THE STORM AND WHAT FOLLOWED
In an instant a crowd of terrified people had gathered in the cabin,
clasping one another's hands, sobbing and shivering as gust after gust
shook the Water Lily so that it seemed its timbers must part.
"We mought ha' knowed! Thirteen po' creatures shet up in dis yeah
boat! Oh! My----"
The greatest outcry was from poor Chloe, now kneeling, or crouching,
at the feet of her Miss Betty, and clutching the lady's gown so that
she could not move. But if her feet were hindered her tongue was not.
In her most peremptory manner she bade:
"Chloe, get up and be still! This is no time for nonsense. Close those
windows. Stop the rain pouring in. Call back your common sense.
Do----"
"O, Ole Miss! I'se done dyin'! I'se gwine----"
"No, you're not. You couldn't screech like that if you were anywhere's
near death. Shut--those--windows--or--let--me!"
Habit was stronger than fear. The idea of her mistress doing Chloe's
own task roused the frightened creature to obey, scarce knowing that
she did so. Seeing her at work restored the calmness of the others, in
a measure, and Dorothy and Mabel rushed each to the sliding panels of
glass, which had been left open for the night and pushed them into
place.
This lessened the roar of the tempest and courage returned as they
found themselves still unhurt, though the constant flashes of light
revealed a group of very white faces, and bodies still shaking with
terror of nature's rage. Mrs. Bruce had always been a coward during
thunderstorms, but even she rallied enough to run for a wrap and fold
it about Mrs. Calvert, who was also shaking; but from cold rather than
fear.
Then between claps, they could hear the scurrying of feet on the roof
overhead, the stumping of Captain Jack's crutches, and the issuing of
sharp orders in tones that were positively cheerful!
"Hark! What are they doing? Can anybody see the tender?" asked
Dorothy, excitedly.
Strangely enough, it was frail, timid Elsa who answered:
"I've been listening. They're taking off the canvas. The boys are up
there. The other boat is away out--yonder. See? Oh! it's grand! grand!
Doesn't it make us all seem puny! If it would only last till everyone
was humble and--adoring!"
Even while she answered, the slender girl turned again to the window
and gazed through it as if she could not have enough of the scene so
frightful to her mates. These watched her, astonished, yet certainly
calmed by her own fearless behavior; so that, presently, all were
hastily dressing.
Mabel had set the example in this, saying quaintly:
"If I've got to be drowned I might as well look decent when I'm picked
up."
"Mabel and her clothes! The 'ruling passion strong in death'!" cried
Dorothy, in a tone meant to be natural but was still rather shaky.
Somebody laughed and that lessened the excitement, so that even Chloe
remembered she had appeared without her white turban and hastily put
her hands smoothing her wool, as if afraid now only of her mistress's
reprimand.
But that lady had joined Elsa at the glass; and standing with her arm
about the girl, drew the slight figure within the folds of her own
roomy wrapper, with a comforting warmth and pressure. For it had
turned icy cold and the unusual heat of the evening before seemed like
a dream.
"Dear little girl, I am glad you came. Brave soul and frail
body, you're stronger than even my healthy Dorothy. And it is
magnificent--magnificent. Only, I dread what the morning will reveal.
If we are damaged much it will mean the end of our trip--at its very
beginning."
"Dear lady; it won't mean that. Even if it had to do it would be all
right--for me, at least. I should have some beautiful things to
remember always."
Then the cheerfulest of whistling was heard; Cap'n Jack's warning that
he was coming down the stairs and that any feminines in night attire
might take warning and flee.
But nobody fled, and Dorothy tried to turn on the electric light which
had been one of the fine features of this palatial house-boat. No
radiance followed, and, watching from the doorway, Cap'n Jack
triumphantly exclaimed:
"Didn't I know it? What's them new-fangled notions wuth in a case o'
need? Taller's the stuff, or good, reli'ble whale-ile. Well, ship's
comp'ny, how'd ye like it? Warn't that the purtiest leetle blow 't
ever you see? Didn't I warn ye 'twas comin'? Yet ye went an' allowed I
warn't no real captain and couldn't run a boat like this easy as
George Washin'ton! Now you're wiser. That there leetle gale has larnt
ye all somethin'. And 'nough said. Give old Jack a couple o' sail or
so an' a man to climb the riggin' an' he'll beat all the steam engines
ever was hatched. Oh! I'm just feelin' prime. That bit o' wind has
blowed all the land-fog out o' my head an' left it clear as glass.
"'A life on the ocean wave,
A home on the rolling de-e-ep.'"
The old man's rich voice trailed off toward the tender--or where the
tender should have been--while a clear and boyish one took up the
ditty from the roof above, with:
"'Where the scattered waters rave
And the wi-i-inds their vigils ke-e-ep!'"
