AMONG THE FISHERFOLK
This night was not different from other nights along the western shores
and estuaries of the Sound Country. For that matter, the people of the
Hunting Quarter and Cedar Island section are not very greatly changed in
their manners and customs from those of their forebears of many
generations ago. Grouped in small settlements of just a few houses each,
they live there to-day after the fashion of those same forebears in
almost every detail. The houses are the same or at least they are
carefully patterned after those built by the first settlers so many
generations ago.
There is no doubt concerning the ancestry of these folk. A little
conversation with the natives is enough to make one realize that he is
listening here to a speech redolent of the days of Chaucer, a speech
richly flavored with the colloquialisms of the Elizabethan era. Some of
the familiar folk-lore tales might well have emanated from the poet
himself, both for their language and their spirit.
And these descendants of an early English stock have preserved not only
the ancient speech, but they have maintained the generous courtesy of a
former time, when Sir Walter Raleigh spread his mantle in the mire in
order that his queen might pass dry shod. And real courtesy includes
always an unhesitating and ungrudging hospitality. The dwellers in this
isolated region are surpassed by none in their warm welcome of any
wayfarer who may come to them.
They have no highway or railroad connection with the outside world. The
only means is voyaging by small boats, a method necessarily slow at the
best, and often quite impossible. It is claimed that good roads and the
railways are essential factors in the education of any community, and
the claim is, doubtless, just. But it would be well, perhaps, if some of
those who boast of their education were to be cast among these
illiterates, there to gain a new appreciation of their own language,
shorn of its modern barbarities and the atrocities of slang. It is a
curious fact that many of these persons who can neither read nor write,
nevertheless, possess a vocabulary beyond that of many a grammar-school
graduate. Schools have been few and far between in this lonely place.
Yet the very isolation has tended to preserve the purity of the local
speech.
To-night the inhabitants of the settlement are resting upon their tiny
porches, for the air is over-warm and only the slightest bit of breeze
is stirring. What little there is of it comes from the forest hard by,
and brings with it a plague of numberless mosquitoes. Because of them a
huge smudge is kept going close beside every house. But for this defense
the insects' victims would be forced to take refuge within doors, with
every window and door fast shut. But, after all, they are accustomed to
this affliction whenever the wind blows off the land. They seem to
suffer little, if at all, from the volume of smoke that would strangle
the unaccustomed. It would seem indeed that they would require no masks
against the poisonous gases loosed against them by a warrior foe. The
most patient sufferers from the pests are those young ladies who are
entertaining their lovers. Those of their age go barefooted late this
season. The smoke does not lie close to the floor. So they are kept busy
slapping at ankles and toes while they listen as best they can to the
words of love uttered by their suitors.
But to-night most of the men are fishing. The season for the gray trout
or weak fish has arrived. Of late years a new method for successfully
catching them has crept in from the Beaufort section, whither it was
brought by some unknown foreigner. After its first coming, it was
quickly taken up by all the dwellers along the Sound. The method of it
is to suspend a fire of lightwood knots, which is built within a hollow,
gratelike iron frame over the water. The fire throws a strong light into
the depths, which attracts the fish in swarms. As they come close to the
surface, toward the fire of pine knots, the fisherman deftly slips
beneath them a net shaped like those used for crabbing. By a quick
upward movement, the wriggling fish are drawn safely to skiff or shore
as the case may be.
Such a method of fishing will not appeal to a disciple of Izaak Walton,
but one must remember that these primitive folk are not fishing for the
sport that is to be found in the pursuit. It is their way of earning a
livelihood. It is a matter of necessity, not of choice, with them.
Doctor Garnet realized that it would not be well for Ethel to remain
exposed to the chill dampness of the night. He was also aware that she
had taken no nourishment throughout the day, and was, therefore, in a
peculiarly susceptible condition. So he steered the launch close in to
shore, seeking eagerly for the lights of some friendly hamlet. But
to-night there was a landward breeze, so that all lights were
extinguished to avoid attracting the mosquitoes. There were only the
smudges burning, and these rarely showed any blaze underneath the
drifting clouds of smoke. It was the custom to stifle at once any flare
of the fire, in order to maintain the smoke at the densest.
It was the fishermen's lights between Hunting Quarter and Cedar Island
that gave the Doctor his first glimpse of life anywhere in the vicinity.
Many boats had passed him going up and down the water way, but this
strange man had studiously avoided hailing them, or being hailed by
them. He was not willing to run the risk of being reported by any craft
so encountered.
Then, presently, he observed twenty-five or thirty of the lights burning
upon the water within a radius of a half mile. Some of them appeared to
be directly on the water's edge, while others were scattered over the
surface of the Sound. He wondered greatly at the weird sight, but his
drug-crazed nerves left him no courage to investigate the phenomenon.
But, of a sudden, the blanket-wrapped form in the bow stirred. There
came the gentle noise of a healthy yawn, and then the girl's voice
called:
"Doctor Garnet! Won't you please take me home--wherever that is--or some
place where there is food? I'm just as hungry I can be!"
