THE COUNTESS.
Phil, Phœnix, and Adam were naturally much amazed by this second
disappearance of Chap, which took place immediately after the
magistrate’s examination; but all conjectures and surmises were soon
put to an end by the arrival of a note from Chap, which was brought by
a negro boy. It was written on the back of a business card, and read
thus:
“DEAR BOYS: I can’t stay to any court. Let Adam testify. You can go
away by the first boat that stops at Sanford. I am going to catch the
Winkyminky. She starts from Enterprise to-night. I’ll wait for you in
Jacksonville. Good-by.
“CHAP.”
The three gazed at each other in astonishment, as they read this note
by a light in their host’s hall, and when that gentleman came out to
invite them to make their home in his house while they stayed in the
town, they were obliged to tell him of their friend’s disappearance. He
was very much surprised at the information.
“He cannot take the Winkyminky,” he said, “for that boat will not stop
at this town to-night. Your young friend has been mistaken in his
plans, and will probably return to the shelter of my roof ere long.”
The boys knew Chap, and did not believe one word of this. They were
greatly disturbed, and searched and inquired everywhere for news of
him. They heard nothing, however, until about twelve o’clock, when a
small boat, containing two negroes, came in from the lake, and the men
reported that they had taken Chap out to meet the Winkyminky, and that
when that boat had come along she had stopped and taken him on board.
“That’s just like Chap,” said Phil.
And Phœnix and Adam agreed that it was.
There was nothing for them to do but to wait till another boat should
go down the river, and then to follow their captain, who, it must be
admitted, had a rather curious way of leading his men.
As soon as Chap had heard what the magistrate said about his remaining
as a witness, he felt that if he stayed in that room an instant longer
he would be compelled, by some legal process, to appear at the next
term of court, and he, therefore, slipped out of a side door and ran
down to the river. The Von Glode was gone, but he felt he must get away
from that town. Adam intended to stay there, anyway, and he could give
all the testimony that would be needed; and as for Phil and Phœnix,
they had seen nothing of the assault in the woods, and, therefore,
would be free to leave by the first boat that came along. He was the
only one that would be put to any trouble, and he must get away.
He remembered that the Winkyminky was going to Jacksonville, and he
wondered if she had yet left Enterprise. If not, there might be some
way of his getting across the lake, and taking passage in her. The
money that had been advanced by the colonel had been divided, as Phœnix
declined to be treasurer when he did not supply the funds, and Chap had
enough with him to pay his passage.
At this moment a small boat, rowed by two negroes, came in from the
lake, and Chap found that they had just come across from Enterprise.
The Winkyminky, they informed him, was preparing to start when they
left, but she had not passed this point yet, and they could row him out
to meet her. Chap then hastily wrote a note by the light of a lantern
on the pier, and sending it to the boys, was taken out to meet the
Winkyminky.
When that little steamboat came along the captain stopped and took
Chap on board. His advent occasioned a great deal of surprise, but a
comfortable state-room was given him, for all the Winkyminky’s Indian
River passengers had left her at Sanford.
But the next morning he found that there were three passengers who had
come on board at Enterprise. One of these was an old gentleman, another
was a very respectable negro woman, and the third was a lady.
The old gentleman was tall and thin, with a high shirt collar, and
military bearing. He was a communicative person, and soon made friends
with Chap, giving him a great deal of information on various subjects.
“Do you see that lady sitting over there by herself?” he said. “Well,
sir, you don’t often see anybody like that in this country, sir.”
“What’s the matter with her, sir?” asked Chap.
“Well, sir, she is a countess. Did you ever see one before?”
“Never, to know it,” said Chap, “except in pictures.”
“Well, that is one, sir. She is a republican by birth, from some
place in the North, but she married a Spanish count, and they have an
orange-grove in the back country here.”
“Is it necessary for her to hold herself aloof?” asked Chap.
“Aloof!” said the old gentleman.
“Yes,” said Chap; “she has been alone since I first saw her. I should
think she’d be glad to have somebody to talk to.”
“She might,” said the other, “if she could meet with persons of her
own rank and station. But, otherwise, she would probably prefer to be
aloof, as you call it, sir.”
About half an hour after this, Chap borrowed a fishing-line from the
cook, for all his traps had been left at Sanford, and went to the stern
of the boat, where the countess sat with a novel in her hand. Taking
a position not far from her, he threw out his line, and let it troll
behind the boat.
After a while she raised her eyes from her book and, looking at Chap,
asked,--
“What are you fishing for?”
“Good!” said Chap to himself. “She has broken through her feudal bonds,
and speaks to the masses.”
And then, aloud, he answered,--
“Anything I can get. Did your grace ever try trolling from a steamboat?”
“No,” said the lady, with a laugh. “My grace never did. Why do you call
me that?”
“It was the nearest I could come to it,” said Chap. “I should be glad
to know just what to say.”
“So long as we are not in Spain, madam will do very well,” said the
countess. “And now tell me, how did you come to get on board here, at
night, all by yourself?”
Chap freely related the reasons for his coming on board the Winkyminky,
which greatly interested the countess; and then, working backward with
his story, he told what had happened since he left home. This account
took a long time, and was only interrupted by the hauling in of one
large cat-fish, which greatly horrified the countess, and induced her
to ask Chap to put up his line and confine himself to his story, which
she found more entertaining than her novel.
In spite of the fact that Chap did not belong to an aristocratic
circle, the countess was very glad to talk to him, for he was the only
person on board in whom she could take the slightest interest, and they
soon became very well acquainted.
She was going, with her negro servant, to join her husband in
Jacksonville, and had intended to take passage from Enterprise in the
Von Glode; but she was too late for that boat, and was obliged to take
the Winkyminky. This inconvenient little boat did not suit her taste at
all; but she had to make the best of it, and was very glad to have on
board such an original and pleasant boy as Chap.
[Illustration]