JOHN SCOBLE’S ANTECEDENTS
When Louis went into the cabin, he found his mother, Mrs. Blossom, and
Felix seated on a divan which surrounded the mainmast. Mrs. Belgrave
extended her hand and drew her son to a place by her side, embracing
him again as she had when she first saw him. Her first question was
in regard to Scoble, and she was informed that he was on board of the
steamer.
“Sparks,” called the owner; and when the steward appeared, he inquired
if the door leading from the main to the after cabin had a lock and key.
“There is a lock, but there is no key in the door, sir,” replied the
steward.
“But I have the key to the lock, Mr. Belgrave,” interposed the chief
steward, who happened to be within hearing.
“Will you please to lock that door, and keep it locked all the time,
Mr. Sage?” added Louis.
“What is that for, my son?” asked Mrs. Belgrave, scenting some danger
she could not discern.
“John Scoble and Frinks are in the after cabin, into which that door
opens; but they are confined to their staterooms, with two seamen on
guard over them. You are in no danger whatever, my dear mother,”
replied Louis, pressing the hand, he held to reassure her.
“I am not afraid, Louis; I am not as timid as I used to be. But
everything here astonishes me, my son. You order these people about as
though you were perfectly at home here,” continued Mrs. Belgrave.
“I am perfectly at home here, and I wish you to be as much at home
on board of this steamer as I am,” replied the owner with a cheerful
smile; and for the first time in a week the millionaire at sixteen
felt perfectly happy, for he had his mother with him on board of the
magnificent steam-yacht.
“He ought to be entirely at home, Mrs. Belgrave, for your son is the
sole owner of the steamer,” interposed Captain Ringgold, who came into
the cabin in season to hear the last remarks.
“Louis the owner of the steamer!” exclaimed Mrs. Belgrave. “How can
that be possible?”
“When the mate of the Maud played us that trick, and thus got rid of
us, he had won the fight for which he crossed the Atlantic, and had
you in his possession,” the captain explained. “I need not try to tell
you how terribly alarmed Louis was when he realized that Scoble had
sailed away with you on board of his vessel. Mr. Woolridge’s yacht, the
Blanche, happened to be at the port where we landed, and Captain Alcorn
kindly got under way to assist us in finding you. We cruised all night,
but accomplished nothing.”
“I was not aware that you or Louis had done anything to find me,” added
Mrs. Belgrave.
“You did not suppose that I could keep quiet while that man was
carrying you off, did you, mother?” asked her son.
“I did not suppose you could do anything.”
Louis related all the incidents of the trip on the Phantom, the burning
of this steamer, and the escape of Kimptom to the Maud, which had
made her way out of the inlet while he was unable to lift a finger
to prevent her departure. Captain Ringgold gave the history of the
steam-yacht, and explained the theory which induced him to urge upon
Uncle Moses the purchase of the vessel.
“But the one thing in my mind was to chase the Maud all over the world
if necessary, to get you away from Scoble,” said Louis.
“I suppose you have noticed the name of this steamer, Mrs. Belgrave?”
added the commander.
“I have neither seen nor heard it,” she replied.
“The Guardian-Mother; and I need hardly add that she is named after
you, madam.”
“I could not call her the Maud after that schooner had had the name;”
and Louis explained in what manner he had fallen upon the rather
singular name. “You have always been my guardian-mother, and I have
always looked up to you as such.”
The motion of the steamer was too violent to permit the lady to look
over the vessel. The captain had to go on deck, and for another
hour Louis talked about the name, and what it meant to him. Then he
rehearsed the theory of the commander that the steamer was to be used
in promoting his education.
“I suppose Scoble’s plans are broken up by the loss of his vessel; but
he has doubtless saved all the money he had on board of the schooner.”
“He told me that he had a brother in the Bermudas who was very rich,
but who had recently been in ill health,” said Mrs. Belgrave. “Now you
have told him that the missing million has been recovered, he will no
longer have any reason for pursuing me.”
“I am not so sure of that, guardian-mother. The money has come into my
possession in accordance with my father’s will; but suppose I should
have the measles, be swallowed by a big shark, or be accidentally
drowned by falling overboard, to whom would my fortune, including the
Guardian-Mother, fall to, as provided by the will?”
“You suggest something horrible, Louis,” said his mother with a shudder.
“Scoble has two men in his employ at this moment, Brinks and Kimpton,
who would not scruple to commit any crime; and for three years I have
believed that Scoble was about as bad as a man could be. Frinks is a
rascal, and Kimpton burned the Phantom to enable the Maud to get out of
that inlet.”
“You frighten me, Louis.”
“But we must look these things square in the face.”
“Where are these men now, my son?”
“Scoble and Frinks are in the after cabin under guard, and the other
men went forward. I suppose Kimpton is one of them, though I have not
looked them over.”
