of  work  was  still  at  its  highest  when 
quarter-day  approached.  Norris  was  now  raised  to  a 
position  of  some  trust ;  at  his  discretion,  trains  were 
stopped  or  forwarded  at  the  dangerous  cornice  near 
North  Clifton ;  and  he  found  in  this  responsibility 
both  terror  and  delight.  The  thought  of  the  seventy- 
five  pounds  that  would  soon  await  him  at  the  lawyer's, 
and  of  his  own  obligation  to  be  present  every  quarter- 
day  in  Sydney,  filled  him  for  a  little  with  divided 
councils.  Then  he  made  up  his  mind,  walked  in  a 
slack  moment  to  the  inn  at  Clifton,  ordered  a  sheet 
of  paper  and  a  bottle  of  beer,  and  wrote,  explaining 
that  he  held  a  good  appointment  which  he  would  lose 
if  he  came  to  Sydney,  and  asking  the  lawyer  to  accept 
this  letter  as  an  evidence  of  his  presence  m  the  colony 
and  retain  the  money  till  next  quarter-day.  The 
answer  came  in  course  of  post,  and  was  not  merely 
favourable  but  cordial.  "  Although  what  you  propose 
is  contrary  to  the  terms  of  my  instructions,"  it  ran, 
"  I  willingly  accept  the  responsibility  of  granting  your 
request.  I  should  say  I  am  agreeably  disappointed  in 
your  behaviour.  My  experience  has  not  led  me  to 
found  much  expectations  on  gentlemen  in  your 
position." 


342  THE   WRECKER. 

The  rains  abated,  and  the  temporary  labour  was 
discharged ;  not  Norris,  to  whom  the  engineer  clung 
as  to  found  money ;  not  Norris,  who  found  himself  a 
ganger  on  the  line  in  the  regular  staff  of  navvies.  His 
camp  was  pitched  in  a  grey  wilderness  of  rock  and 
forest,  far  from  any  house ;  as  he  sat  with  his  mates 
about  the  evening  fire,  the  trains  passing  on  the  track 
were  their  next,  and  indeed,  their  only  neighbours, 
except  the  wild  things  of  the  wood.  Lovely  weather, 
light  and  monotonous  employment,  long  hours  of 
somnolent  camp-fire  talk,  long  sleepless  nights,  when 
he  reviewed  his  foolish  and  fruitless  career  as  he  rose 
and  walked  in  the  moonlit  forest,  an  occasional  paper 
of  which  he  would  read  all,  the  advertisements  with  as 
much  relish  as  the  text ;  such  was  the  tenor  of  an 
existence  which  soon  began  to  weary  and  harass  him. 
He  lacked  and  regretted  the  fatigue,  the  furious  hurry, 
the  suspense,  the  fires,  the  midnight  coffee,  the  rude 
and  mud-bespattered  poetry  of  the  first  toilful  weeks. 
In  the  quietness  of  his  new  surroundings,  a  voice 
summoned  him  from  this  exorbital  part  of  life,  and 
about  the  middle  of  October  he  threw  up  his  situation 
and  bade  farewell  to  the  camp  of  tents  and  the  shoulder 
of  Bald  Mountain. 

Clad  in  his  rough  clothes,  with  a  bundle  on  his 
shoulder  and  his  accumulated  wages  in  his  pocket, 
he  entered  Sydney  for  the  second  time,  and  walked 
with  pleasure  and  some  bewilderment  in  the  cheerful 
streets,  like  a  man  landed  from  a  voyage.  The  sight 
of  the  people  led  him  on.  He  forgot  his  necessary 
errands,  he  forgot  to  eat.  He  wandered  in  moving 
multitudes  like  a  stick  upon  a  river.  Last  he  came  to 
the  Domain  and  strolled  there,  and  remembered  his 
shame  and  sufferings,  and  looked  with  poignant 
curiosity  at  his  successors.  Hemstead,  not  much 
shabbier  and  no  less  cheerful  than  before,  he  recognised 
and  addressed  like  an  old  family  friend. 

"That  was  a  good  turn  you   did   me,"  said   he. 


£  co 


II 


THE   REMITTANCE   MAN.  343 

"  That  railway  was  the  making  of  me.     I  hope  you've 
had  luck  yourself." 

"  My  word,  no  ! "  replied  the  little  man.  "  I  just 
sit  here  and  read  the  Dead  Bird.  It's  the  depression 
in  tryde,  you  see.  There's  no  positions  goin'  that  a 
man  like  me  would  care  to  look  at."  And  he  showed 
Norris  his  certificates  and  written  characters,  one 
from  a  grocer  in  Wooloomooloo,  one  from  an  iron- 
monger, and  a  third  from  a  billiard  saloon.  "Yes," 
he  said,  "I  tried  bein'  a  billiard  marker.  It's  no 
account ;  these  lyte  hours  are  no  use  for  a  man's 
health:  I  won't  be  no  man's  slyve,"  he  added 
firmly. 

On  the  principle  that  he  who  is  too  proud  to  be  a 
slave  is  usually  not  too  modest  to  become  a  pensioner, 
Carthew  gave  him  half  a  sovereign,  and  departed, 
being  suddenly  struck  with  hunger,  in  the  direction 
of  the  Paris  House.  When  he  came  to  that  quarter 
of  the  city,  the  barristers  were  trotting  in  the  streets 
in  wig  and  gown,  and  he  stood  to  observe  them  with 
his  bundle  on  his  shoulder,  and  his  mind  full  of  curious 
recollections  of  the  past. 

"  By  George ! "  cried  a  voice,  "  it's  Mr.  Carthew !  " 

And  turning  about,  he  found  himself  face  to  face 
with  a  handsome  sunburnt  youth,  somewhat  fatted, 
arrayed  in  the  finest  of  fine  raiment,  and  sporting 
about  a  sovereign's  worth  of  flowers  in  his  buttonhole. 
Norris  had  met  him  during  his  first  days  in  Sydney 
at  a  farewell  supper ;  had  even  escorted  him  on  board 
a  schooner  full  of  cockroaches  and  black-boy  sailors, 
in  which  he  was  bound  for  six  months  among  the 
islands;  and  had  kept  him  ever  since  in  entertained 
remembrance.  Tom  Hadden  (known  to  the  bulk  of 
Sydney  folk  as  I'ommy)  was  heir  to  a  considerable 
property,  which  a  prophetic  father  had  placed  in  the 
hands  of  rigorous  trustees.  The  income  supported 
Mr.  Hadden  in  splendour  for  about  three  months  out 
of  twelve ;  the  rest  of  the  year  he  passed  in  retreat 


344  THE   WRECKER. 

among  the  islands.  He  was  now  about  a  week 
returned  from  his  eclipse,  pervading  Sydney  in 
hansom  cabs  and  airing  the  first  bloom  of  six  new 
suits  of  clothes ;  and  yet  the  unaffected  creature  hailed 
Carthew  in  his  working  jeans  and  with  the  damning 
bundle  on  his  shoulder,  as  he  might  have  claimed 
acquaintance  with  a  duke. 

"  Come  and  have  a  drink  ? "  was  his  cheerful 
cry. 

"I'm  just  going  to  have  lunch  at  the  Paris 
House,"  returned  Carthew.  "It's  a  long  time  since 
I  have  had  a  decent  meal." 

"  Splendid  scheme  !  "  said  Hadden.  "  I've  only 
had  breakfast  half  an  hour  ago;  but  we'll  have  a 
private  room,  and  I'll  manage  to  pick  something. 
It'll  brace  me  up.  I  was  on  an  awful  tear  last  night, 
and  I've  met  no  end  of  fellows  this  morning."  To 
meet  a  fellow,  and  to  stand  and  share  a  drink,  were 
with  Tom  synonymous  terms. 

They  were  soon  at  table  in  the  corner  room 
upstairs,  and  paying  due  attention  to  the  best  fare 
in  Sydney.  The  odd  similarity  of  their  positions 
drew  them  together,  and  they  began  soon  to  exchange 
confidences.  Carthew  related  his  privations  in  the 
Domain,  and  his  toils  as  a  navvy ;  Hadden  gave  his 
experience  as  an  amateur  copra  merchant  in  the 
South  Seas,  and  dreAV  a  humorous  picture  of  life 
in  a  coral  island.  Of  the  two  plans  of  retirement, 
Carthew  gathered  that  his  own  nad  been  vastly  the 
more  lucrative ;  but  Hadden's  trading  outfit  had 
consisted  largely  of  bottled  stout  and  brown  sherry 
for  his  own  consumption. 

"  I  had  champagne,  too,"  said  Hadden,  "  but  1 
kept  that  in  case  of  sickness,  until  I  didn't  seem  to 
be  going  to  be  sick,  and  then  I  opened  a  pint  every 
Sunday.  Used  to  sleep  all  morning,  then  breakfast 
with  my  pint  of  fizz,  and  lie  in  a  hammock  and  read 
Hallam's  'Middle   Ages.'     Have  you  read  that?     I 


THE   REMITTANCE   MAN.  345 

always  take  something  solid  to  the  islands.  There's 
no  doubt  I  did  the  thing  in  rather  a  fine  style ;  but 
if  it  was  gone  about  a  little  cheaper,  or  there  were 
two  of  us  to  bear  the  expense,  it  ought  to  pay 
hand  over  fist.  I've  got  the  influence,  you  see. 
I'm  a  chief  now,  and  sit  in  the  speak-house  under 
my  own  strip  of  roof.  I'd  like  to  see  them  taboo 
me!  They  daren't  try  it;  I've  a  strong  party,  I 
can  tell  you.  Why,  I've  had  upwards  of  thirty 
cowtops  sitting  in  my  front  verandah  eating  tins  of 
salmon." 

"  Cowtops  ? "  asked  Carthew,  "  what  are  they  ? " 

"  That's  what  Hallam  would  call  feudal  retainers," 
explained  Hadden,  not  without  vainglory.  "They're 
My  Followers.  They  belong  to  My  Family.  I  tell 
you,  they  come  expensive,  though ;  you  can't  fill  up 
all  these  retainers  on  tinned  salmon  for  nothing ;  but 
whenever  I  could  get  it,  I  would  give  'em  squid. 
Squid's  good  for  natives,  but  I  don't  care  for  it,  do 
you  ? — or  shark  either.  It's  like  the  working  classes 
at  home.  With  copra  at  the  price  it  is,  they  ought 
to  be  willing  to  bear  their  share  of  the  loss ;  and  so 
I've  told  them  again  and  again.  I  think  it's  a  man's 
duty  to  open  their  minds,  and  I  try  to,  but  you  can't 
get  political  economy  into  them ;  it  doesn't  seem  to 
reach  their  intelligence." 

There  was  an  expression  still  sticking  in  Carthew's 
memory,  and  he  returned  upon  it  with  a  smile. 
"Talking  of  political  economy,"  said  he,  "you  said 
if  there  were  two  of  us  to  bear  the  expense,  the 
profits  would  increase.  How  do  you  make  out 
that  ? " 

"  I'll  show  you  !  I'll  figure  it  out  for  you ! "  cried 
Hadden,  and  with  a  pencil  on  the  back  of  the  bill  of 
fare,  proceeded  to  perform  miracles.  He  was  a  man, 
or  let  us  rather  say  a  lad,  of  unusual  projective 
power.  Give  him  the  faintest  hint  of  any  speculation, 
and  the  figures  flowed  from  him  by  the  page.     A 


346  THE   WRECKER. 

lively  imagination,  and  a  ready,  though  inaccurate 
memory  supplied  his  data ;  he  delivered  himself  with 
an  inimitable  heat  that  made  him  seem  the  picture 
of  pugnacity ;  lavished  contradiction ;  had  a  form  of 
words,  with  or  without  significance,  for  every  form  of 
criticism ;  and  the  looker-on  alternately  smiled  at 
his  simplicity  and  fervour,  or  was  amazed  by  his 
unexpected  shrewdness.  He  was  a  kind  of  Pinkerton 
in  play.  I  have  called  Jim's  the  romance  of  business ; 
this  was  its  Arabian  tale. 

"Have  you  any  idea  what  this  would  cost?"  he 
asked,  pausing  at  an  item. 

"  Not  I,"  said  Carthew. 

"  Ten  pounds  ought  to  be  ample,"  concluded  the 
projector. 

"  Oh,  nonsense  ! "  cried  Carthew.  "  Fifty  at  the 
very  least." 

"You  told  me  yourself  this  moment  you  knew 
nothing  about  it ! "  cried  Tommy.  "  How  can  I  make 
a  calculation,  if  you  blow  hot  and  cold  ?  You  don't 
seem  able  to  be  serious  ! " 

But  he  consented  to  raise  his  estimate  to  twenty ; 
and  a  little  after,  the  calculation  coming  out  with 
a  deficit,  cut  it  down  again  to  five  pounds  ten,  with 
the  remark,  "  I  told  you  it  was  nonsense.  This 
sort  of  thing  has  to  be  done  strictly,  or  where's  the 
use  ? " 

Some  of  these  processes  struck  Carthew  as  un- 
sound ;  and  he  was  at  times  altogether  thrown  out  by 
the  capricious  startings  of  the  prophet's  mind.  These 
plunges  seemed  to  be  gone  into  for  exercise  and  by 
the  way,  like  the  curvets  of  a  willing  horse.  Gradually 
the  thing  took  shape ;  the  glittering  if  baseless  edifice 
arose ;  and  the  hare  still  ran  on  the  mountains,  but 
the  soup  was  already  served  in  silver  plate.  Carthew 
in  a  few  days  could  command  a  hundred  and  fifty 
pounds ;  Hadden  was  ready  with  five  hundred ;  why 
should  they  not  recruit  a  fellow  or  two  more,  charter 


THE   REMITTANCE   MAN.  347 

an  old  ship,  and  go  cruising  on  their  own  account  ? 
Carthew  was  an  experienced  yachtsman ;  Hadden 
professed  himself  able  to  "work  an  approximate 
sight."  Money  was  undoubtedly  to  be  made,  or  why 
should  so  many  vessels  cruise  about  the  islands  ?  they, 
who  worked  their  own  ship,  were  sure  of  a  still  higher 
profit. 

"And  whatever  else  comes  of  it,  you  see,"  cried 
Hadden,  "  we  get  our  keep  for  nothing.  Come,  buy 
some  togs,  that's  the  first  thing  you  have  to  do  of 
course ;  and  then  we'll  take  a  hansom  and  go  to  the 
Currency  Lass." 

"I'm  going  to  stick  to  the  togs  I  have,"  said 
Norris. 

"  Are  you  ? "  cried  Hadden.  "  Well,  I  must  say  I 
admire  you.  You're  a  regular  sage.  It's  what  you 
call  Pythagoreanism,  isn't  it  ?  if  I  haven't  forgotten 
my  philosophy." 

"  Well,  I  call  it  economy,"  returned  Carthew.  "  If 
we  are  going  to  try  this  thing  on,  I  shall  want  every 
sixpence." 

"  You'll  see  if  we're  going  to  try  it ! "  cried  Tommy, 
rising  radiant  from  table.  "  Only,  mark  you,  Carthew, 
it  must  be  all  in  your  name.  I  have  capita],  you  see ; 
but  you're  all  right.  You  can  play  vacuus  viator,  if 
the  thing  goes  wrong." 

"  I  thought  we  had  just  proved  it  was  quite  safe," 
said  Carthew. 

"There's  nothing  safe  in  business,  my  boy," 
replied  the  sage  ;  "  not  even  bookmaking." 

The  public-house  and  tea  garden  called  the 
Currency  Lass  represented  a  moderate  fortune 
gained  by  its  proprietor,  Captain  Bostock,  during  a 
long,  active,  and  occasionally  historic  career  among 
the  islands.  Anywhere  from  Tonga  to  the  Admiralty 
Isles,  he  knew  the  ropes  and  could  lie  in  the  native 
dialect.  He  had  seen  the  end  of  sandal  wood,  the 
end  of  oil,  and  the  beginning  of  copra ;  and  he  was 


348  THE   WRECKER. 

himself  a  commercial  pioneer,  the  first  that  ever 
carried  human  teeth  into  the  Gilberts.  He  was 
tried  for  his  life  in  Fiji  in  Sir  Arthur  Gordon's  time ; 
and  if  ever  he  prayed  at  all,  the  name  of  Sir  Arthur 
was  certainly  not  forgotten.  He  was  speared  in  seven 
places  in  New  Ireland — the  same  time  his  mate  was 
killed — the  famous  "  outrage  on  the  brig  Jolly  Roger;  " 
but  the  treacherous  savages  made  little  by  their 
wickedness,  and  Bostock,  in  spite  of  their  teeth,  got 
seventy-five  head  of  volunteer  labour  on  board,  of 
whom  not  more  than  a  dozen  died  of  injuries.  He 
had  a  hand,  besides,  in  the  amiable  pleasantry  which 
cost  the  life  of  Patteson ;  and  when  the  sham  bishop 
landed,  prayed,  and  gave  his  benediction  to  the 
natives,  Bostock,  arrayed  in  a  female  chemise  out  of 
the  traderoom,  had  stood  at  his  right  hand  and 
boomed  amens.  This,  when  he  was  sure  he  was 
among  good  fellows,  was  his  favourite  yarn.  "Two 
hundred  head  of  labour  for  a  hatful  of  amens,"  he 
used  to  name  the  tale ;  and  its  sequel,  the  death  of 
the  real  bishop,  struck  him  as  a  circumstance  of  extra- 
ordinary humour. 

Many  of  these  details  were  communicated  in  the 
hansom,  to  the  surprise  of  Carthew. 

"  Why  do  we  want  to  visit  this  old  ruffian  ? "  he 
asked. 

"  You  wait  till  you  hear  him,"  replied  Tommy. 
"  That  man  knows  everything." 

On  descending  from  the  hansom  at  the  Currency 
Lass,  Hadden  was  struck  with  the  appearance  of  the 
cabman,  a  gross,  salt-looking  man,  red-faced,  blue- 
eyed,  short-handed  and  short-winded,  perhaps  near- 
ing  forty. 

"  Surely  I  know  you  ? "  said  he.  "  Have  you 
driven  me  before?" 

"  Many's  the  time,  Mr.  Hadden,"  returned  the 
driver.  "  The  last  time  you  was  back  from  the 
islands,  it  was  me  that  drove  you  to  the  races,  sir." 


THE   REMITTANCE   MAN.  349 

"  All  right :  jump  down  and  have  a  drink  then," 
said  Tom,  and  he  turned  and  led  the  way  into  the 
garden. 

Captain  Bostock  met  the  party :  he  was  a  slow, 
sour  old  man,  with  fishy  eyes  ;  greeted  Tommy 
offhand,  and  (as  was  afterwards  remembered)  ex- 
changed winks  with  the  driver. 

"A  bottle  of  beer  for  the  cabman  there  at  that 
table,"  said  Tom.  "  Whatever  you  please  from  shandy- 
gaff to  champagne  at  this  one  here  ;  and  you  sit  down 
with  us.  Let  me  make  you  acquainted  with  my 
friend,  Mr.  Carthew.  I've  come  on  business,  Billy ;  I 
want  to  consult  you  as  a  friend ;  I'm  going  into  the 
island  trade  upon  my  own  account." 

Doubtless  the  captain  was  a  mine  of  counsel,  but 
opportunity  was  denied  him.  He  could  not  venture 
on  a  statement,  he  was  scarce  allowed  to  finish  a 
phrase,  before  Hadden  swept  him  from  the  field  with 
a  volley  of  protest  and  correction.  That  projector,  his 
face  blazing  with  inspiration,  first  laid  before  him  at 
inordinate  length  a  question,  and  as  soon  as  he 
attempted  to  reply,  leaped  at  his  throat,  called  his 
facts  in  question,  derided  his  policy,  and  at  times 
thundered  on  him  from  the  heights  of  moral  indig- 
nation. 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,"  he  said  once.  "  I  am  a 
gentleman,  Mr.  Carthew  here  is  a  gentleman,  and  we 
don't  mean  to  do  that  class  of  business.  Can't  you 
see  who  you  are  talking  to  ?  Can't  you  talk  sense  ? 
Can't  you  give  us  '  a  dead  bird '  for  a  good  trade- 
room." 

"No,  I  don't  suppose  I  can,"  returned  old 
Bostock;  "not  when  I  can't  hear  my  own  voice  for 
two  seconds  together.  It  was  gin  and  guns  I  did 
it  with." 

"  Take  your  gin  and  ^  guns  to  Putney,"  cried 
Hadden.  "  It  was  the  thing  in  your  times,  that's 
right   enough ;  but  you're  old  now,  and  the  game's 


350  THE   WRECKER. 

up.  I'll  tell  you  what's  wanted  nowadays,  Bill 
Bostock,"  said  he ;  and  did,  and  took  ten  minutes 
to  it. 

Carthew  could  not  refrain  from  smiling.  He  began 
to  think  less  seriously  of  the  scheme,  Hadden  appear- 
ing too  irresponsible  a  guide  ;  but  on  the  other  hand, 
he  enjoyed  himself  amazingly.  It  was  far  from  being 
the  same  with  Captain  Bostock. 

"  You  know  a  sight,  don't  you  ? "  remarked  that 
gentleman  bitterly,  when  Tommy  paused. 

"  I  know  a  sight  more  than  you,  if  that's  what  you 
mean,"  retorted  Tom.  "  It  stands  to  reason  I  do. 
You're  not  a  man  of  any  education ;  you've  been  all 
your  life  at  sea  or  in  the  islands ;  you  don't  suppose 
you  can  give  points  to  a  man  like  me." 

"  Here's  your  health,  Tommy,"  returned  Bostock. 
"  You'll  make  an  Al  bake  in  the  New  Hebrides." 

"  That's  what  I  call  talking,"  cried  Tom,  not 
perhaps  grasping   the   spirit  of  this   doubtful   com- 

Eliment.  "  Now  you  give  me  your  attention.  We 
ave  the  money  and  the  enterprise,  and  I  have  the 
experience ;  what  we  want  is  a  cheap,  smart  boat,  a 
good  captain,  and  an  introduction  to  some  house  that 
will  give  us  credit  for  the  trade." 

"  Well,  I'll  tell  you,"  said  Captain  Bostock.  "  I  have 
seen  men  like  you  baked  and  eaten,  and  complained 
of  afterwards.  Some  was  tough,  and  some  hadn't  no 
flaviour,"  he  added  grimly. 

"  What  do  you  mean  by  that,"  cried  Tom. 

"  I  mean  I  don't  care,"  cried  Bostock.  "  It  ain't 
any  of  my  interests.  I  haven't  underwrote  your  life. 
Only  I'm  blest  if  I'm  not  sorry  for  the  cannibal  as 
tries  to  eat  your  head.  And  what  I  recommend  is  a 
cheap,  smart  coffin  and  a  good  undertaker.  See  if 
you  can  find  a  house  to  give  you  credit  for  a  coffin  ! 
Look  at  your  friend  there  ;  he's  got  some  sense ;  he's 
laughing  at  you  so  as  he  can't  stand." 

The  exact  degree  of  ill-feeling  in  Mr.  Bostock's 


THE    11EMITTANCE    MAN.  351 

mind  was  difficult  to  gauge ;  perhaps  there  was 
not  much,  perhaps  he  regarded  his  remarks  as  a 
form  of  courtly  badinage.  But  there  is  little  doubt 
that  Hadden  resented  them.  He  had  even  risen  from 
his  place,  and  the  conference  was  on  the  point  of 
breatdng  up  when  a  new  voice  joined  suddenly  in  the 
conversation. 

The  cabman  sat  with  his  back  turned  upon  the 
party  smoking  a  meerschaum  pipe.  Not  a  word  of 
Tommy's  eloquence  had  missed  him,  and  he  now  faced 
suddenly  about  with  these  amazing  words  : — 

"  Excuse  me,  gentlemen ;  if  you'll  buy  me  the  ship 
I  want  I'll  get  you  the  trade  on  credit." 

There  was  a  pause. 

"  Well,  what  do  you  mean  ?  "  gasped  Tommy. 

"  Better  tell  'em  who  I  am,  Billy,"  said  the 
cabman. 

"  Think  it  safe,  Joe  ? "  inquired  Mr.  Bostock. 

"  I'll  take  my  risk  of  it,"  returned  the  cabman. 

"  Gentlemen,"  said  Bostock,  rising  suddenly,  "  let 
me  make  you  acquainted  with  Captain  Wicks  of  the 
Grace  Darling." 

"  Yes,  gentlemen,  that  is  what  I  am,"  said  the  cab- 
man. "  You  know  I've  been  in  trouble,  and  I  don't 
deny  but  what  I  struck  the  blow,  and  where  was  I  to 
get  evidence  of  my  provocation  ?  So  I  turned  to  and 
took  a  cab,  and  I've  driven  one  for  three  year  now  and 
nobody  the  wiser." 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,"  said  Carthew,  joining  almost 
for  the  first  time,  "  I'm  a  new  chum.  What  was  the 
charge  ? " 

"  Murder,"  said  Captain  Wicks,  "  and  I  don't  deny 
but  what  I  struck  the  blow.  And  there's  no  sense  in 
my  trying  to  deny  I  was  afraid  to  go  to  trial,  or  why 
would  I  be  here  ?  But  it's  a  fact  it  was  flat  mutiny. 
Ask  Billy  here.     He  knows  how  it  was." 

Carthew  breathed  long ;  he  had  a  strange, 
half- pleasurable    sense    of    wading    deeper    in    tho 


352  THE  WRECKER. 

tide  of  life.  "Well,"  said  he,  "you  were  going 
on  to  say  ? " 

"  I  was  going  on  to  say  this,"  said  the  captain 
sturdily.  "  I've  overheard  what  Mr.  Hadden  has  been 
saying,  and  I  think  he  talks  good  sense.  I  like  some 
of  his  ideas  first  chop.  He's  sound  on  traderooms ; 
he's  all  there  on  the  traderoom,  and  I  see  that  he  and 
I  would  pull  together.  Then  you're  both  gentlemen, 
and  I  like  that,"  observed  Captain  Wicks.  "  And  then 
I'll  tell  you  I'm  tired  of  this  cabbing  cruise,  and  I 
want  to  get  to  work  again.  Now,  here's  my  offer.  I've 
a  little  money  I  can  stake  up — all  of  a  hundred  any- 
way. Then  my  old  firm  will  give  me  trade,  and  jump 
at  the  chance ;  they  never  lost  by  me ;  they  know 
what  I'm  worth  as  supercargo.  And,  last  of  all,  you 
want  a  good  captain  to  sail  your  ship  for  you.  Well, 
here  I  am.  I've  sailed  schooners  for  ten  years.  Ask 
Billy  if  I  can  handle  a  schooner." 

"No  man  better,"  said  Billy. 

"And  as  for  my  character  as  a  shipmate,"  con- 
cluded Wicks,  "  go  and  ask  my  old  firm." 

"  But,  look  here ! "  cried  Hadden,  "how  do  you  mean 
to  manage  ?  You  can  whisk  round  in  a  hansom  and  no 
questions  asked ;  but  if  you  try  to  come  on  a  quarter- 
deck, my  boy,  you'll  get  nabbed." 

"  I'll  have  to  keep  back  till  the  last,"  replied  Wicks, 
"  and  take  another  name." 

"  But  how  about  clearing  ?  What  other  name  ? " 
asked  Tommy,  a  little  bewildered. 

"  I  don't  Know  yet,"  returned  the  captain,  with  a 
grin.  "  I'll  see  what  the  name  is  on  my  new  certificate, 
and  that'll  be  good  enough  for  me.  If  I  can't  get  one 
to  buy,  though  I  never  heard  of  such  a  thing,  there's 
old  Kirkup,  he's  turned  some  sort  of  farmer  down 
Bondi  way ;  he'll  hire  me  his." 

"  You  seemed  to  speak  as  if  you  had  a  ship  in 
view,"  said  Carthew. 

"  So  I  have,  too,"  said  Captain  Wicks,  "and  a  beauty. 


THE   REMITTANCE   MAN.  353 

Schooner  yacht  Dream — got  lines  you  never  saw  the 
beat  of,  and  a  witch  to  go.  She  passed  me  once  off 
Thursday  Island,  doing  two  knots  to  my  one  and 
laying  a  point  and  a  half  better,  and  the  Grace  Darling 
was  a  ship  that  I  was  proud  of.  I  took  and  tore  my 
hair.  The  Dream's  been  my  dream  ever  since.  That 
was  in  her  old  days,  when  she  carried  a  blue  ens'n. 
Grant  Sanderson  was  the  party  as  owned  her ;  he  was 
rich  and  mad,  and  got  a  fever  at  last  somewhere  about 
the  Fly  River  and  took  and  died.  The  captain  brought 
the  body  back  to  Sydney  and  paid  off.  Well,  it  turned 
out  Grant  Sanderson  had  left  any  quantity  of  wills 
and  any  quantity  of  widows,  and  no  fellow  could  make 
out  which  was  the  genuine  article.  All  the  widows 
brought  lawsuits  against  all  the  rest,  and  every  will  had 
a  firm  of  lawyers  on  the  quarter-deck  as  long  as  your 
arm.  They  tell  me  it  was  one  of  the  biggest  turns-to 
that  ever  was  seen,  bar  Tichborne ;  the  Lord  Chamber- 
lain himself  was  floored,  and  so  was  the  Lord  Chan- 
cellor, and  all  that  time  the  Dream  lay  rotting  up  by 
Glebe  Point.  Well,  it's  done  now  ;  they've  picked  out 
a  widow  and  a  will — tossed  up  for  it,  as  like  as  not — 
and  the  Dream's  for  sale.  She'll  go  cheap  ;  she's  had 
a  long  turn-to  at  rotting." 

"  What  size  is  she  ?  " 

"  Well,  big  enough.  We  don't  want  her  bigger. 
A  hundred  and  ninety,  going  two  hundred,"  replied 
the  captain.  "  She's  fully  big  for  us  three  ;  it  would 
be  all  the  better  if  we  had  another  hand,  though  it's  a 
pity  too,  when  you  can  pick  up  natives  for  half 
nothing.  Then  we  must  have  a  cook.  I  can  fix  raw 
sailor-men,  but  there's  no  going  to  sea  with  a  new- 
chum  cook.  I  can  lay  hands  on  the  man  we  want  for 
that :  a  Highway  boy,  an  old  shipmate  of  mine,  of  the 
name  of  Amalu.  Cooks  first  rate,  and  it's  always 
better  to  have  a  native  ;  he  ain't  fly,  you  can  turn  him 
to  as  you  please,  and  he  don't  know  enough  to  stand 
out  for  his  rights." 


354  THE   WRECKER. 

From  the  moment  that  Captain  Wicks  joined  in 
the  conversation,  Carthew  recovered  interest  and 
confidence  ;  the  man  (whatever  he  might  have  done) 
was  plainly  good-natured,  and  plainly  capable  ;  if  he 
thought  well  of  the  enterprise,  offered  to  contribute 
money,  brought  experience,  and  could  thus  solve  at  a 
word  the  problem  of  the  trade,  Carthew  was  content 
to  go  ahead.  As  for  Hadden,  his  cup  was  full ;  he  and 
Bostock  forgave  each  other  in  champagne;  toast 
followed  toast ;  it  was  proposed  and  carried  amid 
acclamation  to  change  the  name  of  the  schooner 
(when  she  should  be  hought)  to  the  Currency  Lass ; 
and  the  "  Currency  Lass  Island  Trading  Company " 
was  practically  founded  before  dusk. 

Three  days  later,  Carthew  stood  before  the  lawyer, 
still  in  his  jean  suit,  received  his  hundred  and  fifty 
pounds,  and  proceeded  rather  timidly  to  ask  for  more 
indulgence. 

"  I  have  a  chance  to  get  on  in  the  world,"  he  said. 
"  By  to-morrow  evening  I  expect  to  be  part  owner  of 
a  ship." 

"Dangerous  property,  Mr.  Carthew,"  said  the 
lawyer. 