"Melvin! Jim! Gerald! Are you all up there? Come down, come down!"
"Yes, Captain Dolly! Coming! Here!" shouted Melvin, rattling down the
crooked stair, while Jim's voice responded: "Present!" and Gerald
finished with a merry: "Accounted for!"
Then Aurora ran to meet her brother and to kiss him with an unexpected
affection. To his credit it was that he gently returned her caress,
but laughed at her statement that she had feared he was drowned.
"Not a bit of it! But this doesn't look much like mourning, if you
did!" he jested, pointing at the white silk frock she had again put
on.
"Well, it was the first one I got hold of. That's why. But,
tell--tell--how came you up there?"
"Yes, everything, tell everything!" begged Dorothy, fairly dancing
about them in her eagerness.
"Melvin--Melvin did it!" said Jim. "We might all be at the bottom of
the sea----"
"Hush!" almost screamed Aurora, beginning to tremble. "It was so
horrible--I----"
With more of sympathy than had been between them before, Dolly slipped
her arm around Aurora's shoulders and playfully ordered:
"If you boys don't tell how you came on our promenade deck, when you
belonged on the tender, you sha'n't have any breakfast!"
"Melvin. I tell you it was Melvin. He's the only one of us didn't
sleep like a log. He felt the hurricane coming, right through his
dreams, and waked the lot of us, as soon as the first clap came. So he
rushed us over the plank to take off the awnings----"
"With such a wind sucking under them might have made the boat turn
turtle, Mrs. Calvert, don't you know? At sea--that's why I presumed to
give orders without----"
"Oh, my dear lad, I now 'order' you to 'give orders' whenever you
think best. We can trust you, and do thank you. But how dark it seems
now the lightning has stopped. Isn't there any sort of light we can
get?" said Aunt Betty, sitting down with Elsa and folding a steamer
rug around them both.
Cap'n Jack came stumping back from the rear of the boat in a high
state of excitement and actual glee.
"Clean gone! Plank a-swingin' loose--caught it a-board just in
time--t'other boat flip-floppin' around like she was all-possessed.
Reckon she is. The idee! A reg'lar steam engine on a craft not much
bigger 'n itself! What this house-boat needs isn't steam engines but
a set of stout sails an' a few fust-class poles. Come, lads, let's
anchor her--if the fool that built her didn't put them on the tender,
too, alongside his other silly contraptions."
Mrs. Calvert wondered if the old fellow knew what he was talking
about, but found the resolute tones of his voice a comfort. Whoever
else was frightened he was not and she liked him better at that moment
than she would have thought possible. All his whining discontent was
gone and he was honestly happy. What the others felt to be a terrible
misfortune was his opportunity to prove himself the fine "skipper" he
had boasted of being.
But now that the roar of the storm had subsided, there came across the
little space of water between the Lily and its Pad the outcries of
Ephraim and Methuselah, mingled with halloes of the engineer, John
Stinson.
"They want to come alongside! They're signallin'!" cried Cap'n Jack,
promptly putting his hands before his mouth, trumpet-fashion, and
returning such a lusty answer that those near him clapped hands over
ears.
Then came Melvin, more sea-wise than the other lads, saying:
"I've been fumbling around and there are some poles lashed outside the
rail. Let's unsheath 'em, but it'll take us all to keep them from
tumbling over."
"That's so! You're right! When Pop had this boat built he was told to
provide for all sorts of things. The engine going broke was the last
notion he had, but he had the poles made to please Mommer. I know--I
mean--I guess I do--how they use 'em, but they're mighty heavy."
It was Captain Hurry who again came to the front. In a twinkling he
had inspected the stout poles and explained, that by putting one end
of each down through the water till it reached the bottom, the
house-boat could not only be held steady but could be propelled.
"It's slow but it's safe an' easy, Ma'am," he informed Mrs. Calvert.
"Then it's the very thing, the only thing, we want," she answered,
promptly. "I never did believe in that engine in the hands of an
amateur."
Jim didn't fancy this reflection on his skill, believing that he
already knew as much about machinery as an expert did and that he had
mastered all that John Stinson could teach him. However, he was beyond
reach of the beloved little engine now and the first thing to do was
to bring the two boats together again.
Under Cap'n Jack's direction this was promptly done; and great was old
Ephraim's rejoicing when, at last, the familiar gang-plank was once
more in place and he had crossed over it to his beloved mistress's
presence.
