"Well," he said, "perhaps you'll be wanting a mate. If so, I believe my
late mate would give you every satisfaction. He is a thorough seaman, a
first-rate navigator, a good disciplinarian, and a most sober, steady,
reliable man in every way, I should have liked to keep him for myself;
but it will be some months before the new steamer will be ready, and
Roberts--that is the man's name--says he can't afford to remain idle for
so long. Shall I write to him, sir, and tell him to call on you?"
I said I should be obliged if he would, and gave him an envelope bearing
my temporary address; then, shaking hands with him, and thanking him for
the readiness he had exhibited in affording me information and assisting
me in my inspection of the ship, I bade him good-bye, and made the best
of my way back to my lodgings.
On reaching these I found, as luck would have it, a letter from my late
owners conveying the gratifying intelligence that the salvage claim had
been settled, and that, upon my calling at the office, my share,
amounting to two thousand eight hundred and eighty-six pounds, and some
odd shillings, would be paid to me. It was still early in the
afternoon; I therefore snatched a hurried lunch; and immediately
afterwards chartered a cab and drove into the City; duly received my
cheque, with congratulations on my good fortune; and still had time to
open an account and safely rid myself of the precious paper before the
banks closed for the day. I dined in the City, and afterwards made my
way westward to Hyde Park, in the most unfrequented part of which I
sauntered to and fro until nearly ten o'clock--my pipe my sole
companion--carefully reviewing my plans for the last time, and asking
myself whether I had omitted from my calculation any probable element at
all likely to disastrously affect them. The result of my self-communing
was so far satisfactory as to confirm my resolution to become the owner
of the _Esmeralda_; and, having conclusively arrived at this
determination, I sauntered quietly eastward through the summer night to
my lodgings, and turned in.
The following morning saw me once more wending my way Cityward, this
time to the office of Messrs. Musgrave and Company, where the
preliminaries of the purchase of the _Esmeralda_ were speedily
accomplished, and a cheque for five hundred pounds given to seal the
bargain. This done, I spent the remainder of the morning in seeking a
freight; and was at length fortunate enough to secure one on
advantageous terms for China. My next business was to run down on board
my new purchase and take a careful inventory of her stores, with the
object of estimating the probable amount of outlay necessary to fit her
for the contemplated voyage; and while I was thus engaged a telegram was
despatched to Thomson's friend and late chief mate, Roberts, who, in
response, promptly presented himself on board. I liked the appearance
of this man from the moment that I first set eyes upon him. He was
evidently somewhat more highly educated than the generality of his
class; without being in the least dandified, he possessed an ease and
polish of manner at that time quite exceptional in the mates of such
small craft as the _Esmeralda_. He was very quiet and unassuming in his
behaviour; and altogether he produced so favourable an impression upon
me that I unhesitatingly shipped him on the spot, arranging with him to
bring his dunnage on board and assume duty on the following day. My
overhaul of the stores on board the barque resulted in the satisfactory
discovery that the expenditure necessary to complete her for the voyage
would be considerably less than I had dared to hope; and, this fact
established, I left the ship in Roberts's charge, and ran down home upon
a flying visit to my mother, to fully acquaint her with all that I had
done, and to make the arrangements necessary for her comfort and
maintenance during my contemplated absence. This involved another visit
to my friend, Mr Richards, with whose assistance I made a careful yet
generous computation of every expense to which I should be in the least
likely to be put before drawing any profit from my adventure; the
difference between this sum and the amount of my available assets
representing the amount of monetary accommodation which I should require
from him. This--thanks to the exceptionally favourable terms upon which
I had acquired the ownership of the _Esmeralda_--was so very small that
I undertook the obligation with a light heart; and, having completed
this part of my business to my entire satisfaction, I hastened back to
town, my mother accompanying me in order that we might have as much as
possible of each other's society during the short interval that was to
elapse before the sailing of the ship.
On my return to London, I found that a small portion of our cargo had
already come alongside. I therefore lost no time in advertising the
ship as "loading for China direct, with excellent accommodation for
saloon and steerage passengers;" and then, in a leisurely manner,
proceeded to make the necessary purchases of ship's and cabin stores,
filling in the time by taking my mother about to such concerts,
picture-galleries, and other places of amusement, as accorded with her
quiet and refined tastes.