"  Not  if  the  partners  work  her  themselves  and 
stand  to  go  down  along  with  her,"  was  the  reply. 

"  I  conceive  it  possible  you  might  make  something 
of  it  in  that  way,"  returned  the  other.  "  But  are  you  a 
seaman  ?  I  thought  you  had  been  in  the  diplomatic 
service." 

"  I  am  an  old  yachtsman,"  said  Norris ;  and  I 
must  do  the  best  I  can.  A  fellow  can't  live  in  New 
South  Wales  upon  diplomacy.  But  the  point  I  wish 
to  prepare  you  for  is  this.  It  will  be  impossible  I 
should  present  myself  here  next  quarter-day ;  we 
expect  to  make  a  six  months'  cruise  of  it  among  the 
islands." 

"  Sorry,  Mr.  Carthew :  I  can't  hear  of  that,"  replied 
the  lawyer. 


THE    REMITTANCE    MAN.  355 

"  I  mean  upon  the  same  conditions  as  the  last," 
said  Carthew. 

"  The  conditions  are  exactly  opposite,"  said  the 
lawyer.  "  Last  time  I  had  reason  to  know  you  were 
in  the  colony,  and  even  then  I  stretched  a  point. 
This  time,  by  your  own  confession,  you  are  contem- 
plating a  breach  of  the  agreement ;  and  I  give  you 
warning  if  you  carry  it  out  and  I  receive  proof  of 
it  (for  I  will  agree  to  regard  this  conversation  as 
confidential),  I  shall  have  no  choice  but  to  do  my 
duty.  Be  here  on  quarter-day,  or  your  allowance 
ceases." 

"  This  is  very  hard  and,  I  think,  rather  silly,"  re- 
turned Carthew. 

"  It  is  not  of  my  doing.  I  have  my  instructions," 
said  the  lawyer. 

"  And  you  so  read  these  instructions,  that  I  am  to 
be  prohibited  from  making  an  honest  livelihood  ? " 
asked  Carthew. 

"Let  us  be  frank,"  said  the  lawyer,  "I  find 
nothing  in  these  instructions  about  an  honest  liveli- 
hood. I  have  no  reason  to  suppose  my  clients  care 
anything  about  that.  I  have  reason  to  suppose  only 
one  thing — that  they  mean  you  shall  stay  in  this 
colony,  and  to  guess  another,  Mr.  Carthew.  And  to 
guess  another." 

"  What  do  you  mean  by  that  ? "  asked  Norris. 

"  I  mean  that  I  imagine,  on  very  strong  grounds, 
that  your  family  desire  to  see  no  more  of  you,"  said 
the  lawyer.  "Oh,  they  may  be  very  wrong;  but 
that  is  the  impression  conveyed,  that  is  what  I 
suppose  I  am  paid  to  bring  about,  and  I  have  no 
choice  but  to  try  and  earn  my  hire." 

"  I  would  scorn  to  deceive  you,"  said  Norris,  with 
a  strong  flush,  "you  have  guessed  rightly.  My 
family  refuse  to  see  me;  but  I  am  not  going  to 
England,  I  am  going  to  the  islands.  How  does  that 
affect  the  islands  ? " 
x  2 


356  THE   WRECKER. 

"  Ah,  but  I  don't  know  that  you  are  going  to  the 
islands,"  said  the  lawyer,  looking  down,  and  spearing 
the  blotting-paper  with  a  pencil. 

"I  beg  your  pardon.  I  have  the  pleasure  of 
informing  you,"  said  Norris. 

"I  am  afraid,  Mr.  Carthew,  that  I  cannot  re- 
gard that  communication  as  official,"  was  the  slow 
reply. 

"  I  am  not  accustomed  to  have  my  word  doubted ! " 
cried  Norris. 

"  Hush  !  I  allow  no  one  to  raise  his  voice  in  my 
office,"  said  the  lawyer.  "  And  for  that  matter — you 
seem  to  be  a  young  gentleman  of  sense — consider 
what  I  know  of  you.  You  are  a  discarded  son ;  your 
family  pays  money  to  be  shut  of  you.  What  have 
you  done  ?  I  don't  know.  But  do  you  not  see  how 
foolish  I  should  be,  if  I  exposed  my  business  reputa- 
tion on  the  safeguard  of  the  honour  of  a  gentleman 
of  whom  I  know  just  so  much  and  no  more  ?  This 
interview  is  very  disagreeable.  Why  prolong  it? 
Write  home,  get  my  instructions  changed,  and  I  will 
change  my  behaviour.     Not  otherwise." 

"  I  am  very  fond  of  three  hundred  a  year,"  said 
Norris,  "  but  I  cannot  pay  the  price  required.  I  shall 
not  have  the  pleasure  of  seeing  you  again." 

"You  must  please  yourself,"  said  the  lawyer. 
"Fail  to  be  here  next  quarter-day,  and  the  thing 
stops.  But  I  warn  you,  and  I  mean  the  warning  in 
a  friendly  spirit.  Three  months  later  you  will  be 
here  begging,  and  I  shall  have  no  choice  but  to  show 
you  in  the  street." 

"  I  wish  you  a  good-evening,"  said  Norris. 

"The  same  to  you,  Mr.  Carthew,"  retorted  the 
lawyer,  and  rang  for  his  clerk. 

So  it  befell  that  Norris  during  what  remained  to 
him  of  arduous  days  in  Sydney,  saw  not  again  the 
face  of  his  legal  adviser ;  and  he  was  already  at  sea, 
and  land  was  out  of  sight,  when  Hadden  brought 


THE  BUDGET  OF  THE  "  CURRENCY  LASS."    357 

him  a  Sydney  paper,  over  which  he  had  been  dozing 
in  the  shadow  of  the  galley,  and  showed  him  an 
advertisement. 

"Mr.   Norris   Carthew   is   earnestly  entreated   to 

call  without  delay  at  the  office  of  Mr.  ,  where 

important  intelligence  awaits  him." 

"It  must  manage  to  wait  for  me  six  months," 
said  Norris  lightly  enough,  but  yet  conscious  of  a 
pang  of  curiosity. 


CHAPTER    XXIII. 

THE  BUDGET  OF  THE  "CURRENCY  LASS." 

Before  noon,  on  the  26th  November,  there  cleared 
from  the  port  of  Sydney  the  schooner  Currency  Lass. 
The  owner,  Norris  Carthew,  was  on  board  in  the 
somewhat  unusual  position  of  mate;  the  master's 
name  purported  to  be  William  Kirkup ;  the  cook  was 
a  Hawaiian  boy,  Joseph  Amalu ;  and  there  were  two 
hands  before  the  mast,  Thomas  Hadden  and  Richard 
Hemstead,  the  latter  chosen  partly  because  of  his 
humble  character,  partly  because  he  had  an  odd-job- 
man's  handiness  with  tools.  The  Currency  Lass  was 
bound  for  the  South  Sea  Islands,  and  first  of  all  for 
Butaritari  in  the  Gilberts,  on  a  register;  but  it  was 
understood  about  the  harbour  that  her  cruise  was 
more  than  half  a  pleasure  trip.  A  friend  of  the  late 
Grant  Sanderson  (of  Auchentroon  and  Kilclarty) 
might  have  recognised  in  that  tall-masted  ship,  the 
transformed  and  rechristened  Dream  ;  and  the  Lloyd's 
surveyor,  had  the  services  of  such  a  one  been  called 
in  requisition,  must  have  found  abundant  subject  of 
remark. 

For  time,  during   her   three  years'  inaction,  had 
eaten  deep  into  the  Dream  and  her  fittings  ;  she  had 


358  THE   WRECKER 

sold  in  consequence  a  shade  above  her  value  as  old 
junk  ;  and  the  three  adventurers  had  scarce  been  able 
to  afford  even  the  most  vital  repairs.  The  rigging, 
indeed,  had  been  partly  renewed,  and  the  rest  set  up ; 
all  Grant  Sanderson's  old  canvas  had  been  patched 
together  into  one  decently  serviceable  suit  of  sails ; 
Grant  Sanderson's  masts  still  stood,  and  might  have 
wondered  at  themselves.  "I  haven't  the  heart  to 
tap  them,"  Captain  Wicks  used  to  observe,  as  he 
squinted  up  their  height  or  patted  their  rotundity ; 
and  "  as  rotten  as  our  foremast "  was  an  accepted 
metaphor  in  the  ship's  company.  The  sequel  rather 
suggests  it  may  have  been  sounder  than  was  thought; 
but  no  one  knew  for  certain,  just  as  no  one  except  the 
captain  appreciated  the  dangers  of  the  cruise.  The 
captain,  indeed,  saw  with  clear  eyes  and  spoke  his 
mind  aloud ;  and  though  a  man  of  an  astonishing  hot- 
blooded  courage,  following  life  and  taking  its  dangers 
in  the  spirit  of  a  hound  upon  the  slot,  he  had  made  a 

Eoint  of  a  big  whaleboat.  "Take  your  choice,"  he 
ad  said;  "either  new  masts  and  rigging  or  that 
boat.  I  simply  ain't  going  to  sea  without  the  one  or 
the  other.  Chicken  coops  are  good  enough,  no  doubt, 
and  so  is  a  dinghy ;  but  they  ain't  for  Joe."  And  his 
partners  had  been  forced  to  consent,  and  saw  six-and- 
thirty  pounds  of  their  small  capital  vanish  in  the 
turn  of  a  hand. 

All  four  had  toiled  the  best  part  of  six  weeks 
getting  ready  ;  and  though  Captain  Wicks  was  of 
course  not  seen  or  heard  of,  a  fifth  was  there  to  help 
them,  a  fellow  in  a  bushy  red  beard,  which  he  would 
sometimes  lay  aside  when  he  was  below,  and  who 
strikingly  resembled  Captain  Wicks  in  voice  and 
character.  As  for  Captain  Kirkup,  he  did  not  appear 
till  the  last  moment,  when  he  proved  to  be  a  burly 
mariner,  bearded  like  Abou  Ben  Adhem.  All  the 
way  down  the  harbour  and  through  the  Heads,  his 
milk-white  whiskers  blew  in  the  wind  and  were  con- 


THE  BUDGET  OF  THE  "CURRENCY  LASS."    359 

spicuous  from  shore ;  but  the  Currency  Lass  had  no 
sooner  turned  her  back  upon  the  lighthouse,  than  he 
went  below  for  the  inside  of  five  seconds  and  reap- 
peared clean  shaven.  So  many  doublings  and  devices 
were  required  to  get  to  sea  with  an  unseaworthy  ship 
and  a  captain  that  was  "  wanted."  Nor  might  even 
these  have  sufficed,  but  for  the  fact  that  Hadden  was 
a  public  character,  and  the  whole  cruise  regarded 
with  an  eye  of  indulgence  as  one  of  Tom's  engaging 
eccentricities.  The  ship,  besides,  had  been  a  yacht 
before :  and  it  came  the  more  natural  to  allow  her 
still  some  of  the  dangerous  liberties  of  her  old  em- 
ployment. 

A  strange  ship  they  had  made  of  it,  her  lofty 
spars  disfigured  with  patched  canvas,  her  panelled 
cabin  fitted  for  a  traderoom  with  rude  shelves.  And 
the  life  they  led  in  that  anomalous  schooner  was  no 
less  curious  than  herself.  Amalu  alone  berthed 
forward ;  the  rest  occupied  staterooms,  camped  upon 
the  satin  divans,  and  sat  down  in  Grant  Sanderson's 
parquetry  smoking-room  to  meals  of  junk  and  pota- 
toes, bad  of  their  kind  and  often  scant  in  quantity. 
Hemstead  grumbled ;  Tommy  had  occasional  moments 
of  revolt  and  increased  the  ordinary  by  a  few  hap- 
hazard tins  or  a  bottle  of  his  own  brown  sherry.  But 
Hemstead  grumbled  from  habit,  Tommy  revolted 
only  for  the  moment,  and  there  was  underneath  a 
real  and  general  acquiescence  in  these  hardships. 
For  besides  onions  and  potatoes,  the  Currency  Lass 
may  be  said  to  have  gone  to  sea  without  stores.  She 
carried  two  thousand  pounds'  worth  of  assorted  trade, 
advanced  on  credit,  their  whole  hope  and  fortune. 
It  was  upon  this  that  they  subsisted — mice  in  their 
own  granary.  They  dined  upon  their  future  profits ; 
and  every  scanty  meal  was  so  much  in  the  savings 
bank. 

Republican  as  were  their  manners,  there  was  no 
practical,  at  least  no   dangerous,  lack  of  discipline# 


360  THE   WRECKER. 

Wicks  was  the  only  sailor  on  board,  there  was  none 
to  criticise ;  and  besides,  he  was  so  easy-going,  and  so 
merry-minded,  that  none  could  bear  to  disappoint 
him.  Carthew  did  his  best,  partly  for  the  love  of 
doing  it,  partly  for  love  of  the  captain ;  Amalu  was  a 
willing  drudge,  and  even  Hemstead  and  Hadden 
turned  to  upon  occasion  with  a  will.  Tommy's  de- 
partment was  the  trade  and  traderoom ;  he  would 
work  down  in  the  hold  or  over  the  shelves  of  the 
cabin,  till  the  Sydney  dandy  was  unrecognisable ; 
come  up  at  last,  draw  a  bucket  of  sea- water,  bathe, 
change,  and  lie  down  on  deck  over  a  big  sheaf  of 
Sydney  Heralds  and  Dead  Birds,  or  perhaps  with  a 
volume  of  Buckle's  "  History  of  Civilisation,"  the 
standard  work  selected  for  that  cruise.  In  the  latter 
case,  a  smile  went  round  the  ship,  for  Buckle  almost 
invariably  laid  his  student  out,  and  when  Tom  awoke 
again  he  was  almost  always  in  the  humour  for  brown 
sherry.  The  connection  was  so  well  established  that 
"  a  glass  of  Buckle "  or  "  a  bottle  of  civilisation " 
became  current  pleasantries  on  board  the  Currency 
Lass. 

Hemstead's  province  was  that  of  the  repairs,  and 
he  had  his  hands  full.  Nothing  on  board  but  was 
decayed  in  a  proportion :  the  lamps  leaked,  so  did  the 
decks ;  door-knobs  came  off  in  the  hand,  mouldings 
parted  company  with  the  panels,  the  pump  declined 
to  suck,  and  the  defective  bathroom  came  near  to 
swamp  the  ship.  Wicks  insisted  that  all  the  nails 
were  long  ago  consumed,  and  that  she  was  only  glued 
together  by  the  rust.  You  shouldn't  make  me  laugh 
so  much,  Tommy,"  he  would  say.  "I'm  afraid  I'll 
shake  the  sternpost  out  of  her."  And,  as  Hemstead 
went  to  and  fro  with  his  tool  basket  on  an  endless 
round  of  tinkering,  Wicks  lost  no  opportunity  of 
chaffing  him  upon  his  duties.  "  If  you'd  turn  to  at 
sailoring  or  washing  paint  or  something  useful,  now," 
he  would  say,  "  I  could  see  the  fun  of  it.     But  to  be 


THE  BUDGET  OF  THE  "CURRENCY  LASS."    361 

mending  things  that  haven't  no  insides  to  them, 
appears  to  me  the  height  of  foolishness."  And 
doubtless  these  continual  pleasantries  helped  to  re- 
assure the  landsmen,  who  went  to  and  fro  un- 
moved, under  circumstances  that  might  have 
daunted   Nelson. 

The  weather  was  from  the  outset  splendid,  and  the 
wind  fair  and  steady.  The  ship  sailed  like  a  witch. 
"  This  Currency  Lass  is  a  powerful  old  girl,  and  has 
more  complaints  than  I  would  care  to  put  a  name  on," 
the  captain  would  say,  as  he  pricked  the  chart ;  "  but 
she  could  show  her  blooming  heels  to  anything  of  her 
size  in  the  Western  Pacific."  To  wash  decks,  relieve 
the  wheel,  do  the  day's  work  after  dinner  on  the 
smoking-room  table,  and  take  in  kites  at  night — such 
was  the  easy  routine  of  their  life.  In  the  evening — 
above  all,  if  Tommy  had  produced  some  of  his  civili- 
sation— yarns  and  music  were  the  rule.  Amalu  had 
a  sweet  Hawaiian  voice  ;  and  Hemstead,  a  great  hand 
upon  the  banjo,  accompanied  his  own  quavering  tenor 
with  effect.  There  was  a  sense  in  which  the  little 
man  could  sing.  It  was  great  to  hear  him  deliver 
"My  Boy  Tammie"  in  Austrylian;  and  the  words  (some 
of  the  worst  of  the  ruffian  Macneil's)  were  hailed  in 
his  version  with  inextinguishable  mirth. 

Where  hye  ye  been  a'  dye  P 

he  would  ask,  and  answer  himself : — 

I've  been  by  burn  and  flowery  brye, 
Meadow  green  and  mountain  grye, 
Courtin'  o'  this  young  thing, 

Just  come  frye  her  raammie. 

It  was  the  accepted  jest  for  all  hands  to  greet  the 
conclusion  of  this  song  with  the  simultaneous  cry, 
"  My  word  !  "  thus  winging  the  arrow  of  ridicule  with 
a  feather  from  the  singer's  wing.  But  he  had  his 
revenge  with  "Home,  Sweet  Home,"  and  "  Where  is  my 


362  THE   WRECKER. 

Wandering  Boy  To-night?" — ditties  into  which  he 
threw  the  most  intolerable  pathos.  It  appeared  he 
had  no  home,  nor  had  ever  had  one,  nor  yet  any 
vestige  of  a  family,  except  a  truculent  uncle,  a  baker 
in  Newcastle,  N.S.W.  His  domestic  sentiment  was 
therefore  wholly  in  the  air,  and  expressed  an  unrealised 
ideal.  Or  perhaps,  of  all  his  experiences,  this  of  the 
Currency  Lass,  with  its  kindly,  playful,  and  tolerant 
society,  approached  it  the  most  nearly. 

It  is  perhaps  because  I  know  the  sequel,  but  I  can 
never  think  upon  this  voyage  without  a  profound 
sense  of  pity  and  mystery ;  of  the  ship  (once  the  whim 
of  a  rich  blackguard)  faring  with  her  battered  fineries 
and  upon  her  homely  errand,  across  the  plains  of 
ocean,  and  past  the  gorgeous  scenery  of  dawn  and 
sunset;  and  the  ship's  company,  so  strangely  as- 
sembled, so  Britishly  chuckle-headed,  filling  their 
days  with  chaff  in  place  of  conversation ;  no  human 
book  on  board  with  them  except  Hadden's  Buckle, 
and  not  a  creature  fit  either  to  read  or  to  understand 
it ;  and  the  one  mark  of  any  civilised  interest  being 
when  Carthew  filled  in  his  spare  hours  with  the 
pencil  and  the  brush:  the  whole  unconscious  crew 
of  them  posting  in  the  meanwhile  towards  so  tragic 
a  disaster. 

Twenty-eight  days  out  of  Sydney,  on  Christmas 
Eve,  they  fetched  up  to  the  entrance  of  the  lagoon, 
and  plied  all  that  night  outside,  keeping  their  position 
by  the  lights  of  fishers  on  the  reef  and  the  outlines  of 
the  palms  against  the  cloudy  sky.  With  the  break  of 
day,  the  schooner  was  hove  to,  and  the  signal  for  a 

Eilot  shown.  But  it  was  plain  her  lights  must  have 
een  observed  in  the  darkness  by  the  native  fisher- 
men, and  word  carried  to  the  settlement,  for  a  boat 
was  already  underweigh.  She  came  towards  them 
across  the  lagoon  under  a  great  press  of  sail,  lying 
dangerously  down,  so  that  at  times,  in  the  heavier 
puffs,  they  thought  she  would  turn  turtle ;    covered 


THE  BUDGET  OF  THE  "CURRENCY  LASS."    363 

the  distance  in  fine  style,  luffed  up  smartly  along- 
side, and  emitted  a  haggard  looking  white  man  in 
pyjamas. 

"  Good-mornin',  cap'n,"  said  he,  when  he  had 
made  good  his  entrance.  "  I  was  taking  you  for  a 
Fiji  man-of-war,  what  with  your  flush  decks  and  them 
spars.  Well,  gen'lemen  all,  here's  wishing  you  a  merry 
Christmas  and  a  happy  New  Year,"  he  added,  and 
lurched  against  a  stay. 

"  Why,  you're  never  the  pilot  ?  "  exclaimed  Wicks, 
studying  him  with  a  profound  disfavour.  "You've 
never  taken  a  ship  in — don't  tell  me ! " 

"  Well,  I  should  guess  I  have,"  returned  the  pilot. 
"  I'm  Captain  Dobbs,  I  am  ;  and  when  I  take  charge, 
the  captain  of  that  ship  can  go  below  and  shave." 

"  But,  man  alive  !  you're  drunk,  man  !  "  cried  the 
captain. 

"  Drunk ! "  repeated  Dobbs.  "  You  can't  have  seen 
much  life  if  you  call  me  drunk.  I'm  only  just 
beginning.  Come  night,  I  won't  say ;  I  guess  I'll  be 
properly  full  by  then.  But  now  I'm  the  soberest  man 
in  all  Big  Muggin." 

"  It  won't  do,"  retorted  Wicks.  "  Not  for  Joseph, 
sir.     I  can't  have  you  piling  up  my  schooner." 

"  All  right,"  said  Dobbs,  "  lay  and  rot  where  you 
are,  or  take  and  go  in  and  pile  her  up  for  yourself  like 
the  captain  of  the  Leslie.  That's  business,  I  guess ; 
grudged  me  twenty  dollars'  pilotage,  and  lost  twenty 
thousand  in  trade  and  a  brand  new  schooner ;  ripped 
the  keel  right  off  of  her,  and  she  went  down  in  the 
inside  of  four  minutes,  and  lies  in  twenty  fathom, 
trade  and  all." 

"  What's  all  this  ?  "  cried  Wicks.  "  Trade  ?  What 
vessel  was  this  Leslie,  anyhow  ?  " 

"  Consigned  to  Cohen  and  Co.,  from  'Frisco," 
returned  the  pilot,  "  and  badly  wanted.  There's  a 
barque  inside  filling  up  for  Hamburg — you  see  her 
spars  over  there ;  and  there's  two  more  ships  due,  all 


364  THE   WRECKER. 

the  way  from  Germany,  one  in  two  months,  they  say, 
and  one  in  three ;  Cohen  and  Co.'s  agent  (that's  Mr. 
Topelius)  has  taken  and  lain  down  with  the  jaundice 
on  the  strength  of  it.  I  guess  most  people  would,  in 
his  shoes;  no  trade,  no  copra,  and  twenty  hundred 
ton  of  shipping  due.  If  you've  any  copra  on  board, 
cap'n,  here's  your  chance.  Topelius  will  buy,  gold 
down,  and  give  three  cents.  It's  all  found  money  to 
him,  the  way  it  is,  whatever  he  pays  for  it.  And 
that's  what  come  of  going  back  on  the  pilot." 

"  Excuse  me  one  moment,  Captain  Dobbs.  I  wish 
to  speak  with  my  mate,"  said  the  captain,  whose  face 
had  begun  to  shine  and  his  eyes  to  sparkle. 

"  Please  yourself,"  replied  the  pilot.  "  You  couldn't 
think  of  offering  a  man  a  nip,  could  you  ?  just  to 
brace  him  up.  This  kind  of  thing  looks  damned 
inhospitable,  and  gives  a  schooner  a  bad  name." 

"  I'll  talk  about  that  after  the  anchor's  down," 
returned  Wicks,  and  he  drew  Carthew  forward.  "I 
say,"  he  whispered,  "here's  a  fortune." 

"  How  much  do  you  call  that  ? "  asked  Carthew. 

"  I  can't  put  a  figure  on  it  yet — I  daren't !  "  said 
the  captain.  "  We  might  cruise  twenty  years  and  not 
find  the  match  of  it.  And  suppose  another  ship 
came  in  to-nig;ht  ?  Everything's  possible  !  And  the 
difficulty  is  this  Dobbs.  He's  as  drunk  as  a  marine. 
How  can  we  trust  him  ?  We  ain't  insured,  worse 
luck ! " 

"  Suppose  you  took  him  aloft  and  got  him  to  point 
out  the  channel  ? "  suggested  Carthew.  "  If  he  tallied 
at  all  with  the  chart,  and  didn't  fall  out  of  the  rigging, 
perhaps  we  might  risk  it." 

"Well,  all's  risk  here,"  returned  the  captain. 
"Take  the  wheel  yourself,  and  stand  by.  Mind,  if 
there's  two  orders,  follow  mine,  not  his.  Set  the  cook 
for'ard  with  the  heads'ls,  and  the  two  others  at  the 
main  sheet,  and  see  they  don't  sit  on  it."  With  that 
he  called  the  pilot;  they  swarmed  aloft  in  the  fore 


THE  BUDGET  OF  THE  u  CURRENCY  LASS."    365 

rigging,  and  presently  after  there  was  bawled  down 
the  welcome  order  to  ease  sheets  and  fill  away. 

At  a  quarter  before  nine  o'clock  on  Christmas 
morning  the  anchor  was  let  go. 

The  first  cruise  of  the  Currency  Lass  had  thus 
ended  in  a  stroke  of  fortune  almost  beyond  hope.  She 
had  brought  two  thousand  pounds'  worth  of  trade, 
straight  as  a  homing  pigeon,  to  the  place  where  it  was 
most  required.  And  Captain  Wicks  (or,  rather,  Cap- 
tain Kirkup)  showed  himself  the  man  to  make  the 
best  of  his  advantage.  For  hard  upon  two  days  he 
walked  a  verandah  with  Topelius ;  for  hard  upon 
two  days  his  partners  watched  from  the  neighbouring 
public-house  the  field  of  battle ;  and  the  lamps  were 
not  yet  lighted  on  the  evening  of  the  second  before 
the  enemy  surrendered.  Wicks  came  across  to  the 
Sans  Souci,  as  the  saloon  was  called,  his  face  nigh 
black,  his  eyes  almost  closed  and  all  bloodshot, 
and  yet  bright  as  lighted  matches. 

"  Come  out  here,  boys,"  he  said ;  and  when  they 
were  some  way  off  among  the  palms,  "  I  hold  twenty- 
four,"  he  added  in  a  voice  scarcely  recognisable,  and 
doubtless  referring  to  the  venerable  game  of  cribbage. 

"  What  do  you  mean  ? "  asked  Tommy. 

"  I've  sold  the  trade,"  answered  Wicks ;  "  or,  rather, 
I've  sold  only  some  of  it,  for  I've  kept  back  all  the 
mess  beef,  and  half  the  flour  and  biscuit,  and,  by  God, 
we're  still  provisioned  for  four  months  !  By  God,  it's 
as  good  as  stolen  !  " 

"  My  word  ! "  cried  Hemstead. 

"  But  what  have  you  sold  it  for  ? "  gasped  Carthew, 
the  captain's  almost  insane  excitement  shaking  his 
nerve. 

"  Let  me  tell  it  my  own  way,"  cried  Wicks,  loosen- 
ing his  neck.  "  Let  me  get  at  it  gradual  or  111  explode. 
I've  not  only  sold  it,  boys,  I've  wrung  out  a  charter  on 
my  own  terms  to  'Frisco  and  back,  on  my  own  terms. 
I  made  a  point  of  it.     I  fooled  him  first  by  making 


366  THE   WRECKER. 

believe  I  wanted  copra,  which,  of  course,  I  knew  he 
wouldn't  hear  of — couldn't,  in  fact ;  and  whenever  he 
showed  fight  I  trotted  out  the  copra,  and  that  man 
dived !  I  would  take  nothing  but  copra,  you  see ; 
and  so  I've  got  the  blooming  lot  in  specie — all  but  two 
short  bills  on  'Frisco.  And  the  sum  ?  Well,  this 
whole  adventure,  including  two  thousand  pounds 
of  credit,  cost  us  two  thousand  seven  hundred  and 
some  odd.  That's  all  paid  back ;  in  thirty  days'  cruise 
we've  paid  for  the  schooner  and  the  trade.  Heard 
ever  any  man  the  match  of  that  ?  And  it's  not  all ! 
For  besides  that,"  said  the  captain,  hammering  his 
words,  "  we've  got  thirteen  blooming  hundred  pounds 
of  profit  to  divide.  I  bled  him  in  four  thou.  ! "  he 
cried,  in  a  voice  that  broke  like  a  schoolboy's. 

For  a  moment  the  partners  looked  upon  their  chief 
with  stupefaction,  incredulous  suprise  their  only  feel- 
ing.    Tommy  was  the  first  to  grasp  the  consequences. 

"Here,"  he  said  in  a  hard  business  tone,  "come 
back  to  that  saloon :  I've  got  to  get  drunk." 

"  You  must  please  excuse  me,  boys,"  said  the  cap- 
tain earnestly.  "  I  daren't  taste  nothing.  If  I  was  to 
drink  one  glass  of  beer  it's  my  belief  I'd  have  the 
apoplexy.  The  last  scrimmage  and  the  blooming  tri- 
umph pretty  nigh  hand  done  me." 

"  Well,  then,  three  cheers  for  the  captain,"  proposed 
Tommy. 

But  Wicks  held  up  a  shaking  hand.  "  Not  that 
either,  boys,"  he  pleaded.  "  Think  of  the  other  buffer, 
and  let  him  down  easy.  If  I'm  like  this,  just  fancy 
what  Topelius  is.  If  he  heard  us  singing  out  he'd 
have  the  staggers." 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  Topelius  accepted  his  defeat 
with  a  good  grace ;  but  the  crew  of  the  wrecked  Leslie, 
who  were  in  the  same  employment  and  loyal  to  their 
firm,  took  the  thing  more  bitterly.  Rough  words  and 
ugly  looks  were  common.  Once  even  they  hooted 
Captain  Wicks  from  the  saloon  verandah;  the  Cur- 


THE  BUDGET  OF  THE  "  CURRENCY  LASS."    367 

rency  Lasses  drew  out  on  the  other  side ;  for  some 
minutes  there  had  like  to  have  been  a  battle  in 
Butaritari ;  and  though  the  occasion  passed  off' without 
blows  it  left  on  either  side  an  increase  of  ill-feeling. 

No  such  small  matter  could  affect  the  hapoiness  of 
the  successful  traders.  Five  days  more  the  ship  lay  in 
the  lagoon,  with  little  employment  for  anyone  but 
Tommy  and  the  captain,  for  Topelius's  natives  dis- 
charged cargo  and  brought  ballast.  The  time  passed 
like  a  pleasant  dream  ;  the  adventurers  sat  up  half  the 
night  debating  and  praising  their  good  fortune,  or 
strayed  by  day  in  the  narrow  isle  gapmg  like  Cockney 
tourists,  and  on  the  first  of  the  new  year  the  Currency 
Lass  weighed  anchor  for  the  second  time  and  set  sail 
for  'Frisco,  attended  by  the  same  fine  weather  and 
good  luck.  She  crossed  the  doldrums  with  but  small 
delay  ;  on  a  wind  and  in  ballast  of  broken  coral  she  out- 
did expectations;  and  what  added  to  the  happiness 
of  the  ship's  company,  the  small  amount  of  work  that 
fell  on  them  to  do  was  now  lessened  by  the  presence 
of  another  hand.  This  was  the  boatswain  of  the  Leslie. 
He  had  been  on  bad  terms  with  his  own  captain,  had 
already  spent  his  wages  in  the  saloons  of  Butaritari, 
had  wearied  of  the  place,  and  while  all  his  shipmates 
coldly  refused  to  set  foot  on  board  the  Currency  Lass 
he  had  offered  to  work  his  passage  to  the  coast.  He 
was  a  north  of  Ireland  man,  oetween  Scotch  and  Irish, 
rough,  loud,  humorous,  and  emotional,  not  without 
sterling  qualities,  and  an  expert  and  careful  sailor. 
His  frame  of  mind  was  different  indeed  from  that 
of  his  new  shipmates.  Instead  of  making  an  unex- 
pected fortune  he  had  lost  a  berth,  and  he  was  besides 
disgusted  with  the  rations,  and  really  appalled  at  the 
condition  of  the  schooner.  A  state-room  door  had 
stuck  the  first  day  at  sea,  and  Mac  (as  they  called 
him)  laid  his  strength  to  it  and  plucked  it  from  the 
hinges. 