"T'ank de Lord, Miss Betty, you didn't get sca'ed to death! I sutney
beliebed we was all gwine to de bottom of de ribbah! An' I was plumb
scan'lized ter t'ink o' yo' po' li'l white body all kivvered wid mud,
stidder lyin' in a nice, clean tomb lak yo' oughter. I----"
"That'll do, Ephraim. I'll take all the rest you were going to say for
granted. Here, Metty, sit down in that corner and keep still. You're
safe now and--are you hungry?"
The morning light was rapidly increasing and seen by it the little
black face looked piteous indeed. But there were few troubles of
Methuselah's which "eatings" couldn't cure; so his mistress promptly
dispatched Dorothy to her stateroom for a big box of candy, brought
along "in case of need." Never would need be more urgent than now, and
not only did the little page's countenance brighten, when the box
appeared, but everybody else dipped into it as eagerly--it seemed such
a relief to do such an ordinary thing once more.
The sun rose and shone as if to make them forget the night of storm;
and after a breakfast, hastily prepared on the little oil stove in the
tender, a feeling of great content spread through the little company.
Engineer Stinson had missed his train, but was now glad of it; for he
had gained time to examine the engine, though disappointed at the
report he had to make.
"Useless, for the present, Madam, I regret to say. Owing to the sudden
jar against the end of the wharf, or the wind's dashing the tender
about, some parts are broken. To get it repaired will take some time.
Shall I send down a tug to tow you back to the city? And have a man
from the shop attend to it? My own job will keep me from doing it
myself, though I'd like to."
"Thank you," said Aunt Betty, and, for a moment, said nothing more.
But she looked from one to another of the eager young faces about her
and read but one desire on all. This was so evident that she smiled as
she asked:
"Who thinks best to give up this trip? Or, rather, to go back and
start over again--if we dare?"
Nobody spoke but a sort of groan ran around the little company.
"All in favor of going on, with some other sort of 'power,' or of
anchoring the Water Lily at some pleasant point near shore and staying
there, say 'Aye'."
So lusty a chorus of "Ayes" answered that Aunt Betty playfully covered
her ears, till the clamor had subsided. Then a council of ways and
means was held, in which everyone took part, and out of which the
decision came:
That Cap'n Jack should rig up the sails which was another one of Mr.
Blank's provisions against just such a dilemma, and instruct the three
lads how to use them; that when they didn't want to sail they should
use the poles; or using neither, should remain quietly at rest in the
most delightful spot they could find; that the Lily and its Pad should
be fastened together in the strongest way, so that no more separation
by wind or storm could be possible.
"The tender adds a great weight to your 'power' in such a case,"
suggested Mr. Stinson. "Without it you could move much faster."
"And without it, where could Ephy sleep and Chloe cook? The boys, too,
will need their warm bunks if it happens to be cold," said Dolly.
"Besides--the kitchen is out there. Oh! we can't possibly spare the
tender."
"Most house-boats get along without one," explained the engineer.
"What about a horse, or a mule? I've seen such a thing somewhere, on
some of our little trips with Mr. Bruce," suggested the widow, then
touched by her own reference to the dead relapsed into silence.
"Many of the little rivers of the Western Shore have banks as level as
those of a canal," said Mrs. Calvert. The idea had approved itself to
her. "I'm afraid you lads would get very tired of the poling, even if
the water was shallow enough. Without wind, sails wouldn't help us; so
Mrs. Bruce's notion is the best one yet."
"A mule would be nice and safe!" commented Mabel.
"First catch your mule," cried Gerald.
"And who'd ride it?" asked Jim.
"You would," promptly answered Melvin, laughing.
"Not all the time, sir!" retorted Jim, yet with an expression which
showed he was really considering the subject. "Turn and turn about's
fair play."
"All right. I'll stand my turn and call it my 'watch.' I could fancy I
was still on shipboard, don't you know?"
"I'd do my third--if we didn't keep it up all the time. A fellow wants
a little chance to fish and have some fun," added Gerald. Now that
they had all been in danger together he was acting like the really
fine lad he was and had dropped the silly affectations of his first
manner.
Aurora, too, seemed more sensible, and, breakfast over, had shut
herself in her tiny stateroom to put on the plainest frock she had. An
approving smile from Mrs. Calvert greeted her reappearance and the
girl began to think it wasn't so bad after all have an old lady
aboard.
"Really, Mabel, there doesn't seem anything old about her except a few
of her looks. I mean her white hair and some wrinkles. I guess it was
all right she came, anyway."
"It surely was all right. Why, what would any of us have done if she
hadn't been here? Mamma was scared worse than I was, even. You know
she saw a person killed by lightning once and has never got over it.
You'll find, if you watch out, that Mrs. Calvert will help us have a
good time, rather than spoil it; if--if--we don't go back. I guess
Mamma wishes we'd have to do that."
