on,' she said. 'You truly are a funny lot, all of you.' And as she drove
on she looked back, still laughing.
"Sam Twitty rubbed his hands together quite cheerfully, and went into
the house to get his dinner.
"'Did that woman change your five-dollar note?' asked the keeper of the
toll-gate.
"'Bless my soul!' exclaimed Sam. 'I never thought to ask her.'
"'What did you ask her?' cried the woman. 'She was out there for the
longest time, and I thought of course you was gettin' your note
changed.'
"Sam smiled. 'She was very interesting,' said he."
"What a treasure Sam Twitty would be in a matrimonial bureau!" exclaimed
the Mistress of the House.
"Provided he exercised a little more caution in the selection of his
specimens," suggested John Gayther, respectfully. "Some might be too
green and some the other way, you know; he didn't seem over-particular."
"Three travellers passed through," continued the Master of the House,
"but not one of them could change a five-dollar note; and Abner chafed
at the delay.
"'I don't like wastin' time like this,' said he to Sam, as the two
smoked their after-dinner pipes.
"'Wastin'!' exclaimed Sam. 'I don't call this wastin' time. We didn't
start till late this mornin', and here we've got sight of two of her
a'ready. Here's this one, as red-cheeked and sociable as anybody could
expect, and then there's that gal in the buggy.'
"'Gal in the buggy!' exclaimed Abner. 'What on earth are you talkin'
about her for?'
"'Why shouldn't I?' asked Sam. 'I tell you, Cap'n Abner, she's the
prettiest and the liveliest young woman you'd be likely to meet if you
cruised for a year, and she's visitin' right in the neighborhood, and
can't be far from Shamrick.'
"'Codwollops!' said Abner, contemptuously.
"In the course of an hour old Joshua Asbury drove up in his farm-wagon,
and changed the five-dollar note, and was glad to do it, for he did not
like to carry so much inconvenient silver and copper in his pocket. The
two friends now made ready to depart.
"'Let's hurry up,' said Sam. 'We've done fust-rate so far, and maybe
we'll sight one or two more afore bedtime.'
"'When you come back,' said the woman, 'I'd be glad to have you stop and
rest, and give your horse a feed if you want to.'
"Sam Twitty assured her most earnestly that they certainly would stop,
whether they wanted rest and a feed or not; and he thanked her warmly as
he paid for the kind entertainment she had given them.
"'Sam,' said Abner, when they were on the road, 'the trouble with you
is, you're too quick. If you was at the tiller you'd run into the fust
port you come to, and there wouldn't be no v'yage at all.'
"'There's no knowin' when a fellow may want to run into port,' replied
Sam, 'and it's a good thing to find out all about them as you're
coastin' along.'
"A few miles from the toll-gate they came to the bottom of a long hill,
and half-way up it they saw, going in the same direction as themselves,
a man walking vigorously.
"'By the general cut of his clothes,' said Sam, 'I'd say he is a
minister.'
"'I expect you're right,' said Abner. 'Most likely fillin' some fishin'
minister's pulpit Sunday, and walkin' home Monday.'
"The pedestrian clergyman walked more slowly as he neared the top of the
hill, and the gray horse gradually overhauled him.
"'Look a' here,' said Sam, nudging his companion, 'let's give him a
lift. He must be dreadfully hot. And then, by George, Cap'n Abner, jes
think what a jolly thing it'll be--goin' after her, and takin' a
minister along, sittin' comfortable on the back seat! That's like
holdin' a landin'-net ready to scoop her up the minute you get her to
the top of the water.'
"They stopped and asked the clergyman if he were going to Thompsontown,
and when he said he was, they invited him to get in and take the
unoccupied seat. He proved to be an agreeable companion; he was young
and very grateful. Sam soon fell into a very friendly conversation with
him, and two or three times, when Abner thought that his friend was on
the point of saying something that bore too directly on the object of
their journey, he pressed his port boot gently upon Sam's starboard
slipper.
"Toward the middle of the afternoon they reached Thompsontown, where the
young clergyman said he was going to stop for the night, and go on by
train the next day. Sam Twitty was glad to hear this, and advised him to
stop at the Spinnaker Boom, where he and Captain Abner intended to stay
until they finished the business which brought them to Thompsontown.
"Thompsontown was a seaside resort, and rather a lively place in the
season. There was a large hotel for summer visitors who could afford to
pay good prices, and several smaller houses of entertainment, such as
the Spinnaker Boom, where people of moderate means were made very
comfortable.