"  Glory! "  said  he,  "  this  ship's  rotten! " 


368  THE   WRECKER. 

"  I  believe  you,  my  boy,"  said  Captain  Wicks. 

The  next  day  the  sailor  was  observed  with  his  nose 
aloft. 

"  Don't  you  get  looking  at  these  sticks,"  the  captain 
said,  "  or  you'll  have  a  fit  and  fall  overboard." 

Mac  turned  towards  the  speaker  with  rather  a  wild 
eye.  "  Why,  I  see  what  looks  like  a  patch  of  dry  rot 
up  yonder,  that  I  bet  I  could  stick  my  fist  into," 
said  he. 

"  Looks  as  if  a  fellow  could  stick  his  head  into  it, 
don't  it  ? "  returned  Wicks.  "  But  there's  no  good 
prying  into  things  that  can't  be  mended." 

"  I  think  I  was  a  Currency  Ass  to  come  on  board 
of  her  ! "  reflected  Mac. 

"  Well,  I  never  said  she  was  seaworthy,"  replied 
the  captain ;  "  I  only  said  she  could  show  her  bloom- 
ing heels  to  anything  afloat.  And  besides,  I  don't 
know  that  it's  dry  rot ;  I  kind  of  sometimes  hope  it 
isn't.  Here  ;  turn  to  and  heave  the  log ;  that'll  cheer 
you  up." 

"  Well,  there's  no  denying  it,  you're  a  holy  captain," 
said  Mac. 

And  from  that  day  on,  he  made  but  the  one 
reference  to  the  ship's  condition  ;  and  that  was  when- 
ever Tommy  drew  upon  his  cellar.  "Here's  to  the 
junk  trade  !  "  he  would  say,  as  he  held  out  his  can  of 
sherry. 

"  Why  do  you  always  say  that  ? "  asked  Tommy. 

"  I  had  an  uncle  in  the  business,"  replied  Mac,  and 
launched  at  once  into  a  yarn,  in  which  an  incredible 
number  of  the  characters  were  "  laid  out  as  nice  as 
you  would  want  to  see,"  and  the  oaths  made  up  about 
two-fifths  of  every  conversation. 

Only  once  he  gave  them  a  taste  of  his  violence ; 
he  talked  of  it,  indeed,  often  ;  "  I'm  rather  a  violent 
man,"  he  would  say,  not  without  pride ;  but  this  was 
the  only  specimen.  Of  a  sudden  he  turned  on  Hem- 
stead  in  the  ship's  waist,  knocked  him  against  the 


THE  BUDGET  OF  THE  "CURRENCY  LASS."    369 

foresail  boom,  then  knocked  him  under  it,  and  had 
set  him  up  and  knocked  him  down  once  more,  before 
anyone  had  drawn  a  breath. 

"  Here  !  Belay  that !  "  roared  Wicks,  leaping  to 
his  feet.     "  I  won't  have  none  of  this." 

Mac  turned  to  the  captain  with  ready  civility.  "  I 
only  want  to  learn  him  manners,"  said  he.  "  He  took 
and  called  me  Irishman." 

"  Did  he  ? "  said  Wicks.  "  Oh,  that's  a  different 
story !  What  made  you  do  it,  you  tomfool  ?  You 
ain't  big  enough  to  call  any  man  that." 

"I  didn't  call  him  it,"  spluttered  Hemstead,  through 
his  blood  and  tears.  "  I  only  mentioned-like  he 
was." 

"  Well,  let's  have  no  more  of  it,"  said  Wicks. 

"  But  you  are  Irish,  ain't  you  ? "  Carthew  asked  of 
his  new  shipmate  shortly  after. 

"  I  may  be,"  replied  Mac,  "  but  I'll  allow  no  Sydney 
duck  to  call  me  so.  No,"  he  added,  with  a  sudden 
heated  countenance,  "  nor  any  Britisher  that  walks  ! 
Why,  look  here,"  he  went  on,  "  you're  a  young  swell, 
aren't  you  ?  Suppose  I  called  you  that !  '  I'll  show 
you,'  you  would  say,  and  turn  to  and  take  it  out  of  me 
straight." 

On  the  28th  of  January,  when  in  lat.  27°  20'  N., 
long.  177°  W.,  the  wind  chopped  suddenly  into  the 
west,  not  very  strong,  but  puffy  and  with  flaws  of 
rain.  The  captain,  eager  for  easting,  made  a  fair  wind 
of  it  and  guyed  the  booms  out  wing  and  wing.  It 
was  Tommy's  trick  at  the  wheel,  and  as  it  was 
within  half  an  hour  of  the  relief  (7.30  in  the 
morning),  the  captain  judged  it  not  worth  while  to 
change  him. 

The  puffs  were  heavy,  but  short;  there  was 
nothing  to  be  called  a  squall,  no  danger  to  the  ship, 
and  scarce  more  than  usual  to  the  doubtful  spars. 
All  hands  were  on  deck  in  their  oilskins,  expecting 
breakfast;    the  galley  smoked,   the    ship    smelt    of 

T 


370  THE   WRECKER. 

coffee,  all  were  in  good  humour  to  be  speeding  east- 
ward a  full  nine ;  when  the  rotten  foresail  tore  sud- 
denly between  two  cloths  and  then  split  to  either 
hand.  It  was  for  all  the  world  as  though  some 
archangel  with  a  huge  sword  had  slashed  it  with 
the  figure  of  a  cross;  all  hands  ran  to  secure  the 
slatting  canvas ;  and  in  the  sudden  uproar  and  alert, 
Tommy  Hadden  lost  his  head.  Many  of  his  days 
have  been  passed  since  then  in  explaining  how  the 
thing  happened ;  of  these  explanations  it  will  be 
sufficient  to  say  that  they  were  all  different,  and  none 
satisfactory ;  and  the  gross  fact  remains  that  the 
main  boom  gybed,  carried  away  the  tackle,  broke 
the  mainmast  some  three  feet  above  the  deck  and 
whipped  it  overboard.  For  near  a  minute  the 
suspected  foremast  gallantly  resisted;  then  followed 
its  companion ;  and  by  the  time  the  wreck  was 
cleared,  of  the  whole  beautiful  fabric  that  enabled 
them  to  skim  the  seas,  two  ragged  stumps  re- 
mained. 

In  these  vast  and  solitary  waters,  to  be  dismasted 
is  perhaps  the  worst  calamity.  Let  the  ship  turn 
turtle  and  go  down,  and  at  least  the  pang  is  over. 
But  men  chained  on  a  hulk  may  pass  months 
scanning  the  empty  sea  line  and  counting  the  steps 
of  death's  invisible  approach.  There  is  no  help  but 
in  the  boats,  and  what  a  help  is  that !  There  heaved 
the  Currency  Lass,  for  instance,  a  wingless  lump, 
and  the  nearest  human  coast  (that  of  Kauai  in  the 
Sandwiches)  lay  about  a  thousand  miles  to  south 
and  east  of  her.  Over  the  way  there,  to  men  con- 
templating that  passage  in  an  open  boat,  all  kinds 
of  misery,  and  the  fear  of  death  and  of  madness, 
brooded. 

A  serious  company  sat  down  to  breakfast;  but 
the  captain  helped  his  neighbours  with  a  smile. 

"Now,  boys,"  he  said,  after  a  pull  at  the  hot 
coffee,  "  we're  done  with  this  Currency  Lass,  and  no 


THE   BUDGET   OF   THE   "CURRENCY   LASS."         371 

mistake.  One  good  job ;  we  made  her  pay  while  she 
lasted,  and  she  paid  first  rate;  and  if  we  were  to 
try  our  hand  again,  we  can  try  in  style.      Another 

food  job ;  we  have  a  fine,  stiff,  roomy  boat,  and  you 
now  who  you  have  to  thank  for  that.  We've  got 
six  lives  to  save,  and  a  pot  of  money ;  and  the  point 
is,  where  are  we  to  take  'em  ? " 

"  It's  all  two  thousand  miles  to  the  nearest  of  the 
Sandwiches,  I  fancy,"  observed  Mac. 

"No,  not  so  bad  as  that,"  returned  the  cap- 
tain. "But  it's  bad  enough;  rather  better'n  a 
thousand." 

"  I  know  a  man  who  once  did  twelve  hundred  in 
a  boat,"  said  Mac,  "  and  he  had  all  he  wanted.  He 
fetched  ashore  in  the  Marquesas,  and  never  set  a 
foot  on  anything  floating  from  that  day  to  this.  He 
said  he  would  rather  put  a  pistol  to  his  head  and 
knock  his  brains  out." 

"Ay,  ay!"  said  Wicks.  "Well  I  remember  a 
boat's  crew  that  made  this  very  island  of  Kauai,  and 
from  just  about  where  we  lie,  or  a  bit  further. 
When  they  got  up  with  the  land,  they  were  clean 
crazy.  There  was  an  iron-bound  coast  and  an  Old 
Bob  Ridley  of  a  surf  on.  The  natives  hailed  'em 
from  fishing-boats,  and  sung  out  it  couldn't  be  done 
at  the  money.  Much  they  cared !  there  was  the 
land,  that  was  all  they  knew;  and  they  turned  to 
and  drove  the  boat  slap  ashore  in  the  thick  of  it, 
and  was  all  drowned  but  one.  No ;  boat  trips  are 
my  eye,"  concluded  the  captain  gloomily. 

The  tone  was  surprising  in  a  man  of  his  in- 
domitable temper.  "Come,  captain,"  said  Carthew, 
"you  have  something  else  up  your  sleeve;  out 
with  it." 

"It's  a  fact,"  admitted  Wicks.  "You  see  there's 
a  raft  of  little  bally  reefs  about  here,  kind  of 
chicken-pox  on  the  chart.  Well,  I  looked  'em  all 
up,  and  there's  one — Midway  or  Brooks  they  call  it, 

Y  2 


372  THE   WRECKER. 

not  forty  mile  from  our  assigned  position — that  I 
got  news  of.  It  turns  out  it's  a  coaling  station  of  the 
Pacific  Mail,"  he  said  simply. 

"  Well,  and  I  know  it  ain't  no  such  a  thing," 
said  Mac.  "I  been  quartermaster  in  that  line 
myself." 

"  All  right,"  returned  Wicks.  "  There's  the  book. 
Read  what  Hoyt  says — read  it  aloud  and  let  the 
others  hear." 

Hoyt's  falsehood  (as  readers  know)  was  explicit; 
incredulity  was  impossible,  and  the  news  itself 
delightful  beyond  hope.  Each  saw  in  his  mind's 
eye  the  boat  draw  in  to  a  trim  island  with  a  wharf, 
coal-sheds,  gardens,  the  Stars  and  Stripes  and  the 
white  cottage  of  the  keeper;  saw  themselves  idle  a 
few  weeks  in  tolerable  quarters,  and  then  step  on 
board  the  China  mail,  romantic  waifs,  and  yet  with 
pocketsful  of  money,  calling  for  champagne  and 
waited  on  by  troops  of  stewards.  Breakfast,  that 
had  begun  so  dully,  ended  amid  sober  jubilation, 
and  all  hands  turned  immediately  to  prepare  the 
boat. 

Now  that  all  spars  were  gone,  it  was  no  easy  job 
to  get  her  launched.  Some  of  the  necessary  cargo 
was  first  stowed  on  board:  the  specie,  in  particular, 
being  packed  in  a  strong  chest  and  secured  with 
lashings  to  the  afterthwart  in  case  of  a  capsize.  Then 
a  piece  of  the  bulwark  was  razed  to  the  level  of  the 
deck,  and  the  boat  swung  thwart-ship,  made  fast  with 
a  slack  line  to  either  stump,  and  successfully  run  out. 
For  a  voyage  of  forty  miles  to  hospitable  quarters,  not 
much  food  or  water  was  required ;  but  they  took  both 
in  superfluity.  Amalu  and  Mac,  both  ingrained 
sailor-men,  had  chests  which  were  the  headquarters 
of  their  lives;  two  more  chests  with  hand-bags,  oil- 
skins, and  blankets  supplied  the  others;  Hadden, 
amid  general  applause,  added  the  last  case  of  the 
brown  sherry;  the  captain  brought  the  log,  instru- 


THE  BUDGET  OF  THE  "CURRENCY  LASS."    373 

ments,  and  chronometer;  nor  did  Hemstead  forget 
the  banjo  or  a  pinned  handkerchief  of  Butaritari 
shells. 

It  was  about  three  p.m.  when  they  pushed  off,  and 
(the  wind  being  still  westerly)  fell  to  the  oars. 
"Well,  we've  got  the  guts  out  of  you!"  was  the 
captain's  nodded  farewell  to  the  hulk  of  the  Currency 
Lass,  which  presently  shrank  and  faded  in  the  sea. 
A  little  after  a  calm  succeeded  with  much  rain ;  and 
the  first  meal  was  eaten,  and  the  watch  below  lay 
down  to  their  uneasy  slumber  on  the  bilge  under  a 
roaring  shower-bath.  The  twenty-ninth  dawned  over- 
head from  out  of  ragged  clouds ;  there  is  no  moment 
when  a  boat  at  sea  appears  so  trenchantly  black  and 
so  conspicuously  little;  and  the  crew  looked  about 
them  at  the  sky  and  water  with  a  thrill  of  loneliness 
and  fear.  With  sunrise  the  trade  set  in,  lusty  and 
true  to  the  point ;  sail  was  made ;  the  boat  flew ;  and 
by  about  four  of  the  afternoon,  they  were  well  up 
with  the  closed  part  of  the  reef,  and  the  captain 
standing  on  the  thwart,  and  holding  by  the  mast,  was 
studying  the  island  through  the  binoculars. 

"  Well,  and  where's  your  station  ? "  cried  Mac. 

"I  don't  someway  pick  it  up,"  replied  the  cap- 
tain. 

"  No,  nor  never  will ! "  retorted  Mac,  with  a  clang 
of  despair  and  triumph  in  his  tones. 

The  truth  was  soon  plain  to  all.  No  buoys,  no 
beacons,  no  lights,  no  coal,  no  station ;  the  castaways 
pulled  through  a  lagoon  and  landed  on  an  isle,  where 
was  no  mark  of  man  but  wreckwood,  and  no  sound 
but  of  the  sea.  For  the  sea-fowl  that  harboured  and 
lived  there  at  the  epoch  of  my  visit  were  then 
scattered  into  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  ocean,  and 
had  left  no  traces  of  their  sojourn  besides  dropped 
feathers  and  addled  eggs.  It  was  to  this  they  had 
been  sent,  for  this  they  had  stopped  all  night  over 
the  dripping  oars,  hourly  moving  further  from  relief. 


374  THE   WRECKER. 

The  boat,  for  as  small  as  it  was,  was  yet  eloquent  of 
the  hands  of  men,  a  thing  alone  indeed  upon  the  sea 
but  yet  in  itself  all  human ;  and  the  isle,  for  which 
they  had  exchanged  it,  was  ingloriously  savage,  a 
place  of  distress,  solitude,  and  hunger  unrelieved. 
There  was  a  strong  glare  and  shadow  of  the  evening 
over  all;  in  which  they  sat  or  lay,  not  speaking, 
careless  even  to  eat,  men  swindled  out  of  life  and 
riches  by  a  lying  book.  In  the  great  good-nature  of 
the  whole  party,  no  word  of  reproach  had  been 
addressed  to  Hadden,  the  author  of  these  disasters. 
But  the  new  blow  was  less  magnanimously  borne, 
and  many  angry  glances  rested  on  the  captain. 

Yet  it  was  himself  who  roused  them  from  their 
lethargy.  Grudgingly  they  obeyed,  drew  the  boat 
beyond  tidemark,  and  followed  him  to  the  top  of  the 
miserable  islet,  whence  a  view  was  commanded  of  the 
whole  wheel  of  the  horizon,  then  part  darkened  under 
the  coming  night,  part  dyed  with  the  hues  of  the 
sunset  and  populous  with  the  sunset  clouds.  Here 
the  camp  was  pitched  and  a  tent  run  up  with  the 
oars,  sails,  and  mast.  And  here  Amalu,  at  no  man's 
bidding,  from  the  mere  instinct  of  habitual  service, 
built  a  fire  and  cooked  a  meal.  Night  was  come,  and 
the  stars  and  the  silver  sickle  of  new  moon  beamed 
overhead,  before  the  meal  was  ready.  The  cold  sea 
shone  about  them,  and  the  fire  glowed  in  their  faces 
as  they  ate.  Tommy  had  opened  his  case,  and  the 
brown  sherry  went  the  round ;  but  it  was  long  before 
they  came  to  conversation. 

"  Well,  is  it  to  be  Kauai,  after  all  ? "  asked  Mac 
suddenly. 

"  This  is  bad  enough  for  me,"  said  Tommy.  "  Let's 
stick  it  out  where  we  are." 

"  Well,  I  can  tell  ye  one  thing,"  said  Mac,  "  if  ye 
care  to  hear  it.  When  I  was  in  the  China  mail,  we 
once  made  this  island.  It's  in  the  course  from 
Honolulu." 


THE  BUDGET  OF   THE   "CURRENCY   LASS."         375 

"  Deuce  it  is !  "  cried  Carthew.  "  That  settles  it, 
then.  Let's  stay.  We  must  keep  good  fires  going ; 
and  there's  plenty  wreck." 

"  Lashings  of  wreck ! "  said  the  Irishman.  "  There's 
nothing  here  but  wreck  and  coffin  boards." 

"  But  we'll  have  to  make  a  proper  blyze,"  objected 
Hemstead.  "  You  can't  see  a  fire  like  this,  not  any 
wye  awye,  I  mean." 

"  Can't  you  ? "  said  Carthew.     "  Look  round." 

They  did,  and  saw  the  hollow  of  the  night,  the 
bare,  bright  face  of  the  sea,  and  the  stars  regarding 
them ;  and  the'  voices  died  in  their  bosoms  at  the 
spectacle.  In  that  huge  isolation,  it  seemed  they 
must  be  visible  from  China  on  the  one  hand  and 
California  on  the  other. 

"  My  God,  it's  dreary  !     whispered  Hemstead. 

"  Dreary  ? "  cried  Mac,  and  fell  suddenly  silent. 

*  It's  better  than  a  boat,  anyway,"  said  Hadden. 
"  I've  had  my  bellyful  of  boat." 

*  What  kills  me  is  that  specie ! "  the  captain  broke 
out.  "Think  of  all  that  riches — four  thousand  in 
gold,  bad  silver,  and  short  bills — all  found  money,  too ! 
— and  no  more  use  than  that  much  dung ! " 

"  I'll  tell  you  one  thing,"  said  Tommy.  "  I  don't 
like  it  being  in  the  boat — I  don't  care  to  have  it  so  far 
away." 

"  Why,  who's  to  take  it  ? "  cried  Mac,  with  a 
guffaw  of  evil  laughter. 

But  this  was  not  at  all  the  feeling  of  the  part- 
ners, who  rose,  clambered  down  the  isle,  brought 
back  the  inestimable  treasure-chest  slung  upon 
two  oars,  and  set  it  conspicuous  in  the  shining  of 
the  fire. 

"  There's  my  beauty ! "  cried  Wicks,  viewing  it  with 
a  cocked  head ;  "  that's  better  than  a  bonfire.  What ! 
we  have  a  chest  here,  and  bills  for  close  upon  two 
thousand  pounds  ;  there's  no  show  to  that — it  would 
go  in  your  vest  pocket — but  the  rest !    upwards  of 


376  THE   WRECKER. 

forty  pounds  avoirdupois  of  coined  gold,  and  close  on 
two  hundredweight  of  Chile  silver !  What !  ain't  that 
good  enough  to  fetch  a  fleet  ?  Do  you  mean  to  say 
that  won't  affect  a  ship's  compass  ?  Do  you  mean  to 
tell  me  that  the  look-out  won't  turn  to  and  smell  it  ? " 
he  cried. 

Mac,  who  had  no  part  nor  lot  in  the  bills,  the  forty 
pounds  of  gold,  or  the  two  hundredweight  of  silver, 
heard  this  with  impatience,  and  fell  into  a  bitter, 
choking  laughter.  "  You'll  see !  "  he  said  harshly. 
"  You'll  be  glad  to  feed  them  bills  into  the  fire  before 
you're  through  with  ut !  "  And  he  turned,  passed  by 
himself  out  of  the  ring  of  the  firelight,  and  stood 
gazing  seaward. 

His  speech  and  his  departure  extinguished 
instantly  those  sparks  of  better  humour  kindled  by 
the  dinner  and  the  chest.  The  group  fell  again  to  an 
ill-favoured  silence,  and  Hemstead  began  to  touch  the 
banjo,  as  was  his  habit  of  an  evening.  His  repertory 
was  small :  the  chords  of  "  Home,  Sweet  Home  "  fell 
under  his  fingers ;  and  when  he  had  played  the 
symphony,  he  instinctively  raised  up  his  voice.  "  Be 
it  never  so  'umble,  there's  no  plyce  like  'ome,"  he 
sang.  The  last  word  was  still  upon  his  lips,  when 
the  instrument  was  snatched  from  him  and  dashed 
into  the  fire ;  and  he  turned  with  a  cry  to  look  into 
the  furious  countenance  of  Mac. 

"  I'll  be  damned  if  I  stand  this ! "  cried  the  captain, 
leaping  up  belligerent. 

"  I  told  ye  I  was  a  voilent  man,"  said  Mac,  with  a 
movement  of  deprecation  very  surprising  in  one  of 
his  character.  "  Why  don't  he  give  me  a  chance, 
then  ?  Haven't  we  enough  to  bear  the  way  we  are  ? " 
And  to  the  wonder  and  dismay  of  all,  the  man  choked 
upon  a  sob.  "  It's  ashamed  of  meself  I  am,"  he  said 
presently,  his  Irish  accent  twenty-fold  increased. 
'•  I  ask  all  your  pardons  for  me  voilence;  and  especially 
the  little    man's,   who    is   a  harmless   craytur,   and 


THE  BUDGET  OF  THE  "CURRENCY  LASS."    377 

here's  me  hand  to'in,  if*  he'll  condescind  to  take  me 

So  this  scene  of  barbarity  and  sentimentalism 
passed  off,  leaving  behind  strange  and  incongruous 
impressions.  True,  everyone  was  perhaps  glad  when 
silence  succeeded  that  all  too  appropriate  music ; 
true,  Mac's  apology  and  subsequent  behaviour  rather 
raised  him  in  the  opinion  of  his  fellow-castaways. 
But  the  discordant  note  had  been  struck,  and  its 
harmonics  tingled  in  the  brain.  In  that  savage, 
houseless  isle,  the  passions  of  man  had  sounded,  if 
only  for  the  moment,  and  all  men  trembled  at  the 
possibilities  of  horror. 

It  was  determined  to  stand  watch  and  watch  in 
case  of  passing  vessels ;  and  Tommy,  on  fire  with  an 
idea,  volunteered  to  stand  the  first.  The  rest  crawled 
under  the  tent,  and  were  soon  enjoying  that  comfort- 
able gift  of  sleep,  which  comes  everywhere  and  to  all 
men,  quenching  anxieties  and  speeding  time.  And 
no  sooner  were  all  settled,  no  sooner  had  the  drone 
of  many  snorers  begun  to  mingle  with  and  overcome 
the  surf,  than  Tommy  stole  from  his  post  with  the 
case  of  sherry,  and  dropped  it  in  a  quiet  cove  in  a 
fathom  of  water.  But  the  stormy  inconstancy  of 
Mac's  behaviour  had  no  connection  with  a  gill  or  two 
of  wine  ;  his  passions,  angry  and  otherwise,  were  on  a 
different  sail  plan  from  his  neighbours' ;  and  there 
were  possibilities  of  good  and  evil  in  that  hybrid  Celt 
beyond  their  prophecy. 

About  two  in  the  morning,  the  starry  sky — or  so 
it  seemed,  for  the  drowsy  watchman  had  not  observed 
the  approach  of  any  cloud  —  brimmed  over  in  a 
deluge ;  and  for  three  days  it  rained  without  remis- 
sion. The  islet  was  a  sponge,  the  castaways  sops  ;  the 
view  all  gone,  even  the  reef  concealed  behind  the 
curtain  of  the  falling  water.  The  fire  was  soon 
drowned  out ;  after  a  couple  of  boxes  of  matches  had 
been  scratched  in  vain,  it  was  decided  to  wait  for 


378  THE  WRECKER. 

better  weather ;  and  the  party  lived  in  wretchedness 
on  raw  tins  and  a  ration  of  hard  bread. 

By  the  2nd  February,  in  the  dark  hours  of  the 
morning  watch,  the  clouds  were  all  blown  by;  the 
sun  rose  glorious ;  and  once  more  the  castaways  sat 
by  a  quick  fire,  and  drank  hot  coffee  with  the  greed 
of  brutes  and  sufferers.  Thenceforward  their  affairs 
moved  in  a  routine.  A  fire  was  constantly  main- 
tained ;  and  this  occupied  one  hand  continuously, 
and  the  others  for  an  hour  or  so  in  the  day.  Twice  a 
day,  all  hands  bathed  in  the  lagoon,  their  chief, 
almost  their  only  pleasure.  Often  they  fished  in  the 
lagoon  with  good  success.  And  the  rest  was  passed 
in  lolling,  strolling,  yarns,  and  disputation.  The 
time  of  the  China  steamers  was  calculated  to  a 
nicety;  which  done,  the  thought  was  rejected  and 
ignored.  It  was  one  that  would  not  bear  considera- 
tion. The  boat  voyage  having  been  tacitly  set  aside, 
the  desperate  part  chosen  to  wait  there  for  the 
coming  of  help  or  of  starvation,  no  man  had  courage 
left  to  look  his  bargain  in  the  face,  far  less  to  discuss 
it  with  his  neighbours.  But  the  unuttered  terror 
haunted  them;  in  every  hour  of  idleness,  at  every 
moment  of  silence,  it  returned,  and  breathed  a  chill 
about  the  circle,  and  carried  men's  eyes  to  the  hori- 
zon. Then,  in  a  panic  of  self-defence,  they  would 
rally  to  some  other  subject.  And,  in  that  lone  spot, 
what  else  was  to  be  found  to  speak  of  but  the 
treasure  ? 

That  was  indeed  the  chief  singularity,  the  one 
thing  conspicuous  in  their  island  life  ;  the  presence  of 
that  chest  of  bills  and  specie  dominated  the  mind  like 
a  cathedral ;  and  there  were  besides  connected  with 
it,  certain  irking  problems  well  fitted  to  occupy  the 
idle.  Two  thousand  pounds  were  due  to  the  Sydney 
firm  ;  two  thousand  pounds  were  clear  profit,  and  fell 
to  be  divided  in  varying  proportions  among  six.  It 
had  been  agreed  how  the  partners  were   to  range ; 


J           fli 

^Kt*»H&^^                      aH         hR^                                        :'*7 

19 

J 

THE  BUDGET  OF  THE  "CURRENCY  LASS."    379 

every  pound  of  capital  subscribed,  every  pound  that 
fell  due  in  wages,  was  to  count  for  one  "lay."  Of 
these,  Tommy  could  claim  five  hundred  and  ten, 
Carthew  one  hundred  and  seventy,  Wicks  one  hundred 
and  forty,  and  Hemstead  and  Amalu  ten  apiece: 
eight  hundred  and  forty  "lays"  in  all.  What  was 
the  value  of  a  lay  ?  This  was  at  first  debated  in  the 
air  and  chiefly  by  the  strength  of  Tommy's  lungs. 
Then  followed  a  series  of  incorrect  calculations  ;  from 
which  they  issued,  arithmetically  foiled,  but  agreed 
from  weariness  upon  an  approximate  value  of 
£2  7s.  7Jd.  The  figures  were  admittedly  incorrect ; 
the  sum  of  the  shares  came  not  to  £2,000,  but  to 
£1,996  6s.— £3  14s.  being  thus  left  unclaimed. 
But  it  was  the  nearest  they  had  yet  found,  and  the 
highest  as  well,  so  that  the  partners  were  made  the 
less  critical  by  the  contemplation  of  their  splendid 
dividends.  Wicks  put  in  £100  and  stood  to  draw 
captain's  wages  for  two  months ;  his  taking  was 
£333  3s.  6} d.  Carthew  had  put  in  £150 :  he  was  to 
take  out  £401  18s.  6|d.  Tommy's  £500  had  grown 
to  be  £1,213  12s.  9f  d ;  and  Amalu  and  Hem- 
stead,  ranking  for  wages  only,  had  £22  16s.  0^d. 
each. 

From  talking  and  brooding  on  these  figures  it  was 
but  a  step  to  opening  the  chest,  and  once  the  chest 
open  the  glamour  of  the  cash  was  irresistible.  Each 
felt  that  he  must  see  his  treasure  separate  with  the 
eye  of  flesh,  handle  it  in  the  hard  coin,  mark  it  for  his 
own,  and  stand  forth  to  himself  the  approved  owner. 
And  here  an  insurmountable  difficulty  barred  the 
way.  There  were  some  seventeen  shillings  in  English 
silver,  the  rest  was  Chile  ;  and  the  Chile  dollar,  which 
had  been  taken  at  the  rate  of  six  to  the  pound  sterling, 
was  practically  their  smallest  coin.  It  was  decided, 
therefore,  to  divide  the  pounds  only,  and  to  throw 
the  shillings,  pence,  and  fractions  in  a  common 
fund.     This,  with  the  three  pound  fourteen  already 


380  THE   WRECKER. 

in  the  heel,  made  a  total  of  seven  pounds  one 
shilling. 

"Ill  tell  you,"  said  Wicks.  "Let  Carthew  and 
Tommy  and  me  take  one  pound  apiece,  and  Hemstead 
and  Amalu  split  the  other  four,  and  toss  up  for  the  odd 
bob." 

"  Oh,  rot ! "  said  Carthew.  "  Tommy  and  I  are 
bursting  already.  We  can  take  half  a  sov.  each,  and 
let  the  other  three  have  forty  shillings." 

"  I'll  tell  you  now,  it's  not  worth  splitting,"  broke  in 
Mac.  "  I've  cards  in  my  chest.  Why  don't  you  play 
for  the  lump  sum  ?  " 

In  that  idle  place  the  proposal  was  accepted  with 
delight.  Mac,  as  the  owner  of  the  cards,  was  given  a 
stake ;  the  sum  was  played  for  in  five  games  of  crib- 
bage ;  and  when  Amalu,  the  last  survivor  in  the 
tournament,  was  beaten  by  Mac  it  was  found  the 
dinner-hour  was  past.  After  a  hasty  meal  they  fell 
again  immediately  to  cards,  this  time  (on  Carthew's 
proposal)  to  Yan  John.  It  was  then  probably  two 
p.m.  of  the  9th  of  February,  and  they  played  with 
varying  chances  for  twelve  hours,  slept  neavily,  and 
rose  late  on  the  morrow  to  resume  the  game.  All  day 
of  the  10th,  with  grudging  intervals  for  food,  and  with 
one  long  absence  on  the  part  of  Tommy,  from  which  he 
returned  dripping  with  the  case  of  sherry,  they  con- 
tinued to  deal  and  stake.  Night  fell ;  they  drew  the 
closer  to  the  fire.  It  was  maybe  two  in  the  morning, 
and  Tommy  was  selling  his  deal  by  auction,  as  usual 
with  that  timid  player,  when  Carthew,  who  didn't 
intend  to  bid,  had  a  moment  of  leisure  and  looked 
round  him.  He  beheld  the  moonlight  on  the  sea,  the 
money   piled   and    scattered    in    that    incongruous 

Elace,  the  perturbed  faces  of  the  players.  He  felt  in 
is  own  breast  the  familiar  tumult ;  and  it  seemed  as 
if  there  rose  in  his  ears  a  sound  of  music,  and  the 
moon  seemed  still  to  shine  upon  a  sea,  but  the  sea  was 
changed,  and  the  Casino  towered  from  among  lamp- 


THE   BUDGET   OF   THE   "CURRENCY   LASS."         381 

lit  gardens,  and  the  money  clinked  on  the  green  board. 
*  Good  God ! "  he  thought,  am  I  gambling  again  ? " 
He  looked  the  more  curiously  about  the  sandy  table. 
He  and  Mac  had  played  and  won  like  gamblers ;  the 
mingled  gold  and  silver  lay  by  their  places  in  the 
heap.  Amalu  and  Hemstead  had  each  more  than 
held  their  own,  but  Tommy  was  cruel  far  to  leeward, 
and  the  captain  was  reduced  to  perhaps  fifty 
pounds. 