"Yes, Miss Marion," the physician answered glibly. "We'll soon be where
there is both food and shelter. I'm so glad to find you improved! My
patient will soon be herself again."
"Yes," the girl agreed, "I am improved, Doctor. I feel quite myself
again, and I'm wondering where I am and what has happened. I must have
been unconscious for some time," she added thoughtfully, "for the ankle
I sprained while boarding _The Isabel_ is almost well. Do you know,
there is very little I remember after that? I recall the awakening in
the morning and the finding that the yacht was at sea and then your
coming to my assistance when I discovered that I was locked in my room.
Please, Doctor, won't you explain this whole affair to me? Were we
kidnapped by river thieves, and did you succeed in escaping with me?
Somehow, I have an impression that we're a long way from New York
Harbor." Even in the faint light from the moon, Ethel could see that the
physician was perturbed by her questioning. The fact startled her,
aroused a vague suspicion. She spoke now with an authoritative quality
in her voice.
"Doctor, what is the meaning of this reticence? Why do you show such
emotion? Has something dreadful happened? Surely, an explanation is my
due."
Garnet perceived that he had at last a sane, sensible woman with whom to
deal. He knew that it would be necessary for him to treat her as such,
to give her a satisfactory and rational explanation. But he had the
cunning of that partial madness induced by the drug. He meant to have
that cunning stimulated to even a greater degree. For even while the
girl was speaking, he contrived to arrange another charge for the
hypodermic. To avoid attracting her attention, he did not even roll up
his sleeve to insert the point into his flesh. Instead, he inserted it
through coat and shirt. In an emergency such as this, he had no need for
the aseptic niceties characteristic of his profession. He had no thought
of bacteria from the cloth to infect the wound. His sole concern was to
feel within him the increased thrill of the morphia. His nerves must be
at their best to combat the inquisitiveness of this intelligent young
woman, now in the possession of her normal mind. He understood perfectly
that his narrative of events must contain such a skillful mingling of
truth and falsehood as to leave her without any doubt whatsoever
concerning his own integrity. Otherwise, there must come disgrace for
himself, the ruin of his career. He spoke then suavely, genially even.
"Right you are, Miss Ethel. You were kidnapped--taken miles and miles
from your home. I trust you are strong enough now to hear the
story--properly censored--that I have to tell you. I think, though, it
will be sufficient, for the time being, to inform you that you are now
absolutely safe. I regret to advise you that _The Isabel_ is no more.
She was driven on the rocks, and is a total wreck. Yet, perhaps, it is
better so. Your kidnapper was trying to run out into the open sea when
the tempest was such that no yacht of such tonnage could have endured
the fury of the waves. So the wreck probably saved your life, for you
were rescued unharmed with the exception of a mild concussion of the
brain, which left you unconscious for some time. And you may be glad
now, since you have aroused from the stupor, that you have no memory of
the many harrowing scenes connected with this affair. I also was
rescued, and am doing my utmost to return you to your friends safe and
sound. To-night, we're going northward on the waters of Core Sound, off
the North Carolina mainland. The great sand dunes of Core Banks, which
you have admired so many times in passing through these waters while
cruising with your father, are just visible off the starboard bow in the
moonlight. Off the port bow are many tiny lights, which I confess are a
mystery to me. I have a suspicion, however, that they are shown by
fishermen craft. I think it best to head for them in the hope that we
may obtain shelter and food. And now, my dear patient," the Doctor
concluded briskly, "please let this statement be sufficient for the time
being. Then, by-and-by, I will tell you in full the most wonderful story
of adventure that any little New York girl has ever experienced."
"Thank you, so much!" Ethel responded gratefully. "Now that I've had
this much of the story from you, I'll promise to be as patient as
possible. Just the same, I'm awfully anxious to hear it all in its
completeness. I love adventure, and I am afraid I can't exactly be sorry
that I've lived through one myself. I'm more sorry for poor father down
there on that desolate border, for I know how he is looking forward to
another cruise in the poor _Isabel_. I must wire him promptly, so that
he'll be able to have the yacht duplicated without delay."
The physician was immensely elated that his narrative was so well
received by the girl. With a new feeling of safety and contentment he
headed the launch toward the light that seemed nearest the shore. It was
not long until they reached the roughly constructed pier. Upon the
extreme end of it sat a solitary man fishing with fire and net.
As they approached the shore, Garnet was able to make out the shadowy
outlines that bulked in the distance as a half-dozen small houses.
Beside each a smudge sent forth clouds of heavy smoke. He was heartened
by the scene, for he knew well the hospitality of the southern home, and
he was confident that within the walls of one of these humble cottages
would be found food and rest for himself and the girl in his charge. Yet
even in this moment, the physician wondered if indeed there would ever
be real rest for him while he should remember the staring, accusing eyes
that looked up at him from the water's depth.