"It was much too early for supper, and Captain Abner and Sam took a long
walk on the beach, and at their invitation the young clergyman joined
them. This gentleman, who did not seem to know any one in Thompsontown,
proved to be a thorough landsman; but as he was chatty and glad to
acquire knowledge, it gave Captain Abner and Sam a great deal of
pleasure to talk to him on nautical points and thereby improve his mind.
On their return, Sam stopped with a start, and almost dropped his pipe.
"'What's the matter?' cried Captain Abner. 'Did you see her spout?'
"Sam made no answer, but stood with his mouth open. He had remarkably
good vision. The clergyman stopped and looked at him inquiringly.
"'They are coming, both of them!' said Sam.
"'Both of who?' asked Abner.
"'The gal in the buggy, and the toll-gate woman.'"
"If I were telling this story," here interrupted the Daughter of the
House, excitedly, "I really do not know which one I would marry to
Captain Abner!"
"Thank you for the compliment, my dear," said her father.
"Well, there they both were: side by side they were walking along the
smooth beach and approaching our three men. Sam's eyes sparkled. The
toll-gate woman appeared much more comely and attractive than when
engaged in her professional duties earlier in the day. She was now
attired in fresh-looking summer clothes, and wore a pretty straw hat. As
for the girl of the buggy, she was quite another person. It would have
been impossible for any one who had merely seen her within the limited
confines of a small vehicle to form any idea of the buoyant air and the
lively step of this handsome young woman.
"'Upon my word!' exclaimed Sam Twitty, advancing toward them. 'Who would
have expected to meet you two here!'
"At this meeting all our characters were variously affected. The
toll-gate woman beamed with pleasure; the young woman of the buggy
looked as if she were about to laugh; the young minister looked very
much interested, although he could have given no good reason why he
should be; the countenance of Captain Abner Budlong betrayed no interest
whatever; and Sam Twitty was in a glow of delight.
"'I suppose you are surprised to meet me here,' said the toll-gate
woman, 'but this is the way of it: a neighbor and his wife came along
soon after you left, and offered to bring me to Thompsontown; and of
course I jumped at the chance, and left the toll-gate in charge of my
brother, who lives hard by. And in the town, at the house of a friend, I
met this young lady, and--' glancing at her companion, she added: 'I
really did not catch the name.'
"'Miss Denby,' stated the young person referred to.
"The three men here bowed to Miss Denby; then, stepping nearer to Sam,
the toll-gate woman asked in a low voice, 'Who is the minister?'
"'I don't know his name,' said Sam, 'but I'll find out in a minute.' And
then he approached the girl of the buggy. 'I am so glad to see you,' he
said.
"She laughed outright. 'It is awfully funny,' answered she, 'that you
care whether you see me or not.'
"'I don't think it's funny at all,' said Sam. 'But jes let me ask you
one thing: what's the name of the toll-gate woman?'
"'Well, I declare!' she exclaimed. 'From the way she talked about you I
thought you were old friends. Her name is Mrs. Sickles.'
"Sam skipped over to the young clergyman and put his question:
'Mr-r-r.?'
"'Rippledean,' said the young man.
"In an instant the quick-slippered Sam had joined the party in the bonds
of conventional acquaintanceship, having added to the rest of his
information the fact that he was Samuel Twitty of Shamrick.
"'You are the funniest people I ever met,' exclaimed the lively Denby
girl. 'None of you seems to know the rest.'
"'It is very pleasant to know each other, I am sure,' remarked the
toll-gate woman; 'and if I had anything to say about what would be
agreeable on such a breezy afternoon as this, now that there's a party
of us, I would say it would be to get a boat and take a sail on this
sparkling water.'
"'A sail!' cried Sam. 'Why, that will be the best thing in the world,
and if you'll wait ten minutes I'll get a boat. Cap'n Silas Peck is a
friend of mine, and has got two boats that ain't likely to be out. I'll
run down and get one, and have it here in no time.'
"In less than a quarter of an hour the party was seated in Captain
Peck's sail-boat, Captain Abner at the tiller, and Sam Twitty in charge
of the sheet. They decided to sail out to an island about three miles
from shore. A stiff breeze was blowing, and Captain Abner was in his
glory. The wind was much too high for ordinary pleasure-boats, and there
were no other sails upon the bay; but summer visitors and seafaring men
stood along the beach and watched the admirable manner in which that
little craft was handled. Word was passed from one to another that it
was Captain Abner Budlong of Shamrick who was at the tiller; many of the
watchers had heard of Captain Abner and what he had done in days gone
by, and they were proud to see what their neighbor of Shamrick was doing
now.
