Adopting Mrs. Lecks's suggestion, I "ducked" my head under the bar, and
passed to the other side of it. Mrs. Lecks, with but little trouble,
followed my example; but Mrs. Aleshine, who, by reason of her stoutness,
floated so much higher out of the water than her friend and I, found it
impossible to get herself under the bar. In whatever manner she made the
attempt, her head or her shoulders were sure to bump and arrest her
progress.
"Now, Barb'ry Aleshine," said Mrs. Lecks, who had been watching her, "if
you ever want to get out of this salt water, you've got to make up your
mind to take some of it into your mouth and into your eyes, that is, if
you don't keep 'em shut. Get yourself as close to that bar as you can,
and I'll come and put you under." So saying, Mrs. Lecks returned to the
other side of the bar, and having made Mrs. Aleshine bow down her head
and close her eyes and mouth, she placed both hands upon her companion's
broad shoulders, and threw as much weight as possible upon them. Mrs.
Aleshine almost disappeared beneath the water, but she came up
sputtering and blinking on the other side of the bar, where she was
quickly joined by Mrs. Lecks.
"Merciful me!" exclaimed Mrs. Aleshine, wiping her wet face with her
still wetter sleeve, "I never supposed the heathens would be up to such
tricks as makin' us do that!"
I had waited to give any assistance that might be required, and, while
doing so, had discovered another bar under the water, which proved that
entrance at almost any stage of the tide had been guarded against.
Warning my companions not to strike their feet against this submerged
bar, we paddled and pushed ourselves around the turn in the rocky
passage, and emerged into the open lagoon.
This smooth stretch of water, which separated the island from its
encircling reef, was here about a hundred feet wide; and the first thing
that arrested our attention as we gazed across it was a little wharf or
landing-stage, erected upon the narrow beach of the island, almost
opposite to us.
"As sure as I stand here," exclaimed Mrs. Lecks, who never seemed to
forget her upright position, "somebody lives in this place!"
"And it isn't a stickery coral island, either," cried Mrs. Aleshine,
"for that sand's as smooth as any I ever saw."
"Whoever does live here," resumed Mrs. Lecks, "has got to take us in,
whether they like it or not, and the sooner we get over there, the
better."
Mrs. Aleshine now regretted the loss of her oar, and suggested that some
one of us who could get under bars easily should go back after it. But
Mrs. Lecks would listen to no such proposition.
"Let the oars go," she said. "We won't want 'em again, for I'll never
leave this place if I have to scoop myself out to sea with an oar."
I told the two women that I could easily tow them across this narrow
piece of water; and instructing Mrs. Lecks to take hold of the tail of
my coat, while Mrs. Aleshine grasped her companion's dress, I began to
swim slowly toward the beach, towing my companions behind me.
"Goodnessful gracious me!" suddenly exclaimed Mrs. Aleshine, with a
great bounce and a splash, "look at the fishes!"
The water in the lagoon was so clear that it was almost transparent, and
beneath us and around us we could see fish, some large and some small,
swimming about as if they were floating in the air, while down below the
white sandy bottom seemed to sparkle in the sunlight.
"Now don't jerk my skeert off on account of the fishes," said Mrs.
Lecks. "I expect there was just as many outside, though we couldn't see
'em. But I must say that this water looks as if it had been boiled and
filtered."
If any inhabitant of the island had then been standing on the wharf, he
would have beheld on the surface of the lagoon the peculiar spectacle of
a man's head surmounted by a wet and misshapen straw hat, and followed
by two other heads, each wearing a dripping and bedraggled bonnet, while
beneath, among the ripples of the clear water, would have been seen the
figures belonging to these three heads, each dressed in the clothes
ordinarily worn on land.
As I swam I could see before me, on the island, nothing but a mass of
low-growing, tropical vegetation, behind which rose some palms and other
trees. I made for the little wharf, from which steps came down into the
water, and as soon as we reached it we all clambered rapidly up, and
stood dripping upon the narrow platform, stamping our feet and shaking
our clothes.
"Do you see that house?" said Mrs. Lecks. "That's where they live, and I
wonder which way we must go to get there."
From this somewhat elevated position I could plainly see, over the tops
of the bushes and low trees, the upper part of the roof of a house. When
I found the bars across the passage in the reef, I had easily come to
the conclusion that the inhabitants of this island were not savages; and
now since I had seen the wharf and the roof of this house, I felt quite
convinced that we had reached the abode of civilized beings. They might
be pirates or some other sort of sea miscreants, but they were certainly
not savages or cannibals.
Leaving the wharf, we soon found a broad path through the bushes, and
in a few moments reached a wide, open space, in which stood a handsome
modern-built house. It was constructed after the fashion of tropical
houses belonging to Europeans, with jalousied porches and shaded
balconies; the grounds about it were neatly laid out, and behind it was
a walled inclosure, probably a garden.
"Upon my word," exclaimed Mrs. Aleshine, "I'd like to be less drippin'
before I make a call on genteel folks!"