At Louis’s request Mrs. Belgrave and Felix McGavonty related the
incidents of the voyage of the Maud, till the time she was wrecked. As
she had stated before, Scoble had treated her with great kindness and
consideration as a rule, for his object was to win her back to him. In
the morning she had permitted him to take the money from her room to
pay Frinks.
The “fiddles” had to be put on the tables for lunch, and when it was
ready the captain was called. It was hard work for the party to keep
in their seats, and harder still to prevent the dishes from dancing
hornpipes. The captain predicted a change of wind before night which
would bring better weather. But the sea was rough all the rest of the
day, and everybody retired early.
The next morning, as the commander had predicted, the wind came from
the west, and it had knocked down the sea. When Louis went on deck he
found the Guardian-Mother approaching the cluster of islands that form
the Bermudas. A pilot was coming off, and he was soon in charge of the
steamer. When breakfast was ready the vessel was at anchor off St.
George, as Captain Ringgold had decided not to go to the anchorage at
Hamilton, for it was necessary to consider the situation very carefully
before a decision in regard to the future could be reached. Louis had
recovered his mother. The battle had been fought and won for her.
“You are safe, Mrs. Belgrave; but the chess-board, with all the men on
it, is still spread out before us; and in advance of making any move,
it is necessary to ascertain what complications beset us,” said the
commander as he rose from the table.
“What possible trouble can we have now?” asked Louis, more from
curiosity than from fear.
“We are now in a foreign port. If Scoble should claim his wife, and
resort to legal measures to obtain her, he could give us a great deal
of trouble,” replied the captain. “I am not a lawyer, and I don’t
know what he might do. Of course you all wish to see these beautiful
islands; but this is not the right season to visit them.”
“Then I am in favor of going back to New York, and coming again at a
more suitable time,” replied Louis. “We have had no chance to enjoy
this magnificent steam-yacht, and I should rather be sailing in her
than wandering about on shore, even in the beautiful regions we can see
from the deck.”
“We will leave that an open question for the present. I will go on deck
now, and attend to the landing of the shipwrecked party,” added the
commander as he ascended the grand staircase, followed by the owner.
The second cutter had already been lowered into the water, and the
gangway had been rigged on the quarter. Scoble, Frinks, and the three
men forward were sent for. The captain and mate of the Maud were
escorted to the deck by Bangs and Williams.
“I intend to land you and your men at the nearest shore, Captain
Scoble,” said the commander.
“Do you intend to land my wife with me, Captain Ringgold?” demanded the
late captain of the Maud.
“I do not.”
“Then I shall soon be on English soil, and I will ascertain whether or
not a man’s wife can be taken from him by force,” growled Scoble.
“That is simply absurd; no force whatever has been used. If Mrs.
Belgrave wishes to land here with you, no one will prevent her from
doing so; but she absolutely refuses even to see you, much more to go
with you. You propose to resort to legal measures?”
“Certainly I do. I have been hunted and hounded by that boy, who has
prejudiced his mother against me, and I shall pursue him to the ends of
the earth!” stormed Scoble, with fury in his looks as well as in his
tones.
Defeated and overwhelmed in his purpose, the late captain of the Maud
went over the side, carrying with him the heavy package he had brought
from the wreck, which probably contained all his money and other
valuables. He was followed by all his men. Kimpton was still lame in
his wounded arm, and he had kept out of sight as much as possible since
he came on board of the Guardian-Mother. He acted as though he feared
that vengeance might be in store for him for his treachery at “Dolphin
Bay;” but Louis did not even speak to him.
The second cutter had gone but a short distance before it was hailed
by a boat from the shore, with a man in uniform in the stern sheets.
He was a Custom-House official, and having satisfied himself that the
cutter contained no merchandise, he permitted it to proceed to the
shore. The official then came on board of the steamer, where he was
received by Captain Ringgold, who explained that no goods or passengers
would be landed from the present anchorage, as the ship had come in
principally to land the wrecked party he had seen in the cutter. The
official declared that he was obliged to remain on board as long as the
steamer was at the islands.
“I shall be very happy to have your company, Mr.----”
“Stockling is my name, captain,” prompted the official.
“Captain Ringgold is mine. I hope you will make yourself at home on
board,” added the commander, as he offered his cigar-case to the
officer.
The captain directed Sparks to bring a couple of arm-chairs on deck,
and had them placed where all that happened on board could be observed.
Then he went to the galley, where he found Bickling at his usual duties.
“Cook, I think you told me that Captain Scoble had a brother in the
Bermudas.”
“Which it is true I did; and his brother’s name which it is ’Enery
Scoble, and he kept an ’otel in St. George’s.”
“Henry Scoble, is it?”
“Which it is, sir.”
The commander returned to the shady side of the quarter-deck where he
had seated Stockling, and took the other arm-chair placed there. He
was very polite to his official guest, who praised the cigar he was
smoking. The captain told him about the shipwreck of the Maud, and
talked about St. George’s, the port where the officer resided.