Aurora did not answer, for just then the others were eagerly
discussing the situation. They were to "up anchor," run up the sails
to catch the stiff breeze that was rising with the sun, and proceed
down the coast as far as they could while the engineer remained, as he
had agreed to do for a few hours longer, because of Mrs. Calvert's
earnest request.
"Get us safe into some snug harbor, please Mr. Stinson, and I will see
that you lose nothing by the delay."
"That is all right, Madam. I only wish I could join your cruise for
all its length. I'm sure you're bound to have a grand trip, despite
the bad beginning--which should bring the proverbial good ending."
"I wish you could. Oh! I do wish you could," said Aunt Betty. She was
somewhat surprised to find the engineer a man of culture, but was
delighted by the fact. She felt that the presence of such a man would
keep her three boys straight, for she was a little afraid of "pranks"
should they indulge in any.
She had hoped, too, to make the most of their trip up and down the
Severn, with which lovely river her earliest memories lingered.
However, they were not to reach it yet. The friendly wind forsook them
and both Cap'n Jack and Mr. Stinson felt that it would be wise to
enter a little bay further north; and making their slow way between
some islands come to anchor on the shores of the Magothy.
"The Maggotty! That's where the best cantaloupes come from!" cried
Mabel. "Who'll buy my fine wattymillyouns, growed on de Maggotty, down
in An'erunnel! Wattymillyouns! Cant-e-lopes! Oh! I want one this
minute!"
"What a dreadful name for a river! Who'd eat melons full of maggots!"
demanded Aurora, with a little shiver. Evidently, though she must
often have heard them, she had paid scant attention to the cries of
the negro hucksters through her own city's streets.
"It isn't 'Maggotty' but 'Magothy'," explained Dorothy. "I used to
think just as you do until I learned better. I'm bad as Mabel. I just
can't wait. I must have a 'cantaloupe' for supper, I must! Scooped out
and filled with ice--sweet and juicy----"
"Hold on! Hold on! Wait till I fetch it!" returned Gerald, with a
smack of his own lips. Then leaving the others to follow as they chose
he ran to the stern of the tender which the men had brought close to a
grassy bank, and leaped ashore.
"Wheah's he gwine at?" demanded Ephraim, who had been in the way and
unceremoniously pushed aside.
"Wattymillyouns!" yelled Jim, following the other boy's lead.
"Wattymillyouns? Wat-ty-mill-youns? My hea't o' grace! I'se done gwine
get some fo' my Miss Betty!"
"For yo'se'f you-all means, yo' po' triflin' ornery ole niggah! Ain't
it de trufe?" laughed Chloe, coming to the old man's side, and laying
a restraining hand upon his shoulder, while all her white teeth showed
in a wide grin.
Safely anchored, the engineer gone, the old Captain bustling about on
the roof of the boat, making all snug and shipshape for the coming
night, every heart was light. None more so than those of the colored
folks, always in the habit of leaving care to "their white" friends
and like children in their readiness to forget the past.
Ephraim didn't leap the plank, his "roomaticals" prevented; but he
displayed a marvelous agility in getting ashore and speed in following
the vanishing lads.
"What's up?" demanded Melvin, running to where Chloe stood, holding
her sides and shaking with laughter, "where have they gone?"
"Maggotty millyouns! Spyed a millyoun patch ovah yondah an'--Lan' ob
Goshen! If he ain' done gwine, too! Well, my sake! Mebbe Chloe doan'
lub millyouns same's anuddah, mebbe!"
As Melvin disappeared over the side, his own mouth watering for the
southern delicacies so rare to his own northern home, mistress Chloe
gathered up her petticoats and sprang ashore.
Little Methuselah called after her but she did not pause. She meant to
get her own share from that distant melon-patch, and her maternal ears
were deaf to his outcries.
Sharing the common feeling of repose and safety which had fallen upon
all the company when the Water Lily had been tied up for the night,
Metty had felt it a fine time to don his livery and show off his
finery before the white folks. Clad in its loose misfit, but proud as
ever, he clung to the stern-rail of the Pad and gazed after his
departing parent.
What had happened? Why were all those people running away so fast? Was
another frightful tempest coming?
"Mammy! Mam-my! Lemme! Lemme come! Mammy, Mammy, wait--I'se com----"
A point on the water side of the Pad commanded a better view of the
fleeing figures, climbing the gentle rise of ground beyond. Thither
the little fellow rushed; gave one glance downward into the water and
another upon his gorgeous attire; then upward and onward where a fold
of scarlet calico fluttered like a signal; shut his great eyes, and
leaped.
Alas! The fat little legs couldn't compass that space! and Methuselah
Bonaparte Washington Brown sank beneath the waves his own impact had
created.