"Genteel folks!" exclaimed Mrs. Lecks, indignantly. "If you're too proud
to go in as you are, Barb'ry Aleshine, you can go set in the sun till
you're dry. As for me, I'm goin' to ask for the lady of the house, and
if she don't like me she can lump me, so long as she gives me somethin'
to eat and a dry bed to get into."
I was too much amazed to speak, but my companions took everything as a
matter of course. They had expected to see strange things in the outer
world, and they were not surprised when they saw them. My mind was not
capable of understanding the existence of an establishment like this on
a little island in mid-ocean. But it was useless for me to attempt to
reason on this apparent phenomenon; and, indeed, there was no time for
it, for Mrs. Lecks walked boldly up to the front door and plied the
knocker, stepping back immediately, so that she might not drip too much
water on the porch.
"When they come," she said, "we'll ask 'em to let us in the back way, so
that we sha'n't slop up their floors any more than we can help."
We waited for a couple of minutes, and then I, as the member of the
party who dripped the least, went up on the porch and knocked again.
"It's my belief they're not at home," said Mrs. Lecks, after we had
waited some time longer, "but perhaps we'll find some of the servants
in," and she led the way to the back part of the house.
As we passed the side of the mansion I noticed that all the
window-shutters were closed, and my growing belief that the place was
deserted became a conviction after we had knocked several times at a
door at the back of the building without receiving any answer.
"Well, they're all gone out, that's certain!" said Mrs. Lecks.
"Yes, and they barred up the entrance to the island when they left," I
added.
"I wonder if there's another house in the neighborhood?" asked Mrs.
Aleshine.
"I don't believe," said I, "that the neighborhood is very thickly
settled; but if you will wait here a few minutes, I will run around this
wall and see what there is beyond. I may find the huts of some natives
or work-people."
I followed a path by the side of the garden wall, but when I reached the
end of the inclosure I could see nothing before me but jungle and
forest, with paths running in several directions. I followed one of
these, and very soon came out upon an open beach, with the reef lying
beyond it. From the form of the beach and the reef, and from the
appearance of things generally, I began to think that this was probably
a very small island, and that the house we had seen was the only one
on it. I returned and reported this belief to my companions.
[Illustration: "MRS. LECKS WALKED BOLDLY UP TO THE FRONT DOOR AND PLIED
THE KNOCKER."]
Now that Mrs. Aleshine had no fear of appearing in an untidy condition
before "genteel folks," her manner changed very much. "If the family has
gone into the country," said she, "or whatever else they've done, I want
to get into this house as soon as I can. I expect we can find something
to eat. At any rate, we can get ourselves dry, and lay down somewhere to
rest, for not a wink has one of us slept since night before last."
"I should think," said Mrs. Lecks, addressing me, "that if you could
manage to climb up to them second-story windows, you might find one of
them that you could get in, and then come down and open the door for us.
Everybody is likely to forget to fasten some of the windows on the upper
floors. I know it isn't right to force our way into other people's
houses, but there's nothin' else to be done, and there's no need of our
talkin' about it."
I agreed with her perfectly, and taking off my coat and shoes, I climbed
up one of the columns of the veranda, and got upon its roof. This
extended nearly the whole length of two sides of the house. I walked
along it and tried all the shutters, and I soon came to one in which
some of the movable slats had been broken. Thrusting my hand and arm
through the aperture thus formed, I unhooked the shutters and opened
them. The sash was fastened down by one of the ordinary contrivances
used for such purposes, but with the blade of my jack-knife I easily
pushed the bolt aside, raised the sash, and entered. I found myself in
a small hall at the head of a flight of stairs. Down these I hurried,
and, groping my way through the semi-darkness of the lower story, I
reached a side door. This was fastened by two bolts and a bar, and I
quickly had it open.
Stepping outside, I called Mrs. Lecks and Mrs. Aleshine.
"Well," said the latter, "I'm sure I'll be glad to get in, and as we've
squeezed most of the water out of our clothes, we won't make so much of
a mess, after all."
We now entered, and I opened one of the shutters.
"Let's go right into the kitchen," said Mrs. Lecks, "and make a fire.
That's the first thing to do."
[Illustration: "I CLIMBED UP ONE OF THE COLUMNS."]
But Mrs. Lecks soon discovered that this mansion was very different from
a country dwelling in one of our Middle States. Externally, and as far
as I had been able to observe its internal arrangements, it resembled
the houses built by English residents which I had seen in the West
Indies. It was a dwelling in which modern ideas in regard to
construction and furnishing adapted themselves to the requirements of a
tropical climate. Apparently there was no kitchen. There were no stairs
leading to a lower floor, and the darkened rooms into which my
companions peered were certainly not used for culinary purposes.
In the meantime I had gone out of the door by which we had entered, and
soon discovered, on the other side of the house, a small building with a
chimney to it, which I felt sure must be the kitchen. The door and
shutters were fastened, but before making any attempt to open them I
returned to announce my discovery.
"Door locked, is it?" said Mrs. Aleshine. "Just wait a minute."
She then disappeared, but in a very short time came out, carrying a
bunch of large keys.