Garnet brought the tender alongside the wharf in shore, at a sufficient
distance from the man to avoid disturbing the fishing. Then he climbed
out upon the frail, wooden structure built upon poles driven into the
bottom, and made his way over its swaying surface to the native by the
fire. This proved to be "Squire" Goodwin, the big man of the settlement.
He was of an appearance above the average, and handsome still in spite
of fifty-odd years of toil and exposure. He rose at Garnet's approach,
and, without waiting to be addressed, spoke with an air of genial
familiarity.
"I don't usually go a-firin' for trout this late o' night, but the truth
is that between the hell-fired skeeters and the gals havin' beaux there
wasn't much for me to enjoy at home. My name's Goodwin," he added by way
of introduction. "They call me Squire all around these parts. I'm the
justice o' the peace. So be you're after a warrant?"
The last word affected Garnet very unpleasantly, and he shook his head
with such grim emphasis that the Squire perceived he had been mistaken
as to the stranger's purpose.
"No?" he remarked. "Well, then, maybe it's fair for me to make another
guess." A twinkle shone now in his clear eyes. "Judging from the face
that the moon just lighted up there in the bow of your snapper, I don't
believe I'd be far wrong in judging ye two to be worldly folks that
think a squire's good as a parson. What mout you're name be, stranger?"
At this blunt demand, Garnet again showed traces of embarrassment, but
these endured only for an instant. He realized that in this place so
remote from the ordinary lanes of travel there could be little danger in
divulging his identity. So he spoke with brisk confidence.
"My name, sir, is Gifford Garnet, I am a physician. The young lady lying
in the launch yonder is my patient. We were so unfortunate as to be
wrecked while on a yacht cruising in the waters to the south of here. We
are now on our way northward, bound for one of the larger towns, where
we shall be able to get transportation home. The young lady is suffering
from an injured ankle, and, too, she has been for some time unconscious
from a blow on the head received while we were escaping from the yacht.
It is only within the last hour that she has seemed to be again quite
normal. We were obliged to lay to in the lower section of the Sound for
several hours, waiting for the weather to moderate. Otherwise we would
not have been obliged to put in here and beg you for food and lodging.
If you can take care of us over night I shall be only too glad to pay
you for your hospitality."
"Pay me for my hospitality!" the Squire exclaimed indignantly. "That's
something in my locality that's never been for sale, and can't be
bought. You-all must be from the North. I've heard folks from the
outside say that folks up there pay for everything, even for a place to
hang their hats in public houses. Folks that pay for everything they get
lose all love for each other." His tone changed abruptly, and he spoke
authoritatively. "Get that young woman out o' the boat and after I make
another dip, I'll take ye up and show ye one shack where hospitality
ain't for sale. And when you go please remember that you don't leave
under any obligation to Squire Goodwin. I will say though, if ye ever
catch me in you-all's fix, and ye he'p me out, then I won't offer to pay
you for your hospitality. I just don't believe in it!"
The Squire skipped back to his firelight, and the Doctor watched him
toss four flopping, wriggling beauties upon the wharf. As the fish fell
from the net, the Squire shouted triumphantly:
"Say, Doctor, there's a mornin' meal you-all can't pay for!"
The task of getting Ethel Marion from the boat to the shore was not as
difficult as Garnet had anticipated. She was buoyed up wonderfully by
the thought that comfortable quarters awaited her and good clean food to
satisfy an appetite that was fast becoming ravenous. Had it not been for
the injured ankle, she could have walked as rapidly as either of the men
from the landing stage to the house. But when she rested her full weight
on it, she found that it was still painful, so that it was necessary for
the Doctor to support her on one side while the Squire gallantly gave
his aid on the other.
As they reached the porch, there was a stealthy sound of scurrying and
the pattering of bare feet, as the young-men callers slipped away in the
darkness to their homes. Then the two young women hastened forward to
greet the strangers in true Core Sound style. "Ma" was in bed, they
explained, but they themselves, with easy, unaffected kindness proceeded
to make the invalid at home. Then one of them hurried into the cook-room
to prepare a quick meal.
Ethel Marion, a girl of high society in New York City, and reared in
luxury, had hitherto known little of humble homes such as this in which
now she was being cared for so generously. As she glanced about her, she
saw that the walls were not covered with a paper especially prepared for
the purpose, in the manner to which she had been accustomed. Instead,
they carried sheets of ordinary newspapers, most of them of a religious
character. It was a quaint and indisputable witness to the fact that
here she was in the home of a God-loving, Christian family. All of the
furnishings were simple; most of them of great age. Among them were
antiques to warm a collector's heart. It was plain that these had been
handed down through many generations. Those of later origin were
carefully wrought duplicates of the choicest models. In her astonishment
amid surroundings so strange and yet so pleasant, with the savor of
cooking food in her nostrils, Ethel for the moment almost forgot the
mystery and the peril through which she had passed--almost forgot, for a
fleeting instant, the lover she had summoned to her aid by a message
cast into the sea.