"  I  say,  let's  knock  off,"  said  Carthew. 

"  Give  that  man  a  glass  of  Buckle,"  said  someone, 
and  a  fresh  bottle  was  opened,  and  the  game  went 
inexorably  on. 

Carthew  was  himself  too  heavy  a  winner  to  with- 
draw or  to  say  more,  and  all  the  rest  of  the  night  he 
must  look  on  at  the  progress  of  this  folly,  and  make 
gallant  attempts  to  lose  with  the  not  uncommon  con- 
sequence of  winning  more.  The  first  dawn  of  the  11th 
February  found  him  well-nigh  desperate.  It  chanced 
he  was  then  dealer  and  still  winning.  He  had 
just  dealt  a  round  of  many  tens;  everyone  had 
staked  heavily.  The  captain  had  put  up  all  that 
remained  to  him — twelve  pounds  in  gold  and  a 
few  dollars — and  Carthew,  looking  privately  at  his 
cards  before  he  showed  them,  found  he  held  a 
natural. 

"  See  here,  you  fellows,"  he  broke  out,  "  this  is  a 
sickening  business,  and  I'm  done  with  it  for  one." 
So  saying,  he  showed  his  cards,  tore  them  across,  and 
rose  from  the  ground. 

The  company  stared  and  murmured  in  mere 
amazement;  but  Mac  stepped  gallantly  to  his  sup- 
port. 

"  We've  had  enough  of  it,  I  do  believe,"  said  he. 
"  But  of  course  it  was  all  fun,  and  here's  my  counters 
back.  "  All  counters  in,  boys ! "  and  he  began  to 
pour  bis  winnings  into  the  chest,  which  stood  fortu- 
nately near  him. 


382  THE   WRECKER. 

Carthew  stepped  across  and  wrung  him  by  the 
hand.     "  I'll  never  forget  this,"  he  said. 

"  And  what  are  ye  going  to  do  with  the  Highway 
boy  and  the  plumber  ? "  inquired  Mac,  in  a  low  tone 
of  voice.     "  They've  both  wan,  ye  see." 

"  That's  true  ! "  said  Carthew  aloud.  "  Amalu  and 
Hem  stead,  count  your  winnings ;  Tommy  and  I  pay 
that." 

It  was  carried  without  speech;  the  pair  glad 
enough  to  receive  their  winnings,  it  mattered  not 
from  whence;  and  Tommy,  who  had  lost  about 
five  hundred  pounds,  delighted  with  the  com- 
promise. 

"And  how  about  Mac?"  asked  Hemstead.  "Is 
he  to  lose  all  ? " 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,  plumber.  I'm  sure  ye  mean 
well,"  returned  the  Irishman,  "  but  you'd  better  shut 
your  face,  for  I'm  not  that  kind  of  a  man.  If  I 
t'ought  I  had  wan  that  money  fair,  there's  never  a 
soul  here  could  get  it  from  me.  But  I  t'ought  it  was 
in  fun ;  that  was  my  mistake,  ye  see ;  and  there's  no 
man  big  enough  upon  this  island  to  give  a  present  to 
my  mother's  son.  So  there's  my  opinion  to  ye, 
plumber,  and  you  can  put  it  in  your  pockut  till 
required." 

"  Well,  I  will  say,  Mac,  you're  a  gentleman,"  said 
Carthew,  as  he  helped  him  to  shovel  back  his 
winnings  into  the  treasure  chest. 

"Divil  a  fear  of  it,  sir!  a  drunken  sailor-man," 
said  Mac. 

The  captain  had  sat  somewhile  with  his  face  in 
his  hands ;  now  he  rose  mechanically,  shaking  and 
stumbling  like  a  drunkard  after  a  debauch.  But  as 
he  rose,  his  face  was  altered,  and  his  voice  rang  out 
over  the  isle,  "  Sail,  ho ! " 

All  turned  at  the  cry,  and  there,  in  the  wild  light 
of  the  morning,  heading  straight  for  Midway  Reef, 
was  the  brig  Flying  Scud  of  Hull. 


383 
CHAPTER    XXIV. 

A    HARD    BARGAIN. 

The  ship  which  thus  appeared  before  the  castaways 
had  long  "  tramped "  the  ocean,  wandering  from  one 
port  to  another  as  freights  offered.  She  was  two 
years  out  from  London,  by  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope, 
India,  and  the  Archipelago ;  and  was  now  bound  for 
San  Francisco  in  the  hope  of  working  homeward 
round  the  Horn.  Her  captain  was  one  Jacob  Trent. 
He  had  retired  some  five  years  before  to  a  suburban 
cottage,  a  patch  of  cabbages,  a  gig,  and  the  conduct 
of  what  he  called  a  Bank.  The  name  appears  to 
have  been  misleading.  Borrowers  were  accustomed 
to  choose  works  of  art  and  utility  in  the  front  shop ; 
loaves  of  sugar  and  bolts  of  broadcloth  were  de- 
posited in  pledge ;  and  it  was  a  part  of  the  manager's 
duty  to  dash  in  his  gig  on  Saturday  evenings  from 
one  small  retainer's  to  another,  and  to  annex  in  each 
the  bulk  of  the  week's  takings.  His  was  thus  an 
active  life,  and  to  a  man  of  the  type  of  a  rat,  filled 
with  recondite  joys.  An  unexpected  loss,  a  lawsuit, 
and  the  unintelligent  commentary  of  the  judge  upon 
the  bench,  combined  to  disgust  him  of  the  business. 
I  was  so  extraordinarily  fortunate  as  to  find,  in  an 
old  newspape^,  a  report  of  the  proceedings  in  Lyall  v. 
The  Cardiff  Mutual  Accommodation  Banking  Co. 
"I  confess  I  fail  entirely  to  understand  the  nature 
of  the  business,"  the  judge  had  remarked,  while  Trent 
was  being  examined  in  chief;  a  little  after,  on  fuller 
information — "  They  call  it  a  bank,"  he  had  opined, 
"  but  it  seems  to  me  to  be  an  unlicensed  pawnshop ; " 
and  he  wound  up  with  this  appalling  allocution : 
"Mr.  Trent,  I  must  put  you  on  your  guard;  you 
must  be  very  careful,  or  we  shall  see  you  here  again." 
In  the  inside  of  a  week  the  captain  disposed  of  the 


384  THE   WRECKER. 

bank,  the  cottage,  and  the  gig  and  horse ;  and  to  sea 
again  in  the  Flying  Scud,  where  he  did  well  and 
gave  high  satisfaction  to  his  owners.  But  the  glory 
clung  to  him ;  he  was  a  plain  sailor-man,  he  said, 
but  he  could  never  long  allow  you  to  forget  that  he 
had  been  a  banker. 

His  mate,  Elias  Goddedaal,  was  a  huge  Yiking  of  a 
man,  six  feet  three  and  of  proportionate  mass,  strong, 
sober,  industrious,  musical,  and  sentimental.  He  ran 
continually  over  into  Swedish  melodies,  chiefly  in  the 
minor.  He  had  paid  nine  dollars  to  hear  Patti;  to 
hear  Nilsson,  he  had  deserted  a  ship  and  two  months' 
wages;  and  he  was  ready  at  any  time  to  walk  ten 
miles  for  a  good  concert  or  seven  to  a  reasonable  play. 
On  board  he  had  three  treasures :  a  canary  bird,  a 
concertina,  and  a  blinding  copy  of  the  works  of  Shake- 
speare. He  had  a  gift,  peculiarly  Scandinavian,  of 
making  friends  at  sight :  an  elemental  innocence 
commended  him;  he  was  without  fear,  without 
reproach,  and  without  money  or  the  hope  of  making 
it. 

Holdorsen  was  second  mate,  and  berthed  aft,  but 
messed  usually  with  the  hands. 

Of  one  more  of  the  crew,  some  image  lives.  This 
was  a  foremost  hand  out  of  the  Clyde,  of  the  name  of 
Brown.  A  small,  dark,  thick-set  creature,  with  dog's 
eyes,  of  a  disposition  incomparably  mild  and  harmless, 
he  knocked  about  seas  and  cities,  the  uncomplaining 
whiptop  of  one  vice.  "  The  drink  is  my  trouble,  ye 
see,"  he  said  to  Carthew  shyly;  "and  it's  the  more 
shame  to  me  because  I'm  come  of  very  good 
people  at  Bowling  down  the  'wa'er."  The  letter 
that  so  much  affected  Nares,  in  case  the  reader 
should  remember  it,  was  addressed  to  this  man 
Brown. 

Such  was  the  ship  that  now  carried  joy  into  the 
bosoms  of  the  castaways.  After  the  fatigue  and  the 
bestial  emotions  of  their  night  of  play,  the  approach 


A   HARD   BARGAIN.  385 

of  salvation  shook  them  from  all  self-control.  Their 
hands  trembled,  their  eyes  shone,  they  laughed  and 
shouted  like  children  as  they  cleared  their  camp  :  and 
someone  beginning  to  whistle  "  Marching  Through 
Georgia,"  the  remainder  of  the  packing  was  conducted, 
amidst  a  thousand  interruptions,  to  these  martial 
strains.  But  the  strong  head  of  Wicks  was  only 
partly  turned. 

"  Boys,"  he  said, "  easy  all !  We're  going  aboard  of 
a  ship  of  which  we  don't  know  nothing ;  we've  got  a 
chest  of  specie,  and  seeing  the  weight,  we  can't  turn 
to  and  deny  it.  Now,  suppose  she  was  fishy ;  sup- 
pose it  was  some  kind  of  a  Bully  Hayes  business! 
it's  my  opinion  we'd  better  be  on  hand  with  the 
pistols." 

Every  man  of  the  party  but  Hemstead  had  some 
kind  of  a  revolver ;  these  were  accordingly  loaded  and 
disposed  about  the  persons  of  the  castaways,  and  the 
packing  was  resumed  and  finished  in  the  same 
rapturous  spirit  as  it  was  begun.  The  sun  was  not 
yet  ten  degrees  above  the  eastern  sea,  but  the  brig 
was  already  close  in  and  hove  to,  before  they  had 
launched  the  boat  and  sped,  shouting  at  the  oars, 
towards  the  passage. 

It  was  blowing  fresh  outside  with  a  strong  send  of 
sea.  The  spray  flew  in  the  oarsmen's  faces.  They 
saw  the  Union  Jack  blow  abroad  from  the  Flying 
Scud,  the  men  clustered  at  the  rail,  the  cook  in  the 
galley  door,  the  captain  on  the  quarter-deck  with  a 
pith  helmet  and  binoculars.  And  the  whole  familiar 
business,  the  comfort,  company,  and  safety  of  a  ship, 
heaving  nearer  at  each  stroke,  maddened  them  with 

joy. 

Wicks  was  the  first  to  catch  the  line,  and  swarm 
on  board,  helping  hands  grabbing  him  as  he  came  and 
hauling  him  across  the  rail. 

"  Captain,  sir,  I  suppose  ? "  he  said,  turning  to  the 
hard  old  man  in  the  pith  helmet. 


386  THE   WRECKER. 

"Captain  Trent,  sir,"  returned  the  old  gentle- 
man. 

"  Well,  I'm  Captain  Kirkup,  and  this  is  the  crew 
of  the  Sydney  schooner  Currency  Lass,  dismasted  at 
sea  January  28th." 

"  Ay,  ay,"  said  Trent.  "  Well,  you're  all  right  now. 
Lucky  for  you  I  saw  your  signal.  I  didn't  know  I  was 
so  near  this  beastly  island,  there  must  be  a  drift  to 
the  south'ard  here ;  and  when  I  came  on  deck  this 
morning  at  eight  bells,  I  thought  it  was  a  ship 
afire." 

It  had  been  agreed  that,  while  Wicks  was  to  board 
the  ship  and  do  the  civil,  the  rest  were  to  remain  in 
the  whaleboat  and  see  the  treasure  safe.  A  tackle 
was  passed  down  to  them ;  to  this  they  made 
fast  the  invaluable  chest,  and  gave  the  word  to 
heave.  But  the  unexpected  weight  brought  the 
hand  at  the  tackle  to  a  stand ;  two  others  ran  to 
tail  on  and  help  him,  and  the  thing  caught  the 
eye  of  Trent. 

"'Vast  heaving!"  he  cried  sharply;  and  then  to 
Wicks:  "What's  that?  I  don't  ever  remember  to 
have  seen  a  chest  weigh  like  that." 

"  It's  money,"  said  Wicks. 

"  It's  what  ? "  cried  Trent. 

"  Specie,"  said  Wicks  ;  "  saved  from  the  wreck." 

Trent  looked  at  him  sharply.  "Here,  let  go 
that  chest  again,  Mr.  Goddedaal,"  he  commanded, 
"shove  the  boat  off,  and  stream  her  with  a  line 
astern." 

"  Ay,  ay,  sir ! "  from  Goddedaal. 

"  What  the  devil's  wrong  ? "  asked  Wicks. 

"Nothing,  I  daresay,"  returned  Trent.  "But 
you'll  allow  it's  a  queer  thing  when  a  boat  turns  up 
m  mid-ocean  with  half  a  ton  of  specie  and  every- 
body armed,"  he  added,  pointing  to  Wicks's  pocket. 
"Your  boat  will  lay  comfortably  astern,  while  you 
come  below  and  make  yourself  satisfactory." 


A   HARD   BARGAIN.  387 

"Oh,  if  that's  all!"  said  Wicks.  "My  log  and 
papers  are  as  right  as  the  mail ;  nothing  fishy  about 
us."  And  he  hailed  his  friends  in  the  boat,  bidding 
them  have  patience,  and  turned  to  follow  Captain 
Trent. 

"This  way,  Captain  Kirkup,"  said  the  latter. 
"  And  don't  blame  a  man  for  too  much  caution ;  no 
offence  intended;  and  these  China  rivers  shake  a 
fellow's  nerve.  All  I  want  is  just  to  see  you're  what 
you  say  you  are ;  it's  only  my  duty,  sir,  and  what  you 
would  do  yourself  in  the  circumstances.  I've  not 
always  been  a  ship-captain :  I  was  a  banker  once,  and 
I  tell  you  that's  the  trade  to  learn  caution  in.  You 
have  to  keep  your  weather- eye  lifting  Saturday 
nights."  And  with  a  dry,  business-like  cordiality, 
he  produced  a  bottle  of  gin. 

The  captains  pledged  each  other ;  the  papers  were 
overhauled ;  the  tale  of  Topelius  and  the  trade  was 
told  in  appreciative  ears  and  cemented  their  acquaint- 
ance. Trent's  suspicions,  thus  finally  disposed  of, 
were  succeeded  by  a  fit  of  profound  thought,  during 
which  he  sat  lethargic  and  stern,  looking  at  and 
drumming  on  the  table. 

"  Anything  more  ? "  asked  Wicks. 

"  What  sort  of  a  place  is  it  inside  ? "  inquired 
Trent,  sudden  as  though  Wicks  had  touched  a 
spring. 

"  It's  a  good  enough  lagoon — a  few  horses'  heads, 
but  nothing  to  mention,"  answered  Wicks. 

"I've  a  good  mind  to  go  in,"  said  Trent.  "I 
was  new  rigged  in  China;  it's  given  very  bad, 
and  I'm  getting  frightened  for  my  sticks.  We 
could  set  it  up  as  good  as  new  in  a  day.  For 
I  daresay  your  lot  would  turn  to  and  give  us  a 
hand?" 

"  You  see  if  we  don't ! "  said  Wicks. 

"So  be  it  then,"  concluded  Trent.     "A  stitch  in 
time  saves  nine." 
z  2 


388  THE   WRECKER. 

They  returned  on  deck ;  Wicks  cried  the  news  to 
the  Currency  Lasses ;  the  foretopsail  was  filled  again, 
and  the  brig  ran  into  the  lagoon  lively,  the  whaleboat 
dancing  in  her  wake,  and  came  to  single  anchor  off 
Middle  Brooks  Island  before  eight.  She  was  boarded 
by  the  castaways,  breakfast  was  served,  the  baggage 
slung  on  board  and  piled  in  the  waist,  and  all  hands 
turned  to  upon  the  rigging.  All  day  the  work  con- 
tinued, the  two  crews  rivalling  each  other  in  expense 
of  strength.  Dinner  was  served  on  deck,  the  officers 
messing  aft  under  the  slack  of  the  spanker,  the  men 
fraternising  forward.  Trent  appeared  in  excellent 
spirits,  served  out  grog  to  all  hands,  opened  a  bottle 
of  Cape  wine  for  the  after- table,  and  obliged  his 
guests  with  many  details  of  the  life  of  a  financier  in 
Cardiff.  He  had  been  forty  years  at  sea,  had  five 
times  suffered  shipwreck,  was  once  nine  months  the 
prisoner  of  a  pepper  rajah,  and  had  seen  service  under 
fire  in  Chinese  rivers ;  but  the  only  thing  he  cared  to 
talk  of,  the  only  thing  of  which  he  was  vain,  or  with 
which  he  thought  it  possible  to  interest  a  stranger, 
was  his  career  as  a  money-lender  in  the  slums  of  a 
seaport  town. 

The  afternoon  spell  told  cruelly  on  the  Currency 
Lasses.  Already  exhausted  as  they  were  with  sleep- 
lessness and  excitement,  they  did  the  last  hours  of 
this  violent  employment  on  bare  nerves ;  and  when 
Trent  was  at  last  satisfied  with  the  condition  of  his 
rigging,  expected  eagerly  the  word  to  put  to  sea.  But 
the  captain  seemed  in  no  hurry.  He  went  and 
walked  by  himself  softly,  like  a  man  in  thought. 
Presently  he  hailed  Wicks. 

"  You're  a  kind  of  company,  ain't  you,  Captain 
Kirkup  ?  "  he  inquired. 

"  Yes,  we're  all  on  board  on  lays,"  was  the 
reply. 

"  Well,  then,  you  won't  mind  if  I  ask  the  lot  of  you 
down  to  tea  in  the  cabin  ? "  asked  Trent. 


A    HARD   BARGAIN.  389 

Wicks  was  amazed,  but  he  naturally  ventured  no 
remark  ;  and  a  little  after,  the  six  Currency  Lasses  sat 
down  with  Trent  and  Goddedaal  to  a  spread  of  marma- 
lade, butter,  toast,  sardines,  tinned  tongue,  and  steam- 
ing tea.  The  food  was  not  very  good,  and  I  have  no 
doubt  Nares  would  have  reviled  it,  but  it  was  manna 
to  the  castaways.  Goddedaal  waited  on  them  with  a 
kindness  far  before  courtesy,  a  kindness  like  that  of 
some  old,  honest  countrywoman  in  her  farm.  It  Avas 
remembered  afterwards  that  Trent  took  little  share  in 
these  attentions,  but  sat  much  absorbed  in  thought, 
and  seemed  to  remember  and  forget  the  presence  of 
his  guests  alternately. 

Presently  he  addressed  the  Chinaman. 

"  Clear  out,"  said  he,  and  watched  him  till  he  had 
disappeared  in  the  stair.  "  Now,  gentlemen,"  he  went 
on,  "  I  understand  you're  a  joint-stock  sort  of  crew, 
and  that's  why  I've  had  you  all  down ;  for  there's  a 
point  I  want  made  clear.  You  see  what  sort  of 
a  ship  this  is — a  good  ship,  though  I  say  it,  and 
you  see  what  the  rations  are — good  enough  for  sailor- 
men." 

There  was  a  hurried  murmur  of  approval,  but 
curiosity  for  what  was  coming  next  prevented  an 
articulate  reply. 

"  Well,"  continued  Trent,  making  bread  pills  and 
looking  hard  at  the  middle  of  the  table,  "  I'm  glad  of 
course  to  be  able  to  give  you  a  passage  to  'Frisco ;  one 
sailor-man  should  help  another,  that's  my  motto.  But 
when  you  want  a  thing  in  this  world,  you  generally 
always  have  to  pay  for  it."  He  laughed  a  brief, 
joyless  laugh.  "  I  have  no  idea  of  losing  by  my  kind- 
ness." 

"  We  have  no  idea  you  should,  captain,"  said 
Wicks. 

"  We  are  ready  to  pay  anything  in  reason,"  added 
Carthew. 

At  the  words,  Goddedaal,  who  sat  next  to  him, 


390  THE   WRECKER. 

touched  him  with  his  elbow,  and  the  two  mates 
exchanged  a  significant  look.  The  character  of 
Captain  Trent  was  given  and  taken  in  that  silent 
second. 

"  In  reason  ?  "  repeated  the  captain  of  the  brig.  "  I 
was  waiting  for  that.  Reason's  between  two  people, 
and  there's  only  one  here.  I'm  the  judge  ;  I'm  reason. 
If  you  want  an  advance  you  have  to  pay  for  it " — he 
hastily  corrected  himself — "  If  you  want  a  passage  in 
my  ship,  you  have  to  pay  my  price,"  he  substituted. 
"  That's  business,  I  believe.  I  don't  want  you ;  you 
want  me." 

"  Well,  sir,"  said  Carthew,  "  and  what  is  your 
price  ? " 

The  captain  made  bread  pills.  "  If  I  were  like 
you,"  he  said,  "  when  you  got  hold  of  that  merchant 
in  the  Gilberts,  I  might  surprise  you.  You  had  your 
chance  then ;  seems  to  me  it's  mine  now.  Turn 
about's  fair  play.  What  kind  of  mercy  did  you  have 
on  that  Gilbert  merchant  ?  "  he  cried,  with  a  sudden 
stridency.  "  Not  that  I  blame  you.  All's  fair  in  love 
and  business,"  and  he  laughed  again,  a  little  frosty 
giggle. 

"  Well,  sir  ?  "  said  Carthew  gravely. 

"  Well,  this  ship's  mine,  I  think  ? "  he  asked 
sharply. 

"  Well,  I'm  of  that  way  of  thinking  meself," 
observed  Mac. 

*  I  say  it's  mine,  sir ! "  reiterated  Trent,  like 
a  man  trying  to  be  angry.  "  And  I  tell  you  all, 
if  I  was  a  driver  like  what  you  are,  I  would 
take  the  lot.  But  there's  two  thousand  pounds 
there  that  don't  belong  to  you,  and  I'm  an  honest 
man.  Give  me  the  two  thousand  that's  yours, 
and  I'll  give  you  a  passage  to  the  coast,  and 
land  every  man -jack  of  you  m  'Frisco  with  fifteen 
pounds  in  his  pocket,  and  the  captain  here  with 
twenty-five." 


A   HARD   BARGAIN.  391 

Goddedaal  laid  down  his  head  on  the  table  like  a 
man  ashamed. 

"  You're  joking,"  cried  Wicks,  purple  in  the 
face. 

"  Am  I  ?  "  said  Trent.  "  Please  yourselves.  You're 
under  no  compulsion.  This  ship's  mine,  but  there's 
that  Brooks  Island  don't  belong  to  me,  and  you  can 
lay  there  till  you  die  for  what  I  care." 

"  It's  more  than  your  blooming  brig's  worth  ! "  cried 
Wicks. 

"  It's  my  price  anyway,"  returned  Trent. 

"  And  do  you  mean  to  say  you  would  land  us  there 
to  starve  ? "  cried  Tommy. 

Captain  Trent  laughed  the  third  time.  "  Starve  ? 
I  defy  you  to/'  said  he.  "  I'll  sell  you  all  the  pro- 
visions you  want  at  a  fair  profit." 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,  sir,"  said  Mac,  "  but  my  case 
is  by  itself.  I'm  working  me  passage ;  I  got  no  share 
in  that  two  thousand  pounds  nor  nothing  in  my 
pockut ;  and  I'll  be  glad  to  know  what  you  have  to 
say  to  me  ?  " 

"  I  ain't  a  hard  man,"  said  Trent ;  "  that  shall  make 
no  difference.  I'll  take  you  with  the  rest,  only  of 
course  you  get  no  fifteen  pound." 

The  impudence  was  so  extreme  and  startling, 
that  all  breathed  deep,  and  Goddedaal  raised  up 
his  face  and  looked  his  superior  sternly  in  the 
eye. 

But  Mac  was  more  articulate.  "  And  you're  what 
ye  call  a  British  sayman,  I  suppose  ?  the  sorrow  in 
your  guts  ! "  he  cried. 

"  One.  more  such  word,  and  I  clap  you  in 
irons  !  "  said  Trent,  rising  gleefully  at  the  lace  of  op- 
position. 

"  And  where  would  I  be  the  while  you  were  doin' 
ut  ? "  asked  Mac.  "  After  you  and  your  rigging,  too  ! 
Ye  ould  puggy,  ye  haven't  the  civility  of  a  bug,  and 
I'll  learn  ye  some." 


392  THE   WRECKER. 

His  voice  did  not  even  rise  as  he  uttered  the  threat; 
no  man  present,  Trent  least  of  all,  expected  that  which 
followed.  The  Irishman's  hand  rose  suddenly  from 
below  the  table,  an  open  clasp-knife  balanced  on  the 
palm ;  there  was  a  movement  swift  as  conjuring ; 
Trent  started  half  to  his  feet,  turning  a  little  as  he 
rose  so  as  to  escape  the  table,  and  the  movement  was 
his  bane.  The  missile  struck  him  in  the  jugular ;  he 
fell  forward,  and  his  blood  flowed  among  the  dishes  on 
the  cloth. 

The  suddenness  of  the  attack  and  the  catastrophe, 
the  instant  change  from  peace  to  war  and  from  life  to 
death,  held  all  men  spellbound.  Yet  a  moment  they 
sat  about  the  table  staring  open-mouthed  upon  the 
prostrate  captain  and  the  flowing  blood.  The  next, 
Goddedaal  had  leaped  to  his  feet,  caught  up  the  stool 
in  which  he  had  been  sitting,  and  swung  it  high  in 
air,  a  man  transfigured,  roaring  (as  he  stood)  so  that 
men's  ears  were  stunned  with  it.  There  was  no  thought 
of  battle  in  the  Currency  Lasses ;  none  drew  his 
weapon ;  all  huddled  helplessly  from  before  the  face 
of  the  baresark  Scandinavian.  His  first  blow  sent 
Mac  to  ground  with  a  broken  arm.  His  second 
dashed  out  the  brains  of  Hemstead.  He  turned  from 
one  to  another,  menacing  and  trumpeting  like  a 
wounded  elephant,  exulting  in  his  rage.  But  there 
was  no  counsel,  no  light  of  reason,  in  that  ecstasy  of 
battle ;  and  he  shied  from  the  pursuit  of  victory  to 
hail  fresh  blows  upon  the  supine  Hemstead,  so  that 
the  stool  was  shattered  and  the  cabin  rang  with  their 
violence.  The  sight  of  that  post-mortem  cruelty  re- 
called Carthew  to  the  life  of  instinct,  and  his  revolver 
was  in  hand  and  he  had  aimed  and  fired  before  he 
knew.  The  ear-bursting  sound  of  the  report  was 
accompanied  by  a  yell  01  pain ;  the  colossus  paused, 
swayed,  tottered,  and  fell  headlong  on  the  body  of  his 
victim. 

In  the  instant  silence  that  succeeded,  the  sound  of 


A   HARD   BARGAIN.  393 

feet  pounding  on  the  deck  and  in  the  companion 
leaped  into  hearing;  and  a  face,  that  of  the  sailor 
Holdorsen,  appeared  below  the  bulkheads  in  the  cabin 
doorway.  Carthew  shattered  it  with  a  second  shot, 
for  he  was  a  marksman. 

"  Pistols  ! "  he  cried,  and  charged  at  the  companion, 
Wicks  at  his  heels,  Tommy  and  Amalu  following. 
They  trod  the  body  of  Holdorsen  underfoot,  and  flew 
upstairs  and  forth  into  the  dusky  blaze  of  a  sunset 
red  as  blood.  The  numbers  were  still  equal,  but  the 
Flying  Scuds  dreamed  not  of  defence,  and  fled 
with  one  accord  for  the  forecastle  scuttle.  Brown 
was  first  in  flight ;  he  disappeared  below  unscathed  ; 
the  Chinaman  followed  head-foremost  with  a  ball 
in  his  side ;  and  the  others  shinned  into  the 
rigging. 

A  tierce  composure  settled  upon  Wicks  and  Carthew, 
their  fighting  second  wind.  They  posted  Tommy  at 
the  fore  and  Amalu  at  the  main  to  guard  the  masts 
and  shrouds,  and  going  themselves  into  the  waist, 
poured  out  a  box  of  cartridges  on  deck  and  filled  the 
chambers.  The  poor  devils  aloft  bleated  aloud  for 
mercy.  But  the  hour  of  any  mercy  was  gone  by ;  the 
cup  was  brewed  and  must  be  drunken  to  the  dregs  ; 
since  so  many  had  fallen  all  must  fall.  The  light  was 
bad,  the  cheap  revolvers  fouled  and  carried  wild,  the 
screaming  wretches  were  swift  to  flatten  themselves 
against  the  masts  and  yards  or  find  a  momentary 
refuge  in  the  hanging  sails.  The  fell  business  took 
long,  but  it  was  done  at  last.  Hardy  the  Londoner 
was  shot  on  the  fore-royal  yard,  and  hung  horribly 
suspended  in  the  brails.  Wallen,  the  other,  had  his 
jaw  broken  on  the  maintop-gallant  crosstrees,  and  ex- 
posed himself,  shrieking,  till  a  second  shot  dropped 
him  on  the  deck. 

This  had  been  bad  enough,  but  worse  remained 
behind.  There  was  still  Brown  in  the  forepeak. 
Tommy,  with  a  sudden  clamour  of  weeping,  begged 


394  THE   WRECKER. 

for  his  life.  "One  man  can't  hurt  us,"  he  sobbed. 
"  We  can't  go  on  with  this.  I  spoke  to  him  at  dinner. 
He's  an  awful  decent  little  cad.  It  can't  be  done. 
Nobody  can  go  into  that  place  and  murder  him.  It's 
too  damned  wicked." 

The  sound  of  his  supplications  was  perhaps  audible 
to  the  unfortunate  below. 

"  One  left,  and  we  all  hang,"  said  Wicks.  "  Brown 
must  go  the  same  road."  The  big  man  was  deadly 
white  and  trembled  like  an  aspen ;  and  he  had  no 
sooner  finished  speaking,  than  he  went  to  the  ship's 
side  and  vomited. 

"  We  can  never  do  it  if  we  wait,"  said  Carthew. 
"Now  or  never,"  and  he  marched  towards  the 
scuttle. 

"  No,  no,  no ! "  wailed  Tommy,  clutching  at  his 
jacket. 

But  Carthew  flung  him  off,  and  stepped  down  the 
ladder,  his  heart  rising  with  disgust  and  shame.  The 
Chinaman  lay  on  the  floor,  still  groaning ;  the  place 
was  pitch  dark. 

"  Brown  ! "  cried  Carthew,  "  Brown,  where  are 
you?" 

His  heart  smote  him  for  the  treacherous  apostrophe, 
but  no  answer  came. 