"It's always the way," said she, as the two followed me round the back
of the house, "when people shut up a house and leave it, to put all the
door-keys in the back corner of some drawer in the hall, and to take
only the front-door key with them. So, you see, I knew just where to go
for these."
"It's a poor hen," said Mrs. Lecks, "that begins to cackle when she's
goin' to her nest; the wise ones wait till they're comin' away. Now
we'll see if one of them keys fit."
Greatly to the triumph of Mrs. Aleshine, the second or third key I tried
unlocked the door. Entering, we found ourselves in a good-sized kitchen,
with a great fireplace at one end of it. A door opened from the room
into a shed where there was a pile of dry twigs and fire-wood.
"Let's have a fire as quick as we can," said Mrs. Lecks, "for since I
went into that shet-up house I've been chilled to the bones."
"That's so," said Mrs. Aleshine; "and now I know how a fish keeps
comfortable in the water, and how dreadfully wet and flabby it must feel
when it's taken out."
I brought in a quantity of wood and kindling, and finding matches in a
tin box on the wall, I went to work to make a fire, and was soon
rewarded by a crackling blaze. Turning around, I was amazed at the
actions of Mrs. Lecks and Mrs. Aleshine. I had expected to see them
standing shivering behind me, waiting for the fire to be made; but
instead of that, they were moving rapidly here and there, saying not a
word, but going as straight to cupboard, closet, and pantry as the hound
follows the track of the hare. From a wild chaos of uncongenial
surroundings, these two women had dropped into a sphere in which they
were perfectly at home. The kitchen was not altogether like those to
which they had been accustomed, but it was a well-appointed one, and
their instincts and practice made them quickly understand where they
would find what they wanted. I gazed on them with delight while one
filled a kettle from a little pump in the corner which brought water
from a cistern, and the other appeared from the pantry, carrying a
tea-caddy and a tin biscuit-box.
"Now, then," said Mrs. Lecks, hanging the kettle on a crane over the
fire, and drawing up a chair, "by the time we've got a little dried off
the kettle will bile, and we'll have some hot tea, and then the best
thing to do is to go to bed."
"We'll take time to have a bite first," said Mrs. Aleshine, "for I was
never so near famished in my life. I brought out a box nearly full of
biscuits, and there's sardines in this, Mr. Craig, which you can easy
open with your knife."
I piled on more wood, and we gathered close around the genial heat. The
sunshine was hot outside, but that did not prevent the fire from being
most comforting and refreshing to us.
As soon as the kettle began to simmer, up jumped Mrs. Aleshine. A
sugar-bowl and some cups were placed upon a table, and in a short time
we were cheered and invigorated by hot tea, biscuits, and sardines.
"This isn't much of a meal," said Mrs. Aleshine, apologetically, "but
there's no time to cook nothin', and the sooner we get off our wet
things and find some beds, the better."
"If I can once get into bed," said Mrs. Lecks, "all I ask is that the
family will not come back till I have had a good long nap. After that,
they can do what they please."
We now went back to the house, and ascended the main stairway, which led
up to a large central hall.
"We won't go into the front rooms," said Mrs. Lecks, "for we don't want
to make no more disturbance than we can help; but if we can find the
smallest kind of rooms in the back, with beds in 'em, it is all we can
ask."
The first chamber we entered was a good-sized one, neatly furnished,
containing a bedstead with uncovered mattress and pillows. Opening a
closet door, Mrs. Lecks exclaimed: "This is a man's room, Mr. Craig, and
you'd better take it. Look at the trousers and coats! There's no
bedclothes in here, but I'll see if I can't find some."
In a few minutes she returned, bearing blankets, sheets, and a
pillow-case. With Mrs. Aleshine on one side of the bedstead and Mrs.
Lecks on the other, the sheets and blankets were laid with surprising
deftness and rapidity, and in a few moments I saw before me a most
inviting bed.
While Mrs. Aleshine held a pillow in her teeth as she pulled on the
pillow-case with both hands, Mrs. Lecks looked around the room with the
air of an attentive hostess. "I guess you'll be comfortable, Mr. Craig,"
she said, "and I advise you to sleep just as long as you can. We'll take
the room on the other side of the hall; but I'm first goin' down to see
if the kitchen fire is safe, and to fasten the doors."
[Illustration: "'I GUESS YOU'LL BE COMFORTABLE, MR. CRAIG.'"]
I offered to relieve her of this trouble, but she promptly declined my
services. "When it's rowin' or swimmin', you can do it, Mr. Craig, but
when it's lockin' up and lookin' to fires, I'll attend to that myself."
My watch had stopped, but I suppose it was the middle of the afternoon
when I went to bed, and I slept steadily until some hours after sunrise
the next morning, when I was awakened by a loud knock at the door.
"It's time to get up," said the voice of Mrs. Lecks, "and if your
clothes are not entirely dry, you'd better see if there isn't somethin'
in that closet you can put on. After a while I'll make a big fire in the
kitchen, and dry all our things."
I found my clothes were still very damp, and after investigating the
contents of the closet and bureau, I was able to supply myself with
linen and a light summer suit which fitted me fairly well. I even found
socks and a pair of slippers.
