MATTERS ARE SETTLED
"Aunt Betty, it's Captain Hurry, again!" explained Dorothy, close to
her aunt's ear. "He claims that the captain of any boat always has
head table. He's acted so queer even the boys hate to sit near him,
and the dinner's spoiling and--and I wish I'd never seen him!"
"Very likely. Having seen him it would have been better for you to ask
advice before you invited him. He was the picture of happiness when he
appeared but--we must get rid of him right away. He must be put ashore
at once."
"But, Aunt Betty, I invited him. _Invited_ him, don't you see? How can
a Calvert tell a guest to go home again after that?"
Mrs. Calvert laughed. This was quoting her own precepts against
herself, indeed. But she was really disturbed at the way their trip
was beginning and felt it was time "to take the helm" herself. So she
stood up and quietly announced:
"This is my table. I invite Mrs. Bruce to take the end chair, opposite
me. Aurora and Mabel, the wall seats on one side; Dorothy and Elsa,
the other side, with Elsa next to me, so that she may be well looked
after.
"Captain Hurry, the other table is yours. Arrange it as you choose."
She reseated herself amid a profound silence; but one glance into her
face convinced the old Captain that here was an authority higher than
his own. The truth was that he had been unduly elated by Dorothy's
invitation and her sincere admiration for the cleverness he boasted.
He fancied that nobody aboard the Water Lily knew anything about
"Navigation" except himself and flattered himself that he was very
wise in the art. He believed that he ought to assert himself on all
occasions and had tried to do so. Now, he suddenly resumed his
ordinary, sunshiny manner, and with a grand gesture of welcome
motioned the three lads to take seats at the second table.
Engineer Stinson was on the tender and would remain there till the
others had finished; and the colored folks would take their meals in
the galley after the white folks had been served.
"Well, that ghost is laid!" cried Dorothy, when dinner was over and
she had helped Aunt Betty to lie down in her own little cabin. "But
Cap'n Jack is so different, afloat and ashore!"
"Dolly, dear, I allowed you to invite whom you wished, but I'm rather
surprised by your selections. Why, for instance, the two Blanks?"
"Because I was sorry for them."
"They're not objects of pity. They're quite the reverse and the girl's
manners are rude and disagreeable. Her treatment of Elsa is heartless.
Why didn't you choose your own familiar friends?"
"Elsa! Yes, indeed, Auntie, dear, without her dreaming of it, Elsa
changed all my first plans for this house-boat party. I fell in love
with her gentle, sad little face the first instant I saw it and I just
wanted to see it brighten. She looked as if she'd never had a good
time in her life and I wanted that she should have. Then she said it
would be 'A cruise of loving kindness' and I thought that was
beautiful. I just longed to give every poor, unhappy body in the world
some pleasure. The Blanks aren't really poor, I suppose, for their
clothes are nice and Aurora has brought so many I don't see where
she'll keep them. But she seemed poor in one way--like this: If you'd
built the Water Lily for me and had had to give it up for debt I
shouldn't have felt nice to some other girl who was going to get it. I
thought the least I could do was ask them to come with us and that
would be almost the same thing as if they still owned the house-boat
themselves. They were glad enough to come, too; and I know--I mean, I
hope--they'll be real nice after we get used to each other. You know
we asked Jim because we were sort of sorry for him, too, and because
he wouldn't charge any wages for taking care the engine! Mrs. Bruce
and Mabel--well, sorry for them was their reason just the same. You
don't mind, really, do you, Auntie, darling? 'Cause----"
Dorothy paused and looked anxiously into the beloved face upon the
pillow.
Aunt Betty laughed and drew the girl's own face down to kiss it
fondly. Dorothy made just as many mistakes as any other impulsive girl
would make, but her impulses were always on the side of generosity and
so were readily forgiven.
"How about me, dear? Were you sorry for me, along with the rest?"