He  groped  in  the  bunks :  they  were  all  empty. 
Then  he  moved  towards  the  forepeak,  which  was 
hampered  with  coils  of  rope  and  spare  chandlery  in 
general. 

"  Brown  ! "  he  said  again. 

"  Here,  sir,"  answered  a  shaking  voice ;  and  the 
poor  invisible  caitiff  called  on  him  by  name,  and 
poured  forth  out  of  the  darkness  an  endless,  garrulous 
appeal  for  mercy.  A  sense  of  danger,  of  daring,  had 
alone  nerved  Carthew  to  enter  the  forecastle ;  and 
here  was  the  enemy  crying  and  pleading  like  a 
frightened  child.  His  obsequious  "  Here,  sir,"  his 
horrid  fluency  of  obtestation,  made  the  murder  ten- 


A    HARD    BARGAIN.  395 

fold  more  revolting.  Twice  Carthew  raised  the 
pistol,  once  he  pressed  the  trigger  (or  thought  he 
did)  with  all  his  might,  but  no  explosion  followed ; 
and  with  that  the  lees  of  his  courage  ran  quite 
out,  and  he  turned  and  fled  from  before  his 
victim. 

Wicks  sat  on  the  fore  hatch,  raised  the  face  of  a 
man  of  seventy,  and  looked  a  wordless  question. 
Carthew  shook  his  head.  With  such  composure  as  a 
man  displays  marching  towards  the  gallows,  Wicks 
arose,  walked  to  the  scuttle,  and  went  down.  Brown 
thought  it  was  Carthew  returning,  and  discovered 
himself,  half-crawling  from  his  shelter,  with  another 
incoherent  burst  of  pleading.  Wicks  emptied 
his  revolver  at  the  voice,  which  broke  into 
mouse-like  whimperings  and  groans.  Silence  suc- 
ceeded, and  the  murderer  ran  on  deck  like  one 
possessed. 

The  other  three  were  now  all  gathered  on  the  fore 
hatch,  and  Wicks  took  his  place  beside  them  without 
question  asked  or  answered.  They  sat  close  like 
children  in  the  dark,  and  shook  each  other  with 
their  shaking.  The  dusk  continued  to  fall ;  and 
there  was  no  sound  but  the  beating  of  the  surf  and 
the  occasional  hiccup  of  a  sob  from  Tommy 
Hadden. 

"  God,  if  there  was  another  ship  !  "  cried  Carthew 
of  a  sudden. 

Wicks  started  and  looked  aloft  with  the  trick  of 
all  seamen,  and  shuddered  as  he  saw  the  hanging 
figure  on  the  royal-yard. 

"  If  I  went  aloft,  I'd  fall,"  he  said  simply.  "  I'm 
done  up." 

It  was  Amalu  who  volunteered,  climbed  to  the 
very  truck,  swept  the  fading  horizon,  and  announced 
nothing  within  sight. 

"  No  odds,"  said  Wicks.     "  We  can't  sleep    .    .    ." 

"  Sleep ! "  echoed  Carthew ;  and  it  seemed  as  if  the 


396  THE   WRECKER. 

whole  of  Shakespeare's  Macbeth  thundered  at  the 
gallop  through  his  mind. 

"  Well,  then,  we  can't  sit  and  chitter  here,"  said 
Wicks,  "  till  we've  cleaned  ship ;  and  I  can't  turn  to 
till  I've  had  gin,  and  the  gin's  in  the  cabin,  and  who's 
to  fetch  it  ? " 

"  I  will,"  said  Carthew,  "  if  anyone  has 
matches." 

Amalu  passed  him  a  box,  and  he  went  aft  and 
down  the  companion  and  into  the  cabin,  stumbling 
upon  bodies.  Then  he  struck  a  match,  and  his  looks 
fell  upon  two  living  eyes. 

"  Well  ? "  asked  Mac,  for  it  was  he  who  still 
survived  in  that  shambles  of  a  cabin. 

"  It's  done  ;  they're  all  dead,"  answered  Carthew. 

*  Christ ! "  said  the  Irishman,  and  fainted. 

The  gin  was  found  in  the  dead  captain's  cabin; 
it  was  brought  on  deck,  and  all  hands  had  a 
dram,  and  attacked  their  further  task.  The  night 
was  come,  the  moon  would  not  be  up  for  hours  ;  a 
lamp  was  set  on  the  main  hatch  to  light  Amalu  as  he 
washed  down  decks ;  and  the  galley  lantern  was 
taken  to  guide  the  others  in  their  graveyard  business. 
Holdorsen,  Hemstead,  Trent,  and  Goddedaal  were  first 
disposed  of,  the  last  still  breathing  as  he  went  over 
the  side ;  Wallen  followed  ;  and  then  Wicks,  steadied 
by  the  gin,  went  aloft  with  a  boathook  and  succeeded 
in  dislodging  Hardy.  The  Chinaman  was  their  last 
task ;  he  seemed  to  be  light-headed,  talked  aloud  in 
his  unknown  language  as  they  brought  him  up,  and 
it  was  only  with  the  splash  of  his  sinking  body 
that  the  gibberish  ceased.  Brown,  by  common 
consent  was  left  alone.  Flesh  and  blood  could  go  no 
farther. 

All  this  time  they  had  been  drinking  undiluted 
gin  like  water;  three  bottles  stood  broached  in 
different  quarters  ;  and  none  passed  without  a  gulp. 
Tommy  collapsed  against  the  mainmast ;  Wicks  fell 


A   BAD   BARGAIN.  397 

on  his  face  on  the  poop  ladder  and  moved  no  more ; 
Amalu  had  vanished  unobserved.  Carthew  was  the 
last  afoot :  he  stood  swaying  at  the  break  of  the  poop, 
and  the  lantern,  which  he  still  carried,  swung  with  his 
movement.  His  head  hummed;  it  swarmed  with 
broken  thoughts  ;  memory  of  that  day's  abominations 
flared  up  and  died  down  within  him,  like  the  light  of 
a  lamp  in  a  strong  draught.  And  then  he  had  a 
drunkard's  inspiration. 

"  There  must  be  no  more  of  this,"  he  thought,  and 
stumbled  once  more  below. 

The  absence  of  Holdorsen's  body  brought  him  to 
a  stand.  He  stood  and  stared  at  the  empty  floor,  and 
then  remembered  and  smiled.  From  the  captain's 
room  he  took  the  open  case  with  one  dozen  and  three 
bottles  of  gin,  put  the  lantern  inside,  and  walked 
precariously  forth.  Mac  was  once  more  conscious, 
his  eyes  haggard,  his  face  drawn  with  pain  and  flushed 
with  fever ;  and  Carthew  remembered  he  had  never 
been  seen  to,  had  lain  there  helpless,  and  was  so  to 
lie  all  night,  injured,  perhaps  dying.  But  it  was  now 
too  late  ;  reason  had  now  fled  from  that  silent  ship. 
If  Carthew  could  get  on  deck  again,  it  was  as  much 
as  he  could  hope ;  and  casting  on  the  unfortunate  a 
glance  of  pity,  the  tragic  drunkard  shouldered  his  way 
up  the  companion,  dropped  the  case  overboard,  and 
fell  in  the  scuppers  helpless. 


CHAPTER    XXY. 

A  BAD   BARGAIN. 


With  the  first  colour  in  the  east,  Carthew  awoke  and 
sat  up.  Awhile  he  gazed  at  the  scroll  of  the  morning 
bank  and  the  spars  and  hanging  canvas  of  the  brig, 


398  THE   WRECKER. 

like  a  man  who  wakes  in  a  strange  bed,  with  a  child's 
simplicity  of  wonder.  He  wondered  above  all  what 
ailed  him,  what  he  had  lost,  what  disfavour  had  been 
done  him,  which  he  knew  he  should  resent,  yet  had 
forgotten.  And  then,  like  a  river  bursting  through  a 
dam,  the  truth  rolled  on  him  its  instantaneous 
volume:  his  memory  teemed  with  speech  and 
pictures  that  he  should  never  again  forget;  and  he 
sprang  to  his  feet,  stood  a  moment  hand  to  brow,  and 
began  to  walk  violently  to  and  fro  by  the  companion. 
As  he  walked  he  wrung  his  hands.  "God — God — 
God,"  he  kept  saying,  with  no  thought  of  prayer, 
uttering  a  mere  voice  of  agony. 

The  time  may  have  been  long  or  short,  it  was 
perhaps  minutes,  perhaps  only  seconds,  ere  he 
awoke  to  find  himself  observed,  and  saw  the  captain 
sitting  up  and  watching  him  over  the  break  of  the 

Eoop,  a  strange  blindness  as  of  fever  in  his  eyes,  a 
aggard  knot  of  corrugations  on  his  brow.  Cain  saw 
himself  in  a  mirror.  For  a  flash  they  looked  upon 
each  other,  and  then  glanced  guiltily  aside;  and 
Carthew  fled  from  the  eye  of  his  accomplice,  and 
stood  leaning  on  the  taffrail. 

An  hour  went  by,  while  the  day  came  brighter, 
and  the  sun  rose  and  drank  up  the  clouds :  an  hour 
of  silence  in  the  ship,  an  hour  of  agony  beyond 
narration  for  the  sufferers.  Brown's  gabbling  prayers, 
the  cries  of  the  sailors  in  the  rigging,  strains  of  the 
dead  Hemstead's  minstrelsy,  ran  together  in  Carthew's 
mind  with  sickening  iteration.  He  neither  acquitted 
nor  condemned  himself:  he  did  not  think, he  suffered. 
In  the  bright  water  into  which  he  stared,  the  pictures 
changed  and  were  repeated:  the  baresark  rage  of 
Goddedaal;  the  blooa-red  light  of  the  sunset  into 
which  they  had  run  forth;  the  face  of  the  babbling 
Chinaman  as  they  cast  him  over;  the  face  of  the 
captain,  seen  a  moment  since,  as  he  awoke  from 
drunkenness  into  remorse.      And  time   passed,  and 


A   BAD   BARGAIN.  399 

the  sun  swain  higher,  and  his  torment  was  not 
abated. 

Then  were  fulfilled  many  sayings,  and  the  weakest 
of  these  condemned  brought  relief  and  healing  to  the 
others.  Amalu  the  drudge  awoke  (like  the  rest) 
to  sickness  of  body  and  distress  of  mind;  but  the 
habit  of  obedience  ruled  in  that  simple  spirit,  and, 
appalled  to  be  so  late,  he  went  direct  into  the  galley, 
kmdled  the  lire,  and  began  to  get  breakfast.  At  the 
rattle  of  dishes,  the  snapping  of  the  fire,  and  the  thin 
smoke  that  went  up  straight  into  the  air,  the  spell 
was  lifted.  The  condemned  felt  once  more  the  good 
dry  land  of  habit  under  foot ;  they  touched  again  the 
familiar  guide-ropes  of  sanity ;  they  were  restored  to  a 
sense  of  the  blessed  revolution  and  return  of  all 
things  earthly.  The  captain  drew  a  bucket  of  water 
and  began  to  bathe.  Tommy  sat  up,  watched  him 
awhile,  and  slowly  followed  his  example;  and 
Carthew,  remembering  his  last  thoughts  of  the 
night  before,  hastened  to  the  cabin. 

Mac  was  awake ;  perhaps  had  not  slept.  Over  his 
head  Goddedaal's  canary  twittered  shrilly  from  its 
cage. 

"  How  are  you  ? "  asked  Carthew. 

"  Me  arrum's  broke,"  returned  Mac ;  "  but  I  can 
stand  that.  It's  this  place  I  can't  abide.  I  was 
coming  on  deck  anyway." 

"Stay  where  you  are,  though,"  said  Carthew. 
"  It's  deadly  hot  above,  and   there's  no  wind.     I'll 

wash  out  this "  and  he  paused,  seeking  a  word 

and  not  finding  one  for  the  grisly  foulness  of  the 
cabin. 

"Faith,  I'll  be  obliged  to  ye,  then,"  replied  the 
Irishman.  He  spoke  mild  and  meek,  like  a  sick 
child  with  its  mother.  There  was  now  no  violence  in 
the  violent  man ;  and  as  Carthew  fetched  a  bucket 
and  swab  and  the  steward's  sponge,  and  began  to 
cleanse  the  field  of  battle,  he  alternately  watched  him 


400  THE   WRECKER. 

or  shut  his  eyes  and  sighed  like  a  man  near  fainting. 
"I  have  to  ask  all  your  pardons,"  he  began  again 
presently,  "and  the  more  shame  to  me  as  I  got  ye 
into  trouble  and  couldn't  do  nothing  when  it  came. 
Ye  saved  me  life,  sir ;  ye're  a  clane  shot." 

"  For  God's  sake,  don't  talk  of  it ! "  cried  Carthew. 
"  It  can't  be  talked  of ;  you  don't  know  what  it  was. 
It  was  nothing  down  here ;  they  fought.  On  deck — 
Oh,  my  God ! "  And  Carthew,  with  the  bloody- 
sponge  pressed  to  his  face,  struggled  a  moment  witn 
hysteria. 

"  Kape  cool,  Mr.  Cart'ew.  It's  done  now,"  said 
Mac  ;  "  and  ye  may  bless  God  ye're  not  in  pain  and 
helpless  in  the  bargain." 

There  was  no  more  said  by  one  or  other,  and  the 
cabin  was  pretty  well  cleansed  when  a  stroke  on  the 
ship's  bell  summoned  Carthew  to  breakfast.  Tommy 
had  been  busy  in  the  meanwhile ;  he  had  hauled  the 
whaleboat  close  aboard,  and  already  lowered  into  it  a 
small  keg  of  beef  that  he  found  ready  broached  beside 
the  galley  door ;  it  was  plain  he  had  but  the  one  idea 
— to  escape. 

"We  have  a  shipful  of  stores  to  draw  upon," 
he  said.  "Well,  what  are  we  staying  for?  Let's 
get  off  at  once  for  Hawaii.  I've  begun  preparing 
already." 

"Mac  has  his  arm  broken,"  observed  Carthew; 
"  how  would  he  stand  the  voyage  ? " 

"  A  broken  arm  ? "  repeated  the  captain.  "  That 
all  ?  I'll  set  it  after  breakfast.     I  thought  he  was  dead 

like  the  rest.     That  madman  hit  out  like "  and 

there,  at  the  evocation  of  the  battle,  his  voice  ceased 
and  the  talk  died  with  it. 

After  breakfast,  the  three  white  men  went  down 
into  the  cabin. 

"I've  come  to  set  your  arm,"  said  the  cap- 
tain. 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,  captain,"  replied  Mac ;  "  but 


A   BAD   BARGAIN.  401 

the  firrst  thing  }^e  got  to  do  is  to  get  this  ship  to  sea. 
We'll  talk  of  me  arrum  after  that." 

"Oh,  there's  no  such  blooming  hurry,"  returned 
Wicks. 

"  When  the  next  ship  sails  in  yell  tell  me 
stories  ! "  retorted  Mac. 

"  But  there's  nothing  so  unlikely  in  the  world," 
objected  Car  the  w. 

"  Don't  be  deceivin'  yourself,"  said  Mac.  "  If  ye 
want  a  ship,  divil  a  one'll  look  near  ye  in  six  year ; 
but  if  ye  don't,  ye  may  take  my  word  for  ut,  we'll 
have  a  squadron  lay  in'  here." 

"  That's  what  I  say,"  cried  Tommy ;  "  that's 
what  I  call  sense !  Let's  stock  that  whaleboat  and 
be  off." 

"  And  what  will  Captain  Wicks  be  thinking  of  the 
whaleboat  ?  "  asked  the  Irishman. 

"  I  don't  think  of  it  at  all,"  said  Wicks.  "  We've  a 
smart-looking  brig  under  foot;  that's  all  the  whale- 
boat  I  want." 

"Excuse  me!"  cried  Tommy.  "That's  childish 
talk.  You've  got  a  brig  to  be  sure,  and  what  use  is 
she  ?  You  daren't  go  anywhere  in  her.  What  port 
are  you  to  sail  for  ? " 

"  For  the  port  of  Davy  Jones's  Locker,  my  son," 
replied  the  captain.  "  This  brig's  going  to  be  lost  at 
sea.  I'll  tell  you  where,  too,  and  that's  about  forty 
miles  to  windward  of  Kauai.  We're  going  to  stay  by 
her  till  she's  down;  and  once  the  masts  are  under, 
she's  the  Flying  Scud  no  more,  and  we  never  heard 
of  such  a  brig;  and  it's  the  crew  of  the  schooner 
Currency  Lass  that  comes  ashore  in  the  boat,  and 
takes  the  first  chance  to  Sydney." 

"  Captain,  dear,  that's  the  first  Christian  word 
I've  heard  of  ut ! "  cried  Mac.  "  And  now,  just 
let  me  arrum  be,  jewel,  and  get  the  brig  out- 
side." 

"  I'm  as  anxious  as  yourself,  Mac,"  returned  Wicks ; 

AA 


402  THE   WRECKER. 

"  but  there's  not  wind  enough  to  swear  by.  So  let's 
see  your  arm,  and  no  more  talk." 

The  arm  was  set  and  splinted ;  the  body  of 
Brown  fetched  from  the  forepeak,  where  it  lay  stiff 
and  cold,  and  committed  to  the  waters  of  the  lagoon ; 
and  the  washing  of  the  cabin  rudely  finished.  All 
these  were  done  ere  mid-day ;  and  it  was  past  three 
when  the  first  cat's-paw  ruffled  the  lagoon,  and  the 
wind  came  in  a  dry  squall,  which  presently  sobered  to 
a  steady  breeze. 

The  interval  was  passed  by  all  in  feverish  im- 
patience, and  by  one  of  the  party  in  secret  and  extreme 
concern  of  mind.  Captain  Wicks  was  a  fore-and-aft 
sailor ;  he  could  take  a  schooner  through  a  Scotch 
reel,  felt  her  mouth  and  divined  her  temper  like  a 
rider  with  a  horse ;  she,  on  her  side,  recognising  her 
master  and  following  his  wishes  like  a  dog.  But  by  a 
not  very  unusual  train  of  circumstance,  the  man's 
dexterity  was  partial  and  circumscribed.  On  a 
schooner's  deck  he  was  Rembrandt,  or  (at  the 
least)  Mr.  Whistler;  on  board  a  brig  he  was  Pierre 
Grassou.  Again  and  again  in  the  course  of  the 
morning,  he  had  reasoned  out  his  policy  and  re- 
hearsed his  orders  ;  and  ever  with  the  same  depres- 
sion and  weariness.  It  was  guess-work ;  it  was  chance ; 
the  ship  might  behave  as  he  expected,  and  might 
not ;  suppose  she  failed  him,  he  stood  there  helpless, 
beggared  of  all  the  proved  resources  of  experience. 
Had  not  all  hands  been  so  weary,  had  he  not  feared 
to  communicate  his  own  misgivings,  he  could  have 
towed  her  out.  But  these  reasons  sufficed,  and 
the  most  he  could  do  was  to  take  all  possible 
precautions.  Accordingly  he  had  Carthew  aft, 
explained  what  was  to  be  done  with  anxious 
patience,  and  visited  along  with  him  the  various 
sheets  and  braces. 

"  I  hope  I'll  remember,"  said  Carthew.  "  It  seems 
awfully  muddled." 


A   BAD   BARGAIN.  403 

"  It's  the  rottenest  kind  of  rig/'  the  captain  ad- 
mitted :  "  all  blooming  pocket-handkerchiefs  !  And 
not  one  sailor-man  on  deck  !  Ah,  if  she'd  only  been  a 
brigantine  now!  But  it's  lucky  the  passage  is  so 
plain ;  there's  no  manoeuvring  to  mention.  We  get 
underweigh  before  the  wind,  and  run  right  so  till  we 
begin  to  get  foul  of  the  island  ;  then  we  haul  our  wind 
and  lie  as  near  south-east  as  may  be  till  we're  on  that 
line ;  'bout  ship  there  and  stand  straight  out  on  the 
port  tack.     Catch  the  idea  ?  " 

"Yes,  I  see  the  idea,"  replied  Carthew,  rather 
dismally,  and  the  two  incompetents  studied  for  a  long- 
time in  silence  the  complicated  gear  above  their 
heads. 

But  the  time  came  when  these  rehearsals  must  be 
put  in  practice.  The  sails  were  lowered,  and  all  hands 
heaved  the  anchor  short.  The  whaleboat  was  then 
cut  adrift,  the  upper  topsails  and  the  spanker  set,  the 
yards  braced  up,  and  the  spanker  sheet  hauled  out  to 
starboard. 

"  Heave  away  on  your  anchor,  Mr.  Carthew." 

"  Anchor's  gone,  sir." 

"Set  jibs." 

It  was  done,  and  the  brig  still  hung  enchanted. 
Wicks,  his  head  full  of  a  schooner's  mainsail,  turned 
his  mind  to  the  spanker.  First  he  hauled  in  the  sheet, 
and  then  he  hauled  it  out,  with  no  result. 

"  Brail  the  damned  thing  up  ! "  he  bawled  at  last, 
with  a  red  face.     "  There  ain't  no  sense  in  it." 

It  was  the  last  stroke  of  bewilderment  for  the 
poor  captain,  that  he  had  no  sooner  brailed  up  the 
spanker  than  the  schooner  came  before  the  wind. 
The  laws  of  nature  seemed  to  him  to  be  suspended ; 
he  was  like  a  man  in  a  world  of  pantomime  tricks ; 
the  cause  of  any  result,  and  the  probable  result  of 
any  action,  equally  concealed  from  him.  He  was  the 
more  careful  not  to  shake  the  nerve  of  his  amateur 
assistants.     He  stood  there  with  a  face  like  a  torch ; 

aa  2 


404  THE   WRECKER. 

but  he  gave  his  orders  with  aplomb,  and  indeed, 
now  the  ship  was  under  weigh,  supposed  his  diffi- 
culties over. 

The  lower  topsails  and  courses  were  then  set,  and 
the  brig  began  to  walk  the  water  like  a  thing  of  life, 
her  fore-foot  discoursing  music,  the  birds  flying  and 
crying  over  her  spars.  Bit  by  bit  the  passage  began 
to  open  and  the  blue  sea  to  show  between  the  flanking 
breakers  on  the  reef ;  bit  by  bit,  on  the  starboard  bow, 
the  low  land  of  the  islet  began  to  heave  closer  aboard. 
The  yards  were  braced  up,  the  spanker  sheet  hauled 
aft  again ;  the  brig  was  close  hauled,  lay  down 
to  her  work  like  a  thing  in  earnest,  and  had  soon 
drawn  near  to  the  point  of  advantage,  where  she 
might  stay  and  lie  out  of  the  lagoon  in  a  single 
tack. 

Wicks  took  the  wheel  himself,  swelling  with 
success.  He  kept  the  brig  full  to  give  her  heels, 
and  began  to  bark  his  orders :  "  Ready  about. 
Helm's  a-lee.  Tacks  and  sheets.  Mainsail  haul." 
And  then  the  fatal  words :  "  That'll  do  your  main- 
sail ;  jump  forrard  and  haul  round  your  fore- 
yards." 

To  stay  a  square-rigged  ship  is  an  affair  of  know- 
ledge and.  swift  sight :  and  a  man  used  to  the  succinct 
evolutions  of  a  schooner  will  always  tend  to  be  too 
hasty  with  a  brig.  It  was  so  now.  The  order  came 
too  soon ;  the  topsails  set  flat  aback ;  the  ship  was  in 
irons.  Even  yet,  had  the  helm  been  reversed,  they 
might  have  saved  her.  But  to  think  of  a  stern-board  at 
all,  far  more  to  think  of  profiting  by  one,  were  foreign 
to  the  schooner-sailor's  mind.  Wicks  made  haste 
instead  to  wear  ship,  a  manoeuvre  for  which  room 
was  wanting,  and  the  Flying  Scud  took  ground  on  a 
bank  of  sand  and  coral  about  twenty  minutes  before 
five. 

Wicks  was  no  hand  with  a  square-rigger,  and  ho 
had   shown    it.     But  he   was  a  sailor  and   a  born 


A   BAD   BARGAIN.  405 

captain  of  men  for  all  homely  purposes,  where 
intellect  is  not  required  and  an  eye  in  a  man's  head 
and  a  heart  under  his  jacket  will  suffice.  Before  the 
others  had  time  to  understand  the  misfortune,  he 
was  bawling  fresh  orders,  and  had  the  sails  clewed 
up,  and  took  soundings  round  the  ship. 

"  She  lies  lovely,"  he  remarked,  and  ordered  out  a 
boat  with  the  starboard  anchor. 

"  Here !  steady ! "  cried  Tommy.  "  You  ain't 
going  to  turn  us  to,  to  warp  her  off  ? " 

"  I  am  though,"  replied  Wicks. 

"  I  won't  set  a  hand  to  such  tomfoolery  for  one," 
replied  Tommy.  "I'm  dead  beat."  He  went  and 
sat  down  doggedly  on  the  main  hatch.  "  You  got  us 
on ;  get  us  off  again,"  he  added. 

Carthew  and  Wicks  turned  to  each  other. 

"  Perhaps  you  don't  know  how  tired  we  are,"  said 
Carthew. 

"The  tide's  flowing!"  cried  the  captain.  "You 
wouldn't  have  me  miss  a  rising  tide  ? " 

"  Oh,  gammon !  there's  tides  to-morrow ! "  retorted 
Tommy. 

"And  I'll  tell  you  what,"  added  Carthew,  "the 
breeze  is  failing  fast,  and  the  sun  will  soon  be  down. 
We  may  get  into  all  kinds  of  fresh  mess  in  the  dark 
and  with  nothing  but  light  airs." 

"I  don't  deny  it,"  answered  Wicks,  and  stood 
awhile  as  if  in  thought.  "But  what  I  can't  make 
out,"  he  began  again,  with  agitation,  "what  I  can't 
make  out  is  what  you're  made  of!  To  stay  in  this 
place  is  beyond  me.  There's  the  bloody  sun  going 
down — and  to  stay  here  is  beyond  me ! " 

The  others  looked  upon  him  with  horrified  sur- 
prise. This  fall  of  their  chief  pillar — this  irrational 
passion  in  the  practical  man,  suddenly  barred  out  of 
his  true  sphere — the  sphere  of  action — shocked  and 
daunted  them.  But  it  gave  to  another  and  unseen 
hearer  the  chance  for  which  he  had  been  waiting. 


406  THE   WRECKER. 

Mac,  on  the  striking  of  the  brig,  had  crawled  up 
the  companion,  and  he  now  showed  himself  and 
spoke  up. 

"  Captain  Wicks,"  said  he,  "  it's  me  that  brought 
this  trouble  on  the  lot  of  ye.  I'm  sorry  for 
ut,  I  ask  all  your  pardons,  and  if  there's  anyone 
can  say  'I  forgive  ye,'  it'll  make  my  soul  the 
lighter." 

Wicks  stared  upon  the  man  in  amaze ;  then  his 
self-control  returned  to  him.  "We're  all  in  glass 
houses  here,"  he  said ;  "  we  ain't  going  to  turn  to 
and  throw  stones.  I  forgive  you,  sure  enough ;  and 
much  good  may  it  do  you  ! " 

The  others  spoke  to  the  same  purpose. 

"I  thank  ye  for  ut,  and  'tis  done  like  gentle- 
men," said  Mac.  "But  there's  another  thing  I 
have  upon  my  mind.  I  hope  we're  all  Prodestans 
here?" 

It  appeared  they  were;  it  seemed  a  small  thing 
for  the  Protestant  religion  to  rejoice  in ! 

"Well,  that's  as  it  should  be,"  continued  Mac. 
"  And  why  shouldn't  we  say  the  Lord's  Prayer  ? 
There  can't  be  no  hurt  in  ut." 

He  had  the  same  quiet,  pleading,  childlike 
way  with  him  as  in  the  morning ;  and  the  others 
accepted  his  proposal,  and  knelt  down  without  a 
word. 

"  Knale  if  ye  like  ! "  said  he.  "  I'll  stand."  And 
he  covered  his  eyes. 

So  the  prayer  was  said  to  the  accompaniment  of 
the  surf  and  seabirds,  and  all  rose  refreshed  and  felt 
lightened  of  a  load.  Up  to  then,  they  had  cherished 
their  guilty  memories  in  private,  or  only  referred  to 
them  in  the  heat  of  a  moment,  and  fallen  immedi- 
ately silent.  Now  they  had  faced  their  remorse  in 
company,  and  the  worst  seemed  over.  Nor  was  it 
only  that.  But  the  petition  "Forgive  us  our  tres- 
passes," falling  in  so  apposite  after  they  had  them- 


A  BAD   BARGAIN.  407 

selves  forgiven  the  immediate  author  of  their  miseries, 
sounded  like  an  absolution. 

Tea  was  taken  on  deck  in  the  time  of  the  sunset, 
and  not  long  after  the  five  castaways — castaways  once 
more — lay  down  to  sleep. 

Day  dawned  windless  and  hot.  Their  slumbers 
had  been  too  profound  to  be  refreshing,  and  they 
woke  listless,  and  sat  up,  and  stared  about  them  with 
dull  eyes.  Only  Wicks,  smelling  a  hard  day's  work 
ahead,  was  more  alert.  He  went  first  to  the  well, 
sounded  it  once  and  then  a  second  time,  and  stood 
awhile  with  a  grim  look,  so  that  all  could  see  he  was 
dissatisfied.  Then  he  shook  himself,  stripped  to  the 
buff,  clambered  on  the  rail,  drew  himself  up  and 
raised  his  arms  to  plunge.  The  dive  was  never 
taken.  He  stood,  instead,  transfixed,  his  eyes  on  the 
horizon. 

"  Hand  up  that  glass,"  he  said. 

In  a  trice  they  were  all  swarming  aloft,  the  nude 
captain  leading  with  the  glass. 

On  the  northern  horizon  was  a  finger  of  grey 
smoke,  straight  in  the  windless  air  like  a  point  of 
admiration. 

"  What  do  you  make  it  ? "  they  asked  of  Wicks. 

"  She's  truck  down,"  he  replied ;  "  no  telling  yet. 
By  the  way  the  smoke  builds,  she  must  be  heading 
right  here." 

"  What  can  she  be  ? " 

"  She  might  be  a  China  mail,"  returned  Wicks, 
"  and  she  might  be  a  blooming  man-of-war,  come  to 
look  for  castaways.  Here!  This  ain't  the  time  to 
stand  staring.     On  deck,  boys ! " 

He  was  the  first  on  deck,  as  he  had  been  the  first 
aloft,  handed  down  the  ensign,  bent  it  again  to  the 
signal  halliards,  and  ran  it  up  union  down. 

"  Now  hear  me,"  he  said,  jumping  into  his  trousers, 
"  and  everything  I  say  you  grip  on  tov  If  that's  a 
man-of-war,  she'll  be  in  a  tearing  hurry;   all  these 


408  THE   WRECKER. 

ships  are  what  don't  do  nothing  and  have  their 
expenses  paid.  That's  our  chance ;  for  we'll  go 
with  them,  and  they  won't  take  the  time  to  look 
twice  or  to  ask  a  question.  I'm  Captain  Trent ; 
Carthew,  you're  Goddedaal;  Tommy,  you're  Hardy; 
Mac's  Brown ;  Amalu — hold  hard  !  we  can't  make  a 
Chinaman  of  him !  Ah,  Wing  must  have  deserted  ; 
Amalu  stowed  away ;  and  I  turned  him  to  as  cook, 
and  was  never  at  the  bother  to  sign  him.  Catch  the 
idea  ?     Say  your  names." 

And  that  pale  company  recited  their  lesson 
earnestly. 

"  What  were  the  names  of  the  other  two  ? "  he 
asked.  "  Him  Carthew  shot  in  the  companion,  and 
the  one  I  caught  in  the  jaw  on  the  main  top- 
gallant ? " 

"  Holdorsen  and  Wallen,"  said  someone. 