When I entered the kitchen, I first opened wide my eyes with delight,
and then I burst out laughing. Before me was a table covered with a
white cloth, with plates, cups, and everything necessary upon it; at one
end was a steaming tea-pot, and at the other a dish of some kind of hot
meat, and Mrs. Aleshine was just taking a pan of newly baked biscuits
from a small iron oven.
"I don't wonder you laugh," said Mrs. Lecks, "but our clothes was still
wet, and we had to take just what we could find. I'm not in the habit of
goin' about in a white muslin wrapper with blue-ribbon trimmin's, and as
for Mrs. Aleshine, I did think we'd never find anything that she could
get into; but there must be one stout woman in the family, for that
yeller frock with black buttons fits her well enough, though I must say
it's a good deal short."
"I never thought," said Mrs. Aleshine, as she sat down at the tea-pot,
"that the heathens had so many conveniences, specially bakin'-powders
and Dutch ovens. For my part, I always supposed that they used their
altars for bakin', when they wasn't offerin' up victims on 'em."
"Have you got it into your head, Barb'ry Aleshine," said Mrs. Lecks,
looking up from the dish of potted beef she was serving, "that this
house belongs to common heathen? I expect that most of the savages who
live on these desert islands has been converted by the missionaries, but
they'd have to take 'em from Genesis to Revelations a good many times
before they'd get 'em to the p'int of havin' force-pumps in their
kitchens and spring-mattresses on their beds. As far as I've seen this
house, it looks as if the family had always been Christians, and
probably either Catholics or Episcopalians."
"On account of the cross on the mantelpiece in our room, I suppose,"
said Mrs. Aleshine. "But whether they're given to idols or prayer-books,
I know they've got a mighty nice house; and considerin' the distance
from stores, there's a good deal more in that pantry than you'd expect
to find in any house I know of, when the family is away."
"It is my opinion," said I, "that this house belongs to some rich man,
probably an American or European merchant, who lives on one of the large
islands not far away, and who uses this as a sort of summer residence."
"I thought it was always summer in this part of the world," said Mrs.
Lecks.
"So it is in effect," I replied, "but there are some seasons when it is
very unpleasant to remain in one of those towns which are found on the
larger islands, and so the owner of this house may come up here
sometimes for fresh sea air."
"Or it's just as like," said Mrs. Aleshine, "that he lives somewhere up
in the iceberg regions, and comes here to spend his winters. It would do
just as well. But, whichever way it is, I can't help thinkin' it's
careless not to leave somebody in the house to take care of it. Why, for
all the family would know about it, tramps might break in and stay as
long as they like."
"That's just what's happenin' now," said Mrs. Lecks, "and for my part I
ain't goin' to find no fault. I don't suppose the people would have been
so hard-hearted as to turn us away from their doors, but I've seen
enough of folks in this world not to be too sure about that."
[Illustration: "THAT YELLER FROCK."]
"How do you suppose," said Mrs. Aleshine, addressing me, "that the
family gets here and goes back? Do they keep a private steamboat?"
"Of course they have a private vessel of some kind," I answered,
"probably a yacht. It is quite certain that ordinary steamers never
touch here."
"If that's the case," said Mrs. Lecks, "all we can do is to wait here
till they come, and get them to send us away in their ship. But whether
they've just gone or are just a-comin' back depends, I suppose, on
whether they live in a freezin' or a burnin' country; and if they don't
like our bein' here when they come back, there's one thing they can make
up their minds to, and that is that I'm never goin' to leave this place
on a life-preserver."
"Nor me nuther," said Mrs. Aleshine, finishing, with much complacency,
her third cup of tea.
When breakfast was over, Mrs. Lecks pushed back her chair, but did not
immediately rise. With an expression of severe thought upon her face,
she gazed steadfastly before her for a minute, and then she addressed
Mrs. Aleshine, who had begun to gather together the cups and the plates.
"Now, Barb'ry Aleshine," said she, "don't you begin to clear off the
table, nor touch a single thing to wash it up, till we've been over this
house. I want to do it now, before Mr. Craig goes out to prospect around
and see what else is on the island, which, I suppose, he'll be wantin'
to do."
I replied that I had that intention, but I was quite willing to go over
the house first.
"It's come to me," said Mrs. Lecks, speaking very gravely, "that it's no
use for us to talk of the family bein' here, or bein' there, till we've
gone over this house. If we find that they have, as far as we know, gone
away in good health and spirits, that's all well enough; but if
anything's happened in this house, I don't want to be here with what's
happened—at least, without knowin' it, and when we do go over the
house, I want a man to go with us."
"If you'd talked that way last night, Mrs. Lecks," exclaimed Mrs.
Aleshine, "I'd never slept till after sun-up, and then got up and gone
huntin' round among them frocks and petticoats to find somethin' that
would fit me, with the quiet pulse I did have, Mrs. Lecks!"
To this remark Mrs. Lecks made no reply, but, rising, she led the way
out of the kitchen and into the house.
