'And what very remarkable feet had she!' added Raymond, improvising
under the inspiration of certain shoes, scow-like in shape, gigantic in
length and breadth, which had made themselves visible at the top round
of the ladder.
At length the shabby old boat got under way, and we followed in its
path, turning off to the right through a network of channels, now
pulling ourselves along by the reeds, now paddling over a raft of
lily-pads, now poling through a winding labyrinth, and now rowing with
broad sweeps across the little lake. The sun was sinking, and the
western sky grew bright at his coming; there was not a cloud to make
mountain-peaks on the horizon, nothing but the level earth below meeting
the curved sky above, so evenly and clearly that it seemed as though we
could go out there and touch it with our hands. Soon we lost sight of
the little lighthouse; then one by one the distant sails sank down and
disappeared, and we were left alone on the grassy sea, rowing toward the
sunset.
'We must have come a mile or two, and there is no sign of a house,' I
called out to our guide.
'Well, I don't pretend to know how far it is, exactly,' replied Liakim;
'we don't know how far anything is here in the Flats, we don't.'
'But are you sure you know the way?'
'O my, yes! We've got most to the boy. There it is!'
The 'boy' was a buoy, a fragment of plank painted white, part of the
cabin-work of some wrecked steamer.
'Now, then,' said Liakim, pausing, 'you jest go straight on in this here
channel till you come to the ninth run from this boy, on the right; take
that, and it will lead you right up to Waiting Samuel's door.'
'Aren't you coming with us?'
'Well, no. In the first place, Rosabel Lee will be waiting supper for
me, and she don't like to wait; and, besides, Samuel can't abide to see
none of us round his part of the Flats.'
'But--' I began.
'Let him go,' interposed Raymond; 'we can find the house without
trouble.' And he tossed a silver dollar to the little man, who was
already turning his boat.
'Thank you,' said Liakim. 'Be sure you take the ninth run and no
other,--the ninth run from this boy. If you make any mistake, you'll
find yourselves miles away.'
With this cheerful statement, he began to row back. I did not altogether
fancy being left on the watery waste without a guide; the name, too, of
our mythic host did not bring up a certainty of supper and beds.
'Waiting Samuel,' I repeated, doubtfully. 'What is he waiting for?' I
called back over my shoulder; for Raymond was rowing.
'The judgment-day!' answered Liakim, in a shrill key. The boats were now
far apart; another turn, and we were alone.
We glided on, counting the runs on the right: some were wide, promising
rivers; others wee little rivulets; the eighth was far away; and, when
we had passed it, we could hardly decide whether we had reached the
ninth or not, so small was the opening, so choked with weeds, showing
scarcely a gleam of water beyond when we stood up to inspect it.
'It is certainly the ninth, and I vote that we try it. It will do as
well as another, and I for one, am in no hurry to arrive anywhere,' said
Raymond, pushing the boat in among the reeds.
'Do you want to lose yourself in this wilderness?' I asked, making a
flag of my handkerchief to mark the spot where we had left the main
stream.
'I think we are lost already,' was the calm reply. I began to fear we
were.
For some distance the 'run,' as Liakim called it, continued choked with
aquatic vegetation, which acted like so many devil-fish catching our
oars; at length it widened and gradually gave us a clear channel, albeit
so winding and erratic that the glow of the sunset, our only beacon,
seemed to be executing a waltz all round the horizon. At length we saw a
dark spot on the left, and distinguished the outline of a low house.
'There it is,' I said, plying my oars with renewed strength. But the run
turned short off in the opposite direction, and the house disappeared.
After some time it rose again, this time on our right, but once more the
run turned its back and shot off on a tangent. The sun had gone, and the
rapid twilight of September was falling around us; the air, however, was
singularly clear, and, as there was absolutely nothing to make a shadow,
the darkness came on evenly over the level green. I was growing anxious,
when a third time the house appeared, but the wilful run passed by it,
although so near that we could distinguish its open windows and door,
'Why not get out and wade across?' I suggested.
'According to Liakim, it is the duty of this run to take us to the very
door of Waiting Samuel's mansion, and it shall take us,' said Raymond,
rowing on. It did.
Doubling upon itself in the most unexpected manner, it brought us back
to a little island, where the tall grass had given way to a
vegetable-garden. We landed, secured our boat, and walked up the pathway
toward the house. In the dusk it seemed to be a low, square structure,
built of planks covered with plaster; the roof was flat, the windows
unusually broad, the door stood open,--but no one appeared. We knocked.
A voice from within called out, 'Who are you, and what do you want with
Waiting Samuel?'
'Pilgrims, asking for food and shelter,' replied Raymond.
'Do you know the ways of righteousness?'
'We can learn them.'
'We can learn them,' I echoed.
'Will you conform to the rules of this household without murmuring?'
'We will.'
'Enter then and peace be with you!' said the voice drawing nearer. We
stepped cautiously through the dark passage into a room, whose open
windows let in sufficient twilight to show us a shadowy figure. 'Seat
yourselves,' it said. We found a bench, and sat down.
'What seek ye here?' continued the shadow.
'Rest!' replied Raymond.
'Hunting and fishing!' I added.
'Ye will find more than rest,' said the voice, ignoring me altogether (I
am often ignored in this way),--'more than rest, if ye stay long enough,
and learn of the hidden treasures. Are you willing to seek for them?'
'Certainly!' said Raymond. 'Where shall we dig?'
'I speak not of earthly digging, young man. Will you give me the charge
of your souls?'
'Certainly, if you will also take charge of our bodies.'
'Supper, for instance,' I said, again coming to the front; 'and beds.'