"  Well,  they're  drowned,"  continued  Wicks ; 
"  drowned  alongside  trying  to  lower  a  boat.  We 
had  a  bit  of  a  squall  last  night ;  that's  how  we  got 
ashore."  He  ran  and  squinted  at  the  compass. 
"  Squall  out  of  nor'-nor'- west-half- west ;  blew  hard  ; 
every  one  in  a  mess,  falls  jammed,  and  Holdorsen 
and  Wallen  spilt  overboard.  See?  Clear  your 
blooming  heads  ! "  He  was  in  his  jacket  now,  and 
spoke  with  a  feverish  impatience  and  contention  that 
rang  like  anger. 

"  But  is  it  safe  ? "  asked  Tommy. 

"  Safe  ?  "  bellowed  the  captain.  "  We're  standing 
on  the  drop,  you  moon-calf !  If  that  ship's  bound  for 
China  (which  she  don't  look  to  be),  we're  lost  as  soon 
as  we  arrive ;  if  she's  bound  the  other  way,  she  comes 
from  China,  don't  she  ?  Well,  if  there's  a  man  on 
board  of  her  that  ever  clapped  eyes  on  Trent  or  any 
blooming  hand  out  of  this  brig,  we'll  all  be  in  irons 
in  two  hours.  Safe !  no,  it  ain't  safe  ;  it's  a  beggarly 
last  chance  to  shave  the  gallows,  and  that's  what  it 
is." 


A   BAD    BARGAIN.  409 

At  this  convincing  picture,  fear  took  hold  on 
all. 

"  Hadn't  we  a  hundred  times  better  stay  by  the 
brig  ? "  cried  Carthew.  "  They  would  give  us  a  hand 
to  float  her  off." 

"  You'll  make  me  waste  this  holy  day  in  chatter- 
ing ! "  cried  Wicks.  "  Look  here,  when  I  sounded  the 
well  this  morning  there  was  two  foot  of  water  there 
against  eight  inches  last  night.  What's  wrong  ?  I 
don't  know;  might  be  nothing;  might  be  the  worst 
kind  of  smash.  And  then,  there  we  are  in  for  a 
thousand  miles  in  an  open  boat,  if  that's  your 
taste ! " 

"  But  it  may  be  nothing,  and  anyway,  their  car- 
penters are  bound  to  help  us  repair  her,"  argued 
Carthew. 

"  Moses  Murphy  ! "  cried  the  captain.  "  How  did 
she  strike  ?  Bows  on,  I  believe.  And  she's  down  by 
the  head  now.  If  any  carpenter  comes  tinkering 
here,  where'll  he  go  first  ?  Down  in  the  forepeak,  I 
suppose  !  And  then,  how  about  all  that  blood  among 
the  chandlery  ?  You  would  think  you  were  a  lot  of 
members  of  Parliament  discussing  Plimsoll ;  and 
you're  just  a  pack  of  murderers  with  the  halter 
round  your  neck.  Any  other  ass  got  any  time  to 
waste  ?  No  ?  Thank  God  for  that !  Now,  all  hands  ! 
I'm  going  below,  and  I  leave  you  here  on  deck.  You 
get  the  boat  cover  off  that  boat ;  then  you  turn  to 
and  open  the  specie  chest.  There  are  five  of  us; 
get  five  chests,  and  divide  the  specie  equal  among 
the  five — put  it  at  the  bottom — and  go  at  it  like 
tigers.  Get  blankets,  or  canvas,  or  clothes,  so  it 
won't  rattle.  It'll  make  five  pretty  heavy  chests, 
but  we  can't  help  that.  You,  Carthew — dash  me  ! — 
You,  Mr.  Goddedaal,  come  below.  We've  our  share 
before  us." 

And  he  cast  another  glance  at  the  smoke,  and 
hurried  below  with  Carthew  at  his  heels. 


410  THE   WRECKER. 

The  logs  were  found  in  the  main  cabin  behind  the 
canary  cage ;  two  of  them,  one  kept  by  Trent,  one  by 
Goddedaal.  Wicks  looked  first  at  one,  then  at  the 
other,  and  his  lip  stuck  out. 

"  Can  you  forge  hand  of  write  ?  *  he  asked. 

"  No,"  said  Car  the  w. 

"  There's  luck  for  you — no  more  can  I ! "  cried  the 
captain.  "  Hullo !  here's  worse  yet,  here's  this  Godde- 
daal up  to  date ;  he  must  have  filled  it  in  before 
supper.  See  for  yourself:  'Smoke  observed. — 
Captain  Kirkup  and  five  hands  of  the  schooner 
Currency  Lass.'  Ah !  this  is  better,"  he  added, 
turning  to  the  other  log.  "  The  old  man  ain't  written 
anything  for  a  clear  fortnight.  We'll  dispose  of  your 
log  altogether,  Mr.  Goddedaal,  and  stick  to  the  old 
man's — to  mine,  I  mean ;  only  I  ain't  going  to  write 
it  up,  for  reasons  of  my  own.  You  are.  You're  going 
to  sit  down  right  here  and  fill  it  in  the  way  I  tell 
you." 

"  How  to  explain  the  loss  of  mine  ? "  asked 
Carthew. 

"  You  never  kept  one,"  replied  the  captaia  "  Gross 
neglect  of  duty.     You'll  catch  it." 

"  And  the  change  of  writing  ?  "  resumed  Carthew. 
"  You  began ;  why  do  you  stop  and  why  do  I  come 
in  ?     And  you'll  have  to  sign  anyway." 

"  Oh !  I've  met  with  an  accident  and  can't  write," 
replied  Wicks. 

"  An  accident  ? "  repeated  Carthew.  "  It  don't 
sound  natural.     What  kind  of  an  accident  ? " 

Wicks  spread  his  hand  face-up  on  the  table,  and 
drove  a  knife  through  his  palm. 

"  That  kind  of  an  accident,"  said  he.  "  There's  a 
way  to  draw  to  windward  of  most  difficulties,  if  you've 
a  head  on  your  shoulders."  He  began  to  bind  up  his 
hand  with  a  handkerchief,  glancing  the  while  over 
Goddedaal's  log.  "  Hullo  ! "  he  said,  "  This'll  never  do 
for  us — this  is  an  impossible  kind  of  a  yarn.     Here, 


A   BAD   BARGAIN.  411 

to  begin  with,  is  this  Captain  Trent  trying  some  fancy 
course,  leastways  he's  a  thousand  miles  to  south'ard 
of  the  great  circle.  And  here,  it  seems,  he  was  close 
up  with  this  island  on  the  sixth,  sails  all  these  days 
and  is  close  up  with  it  again  by  daylight  on  the 
eleventh." 

"  Goddedaal  said  they  had  the  deuce's  luck,"  said 
Carthew. 

"Well,  it  don't  look  like  real  life— that's  all  I 
can  say,"  returned  Wicks. 

"  It's  the  way  it  was,  though,"  argued  Carthew. 

"  So  it  is  ;  and  what  the  better  are  we  for  that,  if 
it  don't  look  so  ? "  cried  the  captain,  sounding  un- 
wonted depths  of  art  criticism.  "  Here  !  try  and  see 
if  you   can   tie   this   bandage ;  I'm   bleeding  like   a 

As  Carthew  sought  to  adjust  the  handkerchief, 
his  patient  seemed  sunk  in  a  deep  muse,  his  eye 
veiled,  his  mouth  partly  open.  The  job  was  yet  scarce 
done,  when  he  sprang  to  his  feet. 

"I  have  it,"  he  broke  out,  and  ran  on  deck. 
"  Here,  boys  ! "  he  cried,  "  we  didn't  come  here  on  the 
eleventh  ;  we  came  in  here  on  the  evening  of  the  sixth, 
and  lay  here  ever  since  becalmed.  As  soon  as  you've 
done  with  these  chests,"  he  added,  "  you  can  turn  to 
and  roll  out  beef  and  water  breakers ;  it'll  look  more 
shipshape — like  as  if  we  were  getting  ready  for  the 
boat  voyage." 

And  he  was  back  again  in  a  moment,  cooking  the 
new  log.  Goddedaal's  was  then  carefully  destroyed, 
and  a  hunt  began  for  the  ship's  papers.  Of  all  the 
agonies  of  that  breathless  morning,  this  was  perhaps 
the  most  poignant.  Here  and  there  the  two  men 
searched,  cursing,  cannoning  together,  streaming  with 
heat,  freezing  with  terror.  News  was  bawled  down 
to  them  that  the  ship  was  indeed  a  man-of-war,  that 
she  was  close  up,  that  she  was  lowering  a  boat ;  and 
still  they  sought  in  vain.      By  what  accident  they 


412  THE   WRECKER. 

missed  the  iron  box  with  the  money  and  accounts,  is 
hard  to  fancy,  but  they  did.  And  the  vital  documents 
were  found  at  last  in  the  pocket  of  Trent's  shore  - 
going  coat,  where  he  had  left  them  when  last  he  came 
on  board. 

Wicks  smiled  for  the  first  time  that  morning. 
"  None  too  soon,"  said  he.  "  And  now  for  it !  Take 
these  others  for  me  ;  I'm  afraid  I'll  get  them  mixed 
if  I  keep  both." 

"  What  are  they  ?  "  Carthew  asked. 

"  They're  the  Kirkup  and  Currency  Lass  papers," 
he  replied.     "  Pray  God  we  need  'em  again  !  " 

"  Boat's  inside  the  lagoon,  sir,"  hailed  down  Mac, 
who  sat  by  the  skylight  doing  sentry  while  the  others 
worked. 

"Time  we  were  on  deck,  then,  Mr.  Goddedaal," 
said  Wicks. 

As  they  turned  to  leave  the  cabin,  the  canary 
burst  into  piercing  song. 

"  My  God  ! "  cried  Carthew  with  a  gulp,  "  we  can't 
leave  that  wretched  bird  to  starve.  It  was  poor 
Goddedaal's." 

"  Bring  the  bally  thing  along ! "  cried  the 
captain. 

And  they  went  on  deck. 

An  ugly  brute  of  a  modern  man-of-war  lay  just 
without  the  reef,  now  quite  inert,  now  giving  a 
flap  or  two  with  her  propeller.  Nearer  hand,  and 
just  within,  a  big  white  boat  came  skimming  to 
the  stroke  of  many  oars,  her  ensign  blowing  at  the 
stern. 

"  One  word  more,"  said  Wicks,  after  he  had  taken 
in  the  scene.  "  Mac,  you've  been  in  China  ports  ?  All 
right ;  then  you  can  speak  for  yourself.  The  rest  of 
you  I  kept  on  board  all  the  time  we  were  in  Hong 
Kong,  hoping  you  would  desert ;  but  you  fooled  me 
and  stuck  to  the  brig.  That'll  make  your  lying  come 
easier." 


A    BAD   BARGAIN.  413 

The  boat  was  now  close  at  hand ;  a  boy 
in  the  stern  sheets  was  the  only  officer,  and 
a  poor  one  plainly,  for  the  men  were  talking  as  they 
pulled. 

"  Thank  God,  they've  only  sent  a  kind  of  a  middy!" 
ejaculated  Wicks.  "  Here  you,  Hardy,  stand  for'ard  ! 
I'll  have  no  deck  hands  on  my  quarter-deck,"  he  cried, 
and  the  reproof  braced  the  whole  crew  like  a  cold 
douche. 

The  boat  came  alongside  with  perfect  neatness, 
and  the  boy  officer  stepped  on  board,  where  he  was 
respectfully  greeted  by  Wicks. 

"  You  the  master  of  this  ship  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  Yes,  sir,"  said  Wicks.  "  Trent  is  my  name,  and 
this  is  the  Flying  Scud  of  Hull." 

"  You  seem  to  have  got  into  a  mess,"  said  the 
officer. 

"  If  you'll  step  aft  with  me  here,  I'll  tell  you  all 
there  is  of  it,"  said  Wicks. 

"  Why,  man,  you're  shaking !  "  cried  the  officer. 

"  So  would  you,  perhaps,  if  you  had  been  in  the 
same  berth,"  returned  Wicks  ;  and  he  told  the  whole 
story  of  the  rotten  water,  the  long  calm,  the  squall, 
the  seamen  drowned,  glibly  and  hotly,  talking,  with 
his  head  in  the  lion's  mouth,  like  one  pleading  in  the 
dock.  I  heard  the  same  tale  from  the  same  narrator 
in  the  saloon  in  San  Francisco ;  and  even  then  his 
bearing  filled  me  with  suspicion.  But  the  officer  was 
no  observer. 

"  Well,  the  captain  is  in  no  end  of  a  hurry,"  said 
he  ;  "  but  I  was  instructed  to  give  you  all  the  assist- 
ance in  my  power,  and  signal  back  for  another  boat 
if  more  hands  were  necessary.  What  can  I  do  for 
you?". 

"  Oh,  we  won't  keep  you  no  time,"  replied  Wicks 
cheerily.  "  We're  all  ready,  bless  you — men's  chests, 
chronometer,  papers,  and  all." 

"  Do  you  mean  to  leave  her  ? "  cried  the  officer. 


414  THE   WRECKER. 

"  She  seems  to  me  to  lie  nicely ;  can't  we  get  your 
ship  off?" 

"  So  we  could,  and  no  mistake  ;  but  how  we're  to 
keep  her  afloat's  another  question.  Her  bows  is  stove 
in,"  replied  Wicks. 

The  officer  coloured  to  the  eyes.  He  was  incompe- 
tent and  knew  he  was ;  thought  he  was  already 
detected,  and  feared  to  expose  himself  again.  There 
was  nothing  further  from  his  mind  than  that  the 
captain  should  deceive  him ;  if  the  captain  was 
pleased,  why,  so  was  he.  "  All  right,"  he  said.  "  Tell 
your  men  to  get  their  chests  aboard." 

"Mr.  Goddedaal,  turn  the  hands  to  to  get  the 
chests  aboard,"  said  Wicks. 

The  four  Currency  Lasses  had  waited  the  while  on 
tenter-hooks.  This  welcome  news  broke  upon  them 
like  the  sun  at  midnight ;  and  Hadden  burst  into  a 
storm  of  tears,  sobbing  aloud  as  he  heaved  upon  the 
tackle.  But  the  work  went  none  the  less  briskly 
forward ;  chests,  men,  and  bundles  were  got  over  the 
side  with  alacrity  ;  the  boat  was  shoved  off ;  it  moved 
out  of  the  long  shadow  of  the  Flying  Scud,  and  its 
bows  were  pointed  at  the  passage. 

So  much,  then,  was  accomplished.  The  sham 
wreck  had  passed  muster ;  they  were  clear  of  her,  they 
were  safe  away ;  and  the  water  widened  between  them 
and  her  damning  evidences.  On  the  other  hand,  they 
were  drawing  nearer  to  the  shin  of  war,  which  might 
very  well  prove  to  be  their  prison  and  a  hangman's 
cart  to  bear  them  to  the  gallows  of  which  they  had 
not  yet  learned  either  whence  she  came  or  whither 
she  was  bound ;  and  the  doubt  weighed  upon  their 
heart  like  mountains. 

It  was  Wicks  who  did  the  talking.  The.  sound 
was  small  in  Carthew's  ears,  like  the  voices  of  men 
miles  away,  but  the  meaning  of  each  word  struck 
home  to  him  like  a  bullet.  "  What  did  you  say  your 
ship  was  ? "  inquired  Wicks 


A  BAD   BARGAIN.  415 

"  Tempest,  don't  you  know  ? "  returned  the  officer. 

" '  Don't  you  know  ?  '•  What  could  that  mean  ? 
Perhaps  nothing:  perhaps  that  the  ships  had  met 
already.  Wicks  took  his  courage  in  both  hands. 
"  Where  is  she  bound  ? "  he  asked. 

"  Oh,  we're  just  looking  in  at  all  these  miserable 
islands  here,"  said  the  officer.  "  Then  we  bear  up  for 
San  Francisco." 

"  Oh,  yes,  you're  from  China  ways,  like  us  ?" 
pursued  Wicks. 

"  Hong  Kong,"  said  the  officer,  and  spat  over  the 
side. 

Hong  Kong.  Then  the  game  was  up  ;  as  soon  as 
they  set  foot  on  board,  they  would  be  seized :  the 
wreck  would  be  examined,  the  blood  found,  the  lagoon 
perhaps  dredged,  and  the  bodies  of  the  dead  would 
reappear  to  testify.  An  impulse  almost  incontrollable 
bade  Carthew  rise  from  the  thwart,  shriek  out  aloud, 
and  leap  overboard ;  it  seemed  so  vain  a  thing  to 
dissemble  longer,  to  dally  with  the  inevitable,  to  spin 
out  some  hundred  seconds  more  of  agonised  suspense, 
with  shame  and  death  thus  visibly  approaching.  But 
the  indomitable  Wicks  persevered.  His  face  was  like 
a  skull,  his  voice  scarce  recognisable  ;  the  dullest  of 
men  and  officers  (it  seemed)  must  have  remarked  that 
tell-tale  countenance  and  broken  utterance.  And 
still  he  persevered,  bent  upon  certitude. 

"  Nice  place,  Hong  Kong  ? "  he  said. 

"  I'm  sure  I  don't  know,"  said  the  officer.  "  Only 
a*day  and  a  half  there ;  called  for  orders  and  came 
straight  on  here.  Never  heard  of  such  a  beastly 
cruise."  And  he  went  on  describing  and  lamenting 
the  untoward  fortunes  of  the  Tempest. 

But  Wicks  and  Carthew  heeded  him  no  longer. 
They  lay  back  on  the  gunwale,  breathing  deep,  sunk  in 
a  stupor  of  the  body ;  the  mind  within  still  nimbly 
and  agreeably  at  work,  measuring  the  past  danger, 
exulting  in  the  present  relief,  numbering  with  ecstasy 


416  THE   WRECKER. 

their  ultimate  chances  ot  escape.  For  the  voyage  in 
the  man-of-war  they  were  now  safe ;  yet  a  few  more 
days  of  peril,  activity  and  presence  of  mind  in  San 
Francisco,  and  the  whole  horrid  tale  was  blotted  out ; 
and  Wicks  again  became  Kirkup,  and  Goddedaal 
became  Carthew — men  beyond  all  shot  of  possible 
suspicion,  men  who  had  never  heard  of  the  Flying 
Scud,  who  had  never  been  in  sight  of  Midway 
Reef. 

So  they  came  alongside,  under  many  craning  heads 
of  seamen  and  projecting  mouths  of  guns ;  so  they 
climbed  on  board  somnambulous,  and  looked  blindly 
about  them  at  the  tall  spars,  the  white  decks,  and  the 
crowding  ship's  company,  and  heard  men  as  from  far 
away,  and  answered  them  at  random. 

And  then  a  hand  fell  softly  on  Carthew's 
shoulder. 

"Why,  Norrie,  old  chappie,  where  have  you 
dropped  from  ?  All  the  world's  been  looking  for 
you.  Don't  you  know  you've  come  into  your 
kingdom  ? " 

He  turned,  beheld  the  face  of  his  old  schoolmate 
Sebright,  and  fell  unconscious  at  his  feet. 

The  doctor  was  attending  him,  awhile  later,  in 
Lieutenant  Sebright's  cabin,  when  he  came  to 
himself.  He  opened  his  eyes,  looked  hard  in  the 
strange  face,  and  spoke  with  a  kind  of  solemn 
vigour. 

"  Brown  must  go  the  same  road,"  he  said,  "  now 
or  never."  And  then  paused,  and  his  reason 
coming  to  him  with  more  clearness,  spoke  again : 
"  What  was  I  saying  ?  Where  am  I  ?  Who  are 
you  ? " 

"  I  am  the  doctor  of  the  Tempest"  was  the  reply. 
"  You  are  in  Lieutenant  Sebright's  berth,  and  you  may 
dismiss  all  concern  from  your  mind.  Your  troubles 
are  over,  Mr.  Carthew." 

"  Why  do  you  call  me  that  ? "  he  asked.     "  Ah,  I 


A   BAD   BARGAIN.  417 

remember — Sebright  knew  me !  Oh!"  and  he  groaned 
and  shook.  "  Send  down  Wicks  to  me ;  I  must  see 
Wicks  at  once ! "  he  cried,  and  seized  the  doctor's 
wrist  with  unconscious  violence. 

"  All  right,"  said  the  doctor.  "  Let's  make  a 
bargain.  You  swallow  down  this  draught,  and  I'll  go 
and  fetch  Wicks." 

And  he  gave  the  wretched  man  an  opiate  that  laid 
him  out  within  ten  minutes  and  in  all  likelihood 
preserved  his  reason. 

It  was  the  doctor's  next  business  to  attend  to  Mac ; 
and  he  found  occasion,  while  engaged  upon  his  arm, 
to  make  the  man  repeat  the  names  of  the  rescued 
crew.  It  was  now  the  turn  of  the  captain,  and  there 
is  no  doubt  he  was  no  longer  the  man  that  we 
have  seen ;  sudden  relief,  the  sense  of  perfect  safety, 
a  square  meal  and  a  good  glass  of  grog,  had  all 
combined  to  relax  his  vigilance  and  depress  his 
energy. 

"  When  was  this  done  ? "  asked  the  doctor,  looking 
at  the  wound. 

"  More  than  a  week  ago,"  replied  Wicks,  thinking 
singly  of  his  log. 

"  Hey  ? "  cried  the  doctor,  and  he  raised  his  head 
and  looked  the  captain  in  the  eyes. 

"  I  don't  remember  exactly,"  faltered  Wicks. 

And  at  this  remarkable  falsehood,  the  suspicions 
of  the  doctor  were  at  once  quadrupled. 

"  By  the  way,  which  of  you  is  called  Wicks  ? "  he 
asked  easily. 

"  What's  that  ? "  snapped  the  captain,  falling  white 
as  paper. 

"Wicks,"  repeated  the  doctor;  "which  of  you  is 
he  ?     That's  surely  a  plain  question." 

Wicks  stared  upon  his  questioner  in  silence. 

"  Which  is  Brown,  then  ? "  pursued  the  doctor. 

"  What  are  you  talking  of  ?  what  do  you  mean  by 
this  ? "  cried  Wicks,  snatching  his  half-bandaged  hand 

B   B 


418  THE   WRECKER. 

away,  so  that  the  blood  sprinkled  in  the  surgeon's 
face. 

He  did  not  trouble  to  remove  it ;  looking  straight 
at  his  victim,  he  pursued  his  questions.  "  Why  must 
Brown  go  the  same  way  ? "  he  asked. 

Wicks  fell  trembling  on  a  locker.  "  Carthew  told 
you,"  he  cried. 

"No,"  replied  the  doctor,  "he  has  not.  But  he 
and  you  between  you  have  set  me  thinking,  and 
I  think  there's  something  wrong." 

"  Give  me  some  grog,"  said  Wicks.  "  I'd  rather 
tell  than  have  you  find  out.  I'm  damned  if  it's  half 
as  bad  as  what  anyone  would  think." 

And  with  the  help  of  a  couple  of  strong  grogs, 
the  tragedy  of  the  Flying  Scud  was  told  for  the  first 
time. 

It  was  a  fortunate  series  of  accidents  that  brought 
the  story  to  the  doctor.  He  understood  and  pitied 
the  position  of  these  wretched  men,  and  came  whole- 
heartedly to  their  assistance.  He  and  Wicks  and 
Carthew  (so  soon  as  he  was  recovered)  held  a 
hundred  councils  and  prepared  a  policy  for  San 
Francisco.  It  was  he  who  certified  "Goddedaal" 
unfit  to  be  moved,  and  smuggled  Carthew  ashore 
under  cloud  of  night;  it  was  he  who  kept  Wicks's 
wound  open  that  he  might  sign  with  his  left 
hand ;  he  who  took  all  their  Chile  silver  and 
(in  the  course  of  the  first  day)  got  it  converted  for 
them  into  portable  gold.  He  used  his  influence  in 
the  wardroom  to  keep  the  tongues  of  the  young 
officers  in  order,  so  that  Carthew's  identification  was 
kept  out  of  the  papers.  And  he  rendered  another 
service  yet  more  important.  He  had  a  friend  in 
San  Francisco,  a  millionaire ;  to  this  man  he 
privately  presented  Carthew  as  a  young  gentleman 
come  newly  into  a  huge  estate,  but  troubled  with 
Jew  debts  which  he  was  trying  to  settle  on  the  quiet. 
The  millionaire  came  readily  to  help;   and  it  was 


A   BAD   BARGAIN.  419 

with  his  money  that  the  wrecker  gang  was  to  be 
fought.  What  was  his  name,  out  of  a  thousand 
guesses  ?     It  was  Douglas  Longhurst. 

As  long  as  the  Currency  Lasses  could  all  disap- 
pear under  fresh  names,  it  did  not  greatly  matter  if 
the  brig  were  bought,  or  any  small  discrepancies 
should  be  discovered  in  the  wrecking.  The  identifi- 
cation of  one  of  their  number  had  changed  all  that. 
The  smallest  scandal  must  now  direct  attention  to 
the  movements  of  Norris.  It  would  be  asked  how 
he  who  had  sailed  in  a  schooner  from  Sydney,  had 
turned  up  so  shortly  after  in  a  brig  out  of  Hong 
Kong;  and  from  one  question  to  another  all  his 
original  shipmates  were  pretty  sure  to  be  involved. 
Hence,  arose  naturally  the  idea  of  preventing  danger, 
profiting  by  Carthew's  new-found  wealth,  and  buying 
the  brig  under  an  alias ;  and  it  was  put  in  hand  with 
equal  energy  and  caution.  Carthew  took  lodgings 
alone  under  a  false  name,  picked  up  Bellairs 
at  random,  and  commissioned  him  to  buy  the 
wreck. 

"  What  figure,  if  you  please  ? "  the  lawyer  asked. 

"I  want  it  bought,"  replied  Carthew.  "I  don't 
mind  about  the  price." 

"Any  price  is  no  price,"  said  Bellairs.  "Put  a 
name  upon  it." 

"  Call  it  ten  thousand  pounds  then,  if  you  like ! " 
said  Carthew. 

In  the  meanwhile,  the  captain  had  to  walk  the 
streets,  appear  in  the  consulate,  be  cross-examined 
by  Lloyd's  agent,  be  badgered  about  his  lost  accounts, 
sign  papers  with  his  left  hand,  and  repeat  his  lies  to 
every  skipper  in  San  Francisco;  not  knowing  at 
what  moment  he  might  run  into  the  arms  of  some 
old  friend  who  should  hail  him  by  the  name  of 
Wicks,  or  some  new  enemy  who  should  be  in  a 
position  to  deny  him  that  of  Trent.  And  the  latter 
mcident  did  actually  befall  him,  but  was  transformed 

B  B  2 


420  THE   WRECKER. 

by  his  stout  countenance  into  an  element  of  strength. 
It  was  in  the  consulate  (of  all  untoward  places)  that 
he  suddenly  heard  a  big  voice  inquiring  for  Captain 
Trent.  He  turned  with  the  customary  sinking  at 
his  heart. 

"  You  ain't  Captain  Trent ! "  said  the  stranger, 
falling  back.  "  Why,  what's  all  this  ?  They  tell  me 
you're  passing  off  as  Captain  Trent — Captain  Jacob 
Trent — a  man  I  knew  since  I  was  that  high." 

"  Oh,  you're  thinking  of  my  uncle  as  had  the 
bank  in  Cardiff,"  replied  Wicks,  with  desperate 
aplomb. 

"I  declare  I  never  knew  he  had  a  nevvy!"  said 
the  stranger. 

"  Well,  you  see  he  has  !  "  says  Wicks. 

"  And  how  is  the  old  man  ? "  asked  the  other. 

"  Fit  as  a  fiddle,"  answered  Wicks,  and  was  oppor- 
tunely summoned  by  the  clerk. 

This  alert  was  the  only  one  until  the  morning  of 
the  sale,  when  he  was  once  more  alarmed  by  his 
interview  with  Jim ;  and  it  was  with  some  anxiety 
that  he  attended  the  sale,  knowing  only  that  Car  the  w 
was  to  be  represented,  but  neither  who  was  to  repre- 
sent him  nor  what  were  the  instructions  given.  I 
suppose  Captain  Wicks  is  a  good  life.  In  spite  of 
his  personal  appearance  and  his  own  known  un- 
easiness, I  suppose  he  is  secure  from  apoplexy,  or  it 
must  have  struck  him  there  and  then,  as  he  looked 
on  at  the  stages  of  that  insane  sale  and  saw 
the  old  brig  and  her  not  very  valuable  cargo  knocked 
down  at  last  to  a  total  stranger  for  ten  thousand 
pounds. 

It  had  been  agreed  that  he  was  to  avoid  Carthew, 
and  above  all  Carthew's  lodging,  so  that  no  connection 
might  be  traced  between  the  crew  and  the  pseudony- 
mous purchaser.  But  the  hour  for  caution  was  gone 
by,  and  he  caught  a  tram  and  made  all  speed  to 
Mission  Street 


EPILOGUE.  421 

Carthew  met  him  in  the  door. 

"Come  away,  come  away  from  here/' said  Carthew; 
and  when  they  were  clear  of  the  house,  "  All's  up !  " 
he  added. 

"  Oh,  you've  heard  of  the  sale,  then  ? "  said 
Wicks. 

"The  sale!"  cried  Carthew.  "I  declare  I  had 
forgotten  it."  And  he  told  of  the  voice  in  the  tele- 
phone, and  the  maddening  question :  "  Why  did  you 
want  to  buy  the  Flying  Scud  ?  " 

This  circumstance,  coming  on  the  back  of  the 
monstrous  improbabilities  of  the  sale,  was  enough  to 
have  shaken  the  reason  of  Immanuel  Kant.  The 
earth  seemed  banded  together  to  defeat  them ;  the 
stones  and  the  boys  on  the  street  appeared  to  be  in 
possession  of  their  guilty  secret.  Flight  was  their 
one  thought.  The  treasure  of  the  Currency  Lass  they 
packed  in  waist-belts,  expressed  their  chests  to  an 
imaginary  address  in  British  Columbia,  and  left  San 
Francisco  the  same  afternoon,  booked  for  Los 
Angeles. 

The  next  day  they  pursued  their  retreat  by  the 
Southern  Pacific  route,  which  Carthew  followed  on  his 
way  to  England;  but  the  other  three  branched  off 
for  Mexico. 


EPILOGUE. 

TO  WILL   H.   LOW. 

Dear  Low, — The  other  day  (at  Manihiki  ol  all 
places)  I  had  the  pleasure  to  meet  Dodd.  We  sat 
some  two  hours  in  the  neat,  little,  toy-like  church, 
set  with  pews  after  the  manner  of  Europe,  and  inlaid 
with  mother-of-pearl  in  the  style  (I  suppose)  of  the 
New  Jerusalem.     The  natives,  who  are  decidedly  the 


422  THE   WRECKER. 

most  attractive  inhabitants  of  this  planet,  crowded 
round  us  in  the  pew,  and  fawned  upon  and  patted 
us;  and  here  it  was  I  put  my  questions,  and  Dodd 
answered  me. 

I  first  carried  him  back  to  the  night  in  Barbizon 
when  Carthew  told  his  story,  and  asked  him  what  was 
done  about  Bellairs.  It  seemed  he  had  put  the  matter 
to  his  friend  at  once,  and  that  Carthew  had  taken  to 
it  with  an  inimitable  lightness.  "  He's  poor  and  I'm 
rich,"  he  had  said.  "  I  can  afford  to  smile  at  him. 
I  go  somewhere  else,  that's  all — somewhere  that's  far 
away  and  dear  to  get  to.  Persia  would  be  found  to 
answer,  I  fancy.  No  end  of  a  place,  Persia.  Why  not 
come  with  me  ?  "  And  they  had  left  the  next  after- 
noon for  Constantinople,  on  their  way  to  Teheran. 
Of  the  shyster,  it  is  only  known  (by  a  newspaper 
paragraph)  that  he  returned  somehow  to  San  Francisco 
and  died  in  the  hospital. 