The rooms on the first floor were very well furnished. There was a large
parlor, and back of it a study or library, while on the other side of
the hall was a dining-room and an apartment probably used as a family
room. We found nothing in these which would indicate that anything
untoward had happened in them. Then we went up-stairs, I leading the
way, Mrs. Lecks following, and Mrs. Aleshine in the rear. We first
entered one of the front chambers, which was quite dark, but Mrs. Lecks
unfastened and threw open a shutter. Then, with a rigid countenance and
determined mien, she examined every part of the room, looked into every
closet, and even under the bed. It was quite plain that it was in one of
the chambers that she expected to find what had happened, if anything
had happened.
The room on the other side of the hall was very like the one we first
examined, except that it had two beds in it. We next visited the chamber
recently occupied by my two companions, which was now undergoing the
process of "airing."
"We needn't stop here," remarked Mrs. Aleshine.
But Mrs. Lecks instantly replied: "Indeed, we will stop; I'm going to
look under the bed."
"Merciful me!" exclaimed Mrs. Aleshine, putting her hand on her friend's
shoulder. "Supposin' you should find somethin', and we sleepin' here
last night! It curdles me to think of it!"
"It's my duty," said Mrs. Lecks, severely, "and I shall do it."
And do it she did, rising from the task with a sigh of relief.
My room was subjected to the same scrutiny as the others, and then we
visited some smaller rooms at the extreme back of the house, which we
had not before noticed. A garret, or loft, was reached by a steep
stairway in one of these rooms, and into its dusky gloom I ventured by
myself.
"Now, don't come down, Mr. Craig," said Mrs. Lecks, "till you're sure
there's nothin' there. Of all places in the house, that cockloft, after
all, is the most likely."
I had none of the fears which seemed to actuate the two women, but I had
a very unpleasant time of it groping about in the darkness and heat,
and, as the place was only partly floored, running the continual risk of
crashing down through the lath and plaster. I made myself quite sure,
however, that nothing had happened in that loft, unless some one had
suffocated there, and had dried up and become the dust which I raised at
every step.
"Now, then," said Mrs. Lecks, when I descended, "as there is no cellar,
we'll go wash up the breakfast things; and if you want to take a walk,
to see if there's any genuwine heathens or anybody else a-livin' in this
island, we're not afraid to be left alone."
For the whole of the rest of the morning I wandered about the island. I
investigated the paths that I had before noticed, and found that each of
them led, after a moderate walk, to some wide and pleasant part of the
beach. At one of these points I found a rustic bench; and, stuffed in
between two of the slats which formed the seat, I found a book. It had
been sadly wet and discolored by rain, and dried and curled up by the
wind and sun. I pulled it out, and found it to be a novel in French. On
one of the fly-leaves was written "Emily." Reasoning from the
dilapidated appearance of this book, I began to believe that the family
must have left this place some time ago, and that, therefore, their
return might be expected at a proportionately early period. On second
thoughts, however, I considered that the state of this book was of
little value as testimony. A few hours of storm, wind, and sun might
have inflicted all the damage it had sustained. The two women would be
better able to judge by the state of the house and the condition of the
provisions how long the family had been away.
I then started out on a walk along the beach, and in little more than an
hour I had gone entirely around the island. Nowhere did I see any sign
of habitation or occupation except at the house which had given us
shelter, nor any opening through the surrounding reef except the barred
passageway through which we had come.
When I returned to the house, I found that Mrs. Lecks and Mrs. Aleshine
had been hard at work all the morning. They had, so to speak, gone
regularly and systematically to housekeeping, and had already divided
the labors of the establishment between them. Mrs. Aleshine, who prided
herself on her skill in culinary matters, was to take charge of the
cooking, while Mrs. Lecks assumed the care of the various rooms and the
general management of the household. This arrangement was explained to
me at length, and when I remarked that all this seemed to indicate that
they expected to remain here for a long time, Mrs. Lecks replied:
"In my part of the country I could tell pretty close, by the dust on the
tables and on the top of the pianner, how long a family had been out of
a house; but dust in Pennsylvany and dust on a sea island, where there's
no wagons nor carriages, is quite different. This house has been left in
very good order, and though the windows wants washin', and the floors
and stairs brushin',—which will be easy considerin' that none of 'em
has carpets,—and everything in the house a reg'lar cleanin' up and
airin', it may be that the family hasn't been gone away very long, and
so it may be a good while before they come back again. Mrs. Aleshine and
me has talked it over, and we've made up our minds that the right thing
to do is just to go along and attend to things as if we was a-goin' to
stay here for a month or two; and it may be even longer than that before
the people come back. And I don't think they'll have anything to
complain of when they find their house in apple-pie order, their windows
washed, their floors clean, and not a speck of dust anywhere."
"For my part," said Mrs. Aleshine, "I don't see what they've got to find
fault with, anyway. I look on this as part of the passage. To be sure,
we ain't movin' a bit on our way to Japan, but that's not my fault, nor
yet yours, Mrs. Lecks, nor yours, Mr. Craig. We paid our passage to go
to Japan, and if the ship was steered wrong and got sunk, we hadn't
anything to do with it. We didn't want to come here, but here we are,
and I'd like to know who's got any right to find fault with us."