Dorothy flushed, then answered frankly:
"Yes, Aunt Betty, I was. You worried so about that horrid 'business,'
of the Old Folks' Home and Bellvieu, that I just wanted to take you
away from everything you'd ever known and let you have everything new
around you. They are all new, aren't they? The Blanks and Elsa, and
the Bruces; yes and Captain Jack, too. Melvin's always a dear and he
seems sort of new now, he's grown so nice and friendly. I'd rather
have had dear Molly, course, but, since I couldn't, Melvin will do.
He'll be company for Jim--he and Gerald act like two pussy cats
jealous of one another. But isn't it going to be just lovely, living
on the Water Lily? I mean, course, after everybody gets used to each
other and we get smoothed off on our corners. I guess it's like the
engine in the Pad. Mr. Stinson says it'll run a great deal better
after it's 'settled' and each part gets fitted to its place.
"There! I've talked you nearly to sleep, so I'll go on deck with the
girls. It isn't raining yet, and doesn't look as if it were going to.
Sleep well, dear Aunt Betty, and don't you dare to worry a single
worry while you're aboard the Lily. Think of it, Auntie! You are my
guest now, my really, truly guest of honor! Doesn't that seem queer?
But you're mistress, too, just the same."
Well, it did seem as if even this brief stay on the house-boat were
doing Mrs. Calvert good, for Dorothy had scarcely slipped away before
the lady was asleep. No sound came to her ears but the gentle lapping
of the water against the boat's keel and a low murmur of voices from
the narrow deck which ran all around the sides.
When she awoke the craft was in motion and the sun shining far in the
west. She was rather surprised at this, having expected the Lily to
remain anchored in that safe spot which had been chosen close to
shore. However, everything was so calm and beautiful when she stepped
out, the smooth gliding along the wooded banks was so beautiful, that
she readily forgave anybody who had disobeyed her orders. Indeed, she
smilingly assured herself that she was now:
"Nothing and nobody but a guest and must remember the fact and not
interfere. Indeed, it will be delightful just to rest and idle for a
time."
Dorothy came to meet her, somewhat afraid to explain:
"I couldn't help it this time, Aunt Betty. Mr. Stinson says he must
leave at midnight and he wants to 'make' a little town a few miles
further down the shore, where he can catch a train back to city. That
will give him time to go on with his work in the morning. Old Cap'n
Jack, too, says we'd better get along. The storm passed over, to-day,
but he says we're bound to get it soon or late."
Mrs. Calvert's nap had certainly done her good, for she was able now
to laugh at her own nervousness and gaily returned:
"It would be strange, indeed, if we didn't get a storm sometime or
other. But how is the man conducting himself now?"
"Why, Aunt Betty, he's just lovely. Lovely!"
"Doesn't seem as if that adjective fitted very well, but--Ah! yes.
Thank you, my child, I will enjoy sitting in that cosy corner and
watching the water. How low down upon it the Water Lily rides."
Most of this was said to Elsa, who had timidly drawn near and silently
motioned to a sheltered spot on the deck and an empty chair that
waited there. She had never seen such a wonderful old lady as this; a
person who made old age seem even lovelier than youth.
Aunt Betty's simple gown of lavender suited her fairness well, and she
had pinned one of Dorothy's roses upon her waist. Her still abundant
hair of snowy whiteness and the dark eyes, that were yet bright as a
girl's, had a beauty which appealed to the sensitive Elsa's spirit. A
fine color rose in the frail girl's face as her little attention was
so graciously accepted, and from that moment she became Aunt Betty's
devoted slave.
Her shyness lessened so that she dared to flash a look of scorn upon
Aurora, who shrugged her shoulder with annoyance at the lady's
appearance on deck and audibly whispered to Mabel Bruce that:
"She didn't see why an old woman like that had to join a house-boat
party. When _we_ had the Water Lily we planned to have nobody but the
jolliest ones we knew. We wouldn't have had _my_ grandmother along, no
matter what."
Mabel looked at the girl with shocked eyes. She had been fascinated by
Aurora's dashing appearance and the stated fact that she had only worn
her "commonest things," which to Mabel's finery-loving soul seemed
really grand. But to hear that aristocratic dame yonder spoken of as
an "old woman," like any ordinary person, was startling.