"Now  there's  another  point,"  said  I.  "There  you 
are  off  to  Persia  with  a  millionaire,  and  rich  yourself. 
How  come  you  here  in  the  South  Seas,  running  a 
trader  ? " 

He  said,  with  a  smile,  that  I  had  not  yet  heard 
of  Jim's  last  bankruptcy.  "  I  was  about  cleaned  out 
once  more,"  he  said  ;  "  and  then  it  was  that  Carthew 
had  this  schooner  built  and  put  me  in  as  supercargo. 
It's  his  yacht  and  it's  my  trader ;  and  as  nearly  all  the 
expenses  go  to  the  yacht,  I  do  pretty  well.  As  for 
Jim,  he's  right  again ;  one  of  the  best  businesses, 
they  say,  in  the  West — fruit,  cereals,  and  real  estate ; 
and  he  has  a  Tartar  of  a  partner  now — Nares,  no  less. 
Nares  will  keep  him  straight,  Nares  has  a  big  head. 
They  have  their  country  places  next  door  at  Saucelito, 
and  I  stayed  with  them  time  about,  the  last  time 
I  was  on  the  coast.  Jim  had  a  paper  of  his  own 
— I  think  he  has  a  notion  of  being  senator  one  of 
these  days — and  he  wanted  me  to  throw  up  the 
schooner  and  come  and  write  his  editorials.     He  holds 


EPILOGUE.  423 

strong  views  on  the  State  Constitution,  and  so  does 
Mamie." 

"  And  what  became  of  the  other  three  Currency- 
Lasses  after  they  left  Carthew  ? "  I  inquired.^ 

"  Well,  it  seems  they  had  a  huge  spree  in  the  city 
of  Mexico,"  said  Dodd ;  "  and  then  Hadden  and  the 
Irishman  took  a  turn  at  the  gold  fields  in  Venezuela, 
and  Wicks  went  on  alone  to  Valparaiso.  There's  a 
Kirkup  in  the  Chilean  navy  to  this  day,  I  saw  the 
name  m  the  papers  about  the  Balmaceda  war.  Hadden 
soon  wearied  of  the  mines,  and  I  met  him  the  other 
day  in  Sydney.  The  last  news  he  had  from  Venezuela, 
Mac  had  been  knocked  over  in  an  attack  on  the  gold 
train.  So  there's  only  the  three  of  them  left,  for 
Amalu  scarcely  counts.  He  lives  on  his  own  land  in 
Maui,  at  the  side  of  Hale-a-ka-la,  where  he  keeps 
Goddedaal's  canary ;  and  they  say  he  sticks  to  his 
dollars,  which  is  a  wonder  in  a  Kanaka.  He  had  a 
considerable  pile  to  start  with,  for  not  only  Hemstead's 
share  but  Carthew's  was  divided  equally  among  the 
other  four — Mac  being  counted." 

"  What  did  that  make  for  him  altogether  ? "  I 
could  not  help  asking,  for  I  had  been  diverted  by  the 
number  of  calculations  in  his  narrative. 

"  One  hundred  and  twenty-eight  pounds  nineteen 
shillings  and  eleven  pence  halfpenny,"  he  replied  with 
composure ;  "  that's  leaving  out  what  little  he  won  at 
Van  John.     It's  something  for  a  Kanaka,  you  know." 

And  about  that  time  we  were  at  last  obliged  to  yield 
to  the  solicitations  of  our  native  admirers,  and  go  to  the 
pastor's  house  to  drink  green  cocoanuts.  The  ship  I 
was  in  was  sailing  the  same  night,  for  Dodd  had  been 
beforehand  and  got  all  the  shell  in  the  island ;  and 
though  he  pressed  me  to  desert  and  return  with  him 
to  Auckland  (whither  he  was  now  bound  to  pick  up 
Carthew)  I  was  firm  in  my  refusal. 

The  truth  is,  since  I  have  been  mixed  up  with 
Havens  and  Dodd  in  the  design  to  publish  the  latter's 


424  THE   WRECKER. 

narrative,  I  seem  to  feel  no  want  for  Carthew's  so- 
ciety. Of  course,  I  am  wholly  modern  in  sentiment, 
and  think  nothing  more  noble  than  to  publish 
people's  private  affairs  at  so  much  a  line.  They  like 
it,  and  if  they  don't,  they  ought  to.  But  a  still  small 
voice  keeps  telling  me  they  will  not  like  it  always, 
and  perhaps  not  always  stand  it.  Memory  besides 
supplies  me  with  the  face  of  a  pressman  (in  the  sacred 
phrase)  who  proved  altogether  too  modern  for  one  of 
his  neighbours,  and 

Qui  nunc  it  per  iter  tenebricosum 

as  it  were,  marshalling  us  our  way.  I  am  in  no 
haste  to 

— nos  prcecedens — 

be  that  man's  successor.  Carthew  has  a  record  as  "  a 
clane  shot."  and  for  some  years  Samoa  will  be  good 
enough  for  me. 

We  agreed  to  separate,  accordingly ;  but  he  took 
me  on  board  in  his  own  boat  with  the  hard-wood 
fittings,  and  entertained  me  on  the  way  with  an  ac- 
count of  his  late  visit  to  Butaritari,  whither  he  had 
gone  on  an  errand  for  Carthew,  to  see  how  Topelius 
was  getting  along,  and,  if  necessary,  to  give  him  a 
helping  hand.  But  Topelius  was  in  great  force,  and 
had  patronised  and — well — out-manoeuvred  him. 

"  Carthew  will  be  pleased,"  said  Dodd ;  "  for  there's 
no  doubt  they  oppressed  the  man  abominably  when 
they  were  in  the  Currency  Lass.  It's  diamond  cut 
diamond  now." 

This,  I  think,  was  the  most  of  the  news  I  got  from 
my  friend  Loudon ;  and  I  hope  I  was  well  inspired, 
and  have  put  all  the  questions  to  which  you  would 
be  curious  to  hear  an  answer. 

But  there  is  one  more  that  I  daresay  you  are 
burning  to  put  to  myself ;  and  that  is,  what  your  own 


EPILOGUE.  425 

name  is  doing  in  this  place,  cropping  up  (as  it  were 
uncalled-for)  on  the  stern  of  our  poor  ship  ?  If  you 
were  not  born  in  Arcadia,  you  linger  in  fancy  on  its 
margin ;  your  thoughts  are  busied  with  the  flutes  of 
antiquity,  with  daffodils,  and  the  classic  poplar,  and 
the  footsteps  of  the  nymphs,  and  the  elegant  and 
moving  aridity  of  ancient  art.  Why  dedicate  to  you  a 
tale  of  a  caste  so  modern : — full  of  details  of  our  bar- 
baric manners  and  unstable  morals ;  full  of  the  need 
and  the  lust  of  money,  so  that  there  is  scarce  a  page 
in  which  the  dollars  do  not  jingle ;  full  of  the  unrest 
and  movement  of  our  century,  so  that  the  reader  is 
hurried  from  place  to  place  and  sea  to  sea,  and  the 
book  is  less  a  romance  than  a  panorama — in  the  end, 
as  blood-bespattered  as  an  epic  ? 

Well,  you  are  a  man  interested  in  all  problems 
of  art,  even  the  most  vulgar ;  and  it  may  amuse  you 
to  hear  the  genesis  and  growth  of  "  The  Wrecker."  On 
board  the  schooner  Equator,  almost  within  sight  of 
the  Johnstone  Islands  (if  anybody  knows  where  these 
are)  and  on  a  moonlit  night  when  it  was  a  joy  to  be 
alive,  the  authors  were  amused  with  several  stories  of 
the  sale  of  wrecks.  The  subject  tempted  them  ;  and 
they  sat  apart  in  the  alleyway  to  discuss  its  possi- 
bilities. "  What  a  tangle  it  would  make,"  suggested 
one,  "  if  the  wrong  crew  were  aboard.  But  how  to 
get  the  wrong  crew  there  ?  " — "  I  have  it !  "  cried  the 
other ;  "  the  so-and-so  affair  ! "  For  not  so  many 
months  before,  and  not  so  many  hundred  miles  from 
where  we  were  then  sailing,  a  proposition  almost 
tantamount  to  that  of  Captain  Trent  had  been  made 
by  a  British  skipper  to  some  British  castaways. 

Before  we  turned  in,  the  scaffolding  of  the  tale 
had  been  put  together.  But  the  question  of  treat- 
ment was  as  usual  more  obscure.  We  had  long  been 
at  once  attracted  and  repelled  by  that  very  modern 
form  of  the  police  novel  or  mystery  story,  which 
consists  in  beginning  your  yarn  anywhere  but  at 


426  THE   WRECKER. 

the  beginning,  and  finishing  it  anywhere  but  at  the 
end ;  attracted  by  its  peculiar  interest  when  done, 
and  the  peculiar  difficulties  that  attend  its  execu- 
tion ;  repelled  by  that  appearance  of  insincerity  and 
shallowness  of  tone,  which  seems  its  inevitable 
drawback.  For  the  mind  of  the  reader,  always  bent 
to  pick  up  clues,  receives  no  impression  of  reality  or 
life,  rather  of  an  airless,  elaborate  mechanism;  and 
the  book  remains  enthralling,  but  insignificant,  like 
a  game  of  chess,  not  a  work  of  human  art.  It 
seemed  the  cause  might  he  partly  in  the  abrupt 
attack;  and  that  if  the  tale  were  gradually  ap- 
proached, some  of  the  characters  introduced  (as  it 
were)  beforehand,  and  the  book  started  in  the  tone 
of  a  novel  of  manners  and  experience  briefly  treated, 
this  defect  might  be  lessened  and  our  mystery  seem 
to  inhere  in  life.  The  tone  of  the  age,  its  movement, 
the  mingling  of  races  and  classes  in  the  dollar  hunt, 
the  fiery  and  not  quite  unromantic  struggle  for 
existence  with  its  changing  trades  and  scenery,  and 
two  types  in  particular,  that  of  the  American  handy- 
man of  business  and  that  of  the  Yankee  merchant 
sailor — we  agreed  to  dwell  upon  at  some  length,  and 
make  the  woof  to  our  not  very  precious  warp.  Hence 
Dodd's  father,  and  Pinkerton,  and  Nares,  and  the 
Dromedary  picnics,  and  the  railway  work  in  New 
South  Wales — the  last  an  unsolicited  testimonial  from 
the  powers  that  be,  for  the  tale  was  half  written 
before  I  saw  Carthew's  squad  toil  in  the  rainy  cutting 
at  South  Clifton,  or  heard  from  the  engineer  of  his 
"young  swell."  After  we  had  invented  at  some 
expense  of  time  this  method  of  approaching  and 
fortifying  our  police  novel,  it  occurred  to  us  it 
had  been  invented  previously  by  someone  else,  and 
was  in  fact — however  painfully  different  the  results 
may  seem — the  method  of  Charles  Dickens  in  his 
later  work. 

I  see  you  staring.     Here,  you  will  say,  is  a  pro- 


EPILOGUE.  427 

digious  quantity  of  theory  to  our  halfpenny  worth  of 
police  novel ;  and  withal  not  a  shadow  of  an  answer 
to  your  question. 

Well,  some  of  us  like  theory.  After  so  long  a 
piece  of  practice,  these  may  be  indulged  for  a  few 
pages.  And  the  answer  is  at  hand.  It  was  plainly 
desirable,  from  every  point  of  view  of  convenience 
and  contrast,  that  our  hero  and  narrator  should  partly 
stand  aside  from  those  with  whom  he  mingles,  and 
be  but  a  pressed-man  in  the  dollar  hunt.  Thus  it 
was  that  Loudon  Dodd  became  a  student  of  the 
plastic  arts,  and  that  our  globe-trotting  story  came  to 
visit  Paris  and  look  in  at  Barbizon.  And  thus  it  is, 
dear  Low,  that  your  name  appears  in  the  address  of 
this  epilogue. 

For  sure,  if  any  person  can  here  appreciate  and 
read  between  the  lines,  it  must  be  you  —  and  one 
other,  our  friend.  All  the  dominos  will  be  trans- 
parent to  your  better  knowledge;  the  statuary 
contract  will  be  to  you  a  piece  of  ancient  history ; 
and  you  will  not  have  now  heard  for  the  first  time 
of  the  dangers  of  Koussillon.  Dead  leaves  from  the 
Bas  Breau,  echoes  from  Lavenue's  and  the  Rue 
Racine,  memories  of  a  common  past,  let  these  be 
your  bookmarkers  as  you  read.  And  if  you  care  for 
naught  else  in  the  story,  be  a  little  pleased  to 
breathe  once  more  for  a  moment  the  airs  of  our 
youth. 


THE   END. 


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A  Story  of  Pirates  and  the  Spanish  Main. 

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TREASURE  ISLAND. 


EOBERT    LOUIS     STEVENSON. 

"A  book  for  boys  which  will  be  delightful  to  all  grown  men  who  have 
the  sentiment  of  treasure  hunting." — Saturday  Review. 

"As  we  follow  the  narrative  of  the  boy  Jim  Hawkins  we  hold  our 
breath  at  his  dangers,  and  breathe  again  at  his  escapes." — The  Athenaum. 

"  Mr.  Stevenson's  story  is  skilfully  constructed,  and  related  with  untiring 
vivacity  and  genuine  dramatic  power.  It  deals  with  a  mysterious  island,  a 
buried  treasure,  the  bold  buccaneer,  and  all  the  stirring  incidents  of  a  merry 
life  on  the  main." — The  Academy. 

"  'Treasure  Island'  is  a  real  work  of  art,  and  at  the  same  time  so 
exciting  that  we  are  not  ashamed  to  own  that  we  found  it  difficult,  when 
wt  had  once  begun,  to  lay  it  down  before  the  last  page  was  reached." — 
John  Bull. 

' '  Mr.  Stevenson  has  shown  an  extraordinary  faculty  of  imagination  and 
dramatic  presentation  in  '  Treasure  Island.'  "—Standard. 

"We  began  to  look  at  'Treasure  Island'  while  hungrily  waiting  the 
announcement  of  dinner,  but  when  the  summons  came  we  regretted  the 
cook's  punctuality.  That  evening  we  were  forced  to  go  to  the  theatre, 
but  Mr.  Stevenson's  book  went  too,  and  between  the  Acts  we  followed  Jim 
Hawkins,  the  youthful  hero,  together  with  Squire  Trelawney  and  Dr. 
Livesey,  who  took  him  on  the  cruise  to  Treasure  Island,  till  they  were 
embarked  at  Bristol  on  board  the  Hispaniola.  During  a  short  railway 
journey  home  after  the  theatre,  we  landed  with  the  adventurers  at  the 
island,  and  there  were  most  thoroughly  justified  the  worst  suspicions  that 
had  been  formed  concerning  the  crew  which  the  Squire  had  so  strangely 
got  together,  a  crew  of  pirates  who  had  sailed  with  Captain  Kidd,  and 
proposed  to  help  themselves  to  the  buried  millions,  after  going  through 
what  was  to  them  the  unimportant  trifle  of  cutting  the  throats  of 
Trelawney,  the  Doctor,  Jim,  and  their  few  adherents.  The  train  stopped 
at  our  station  just  as  Jim  had  embarked  in  the  coracle  to  cut  adrift 
the  Hispaniola,  whose  crew,  honest  and  villainous,  were  at  war  on  the 
island  itself ;  and,  unable  to  wait  till  we  reached  home,  we  stood  under 
a  lamp-post  and  finished  the  chapter.  This  narrative,  for  the  personal 
nature  of  which  we  apologise,  will  best  show  the  reader  the  irresistible 
fascination  of  the  book.  The  interest  never  flags.  Nor  is  it  only  the 
broad  narrative  that  is  enthralling.  The  book  is  written  with  wonderful 
felicity  of  detail.  One  seems  to  be  witness  of  the  exciting  events  which  are 
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The  Master  of  Ballantrae. 

BY 

EOBEET     LOUIS      STEVENSON. 

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The  Times  says  : — 
"  '  Treasure  Island '  and  '  Kidnapped '  had  as  many  admirers  as 
readers,  and  '  Dr.  Jekyll  and  Mr.  Hyde '  was  a  marvellous  tour  d'esprit. 
But  in  •  The  Master  of  Ballantrae '  we  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that 
Mr.  Stevenson  surpasses  all  his  former  performances,  and  in  our  opinion 
there  are  very  few  novels  which  so  nearly  approach  perfection.  It  is 
compact,  and  it  is  so  artistically  constructed  that  you  can  hardly  afford  to 
skip  a  sentence.  The  story  is  sensational  in  the  highest  degree,  yet  the 
sensation  of  startling  incident  is  subordinated  throughout  to  the  interest 
excited  by  the  evolution  of  character.  There  is  a  subtle  analysis  of  the 
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The  Observer  says: — 

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The  Pall  Mall  Gazette  says  : — 

"  Mr.  Stevenson  has  done  it  at  last :  in  '  The  Master  of  Ballantrae  '  he 
has  produced  something  very  like  a  classic.  .  .  The  strength  of  the  book 
lies  in  the  combined  subtlety  and  poignancy  of  its  spiritual  drama.  We 
have  here  delicacies  of  analysis  that  Mr.  Meredith  has  scarcely  surpassed, 
flashes  of  the  keenest  imaginative  insight.  .  .  Old  Lord  Durrisdeer,  too, 
is  drawn  with  unfailing  felicity,  a  quite  original  character,  yet  one  whom 
Scott  would  not  have  disowned." 

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of  Ballantrae  '  is  one  of  those  few  books  of  which  even  a  poor  man  says  to 
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read  it,  that  I  might  read  it  again  for  the  first  time.' " 

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"KIDNAPPED." 


EOBEET    LOUIS    STEVENSON, 
Author  of  "  Treasure  Island"  <5rv.,  &c. 


a  t 


Kidnapped '  is  almost,  if  not  quite,  as  fascinating  as  '  Treasure 
Island ; '  and  in  some  respects  we  prefer  it.  The  interest  is  as  steadily 
sustained,  and  there  is  more  sobriety  in  the  sensations.  From  the  begin- 
ning to  the  end  there  is  a  rich  variety  of  vividly  dramatic  incidents. 
'Kidnapped,' as  we  think,  ranks  rather  before  'Treasure  Island,'  inas- 
much as  there  are  deeper  and  more  delicate  discriminations  of  character. 
And  that  is  rare  in  a  short  tale  of  stirring  adventure,  although  written 
with  the  romantic  but  realistic  minuteness  of  Defoe." — The  Times. 

"  It  is  the  best  thing  he  has  ever  done  out  of  many  good  things,  better 
even  than  '  Treasure  Island ; '  nay,  and  I  would  go  farther,  and  say  it  is 
the  best  thing  any  man  has  done  for  many  a  long  day.  The  tale,  which  is 
genuine  narrative,  a  story  pure  and  simple,  is  told  by  a  young  Scottish 
lad,  kidnapped  by  a  rascally  old  uncle,  who  is  keeping  him  out  of  his 
kingdom,  and  packed  over  sea  to  be  sold  to  slavery  in  the  plantations. 
After  some  rousing  scenes,  and  especially  a  notable  fight  in  which  young 
Balfour  (the  story-teller)  and  one  Alan  Breck,  a  Jacobite  adventurer 
(a  rare  character,  worthy  almost  of  Sir  "Walter),  keep  the  round-house 
against  the  whole  ship's  crew,  the  brig  is  wrecked  off  the  coast  of  Skye, 
and  thence  onward  the  theme  is  the  Ulyssean  wanderings  of  Balfour 
and  Alan  through  the  Highlands,  at  that  time  swept  backwards  and 
forwards  by  King  George's  troops  on  the  watch  for  proscribed  rebels— a 
situation  much  complicated  by  the  too  timely  removal  of  an  inconvenient 
Campbell."—  The  World. 

"Mr.  Stevenson's  study  in  Highland  character  in  'Kidnapped,'  in  its 
strength  and  its  weakness,  is  the  best  thing  of  the  sort  which  has  been  written 
since  '  Rob  Roy,'  if,  indeed,  it  is  not  better  than  '  Rob  Roy.' '' — Daily  News. 

"  Its  description  of  the  scenery  of  the  Highlands  in  the  old,  wild 
times,  is  as  charming  as  a  vivid  imagination  could  make  it;  and  the 
description  of  the  cowardly  old  miser  who  plotted  his  nephew's  death 
rather  than  give  him  up  his  inheritance,  is  as  vivid  as  anything  which 
Mr.  Stevenson's  singular  genius  has  yet  invented  for  us." — Spectator. 

"  A  graphic  story  here  you'll  find,  by  JR.  L.  Stevenson, 
It  beats  the  Treasure  Island — or  any  he  has  done  ! 
From  opening  unto  finish  your  attention's  kept  alive — 
The  scene  is  laid  in  Scotland,  just  after  'Forty-five — 
'Tis  a  tale  of  wild  adventure  most  marvellously  told, 
And  cunningly  the  writer  does  his  clever  plot  unfold  ; 
Throughout  the  narrative  we  find  the  author  at  his  best, 
'Tis  full  of  fight  and  bustle  and  of  thrilling  interest ; 
The  characters  are  drawn,  you'll  find,  with  most  consummate  skill — 
A  book  you  ought  at  once  to  read,  and  read  at  once  you  will." — Punch. 

CASSELL  cb  COMPANY,  Limited,  Ludgate  Hill,  London; 
and  all  Booksellers. 


Selections  from  Cassell  §  Company's  Publications. 

Ulhtatrateir,   $'mz-%xt,   antr   otfyzx  Volumes. 

Abbeys  and  Churches  of  England  and  Wales,  The :    Descriptive, 

Historical,  Pictorial.     Two  Series.     21s.  each. 
Across    Thibet.     By   Gabriel    Bonvalot,    Author  of    "Through  the 

Heart  of  Asia."     In  Two  Vols.    32s. 
Adventure,  The  World  of.    Fully  Illustrated.     In  Three  Vols,   gs.each. 
American  Library  of  Fiction.     Crown  8vo,  cloth,  3s.  6d.  each. 

A  Latin-Quarter  Courtship.     By     1     Grandison  Mather.      By  Henry  Harland 
Henry       Harland       (Sidney  (Sidney  Luska). 

Luska).  I      "  89."    By  Edgar  Henry. 

Anglomaniacs,  The :   A  Story  of  New  York  Life  of  To-day.     By 
Mrs.  Burton  Harrison.    3s.  6d. 

Arabian  Nights  Entertainments,  Cassell's  Pictorial.    10s.  6d. 

Architectural  Drawing.     By  R.  Phene  Spiers.     Illustrated.     10s.  6d. 

Art,  The  Magazine  of.    Yearly  Vol.    With  12  Photogravures,  Etchings, 
&c,  and  about  400  Illustrations.     16s. 

Artistic  Anatomy.     By  Prof.  M.  Duval.    Translated  by  F.  E.  Fenton. 
Cheap  Edition.     3s.  6d. 

Bashkirtseff,  Marie,  The  Journal  of.      Cheap  Edition.    7s.  6d. 

Bashkirtseff,    Marie,    The    Letters    of.      7s.   6d. 

Birds'  Nests,  Eggs,  and  Egg-Collecting.     By  R.  Kearton.     Illus- 
trated with  16  Coloured  Plates.     5s. 

Black  America.     A  Study  of  the  Ex-slave  and  his  late  Master.     By  W. 
Laird  Clowes.     6s. 

Blue  Pavilions,  The.     By  Q,  Author  of  "Dead  Man's  Rock,"  &c.     6s. 

British  Ballads.     With  275  Original  Illustrations.     In  Two  Vols.     15s. 

British  Battles  on  Land  and   Sea.     By  James  Grant.     With  about 
600  Illustrations.    Three  Vols.,  4to,  £1  7s.;  Library  Edition,  £1  10s. 

British  Battles,  Recent.     Illustrated.     4to,  qs.  ;  Library  Edition,  10s. 

Browning,  An  Introduction  to  the  Study  of.   By  A.  Symons.   2s.  6d. 

Bunyan's  Pilgrim's  Progress  and  The  Holy  War,  Cassell's  Illus- 
trated Edition  of.     With  200  Original  Illustrations.     Cloth,  16s. 

Butterflies    and    Moths,   European.     With  61  Coloured  Plates.     35s. 

Canaries  and  Cage-Birds,  The   Illustrated  Book  of.     With  56  Fac- 
simile Coloured  Plates,  35s.     Half-morocco,  £2  5s. 

Cassell's  Family  Magazine.     Yearly  Vol.     Illustrated,    gs. 

Cathedrals,     Abbeys,     and    Churches    of    England    and    Wales. 
Descriptive,  Historical,  Pictorial.    Popular  Edition.    Two  Vols.    25s. 

Celebrities  of  the  Century.     Cheap  Edition.     10s.  6d. 

Choice  Dishes  at  Small  Cost.    By  A.  G.  Payne,    is. 

Cities  of  the  World.    Four  Vols.    Illustrated.    7s.  6d.  each. 

Civil   Service,  Guide  to  Employment  in  the.    3s.  6d. 

Civil   Service.— Guide    to    Female    Employment  in   Government 
Offices,     is. 

Climate    and    Health    Resorts.      By  Dr.   Burney  Yeo.      New  and 
Cheaper  Edition.     7s.  6d. 

Clinical  Manuals  for  Practitioners  and  Students  of  Medicine.    A 
List  of  Volumes  forwarded  post  free  on  application  to  the  Publishers. 

Clothing,  The  Influence  of,  on  Health.   By  F.Treves,  F.R.C.S.  2s. 

Colonist's  Medical  Handbook,  The.  ByE.  A.  Barton,M.R.C.S.  2s.6d. 

Colour.     By  Prof.  A.  H.  Church.     With  Coloured  Plates.    3s.  6d. 

Columbus,  The  Career  of.     By  Charles  Elton,  Q.C.,  M.P.     10s.  6d. 

Commerce,  The  Year-Book  of.     Third  Year's  Issue.     5s. 

Commercial  Botany  of  the  Nineteenth  Century.     By  J.  R.  Tackson. 
A.L.S.     Cloth  gilt,  3s.  6d.  J  ' 

Conning  Tower,  In  a.     By  H.  O.  Arnold-Forster.      is. 

Cookery,    A    Year's.      By   Phyllis    Browne.      New  and  Enlarged 
Edition.    3s.  6d. 

Cookery,  Cassell's   Dictionary  of.    Containing  about  Nine  Thousand 
Recipes.  7s.  6d. ;  Roxburgh,  10s.  6d. 

2  g.  5.92 


Selections  from  Cassell  $  Company's  Publications. 

Cookery,  Cassell's  Popular.  With  Four  Coloured  Plates.  Cloth  gilt,  2S. 

Cookery,   Cassell's    Shilling.     384  pages,  limp  cloth,  is. 

Cookery,  Vegetarian.     By  A.  G.  Payne,     is.  6d. 

Cooking  by  Gas,  The  Art  of.     By  Marie  J.  Sugg.    Illustrated.    3s. 6d. 

Countries  of  the  World,  The.     By  Robert  Brown,  M.A.,  Ph.D.,  &c. 

Complete  in  Six  Vols.,  with  about  750  Illustrations.     4to,  7s.  6d.  each. 
Cromwell,  Oliver.    By  J.  Allanson  Picton,  M.P.    5s. 
Cyclopaedia,  Cassell's  Concise.    Brought  down  to  the  latest  date.  With 

about  600  Illustrations.   Clieap  Edition.  7s.  6d. 
Cyclopaedia,  Cassell's  Miniature.    Containing  30,000  subjects.   3s.  6d. 
David  Todd.      By  David  Maclure.    5s. 
Dickens,  Character  Sketches  from.  First,  Second,  and  Third  Series. 

With  Six  Original  Drawings  in  each  by  F.  Barnard.      21s.  each. 
Dick  Whittington,  A  Modern.      By  James   Payn.    Author  of  "  By 

Proxy,"  &c.     Two  Vols.,  21s. 
Disraeli,  Benjamin,  Personal  Reminiscences  of.     By  Kenry  Lake. 

3s.  6d. 
Disraeli  in  Outline.     By  F.  Carroll  Brewster,  LL.D.    7s.  6d. 
Dog,  Illustrated  Book  of  the.    By  Vero  Shaw,  B.A.    With  28  Colo\ired 

Plates.     Cloth  bevelled,  35s. ;  half- morocco,  45s. 
Dog,  The.     By  Idstone.     Illustrated.     2s.  6d. 
Domestic  Dictionary,  The.     Illustrated.     Cloth,  7s.  6d. 
Dore"  Gallery,  The.    With  250  Illustrations  by  Dore.     4to,  42s. 
Dore's  Dante's  Inferno.     Illustrated  by  Gustave  Dore.    21s. 
Dore's  Milton's  Paradise  Lost.    Illustrated  by  Dore.     4to,  21s. 
Dr.  Dumany's  'Wife.     A  Novel.     By  Maurus  J(5kai.    Translated  from 

the  Hungarian  by  F.  Steinitz.     7s.  6d.  net. 
Earth,   Our,   and  its  Story.     By  Dr.  Robert  Brown,  F.L.S.     With 

Coloured  Plates  and  numerous  Wood  Engravings.  Three  Vols.  as.  each. 
Edinburgh,  Old  and  New.  With  600  Illustrations.  Three  Vols.  gs.  each. 
Egypt:  Descriptive,  Historical,  and  Picturesque.  By  Prof.  G.  Ebers 

With  800  Original  Engravings.  Popular  Edition.  In  Two  Vols.  42s. 
Electricity  in   the   Service  of  Man.      With  nearly  850  Illustrations. 

Cheap  Edition,    gs. 
Electricity,   Age  of.     By  Park  Benjamin,  Ph.D.     7s.  6d. 
Electricity,  Practical.     By  Prof.  W.  E.  Ayrton.    7s.  6d. 
"Eli   Perkins."      Thirty  Years  of  Wit.      By  Melville  D.    Landon 

("  Eli  Perkins").     4s. 
Employment  for  Boys  on  Leaving  School,  Guide  to.      By   W.  S. 

Beard,  F.R.G.S.     is.  6d. 
Encyclopaedic  Dictionary,  The.     In  Fourteen  Divisional  Vols.,  ios.6d. 

each  ;  or  Seven  Vols.,  half-morocco,  21s.  each  ;  half-russia,  25s. 
England,  Cassell's  Illustrated  History  of.    With  2,000  Illustrations. 

Ten  Vols.,  4to,  gs.  each.  Revised  Edition.  Vols.  I.  to  V,  gs.  each. 
English     Dictionary,     Cassell's.      Giving    definitions    of    more    than 

100,000  words  and  phrases.     7s.  6d. 
English  History,  The  Dictionary  of.     Cheap  Edition.     10s.  6d. 
English    Literature,    Dictionary    of.      By    W.   Davenport    Adams. 

Cheap  Edition,  7s.  6d. ;  Roxburgh,  10s.  6d. 
English  Literature,   Library  of.      By  Prof.  Henry  Morley. 
Vol.      I.— Shorter  English  Poems.    7s.  6d. 
Vol.    II.— Illustrations  of  English  Religion.    7s.  6d. 
Vol.  III. — English  Plays.    7s.  6d. 
Vol.  IV. — Shorter  Works  in  English  Prose.    7s.  6d. 
Vol.    V— Sketches  of  Longer  Works  in  English  Verse  and 
Prose.     7s.  6d. 
English  Literature,  Morley's  First  Sketch  of.  Revised  Edition.  7s.  6d. 
English  Literature,  The  Story  of.     By  Anna  Buckland.    3s.  6d. 
English  Writers.  By  Prof.  Henry  Morley.    Vols.  I.  to  VIII.    5s.  each. 
/Esop's  Fables.     Illustrated  by  Ernest  Griset.     Cloth,  3s.  6d. 
6 


Selections  from  Cassell  #  Company's  Publications. 

Etiquette  of  Good  Society,    is. ;  cloth,  is.  6d. 