[Illustration: "MRS. ALESHINE HAD BEEN HARD AT WORK ALL THE MORNING."]
"And bein' here," said Mrs. Lecks, "we'll take care of the things."
"As far as I'm concerned," added Mrs. Aleshine, "if this island was
movin' on to Japan, I'd a great deal rather be on it than on that ship,
where, to my way of thinkin', they didn't know much more about
housekeepin' than they did about steerin'."
"I think your plans and arrangements are very good," I said. "But how
about the provisions? Are there enough to hold out for any time?"
"There's pretty nigh a barrel of flour," said Mrs. Aleshine, "a good
deal of tea and coffee and sugar, and lots of things in tins and jars.
There's a kind of cellar outside where they keep things cool, and
there's more than half a keg of butter down there. It's too strong to
use, but I can take that butter and wash it out, and work it over, and
salt it, and make it just as good butter as any we got on board the
ship."
"But," said I, "you have given me nothing to do. I shall not be content
to stand about idle and see you do all the work."
"There's nothin' in the house," said Mrs. Lecks, "which you need put
your hand to; but, if you choose to go out into that garden, and see if
there's anything can be done in it, or got out of it,—that is, if you
know anything about garden work,—I'm sure we'd be very glad of any
fresh vegetables we could get."
I replied that I had been accustomed to garden work in an amateur way,
and would be glad to do anything that was possible in that direction.
"I never seed into that garden," said Mrs. Aleshine, "but of all the
foolish things that ever came under my eye, the buildin' a wall around a
garden, when a picket fence would do just as well, is the foolishest."
I explained that in these countries it was the fashion to use walls
instead of fences.
"If it's the fashion," said Mrs. Aleshine, "I suppose there's no use
sayin' anything ag'in' it; but if the fashion should happen to change,
they'd find it a good deal easier to take down a barbed-wire fence than
a stone wall."
This conversation took place in the large lower hall, which Mrs. Lecks
had been "putting to rights," and where Mrs. Aleshine had just entered
from the kitchen. Mrs. Lecks now sat down upon a chair, and, dust-cloth
in hand, she thus addressed me:
"There's another thing, Mr. Craig, that me and Mrs. Aleshine has been
talkin' about. We haven't made up our minds about it, because we didn't
think it was fair and right to do that before speakin' to you and
hearin' what you had to say on one side or another of it. Mrs. Aleshine
and me has had to bow our heads to afflictions, and to walk sometimes in
roads we didn't want to; but we've remembered the ways in which we was
brought up, and have kept in them as far as we've been able. When our
husbands died, leavin' Mrs. Aleshine with a son, and me without any,
which, perhaps, is just as well, for there's no knowin' how he might
have turned out—"
"That's so," interrupted Mrs. Aleshine, "for he might have gone as a
clerk to Roosher, and then you and me would 'a' had to travel different
ways."
"And when our husbands died," continued Mrs. Lecks, "they left us
enough, and plenty, to live on, and we wasn't the women to forget them
and their ways of thinkin', any more than we'd forget the ways of our
fathers and mothers before us."
"That's so!" said Mrs. Aleshine, fervently.
"And now, Mr. Craig," continued Mrs. Lecks, "we don't know how you've
been brought up, nor anything about you, in fact, except that you've
been as kind to us as if you was some sort of kin, and that we never
would have thought of comin' here without you, and so me and Mrs.
Aleshine has agreed to leave this whole matter to you, and to do just as
you say. When us two started out on this long journey, we didn't expect
to find it what you call the path of roses, and, dear only knows, we
haven't found it so."
"That's true!" ejaculated Mrs. Aleshine.
"And what we've had to put up with," continued Mrs. Lecks, "we have put
up with. So, Mr. Craig, whether you say dinner in the middle of the day
at twelve, as we've always been used to, or at six o'clock in the
afternoon, as they had it on board that ship,—and how people ever come
to turn their meals hind part foremost in that way, I can't say,—we are
goin' to do it; if you've been brought up to six o'clock, you won't hear
no complainin' from us, think what we may."
I was on the point of laughing aloud at the conclusion of this speech,
but a glance at the serious faces of the two women, who, with so much
earnest solicitude, awaited my reply, stopped me, and I hastened to
assure them that dinner in the middle of the day would be entirely in
accordance with my every wish.
"Good!" exclaimed Mrs. Aleshine, her eyes sparkling amid the plumpness
of her face, while an expression of calm relief passed over the features
of Mrs. Lecks.
"And now I'll be off and get us somethin' to eat in less than no time,"
said Mrs. Aleshine. "We didn't know whether to make it lunch or dinner
till we had seen you, so you can't expect much to-day, but to-morrow
we'll begin, and have everything straight and comfortable. I'm goin' to
get up early in the mornin' and bake a batch of bread, and you needn't
be afraid, Mr. Craig, but what I'll have you a bit of hot meat every
night for your supper."
In the afternoon we all visited the garden, which, although a good deal
overgrown with luxuriant weeds, showed marks of fair cultivation. Some
of the beds had been cleared out and left to the weeds, and we found
some "garden truck," as my companions called it, with which we were not
familiar. But there were tomato-vines loaded with fruit, plenty of beans
of various kinds, and a large patch of potatoes, many of which had been
dug.