"Why Aurora--you said I might call you that----"
"Yes, you may. While we happen to be boatmates and out of the city,
you know. At home, I don't know as Mommer would--would--You see she's
very particular about the girls I know. I shall be in 'Society'
sometime, when Popper makes money again. But, what were you going to
say?"
"I was going to say that maybe you don't know who that lady is. She is
Mrs. Elisabeth Cecil-Somerset-Calvert!"
"Well, what of it? Anybody can tie a lot of names on a string and wear
'em that way. Even Mommer calls herself Mrs. Edward Newcomer-Blank of
R."
"Why 'of R?' What does it mean?" asked Mabel, again impressed.
"Doesn't mean anything, really, as far as I know. But don't you know a
lot of Baltimoreans, or Marylanders, write their names that way?
Haven't you seen it in the papers?"
"No. I never read a paper."
"You ought. To improve your mind and keep you posted on--on current
events. I'm in the current event class at school--I go to the Western
High. I was going to the Girls' Latin, this year, only--only--Hmm. So
I have to keep up with the times."
Aurora settled her silken skirts with a little swagger and again Mabel
felt it a privilege to know so exalted a young person, even if their
acquaintance was limited to a few weeks of boat life. Then she
listened quite humbly while Aurora related some of her social
experiences and discussed with a grown-up air her various
flirtations.
But after a time she tired of all this, and looked longingly across to
the tender, on whose rail Dorothy was now perched, with the three lads
clustered about her, and all intently listening to the "yarns" with
which Cap'n Jack was entertaining them.
All that worthy's animation had returned to him. He had eaten the best
of dinners in place of the "ship's biscuit" he had suggested to his
small hostess: he was relieved of care--which he had pretended to
covet; and the group of youngsters before him listened to his
marvellous tales of the sea with perfect faith in his truthfulness.
Some of the tales had a slight foundation in fact; but even these were
so embellished by fiction as to be almost incredible. In any case, the
shouts of laughter or the cries of horror that rose from his audience
so attracted Mabel that, at last, she broke away from Aurora's tamer
recitals, saying:
"I'm getting stiff, sitting in one place so long. I'll go over to
Dolly. She and me have been friends ever since time was. Good-bye.
Or, will you come, too?"
In her heart, Aurora wished to do so. But hoping to impress her new
acquaintance by her magnificence, she had put on a fanciful white silk
frock, wholly unfitted for her present trip and, indeed, slyly packed
in her trunk without her mother's knowledge. The deck of the Pad
wasn't as spotless as this of the Lily. Even at that moment small
Methuselah was swashing it with a great mop, which dripped more water
than it wiped up. His big eyes were fairly bulging from his round
black face and, having drawn as near the story-teller as he could, he
mopped one spot until Dolly called out:
"That'll do, Metty, boy! Tackle another board. Mustn't wear out the
deck with your neatness!"
Whereupon old Captain Hurry swung his crutch around and caught the
youngster with such suddenness that he pitched head-first into his own
big bucket. Freeing himself with a howl, he raised his mop as high as
his strength would allow and brought it down upon the captain's
glittering cap.
It was the seaman's turn to howl and an ill-matched fight would have
followed if Jim hadn't caught the pickaninny away and Dorothy seized
the cripple's headgear before it suffered any great harm. Gently
brushing it with her handkerchief she restored it to its owner's head,
with the remark:
"Don't mind Metty, Cap'n Jack. He means well, every time, only he has
a little too hasty a temper. He never heard such wonderful stories
before--nor I, either, for that matter. Did you, boys?"
She had believed them wholly, but Jim had begun to doubt; and Melvin
was bold enough to say:
"I've sailed a good many times between New York and Yarmouth, Nova
Scotia, but I never saw--I mean, I haven't happened, don't you know? I
wouldn't fancy being out alone in a cat-boat and having a devil-fish
rise up alongside that way. I----"
"Young man, do you doubt my word, sir?" demanded the Captain, rising
with all the dignity his lameness and the dropping of his crutch would
allow.