One morning, about a week after my return to town, being on board the
ship and down below, superintending a few trifling alterations that I
was having made in my own state-room, the mate, who was taking account
of the cargo that was being shipped at the moment, came aft and shouted
down the companion to the effect that a lady and gentleman had come on
board and were inquiring for me. I accordingly went on deck, and there
found a very handsome man, in the prime of life, and a very lovely woman
of about three and twenty, standing on the main deck, just by the break
of the poop, curiously watching the operation of slinging some heavy
cases, and lowering them through the main hatchway.
"Captain Saint Leger?" queried the gentleman, bowing and slightly
raising his hat in acknowledgment of my salute as I approached him.
"That is my name," I replied. "In what way can I be of service to you?"
"I have come down to inspect your passenger accommodation, in the first
place," said he; "and afterwards--in the event of its proving
satisfactory--to see whether I can come to an arrangement with you for
the whole of it."
"I am sure I shall be very pleased to do everything I possibly can to
meet your views," said I. "If you will kindly step below, I will show
you the cabins; and although we are rather in a litter everywhere just
at present, you will perhaps be able to judge whether the accommodation
is likely to meet your requirements. Are you a large party?"
"Myself, my wife, my wife's sister--this young lady--two children, two
maids, and a nurse. My wife, I ought to explain, is at present an
invalid, and has been ordered a long sea-voyage; but, as her ailment is
chiefly of a nervous character, she is greatly averse to the idea of
meeting and associating with strangers; hence my desire to secure the
whole of your accommodation, should it prove suitable. Ah, a very
pretty, airy saloon," he continued, as I threw open the door and stepped
aside to permit my visitors to enter. "The whole width of the ship;
sidelights that we can throw open in the tropics, and admit the fresh
air. A piano, too, by Erard," as he opened the instrument and glanced
at the name. "_You_ at least would not be likely to find the voyage
tedious, Agnes, with an Erard within reach at any moment," turning to
the young lady who accompanied him. "And these, I presume, are the
state-rooms," opening the doors of one or two of the berths and glancing
inside.
"These are _some_ of them," I replied. "In addition to what you now
see, there are two family cabins." And, as I spoke, I opened the door
of one of them, and allowed my visitors to pass in.
"Capital, capital!" exclaimed the visitor, as he entered. "Really,
these two cabins are far and away more roomy and pleasant than the
ordinary berths, even in the big liners. Now, supposing that I make up
my mind to take the whole of your accommodation, captain, would you be
willing to have a door fitted in that partition? Because, in that
case," he proceeded, again addressing his sister-in-law, "I should
propose to have one of the cabins fitted up as a ladies' boudoir, into
which you and Emily could retire when so disposed."
"Yes, that would be very nice," assented the lady. "And perhaps Captain
Saint Leger would allow the piano to be placed there?"
I replied that I should be happy to do anything and everything in my
power to meet their convenience or make them comfortable.
"Very well," said the gentleman. "Now, Agnes, what do you think of
these cabins? Do you think Emily would like them, and find them
convenient?"
"I am sure she would," answered the young lady, confidently. "They are
much prettier than anything we have hitherto seen; and the two large
cabins, with those great windows looking directly out on to the sea, are
simply delightful."
"So I think," agreed the gentleman. "And now, captain, as to terms?"
I had already made a little mental calculation as to the amount I ought
to ask, and had arrived at a sum which, while it was somewhat less than
I should have received had the whole of the cabins been separately
taken, would pay me just as well in the long run; and this sum I named.
"There is one little matter I should like to mention," I said. "My
mother is now in town with me, and I had promised her that, if all the
cabins were not engaged, she should make the trip home to Weymouth in
the ship--"
"An arrangement with which I would not dream of interfering,"
interrupted the gentleman. "Even should we determine to take your
cabins, captain, we shall certainly not require them all--at the outset
of the voyage, at least--and I am quite sure that your mother's
presence, for the few days that she will probably be with us, will be
the reverse of disagreeable to my wife. And now I cannot, of course,
decide definitely, one way or the other, until I have told my wife what
we have seen; but here is my card; and if you will allow me twenty-four
hours for consideration, you shall have my definite decision within that
time."
As this was the first inquiry I had had from prospective passengers, I
thought the proposal was good enough to justify me in according the
grace asked. I therefore undertook to hold the cabins at my visitors'
disposal until noon next day; and they then left, with a cordial
hand-shake from each.