"Mrs. Sickles sat beaming, both hands grasping the rail and her feet
firmly braced, but with an expression of perfect trust, as she gazed
from Captain Abner to Sam Twitty, which would have been edifying to any
one of weak habits of faith. The younger woman's hat was off, and her
hair was flying like a streamer from a masthead. She drank in the salt
breeze with delight, and her eyes sparkled as the boat dipped at the
turn of Captain Abner's tiller until the rail cut under the surface of
the water as if it were skimming a pan of milk. She looked upon the
bright-eyed sailor at the helm as though he were some sort of a
salt-water deity whom it was suitable to worship. It was better than
sparkling wine to her to dash over the sparkling water.
"The island shore drew near; the little boat bore bravely down upon it,
and then with a beautiful sweep fell into the wind; her great wing
dropped and hung listless, and her keel gently grazed the sand."
"Very beautiful! Oh, so fine a turn to words!" exclaimed the Frenchman,
who was very intent upon the story.
"My papa is a sailor," said the Daughter of the House, proudly. "You
should see him bring around a great vessel with a grand sweep, so
quietly and so gracefully!"
"You never saw me do anything of the kind," said her father, in
surprise.
"I have never seen you," she admitted reluctantly, "but I know just how
you would do it."
Her father smiled and laid a hand on her head.
"Well, my dear," he said, "what Sam Twitty told the inmates of the boat
was this: 'If there was an egg-shell 'twixt her bow and the beach, Cap'n
Abner wouldn't have smashed it.'
"The captain stemmed the praises which now poured upon him, with a jerk
of the head. 'That's all very well,' said he, 'but I'm goin' to give Sam
Twitty a chance; he'll sail you back.'
"When the party was on shore and the boat safely moored, Sam Twitty
began to jump about like a collie dog in charge of a flock of sheep. He
had said little in the boat, but his mind had been busily at work with
the contemplation of great possibilities. There was much to be done, and
but little time to do it in, but Sam's soul warmed up to its work.
Casting a rapid glance around, he singled out Captain Abner, and,
dashing into the little party, cut him off from his companions, and
drove him out of ear-shot.
"'Now, Cap'n Abner,' said he, 'your time's come, and the quicker you get
to work the better.'
"'Work!' cried Abner. 'What work have I got to do!'
"'Do!' exclaimed Sam. 'You've got lots to do. Look at that sun. It's
settin' jes as steady as if it was bein' towed into port, and you'll
never get another chance like this. Here's two women to pop your
question to; here is a minister on hand; here's me and the young woman
what don't get chosen, for witnesses; here's all them white caps
skippin' over the water; and here's this clean stretch of sand. There
couldn't be a better place for a sailor to be married in than jes here.'
"'But I tell you, Sam,' said Abner, a little querulously, 'I didn't come
here to marry one of them women. I didn't start on this trip to make
fast to the fust female person I might fall in with. I set out on a
week's cruise, and I want to see a lot of them afore I make a ch'ice.'
"'I tell you, cap'n,' said Sam, very earnestly, 'it won't do. You might
hang round Thompsontown for a year, and you wouldn't find any two such
women as them two. Here they are, two kinds to pick from: one of them as
ripe as a peach, and the other like a cross between a cricket and a
blossom. And you've got no time to fool away. When the sun goes down
you've got to sail back to Thompsontown, and then one will go one way
and the other another, and where the minister will go to, nobody knows.
They'll all be scattered and out of sight, and this glorious chance
you've got might as well be at the bottom of the sea. Now, cap'n, I tell
you, this thing that's right afore you is what you come for. Jes you
listen to what I say to you: you go to that Mrs. Sickles and let her see
how you're standin' and what your course is. She's no fool, and she can
see the sense of gettin' over a sandbar at high tide jes as well as you
can.'
"Captain Abner hesitated a moment. 'She's a mighty fine woman, Sam,'
said he, 'but if I go and set the case afore her, and she agrees to ship
with me, then I can't ask the other one, and there might as well be no
other one; and she's as pert a little clipper as ever I seed, Sam, and
she likes sailin', that she does.'
"'Now don't you worry about that,' said Sam. 'You jes say all you've got
to say to her, and hear all she's got to say, but don't sign no papers
and take her aboard until you talk to that other girl. Now hurry up, and
walk along the beach a little further off.'
"Without waiting for an answer, Sam Twitty galloped away, or that was
what he would have done had he been a sheep-dog. He darted in between
Mrs. Sickles and her companions; he turned her down the beach; he talked
to her in rapid snaps about the sea, the sky, the sand, and before she
knew it he had driven her alongside of Captain Abner. Then, with what
might have been compared to a bark of satisfaction, he bounced away to
join the others, who were looking for shells.