From the lower end of the garden, Mrs. Aleshine gave a shout of delight.
We went to her, and found her standing before a long asparagus bed.
"Well!" she exclaimed. "If there's anything that settles it firm in my
mind that these people is Christians, it's this bed of grass. I don't
believe there ever was heathens that growed grass."
"I thought that was all settled when we found the bakin'-powders," said
Mrs. Lecks.
"But this clinches it," answered her companion. "I can't tell from a
sparrowgrass bed what church they belong to, but they're no idolaters."
The next morning I delivered to the genial Mrs. Aleshine a large basket
full of fresh vegetables, and we had a most excellent dinner. Somewhat
to my surprise, the table was not set in the kitchen, but in the
dining-room.
"Me and Mrs. Aleshine have made up our minds," said Mrs. Lecks, in
explanation, "that it's not the proper thing for you to be eatin' in the
kitchen, nor for us neither. Here's table-cloths, and good glass and
china, and spoons and forks, which, although they're not solid silver,
are plated good enough for anybody. Neither you nor us is servants, and
a kitchen is no place for us."
"That's so!" said Mrs. Aleshine. "We paid our money for first-class
passages, and it was understood that we'd have everything as good as
anybody."
"Which I don't see as that has anything to do with it, Barb'ry
Aleshine," said Mrs. Lecks, "for the steamship people don't generally
throw in desert islands as part of the accommodation."
"We didn't ask for the island," retorted Mrs. Aleshine, "and if they'd
steered the ship right we shouldn't have wanted it."
When we had finished our dinner, Mrs. Lecks pushed back her chair, and
sat for a few moments in thought, as was her wont before saying anything
of importance.
"There's another thing," said she, "that I've been thinkin' about,
though I haven't spoke of it yet, even to Mrs. Aleshine. We haven't no
right to come here and eat up the victuals and use the things of the
people that own this house, without payin' for 'em. Of course, we're not
goin' to sleep on the bare ground and starve to death while there's beds
and food close to our hands. But if we use 'em and take it, we ought to
pay the people that the place belongs to—that is, if we've got the
money to do it with—and Mrs. Aleshine and me has got the money. When we
went down into our cabin to get ready to leave the ship, the first thing
we did was to put our purses in our pockets, and we've both got drafts
wrapped up in oil silk, and sewed inside our frock-bodies; and if you
didn't think to bring your money along with you, Mr. Craig, we can lend
you all you need."
I thanked her for her offer, but stated that I had brought with me all
my money.
"Now," continued Mrs. Lecks, "it's my opinion that we ought to pay our
board regular every week. I don't know what is commonly charged in a
place like this, but I know you can get very good board where I come
from for six dollars a week."
[Illustration: "'THERE'S ANOTHER THING,' SAID SHE, 'THAT I'VE BEEN
THINKIN' ABOUT.'"]
"That is for two in a room," said Mrs. Aleshine; "but havin' a room to
himself would make it more for Mr. Craig."
"It ain't his fault," said Mrs. Lecks, somewhat severely, "that he
ain't got a brother or some friend to take part of the room and pay part
of the expense. But, anyway, the room isn't a large one, and I don't
think he ought to pay much more for having a room to himself. Seven
dollars is quite enough."
"But then you've got to consider," said Mrs. Aleshine, "that we do the
cookin' and housework, and that ought to be counted."
"I was comin' to that," said Mrs. Lecks. "Now, if me and Mrs. Aleshine
was to go out to service, which you may be sure we wouldn't do unless
circumstances was very different from what they are now—"
"That's true!" earnestly ejaculated Mrs. Aleshine.
"But if we was to do it," continued Mrs. Lecks, "we wouldn't go into
anybody's family for less than two dollars a week. Now, I've always
heard that wages is low in this part of the world, and the work isn't
heavy for two of us; so, considering the family isn't here to make their
own bargain, I think we'd better put our wages at that, so that'll make
four dollars a week for each of us two to pay."
"But how about Mr. Craig?" said Mrs. Aleshine. "He oughtn't to work in
that garden for nothin'."
"Fifty cents a day," said Mrs. Lecks, "is as little as any man would
work for, and then it oughtn't to take all his time. That will make
three dollars to take out of Mr. Craig's board, and leave it four
dollars a week, the same as ours."
I declared myself perfectly satisfied with these arrangements, but Mrs.
Aleshine did not seem to be altogether convinced that they were just.
"When a woman goes out to service," said she, "she gets her board and
is paid wages besides, and it's the same for gardeners."
"Then I suppose, Barb'ry Aleshine," said Mrs. Lecks, "that we ought to
charge these people with our wages, and make 'em pay it when they come
back!"
This remark apparently disposed of Mrs. Aleshine's objections, and her
friend continued: "There's a jar on the mantelpiece there, of the kind
the East Indy ginger comes in. It's got nothin' in it now but some brown
paper in which fish-hooks is wrapped. We came here on a Wednesday, and
so every Tuesday night we'll each put four dollars in that jar, under
the fish-hook paper; then if, by night or by day, the family comes back
and makes a fuss about our bein' here, all we have to say is, 'The board
money's in the ginger-jar,' and our consciences is free."
