THE NEW PASSENGER
Captain Strathmore rewarded Abe Storms liberally for the service he
had rendered them, and the mate and captain of the schooner, as we
have said, were rowed back to the boat by Hyde Brazzier.
Reaching the deck of the _Coral_, they watched the progress of the
great steamer until she vanished from sight in the moonlight, and then
the two friends went into the cabin to "study the chart," as they
expressed it.
It may be said that this had been the principal business of the two
since leaving the States, though the statement is not strictly
correct. The hum of conversation went on for hours; the night
gradually wore away, but still the two men sat talking in low tones,
and looking at the roll of paper spread out between them, and which
was covered with numerous curious drawings. The theme must have been
an absorbing one, since it banished all thought of the passage of time
from their minds.
"I tell you," said the captain, as he leaned back in his chair, "there
isn't the remotest doubt that a colossal fortune is awaiting us, and
unless some extraordinary accident intervenes, we shall gather it
up."
"So it would seem," replied the mate, with a weary look, "and yet I
sometimes feel certain that it will never be ours--Good gracious!"
The two men almost leaped out of their chairs, and their hair fairly
rose on end. They were absolutely certain that no one else was in the
cabin besides themselves. Redvignez was at the wheel, and Brazzier
awaited his call in turn at the end of the watch. But just then both
heard a rustling, and saw a movement in the berth of Captain Bergen,
which showed something was there. It couldn't be a dog or cat, for
there was nothing of the kind on board. Besides which, just then, the
two men caught sight of the little white hand which clearly belonged
to some one of their own species. Then the covering was thrown back; a
mass of tangled golden hair was observed, and instantly after, the
fair face of a young child peered wonderingly out, as if seeking to
learn where she was.
Of course the little one was Inez Hawthorne, though neither of the two
men had ever seen or heard of her before, and it is, therefore, idle
to attempt to picture their overwhelming astonishment when they
became aware so suddenly of her presence in the cabin.
Neither of the two men was superstitious; but there was good excuse
for their being wonder-struck. If an individual in the middle of a
desert should suddenly become aware of the appearance of a strange
person at his elbow, a situation apparently in which he could only be
placed by supernatural means, it would be a very mild word to say he
would be surprised.
Flinging the coverlet from her shoulders and throwing back her mass of
rich golden hair, Inez assumed the sitting position, with her dimpled
legs swinging over the side, and her little hands resting on the rail,
as if to steady herself during the long swells of the sea, while she
looked at the two men as if trying to recollect where she was and who
they were.
"Well, if that doesn't beat anything that was ever heard or read of
before!" exclaimed the captain, turning about and staring at her.
"Where in the name of the seven wonders did you come from?"
Abe Storms, the mate, did not speak, but seemed to be waiting to see
whether the child had a voice, and thus settle the question in his
mind as to whether it was mortal or not.
The problem was quickly solved, for Inez was never backward in
asserting her individuality.
"How did I come here? That's a great question to ask! I got tired and
lay down to sleep, and have just woke up. I think this is a real nice
boat. Are you the captain? My name is Inez Hawthorne--what is yours?"
These questions, uttered with childish rapidity and ingenuousness,
threw some light upon the apparent mystery.
"She belongs to the steamer," said Abe Storms, with his eyes fixed
wonderingly upon her. "She has managed to get in our boat in some way,
and we have carried her off. Did you ever see anything so pretty?"
As the reader has learned, there was good cause for this admiring
question. Both of the men were bachelors, but they possessed natural
refinement, and they could reverence the innocence and loveliness of
childhood. With the discovery that she was an actual human being, the
awe-struck wonder of the two men vanished, though their curiosity was
great to learn how it was she was carried away from the steamer.
"Won't you come here and talk with me?" asked Storms, reaching out his
arms invitingly, but a little doubtful whether she would respond,
though the stoop-shouldered inventor was always popular with children.
The answer of Inez was a sudden spring, which landed her plump into
the lap of the mate, while she flung her arms around his neck with a
merry laugh, and then wheeled about on his knee, so that she could
look in the face of either of the men, who, not unnaturally, felt a
strange and strong attraction toward the beautiful child.
Then the two began a series of questions that were answered in the
characteristic fashion of childhood, but from which the friends
succeeded in extracting something like a clear explanation of her
presence on board the _Coral_--so many miles from the steamer on which
she had set sail at San Francisco.
They learned that Inez--who was such a pet on the _Polynesia_ that she
was allowed to do as she chose--was invited by one of the crew to
visit the _Coral_, while she lay so close to the disabled steamer. The
one who gave this invitation was Hyde Brazzier, and he was struck with
the wonderful loveliness of the child, when she questioned him about
the schooner.
There is no nature, however steeped in crime, in which there is not a
divine spark which may be fanned into a flame--which, perchance, may
illumine the whole soul; and but for the subsequent strange events,
little Inez Hawthorne might have proved, in the most literal sense, a
heaven-sent messenger upon that craft, which carried so much
wickedness in the forecastle.
Brazzier rowed the short intervening distance, and then took the child
by the hand and showed her through the schooner, there being little to
exhibit. Finally she was led into the cabin, where she said she was
tired and wished to lie down. Thereupon Brazzier lifted her upon the
captain's berth and drew the coverlet over her. A minute later the
weary eyes closed in slumber and he left the cabin.
Brazzier had no intention, up to this time, of using any deception in
the matter; but, under the persuasion of Redvignez, he gave way to the
innate wickedness of his nature, and chuckled over the lamentable
occurrence. They felt pleasure in the certainty that what they were
doing was sure to make other hearts ache.