“Do you know a gentleman in St. George’s by the name of Henry Scoble?”
asked Captain Ringgold.
“I did know him, sir, for my chum, George Hastings, and I had lodgings
at his hotel for a few months; but he is no longer in the land of the
living,” replied Stockling.
“Then he is dead?”
“Died only about a month ago. He kept a hotel in St. George’s, but that
was not his chief business,” answered the official.
“What was his chief business?”
“It would be hard to tell in full; but he was a dealer in spirits and
wines, and was a smuggler and a speculator, as well as a wrecker.”
“Then he made money?” suggested the captain.
“Loads of money; and his estate is valued at over a hundred thousand
pounds, which he gave by his will to his only brother, taking out five
thousand pounds for his only sister. But his brother is a bad man,
worse even than Henry; and everybody here is sorry that the money goes
to him.”
“Why do you say that he is a bad man?”
“In the first place because he abused his wife, and then abandoned her
to take care of herself.”
“Indeed!” exclaimed the captain, but very quietly.
“Then he enlisted in the army and deserted. He was in the States; but
suddenly his letters stopped coming two years ago, and for a year and
more Henry has been trying to find out what had become of him.”
“You say that John Scoble abandoned his wife in England. Are you sure
of your facts in this matter, Mr. Stockling?”
“Am I sure of them? Isn’t my chum, George Hastings, the own cousin of
Mrs. John Scoble? He told me all about it; and we went to Henry’s hotel
in order to induce him to do something for the deserted wife.”
“Is John Scoble’s wife still living?”
“She was living six months ago at Nassau, where she went out as the
nurse of a family; but about four months ago George had an answer to
a letter of inquiry about her, informing him that she had left the
island, and no one knew where she had gone.”
“What was the lady’s maiden name?” asked the captain indifferently.
“Ruth Hastings. Scoble thought she was rich; but when he found that she
had only five hundred pounds he abused her, and then abandoned her.”
“That’s the whole story, is it?”
“That’s the whole of it. Henry Scoble was a widower. He would not help
the wife, or do anything to bring his brother to a sense of duty,” said
the official in conclusion.
Mr. Stockling lunched in the cabin with the party, and was treated as
well as the governor of the island would have been. Captain Ringgold
decided not to say a word about the important information he had
obtained to Louis or his mother. If the facts were as stated, the
marriage of Mrs. Belgrave was doubly invalid from the beginning. But it
was necessary to prove the facts, and the commander felt that he needed
the services of Squire Scarburn. Mrs. Belgrave was alarmed at the idea
of legal proceedings in a foreign land, and she insisted upon sailing
for New York at once, in which she was warmly seconded by her son.
The pilot had been retained on board; a boat came off for Stockling at
a signal, and in the middle of the afternoon the Guardian-Mother went
to sea. The principal object of the voyage had been fully accomplished,
and perhaps something more, though the commander did not feel full
confidence in the statements made to him. The steamer made a quick and
smooth passage, and Louis and his mother were supremely happy, quite as
much so as though they had been in the new house. Louis was hugged by
Uncle Moses when he went into the office, and Mrs. Belgrave and Mrs.
Blossom were warmly welcomed.
As soon as an opportunity presented, Captain Ringgold privately stated
the important information he had obtained in Bermuda to Uncle Moses.
The squire was astounded at the revelation, for it seemed to solve the
problem that vexed him and the mother of his ward. Was the information
reliable?
“The first thing to be done is to make a thorough investigation of the
statements,” said he, looking very serious for him.
“Where?” asked the captain.
“In Bermuda first, then in Nassau, and wherever the facts we learn
may take us, if it should be around the world,” said the squire with
enthusiasm.
“Louis insists that you go with us, Squire Scarburn, on our next
cruise,” added Captain Ringgold, who proceeded to relate all that had
been said on this subject, both by the owner and his mother.
“Something has been said before about my going with you, and there
was nothing I should have liked better. Now I have a good excuse for
doing so. Since you went away, I have agreed to take a partner, an
old friend, who is an honest man and a sound lawyer. It will take me
a month at least to complete my arrangements; but I will go then,”
replied the squire, who appeared to be as delighted as a child at the
prospect of such a voyage.
It was all arranged, and about the first of December the
Guardian-Mother sailed for Bermuda a second time, fitted out for a long
cruise, which might extend around the world. Louis Belgrave was still
“A Millionaire at Sixteen.” The cruise of the Guardian-Mother had been
successfully finished in the restoration of the mother of the young
millionaire; but those who are inclined to attend him still farther,
will renew their acquaintance with him in “A YOUNG KNIGHT-ERRANT; or,
Cruising in the West Indies.”
TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES:
Italicized text is surrounded by underscores: _italics_.
Perceived typographical errors have been corrected.
Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been standardized.
Archaic or variant spelling has been retained.