"Oh! no, sir. I doubt nothing--nothing, sir. The Judge says the world
is full of marvels and I fancy, your encounter with that giant squid
is one of them. You should have that story published, Captain. You
should, don't you know?"
Melvin's blue eyes twinkled but the otherwise gravity of his face
harmlessly deceived the old seaman and brought back his good temper.
"Reckon I'll go aloft and make out my log," he remarked, with an air
of importance, and stumped forward to his "bridge" above stairs. These
he ascended, as before, by a hand-over-hand climb of the baluster, his
crutches dragging behind; and it was this nimbleness of arm which
convinced the watchers, far more than his impossible yarns had done,
that he had indeed once been a sailor and could ascend the rigging of
a ship.
Then soon came supper and again such hearty appetites were brought to
it that Mrs. Bruce wondered how so much good food could disappear at
one meal. Also, she remembered that the sum of three hundred dollars
had a limit, large as it seemed; and while she sat silent in her place
she was inwardly computing whether it would possibly furnish board for
all these people for six long weeks.
Then she proceeded to "count noses," and suddenly perceived that after
Mr. Stinson's departure there would be left the "unlucky number" of
thirteen souls aboard the Water Lily.
This time the engineer was at table and Jim had taken his place on the
tender; but after this, he had assured everybody that the engine did
not need such constant attention and could be left to itself during
meal-time at least.
However, nobody tarried long at table that night. There was to follow
the first arrangement of the "staterooms," as the canvas-partitioned
spaces for each one of the party were called.
"Cute little cubby-holes," Mabel named them, and promptly selected her
own between her mother's and Aurora's. Dorothy was next to Aurora and
Elsa between her and Mrs. Calvert's bigger room.
Politely giving Elsa her choice, Dorothy couldn't help a keen
disappointment that it separated herself from Aunt Betty. Then she
reflected that she had offered this choice as far back as on the day
of their first meeting; and that she would herself serve as shield
between Aurora's haughtiness and Elsa's timidity.
Those two guests didn't hit it off at all well. Elsa shivered and
shrank before Aurora's boisterous high spirits and the look of
contempt the elder girl bestowed upon her plain attire.
Poor little Elsa had done her best to honor the occasion. She had
forced herself to go with her loving father to a department store and
had suffered real distress in being fitted at the hands of a kindly,
but too outspoken, saleswoman.
The suit selected had been of an ugly blue which brought out all the
sallowness of the poor child's complexion. It had been padded on one
shoulder, "'cause she's crooked in them shoulders," and had been
shortened on one side, "to suit the way she limps." A hat of the same
vicious blue had been purchased, and this trimmed with red roses, "to
sort of set her up like."
Thus attired, Mr. Carruthers had looked with pride upon his motherless
darling, and felt himself amply justified in the expense he had
incurred. The girl's own better taste had rebelled and she would
rather have worn the old gray frock that was at least modest and
unobtrusive; but she saw the pride and tenderness in her father's eyes
and said nothing save fervent thanks.
However, all the varied emotions of the travellers were soon
forgotten in the healthy slumber which came to them. The Water Lily
glided quietly along, forced onward by the tender where the trio of
lads sat long, exchanging experiences and, under cover of the friendly
darkness, growing natural and familiar.
But after a time even they grew drowsy and "turned in," finding their
new "bunks" as snug as comfortable. The chug-chug of the small engine
chimed in with the snores of the colored folks, in their own quarters
beyond the galley and formed a soothing lullaby.
So deeply they slept that none knew how a storm was gathering thick
and fast, except the alert engineer, who made all speed possible to
reach the shelter of the little cove and wharf where he hoped to tie
up; and from whence he could cross the swampy fields to the station
and the midnight train for home.
It proved a race of steam and storm, with the latter victor; for at
almost boat's length from the pier there came a blinding flash of
lightning and a peal of thunder most terrific. At the same moment a
whirlwind shook the Water Lily like a feather, it seemed, and the
shrieks of the awaking negroes startled every soul awake.
"'Tis de yend o' de worl'! 'Tis de Jedgmen' Day! Rise up, sinnahs,
rise to yo' jedgmen'!"