"In about ten minutes Sam Twitty's port eye told him that Captain Abner
and the toll-gate woman were approaching, but in Abner there were signs
of a disposition to fall back. In an instant he had bounded between them
and was showing shells to the widow. Then, letting her go on by herself,
he turned sharply upon Abner.
"'Well,' said he, their heads close together, 'what did she say? Is she
all right?'
"Captain Abner threw a glance over the water as if his soul were
yearning for the fancied possibilities of Thompsontown. 'Oh, it's all
right enough, so far as she counts,' said he. 'I went straight at it,
and put the whole thing afore her. I told her about the house and the
two parts to it and what they was for, and she said that was charmin'.
And I told her about the king conch-shell and the gilded idol, and she
said she thought either one of them would be jes lovely, and nothin',
she thought, could be better on mantelpieces than gilded idols and king
conch-shells. And everything else was jes as slick and smooth as if she
was slidin' off the stocks. She's good-lookin' enough, Sam, but she
ain't got no mind, and I didn't fix up that house, and bother myself
year in and year out a-gettin' it all right, to take it and give it to a
woman what's got no mind. She'd be jes as well satisfied to see me
a-settin' up on the mantelpiece as if the gilded idol or the king
conch-shell was there.'
"'And she don't suit you?' asked Sam, eagerly.
"'No, sir,' replied the other; 'she don't suit.'
"'All right!' exclaimed the ever-ready Sam; 'jes you wait where you are
one minute.' In less than that time the agile Sam had rounded up Miss
Denby and had her walking along the beach by the side of Captain Abner,
and whether she thought that skilful skipper was going to show her some
rare seaweed or the state of his mind, Sam considered not for one
minute. He had brought the two together, and that was all he cared
about.
"The good Mrs. Sickles was standing alone, reflectively gazing upon the
little waves, so Sam had no trouble in carrying off the minister to a
little distance for confidential remarks.
"'I want you to tell me, sir,' said he, 'if there is any law ag'in' your
marryin' a party on the sea-shore, especially when one of them is a
sailor?'
"Mr. Rippledean laughed. 'As I am a regularly ordained minister, I can
perform a marriage anywhere,' said he, 'provided the parties are of
legal age, and there are no objections. But what are you talking about?
Who wants to be married?'
"'I can't say jes now,' answered Sam; 'matters isn't settled yet: but
everything is goin' ahead lively with a stiff breeze, and I guess we'll
get into soundin's pretty soon. I only spoke to you to know if you'd be
all right when the couple's ready.'
"'There is nothing the matter with me,' said the young man; 'but I would
like to know--'
"'Jes you lay to for a while,' said Sam, 'and I'll tell you all about
it.' And then, noticing that Mrs. Sickles was glancing toward the
captain and his companion as if she thought to join them, he dashed out
upon her to cut her off.
"Meanwhile Miss Denby, with glowing eyes, was saying: 'Yes, I do love to
sail, and to sail in a small boat, close to the water, almost as if I
were in it, skimming like a bird with my wings dipping. Oh, it is grand!
And you have a sail-boat?'
"And the captain answered: 'Indeed I have, and there's none better,
either for sailing on the wind, or before the wind, or with next to no
wind at all.'
"'How wonderfully you must sail it! I could not keep my eyes off you as
you brought us over here. It was grand! You made her do anything you
pleased.'
"The captain smiled and nodded. 'But I think of my house as much as I do
of my boat, miss,' said he. 'I've got a mighty nice parlor that's as
good as any ship's cabin. And now let me put this p'int to you: if you
had a big king conch-shell, the prettiest you ever seed, and it was on
the middle of the mantelpiece, and you had a gilded idol in another
place, would you put the idol where the conch-shell was, and the
conch-shell where the idol was, or would you leave 'em both jes where
they was afore?'
"The young woman laughed merrily. 'What kind of an idol would it be?'
she asked. 'A beautiful piece of carving?'
"''Tain't that,' said Captain Abner; 'it's jes a piece of wood whittled
out by a heathen; but it used to be in a temple, and it's gilded all
over.'
"'Oh, dear!' said she, 'I don't think much of that sort of an idol. I
might like to be a gilded idol myself, if I had the right person to
worship me. But as for a wooden idol, I wouldn't put that on the
mantelpiece, and I am of the same opinion as to the conch-shell.'
"'But it's a king conch-shell,' said the captain.
"'I don't care,' said she; 'king or queen, it would be all the same to
me. But if I were you I think I'd be most of the time in the boat. What
is a house, no matter what it has in it, compared to a boat dancing
over the waves and speeding before the wind?'