Mrs. Lecks's plan was adopted as a very just and proper one, and at the
expiration of the week we each deposited four dollars in the ginger-jar.
While occupying this house I do not think that any of us endeavored to
pry into the private concerns of the family who owned it, although we
each had a very natural curiosity to know something about said family.
Opportunities of acquiring such knowledge, however, were exceedingly
scarce. Even if we had been willing to look into such receptacles, the
several desks and secretaries that the house contained were all locked,
and nowhere could Mrs. Lecks or Mrs. Aleshine find an old letter or
piece of wrapping-paper with an address on it. I explained to my
companions that letters and packages were not likely to come to a place
like this, but they kept a sharp lookout for anything of the kind,
asserting that there could be no possible harm in reading the names of
the people whose house they were in.
In some of the books in the library, which were English and French in
about equal proportions, with a few volumes in German, I found written
on the blank pages the names "Emily" and "Lucille," and across the
title-pages of some French histories was inscribed, in a man's hand, "A.
Dusante." We discussed these names, but could not make up our minds
whether the family were French or English. For instance, there was no
reason why an Englishwoman might not be called Lucille, and even such a
surname as Dusante was not uncommon either among English or Americans.
The labels on the boxes and tins of provisions showed that most of them
came from San Francisco, but this was likely to be the case, no matter
what the nationality of the family.
The question of the relationship of the three persons, of whose
existence we had discovered traces, was a very interesting one to Mrs.
Lecks and Mrs. Aleshine.
"I can't make up my mind," said the latter, "whether Emily is the mother
of Lucille or her daughter, or whether they are both children of Mr.
Dusante, or whether he's married to Lucille and Emily is his
sister-in-law, or whether she's his sister and not hers, or whether he's
the uncle and they're his nieces, or whether Emily is an old lady and
Mr. Dusante and Lucille are both her children, or whether they are two
maiden ladies and Mr. Dusante is their brother, or whether Mr. Dusante
is only a friend of the family, and boards here because no two women
ought to live in such a lonely place without a man in the house."
"Well," said Mrs. Lecks, "whether Mr. Dusante comes back with two
nieces, or a wife and daughter, or Mrs. Dusante and a mother-in-law, or
a pair of sisters, all we've got to say is, 'The board money's in the
ginger-jar,' and let 'em do their worst."
In my capacity as gardener I do not think I earned the wages which my
companions had allotted to me, for I merely gathered and brought in such
fruits and vegetables as I found in proper condition for use. In other
ways, however, I made my services valuable to our little family. In a
closet in my chamber I found guns and ammunition, and frequently I was
able to bring in a few birds. Some of these were pronounced by Mrs.
Aleshine unsuitable for the table, but others she cooked with much
skill, and they were found to be very good eating.
Not far from the little wharf which has been mentioned there stood,
concealed by a mass of low-growing palms, a boat-house in which was a
little skiff hung up near the roof. This I let down and launched, and
found great pleasure in rowing it about the lagoon. There was
fishing-tackle in the boat-house, which I used with success, the lagoon
abounding in fish. Offerings of this kind were much more acceptable to
Mrs. Aleshine than birds.
"There's some kinds of fishes that's better than others," said she,
"but, as a gen'ral rule, a fish is a fish, and if you catch 'em you can
eat 'em; but it's a very different thing with birds. When you've never
seen 'em before, how are you goin' to tell but what they're some kin to
an owl, a pigeon-hawk, or a crow? And if I once get it into my head that
there's any of that kind of family blood in 'em, they disagree with me
just the same as if there really was."
One afternoon, as I was returning in the boat from the point on the
other side of the island where I had found the rustic seat and Emily's
book, I was surprised to see Mrs. Lecks and Mrs. Aleshine standing on
the end of the little wharf. This was an unusual thing for them to do,
as they were very industrious women and seldom had an idle moment, and
it seemed to be one of their greatest pleasures to discuss the work they
were going to do when they had finished that on which they were then
engaged. I was curious, therefore, to know why they should be standing
thus idly on the wharf, and pulled toward them as rapidly as possible.
[Illustration: "MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE STANDING ON THE END OF THE
LITTLE WHARF."]
When I had rowed near enough to hear them, Mrs. Aleshine remarked with
cheerful placidity:
"The Dusantes are comin'."
The tide was quite low, and I could not see over the reef; but in a few
moments I had grounded the skiff and had sprung upon the wharf. Out on
the ocean, about a mile away, I saw a boat, apparently a large one,
approaching the island.
"Now, then, Barb'ry Aleshine," said Mrs. Lecks, "you'll soon see whether
it's his two nieces, or his daughters, wife and sister-in-law, or
whatever of them other relationships which you've got so pat."
"Yes," said Mrs. Aleshine; "but, what's more, we'll find out if he's
goin' to be satisfied with the board money we've put in the ginger-jar."
[Illustration]