A DISH OF TROUT
Mr. Mackworth knew the restaurants of America and Europe as some people
know the capitals and museums. Because of this his tastes were simple
but precise. In the woods or in camp he never failed to superintend the
preparation of each meal offered his guests. Even in cities, on special
occasions, he frequently descended into club, restaurant and hotel
kitchens for a word with the chef or, like as not, added the last touch
by his own hand to the principal dish.
This evening he gave no sign of interfering with Chef Belknap beyond
general directions for the dinner. But, just before seven o’clock, he
spoke to Jake and the colored boy disappeared in the direction of the
depot not far distant. Soon after a dusty train from the north rattled
in. A few minutes later Jake reappeared carrying a basket from which
water was dripping.
As he passed along the side of the car Mr. Mackworth arose and
disappeared toward the kitchen where he remained some minutes. When he
returned it was quite dark. The lights had been turned on in the rear
room and the assembled guests presented a festive appearance. Captain
Ludington and Lord Pelton were in dinner coats, as was Mr. Graham.
“I am surprised you don’t invite us to travel with you!” exclaimed Mrs.
Graham as her brother made his appearance. “This is a great waste of
luxury on a party of unappreciative men.”
“Who are now appearing in state for the last time,” replied Mr.
Mackworth waving his hand toward his formally attired companions. “But
we’ll compromise by taking your husband,” he added, nodding toward Mr.
Graham.
“Not for me,” exclaimed Frank’s father, laughing. “When I go into the
wilderness I don’t carry feather beds and chefs.”
The mystery of Jake’s basket came out when the party reached the dining
room. Aside from the two shaded lamps and the bowl of white roses, the
table was barren of decoration. Ten places were laid, but only the
plates, forks and heavy napkins were in sight. At a signal from Mr.
Mackworth Jake removed the roses from the center of the table, and at
the same moment Nelse deposited in their place a large white platter.
On this dish, devoid of decoration and wholly without sauce, were
ranged several dozen golden, smoking strips from which arose an incense
that was ample compensation for the removed roses. The two Englishmen
leaned forward with eager curiosity. All other recognized the dish
instantly.
“Gentlemen,” began Mr. Mackworth soberly, “it affords me great pleasure
to present to you a delicacy that is, I take it, the daintiest edible
in the world. It is a dish that must be eaten alone, unprofaned by
association with other foods or drinks. Captain Ludington and Lord
Pelton, in honor of your first visit to this part of the world, and
with the assistance of Chef Robert, I offer you that which even
your own venerated Isaac Walton never enjoyed or saw――the glory of
Michigan’s woodland brooks――a dish of trout.”
With this speech Mr. Mackworth, pleased at the surprise of his guests,
explained how he had telegraphed to the north the day before and
ordered brook trout; how they had been caught early that morning in the
Manistee and been forwarded that afternoon by express. Then, dropping
his formality, their host exclaimed:
“And now, go to ’em. Remember, we may have nothing but pork and beans
in a few days. Help yourselves. I don’t know what else Robert has for
dinner.”
When the little golden brown fish had disappeared, held by the head and
eaten like a confection――for Mr. Mackworth would permit neither knife
nor fork――Captain Ludington sank back with a sigh.
“Mr. Mackworth,” he exclaimed, “of all the pleasures you have given
us and promised, none can take the place of this. It is the sweetest
morsel I ever ate.”
“And the cook who prepared that dish is to go with us?” asked Lord
Pelton eagerly.
Mr. Mackworth looked about and nodded his head toward Jake Green.
“Robert thinks he cooked ’em,” he answered laughing, “but he only
thinks so. It was Jake who gave them just the dash of salt; the
suspicion of pepper and a touch of flour. No railroad chef knows just
the temperature of the pure olive oil into which they were dropped for
a few moments. Jake,” continued Mr. Mackworth, “they were almost as
good as if they had been cooked on the Little Manistee.”
“Thank you, sir,” exclaimed Jake, “but trout ain’t trout away from the
stream.”