I waited till they were fairly out of sight, and then looked at the
card. It bore the name of "Sir Edgar Desmond," with an address in Park
Lane, in the corner.
On the following morning, about half-past eleven, the owner of the card
again put in an appearance on board, and, greeting me with the utmost
cordiality, exclaimed--
"Well, captain, I have hurried down to let you know that the account of
our visit to your ship, and the description of her cabins which I was
enabled to give my wife last night, proved so thoroughly satisfactory to
her that it was definitely determined, in family conclave, that we
should secure your cabins upon the terms mentioned by you yesterday. I
have accordingly brought you a cheque for half the amount of our
passage-money--here it is--in order to properly ratify the arrangement;
and now I presume there will be no difficulty about commencing the few
alterations in the cabins that I suggested yesterday?"
"None whatever," I replied; "I will get the carpenters on board to-day,
if possible; and in any case the work shall be begun as early as
possible, so that the paint may be thoroughly dry and the smell passed
off before you come on board."
"I shall be greatly obliged to you if you will," said Sir Edgar. "And
now there is another little matter upon which I wish to speak to you.
My wife being quite an invalid, it will be necessary that she should
have many little delicacies that are not included in the ordinary bill
of shipboard fare. These I intend to order at once, and will give
instructions that they are to be delivered on board here as soon as
ready. May I rely upon you to have a careful account taken of them as
they come on board, and to see that they are so bestowed that they may
be easily got at when required? Among them will be a few cases of wines
for Lady Desmond's personal use; but, so far as the rest of us are
concerned, I presume you will be able to supply us with whatever we may
require?"
"Certainly," I replied. "I have not yet ordered my stock of wines, and
if you have a partiality for any particular kind or brand, and will let
me know, I shall be pleased to select my stock with especial reference
to your taste."
"Oh, thank you. I am sure you are very good," he laughed; "but we are
none of us connoisseurs, nor do I think any of us have a weakness for
any one particular kind of wine more than another. If you can undertake
to give us a good sound claret every day for dinner, with a bottle of
decent champagne now and then, we shall be perfectly content. And now,
what is the longest possible time you can allow us in which to get
together our outfit for the voyage?"
"We are advertised to sail to-morrow three weeks," I replied.
"Very well," he said. "That is rather brief notice for the ladies; but
I have no doubt they will be able to manage when once they are given to
understand that it _must_ be done. As for me, I shall have no
difficulty whatever. I shall be obliged, however, if you will give me a
hint or two as to the different climates we shall encounter on the
voyage, so that we may prepare accordingly."
I did so, Sir Edgar jotting down a few memoranda in his note-book
meanwhile; and then, with another hearty shake of the hand, my visitor
left me.
The succeeding three weeks passed uneventfully away, the cargo, during
the first fortnight, coming alongside very slowly; but there was quite a
rush at the last, and on the night before the day on which we were
advertised to sail, I had the satisfaction of seeing the hatches put on
and battened down over a full hold, with the barque down to within an
inch of her load-mark.
Meanwhile, private stores in considerable quantities had come on board,
bearing Sir Edgar Desmond's name upon them, and these I had had
carefully stowed away by themselves. This had been a busy day for me;
for there were the articles to be signed, the ship to clear at the
Custom House, bills to pay, and a hundred other little matters to attend
to--among them the giving up of my lodgings, and the removal of my
mother and myself with our dunnage to the ship--but when I turned in
that night, in my own comfortable state-room, it was with the feeling
that my business of every kind had been satisfactorily concluded, and
that henceforth, until our arrival in Hong Kong, I should only have the
ship to look after. Moreover, the whole of my crew, with two
exceptions, had faithfully kept their promise to be on board before the
dock-gates closed that night, so that I might reasonably hope to go out
of dock with a tolerably sober crew in the morning.
We unmoored at seven o'clock next morning, and half an hour later--the
two absentees from the forecastle scrambling on board as we passed out
through the gates--were clear of the dock and in the river, with the tug
ahead and the first of the ebb to help us on our way. We made a pause
of half an hour off Gravesend, to pick up Sir Edgar Desmond and his
party--who had spent the night at an hotel there--and then, pushing on
again, found ourselves, about six o'clock that evening, off the North
Foreland, with a light northerly air blowing, which, when we had got the
barque under all plain sail, fanned us along at a speed of about five
knots.