Europe,   Cassell's  Pocket  Guide  to.    With  excellent  Maps,  size,  5% 

by  3i  inches.     Leather,  6s. 
Eye,  Ear,  and  Throat,  The  Management  of  the.    3s.  6d. 
Faith  Doctor,  The.    A  Novel.    By  Dr.  Edward  Eggleston.   7s.  6d.  net. 
Family    Physician,    The.      By  Eminent  Physicians  and  Surgeons. 

New  and  Revised  Edition.     Cloth,  21s.  ;  Roxburgh,  25s. 
Father  Stafford.    A  Novel.    By  Anthony  Hope.    6s. 
Fenn,  G.  Manville,  Works  by.    Boards,  2s.  each ;  cloth,  2s.  6d.  each. 

Poverty  Corner.  I    The  Parson  o' Dumford.  )  Boards 

My  Patients.     Being  the   Notes        ___.,         ,   „  r  „„i„ 

of  a  Navy  Surgeon  |    The  Vicar  s  People.  j    only. 

Field  Naturalist's  Handbook,  The.  By  the  Rev.  J.  G.  Wood 
and  Rev.  Theodore  Wood.    5s. 

Figuier's  Popular  Scientific  Works .     With  Several  Hundred  Illustra- 
tions in  each.     Newly  Revised  and  Corrected.    3s.  6d.  each. 
The  Human  Race.  Mammalia.        |       Ocean  World. 

World  before  the  Deluge.     The  Vegetable  World. 

Flora's  Feast.  A  Masque  of  Flowers.  Penned  and  Pictured  by  Walter 
Crane.     With  40  Pages  in  Colours.     5s. 

Fossil  Reptiles,  A  History  of  British.  By  Sir  Richard  Owen, 
K.C.B.,  F.R.S.,  &c.     With  268  Plates.     In  Four  Vols.,  £12  12s. 

Four  Years  in  Parliament  with  Hard  Labour.  By  C.  W.  Radcliffe 
Cooke,  M. P.      Third  Edition,     is. 

France  as  It  Is.  By  Andre  Lebon  and  Paul  Pelet.  With  Three 
Maps.     Crown  8vo,  cloth,  7s.  6d. 

Garden  Flowers,  Familiar.  By  Shirley  Hibberd.  With  Coloured 
Plates  by  F.  E.  Hulme,  F.L.S.  Complete  in  Five  Series.  12s.  6d.  each. 

Gardening,  Cassell's  Popular.     Illustrated.     Four  Vols.    5s.  each. 

Geometrical  Drawing  for  Army  Candidates.  By  H.  T.  Lilley, 
M.A.    2s. 

Geometry,  First  Elements  of  Experimental.    By  Paul  Bert.  is.6d. 

Geometry,  Practical  Solid.     By  Major  Ross.    2s. 

Gilbert,  Elizabeth,  and  her  Work  for  the  Blind.  By  Frances 
Martin.     2s.  6d. 

Gleanings  from  Popular  Authors.  Two  Vols.  With  Original  Illus- 
trations.    4to,  9s.  each.     Two  Vols,  in  One,  15s. 

Gulliver's  Travels.  With  88  Engravings  by  Morten.  Cheap  Edition. 
Cloth,  3s.  6d. ;  cloth  gilt,  5s. 

Gun  and  its  Development,  The.  By  W.  W.  Greener.  With  500 
Illustrations.     10s.  6d. 

Guns,  Modern  Shot.     By  W.  W.  Greener.     Illustrated.     5s. 

Health  at  School.     By  Clement  Dukes,  M.D.,  B.S.    7s.  6d. 

Health,  The  Book  of.     By  Eminent  Physicians  and  Surgeons.     21s. 

Health,  The  Influence  of  Clothing  on.     By  F.  Treves,  F.R.G.S.  2s. 

Heavens,  The  Story  of  the.  By  Sir  Robert  Stawell  Ball,  LL.D  , 
F.R.S.,  F.R.A.S.     With  Coloured  Plates.    Popular  Edition.     12s.  6d. 

Heroes  of  Britain  in  Peace  and  War.  With  300  Original  Illus- 
trations.    Cheap  Edition.     Two  Vols.,  3s.  6d.  each. 

Holiday  Studies  of  Wordsworth.  By  Rev.  F.  A.  Malleson,  M.A   5s. 

Hors  de  Combat  ;  or,  Three  Weeks  in  a  Hospital.  Founded  on 
Facts.  By  Gertrude  &  Ethel  Armitage  Southam.  Illustrated.   5s. 

Horse,  The  Book  of  the.  By  Samuel  Sidney.  With  28  Fac-simile 
Coloured  Plates.    Enlarged  Edition.  Demy  4to,  35s.;  half-morocco, 45s. 

Houghton,  Lord  :  The  Life,  Letters,  and  Friendships  of  Richard 
Monckton  Milnes,  First  Lord  Houghton.  By  T.  Wemyss 
Reid.     In  Two  Vols.,  with  Two  Portraits.    32s. 

Household,  Cassell's  Book  of  the.    Complete  in  Four  Vols.    5s.  each. 

Hygiene  and  Public  Health.  By  B.  Arthur  Whitelegge,  M.D   7s  6d 


Selections  from  Cassell  §  Company 's  Publications. 

India,    Cassell's   History   of.     By  James  Grant.      With  about  400 

Illustrations.     Library  binding.     One  Vol.    15s. 
In-door  Amusements,  Card  Games,  and  Fireside  Fun,  Cassell's 

Book  of.     Cheap  Edition.     2s. 
"I   Saw  Three   Ships,"  and  other  Winter's  Tales.     By  Q,   Author  of 

"Dead  Man's  Rock,"  &c.     6s. 
Italy  from  the  Fall  of  Napoleon  I .  in  1815  to  1890.      By  J.  W  Probyn. 

New  and  Cheaper  Edition.     3s.  6d. 
"Japanese"  Library  of  Popular  Works,  Cassell's.      Consisting  of 
Twelve  Popular  Works,  printed  on  thin  paper,     is.  3d.  each  net. 

Handy  Andy.  —  Oliver   Twist.  —  Ivanlioe.  —  Ingoldsby   Legends.— 
The  Last  of  the  Mohicans.— The  Last  Days  of  Pompeii— The 
Yellowplush  Papers.  —  The    Last    Days    of    Palmyra.  —  Jack 
Hinton,  the   Guardsman.  —  Selections  from   Hood's   Works.— 
American  Humour.— The  Tower  of  London. 
Kennel  Guide,  The  Practical.     By  Dr.  Gordon  Stables,     is. 
Khiva,  A  Ride  to.     By  Col.  Fred.  Burnaby.     is.  6d. 
"  La  Bella,"  and  Others.    Being  Certain  Stories  Recollected  by  Egerton 

Castle,  Author  of  "  Consequences."    6s. 
Ladies'  Physician,  The.     By  a  London  Physician.    6s. 
Lake    Dwellings    of   Europe.       By   Robert    Munro,    M.D.,    M.A. 


Cloth,  31s.  6d.  ;   Roxburgh,  £2  2s. 
Legends  for  Lionel.     By  Walter  Crane.    Coloured  Illustrations.    5s. 


Law,  How  to  Avoid.     By  A.  JT  Williams,  M. P.    is.     Cheap  Edition. 


Letts's    Diaries    and  other    Time-saving    Publications    published 

exclusively  by  Cassell  &  Company.  (A  list  free  on  application.) 
Life  Assurance,   Medical  Handbook  of.    7s.  6d. 
Life  in  Our  Villages.     The  Letters  of  the  Special  Commissioner  of  the 

Daily  News.    is.  ;  or  cloth,  bevelled  boards,  2S. 
Little  Minister,  The.     By  J.  M.  Barrie.     One  Vol.    7s.  6d. 
Loans  Manual.      By  Charles  P.  Cotton.    5s. 
Locomotive  Engine,  The  Biography  of  a.     By  Henry  Frith.     5s. 
London,    Greater.      By   Edward   Walford.      Two  Vols.     With  about 

400  Illustrations,     qs.  each. 
London,     Old    and    New.       Six     Vols.,   each    containing    about    200 

Illustrations  and  Maps.     Cloth,  9s.  each. 
London  Street  Arabs.   By  Mrs.  H.  M.  Stanley  (Dorothy  Tennant). 

A  Collection  of  Pictures.     Descriptive  Text  by  the  Artist.     5s. 
Mathew,  Father,  His  Life  and  Times.    By  F.  J.  Mathew.     2s.  6d. 
Mechanics,  The  Practical  Dictionary  of.     Containing   15,000  Draw- 
ings.    Four  Vols.    21s.  each. 
Medicine  Lady,  The.     By  L.   T.   Meade.     Author  of  a  "World    of 

Girls,"  &c.     Three  Vols.,  31s.  6d. 
Medicine,  Manuals  for  Students  of.    (A  List  forwarded  post  free.) 
Metzerott,  Shoemaker.     A  Socialistic  Novel.     Cr.  8vo,  5s. 
Modern  Europe,  A  History  of.     By  C.  A.  Fyffe,  M.A.      Complete  in 

Three  Vols.     12s.  each. 
Mount  Desolation.  An  Australian  Romance.  By  W.  Carlton  Dawe.  5s. 
Music,  Illustrated  History  of.     By  Emil  Naumann.      Edited  by  the 

Rev.  Sir  F.  A.  Gore  Ouseley,  Bart.      Illustrated.    Two  Vols.  31s.  6d. 
Musical    and    Dramatic    Copyright,   The    Law    of.      By    Edward 

Cutler,  Thomas  Eustace  Smith,  and  Frederic  E.   Weatherly, 

Esquires,  Barristers-at-Law.     3s.  6d. 
Napier,  Life  and  Letters  of  the  Rt.  Hon.  Sir  Joseph,  Bart.,  LL.D., 

&C.     By  A.  C.  Ewald,    F.S.A.     New  and  Revised  Edition.     7s.  6d. 
National  Library,   Cassell's.     In  Volumes.     Paper  covers,  3d. ;  cloth, 

6d.  {A  Complete  List  of  the  Volumes  post  free  on  application.) 
Natural    History,    Cassell's    Concise.      By    E.  Perceval  Wright, 

M.A.,  M.D.,  F.L.S.     With  several  Hundred  Illustrations.     7s.  6d. 
Natural    History,    Cassell's    New.      Edited    by   Prof.    P.    Martin 

Duncan,  M.B.,  F.R.S.,  F.G.S.    Complete  in  Six  Vols.    With  about 

2,000  Illustrations.     Cloth,  9s.  each. 


Marine  Painting.    5s. 
Animal  Painting.     5s. 
China  Painting.    5s. 
Figure  Painting.    7s.  6d. 
Elementary    Flower    Paint- 
ing.   3s. 
Flower  Painting.    5s. 


Selections  from  Cassell  §  Company's  Publications. 

Nature's  Wonder  Workers.    By  Kate  R.  Lovell.     Illustrated.    5s. 
Naval  War,  The  Last  Great.     By  A.  Nelson  Seaforth.    2s. 
Navy,  Royal,  All  About  The.    By  W.  Laird  Clowes.    Illustrated,     is. 
Nelson,  The  Life   of.     By  Robert   Southey.     Illustrated  with   Eight 

Plates.    3s.  6d.     An  Edition  of  South ey's  "  Nelson  "  is  published  as  a 

Volume  of  the  National  Library,  price  3d.     Cloth,  6d. 
Nursing  for  the   Home   and  for  the   Hospital,   A   Handbook  of. 

By  Catherine  J.  Wood.    Cheap  Edition,    is.  6d.  ;  cloth,  2s. 
Nursing  of  Sick  Children,   A  Handbook  for  the.      By  Catherine 

J.  Wood.    2s.  6d. 
Odyssey,  The  Modern  ;  or,  Ulysses  up  to  Date.    A  Book  of  Travels. 

Illustrated  with  Thirty-one  Pictures  in  Collotype.     Cloth  gilt,  10s.  6d. 
Oil  Painting,  A  Manual  of.     By  the  Hon.  John  Collier.    2s.  6d. 
Orchid     Hunter,    Travels   and    Adventures    of   an.      By   Albert 

Millican.     Fully  Illustrated.     12s.  6d. 
Our  Own  Country.    Six  Vols.    With  1,200  Illustrations.     7s.  6d.  each. 
Painting,  The  English  School  of.      By  Ernest  Chesneau.     Cheap 

Edition.     3s.  6d. 
Painting,  Practical  Guides  to.     With  Coloured  Plates  :— 
Tree  Painting.    5s. 
Water-Colour  Painting.   5s. 
Neutral  Tint.    5s. 
Sepia,  in  Two  Vols.,  3s.  each  ;  or 

in  One  Vol.,  5s. 
Flowers,  and  How  to  Paint 
Them.    5s. 
Paxton's  Flower  Garden.     By  Sir  Joseph  Paxton  and  Prof.  Lindley. 

With  100  Coloured  Plates.     Price  on  application. 
People  I've  Smiled  with.  By  Marshall  P.  Wilder.  2s. ;  cloth,  2s.6d. 
Peoples  of  the  World,  The.     In  Six  Vols.     By  Dr.  Robert  Brown. 

Illustrated.    7s.  6d.  each. 
Phillips,    Watts,    Artist    and    Playwright.      By    Miss    E.    Watts 

Phillips.    With  32  Plates.     10s.  6d. 
Photography  for  Amateurs.     By  T.  C.  Hepworth.      Enlarged  and 

Revised  Edition.     Illustrated,     is. ;  or  cloth,  is.  6d. 
Phrase  and  Fable,  Dictionary  of.     By  the  Rev.  Dr.  Brewer.     Cheap 

Edition,  Enlarged,  cloth,  3s.  6d.  ;  or  with  leather  back,  4s.  6d. 
Picturesque  America.     Complete  in  Four  Vols.,  with  48  Exquisite  Steel 

Plates  and  about  800  Original  Wood  Engravings.     £2  2s.  each. 
Picturesque  Australasia,  Cassell's.  With  upwards  of  1,000  Illustrations. 

Complete  in  Four  Vols.    7s.  6d.  each. 
Picturesque  Canada.  With  600  Original  Illustrations.  2  Vols.  £3  3s .  each. 
Picturesque    Europe.       Complete    in     Five    Vols.       Each     containing 

13   Exquisite  Steel   Plates,  from  Original   Drawings,  and  nearly  200 

Original  Illustrations.    Original  Edition.    Cloth,  £21 ;  half-morocco, 

£31  10s.  ;  morocco  gilt,  £52  10s.   The  Popular  Edition  is  published  in 

Five  Vols.,  18s.  each. 
Picturesque   Mediterranean.      With  Magnificent  Original  Illustrations 

by  the  leading  Artists  of  the  Day.  Complet  e  in  Two  Vols.  £2  2s.  each. 
Pigeon  Keeper,  The  Practical.  By  Lewis  Wright.  Illustrated.  3s.  6d. 
Pigeons,  The  Book  of.     By  Robert  Fulton.     Edited  and  Arranged  by 

L.  Wright.  With  50  Coloured  Plates,  31s.  6d.  ;  half-morocco,  £2  2s. 
Pity  and  of  Death,  The  Book  of.     By  Pierre  Loti.     Translated  by 

T.  P.  O'Connor,  M.P.    5s. 
Poems,  Aubrey  de  Vere's.  A  Selection.    Edited  by  J.  Dennis.   3s.  fid. 
Poets,  Cassell's  Miniature  Library  of  the.     Price  is.  each  Vol. 
Police  Code,  and  Manual  of  the  Criminal  Law.     By  C.  E.  Howard 

Vincent,  M.P.    as. 


Selections  from  Cassell  §  Company's  Publications. 

Polytechnic  Series,  The. 

Forty  Lessons  in  Carpentry  Workshop  Practice.    Cloth  gilt,  is. 

Practical  Plane  and  Solid  Geometry,   including  Graphic   Arithmetic.    VoL  I., 

Elementary  Stage.    Cloth  gilt,  3s. 
Forty  Lessons  in  Engineering  Workshop  Practice,     is.  6d. 
Technical  Scales.  Set  of  Ten  in  cloth  case,  is.  Also  on  Celluloid  in  Case,  10s.  6d. 

the  set. 
Elementary  Chemistry  for  Science  Schools  and  Classes.     Crown  8vo,  is.  6d. 
Building  Construction  Plates.  A  Series  of  40  Drawings.    Cloth,  10s.  6d.  ;  or  copies 
of  any  Plate  may  be  obtained  in  quantities  of  not  less  than  one  dozen,  price 
is.  6d.  per  dozen. 
Portrait   Gallery,  The  Cabinet.      First  and  Second  Series,  each  con- 
taining 36  Cabinet  Photographs  of  Eminent  Men  and  Women.     With 
Biographical  Sketches.    15s.  each. 
Poultry  Keeper,  The  Practical.     By  L.  Wright.     Illustrated.   3s.  6d. 
Poultry,  The  Book  of.    By  Lewis  Wright.    Popular  Edition.    10s.  6d. 
Poultry,  The   Illustrated   Book  of.     By  Lewis  Wright.    With  Fifty 

Coloured  Plates.     New  and  Revised  Edition.     Cloth,  31s.  6d. 
Queen  Summer  ;  or,  The  Tourney  of  the  Lily  and  the  Rose.     Penned  and 
Portrayed  by  Walter  Crane.       With  Forty  Pages  of  Designs  in 
Colours.    6s. 
Queen  Victoria,  The  Life  and  Times  of.   By  Robert  Wilson.   Com- 
plete in  Two  Vols.     With  numerous  Illustrations.     9s.  each. 
Rabbit-Keeper,  The  Practical.    By  Cuniculus.     Illustrated.    3s.  6d. 
Raffles  Haw,  The  Doings  of.     By  A.  Conan  Doyle.    5s. 
Railway  Guides,  Official  Illustrated.     With  Illustrations,  Maps,  &c. 
Price  is.  eachj  or  in  cloth,  2s.  each. 

Great  Western  Railway. 
London     and     South-Western 

•    Railway. 
Midland  Railway. 
South-Eastern  Railway. 


Great  Eastern  Railway. 
Great  Northern  Railway. 
London,   Brighton   and    South 

Coast  Railway. 
London     and     North-Western 

Railway. 
Railway  Library,  Cassell's.    Crown  8vo,  boards,  2s.  each. 


The  Astonishing  History  of  Troy 
Town.    By  Q. 

The  Admirable  Lady  Biddy  Fane. 
By  Frank  Barrett. 

Commodore  J  unk.  By  G.  M anville 
Fenn. 

St.  Cuthbert's  Tower.  By  Flor- 
ence Warden. 

The  Man  with  a  Thumb.  By  Bar- 
clay North. 

By  Right  not  Law.  By  R. 
Shrrard. 

Within  Sound  of  the  Weir.  By 
Thomas  St.  E.  Hake. 

Under  a  Strange  Mask.  By  Frank 
Barrett. 

The  coombsberrow  Mystery.  By 
James  Colwall. 

Dead  Man's  Rock.    By  Q. 

A  Queer  Race.    By  w.  westall. 

Captain  Trafalgar.  By  Westall 
and  Laurie. 

The  phantom  City.  By  W.  Westall. 


jack    Gordon,    Knight    Errant, 

Gotham,     1883.      By     Barclay 

North, 
the  Diamond  Button.  By  Barclay 

North. 
Another's  Crime.    By  Julian  Haw- 
thorne. 
The  Yoke    of  the   Thorah.     By 

Sidney  Luska. 
Who  is  John  Noman?    By  Charles 

Henry  Beckett. 
The  Tragedy  of  Brinkwater.   By 

Martha  l.  Moodey. 
An  American  Penman.    By  Julian 

Hawthorne. 
Section  558;  or,  the  Fatal  Letter. 

By  Julian  Hawthorne. 
The  Brown  Stone  boy.    By  W.  H. 

Bishop. 
A    Tragic    Mystery.     By  Julian 

Hawthorne. 
The    Great    Bank    Robbery.     By 

Julian  Hawthorne. 
Memoir.     Compiled  from  his  Diary. 


Redgrave,  Richard,  C.B.,  R.A, 
By  F.  M.  Redgrave,    ios.  6d. 
Richard,  Henry,  M. P.     A  Biography.    By  Charles  S.  Miall.    7s.  6d. 
Rivers   of   Great    Britain  :     Descriptive,  Historical,  Pictorial. 

The  Royal  River  :  The  Thames,  from  Source  to  Sea.    With  Several 
Hundred  Original  Illustrations.     Original  Edition,  £2  2s.  ;  Popu- 
lar Edition,  16s. 
Rivers    of  the    East    Coast.      With    numerous    highly    finished 
Engravings.     With  Etching  as  Frontispiece,  42s. 
Robinson   Crusoe,    Cassell's    New   Fine-Art    Edition    of.      With 
upwards  of  100  Original  Illustrations.     7s.  6d. 
10 


Selections  from  Cassell  §  Company's  Publications. 

Ronner,  Mme.  Henriette,  The  Painter  of  Cat  Life  and  Cat  Char- 
acter. Containing  a  Portrait  and  Twelve  Full-Page  Illustrations  in 
Photogravure  and  Sixteen  Typogravures.     £2  10s. 

Rossetti,  Dante  Gabriel,  as  Designer  and  Writer.  Notes  by 
William  Michael  Rossetti.    7s.  6d. 

Russia,  Through,  on  a  Mustang.     By  Thomas  Stevens.    7s.  6d. 

Russo-Turkish  War,  Cassell's  History  of.  With  about  500  Illus- 
trations.    Two  Vols.      9s.  each. 

Saturday  Journal,  Cassell's.     Yearly  Volume,  cloth,  7s.  6d. 

Science  for  All.  Edited  by  Dr.  Robert  Brown.  Revised  Edition. 
Illustrated.     Five  Vols.    9s.  each. 

Science,  The  Year  Book  of.     Edited  by  Prof.  Bonney,  F.R.S.    7s.  6d. 

Sculpture,  A  Primer  of.  By  E.Roscoe  Mullins.  With  Illustrations.  2s.6d. 

Sea,  The:  Its  Stirring  Story  of  Adventure,  Peril,  and  Heroism. 
By  F.  Whymper.     With  400  Illustrations.     Four  Vols.     7s.  6d.  each. 

Secret  of  the  Lamas,  The.    A  Tale  of  Thibet.     Crown  8vo,  5s. 

Shaftesbury,  The  Seventh  Earl  of,  K.G.,  The  Life  and  Work  of.  By 
Edwin  Hodder.  Three  Vols.,  36s.  Popular  Edition,  One  Vol.,  7s.  6d. 

Shakespeare,  The  Plays  of.  Edited  by  Professor  Henry  Morley. 
Complete  in  13  Vols.,  cloth,  21s. ;  half-morocco,  cloth  sides,  42s. 

Shakespeare,  Cassell's  Quarto  Edition.  Containing  about  600  Illus- 
trations by  H.  C.  Selous.     Complete  in  Three  Vols.,  cloth  gilt,  £3  3s. 

Shakespeare,  Miniature.  Illustrated.  In  Twelve  Vols.,  in  box,  12s. ; 
or  in  Red  Paste  Grain  (box  to  match),  with  spring  catch,  21s. 

Shakspere,  The  International.    Edition  de  Luxe. 

"  OTHELLO."     Illustrated  by  Frank  Dicksee,  R.A.     £3  10s. 
"  KING  HENRV  IV."     Illustrated  by  Eduard  Grutzner.  £3  10s. 
"AS  YOU  LIKE  IT."     Illustrated  by  Emile  Bayard.  £3  ios. 
"ROMEO  AND  JULIET,"  Illustrated  by  F.  Dicksee,  R.A.  Is  now 
out  of  print,  and  scarce. 

Shakspere,  The  Leopold.  With  400  Illustrations.  Cheap  Edition. 
3s.  6d.     Cloth  gilt,  gilt  edges,  5s.  ;  Roxburgh,  7s.  6d. 

Shakspere,  The  Royal.  With  Steel  Plates  and  Wood  Engravings. 
Three  Vols.     15s.  each. 

Smuggling  Days  and  Smuggling  Ways ;  or,  The  Story  of  a  Lost 
Art.  By  Commander  the  Hon.  Henry  N.  Shore,  R.N.  With 
numerous  Plans  and  Drawings  by  the  Author.     7s.  6d. 

Social  Welfare,  Subjects  of.     By  Sir  Lyon  Playfair,  K.C.B.    7s.  6d. 

Sports  and  Pastimes,  Cassell's  Complete  Book  of.  Cheap  Edition. 
With  more  than  900  Illustrations.  Medium  8vo,  992  pages,  cloth,  3s.  6d. 

Standard  Library,  Cassell's.     Stiff  covers,  is.  each;  cloth,  2s.  each. 


Adventures      of      Mr. 

Ledbury. 
Ivanhoe. 
Oliver  Twist. 
Selections  from  Hood's 

"Works. 
Longfellow's  Prose 

Works. 
Sense  and  Sensibility. 
Lytton's  Plays. 
Tales,  Poems,  and 

Sketches.  Bret  Harte. 
Martin  Cbuzzlewit 

(Two  Vols.). 
The  Prince  of  the 

House  of  David. 
Sheridan's  Plays. 
TJnole  Tom's  Cabin. 
Deerslayer. 
Home  and  the  Early 

Christians. 
The    Trials    of    Mar- 
garet Lyndsay. 
Harry  Lorrequer. 
Eugene  Aram. 

Stanley  in  East  Africa,  Scouting  for.    By  T.  Stevens.  With  14  Illus- 
trations.    Cloth,  7s.  6d. 

11 


Shirley. 
Coningsby. 
Mary  Barton. 
The  Antiquary. 
Nicholas  Nickleby 

(Two  Vols.). 
Jane  Eyre. 
Wuthering  Heights. 
Dombey  and  Son 

(Two  Vols.). 
The  Prairie. 
Night  and  Morning. 
Kenilworth. 
Ingoldsby  Legends. 
Tower  of  London. 
The  Pioneers. 
Charles  O'Malley. 
Barnaby  Budge. 
Cakes  and  Ale. 
The  King's  Own. 
People  I  have  Met. 
The  Pathfinder. 
Evelina 
Scott's  Poems. 
Last  of  the  Barons. 


Jack  Hinton. 
Poe's  Works. 
Old  Mortality. 
The  Hour  and  the  Man. 
Handy  Andy. 
Scarlet  Letter. 
Pickwick  (Two  Vols.). 
Last  of  the  Mohicans. 
Pride  and  Prejudice. 
Yellowplush  Papers. 
Tales  of  the  Borders. 
Last  Days  of  Palmyra. 
Washington  Irving's 

Sketch-Book. 
The  Talisman. 
Bienzi. 

Old  Curiosity  Shop. 
Heart  of  Midlothian. 
Last  Days  of  Pompeii. 
American  Humour. 
Sketches  by  Boz. 
Macaulay's  Lays  and 

Essays. 


Selections  from  Cassell  $  Company's  Publications. 

Star-Land.     By  Sir  R.  S.  Ball,  LL.D.,  &c.     Illustrated.    6s. 

Steam  Engine,  The.     By  W.  H.  Northcott,  C.E.    3s.  6d. 

Storehouse  of  General  Information,  Cassell's.    With  Wood  Engrav- 
ings, Maps,  and  Coloured  Plates.     In  Vols.,  5s.  each. 

Story  of  Francis  Cludde,  The.     By  Stanley  J.  Weyman.   7s.  6d. 

Story  Poems.     For  Young  and  Old.     Edited  by  E.  Davenpsrt.      6s. 

Strange  Doings  in  Strange  Places.     Complete  Sensational  Stories.    53. 

Sybil  Knox  ;  or,   Home  Again :  a  Story  of  To-day.     By  Edward 
E.  Hale,  Author  of  "  East  and  West,"  &c.     7s.  6d. 

Teaching  in  Three  Continents.     By  W.  C.  Grasby.    6s. 

Thackeray,  Character  Sketches  from.     Six  New  and  Original  Draw- 
ings by  Frederick  Barnard,  reproduced  in  Photogravure.     21s. 

The  "  Short  Story"  Library. 

Eleven  Possible  Cases.     By  Various 
Authors. 


Noughts  and  Crosses.    By  Q.    5s. 

Otto  the  Knight,  &c.  By  Octave 
Thanet.    5s. 

Fourteen  to  One,  &e.  By  Eliza- 
beth Stuart  Phelps.    5s. 


Felicia.  By  MissFANNYMURFREE.  5s. 

The  Poet's  Audience,  and  Delilah. 

By  Clara  Savile  Clarke.    5s. 

The  "Treasure  Island"    Series.     Cheap  Illustrated  Editions.     Cloth, 

3s.  6d.  each. 

King  Solomon's   Mines.     By   H.    I     The  Splendid  Spur.    By  Q. 

Rider  Haggard.  |     The    Master    of    Ballantrae.      By 

Kidnapped.  By  R.  L.  Stevenson.  Robert  Louis  Stevenson. 

Treasure    Island.      By    Robert        The    Black    Arrow.     By    Robert 
Louis  Stevenson.  Louis  Stevenson. 

Trees,  Familiar.     By  G.  S.  Boulger,  F.L.S.    Two    Series.    With  40 

full-page  Coloured  Plates  by  W.  H.  J.  Boot.     12s.  6d.  each. 
••Unicode":    the  Universal  Telegraphic   Phrase  Book.     Desk  or 

Pocket  Edition.    2s.  6d. 
United    States,    Cassell's    History   of  the.      By   the  late  Edmund 

Ollier.     With  600  Illustrations.     Three  Vols.     9s.  each. 
Universal  History,  Cassell's  Illustrated.     Four  Vols.     9s.  each. 
University  Extension  :  Past.  Present,  and  Future.     By  Prof.  H.  J. 
Mackinder  and  M.  E.Sai>ler,M.A.     With  Maps  and  Plans,     is.  6d. 
Vernon  Heath's  Reminiscences.     10s.  6d. 

Verses  Grave  and  Gay.  By  Ellen  Thorneycroft  Fowler.  3s.  6d. 
Vicar    of   Wakefield    and    other  Works    by   Oliver     Goldsmith. 

Illustrated.     3s.  6d. ;  cloth,  gilt  edges,  5s. 
Waterloo  Letters.       Edited  by  Major-General  H.  T.  Siborne,  late 
Colonel  R.E.     With  numerous  Maps  and  Plans  of  the  Battlefield.     21s. 
Wild  Birds,  Familiar.     By  W.   Swaysland.     Four  Series.     With  4c 

Coloured  Plates  in  each.     12s.  6d.  each. 
Wild  Flowers,   Familiar.    By  F.  E.  Hulme,    F.L.S.,  F.S.A.      Five 

Series.     With  40  Coloured  Plates  in  each.     12s.  6d.  each. 
Wood,   Rev.  J.   G.,  Life  of  the.      By  the  Rev.   Theodore  Wood. 

Extra  crown  8vo,  cloth.     Cheap  Edition.     5s. 
Work.     The  Illustrated  Journal  for  all  Workmen.     Yearly  Vol.,  7s.  6d. 
World   of  Wit  and  Humour,   The.    With  400    Illustrations.    7s.  6d. 
World  of  Wonders.     Two  Vols.     With  400  Illustrations.    7s.  6d.  each. 
Yule  Tide.     Cassell's  Christmas  Annual,  is. 


ILLUSTRATED  MAGAZINES. 
The  Quiver.    Enlarged  Series.    Monthly,  6d. 
Cassell's  Family  Magazine.    Monthly,  7d. 
"  Idttle  Folks"  Magazine.     Monthly,  6d. 
The  Magazine  of  Art.     Monthly,  is. 
Cassell's  Saturday  Journal.    Weekly,  id. ;  Monthly,  6d. 
Work.    Weekly,  id. ;  Monthly,  6d. 

Cassell's  Complete  Catalogue,  containing  particulars  of  upwards  of 
One  Thousand  Volumes,  will  be  sent  post  free  on  application. 

CASSELL  &  COMPANY,  Limited,  Ludgate  Hill,  London, 


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00!.  FURNISHING  C9L^