“That’s right,” said his employer. “And if we’re lucky enough to find
some mountain rainbow trout where we are goin’, Jake’ll attempt his
masterpiece――a balsam bake. Then he’ll serve you what the chefs of
Europe can’t duplicate――a cooked trout on whose sides the gold and
carmine tints are yet glowing.”
“I suppose,” broke in Mr. Graham with a laugh and addressing the
Englishmen, “you’d like to know why the trout were served first and
alone?”
The guests turned toward him curiously.
“My brother-in-law has created a beautiful little romance. But we don’t
talk that way in the woods. The fact is that, after one or two meals,
we get saturated with trout. Then, when we have guests, we give them
their trout first and alone. We don’t even go to the table until that
course is served. If you don’t believe me, when you get a chance, watch
Mackworth while he’s fishing. He don’t want to catch the trout――unless
it’s a whale. He’s fly casting. He’s only thinking about his skill with
the rod and the fly. When he can’t help hooking fish he sends them away
at once to his friends.”
While all were laughing over this, Mr. Mackworth alone excepted, Mr.
Graham continued:
“Why I once heard an old fisherman say that two meals of brook trout
were great. After that he preferred, of all fish, a nice stew of salt
cod with plenty of potatoes.”
In such manner the dinner in the Teton proceeded. At its conclusion
there was an hour or more of leave taking between the boys and their
parents and, sometime after ten o’clock, Mr. and Mrs. Graham and Mrs.
Ewing withdrew. Mr. Mackworth and his guests prepared for a last smoke
of the evening and after filing some telegrams for Mr. Mackworth, Frank
and Phil retired to their stateroom. They were not sleepy and for some
time the two boys rattled along in talk of the great events to come. At
last they heard their elders withdraw to their staterooms.
“I’m not goin’ to bed till we start,” announced Frank sleepily.
“We can go out and sit in the observation end after a bit,” suggested
Phil. But, each being in his pajamas and in bed, when Frank looked at
his watch later he was astounded to see that it was three o’clock. The
car was in motion. It had been attached to the midnight train and was
on its way to Chicago.
When Phil awoke his surprise was even greater, for it was after six
o’clock and the heavy Teton was hammering along over the hundreds of
railway intersections in the suburbs of Chicago. The two boys tumbled
out at once. But they were not the first to arise. The berths in the
dining room were made up; the rear observation room and platform had
been dusted and swept and Jake and Nelse were busy with dust rags on
the windows and woodwork.
“Can’t we do something?” began Frank, eager to be of service.
“Here, give me a rag,” added Phil.
Nelse seemed not averse to accommodating the boys but Jake suggested:
“Mr. Mackworth don’t get up very early and breakfast will be late. If
you young gentlemen will go into the end room, I’ll bring you some
coffee in a few minutes. And how would you like your eggs?”
It was apparent that Jake knew what he and Nelse were engaged to do.
While the boys were at their coffee the train drew out of the southern
suburbs and, after skirting the blue waters of Lake Michigan for
twenty minutes, came to a grinding stop in a big open train shed. Mr.
Mackworth, yet in his pajamas, appeared almost at once.
“Well, boys,” he exclaimed, “I see you have a good start on us. We’ll
be in Chicago until ten o’clock to-night. You can take the day to do as
you like. The car will be in this depot until six o’clock this evening
when it will be switched around the city to the Union Station. After
six thirty this evening you’ll find the car there. In the meantime you
can amuse yourselves. Captain Ludington, Lord Pelton and I will be at
the Blackstone Hotel all day and dine there to-night. If you want a
little shore fare you can join us at any time. Or, if you prefer, you
can have your meals on the car. By the way, is there anything you want?
That reminds me,” he went on, dismissing Jake under the pretext of
bringing him a cup of coffee, “I may as well advance you some money.
What are you young men going to charge me for your services?”
“I’m not going to charge anything,” exclaimed Phil. “I’m overpaid
already.”
“He wants a gun,” broke in Frank. “Father told me if I let you give me
a cent he’d lick me when I got back.”
“How much of a licking could you stand for, say, three hundred
dollars?” asked Mr. Mackworth chuckling, “for I think that’ll be about
the figure――one hundred dollars a week.”