"Captain Abner looked at her. 'I expect you'd like to learn to steer,
wouldn't you?'
"'Indeed I would,' she answered. 'There is nothing I would like better.'
"Captain Abner put his hands into his pockets and gently whistled, and,
leaving him, Miss Denby ran to join the toll-gate woman. Down swooped
Sam Twitty.
"'Is it all right?' he whispered to Abner.
"'All up,' the other answered, 'and I'm glad of it. She don't want no
gilded idol, and she don't want no king conch-shell. She wants her hand
on the tiller, that's what she wants. She's got too much mind for me.
After I've been workin' year in and year out a-gettin' my affairs the
way I wants them, I don't fancy anybody comin' down on me and takin' the
tiller out of my hands.'
"Sam made two or three steps forward, and then he stood gazing in the
direction of the setting sun. Resting on one slippered foot and
extending the other before him, he folded his arms and remained a few
moments wrapped in thought. Suddenly he turned.
"'Cap'n Abner,' he cried, 'it won't do to sink this chance! It'll never
pop up ag'in. You must have spoke pretty plain to that toll-gate woman,
considerin' the way she's been turnin' it over in her mind.'
"'Yes, I did,' said Captain Abner, 'and that's the way I found out what
she was. But I didn't ask her to ship with me.'
"'And you don't want her to?' said Sam.
"'No, I don't.'
"'And you don't want the other one, nuther?'
"'No, I don't,' replied Captain Abner, doggedly. 'I don't want nuther of
'em. And I say, Sam, the sun's gettin' down and it's about time for us
to be settin' sail.'
"'There's a good stretch of sky under that sun yet,' said Sam, 'and jes
you wait a bit, cap'n.'
"Sam Twitty walked slowly along the sandy beach; he looked as a
sheep-dog might look who was wondering within himself whether or not he
had brought back from the fields as many sheep as he had taken out. He
stopped, and looked about at the party. Captain Abner was walking toward
the boat; the minister and the Denby girl were standing together,
comparing shells; the toll-gate woman was strolling by herself a little
higher up the beach, still in a reflective mood. Sam gazed from his
companions to the sky, the water, the beautiful glistening sands.
"'It's a shame to lose all this,' he said to himself; 'it's a burnin'
shame to sink it all.' Then suddenly, as if his master had whistled, he
sped to the side of Mrs. Sickles. Backward and forward these two walked,
Sam talking earnestly and the toll-gate woman listening with great
interest. Captain Abner now and then gave them an impatient glance, but
the other couple did not regard them at all.
"'But, Mr. Twitty,' said Mrs. Sickles, 'this is so unexpected. I had
an idea of the kind about Cap'n Abner, for I could not help it, but
you--really! I've heard of you often, Mr. Twitty, but I never saw you
until to-day.'
"'Now, Mrs. Sickles,' said Sam, 'you couldn't have had a better day to
see me in, if you'd waited a year; and a-speakin' quick and sharp as
I've got to do, for the sun's keepin' on goin' down, there couldn't be a
better day to marry me in.'
"'Oh, Mr. Twitty!' cried Mrs. Sickles, with flushed face.
"'There couldn't be a better time or a better place,' said Sam, 'and a
minister right here, and two witnesses.'
"'But, Mr. Twitty,' said she, 'I really thought that Cap'n Budlong--and
from what he told me about his house and his things--'
"'Cap'n Abner is one of the finest men in this world,' interrupted Sam,
'and he's got a fust-class house, and I ain't got none, and he's got all
sorts of things from all parts of the world that he's put in it. But I
can get a house and things to put in it, and I can do without gilded
idols and king conch-shells, and, what's still more to the p'int,
Mrs. Sickles, I wants you, and he don't.'
"'There's something in that,' said the toll-gate woman, and then she
added: 'but as to marryin' you here and now, Mr. Twitty, it's not to be
thought of.'
"Sam walked slowly away; one might have thought his head drooped under a
rebuke. He approached the young minister and the girl of the buggy.
"'Look a' here,' said he to the former; 'you don't mean to say, sir,
that you'd back out of marryin' a couple right here and now, that was
growed up and of full age, and nothin' to hinder.'
"'Marry!' cried Miss Denby. 'A wedding right here on this beautiful
island! Oh, that would be glorious! Who wants to be married?'
"'I do,' said Sam.
"They both laughed. 'But the other person?' asked Mr. Rippledean. 'There
must be a bride if you want a wedding.'
"'Oh, the bride'll be Mrs. Sickles,' said Sam. 'But the trouble is she
ain't altogether willin'.'