“Well,” answered Frank with a grin. “I’ve stood a good many for nothin’
and I ought to stand a dandy for three hundred dollars, but I guess I
won’t take any pay. Say,” he added in a whisper, “give it all to Phil.
He can use it and I don’t need it.”
“Phil,” he said, “you’ll have to accept wages or leave us. I can’t let
you quit your work for nothing.”
“I get eighteen dollars a week when I’m at work,” answered Phil. “If I
have to take anything that’ll be enough.”
“But, my boy,” urged Mr. Mackworth, “I could never think of trusting
the safety of my friends to an eighteen-dollar-a-week aviator. It’s
preposterous.”
“Well, call it seven days a week, twenty-one dollars,” conceded Phil.
“That’ll certainly be plenty.”
Mr. Mackworth laughed, stepped into his stateroom and returned in a
moment with a wallet. One after another he drew out ten yellow-backed
twenty-dollar bills, dropped them on the table and then said:
“There is something on account. We’ll settle the question of wages
later.” Jake having returned with his coffee, Mr. Mackworth refreshed
himself with a few swallows and then added: “Go out and buy what you
need. Get an automobile and take a ride around town. If you need any
more money, call me up at the Blackstone.”
Before the boys could protest he disappeared into his apartment.
“I can’t take it,” exclaimed Frank.
“Then I suppose I’ll have to act as trustee,” added Phil, “but I don’t
feel right about it.”
While he nervously gathered up the bills one of them fluttered to the
floor.
“You dropped a bill, Mr. Phil,” exclaimed Jake with alacrity, as he
picked it up.
“That’s all right, Jake,” exclaimed Phil, wetting his lips. “Divide it
up with the other boys――a little spending money while you’re in the
city.”
Jake hesitated and looked at Frank.
“It’s all right, Jake,” exclaimed Frank, “you’d better keep it.”
The boys had not often visited the great western city and they decided
at once to make a full day of it. With notice to Jake that they would
return to the car for luncheon――having previously agreed that they
would not join their elders at the hotel――they were soon on their way
to the heart of the city. With nearly two hundred dollars in their
pockets, and all a boy’s longing for dozens of little odds and ends
that they had never felt rich enough to buy, they began the day with a
shopping tour that left no time for automobile riding.
“Besides,” suggested Phil, “an automobile would cost ten dollars――and
ten dollars is ten dollars.”
They got in a few glimpses of the great skyscrapers, but their time
in the main was spent in examining shop windows. For a long time they
studied over the purchase of a light weight, high power sporting rifle,
with telescope sight, pistol grip, revolving magazine, .256 bore and
a range of eight hundred yards. But the cost was $75 (with cartridges
at $7 a hundred). They finally bought a 7¾ pound, five-shot
autoloading, repeating rifle for $25. This was for Phil. Frank had
$25 of his own. With $15 of this he bought an automatic, smokeless
revolver, thirty-two caliber, holding eight cartridges.
As this made quite an inroad in his own private funds he subsequently
permitted Phil to expend Mr. Mackworth’s money for things even of his
own selection although, to ease his conscience, he insisted everything
so purchased belonged to his chum. The list of their purchases included:
Two Jersey cloth jackets, all wool, dead
grass color $12.00
Two outing belts 2.00
One-quart thermos bottle 5.75
One 2½ gallon water bag 1.85
Two waterproof match boxes 1.00
Two rubber drinking cups .40
Two hunting knives, razor ground, with
sheaths 4.00
Two dozen imported Scotch eyed flies for
trout 4.00
One large fish tackle box 2.50
Two silk neckties, black 3.00
One five-pound box of chocolate candy 4.00
One fountain pen 3.50
One box stationery 1.50
Four books postage stamps 1.00
One camera 18.00
Six rolls of films 3.50
――――――
$68.00
Counting the $1.00 for a cab used in carrying these articles to the
car, forty cents for two sundaes apiece and the $20 tip to Jake, Nelse
and Robert, the boys found that their $200 advance money had already
shrunk to $86.
“And that’s a whole lot to have left,” said Frank soberly.